Lucy the Lion and Loke the Wizard

by thecagedsong

Summary:

Lucy of Fairy Tail was a star. All she knew how to do was burn.

Loke Heartfilia was a celestial wizard. He doesn't know much about what that means, not yet . . .

Chapter 1: It started with a job . . .

Lucy decided against going into the guild that morning. She was almost finished with her memoir novel, almost ready to send it to an editor and publishing house, and she might actually have the courage to declare it good enough if she added that last bit of foreshadowing to chapter three. Just had to dry her hair by the fire first.

Baths didn’t necessarily ease the pain of being separated from the celestial world, but the physical comfort and relaxation of it distracted her and made the pain of existing far more tolerable.

Especially her bath, in her house. Her house was nice, and lovely, and entirely— “What are you doing here!”

“Yo Lucy!” Natsu said. Happy said something too, but his mouth was too full of fish, and bits of it spewed across her apartment.

With a swinging kick, she crushed both cat and dragon slayer against her wall. Not enough to damage her precious home, but enough to leave a mark on the boys. “What the hell are you doing here Natsu!”

He rubbed her footprint off his face with a sad pout, “We just wanted to check out where you lived. Do you treat all your guests this way?”

“Only the uninvited ones,” she hissed. “Leave and don’t touch anything. This is breaking and entering you pervs!”

She retreated and dressed as quickly as possible, knowing full well that that wasn’t going to be enough to get Natsu to leave.

Natsu was still sitting in her living room when she came out.

“Do I really have to get the police?” she asked, folding her arms, “I wasn’t dressed. I know you know better than to peek on a girl when she’s like that.”

“Aw come on,” Natsu wheedled, “We were just trying to be friendly.”

“Friends don’t invade their friends’ privacy,” she declared with more confidence than she actually had. Lucy hadn’t made that many friends over the years. And her friends from Before weren’t big on privacy either, truth be told. But it was a human concept Lucy had embraced whole heartedly. It was the reason she had this place on Strawberry Street instead of the girls’ dorms at Fairy Hills.

“But it’s so nice here, why don’t you have people over more often?” Happy asked, running his claws over her walls.

Lucy yanked him by the scruff and shook him. He was cat enough to know to be ashamed.

 “Hey, what’s this? That’s a lot of pages!”

Lucy dropped Happy, grabbed her manuscript, and kicked Natsu in the face. “Don’t touch that!”

Maybe she wasn’t as ready to finish her manuscript as she thought.

“It’s nothing,” she told his prone body.

“I think you knocked him out,” Happy said, poking Natsu in the side.

Lucy scoffed, “I didn’t use magic, he’ll be fine in a sec.”

“Ouch, what’s so important you gotta hit me like that?”

“Nothing,” she snarled, holding it closer. It held all her secrets. People weren’t allowed to see them yet! Not until she was dead, and gone, and if Natsu paid more attention to her than she realized, even he would be able to see the truth. And it wasn’t done!

What if he found a spelling error?

"You kicked me in the face over nothing?” Natsu pouted.

“Exactly,” she cried, “Now please go home!”

Natsu smiled, “But your place is way more exciting, I can’t believe you’ve been in the guild two years and I’ve never been here.”

She liked Natsu well enough, his heart and his magic were wild and full of spirit. Fairy Tail was his family, and that fact gave him more pride than anything else. They hadn’t crossed paths too much, aside from guild events like the endurance run or Sorcerer Weekly days. Then he’d gone after Macao, and she followed for backup, and apparently she was now ‘come-in-unannounced’ level friends with him.

She wasn’t even that level of friends with Levy!

“Why me?” she cried.

“Because you’re so fun!” Natsu said.

Standing up, she started pointing fingers, “Fine, you’re here, and I’m fun, and you two are going to clean up this mess, I’ll make us all some tea, we’ll arrange another time for you to come visit, and you leave. Clear?”

“Aye sir!” Happy said, snapping a salute. Lucy nodded and marched to the kitchen. She waited a moment, until she heard Natsu picking things up, then went to hide her manuscript somewhere else.  

Back with tea, her apartment wasn’t as clean as it was before they showed up, but it wasn’t littered with debris anymore, so she’d take it.

“Okay, I’m not ready to have guests today, so why don’t you drink your tea and leave.”

She didn’t have much hope.

“Wow, you’re so cold-hearted,” Natsu said.

Happy nodded, “Like an iceberg. Even Gray wouldn’t touch that.”

“Breaking and entering,” Lucy reminded them, eyebrow twitching.

“I know, why don’t you show us more of your magic?” Natsu asked, “What was that cool light thing you did? It didn’t feel like fire.”

“I’m a holder type wizard,” Lucy lied. “I have a set of bracelets and anklets that use light magic to power up my hand to hand combat. And I have a whip for when I want to keep some distance. I also carry a light pen with me. I’m nowhere near Levy or Freed, but I have a couple of useful spells with rune magic. Nothing special. Certainly nothing as rare as Dragon Slayer magic.” 

Lying was second nature to her now.

“Can you make some for me to eat?” Natsu asked, starting to bounce in his seat.

“Like, can I separate it from myself? Sure, but you really shouldn’t eat magic not your element,” Lucy said, giving a small demonstration with a ball of light, making it hover between them. The idiot tried to touch it and shook out his hand from the burn.

“Light magic huh? Sure burns a lot for something that’s not fire,” he complained.

“Think of it like the difference between water magic and ice magic, if that helps,” Lucy said, dissolving her light, “Physically, water and ice are made up of the same stuff in this realm, ice is just cold water, but the magic particles that come when a wizard summons them are completely different and they have different effects on the world around them. Fire makes light in this world, they're mostly made up of the same stuff, they’re related, but at a magic particle level? They are completely different types with different effects.  Now, I know you guys didn’t come here for a magic lesson. Why don’t you get to the point?”

Natsu and Happy looked at each other, then nodded at the same time. “Well Lucy, want to be on a team together?” Natsu asked with a grin.

“But you guys don’t team with anyone."

“Yeah, but you’re nice and fun to be with. So do you want to team up with us?” Natsu said, smiling.

Lucy had occasionally teamed up with Cana, but it was a very casual, rare team, compared to the normal teams in the guild.

Teaming up with someone was a kind of contract. A commitment. And Lucy had already proven her worth at keeping those.

But they wanted her on their team because they liked her. What better reason to team up was there? And if she could keep her secret around the sybil Cana (luckily Cana thought the Star in her tarot deck was metaphorical), Lucy could surely keep her secret from Natsu.

“Okay,” Lucy said with a small smile that grew wider, “Okay, yeah, it should be fun. Wow, it’s been a while since I’ve done this.”

Natsu hopped to his feet with a cheer, and a secret handshake came out of nowhere, but it was easily one of the coolest moments ever.

“So you’re really gonna work with us?”

“You have my word,” she said. There wasn’t the puzzle piece sliding in place feeling she used to get from making a contract, but it felt a different kind of good. A different kind of binding. She was smiling back, just as wide.

“I already found a job for us,” Natsu said, handing her the job flyer.

It was a curious flyer she hadn't seen before, it must have just come in. Steal a book back that some Duke owned. Located in Shirastume. J200,000 was a large price tag for such a simple task.

“Hang on…” she said, looking more closely at the fine print, “Please note Everlue is a dirty old man who is currently looking for maids with blonde hair? WHAT!”

She turned to look at Natsu, who was nodding along with Happy, “Hey, we know a girl like that, don’t we Happy?”

“Aye, and I bet we can find her a maid’s uniform!”

Lucy’s mouth dropped open. She’d been had! By her own guildmates! Worse, by Natsu and Happy, whose idea of a good prank was to put a bucket of water over the doorway to fall on Gray. Gray! Who never wore clothes or got cold anyway! “You sneaky little, ahhhh!”

Lucy sank to her knees.

Hundreds of years of experience.

Strongest of her kind.

Duped, by Numskull 1 and Numbskull 2.

Mountains and seas, no wonder the heavens had kicked her out. Hopefully the next Leo would be born with sense.

“That’s not fair,” she whined.

“It’s a good thing Lucy already gave us her word to work with us, huh Happy?”

“Aye Sir, and partners don’t leave each other hanging.”

They didn’t even know the half of it. She broke her word once and was cast out of heaven and cursed to prolonged days of exquisite agony ended only by death. The universe wouldn’t be so kind the second time the leader of the celestial spirits broke her word.

“But you tricked me!” Lucy cried.

“Aww, don’t look so sad,” Natsu teased, “It’s just one job. Now, try to get into character by addressing Happy as ‘Master’.”

“One fish please!”

Lucy groaned and fell forward in a slump.

Lucy was going to be blonde jailbait (she still looked that young, as far as anyone was concerned), and there was nothing she could do about it. At least she’d get some revenge by making Natsu take a carriage to Shirastume. If the horses meandered more than necessary, well, maybe he’d think next time before offering her as distraction fodder to a pervert.

 

~

 

The situation was a little easier to swallow when she heard that the job changed to destroying the book for 2 million jewel. That was S class quest money! Easy enough to destroy a book, their guild excelled at destruction and Natsu was one of the best.

 It wasn’t adding up though, why do so much to destroy a book? She’d have to keep an eye out, even if Natsu and Happy were blinded by zeroes.

Not that she’d turn down the reward herself. Her entire savings account was going to go to charity on her death, and that much money would help a lot of people. And she’d never have to worry about rent. It would easily cover a year’s worth, and there was no way she was living longer than that.

Though, she’d been saying that for the past three years, so maybe she should invest in a long-term plan. Possibly by taking her share of the 2 mil?

Natsu and Happy went to eat, and Lucy went to subject herself to the mortification of buying a maid’s uniform.

The boys were easy enough to find again, stuffing their faces outside a food stall.

“Make sure to save the fatty stuff for Lucy,” Natsu said.

Happy nodded, “Yeah, from the looks of her, that’s her favorite part.”

“Excuse me? Even you two know better than to comment on a lady’s weight,” Lucy said, hands on her hips.

Happy and Natsu swallowed, and their mouths dropped open. Not gonna lie, it was a nice ego boost. “So, think I got the beautiful maid part down?” she asked, starting to pose. “Allow me to get that for you, Master. Anything you wish, Master. Is it time for you to punish me, Master?”

Shoot, she didn’t mean to say that last one. It had been ages since she shared a wizard with Virgo, why did she say that?

Natsu and Happy turned in their chairs, backs to her, and Natsu whispered “We were just kidding about the maid uniform, but she took it seriously, what do we do?”

“It’s not our fault! We didn’t know she’d be such a perverted weirdo and actually want to dress up like that.”

“It’s probably best just to go along with it, we’d just embarrass her if we told her it was a joke now,” Natsu said.

“You know I can hear you,” Lucy growled. Did they think her word was a joke? Aggh, she hated boys. Did they think she was mad at them yesterday over a joke? Obviously she thought they were serious. People seduced their way into high security places all the time in books!

The boys snickered.

“We saved you some food,” Natsu said, offering her a plate. It was all fatty slices of meat.

“For the record, my favorite food is salad or yogurt,” she said. Earth food anyway. It all tasted like ash in her mouth right now, but the cool textures of those made it more bearable. “I’ll eat later.”

“Do you like Melon? Because the client might give us some, because that’s his name!” Happy said cheerfully.

“That make no sense,” she said, putting a hand on her head. Though his name did tug at her. Was he some kind of local celebrity? She’d only heard the name since being stuck on earthland, she was sure. Another warning sign about this job, be cautious.

Chapter 2: . . . where the reward was a story.

“Okay boys, time to earn my part,” Lucy said, straightening her skirt and tucking her shirt in just a little tighter.

Happy tugged at her hand, “Are you sure you’re okay with this? You really didn’t want to do it yesterday.”

Lucy smiled and rubbed his head, “Don’t worry, I got over it. At first it was a little degrading, but you needed a beautiful girl that people would be crazy excited to have serving them. Obviously this job’s perfect for me.”

“If you’re sure,” Happy said uncertainly.

“Knock ‘em dead!” Natsu cheered.

Lucy continued to do her best to be demure and easily taken advantage of as she walked forward. Small steps, eyes cast down, she rang the bell. “Excuse me, the master was looking for a blonde maid to serve him? I have come to offer my services.”

The ground cracked behind her, and Lucy jumped backwards, automatically pulling a fighting stance, but quickly dropped it. An enormous figure sprung up from the ground.

“So you’re a maid?” Virgo asked.

Oh no.

Oh hell no.

Virgo liked to be slim and petite, that’s her form in the celestial world, but she of all spirits cared for serving her wizard’s every wish with her entire being.

It ached being this close to her.

Virgo’s eyes widened when she saw Lucy. “I don’t think so. It takes more than being blonde to be qualified to serve the Master. Leave now.”

There was a crack under her, and Lucy jumped back again, putting her back to the fence but managing not to pull a defensive stance this time. Natsu and Happy weren’t hidden nearly enough for a confrontation out here. Out popped Duke Everlue, who apparently had tunneling magic in addition to a celestial key.

“Did I hear a call for Master?” he asked, twirling his mustache. More like monster. Still, they needed to get in now more than ever.

Lucy curtsied, “I’ve come to offer my services to you, Master. Please grant me honor of joining your household.” Curtseying, she could watch his feet instead of his face. Even not looking at him directly, she was getting major creep vibes. If taking a form she didn’t like was the only inappropriate thing he made Virgo do for him, she’d eat Natsu’s fire.

Which meant he was on her hit list.

“Hmm, good attitude, it almost makes up for your hideous person. Almost, but not enough. Scram Ugly. Come back when you’ve become a real woman,” Duke Everlue dismissed her without a backwards glace.

Ugly. This pathetic, abusive fungus had the gall to call her ugly?

Virgo folded her arms, “You heard the Master, it’s time for you to leave.”

“Fine,” Lucy spat. “Enjoy the rest of your day.”

Virgo wouldn’t look at her.

“Oh, don’t be such a Sour Sally,” Duke Everlue said, “Your perkiness is the only thing going for you with your face. It’s not your fault. A gentleman of my wealth and power can only have a household that is up to a certain standard. Ladies? Let’s show everyone how outclassed this applicant is.”

Four more maids appeared, each with hair a different color, with the same gorilla faces, jumbled teeth, and awkward proportions that Virgo currently sported. Their master was a jerk, but with the way they were fawning over him, they seemed to appreciate having someone call them beautiful.

“So you see Ugly, you just don’t make the cut.”

“Yeah Ugly,” one of them said, “Just run along home.”

Which burned up any of Lucy’s good will for them. She was gorgeous! A true pinnacle of female beauty. How dare they call her ugly!

She was about to give them a piece of her mind when Virgo cleared her throat. Her job was not to beat him up and take her friend’s key, her job was to burn the book. She stomped towards the woods, fists tight.

The maids and Everlue were laughing at her retreat.

Trembling, once she got deep enough into the woods, Lucy curled up on the ground. Who was she kidding? Virgo loved demanding masters. Virgo didn’t want Lucy’s help, even seeing Lucy was disgusting. To her and all other celestial spirits, she was a murderer in their eyes. A contract breaker.

If it came to fighting Virgo, Virgo would gladly make Lucy use up all her magic power until she was dead.

Lucy started crying.

“So you just couldn’t make the cut, huh?”

“Shut up!” Lucy screamed at Natsu. She couldn’t give away the real reason she was crying. Natsu claimed everyone in Fairy Tail was his family, he’d hate himself for knowing he claimed her as kin. “Shut up! That fungus wouldn’t know beauty if it bit him in the behind.” Which really, insulting her looks was clearly enough to deserve a death sentence, even without everything else going on.

“Uh huh,” Happy said, clearly not believing her. 

“Apparently you wouldn’t either, stupid cat,” Lucy spat “To humans, I’m beautiful or you’re blind. End of story. I’ll show him beautiful!”

“Alright,” Natsu said, punching a fist to his palm, “Looks like we’re back to good ol’ plan T!”

“Yeah! That clueless jerk is going to pay for this!” Lucy said, jumping to her feet, fists ready. Then she remembered who she was talking to, “Wait, what’s plan T?”

“Take’em by storm!” Happy cheered.

“Wait, that’s not a plan,” she protested. Though it might as well be when you were talking about Natsu.

Still, she managed to convince him to enter secretly through the top floor, Happy giving them a lift.

“You know, this isn’t really ‘taking them by storm’,” Natsu complained. “Why can’t we just bust down the door again?”

“Do you know how many books there are in this house?” Lucy demanded, “Neither do I. It’ll be easier to look for the book if we go in quietly. And I’m not going to jail because you like property destruction.” Her life was short enough as it was.

“I thought you were out for revenge?” Happy asked.

“You leave that part to me, after we burn this book,” Lucy said, eyes glinting, “He’s going to wish he never messed with me. Toothbrushes in the toilet, prize room busted up, keys stolen. He’s going to wish he was dead.”

Happy and Natsu looked properly terrified of her revenge, and they didn’t even know the half of what she was going to do to him. Virgo might not want her help, but if even a second of opportunity arrives, Lucy was going to make sure her little sister wasn’t abused if she could help it.

They snuck through so many ridiculous rooms, Lucy lost count (she did use the toothbrush to scrub the gold plated toilet in the master bedroom, serves him right). Happy found a skull mask that made her jump the first time, and Natsu lasted longer than she expected before complaining again.

“Do we have to search all the rooms for this book?” he complained, “Why don’t we just take a hostage and force them to tell us where the book is?”

“Duke Everlue doesn’t strike me as someone who would care about hostages,” Lucy pointed out, “And the point of this is to be sneaky and not go to jail, remember? We need to be stealthy, like . . . like ninjas.”

Happy and Natsu brightened, “We’re being like ninjas?”

“Oh hell, what are you thinking?” Lucy asked, putting to her head.

The stone floor erupted beside them, “Intruder alert!” Virgo called, leading Everlue’s squad of maids. It would have been impressive, if Happy’s skull mask didn’t scare off everyone but Virgo.

Virgo launched a bodyslam on top of Natsu, and Lucy charged up a fist to get her off him, when Natsu himself lifted Virgo’s huge form. With a magic boosted kick, he sent Virgo crashing several stories down and into the golden statue Everlue had as the centerpiece to the building.

“The bigger they are, the harder they fall,” Lucy commented, watching Virgo stay down from the hit. She wouldn’t have done that in her smaller form. Or with a better wizard.

“We must remain undetected, like ninjas!” Natsu said, Happy echoing him. For bonus effect, Natsu tied his scarf to cover his face.

“Ninjas are also fast,” she pointed out. Natsu grabbed her forearm and charged forward, lifting her off her feet.

“Like ninjas!” he emphasized again, and Lucy laughed.

Luckily, the next room they checked was the library.

“There are so many books here!” Natsu announced, in his own approximation of a ninja whisper.

“Who would have guessed that creep was a bookworm?” Lucy said, impressed despite herself. She climbed up the ladder, trying to figure out if there was any order to the books, but they seemed completely random. Books on magic guilds were next to books on the favorite dishes of royalty over the years.

“Look, a book on fish!” Happy called out.

“Oh, this one has lots of pictures,” Natsu announced, somehow being even less helpful than Happy.

“Daybreak, we’re looking for one with the word ‘daybreak’ on the spine or cover,” Lucy reminded him absently. Magical creatures, love poems, color psychology. Oh, she’d love to take some of these home.

If a couple of them made it into her pocket, Natsu wasn’t going to tell on her. Happy might, so she made sure he wasn’t looking.

“Ohh, look, this one’s sparkly!”

“Would you be serious?” Lucy asked, looking at Natsu. The book was sparkly, but this was 2 million jewel on the— “Hang on,” Lucy jumped down, “Natsu, you found Daybreak!”

“Wait really?” he asked, almost dropping the book.

"Two million Jewel, here we come!” Lucy cheered as Natsu lit his other fist. She blinked, then snatched the book from him, “Hang on, it’s written by Kemu Zaleon! But I’ve read all his books and Daybreak isn’t one of them.”

“Zal melon what?” Natsu asked.

“An amazing novelist, and great wizard,” Lucy gushed, “This must be an unpublished manuscript. I’m such a big fan. Do you know how much this is worth?”

“Two million jewel?” Natsu asked, fist still on fire.

She covered it protectively, “Are you kidding? This is priceless! I thought I’d read every sentence he ever penned and there’s a whole other book? It’s got to be one of the greatest works of literature this side of existence!”

“All burns the same to me,” Natsu said with a grin.

“No, stay away Pyro!” Lucy said, backing away.

“That’s the job,” Happy taunted, “And failure isn’t an option. We don’t want to make the guild look bad by lying, do we?”

Lucy hesitated. Natsu wasn’t a liar, but she absolutely was. But they were a partnership, and in that contract was not lying about important stuff.

But this was Kemu Zaleon! Destroying it would be destroying a national treasure! This book could change the course of history!

“So that’s what you lowlife wizards were after,” the voice rang around the room.

“This is your fault slowpoke,” Natsu said, shaking his head at her.

Everlue gave his obnoxious laugh as he sprang up from the floor, twirling his mustache, “I knew wizards were crawling around for something of mine, but I never would have guessed it was something as worthless as Daybreak.”

He calls it worthless, yet it’s worth 2 million to the client. Kemu Zaleon died three years ago, any book collector worth their salt would pay at least several hundred thousand jewel for this, if not a million in another ten years or so. The other authors she’d seen were actually pretty top class, which means Everlue had taste in books, if not people.

“Well, if it’s worthless to you, I’ll just take it off your hands,” Lucy offered, “And no wizard will come bothering you again.”

“It’s mine and you can’t have it.”

“Greedy gut,” she muttered.

“Hands off Ugly,” he said, making her rear back, ready to strike.

“Luigi, just hand me the book so I can burn it and we can get on with leaving this guy alone,” Natsu said.

“It’s Lucy,” she scowled at him. “And I’m not giving it to you.”

“Lucy!” Natsu shouted at her, “This is our job!”

“And something’s been wrong with it every second,” Lucy countered. She took a seat and pulled out her gale force reading glasses, “At least let me read it first.”

“Are you crazy? You’re going to read it now?” he asked.

“You can cover me, right partner?” she asked, giving him a wink. He blinked, then grinned. Everlue started ranting and she took cover behind the sturdy desk in the center of the room and cracked the book open.

It did sparkle, and the author wasn’t just a writer, but a powerful wizard as well. He’d hidden alternate endings and second stories in some of the rarer and later books of his that she’d read, it was probably part of this one too. There was the tingle of magic under her fingers that agreed with her, but the trick to unlocking the spell was going to be in the surface text.

She stood up. It would take more time and concentration than a battlefield could give.

“Give me as much time as you can,” Lucy asked. Natsu nodded, keeping his eyes on Everlue rather than questioning her.

Trust in your partner.

She took off running.

“Get back here you thief! That’s mine!”

Natsu’s fight wasn’t going to stay in the library, which narrowed her options for quiet reading places. Everlue seemed the kind of stuck up noble that wouldn’t dare tread in muck. A couple of powered up punches, and she was below the house in the sewer system. His tunneling was a problem, but it was the only thing she could think of.

Gale force glasses turned to full speed, she absorbed the information like a sponge. It was amazing, the layers to the story were masterful. The deeper the layer, the more beautiful the prose, and the closer to non-fiction it got. No time for the appropriate tears of beauty. The courage, the characters, and line sitting just between memoir and fiction, until you got to the real message, and you knew.

You knew.

“I knew there was a secret,” she murmured, “but this, this…”

“Why don’t you share the secret?” Duke Everlue asked, bruising her forearms with his grip, coming out of the wall behind her. “I’d be willing to look past your looks and become your friend. And friends share all their secrets.”

“I’d never give this secret to you,” Lucy declared, “You’re an enemy to women and literature! You don’t deserve it and you could never deserve it.”

“My collection of art and literature shows I am culture’s greatest friend!”

“Yeah, but you called me ugly, showing that you don’t know squat about beauty!” Lucy shot back.

“I commissioned this book, all its secrets are mine by law!”

The foundations of the building shook, meaning Natsu overdid it again. Now she was really glad she’d taken refuge down here. This book had places to be, and so did she for that matter.

“My mansion!” Everlue cried, “My collection!” Crashes echoed from above.

Lucy used his distraction to kick him against the wall, light magic boosted here in the dark. He released her hands. Landing lightly to the side, she gave him a roundhouse straight into the sewer water.

“Ahh, I was just getting ready to save you,” Happy said, flying down beside her.

“You would have done a great job,” Lucy assured him. “Now you have an even more important job. Take this book and keep it safe from Everlue. Keep it especially far away from the sewer water.”

“We’re still going to burn it,” Happy warned accepting the book from her. Everlue bounced out of the water, and Lucy didn’t look away from him.

“We’ll tell the client the secret, and if he still wants us to burn it, we will, but they should know what’s going on first,” Lucy said. She turned back to Everlue and cracked her knuckles, “Well now, time for the mid arc upset.”

“For someone who claims to be such a fan of literature, you really don’t understand literary terms,” Everlue scoffed, “There will be no mid arc upset, this story is as unoriginal as it is expected. The wizards will fall to the stronger party’s magic and give him exactly what he wants under pain of death. You don’t stand a chance against my diver magic.”

“Now that's stock dialog if I’ve ever heard it,” she said. Lucy dashed forward, fist glowing, and Everlue sunk into the ground. She leapt over the hole and waited. There was a rumble beneath her, and she twisted into a handstand. With a push, she was in the air above him when he came up, grasping at empty air. Lucy grabbed back. Nails digging into his arm between his bones, light magic burning him, she flipped so her feet were first to land, and pulled him out of the hole, swinging him over her head to crash back into the ground. Stunned, he didn’t defend as she swung him into the wall, and then the wall on her left, until he landed at a good angle for her to pin him. Arms wrenched back. Everlue whimpered.

Putting all her weight on his crossed arms, the left one dislocated, she let go of one arm to take off his tie and use that as a restraint.  

He spun beneath her like a drill, flinging her off and himself into the ground.

“Watch out!” Lucy called, a crack appearing near Happy. She jumped and caught the hand reaching for Daybreak. This time she made sure both arms were dislocated as she flung him onto the ground. “You know, on the surface, it does seem like a boring adventure tale about a trashy little character named Duke Everlue.”

Even with dislocated arms, he managed the torso wiggle that activated his magic, disappearing into the wall.

“I wouldn’t call the main character trashy, but yes the story is awful. And to think it was written by the great Kemu Zaleon,” his voice echoed from the hole he dug. Everlue flew like a canon ball from the opposite side, straight at her. She dodged, but he just came at her from a different angle.

Her best clue was the cracks that heralded his appearance. He was turning the fight into whack-a-mole. Everlue was going so fast his aim was crap, but it took more effort than Lucy wanted to admit to keep dodging.

“That’s what you get when you force someone to write something for you, keeping them from their family and on the edge of starvation!” she yelled, trying to figure out his pattern of attack. “You are as cruel as you are arrogant.”

“That wouldn’t have been necessary if he had been smart enough to jump at the chance to have me as his muse!”

“The blackmail and threats against his family? You were going to revoke their citizenship!” she said.

“But then they wouldn’t have been able to make a living. You need citizenship to be part of a guild.” Happy said, “Do you really have that power?”

“I have the power to do anything! I got him to write it, didn’t I?” Everlue said, before coming out spinning. Just a few more confessions, and they could get serious. “He kept going on and on about being a novelist who would never stoop to my demands, but he cracked in the end, just like you will.”

“Such lengths for such a pathetic ego,” Lucy scoffed, dodging another attack. “You imprisoned him in solitary confinement for three years! Do you understand what that does to a person?”

“That’s just how long it took him to fully appreciate me,” Everlue yelled. “I deserve to have novels written about me! And how do you know all this?”

“I read it in a book,” Lucy said, “And you’ve just confirmed everything needed to put you away for life. Slavery does that.”

“That’s impossible,” another reckless attack, “I read that book cover to cover!”

“Long before he was a novelist, he was a wizard, and just as he finished writing his masterpiece, he cast a spell, arranging the writing to satisfy your vanity. It gets better,” Lucy said, backing herself into rooted stance. “The truths about what you did to him and all your other illegal dealings barely cover two chapters, the secret of this book isn’t about you at all!”

“No!” Everlue yelled.

“Brilliant Burst!” Lucy yelled at the same time. Light magic gathered in her hand, and swinging at exactly the right time, the full impact hit Duke Everlue in the shoulder, knocking him to the ground and out cold at last. She held her breath until he breathed, then relaxed.

Going to jail was enough to free Virgo, if Virgo chose. That was what Lucy could do, for her and Kemu Zaleon.

Well, there was one more thing she could do for her favorite author. She held out her arm, and Happy lighted on her shoulder.

“That’s really amazing Lucy,” Happy said, “I can’t believe you figured all that out, and got him to confess.”

“Aren’t you glad you let me read it now?” she teased.

“We all know you just wanted to read it because you’re a huge nerd, don’t pretend,” Happy said with a shrug.

“Why you —”

“Open,” Everlue croaked, “Gate of the maiden. Virgo.”

Oh skies, Virgo came through her gate with a wave of celestial energy, and Lucy dropped to her knees. She wanted it so badly. It was right there, but she couldn’t take it in. Cruel. It was pouring a bucket of water over the head of a woman dying of thirst in the desert.

She put her hand over her heart, which demanded energy Lucy had to deny and couldn’t give. It ached everywhere.

“Did I hear my master summon me?”

“Lucy!” Happy yelled.

“Lucy? Happy? Where are we?” Natsu asked, popping his head over Virgo’s shoulder.

She blinked, “Natsu? Did you travel through the celestial realm?”

Because that wasn’t fair.

It wasn’t fair.

“Uhh, I think I saw my reflection in a crystal for a moment, were we in the celestial realm? We went really fast. She was getting up, so I jumped on her, and I ended up here.” Natsu said, “You read the book?”

Happy gave Natsu the quick update, and Lucy tried not to cry. There was so much unfairness, it was worth several nights’ sobbing.

“That’s not possible,” Everlue stamped his foot, “Humans die if they set foot in the celestial realm, even for the smallest instance. It’s not possible!”

Guess she knew the secret to Natsu’s scarf never getting torn around the dragon scales. Celestial spirit clothing. She missed it. Earthland clothes tore to shreds almost every battle. It wasn’t fair.

“Uh Lucy, what do I do?” Natsu said, as Virgo started reaching up to grab at him.

“Finish what you started,” she ordered, her throat thick.

“Virgo, get me that book!” Everlue demanded, getting to his knees.

Absolutely sick, Lucy let Natsu knock out Virgo again and she used her whip to tie up Everlue. Natsu was showing restraint, Virgo wasn’t forced back to the spirit realm.

“Way to go Luigi,” Natsu said, standing over a prone Virgo. The ground started shaking again. Cracks appeared between the tunnels Everlue dug. Lucy shared a look with Natsu. Both of them bolted, carrying their opponents.

They got outside, just in time to see the mansion crumble in on itself and sink into the ground.

Natsu grinned and stretched his arms behind his neck, “I like your style. In like a ninja, out with a bang. How have we not teamed up before?”

The authorities arrived and arrested Everlue, a couple of sworn and magic recorded statements from her and Happy was all it took. It helped that Everlue woke up in a daze and started shouting that she’d never get him for his numerous crimes. Hopefully Kaby would be willing to let Kemu Zaleon’s work help put Everlue away, but she didn’t tell the authorities about that.

It wasn’t her call to make.

Virgo disappeared back to the celestial realm, and no matter how hard Lucy searched, she couldn’t find the key. Virgo must have already reclaimed it and left.

They made it back the client’s house with the book in hand. Again, everything she read about in the book was confirmed. Kemu Zaleon’s son had ordered the book destroyed to protect his father’s legacy, to forget the painful years without him and his quick demise after his return.

She had had to hold Natsu back; fathers were a touchy subject for him.

It was with great relish that she said the unlocking phrase, pushing magic into it to break the spell, “Kaby, look!”

Lucy explained the spell, explained the masterpiece, explained what was done, and how it was supposed to be written. Tears gathered in Kaby’s eyes as he clutched his father’s work.

Lucy knew one more thing, but Kaby was going to have to read about how he was his father’s true legacy for himself.

The walk back was long, but they didn’t have enough jewel for a carriage after turning down the reward thanks to Natsu’s nose and the guild’s reputation, not that Natsu seemed super down about that fact. They got some fish for dinner, but that was an easy pass for her, her mind was still so wrapped up in the story she read.

“What are you sighing about?” Natsu asked around a mouthful of food.

Lucy clasped her hands to her chest, “I’m still not over how amazing that book was. It had everything you could ever want, and I got to read it. Levy would die if she knew. The words, uggh, I can’t even describe what he did with those interlocking stories.”

“I got you all figured out,” Natsu said.

Lucy froze. Was she really that easy to crack? She didn’t think she gave anything away, but a lot had happened.

“That stack of papers in your apartment,” he said, grinning, “They’re your novel, aren’t they?”

“Explains why she’s such a nerd,” Happy nodded.

Oh gosh, her novel, it needed so much work! “Promise you won’t tell anyone?” she said, blushing with mortification.

“Why not?” he asked.

“Because I’m a horrible writer and I’d die of embarrassment if anyone read my writing,” she said, covering her face.

It was true. Her dinky little memoir was astonishingly pathetic compared to what she just read, which was in the exact same genre.

“Don’t worry, no one is gonna read it,” Natsu said. It may have been an attempt at comfort, but it fell ridiculously flat.

“Oh, it’ll get read,” she said tiredly, looking up at the stars. Master Makarov was dying to know more of her story, she knew, so were Mira and Levy. Those three might be the only ones who cared enough to get through her terrible writing, but it would get read.

“You’re weird,” Natsu said, “Do you want people to read it or not?”

“I guess it’s just a matter of when. You don’t try out a new move until you’ve practiced it enough to know you can use it right. It’s the same with writing, but it’s a lot harder to tell when you’ve worked on it enough,” she explained. “I don’t want people to read it just yet, that’s all.”

Not just yet.

Notes:

You know, since it's a holiday weekend for me, and I hate leaving just first chapters up. Why don't you have another chapter?

Chapter 3: On the way back we met Loke and a couple of dark guild runaways . . .

“How can you smell anything through this muck?” Lucy whined as she stepped forward through the swamp. This was disgusting, why had she followed them? If she was an inch less directionally challenged, she would have ditched these idiots hours ago. As it was, at least they were lost together.  

“Trust our noses, they’ve never led us astray before!” Happy cheered.

“What do you call this?” Lucy said, wincing as her leg brushed something particularly slimy.

“A shortcut, now quit complaining,” Natsu said.

“Fine, but you’re taking care of my dry-cleaning bill,” she said, pushing through the muck faster. After the swampy part, Lucy demanded time to change, which they grumbled and gave her.

It was only five minutes of walking later that Natsu held up a hand Lucy stopped, bending her knees slightly in a ready stance. She searched for magic and found two wizards. Natsu jumped and the familiar yelp let her know exactly who they stumbled on.

“Really?” Lucy asked, hands on her hips as Natsu and Gray rolled out of the bushes while trying to strangle each other.

“Hey, all I wanted was to find some privacy to use the bathroom, and Fire Freak couldn’t even give me that,” Gray growled.

“You’re supposed to take your clothes off after you find a place to pee you stripper!” Natsu yelled.

“Gray? I heard yelling?” a voice called. There had been two magic signatures.

Another boy was walking though the bushes, eyes closed and one hand outstreched to keep him from walking into a tree, “Hey, you done yet? Yell if you ran into trouble.”

“Nothing I can’t beat into a pulp!” Gray yelled back.

“You can open your eyes,” Lucy told him, “They’re going to be a while.”

He blinked open green eyes, which immediately zeroed in on Lucy. Impressive, considering the fight going on beside her. At least, they were probably green behind his light blue sunglasses.

He ran a hand through his short orange hair, keeping it carefully tousled.  Cupid bow lips and round eyes turned upward in a smile, such delicate features in his youthful face. He dressed in a green graphic tee that made his orange hair stand out stylishly.

His smile grew wider when he saw her hand, “Oh, you’re part of Fairy Tail too.”

“That’s right,” she said, waving as he walked into their clearing. “Lucy of Fairy Tail, at your service.”

“Loke,” he introduced, holding out a hand with three rings on it to shake. Close enough to shake his hand, she could see the three stud earrings he was wearing, “I was actually hoping to join Fairy Tail. I’m going to ask once we get to Magnolia.”

“That’s great,” Lucy said, “Though you’re going to have to get used to fights like these. You’ll get really good at learning how to duck. Gray is fighting Natsu, and Happy is the flying blue cat.”

“I look forward to it,” he said with a charming smile, and barely a glance away at where Happy was hovering before looking back at her. “Though not as much as I’m looking forward to getting to know you, Beautiful.” He stroked his thumb over the back of her hand, still in his grasp from the shake before letting go.

“And you have a good eye,” Lucy replied, smirking and moving to a more flirty stance. Take that world. Finally, someone who had taste. “I use holder light magic to power up my combat, what do you use?"

He smiled, “I can call on celestial spirits to help me out. They’re versatile, and it’s always handy to have someone help back you up in a fight.”

Lucy froze.

She must have broken a promise somewhere, no way was she this unlucky. Two celestial wizards in two days? Both males, when everyone knew full well this magic preferred the female line.

“Lucy?” Loke asked concerned. Natsu and Gray stopped fighting. Loke stepped closer, holding out a hand to touch her shoulder.

This close, she knew he was a legitimate user. One of the six bloodlines even, unlike Everlue. Anyone can learn to push enough magic into a key to call the spirit, but the six bloodlines had something else to them. A kind of charisma that echoed into the air, making people want to believe them. Love them.

Die for them.

That pull was a cheese grater against her bones.

Just before he touched her, Lucy scrambled away. “A celestial wiz-wizard, huh?” she asked, hiding behind a tree. It was okay, she was okay. Here was okay.

“Lucy? You doing okay?” Natsu asked, standing up, “You’re acting weird, even for you.”

"I can’t believe you have the gall to call me weird,” Lucy huffed, not moving. “You eat fire and your best friend is a talking blue cat!”

“My magic’s not that scary, I promise,” Loke said, pulling out his keys. Oh hell, three gold, four silver, “They’re cool people. I can show you if you want.”

“NO!” she yelled, startling everyone. Lucy closed her eyes, “Look, it’s not you, it’s me. I’ll be fine. Just . . . just don’t call anyone.”

“You weren’t this weird with Everlue and he had a celestial spirit,” Happy said, tilting his head.

“Oh yeah, Hugo,” Natsu said with a snap. “Yeah, you kept cool when that Everlue guy was screaming about me going through the celestial realm.”

“No way! You went into the celestial realm?” Loke said. “How did you not die? It’s poisonous to humans.”

“Natsu’s not exactly a standard issue human,” Gray said tiredly, “But none of us are going to stay alive if we don’t get back to the guild soon. Erza’s coming home.”

Natsu, Gray, and Happy proceeded to tell exaggerated tales of the fiercest mage in Fairy Tail, complete with the ruthlessness of a demon and the ability to kick down mountains.

“Is she really that terrifying?” Loke asked nervously.

“Only if you’re these two,” Lucy assured him, slowly walking closer to the group. Keeping Natsu between her and Loke helped, Natsu’s magic aura acting as a barrier to celestial magic’s pull. “Erza’s been kicking their butts since before puberty. I think she’s nice, beautiful, and if you don’t break the rules or smash her cake, she’s a great ally.”

Natsu and Gray shook their heads at her, “You just don’t know her well enough yet.” Natsu promised, “Give it a few more months, and you’ll be properly terrified.”

“Still, we need to get going,” Gray said, standing up, “After she’s been gone on a long quest, Erza likes to do a roll call, and she will find you if you aren’t there or actively on a job. We should make it with plenty of time if we take the shortcut through here.”

“Told you there was a shortcut,” Happy snickered at her.

“And I’ll happily follow Gray, who actually knows it,” Lucy snapped back. Though it better be a heck of a shortcut, traveling with Loke was gonna be awful.

Natsu shouldered his pack, “Crap, you’re right, let’s get going.”

Crack.

The ground exploded beneath them, dousing them all in clouds of sand, sinking them to their knees. Gasping, coughing, and spluttering, Loke was too close again and Lucy flung herself free and away from him.

“Happy!” Natsu called around the mouthful of sand.

Sure enough, the cat was gone.

Once they were free, Natsu was able to use his nose to track Happy. Gray’s aura works just as well as a shield, though he kept it a lot more contained than Natsu did, meaning she had to be more careful with positioning. But depending on the number of attackers, Natsu and Gray were going to go in brawling, leaving her and Loke to rescue Happy.

Get it together. Focus on the human world, not magic.

She cut off her magic sense. It worked like closing your eyes or plugging your nose. Not super comfortable, not perfect, but preferable to torture. There were wizards in the group of attackers, but she’d just have to use normal senses and non-magic combat to claim the rescue.

The camp was only five minutes away at their hurried pace, and Natsu and Gray started cracking knuckles and talking smack. She’d seen them, even this serious, go after each other instead of their target, so Lucy called the shots, “We’ll let you two duke it out with their wizards, Loke and I will rescue Happy.”

“Sounds good,” Natsu said. “Ready?”

“Just stay out of my way,” Gray replied.

They both jumped to attack from the sides, fast and high, and the camp immediately split to deal with them.

“You get Happy,” Lucy said, “I’ll cover you.”

“Uh, right,” Loke replied. He drew his sword, a rapier. His stance with it was confident, and he ran with it correctly, hopefully that meant he knew how to use it. Natsu seemed to be struggling out of a sand trap, so she covered that side for Loke. The spell on Natsu wasn’t too strong, but it took the wizard’s full attention to cast it.

“Help! Lucy’s going to eat me!” Happy cried as they approached, “I promise I’ll taste funny.”

“Shut up, you stupid cat,” Lucy said and Loke carefully cut Happy free, catching him before he fell into the fire. Battle, focus on the battle. There.

A giant chicken rose up, holding a flaming staff. Before Loke could do more than wince at the size of it, Lucy kicked it in the face, no magic needed. Using the body as a landing pad, she kicked the staff out of its hands and into the air, catching it easily.

“Snack time Natsu!” she called, and hurled the staff flame first into the sandtrap.

“Food?” Natsu asked, clawing himself a hole. Just in time to take the staff to the face. Lucy slapped a hand to her forehead while Gray started laughing.

“Do not laugh so. I foresee trouble with water and women in your future,” their remaining wizard standing said. The seer went down with a single kick, and Gray resumed laughing at Natsu. Who ran over the sand wizard on his way to punch Gray, knocking the enemy wizard out cold.

“Hang on,” Lucy said, putting herself in Natsu’s path. “Tie up the dark wizards first.” She gave Gray a look, letting him know he was up too.

“Fine,” they said.

Once they were all tied up, Gray said, “I’m surprised you managed not to burn up half the forest. Wouldn’t be the first time.”

"Shut up, I get the job done,” Natsu shot back.

“You’re an embarrassment to the guild.”

“Can’t be more embarrassing than a pervert who walks around without clothes.”

Lucy tuned them out and tried to find a dark guild mark on their captives. They were going to report the activity to the Magic Council so they could be picked up, best to give the authorities all the pertinent details.

The leader mumbled, “lulla—”

“What was that? Lulla?” Loke asked, kneeling beside her, and she flinched away, falling backwards on her butt.

Gray, Natsu, and Happy tuned in. “Lullaby?” Gray asked.

A blow hit her from below, sending her flying. Twisting in air, she saw the shadow magic gather where she had been crouching. Ugh, she would have sensed that if Loke wasn’t making her dull her magic sense.

The tied-up wizards were screaming.

“I told you we hadn’t gone far enough!”

The shadow made a hand under the tree. Lucy landed and dashed forward, “No you don’t!” Hand lit with light magic, Lucy grabbed at the ground just as the ground grabbed at the tree, pulling it towards the earth. Lucy yanked out a body, just as the tree sunk their captives up to their chests.

“What the?” a dark haired man twisted in her grip. “Light magic?”

“That’s right, and those are my captives."

Her newest captive reared back and smashed his head against hers. She dropped her spell and the man. He slipped into the shadows again.

Natsu and Gray ran after him, while Loke caught her before she fell.

“Ow,” she said.

It didn’t matter how much she plugged her magic sense, this close to Loke, he was sapping her energy unintentionally. Drawing her energy towards him, trying to create a bond it was cut off from. Her body was trying to use his magic to get home, to breathe, to live. Lucy groaned.

“Hey, don’t pass out on me. Don’t tell me you can’t take a hit? You were topping my favorite badass women list back there.”

It hurt to stay, it hurt to pull away.

Lucy made herself stand up and walked around the tree, trying to put the dark wizards magic auras between her and Loke. Pain was her life. Get over it. Move on. Some distance would let her breathe. “Why do I always fall for the dirty tricks?” she complained, holding her head. Headache and bruise. She turned to the suddenly very grateful captives. “What was that about?”

One of the twins was sweating, “I can’t believe Erigor would send Kageyama after us.”

“Shut up!” the other twin said. Lucy walked over to the twins, who froze. There was a black mark under the collar of the left one’s shirt. With a casual yank, their old guild mark was revealed.

“Eisenwald,” she said, “I wouldn’t have guessed. You weren’t nearly difficult enough to really be part of an assassin’s guild. You must have been the ones to take out hits on non-wizards.”

“If their own guild put a hit on them, they probably have information on something important,” Loke said. That’s right. They had been running, and if it hadn’t been for Lucy, they would have been killed or taken.

“Tell me about Lullaby,” Lucy demanded. “You’re already headed for the Magic Council, but they work slow. You’ll be protected from your own assassins with them. Helping stop whatever evil you’re running from could only help you.”

“They’ll kill us for sure,” the seer whimpered.

“Then you are already dead,” Lucy said, “Because we’re going to stop them, and there will be no convincing them you didn’t tell us everything. Take control of your own lives for once and help me stop the evil that sends dark wizards running.”

“Lullaby is something that belonged to the dark wizard Zeref,” the sand wizard said at last. “We don’t know exactly what it is, but it’s under a powerful seal. The higher ups finally figured out how to unseal it. When Matsa saw everything that happens after that, we ran. That’s what we know.”

Lucy and Loke circled the tree to the seer that wouldn’t look them in the eyes. “It’s a flute. It casts death magic, anyone who hears it dies, and it’s magically amplified to kill thousands of people. Their first target is Clover, but it doesn’t stop there. They unseal it three days from now.”

Natsu and Gray came out of the forest.

“Any luck?’ Loke asked, a little shaken. “Maybe a flute?”

Natsu blinked, “A flute?”

Gray shook his head, “No, he was too fast. As soon as he realized we were giving chase he was gone.”

“Shadows don’t give off smells,” Natsu added.

“Turns out the dark guild Eisenwald is after one of Zeref’s tools, a flute whose song can kill thousands. We have three days to stop that from happening,” Lucy said. She’d been called out to deal with one of Zeref’s toys before, and it hadn’t been pretty. Zeref was the boogeyman of the human world. His darker spells were unusually awful and often enough required elements of celestial magic to work. There was a whole wing of the celestial library dedicated to his deeds, if only she could talk to Grandpa Crux!

“Clover is their first target,” Loke said, “Probably because it’s so isolated. It’ll give them some space to experiment and figure out how to control the spell.”

“Which leaves one more question,” Lucy said, turning back to the tied up wizards, “Where is Eisenwald headquartered?”

 

 

Natsu and Happy made it back with the Magic Council minions in record time. Lucy gave another report, and like she expected, they patted her head and promised that they would send a report to their squad leader for them to decide if further action against Eisenwald needed to be taken. Luckily, these officers were as quick as they were dismissive, and soon enough it was back to the five of them.

“Right, so letting Lullaby loose on Clover sounds like a bad idea,” Natsu said, holding up an arm for flexing, “Let go to the Icecream guild and teach them a lesson.”

“Eisenwald,” Lucy said in exasperation. “And no, we are not doing that.”

“Hate to say it, but I’m with Natsu on this one. Better take them out now, before they get a dangerous weapon that kills with a whistle,” Gray said, and grinned, “It sounds like a party to me.”

“No, even though they’re a dark guild, going to war with them is still against the law,” Lucy insisted, which was a bit of a bluff because this would count as an exception, but she doubted they understood the minutia of guild law. Lucy put her hands on her hips. “If we’re going to declare war on an assassin’s guild, we need Master Makarov’s approval. And we need back up. I know you two are good, but we’re going up against trained killers. They won’t be pulling punches and they’ll be using deadly magic.”

“We have all the fire power we need right here,” Natsu said. “You, me and Happy can take all of them. Gray and Loke can pick up our debris. Or better yet, you two go let Gramps know we’re going to be late.”

Everyone turned to Loke, who seemed surprised to suddenly be the center of attention. “Far be it from me to disagree with a lady,” Loke said, nodding at Lucy, who let her shoulders drop in relief, “But turning a dark guild inside out seems like a good time. I’m not technically part of the guild yet, so if I go, and you guys follow, you were just protecting a hapless citizen. That shouldn’t run afoul any guild war laws.”

That was one of the exceptions, how did this guy know that? Guilds have a lot of leeway in protection of innocent civilians against magical attacks. Even idiot civilians with magic and death wishes who march into dark guilds on a rumor. 

“You won’t be allowed into Fairy Tail if you help these fools go around Master Makarov’s authority,” she bluffed again. No one knew who Makarov was going to let in, she was example number one.

Loke shrugged, “You guys are cool, so that would be a shame, but I was also looking at joining Blue Pegasus. Their main requirements are looks and charm, and I think I’ll pass.” He gave her a ‘winning smile’ that made her want to punch him. “Taking down Lullaby is more important. And it’s a real adventure.”

“Look, from here the nearest train station is in Magnolia, if your shortcut is right,” Lucy said, “We need to take the train to Kunugi Station to get to their hideout, there won’t be another train leaving that way until tomorrow morning. Let’s go to the guild, drop Loke off, let Master Makarov know what’s going on, get Erza in on this, and leave in the morning. Any problems with that?”

“Actually, Shirastume has a train that leaves for Kunugi Station in the afternoon, if we hurry, we can be in Kunugi by midnight,” Loke said, “We sleep on the train, and attack the guild in the middle of the night. We take out their night crew, and then each member as they come in in the morning until we find Lullaby and stop them from unsealing it.”

“Now that sounds like a plan,” Gray complimented, fist bumping Loke. Uggh, an idiot celestial wizard with enough braincells to make an elaborate plan, but not enough to realize when he’s outclassed. And he was bloodline, which meant his contracts with the spirits were probably more liberal than he deserved at his experience level.

Natsu shrugged, “Not as fun as charging in during the middle of the day, but I like the idea of giving them the wakeup call. Gives us time to interrogate people about where Lullapie is.”

“You guys are a nightmare,” Lucy said, putting her hand to her head. “Look, if you don’t march your butts to the guild, I’m going to straight to Erza. And she can explain to you why you should have backup and a full night’s sleep for a quest like this.”

Natsu and Gray winced. Erza tended to emphasize her explanations with whatever she thought would get it through your head the best. In their cases, it was clear that nothing short of a bludgeoning would do.

“If you guys don’t go with me, I’ll just head to Eisenwald by myself,” Loke shrugged, eyes not leaving Lucy’s. “With my plan, I’m sure I can take them. It’s up to you whether you’ll join me or catch up later.”

“Your lives are at stake. What part of ‘assassin’s guild’ makes you think this is a game?” Lucy demanded.

“It’s not a game; it’s a well calculated risk, and I’m going to take it. Death magic isn’t something anyone is prepared to handle, and we have no idea how good at time frames that seer is.” Loke turned and with a toss of his hand started walking off, “I’m headed to Shirastume.”

Who the hell is this guy contracted to? She was the strongest of them, and Lucy wouldn’t want to face down an assassin’s guild solo without a hell of a wizard behind her. Who did this punk think he was?

“All right!” Natsu cheered, “Make way for the butt-kicking express.”

“Aye Sir.”

Gray shot her an apologetic glance, “Maybe it’s best this way. If we get into trouble, you and Erza can come bail us out, but we need hit them hard and fast, so they don’t get the chance to unseal Lullaby. I’m sure Erza will understand. And if she doesn’t, well, I’d rather deal with Erza than Zeref’s demons.”

He trotted after Loke and Natsu, who were having a grand old time. She wanted to scream. If they get into trouble, they’ll be dead!

"You'll break and come back begging to let you help me!" Karen screamed on her way out of the cemetery. 

“Ahhhhh!” Lucy screamed into the air. From her backpack, she pulled her light pen and a notebook. Working as fast as she could, she drew the rune that made a simple messenger spell. Then redrew it because her haste made her mess up the first one.

            Erza,

            Backup needed. Massive death magic soon to be used by dark guild Eisenwald. Natsu, Gray, Happy, me, and FT applicant Loke going to stop them. Travel to Kunugi station. Instructions on how to reach Eisenwald hideout with ticketmaster. Hurry.

            Lucy

She counted out the words twice, folded it into a paper plane, and wrote the final rune. She threw it with all her might into the air. The magic activated, and it adjusted course to hopefully find Erza. Now the Strongest Female Wizard in Fairy Tale needed to see it, believe it, and act on it. It wasn’t nearly enough, but it was the best Lucy could do. Putting her pen and notebook away, she dashed in the direction the stupid boys took off in, muttering under her breath.

Notes:

Chapter three! We finally meet Loke, who is his typical charming self with a smidge of extra arrogance thrown in that comes from true youth.

Chapter 4: . . .who told us of an evil plot we had to stop.

“Is it really okay to just leave Lucy like that?” Gray asked, walking alongside Natsu. “Does she even know the way to Magnolia?”

“Probably not,” he said carelessly. Now Loke felt bad. He stuck by his decision, but it was against his nature to leave a woman to wander alone in the woods.

"She’ll be fine,” Loke said, trying to reassure them and himself, “Even if it takes her a while, she clearly can handle herself.” Watching her take down that dark chicken wizard had been a work of art.

“She’s pretty strong,” Happy agreed. A cat. That talked. It would be a real shame if Lucy was telling the truth and Fairy Tail wouldn’t let him in for this stunt. One day with them was more exciting than the past few months looking for adventure by himself.

“Don’t worry, she’s coming,” Natsu said.

“What makes you say that?” Gray asked, “She was pretty dead set on getting Erza for backup.”

“Partner’s intuition,” Natsu bragged.

Gray shook his head, “Of all the dumb things that come out of your mouth, that has to be the dumbest yet. You were partners with her because the job asked for a blonde. It was one job. Did you even get the reward?”

“Nah, the book we were supposed to destroy turned out to be a final message from the client’s father. A real masterpiece, Lucy wouldn’t shut up about it after she cracked the code and broke the disguise spell. Since we didn’t burn the book, we didn’t take the reward, simple as that.”

“Urggh! Wait up!” Lucy’s voice called from a distance. The four of them stopped and turned to look back at Lucy, who was running to catch up. Once she did, she put her hands on her knees and glared for all she was worth. “For the record. I hate all of you.”

“Took you long enough,” Natsu said, grinning, “I was starting to get worried.”

“I sent a message to Erza,” Lucy said, getting her breath back quickly, “When she kicks you both into next week, I want a front row seat.”            

Both Natsu and Gray shuddered.

“What kind of magic does Erza have anyway?” Loke said.

“It’s really pretty,” Happy said cheerfully. “She makes her enemies bleed.”

“She uses Knight Magic,” Gray said, “She’s the fastest re-quip mage in the kingdom, and can summon armors and swords made entirely out of magic or buy them and add them to her ex-space.”

Not the magic you suspect capable of kicking over mountains, but he’d seen Gray take out a gang of thieves while performing a security job for a jewelry store’s opening day, so Gray would know what he was talking about when it came to strength.

Loke had been looking for silver keys when he heard that scuffle and ended up helping out with the runaways. As thanks, Gray treated him to lunch. When Loke mentioned that he was thinking of joining the Fairy Tail guild, he was invited back to Magnolia. It had been six months since he ran away from home, he had added two silver keys and one gold key. The money he’d taken from home was starting to run dry. It was time to join a guild, and Fairy Tail had the right amount of adventure.

And look what happened since he met Gray! They stopped thieves from escaping, tussled with dark wizards, discovered a plot that would cause countless deaths that only they could stop. Not to mention he’d met the Salamander and the smoking hot Lucy. She was the exact opposite of the prim and demure nobles his dad had thrown at him relentlessly, it was amazing. Orange tanktop, white skirt, and black martial artist shoes; she’d have noble society in an uproar, and that was before she opened her mouth.

The only problem was how ridiculously uncomfortable she was around him. He wasn’t scary, Lucy hadn’t even seen him use magic, and according to Happy, she had trounced the last celestial wizard she’d met. Loke was pretty sure Lucy could kick his butt if he provoked her, even if he did use his magic. (Taurus would let his guard down in an instant and beg to get wrecked). So why did she refuse to even look at him? Even now, she seemed to be doing her best to keep Natsu exactly between the two of them as they walked.

Had Loke offended her that badly by walking off with her guildmates?

Lucy and Natsu were arguing about a swamp they apparently waded through, thinking that was the shortcut, but Lucy caught him looking at her. Her eyes widened and she looked away, this time taking up the argument with Happy.

Gray asked him about his experience fighting wizards. Which truthfully mostly came from the magic guards his father occasionally hired to keep from sneaking out, but also included busting up a party boat that was actually a slaver’s ship. He snuck on to dance with pretty girls but ended up helping the women turn on their would-be captors, commandeering the ship, and using Aquarius to send it straight back to port. He could be honest about the second one at least.

It was a pretty enjoyable hike to Shirastume, but Lucy was lagging and she split off once they reached town. They had just enough time for a late lunch before the afternoon train left for Clover, passing through the station they wanted.

“Make sure to save the fatty parts of the meal for Lucy,” Happy said. “It’s her favorite.”

“I should have let them eat you,” Lucy said, approaching their table. “Any salad or yogurt?” she asked.

The four of them glanced at the food in front of them: meat, pasta, potatoes, rice, and soup.

Lucy sighed and dropped into the seat next to Natsu and diagonal from Loke, keeping him out of her line of sight. “I hate boys. It’s all meat all the time. I suppose this will have to do.”

Lucy grabbed the entire bowl of mash potatoes and pulled out a spice shaker. They watched as she spiced the dish, changing the color from a cream to a darker yellow, and used the serving spoon to pick up her first bite.

“Something the matter?” she asked, stopping when she noticed them all staring at her.

“Are you really going to eat that whole bowl?” Happy asked.

“Oh, did someone else want some? I assumed everyone had already served themselves,” she said, eyeing their half eaten plates.

“No, we’re good. It’s just . . . most people find a whole bowl of mash potatoes to themselves to be a little much,” Gray said.

“You’re the ones that demanded we go take on a dark guild headfirst in the middle of the night.” Lucy said, taking a bite and swallowing. “I’m going to need energy if I’m not going to get a chance to sleep or bathe first.”

“Ah yeah! That’s what I’m talking about. Dig in,” Natsu cheered before he resumed eating at his disgusting pace. Lucy spooned large mouthfuls and seemed to swallow as soon as they entered her mouth without tasting. She finished, poured some of her spice into her drink, then drank it all the way down.

“Umm, what’s in that spice? It must be good if it goes in potatoes and water,” Loke said.

Lucy fidgeted, immediately putting the spice jar away, “Oh um…tarragon? It’s my favorite, I have it on everything. It honestly isn’t even worth eating if it doesn’t have tarragon.”

Loke checked to see if Natsu and Gray were hearing this. Natsu didn’t hear anything over the sound of his own eating, and Gray just shrugged at him like ‘what are you gonna do?’.

“You’re weird Lucy,” Happy said, before taking another bite of his fish. Lucy pulled out a sheet of paper and a pen.

Loke decided to continue the attempt at conversation, “What are you writing?”

“Directions for Erza,” she said, focusing on the paper, “The locations of dark guild headquarters aren’t exactly common knowledge, and there’s only so much you can put in a magic message. I’ll leave it with the ticket master at Kunugi Station once we get there and she can catch up.”

Loke wasn’t too sure he wanted the monster known as Erza to show up. Though, Lucy did say she was pretty. It might be okay. If Erza was mad at him along with Natsu and Gray, he could probably charm her into forgetting about it.

The train ride was another event. They had a compartment to themselves, Lucy and Natsu on one side, Gray and Loke on the other. As soon as the train started moving, Natsu doubled over, clutching his stomach.

“Uhh?” Loke asked, “Motion sickness?”

“Yep,” Lucy said, settling back into her own corner, “Extremely deserved.”

“You’re cruel,” Natsu whined.

“And you’re pathetic, but here we are,” Gray said, “Now keep your moaning to a minimum. This is going to be the last chance we have to rest for a while.”

It was only 4 PM, Loke hadn’t imagined going to sleep quite so early. But Lucy drew the sleep rune on Natsu’s arm, sending him to sleep immediately.

“Aw, I was looking forward to seeing him suffer,” Gray said.

“Me too, but I’m looking forward to resting even more. Smudging this rune even a little bit will break the spell." Lucy looked firmly at Gray, "I’m counting on you to wake us up at the first sign of trouble. It’s not as good as real sleep, but it will spare Natsu motion sickness, and I need what I can get.”

Gray straightened up and nodded, eyes wide.

She drew the circular rune on her other hand, and a second later slumped against her corner of the car. Luckily, it seemed that neither of them snored.

Well, Natsu snored a little.  

“Wow, I can’t believe that worked,” Happy said. “Things would be so much easier if we could just make Natsu sleep every time we have to go somewhere.”

“Yeah, but it takes a lot of trust to do something like that. They’re both completely vulnerable,” Loke pointed out. He looked at Gray, “I got the sense that you didn’t know her very well, but that’s a lot of trust.”

Gray frowned, “I don’t know her very well, to be honest. She showed up out of nowhere a year and a half ago, maybe two years. She’s friendly enough with people, but she hasn’t ever teamed up with anyone or spent tons of time in the guildhall that I know of. She must really need sleep.”

“I’m guessing that means you don’t know her beef with celestial wizards?” Loke checked.

Gray shook his head, “Sorry man, I’m the wrong person to ask. Levy or Cana might know, but it beats me. I’ve never seen her act like that before; she’s usually either chill with everyone or mad at everyone.”

“She was fine with Duke Everlue, and he was a celestial wizard,” Happy pointed out. “A little violent, but he was trying to hurt us first. And he called her ugly.”

“Was he blind too?” Loke asked, eyes drifting back to Lucy. She seemed peaceful, lying against the window like that. Relaxed, with the sun passing through her golden blonde hair. The little hair ribbon gave her an extra air of innocence. Master painters of the human form wished they had as beautiful a reference as this in their memory.

“Is Lucy really that pretty?” Happy asked, tilting his head. “I thought she was just vain.”

“She’s up there with Mirajane, that’s for sure,” Gray said, “But it feels weird talking about it, especially while she’s right there. Let’s talk about something else.”

 

-

 

For the last stretch of the train ride, Loke decided to go hang out in the dining car. He was starting to feel tired himself as midnight approached, and needed to wake himself up. Plus, as much as he would have loved to be the one to wipe the sleep rune from Lucy’s hand, between her specifically asking Gray and her general aversion to touching him, Loke was probably better off not being there.

In the dining car was a bachelorette party on their way home from Omnibus to Clover, what a lovely find. An offer of drinks and a few well-placed compliments, and one girl was on his lap, and one on either side.

“Looking comfortable there” the bride teased her friends from across the table.

“Who knows, a couple of years, you might be attending mine and Loke’s wedding,” the redhead on his left teased.

“This would certainly make for a good story,” Loke replied, “The dim lighting of the nighttime train car, surrounded by your beautiful friends, chatting to our hearts truths’, our eyes meet, and it’s a moment neither of us ever forgets.” He looked pointedly at the others, “Take notes, I want it told exactly like that at the toast.” The girls laughed, and Loke felt on top of the world.

“It’s a good thing I’m in a sharing mood right now,” the one on his lap with the piercing gray eyes said, “And we’re all buzzed out of our minds.”

“I’m usually in a sharing mood, if you cared to know,” the brunette on his right said.

“I really am lucky then, such interesting and unique ladies,” Loke encouraged. Flirty conversation and flirty touches, he didn’t notice the time pass.

“You’ve got to be joking,” Lucy’s voice rang from the edge of the booth, crossing her arms. “Hurry up and untangle yourself. The conductor just announced we’re five minutes from Kunugi Station.”

“Uh oh,” the fifth member of the bridal party whispered from across the table, she hadn’t seemed interested in Loke at all, but had been fun in the conversation all the same, “Girlfriend alert.”

Which made Lucy’s foot tapping increase in tempo.

“Not a girlfriend,” Loke promised, gently nudging himself free, “Future guildmate though. I really am sorry, duty calls. You ladies have a safe rest of your trip. Hopefully I’ll see you again soon.”

Each whine from them made Lucy’s eye twitch, and as soon as he was free, she turned and marched back towards the compartment. He gave one last charming grin and wave, then followed her.

“So, you get a nice rest?” Loke asked casually.

“Fine, my neck hurts a little,” she said, not looking at him, “Doesn’t matter.”

“I could massage it for you,” Loke said as she threw open the door to where Natsu and Gray were, “It’s dangerous to go into battle without being able to access the full range of vision.”

“Something happen?” Gray asked, reading the mood.

“You really had to pick up a playboy and a celestial wizard, didn’t you?” Lucy accused, massaging her own neck.

“What?”

Loke shrugged, “There was a bachelorette party in the dining car, I kept them company. Lucy seems to take issue with that.”

Lucy sighed, “Those girls were obviously happy to have you. Do whatever you want with your love life, as long as you respect your partners, I don’t care. But forgive me for being a little irritated that after dragging us all here against good sense, you thought partying was an appropriate precursor to taking down a dark guild.”

“What’s saving hundreds of people from black magic deaths if we don’t have a bit of love beforehand as encouragement?” Loke said with a smile.

She looked at him sharply, “You didn’t use that as a line on them, did you?”

Loke shook his head and his hands no, “No, of course not. I wanted to have fun with them, not paint a target on their backs.”

Lucy leaned back with a small smile, “Good, you like a pretty face, but they don’t make you leave your head at the door. That’s fine.”

“Thank you for rendering your final decision, judge, jury, and executioner,” Loke tossed back. She scowled but didn’t say anything else. Was this how she always acted, or was she just extra special kinds of irritated after losing their little battle of wills that morning? Or was it from the poor nap and hurt neck?  Or because he was a celestial wizard?

The train had been slowing and it finally screeched to a halt. Lucy leaned over and smudged the magic circle on Natsu, making it disappear completely.

He sat up and blinked.

“What’s going on?” he asked. “Wait, are we here?”

“Thank Lucy,” Gray said, “She knocked you out with a sleeping spell.”

Natsu hopped to his knees and gave Lucy a hug, “You’re the best ever! I can go places without puking my guts out, you’re amazing!”

Loke expected Lucy to freeze up or flinch away, she seemed like someone who valued her personal space. Instead she squeezed him back with a smile. “You got that right. So let’s try more of that ‘listening to the amazing Lucy’ stuff in the future, alright?”

“I knew I picked the best partner,” Natsu said, keeping an arm around Lucy as he stuck his tongue out, “Haha, suck it Gray. Smart, fun, nice, and has the key to not getting motion sick. You wish you had a teammate as good as Lucy.”

Lucy blushed. Guess it really was just celestial wizards she couldn’t stand.

“Teammates aren’t a competition,” Gray said, bored.

“Natsu,” Lucy scolded, “You do realize that Gray is also our teammate right now, right?”

“What? No way,” Natsu said, “I’d never team up with him.”

Lucy rolled her eyes, “We already did, because we’re trying to stop Lullaby from killing hundreds of people? Ring a bell? And we better get off before the train starts up again.”

That spurred Natsu to scrambling out the door.

“Is he always like that?” Loke asked, filing out after them.

“A complete idiot?” Gray said, “Usually he’s worse.”

Off the train, Lucy went to leave directions for Erza at the box office, and Loke and Gray went to find Natsu. Natsu immediately pointed at Gray, “Listen here popsicle, don’t go thinking this is anything permanent. It’s a one-time thing and then we’re never teaming up again. You hear me?”

“Like I’d ever want to be on a team with you, ya pyro,” Gray said, hands in his pockets. “Of course this is a one-time thing.”

“Awesome, glad we all agree,” Lucy said, coming back, “Let’s head out.”

It was a little after 1 AM when they located the trail the directions talked about. Out of the small station town, Lucy recited the directions out loud once again for everyone to hear, “Take the trail to the north of the station and go past the warning signs saying ‘danger’ and ‘stay out of labyrinth’.”

“Check,” Loke called, spotting them ahead.

“Let’s try to stay quiet,” Gray said, eyes on the area around them. “Rumor has it that lots of magical creatures like these canyons, and we don’t want to let Eisenwald know were here until we can make sure they can’t escape.”

Lucy nodded, “They’re a dark guild, many of them have their business hours at night. It could be packed full of people just waiting for the chance to kill us. We need to stay quiet to have the best chance of success.”

“I can take ‘em, it’s good old Plan T after all,” Natsu said, punching his palm.

“But they’re assassins, Natsu,” Lucy said sweetly, “That means we need to be like ninjas again.”

Natsu and Happy moved, suddenly in the trees, balanced on one foot, scarves covering their faces. “Silent is the way of the ninja,” he declared.

“Ninjas!” Happy whisper-shouted. Natsu barely made any noise as he jumped through trees beside them.

“We’re going to hit a tree with branches shaped like scythes, then walk in a square, that’s the unlock procedure for their hiding spell,” Lucy explained quietly, “We don’t know anything about the layout, but most dark guilds have a great room and multiple exits and side rooms. If they have the sealed Lullaby at their hideout by now, we don’t want anyone getting out with it, so someone should stay outside and pick off fleeing wizards. Two of us should take and keep control of the great room, and one of us should chase members out of the other rooms and look for Lullaby or information about Lullaby.”

Natsu was right, she was smart.

There was a burst of fire a yell of, “The way of the ninja is destruction!” and two giant lizards collapsed near the side of the path, just beyond the ‘danger’ sign.  In the tree above and ahead of them, Natsu shot them a thumbs up.

And smarter still. Though why they couldn’t have made this plan before she put herself to sleep on the train, he’ll never know.

“Natsu or Lucy should be on the outside,” Gray said, “Your light magic will make sure no shadow magic users slip through, or Natsu’s nose. I could probably put up a cage around the place, but these guys will specialize in magic used to slip away.”

“Maybe we should have two people catching those on the outside,” Loke proposed, “At least until we get control of the great room. A lot of people are going to be leaving at once, one person can’t cover all the exits. Then we can switch to Lucy’s plan of two people in the great room, one on the outside to catch runners, and one searching the place.”

Lucy looked like she wanted to ask him something, then shook her head. “Natsu?” Lucy called out at a normal volume.

He jumped down, “Nothing else out here right now. I want whichever job lets me fight the most.” Oh, because Natsu had magically enhanced hearing apparently. He wouldn’t have been able to pay attention on the train, dying of motion sickness or asleep, but here he could cover them and pay attention to the plan.

“Outside, guarding the front entrance then,” Lucy said. “Don’t let them hit you from behind, and don’t let them escape. Happy, if you’ll help me, I’ll guard the back and the air. We’ll send the flyers down to Natsu.”

Happy shared a look with Natsu, and they both nodded. With a salute he said, “Aye sir.”

“Thank you,” Lucy smiled, then continued planning, “Gray and Loke, you go smash them up from the inside. When the fighting dies down, Natsu brings his opponents inside to you. I’ll go in a back entrance, and start looking and clearing things out. Tie up everyone in the great room, and we’ll make a new plan after everyone’s defeated.”

“Focus on people in your first pass,” Loke suggested to her, “After we get control of the place, we can search thoroughly for clues. We want to take them down quickly, but most of them probably aren’t here this time of night. After the first strike, we’re going to have time.”

It was how his business tutors taught him to talk to someone who was messing with his company. Strike with overwhelming power at first, make their thoughts and plans scatter, then go slowly, building carefully what you really want from the encounter. Seems the board room was more like a battle than he thought.

Lucy nodded.

They came across the ironwood tree shaped like crossed scythes. Lucy zipped her lips at them and pointed. It went off path, but they pushed through, until they found a path again. Followed it, came to the identical ironwood tree. Again, Lucy led them perpendicular, starting at the ironwood tree. As they finished the fourth length of the square, the ironwood tree transformed into the front gate to the Eisenwald guild.

Catching their eyes, Lucy nodded.

Happy took Lucy to the air and she started conjuring and scattering balls of light to help her see all the way around the squat guildhall, covering exits and windows, hopefully preventing dark magic spells from slipping past her. Natsu planted himself in front of the entrance with a grin, and Loke and Gray took off running inside.

For general butt kicking, there was one spirit who stood above all the rest, even if he did loose his head around a pretty face. He selected the key, drew his sword with his other hand as they hit the great room. He went left; Gray went right.

“Open, Gate of the Golden Bull!” he called, the double echo to his voice letting the informed know he spoke through multiple dimensions, “Taurus! We have some people in need of a lesson.”

Twenty wizards jumped to their feet at once.

“What the hell?”

“It’s Fairy Tail!”

“How did they get here?”

“Someone get Erigor.”

He and Taurus started striking out wizards left and right. He was lost in the battle. Dodge the bout of flame, cover Taurus’s flank, stab, slash, dodge a shadow attack, shatter a mirror, kick her into a pillar. He took the few female opponents himself, knowing Taurus was useless against them, though Loke apologized afterwards.

Two flyers got out broken skylights, and bursts of light from outside said Lucy was on the job.

His sword wasn’t strongly enchanted, but it could cut through weaker magical energies. He won it in a game of cards, two months before he ran away for good, and boy did it save his butt now. For six minutes straight, forever in a battle, he sliced through range attacks, covering Taurus as he engaged a team of wizards that could turn their bodies into razors. Gray sent an ice lance that gave them the perfect opening.

Panting, Loke, Gray, and Taurus stood over a pile of bodies. Well, he was panting. Taurus seemed to be going gaga over a groaning female wizard’s body, and Gray was assessing the room.

“Looks like five of them ran like we thought they would, plus those that weren't in the great room,” Gray held out a fist for Loke, “You did pretty good. I think you’re definitely Fairy Tail material.”

“Still have a ways to go to get to your level,” Loke said, straightening and sheathing his sword. He met the fist bump. “But thanks for the endorsement.”

“Let’s get to tying these guys up.”

Taurus helped them move bodies to the support pillars of the great room. The guild had an uncomfortable amount of chains lying around that they used. There were a few extra punches to the gut as people woke up from being knocked out and started to struggle. Somehow worse, when they clicked the locks attached to the chains, there was a glow that signaled a spell. It took him a second to identify it.

“Anti-magic chains,” Loke sneered, “These are forbidden by everyone but the Magic Council.”

“That’s hardly the worst of their crimes,” Gray said, shaking his head, “Still, let’s use what we can find.”

“Thanks for your help,” Loke told Taurus.

“Next time, make sure to summon me with plenty of your beautiful woman friends nearby,” Taurus asked.

“I have a new ally I hope to introduce you to, and her body’s as perfect as they come, I promise,” Loke said. “Until next time.”

With a ‘moo’ that somehow sounded like a catcall, Taurus went back to the celestial realm.

The next few minutes involved beating up guild members that scurried into the great room, likely sent courtesy of Lucy clearing house. Natsu eventually came in, dragging a ridiculous number of bodies behind him, Happy with him.

“Hey guys,” Natsu said with a grin, “No one got past me and Lucy. Where should we put these ones?”

They ran out of support pillars and anti-magic chains, so they used the decorative chains and bar stools. One tried to get away by using acid magic to melt the chain, but they took care of that with a quick uppercut.

Lucy skidded into the great room from one of the side doors and Natsu enthusiastically waved her over.

“Worked just like you said,” Natsu said proudly.

“I’m glad,” she replied, “I couldn’t find anyone else upstairs and in the side rooms. There were a couple of good places for storing plans and books though. I’m going to go back and search. Anyone start talking about Lullaby yet?”

Loke shook his head, “As soon as they wake up they try to escape, no one’s started talking yet.”

Lucy frowned, her mind working overtime, voice going to a whisper. “They probably aren’t going to tell us in front of each other. They’re terrified of their bosses. We don’t even know who their bosses are, aside from their Ace, Erigor. It’s not like they have a guild master.” She looked around and winced. “Uggh, someone collect the requests off the board. As much as I want Natsu to burn them, it’s illegal to hire unauthorized guilds for jobs. We should make sure their clients also face justice if they were dumb enough to leave identifying information.”

“You go look for information on Lullaby,” Loke said. “Happy will collect and keep the requests. Between Natsu, Gray, and me, we’ll start taking people for questioning in private. One of us will guard the rest.”

“I’ll try to hurry,” Lucy said, “Holler if you need backup.” She ran back up the way she came. Happy went off to collect the requests on the board.

“Hey, pig tails,” Gray called to a wizard tied up. “I know you’re conscious.” The wizard started to sweat. “We won’t hurt you if you tell us who your bosses are and where they are, otherwise you’re coming with us.”

Notes:

Here's Loke's first chapter! Lucy's quite the mystery for our dear playboy, isn't she? It will mostly be Lucy and Loke POVs, though I'll throw in a short snippet from another character if I think the story needs it.

Loke was the one to bust up the slaver ship that was Natsu and Lucy's first meeting, let me know in the comments how you think that went down, along with any thoughts or emojis about the chapter.

For example, my sister is convinced Loke said, "Am I about to human trafficked with a boat full of beautiful women? I always knew I was too astonishingly handsome for my own good."

Chapter 5: We looked for information . . .

Lucy ran back through the way she came, aiming for the room that looked like a guildmaster study. She must have taken a wrong turn though, instead she found a staircase she hadn’t seen before, heading down below the building. Either another back door, or a dungeon.

She went down it, keeping a fairy light beside her.

“Due to threats of the use of death magic by the Eisenwald guild,” Lucy called, as she ran through the labyrinth of cells, “This is a hostile takeover.”

Luckily, the place was empty except for a couple of death hound kennels. A brilliant burst dissolved the shadow magic holding them together. No one else was down here. She turned around to go back the way she’d come, only to be met with the iron bars of a cell. She thought she’d turned left here, so she should turn right here on the way back, right?

It took her a much longer than she would have liked to escape the dungeon. Finally back on the ground floor, it took her another forty minutes to find the way back to original study.

The shelves were full of grimoires. She started collecting the worst of them to bring back to Fairy Tail, even if the bookmarks in them had nothing to do with Lullaby. The Fairy Tail archives were the only place she trusted magic this dark. It was that or destroy it, but if it was ever used against Fairy Tail or innocent people, she wanted someone to be able to know the spell foundations so they could develop a counterspell.

Lucy finally found three grimoires that were recently used, their bookmarks all leading to pages about Zeref. Using her gale wind glasses at medium speed so she didn’t miss anything, she set to work reading them by fairy light (with an extra purity boost to keep any curses from attaching to her from the books themselves). Busting up the desk in the study revealed the personal notes of the wizards that were using it.

“Hey Lucy?” there was a knock on the door and she blinked away from the pages she had to read at normal speed, the hand writing as atrocious as she expected from bad guys.

“Natsu?” She asked.

“You were taking a while, so I went to find you. We have some bad news,” he said.

“What is it?”

“The reason this was so easy was because their tough guys are already out after Lullaby,” he said. “When the shadow wizard wasn’t able to take back their guys yesterday, and they got word that they were picked up by the Magic Council. Eggman, the seal breaker, and his crew went with all their toughest guys to break the seal. The plan was for the weaker members to meet up with them today.”

“Erigor," she corrected, then her eyes widened, "We sped up their timeline." In her hands was the explanation for why that was so very not good. “I thought it was suspicious when the shadow wizard wasn’t here.”

Natsu nodded, “They were going to take over the train coming in today and make their way to Clover. You find out anything interesting?”

“More about the magic of Lullaby and the seal they planned to break,” Lucy said. “It seems like someone figured out a way. Look, the dark magic of Lullaby transfers through sound. Breaking the flute before it’s played will destroy it. There’s also a mention of a guardian against those who would break it, so be prepared for that. Otherwise the stuff I found was pretty much a bust. Except for the list of ancient cities dead because of Lullaby, that one was scary.”

“Uggh, I want to fight some more,” Natsu whined as she stood up to join him, slipping the books into her magic pocket.

“I’m done here, I think,” she said, looking over the desk she destroyed. “Let’s meet back up with the others and come up with our next plan.”

She let Natsu lead them back to the great room where Gray and Loke were waiting. Lucy filled them in on the little information she found out.

They sat silently, thinking.

“Hang on,” Gray snapped, “They were planning on taking over the train at Kunugi station, right?” Natsu and Loke nodded. Gray grinned, “Thanks to Lucy, we have our own Ace coming in on that train.”

“That’s right, there’s only one train going to Clover today,” Lucy said, catching on, “And if my message went through, Erza Scarlet herself is going to be on that train. If we keep the lackeys here, they won’t have the manpower to take over a train, much less take it from Erza. We can take back Lullaby here!”

“What do we do with these guys?” Gray asked. “They won’t stay knocked out forever.”

“Can you put the sleeping rune on them?” Loke asked her.

She walked around the room slowly, taking count of everyone here. She used that rune for times when the pain was too great to allow her to rest. That was the impetus behind learning basic script magic in the first place. The problem was that she had to have someone come wake her up. On really bad nights, she sometimes kipped in the infirmary and Mirajane or Cana would wake her up in the mornings. Twice she hadn’t cared, just needed to stop the pain, and she eventually moved in her sleep and smudged the mark herself.

“Beaten as they are, it shouldn’t take too much magic to send them to sleep. I’m not Mystogan, this isn’t my specialty,” she said, “It’s a lot of marks, but making them won’t continuously drain my magic. Moving around in their sleep is enough to undo the spell, so it might be a waste. Then again, it might buy us enough time to get the Magic Council involved. It will definitely buy us enough time stop them from taking over the train.”

“Let’s do that then,” Gray nodded. “I’ll head into town and figure out when the train is supposed to come in, and I’ll send word to Gramps and the Magic Council about rounding these guys up. They won’t be able to get here in time for the show, but this way there’s a good chance they’ll be answering to the Magic Council when we leave them here.”

“Maybe put on clothes before you leave?” Lucy suggested with a small blush, looking away from Gray in his boxers. He jumped, not realizing he’d lost them, “And keep them on or no one is going to take you seriously.”

Natsu laughed, then started walking towards the bar, “I’m going to see if these guys got any grub.” Happy drifted after him, asking about fish.

Loke unsheathed his sword, stepping up next to her, “I guess that leaves me covering you while you cast.”

Lucy could only nod as she took out her light pen and stepped up to the nearest pillar. In between making marks, she forced herself to get used to Loke. He’d been right, after all. If they had followed her plan, they would have been ambushed on the train by the entire guild at once at best and missed them altogether at worst. People would have gotten hurt and probably died. By taking out the minions at their home base, they’d had enough power and hadn’t caused any collateral damage. Chances were pretty good Loke would be able to get into Fairy Tail with Natsu and Gray vouching for him.

That meant he was going to be family. And it meant she couldn’t keep running away.

With her magic sense cut off, even him standing close to her only increased her pain a little. She knew life-saving magic was there, but she couldn’t see it, smell it, or hear—

His keys clinked as he moved to follow her around the pillar. She hadn’t asked before about his spirits, not wanting it to look like she knew more than she should, but she could hardly pretend to know nothing after acting like she had been—Uggh, pain, FOCUS—That particular clink was celestial gold on stellar silver, and she thought about her own key, rusted and broken, suspended between realms as part of the lock that kept her out of the celestial world.

Her actions had consequences. Her choice led to Karen’s death, to her broken contract. This was her punishment and she would see it to the end.

She finished another mark, and another source of groaning eased into snores. She thought carefully about her question.

“Hey, what magic keys do you have anyway?” she asked.

“They’re called celestial keys, and celestial spirits,” Loke explained to her as she wrote another rune. Loke conked the wizard’s neighbor on the head with the butt of his sword before they could spit on her or bite her or whatever they were going to do. She wrote on their forehead next.

“There are two types of keys. Gold keys, which call on the spirits of the zodiac, or silver keys which are the spirits of the other constellations. You can buy silver keys in shops, and they’re a lot more common. That’s probably what the celestial wizard you fought before was using.”

Lucy snorted, “He was using Virgo. But she was just a prize to him. A rare piece of magic he could show off next to his ability-type magic,” she said bitterly. In her peripheral, Loke’s eyebrows raised. There went her plan to sound unfamiliar with the magic. Shoot.

She shrugged, trying to cover it up, “Sorry, he was a pretty disgusting man. I guess being a rarer gold key is why she was so strong.”

Loke nodded, relaxing. “I actually have three gold keys: Aquarius, Taurus, and Cancer; and four silver keys: Lyra the Harp, Canis Major the Wolf, Horologium the Clock, and Crux the Southern Cross.”

Just him saying their names carried a hint of power. She forced her hand to stop trembling so she could draw another sleep rune. Pain laced through her heart at the names she hadn’t heard in so long. Family.

“I don’t know what your problem with celestial wizards is,” Loke said, “But I don’t think it’s fair for you to judge me or my spirits. They’re a little odd, but they’re good people.”

When was the last time she’d heard a wizard refer to their spirits as people?

Her focus slipped. Desperate need punched her in the gut. It paired with a heartbeat of pain so deep, it tore at her insides like knives. The pen fell from her hand as her material body . . . did something. Fuzzed. Lucy would have screamed if she hadn’t bit her tongue in the moment of her collapse.

“Lucy!” Loke yelled, moving to catch her. His hands were warm, and they hurt so, so much.

“Stop,” she snapped, pushing him away, “I’m fine. I just need a break. The sleep spells are taking it out of me,” she lied. “Watch them.” She stumbled to her feet and towards the kitchen. Each step away got a little better and a little worse as her energy drained further. Less pain, more consuming emptiness. She needed whatever magic she could get out of earthland food and she needed it now.

Natsu and Happy were eating out the entire bar, roasting the meat and vegetables with Natsu’s flames.

“Check this out Lucy!” Natsu cheered and proceeded to char three skewers at once.

“Any food already prepared?” she asked.

“No salad or yogurt,” Happy said, drinking a bottle of cream. Drinking. That’s right, this was a bar, and alcohol had the effect of hitting your system extremely quickly.

She went to the other side of the kitchen where alcohol bottles were hanging on wall. She normally went with beer if she was pretending, since it was the cheapest and it all tasted the same ashy-nothingness, but…it all tasted the same and this was an assassin guild. She grabbed a bottle filled with something sparkly and potent. Just what she needed.

Lucy put it on the bar window and started searching for a bottle opener. A cuckoo clock went off, and the chimes put it at five in the morning. Uggh, now if only she could get drunk off this. She hadn't been drunk on earthland since her exile, despite drinking with Cana. Now was as good a time to try as any.

Finally she found a bottle opener and uncorked it.

“Oh wow,” Natsu said, wrinkling his nose.

Lucy ignored him and poured Porlyusica’s powder into the neck. Lucy didn't know how, but Porlyusica's concoction allowed her to consume the ambient earthland magic within food. For this drink Lucy poured in more than she ever had before, but she had never started to wink out of existence before. Drastic times and measures. Lucy capped it again and shook it around.

“Uhh, Lucy?” Natsu tried. “I’m not sure this is the best time.”

She gave him a blank look and didn’t look away as she uncorked the bottle again, put the rim to her lips, and chugged.

Now the ashes tasted like they came straight from the fire pit. Which was actually interesting. She could taste the difference between warm and cold food, different textures, but this was a different kind of heat. Temperature wise, it was the same as the room, but it burned in a different way. Sharper. She drank the rest of it, trying to put words to exactly how it was different.

Then the hot ashes taste was gone, and she put the bottle back on the counter and took a minute to see how fast her magic was recharging.

“Um, are you going to be okay?” Natsu asked, “I’m not sure Cana could take that much that quickly and still walk.”

“I’m fine,” she said, taking a step towards him. The trash was beside him, and she needed to throw the bottle away. The third step went sideways somehow, and she crashed to the floor. Everything was fuzzy. Well, her head was fuzzy, but she didn’t think her body was fuzzy.

Her body was being held though. Hot hands, hotter than Loke’s. Natsu. Yep, that swatch of pink in her vision was Natsu. The orange must be Loke. But he didn’t feel like Loke. Maybe the alcohol turned her magic senses all the way off? They were making mouth noises above her.

She needed to ask Natsu if her body was fuzzy. Her hand slapped on his mouth.

Hehe, he had fangs.

“Lushi, grabu hands out of ma mowth,” Natsu said, grabbing at her hand.

No, question. Question.

“Fuzzy?” she tried. She rocked her body closer to him, to help get her point across, “Fuzz-zy?”

“Well, she’s smashed,” Loke said. “Do you know what’s going on with her? We were talking, I told her that celestial spirits were good people, and she collapsed. She didn’t want my help, told me to watch our prisoners, and walked in here.”

“Well, she walked in here, poured a load of her spice stuff into a bottle Drumfruit wine, and downed the whole thing. I thought you were exaggerating about the whole ‘don’t like celestial wizards’ thing —”

“Sheeeeesh,” she shushed, putting her hands in the direction of their mouths. “Shush.”

“Lucy, we’re teammates,” Natsu explained slowly, easing her hand down again, “I can’t help you if you won’t let me figure out what the heck's going on with you.”

“Fuzzy,” she explained. “I’m fuzzy, and need not fuzzy.”

“Downing a bottle of alcohol would make anyone fuzzy,” Loke said. He reached out a hand to her, and she curled away from him, waiting for the pain to hit.

It did, breaking through the haze around her mind. The ache was dulled, but present, and she started crying into Natsu’s scarf.

Little tears. Quiet tears. Unfair.

“Hey man,” Natsu said, “I don’t know what’s going on with her, but I’ll take care of her for now. For some reason you’re making it worse. Maybe she’s allergic to celestial magic or something.”

Happy said something, but all she could do was cry. She was strong enough to be nice to Loke, even to let him touch her. Pain was her life, she could handle it. But apparently, she can’t. She was a poor, pathetic, crybaby drunk. Was she drunk? She could get drunk? All it did was make emotions worse.

“Hey, what’s going on in here?” Gray asked. “Why’s Lucy crying?”

“Not sure,” Natsu said, standing up with her in his arms. “Come with me, I’ll fill you in. Loke, make sure no one gets through the door.”

The aura of Natsu’s magic enveloped her, looking for someone to attack. It was warm, half-feral, and it wanted to protect her. It didn’t pull at her at all, just supported her. The campfire at her back as she kept watch. And she didn’t notice anything else until he laid her on a bed somewhere, still on his lap.

Gray repeated his questions, a bit more frantically.

“I don’t know,” Natsu said, shaking his head, “According to Loke she started feeling faint after casting so many sleeping spells. Then she went looking for some food, downed a whole bottle of Drumfruit wine, and fell apart. The most she’s said is something about something being fuzzy.”

“Do you think Loke pulled something?” Gray asked.

Lucy shook her head. That made the walls spin. How did humans do this regularly? Much less at the rate Fairy Tail did it. Did Cana ever see straight? Maybe that’s why Cana kept failing her S class exams.

“—cy, Lucy.”

She blinked up at Gray. He had repeated her name a couple of times.

“Lucy, did Loke do something to you?”

Well yes, but not by meaning to. Words. She wrote a novel, she could words and mouth and tongue.

“Not yes,” she said. “I mean, not on purpose. It’s just a thing.”

“A thing that made you get drunk out of your mind?” Gray asked.

“Yes. No,” words wouldn’t stay. “Secret. I don’t get drunk. Didn’t. Too close.”

“Okay, you don’t blame Loke, but whatever your secret is, you don’t like him too close to you.” Gray put together.

Lucy nodded, though she didn’t think that was what she said, and the room started spinning.

“Hate to break it to you Lucy, but you do get drunk.”

“Noooooo.”

“Okay, up you go,” Natsu said, pulling himself out from under her. “Do you think you’re going to throw up?”

What did nausea feel like? It was probably unpleasant. Even as Natsu left her, she didn’t feel anything particularly unpleasant, other than shame and disappointment in herself and some pain. Those were old friends though, so she answered in the negative.

“I’ll get you some water, and you stay here and sober up, try to get some sleep,” Gray said, “Erza’s gonna be here at noon, and that’s showtime.”

Notes:

Remember kids, stay away from alcohol! And adults, if you do drink, drink responsibly and not in the middle of dangerous situations! Also make sure to turn the lights on in the room and try not to sit too close to the TV!

Chapter 6: . . . and Lucy got totally drunk while we waited for Erza.

Gray and Natsu assured Loke they didn’t blame him for Lucy's behavior, but suggested Loke keep his distance from Lucy all the same. It was sound advice, but it still stung.

He just couldn’t figure out Lucy’s problem with him. Stupidly enough, Natsu’s suggestion of her being allergic to celestial spirit magic was the best idea any of them could come up with. He’d have to ask Grandpa Crux about that sometime, he had never heard of people being allergic to certain kinds of magic.

Neither had Gray, and he’d proceeded to call Natsu an idiot dumbo for even thinking of the idea, and they’d started fighting, leaving Loke to take out the next member of Eisenwald that stumbled into the guildhall. After tying him up next to the others, he noticed Lucy’s light pen, sitting where it had fallen from her hands.

She had clutched at her stomach really oddly and didn’t want him to do anything about it. Maybe it had nothing to do with him or his magic at all, maybe her magic was just wildly affected by menstrual cramps or something. He had heard that happening to female wizards, a fluctuating power boost before their period and a drop after it started. Loke pocketed her pen, hopefully he’d at least be allowed to return it to her.

It was otherwise really boring waiting for the train to come. They asked questions of the Eisenwald members that occasionally tumbled in. At least eleven members rolled in around nine o’clock. Another six showed up around ten. That’s also when Lucy woke up and stumbled into the room.

Someone tried to stick a magic dagger in her face, and she punched the attacker clear across the room, taking out Natsu, Gray, and Loke’s opponents on his way. Gray quickly trapped the rest of them, and Natsu rushed to Lucy.

“Hey, you feeling better?” he asked, pressing a hand to her forehead.

She waved him off, “I can walk, the room doesn’t spin when I shake my head, and I kinda…” her eyebrows pulled together, “Kinda can concentrate. Things are only a little fuzzy. What time is it?”

“Just passed 10,” Gray said, “The train is arriving at noon, in case you forgot.”

“There was something… sleeping spell. I need to finish casting the sleeping spells.”

Loke held up the light pen, “I have your light pen.”

“Thanks,” she said. She walked over to him and took it with a smile. She touched his face with the back of her hand, “Sorry for scaring you.” Then she patted his cheek and went to the line of captives.

The boys shared a look.

Natsu went to make sure her casting was okay, while Gray got her some more water. It went much quicker this time. When Lucy finished casting, the guildhall was full of snores. Lucy went to where Gray was holding a pitcher of water for her at the bar.

Loke stationed himself at the door, determined to keep his distance.

“Oh yeah, I’m supposed to drink that. Where’s my spice?” she said, looking around. It took her a second to actually pick up the little jar, and Gray took it from her.

“I’ll add it for you,” he offered. “How much?”

“A couple of shakes,” she said. He did as she asked and mixed it up for her. She drank it all the way down. “That’s good.” She tilted her head, “Gray, what do people normally do when they’re drunk? Cause this kinda sucks.”

Gray laughed, “Most people don’t get themselves shot to hell. They drink just enough to get tipsy, then they play games and hang out with people.”

“Oh, oh, what was that fun game you played at the last…the after…after the parade thingy,” she asked.

“Parade? You mean Fantasia?” Gray checked. “Who was playing it?”

Loke had heard of the Fantasia parade in Magnolia, people from all over came to see it.

“Levy, Cana, Gray, and Elfman,” she said, counting on her fingers, “I was too shy to join in. But I would have smoked ‘em.”

“Oh, Never Have I Ever?” Gray asked, raising an eyebrow.

Natsu snickered, “That’s so lame.”

“You were dancing on the table,” Gray said, “I had to do something to scrub that image from my brain.”

Lucy grabbed both their arms, “Can we play it, please? Happy too!”

“Uhh, only if Loke can also play,” Natsu said quickly.

“Deal!” she said, yanking Gray over the countertop and dragging Natsu with her.

They yelped and Lucy ignored their surprise as she sat them on the ground at a clear spot in the guildhall. “Happy! Loke! Come on, it’s time to play a game.”

Deciding that Lucy was serious and was more than willing to drag him over if he didn’t hurry, Loke sat on the other side of Natsu.

“How do you play again?” Lucy asked, “Something with counting?” she asked, concentrating on her hands.

Adorable.

“Everyone starts with ten fingers up,” Gray said, holding up his fingers, and Lucy mirrored him, “Then we go around the circle and say things that you haven’t done, but you think the other people in the circle have. If someone says something you’ve done, but they haven’t, you put a finger down. The goal is to get everyone else out, while keeping your own fingers up. Usually you take a drink if you’ve done the thing, but one drunk wizard on this job is more than enough.”

“Right,” she said, nodding and staring at her hands.

Happy moaned from Natsu’s shoulder, “This is discrimination against cats.”

“I’ll keep count for you Happy,” Lucy offered.

Happy looked her up and down, taking note of her still flushed face, and shook his head, “I’ll, keep track myself, thanks.”

“So, who goes first?” Lucy asked, looking around.

“We played by whoever was the oldest,” Gray said, “But Natsu doesn’t know how old he is, so…”

“It’s me, I’m the oldest,” Lucy said, “I go first. Never have I ever…hit on a girl.”

“That feels targeted,” Loke said, putting down a finger. Honestly, this was his first time playing as well. Gray and Natsu also put down fingers.

Gray raised his eyebrows, “You hit on a girl, Flamebrain? I thought you skipped learning how to flirt in favor of learning how to get your butt kicked.”

“Girls are tough enough to take it,” Natsu scoffed, “I don’t pull my punches just because they’re girls, of course I fight them. Look at Erza! Now it's my turn, right?”

Lucy snickered and Loke shook his head.

“Dear, dear, Natsu,” he said, “’Hit on’ it a crude way to say compliment them, say something nice and ridiculous to make them laugh and like you more. Girls are here for so much more than to fight them.”

“But fighting them is the best part!” Natsu insisted.

Gray shook his head, “Let it go Loke, we don’t have enough time to explain that. Natsu, go ahead, but keep that finger down as a stupidity penalty.”

“I have hit girls, you guys are the weird ones,” Natsu scoffed, “But never have I ever taken off my pants in the guildhall.”

Gray put another finger down, and his eyes declared war against Natsu. Considering Gray was currently shirtless, this was apparently a long standing problem.

“My turn,” Happy said, “Never have I ever liked dessert!”

“That’s sad little buddy,” Natsu said, shaking his head. Gray and Loke had also put down fingers. Lucy surprisingly didn’t.

“Told you guys I ruled at this game,” Lucy preened.

Well, that was a challenge, “Never have I ever waded through a swamp,” Loke said.

Lucy blinked, then giggled, “Okay, you got me there. That was Natsu and Happy’s fault though. Happy, how many fingers you have up?”

“Eight, you guys are good,” the cat said, “I waded through a swamp and I took my pants off in the guild hall. Mirajane made me a pair once, but they were so itchy and uncomfortable, I took them off.”

“Never have I ever…set a building on fire,” Gray challenged.

Natsu stuck out his tongue, “That’s because you’re boring. Everyone else has.”

“Wait what?” Gray said, looking at the one less finger on Loke and Lucy’s hands. They both gave small grins.

“Guilty,” she said.

“Aye,” added Happy.

“Me too, looks like you’re the odd out on this one,” Loke said. It was a small, abandoned one on the corner of the estate, but it made a really good distraction for him to slip away. Father’s butler dragged him back the two days later, but he got really far with that one. Though he was extremely curious to know what building Lucy had burned down. She seemed too responsible for that.

Then again, she was currently plastered while sitting in a dark mage guildhall making them play ‘never have I ever’, so…

“My turn!” she said, “Never have I ever…fought Erza.”

Natsu and Gray’s fingers went down. Natsu was down to five, Gray at six, Happy and him tied at seven, Lucy winning at 8.

“Ugh, I’m going to get you all out, with this one,” Natsu said. “Never have I ever slept in a bed.”

“No way,” Loke challenged, “Never?”

“Dude sleeps in a hammock or a sleepingbag,” Gray said, shaking his head. Natsu was right, they all went down except for him.

“My turn,” Happy said, “Never have I ever been human!”

“Now that’s a cheap shot,” Loke complained, “Never have I ever been a cat.”

Happy giggled.

“Never have I ever been to a ball,” Gray said.

“That was one time, for a job, and you know it,” Natsu complained. Loke and Lucy both went down as well.

“Okay, my turn,” Lucy said. She had five fingers left, and seemed to be evaluating everyone else. Gray, Loke, and Happy had four, while Natsu was at three. “Never have I ever…broken a bone.”

“Impressive for a combat wizard,” Gray said, everyone but Happy had put a finger down. “Even when you were first learning how to use those bracelets?”

“Nope,” she said, “Born natural. Not even sure I have bones. Your turn Natsu.”

“Yeesh, never have I ever gotten drunk on the job. You’re still pretty out of it if you forgot you have bones,” Natsu said.

Lucy grinned, “Not a job. We’re not getting paid for this.”

“You never reported back to the master how the Everlue job went,” Gray pointed out, “That means that, technically, you’re still on assignment.”

“Oh boo,” she said, putting down a finger.

“Never have I ever been such a big pig that I ate a whole bowl of mashed potatoes by myself,” Happy said, following Natsu’s lead.

Lucy glanced around, sighed, and put another finger down. She only had three fingers left, tied with everyone but Natsu, who only had two.

“Never have I ever been a guild wizard,” Loke said, and they all went down.

“Hang on, what’s going on here?” a deep voice said from the entry way. The wizard was tall and muscular, with dark blue hair and large, angry eyebrows.

“We’re playing ‘Never have I ever,” Lucy explained cheerfully, “Want to join in? You can start at three fingers like me.”

“What did you do to my guild!” he roared and started charging up an attack. Gray sent several ice arrows in his direction, while Natsu pounced on him. It took a second to tie him up with the others, and Lucy added the sleeping spell on him too.

"Party-pooper."

Back on the ground, Gray said, “Never have I ever bought jewelry.”

Loke, Happy, and Gray had two fingers, Natsu and Lucy had one. “Never have I ever…” Lucy drawled, “had a mom.”

“Like, you’ve never met her,” Gray clarified, putting a finger down. Loke did as well. He still missed her every day. Natsu and Happy didn’t.

Lucy giggled, of all things, and said, “Sure, let’s go with that.”

Natsu grinned, “Never have I ever been named after a color.”

“Well, I’m out,” Gray said.

“Me too,” Lucy said, “Old nickname.”

“What color?” Loke asked.

She smiled, hair falling into her eyes, “Gold.”

Which made perfect sense.

“Never have I ever had alcohol!” Happy cheered. “I win!”

Gray stood up, “I think we have some more company.” The rest of them followed him to their feet.

That was the final round of Eisenwald thugs before it was time to head for the train station. Lucy could head in a direction, but not quite a straight line. Natsu had to keep hold of her as they repeated the four turns to exit back to the path.

In fact, Lucy was clinging pretty tightly to Natsu, who, for his part, didn’t seem to mind but wasn’t particularly enjoying it either.

Gray had evacuated everyone from the station and called for the military, which had yet to arrive. It was just the five of them, waiting for the train full of Eisenwald’s top assassins. Natsu was already starting to look green.

“Here it comes,” he said.

They heard the chugging railroads and watched as it rounded the bend.

“I think Erza’s already started the show,” Gray said. It was hard to make out, but there were people fighting on the top of the train.

“Uggh, how can she do that?” Natsu asked, clutching his stomach.

There was something even odder about the scene, and it took Loke a second to figure out what it was.

“Guys, the train isn’t slowing down,” he said. “They should have already started breaking.”

“That’s not good,” Gray said backing up and motioning the rest of them to follow. “I’m going to try and get it off the tracks, Natsu, hit it with all you got. Ice-make Ramp!”

“Now you’re talkin’!” Natsu said, taking off towards the train with Happy as his wings.

“I’m going to try and find the emergency off switch,” Loke said, “As soon as it gets close to the station, the lacrima will connect to it.”

Gray nodded as he focused on adding more ice to his ramp. It was too sharp a slope to actually dislodge a train, but that wasn’t Loke’s call. He took off running and was surprised to find Lucy beside him.

“What’s it look like?” she asked, only weaving a little bit.

“Red pull down bar,” Loke said, going back to the search. “Against a wall or a pillar.” Business lessons in how to run the railroads come in handy for once.

“That it?” Lucy asked. She said something else, but it was lost to the sound of ice shattering. He followed her eyes and saw the switch, surrounded by iron bars.

“That’s not regulation!” he yelled. What the hell were they thinking? What was the point of an emergency brake if you needed a key to use it?

“Let’s hope I’m not too drunk for this,” she said, then stuck her tongue out. She cracked her whip forward, and it bounced off the bars. She did it again, and again, and the fourth time she managed to get it to snap at the wall just below the cage. The fifth time it circled tight around the lever.

“Aw yeah!” she cheered, throwing her hands in the air. Unfortunately, she let go of her whip and it fell to the ground. “Oh hell.” Two more times and she was finally able to lock on it with tension and pull.

The sound of screeching metal echoed through the canyon. They ran outside, Lucy tripping once but quickly recovering. A red head their age was on the ground outside the station, groaning next to the flag pole.

“Erza!” Lucy yelled, rushing forward, only to trip and land on her knees beside her. “You okay?”

The read head dizzily focused on Lucy, and then the focus came back with a vengeance. “That bastard threw me off the train and into the pole! They’re going to pay for that. Where’s Natsu and Gray?”

“We put on the brakes,” Loke explained, “If they weren’t on the train, they are rushing to catch up to it. We can use one of the emergency magi carts to catch up.”

Erza stood up. She was lovely, striking, and, with sword in hand, not someone to be messed with. She looked him up and down, and he straightened up.

“You’re the one looking to join Fairy Tail?” she asked. He nodded. She held out a hand for him to shake, “Erza Scarlet. Thank you for lending your assistance.”

“My pleasure,” he said with his most charming smile.

Lucy started giggling on the ground.

“I’ll go get the magi cart,” Loke said. “Natsu, Gray, and Happy are by themselves right now.” He rushed off. They were nearby, a small shed, and the code hadn’t changed in the past six months.

“Okay, do you want to drive, or should I?” Loke said, driving one onto the track.

Erza shook her head, Lucy collapsed against her still giggling, “I suppose Lucy isn’t exactly in a state to do any driving herself. I will be getting the full story. Move over, I’m driving. Lucy, get in the back.”

 “Aye Sir,” she said, and scrambled into the cart.

“I’ll sit up front with you,” Loke said, moving to the co-pilot side as Erza hooked herself up to the magic cuff.

“Odd choice,” Erza said. “Hang on tight. It’s going to be bumpy.”

They took off with a roar and didn’t slow down.  

“So tell me,” Erza said, “What is your name, your magic, and why did you decide against joining someone you know in the cab, and instead risk flying off while sitting with a stranger.”

“Loke,” he said, holding on tighter as Erza rounded a corner, “I’m a celestial wizard. I have contracts with spirits in the celestial realm. They have various abilities and have agreed to help me when my magic calls them forward during previously agreed upon times. Lucy doesn’t like celestial wizards for some reason, and I figured it would be more comfortable for her if I was out here.”

“I see,” she said.

They were going at least as fast as the train had been, it wouldn’t be long before they caught up to where it stopped. Erza had magic power to burn, that wasn’t an exaggeration from her guildmates either.

“You are very lucky I had already heard some of Eisenwald’s plans,” Erza said, “I was in Omnibus, on my way home from a job. I heard a wizard named Kageyama brag about being able to crack the seal on Lullaby, but foolishly didn’t make the connection with Erigor until the next morning. Lucy’s message found me just before I got on the express train to head back to Magnolia, planning on gathering allies before I took on a dark guild. Had I gotten on that train, I would have been too late to come and assist you.”

Loke explained their story as best he could while holding on for his life. He couldn’t tell how Erza felt about it from her face, but the cart pushed faster and faster as his story went on.

Notes:

Let me know what you think in the comments! This was a really fun chapter to write.

Chapter 7: Natsu and Gray played 'dodge the sword' and then we lost Kageyama and Lullaby . . .

Lucy sighed, looking at the rapidly passing countryside. If she was remembering her maps right, the train tracks lead through this smaller canyon to Oshibana station, and from there over Clover Canyon and onto Clover, where they planned to test the death magic. Clover was really out of the way. Cut the tracks and the city was on its own.

There was something bothering her about that thought, but her head was too fuzzy to chase it all the way. She kept having that problem. There was a better way to get to the emergency off switch than an advanced whip technique, but she couldn’t think of it.

Oh! She should have just used her magic to smash through the bars. Duh.

And the thought slipped away as she saw Loke nearly fly off through the front window. He was risking his life for her comfort, but she didn't regret taking the offered respite. The alcohol was still dulling his pull on her, dulling her sense of his magic, but it was still there.

Erza had looked so disappointed in her when she realized that Lucy was drunk, and she couldn’t even defend her behavior. Lucy had wanted to get drunk when she picked that bottle, even if she didn’t think it would actually happen.

She smiled at her reflection in the window, at least she still looked pretty, if a little flushed. Really, that perfect side eye, half smile combo was killer. Cute grin with a little bit of tongue teasingly flashing between her teeth.  Mature, sexier look with hand under her chin, lips slightly parted, and soft, bedroom eyes.

Not that she’d ever had someone in her bed for that purpose. It was bad for leadership reasons among spirits, and the act meant more than she quite understood among humans. She knew the gist of human sex, and she thought her body was compatible with it, but she’d never taken a lover. It sounded serious for humans, one of those things so serious you had to make jokes about it because the reality was too much. Humans did that a lot, with death, with pain, with missing fathers and broken hearts.

Lucy would probably look beautiful even with a broken heart. Mouth parted, lips and hands trembling, eyes shut from the agony of her own feelings. She probably looked like the heroine in act two, full of depth, waiting to be healed by her true love in act three.

“Lucy! What are you doing?” Erza demanded.

Lucy flinched, hands coming up to cover her face.  Erza folded her arms, waiting.

“Um…practicing for a play?” she tried.

Erza nodded, “While I commend your devotion to the arts, we need your help deciding on the next course of action.”

“Right,” she said, hopping down. “Woah.”

In front of them was an enormous barrier, stretching completely between canyon walls. Train cars were scattered and knocked over leading up to the barrier. Short of scaling the cliffs, there was no way around it. It was loud too, and the winds powerful enough that they just wanted to suck you in. She couldn’t sense anything inside it, just the white and gray of wind magic.

“Erigor’s work,” Erza said, making a fist, “He uses wind magic to tear his opponents to shreds. Most effective against wizards, it wipes at magic, dispelling it and the protections it offers.”

“It’s circular,” Lucy said.

“What do you mean?” Erza asked.

Lucy tried to move her arms in the approximation of the winds, it was a lot harder than it should have been. “Like this.” Wait, it couldn’t be a perfect sphere, it hits the ground. She tried again, and it looked even less right. “Wind magic needs circles to keep going.” They weren’t getting it, but she couldn’t get the right words or hand motions. She tried harder with her hands.

Loke snapped his fingers, “You’re saying that it isn’t just a barrier, there’s space inside the winds.”

“I see,” Erza said, narrowing her eyes, “That means there’s likely a battle going on inside it. That, or it’s a clever trap. Let’s see if we can dispel it from the outside.”

Erza summoned a javelin and threw it at the barrier. It was swallowed up. She tried again with a variety of swords and spears, at least twenty, but everything she sent was swept away inside the barrier. Bracing herself, she walked up with gigantic sword in hand, and attempted to cut through it.

Her stance wasn’t strong enough. As soon as her sword touched she was swept inside along with it.

“Erza!” Lucy yelled, but she got no reply. Think, she had to think.

“It’s looking more and more like trap every second,” Loke said. “Do we go in ourselves and work together for a solution, or do we try to get around it and head to Clover, waiting for them to catch up?”

Lucy looked up the cliff walls. “There’s no way to get the magi cart through. Up. I don’t have the-the speed to catch up to a wind wizard without it. Do you?”

Loke shook his head, “I don’t have any ideas for dispelling magic either.”

“Would any of your spirits have an idea?” Lucy asked. Hoping he’d come to the right conclusion.

Loke nodded, “Crux the Southern Cross is a knowledge spirit, and while celestial magic is his specialty, he knows just about everything far as I can tell. Unfortunately, my contract with him is only for evenings, and that’s too many hours away.”

Crux was ancient. Made sense that, even for a bloodline, he’d have limited hours.

“What if we backtracked with the magi cart until we found a path that went along the canyon wall. We could drive above it, and then try to catch up to the Eisenwald wizards,” Loke proposed.

That had some merit, but also had its own risks. If there was an unpassable part of the canyon wall, they’d waste a lot of time. Also, Lucy wasn’t certain she and Loke had the power to take on a wizard capable of making a barrier like this. Lucy explained her reasoning to Loke.

Loke frowned, “You’re right that the odds aren’t good.”

“Well then, into the trap we go,” Lucy said, walking forward.

“Hang on a second,” Loke said, holding out a hand, but stopping short of touching her, “There has to be a better way.”

Lucy gave him a small smile, “We’re just as stuck as they are, because I’m not willing to turn back. And if there’s one thing I’ve learned about being stuck, it’s always better to be stuck with your friends.” And that was something he’d better learn now, if he was going to be part of Fairy Tail. Lucy held out a hand, ignoring the whip of longing pain (it was just pain). She had her magic sense shut tight and was still tipsy, she could handle it. “Want to go in together?”

He looked stunned behind his blue tinted glasses. Then he smiled, and it was more honest somehow. “You’re one hell of a woman, Lucy of Fairy Tail.” He took her hand.

“On three,” she said, “Get ready to jump.”

She counted off and they leaped. This close, she could see the dark green magic circle that let things in, but not out. When they were flung inside, forcibly ripped apart from the power of the wind, her instincts took over and she was able to land on her feet.

Wait. Wind magic was known for dispelling and sucking up other wizards' magic. Lucy could have died doing this.

Didn’t matter. The barrier was one way. She was alive and standing on a battlefield.

Loke fumbled his landing and ended up on his butt. Which might have been lack of experience in the air or from trying to avoid the sword sticking out of the ground. There were many swords sticking out of the ground, along with pieces of melting ice and scorch marks. The Fairy Tail wizards were standing in a circle, while three members of Eisenwald were piled up next to them. Off to the side was a bandaged fourth member, who seemed to be unconscious. They had missed some serious action.

“Aww, you guys,” Natsu said, putting a hand to his head, “You were supposed to break us out, not get trapped too.”

One of dark wizards started laughing, “I can’t believe it, he really got all of you with this trap. Now nothing can stop him. You guild wizards are so dumb.”

Erza stepped on his face, “Do not insult Fairy Tail if you value your health.”

“I bet you guys don’t even know why we chose Clover,” he said grinning crazily. “You don’t even have half the plan figured out.”

Lucy felt a chill, the thought she’d tried to chase down earlier presenting itself, “Clover’s isolated. Not good for statements. If they destroyed the tracks it would be ages before anyone figured out what happened, if they could do anything at all by the time someone got there.”

Erza removed her foot, and he nodded, still grinning while missing teeth, “Give it a second, you’ll figure out what’s so important in Clover.”

Her brain was blank, but Erza’s wasn’t, she looked horrified, “There’s a guildmasters' conference in Clover right now. It started today.”

“What!” she yelled. Natsu and Gray yelled at the same time.

“They’re going after Gramps?” Natsu said. “How could you!” The wizard started laughing.

Gray froze the laughing wizard up to his neck. “They may be a bunch of old fogies, but they the closest thing some of us have to parents. You won’t get away with this.”

“Ahhh! We have to get out and go help Gramps!” Natsu said, throwing himself at the wind barrier.

Gray finished, and the wizard was frozen up to his neck.

“Kageyama,” Erza roared, going to the injured wizard, trying to shake him awake, “Wake up. You're a seal breaker! You need to dispel this barrier right now!”

Taking a good look at him, it was the shadow mage she’d fought before. He must secondary specialize in seal breaking. That’s right, Lullaby had been sealed.

She was about to go see what she could do to wake him up, when Gray yelled at Natsu to stop trying to kill himself.

Natsu threw himself at the barrier, flames burning, only to be tossed aside once more, flames dispelled. Gray groaned and walked away, and Natsu did it again.

Natsu would be fine, he was a dragon slayer, and they were made of tough stuff.

But just because they’d be fine, didn’t mean their pain wasn’t real. Before Natsu could throw himself at the barrier a fourth time, she wrapped her arms around him from behind.

“Stop hurting yourself,” she demanded, closing her eyes and bracing for his thrashing. “Your pain won’t save Master Makarov, we need your head and a plan and a chance. Please Natsu.”

He didn’t thrash, and when she opened her eyes, he was looking at her like he’d never seen her before.

“Let me eat some of your light magic."

“What?” she demanded, dropping her arms. Gray and Erza stopped shaking Kageyama.

“Back before the book thing,” Natsu explained, “You said light and fire magic were alike. Well, they’re probably enough alike that I can eat it. Once I’m boosted up, I’ll be able to break through this no problem.”

"No,” Lucy said, releasing him to put her hands on her hips. She missed the first time, but got it right the second time. “That’s not what I said at all. You’ll choke on it. Like eating Gray’s ice or Erza’s swords. And even powered up your magic would be swept away by the dome.”

“Hang on,” Happy said, jumping, “I have an idea. Loke, you’re a celestial wizard, just like Everlue, right?”

Loke nodded, “Lucy said that he was contracted with Virgo. She’s just like a couple of my other spirits.”

"And you’re definitely going to become a Fairy Tail wizard, right?” Happy checked, “You promise?”

“If they let me in after this mess,” Loke said. “I’d love to be a Fairy Tail wizard.”

“You have to promise,” Happy insisted. “Promise to do your best to become a Fairy Tail wizard.”

Lucy stared at the cat, and at Loke. A promise from a celestial wizard was almost as ironclad as a promise from a celestial spirit, particularly from a bloodline. Contracts bind both spirit and human, and an oath breaking human was worthless as a celestial wizard, but while oath breaking spirits got banished, oath breaking wizards took a blow to their current magic stores. Happy’s insistence on a formal promise was enough to count if Loke didn’t follow through.

Loke glanced at the rest of them, then nodded, “Okay Happy. I promise that I’ll do my best to become a Fairy Tail wizard.”

Happy smiled, “Then I can give you this!”

“How did you get that?” Lucy demanded, staring at the key in his grubby little paw.

Happy shrugged, “While you were busy talking to the Magic Council guys, Virgo came up to me. She said to give it to a celestial wizard that’s part of our guild. I guess she thought being contracted to a Fairy Tail wizard would be fun.”

What did that mean? Virgo had to have recognized her and knew the symbol on her hand if she was asking about Fairy Tail. What did she want? To keep an eye on her, make sure she was suffering as part of her punishment?

“Oh, wow,” Loke said, taking the key from Happy. “Can she do something about the barrier?”

“She’s a huge gorilla!” Natsu said, completely missing the obvious plan. “I bet she’s heavy enough that not even this wind could knock her down."

“Or she could dig,” Lucy said. “Remember…popping out ?”

“Wait, really?” Erza said, “She can get us out of here? Stop dawdling and summon her. We have to go save Master.”

“All right then,” Loke said, twirling the key in his grip with a grin. Power gathered around him and echoed within his voice. Lucy couldn’t do this. A contract was being made right in front of her, and it was a knife twisting in her gut. “I forge the link between this world and the celestial spirit realm, I summon you to my side. Answer my call and pass through the gate. Open, Gate of the Maiden.”

It wasn't fair to smell the celestial world now.

Virgo, punisher or friend?

She couldn’t do this.

Fast as she could, she was hiding behind the burned out, overturned shell of a train car, breathing hard. She put her hands over her ears and tried to shut off her magic sense completely. At least this didn’t seem to be triggering another disappearing act. Clinging to the haze of the alcohol still in her system, she counted hours. How long did being drunk last?

Though it definitely did the trick to restore her magic. That was probably why she wasn’t disappearing anymore.

Huh, maybe she could have taken Erigorge. Rigor. Erigorn. Though it probably wouldn’t have been good for her health.

An armored hand landed on her shoulder, and she looked up from where she was curled into a ball into Erza’s face. “Come on,” she said. “Virgo dug a tunnel for us and for the magi-cart. It’s time to finish this.”

Lucy frowned and looked at her hands, taking them off her ears, “I’m sorry, I disappointed you again.”

“No one can be brave in all things,” Erza said, holding out a hand to help her up. Lucy took it. Her eyes went to where she knew there were scars from shackles. She knew, because Karen’s shackles were bought in a shop, not specially made, and other wizards had used them when they wanted their spirit in the human world for longer than the spirit could handle.

Erza stared at the spot beneath her gauntlet as well, “We all have something that defeats us.”

Lucy’s eyes started to tear up, and she threw her arms around Erza in a hug, “Erza, I’m really happy you’re here. You’re beautiful, and amazing, and brave and cool and beautiful. Thank you.”

“I fear I haven’t done very much so far,” she said, gently patting Lucy's hair, “Started a train battle I got knocked out of, tossed a bunch of swords at a wind barrier that proceeded to fling themselves at my friends. Hopefully I can be of more use as we track down Erigor.”

Lucy pulled back and looked around at the scattered swords and let out a giggle.

“Hurry up!” Natsu yelled, carrying an injured Kageyama on his back, “We don’t have time.”

“Besides,” Erza said as they started to walk, “You haven’t lost all your points with me. Your plans were solid. I got all the information from Loke as we drove here. You’re the one that insisted on asking me for backup, and you’re the one that planned how to maximize the force to take on Eisenwald. That many wizards, even operating at a lower skill level, would have caused problems.”

They went into Virgo’s tunnel, and clinging to the fuzziness meant she wasn’t walking very straight, but she couldn’t sense active celestial magic from Virgo. Probably left already because she hated Lucy. Or wanted to watch over her. Probably hated her. At least Virgo had brought the magic cart from the other side.

Erza and Loke took the front again, while Natsu, Kageyama, Happy, Gray, and Lucy were in the cart.

“Want me to send you to sleep?” Lucy offered.

Natsu looked tempted, but shook his head, “I need to be awake for when we reach Argon. I’m not going to sleep through the battle to save Gramps.”

“Erigor,” Kageyama corrected.

“No, his real name’s Makarov, but he lets us call him Gramps.”

Erza took off, and Natsu immediately went pale.

“Out the window, Idiot,” Gray said, looking out the opposite window. Natsu put himself halfway out of it, trying to gulp in the air.

“You guys are all idiots,” Kageyama said, “I’m your enemy. Why are you taking me with you?”

“You were attacked by your own guild, and you’ll die if you don’t get a doctor,” Gray said, bored, “A little gratitude would be appropriate.”

“Oh, I get it,” Kageyama said, grinning humorlessly, “You guys are going to try and use my life to stop Erigor, I’m your hostage. Well you can forget about that —”

“Never even thought of it,” Gray interrupted. “Look, there’s more to life than just living and dying.”

“Morals, for one thing,” Lucy said drily, “Ours involve a basic respect for human life. Even yours. What do you guys even expect to accomplish by unleashing Lullaby?”

Kageyama looked away from here, “You wouldn’t get it. You still have all your rights. You don’t know what it’s like to be an outcast.”

And if that wasn’t a morbid brand of hilarious. Lucy couldn’t stop her harsh laughter. “We have the same rights,” Lucy gasped, Gray was starting to look concerned. “Guild wizards aren’t allowed to take lives either. And killing tons of innocent people won’t get your rights back, it’ll just prove that society was right for kicking you out in the first place.”

Natsu pulled himself back in for a second, looking green, “As sick as I am right now, it’s even more sickening to know that you’re doing this because you think you have some right to kill people, and other people will pay you to do it. Your own guildmates turned on you, that should be all you need to know that being part of an illegal guild sucks.”

“You don’t get it, it’s about vengeance,” Kageyama said, not looking at them, “Spare me your prattle. You’ll never catch up to Erigor, and Lullaby is waiting for you if you do.”

Which brought the mood way down. Not helped by Natsu suddenly throwing himself half out the window again to retch. Gray shook his head and went back to watching the scenery.

“Your magic’s really pretty,” Lucy said as the thought came to her. Earning a startled look from Kageyama and Gray.

Gray’s mouth quirked into a half smile, “Still buzzed huh?”

“Probably,” Lucy said. “Sorry.”

“Hey, you’re way better than Erza when she’s sloshed,” Gray said. “You get a bit more touchy, more easily distracted, some confusing sentences and trouble with balance. Easy enough to cover for. Erza proclaims herself queen of the universe and makes everyone slaves on penalty of death.”

Lucy giggled, “Scary, but hilarious.”

“Though the way you keep clinging to Natsu shows how stupid alcohol makes you,” Gray said, teasing the tiniest bit. Natsu groaned from halfway out the car.

“It’s his magic aura,” she said, “Yours is…tight. Controlled. Like spike-spick armor around you. Natsu’s is like bleah! Bam!” She flung her arms out. “Bah!” Kageyama ducked around her flinging wrist.

"You can sense magic auras?” Gray asked.

Even Kageyama seemed impressed, “That’s some high-level magic. Most wizards can only sense the existence of a magic signature at the most, and skilled ones know the strength of one relative to others. Never heard of anyone sensing shapes.”

“Practice,” Lucy said, “Good way to figure out fight or flight.”

“So Natsu’s is more like this?” Gray asked. He concentrated for a second, then the edges of his aura became rougher, but still tightly controlled.

“I can’t sense auras as well through the alcohol,” she admitted. “But you still got control. Natsu’s is always testing everything, kinda wasteful the way it snaps away from him. But it protects his guildmates. Feels safe.”

“So it’s Loke’s magic aura you can’t handle,” Gray said, “Would it be easier if he got control of his aura like me?” Uggh, this was exactly the kind of information she wanted to keep to herself. They were much too close to finding out her secret.

Lucy shook her head, reaching out to grab Natsu when a sharp turn almost tossed him from the cart. “Celestial magic. It can’t keep to itself. Would hurt him to try, it needs to seek out connections. Don’t tell him, please. Or anyone. Same goes for you, Natsu and Happy.”

“Lame reason to keep a secret,” Happy said, folding his arms. Natsu groaned.

“Hey,” Gray said, “We didn’t give her the benefit of the doubt when she had a reason to ditch Loke, let’s give her a break.”

“Fine, just get me off this thing!” Natsu pleaded.

“You already said no to going to sleep” Lucy said, then looked at Kageyama, “If your injuries are hurting, I can send you to sleep if you like. You wake up when anything touches the rune, even if you do in your sleep, and it will also fade on its own eventually.”

Natsu groaned. Kageyama shook his head and muttered something about not trusting enemies.

The rest of the ride passed in relative quiet, and Lucy watched the scenery change as they charged past. Unfortunately, Oshibana station came and went without any sign of Erigor. They slowed down just outside the city. Natsu cried in relief as he slid onto solid ground.

“Erza,” Gray said, jumping out the car as it completely stopped. “Are you okay? You over did it, didn’t you?”

“I’m fine,” she said, only looking a little worse for wear. “But apparently Loke has a blank spot in his contracts coming up soon, he offered to switch spots with me. Get back in the car.”

“No way,” Natsu said, rubbing a knuckle along his mouth. “This is taking too long, Argor has too much of a head start.”

“Erigor!” Kageyama yelled from inside the cab.

“Happy, time for Dragon speed,” Natsu called. “We gotta stop him from getting to Gramps.”

“Aye, sir!” Happy said. A second later they were in the air, Natsu using fire from his feet to boost Happy’s flying speed.

“Natsu!” Gray yelled after him, but they were already gone.

“Let them go Gray,” Erza said tiredly, “He’s right, we’re traveling too slow to catch up to a wind wizard, and the cart had too much weight. Hopefully he can either defeat Erigor himself or slow him down enough for the rest of us to arrive. Loke, we need to get there, keep the fastest pace you can keep steady.”

“Right,” Loke nodded, “Everyone on.”

Heh, Gray and Erza were about to get a surprise. Erza filed into the cab, while Gray took the spot by Loke. They took off at only a slightly slower speed than what Erza was putting out.

“Woah,” Erza said, “I haven’t seen Loke’s magic yet, but if he thinks he can maintain this speed, he is much closer to Natsu and Gray in power than I thought.” She glanced at Lucy, “You aren’t surprised.”

“She can sense magic auras,” Kageyama dismissed, “The kid’s irritates her. Obviously it has enough juice.”

Lucy kicked him in the shin, “You knew I wanted that kept a secret.”

“Oh, that’s quite the skill,” Erza said. “I bet if comes in handy with those escort and bounty requests that you do.”

Lucy blushed, “Well, yeah. You need to know where dangerous people are, and if you can take ‘em while keeping your charge safe or if you need to flee.”

“What was the name your clients gave you?” Erza asked with a playful smile, “The Guardian Angel?”

“Stop it,” Lucy said, covering her face, “It’s embarrassing. I just like jobs that protect people. It’s all about eviscerating people who pick on those weaker than them. Violence! I shouldn’t get a pretty nickname for that.”

“I think it is a nickname you should wear with pride,” Erza said. “You’re very friendly, professional, and respectful on your jobs, and people respond well. You do Fairy Tail proud.”

Oh she was going to cry again.

“Gag me,” Kageyama muttered.

“Gladly,” Lucy said, drawing out her light pen. For some reason, she could only think of the daydream rune though, it would have to do. Her script magic was extremely limited, and that was one of the six spells she could cast. Lucy only knew this one because she kept getting it confused with the sleep rune when she was learning, but now it was all she could remember.

Erza put a hand out to stop her, “Let’s not stoop to his level. He still needs a doctor, and we didn’t have time to stop and find him one in Oshibana.”

“I put all his guildmates to sleep in their hideout,” Lucy pouted, putting her light pen away, “The magic council or the military, or whoever takes dark guilds to task will pick them up soonish.”

“That was good planning on your part,” Erza said. “You had limited resources and were against greater numbers, but if Kageyama wants to see us defeat Erigor, we should let him.” Then she shook her head, “It almost makes up for you getting drunk on a bottle of Drumfruit wine. Did you have to drink all of it?”

Lucy slouched and let her pout get bigger, “Yes.” Porlyusica made it clear that the powder would poison humans in a way even she couldn’t fix. Lucy couldn’t leave it lying around in any quantity after mixing it in the bottle.

“You’re all crazy,” Kageyama said. Lucy kicked him again.

They were going a little slower as they started over Clover Canyon, either Loke was running low or he was being cautious. Caution was warranted, considering the sides fell away into an abyss.

“Natsu!” they heard Gray yell. Looking out the window, a shirtless Natsu was standing over Erigor’s body. He gave them the victory sign.

“Piece of cake,” he called proudly. Happy said something snarky, and the two of them started arguing.

Lucy got out of the car as Gray got in Natsu’s face, “You look really stupid wearing your scarf without a shirt.”

“Like you’re one to talk!” Natsu snapped back.

Lucy couldn’t help laughing at the sight.

“I’m glad to see you’re all right,” Erza said, smiling, “We should take Lullaby and continue onto Clover. Kageyama needs a doctor and the guildmaster’s league should be able to help us dispose of Lullaby properly.”

“I think I should have enough magic to get us there,” Loke said, “But we’ll have to go more carefully. This canyon isn’t exactly a small bump.”

Lucy looked on the ground and noticed the flute in question. She’d seen images in books, but they hadn’t managed to capture the absolutely threatening aura surrounding it. She picked it up while Happy was checking up on Loke, who was looking a little gray around the edges.

The triple eyes of the flute glowed purple, and the aura grew darker, more powerful. She shrank her senses back, gripping the fuzziness, because light magic might trigger the guardian—

—a shadow sliced through her shoulder.

She screamed, falling to the ground, and the shadow took the flute.

Blinking, she saw their magi cart fly away, supported by Kageyama’s shadows.

“You can’t do that! That’s cheating!” Natsu yelled.

“See you in Clover suckers!” Kageyama laughed as he disappeared.

Erza was at her side with bandages and disinfectant. “It’s deep, but clean,” she said, wiping away her slightly too orange blood.

“Uggh, shadow magic is the worst,” Lucy said through gritted teeth. “I can’t believe I let him get the drop on me.”

“We all underestimated him,” Erza said, “Of course his magic was regenerating, just as ours was. But take heart. This strike could have killed you had it been aimed at your chest. For all his terrible manners, I don’t think he really has it in him to murder someone who showed him kindness.”

“Doesn’t mean I feel comfortable letting him take Lullaby to the guildmasters,” Gray said, “Let’s hurry and follow.”

“What do we do with Erigor?” Lucy asked, testing her arm as Erza finished off the bandage. It hurt, but didn’t impair movement.

They all looked down.

Erigor’s body was gone.

“Where did he go?” Happy and Lucy yelled together.

“Kageyama must have taken him,” Erza decided, “Picked him up along with the Lullaby flute. If not, we don’t have time to worry about him. He’ll be licking his wounds for now. We must reach Clover in time.”

Everyone agreed. It was nice having Erza around, the boys actually listened to her. They set off at a light jog and prayed they would make it in time.

Notes:

Natsu and Gray did not have a fun time playing dodge the sword, lol, and Lucy isn't done being drunk just yet! And a little bit of Tower of Heaven foreshadowing, as a treat.

Chapter 8: Gramps found them first, he got Kageyama to back down, but we got to beat up Zeref's Lullaby.

Their group found the abandoned magicart off the tracks just beyond the canyon, tires slashed. Kageyama must have run out of magic there and started walking. Natsu was able to track his scent, so they followed him.

What kind of magic did Natsu even have?

Some ability type magics altered biology, but not usually to this extent. Usually just tougher skin, stronger muscles, and maybe some physical features. Between the fangs, pink hair, and the nose, Natsu was part animal of some kind.

Night had fallen, but the moon and stars made it easy to see their surroundings. Tuesday nights sucked, only Crux was had an active contract right now. Something to keep in mind when taking jobs in the future.

Fairy Tail. Lucy’s smile as they prepared to jump into the trap. Her personal hang ups on his magic hadn’t stopped her from offering her hand.

Fairy Tail was somewhere that might show him what belonging felt like.

They crested a hill and spotted Kageyama, still bandaged up, holding Lullaby and standing in front of a tiny old man.

“Gramps!” Natsu and Gray called, ready to rush forward. Thick hands on their shoulders held them back.

“Now, now, it’s really just best to let Maki work, don’t you think?” a man said. He was bald with a couple days of stubble on his chin, wide and fat in the way that suggested he had been active in his youth but had been blessed by years of ease and comfort. The pink tutu was surprising, but whatever he liked.

Natsu and Gray jumped away from him with a girly shriek. “Oh, aren’t you boys just the cutest!” he said, clasping his hands.

“Master Bob, Master Goldmine,” Erza said, relaxing, “I take it you are informed of the situation.”

“We know enough,” an older man said in a rough voice, “A troubled young man with powerful magic and a mistaken need for revenge? We all agreed that was right up Makarov’s alley.”

“Oh, it’s been so long Miss Scarlet, you’ve grown up just beautifully,” the pink one said.

“Lucy, Loke, allow me to introduce you to the masters of Blue Pegasus and Quatro Cerberus,” Erza said, gesturing with her hand, “Master Bob and Master Goldmine.”

“I’m familiar with Master Bob,” Lucy said softly, “I’m glad you’re doing well. And it is a pleasure to meet you, Master Goldmine.”

“The same to you, dear, I’m glad Fairy Tail has treated you well,” Master Bob said, then turned to look Loke up and down. For a guild known for their attractive wizards, he’d expected a little more in the looks department from their master.

Which meant he was in his position because he was powerful. Loke kept at attention.

“You don’t have a guild mark, young man,” Master Bob told him, “Any chance I can snatch you up before Fairy Tail does? You are exactly the kind of wizard we look for at Blue Pegasus.”

“Business later,” Goldmine said, gesturing towards Makarov and Kageyama, “I want to hear this.”

Makarov and Kageyama were still in a standoff, Kageyama holding the flute, Makarov seeming to wait patiently.

“Nothing will change,” Makarov said at last, and Kageyama’s eyes widened. “You cannot change the fact that those who are weak, will forever remain weak. Now for me, I don’t think that’s a bad thing. Human beings…we are weak creatures by nature. Our insecurities are why guilds exist in the first place, and why we have friends.”

Loke didn’t know what Kageyama’s issue was. He didn’t know the backstory. Several of the lower Eisenwald members had spouted things about having their rights taken away, legal guilds thinking they were better than them, getting revenge for being outcast. He hadn’t cared. They were going to kill innocent people and nothing could justify that.

But somehow, Makarov knew. Knew that it wasn’t about rights or being outcast. It was that in the moment of being outcast, they were too weak to control their lives anymore and unable make a different choice. Their reasons mattered, not because it was a battle of ideals between the two guilds, but because it was a battle of lies and truths within each person. Of relying on your self verse relying on others for help. And that was the battle that currently determined whether or not Zeref’s Lullaby sang.

Kageyama trembled.

“When we’re surrounded by allies, it’s easier to stay positive about the future. We know that our weaknesses won’t destroy us.” Makarov was gentle, instructional. “Think of it this way, if we are clumsy, we may stumble on our way forward, but with our friends to help catch us, we have the strength to move forward to become who we want to be even if we fall sometimes. And by doing that our inner strength emerges on its own. We then help others on their paths.”

Makarov turned to face him fully, and Kageyama gripped the flute like a lifeline. Except it was pulling him away from the wise master. How much longer could he hold onto it?

“But we must choose that path. Choose to live each day to the fullest. Choose good friends to support you on that journey. Don’t let that silly flute get in the way of your real strength, young man,” Makarov finished.

Kageyama was full on shaking now. Loke had perused a philosophy book once, sitting in his family library. It was devoted entirely to attempting to understand the phrase “A true master wins the battle without ever drawing his sword”. The author had hypothesized it meant using overwhelming force to make a surrender, or that power sits behind the one controlling those with swords, not the one wielding the sword themselves.

But it wasn’t that at all. It was Kageyama, falling to his knees, dropping the Lullaby flute before a true master, declaring, “I surrender.”

“Master!” Erza yelled running forward with Lucy, Natsu and Gray.

“Nice going Gramps!”

“All right Master!”

Erza hugged Makarov against her chest plate, the ringing loud enough to be heard from way over where Loke was, “I have been moved to tears by your precious words!”

“What are the four of you doing teamed up together? Please tell me you didn’t destroy a city on your way here!”

Loke turned to Master Bob, “Sorry, but I’m pretty set on Fairy Tail,” he said with a smile, “And I made a promise.”

“Then you better go down there and join them, don’t you think?” Goldmine said with a nod towards the others.

Loke hopped down to join them.

“Oh, and who’s this?” Master Makarov said, catching sight of Loke.

“Gramps, this is Loke,” Gray introduced, “I was taking him to Fairy Tail to join up when we caught wind of this whole mess.”

“Is that right?” Makarov said. “And you still want to join after spending time with these rascals?”

“Hey, that’s not fair,” Natsu said. He pointed a finger at Lucy, “Lucy’s the one that got drunk!”

“Natsu! Did you really need to tell him that?” Lucy said, yelling right back, “Besides, you’re the one that blew out all the windows of Everlue’s mansion! I’m the one that helped us get the information on Eisenwald in the first place!”

“Aw yeah, that was fun,” Natsu said with a grin, “But you’re the one who sunk it into the ground.”

Loke smiled, “Actually, they convinced me that Fairy Tail is the only guild I want to join.”

Makarov pulled out a magic stamp, smiling, “Then it sounds like you’ll fit right in. Would you like your guildmark now?”

“Um, isn’t there paperwork or something I have to do? Maybe a test?” he asked. Merchant and craftsman guilds all had tests, but not wizards?

Makarov shrugged, “There’s some paperwork, but that can be taken care of when we get back to the guild. If you would prefer to wait…” he made to put it away.

“Wait!” Loke said. He looked over at Gray and Natsu, who were beginning to fight, only to stop at a word from Erza. “I’ll take the mark now, if you’ll give it.”

“Where would you like it?” Makarov asked. Loke held out his right forearm, and Makarov stamped a green fairy. “There you go.”

Loke rushed towards his new friends, “Hey guys, check it out!”

“Alright,” Gray said. “Welcome to the guild.”

“I look forward to working more with you,” Erza said.

“I’m sure the ladies will appreciate a man with a job,” Lucy teased.

Before Loke could explain that the only ladies he was interested in impressing were right there, a voice erupted from the ground.

“That’s enough!” a demonic voice shouted across the group.

“Lullaby!” Lucy yelled, pulling Kageyama away. “It’s the guardian, get back.”

“I have grown tired of you pathetic wizards refusing to give me the souls I deserve!” it yelled. The eyes on the flute glowed purple and smoke started pouring. Everyone backed up as a magic circle appeared in the sky. “I shall no longer hold back. I shall come forth to devour you myself! Hahaha!”

It was the largest magic circle that Loke had ever seen, the dark purple of a bruise. He had ended up on higher ground, back with the guild masters and his guildmates, giving him a view of the Fiore army. They must have gotten their messages and sent a contingent in Clover over to assist.

One of the voices in the unit asked their commander if they were scared yet.

He spoke too soon, all the smoke the flute produced rushed back to it, creating a shadow so thick, the shape changed. Then it grew and didn’t stop growing.

Taller than the trees, taller than the buildings, the flute revealed its true form. Three monstrous eyes in a gnarled face, hands and feet and abdomen of woven roots. It roared down at them, “I will devour your souls!”

Kageyama yelled, “What is this? Erigor never mentioned anything about this.”

“I don’t know about a guardian,” Goldmine said, “But it looks like a demon from a book of Zeref to me. Living magic, one of Zeref’s specialties. Along with keeping things sealed until the perfect moment to cause devastation. Forbidden black magic.”

“Well, isn’t this a pickle?” Master Bob said, one hand on his chin.

“Living magic?” Erza asked.

“Who’s Zeref again?” Loke asked, “Wasn’t he some big bad wizard forever ago?”

“Zeref was the most evil wizard the world has ever known,” Master Bob explained. “He was extremely powerful back in his day. He was obsessed with creating life from magic. But in my wildest dreams, I never expected to be faced with one of his demons.”

“Now then,” the monster said, leaning over Natsu, Gray, Erza, and Lucy. “Which of these delectable souls should I taste first?” Loke hadn’t noticed, but they had positioned themselves in front of everyone else, a four-person defensive line.

“Do you think souls are really that tasty?” Natsu asked Gray, salivating a bit. They hadn’t exactly stopped for dinner, but this really wasn’t the time.

“How should I know what souls taste like?” Gray snarked back, never taking his eyes off the demon.

“Really not the time to be thinking about food,” Lucy said.

“Lucy and Loke,” Erza called back, “Get everyone to a safe place. I’m trusting your judgement, Lucy.”

“Alright,” she said. Turning around and walking back towards the guild masters. Loke flanked her. “Everyone follow me, we need to clear the battleground.” She took off running. At least the alcohol had finally made its way through her system, her steps were sure and fast. Loke carried one old woman guild master on his back when she fell behind, and they ran a lot farther than he would have thought.

Behind him, it sounded like Lullaby was playing with the army. Then there was a blast, and a couple of people looked back to gasp about mountains being gone. “We need to keep moving,” Loke said, pushing them forward. Happy flew beside him, helping push the masters forward.

Lucy led them all to a basin, with their backs against a cliff, and a fair amount of trees for cover. “I’m going back,” she told him, “You stay here and guard the masters. They should be out of sight, and we’ll keep it from getting another free shot. But it’s going to be up to you and Master if anything gets past us.”

“I’ll do my best, but I don’t have any contracts right now,” Loke admitted.

Makarov tilted his head, “I’m sure the other three can handle it on their own.”

Lucy smiled and shook her head, “I need to see this through, it's personal now. I need to make sure the others know where to protect. Stay safe." Lucy took off running towards the demon.

“Kick butt Lucy!” Happy called, landing on Loke’s shoulder.

“Do you really think those four can handle one of Zeref’s demons on their own?” Goldmine asked Makarov.

Makarov stared after his guild, “I think today saw the beginning of a very dangerous team. It would be prudent if everyone watched.”

“I’m going a little closer,” Loke declared, “Duck or move if I say so.”

There was a burned-out tree stump and Loke perched himself on it, drawing his sword. It wasn’t enough to stop a mountain searing blast, but he felt better with it in his hand.

“Hey, you almost missed the party,” Natsu called as Lucy joined them.

“Not on my life,” Lucy said, stepping between Erza and Natsu.

“Perfect,” the demon sang, “Four tasty souls. The golden child seems like a rare delicacy.” It let out an ear piercing roar that had Loke clutching his ears.

Another magic circle appeared above its head. It was getting ready to attack with its song.

The guildmasters started panicking behind him.

“Ready?” Erza called, pulling out two swords.

“Yeah.”

“Try to keep up.”

“On your mark.”

Erza rushed forward, drawing attention. Natsu flanked left, Gray took the right, and Lucy followed Erza straight down the middle. The first three went up into the air, while Lucy dashed between its legs.

“Knight: Heaven’s wheel!” Erza called. And she was suddenly in armor made of swords. He’d never seen someone requip armor. In addition to the swords in her hands, several appeared around her, each striking forward.

Gray landed on the right, took a stance, and sent ten lances of ice towards the torso. Some of them pushed Erza’s swords in deeper, even as Erza slashed her way over the chest and shoulder.

“Fire Dragon Iron Fist!” Natsu called his attack from the left, stopping Lullaby from slapping at Erza with a staggering blow to the face.

“Brilliant claws!” Lucy cried, jumping up from behind it, slashing a light attack directly to the middle with a fist.

Of course, the middle was the thinnest part. If they could break it, the demon was toast.

Every time the demon tried to attack one of them, two of the others struck, and the remainder took advantage of the double strike throwing Lullaby off balance to land a hit at a weak spot. They were a brilliant dance of magic power and sound.

“Look at the strength of that fire!”

“I didn’t know ice magic could do that.”

“She can requip her armor.”

"So much control, the light magic isn’t blinding her allies. How can it be that destructive?”

The four wizards landed on a ledge at the same time. Lullaby yelled, “You are making me angry!”

They all dodged, then struck in the same rhythm. With Erza between them, Natsu and Gray’s attacks didn’t hit each other and cancel out, while Lucy struck powerful kicks from below; Lullaby had to scramble to keep itself upright.

“Their combo attacks are amazing,” Kageyama said, standing at the tree beneath him.

“Aye, and they’re in perfect sync,” Happy said.

The four of them landed, and a powerful wind sucked everything in towards Lullaby. They braced in defensive positions.

“This isn’t good,” Loke said, bracing himself. Around him, the trees were losing color and life fast.

“Just one note and your souls will be mine!” the demon called. It prepared, hands teed in a casting position,

One moment of silence.

One flat whistling breeze.

“Why can’t I play my song?”

“They punched so many holes in it, it can’t sing,” Happy pointed out gleefully.

“Love me an anti-climax,” Loke said with a relieved grin.

“Haha, flutes are so lame!” Happy called.

Lullaby didn’t appreciate that and proceeded to start kicking over hilltops. Just yesterday, Natsu, Gray, and Happy were debating how many mountains Erza could kick over. He was pretty sure that if they defeated Lullaby, all those mountain tops were added to their scores.

Then Lullaby set the forest on fire.

Gray rushed in front of the guild masters, “Ice-make shield!” he cried, flinging the shield in front of everyone with a strike of his bladed arms.

“That boy’s maker magic is spectacular.”

Natsu ate the flames, (since when the hell could he do that?) while Lucy and Erza struck high and low, this time Erza taking out the leg while Lucy hit from above, a kick directly on the eye. It screamed, “You’re all monsters!”

“Look who’s talkin’” Natsu said, wiping his mouth, “Now I’ve got a fire in my belly.”

Erza re-quiped. Black wing armor, if the appreciative calls behind him were accurate. She took to the sky while Lucy clung to its shoulder as it roared. Gray broke his wall and went to join them, the danger to bystanders passed.

Gray sent a spiked gear spinning into the weakest part of the abdomen, at the same time Lucy kicked off a rib, and Erza struck along the head.

"Natsu!” Lucy and Erza called.

“Do it now!” Gray said.

Natsu had been pulling a huge ball of flame to him. His three friends cleared the zone, giving him the opening. He struck. The name of the attack was lost in the explosion.

Finally Lullaby toppled, and the magic holding this form together destabilized. It shot towards the air, then scattered, leaving nothing but etherion dust sparkling in its wake. Amidst the smoke and rubble, the four of them stood tall, minus a couple of shirts from Natsu and Gray, and half a shirt from Lucy.

“Well done,” Makarov said.

Goldmine tipped his hat, “You guys made defeating Zeref’s demon look easy.”

Kageyama was on his knees again. “I can’t believe how strong they are. Are all Fairy Tail wizards as strong as these four?”

“I don’t know,” Loke said, grinning, “But I’m going to find out.”

Loke, Makarov, and Happy rushed to them. Lucy had a shy smile, where the others just looked confident.

“You picked up our signals like a pro,” Gray complimented Lucy, who grinned.

“I guess all those guildhall brawls were good for something, I just knew how you guys were going to attack,” Lucy said. “You guys were awesome.”

“I agree,” Loke said. “That was some amazing magic.”

“It was actually much easier than I thought it would be,” Erza said, requiping into her day armor. She looked over her shoulder at the clearing smoke and winced.

There was a giant crater where the Guild Masters’ meeting hall had been. And maybe a couple of missing mountain tops.

Lucy slumped and Gray put a hand to his head. Natsu laughed, “I guess we really overdid it this time. Look at that!”

“Wait, we can’t be blamed for that,” Lucy said quickly, waving her hands, “Most of it was Lullaby anyway.”

“That crater wasn’t Lullaby, and the big meeting place was still standing before that last attack,” Happy said.

“Whose side are you on?” Lucy cried.

"He has a point though,” Loke said.

“Not you too!”

Makarov saw the destruction and fainted on the spot. Erza fell to her knees, “I’m so sorry for our carelessness, please forgive us Master!”

Natsu finally noticed the crowd of angry guildmasters who had their meeting hall destroyed on day one of their three-day conference. “Hey, you guys look ready to fight someone. We’ll do it for you,” he volunteered.

“It’s you that we’re after!”

“Oh, right, well…wouldn’ want to make it too easy on ya!” Natsu yelled. He grabbed Lucy’s hand as he passed and pulled her after him. “No explaining this time. We run in real Fairy Tail style!”

Notes:

I finally finished a months-long assignment for work so I can post tonight, YAY! Don't worry guys, civil rights marches on.

Now for this chapter. The message and language of this one was so confusing an messy. I'm not sure even the author knew what he was getting at with dark guilds and legal rights here, but I like the way it turned out. Also I loved calling it Zeref's Lullaby, it's so poetic.

Chapter 9: Even though we took down Zeref's Lullaby, Erza got punished for it.

“Honestly, it took far too long to get home,” Lucy told Mirajane, accepting her smoothie, blended with her special spice. It was the first time she’d felt like she needed it since the wine. “Between helping take down Lullaby, the Everlue mission, and taking the long way home, I’m soooo glad to be back.”

“So, how does it feel to be part of Fairy Tail’s strongest team?” Mirajane said. “If you and Loke were able to get Natsu, Gray, and Erza to work together, well, I can’t imagine a group that has more natural chemistry.”

“The three of them do work well together,” Lucy admitted, “Some of the times we were fighting, it was all I could do to stay out of their way.”

“And Loke? He’s quite handsome,” Mirajane said. “What role did he play?”

Lucy though over it, spinning her drink with her straw, “He helped me come up with the plan, and he got us where we needed to be when we needed to be there. His magic is more versatile than the rest of ours and got us out of a nasty trap. He couldn’t help with Lullaby because he didn’t have any contracts active, but he was able to guard the guildmasters while we took care of it. He’s good. I’m glad he joined up.”

Mirajane smiled just a bit too sweetly, leaning forward, “My, my, quite the stellar report. I don’t think I’ve ever heard you compliment anyone like that. This made you spend quite a long time with Natsu, Gray and Loke, any special feelings come out of it? Loke is extremely handsome, but Natsu and Gray didn’t turn out half bad either.”

It took Lucy a second to figure out what she was saying. No one had bothered her about getting a boyfriend in three years, which was honestly the best part of dying a slow and painful death.

“Miraaaa,” Lucy whined, “No romance. Especially not right now, I’m beat.”

"Not too beat, I hope,” Mirajane said, “A client requested you specifically for an escort mission. A Miss Durre is going out on the town with her intended and asked for you to chaperone.”

“Emilie Durre, huh?” Lucy had taken a request posted by the girl’s mother about a month into her time as a fairy tail wizard to escort her daughter to a cousin’s house in the countryside. She was a sweet girl who wanted nothing more than to hear all of Lucy’s stories, and Lucy had done her best to oblige. When asked, it was revealed that Emilie actually detested how pretentious her cousin was and letting a guild wizard escort her had been the compromise she and her mother had struck. That time had gone smoothly, but Lucy had escorted her eight times since then, and they’d been attacked each time. Once by thieves, a couple of times by dark wizards looking to take a family heirloom that the girl kept on her person at all times, and another time by a giant wild boar.

Then there was the last time they were attacked in Hargeon, and that had been the rare case of two men looking to help themselves to apparently defenseless girls. Sex crimes were rare in this age, but it had been a pleasure taking those clowns down. In fact, now that she thought about it, a lot of her escort requests were directly by recommendation of Emilie, one of her friends or friends of the family. It was entirely possible that her new nickname “Guardian Angel,” was her fault.

“When does she want me?” Lucy asked.

“You’re quite popular,” Mirajane teased, “She insisted that it had to be you. Whenever you got back, because she absolutely had to hear what you’ve been up to that kept you away for so long. She specified the weekend following your return for their outing.”

It was Thursday morning. She would have all day today and tomorrow to relax and get her strength back up. The Durre’s always paid well, which would help with her rent. Two weeks of no paying jobs made it tough. Another good paying job after this and she’d be able to take some of the important, lower paying jobs as well.

Her only hesitation was that she might not be fully recovered by Saturday. Wandering through Clover Canyon for almost two weeks hadn’t been fun. The only good part about it was that she’d gotten used to being around Loke. If she wasn’t prepared, the needing/snapping pain could still get her, but she’d found the perfect level of closed off for her magic sense without incapacitating her. If Natsu or Gray was between them, and she could treat him like any other guildmate.

They all knew there was something weird about her though. She hadn’t eaten or gotten hungry like them, and while she tried to fake it, they knew something was off. Then there was that argument about her sharing her spice, and that had ended with her kicking Natsu and Loke into Erza, and then running for her life.

Into a different death trap filled with poisonous talking plants. After that were the dimensional holes. And before that was the mushrooms and the dark magic village that turned themselves into monsters. She was never letting Happy take the lead again. Or eating a mushroom. It was going to take more than an ashy milkshakes and a day of soaking herself in a tub to feel top notch again.

 But then again, it was Emilie, and it was with the arranged marriage she’d been nervous about, but determined to try. If he was a jerk who tried to take liberties with her, Lucy wanted to be there. Her mother had a very strong line about Emilie treating the help well, a bad report from Lucy about the fiancé might be enough to end a bad engagement.

“Tell the client I’ll be there Saturday morning,” Lucy said. At least Durre was a Magnolia noble, so there wouldn’t be a lot of traveling.

“Be careful Lucy,” Mirajane teased, “Escort jobs are a Blue Pegasus specialty. They might start to try and recruit you if you keep butting into their market.”

“They can try,” Lucy said.

“Morning Lucy,” Natsu said, jumping into the seat next to her. “Have you picked out a job for us to do?”

“Why would I do that?” she said.

“Hey, we picked out the job last time,” Happy pouted, “It’s your turn. Pull your weight, lazy bum.”

“You picked me because, somehow, I’m the only blonde female in the guild,” Lucy said, a little irritated, “Don’t bother pretending it was something else. And we just got back last night.”

“That’s not true,” Natsu said. He gave a toothy smile, “We also picked you because you’re nice. So, what should we do next partner?”

That stopped her anger. They liked her because she was nice? When had she been nice to them?

Partnerships were a contract, and they had burned up theirs with the little trick. But it didn’t feel like they were trying to trap her with a contract this time. Was this how humans made friendships? Not by contract or promises. You find someone with qualities you like, and you’re just…friends.

She’d never gotten much of a choice in her wizard, not like Virgo. Her wizards tended to die in battle and her key taken, or they gave the key away to a family member when she became too much trouble to keep. Her key was valued because she was strong, because she was beautiful, because she was rare. Never because…they just liked being around her. She knew Levy, Cana, and Mirajane liked her just because, but it still startled her every time it happened.

Anger gone, she realized this might be the break she needed. Lucy might not be up to full power when her charge got inevitably attacked on Saturday, but she and Natsu and Happy could probably handle anything that came their way. Emilie did promise that she could bring another wizard with her on any of their jobs. She glanced at Mira.

“You guys do know that Lucy has a specialty, right?” Mira said.

“A specialty?” Natsu asked, blinking.

“Yeah, she’s quite popular as an escort for travelers. Her clients have started to call her Fairy Tail’s Guardian Angel,” Mira said with a smile.

"I don’t do them exclusively,” Lucy said, blushing, “It’s kinda a silly nickname. But I like using my magic to protect people who can’t protect themselves. How are you guys on escort missions?”

“Dunno, never done them before,” Natsu said. “I usually pick bounties or monster hunting. Or property destruction. A couple of times I’ve helped find lost stuff. Never been asked to be an escort. Seemed like a lot of time spent riding on stuff and getting motion sick.”

She made her decision, “I’ve been requested to escort and protect a client as she goes around town with her fiancé. No vehicles. It’s this Saturday, and you can come with me if you want. She’s been attacked eight out of the nine times I’ve escorted her, so chances are good that there’ll be some action.” There would be a lot less risk to Emilie and that was the most important factor. She could focus on getting the nobles to safety while Natsu and Happy handled the fighting.

“All right, sounds like a plan!” Natsu said.

“Does that mean we have time to go fishing?” Happy asked.

“Sure does little buddy!”

They raced off, and Lucy smiled after them. They were really great people, she was lucky to know them. Lucy left the proper amount of jewel and a good tip on the bar. “Thanks Mira,” Lucy said. “If I’m going to be off on another job on Saturday, I’d better get home and rest up.”

The next day she took a long bath. Gravity didn’t have the same hold on you, floating in warm water. It felt like the lesser gravity of the celestial spirit world, and the warmth melted most of the pain away, especially with her lavender bath salts.

Meditating, she again tried to get a gauge on her magic container, but it still eluded her. She couldn’t absorb Earthland Magical Energy, but she felt changes in her magic. The fastest way to regain some magic was her spice, but maybe she was able to pull a little bit through her skin. Maybe only when she was relaxed. Because after relaxation days, she had slightly more magic energy to burn, though she and Porlyusica had never discovered exactly why. Porlyusica thought it was just psychological, but Lucy would take it.

Though, the tearing apart feeling was starting to become more frequent. A special type of sharp pain that had started to cut on top of the constant crampy pain that always haunted her. She was pretty sure it meant all her time was borrowed. Borrowed on relaxation days and magic spice.

It was only an hour before she got out of the tub. If she was on borrowed time, then the chances to work on her manuscript were running short.

Dressed before leaving the bathroom, she walked into her sitting room and went to her writing desk. It was soothing, rummaging through word choices, cutting down duplicative descriptions here, adding more dialog there, adjusting writing style for action scenes, and correcting spellings.

It was her story, written in black and white. Not perfectly written, but hers.

She flipped back to the front cover, something she had doodled at the guild on a slow day way back.

Stargaze.

Was there room for an additional chapter? What had happened with Everlue and Eisenwald was pretty famous, they were still getting calls from newspapers to do interviews about it. 

No, that adventure felt like a different book, one she would really never get to finish. Maybe she would write it tomorrow anyway, take a break from editing.

“Wow, writers really do get absorbed in their work."

Lucy immediately kicked out her chair behind her, towards the voice, shoving her manuscript away.

“Ow, that hurt,” Gray said, rubbing his head. He looked around, “You know, this is a really nice place for 70,000 J a month.”

“Hey, no stripping in my apartment," Lucy scowled.

“In my defense, I was in my underwear when I arrived,” Gray said, as though that solved everything.

Lucy slapped a hand to her head, “Is there a reason you’re here, or…”

“Oh yeah,” Gray said, beating a fist on his palm, “Natsu challenged Erza to a fight. They’re getting ready to duke it out in front of the guild. Thought you’d like to come watch.”

“Of course they are,” Lucy grumbled.

Natsu challenged anybody that people claimed was stronger than him. She’d heard about Natsu getting pounded into the ground during his last fight with Erza, but Lucy hadn’t been part of Fairy Tail back then.

In the first couple of months, she’d spent a lot of time freaking out to see so many fights. After all, fights were bad between people who were supposed to care about each other, and she’d been the one in charge of stopping fights between celestial spirits. But in Fairy Tail there were lines that were always respected in these fights. These kids had grown up together, and it was kinda like the way niccola occasionally wrestled. Because it was fun and everyone knew where to stop.

If people were getting obnoxious at Fairy Tail, sometimes she joined in, but usually she watched just in case someone went too far on accident or a guild mate needed a rescue, which had happened a few times.

Lucy smiled, “Well, what are we waiting for?”

There was a decent crowd gathered outside the guild. Cana was taking bets in the corner.

“Hey Lucy,” Cana grinned, “Who’re you betting on?”

Lucy thought about it. The way Erza was smiling, this really was puppy wrestling. Neither of them were going to be showing their true strength. Especially not with bystanders so close. Erza was going to test Natsu, she’d given compliments on his improved technique on their long walk home.

But Natsu was going to push as hard as he needed to in order to win. Might violate puppy fighting rules, and depending on how hard he pushed, Erza would match. But if things got dangerous, Master Makarov would step in.

“I’m betting it won’t get finished,” Lucy said, “Someone will stop them before one goes down, and the fight will end without a winner. Natsu will be furious. 500 jewel.”

“I hope not,” Cana said, taking her money, “That would a sucky end to this fight.” She went to stand on the other side of Gray, so he was between her and Loke. Happy floated onto her shoulder.

"Who are you betting on?” Lucy asked.  

“Erza, obviously,” Happy said.

“Against your own best friend?” Lucy asked, “Cold.”

“Obvious,” Gray said. “You’re just throwing away money if you bet against Erza.”

“Whoops,” Loke said with a laugh, “I bet on Natsu because he’s the underdog. Plus, all of you gave him the final attack against Lullaby.”

Gray shook his head, “Natsu’s got a talent for destroying stuff. His bigger attacks take too long to charge up though, where Erza is known for her speed. He’s going down. I’m not betting, but I hope it’s with just one punch.”

“Natsu wants to push this, and Erza wants to test him,” Lucy said, “It would be too dangerous if they actually went all out. My bet was that someone was going to stop them before we get a winner. Probably Master Makarov.”

“Boring,” Gray and Happy said together. She rolled her eyes and watched Erza don her flame empress armor.

“Aw, give the kid a chance.”

“Beat him black and blue.”

“Wow that armor’s pretty.”

Natsu had his game face on. Cana declared it time for the match to start.

Lucy and Loke immediately started cheering, along with the rest of the crowd. Elfman came up behind them, adding his commentary.

Natsu was testing Erza’s reactions, just like she was testing him. He started with coming at various angles, using his balance and flexibility to his advantage. The ring of spectators widened to accommodate. Several people cursed the longer Natsu stayed in, already losing their bets.

“Go Natsu! Go Erza!” Lucy cheered. Natsu was grinning like he was having the time of his life.     

They landed from a blocked strike, Natsu’s flames in both their eyes, when Lucy was shoved aside.

“Rude,” she called.

“This fight ends now,” a toad woman in council robes said.

“What? Come on, it was just getting started!” Natsu complained.

“I am here on behalf of the Magic Council of Fiore,” the woman said, “I have a warrant of arrest for the wizard known as Erza Scarlet, for six counts of property destruction over the course of the events surrounding the Eisenwald guild takedown.”

“What!” everyone yelled.

Erza let her flame empress armor drop, “I see. We will have to end our fight for now, Natsu. The Magic Council is requesting my presence.”

“This isn’t a friendly chat, they’re trying to arrest you for something you didn’t do!” Natsu said, shoving himself forward. “What did they want us to do? Should we have just let Eisenwald kill all the guild masters and whoever else they decided to? And if you arrest Erza, you’re going to have to arrest me too!”

“That’s enough Natsu!”

Natsu, and every other member of Fairy Tail, straightened at the sheer authority coming from her. Erza met the eyes of her guildmates.  “We are a legal guild because we follow the rules of the Magic Council. If they decide I need to be arrested, then I go.” She walked forward and held out her wrists.

Lucy had a hand over her mouth as the frog woman cuffed Erza with magic inhibitors. There was a stiffness to her stance that gave away her true feelings about the handcuffs.

Erza gave one last glare at her guildmates, “If I find any of you have done something foolish in my absence. You will regret it. Do not react to this event outside of proper channels.”

Erza left with the trembling council woman.

There was a rush of people hurrying inside the guildhall, voices melding together as everyone started speaking at once.

“I’m confused, what just happened?” Loke asked, “Is Erza going to trial? Do we need to testify to what happened?”

Lucy shook her head, casually maneuvering Levy between them as they sat down at the table, “That’s how it works in the public system, sure. But the Magic Council has a lot more power in regulating the guilds because of the destruction one rogue wizard can cause to everyone else. If the Magic Council finds you guilty, you’re guilty. On the other hand, those frog people? They swore an oath to help uphold magic law after one of the Council members protected their people from extinction. They can tell lies from truth.”

“That’s so wrong,” Loke said. “There’s nothing we can do?”

Levy shook her head, “We can’t go up against the Magic Council. Erza is right, doing that would make us a dark guild. And it’s not a fight we could win, even if we did want to start it. There are too many of them. Most of their wizards specialize in Anti-magic spells to help them better deal with rouge wizards.”

“Where were they when we told them about Eisenwald? I watched Lucy give the report. They called her cute, and basically said someone would get around to it eventually,” Loke said, fists clenched.

“Simmer down everyone,” Master Makarov said, “This is the world we live in. There are ugly parts, and parts we hate, but with every action we must accept the consequences as dictated by reality. To do anything else is the path of insanity.

“The freedom we have in using our magic is paid for with allegiance to the Council as picked by our country. Many other countries are not so fortunate. The arrest was for property damage, and punishing harshly one to whom many people owe their lives is a poor political move. We will not abandon Erza by any means, but we will see how the Council acts in this matter first.”

“That’s wrong,” Loke muttered, “Everyone deserves to be heard and circumstances always matter.”

What a wonderful world that would be.

But magic has rules, and consequences for breaking them. Some things are so bad, you don’t get a hearing. All you can do is cry about the consequences and accept them.

“Hey guys! Check it out!” Romeo ran in hold the tail of a tiny dragon lizard, “My dad managed to stop Natsu from going after Erza with transformation magic.”

The lizard had Natsu’s clothes, and his fire burning at his snout and tail. It was squirming angrily. “How does this magic even work? Let me go! We have to go after Erza, it’s not fair,” Natsu cried.

“Okay, that’s kinda cute,” Lucy said, watching as Romeo brought the lizard to Makarov.

“Dad took a hit from Natsu to do it, he’s recovering right now, so I brought him in,” Romeo said.

“I didn’t hit him that hard, and I don’t get what everyone is just standing around for!” tiny Natsu said, “Screw the Magic Council! Right Gramps?”

“I already explained why we aren’t going to do that,” Master Makarov said, “And you’re going to stay that way until I trust you to be sensible and follow my orders.”

With that, he dropped Natsu in a jar. Natsu started banging on the glass, trying to get out. It got worse when Gray went up to taunt him, but it was hilarious in its own way. They stopped Gray before he did more than shake the bottle though.

Worry permeated the guild, under the laughter. Lucy stayed, talking with everyone, opinions abounding about what they were going to do to Erza, and if this stunt had anything to do with the complaints that Master kept burning and feeding to their dragon slayer.

Four hours later, Makarov cut the chatter by revealing that he had let Natsu chase after Erza, and it had been Macao impersonating Natsu all along.

“So, how badly do you think Natsu’s going to mess this up?” Gray asked, “Because knowing that doofus, he’ll probably get them both killed.”

“The real question is why did Master let Natsu go?” Lucy asked.

Loke raised an eyebrow, “You think he knew it wasn’t Natsu from the start?”

“Of course,” Lucy said, “He’s guild master. He knows Macao’s magic when he sees it. He raised Natsu.”

“I bet it was to let the council know that while we’re playing nice right now, we won’t if they keep picking on us,” Levy said. “But it’s kinda of a risk, considering that it’s Natsu. I don’t think they’ll make it home for a while.”

“Crap!” Lucy said, standing up, “Natsu was supposed to do a job with me tomorrow.”

“Some partner he is,” Gray scoffed, “But then what did you expect?”

“Uggh,” Lucy said, “Hey Gray, if he isn’t back, you interested in helping me with an escort mission? The girl is prone to being attacked and I’d like some backup. Or how about you Loke? You haven’t gone on an official job yet.”

“Sure,” Gray said.

“What’s the job?” Loke asked, leaning forward.

“There’s a client that likes to request me,” Lucy explained, “Emilie Durre, she’s a Magnolia noble. I think her family owns Durriam Hotels and a bunch of land to the east. She’s going on a date with her fiancé and the family wants wizards to keep them safe. It’ll be from 11 in the morning on Saturday to seven in the evening. 11,500 jewel per hour per wizard.”

Loke had winced at the name of the client. Did he know her from somewhere? Emilie claimed that she hadn’t known any wizards when she first met Lucy.

“Sounds like a sweet gig. I’m definitely game,” Gray said. “You were going to take Natsu?”

“He asked," Lucy shrugged. "What about you Loke?”

He shook his head, “Sorry, it sounds like fun, but I think I’ll try a solo mission first, an easy one to figure out what it’s like. Thanks for the offer.”

Made sense, she supposed. Clearly teams sucked you in a lot more than she thought. Loke probably needed more time to figure out his wizard identity.

Makarov eventually received word about what happened. Erza was granted one lacrima call to update her guild master.

“So, you were the scapegoat to their farce of control,” Makarov scowled, “I suppose there were worse ways they could have handled it. What have they decided?

“I’m sure they would have let me off with a warning,” Erza said darkly, “But when Natsu stormed into the chamber, destroying the door and declaring himself the monster known as Erza, they sentenced both of us to two nights in jail. We will return Monday afternoon.”

“Tell Lucy I’m sorry about the job,” Natsu’s voice echoed faintly through the lacrima. “I promise to make it up to her.”

“I can’t believe it was all a fake-out,” Lucy sighed, putting her head on the table.

“Well, now that we can find some humor in this,” Cana said, “Lucy won the pot!”

Protests broke out around the guild. Including from Natsu and Erza across the lacrima.

“She bet that the fight wouldn’t have a winner, because someone more powerful would put a stop to it before it got too wild, the Magic Council totally counts,” Cana proclaimed. “Get up here and accept your winnings.”

“Cana,” Lucy whined, blushing. Another brawl broke out over whether Lucy should accept the money, Natsu challenged Erza to a rematch over the line, and the lacrima line went dead.

“Accept the money,” Mirajane said with a smile, “You made a clever bet. And it’s just people’s pocket change anyway. Sometimes you get lucky.”

“Okay then,” Lucy said, and she accepted the cash from Cana.

“Oh, and Loke over there bet a kiss,” Cana teased.

“What?” Lucy asked, looking between Cana and Loke.

Loke smirked, “That’s right. Erza wins, I kiss you, Natsu wins you kiss me. Loser has to kiss the winner.” He winked, “Collect whenever you like.”

Lucy started laughing, “No thank you. Nice try though.” Flirting was fun when Loke did it. Shame she couldn’t stand too close to him. She turned to Gray, “Since Natsu and Erza are stuck in jail, you and me are up for the job on Saturday. Still good for it?”

“Of course,” Gray said.

Notes:

Here's the fallout of Eisenwald, let me know what you think!

Chapter 10: A few months later, Lucy stood up to Laxus and Natsu decided they were ready for S Class . . .

“Freedom! Man, I’ll never take free air for granted again,” Natsu cheered, kicking his way in through the front door Monday morning. “Everyone miss me?”

“It was your own stupid fault for following Erza when literally everyone told you not to,” Gray said. Natsu immediately butted heads with him.

“You looking for a fight?”

“Glad you made it back Natsu,” Lucy said. “You too, Erza. I’m glad everything worked out. You had us worried.”

“Yes, it’s never fun being someone else’s example, but I am grateful it wasn’t worse,” she sighed. Mirajane pushed a piece of strawberry cake in front of the wizard, which was accepted with a smile.

Loke came and sat down on the other side of Erza. He seemed finally to accept Lucy’s need for distance. “I’m glad it didn’t come to a legal battle. I looked it up and you guys are right, the Magic Council has the definite advantage in any of those.”

Erza nodded, “Anything happen while we were gone?”

“Gray and I went on a job together,” Lucy said. “It was a little rough, trying to get him to keep his clothes on all day in front of the client we were escorting, but we got her everywhere safely.”

Natsu hopped into the seat next to her, “You went on the job with Gray? That was our job. Did he scar your friend?”

Lucy laughed, “No, she was actually really excited to have him there. And all contracts are off when you’re arrested and sent to prison.”

“Fine, but I get to choose the next job,” Natsu said, folding his arms. “I can’t believe you cheated on me with Gray.”

Erza choked and Loke snickered. “I was invited too,” Loke said, “Lucy tried to cheat on you with me and Gray.”

“You can’t cheat on a team,” Lucy argued. “Exclusivity is not in the deal when you agree to team up.” Erza started to shake with silent laughter.

“What are you guys talking about? What’s wrong with Erza?” Gray asked, sitting across from everyone in his boxers.

“It’s someone else’s turn to tell Gray to put his clothes on,” Lucy said, rolling her eyes, but smiling to show she was kidding.

“Ah yes,” Loke said with relish, “Your biggest problem when cheating on Natsu with Gray, his clothes.”

“What?” Gray yelped.

Erza broke and barked out a laugh.

“What’s so funny?” Natsu asked.

“You know, since Natsu was with Erza, when he should have been with me, he was cheating too,” Lucy said.

“Erza needed help!” Natsu defended, “She was up against the Magic Council. That’s not cheating.”

Gray smirked, finally getting the joke, then clucked his tongue, “Such double standards with you, blaming the girl. I never would have guessed.”

Loke, Erza, and Lucy all started laughing.

“I don’t appreciate you guys laughing at me,” Natsu stood up, “I’m going to talk to someone not being mean.”

Loke held out a hand and stood up too, “No, wait, I’ll explain the joke to you. It’s just a funny miscommunication.” He wrapped an arm around Natsu’s shoulders and started talking to him, leading them away.

“It’s a nice try,” Gray said, shaking his head, “But I think the dragon part of Natsu has prevented him from understanding puberty.”

“He’ll understand when he’s ready,” Erza said, eyes smiling. “Everyone is different. But for now, maybe he won’t throw the word ‘cheating’ around so casually anymore.”

 

~

 

Weeks passed and guild life went back to normal, though the newspaper did come out with articles about taking down Eisenwald. It was nice for Fairy Tail to get some positive press for once. Mostly positive press. Lucy did small jobs around town, usually with Natsu tagging along. Lucy worked on her novel and hung out with her friends. The lot of them were hanging out in the guildhall when a presence approached.

“Master? Is something wrong?” Mirajane’s voice was easy to hear, this close to the bar.

“I feel tired all of a sudden,” Master Makarov said. Lucy cast her magic senses out and flinched at the feel of power walking towards them. She grabbed her light pen and used one of her six rune spells, shoving as much magic into it as she could, while opening herself up fully to the pain of Loke’s aura. Luckily, he was across the room.  

The rune was completed as Loke’s head hit the floor near the request board, and she felt like she’d just thrown herself in an ice cold lake. Still, her eyes tried to pull shut. She started a second one.

The mutters were all that was left of the lively conversations from seconds ago, and they all amounted to basically the same thing:

“Mystogan again?”

Her head was bent, but she met the eyes of the surprised Mystogan. He nodded at her and walked past. Squinting, she watched him take a request from the board and show it to Makarov. He was dressed in dark blue and black; his pack held a wide range of rare staffs with intense magical power. Baggy and puffed clothes hid his torso, keeping her from finding out anything about his body shape.

“You don’t have to send everyone to sleep every time,” Master said with a yawn, “Your request is approved.” Lucy finished drawing her second awake rune and the rest of the sleepiness vanished.

Mystogan nodded at the Master and turned back towards the door. She tried to get a sense of his aura. Figuring out how to handle Loke’s aura seemed to have unlocked her ability to sense magic further.  It was holder, that much was obvious. It looked like Gray’s aura did when he was fighting with Natsu. Usually tightly controlled, but would flicker protectively or aggressively around people. He was feeling emotional, walking among his sleeping guildmates, and the control was slipping.

His aura seemed to curl particularly soft around her and Erza. Or maybe just Erza. The woman had slumped onto Lucy’s shoulder. Mystogan tipped his head again towards her. Acknowledgement for getting past his sleeping spell.

“You’re okay,” Lucy said aloud. That surprised him, and he turned back to her. Trying to talk felt kind of like that time she was drunk. She was awake, but her brain was still sluggish. “Makarov…but you’re good. Just inconsiderate. Can’t be too irritated at Fairy Tail for being inconsiderate.”

He didn’t say anything, but his eyes crinkled at the edges. His magic aura curled around her softly, along with Erza, before it came back under his control.

“Remember to lift the spell when you leave,” Makarov called out.

That was why she had devised a plan to try and stay awake this time. Last time Mystogan had forgotten to lift the spell after he left, and she’d been four hours late to an escort mission when she woke up. Mystogan exited out the door and the sleep spell lifted.

And Lucy’s awake runes weren’t fighting a sleeping spell anymore. It was like having two cups of Virgo’s coffee poured into her blood stream. Her eyes were wide wide open.

“Huh?” Loke asked, sitting up, “What was that?”

“That was Mystogan,” Erza explained as he came to their table, wiping her own eyes. “He’s another member of Fairy Tail’s S class. He values his privacy and sends everyone to sleep every time he comes in to pick up a job.”

“No one has ever seen him, except Master Makarov,” Cana said, “He’s one big mystery.”

Lucy felt her hands start to shake.

“I’ve seen him plenty of times,” Laxus bragged from the second floor. “He’s the only one who might be a match for me when it comes to the strongest wizard in Fairy Tail.”

“Speaking of rare events,” Gray muttered, staring at his drink.

“Laxus!” Natsu called up, “Come down and fight me.”

Laxus snorted, “You can’t even beat the redhead, don’t even think about challenging me.”

Lucy jumped to her feet, “She has a name and you know it. Stop acting like a bully.”

“Lucy?” Erza asked.

“I saw that stunt you pulled,” Laxus sneered, “Mystogan likes his privacy, little girls like you should respect that.”

“And I like having control over my body,” Lucy shot back, “And not being late to jobs. Mystogan should have respected that first.” She felt like she was vibrating, but she didn’t want to draw attention to the ‘awake’ marks on her forearm and attempting to smudge them even a little would do that when she had this much of the guild’s attention.

“Wow, you are mouthy,” Laxus said, giving her a predatory grin. “I can imagine so many better ways to put that mouth of yours to good use.”

“Laxus, stop ignoring me! I’m your opponent, now get down here and fight me!”

“You don’t have to fight him,” Lucy added, walking forward to just under the balcony, “But why don’t you come down here and join your guildmates. Stay up there, lording your magic power for too long, and your neck might snap under your ego.”

There was a rush of whispers at her words.

They stopped when Laxus started laughing. His aura was like Natsu’s: unrestrained, flicking out and burning the air around him with his power. There wasn’t anything playful or protective about it. No warmth, all jagged edges.

“Do you even hear yourself talk? Cause all I’m hearing is ‘please, punish me for my insolence!’” Laxus said. “I know you don’t have the magic power to back up what you’re saying, so just sit down and let the grown ups do the talking.”

Her eyes narrowed. Lucy was the leader of the zodiac spirits. She has seen empires rise and nations fall. Every day she walked with death and pain in her shadow, in her body. She’d killed people under the orders of her wizards, good and bad, and she’d killed her master, when Karen cared more about making sure people feared her than doing what was right.

All she saw in Laxus’s jagged smile was Karen, showing off chains to Aries, excited to see her in pain for the crime of daring to think she had control over her life.

“I don’t need magic power to back up my words,” Lucy threatened. “I’m not scared of you.” Laxus’s smile became bared teeth at her declaration, “I’m not scared of you for a host of reasons. Let me know when you want a list.”

“You should be,” Laxus said. “As the strongest wizard in Fairy Tail, I’ll take the position of guild master when the old geezer kicks the bucket. And mouthy weaklings won’t be allowed in my Fairy Tail.”

“Laxus, that’s enough —” Makarov started.

“Look where you’re standing!” Lucy yelled. “Cause that’s the biggest reason I don’t fear a schmuck like you.”

“Above you, above everyone, where I belong,” Laxus said. “While you’re standing —"

“Alone,” Lucy said. “You’re standing alone. I’m standing with my guild at my back.”

“You really want to do this now?” Laxus said, eyebrows raised, “Cause from what I can tell, you’re standing alone. They might be at your back, but they sure as hell don’t have it. You’ve been in Fairy Tail, what? A year? Blondie, just sit down before you embarrass yourself more —”

“I have Lucy’s back,” Natsu declared, “I’ve been standing here the whole time! Come down here and fight me!”

“THAT’S ENOUGH” Makarov roared. He grew halfway into his giant form, shadows converging on him. “We are a guild and we will act like it. Am I clear?”

“For now, old man,” Laxus said. He slipped his headphones back on and went out of sight on the second floor.

“Laxus!” Natsu said. He jumped onto the bar, then jumped again, aiming for the second floor railing, only to be smacked to the floor by Master’s hand.

“Non-S-class wizards aren’t allowed on the second floor!”

Lucy went back to her table, eyes scanning everywhere at once.

No one was looking her in the eye.

“That was tense,” Gray said as Lucy approached.

“And it was probably unwise,” Erza added, “Laxus is a force to be reckoned with. I’m not even sure I could win in a fight against him. And you have surely drawn his ire.”

“Power doesn’t give you the right to treat people like garbage,” Lucy spat, “Any ten-year-old can tell you that. He is a sexist, selfish, pig, and I didn’t say anything that wasn’t true. I think you could take him Erza, and he should respect you for that, if nothing else.”

“Lucy, what’s on your arm?” Loke asked. Lucy looked down, having forgotten the runes. She touched them, and the massive amounts of fight went out of her, leaving normal Lucy in their wake.

“Awake runes,” she said rubbing her eyes, “Aghh, I used them to fight Mystogan’s sleep spell. Good news, Mystogan does care about the guild and the people in it, unlike Laxus.”

“Laxus does care about us,” Erza insisted, “Or at least, he cares about Fairy Tail. He wants us to have a good reputation for being strong, that’s all. You didn’t know him when he was a kid.”

“Don’t have to,” Lucy said tiredly, “I’ve known people like him all my life. He was probably really weak himself at one point, right?”

They were all quiet, but it was a common story for celestial wizards.

“Those are the people that hate weakness the most, and sometimes, they understand it the least. They ride their power trips straight into the sun unless someone knocks sense into them, because otherwise they’d have to confront the scared, weak, helpless person they used to be. Sorry for causing a ruckus, but I meant everything I said. I think I’m going to go home for today.”

Outside the guildhall, breathing was easier. It took two blocks, but someone was following her. Was Laxus really so pissed to follow her home and do…whatever he thought he wanted to do to her? He was way too lazy. And striking out against her in private was a dumb move, any way you slice it. It made her seem like she was a threat and like he was taking her threats seriously.

Well, she wasn’t going lead him to her house. Halfway home she took a sharp turn into an alley, and after getting through halfway, turned around with a fistful of light.

She let the light go out when she saw it was only Master Makarov.

“It’s not nice to follow girls home, Master,” Lucy said with a wane smile.

Master Makarov nodded, “I am aware. I simply wanted to ensure that you made it safely. And, if possible, apologize for my part in the scene back there. I should have de-escalated things sooner, but I hoped…he stopped listening to me long ago. I had hoped that maybe a pretty girl could hold his ear when I could not. Myself and my son certainly paid more attention to what they had to say than our parents at Laxus’s age.”

It was a dumb idea, but clearly a desperate one. Lucy could understand that. Still, she was curious, and hesitantly, she started, “Three years ago I was on a hunt for a dark wizard. I tracked down dark guilds, broke into headquarters looking for member lists, looked at their info on each other, that sort of thing. There was one called Raven Tail. I didn’t find it, the rumors gave me the information I needed to know they weren’t what I was looking for. One of those rumors…the guild master was the son of Fairy Tail’s guild master. Banished after messing with forbidden magic.”

Makarov’s silence was answer in itself.

But then, she understood that too.

Lucy nodded, and walked towards him, past him, out of the alley way and into the light. She turned back, “I believe you were walking me home?”

His head snapped up to stare at her, and she smiled. Smiles could do so much, didn’t matter which world you were in. He joined her on the street and followed her when she started a slow walk.

“I don’t know how much longer I’ll be alive,” Master mused after a few steps in the light, “Much less what’s going to happen to Fairy Tail when I pay the price every creature must for the gift of living. Laxus believes he will succeed me, and had you not challenged him today, everyone else might have believed it too. It is always so messy when families fight. But I believe there will be some who will fight for the Fairy Tail I have worked hard to create. A Fairy Tail similar to the one handed down to me. And that eases an old man’s heart.”

There have been many moments the past three years where she has felt the indignity of forced mortality. Worrying about rent and jobs, carefully trying not to offend ridiculous clients, groaning in pain from living. But maybe she was more like Makarov than she thought. Peace was the one wish she had for the families she was leaving behind, messy as they both were.

It was a relief, in a way, that of all the humans that she understood best, it was one of the eldest, wise and powerful.

“I don’t know what you’ve figured out about me,” Lucy said, “Probably a lot more than I ever wanted you to know, and I don’t want to know how much you learned. But something you should know is that joining Fairy Tail was the best decision I made in a long time. I’m proud to know that when you talk about your irritating, precious children I’m one of them.”

“All of you are quite the handful, aren’t you?” Makarov mused, “And if I never saw Natsu, Gray, and Erza team up again, I might be able to sleep at night.”

“It’s quite the team, isn’t it?” Lucy laughed. She hopped up on the ledge of the canal, and Master walked her the rest of the way home.

 

At home, Lucy was running low on energy, but she was also starting to get low on her spice. She had overused it during the Eisenwald incident and was almost to refill mark. She would have to go to Porlyusica in the morning and leave her a message about getting some more. Luckily, she had the winner’s pot from Erza and Natsu’s fight, the Durre job, and her savings, so she’d be able to pay for it properly this time, though she would still have to slip payment under the door like she’d been slipping the medicinal herbs the last couple of times she couldn’t pay properly.

To save up energy, she took a bath instead of eating a meal. It didn’t work nearly as well, but it felt so good emotionally to let herself drift, it made up for the lack of magical restoration.

As soon as she was out of the water, the pain set in, almost double her normal tolerance levels.

It was going to be one of those nights.

In her pajamas, she stepped into her room.

“Come on Lucy, it’s workout time!”

“Aye!”

“Get out of my room!” she screamed. She yanked her blanket out from under them. Why did they think her bed was a good place to train? How did they keep getting in here? She wrapped her blanket around her for good measure. It let her hunch less obviously.

At least the facial expressions for ‘in agonizing pain’ and for ‘utter rage’ were similar enough.

“Aw, but Lucy, we’re a team!” Happy said, “That means we work out together. We even got you the pink one!”

“We both have to train hard if the goal is to surpass Laxus,” Natsu said, grinning, holding out the pink dumbbell.

“It’s nighttime, I don’t want to train, I want to sleep!” Lucy whined. “And I don’t need to be able to punch Laxus into a wall, I need him to learn to respect people weaker than him.” Natsu tilted his head, as though not understanding the idea. He did, he just didn’t know that he did.

Lucy softened, and smiled, “Besides, I’ve got you to punch people for me, right? I never got the chance to thank you for having my back today. That was pretty cool of you.”

“Obviously,” Natsu said, he gave her a thumbs up, “We’re partners. And we snagged the perfect job for us. It’s obvious that our team is ready for S class.”

“What?”

“Don’t worry, I know it’s our first time, so we grabbed the job with the smallest reward,” Natsu said, showing her the flyer.

The flyer. With a huge S stamped in the corner.

“Are you insane?” Lucy demanded, “Master’s going to kill you for this! If you put it back now, you might be able to avoid the punishment.”

“Nah, if we pull it off, he’ll be impressed, I’m sure of it,” Natsu said. “So get packing partner, we have to get to Hargeon by morning if we don’t want someone trying to stop us before we even get a chance to try. It’s on a tropical island.”

He sang that last part, holding the flyer out in front of her, and for a second, she was tempted. Floating in the warm water of a sunny beach would feel amazing. She forced herself to focus on the large S stamped on the request, sitting just above the promise of a key in addition to the monetary reward.

“Oh no,” Lucy said. “Partners back each other up over important things. Not death wishes and the ridiculous idea that you can prove yourself this way. It’s ridiculous, and a far dumber move than I ever thought you would make. Wait for the S class trials dummy. You will get out of here right now and the first thing in the morning you will turn that paper back into Gramps with an apology. Do I make myself clear?”

“Don’t you want to prove Laxus wrong? He thought you weren’t tough!” Natsu argued.

Lucy glared, “I don’t care, I don’t want to die that way! There are things worth dying for: protecting your friends, protecting innocent people, doing the right thing. Your need to prove yourself isn’t one of them.”

Natsu looked her up and down, then sighed, heading for her window, “Fine, have it your way. We’ll go pick another job. I should’ve known you weren’t going to be any fun when you wouldn’t do anything without Erza last time.”

“Use the door like a normal person!” Lucy screeched as he jumped out. Well, now she knew how he got in. Time to start locking the windows.

Would Natsu really back down like she wanted? He might be stubborn enough to go on the quest without her. In fact, he backed down far too easy after already going through the trouble of stealing the request. Should she go after him? Sitting on him all night would keep him from doing anything reckless.

He was still her partner; she didn’t want him to die.

She was getting dressed to follow him when a spasm ripped through her body, sending her to her knees.

Lucy had asked the wrong question. Before you get to ‘should I do this’, you have to ask yourself ‘can I do this’.

Tonight, she was in no condition sit on Natsu Dragneel.

She crawled onto her bed, shaking, and thought about sending herself to sleep with a rune. The pain had come on suddenly, she hadn’t been able to arrange for one of her friends to come wake her up. She needed to go to Porlyusica in the morning to leave a message. And she didn’t want to sleep through any more of her numbered days at the guild. She'd simply get what rest she could, the increased pain spells usually didn't last longer than one night.

Lucy would just have to hope Natsu had enough sense to listen to her. He had acknowledged he needed someone else to take down Eisenwald, so hopefully her refusal would be enough.

Lucy fell into fitful dreams.

Notes:

This one goes out to everyone with chronic pain!

What do you think of the things we learned about Lucy in this chapter?

She's definitely using different coping mechanisms than Loke used in cannon, but then female lions have very different jobs than male lions, and this is Lucy we're talking about. Let me know what you think!

Chapter 11: . . . Lucy and Gray tried to stop Natsu and Loke from going, but failed.

Loke frowned at his apartment. It was near the guild, which was useful, and right next to a row of bars and clubs, which had possibilities. But it was much seedier than he imagined living when he ran away. There was a little bit of light through the tiny windows during the day, but the rest were dimming lacrima. He had grossly underestimated how much he would need in order to furnish an apartment, and had ended up with a single chair, a table, and a bed.

At 80,000 J a month, it wasn’t terrible, though he wasn’t sure what to do about the boxes of stuff the last tenant left in the second bedroom. He would probably be looking for something better as soon as he had some savings.

He’d done two solo jobs already, finding a lost bracelet with Virgo’s help and helping a farmer harvest his crop using Cancer’s blades.

He would really be able to start looking if he had dared go on the Durre job with Lucy and Gray. But Emilie knew him, and he wasn’t quite ready to address that particular elephant just yet.

Nothing as exciting as the Eisenwald job had been. Though Erza getting arrested by the Magic Council had come close. If Natsu had asked him, Loke would have them both in suits and making a case in no time flat. But Natsu had settled on Lucy as his partner, and Lucy and Gray weren’t going to be inviting him on any big adventures after he had to play disinterested about the Durre job.

He’d just have to find his own adventures. Keep his eyes open. And the perfect place to keep your eyes open was the club two doors down, full of beautiful women looking for someone to dance with.

Decided, he fussed with his appearance for thirty minutes, then went to his door, barely remembering his house key.

He opened the door and in walked Natsu, arms behind his head, “Your place isn’t as nice as Lucy’s,” he said, strolling in. “But I guess you did just move in.”

“It’s a lot less pink, that’s a good thing,” Happy said.

Natsu grinned, “Nothing wrong with pink.”

“Yeah, it didn’t come furnished, and I was running low on Jewel,” Loke said, shutting the door. “What brings you here?”

“It’s been a while. Being stuck in prison really makes you think about life, you know?” Natsu said, making himself comfy on the single chair in his apartment. Happy floated towards his fridge.

“And what great epiphany did you come to?” Loke asked.

“Epiff-what?”

“Oh um, realization,” Loke said, pulling his eyebrows together, “It’s a new idea you have about either your life or the world around you. E-p-i-p-h-a-n-y.” For fun, he signed each letter as he spelled it. That was how he learned large words as a child anyway.

“Oh, see, I figured out that you’re a pretty cool dude,” Natsu said, grinning, “Cool enough that I was wondering if you wanted to team up on a job together.”

“Awesome,” Loke said, then blinked, “Wait, I thought you were partners with Lucy?”

“Lucy’s being boring and won’t do this one with me,” Natsu huffed, then smiled, holding out the job request, “But I bet you’re just dying to try one of these babies.”

Loke took it and looked it over. Help a small tribe of humans break a curse placed upon them. They lived on a remote island known as Galuna, more details upon arrival — “Seven million jewel!”

Natsu nodded, grinning, “That’s right. But that’s not all that’s in the reward.”

Loke looked at the fine print, “A golden gate key! I’m in.”

Then noticed something else, it was a little difficult to see in the crappy lighting of his apartment, “Wait, is this an S class quest from the second floor?”

“Sure is.”

“Won’t we get in trouble?” Loke asked hesitantly, “Mira made it sound pretty strict. And Master Makarov thumped you into the ground for even trying to get up there.”

“There’s a little secret about Fairy Tail,” Natsu said, standing up and throwing an arm around him, “It’s only banned if you can’t pull it off. If you can do it, then even if it is illegal or against the rules, everyone thinks you’re the coolest.” Natsu grinned, “Trust me. I’ve been doing this a long time.”

Loke wasn’t sure about trusting Natsu to know which rules were supposed to be followed, but Lucy was sure Master Makarov had let Natsu follow Erza on purpose. Maybe Natsu was a good judge of the rules, but everyone had to pretend he wasn’t because otherwise it didn’t mean anything. Or so they could maintain plausible deniability.

“There’s a golden gate key in this,” Loke said, waving the flyer, “Even if it is against the rules, I want in. When do we leave?”

“I packed up the food!” Happy said. They looked over to see a picnic basket overflowing with things from his fridge, and not necessarily things that should be travelling.

“Soon as you grab your stuff,” Natsu said, “Come on, we need to hurry or they’ll send someone to try and stop us.”

They hopped on the midnight train and were at the Hargeon docks looking for a ride to the cursed island by seven in the morning. Though it took a ridiculously long time to convince Natsu that there was no way they were going to swim to Galuna. They had been asking around for a boat to Galune three hours when Loke decided he was hungry enough to brave food basket.

Loke wrinkled his nose at the smell, “Happy, what made you think bringing my yogurt was a good idea?”

“For when Lucy shows up!”

Loke frowned, “I thought you said Lucy refused to come.”

Natsu came back to them, after yet another fisherman told him to scram, “Yeah, she did, but she’ll come. I’m kinda surprised she hasn’t caught up to us yet. I was expecting her to follow us to your apartment.”

“Even though she told you to put the request back?” Loke asked, raising one eyebrow. “Did you tell her you were putting the request back?”

“Well, yeah,” Natsu said, “Obviously I was lying. When she figures that out, she’ll come charging here to bring us back. But when she can’t convince us to go back, she’ll stick with us to raise the chances of everyone being safe. Though, if she doesn’t catch up to us by the time we reach the island, she’ll probably stay and help us once she meets the people suffering from the curse.”

Loke blinked, “So you’re manipulating her desire to keep us safe and help people in order to get her to go on this job with us?”

“Well, it sounds so bad when you call it manipulating,” Natsu said, and he tapped his temple with a finger, “I call it knowing my partner.”

“Natsu, you know how I explained a couple of days ago that all the terms we were joking with were funny because they could apply to a romantic relationship better than they applied to a working partnership?” Loke said slowly.

Natsu tilted his head, “Yeah?”

“Do you have feelings for Lucy?”

Happy Nestled on top of Natsu’s head, “No way does Natsu have feelings for a weirdo like Lucy!”

Natsu shrugged, “I don’t think so. I just think she’s cool and want to hang out with her. She makes hilarious faces when she realizes she’s fallen for our traps. She can be terrifying, and she’s nice. If that’s what it means to have feelings for someone, then I probably do.”

Not a hint of blush. Not a shred of awkwardness. Was Gray right that dragon slayer magic delayed puberty? Or was Natsu just Ace? Either way, Natsu was describing part of having feelings for someone, but missing other parts. Not just the physical, but the nerves and the desire to have her think well of him. It could be just a new crush and Natsu was in the hair pulling stage.

Natsu sniffed something in the air and grinned, “But let’s keep that between us for now,” he winked, then gestured forward, “Come on, I don’t think we’ve asked that guy on the end of the pier yet.”

 

~

 

Lucy seriously considered not going to the guild in the morning. The worst of the pain was gone, but she hadn’t gotten much sleep. It was tempting to head straight back to her apartment after leaving a message for Porlyusica. But what if she missed out something important happening? Like Natsu getting turned into a tiny lizard for real as punishment for trying to sneak off with an S class quest? Or the Magic Council deciding to arrest someone else?

There was a lot of loud panicking inside the guild, so much that Lucy could hear it from the outside. She hurried and threw the door open. Everyone stopped talking as she came in.

“Lucy!” Mira said, rushing down from the second floor to where she was. “Lucy, please tell me Natsu is with you. Happy snuck in and took an S class quest last night!”

Lucy paled running towards her, “You mean they didn’t return it this morning? They tried to convince me to join them last night, but I told them no and they promised me they’d return the request first thing today. He wouldn’t try and do it alone.”

“At least you tried to stop him,” Master growled. She had missed him standing on the bar when she first came in, “Laxus saw Happy take the request and did nothing. For letting them walk to their deaths, I place it back on you, Laxus, to bring them back. Leave now before it is too late!”

“I didn’t tell the cat to take the job, and everyone in Fairy Tail is supposed to pull their own weight, right? Good riddance if you ask me.” Laxus said, purposefully leaning back in his chair, “If someone is too stupid to live, just let nature take its course instead of fighting it.”

“Laxus not taking responsibility; what a completely unexpected surprise,” Lucy said, dripping with sarcasm, “What’s next? He’s not going to care about anyone but himself? Oh, wait.”

“You got a problem with me?” Laxus said, sitting up.

“Several,” Lucy deadpanned. “But because I care about my guildmates, you’re moved to the bottom of my list of problems.” She turned to Master Makarov and bowed, “Master, I am sorry for not doing more to stop Natsu. I will go and retrieve Natsu at once.”

“You are a good wizard Lucy,” Master said, “But I’m not sure you’re strong enough to bring Natsu back by force if it comes to that. He’s a stubborn fool.”

“I’ll go with her, Gramps,” Gray said, standing up. “I’m more than capable of dragging Natsu back here by his scarf.”

Master Makarov nodded, “Do not get swept up yourselves. I’m trusting you to grab him and come back alive by any means necessary.”

They went straight to the train station and caught the express train to Hargeon. It would still take them two hours, but it was better than the non-express train’s six hours that Natsu and Happy would have had to take. She wasn’t sure if it was optimistic or foolish, not stopping to pack clothes or other travel items.

She and Gray had a compartment to themselves, and they were quiet, both looking out the window.

“I really didn’t think he would go,” Lucy said when they were a distance away from Magnolia, “I mean…not that he wouldn’t go, but I thought he knew better than to go alone. I thought he would take his time to try to convince me in the morning.”

“Don’t beat yourself up about it,” Gray said, “Natsu’s stupidity knows no bounds. If I had to guess, he probably thought you would follow him, and he could convince you to stay later.”

“Yeah, maybe,” she said. It might have worked if she hadn’t had a bad night last night. Something wasn’t right though. One of the reasons Natsu needed other people was his motion sickness, and this was a long way to travel on his own. Maybe Gray was right and he was waiting for her in Hargeon to give another go at convincing her.

There was a key mentioned in the reward.

She hadn’t read the fine print closely, but really, there was only one kind of key that people would presume to tempt an S class wizard.

“Gray, was Loke in the guild this morning?”

He thought about it, but shook his head, “No, but he usually strolls in closer to noon. You think Loke went with Natsu?”

“There was a gold gate key listed as part of the reward,” Lucy said, “I think if Natsu asked, Loke would have gone.” The nature of the magic lent itself to the sin of greed.

“Could be, I guess we’ll just have to track Natsu down and see,” Gray said.

Loke, getting a new gate key. Another question burned her throat. She opened her mouth, and Gray tilted his head at her to show he was listening.

It died. Too much, too close.

No, she had to know. Gray was the best one to answer this question, they were alone, and she couldn’t put it off any more.

“What-what happened when Loke summoned Virgo?” Lucy asked quietly.

Gray sat up. “You could have seen for yourself.”

Lucy couldn’t hold his gaze, turning her head to face the window. She had to answer.

“It hurts, being around Loke,” Lucy admitted, “It’s part of . . .well it’s part of a curse I’m under. I’m mostly over it, unless he takes me by surprise. It’s…worse, when he actually has a celestial spirit out. I can tell you more, but you have to promise not to tell anyone, not Makarov, not Erza, not Loke.”

It took Gray a second, but he said, “Okay, just you and me.”

“I got the curse because I called out a celestial wizard who mistreated their spirits. I just…I just want to know how Loke treats them.”

Gray was quiet for a long while. “Are you sure there’s no way to break the curse? It can’t be more difficult than the curse on Galuna Island.”

Lucy shook her head, giving him a small smile. “No, there’s no way to break it. It wasn’t too much of a problem until recently. I can handle it,” she lied.

Gray waited to see if she would say more, then shook his head when she held her silence, “Loke summoned Virgo, who was all dressed up in a maid costume. Tiny little thing, until Natsu told her he like her larger form better and she became huge. Loke assured her he liked the smaller form. He apologized that there wasn’t time to work out the details of a contract and asked if she could dig a tunnel under the wind barrier and they work out the finer details of the contract later. She did it, and we were out.”

That . . . was fine. Didn’t tell her much overall, then again, it was hard to tell with the masochist Virgo when something actually bothered her.  

“Oh, and Virgo kept referring to him as master, but Loke said that made him uncomfortable and would prefer to be called by his name. They negotiated, and Virgo finally agreed to call him ‘Sir’.”

Lucy let out a slow breath, “Okay, okay. That’s…that’s okay.”

“I didn’t see anything wrong with it,” Gray said, “And when we took down Eisenwald, he called the cow guy. They worked pretty well together as a team. Loke covered his back until they could get to a wall, then covered the openings and ranged magic attacks while the spirit fought with a giant axe. I think his sword dispels lesser magic.”

Lucy blinked, “They fought together?”

Gray nodded, “I don’t know what kind of celestial wizard you dealt with before, but Loke works with his spirits like they are just another wizard.”

Lucy nodded. She had wizards that fought when backed into corners and while waiting for her to get to them, very few of them had ever fought beside her. The thought was kind of terrifying.

Scratch that, really terrifying. It always hurt when your wizard was killed, or even hurt, but to watch that while they fought beside you? You’d have to be so careful to only let things you knew your wizard could handle past you, and you’d have to know they were good enough to not get in the way of one of your strikes.

 It was one thing to ask to not be used as a shield every five seconds of your existence, it was another to ask your wizard to cover your back in close combat. Most celestial wizards, if they used a weapon at all, used a ranged weapon. The bow, throwing daggers, or magic bullets, but sometimes lances or spears. For a while, the Heartfilia women used whips, until it went out of style or they became noble or something.

And Loke did that with Taurus? While using a sword? The bull better have had several practice sessions before pulling that in a real fight. She’d only been gone a few weeks in the celestial spirit world, maybe a few months, and this is what he gets up to? Uggh, Capricorn was usually the leader in the lion’s absence or infancy, he should have been checking that, but no one had seen the old billy goat for ages. There was some relation between geography in the celestial world and Earthland, they had all assumed his key was taken out of Fiore and he’d be back in a couple of months (wizards were rarely satisfied with one key, and usually came back to Fiore to claim more).

Which was fine, it wasnt your choice your wizard moved continents, except Capricorn was supposed to be keeping watch over the others while she was out of commission.

Which left Aquarius as the defacto leader. Aquarius was older than her, so Lucy had never met the previous Aquarius, but this one was a nightmare. Somewhere around her thousandth birthday the spirit had managed to upgrade her power in exchange for a trickier summoning and had been utterly insufferable since. It meant she was called by her wizard less, and she spent all her time with Scorpio.

Aquarius certainly wasn’t going to be stepping up to the mantle of controlling Taurus’s bad ideas if Capricorn was still out of the country, even if they were contracted to the same wizard.

The worst part was that they would get away with it.

Lucy closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She wasn’t their leader anymore.

She had picked a path, and it was the wrong one. Sometimes circumstances don’t matter. Sometimes the consequences were immutable.

And death was the most immutable consequence of all.

“Hey, Lucy?” Gray asked, pulling her from her thoughts.

“Yeah?” she said. He wasn’t looking at her, and the words seemed to not want to come.

“I’m…I just wanted to say sorry for yesterday,” Gray said, looking at the floor. “It doesn’t make up for not having your back, but I promise I would have done something if Laxus tried to attack you. Not sure it would have worked, but I would have tried.”

“I believe you.”

“It’s just,” Gray ran his fingers through his hair, gripping it, “Laxus is scary strong. And nothing he was saying was wrong. We’re Fairy Tail, when Gramps steps down, the guild master is going to be whoever is strong enough to protect us from the Council. We all looked up to Laxus as kids, he was strong and cool, and now…now if you just let him spout crap, eventually he stops and leaves everyone alone. I’m jealous of how you were able to stand up to him.” Gray flashed her a small smile, “That took real guts.”

“Laxus is strong, yeah, and maybe I don’t fear death,” Lucy said, “But if he attacked me, you would have done something. And so would Natsu.” Lucy said, “Could Laxus have taken you both down? And me?”

Gray sighed, “Probably.”

“What do you think Erza would have done? Let us all go down?” Lucy said, “And while she’s not sure if she could beat Laxus by herself, I am.”

Gray shook his head, “Sure, Laxus wouldn’t have been able to take all of us, but that’s not the point. That’s not the kind of fair fight that establishes who’s the strongest.”

Lucy shrugged, “If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that people don’t fight fair when it comes to family. Personally, I think Mirajane would make a great Master, whenever Makarov steps down.”

“Oh,” Gray shifted in his seat, “I guess no one told you. While she’s technically S class, she hit a block with her magic. She can’t use anything but basic transformations.”

“I know that,” Lucy said, tilting her head, “But who said the guild master has to be the strongest?  Most of the old folks at Makarov’s meeting weren’t anywhere near his level. And maybe not even Loke’s. Mirajane already makes decisions on who should take on what quests, and she knows what it takes to be S class, even if she can’t do it herself anymore. And the Magic Council isn’t an enemy you can punch. Someone with a shred of diplomacy might be just as effective as a wizard saint.”

“Huh,” Gray said, thinking.

The rest of the train ride was filled with much lighter conversation. When they made it to Hargeon, they split up to search the docks.

Lucy found them first, Loke and Natsu stuck out like fireworks. She went and grabbed Gray, and they crept up behind Loke and Natsu talking to a lone fisherman with wide set eyes and a massive cloak.

“Found you,” Gray teased, slamming his hands on their shoulders, causing them both to jump.

Natsu looked exasperated, “Luuuucyyyy, you weren’t supposed to bring the popsicle!”

“And you were supposed to return the request to the guild!” Lucy retorted, “Not bring Loke into your stupid plan.”

“Gramps sent me to make sure you two didn’t go anywhere near this job,” Gray said, “Come back now, and you might not get kicked out of the guild.”

Loke smiled charmingly, “Sorry, but there’s a celestial spirit key involved. So I’m really going to have to insist on you letting us go.”

“This isn’t a game,” Lucy said, arms folded, “All your power and contracts don’t mean anything if you’re dead.”

“And when Erza finds out that you pulled this stunt, I can’t wait to see what she’s going to do to you,” Gray said with relish. Both Natsu and Loke were suddenly terrified.

“Lucy, you have to save me, I told them it was a bad idea,” Happy cried floating towards her.

“Don’t even try that,” Lucy said, “Someone spotted you playing ninja, you’re just as guilty.”

“That won’t matter if we pull it off,” Natsu insisted nervously.

“Oh no, Gramps said to take you back by any means necessary,” Gray said, calling ice into his hand. “That involves dragging your sorry butt by force.”

“Like you could ever take me down,” Natsu replied, summoning his own magic.

Lucy had the sudden image of the docks completely annihilated by the two wizards, boats destroyed in fire and ice, without even a job request to blame it on.

"Wait,” the fisherman said, “Are you guys wizards coming to try and break the curse?”

“Yes, that’s us—”

“No, we’re leaving—”

“Why didn’t you say so! I can take you to Galuna,” the man said, dropping the net he had been mending into his boat. “Hop in!”

Natsu kicked backwards and upwards, a chin strike that knocked Gray out cold.

“We’re ready!” Natsu said, grinning and hauling Gray over his shoulder.

“Why are we taking him with us?” Loke asked, hopping in the boat. “Wouldn’t it be easier to leave him here?”

“Don’t want him to go tracking down Erza and getting her help,” Natsu said, hopping in the boat, Happy floating after. He turned to her, “Well, you comin’ or what?”

“Sir,” Lucy turned to address the boatman, “I understand that the islanders are desperate. But these two wizards are not skilled or experienced enough to handle a job this big. You refused them before because you were worried about them dying. I assure you that they will die trying to break the curse if you take them to Galuna. They have also not officially accepted the request through our guild precisely because they are not qualified.”

“Don’t listen to her,” Natsu said desperately, “We totally have enough experience. Over ten years of experience. We promise to complete the job.”

The fisherman wavered for a moment, looking between Lucy and Natsu, before shaking his head, “I’m sorry Miss, but no wizard has come to even attempt to help the island in over a year. They’re desperate for help, and in no position to turn away offers.”

Natsu grinned triumphantly, punching a fist into the air. He turned back to Lucy, “Now are you going to come with us?”

Lucy scowled, then fluttered her eyelashes innocently, “Oh wow Natsu, I can’t believe you’re standing on a boat.”

Immediately Natsu turned green and crouched, his head hanging over the side.

“Natsu might be too proud to say it,” Loke said, turning towards her, “But I’m not. We could really use your help on this job. And maybe we didn’t take it for the best reasons, but there are people desperate for help.” He held out his hand, green eyes seemed to look straight into her soul, but he was smiling, so that couldn’t be right. “I bet they could really use the Guardian Angel of Fairy Tail.”

Loke really was a dangerous celestial wizard. He said all the right things, and the pull to make a contract with him was intense.

Rumor had it that bloodlines were attractive to celestial spirits because spirits could subconsciously sense a love and bond with them carried down from an ancestor that had a bond unlike any other with their spirits, and modernly spirits were still drawn to protect that love. But Lucy had met with bloodline wizards before, and Loke was so much more than the instinctive draw they all carried.

Lucy wanted Loke alive, wanted him safe, wanted to spare the spirits under contract with him the pain of a bond severed by violent death followed by being stuck on a cursed island who however many years it took another wizard to track down Loke’s body and keys. And, looking at a sick Natsu and a passed out Gray, she couldn’t drag them back on her own, not as she was now.

She didn’t want them to get hurt either.

“Now that’s not playing fair,” she said. He just kept smiling that sunny, sincere smile of his. His magic aura pressed and snapped around hers, trying to make a connection, find the link to the celestial world that would make it happen.  

“We need to leave now if we want to make it there by tonight,” the fisherman said.

“Better take off now,” Happy said, picking Lucy up from behind.

“Wait, what are you doing? Put me down!” Lucy struggled. It didn’t matter which way she twisted her body, his claws were dug into the boning of her corset bra, and she couldn’t get at him.

“Happy, put her down,” Loke scolded.

“But she needs to come with us,” Happy whined.

“Only if she wants to,” Loke said, “Gray’s one thing, but you don’t treat a lady like her choices don’t matter.”

“Sexist,” Lucy muttered as Happy dropped her onto the dock.

Loke shrugged, “Maybe, but Gray is Natsu’s call, you’re mine. And we’re going to leave,” Loke and the fisherman had untied the boat while she was in the air and were starting to drift away. “Last chance to come along.” Happy landed on his shoulder. She didn’t move, and he shrugged and turned around while the fisherman started up the navigation lacrima.

Lucy let out several Ancient Renkit swears as she took a few steps backwards. She jumped to land on the boat, and miscalculated, her feet landing unbalanced on the rim.

Her hand was caught. Loke’s brilliant smile wasn’t smug, just happy, as he pulled her the rest of the way into the boat.

“I feel like I was manipulated into this,” Lucy said, letting go of his hand and sitting on the other side of Natsu as the fisherman cast them off. “We are all risking our lives for this job. Even if by some miracle we all make it out alive, I am going to help Erza kill you.”

“Erza will be after you too,” Loke said, “Such a disappointment, failing to bring us back to the guild. Or do you not fear Erza like you don’t fear Laxus?”

Lucy sighed, “It’s the disappointing her part that’s going to be the worst.”

“Hey Lucy, now that you’re on board, mind helping a friend out by sending him to sleep?” Natsu pleaded.

Lucy glared, “No. Suffer.”

Notes:

Yay! Next chapter. Natsu really knows his partner, doesn't he? And Loke thought these idiots were going to let him go? Amateur move, he's happy to discover. And if you can't tell, I'm soft for Gray and Lucy friendship. Let me know what you think! Happy Friday!

Chapter 12: On Galuna Island, we met the villagers and were asked to destroy the moon!

Loke spit the sand out of his mouth, trying to remember what happened. The morning sunlight shouldn’t be there. It had been nighttime, the brilliant moon sitting near the Aries constellation. Bobo the Fisherman had been taking them to Galuna, showed everyone his demon arm, and vanished.

There was a wave, and he’d struggled to get Aquarius’s key free, but something hit him in the head. Gray maybe? He sat up, checking his body for injuries. Just a lovely collection of bruises to start off this trip.

"Everyone okay?” he called, blinking into the sunlight. Their boat was in pieces around them. His glasses were in the sand beside him, thankfully unbroken.

“Here,” Lucy groaned and sand shifted.

“This is all your fault Natsu,” Gray growled.

Natsu sprang up. “Aw yeah! This place looks so cool. I can’t wait to go exploring.”

“The job, remember?” Lucy said, brushing herself off.

“Anyone see Bobo?” Gray asked, with a bit of wiggling, the ropes slid off.

Loke scanned the shore, located his bag, and shook his head, “He disappeared before the wave hit, remember?” He turned back to Gray, “I’m guessing you’re in this with us now that we have no way back?”

Gray scoffed, “Like I’m letting you idiots pull off an S class request before I do. And honestly, if we pull this off, Gramps will be impressed enough that he won’t stay mad forever.”

“Let’s start looking for trails to lead us to the village.” Loke suggested, grabbing his bag, “This is too nice a beach for the locals to never visit.”

“Except for the Tsunamis,” Lucy said. She groaned, walking forward, “Uggh, my clothes are filled with sand and salt.” She looked at Loke for some reason but looked away before he could ask what was up. Did she want him to offer one of his spare graphic tees, then decide they were too lame to wear? “I’ll search this way.”

Happy eventually found the path and they set off. Sometimes it was Gray and Natsu fighting, sometimes it was Happy and Lucy, and Loke was always the one egging them on. Once Lucy pointed out a beautiful flower that was a sunny yellow but changed colors according to the time of day. Natsu burned it on accident, trying to figure out if it would turn red orange around his fire. Then it was Lucy chasing Natsu.

Night fell before they finally fell onto a path with cart tracks, and they were able to follow that all the way to the village. It was late, but there were clearly people manning the gate.

Lucy stepped forward and called out, “Excuse me, we’re wizards of Fairy Tail. We’ve come to answer your request for assistance.”

The guards had some discussion at the top of the gate, and called back, “Why weren’t we informed that the job had been accepted?”

Crap, he didn’t realize that was part of the process.

“Must have been a mix up with the paperwork,” Gray called up to them.

There was some more mumbling, then “Show us your emblems!”

Now that was a verification they could pull off. Lucy raised her hand, Gray pulled open his shirt, Natsu bared his shoulder, Happy his back, and Loke raised the inside of his wrist. The whispers turned excited and the gate cranked open.

“It’s like walking into the mouth of a monster!” Happy cheered.

“Wouldn’t be the first time,” Lucy said, leading them in. Loke and Gray shared a look before following her.  

The eeriness was slunk through the air and into his skin. Named for the moon, the island’s terrors probably lived in the night. Now they were walking into an enclosed village, one that it would be tricky for anyone to get out of, except Happy, and no one was showing their faces or bodies beneath masks and cloaks.

“I am Mokka, the village chief. On behalf of my village, I welcome you here,” a short man said, holding a staff capped with a crescent moon. The dryness of age inflected his voice, “Pleasantries aside, there’s something you need to see in order to understand what we ask of you. Now my people.”

Cloaks fell aside and hoods were thrown down. Fisherman Bobo said that the curse turned people into demons. And like him, each person sported a monstrous change.

“Oh my goodness!” Natsu exclaimed, “Look at those sideburns.”

The village chief’s eyebrow twitched, “I meant for you to look at my arm.”

Scales and claws, slit pupil eyes and forked tongues. These people had a reason for their disguises.

“Excuse me for asking Sir,” Gray said, “But what makes you think it’s a curse? Could it be a contagious disease or from something affecting the water or food?”

“We’ve consulted with doctors of all kinds, and they all agree that no such disease exists,” The elder explained. “You see, our plight began around the same time the moon fell under an evil spell.”

“What kind of spell?” Loke asked, glancing at the clouds above them.

“Since ancient times, this island has been blessed by the moon, absorbing its glow until it shone as brightly as the moon itself. However, years ago the moon’s color began to change and we were left with a dismal purple glow,” the Chief explained.

“So the moon turned purple?” Natsu asked.

“It’s coming out from behind the clouds,” Happy warned.

The moon was full, but just as the villagers said, instead of pearl white, a shining lilac colored the whole village.

“Not quite rose-tinted glasses,” Loke said, watching the purple mix with the orange flame of a nearby torch. 

The villagers started groaning, eyes widened and people doubled over.

“Stand back, it is about to begin!”

They watched as the sixty or so people yelled in pain as their bodies changed. Human skin was swallowed up by demonic fur and scales. Horns grew and fingernails turned into talons and claws as people screamed.

“Oh no,” Loke said, taking a step back.

“They’re changing,” Gray said.

“Why is this happening to them?” Natsu asked, scared for the first time in memory. Eventually the screams died.

Before them stood a flock of demons.

“I am sorry if our appearance frightens you,” the village chief said, his head bowed.

“No, it’s okay,” Gray said.

Lucy had her hand on her chin, looking closely, “You poor people,” she said, voice soft and sympathetic.

Loke was about to add his own assurances when Natsu jumped forward, “You guys look so cool! Aw man, this is amazing! Can I get some horns and scales too? I’m so jealous!”

Loke blinked. The villagers started whispering in confusion.

“Natsu,” Lucy scolded, “You’re being insensitive. They don’t want to look like this. That’s why we’re here, and it looked like changing really hurt.”

“Seriously?” Natsu asked, finally reading the room, “Oh, my bad. I guess we’ll help you change back.”

The village chief coughed, “As you can see, it is under the light of the violet moon that the curse takes its full effect and we are forced into the monstrous forms you see before you. If it isn’t a curse, what could it possibly be?” Villagers started to tear up. “We will return to what you saw before in the light of the morning sun. However, there are some poor souls who cannot return back to their human forms in the sunlight because they have lost their minds.”

Lucy nodded beside him, absorbing every word, though her eyes were a little wet as well. “I see, it slowly progresses into the mind.”

The village chief pulled out a photo, one that he had been keeping over his heart, “Gripped in such madness, there… well, there was only one thing we could do. Better they be put to death, than know that they have attacked what was once their family under the madness of the curse.”

“But they might change back to normal someday!” Natsu exclaimed.

Staring down at the paper in his hand, the village chief shed his tears without shame. “What could we do? The insane would have killed us all. If we knew a way to save them, we would have done so, I swear. The curse took even my own son. I had to take his life myself.”

When he went to wipe his eyes, the photo fell forward.

“Is that Bobo?” Loke whispered, “but we just saw him.”

“Shush,” Gray said, “I think I get it now. Spirits stick around when there’s unfinished business. And he needs his village safe.”

“You mean —” Loke couldn’t finish.

Gray looked down, “That’s how he vanished the way he did.”

Happy looked as chilled as he did, and Natsu was wide eyed, and Lucy…wasn’t nearly as freaked out as she should have been. She was staring at the moon again, mouth and eyes sad.

The villagers bowed, and the chief spoke again, “Please, please save us from this curse. If it isn’t broken soon, I fear there will be none of us left. We will all die.”

“We will do our best to help you,” Lucy said.

“We’re not going to let you die!” Natsu proclaimed. Then he quietly added, “We can fix this, we promise.”

“Thank you,” he said, rising out of his bow, “There is only one sure fire way for this curse to be lifted.” He looked skyward and pointed, “The moon must be wiped from the sky!”

 

 

 

 

Lucy separated from her fellow wizards to tap the shoulder of the woman that had been standing just behind the chief. The chief was showing a spare hut for them to spend the night, but Lucy had other concerns.

She now knew exactly what it was that kept her from packing extra clothes before hopping on the train. Hubris. And she was sick of being punished for it.

“Excuse me,” she said gently. The woman startled anyway, but gave her attention, “I was just wondering if you had any spare clothes. These were dumped in the ocean and buried in sand, and it’s been pretty uncomfortable all day.”

“Oh, um, sure. I have a couple of spares you can borrow,” she said. “Come with me.”

She was led to a hut near the entrance. The woman offered her a selection of long and short skirts and crop tops. Not many, maybe four or five outfits total. Lucy picked a red top with wide shoulder straps and a knee length beige skirt with a decent slit for fighting in.

“These are perfect, thank you for your help,” Lucy said, “I promise to return them to you as soon as I get a chance to wash my clothes. I didn’t catch your name.”

“Lulu,” she said. “And you can change in here if you like. I’m afraid I don’t know the customs of mainlanders, but males and females dress separately here. I suppose you could also sleep here, unmarried males and females also sleep separately.”

“Thank you,” Lucy said. “I’ll take the offer of changing here, but I’d feel better sleeping in the same room as my friends.”

Lulu stepped out and let the mat fall closed. Lucy changed quickly, grateful to finally peel away the shorts and tank top she had thrown on for a quick trip to Porlyusica’s. The borrowed top didn’t fit quite right, but with a little bit of rolling she felt secure enough to go into public.

She stepped out of the hut, and gave a twirl for Lulu, “Pretty stylin’,” she said with a grin. “And it feels good with how hot it is on the island.”

Lulu frowned and tugged at Lucy’s clothes for a couple of seconds, and then it fit perfectly. Lulu smiled when Lucy thanked her, and looked really pretty when she did, the way kind people always look beautiful no matter the warts and scars.

“I’m glad you like it,” Lulu said, “And if you like, I can put your clothes in the laundry with the rest of the village’s and it will be done by tomorrow.”

“Oh, no, thank you,” Lucy assured her, “I’m here to help you, not make more work for you. Letting me borrow these is more than enough.”

“Please?” Lulu said, her voice cracking, “Can I please do this for you? I’ve felt so helpless for years, and…”

Cursed, unable to change your fate, unable to help your loved ones, with nothing but another painful night to look forward to each day. Lulu rubbed her eye.

“If you could, it would help me a lot,” Lucy admitted. What she wanted was to stick them inside Horologium and have them cleaned in seconds, but that fell under the category of ‘knowing too much about celestial spirits’ so she couldn’t ask.  “I actually had a few more questions I wanted to ask you, if you feel up for talking. That would be a really big help.”

“Oh, of course,” Lulu said, voice steadier, “Let’s step inside, and I can bring you some pinap juice. It’s an island specialty.”

When they settled in on blankets, Lucy asked her first question, “I know your chief said it happened several years ago, but exactly how long ago did the transformations start?”

Lulu frowned at her drink, “Three monsoon seasons? We use a lunar calendar here, so it won’t match up right with yours, but we’ve had three rainy seasons.”

Looks like three years ago was just a bad year all around

“Does anyone on the island have any magic? Are any of you wizards?” Lucy next. Surest way to be cursed is a broken law of magic after all. “I noticed a celestial key in the reward, do you have a celestial wizard maybe?”

Lulu shook her head, “We found the key on the body of a traveler washed up on shore. No one in the village practices magic, that’s why we needed to make a request to the magic guilds.”

Unusual. “Did something else start to happen around the same time?” she asked, “A wide-spread curse like this, there was someone who placed it. Does your village have any enemies?”

Lulu shook her head, “I’m sorry, but I don’t think so. It just happened one day. The mainland leaves us alone, and we leave it alone, and no one else comes here. I’m sorry, I’m probably not the one with the answers to your questions. You should really be asking the village chief.”

Lucy smiled softly, “I will if I need to, but people can miss things when it is connected to personal tragedy. And I’m a girl, and silly as it seems, I feel a bit better talking to a girl.” Which was on the edge of a lie, but it was what Lulu wanted to hear. Small desperate village with elder male leadership? They couldn’t afford many dissenting opinions. The chief couldn’t figure it out, but he had to be right anyway because his people depended on him. Her team needed to come at the problem from a different angle.

Appealing to women solidarity worked; Lulu relaxed.

“Do you have any other questions for me?” she said, sipping her own juice.

“Not too many more, it’s getting late . . .” yet this village had their guard wall fully manned, and everyone ready to talk immediately as they walked in. Including the children. There were conversations still going on outside with no sign of quieting down. “When does everyone sleep?”

“That’s an odd question,” Lulu said, tilting her head, “What does that have to do with the curse?”

“Magic can work in really strange ways,” Lucy explained, “And curses are very complex magic. Sometimes the clues needed to find the answer are in the small details.”

“I suppose you would know,” Lulu said, “We do tend to stay up later. Due to Galuna’s relationship to the moon, most of the wildlife is awake now, so this is when we hunt and gather plants. Several plants good for eating and medicine can only be told apart poisonous counterparts in the moonlight. Children are sent to sleep around midnight, and most adults go to sleep around three or four in the morning. We are all changed back when we wake up.”

Lucy blinked. “Oh, does it not hurt as much to change back to human forms as it does to change at night? That sounded really painful.”

“Oh um, yeah,” Lulu said, suddenly not looking at her, “the sunlight change is much easier than the cursed moonlight change. Probably because that’s the way our bodies are meant to be.”

Lulu was lying, or not telling the full truth. Which probably meant she was under the orders of someone above her not to tell everything. Press now, or get the rest of her questions answered?

Lucy nodded at Lulu, whose shoulders relaxed, “Makes sense,” she said, even though it didn’t. “This might be difficult to answer, but the ones who couldn’t transform back, who went insane and forgot they were human, did they have something in common? Did they all like to hang out at the same place, or like a particular food?”

Lulu nodded, “Most of them were fishermen. They didn’t spend as much time on the island as the rest of us, especially at night when the fish around here are active. The curse struck them so badly. It was heartbreaking.”

Odd. She had watched the early moonrise yesterday as Bobo took them here. The gibbous moon had been perfectly fine. The island was the only thing close enough to be a focus, so being farther away from the island for long amounts of time should have weakened the curse, though that wasn’t necessarily true if the curse included a harsh rebound effect.

Things were making less and less sense the more she heard. What did it mean?

“Madame Wizard?” Lulu asked hesitantly.

She’d been staring at the hut wall for a while apparently. She smiled at the woman, “I guess we didn’t introduce ourselves properly earlier. Please, call me Lucy.”

Lulu smiled, “Lucy, that’s like my name. I was wondering what you were going to do next. How are you going to destroy the moon?”

They weren’t for so many obvious reasons, but that was what her chief had promised the wizards would do. Which was also odd.

“Doing that would probably destroy the curse,” Lucy admitted, “But I’m a little confused. Between naming your island Galuna, and the way the chief talked about the island absorbing moonlight, I figured you guys would worship the moon in some way.”

Lulu started tearing up, “You’re right, and it’s terrible that the only way back to humanity is to destroy something so beautiful and important, but what else can we do?”

“Hey, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you cry,” Lucy said, resting a hand on her friend’s arm, “When we came in, we saw how the moon made the island glow. Especially at the top, it was like a beacon. I’m sorry for suggesting the moon wasn’t important to you and your people.”

“No,” she shook her head, “It’s all right. It’s been a very emotional night for us. It’s been so long since anyone has even tried to help. I should be apologizing to you. You’re trying to help and I keep falling apart.”

“I’d be more worried if you weren’t a little emotional,” Lucy said kindly, rubbing her arm, rocky bumps beneath her fingers. “I promise, me and my friends are going to do whatever it takes to lift your curse. We’re going to spend tomorrow investigating, and the day after, and as long as it takes. We’ll help you out, just hang on a little longer.”

When Lulu calmed down, Lucy finished her ash juice and stood up, “Thank you for talking with me, you’ve been a big help. If you think of anything else, important or not, even just something you’ve noticed changed since your curse started, please come tell me. I’ve got a lot of puzzle pieces, but we need to track down just a few more. Don’t give up hope, okay?”

Lulu nodded and stood up as well, “Let me walk you back to your friends.”

As the two of them walked through the village, it was still buzzing with people. People talking about them, people cooking, all tinged purple in the cursed moonlight.

“Natsu, what are you doing?” she asked, seeing Natsu sitting in the window.

“Obviously I’m trying to soak up as much of this moonlight as I can, duh,” he said, rolling his eyes, “I think I’d look really cool with horns and scales, don’t you? Like a dragon.”

Lucy put a hand to her head and turned to Lulu, “I apologize for him. He was raised by a dragon and never learned tact.”

Lulu giggled a little bit, “No, it’s alright. It’s…refreshing, to know there are people who can look on a monster with admiration.” She smiled at Lucy, jagged teeth over hardened blue skin, Lucy had to smile back. “Just as it is comforting to know people who can look upon a monster and see a soul.”

Lucy blushed.

Lulu said goodbye and Lucy walked into their room. And immediately wanted to walk back out.

She was sharing a room with three teenage boys and a cat. At least Gray kept his underwear on. Loke offered her a sleeping shirt and she accepted before drawing her sleeping rune.

Notes:

They made it to the island, Gray decides to join the job, Loke causes trouble, Lucy gets some fresh clothes and does some investigating, and Natsu tries to turn into a demon. Great start guys.

Chapter 13: We set out for the temple on the other side of the island . . .

By Lucy’s suggestion, the sleeping order went Lucy, Natsu, Loke, Gray. Which seemed like a fine idea until Loke was stuck between a furnace and a freezer with two chainsaws going off on either side.

He sat up at one point to see how Lucy was handling it. She wasn’t snoring, and she couldn’t be comfortable with Furnace Natsu on one side. Lucy, however, had knocked herself out with a sleep rune.

So it was him. Alone. To suffer. No one even to commiserate with.

Lyra could sing him a lullaby, but she might get temperamental over trying to compete with Natsu and Gray’s snores. It really wasn’t worth it.

He caught maybe two or three hours of sleep before Natsu kicked him awake. There was the tiniest lightening of the sky, so he gave up on sleep to watch the sunrise. He was going to crash if he had to spend another night like this. At least the sunrise was peaceful, and he got to see the moon set. Even the snores took on a kind of peaceful rhythm in those predawn hours. . .

            . . . Loke woke up to the feeling of falling over. The sun was high enough now, they had agreed to an early start. Lucy just yawned and nodded at him when he smudged her rune. When shaking didn’t wake up the boys, Loke shoved Gray on top of Natsu, and their different temperatures did the job.

"You’re getting good at knowing when to get out of the way,” Lucy complimented, coming back from using the bathroom in time to see him skip back.

“I’m pretty sure you’re always supposed to get out of the way with those two.”

Lucy was so much more at ease in his presence now. She still preferred to have someone between them, but she didn’t freak out if there wasn’t. 

Lucy looked very fine in his shirt.

She caught him looking and pulled it off, showing the red top she borrowed last night underneath. “Thank you for lending it to me. It was much more comfortable to have it on.”

Loke grinned, “It was a good look for you. You can where my clothes anytime.” Lucy rolled her eyes and threw the shirt at him.

They finally got on the road, no one from the village awake enough to see them off aside from the sleeping guards in the tower that lifted the gate.

Eventually Natsu broke the silence, “I’m not so sure about this job guys.”

“Do these people think we’re really going to destroy the moon?” Gray added.

“How many punches do think it’ll take?” Natsu asked, making a fist. While Loke would have to bet on the planet in a Natsu v. Moon fight, he would feel sorry for the moon if it ever came to that.

“Don’t be stupid, man,” Gray said, “Of course we’re not going to destroy the moon. It’s the moon!”

“But that’s the job,” Natsu protested. “I thought that was the plan. We head to the highest ground, then Happy can fly me to the moon, and I show it who’s boss. Simple.”

“Um, Natsu,” Happy said, “I can’t fly to the moon, no one can.”

“Well, what if we just go through and punch it from the celestial realm,” Natsu proposed. “Loke here summons a spirit, we hitch a ride back to the celestial realm, the moon’s gotta be hanging out there with the stars. Apply the Fairy Tail Special, and boom, job done.”

Lucy looked at Loke, eyebrow raised.

“You did say you went to the celestial realm,” Loke explained to Natsu, “So it’s cool to know that it’s possible. But even if there is a moon key spirit, it’s not like you could kill it. Not only is that murder, but celestial spirits are immortal. They can’t die. And we don’t know if that would have an affect on the moon here.”

Though if there were moon and sun keys, he wanted them.

Lucy slapped a hand to her head. “Okay, that’s enough of that. We aren’t killing the moon. From the changes in tides and ecosystem alone, you’d kill the people here anyway. And a ton of other people, like the whole of Hargeon. And you’re missing the obvious. If no wizard alive can destroy the moon, no wizard alive can put a curse on the moon. We saw moonset on our way here, and the moon looked just fine.”

“That’s right,” Loke remembered. “We weren’t too far from the island and the moon was normal.”

Lucy nodded, “You couldn’t sleep last night, right Loke?”

“Of course not,” he groaned, putting a hand to his head, “Between Natsu and Gray’s snoring and sleeping between a fire pit and an ice cube, I caught maybe a couple of hours. You had no idea how much I wanted to wake you up just to put a sleep rune on me.” He blinked, “Did you plan for that?”

She smirked, “Oh, my revenge for manipulating me out here is just getting started. More importantly, were there any screams like last night when the people changed back at dawn?”

Loke blinked, remembering the stillness as the dawn light settled the village. He shook his head.

“Why does that matter?” Natsu asked.

“Nothing much on its own,” Lucy admitted, “But transformations tend to invoke the same kind of pain going both ways. I talked with the villager that gave me my clothes, and a couple of other things aren’t adding up, but she was lying or trying to hide something from me when I asked that question. She didn’t want to admit the villagers sleep through the transformation at dawn.”

“What else do you think is weird?” Happy asked, landing on her head.

Lucy started counting on her fingers, “One. The village has no enemies, and nothing in particular marked the change. Curses come from either a ticked off powerful curse wizard, or from breaking a law of magic. A curse like this, affecting the whole village, they should know what they did wrong, but they don’t. Or they won’t tell us.”

Gray shot Lucy a look, but then quickly looked away, catching Loke’s eyes in the process. Gray gave a subtle shake, so Loke let it go.

“Two. The most likely scenario is that they were faking how painful the transformation is, since the transformation that wasn’t done in front of us was quiet. Three. The people who went insane that they had to kill? They were fishermen like Bobo, or other people who didn’t spend as much time on Galuna. Which is weird, because this island is clearly the epicenter of the curse. The more time spent away from it, the lighter the curse should be.

“Four is that they want us to destroy the moon. They’re islanders on an island named Galuna, they know how important the moon is, especially here. Apparently most plants change into usable forms in the moonlight, and that’s when the fish and animals are active. Moon destruction shouldn’t have even crossed their minds. Five. The purple moon. Definitely not natural, and not occurring anywhere but this island. And six is that glowing beacon we saw from the boat. No one in the village mentioned it, and I forgot to ask about it. That’s what we’re going to investigate right now.”

Natsu’s hands rubbed all over his head, “That’s too many pieces. What do they all mean?”

“They mean that we’re really lucky Lucy agreed to join us. I didn’t notice half of those things,” Loke said. “It could be a lineage curse, using blood or hair from an ancestor of everyone in the village. Doesn’t explain the purple moon, but it explains why the villagers are affected and not visitors.”

Lucy nodded, “If it was a long-term vengeance thing, then that would also explain why it seemed to come out of nowhere. And that might explain the rebound affect whenever the fishermen came back and it hit them worse than everyone else.”

“But like you said, it doesn’t explain the purple moon, why it’s the trigger, or why they think the solution is to destroy it,” Gray pointed out, “And lineage curses are pretty easier to diagnose if you get the right wizard on the case, so why hasn’t anyone figured it out if it is that simple? We probably shouldn’t go getting attached to theories until we do a little more investigating.”

“I agree with Gray,” Lucy said, “Let’s keep them all puzzle pieces a little while longer.” she skipped ahead and twirled to walk backwards, “The good news is that everything points to most things being nocturnal on this island, which means we should be clear for an easy hike today.”

A soft rumbling grew louder, the sound of something big coming their way.

“You were saying?” Loke asked, drawing his sword in one hand, his keys in the other.

The giant shadow loomed over them, small beady eyes and form that hulked from twice the size of the surrounding trees.

“Ice-make shield,” Gray called. Ice burst from the ground in front of them.

“This feels like something the village should have warned us about,” Lucy said.

The creature changed its angle, and they were staring in the face of an enormous rat in a bonnet and apron spewing green gas in their direction. Gray’s shield didn’t do anything against a gas. It was some kind of hellish crossover between rotten eggs, fish markets, and BO that sent them all coughing.

“Natsu!” Lucy yelled. They couldn’t see each other through the gas, but Loke hoped Natsu didn’t start using fire. From the smell, it was probably extremely flammable. The rat started laughing at them, and the smoke cleared up.

Natsu was on the ground. Happy said something about strong smells, but there was a change in the rat’s laugh from snickers to sinister. Gray and Loke grabbed Natsu’s arms and hightailed it after Lucy, who headed for the thicker trees next to the path.

Didn’t affect the creature any more than tall grass would a human, but it was a good try. It followed them, alternatively laughing and breathing stink gas at them.

“Here,” Gray said, throwing Natsu’s weight at Loke. He turned around, and the rest of them stopped too. “Ice-make floor!”

The rat slipped, crashing into a tree almost as big as it was, knocking it out cold.

“Why didn’t you do that in the first place?” Natsu demanded, getting off Loke to get in Gray’s face.

“Would you shut up already? At least I did something, you useless dog.”

Loke looked around to try and get their bearings, and saw a temple, the moon on the front archway. It seemed to go into the mountain they were looking to investigate. The crumbling symbols and the uneven stone guaranteed it was much older than the village. What could be inside it?

“I suppose that means the curse is affecting the wildlife,” Lucy said, eyebrows coming together, staring at the rat, “Wait, that also ruins the bloodline theory. Can being giant even be considered a demonic trait? Is this just normal for Galuna?”

“Hey guys?” Loke tried but couldn’t be heard over Gray and Natsu arguing. Louder he said, “Hey, let’s go check out the mysterious temple!”

They looked at him, and he pointed. Natsu jumped up, “Oh that’s so cool! Do you think it’s full of dangerous traps guarding ancient treasure? I call first dibs!” he said, running forward, Happy beside him. Loke raced to catch up.

There weren’t any lights inside the temple, only what spilled in from the outside. Half the pillars running from the entrance to the altar were broken and in shambles on the ground. There was no magic residue in the walls or pillars, meaning it was made by hand.

“Wow, it’s old,” Lucy said.

“More moon symbols,” Loke pointed out. “Why didn’t the islanders mention there was a temple here? Was this island inhabited by people before them?”

“More questions to ask when we see them again,” Lucy said, pulling out a notebook and writing something down.

“I think we need to figure out exactly what the moon was to this island before the curse,” Gray said, “It used to be called the Island of the Moon. And they talked about it glowing, but why does it do that? Is there some kind of special magic here?”

Natsu started stomping his foot, “Sounds hollow, how deep is this thing? The floor feels like it’s about to give out any second.”

Gray rolled his eyes, “Then maybe don’t —”

—The ground crumbled. Wizards plunged downwards. Loke counted four floors before they finally landed somewhere and stayed there.

“You’re such an idiot Natsu,” Gray groaned, “Are you trying to get us all killed?”

“Everyone okay?” Lucy asked, coughing.

“Not my preferred way of traveling,” Loke said, brushing off the rubble and getting to his feet, “But if this temple has a secret, the bottom is probably the best place to start.”

“See,” Natsu said, “Why can’t you all be more positive like Loke?”

“Because some of us feel pain when we fall four stories, but here we are,” Lucy grumbled, getting her feet. She led everyone down one of the tunnels that branched out, “And be grateful that this island isn’t fertile from an active volcano. We could have fallen into a magma chamber.”

They started walking, and Natsu and Gray got into a fight as to whether Natsu would like the taste of lava. Gray was of the opinion that Natsu should go find the nearest lava pit and stick his whole head in to find out.

“You know, this place is really cool,” Natsu said, grinning, “A secret cave? Watch out for booby traps. In fact, I better go first.”

Natsu sped ahead of Lucy, laughing about secret caves, and the rest of them followed, telling him to slow down and shut up with various degrees of politeness.

“Woah,” Natsu said, coming to a stop. Lucy, the closest behind him, crashed into his back, with Gray and Loke managing to avoid the same fate. “Hey guys, what’s that?”

That happened to be a monster encased entirely in ice. Bigger than even the rat from before, it was a full demon and threatening in a way the villagers could never be. Jaw open in a scream, the brown scales crowded over wings, horn, tail, tail, and claw. It looked like Lullaby’s older brother.

The worst part was the magic aura. Even from its prison, it emanated power and malice.

“That’s impossible,” Gray said, taking a step forward. “It can’t be here. How did it get here?”

“You know it?” Lucy asked, fear tinging her voice.

“It’s Deliora,” Gray said. “What the hell is it doing on Galuna Island? No. No way!” Gray started to shake, he couldn’t look away from it. “It can’t be he-re!” His voice cracked.

“Gray, man, we need you to calm down,” Loke said, putting a hand on his shoulder. Gray started gulping in air.

Lucy opened her mouth to ask questions, but Loke held up a hand. When Gray’s breathing evened out, Loke put down his hand, and Lucy asked, “Can you tell us about this demon?”

“It’s Deliora, the demon of destruction.” Gray explained, “But it doesn’t make any sense. This thing was frozen in place in Isvan.”

That was several countries and an ocean away. Gray was right, it shouldn’t be here. Trafficking in frozen demons had to be illegal and so many kinds of dangerous that there wasn’t a captain alive who would do it. And this was under a mountain. None of the exiting caves looked big enough to have brought it inside. Teleportation magic?

Sounds came up from behind them. They hid behind stalagmites.

“The voices seemed to come from this direction,” a man said. He and his companion stepped into view. The speaker was short, had crazy blue hair that seemed to be trying to make up for his height, and thick eyebrows that defined his face. The companion was tall, lanky, and looked a lot like a dog.

“So Toby, have you been exposed to the Moon Drip like the villagers? You have those pointy ears after all,” Eyebrows said.

Toby yelled, “I already told you they are a fashion statement you jerk!”

Moon drip didn’t quite sound like a curse. He didn’t know what it sounded like, but clearly they knew the cause of the villager’s misfortune. Loke eyed Natsu and Gray next to him. He pointed to the three of them, then the two targets. They nodded, and Loke held up a hand, ready to give the signal. He would have signaled Lucy, but she was the closest to the group and listening closely instead of looking at him.

He changed it to a stop signal when more footsteps echoed through the cave.

A beautiful girl with bright pink hair and lips stepped into the cave, looking like she was going to cry. “Yuka, Toby, something terrible has happened.”

Yuka seemed tired, “What now Sherri?”

“It’s Angelica,” Sherri said, hands folded over her heart, “She’s been attacked and I’m sad.”

“You’re moping because someone beat up your stupid pet rat?” Toby barked at her. Guess they knew now where the rat got the apron and bonnet.

Sherri started to go on about how her pet was more than a pet, and Loke looked back, pointed at himself, then at Yuka. Natsu to Sherri. Gray to Toby. Might as well put Natsu’s hitting on girls policy to good use. They nodded.

“Intruders you say?” Yuka asked. Loke held up his hand for a signal.

“And it’s almost time to begin collecting moonlight again,” Sherri said. “This makes me so sad. This news will displease the Cold Emperor. We should get rid of them before he finds out. Yes, before the moon’s first light.”

“Agreed,” Yuka said, a bit too eager.

“Since they’ve seen Deliora, we can’t allow them to live,” Sherri said, nice and creepy. “We’ll give them the gift of eternal rest, we’ll give them…love.”

“You mean death, right?” Toby asked.

A rock clattered down one of the tunnels, drawing their attention in the opposite direction. Loke swung his hand down, using it to push himself forward. Gray and Natsu moved at the same time.

They had all three of them on the ground, arms wrenched behind their backs, in three seconds flat.

“What are you guys doing?” Lucy demanded, stepping out. “I made that distraction so they would go away and let us investigate!”

“Unhand me you brute! I can only belong to the Cold Emperor, he’s the one that has my love,” Sherri cried, squirming under Natsu. Yuka wasn’t squirming, and Gray was pressing too hard on Toby to allow him to speak.

“Aw man, I was hoping you three would put up more of a fight,” Natsu said. “You’re wizards, right?”

“You could let us go, we’d be able to show you a fight then,” Yuka said. He zeroed in on Lucy’s hand, “I always thought Fairy Tail was the bullheaded type, not the dishonorable sneaky type.”

“We’re the get-the-job-done type,” Lucy said, folding her arms. “Do we start with the cursed villagers, or do we start with the formerly missing northern continent demon over here?”

“The Cold Emperor will come for us when we don’t show up,” Sherri said, “Then you’ll be sorry.”

“He actually asks you to refer to him as the Cold Emperor?” Lucy said, “Sounds like a piece of work. It also sounds like he’s asleep and won’t be up until moonrise for whatever dark ritual you guys are planning.”

“The moon drip isn’t dark magic,” Yuka growled, “You would never understand.”

Something clicked in Lucy’s brain, “No…you’re right. The moon drip is sacred, holy magic. It consolidates moonlight and breaks all enchantment and curses.”

“Nothing can break Iced Shell,” Gray yelled at her.

“Gray, calm down,” Loke ordered. Gray turned to yell at him too, and Toby took that moment to elbow him in the solar plexus. Gray was knocked back, and Toby started to run.

“I’ll go after him,” Lucy said, “Loke, get the answers we need.” She took off running.

“Happy, go with her,” Natsu said, “We’ll take care of things here.”

“Aye sir,” Happy said, flying after Lucy and Toby.

“Gray, you all right?” Loke asked, keeping a tight hold in case Yuka was looking to try the same thing.

“Man, we have to work on your reflexes,” Natsu said, shaking his head, “You let me and dog face get the drop on you?”

“Shut up Natsu,” Gray spat, sitting up. “I’ll go after Lucy too, it’s my fault he got away.”

“No,” Loke said, “Lucy can handle herself. If there’s one thing I’ve learned from her, it’s that. Natsu and I don’t know anything about what’s going on here. You know half the story, these guys know the other half, and we have until moonrise to get them to tell us. Now, do we stay here, or do we try to get them to talk somewhere else? Your call Gray.”

Gray looked up at the block of ice, “I don’t want to leave Deliora alone until we know what’s going on. We stay here.”

An idea came to him then, “Okay, then I think I know something that will…encourage them. Gray hold this one down.”

“I have a name you know,” Yuka said. “And I used to be a guild wizard too.”

“You think I care?” Gray said, pressing his foot into the wizard’s back, “So far I can pin attempting to free Deliora and cursing innocent villagers on your shoulders. That makes you our enemy on so many counts, you wouldn’t believe.”

Natsu grinned in his agreement, pumping one fist.

“Open, gate of the maiden, Virgo,” Loke called.

“You called Sir?” Virgo said, appearing with the ring of a bell.

Loke frowned, folding his arms, “You know, I’m really still not feeling Sir. Are you sure you can’t call me Loke?”

“How about Big Brother?” Virgo offered.

“I’ve never had a little sister,” Loke smiled, “I suppose that could be fun. Do you have any chains Virgo?”

“Is it time for you to punish me, Big Brother?” Virgo said, hauling out a pile of chains.

“Dude,” Gray said.

“Yeah, I heard it,” Loke frowned. “Virgo, to be clear, friends don’t punish each other either.”

Virgo didn’t say anything, her face was blank. Clearly this was going to be a long term goal instead of a conversation. That was okay.

“Why don’t you be a good dear,” Sherri said, smiling viciously, “And get this fool off me.” There was a glow by her hands and Virgo threw the chains at Loke, who threw up his arms in defense. The impact sent him stumbling, but he kept his feet. Virgo sent a flying punch into Natsu’s face.

“Virgo?” Loke asked cautiously, stepping around the chains that had most definitely bruised his body on impact, “Are you okay?”

Natsu sat up, “Why are you asking Virgo that? I was the one that got punched!”

“I’m afraid celestial wizards like you don’t like marionette wizards like me. I can turn anything into my doll, so long as it doesn’t have a human soul,” Sherri said, brushing off her skirt and standing up, “Your celestial spirits make excellent puppets.”

Virgo looked even more expressionless than usual as she straightened her posture. Sherri’s fingers twitched as she pulled the strings, magic circles forming under her palms. “Now, let’s see how you handle this. Be a dear and free Yuka.”

Natsu rushed and intercepted Virgo with his own punch before she could attack Gray. She climbed out of the crater of Natsu’s punch and onto her feet, maid dress dirty.

Loke slashed his key again, “Close, Gate of the Maiden!”

Virgo didn’t leave.

“Correct me if I’m wrong, but closing a gate has to at the will of both spirit and wizard, isn’t that right? It’s written into your contract,” Sherri laughed.

It was in the default terms. He hadn’t reviewed those in a while, but he remembered it now that she said it.

“That, or they’re out of magic,” Loki said, readying his sword. “Gray, Natsu, stay in here, but give us some space. No one commands my spirits and gets away with it.”

“Alright,” Natsu said, “I’ll leave this to you, but I call the next fight!”

It probably wasn’t smart, but Yuka was the last one left that had the information they needed, and Loke was really ticked. A direct hit like Natsu’s punch should have sent Virgo back to the celestial realm, which means Sherri was forcing her here and keeping her in pain.

“That has got to be your dumbest plan yet,” Sherri said loftily, making Virgo walk forward. “Don’t tell me all the brains in your group was in the blonde.”

Loke rushed Sherri. Virgo got between them. Each of his strikes she caught on the metal chain cuffs on her wrists. He kept up the pace so she wouldn’t have time to retaliate. Sherri laughed in her corner.

There, an opening. He swung a strike that would have sliced open her belly, making it impossible for her to stay.

“Be gentle with your celestial spirits, they depend on you.” 

He stopped, just short of her waist. Virgo’s palm strike to his chest sent him flying into a boulder. The wind knocked out of him. His sword clattered off to the side.

“Excellent, finish him off,” Sherri commanded. Virgo charged forward.

“By our contract, I order you to stop!” Loke cried, throwing his hands in front of him. Virgo slowed down, just before reaching him. Her fist trembled.

“I’m sorry Big Brother, I can’t,” Virgo whispered as she threw a punch he was only barely able to dodge.

“Agreed terms trump default,” Loke said, trying to slide along the wall away from her. She followed with halting steps. He pushed his magic into his words and reminded her, “You promised to serve me. Anywhere, any time. To fulfill my every wish. I tried to talk you down, but you insisted on unconditional service. We agreed I wouldn’t call you on Sundays anyway.”

“I’m…I’m trying,” Virgo said. “I’m so sorry, Big Brother.” Her fist flew forward, and he tried to block it. The force of the blow slammed into his bicep. He sucked in a harsh breath. His right hand went to touch the shoulder, and it was decidedly more square than it had been a second ago. He couldn’t move his arm at all.

A tear leaked out of Virgo’s still blank face.

She hated this. This was hurting her.

Growling, Loke used his good arm to pick up her key and turned to face her directly. He threw all his magic into his words; his celestial voice roared, “Virgo, I order you to return to the Celestial realm at once! Fulfill your contract with me!”

He swung the key. Virgo disappeared with a grateful smile and a pop.

Sherri stomped her foot, “No fair! How did you do that?”

Loke walked over to his sword, ignoring the pain in his shoulder. He picked it up with his working arm and turned towards Sherri.

“You still want to fight?” She said as Loke rushed forward, “Because I can also use non-living things. Rock doll! No, wait —” Something started to pull up from the ground, but doing so caused Deliora to shift, and she abruptly cancelled the spell.

That was all Loke needed to pin her to Deliora’s icy tomb, sword at her throat. “You may be a beautiful woman, but I don’t take kindly to people who make my spirits cry,” he threatened.

Wisely, she didn’t say anything, just glared.

“Natsu? Gray?” Loke called, “I need help here.”

They came back around. “Nice going,” Natsu said. “You did some damage.”

“Virgo brought chains,” Loke explained, “Enough to trap these two to Deliora. Can you handle it?”

They lined Yuka up next to Sherri, and while the chains couldn’t go around the demon-sicle, Gray’s ice-make sealed the chains on either side of the prisoners. All hands were sealed flat with maker magic.

“Any trouble with Eyebrows?” Loke asked.

“He tried to pull magic nullification,” Gray said, “We punched him anyway, and he gave up. Not much of a fight.”

“You weren’t the one getting fried,” Natsu said, rolling his shoulder.

“Of course I was, dummy,” Gray said, “I was holding him.”

“Whatever,” Natsu said.

Gray turned to him, “Now, let me take a look at your shoulder. We all know advanced first aid. Gramps got tired of hospital bills pretty early on.” Loke nodded, and Gray sat him down on a stone, probing for torn ligaments and fractures.

“It hasn’t swollen yet,” Gray said, “I think it’s a clean dislocation. Gonna take a couple weeks to heal completely, but I can pop it back in right now if you’re up for it, that will make it usable again, but try not to block with it.”

“Please,” Loke said, “I’d really like to move it again.”

Slowly, Gray rotated his arm in wide circles. It took a couple of minutes, Loke wincing, but eventually there was a pop, and he could move his fingers again.

“Excuse me Miss,” Gray said to Sherri.

“What are you doing?” she demanded, squirming. Gray reached over her shoulder and tore one of the long feather-like ribbons off her outfit as she shrieked about what uncouth beasts they were.

“My friend needs a sling,” Gray said.  They rigged it, and it wasn’t perfect, but it would give it the extra support so hopefully his shoulder didn’t dislocate again before it could heal.

“You two done playing nurse?” Natsu asked.

“Sorry Natsu,” Loke smiled, “Some of us are a little more breakable than dragon slayers, but we’re finished. Now, Gray, what can you tell us about Deliora?”

“It’s a demon that ravaged the northern continent,” Gray said matter of factly. He was back in control of himself. “It destroyed my hometown, killed my family and everyone I knew. I was the only survivor. My first Master found me in the debris and taught me my Ice Make magic. When Deliora struck again, she was the one who stopped him, giving up her life in the process with a spell called Iced Shell.” Gray glared at Yuka and Sherri, “Which is why I don’t understand how you could bring that thing here and try to free it.”

“You’re an ice wizard, and you suffered under Deliora, how do you not get it!” Yuka yelled back, “That thing is still alive in there. It needs to be dead and gone forever. The Cold Emperor is going to make that happen.”

Gray’s mouth dropped open, “Are you crazy? Iced Shell is nearly the perfect cage. The only way to revive Deliora is to do exactly what you numbskulls did and bring the ice cube here!”

“Where your master failed, the Cold Emperor will succeed," Sherry sniffed.

“I don’t care who he is, he will never surpass Ur,” Gray said, glaring.

Something was bothering Loke, and he finally put his finger on it, “You have something personal against Deliora,” Loke said.

“We aren’t telling you anything else,” Yuka said, “Now unchain us.”

Gray folded his arms, “I think you should be getting chatty real quick. We can’t tell time down here. If moonrise comes your precious moon drip starts. Best case scenario is that you get cursed like the villagers, and while Natsu thinks you would look cool with horns, most people are opposed to that. Worst case scenario is that you’re chained to Deliora as he wakes up.”

Sherry paled, “You wouldn’t do that. That’s cruel and inhumane. It’s so devoid of Love, it should be forbidden.”

Loke folded his arms, mirroring Gray, “No, reviving demons of destruction is forbidden. You know about the curse on the villagers, and being cursed yourselves would be the perfect incentive to help us break it. As for leaving you chained up to Deliora, well, you would know better than us when your spell will finally free the demon.”

“The Cold Emperor will stop you.”

"If my death is what it takes to see the Cold Emperor’s plan through to the end, then so be it,” Yuka said, mouth firm.

“And the deaths of those in the village?” Natsu asked, “Bad enough you’re willing to throw your own lives away. But innocent children cry every night knowing they have no control over their bodies. Waiting for the day when they or someone they love loses their humanity completely. Are you willing to sacrifice them too?”

Yuka and Sherri were looking at their feet, their backs straight. “We follow the will of the Cold Emperor,” Sherri said.

Natsu lunged forward, and Loke caught him. “Hey, they’re chained up. Beating them up even more won’t change their mind, and it won’t break the curse or stop the moon drip, we need to think.”

Natsu looked at him for a second, then nodded and Loke backed off. They walked away from their prisoners to plan their next move.

“What do you think we should do now?” Natsu asked. “Should we go after Lucy? They don’t seem like they are going to talk anymore.”

“I think we need to know more about the moon drip,” Gray said, “And how to put a stop to it. Hopefully this cold emperor will come to find where his lackeys went, and we can stop him too.” Gray pounded a fist into his hand to emphasize exactly how they were going to stop him.

“The closer it gets to moonrise, the more talkative they’re going to be,” Loke whispered, “And I hope everyone here knows we were bluffing. We can’t leave them tied up to Deliora as he escapes or let the moondrip curse them. We need to let them go before then.”

“Obviously,” Natsu said. “So it sounds like we’re waiting until moonrise? Because you guys don’t need me for that. I think I should go after Lucy.”

Gray grinned, “Well then, looks like this Cold Emperor is mine when he shows his face.”

Natsu scrunched his face, obviously not liking the idea of another battle happening without him.  Then he shook his head, “I’ll go grab Lucy really quick and bring her back here. Keep an eye on them Loke, try not to screw this up Gray.” Natsu took off out the same exit that Lucy and Toby took.

“And you and me are once again stuck with guard duty,” Loke said, as they walked back. “Now that I think of it, I should have gone. My magic is worse than useless if Sherry gets free. Dang it, I want to be the knight going to save the princess.”

“Don’t worry,” Gray said, “We sent our pet dragon after her instead. And with that nose of his, he has the best chance of tracking her down through the temple.”

When they got back to where they left Sherry and Yuka, they immediately went quiet. It looks like their team wasn’t the only one to take the opportunity to plan.

“We’ve decided tell you the truth about the villagers,” Yuka said, “And that is that we have had nothing to do with them. They’ve never come near the temple, and we’ve never gone near them. We only know of their monstrous forms from spyglasses. I doubt they even know we’re here.”

Loke frowned, “That doesn’t make any sense. They’re desperate to break the curse, why wouldn’t they look all over the island? The holy temple is the first place someone would go to break a curse.”

“I don’t know, and I don’t care,” Yuka said. “The point is that we’ve never forced a human to stand under the moon drip and we would like to not be the first. We didn’t do anything to the villagers. We’ve only been here three years.”

“Three years ago is when the curse started,” Gray said, “So maybe think harder. And tell us everything you know about the cold emperor and the purple moon while you’re at it. Until then, be quiet.”

Gray and Loke sat down to wait. Gray seemed exhausted, and immediately closed his eyes. Gray hadn’t done anything that would wear him out this much physically, but Loke knew as well as anyone that emotional exhaustion took its own toll.

He reached out a hand and squeezed Gray’s shoulder. Gray's eyes jumped open, but then he relaxed and nodded. Loke took his hand away.

Loke started counting stalagmites, they had a while to wait.

Notes:

I figured out what I don't like about the previous chapter, there was too much canon dialog which bores me. This chapter was much more my speed.

Chapter 14: . . . and Lucy got lost again.

Notes:

Happy Friday!

Toby took stairs upwards, and Lucy could keep up with him on the stairs, but Toby turned into the temple complex and started taking a dizzying, nonsense route of turns. She kept up for three intersections, then found herself in a communal kitchen area. Five exits out of it, not including the chimney, and no sign of the dogman.

Happy entered the kitchen after her. He took one look around and said, “You already lost him, didn’t you?”

Lucy scrunched her nose and made a face at him. “What about your brilliant cat nose that I keep hearing about, can you tell which direction he went?”

“Careful, your face will get stuck like that,” Happy sang, landing on her shoulder. Then shook his head, “His scent goes through all the doors, along with tons of other people. This room is used a lot.”

“Communal kitchen,” Lucy said. “I guess we’ll just have to search everything.”

Lucy picked the door immediately on her right, used her light pen to make an ‘x’ on it, and ran through. She crossed a bathroom, an empty sleeping area, a room so full of pink that it had to be Sherry’s, and a closet full of head to toe ceremonial robes. She took time to put one on, just in case it bought her a couple of extra seconds in battle later.

"I always knew you were crazy enough to join a cult."

"Shut up Cat."

Lucy spent an hour looking, with absolutely no sign of the dogman, or anyone else for that matter. She started leaving marks on all the doors, daring someone to follow her. Happy was no help at all and kept calling her names every time she ran into a door that she had already marked and trying to tell her to go down passages she knew she had already checked. It wasn’t her fault the architecture didn’t make sense. The map in her head told her that she’d crossed every square inch of three different floors, but she never made it back to that stupid kitchen. And no, Happy, she could not just retrace her steps!

Lucy finally stumbled through a door and into the kitchen where she’d lost Toby in the first place. Through the door she had taken the first time.

“Wow, one of the smartest wizards in Fairy Tail,” Happy said, “Outsmarted by someone who wears dog ears.”

“Are you kidding me?” she screamed. Lucy stomped across the room and flung open the farthest door.

Only to come face to face with twenty acolytes, dressed exactly the same as she was.  Except for an old man. He wore dark glasses and a feather headdress, but had surprisingly good teeth for all the wrinkles on his face.

“Oh don’t worry, you’re not late. Oversleep?” the old man asked.

Lucy nodded mutely. Happy had attached himself to her leg under the robe.

“Well, no matter, you know the drill by now,” he said, and she nodded, then fell into line behind the others. She could swear that they were looking at her, but she couldn’t tell under their masks. “Come along, the Cold Emperor awaits.”

Everyone followed in small steps, and Lucy’s heart was pounding. This was not how she wanted to meet the Cold Emperor. Happy’s claws tightened on her leg, and she bit back a yelp. This was not the time to panic, she’d been in worse situations before. Natsu and the others had to have put the captives somewhere and were looking for her by now. She just needed to gather information. That was it. Find out what was going on, stop Deliora from being revived, break the curse on the villagers. She just had to stay calm.

They navigated without issue, never once passing one of Lucy’s ‘x’s’. Just how big was this place? You could hide a small country in here.

They came to a room with a throne, high up in the temple, built by the acolytes and placed on what had originally been an altar. Their Cold Emperor sat with a mask on, in even more ornate robes than the acolytes. The mask was a skull with demon horns and a red mane. Extremely tacky, 3/10. And that skull had better be fake and not have belonged to one of the villagers, or she’d make him eat it.

“Hello, my dear Cold Emperor,” the old man bowed, and the acolytes got down on one knee, Lucy following suit half a second behind them. She had to bite her tongue, because Lucy of Fairy Tail, Leo of the Stars, bowed to no one of this world. Yet here she was, feeding the ego of one stupid ice wizard.

Do it for the job.

“What are you doing here?” the Cold Emperor asked. “Shouldn’t you be heading up to begin the ritual? We can’t afford to waste moonlight.”

Lucy glanced up, and though it was difficult to tell through her mask, the Cold Emperor definitely had a strong magic signature. It seemed to emanate from him in spikes.

More interesting, the old man leading them had a magical aura that absolute dwarfed their ‘leader’. Looking with eyes to see magic, the old man's aura fell away from him in plumes and folds, never going far, not attacking or probing, but denser than any Lucy had seen before. Lucy made herself look away and mirror the people around her.

“Oh, we were just heading up there,” the old man said, “But first, I brought you a treat. Intruder? You can come out now.”

Everyone froze.

“An intruder you say?” the Cold Emperor asked, looking among he bowed heads.

“Yes,” the old man said, “Right there.”

Lucy didn’t dare look up until the magic circle bloomed under her feet, and by then it was too late. An ice snake burst from the circle, trapping her in its teeth. It brought her before the old man and the cold emperor.

"I’m not an intruder,” Lucy said, pitching her voice to try and sound like Sherry. “My only wish is to obtain…Love.”

For a split second, she thought it would work. Then the snake shook her, she yelled (more from Happy’s claws than the snake’s teeth), and her mask fell off.

Lucy glared at the old man, “Okay, what gave me away?”

“Ah,” he said gleefully, “While these costumes hide many things to allow us proper communion with the moon, they do not cover our hands. I would have noted before now if one of our number was a wizard of the Fairy Tail guild.”

The Cold Emperor glanced at the old man, “Begin the ceremony. I’ll kill her and anyone she’s brought with her. No one and nothing can be allowed to delay the ceremony.”

“As you wish,” the old man said and departed with the acolytes.

 Then she was alone with Emperor Meanie.

“Now, why don’t you tell me what you’re doing here, what you did to Sherry, and why I shouldn’t kill you for interfering with my plans? In that order preferably,” he said, relaxing on his throne.

Lucy pretended to think about it, “Stopping you, stopping her, and because you can’t. Not in that order, I took care of Sherry first, but you understand.”

“Why you!” He said, jumping to his feet.

“Now Happy!” Lucy said, kicking out her leg, and Happy flew off it, straight into his face, claws out.

Lucy powered up a fist and smashed the sea serpent’s head, breaking free. She landed on her feet and immediately charged forward. The wizard threw Happy off, and the cat took the mask with him. Lucy's fist skimmed his cheek.

Lucy was lucky. He wasn’t like Gray, who tested physical ability before resorting to magic. It was all her opponent could do to dodge her up close.

He was trying to dodge to get space to cast instead of immediately finding a physical combat opening or using two hands to cast and force an opening between them. Lucy landed plenty of glancing blows in the process. She couldn’t get him backed against a wall, but that didn’t matter when she landed a solid kick to the kneecap and punch to the face. Another kick to the side and she finally slammed him in the solar plexis and earned the special sound of all the air escaping a human’s lungs. He went down and she looked over to check on Happy, who had a hand to his head but was otherwise recovering.

In that second the floor turned to ice. Spearing crystals erupted from the ground, trapping her feet. She pounded at them but couldn’t pound fast enough. They exploded around her, puncturing her legs in a thousand razor scrapes. All shallow, but all stinging.

The explosion freed her, sending her flying backwards. Lucy barely managed to keep her feet in the landing, and she paused there. Now that he knew to keep her at a distance, she wasn’t going to be so lucky again.

“I’ll admit, I didn’t expect that,” he said, waiting for her to rush him again, “but I should have. Your guild has a reputation for uncultured brawling.”

“It’s a talent,” Lucy said, wiping sweat off her chin. “And I know a thing or two about ice wizards. I’m Lucy of Fairy Tail. I’m here to stop you.” She didn’t want to mention the village, not yet. The village hadn’t warned them about these guys, though clearly these guys knew about the village. It would be pretty terrible to paint a target on their back after this guy’s ego trip about killing people who got in his way. “We heard word of a missing demon of destruction. You wouldn’t happen to have one of those stashed around here, do you?”

“Not one you need to concern yourself with,” he said. Lucy inched forward, away from Happy, and her enemy kept his eyes on her. There was a range of attack that maximized his power and severely limited her time to react. She had to keep out of it, preferably skip over it with a jump. He had to get her into it.

“Really? Cause I’m concerned with all demons. When freed, demons of destruction tend to be a hazard to everyone,” Lucy said, “I gave you my name, can I get one for you? ‘Cold Emperor’ just doesn’t roll off the tongue and is disgustingly inaccurate, Cult Leader.”

"It won’t be inaccurate for long,” he said, eyes taking a fanatic glee, “When I defeat Deliora and surpass my master, who could do nothing more than stop it in its tracks, that will be the only name for me. You should get used to it now.”

She stepped; he cast. Lucy jumped backwards, but his ice birds were fast. She kicked out at two of them before the other three struck. Purposefully they tilted her until she was falling on her back. She twisted to land on her feet and found herself in a pile of ice snakes.

They kept coming, no matter how many she shattered, slithering up her body, encasing her in cold, wriggling forms. They coalesced until she couldn’t move, trapped in a ball of ice, arms pressed against herself in her final attempt to push the snakes off, and the ice extended down to her thighs.

“Careful with that,” the Cold Emperor smirked, “With one twitch, I could make the shards puncture your internal organs, and none of us want that. You have information I need.”

Lucy weighed her options and was going to try struggling anyway when her enemy turned to Happy with a casting stance. The cat jumped and pressed against the wall, clearly sweating.

“Don’t hurt the cat,” Lucy said, “Let him go, and I’ll take you to where I stashed your friends.” 

He picked up Happy by the scruff of his neck.

“How about we try this again,” he said. His voice was a little wheezy from the broken nose she had given him. “You take me to where my allies are, and I’ll use the way there to consider whether or not to kill you and the cat, or just you. Any additional information you give me can only help.”

Lucy frowned and glared, not saying anything as she waddled back the way they came. Lucy did her best to remember, but didn’t try too hard. With her limbs stuck like this, she couldn’t get enough force behind a punch to break it. Though maybe if she tried to exude all her light magic at once? It would probably be enough with how ice crystals refracted and amplified light, she’d have to try that out sometime with Gray.

 No, she couldn’t escape and leave Happy behind.

“We’ve already been in that hallway,” he said angrily. “Are you trying to make me kill you?”

“Sorry for not knowing your hideout like the back of my hand,” Lucy glared, “This is the way I came through. It’s a labyrinth in here.”

This would be where Happy chimed in with a “It’s really not,” but he didn’t make a sound. She glanced at him in worry, and he meowed.

That’s right! As long as this guy didn’t know he could talk, they were both safe. He needed Happy to force Lucy to do his bidding, and she had already shown that she didn’t care nearly as much for her own safety as she did about Happy’s.

“Were there any landmarks near where you left them?” Emperor Jerkface said, pinching the bridge of his nose, then wincing when he remembered it was broken. “I do know this place like the back of my hand. I’ve been here three years after all.”

“Lucy? Lucy?” Natsu’s voice rang out from a couple of hallways away, “How many times did you go in circles? I can’t believe you got lost here of all places. Lucy!”

Emperor Jerkface grinned, “Ah, you were hoping to lead me into an ambush by your friend. I should have known a wizard of your weak caliber wouldn’t have been allowed to complete a quest to this cursed island alone.”

“What did you say about me?” Lucy demanded. “You weren’t saying that when I was making a dent in your skull! So watch who you’re calling weak, Snow Cone!”

He frowned, “And that was one insult too many girlie. You obviously are not a killer, and Sherry and the others are not necessary to my plan. They will understand if I don’t find them until after I defeat Deliora. It’s time to say —” he took a one-handed casting stance, Happy in the other hand, looking like he was about to cry.

The wall burst with a shower of rubble, and Emperor Fart-face’s stance fell apart as he moved to shield his eyes. Natsu’s second punch took him in the face. Happy flew free in the distraction.

“Natsu!” Lucy and Happy cried out.

He gave them a grin, “Aw yeah, I got to beat on the Cool Empire dude.”

“It’s Lyon!” the wizard roared, jumping to his feet with a punch of his own, which sent Natsu backwards. “I mean, it’s the Cold Empire! I mean the Cold Emperor!”

Natsu stood up, wiping away the blood from a split lip. “Happy, get Lucy out of here. Lucy, I’ll find you after I take care of this popsicle.”

“Aye sir!” Happy said, flying over to Lucy.

“The cat can talk?” Lyon blinked.

“Oi, you’re fighting me now,” Natsu said. “Though it won’t be much of a challenge. You hit like a ten-year old Gray.”

“Down you go Lucy!” Happy said. He pushed open the doors to a wide staircase.

“When did those get there?” Lucy asked, trying and failing to once again put a map together in her head.

“Not fast enough,” Happy said, then pushed at her leg. Frozen as she was, that was all it took to send her snowball self rolling down the stairs. Desperately she shoved her magic into her legs and neck, praying that they wouldn’t break.

Eventually Lucy stopped, thumping against a wall, and it took her a good thirty seconds to get the room to stop spinning.

“Whew, I’m glad that worked,” Happy said, landing beside her.

“Are you trying to break my neck you stupid cat!” Lucy yelled.

“I knew you’d be fine,” Happy brushed off. “And look, you got lost so long, it became nighttime.” Happy pushed open the door behind her, one she was apparently leaning on, and sure enough, she rolled into the night air.

“Get me to my feet Happy,” Lucy said, wiggling an arm.

Happy picked her up and grunted, “Wow, you’re normally heavy, but this is a lot.”

“My weight is exactly how I like it!” Lucy barked. She got on her feet and waddled away from the temple, then looked back. The bright light on the top of the temple was back, and whatever the ritual was, it made evil energy exude from what was originally a place of holy energy.

The energy was angry, violent, and no wonder these people were willing to kill if melting the ice around Deliora did this. Could other people even see it, or was this her ability to perceive magic auras?

And if this was the aura the demon’s prison gave off when melted, what was the demon like?

Lucy looked down at her body, still encased, then back up at top. There was no way she would be able to climb up there. She could only move by hopping foot to foot, steep up hills and stairs were going to be impossible until she was free.

She needed to get out of the range of the spell, or to somewhere that could melt it. Tropical ocean water might work, or any hotsprings on the island. Just getting far enough away from the range of the caster would be easier. Either way, she couldn’t help her friends now.

She explained as much to Happy.

“So what are you going to do?” Happy asked.

“I’m going to head back towards the village,” Lucy said, “I can’t fight like this, and I need to recover my magic after that fight with Lyon. You should fly to the top though, I’m betting that’s where Loke and Gray are, and Natsu will be up there as soon as he gets finished with Lyon. They could probably use your help.”

Happy rubbed his ears, then shook his head, “Natsu said to stick with you. And I followed you around for three hours today, you’ll get lost long before you reach the village. Natsu, Gray, and Loke, they’re tough, and they can fight right now.” His face set, “I’m going to stay with you.”

She’d never seen Happy this determined about something when he wasn’t acting. It’s probably tough, leaving Natsu behind like that.

“Thank you,” she said, hopping towards the path. “And I wasn’t lost in a building for three hours. It couldn’t have been that long.”

“I was being nice,” Happy admitted, “it was much closer to four.”

Notes:

Lucy did some damage, but struggled to close after Lyon got her at a distance. And it looks like she's been spending too much time with Natsu after all the names she called Lyon in this chapter. Off to waddle away with her favorite cat protector. Let me know what you think in a review!

And, fyi, I've loved every single review I've gotten, it's so fun chatting with you guys, or just exchanging emojis. Until next time!

Chapter 15: Loke and Gray fought to stop the ceremony . . .

 

Loke jerked awake to the sound of Sherry screaming. He and Gray sprang to their feet.

“Get us off this!” Sherry screeched, “It’s starting.”

A magic circle appeared in the ceiling above Deliora. With a wide sweep of Gray’s arms, the chains and ice binding them to Deliora swept under them, binding them to each other and pulling them free from the demon-cube. Gray pulled at the chains and froze them to a nearby stalagmite.

“Don’t worry, we won’t let them finish the ceremony and release Deliora,” Gray said, “We’ll be back for you.” They started running up the nearest set of stairs and kept running. Loke tossed his sling aside, there was fighting to do. They passed openings to multiple floors, each showing the active magic circles.  

At the top, they crouched together behind a crumbling wall. A circle of masked people were chanting under a rotunda shaped like a crescent moon.

Loke said. “It’s exactly over where Deliora is.”

“Smash them up, end the ceremony?” Gray asked.

“Could have a backlash for being interrupted,” Loke mentioned, “Kinda like what happened to the fisherman villagers.” He looked around, “You see Lucy, Happy, or Natsu anywhere? None of them came back.”

“We’ll worry about them after we stop this ceremony, and the backlash should hit the cult pulling in the magic, not us,” Gray said, frowning. “You ready?”

Loke drew his sword and keys.

“So am I!” a cheerful voice called behind them.

Behind them, an old man with an elaborate headdress was smiling. “You were talking about fighting me, right? Because if you were talking about disrupting the ceremony, I’m afraid I can’t allow that.”

“I’ll take him,” Loke said, “You take down the chanters.”

“Right,” Gray said turning to jump. The old man produced a ball, then sent it speeding towards Gray. Loke got his sword in front of it, slicing it in half. The ball reformed and hit Gray in the shoulder, knocking him to the ground.

“What?” Loke asked.

Gray stood up.

“See, I may be old, but I practice a very particular kind of lost magic,” the old man said casually, “It’s called the Arc of Time, have you heard of it? I suppose you wouldn’t have, it is a lost after all magic. I can speed up, slow down, or rewind the time of any physical object. Doesn’t work on organics, but I don’t really need it to,” the old man said. “So, are we ready to fight, wizards of Fairy Tail?”

Loke rushed forward to attack, and Gray took his casting stance. Loke sliced through the ball again. Another one appeared to slam the air out of his chest. Gray shot lances at the exact moment that the ball appeared in front of Loke. It should have been a clear shot.

The ball disappeared. A blur crisscrossed every one of Gray’s lances, shattering them, before coming to a stop just above the old man’s hand.

Loke clutched his middle, “Time manipulation is illegal magic,” he ground out.

“Oh dear,” the man said, “Does this mean you’re going to report me to the Magic Council? Whatever will I do?”

Gray ran forward with a punch, but it was obvious enough for the man to hop backwards. Each time they tried to hit, they missed. Even covering for each other, the ball reappeared and found the exact line to strike through both of them.

“You know my favorite trick?” the old man said, throwing the ball, “By stopping, separating, speeding, and rewinding, I can have all the possible future attacks hit you at once!”

Loke and Gray were suddenly surrounded by hundreds of the crystal balls. The two of them went back to back. The balls sped forward, and Loke turned a key, the name of his friend lost in the sound of the attack and muffled by him covering his face.

The attacks stopped, and Loke peeked out from behind his arms to see Taurus slamming the old man sideways into a crumbling wall.

“Nice work!” Loke said.

Gray grabbed the ball and hurled it over the mountain.

The three of them ran away from the old man towards the worshipers. Gray sent lances ahead of them. Half of them moved out of the way, while the rest kept chanting.

A bear of ice rose up to meet them.

“None of that, Gray,” a voice called, and Gray froze. Loke turned around and saw a white-haired young man stepping out of a nearby staircase. “I should have known you’d be here for this auspicious occasion. Especially after the girl mentioned she had experience with Ice Wizards.”

Lucy. But since that was the only mention, nothing about defeating her, Lucy must have gotten away. And Loke would bet that the broken nose was her doing, even if the singed sleeves were Natsu’s.

“It can’t be,” Gray said, turning to face the new threat, “Lyon? You’re the one calling yourself the Cold Emperor? You’re the one that brought Deliora here? Do you have any idea of what you’ve done!”

Gray’s voice was raw.

“What would you like to attribute this meeting to? Fate? Destiny? Or did you hear about a demon missing and used all that stubborn determination that made you kill our master in the first place to drag your friends here and to their deaths?” Lyon taunted.

Clearly Gray left some parts out of the story, but Loke was hardly able to judge someone for that. Loke turned his sword on the newcomer and Taurus did the same on Gray’s other side. Whatever happened was in the past, Gray was his friend now, and that meant they had the same enemies. Lyon was clearly the source of the evil happening on this island, that was more than enough.

The chanting in the background grew louder.

Gray and Lyon took casting positions, though Lyon's was weird.

“We came to help the people suffering under your impossible need to prove yourself better than Ur!” Gray yelled. “You will never surpass her, no matter what crap you told your followers. Your pride is going to wreck the world, starting with the innocent villagers!”

“Like yours did!” Lyon yelled back.

“He was ten, right?” Loke said, and they both turned to him, having forgotten he was here, “Ten, and what? One year into being a wizard? I don’t know what went down, but it’s pathetic to be justifying yourself because a ten-year-old did it years ago.”

“Don’t try to defend my actions,” Gray said, “Youth was no excuse for what I did and I accept that. I knew the consequences; I didn’t care. Ur gave her life covering up my mistake, Ur turned her body into Iced Shell, the spell imprisoning Deliora, and I will never forgive myself for that. The only thing I could do was move on and live the life she wanted us to live.”

“Oh my dear Cold Emperor,” Sherry cried, running up the staircase, “I’m so sorry I failed to stop these intruders. Is there anything I can do to win back your love? Please allow me to dispose of them now.”

Yuka followed her; head bowed in shame.

“Actually, it turns out these intruders are here because the villagers sent a request to the guilds,” Lyon said, smiling viciously. “Why don’t you both go take Toby and exterminate them? Any interference in my plans cannot pass without punishment. That might begin to make up for your failures.”

“Right away, my Love,” Sherry said.

“As you wish,” Yuka said. They retreated back down the staircase.

Loke and Gray shared a look, and Gray nodded after the two.

“Kick his ass!” Loke called behind him, “Taurus, with me!” It was dangerous, confronting Sherry again with a strong spirit out, but you respected declared opponents in Fairy Tail, and Gray had declared his.

Lyon tried to stop him with a barrier, but Taurus smashed through it with ease and Gray called out an ice-make hammer.

“Your fight is with me. I won’t let you destroy Ur’s legacy like this!”

“Stop saying her name!”

Loke ran after Sherry and Eyebrows. Gray must not have been careful on binding their hands on their way out. Eyebrow’s magic nullification would have been able to break his maker magic if he had enough wiggle room.

The old man popped up in front of Loke. "That was a nice trick you pulled. But I really must insist you stand down like a good little boy and let the Cold Emporer's plans go through."

Loke went full defense, and Taurus copied him.

"How rude of your friend to throw my bauble off the mountain," the man pouted. Then pulled an identical one out from under his robe with a grin, "Good thing I have an extra one!"

The threat of the orb floated between the combatants. Gray and Lyon were crashing through things behind him, but Loke couldn't think his way around the old guy. How do you defeat someone who controlled time itself? At least the old man seemed content smiling while Loke tried to think of a plan. Even if he sent Taurus back, Loke wasn't going to get another free shot like he had with Taurus. If he had water, Aquarius could probably overwhelm even the number of orbs this guy could generate with sheer volume, but for all the talk of a moon drip, there was a sad amount of water on this particular mountain top.

"My, you are certainly an indecisive one, aren't you? This is rather boring you know," the old man said.

This guy wasn't the problem, Sherry and Eyebrows were the problem. But could Taurus cover him enough to let him escape to chase after them? Would he even be able to find them after this long in the temple complex?

"Sorry for not being any fun, why don't you just let me leave so we can both move onto more interesting things?" Loke stalled.

There was a loud rising up the side of the mountain.

“Too late,” Sherry said, standing on top of her enormous rat with Eyebrows, flashing him a victory sign.

Apparently, among her many qualities, the giant rat could fly by spinning her tail really fast. Yuka stood passively beside her. They weren’t going very fast.

“Taurus, throw me, and keep the old man busy,” Loke said.

Taurus obliged without hesitation. All those hours of practice together had paid off a hundred times over.

“Moooove the hot chick down to me!" Taurus called as Loke launched through the air. By the time he hit the rat, Taurus was back in the celestial realm.

Sherry and Yuka had turned away from him before he was thrown, which meant it was incredibly easy grab Yuka’s arm and toss him off the side of the rat.

“What? How could you?” Sherry said, scrambling along her rat’s shoulder to see if Yuka was okay. (He would be, they weren't that far up.)

“That isn’t half of what you were planning on doing to the villagers, actually innocent people, am I right?” Loke said, drawing his sword.

“Angelica!” Sherry screamed, getting on her knees and gripping the apron strings, “Knock this imposter off right now!”

Loke immediately mirrored her, sheathing his sword. Because the enormous flying rat wasn’t enough, it could race at different speeds, do loop de loops, and fly upside down. Loke held onto the skin through it all.

He had to think of a way out of this, before he got thrown off for real. His sore should was already protesting, it wouldn’t last forever, his non-busted arm was already taking most of his weight. But how to knock something this big out of the air? If he let go for a second, even to stab it with his sword, he’d fall.

The flying evened out.

“Why won’t you go away!” Sherry screamed. Loke remembered an older noble boy,  holding Loke’s keys above his head, as Loke screamed the same thing. None of Loke’s punches or kicks did anything, but when he…might as well try.

“Tickle attack!” Loke said, and immediately started scratching his nails lightly over the rat’s skin.  

“Ha, you really thing that will work?” Sherry taunted.

But the rat started laughing, a high pitched creening.

Loke tickled faster.

“No! Angelica!” Sherry panicked, “You have to keep spinning your tail!”

They were free falling. His yells mixed with Sherry’s as the ground came closer and closer.

Loke didn’t remember the impact. There was falling, then there was waking up on the ground, several feet away from the impact crater. He felt for his body, and while there were bruises for days, it was all aching pain at the moment, not the sharp pain of a broken bone. Angelica must have broken the worst of his fall.

“Loke?”

Lucy was standing at the edge of the clearing, Happy flying over her shoulder. She rushed forward.

She was absolutely beautiful, even bruised and cut up as she was.

“You’ve got some scrapes there,” Loke said, dazed, “I’d love to be the one to kiss it all better, Beautiful.”

Lucy helped him sit up, “Well, you can’t be hurt too badly if you’re still spouting cheesy pick-up lines. That one was terrible. Come on, up you go.”

“Yeah, not my best,” he admitted forcing himself to comply with Lucy’s wish as she pulled him to his feet.

Ow. Ow. Pain. Ow.

There was a scream, and they looked over to see Sherry, sobbing on top of her pet.

“What are we dealing with?” Lucy asked, sliding into a combat position.

Loke tried to mirror her and winced. His left arm was shaking, and his right arm joined it when he drew his sword. “Marionette magic. I’m a really bad match up. She can use my spirits as puppets. She can create dolls out of the surroundings. I threw Eyebrows off the rat on the way here. They were on their way to find dogface and destroy the village on Lyon’s command. Gray’s battling Lyon and we haven’t seen Natsu since he went to find you.”

Lucy had frozen at the words “Marionette magic”. Her eyes darted all over the scene, analyzing.

"YOU KILLED HER!" Sherry screamed summoning a rock doll the size of a tree.

“Loke, if you trust me, go with Happy to protect the village right now,” Lucy said.

“I’m not useless even if I can’t summon a spirit,” Loke protested.

“I never found Toby,” she said, “I got lost inside the temple. Someone needs to be there to protect the village if he shows up, or if Yuka had another way to get to the village. And you’re right, it is a bad match up for you. We have people to protect "

“I beat her once,” Loke said, “I can do it again.”

“Trust me!” Lucy said.

“You trust me! I can handle this, you go take care of Toby!”

“Happy! Now!”

“Aye sir!”

Happy bulleted towards him and pulled him into the air before he could react.

“What? No! Happy, take me back! We can’t leave her alone down there! Happy!” Loke demanded, struggling.

“We have to take care of the village,” Happy said, his voice shaking, “I’ve had to leave Natsu, and now I’ve had to leave Lucy, but we have to take care of the village. Lucy wouldn’t have been able to leave you to fight that girl alone, and the job is to protect the village. We’re Fairy Tail, we have to do the job!”

“We can take her down more quickly together,” Loke argued, “Turn around and let me help her.”

“Are you a Fairy Tail wizard or not!” Happy said, putting on a burst of speed, “You have to do what is good for job, and not-not what you want to do. That’s what it means to be a Fairy Tail wizard.” Happy was crying.

Loke looked towards the wooden walls of village, “That’s what a Fairy Tail wizard would do, huh?”

He had joined the guild to go on adventures, hang out with cool people, and get some money. Nowhere did it say he couldn’t do what he wanted to, and Natsu certainly did what he wanted. But that meant Happy and Lucy could do what they wanted too, and they wanted him at the village. Just one question left then.

“Is Lucy really going to be okay?” Loke asked Happy.

“Lucy’s tough. She’s going to be okay.”

“I hope you’re right,” Loke said.

 

Notes:

Happy Sunday! Loke's looking a bit roughed up here, isn't he? Not gonna stop him from flirting with Lucy though! Also Lucy sure did make a choice.

Chapter 16: . . . and everyone ended up separated for a while.

Lucy dodged for as long as she could, until the rock golem got too close and Lucy had to kick through its waist or risk getting crushed. Stone crumbled, Sherry tumbling with it.

“Your pet’s still twitching, it’s not dead,” Lucy told her.

"You don’t get it!” Shery screamed in her face, “You hurt her. You made me fail, and I’ll never obtain the Cold Emperor’s love!”

"Really? Because I would love to be able to fail to kill an entire village of innocents,” Lucy said. Luckily, she had never had that specific order in her life, though she’d done plenty of other terrible things on the commands of her wizards.

“Destroy as many dolls as you like; I can just make more!” Sherry twitched her fingers in her awful magic, and paused, eyes widening.

When celestial wizards ticked off someone important, marionette wizards were the first to be hired in the name of revenge or simply getting them out of the way. It was putrid magic, violating and vicious when you felt your body be pulled by stinging strings rather than your own will. There was a special exception to the ‘don’t kill your wizard indirectly’ rule in the cases of marionette wizards. If the wizard isn’t strong enough for a force closure, there was nothing the spirit could do.

Marionette magic was the truest form of slavery Lucy had ever been under, and she’d had some crap contracts.

One of her wizards hadn’t been able to force a closure.

If Loke had faced Sherry before and won, that was a better testament to his skills and experiences as a celestial wizard than anything else she had learned so far.

Loke had still needed to vacate the battlefield.  He couldn’t fight Sherry with only a sword and non-magic strength, one that it looked like he had trouble holding, and Lucy couldn’t let Sherry reveal what she was. The only option was to give Loke and Happy a chance to fly away and recover, while she figured something out.

Unfortunately, the brilliantplan was taking it's sweet time coming.

“Oh my, what’s this? Where’s your wizard, little spirit?” Sherry sang, and the string of her magic poked at the singed edges of Lucy’s magic, making her wince. The longer Sherry played with her, the farther away Loke and Happy got. “It wasn’t ginger over there, you're different from his spirits. All your strings have been cut, haven’t they? You hold no contract. I didn’t know you could do that.” She smirked, “But don’t worry, I’ll still play with you.”

Lucy rushed her.

Not fast enough.

Fist one foot short of her face, Sherry’s fingers danced, and her magic wove a noose around Lucy’s neck. It entered her spinal cord, and flushed itself through her body, taking hold. Lucy grit her teeth as Sherry made her stop in place and raise her arms.

“Oh, I never get the chance to control my enemies directly,” Sherry laughed shrilly, “It’s going to be so much fun making you kill a village of innocents. What? No more sharp tongue?”

She was Leo the Lion. She was stronger than her fellow spirits. She could fight this.

Sherry made Leo the Lion, strongest of the celestial spirits, march towards the village like a clockwork toy soldier.  

Because that was the point, wasn’t it?

She was a celestial spirit, masquerading as a human. And without the power of a contract to rely on, she couldn’t escape. Exiles aren’t the leader of anything. Lucy was running on magic borrowed from another world, and there was nothing else left to her.

“Hang on, you have a guild mark,” Sherry said, forcing Lucy to stand still and swing her right hand forward so she could see. She started giggling, “That’s hilarious. You have to be breaking some kind of rule. How could the other celestial spirits let you run around Earthland without a wizard? But then, breaking rules is what Fairy Tail wizards do best. I just never expected a puppet to get that far! Hahaha!”

Lucy stared at her hand. Because Fairy Tail let her be a wizard too, not just a spirit. Fairy Tail, who let children and beasts, demons and dragons claim membership. What was a celestial spirit among that? In the tiniest way, she could feel her right hand fighting Sherry’s control in a way the rest of her body wasn’t. Couldn’t. A guildmark was a different kind of contract. To work their jobs to completion, keep their secrets, attend guild events, and pay taxes through them.

Then there was the contract between Fairy Tail wizards especially. The one that said she and Natsu had to go after Macao when he didn’t come home. The one that made her check and see if Mystogan meant them harm. The one that demanded she try to prevent Natsu and Loke from taking this blasted job, and then come along to raise their chances of survival.

And then, of course, the first promise she had made when she joined.

Sherry was still laughing in her face when Lucy pulled the fingers of her right hand free. Not a lot, just enough to flick her in the face.

“Hey!” Sherry demanded, clutching her nose, “What was that about! You’re under my control. Hit yourself!” she demanded. Lucy’s left fist came flying towards her face and hit her chin. Luckily, the angle and torc meant it was a weak hit.

Sherry’s magic tried to keep her face blank, but Lucy managed a squinting glare.

“Oh, you’re still trying to fight,” Sherry said, stepping back. “You can’t even make a good puppet. You really are good for nothing. Now, how does your magic work? If I’d known that, I wouldn’t have lost to that good-for-nothing flirt.”

Sherry wasn’t experienced. The marionette wizards she had faced in the past could feel the magic container in celestial spirits, draw it out as part of their control, intimately familiar with how each spirit of the wizard they were sent after worked after following some cursed texts passed from wizard to wizard.

Sherry wasn’t at that level. Which made sense, she looked around the same age as Gray.

How could Lucy use this? Her magic container was free from the grip of Sherry’s magic, even as Sherry searched for it, drawing closer to Lucy as though proximity would help her solve the puzzle. Maybe it would.

Think fast; no time for doubts.

Lucy threaded magic into her right hand without manifesting a magic circle, as much as it could hold, until it hurt, then she added some more. She had a contract with her guild to fulfill.

A wizard citizen of Fiore. Human enough to work, human enough to pay rent, human enough to get drunk, and human enough to make friends. She was human enough to fulfill her human contracts, so sealed by the mark on her hand. Lucy was their wizard.

She had a job to do.

“Really,” Makarov said, “just don’t embarrass the guild, and you’ll be fine with our mark.”

Her right hand clenched into a fist and became burning light.

Sherry screamed. She threw her hands up for some measly protection from the blinding light, and with that, the puppet strings slackened. Lucy dug the burning light of her fist into the puppet master’s solar plexus. Then gave three chops to the nerves on her neck for good measure.  

Sherry slumped to the ground.

Lucy’s strings were cut once more.

Her magic was also running really low. She needed to get some food or drink from the village soon. Though, for good measure, she moved Sherry’s knocked out body to the bottom of the nearest cliff. The more lost and disoriented the wizard was when she woke up, the better for Lucy.

Honestly? Lucy felt like murdering the witch. Any celestial wizard would order her to, and she’d do it gladly as she had in the past, one less person able to take away her body and the bodies of her friends could only be good for everyone. And this was was also a demon resurrecting cultist, by all accounts she would be doing the world a favor if she killed her and ended this threat permanently.

But Lucy had overcome the marionette magic by drawing on the humanity that three years in Earthland had taught her, and it was also written in the unspoken rules of Fairy Tail that you don’t kill except as a last resort. You beat them until they learn their lesson, you strike first if you have to, and strike hard, but you never kill if you have a choice. It’s something you can’t take back. All life is precious.

Not just a celestial wizard’s life.

Even a marionette wizard’s.

Lucy walked back to the village with her head held high.

Until she got lost. Then she was climbing trees every few minutes trying to keep herself oriented towards the log walls of the village.

 

 

It was after dawn when she finally stumbled into the village, embarrassingly enough. She couldn’t have fought Sherry later than 10 PM, and it didn’t help that she had to go slow with how low her magic was. She felt the edge of her magic limits this time, felt herself held together by the dredges of her will. She fuzzed once, which had made her fall out of a tree.

Lulu intercepted her as soon as she came in through the gate. “Are you okay? You look like you’re limping.”

“Um, can I have some pinap juice, and any other juices you have?” Lucy said apologetically.

“Of course,” Lulu said, leading her to her hut, “I’m sure your friends can wait a little bit while you recover. I can also give you your clothes back. Were you up all night?”

Lucy nodded and Lulu offered her three different types of juices.

“Get me the pulpiest mixture of all three, if you can,” Lucy said.

Lulu winced, “That won’t taste very good.” She did it anyway.

With the glass in front of her, Lucy pulled out her spice and shook it over the drink. Not as much as she had put into the wine, but a decent amount. “Medicine,” she explained for Lulu. She shook it until it was thoroughly mixed. Then licked her hand to get all the juices off it. This wasn’t something she could afford to waste.

She downed the whole pulpy mess, and shuddered. The stringy texture was worse than eating earthland meat, and there was a bitter-sour taste with these ashes. Not a lot, but with the limited amount of use her taste buds got, it was going to linger. 

“You okay?” Lulu asked, holding out Lucy’s washed clothes.

Lucy nodded, taking the clothes. “Thank you, I know that was odd.”

“No, no, it’s alright. I’m grateful actually,” she blushed, “There was something I wanted to tell you. It was about the answer I gave you two nights ago. I…well, we didn’t mean any harm. The truth is the village chief warned us that wizards would be unwilling to help us because of our appearance. That the wizards would be scared of us, but if we made sure they knew how painful this curse was, they’d be more likely to help us out of pity. So we…exaggerated, how much the transformation hurts, I mean. I shouldn’t be telling you this, but it might be one of those little things you mentioned wanting to know. It’s a little uncomfortable, I get a little itchy all over for a minute, but it’s not painful.”

Lucy put her hand on Lulu’s shoulder, “That took courage to admit. Thank you, and I won't tell anyone you told me. It is an important piece. And I have one more question that I want to ask you about. Do you know anything about the Temple of the Moon?”

Lulu shook her head, “Sorry, but we never go there.”

“Have you seen the light on the top of the temple at night? It should have started around the same time as the curse; it seems odd that you haven’t asked those people for help with a curse from the moon,” Lucy said.

“We don’t go there,” Lulu insisted, “Some of the men have gone to investigate over the years, but they always get turned around or away or something before they reach it. And sometimes we see lights moving up there, but we don’t know what they are. I don’t know why the Chief didn’t tell you about it. He probably forgot because we don't go there and don’t know anything about it.”

Curious. “Were you able to go to the temple before the curse?”

Lulu frowned, “You know…I can’t remember. I don’t think we did, but we didn’t have reason to before the curse, I don’t think.”

“Not even as kids?” Lucy asked raising an eyebrow.

“No. No one went to the temple.”

Lucy nodded, pieces falling together. She thought she had an answer, but it wouldn’t be wise to test it until the moon rose again, and it would hold until after they resolved the Deliora problem.

“Thank you for telling me,” Lucy said, “Both those things are a big help into solving the problem.” The magic from the pulpy fruit drink started to hit her system, and she sighed in relief. “I’ll go see my friends now. And don’t worry, we're close to finding the answer.”

Lulu smiled gratefully. Lucy changed back into the skirt and tank top she arrived in, and Lulu pointed her to where they slept two nights ago.

Lucy pushed aside the door hanging and saw Loke and Happy, expertly tied up.

“Lucy,” Loke said in relief, “I’m so glad you’re okay. I was worried when you were gone for more than a couple of hours. Are you okay?”

“I’m doing better than you are,” Lucy said, walking in and letting the door drop. “Did you catch up to Toby? Why are you tied up?”

“That would be my doing,” Erza said. Lucy spun around to find Erza blocking the exit. Lucy relaxed for a moment, finally someone smart who would be able to help keep the others from dying. That lasted until Erza spoke again. “Now that you are here, we can go collect Gray and Natsu and be on our way back to the guild where you all will answer for the rules you have broken.”

Erza was taller than her, a fact being made abundantly apparent as she glowered from inside her armor. Frowning and arms folded, Lucy hadn't disappointed Erza this much when she was taking on an assassin guild drunk. 

Doubts she had been ignoring came pouring back in. The boys didn't know what S-class quests entailed, but she certainly did. She had heard tales of the dangers of Galuna for the past hundred years. And still she came because boys were heavy and Loke had a pretty, faith-filled smile.

Erza was right, she should have been more responsible. Should have reported her failure to stop the boys instead of joining them. Should have used Loke's outstretched hand to pull him off the boat. Sink the boat and offer to pay repair costs while she dragged the boys back. She could have, but didn't. And now it was far too late.

"I can't."

“I really don’t think she was asking,” Loke said with a shaky voice. Another one for the 'Erza is a terrifying monster' club.

“I am not. None of you should be here in the first place,” Erza scolded, “You have disgraced the guild. You will return, and a wizard who is actually qualified can come and help these people.”

“Did Loke fill you in on what’s going on?” Lucy asked.

Erza nodded, “My opinion is unchanged.” Erza leveled a sword at Lucy, eyes glinting, “Will you walk? Or do I have to drag you as well? I thought so much better of you, Lucy.”

Erza was different from Laxus. She made smaller threats, but she absolutely followed through on them. She’d been on the wrong side of Erza’s fist during a Fairy Tail brawl before and wasn’t looking forward to a repeat experience and whatever else Erza deemed suitable punishment.

As if that pain wasn’t enough motivation, if Erza did knock her out, the villagers and all the crazy acolytes were doomed to dying from the revived demon of destruction.

"You're right, we shouldn't have come,” Lucy admitted. “But the villagers don't have magic. No wizard alive could make it here to help in time to stop Deliora from slaughtering everyone here. We leave, and we consign these people to their deaths.”

"That is not our problem,” Erza said. “We are leaving before you die or your ineptitude gets someone innocent killed. We are currently in the process of negotiating how forceful I’m going to have to be to see that happen. Thoughts?”

Lucy tried again, “If you don’t care about the innocents you’re consigning to death, then maybe you care about the guild. I had one overriding instruction from Makarov when he gave me my mark, and that was don’t embarrass the guild. Leaving now would make Fairy Tail look like the worst sort of people.”

Erza glared, “You mean the sort of people who send inexperienced wizards way over their heads to their deaths on S-class quests? You have already failed on that count Lucy. There is only punishment left.”

Those words made everything suddenly very clear.

“No." Lucy said calmly. "I know what it’s like to have only one option. That is not what’s happening here." Erza leveled her sword at Lucy’s chest. Her heart started pounding, but she didn’t move.

“Please Erza," Lucy asked softly. "I can't walk away from people I can use my magic to help. I can't stay still as they die after I contracted to help them. You aren’t going to stop me because you know I’m right. Please, there are rules, and then there is what is right. You know this.”

This probably wouldn't work. Lucy had caught some glimpses of the softer Erza over the years, when she was playing games with everyone, when she was eating strawberry cake or flipping through armor catalogues and fashion magazines. But Erza followed the rules, she enforced the rule, gave the rules meaning in a group that otherwise didn't bother.

But Lucy had to try, and against all odds, Erza looked like she was wavering. She reacted to Lucy's call for help with Eisenwald, Erza couldn't want to leave the villagers to this fate. She was trying to do what was responsible, but there were more important things than being responsible.

Lucy laid her right hand on Erza’s blade, gently pushing it down with her guild mark facing up. "Please."

Lucy was as surprised as anyone when Erza loosened her grip, her head turning down. Lucy pulled her hand back.

Erza leveled a glare that had Lucy stepping back and onto Happy’s tail. He whimpered as she moved off it. Erza swung her sword, Lucy closed her eyes, waiting for the bite that would kill her for good, and…heard a snap that wasn’t her body.

Erza had slashed the bindings away from Loke and Happy.

“Lucy’s right,” Erza said, “You have already made a mess of things, but it would be worse to pull back now after you’ve made your promises to the villagers. We will take care of this quickly and everyone will live to face their punishment. You do exactly as I say, when I say it. Am I clear?”

"Crystal,” Lucy said, smiling, “How about we lead you to the temple? We can go make sure Natsu and Gray are just as clear.”

Notes:

Lucy had two very different emotional beats here, but I really like how they turned out. Let me know what you think!

Chapter 17: Erza showed up, a little late to the party again . . .

Loke was jogging in front with Lucy, “That was crazy brave,” Loke said, “I hadn’t realized how terrifying she was until the villagers asked me to deal with pirate ship in the harbor. I thought, easy, I’ll just send Aquarius to push them back out to sea until we get everything resolved and we can take them down as a team, and bam, there she is. She had my face in the sand before I could say hi.”

Lucy hummed in agreement.

“I’ve never seen anyone move that fast. It was faster than you guys taking down Lullaby, or the monsters in Clover Canyon. She tried to ask me where you all were, but I was halfway to saying that I didn’t know when she headbutted me! I blacked out and when I woke up Erza was interrogating a crying Happy.”

"Terrifying,” Lucy said drily, glancing back to where Happy was flying just behind Erza’s shoulder.

Loke made himself stop babbling. It wasn’t impressive or suave, and impressing Lucy and convincing her he wasn’t a total waste of a wizard was high on his to-do list. Holy hell that had been inspiring, the way she kept her cool as she challenged Erza and even had the guts to push down her sword.

“How did your fight with Sherry go?” Loke asked, “You’re not low on magic are you? It must have been a long fight.”

“I’m recovering,” she said, “And the battle was over fairly quickly. I got lost, but don’t tell Happy. He’ll never let me hear the end of it.”

“All night?” Loke asked. “I left you two, maybe three miles from the village.”

“No comment.”

Loke started laughing then.

“Looo-keeee,” Lucy whined.

“That’s what you get for refusing to let me and Happy fight with you.”

Lucy rolled her eyes, “We needed to cover the village, and I was a better match for Sherry. If you keep dragging me on these suicide missions, you have to work with me to get the job done.”

“So…I’m still up for being on your team?” Loke asked, smirking.

“We’re here, aren’t we?” Lucy asked.

Loke snickered again, “No thanks to your sense of direction.”

“Now you’re just being mean,” she pouted.

“I’m sorry,” he said, still chuckling, “I’m sorry, it’s just…such a cute weakness to see in the most badass woman I know.”

Lucy flushed and unconsciously sped up the pace, “What did I do to deserve that title? You were literally telling me about how Erza scared the life out of you a minute ago. She’s way above me in levels of bad-assery.”

Loke grinned at her, keeping one eye on the road, “Yeah, and you won a round of chicken with her. What does that say about you?” he said, and Lucy turned pink at his words. “Don’t get me wrong, swords are going to feature prominently in my nightmares for the next several weeks, but I stand by what I said. You sure you can get us back to the temple, Miss Wandering Wendy?”

“I take it back. Sherry and I duked it out all night long, then I had a slow but straight shot towards the village.”

“If you have time to laugh, you have the energy to move faster,” Erza called, and the two of them immediately went at a full sprint. They did slow down after a minute and explained their stories to Erza during the run, what Loke knew from Gray and what Lucy knew from chatting with Lyon and Sherry.

A little over halfway to the temple, Lucy skidded to a stop, fists up and hips balanced, ready for a fight. Loke overshot her but stopped too. Erza pulled up behind them, summoning a sword. Happy took to the sky.

Masked cultists jumped out of the foliage just ahead of them and charged. Loke immediately locked swords with one, tripped another, but the rest scrambled past him. Throwing all his weight into the press, he got his opponent under him, then off balance. A twist threw them to the floor, and Loke kicked them off the path before engaging the next one.

He lost track after the fifth one he added to the pile, they just kept coming. The battle raged on, and if they occasionally got a second to breathe and recover, it never lasted long enough to shout. Lucy and Erza were doing fine on their own, but he could have sworn there weren’t this many people last night. He fought his way to Lucy and Erza; they still hadn’t made any real headway.

“Notice anything strange about them?” Erza asked, smiling.

“Aside from how many there are?” Loke asked. And because this was Erza, he focused on them, looking for some kind of give to see what she was talking about. Then it hit, “They aren’t wizards. I can sense maybe five magic signatures.”

"Those wizards are likely good illusionists, duplication specialists, something like that,” Lucy said, kicking mid-level to send another one flying off the path. “Your call Erza. They’re low level, just time consuming. Who stays and who goes?”

Erza took her time, hitting one guy so hard he took out three people behind him on his way down. “Lucy, you head off and make sure Natsu and Gray aren’t doing anything regretable. Loke, Happy, and I will stay and take care of the problems here.”

“Give me a boost?” Lucy asked, “Like that time at Halloween with the ceiling holes.”

Erza requipped into an enormous sword and balanced it while Lucy covered for her. With the grace of an angel, Lucy finished punching one guy, crouched, and backflipped onto the broadside of Erza’s sword. Erza swung the sword in an arc with a yell, launching Lucy into the sky and down the path, clear of their enemies.

Loke received a staff strike to the shoulder for the letting himself get distracted but couldn’t regret being able to see that. He wanted to be the one to go after Natsu and Gray, they were probably up to something really cool, but he certainly wasn’t going to argue with Erza about it. Neither was Happy.

Loke tried to focus on finding where the wizards were under the masks, but their magic signatures were muddled. He hadn’t spent a lot of time around wizards, and then he was only spending a lot of time around wizards, not a lot time to develop this particular skill. The magic signatures could also be hidden by the cloaks. He knew fabrics like that were advertised in the higher end magic shops. Magic fabrics were also a specialty export of Isvan where they picked up Deliora.

Slashing wide to get him some space, he pulled out his keys, quickly finding the one he wanted by touch alone, “Open, Gate of the Giant Crab, Cancer!”

Happy gasped, “A giant crab!”

Cancer appeared, scissors at the ready. “What’s the hairdo for today, Shrimp?”

“These guys are going for the short look,” Loke quipped, “Help me mow them down?”

“Sure thing Shrimp!” Cancer called, and immediately started dashing, blades out. He made it straight down the path.

“You feel that?” Erza asked, disarming an enemy and kicking them away. Loke checked with his magic sense and found that the magic signatures were weaker. Cancer had taken down one of the mages.

Cancer mowed down another row on his way back to Loke’s side. Loke bashed someone with the pommel of his sword and said, “They’re hiding at the edges. We’ll cover you.”

“Are you giving me orders?” Erza growled, and Loke snapped out a salute.

“No mam no!”

Erza smiled, “Good, then try to keep up.”

Erza took off running, her sword in guard position, and Loke and Cancer flanked her, making sure those she knocked off balance in her rush stayed down. Even at his full sprint, Erza was going slower for his sake. It was still faster than their opponents could recover.

Loke paid attention this time, so he felt it when they hit a mage. This time several of the bodies lying on the ground disappeared. The same thing happened twice more. Striking the final mage had everyone on the ground and not willing to get back up.

“Three duplication wizards and a support specialist,” Erza said, sword at the neck of the final mage. “The perfect combination for testing battlefield endurance.”

Loke fell to his knees, then onto the ground, panting after that last rush. “No match… for you… though.”

Erza turned to him, kicking the last mage aside, and folded her arms. “You were good out here. I believe I underestimated you.” Loke grinned, ready with a pickup line, when Erza continued, shaking her head slowly in disappointment, “However, your endurance clearly needs more work, that battle only lasted thirty minutes.” No way, it had to be longer than that. Though thirty minutes was way longer of a battle than any he had had before.

Seeing his face, she sighed, “Your magic is impressive, and that is a fine warrior you summoned to your aid.”

Cancer was suddenly kneeling before Erza, holding a bouquet of flowers. “Lady.”

Excellent form Cancer! Erza really was stunning, he had good taste.

Erza didn’t change her stance, “You are strong, however you call your wizard ‘Shrimp’, which I find distasteful in both its demeaning implications and inaccuracy. Loke is taller than me, and I fall within the average range. Work on that in the future.”

Loke winced at the admonishment, sitting up, but Cancer crumbled to the ground. There was the tug on his magic that was Cancer wanting to leave, and Loke let the spirit retreat. If only everyone had a separate magical dimension to hide in after getting shot down.

Loke knelt down to look at one of the people whose mask popped off.

“What do you think happens to people to make them join a cult determined to resurrect a demon?” Loke asked.  

There was a grunt behind him, and a clang. Erza had halted one person who wasn’t as down and out as they pretended to be, her sword against their staff, heel on their cloak. They paled. Erza shoved them to the ground with her another step of her armored heel.

“They crave power,” Erza answered, putting more weight on the trapped opponent. “They don’t care about anyone or anything but that. Their need for control over others turns into enjoyment, and they become animals who only listen to strength and force.”

“Erza?” Loke asked hesitantly.

She shook her head, red hair falling forward to cover her eyes, and stepped off the cultist.

“You’re wrong,” another voice called, older and female. She groaned as she sat up and pulled off her mask. Her hair was braided and beaded in the way of indigenous northern tribes of Isvan. “We seek peace, not power. Deliora destroyed our homes and villages. Inside the ice wizard’s prison, it still lives. Sometimes death is the only answer to suffering, and we have waited many long years to lay our anguish to rest.”

Loke and Erza looked at each other. The sword vanished from Erza’s hand.

“If you are willing to stop fighting,” Erza said carefully, “I believe we would like to hear the story that brought you here.”

 

 

 

Lucy was launched much farther than she had been last Halloween when Natsu discovered this game. And much faster. Luckily she didn’t have to worry about getting lost since she could see the temple in the distance. Okay, she got lost once. It was nearing mid afternoon now. She hadn’t used any of her magic fighting the low level guys, sticking to hand to hand, and she kinda, sorta prayed she wouldn’t have to fight the rest of the trip.

There was the sound of a lot of crashing coming from the temple, and it was even easier to follow that. Her money was on Natsu, and as she crashed into the crumbling building, there he was, pounding away at it.

“Natsu!” she called, running up to him.

He stopped punching and turned to her, “Lucy? Lucy! What’s up? Where have you been?”

He was grinning at her with that toothy smile, and Lucy couldn’t help but grin back. “Oh you know, had to get far enough away to break that dumb ice spell, kicked some more butt, got a little lost, ran into Erza at the village, figured out how to break the curse, and now came here to help stop the demon reviving. The usual.”

Natsu’s grin became very forced, very quickly. “Uh, Ezra, you said? Is that one of the villagers?”

Lucy rolled her eyes, “You know I said Erza. She came after us, something about a pirate ship? Anyway, Loke, Erza, and I walked into an ambush set by all the crazy moon acolytes. Loke, Erza, and Happy are still fighting them. I came to make sure you and Gray weren’t doing something dumb.”

Natsu snorted, “I’m not doing anything dumb, I have a plan this time. And I already stopped Gray from committing suicide. I mean, what an idiot!”

Lucy looked over the demolished support beams on only the left side and got an idea of what he was thinking.

“You did start on the outside right?” Lucy checked, dubiously. She was no Forge, but she didn’t think lateral stability worked like Natsu was thinking it would.

“Duh, how else was I going to tilt the thing without getting crushed?” Now he was looking at her like she was stupid. She really hoped that all the acolytes were outside with Erza.

“Natsu, let’s think about this,” she said, taking out her light pen and drawing the temple, “The moonlight passes through stone right? Channeled through the magic circles on each floor, concentrating into the moon drip, a pure enough light magic to undo even the strongest enchantment.”

Natsu nodded.

“So your idea is mostly good,” Lucy explained, “disrupt the line of magic circles, then moonlight can’t hit Deliora, and no melting. Assuming the magic circles in the architecture are essential to the ritual, and it won’t just pass right through stone anyway. It’s the tilting part I’m not sure would work. This temple, while the inside is like a cone…pyramid… thing, it’s also built into the mountain here.” She drew the mountain rounding over the edges of her triangle. “That adds extra pressure to the ceiling,” she drew arrows downwards, indicating pressure.

Natsu looked on the edge of dying of boredom, “So I kick apart the mountain too. I can do that.”

“No,” Lucy said, “What I’m saying is that you’re going collapse this side into a landslide, and leave the actual part you want to destroy untouched.” She followed the arrows downward, crossing over her previous drawing. “The ground wasn’t even steady enough to hold your stomping, it’s not going to hold the increased weight of lifting the Temple to tilt when it was built forever ago just to support it. There’s also a problem with the lack of a fulcrum —”

"Alright,” Natsu said, putting a hand to his head, “I get it. What’s your plan then?”

“Hey, I’ve figured out how to uncurse the villagers after all this over, and I just got here. What have you and Gray been doing?” Lucy said defensively. She glanced up, “And let’s get to the side that probably won’t collapse and kill us.”

Natsu put his hands behind his head and took the lead, “Well, I battled with Ice Empress for while, but he had me trapped the same way he did you, and I had to skedaddle to go break it off since it wouldn’t melt fast enough. Took too long though, and I came back and Gray was kicking his tail. Guess he was tired out after facing you and me. Then Ice Butt said something about Gray being the reason his former master was dead, and Gray started screwing up all his attacks. Ice Butt left the Popsicle alive, and I was about to jump in then, but Gray didn’t want me to —”

Lucy snorted, “And you respected that? He lost, Lyon was fair game then.”

Natsu grinned, “I know, right? But I wasn’t super threatening trapped in ice like a snowball. Gray said later that the spell on me would have let Ice Butt skewer me with a twitch of his fingers, which is a super cheap move. It wouldn’t have been a good fight anyway, after Lyon faced all three of us. I dragged Gray away and holed up in a closet where we finally got some rest. Dunno when we woke up, but it was late in the day.

“Gray broke me out of the snowball and we listened to them setting a trap for when we all came back. We raided the kitchen, then split up. Gray was going to search for a rematch with Ice Butt, and I told him I came up with a plan to stop the ceremony. We ran across each other again and Gray was about to do some kind of suicide finishing move before I knocked it into his head what a dumbass he was being. He’s still fighting somewhere, and now we have to come up with a better plan.”

The last bit came out like a whine.

“We could go to the top and make sure no one starts chanting,” Lucy said, just as the ground started shaking. Lucy looked behind her and screamed, Natsu joining her. They ran as fast as they could towards the other side, the temple falling down behind them.

“I thought you said it wouldn’t collapse!” Natsu yelled at her.

“I said it would collapse!” Lucy yelled back, “If it was tilting, we wouldn’t be running!”

It was only after they passed by six solid support beams that they halted and looked behind them. Sure enough, the east quarter of the temple was a pile of rubble.

“Hang on,” Lucy said, “The problem was the pressure. If we knock out the supports of the second or third floor from the top, the levels might hold together and tilt instead of collapsing.” Then she sighed, “Or it could collapse and crush everyone inside including Gray.”

“Sounds perfect to me,” Natsu said with a grin.

Lucy shook her head, “Erza promised to kill us if anyone died. If we had a re-enforced mirror, we could reflect the moonlight on one of the floors, keeping it from hitting Deliora, but I’m not carrying one of those around and ice magic lets too much through, even if it is reflective and could survive exposure to the moon drip.”

“We’re gonna have to do this from the outside, right?” Natsu said, “Whatever we’re doing? Let’s head up there and brainstorm some more.”

Lucy nodded, letting Natsu lead the way. If the magic was part of the structure, and not naturally occurring, they could just smash directly through where the magic circles would appear. Or that would accelerate the ceremony, letting the moonlight shine directly on Deliora instead of passing though the temple floors? Wouldn’t the cultists have tried that if it would make releasing Deliora go faster though?

Or they could find a way to move Deliora from his spot. Unlikely. They were strong, but they weren’t teleport or gravity mages. Deliora was less paperweight, more small, invulnerable hill.

And Lucy didn’t want to know what happened if she ended up under the moondrip. The magic that held together her body was pretty thin already, she did not want to test it against anti-enchantment magic.

Then again…it was a pure light magic directly from the heavens. It might be exactly the kind of magic she could absorb, unlike the Earthland stuff.

The Celestial Spirit King was the Celestial Realm’s embodiment of the moon. Considering it was likely his decree that kept her gate sealed shut while in exile, the king probably would just get on with ending Lucy’s existence rather than let her sip at his power. It wasn’t worth the risk.

Natsu suddenly dodged towards a different staircase, this one leading downwards, and Lucy followed him, almost missing the turn. She waited for a switch to send them upwards again, but Natsu kept descending. Did they have to go back down to Deliora in order to find an up staircase all the way to the top? Normally Natsu would have them climbing the outside walls rather than backtrack like that.

They ended up in a cave, not quite Deliora’s, but it had the same size, with even more stalactites. Natsu stopped in the middle of the chamber.

“I thought we were going to the top?” Lucy asked, looking around.

“Short detour,” Natsu said, his own eyes roving until they landed on the ceiling, “We still need to take care of this guy. Hey! Your women’s perfume is a dead giveaway. You’re drenched in it.”

Lucy’s gaze followed his and found the old man from before that had outed her to Lyon.

“Well now, I get the Salamander and the spy? It must be my lucky day.”

Natsu started swinging his arm, loosening his shoulder joint, “Not what I would call a lucky day, one where you get your butt handed to you, but to each their own I guess.”

“Careful Natsu,” Lucy said, waiting for the old man to move, “This guy’s got some serious magic. More than Lyon, though he’s concealing it.”

“Well now, I don’t think I’ve heard of you, but those are some sharp senses there,” the old man frowned, looking down on her. “No, wait. Fairy Tail’s own Guardian Angel. A one-woman machine against the magical injustice in Fiore. Single-handedly tripled the amount of arrest referrals coming to the Magic Council, and that was before you took up with Fairy Tail. You prefer bounties and escort missions now that you’re a guild wizard and your numbers dropped down to a less decimating amount. All the referrals you did for the Magic Council didn’t stop you from breaking the rules and going after Eisenwald though. Naughty, naughty.”

“That’s a lot of information for a stranger to have on me,” Lucy said sharply. Very few people should know that much about her. “Sounds like someone is hiding because they have connections to the Magic Council.”

“Maybe I do? Does it make you uncomfortable knowing how many people you’ve turned over to the Magic Council, with me lurking somewhere nearby?” the old man taunted right back.

It did. If the Magic Council was screwed up in crap like reviving a demon of destruction, who knows what they were doing with the prisoners she sent to them.

“Enough talking!” Natsu said, jumping with fireblasts under his feet. “You got magic then fight me!” He readied a punch, only to be stopped by a crystal ball flying into his gut, knocking him back to the ground.

The old man jumped down. “That’s right, as I explained to your sneaky friends, I practice the lost magic known as the Arc of Time. Well, don’t worry if you don’t know it, it was so powerful and dangerous that people purposefully lost it.”

Lucy did know about the Arc of Time. Her second wizard sent her against a mage who wielded it. And this man looked more than proficient.

“Really? How do you lose a magic?” Natsu said.

“Everyone dies who practices it, and you burn all the books,” the old man said, “Your dragon slayer magic is no different.”

Which was true, but Lucy wasn’t going to be the one to tell a dragon that they should have died a long time ago. Or that they couldn’t share their magic with a baby Natsu. So how did this guy learn that blasted Arc of Time?

The old man continued, “In fact, I was on my way to fix the temple when you chased me down here. I suppose it isn’t necessary, the moon drip will still hit the demon, but it looks so ugly,. Of course, what can you expect from Fairy Tail?”

Aquarius had been the one to deal with the Arc of Time last time Lucy faced it. Lucy had drawn the attack, gotten beat to hell in the process, and her wizard’s sister had let Aquarius out to play. The arc of time user had suffocated on pure oxygen after reverting water back to hydrogen and oxygen instead of drowning.

“I hear a lot of crap, and I wanna fight!” Natsu said, rushing in for another attack. Lucy undid her whip and started hiding along the rocks. Natsu might get angry that she interfered with his battle, but you don’t mess around with the Arc of Time.

Old Man was showing off the versatility of his magic. Fast-forward, pause, reverse, stop, possibilities. Natsu was taking a beating. Lucy got into position, and readied her whip, waiting for that one moment when Natsu tried something crazy, and all the old man’s attention had to go to Natsu to counter it.

“Don’t you even think about it, Lucy!” Natsu yelled.

The old man jumped, looking around for her, and Natsu used that moment to snap him one across the face.

“This is my fight, and you know the rules! You don’t get him until I lose.” Natsu proclaimed glaring at her.

“Natsu!” she said, glaring, “This is a two on one battle! The Arc of Time is magic you don’t mess around with!”

“No! All battles are one-on-one until you ask for help, or the monster is bigger than a house. I know Cana read you the rules, so quit breaking them!” Natsu yelled stomping his feet.

How the hell did thirteen-year-olds write rules that applied on S class missions? Why the hell were they letting rules written by 13-year-olds tell them how to act on S class missions?

“We don’t have time for this,” Lucy said. “I’m serious here.”

“So am I, don’t you have a moon drip to stop? Go through that cave, up the staircase left of the demon, and all the way up. Now stop being such a baby and get to it.”

Natsu was staring at her, daring her to give him less than absolute trust.

"Fine,” she said, putting away her whip, “Take him down.”

Lucy took off running. She didn’t look back, not when the old man said she wasn’t getting away, not the whooshing sound of several attacks, and not when Natsu warned his opponent not to take their eyes off him. Though that last one did make her smile.

She made it into the room with Deliora and choked. The moon drip was activated, and the miasma was rising in curls of smoke as the water fell away. Covering her face and jumping over new streams of water, Lucy made it to the other side, took the stairs and tried to outrun moonlight.

Chapter 18: . . . but together we learned what actually happened under the Moon Drip.

At the top, two people were worshipping the moon, activating the magic and completing the ceremony.

Lucy ran forward, whip out, “STOP!”

Yuka stood up. “Keep going Toby, I’ll take care of this.”

Lucy swung her whip forward, cracking him across the arm. He winced, and she struck again, inching closer. He tried to grab the end of the whip and pull her off balance, and succeeded on the third try.

Yuka yanked, and she let him pull her forward, jumping with it. Her foot slammed into an anti-magic field, and it felt like it was tearing her foot apart at the molecule.

Lucy fell to the ground, but scrambled back to her feet before he could take advantage of her opening, still holding her whip though her ankle was bleeding heavily.

Yuka sneered at her, “Don’t any of you Fairy Tail scrubs rely on your magic? Or do you all brawl like common thugs.”

“Spent some time with Gray and Natsu I see,” Lucy said through gritted teeth, trying to ready another attack and check that her foot was all in one piece. “Sorry if your magic isn’t as useful as you think it is.”

Yuka braced himself to block with an anti-magic field as she ran forward, but she dodged him, and struck at Toby. He howled in pain.

“Don’t stop!” Yuka yelled, sending a blast of anti-magic her way, forcing her down, but that was fine. Fast as she could launch herself, she threw herself forward and slid into Toby, sending him into the dirt.

“Where the hell did you go anyway?” Lucy demanded, kicking him further away from the pavilion. “I got lost for hours trying to find you.”

“None of your business!” Toby said, popping back up. “You want to fight? I’m even stronger than Yuka. Have a taste of my poison jelly claws! One taste of these and you’ll be paralyzed for hours.”

His fingernails turned long, green, and pointed. Easily matched to the fresh scabs just above his eyebrow.

“You scratched yourself waiting to ambush me yesterday, didn’t you?” Lucy grinned.

“How did you know that?” Toby asked.

“Just give it a little feel right here, there are some scars,” Lucy said, touching her free hand to right eyebrow.

“Huh? But that happened on the other side!” Toby said, moving his hand to touch where she indicated. He stopped himself, then pointed at her, “Hey! You’re trying to trick me.”

Her whip wrapped around his arm, and he pulled back. Unlike with Yuka, she wasn’t willing to use the momentum to make a flying kick, the danger of those claws too great. No matter which way she pulled, Toby adjusted, keeping her in a stale mate while chanting, somehow continuing the ceremony.

“Hey puppy,” Lucy said, and he glared at her. “Check this out.” Lucy lit her fist with light.

He squeezed his eyes shut, free hand covering his eyes, and that was the moment Lucy launched herself forward, then swept out his legs, sending him to the ground again.

Toby landed on his claws this time, paralyzing himself.

Lucy shook her head and turned to the magic circles beaming light onto a demon. “Now why aren’t you stopping?” Squinting, there was another figure across the beam completing the ceremony. In the split second she considered jumping through the magic or running around it, the ground shook. Something deeper that wasn’t Natsu.

Lucy lashed her whip through the light, and struck Yuka, who winced, but kept bowing and chanting. Lucy ran around the circle, but before she could send Yuka flying with a kick, an earthquake made her lose her footing.

The magic circles of the moon drip vanished, and Yuka fell backwards in relief.

He started laughing, “It’s done! I can’t believe it. Three years, finally come to fruition.”

Lucy started running for the staircase. Halfway down, a hole opened up in the wall behind her, and Gray’s voice started lecturing about ice magic stances, but she couldn’t stick around for what was sure to be a fascinating and necessary lesson. She crashed into the chamber where Deliora was reviving.

The scream that rent the air sent her to her knees. Across the room, Natsu was covering his ears and yelling something.

The ice cracked, then shattered around the demon’s upper torso.

“Yes! It’s free!” the old man yelled.

Deliora screamed again. Ringing. Deafening.

The demon’s bottom half was still frozen and Yuka and Toby had restarted the ceremony. They had tricked her.  

“Oh hell!” Lucy yelled, turning to run back up this stupid staircase and toss Yuka and Toby off this stupid temple. The old man’s orb struck her in the shoulder, sending her back to her knees.

The orb zoomed away, not towards the old man, or where Natsu was dodging and shattering another one, but directly to Deliora, striking at the ice keeping it captive.

Lucy really hated Arc of Time.

Deliora screamed again. Get in the middle of Natsu’s fight so they could take down the demon together? Rush back up the stairs and try to stop the ceremony?

The orb stopped attacking the ice and Lucy looked over to see Natsu shattering a hoard of orbs. He had it, she needed to focus on the demon. Running, she scrambled up a cliff until she was even with Deliora’s waist. As far as her magic whip would go, she locked it twice around the closest horn. With everything inside her, Lucy turned her back and pulled.

A second later, Natsu was beside her, pulling.

“We’re here,” Erza said, joining them.

Loke just grunted, throwing his weight into the task as well.

Deliora screamed, and something started to give.

“It’s moving!” Natsu yelled. Lucy started yelling, and Natsu started yelling along with her. It moved another inch. Then it started to tilt.

“A fulcrum!” Lucy screamed in relief. They were going to make it. They were going to drag Deliora out of the moon drip before the spell ended!

A bright light filled the room. There was more shattering ice and screaming as the magical aura around the demon cranked itself up to an 11. Everyone was blasted backwards. They lost the tilt. Natsu pulled Lucy in front of him, shielding her head, and they crashed into a wall with a crack. They fell to the ground.

Every part of her body bruised, she looked up at Natsu, who was beneath her, softening her landing. With a groan of thanks she rolled out from his hold. He groaned something back.

Then, because they are Fairy Tail, they stood up. Loke was struggling to his feet, and Erza had to support him the rest of the way up.

Deliora continued to scream.

Gray walked out then and he took a moment to cup the water that was the body of his former master. The one who had given her life to save him, according to Loke. He seemed oddly at peace, considering Deliora was stretching in front of him. Natsu started jumping over the rocks towards him, and Lucy followed.

“Hey, what are you doing here? You win your fight?”

“Of course he won,” Lucy scoffed. “Gray! That thing’s bigger than a house!”

Natsu grinned, “That’s right, there’s only one thing left to do. Take that thing down!”

Cloth dragged across stone. The three of them looked to see Lyon crawling towards Deliora, unable to stand.

“None of you are strong enough,” he said, eyes wild, “Only I am. I am going to surpass Ur. Finally!”

“You can’t fight,” Natsu argued, pointing, “You can’t even get up off the floor. This is our fight, so butt out.”

Deliora screamed again, just in case we forgot it was there.

“I’ve waited so long for this moment,” Lyon crooned. He dragged himself to his feet, “My dream of surpassing Ur will finally be fulfilled!”

Lucy looked at Gray and raised an eyebrow. Gray sighed. He walked behind Lyon and struck him with a chop to the neck, sending him back to his knees.

“You’ve caused enough trouble,” Gray said, walking around him and into the water. “I’ll clean up the mess you made. I’ll seal the demon myself.”

“Gray, give us a chance!” Lucy pled.

“You can’t seal it again. I won’t stop. I’ll just have to melt you too! I will be the one to conquer Deliora. Gray, you can’t stop me!” Lyon screamed.

Gray took his summoning stance. “I have to do this Lucy. And I can’t worry about the future Lyon, I have to stop it from killing us all right now. Don’t try to stop me. I’ve been running on borrowed time for ten years. This has always been my fate!”

Lucy stopped. She knew all about borrowed time.

But it didn’t stop Natsu.

“You just stand back and let me handle this,” Natsu said, putting himself between Gray and Deliora.

“Don’t be stupid,” Gray yelled pulsing with the power of his magic. “Just get out of my way.”

“If I didn’t let you do it before, what makes you think I’m gonna let you do it now?” Natsu said, not taking his eyes off Deliora. “I’m not going to let you go out like that.”

Lucy put a hand over her mouth, unable to tear her eyes from the scene.

“Cast the spell,” Natsu dared, “But I’m not movin’.”

Deliora roared. He swung back a fist, twisting his body at impossible angles for maximum torc, and sent if flying towards the nearest wizard.

“Natsu!” Her scream mixed with Gray’s, loud enough to be heard even over the demon. Gray dropped his stance to lunge forward.

Feet planted, Natsu put as much fire as he could into his fist, pulling back, “I’m not giving up until the bitter end!”

Fists of fire and demon met. Sparks flew where the magic cracked between them. Lucy readied herself to jump to catch Natsu for when he went flying.

A crack appeared on the demon’s wrist. Natsu was yelling, pushing his magic power into this attack, and the crack grew. There was a welt, where they had tried to topple Deliora around the horn, and that crack filled with light. So did every crack.

The demonic aura died, leaving inanimate stone behind.

The demon fell apart. The pieces dropped into the waters of its former prison. Lyon was mumbling about how Deliora was already dead, Natsu was congratulating himself on being stronger than he thought, and Lucy could only stare.

More stone cracked, and the water levels started falling. One of Deliora’s bodyparts must have cracked an old sewer line that the water was escaping through.

Lyon finally answered the big question, staring at the ground, fists clenched, “For ten years, Ur has gradually depleted the demon’s life force, and what we saw was nothing more than its last dying breath.”

Ur was still alive in there then and hadn’t been content with a seal like Lyon thought she was. No, Ur spent those years drawing the demonic magic of the demon into herself, into the ice. That’s why the energy got released as the ice slowly melted, and the magic energies separated again.

For creatures of magic, demons and celestial spirits, if you siphon off their magic, they die.

Lucy felt like throwing up. Celestial spirits didn’t throw up, but she was sure this is what it felt like. But the melted water was kinda like Ur’s body, and it certainly didn’t deserve her spew after saving all their lives.

"Man Gray, your teacher was pretty cool,” Natsu said with a cheerful smile.

Gray and Lyon were crying.

Ur probably wouldn’t mind those tears in the water of her body. Not when it seemed to finally be the end of their fighting.

“You saved my life again,” Gray said, putting up a hand to cover his eyes, “Thank you Ur.”

And now Lucy really was crying. Gray faced his demons and survived. And in his demons, he found light, and hope, and release from his guilt. Gray’s years at Fairy Tail hadn’t been borrowed time at all, those years and the rest of his life had always been a gift from someone who loved him.

"You too Lucy?” Natsu said, shaking his head.

“Shut up,” Lucy said, wiping at her face, “it’s not my fault you don’t have an empathetic bone in your body.”

And thank Heaven for that. If Natsu had had a shred more empathy than common sense, Gray would have died for nothing.

“You beat it Natsu!” Happy yelled, flying to hug his best friend. During their cute moment, he didn’t see Erza walk up behind him, Loke now standing on his a ways back.

Lucy made sure to see the look on his face as Erza pulled him by the scarf, because that had always been part of her revenge, but spent a little more time looking at Ur’s students. Gray pulled Lyon onto his back, and Lyon gave a small smile.

After all Ur did for them, hopefully they wouldn’t fight anymore. With the sound of rushing water, Lucy could almost feel Ur’s own wish for the same thing.

Notes:

Deliora is defeated! Sort of! Yay!

One more chapter of this arc, near and dear to my heart. Sadly to keep my sanity I couldn't stick Lucy or Loke in there to watch Gray give his beautiful lecture to Lyon about how to actually honor Ur's legacy, but it's a favorite scene of mine. Gray is just a favorite of mine over all.

Stay safe!
thecagedsong

Chapter 19: A unison raid broke the curse and we had the best party ever!

            Loke couldn’t stop grinning. They actually did it. They completed an S class quest. He would get another gold key! At least he was more subtle than Natsu, who had taken to shouting in the morning air. It had taken the rest of the night to help move everyone out of the crumbling temple and tend to battle wounds.

“We did it! Woohoo! I can’t believe we finished an S class quest!”

Even Lucy was grinning. A little roughed up, but rockin’ her orange tank top and blue skirt. Gray was smiling to himself.

“Aren’t you forgetting something?” Erza said. They all froze.

Then Lucy slammed a fist down on her palm, “Oh yeah, part two. But you can’t blame us for being excited about defeating Deliora, that was a pretty tight timeline we had.”

“Wait, part two?” Gray asked.

“You still haven’t broken the curse on the villagers,” Erza explained.

Natsu pulled Lucy into a one-armed hug, “Lucy here has that part all figured out.”

“Really?” Erza asked, disbelieving.

Lucy nodded, smiling, “I just asked the right questions. And I saw the miasma Deliora gave off during the moon drip spell. And applied a basic knowledge of light physics. It was best done at night though and breaking the curse didn’t mean anything if they were just going to die from Deliora anyway.”

“Well, how do we break the curse?” Gray asked.

Lucy stepped away from Natsu and bowed to Erza, “You’re still calling the shots here Erza, you’re the S class. I’m pretty sure Gray and I could break it, but I know you could. The villagers can’t approach the temple, and the fishermen believed themselves to be full demons.”

Loke watched Erza as she took in Lucy bowing, and saw Lucy’s words sink in. He had no idea what was going, but Lucy’s clues were apparently enough for Erza to solve it.

Erza smiled, “Well, I might need Natsu’s help if I tried to do it, but I believe the villagers will feel better if the solution came from you. I’m going to give you and Gray a chance to prove yourselves, don’t screw this up.”

“I guess that just leaves the question of what to do with them,” Lucy said, turning to glare at Lyon. Yuka, Toby, and Sherry were all sitting around him, probably reflecting on a world without Deliora.

“Aw, you guys aren’t going to cause any more trouble, are you?” Natsu asked.

Lyon wouldn’t look at him.

“You guys were simply doing what you believed to be right and were most certainly being affected by the demonic miasma,” Erza said, her gaze then turned to settle on Lucy. “I don’t see any need to punish them further for it. They lost three years of their lives and much of themselves to this folly.”

Loke remembered the cultists stories.

"We became consumed by our need to see it dead. There was no hope in its slowly decreasing ice, only more desperation to see our plans through. It took our homes, our villages, our families. It is easy to decide to cross the seas on a dangerous quest when there is nothing you are leaving behind."

Everyone was looking at Lucy, waiting for her verdict. Lucy, who’d been so on top of making sure the Magic Council dealt with the dark wizards of the Eisenwald guild every step of the way, looked uncomfortable for a moment, but nodded at Erza. How this didn’t cross into her threshold of dark wizard the same way Eisenwald did, Loke wasn’t sure, but he wasn’t going to question it. These people deserved some kind of break in life.

“Come on,” Erza said, “Let’s go see what we can do.” She tugged Natsu after her, and Loke followed a step, then stopped and looked back at Lucy.

Lucy waved him forward, “I have to tell Gray how we’re going to lift the curse, but you’ll have more fun if it’s a surprise. Go on, we’ll follow after.”

Loke was positive he’d have more fun spending time with Lucy, but she was enjoying this. As the one who actually figured out the curse, she deserved to have a little fun.

“I look forward to the show,” he purred suggestively.

Lucy smirked, “I won’t leave you disappointed. Now get going.”

Loke laughed and chased after Natsu, Happy, and Erza.

 

It took all day to get back to the village. Between climbing down the landslide that was the Temple of the Moon, finding the correct path again, stopping Lucy from leading them in the wrong direction, and being slow from simply being tired, it was dark by the time they reached the village.

The purple moon was high above them as they approached the village and Lucy called up to the watch tower, “We’re the wizards from Fairy Tail, and after investigating at the Temple of the Moon, we’re ready to restore the village and break the curse!”

The monster mouth gate had never opened so fast, and they were received with cheering. Loke shot his perfected smile at some of the ladies, and they blushed. A very good welcome indeed.

“Well, are you ready to destroy the moon?” Chief Mako asked.

Lucy and Gray share a grin, “Yes.”

“Wait really!” Natsu said, jumping up and down, “Come on, let me help!”

Loke was about to speak up, probably to ask when they all lost their minds, but Erza put a hand on his shoulder, holding him back. She nodded at Lucy and Gray, smiling. Asking him to wait, and watch.

“We’ll need the tallest watch tower,” Lucy said.

They climbed up and took a stance together. Lucy stood mirroring Gray. The anticipation from the villagers was almost tangible.

Both wizards closed their eyes and produced magic circles, ice blue and sunny yellow sitting on top of each other. Their arms rose together, taking aim at the sky. A bazooka built between them, but it wasn’t white like Gray’s normal magic, it was the blinding yellow of Lucy’s light magic. Wind stirred, and Lucy’s hair started floating. The villagers gasped and whispered.

“Brilliant!” Lucy yelled, and the light intensified to beyond blinding, his sun glasses weren’t nearly enough, he threw up an arm as well.

“Their magic,” Erza said, gripping his shoulder tighter, covering her own eyes. Loke looked with his magic sense and felt his heart drop at the power of it. It was insane, but the magic wasn’t Lucy’s plus Gray’s, the magic was Gray’s to the power of Lucy’s. The spell focused, they were aiming it.

“Canon-shot!” Gray finished naming their attack. With a blast almost as loud as a Deliora scream, the ice-light bullet was blinding as it sailed through the sky.

“Awesome!” Natsu shouted.

But the sky was reflecting Lucy’s light weirdly, it was almost like it was approaching a window. Then the bullet hit, and it cracked, and it was never a window, but a shell.

The purple shell shattered.

“I see,” Loke said. “That’s why the moonlight was purple. Deliora’s miasma got trapped in a bubble around the island, wind currents or atmosphere pressure or something. And when the moonlight passed through it, it looked purple. That means…”

Loke looked at the villagers, who were reaching out to touch the sparkles of Lucy’s magic. And blinked.

“They aren’t changing,” Loke said. Erza removed her hand from his shoulder.

The villager nearest him put a hand to his head, “No…I remember.”

“You guys aren’t changing because these are your true forms,” Lucy said, sliding down the watchtower support pole and skipping next to them. Gray followed slightly behind, blushing and rubbing at his cheek. “The curse’s actual function was to block your memories. You were always the demons of Galuna Island.”

“No way!” Natsu said, his eyes bugging out.

Erza nodded, “They were never humans cursed to transform into demons. They were demons cursed to think they were human. They can take human form through their magic during the day in order to blend in, but that’s not who they are.”

“Is that true?” Loke asked the nearest villager.

He blinked, looking startled himself, “I think…maybe? My memories are hazy. How did you figure it out?”

“It was strange that you guys never went to check out the temple and didn’t warn us that there were people there performing the moon drip spell,” Lucy said triumphantly. “So I followed my hunch that you did try, but couldn’t get there. Temples are surrounded with holy and pure magic on principal, and the temple capable of the Moon Drip more than most. If you were always humans, you could have gone there like us before you were cursed and would have noticed not going there after you were cursed. But as demons, it had always turned you away and stopped you from coming near it.”

“And humans aren’t affected by it?” Gray said, “That’s right. Lyon and the others were just fine.”

Erza nodded. “Only the villagers were susceptible to the memory loss, though I’m not sure I’m willing to say there were no side effects being exposed to the miasma that Deliora let out for years. It probably had negative effects on their mood and mental health, causing them to be more prone to extreme actions and violent mood swings. But we would have to ask all of them to truly know.”

And it clicked into place, “Since the shell was only around the island, fishermen who weren’t here didn’t suffer the same effects. We weren’t dealing with a backlash, they were the sane ones,” Loke said. “And that’s why it didn’t actually hurt to transform.”

“I knew I had a good feeling about you guys,” a familiar voice said. Bobo the ghost walked out, smiling broadly. “You’re quite the detectives.” Chills went down his spine, and Natsu and Gray were similarly frozen in shock.

Lucy tapped her nose, “And you make quite the ghost. But what ghost needs to mend fish nets and catch fish? Sorry about your boat.”

Bobo laughed, “You fixed my village, we’ll call our debts repaid twice over. Besides, I couldn’t quite have you telling everyone here that I was still alive. They might have tried to kill me again!”

“But-but we stabbed you,” one villager gasped.

“Takes more than that to kill a demon,” Bobo grinned, slapping his chest.  

“I don’t get it,” Loke said, “We saw you disappear off the water.”

“I never did figure that part out,” Lucy admitted.

Bobo laughed again and jumped into the sky spreading his bat wings.

“I hope you kids can forgive me for not telling you everything. Things have been dicey around here for a while. I mean, they thought they were cursed humans!”

Whimpering.

The chief of the tribe had tears streaming down his face. Makko launched himself into the air, wings unfurling, crying for the son he had thought he had killed.

“Bobo! You’ve come back. I thought you were gone forever.”

All of the villagers were rushing towards Bobo, flying and crying about their living friend. The brilliant full moon softened them in a way the purple light hadn’t.

“Yep, definitely demons,” Erza said with a laugh.

“I don’t know…” Natsu said, “Looking at their faces… they look more like angels to me.”

The demons of Galuna Island cheered and laughed and cried tears of happiness, rejoined with their family. Whole again.

Loke looked over and Lucy was tearing up. Couldn’t have that in her moment of triumph, even if the tears were tears of joy, “Angels saved by Fairy Tail’s Guardian Angel. Sounds about right.”

“Shut up,” she said weakly, wiping away her tears. Lucy couldn’t look away, “Their lost son come home, not killed, not dead. The feeling of being whole again filling the entire night sky. Of course I’m crying.”

“You’re not going to win this one Loke,” Natsu said. “Lucy’s writing a book. Scenes like this just tear her up.”

“Shut up! You promised not to say anything,” Lucy whined.

“I’d love to read your book,” Erza said, “I happen to be a lover of literature myself.”

Lucy smiled at her, though there was something off about it, “Someday, I promise. I just have to finish it first.”

The demons started calling for a party and a feast, and the five of them were shuffled away to get cleaned up while the demons got to cooking.

As they walked back to their hut, Erza folded her arms, “Alright, you’ve impressed me, I’ll admit. You figured it out, and performed a unison raid? Quite the treat.”

“Is that what that was?” Lucy asked, swaying slightly, “Cause that was a lot more draining than I thought it would be.” Natsu caught her. “It’s been a while since I’ve done somethin' like that.”

“Are you going to be okay?” Loke asked. “Magic drain can kill skilled wizards.”

Lucy snorted and waved him off, “I’ll be fine. It didn’t take a ton of magic, no more than I meant to put into it, but it changed when it mixed with Gray’s. It was trickier to hold, took a lot more effort. Like I was holding mine and his, and he was holding mine and his. And if either of us made a misstep or didn’t trust each other, it would blow up. Exhausting, but my magic’s ok.”

“It felt the same way for me,” Gray said, “Like my ice magic was so much more under my hands. I had to trust Lucy completely to hold together her part.”

“Unison Raids are extremely rare,” Erza explained, “There’s a tribe in the mountains of Seven devoted entirely to the study of them, but they can spend their whole lives unable to cast one. It involves throwing together two compatible types of magic and results in an amplification of unimaginable potential. I’ve never seen one in person.”

“You wouldn’t think light and ice were all that compatible,” Gray said. “Light and fire makes sense, but ice?”

Erza shook her head, “I didn’t explain it right. It’s more than just throwing magic in the same direction at the same time. It’s not synchronized or combined attacking. According to the theory, there’s a kind of resonance that needs to happen between the two wizards, and Gray’s mastery of static ice magic is actually the most compatible with Lucy’s light. The crystalline structure of Gray’s magic has always been perfectly symmetrical for the sturdiest creations. It was able to refract and reflect Lucy’s light back on itself to multiple it, taking it in without losing the core of its own power. In this case, it was dependent on the unique properties of both light magic and ice magic, as well as your trust in each other.”

“I don’t know what you just said,” Natsu said, “But I call the next unison raid with Lucy! Light and Fire will kick butt together.”

Loke frowned, trying to think of a spirit of his that might be compatible for a unison raid with Lucy, but nothing came to mind as balanced as what he saw Lucy and Gray do.

“Aww, don’t feel bad Loke,” Lucy said with a slightly loopy grin, “We’ll just have to take down bad guys the old fashion way.” Then she stretched, “Unfortunately, that wiped me out. I don’t think I’m ready to go party with demons. I think I’ll grab a drink and finally get a good night’s sleep.”

Natsu shook his head, Happy mirroring him, “Drinking on the job again Lucy? You’re such a lush. Cana’s been a bad influence.”

“Shut up,” Lucy said, eyebrow twitching, “I was talking about the tropical juices they have here.”

“Sure you were,” Happy teased.

 

Lucy did go to sleep for a few hours, though how she did it over the noise, he’d never know. It wasn’t with a sleep rune, because all of them were elsewhere when she came out of their hut.

“Oooh, now that she’s up, we can start the storytelling!” Kula, the demon girl under his arm, said while clapping in excitement.

“Storytelling?” Loke asked, letting himself be dragged towards the burning fire in the middle of the village. It was empty of slowly roasting meat for the first time that night, all the food laid out on blankets instead.

The girl on his other side nodded, “You need everyone here, but obviously you have to tell your stories. If they’re really good, we tell them again next feast night. I can’t wait to hear everything.”

It had to be pushing three in the morning, but this was worth losing another night of sleep over. The village chief and his son started the storytelling with some old favorites of the villagers, other villagers taking up speaking parts for different parts of the stories. The Slaying of the Rotting-Eye Beast, the Cave of Two Lovers, and the Founding of Galuna Island.

“And now it is my great pleasure to welcome our guests to the stage. For ending the three-year curse on our people can be nothing but the best of stories. This is the story of the Curse of the Violet Moon. For us it began three years ago under a crescent moon night, when Galuna’s usual glow was magnified a hundred fold at the top of the forbidden temple…”

Mako and Bobo shared the story of three years curse, of attempts to go to the temple failing every time, of the fishermen coming back and pretending to die before leaving to wait out this curse. It was enchanting, the Fairy Tail wizards clapping and cheering along with the rest of the crowd. Until… “I had almost given up hope on freeing my people, of wizards ever coming to our aid, when at the docks, two boys and their talking cat asked me for a ride.”

Bobo bowed off the stage, something each speaker had done to announce the next one. Kula pushed Loke forward, and, never one to turn down the chance to impress the ladies, Loke took to the stage. It seemed like embellishment was the poison of the night.

“It was foolish, but the needs of the people seeped off the request they had sent, and Natsu and I were ready to prove ourselves and chase the adventure! We snuck away in the dead of night…”

All the wizards took turns telling their stories, describing and acting out their battles. He had never guessed Sherry had trapped Lucy inside one of her puppets, restraining her, ready to make Lucy the one to destroy the village, and Lucy lit herself up so brightly Sherri had to look away, giving Lucy the opening she needed. Erza’s story about how she got herself a pirate ship wasn’t as well told, and she seemed a little frightened of the stage.

Gray told the story of his whole life. Lucy told him he didn’t have to, they would respect if it was private. (Looking around, the village would not have accepted that, privacy probably wasn’t as much of a thing between demons, but Lucy would have fought for Gray’s right to keep it private.)

Gray just shook his head, “I think Ur would have loved that her legacy, her story, was kept by tropical island demons.”

And so he spoke.

From the destruction of his hometown, to taking up learning magic from the Master Ice Wizard that saved him from the rubble to his foolish journey alone to face the demon he wasn’t ready to defeat.

“Ur’s final words to me, they weren’t spoken, not really, but they resonated through her magic. A truth and a feeling that were truer than if she had said them aloud.” Gray explained, “She was smiling as she gave me her words. She said, ‘I have taken you out of the darkness, I have sealed it away forever’. And with that stroke, she did in so many more ways than I could ever have imagined. There was nothing left for me to do but live my life for her. Live and grow strong the way she always knew we would. I went west and settled in a guild called Fairy Tail…”

Lucy was crying again.

Dawn was coming by the time Natsu and Gray were acting out the final battle, Lucy narrating. When Lucy finished with the telling of breaking the curse, the first light of dawn streaked over everyone. No one took on human appearances.

Mako took the stage again, “Thank you for your story, and thank you for your new friendships. Long have we stayed away from other lands in fear of being judged monsters for our appearance. You wizards have shown us otherwise, and I believe it is time to lift the even longer-standing curse of Galuna Island: the rumor we made up ourselves to keep outsiders away! Let today mark the day that we begin to hold out the hand of friendship to other peoples!”

“That’s wonderful!” Lucy cried.

“Friendship is a beautiful thing, and should be cherished and made with care,” Erza agreed.

Everyone held up their drinks as Mako called, “To the future! To our Fairy Tail Friends!”

The wizards lift their drinks in return, “To our demon friends!”

They cheered and drank, and the party finally wound down after that. People started cleaning up and going to bed, some people just slumped over and started sleeping where they had been drinking. Loke himself ended up the pillow for the girls that had kept him company all night as he fell asleep in the shadow of a hut.

That afternoon, Erza came and rounded them all up. Telling them to get their things, they were leaving. The cleanup crew and the village leadership came to see them off.

“Miss Lucy, don’t think we’ve forgotten your reward for breaking the curse,” Mako said.

“Oh, um…I don’t think we can,” Lucy glanced at Erza.

Erza nodded, “It’s true, we can’t take the reward because your request was never officially accepted by the guild. It would be considered freelance with one of the guild’s clients and would cause us more trouble than we would like upon our return. Your request fell into the hands of foolish wizards who never should have had it in the first place.”

“Thank you for your offer,” Lucy said, “We appreciate your willingness to keep to your side of the bargain, but we can’t accept the reward.”

“Foolish or not,” Mako insisted, “If you hadn’t come when you did, the curse may never have been broken, and who knows how long we would have continued to suffer. May we offer the reward as a gift? After everything you’ve done for our village, you must allow us to ease some of our debt.”

Lucy and Erza shared a look, Erza said, “They make it hard to say no.”

Lucy looked back at Loke, then forward again, “I think the gate key alone is more than enough as a thank you gift,” Lucy smiled at Bobo, “After all, we didn’t even have to pay someone to get us out here.”

Erza nodded, “I believe that would be acceptable.”

Loke fist pumped while Natsu and Gray whined.

And then they left the island full of their new demon friends on the ship full of pirates that were in love with Erza. He waved specifically at the beauties that he had spent the night with, and they sighed against each other. 

Fairy Tail was everything he’d ever dreamed about having and so much more.

Natsu was slumped over the side, predictably motion sick, Gray was talking artillery with a pirate, Erza was bossing the rest of the crew into cleaning the deck properly.

Lucy walked up to him.

“Leaving a trail of broken hearts?” she teased, leaning beside him and adding her own final waves.

“Everyone deserves to feel as beautiful as you are naturally, don’t you think?”

“Ahh, of course, it’s out of the goodness of your heart. My mistake.”

“What can I say?” Loke shrugged, “My heart has a long way to go before it can hold a candle to the goodness of yours. Teach me?”

Lucy shook her head, “You have far too much charisma for anyone’s good.”

“Enough for you to finally tell me why you don’t like celestial wizards?” Loke asked cautiously. “Though you seem a lot better now.”

Lucy’s lips tightened, and for a second he thought he had pushed too far. Lucy turned and tapped the golden gate key against his chest. “One day you will understand everything. And you will understand exactly what it means when I give this to you.” Loke’s hand covered her own, she pressed the key into his palm. “Sagittarus the Archer. Do not make me regret this.”

She started to walk away, trembling the tiniest bit.

“Is that a promise? That I’ll understand one day?” Loke asked.  

Lucy froze, a sharp breath pulling into her chest. She let it out slowly, not looking at him. “I guess it was.”

This time Loke let her walk away. Lucy seemed like a person who kept her promises.

Notes:

The end of the Galuna Island arc. Some fluff to go around for everyone. Gray shares his story. Lucy and Gray get to do a unison raid. Erza faces her true enemy, stage fright. And Loke gets a promise out of Lucy.

Lucy took over a bit of Erza's role here, but it couldn't be helped, she has too much experience in this AU. Erza's time to shine will come.

Also here is your Checkpoint! This is a long fic and this is a great place to stop for a break. The rest will still be here after you go eat a meal, go to the bathroom, straighten out your back, grab some water, talk a walk, or go to bed for the night. (Talking to you three a.m. folks) see you back here after you go be human for a bit!

Chapter 20: After breaking the rules we were slated for the Punishment, but Changed instead.

“It’s so good to be home,” Lucy said, stretching.

“It feels like we’ve been gone forever,” Happy said

Gray groaned, “All that time on a job we didn’t get paid for.”

“That does seem to happen when we go on a job together,” Lucy said, glaring at Natsu.

“Hey, you’re the one that turned down the reward after breaking the curse,” Natsu said, “After that, even Erza couldn’t have argued the village chief down if you’d taken it.”

“That was pretty impressive, how come you’ve never been chosen for the S class exams?” Gray asked.

“I’m curious about that as well,” Erza said. “You certainly seem to have the experience of one. You would have been just fine without me, in the end.”

“I doubt that, i'm glad you were with us and making the final decisions,” Lucy said, “And I never applied for the S class exams. It seems like a really tiring trial to go through for the sake of a title and the right to take deadly quests that I don’t want to do anyway. And while I know a lot about magic, I don’t have anywhere near the power of an S class under my belt. I’d probably lose in a fight against most of the guild.”

“I’ll train with you!” Natsu said, “We’ll have your magic to S class in no time, and we can go on those quests together.”

“I’m impressed with how cheerful you all are,” Erza said, “It’s almost like you’ve forgotten the punishment that awaits you back at the guild.”

Loke watched as Natsu, Gray, Lucy, and Happy all deflated like balloons.

“Come on Erza,” Gray said with forced cheer, “It all worked out in the end. And if we hadn’t gone on the request when we did, Deliora would have killed everyone on the island. Surely we won’t be punished for that.”

“I’m sorry, correct me if I misunderstood, but wasn’t Deliora already defeated? As I understood it, Deliora was never a threat. Lyon and the others would have left without touching the villagers had you not gone, and they would still be cursed just the same, waiting for an actually qualified S class wizard to respond to their request.”

“No-no,” Gray said, backing down, “That’s how it went.”

“But they wouldn’t have been able to solve it,” Loke said quickly, “Lucy only knew what was happening because she saw the moon drip happening and we knew all about Deliora from Gray.”

“It might be beyond your ability, but none of you are S class,” Erza said. “Those requests are designated that way for a reason.”

“Don’t worry Lucy, I’ll talk the old man out of it, he loves me,” Natsu said with a fake smile, slinging an arm over her shoulder.

“You won’t be able to talk your way out of this one Natsu,” Erza said, “While I personally would be fine with a warning and a promise not to do it again, the decision lies with Master Makarov. We all know that you’ll be facing the punishment upon your return.”

Gray curled up on the side of the road, “No, anything but that. I can’t go through that again!”

“Life’s too short to spend it on the punishment,” Lucy cried, sinking to her knees.

“You two should have thought of that before giving up on retrieving them and deciding to join them,” Erza said, snagging Natsu by the scarf. “Best to get it over with.”

“What's the punishment?” Loke yelled, “You guys are really freaking me out!”

           

 

 

 

 

Lucy was jittery, ready to flee, but Erza’s watchful eyes stopped any of them from actually making a run for it. She didn’t know who had it worse, Natsu and Gray, who had faced the punishment before, or Loke, who still had no idea the horror waiting for them.

“I’m so glad you guys made it back safely,” Mira said, relief evident in her voice. “Though once Erza was on the trail, I shouldn’t have doubted Fairy Tail’s strongest team. How was the island?”

“It was work, not a vacation,” Erza said, “I believe Master wanted to see us upon our return?”

“He’s not in right now,” Mira said. “He was called out of town for a meeting with a representative of the Magic Council.”

The four of them collapsed to the ground with relief. Happy was acting along, but really, the punishment wasn’t near as bad for a cat as it was for a human.

Erza smirked at them, “Looks like you have a little longer for your grace period. Use it well.”

“What does she mean by that?” Loke called, messing up his already perfectly rumpled hair. “Why won’t anyone tell me!”

"Alright, that was close,” Natsu said.

“We won’t have to deal with that until Gramps gets back, thank you good karma,” Gray said.

They were apparently too relieved, Erza turned back to Mirajane, “Do you know when Master will be returning?”

“Should be any time now,” Mirajane answered cheerfully. Did she want them to die? Probably, after how worried she was when she learned Natsu had stolen the request.

Erza faced them, hands on her hips, “Alright, you broke guild rules by taking that S class request, and you’re going to pay for it as Master deems fit. None of you are allowed to leave the guild, am I clear?”

Wakaba shook his head, “Well, it was nice knowing you. It’s a crying shame, the boys are one thing, but Lucy too?”

Gray and Natsu took grave offense to people pitying her and not them and decided to let Wakaba know. Or Gray might have just been upset at being lumped in with Natsu, he was more angry than clear.

“Hey Cana, can you at least tell me if I have to worry about my pretty face getting messed up?” Loke asked, slinging an arm around her, “Come on, do I need to prepare to file a lawsuit for defacing a priceless work of art?”

Cana roughly patted his cheek with a teasing smirk, “Don’t you worry about your cute face. I’ll still love you even if does get a little roughed up.”

Loke’s face froze in his charming smile. “I don’t suppose you’re going to end my misery and just tell me what’s going to happen?”

Cana laughed, “Nah, this horror show needs some variety, and another drink, to be properly enjoyed. Hey Mira!” Cana walked off, leaving Loke’s arm hanging in air.

To tell him or not to tell him?

She shuddered. No it was too difficult to explain how awful it is.

“A big part of being a man is knowing when to own up to your actions,” Elfman said, frowning at Natsu and Gray’s little rumble. “Time to man up, and that goes for you as well.” He turned on her and Loke.

“Then will you tell me what’s going to happen? Please man!” Loke said desperately.

Elfman preened, about to tell Loke, then shook his head, his own face turning pale, “It’s too awful to explain.”

Lucy walked over to the job board, desperate to stop thinking about it. She was going to spend a lot of time not thinking about it, maybe taking one of the older jobs immediately after would help.

“Great idea Lucy!” Natsu said, jumping up behind her, “If we take a job and get out of here before Master comes back, he can’t punish us! We’ll be working non-stop for the rest of our lives, but that’s way better than the alternative.” He blinked and leaned in closer to the board, “That’s a really creepy request.”

Gray came up on her other side, “Does it get us out of here?”

“You are not taking any requests!” Erza said, stomping towards them. “I literally just told you that you are to remain here to be punished.”

“This request is about deciphering text,” Natsu said, “We don’t have to leave the guild to do it. See?”

Decipher this text and I’ll see that you’ll increase your wealth by 500,000 Jewel.

“Strange that Levy hasn’t taken it yet,” Lucy said, “The client probably sent it our way because they know we have her.”

“It might be so crazy and ancient that even Levy didn’t feel comfortable taking it,” Gray offered.

True, the pictorial glifs are very divorced from the much more common alphabetic languages around today. It was certainly older than Lucy was. Though there were some similarities to Ancient Reinkit, a language one of her younger, earliest masters had summoned Lucy to help her study.

Natsu put the request on the table, and the six of them gathered around. Lucy automatically placed Natsu between her and Loke to ease the call of his magic.

“Look, it’s in normal letters too!” Happy said. “But they don’t make sense.”

“I told you no jobs,” Erza said, folding her arms. But she had to be as curious as Lucy. What was the point of a translation request if you already had the phonetics from the pictorial? You could only get the phonetics if it was already translated or the language not actually dead.

Unless there was an ancient recording lacrima that had been written down. But then why wouldn’t there be more clues to help them figure it out? Did they have to go to the client for the full story?

“Oh yeah, I can totally read that!”  Natsu then proceeded to sound out the phonetics before anyone could stop him, “Uggh, none of this means anything. That’s just crazy talk.”

That was when their bodies and the request started to glow with a rainbow light.

Lucy waited for the hammer to fall. Natsu hadnt put sny magic into his reading, and ancient spells that were purely language based were rarely nice.

She blinked, there was a moment of dizziness, and her pain evaporated.

“What?” she said. There was a spell that took away her pain? And this magic, oh skies, the magic was coursing though her body as though she were in the celestial realm. But different. Hotter. Almost too hot, but it was magic, and by the stars she never thought she would get to feel this again. Warm after an eternal winter. Her eyes were closed as she savored the moment.

“Ahhhh!” a female screamed beside her. Lucy looked over and saw…herself. Doubled over on the ground, clutching her stomach. “That hurts! Ah! What’s going on?”

“It’s so cold in here,” Gray said, starting to shake. He wrapped his arms around himself, “Where’s my armor?”

Gray looked down at his body and his mouth fell open in horror.

Across the table, Loke and Happy looked down, then looked at each other and screamed.

“Lucy?” Erza asked, her voice unusually gruff, “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Lucy answered, drawing everyone’s eyes.

“I wasn’t asking you, flame breath,” Erza scoffed. Confirming her worst fears. “Help Lucy up, you heartless bastard. Actually,” Erza’s fist dug into the scarf around her neck, drawing her close. “What the hell were you thinking!"

“Shut up popsicle, can’t you see I’ve got other problems,” Lucy's voice said, curled up on the ground.

“Gray,” Lucy said pulling herself free, “If you had any awareness —be quiet you two!” She had to interrupt herself to yell at Happy and Loke, who were still pointing and screaming at each other. They quieted down and Lucy turned back to Gray, “If you had any awareness of your body at all, you’d notice you’re in the wrong one. And I don’t think Erza will appreciate you removing her clothes.”

That snapped Erza out of her horror, and she looked over to see Gray casually pulling off her breastplate.

Gray’s hand shot out, “Move another inch and I will slaughter you,” Erza threatened. Gray looked down, saw Erza’s body, and gasped.

“Why is Gray removing Erza’s clothes?” Natsu asked, gritting Lucy’s teeth and pulling himself upright with the help of the table. Sure enough, it looked like Gray was undoing the breastplate, though Erza was actually desperately trying to tie it in place at the moment. 

“I don’t even know how you managed to undo it. But I swear if you pull off any of my clothes, you will regret it,” Erza said. Erza’s look of death translated well to Gray's face, and Gray nodded Erza’s head quickly.

“Ahh!”

Natsu had apparently tried to stand up but slumped to the ground in Lucy’s body again.

Erza in Gray’s body started shivering again, “I’m going to find a coat.”

“So, Loke and I switched,” Loke in Happy’s body said, explaining for the rest of the guild, who were looking like this was their favorite lacrimavision. “And Gray and Erza switched, which means Natsu and Lucy switched.”

“Darn it Loke? Why’s is it so dark in your body?” Happy complained, looking around and wincing. No one responded, because if he couldn’t see the sunglasses on top of his nose, that was his problem.

“You think you have problems?” Loke demanded, “I’m a cat! No girl is going to be the girlfriend of a cat! I clearly have it the worst!”

“Hey, being a cat isn’t so bad!” Happy pouted, “And girls let me cuddle with them all the time!”

They then proceeded to war about the merits of each other’s abilities to get with girls.

Loudly.

It was migraine inducing.

“What do you think is wrong with Natsu?” Macao asked, folding his arms, “Lucy was just fine earlier. Did something go wrong with that part of the spell?”

This was bad. Bad for so many reasons. And so ridiculously blissful, except for a weird heat in her throat.

But this moment of reprieve meant Natsu had her curse. With how much magic he had running through his body, Natsu was going to start reaching for her magic container soon to see if it helped.  She needed to stop him from wasting her magic (and currently his life) before then, but she didn’t want the guild to find out her secret this way!

“I mean…unless…” Wakaba theorized, then looked at Macao, and they seemed to realize something because they became simultaneously horrified.

Did they know her secret? How could they possibly know based only on Natsu feeling pain?

The men paled and sped to the other side of the guild. All of them.

What the hell?

She didn’t regret not telling anyone if they were going to reject her like that! Did they know about Karen too?

It was hard to blame them for the reaction, but it still hurt.

She’d kinda thought, well hoped,…if she did say…they might…

No, it didn’t matter. This treatment was what she deserved anyway.

Gray was the only one still near, and he was technically a female right now. Even the Loke and Happy duo had fled with the other boys. He looked between Lucy and Natsu, then started laughing. “That’s hilarious,” Erza’s voice rang out, an octave lower, and Gray pounded her gauntlet on the table.

Why was he laughing? Gray didn't hate Natsu nearly enough to want him dead for her sin. And there was nothing funny about her murdering someone she was meant to protect and the subsequent punishment for breaking a law of magic.

Cana and Mira were shaking their heads, and Romeo looked confused, but they had stayed where they were too.

“What’s going on?” Erza returned in Gray’s body, wearing the heaviest winter coat Lucy had ever seen.

Oh no, what if Erza acted like everyone else? Erza . . . Erza would hurt more. There had to be an excuse, some alternate explanation, but what did it matter when everyone already knew and would tell her anyway?

Gray was too busy laughing, Erza’s laugh louder than anyone had ever heard it, and Lucy was turning red with fear and shame, so Cana answered. “Lucy’s on her period, and Natsu’s discovering how much of a little baby he actually is in the face of what women go through all the time.” She rolled her eyes at the rest of the boys, “Not that the rest of the men here are any better.”

Say what now?

“Lucy, is this true?” Erza asked, eyes softening.

“Umm…” What the hell? She glanced at the boys on the other side of the guild for some kind of clue, but they were all staring at Natsu in horror.

“Yes…” Lucy tried hesitantly.

“I see,” Erza said, nodding to herself in Gray’s body, she turned to Natsu in Lucy’s, “Natsu, stand up, you are acting like an embarrassment to yourself and all of the males of our species.”

Natsu stood up, wincing and holding her abdomen, “I’ve been trampled by monsters and felt better than this, is this what you girls go through every month? This hurts like hell.”

“I’ll make you some tea,” Mira offered comfortingly, “I have a brew that helps a lot.”

“Guys, we have to change back,” Lucy said. Clearly she was the only one thinking straight, she looked down at the request, “Someone has to have read the words aloud before now, which means there might be a way to reverse the spell on the parchment.” She looked desperately, but there was nothing.

“The ancient Unpel-ese spell has been cast,” Master called from the doorway, his staff behind him, “You children aren’t feeling like yourselves today, are you?”

Erza hurried forward and bowed before him, as best she could with her giant marshmallow coat, “Master, you’re back.”

“Gramps,” Gray and Natsu called with female voices, it sounded so wrong, and they all gathered in front of him.

“So, someone read the job flyer aloud?” Master Makarov said, looking them over. “By reading that aloud you’ve cast a powerful spell of personality and mind transference. It is called ‘Changeling’.”

Hell, even she hadn’t heard of this one, though she had been right. Ancient Upelese was a sister language to Ancient Renkit.

Lucy jumped aside as a gauntleted glove flew past and hit her body’s ear.

“Ow!” Natsu jumped, taking one hand away to rub at his ear, “What was that for?”

“You’re actually Natsu right?” Gray in Erza’s body grabbed the straps of Lucy’s tank top and pulled Natsu up to his face, “You’re an idiot, that’s what. Why’d you have to go and read a spell like that? You did this to us!”

“It’s really not fair that you’re a hundred times scarier as Erza,” Natsu complained, he winced again, “And I think I’m suffering plenty when all I did was read a stupid flyer.”

“Oi, hands off my body!” Lucy called. “I want it back without any bruises, thank you very much. And without you tearing my shirt off.”

“Lucy’s right,” Erza said, “We can’t mete out proper punishment until we are restored. Was there a counterspell on the request?”

Lucy shook Natsu’s head, “No, not that I can see. There wasn’t even a way to contact the client.”

“Among other things to worry about,” Master said, “You may have noticed that your magic is switched. You can only use the magic of the body you inhabit. Severely diminishing your ability to resolve this, unfortunately.”

“Wait, what?” Lucy said, and Natsu and Gray jumped away from the flame suddenly spilling out of her mouth. She tried closing her mouth, but that hurt. Lucy scrambled away before she burned anyone.

“Does Happy even have magic?” Loke asked. “How does it work?”

“I fly!” Happy protested, he pulled out Loke’s celestial keys, “You just have weird people come out and look dumb.” Then he got a wicked smile on his face, “Wait, didn’t you say you had a spirit that was a fish person?”

“Don’t you dare summon Aquarius, she’d kill me and everyone else!” Loke said, “They have contracts with me, not you.”

Happy pulled out Loke’s keys, “I am you.” He pushed all his keys forward at once, “Open gate of the fish!”

He wasn’t even able to put enough magic into his voice to sound to the celestial world. When nothing happened, he sank to his knees in defeat (not that she or Loke would ever tell Happy the secret of Aquarius’s summoning).

“Gray, how do you bring you magic up? I can feel it, but it won’t come forward,” Erza said, trying to mimic one of Gray’s casting stances.

“You pull it from your spine and down your arms, through steady fingertips, and it builds into the shape you want,” Gray said. “Um…how do you do requip? You just pull it from your pocket, right?”

Every wizard had a pocket, sometimes called an x-space, they could use to store things. It was the most basic magic to use. Though she wasn’t sure Natsu knew how it worked, considering he was always carrying his things on his back. Magic items took up more space, and there were set dimensions unless you specialized in the magic. The trains made you empty your x-space just in case you were transporting something illegal. Requip magic specialized in storing massive amounts of magic items in the wizard’s pocket, and in summoning those items exactly where they wanted in their personal space and maintaining a connection to that item from their pocket after it was removed.

Lucy didn’t want to imagine the size of Erza’s requip pocket, considering it contained the luggage she toted around in a horse cart, in addition to her uncounted number of armor sets.

“Don’t touch anything in there. It takes ages to get it properly organized — stop taking off my armor!”

Gray had done it, the breastplate was dangling from his fingertips, and he jumped at the sight, making it crash to the ground.

“No I got this,” Gray said, concentrating. He stuck his hand out and brushed the air. He grabbed something and it materialized, sending him thudding to the ground when it was a sword the size of a bench, the one Erza had used to launch Lucy back on Galuna.

“I can’t even find Lucy’s magic,” Natsu complained, shaking her bracelets vigorously. “Light come forth?”

Lucy was working through the strings of Natsu’s magic, trying to turn the lava mouth faucet off. There was so much in his stomach, no wonder he liked to eat fire. She eventually tugged the one that shut it off and breathed a sigh of relief.

Though…what did fire taste like? Did it take magic to eat it? Natsu didn’t make it look like it did.

“Oh, I suppose there’s one more thing I should mention,” Gramps said, far too cheerfully, “This spell comes with a time limit, from what I remember. If you don’t change back within 30 minutes from when it was originally cast, you’re stuck this way for good.”

"What!” they all yelled. Fire spewed from Lucy’s mouth again. Good heavens, they weren’t giving Natsu nearly enough points for self control if his magic was constantly coming out like this.

Natsu ran to Elfman and Mira and Lucy’s voice desperately pleaded, “Do you know how long we’ve been mixed up like this?”

“Fourteen minutes,” Mira said, “That gives you sixteen minutes left.”

“Gramps, please tell me you know a way to change us back,” Erza’s voice pleaded.

“Since it is such an ancient spell, it only stands to reason that the solution is as lost as the original people, I only know what I do because of a rumor years ago that this happened to a group of wizards down south. They weren’t able to solve it and remain changed to this day” Master’s serious face turned happy and he chuckled, walking past them, “Well, I was going to punish you, and I was so looking forward to it, but it seems you have more pressing things to be worried about right now.”

"Okay, think,” Lucy said, running back to the table and looking at the spell, “Unpalla… they were known for their rivalry with the Ancient Renkit, their progressive aqueducts, mastery of linguistic magic, and crappy roofs. And stealing a couple of Renkit gods to worship.  Umm…no, I have to know more than that.” The triangle shape of the original text was bugging her.

“I don’t have a resolution either,” Erza said, looking over the request.

“It’s so weird to see Natsu and Gray getting along like that,” Happy whispered to Elfman and Cana.

Erza turned to Loke in Happy’s body, and pointed Gray’s finger, “We can’t afford to waste any more time. Loke, use Happy’s flight magic to retrieve Levy at once.”

“Yes Mam!” Loke yelled. He started jumping, but nothing happened. It was only by his fifth jump that he got the wings to appear. “Oh, hey, this is kinda fun.”

“We don’t have time for fun!” Erza yelled, “Go get Levy!”

The guildhall doors flung open again, “No need,” Levy called, “I’m already here and ready to help.”

“I’m so glad you’re here, thank you for helping,” Lucy said.

Levy walked up to her, “No problem, besides,” she leaned close to whisper, “I really want to read your manuscript, and it would be really weird talking about it with Natsu of all people.”

Lucy’s smile became forced, they had so much bigger problems to deal with if they didn’t get switched back in the next fifteen minutes, “I feel the same, how are you with Unpalese?”

Levy started pulling out the books she kept in her pocket, setting them up on the table. Lucy handed the flyer over, and Levy turned it to face her, letting Lucy look at it upside down.

“Wait, maybe…” Lucy grabbed one of the spare sheets that Levy produced. Levy was mumbling about magic grammar formula, which was a good way to tackle it. According to what Levy was mumbling, in order for words to be inherently magical, no outside magic pushed into it, they had to follow certain rules, and could be undone by an extrapolation of those rules.

Lucy’s idea was a lot simpler. It seemed like a magic prank to her, especially with the time limit, which meant there was a trick to it. She wrote down the phonetics, and divided it according to the syllables that Natsu had pronounced, then reversed the order. Levy’s had a greater chance of being accurate, so they’d save her prank idea for desperate times.

“Mira, how much time is remaining?” Erza asked, “And are there any more coats around here?”

“You have eleven minutes,” Mira said. “And Natsu, your tea is ready.”

Natsu bent over double, “Oh thank goodness. How do you guys live through this?”

Elfman pumped a fist, “It takes a real man to handle that pain like it doesn’t matter.”

“Um, women are the ones handling that particular pain,” Loke said nervously.

Mira led Lucy’s body to a chair and presented the tea. She winced as Natsu downed the entire beverage. Then made a face, “Uggh, that tastes disgusting, and it burned my mouth. When does it kick in?”

“Be patient, it takes a little differently for everyone,” Mira soothed. “Here’s a hot water bottle as well. Hold it to where it hurts, and the heat should help.”

“The rest of us need to let Levy work in peace,” Erza said, pulling a blanket around herself. They went to the other side of the guild while Jet and Droy set up the cheering squad.

“You know, it isn’t so bad being Erza,” Gray said, then smirked at Natsu, “Guess who’s an S Class wizard first.”

“Shut up, you can’t even re-quip her armor,” Natsu said.

“Oh yeah? Watch me,” Gray replied, taking Erza’s summoning stance.

“Gray, don’t you dare!” Erza said, running towards her body. She tripped over her blanket on the way, crashing to the floor.

Light coalesced around Erza’s body, and Gray made the proper movements before coming out with an extra twirl.

"Huh,” Gray said, looking down, “That’s a lot more instinctive than I assumed. I was thinking ‘heaven’s wheel’ but was trying to use it like I use my ice magic. Ice Empress armor?”

That’s the only thing it could be, with silver crystals forming the breastplate and a skirt that looked to be made of blades of real ice above light blue combat boots. There was a spear with an icicle moon as the cross guard. An underskin of fabric that matched the blue of the boots and gauntlets, covered the rest of her from neck to wrist to ankle. The only mistake was that half of Erza’s hair was pulled up into a pigtail, while the other half was down.

Gray grinned at Erza, “You were waiting for me to seriously challenge you before you showed this, weren’t you?”

“You screwed up the hair. And don’t you dare do that again. Levy will fix this, and any further exposure of my body will come out of your hide,” Erza growled, finally pulling out of the mess she’d made of her blankets and coats.

Gray just sighed, “At least this one comes with some temperature regulation.”

Lucy looked over at Levy tapping the pencil. Should she tell them that it really is a matter of life and death? Or would her whole story take too long and stress Levy out, making it harder to focus?

They were all slumped around a table, with Jet and Droy cheerleading in the background.

“So what do we do if we can’t get back to our original bodies?” Gray asked. Messing with his glove, but not removing it on threat from Erza. “Do we try to move on and get back to work, or do we look for ways to break it?”

“The moon drip at Galua island can undo enchantments,” Loke pointed out. “We should try that before giving up. I refuse to give up. I will not be a cat, and no way am I trusting my spirits to Happy.”

“I’d be a great Loke!” Happy argued, then started dramatically posing, “Look at me, I’m attractive and all the girl’s love me.” Then Happy made a face, “Ew, no. We have to change back. I don’t want your weird obsession with girls or your weird spirits.”

“No way am I giving up,” Natsu said, “No offense, but being Lucy feels so fuzzy and weird, and painful. And where the hell is your magic container?” He scrutinized her fake bracelets for their secrets.

“Heart,” Lucy said tiredly. “Not the stomach like you, but you really shouldn’t use mine to try and power up the bracelets, you'd overload them," she lied. "No wonder your aura is so grabby, your magic gets everywhere. It’s so messy.”

“You’re spitting fire again,” Erza said.

“I know,” she groaned, slumping back onto the table.

“I’ll try mine again,” Erza said, standing up, “Because even if we did try to work, at our current level of magic, we won’t be able to accomplish anything. Nor should we be making the dangerous trip to Galuna without someone being able to cast spells. Gray, help me.”

Erza took a rooted stance, fist over palm down low. Gray walked around her, gently pushing at her back and changing the angle of her arms.

Gray explained, “My magic is…tighter than yours. It flows through the spine and bones, out to your fingertips. The container is somewhere around the base of the spine, here.” He tapped his own lower back, which also forced Erza to stand straighter. “This is a basic casting stance. Let’s have you do something you’re really familiar with. I want you to imagine a sword. The exact dimensions, the exact feel of it in your hand. When you call it out, do these three motions in quick succession,” Gray demonstrated for Erza, and she followed, with minor adjustments, getting it to Gray satisfaction by the fourth try. “Then…it’s going to feel like an icy wind blowing through you. Let it. Keep focusing as the ice grows in your hand until it’s what you want. Don’t think speed, we’re just going to make it.”

Erza nodded, and Gray stepped back. She took her stance, slowly raised her hands, fist over palm, and everyone was watching with rapt attention as she called out, “Ice make sword!” Mimicking the hand movements Gray taught her, they waited.

Nothing happened.

She kept calm and tried it again.

Her focus changed on the fourth attempt, turning more inward.

It took ten long seconds, but a rough sword coalesced in her hand. “I did it?” Erza said, holding the sword, “Ha, I did it! That’s what it means to be S — Ahh!” The sword burst apart in her hand, falling to pieces and pushing her onto her butt.

Natsu started laughing. Erza jumped to her feet, took the spear from Gray, and leveled it at Lucy’s throat.

“Hey, no damaging my body,” Lucy called. Natsu used her tongue to stick it out at Erza.

“Yes! That’s it!” Levy called, and they all ran to her table in a flash.

Natsu stumbled after them.

“Yes, you can lift the spell?” Lucy asked, “I knew you could do it.”

Levy smiled and waved a finger, “This is what it says: May this eternal exchange provide you with eternal happiness! Kinda cute, isn’t it?”

“Eternal exchange?” Lucy asked, tilting Natsu’s head back in thought.

“What’s it mean?” Natsu asked.

“It means that everyone who got changed by the spell is going to live happily ever after!” Levy cheered, “You guys are so lucky!”

Well, that was a lie.

“Oh no, you mean we’re stuck like this forever!” Natsu freaked out, running hands through her hair, only to immediately double over again.

“We wanted you to lift the spell, not translate it, remember?” Gray said.

Levy immediately grimaced, “Oh, that’s right, sorry.”

Lucy went over and put her hand on Levy’s shoulder, “Hey, don’t worry. Translating the spell was an important step to figuring out the counter spell, right? You’ve got this. You’ve just got to work a little faster. Did you translate the phonetics at the bottom or the script inside the pyramid?”

“Right. That was inside the pyramid,” Levy said, focusing again. “And that doesn’t quite make sense that those would be an auto spell. There’s nothing spectacular about that phrase in either languages that would trigger a spell this powerful.”

“Which means either the spell that Natsu read isn’t the glyphs you translated, or there was a faith based cultural meaning that sealed the original phonetics of the words forever,” Lucy said with a nod. “My guess is a temporary part of a longer marriage ceremony, a way to give the couple a chance to experience life as each other. The eternal exchange is probably the experience that remains with the couple, and the happiness comes from the marriage.”

“I can’t be the only one freaked out by Natsu talking smart,” Happy said.

“Hey, I talk smart all the time,” Natsu said raising a fist. Then glared at its lack of fire. “Darn it! Life isn’t worth living if I don’t get to burn stuff.”    

“At least you can hit things!” Loke complain, “I can’t fight anything bigger than a mouse! And Happy’s going to try and eat my spirits once he figures out how!”

Lucy couldn’t understand anything Levy was scribbling. Celestial spirits had the gift of understanding the languages of their owners, and she retained those languages after contracts ended, but none of her six languages could make any sense of Levy’s notes.

“Three minutes left,” Macao informed everyone. Lucy’s eyes landed on her own sheet. It was time for desperate calls.

“Levy, what do you think about this?” Lucy said, showing it to her, “It seemed like a prank, but now we know it’s a wedding ritual. If the language prided itself —”

“If their focus was on chiasmic poetry, then a reversal of sounds might be all it takes,” Levy nodded, “But that’s rare even for auto-spells. Less than one in five thousand work like that, and I don’t know several of the new words created. Then again…”

“Desperate times and measures,” Loke said, floating up behind them. “Give it a go.”

“But I almost have this here…” Levy said.

“One minute,” Macao called.

Lucy shouted her backwards constructed spell.

Nothing happened.

“Ahh man,” she said, crumpling to the ground.

Loke landed beside her, “It’s okay Lucy. We’ll figure this out together.”

“Thanks Loke,” she said with a smile.

“Hang on!” Levy said, “I think I have it. Yes!”

“Fifteen seconds left,” Macao called, looking at his watch.

“Okay, I’ll try to explain it quickly,” Levy said. Which would normally be smart and appropriate and allow her, Erza, and Master to check for any mistakes.

“Ten seconds.”

“READ THE SPELL!”

Levy winced, then read aloud. Glyphs took shape under her magic, flying off the page and swirling around her in a clash of light. It was like the Dear Kaby spell, but more upwards and less golden. For good measure, she repeated the spell three times.

Lucy's pain was back. She looked down at her hands and saw her pink Fairy Tail mark, and pressed her hands over her chest, then waist. She looked at Natsu, who looked at her.

“Yes!” They yelled, high-fiving. Lucy ran around the table and hugged Levy, “Amazing Levy! You really did it! How did you do it?”

Levy smiled at her, “It was you that reminded me of the old trick. You tried reversing sounds, but actually, when you pull the trick with reverse ancient languages, you have to reverse the whole words, with the right breaks between and the new phonetics, not just the sounds. Since I already translated it, I knew where the word breaks really were.”

“You’re amazing Levy.”

“So are you, Lu!”

“Hey popsicle! Fight me!” Natsu yelled, rushing to Gray.

Gray’s fist planted itself firmly in his gut, “The rest of us aren’t back to normal yet, so please refrain from a premature celebration.”

“Oh no,” Levy gasped. She scrambled over her notes, “Maybe I didn’t pronounce it right? It should have switched back all of you.”

“Your time’s up,” Wacaba said, pulling the cigarette from him mouth. Then blinked down at it. “Hang on.” He looked over at Macao, who was looking at him in horror, “Well, hell.”

“What? I don’t feel so good,” Elfman said, toppling over with a barrel of alcohol in hand.

“I’m still in the wrong body too,” Loke cried, “the world is just too cruel.”

“Now, now, don’t lose heart,” Mirajane said, from a top the counter, legs folded, holding Master’s staff. “I’m sure there is another path forward if we look for it together.”

“Master?” Master Makarov asked, staring in horror at his hands.

"Mira switched bodies with Gramps?” Gray said.

“Who else has been affected?” Erza asked, and it was roll call chaos. Lucy let the others figure it out, she focused on Levy.

“It’s okay,” Lucy assured her. “It was probably from trying to complete the three spells simultaneously. In fact, the new spell probably re-set the time limit. We can do this.”

“But what if it was the pronunciation?” Levy worried, “How can we figure that out in thirty minutes when no one has spoken Ancient Unpalese in hundreds of years?”

Lucy glanced at the chaos unfolding around her and zeroed in on Loke and Happy, crouching in a dark corner.

“Crux!” Lucy yelled. Everyone nearby looked at her. “Loke has a contract with a knowledge spirit, I bet he could figure it out!”

“I’m not contracted with him until after 5 PM,” Loke said.

"It’s four fifty right now,” Wakaba said. Who may have been Macao, it was really unclear.

“But I don’t think Happy can call him, Erza making ice magic is one thing, but key holder magic is an entirely different,” Loke said. Which was right, in more ways than one. How much did Lucy dare tip her hand?

“I can too. Stop being so mean to me Loke! Is Crux the crab one?” Happy asked, squinting at Loke’s keys.

She looked around at the chaotic guildhall and Levy’s frantic reading, looking like she was about to cry.

Hopefully everyone would be too busy to realize just how much she knew.

Lucy walked closer to Loke. She could stand being near him and Happy without any additional pain. Which was the problem. Happy had no control or power over the celestial magic, and it didn’t snap at her because he wasn’t naturally exerting any aura at all. His aeria magic must work extremely different.

Or maybe…while Happy held the magic, he didn’t have any contracts. The magic in Loke’s body re-set to simply the potential to be a celestial wizard with Loke’s magic stores, without taking the contracts with it. She reached out a hand to pet Happy’s head, and Loke melted under her touch. There was a small snap in their auras. Loke still held the contracts, and exerted magic like a celestial wizard, but he was stuck with Happy’s reduced magic container.

Celestial magic was special like that, spirits made deals with souls, not bodies. Happy didn’t have nearly enough magic for a golden key, but Crux was a silver key, Happy’s magic container stores might be able to last through a couple of searches. It would depend on how close Loke and Crux were, and if Crux was willing to answer a call on less than full energy supply. He would also have to hear Loke’s soul requesting his presence in this realm, otherwise he wouldn’t come.

“Hmm, that feels really nice,” Loke purred, “Maybe being a cat isn’t all that bad.”

“That’s not fair,” Happy pouted, “Lucy never gives me ear scratches.”

“How long have you had Crux?” Lucy asked seriously, taking away her hand.

Loke blinked at her, “He had a contract with my mother before me. Him and Horologium. I’ve had him since I was eight and knew him before that.”

“Why don’t both of you hold his spirit key? He could probably help Levy,” Lucy said, “And both of you call him. What do you two have to lose? And Happy,” she smiled at him in Loke’s body, “If you get Crux out here to help, I’ll scratch your ears for ten minutes.”

“All right,” Happy said, jumping to his feet. “Which key.”

Loke flew up and took the keys from him, selecting the correct one. “Okay, here’s how it is going to go. We’re both going to hold the key and say this phrase, ‘Open, Gate of the Southern Cross, Crux’. When you say those words, try to put your magic into it, like you were calling your wings. Your magic container is in your chest, but the controls and ties for it are gathered in your hand. Can you feel it?”

It took a second, but Happy nodded. Happy seemed a little awed, “It’s stringy. Like a ball of magic string, and they all feel different.”

Loke nodded, “That’s how it’s supposed to feel, but don’t focus on that. There’s a string that goes up to your throat right?” Happy nodded. It was nice, seeing Loke this patient. Happy’s aura in Loke’s body started snapping at her as he reached, and Lucy stepped back.

“That’s the one you’re going to pull. Are you ready?” Loke asked. “Everyone’s counting on you.”

There were several loud crashes behind them, but the three of them didn’t look away. She watched their auras clash and settle together, Loke was attaching Happy’s voice to his keys as they spoke together.

“You guys keep going until he’s here,” Lucy said, “I’m going to tell Levy we got her some help.”

She ran over to Levy, who was being comforted by Jet and Droy over the mess it looked like she made. They were assuring her that she was doing wonderful, that they knew she had done her best after only having ten minutes. She could fix everyone because she was the greatest.

“True as that might be,” Lucy said, coming into their circle, “I found you a research assistant. And I’m willing to bet he speaks ancient Unpal-ese.”

“What?” Levy gasped, “How?”

“Loke has a contract with a knowledge spirit,” Lucy explained, “Him and Happy are working on summoning him right now. You won’t be in this alone. Sorry I wasn’t much help.”

“Oh no Lucy!” Levy said, “You were a lot of help. I was stuck until you remembered the backwards trick, and you got me back on track when I got too concerned with the job and not lifting the spell. You’re really smart.”

“I could never have done what you did, you needed to do the vocab and grammar study for my trick to work,” Lucy said, “I was just guessing. We’re lucky you made it here so quickly.”

There was a flash of celestial power behind her, the ringing of a gate opened, and Lucy ran. Brushing past Levy, she vaulted a table turned on its side, and landed in a crouch.

“Lucy?” the redhead said, bracing the mini defense against the chaos going on everywhere. She was back in her everyday armor.

“Erza?” Lucy asked, surprised to find her crouched behind a table and not trying to put a stop to the chaos. Then the girl winced, and Gray’s voice screamed at everyone to behave. “Whoops, you’re still Gray. Sorry.”

“What brings you here?” Gray as Erza said. “It looked like you were doing something with Levy.”

“Oh, um,” Lucy tried to figure out what to say. There was a thump of someone being thrown against their table, and both of them jumped to brace it. “Loke and Happy managed to summon a celestial spirit. It’s a smart one, should be able to help Levy untangle this mess, but I…”

“Got it,” Gray said. There was another thump, something smaller than a person but bigger than a cup hit their defense. “Hey, do you think the moon drip would have been able to undo your curse? I mean, if it was able to undo Iced Shell, it’s really powerful. Why didn’t I think of that?”

“I did think of it,” Lucy assured him, “You were understandably preoccupied. It wasn’t worth the risk of something else happening to me. We don’t know what happens to mages who stand under it, and what if it undid the enchantment on my bracelets or affected my magic container? I chose not to find out.”

Erza’s smile was lovely when Gray did it, more open and a little crooked, “I’m glad we didn’t just let the chance fly by then. And you’re pretty tough if what you’re feeling right now was enough to put Natsu down.”

Lucy waved a hand, “Nah, you can get used to just about anything.” Time to steer the conversation away from a topic she knew literally nothing about, “I’m actually surprised you aren’t over there fighting him right now. You have Erza’s body and he has his own.”

Erza’s eyes blinked at her, and Gray grinned.

“Natsu! You’re going down!” Gray yelled jumping into the middle of the fray.

“Yeah! Fight me Erza!”

“Not Erza, but that won’t matter to you!”

Lucy chanced a look over the table.

There was Crux. Levy was gushing over him, like Lucy knew she would, and he had books and pages flying around him, turning and impossible speeds.

He started to move his head towards Lucy, but she was already back beneath the table. Then Happy, in Loke’s body, crawled into her space.

“Lucy! Lucy, we summoned the cross thing, that means you have to scratch my ears!” Happy said, then proceeded to plant Loke’s head on her lap, forcing her into a sitting position instead of the defensive one she had been using.

“Umm,” Lucy said, “Wouldn’t you rather wait until you are back as a cat? Won’t it feel better then?”

Happy glared at her from behind Loke’s sunglasses, “You’re supposed to keep your promises,” he whined, “And you promised to scratch my ears.”

"But I’d be scratching Loke’s ears,” Lucy pointed out. “It won’t feel like you think it will.” Stars only know what the cat in a man’s body would feel from a scalp massage.

“Loke said it felt even better as a human,” Happy pouted, “I did what you said, now please! If it doesn’t feel as good, then I get to prove Loke wrong and being a cat is better than being a human.”

Did broken or unfulfilled promises tug on Happy in Loke’s body? They tugged and pulled at spirits, maybe celestial wizards at Loke’s level of power felt the same.

And he was right, she did promise, and hadn’t specified that he be a cat at the time.

“You’re right Happy, I’m sorry,” Lucy said. “But if we’re doing this now, I don’t have to when you’re a cat again, okay?”

Happy nodded, somehow getting the double grin of a cat mouth to form on Loke’s lips. Lucy started dragging her nails around his ear through his hair and…it was nice for her too. Physical touch was one of those things humans absolutely needed, but hadn’t ever really been a concern for her in the celestial world. Either because she got enough from her fellow spirits or spirits were just wired differently.

But now…it felt good, feeling someone trust themselves to her touch, to feel the sense of living and soul beneath her hand.

Without the pull, being this close to Loke’s celestial spirit magic was kind of like running water over her hands in the desert. Yes, she personally wanted to drink and her throat was thick, but it was also soothing on it’s own, if she ignored the desire.

Happy tried to purr, but the closest he could manage was a cute humming sound. Lucy went back to focusing on his ear and the smooth skin there, removing Loke’s sunglasses, and Happy absolutely melted. She scratched around the ear piercings, remembering when Pisces convinced her to get them herself. Loke made it work much better than Lucy did. Then she went back to the hair, brilliant orange that it was, and ran her fingers through it.

There was a surprising lack of product in it, leaving it soft to the touch.

Lucy pulled at it a little bit in her scratching and Happy sighed in contentment, curling towards her. Very cat, Lucy approved.

“This is it! Get ready!” Levy cried. The entire hall cheered for her. Levy chanted. The same rainbow light that had switched them up in the first place was back, covering the skin of everyone that had been affected.

It went much faster than the other switches, probably the confidence that Levy cast with. Then Loke, in Loke’s body, was blinking up at her leaning over him, her hands in his hair. Lucy froze, his magic immediately coming to life around her, trying to swallow her.

Stars above did she want to be swallowed.

"Hey there, Beautiful,” Loke said, giving her that killer smile.

Her face turned bright red, and as much as it pains her to admit, she squeaked. Full-blown monkey squeak and shoved him away.

Then there was cheering and another burst of everything as everyone celebrated being back in their original bodies. Master’s body was kicked across the guild for misusing Mirajane’s, and drinks started flowing.

Happy floated over, giggling, “He liiiiiikes you.”

Loke just grinned at her to show no hard feelings as he picked himself up from where she dumped him on the floor. Her face was still red. Then she sensed Grandpa Crux coming over and she got ahold of herself enough to turn and run the other way. 

Lucy was hidden when she heard, “Thanks so much Grandpa Crux. You’re a real life saver. Excellent timing too.”

And the painful response of, “It was my pleasure, Master Loke,” from the Crux’s ancient voice.

The spirit’s statement was followed the puff of an escape to a world she would never see again. She wasn’t sure how Crux’s knowledge worked, even with her avoiding every spirit and celestial wizard, did he know she was in Fairy Tail? Did he know she had taken the name Lucy, for a girl who lived in the sky?

Did he know that she loved them so very much?

Hopefully he did.

But the guild was in party mode and it would not be denied. Those questions vanished from her mind as Mira called for help setting the tables back up again, they had a party throw.

Notes:

It's much trickier to write about body swaps than draw it, but I like how it came out. Yay for long chapters! There wasn't a good break and I thought it would be a fun treat. How did you like my body swap choices?

Chapter 21: Lucy got some bad news, then everyone got worse news.

As the only sober person left in Fairy Tail, Lucy didn’t have to worry about any nosy guildmates as she made her way to Porlyusica’s the next morning. The healer had received her note a week and a day ago, so that meant she would be expecting Lucy now.

The cottage in the woods was small, but well kept and warm looking. Lucy knocked politely and waited.

“No humans allowed!” the old woman yelled from inside.

“Not a human,” Lucy called back. The healer knew her true form, a necessity to getting her medicine, and Lucy knew without a shadow of a doubt that the healer hadn’t told anyone and would never tell anyone.

Porlyusica opened the door, then turned away, leaving it open. Lucy walked inside and sat on the patient bed. Lucy waited until Porlyusica returned and stuck out her hand. Lucy handed over the spice jar she always carried with her. The healer examined it critically.

“Is there any other information I should know that wasn’t included in the note?” she asked at last.

Lucy had explained about the disappearing edges of her form, the fuzzy dizziness, the increase in pain and recent close exposure to a celestial wizard.

“I’m pretty sure I’m living by the grace of your powder alone,” Lucy admitted. “I could have been more conservative with my magic over the three years, stretched it out longer, but I don’t regret how I’ve lived here. I do feel a bit better than yesterday without consuming more of the powder, I think my body was rejuvenated during an incident with the Unpal-ese spell ‘Changeling’. I switched with Natsu’s body.”

Porlyusica nodded, looking over her notes on Lucy, “It likely has more to do with the dragonslayer’s soul in your body rather than the other way around. Earthland souls draw in environmental magic energy, not nearly as much as the body, but some. The soul of that boy probably draws in more magic than any soul has a right to, and your body would have felt the effects while he was using it.

“You already know that you’ve been overusing the powder. I warned you that it takes two months to brew. I started the process, but it is going to be up to you to stretch your remaining powder out that long.” She sighed, “I do not wholly blame you, we have been unable to assess the limits of your own magic. Reliance on the powder was bound to increase dramatically as soon as that occurred, but it was nearly impossible to predict.”

Lucy nodded, it was what she expected to hear. She took back the offered powder, her spice, and held it in her hand. Little over a quarter of the jar was left. She could stretch it out over two months if she stuck to low magic jobs, maybe took a teammate with her to split the magic cost. No more S class jobs or dark guilds, and no more casual magic brawls, not that she did too many of those to start with.

“Do you think exposure to the celestial wizard is having an effect?” Lucy asked.

“I have no idea,” Porlyusica said, “I have only crossed paths with one celestial wizard before, and I certainly wasn’t treating them or their spirits. Describe with a little more detail what it feels like when he is near.”

Lucy nodded, “His magic pulls at me. It reaches out and tries to find connections where I’ve lost the ability to make them. Physically, it doesn’t hurt very much, someone flicking my arm, but it sears my magic container to constantly feel that missing connection. More than humans, I am my magic container.”

“Sounds like an amputee situation,” Porlyusica said, writing something down, “They sometimes experience ghost pains where their limbs should be, where their nerves and brains are saying they should be whole. It also happens with some scars. From what I can tell of the composition of your body, I don’t think it is too much of a stretch to call your magic a functional limb that has had part of it cut off with your exile. No, your magic container is functionally your heart, and your ability to use magic a mere limb, and your ability to make contracts another limb. His magic aura touching yours shouldn’t hurt, but your reaction is similar to an amputee situation. The rest of your body and your mind doesn’t like the situation. It is reporting pain because something must be wrong and painful if you can’t respond to his magic like you should.

“I do not believe interacting with the celestial mage will affect your magic input or output based on what you’ve told me. The dissolution of your form has always been coming. The celestial wizard’s presence was likely unrelated, if that is your only reaction to him. Hmm, the soul's sense of preservation as strong or stronger than the body's, perhaps an adjustment, relaxing the self-defensive properties in incompatible ethernano environments . . .”

Lucy nodded, good to have that verified. “Then I will simply do my best to make this stretch out. Thank you again for all you’ve done for me,” Lucy said with a bow.

Porlyusica had stopped noticing her, muttering about magical environments and the shape of ethernano, and Lucy saw herself out.

She took a long walk through the forest, enjoying the feeling of morning light through leaves and the light breeze. The celestial world had trees, but they didn’t have forests, not really. And sunlight was soul-warm in a way that didn’t happen in the celestial world. The creek was chatting a small ways away, providing water to this section of the world, birds chittering their greetings as they drank. There were reasons stars left their homes and safety to make contracts with wizards, and the beauty of Earthland was definitely one of them.

Lucy reached out and caught a leaf that was falling right in front of her. It was small and still fairly green. Probably loosened by wildlife to have fallen like that.

There was a pulse. Not magic, maybe a sound. A magnified heartbeat, resounding through her body. The lightest touch of a manicured hand on her shoulder. The leaf wilted to ash.

Earthland souls can absorb magic.

Lucy spun around, but the air was empty. If anything had manifested visually in the first place, it was gone. But Lucy had felt the eyes, felt the hand.

Karen was coming to call.

             

 

It had been nearly a week since the Changeling incident, Gramps hadn’t brought up the punishment again, and everyone else seemed to forget about it. Loke certainly wasn’t going to remind them, and he doubted it was worse than the existential crisis of being stuck in a cat’s body for the rest of Happy’s natural life. Still kinda wished he knew what ‘the punishment’ was though. Loke suspected he was going to end up another situation where Master Makarov felt like Loke needed to be punished, it would be nice to know the consequences he would face to make sure it was worth while.

Things were going good for him. He’d participated in two guild brawls, gone on three dates with equally gorgeous women, second dates with them on their way, and had taken one job that was a cinch working with Aquarius. Not that working with Aquarius was ever a cinch, but by it wasn’t too hard to convince her to help him find the lady’s lost bracelet among Magnolia Bay’s rocky outcropping. He’d also made his contract with Sagittarius, who promised to be just as cool a friend to have as the rest. 

The one downside was he hadn’t seen Lucy at all. Asking after her put her out fishing with Natsu and Happy one time, then apparently two days spent organizing the archives with Mira, but he never saw her. He didn’t think she was purposefully avoiding him, so he didn’t worry about it too much.

Then Monday came around again and Natsu and Gray were pushing him out the door as soon as he arrived, nearly ripping his smiley-face t-shirt off him in the rush.

“Come on, you’re so late."

“Erza’s going to be hella mad if we miss the train,” Gray added.

Which was more than enough for Loke to pick up the pace and hurry along with them. “Where are we going? Why is Erza waiting for us?”

“Lucy had a client request her this morning for an important package delivery,” Gray said, “We’re going to Hallow to pick it up and bring it to him. But we’re going to miss the train if we don’t hurry.”

“And you guys were waiting for me?”

Natsu rolled his eyes, “Well duh, you’re part of the team. We aren’t going to split this up now.”

“Alright then,” Loke said, grinning. “Better not keep the girls waiting.”

“I bet I can get there faster than both of you!” Natsu yelled, putting on speed.

“Oh no you don’t!”

“Yeah right!”

It was a pretty simple job. He got the whole story after they crashed into the train. Gray ceded to Loke the wonderful job of carrying Natsu to the girl’s compartment, but he didn’t mind too much. Lucy knocked Natsu out with a rune as soon as Loke dropped the fire mage between them.

Basically, one of Lucy’s clients, whose son she routinely escorted to visit relatives, needed a group of wizards to pick up a package and walk it back to his estate through the West Forest and Mt. Makurai. It contained a type of magical item from Pergrande that he was considering trying to open up a market for in Fiore. The trains didn’t reach where his business contact left the item, and train security might not let something this new through without confiscating it, so they had to walk it back on foot.

No nobles should be involved except when Lucy personally delivered the package.

With Natsu knocked out, the rest of them actually had a really nice conversation. Lucy even brought in the Sorcerer Weekly and had them play the quiz of “which guild should you join?”

Erza got Mermaid Heel, Loke and Lucy got Blue Pegasus, and Gray Lamia Scale. Happy got Fairy Tail and did not let them forget it.

The job itself was easy compared to all the other jobs he’d been on with this team. Lucy kept careful hold of the package and was in charge of disengaging whenever something threatening came their way, while the rest of them handled giant birds, Vulcans, and dread squirrels.

They camped for three nights, and the last night they were able to take a hotel room in Marcusa. It was a group suite for six people, and perfect for them. Large enough that Natsu and Gray could sleep on opposite sides of the room, a fireplace with a fire, which Natsu promptly ate, and a safe under the bed where they could store the package.

“What do you think is inside that’s so important he needed a magic guild to transport it instead of the messenger guild?” Loke asked Lucy, as she locked it up.

Lucy shrugged, “It could be anything, business types tend to get antsy over their secrets. I’ll ask when I deliver it, but we won’t open it. I read about corruption happening in the messenger guilds a little while back, it might just be extra caution over that. Or the fact that it is a foreign magic item meant it was cheaper to use wizards than the extra fees messenger guilds put on packages transporting lacrima. Lord Furnim doesn’t seem like the illegal type, thank goodness.”

The Furnim’s weren’t the illegal type, as far as he could remember. The father had brought his minor noble house a large boost in standing with some risky inventions and his wife’s head for business a few years back. Someone to watch but not particularly threatening. It was probably just a continuation of that same genius in the works.

“I’m back,” Gray called out, carrying bags of takeout and the conversation shifted away. They made it all the way to the client’s estate without incident.

Even split five ways, the reward was decent money. Loke mentioned that as they got off the train in Magnolia.

“It’s because it was urgent and a request for a specific wizard,” Erza explained. “Both those aspects add significant fees even to something simple like a delivery request. And it wasn’t exactly simple either, considering how out of the way that town was and the need to proceed on foot.”

“Not a problem for Fairy Tail’s strongest team,” Natsu cheered.

“I’m just glad everyone was able to make it on such short notice,” Lucy said, smiling.

Loke was about to comment about always making time for her when whispers caught his ears. Natsu looked around too.

"They’re Fairy Tail wizards, do you think they know?”

“I feel so bad for them, it must be hard.”

"Can’t believe this.”

“What do you think everyone is whispering about?” Lucy asked.

“I don’t know and I don’t like it,” Erza said, glancing around as well.

“It’s certainly not the good kind of whispers,” Happy said wearily.

Loke looked forward as they rounded the corner that was the final street to the guild. He froze. Lucy bumped in behind him, then gasped as she saw what had halted him.

“THE GUILD!” Natsu yelled.

Loke took off running, and they all followed at the same rapid pace.

They only stopped when standing in front of the wreck that was their guildhall. Large iron beams were stuck through the building like pins in a voodoo doll, and there was no doubt that every Fairy Tail wizard was the intended target. The doors were smashed open, letting them see inside.

“The structural beams are intact,” Loke commented, seething. “Whoever did this didn’t put in the work to make it fall down. Graffiti, meant to make us pay attention.”

“I care a lot more about how this happened in the first place,” Gray said, “Whoever it is, they’re going to regret getting our attention this way.”

"Screw how, I need to know who did this so I can beat their face in,” Natsu said, and he looked scarier than Loke had seen anyone look, ever.

“It was Phantom Lord,” Mira said from behind them, tears in her eyes.

Notes:

Lucy: Okay, no more adventures, because another one any time soon will probably kill me.
Loke: Oh boy, I can't wait to throw myself into more dangerous situations because they are so much fun with my fairy tail friends!
Phantom Lord: =)

A shorter transition chapter this time, but it's Phantom Lord time! Let's answer some of those fascinating questions about how Loke handled being an heir to the Heartphilia Corporation instead of Lucy.

Chapter 22: It was Phantom Lord

“It was Phantom Lord.”

Everyone turned to face Mira. She was on the edge of crying, “They got us good, while everyone was gone home for the night. There was nothing we could do to stop them.”

“It was Phantom Lord?” Natsu said.

Mira nodded straightening up, “Follow me, there’s an alternate route to the basement we’ve set up. That’s where everyone is.”

They marched behind her, ready for war.

Their guildmates didn’t seem to be on the same page. With booze flowing and low conversation, the aura was much more…subdued. It didn’t bode well.

And the drunkest of them all was their sloshed master.

“Hello Lucy, you get the job done like a good girl?” Master Makarov asked with a grin.

"Of course, but that’s hardly important right now,” Lucy said, hand over her heart.

Erza bowed, “Master, I’m sorry we weren’t here sooner. We only heard what happened when we walked into town. We are ready to do what we must.”

“The guildhall was destroyed!” Natsu said, “What are you doin’ drinkin’ when we got to go get those Phantom jerks!”

Master Makarov hiccuped, “No need to get so worked up, it’s not the end of the world or nothin’.”

“Master, do understand the gravity of this situation?” Erza demanded. “This is a declaration of war.”

“Hardly,” Makarov said, taking another long drink, “it just goes to show you how cowardly those phantom dunderheads really are, attackin’ when no one’s here. What’s there to bother about?”

“Our home?” Natsu demanded.

“It’s not enough to go to war is it?” Lucy said, hands dropping to her sides. “This isn’t like with Eisenwald where innocents were at risk. It’s an act of aggression, but the rules against guilds fighting each other don’t make allowances for property damage. We can’t do anything but file a complaint with the Magic Council.”

“Beauty and brains,” Master Makarov grinned at her. “Someone’s done their research. Now I gotta go take a leak.” He hopped down and ran past them.

“So it’s out of respect to the Magic Council that Master holds us back,” Erza said, making a fist.

Mira nodded, “It hurts him too, even if it doesn’t seem like it. I saw him see the guild hall when he arrived this morning, I had to write the complaint and have him sign it because he would break anything he tried to write with.”

“That’s not fair,” Natsu growled, “Phantom started it, we’re just gonna end it!”

“That doesn’t matter,” Erza scolded, “It’s part of the laws we live by. And if Master has decided not to retaliate, then we will respect his decision.” This was the first rule Loke had ever seen Erza not love. She couldn’t look at any of them.

None of them could look at each other.

He kept a careful watch on the others while grabbing his own pity drink. This could be another situation where Gramps said no, but unofficially let Natsu go wrecking anyway. The only order of the day, however, was commiserating with the other Fairies. They shared murmured stories of running into Phantom on jobs, and how much bigger Phantom was, and stories of their S-class ranked members. Their version of Fairy Tail’s strongest team was the element four. They were also led by one who had earned the title Wizard Saint.

Lucy left for the night, after she’d been sitting with Team Shadowgear all day. But from her downturned gaze, she really was just turning in. Out of everyone, Lucy was probably the least likely to go on a revenge spree against Makarov’s orders.

After she left Natsu stood up too. Loke followed him out the door.

“Where you headed?” Loke asked, hoping the answer was Phantom.

“Making sure Lucy gets home safe,” Natsu said. “You were at a different table, but everyone agrees that we should stick together tonight just in case. So I’m going to camp out at Lucy’s house. You should join us since you live alone too.”

“Does she know we’re coming over?” Loke asked.

Natsu gave a shallow grin, “And ruin the surprise? Don’t worry, there’s enough room. Her place is way nicer than yours, you’ll love it.”

“She loves having people over,” Happy assured him, “You’ll see.”

The fact that they were able to follow Lucy without her paying attention to them meant it was probably a good idea that they had decided to do so. Lucy seemed lost in her head the entire time, which meant she was probably analyzing what was going to happen next. Useful, but that left her vulnerable.

Lucy let herself in the front door, and now Natsu grinned for real. Happy landed on Loke and flew him speedily towards the window that Natsu had already unlocked and opened.

“About time you got here Flame Brain,” Gray said, filling glasses with water at Lucy’s round table.

“Indeed, you almost missed dinner,” Erza said, putting an excellent smelling dish on the center of the table. It was the first time he’d seen her without armor and she looked comfortable.

“What are you two doing here?” Natsu said, folding his arms. “I thought it was decided that Loke and I would be staying with Lucy.”

“I needed somewhere to bunk too, according to Mira,” Gray said.

“And I was horrified at the thought of Lucy having to spend the night alone with three men, and volunteered to come as chaperone,” Erza said, then pointed a knife, “Now wash your hands, both of you.”

They jumped to comply, and had just sat themselves down when Lucy opened her door to see them all waiting for her, making her freeze. Natsu was still pouting, Loke gave an awkward smile and waved his hand hello, Erza was sipping her tea, and Gray looked bored.

“What are you doing here!” Lucy yelled throwing her suitcase directly into Natsu’s face, knocking him out of his seat.

“If the members of Phantom Lord were in town to destroy the guildhall, then it is likely they found out where we all live,” Erza explained. “For safety purposes we’re going to stay in groups for tonight in case they strike again.”

“Oh…” Lucy said, embarrassed, “I guess that makes sense. You guys could have waited for me to get home first.” She walked over and helped Natsu sit up. “Was it just decided based on teams?”

Erza shrugged, “Initially it was just Natsu and Loke coming over here, but Gray refused to room with someone else, and I could hardly relax at the dorms, knowing I was leaving you alone with three males. Have some dinner?”

“Wow, you guys must live in dumps if my place is the best of them,” Lucy commented, taking her seat.

“Guilty,” Loke said, “It really is awful compared to this place.”

“It’s still better than Natsu’s place, I bet.” Gray said, “And I never bothered to get the heater working at mine. So you’d all suffer over there.”

"Our place is great,” Natsu said, “I just don’t want you messing with all my stuff.”

“So it’s okay to mess with my stuff?”

 Erza smiled at her, “Don’t worry, I’ll make sure the boys are consummate house guests tonight. Salad?”

Erza didn’t quite keep her promise, she got distracted by Lucy’s underwear collection. Though Loke was too much of a gentleman to look himself, it did promise some exciting things if it made Erza, queen of the wardrobe, blush. Then there was the part where he and Lucy looked on in horror as Erza threatened Natsu and Gray with bathing together if they didn’t do it on their own.

With everyone clean and showered, no one really felt like sleeping just yet. Maybe like Loke, every time they closed their eyes they saw the ruined guildhall. He’d been a member for a little over two months now and it haunted him. Gray, Natsu, and Erza had all grown up in the guild, from what he knew, he couldn’t imagine what it was like for them.

So everyone was just lying around the apartment in their night clothes when Lucy came back from brushing her teeth.

“I’m glad you’re all so comfortable,” Lucy said, eyeing the way everyone was slumped over various spots. Then she found a spot at the table to slump over herself, “I still can’t believe Phantom attacked us out of the blue like that.”

“Has this happened before?” Loke asked, “Or has something like this happened between other guilds?”

Erza shook her head, “We’ve had scuffles with Phantom before, but nothing like this. And guilds haven’t attacked each other’s guildhalls in the last twenty years. Threats from the Magic Council are usually enough to stop that sort of thing, along with the ability to bring up issues at guildmaster conferences. Lucy’s right that this is extremely unusual behavior.”

“If Gramps wasn’t so afraid of them,” Natsu grumbled, “We could be over there busting them up right now.”

“You know Gramps isn’t afraid of Phantom,” Gray argued, not looking at Natsu, “He’s one of the ten wizard saints. But the Magic Council is something completely different and you know it.”

“Hey!” Lucy yelled, surging over to where Gray was sitting at her writing desk. Loke hadn’t noticed before, but he was holding a thick stack of pages. Lucy snatched it out of his hands, “I did not give you permission to read that!”

“You can’t just take that without telling me what happens next,” Gray whined, holding his hand out.

“I absolutely can,” Lucy said, holding it tighter, “Levy gets to read it first, then you can have your turn. It’s not done yet.” Gray had found her novel. That stack of papers was suddenly much more interesting.

Erza held out her hand for the manuscript.

“No way! Not yet!”

“So one day?” Loke asked, staring at the papers. People wrote themselves into their stories, it was a fact of art. Secrets to Lucy of Fairy Tail were hidden in those pages.

Lucy glared, “Not if you keep asking like that. But yes, one day, you will all read it.”

Loke held up his hands in surrender and let Lucy put it away somewhere she hoped no one would find it. He turned back to Erza, “So everyone keeps mentioning that both masters are wizard saints, what does that title mean? I haven’t heard of it before.”

Erza nodded, “It’s a title granted by the Magic Council, and it designates the ten most powerful wizards on the continent. Both Master Makarov and Master Jose hold the title, but aside from the top four, it really is up for debate the order of power among the rest of them.”

“They should have a tournament to figure it out,” Natsu said, “Then we can watch Gramps pound the rest of them in until they can’t see straight. Especially Phantom’s Master. Man, we could take ‘em!”

“It isn’t about having the power,” Gray explained again, “It’s about the order of the magical world. We complain to the Magic Council, and they take action. That’s what it has to be.”

Lucy frowned at that. “I doubt the Magic Council is going to come on our side. They used us as a scape goat literally two months ago. And…I’m not sure they’re clean.”

All eyes focused on Lucy, Erza gave her special intensity. Lucy seemed to debate with herself for a moment, then nodded.

“When we were on Galuna, remember the old man that could use the Arc of Time?” she asked. Gray and Loke winced. Those bruises had taken forever to heal. Lucy nodded, “He knew things about me. He knew me because of how many people I regularly turn over to them for breaking the law. He knew me from before I joined Fairy Tail, and from the stats our guild reports to the Magic Council. That information isn’t made public. He knew that, and he was helping free Deliora…”

Natsu nodded, “He wanted to free Deliora so that he could take control of the demon himself. Thought having a demon for a pet would make him strong.”

“That’s why you didn’t insist on turning Lyon and the others over,” Loke realized. “I thought that was strange.”

“That is troubling,” Erza said, holding her chin in her hand. “We rely on the Magic Council too much to afford corruption. We will have to be watchful in our future interactions with them. Who knows how they’ll respond to our request for them to bring Phantom under control?”

Natsu punched a fiery fist into his palm, “Right, let’s tell Gramps so we can get started on our plan for getting our own revenge since the Council won’t do anything.”

“No.” Erza said, “Whatever the situation with the Magic Council, the truth is that Phantom’s strength is equal to ours. Should we go to war with them, casualties will be inevitable. We have superior wizards, but they have superior numbers. And they have a group of wizards similar to our S class, the Element Four and Black Steel Gajeel, the iron dragon slayer.”

“Another Dragon Slayer?” Loke asked, looking at Natsu, who scoffed.

Erza nodded, “He’s mostly likely at fault for the damage to our guildhall.”

“He’s a coward,” Natsu said.

“I thought Natsu was the only one,” Loke said. “Was he raised by a dragon too?”

“First I’m hearing of him, and I don’t really care,” Natsu said. “I’ll bash his stupid metal skull into the ground.”

Erza sighed, “I hate to say it, but I have a feeling Phantom’s problems with us aren’t over yet. We have chosen not to retaliate, but they are the aggressors here. We’re sticking together because it is likely they are going to escalate until they get what they want from us. Which means you may yet get the chance to face Gajeel. It also means we need a good night’s sleep to prepare for it. It’s time for bed.”

Erza and Lucy took the bed, obviously, though Gray and Natsu weren’t so sure why that was obvious, and the boys settled into the plush carpet with a stack of blankets.

 

 

 

Seven cards were spread out in front of her in rows of two-three-two. The first in the middle row had revealed the star. Cana held up the Tower before placing it in the center.

 “The present” Cana said, making Lucy wince. This was why she never let Cana do a reading for her.

Instead of the Death card for the cycle of rebirth she was expecting, Cana revealed the Chariot next. “The future shows you come out of this with new internal resolve and purpose.”

 "That doesn’t make sense,” Lucy said. “I die.”

Lucy had seen her do this spread before, the top two above the timeline were the obstacles she failed to overcome in the past and the obstacles she needed to over come to reach the future card. She knew they would be the Empress and the Emperor.

The bottom two cards were helpful influences available to her right now and then help that she should keep an eye out for because it would be available to her in the future. Lucy pulled up the Fool, then the Emperor.

"What?”

“You really always draw out the major arcana. Only heavy fates for you!” Cana laughed, holding up the Empress and the Lovers for the past and future obstacle cards.

"These should be switched,” Lucy said, holding out the Emperor for the Lovers. Wait, should they? No. What? No. Yes-No.

Lucy woke up on the ground. Which was particularly strange, since she fell asleep in the bed, and she wasn’t exactly known for sleepwalking. She lifted up her head, trying to figure out what happened, blinking the sleep from her eyes.

Loke was far too close. She scrambled away, barely missing hitting her head on the chair for her writing desk.  

“Loke is extremely handsome.” Mira’s voice came back to her at the rudest times. Lucy had been using his stomach as a pillow, and she did not need to be thinking of his smile or fluffy hair.

Though, when he was asleep, his aura dimmed and bubbled instead of grabbed. And his face looked softer. Still delicate, but less playboy, more…fairy tale prince. Relaxed and without his glasses, and with four sets of sleep breathing, Lucy could admit Loke was very attractive. On her level attractive, maybe.

Of course, many of the wizards in Fairy Tail were attractive, male and female. It shouldn’t be anything worthy of note that Loke was attractive. Except…that darn charisma. His playful flirting and bone deep respect for people, the sincerity in his words and actions. After being around it, she couldn’t blame the girls that fell for him.

"You liiiike him,” Happy giggled playfully. She looked over to see that he had made a bed in the clean laundry she hadn’t had time to fold. Four sets of breathing left one obnoxious cat to see her.

“Shut up,” she hissed, blushing. “You have no idea what you’re saying. And how did I end up on the floor anyway?”

 She remembered as Happy said it, “Erza kicked you off in the middle of the night. You landed on Natsu who pushed you onto Loke and he climbed onto the bed instead. I missed how Gray got in there."

Which meant…Lucy stood up quietly and stepped over Loke carefully. Gray and Natsu were both cuddled up to Erza. Gray on the wall side, Natsu on the room side, in a three-train spoon. Natsu had his arms around Erza’s waist like a teddy bear, and Erza had her head on Gray’s chest. One arm was acting as support for Erza and Natsu’s heads, and his other hand tangled in Erza’s brilliant red hair.

First order of business was to get a picture of this. Luckily she kept her camera on her writing desk. She set it to silent and clicked three perfect pictures. Happy floated over her shoulder, paws covering his mouth to stifle his giggles.

Magic sense shut down, she started nudging Loke awake. Happy was there, meaning she couldn’t get a picture of Loke by himself, though if one of the group shots had Loke in it, that was her business. His eyes opened up in the most adorable sleepy look. She had a finger to her lips as she helped him up. His eyes followed her and Happy’s fingers to where the three childhood friends lay. His hand slapped over his mouth to contain his mirth. Happy shushed him.

Lucy held up the photos she had taken. She put one into a thick dictionary she kept on her desk and handed him another. He grinned and it disappeared into his pocket. They kept a third out to tease them with later. Lucy motioned for the two of them to follow her into the kitchen. The clock showed it was six in the morning, which was earlier than she liked, but definitely worth it.

 “We need to get a picture of them waking up like that,” Loke said in a low whisper. Lucy giggled at the idea.

“We’ll need something to smooth the egos afterwards,” Lucy said, remembering that she didn’t have anything in the kitchen for human breakfasts, “I’ll run down the street and get some eggs and bread for breakfast. I’ll make it up real quick, then call for breakfast, you two catch them waking up. Got it? Watch them the whole time, okay, I’ll hurry.”

They nodded and Lucy threw on her outfit for the day and hurried as quietly as she could out the door, down the stairs, and out onto the street.

“Miss Lucy,” one of the fishermen called, waving her over. They didn’t usually stray this close to the canal wall.

“John, Whit, what’s up?” she asked.

“If you’re just leaving your house, you probably haven’t heard,” John said, his face tight. “Some of your guildmates, we passed by them this morning in Southgate Park. They’ve been attacked, and if the iron means anything, it’s probably the same people who took out your guildhall.”

Lucy froze. They had talked about Phantom escalating the situation, but she hadn’t actually believed it would happen this quickly. Everyone should have been safe in groups, but not all the teams were as strong as hers. If the same person did it that did in their guildhall…

“Thank you, I’ll go see to it. Thank you so much,” she said, giving them a bow.

“Be careful, stay safe,” Whit told her.

“Will do, and you too” she said, voice hard. They nodded and pushed off the edge and headed back to the center of the canal.

She turned around and thundered up her stairs. She threw open her door, “Everyone up!”

“Lucy?” Happy asked.

Loke snapped pictures as the three on the bed shot to sitting, shoving each other in horror. Natsu bounced on the ground. Loke grinned at her, but she didn’t grin back. She took the camera and set if back on her writing desk.

“Was goin’ on?” Natsu asked, rubbing his eyes.

“Phantom struck, they attacked some of our guildmates and left them in Southgate Park,” Lucy said, grabbing Gray’s shirt and throwing it at him. Erza and Natsu were standing a second later, Erza requipping into her armor in the same move.

Gray quickly put his clothes on and followed them out of the apartment.

“Happy, go get Master,” Erza ordered, “He needs to be there.”

“Aye Sir,” Happy said grimly, flying off in a different direction.

They started running but slowed down to an angry march when they saw the crowd gathered around the biggest rainbow sakura tree.

“Excuse us, please move aside,” Erza ordered, pushing through first, “We’re from their guild.”

The people moved. Lucy couldn’t stop her gasp of horror when she saw the attack.

“Levy…Jet, and Droy,” she whispered, walking forward. Anger welled up then. “Those bastards.” Gray, Loke, and Erza had the same look of horror and anger that she did, but Natsu had skipped disbelief and was firmly settled in seething rage.

Team Shadowgear looked like they had been put through the fight of their lives. Knocked out, bruised, bloodied, clothes torn, and the most hideous of all-

-Levy’s stomach bore Phantom’s mark.

Crucified for daring to be Fairy Tail.

Short of hurting townspeople, Lucy wasn’t going to stop Natsu from doing anything.  

The townspeople gathered were debating how to get them down but were frightened of getting involved in guild matters. They should be, because if Phantom was willing to do this to Shadowgear, they would certainly be willing to hurt innocents that helped Fairy Tail.

Everyone quieted behind them. Lucy couldn’t turn her head see why, but it was obvious enough when Master Makarov made his way in between Erza and Gray, wearing the white coat that marked his status as one of the ten most powerful wizards on the continent.

“Master,” Erza said softly, deferring.

“I can take our headquarters being reduced to rubble,” Master said, the growl in his voice enough scare a demon, “But I will not let harm come to my children without taking revenge!” His staff, wooden and crooked with a smiley face on it, shattered under his grip, leaving only splinters behind. His magic aura burst outwards, physically manifesting in gold around his body. “We have no choice but to go to war!”

They all nodded. Erza took charge. “Lucy, Natsu, start loosening the bolts, Gray, make some ladders and help them. Loke, you and Happy get to the hospital and get some stretchers, they are going to need medical attention. Master Makarov and I will rouse the rest of the guild and begin to plan, meet up at the guildhall when our friends are taken care of.”

“Right,” Lucy and Natsu said. Lucy jumped up to Levy, hanging onto the iron strip that sealed her to the tree. Natsu hopped up to help Droy. Luckily, it was nailed, not screwed. Gray made a ladder for her and climbed up to help support Levy and get a better angle. Levy’s muscles spasmed at being allowed to take the weight off them.

“Crucifixion kills,” Lucy seethed, “Their magic is the only thing keeping their bodies from giving up.” Magic didn’t heal humans the way it could help her, but a strong wizard’s magic container will speed up blood production and prevent infection enough to allow otherwise fatal blows to be endured. It drained them, but wizards truly were sturdier than non-wizards.

It was likely the only reason their friends were still alive.

Gray growled and ripped the side he was working on another two inches out of the tree. Working together, the two of them had Levy free within two minutes. Lucy caught her and carried her to the ground as Gray went to help Natsu with Droy. Instead of a ladder, he made a raised platform, and that worked better. Lucy went to start loosening Jet’s, and within five minutes they had all the members of Team Shadowgear on the ground. Breathing.

Gray started taking pulses, which was good, because Lucy couldn’t remember the standard human heartrate at the moment over her own pounding ichor.

“Over here,” they heard Loke call, and he led several paramedics onto the scene. Happy landed on Natsu’s shoulder. Lucy and Gray backed off, letting the paramedics work. They asked questions that Loke hadn’t been able to answer.

How long have they been up there?

Somewhere between two to eight hours.

Are they under the influence of magic at the moment?

No.

Do any of them have any allergies?

Jet has a mild peanut allergy, but that’s all they know about.

Is there anyone else that needs to be contacted concerning their healthcare?

No, they are each other’s family. The guild is their emergency contact.

The paramedics left, carrying their friends away.

“Let’s head to the guild,” Natsu said. “I don’t want to miss a second of this.”

Notes:

Lucy shared her suspicions about the magic council. Everyone's on the same page about guild wars and dragon slayers. Lucy had an interesting dream that may or may not be accurate, which was swept aside for the importance of taking embarrassing photos. The mood was ruined by Gajeel's bad choices. What do you make of Lucy's dream? Of the relationship the Magic Council has with the guilds? With Lucy specifically?

Will Lucy be able to conserve her magic throughout this arc?

Chapter 23: Phantom gets hit back.

As much as Lucy wanted to go make heads roll at Phantom Lord, it wasn’t smart. She had to conserve magic or she would be the one dying. The anger was in her soul, and it might be worth dying over, but when Erza mentioned that someone should stay with the three that were recovering, she volunteered.

“Are you sure Lucy?” Natsu asked seriously. “We could use you.”

Lucy made herself think logically, pushing down the lion inside that wanted to kill the people who hurt hers. “I’m sure. Someone has to stay with them while everyone is out wrecking house. Protecting people is what I do. Anyone who thinks about coming after them again will not be granted mercy.”

She knew the look on her face and the words she used would incite terror in the guild on a normal day. This was as far from a normal day as they could get. The vengeance she felt, that of a contract to protect demanding revenge, it was echoed in every face around her. They nodded, approving of her viciousness.

So Lucy went to the hospital as they planned. It was a simple plan, as far as it went. Phantom’s main guild hall of business was in Oaktown, even if they had branches all over Fiore. That was where their Master would be, and likely their higher ranked mages. Erza would lead the distraction charge, Master would pay Jose a friendly visit, and when Jose was taken care of, Makarov would lead them out of there.

Lucy was the one to take in the list of Shadow Gear’s injuries from the doctors. With each bone broken and point of laceration, she grew wearier and angrier. It was true, what she had said to Gray. If the three of them had been one iota less the wizards they were, they likely wouldn’t be alive today.

It would have been worth her life, paying back those injuries.

But now she had to be the guardian angel everyone called her and watch the wandering raincloud from her window.

 

 

~

 

Loke was proud to stand between Erza and Gray as Natsu knocked. Phantom should have invested in stronger doors if they hadn’t wanted it destroyed from a little knock.

"Fairy Tail has come calling!” Master yelled through the opening. Magic circles appeared on both sides as Fairy Tail charged forward. Taurus came out with a swing of his keys as Loke took the thirty-degree angle, Gray on his left, heading to smash through beside Natsu. Erza on went in far on Loke’s right, going Nightwing to clear the edges and force their wizards to bunch together, limiting their movements.

Each phantom cry of astonishment as Loke’s guildmates unleashed their vengeance was music. Levy, Jet, and Droy were his friends. They had been the ones to give him the down low on how mage fights between wizards went. Levy, Jet, and Droy had sat with him and Lucy as they worried about Erza’s arrest. And Levy had been the one utterly enamored with his spirit Crux as they resolved the changeling spell.

Taurus picked up on Loke’s attitude, and it was with concentrated abuse that they took out wizard after wizard together. Cana backed him up on one side, Gray on the other. Bisca spotted everyone from the rafters. It didn’t matter what was shot towards them, she broke it apart.

It was a shame that Lucy wasn’t here, she had looked like she could use a good fight.

Though she’d probably give them all warnings that they hadn’t encountered any of the Element Four or Gajeel.

“Be ready, we haven’t faced their S class yet,” Loke called out in her place.

“Right!” he heard several of his guildmates call back.

“Eyes on Gajeel!” Bisca called from above.

“Let me at him!” Natsu yelled. He jumped up, seeing Bisca’s target. Bisca shot her rifle, and Natsu leapt.

Master Makarov called down, “Erza, I leave the rabble to you!”

“Yes Master!”

The fight blurred as it continued. Gray covered the spot Natsu had been attacking as Natsu and Gajeel started wrecking rafters. Taurus got knocked out and Loke let his gate close to heal his injuries. He called out Cancer and the fight continued, though he was starting to slow down.

Erza was right, endurance really was his weakness.

There was a moment where he and Cancer had to split, an iron dragon roar tore up the ground between them. Several Phantom mages weren’t as used to dodging dragonslayers and took the blow. The whole battlefield stopped to see the wreckage.

“He took out his own guildmates with that attack!” Gray yelled.

Loke met back up with Cancer and he yelled, “The fight’s right here!”

With that, everyone went back to fighting. Dodging falling support beams all the while. A cinch for Fairy Tail mages, though Cancer did have to cut a few for him, but flying debris during a fight was par for the course.

Then it wasn’t just the beams from Natsu and Gajeel’s fight, the whole building started to shake.

“This is what happens when Master Makarov gets angry,” Cana said cheekily, noticing his stare.

“They must really be going at it,” Elfman added.

“It’s called the Giant’s Wrath,” Erza informed the phantom wizards, who looked a lot less ready to fight.

Nab grinned, “Nobody can stop him now.”

“Continue the fight!” Erza demanded, brandishing yet another sword, “Master Makarov is with us!”

Fairy Tail rallied and raced forward, anyone with a weapon or a magic circle was fair game. Loke fell into the same routine he had with Erza on Galuna. Stab, parry, swing, kick, dodge, block, charge, left, right, swing, stab. With Cancer, it was more about keeping up with him than it was covering defense like with Taurus. They became three synchronized whorls (though Loke's was the slowest). Everything stopped existing except for him, his spirit, and the enemy in front of them.

He did notice when Natsu and Gajeel made it back up to the rafters. You had to, if you didn’t want to get buried.

Though Laki started catching the falling beams with her own wood-make hands and tossing them at the enemy, so that was helpful. He couldn’t help but grin when those thrown wooden beams pieced walls. It was so satisfying to give like for like.

There was little less than a quarter of Phantom’s wizards still standing when a body fell from the ceiling. Everyone stopped fighting to stare at the body of Master Makarov Dryer, small and sickly green.

“It’s Gramps!” Natsu yelled from the rafters.

“Is he okay?” Gray demanded.

“Master!” Erza cried, and with a charge she flung away every enemy between her and her guild master. Natsu landed, and Cana and Gray ran for support. Loke kept himself turned outward glaring at the Phantom wizards to keep them in place while his friends checked the situation.

“What happened to him?” Cana asked.

“I don’t know,” Gray answered, “But I can’t sense any magic power from him.”

“What are you saying?” Elfman demanded, “That he’s not a wizard anymore?”

The others kept talking, no one seemed to know what could have happened to him. The Phantom wizards were starting to put things together too.

What they needed was Lucy, she would know what magic hit Master Makarov. What would she do here?

Exactly what she did on Galuna Island.

“Erza,” Loke said, “We need a call. You’re the S class, Makarov left you in charge. They’re starting to rally.”

“We can take ‘em,” Gray insisted desperately.

“This fight is just getting started,” Natsu added.

“Who could have done this to Master?”

“Is he going to be alright?”

“You Phantom Bastards!”

Erza kept looking desperately between her guildmates, her lip trembling as they started arguing more.

Makarov needed medical attention. There was a wizard that had taken Makarov out waiting upstairs. Erza had flat out told them last night that their strength was equal, mostly because their masters matched. If Jose was still in the fight because of a trap laid for Makarov, the scales tipped in Phantom’s favor.

But if they took out the guildhall on their way out, a fighting retreat, well, it looked a lot more even. He couldn’t let the others question Erza’s command, not if they wanted to get out of here whole.

“Give us a call Erza!” Loke said again. “Fight, leave, fight as we leave. Make a choice.”

Erza summoned ten swords and sent them slicing through the row of enemies. One hit the wizard that was halfway through saying that Master Makarov has fallen.

“Wakaba, take charge of Ma-master!” she yelled, voice breaking. “Cana and Macao cover him. Get him out of here! Everyone else, we’re leaving!”

“We can’t retreat!” Natsu yelled. Several others piped up that they were still ready to fight.

“We can’t just—” Gray started, but Erza buried herself in Gray’s chest, cutting him off, whispering something for Gray alone.

Gray held Erza for a moment, then called out, “You heard her, we’re leaving.”

Erza took a breath and pulled away. At full volume, she said, “Destroy their guildhall on the way out and retreat to Fairy Tail! CHARGE!”  Her last command roared from her throat as she requipped into Purgatory armor.

Loke added his vote of confidence, “I’m with you Erza! One Fairy Tail special, coming up!” Faced outward and readied his sword, Gray coming up beside him, and the others followed their lead. The battle restarted and Fairy Tail wizards surged outwards in pairs, covering each other’s backs as they rushed around attacks and aimed for the walls.

He and Cancer zigged though enemies as fast as they could, but Cancer got sent back from a triple element blow, and Loke had to adjust quickly.

Then he saw the bar, and the sinks. He had one ace left. Opening two zodiac gates in a row was a lot, and he could feel his magic levels far lower than he liked to keep them. But this was his guild, his master, and his friends he was fighting for, and where he liked to keep his magic stores didn’t matter.

He rolled around an attack and dodged behind the bar.

“You can’t hide there!” someone called, preparing a magic bow.

Loke grinned and turned on the water to full blast, letting it fill an empty sink. “Everyone out now!” Loke called. He selected his oldest key and stabbed it downward into the inch of water. His celestial voice shouted to the heavens, “Open! Gate of the Water Bearer! Aquarius!” He dodged a shot from the bowman.

Several people prepared spells against him, drawn by his shout. In a cloud of pink, Aquarius appeared.

She glanced down at where her key was stuck in water, and immediately turned red. “You summoned me from a dirty tavern sink! That’s disgusting!”

“Desperate times, Beautiful,” he said, “Watch out!”

Six projectiles aimed for her at once, and she washed them all away with a powerful wave. “I AM TALKING to my wizard!” Aquarius screamed at them. Several more looked at the floating mermaid, and he caught eyes with Erza. He nodded, and she covered the last of the retreat, leaving Gray behind to run towards him.

Between Laki’s thrown pillars, the support beams that Natsu and Gajeel broke, and Fairy Tail’s rough exit, the building was already shaking pretty badly. Several of Phantom’s wizards were eyeing the ceiling.

“Now, what did I tell you about summoning me from non-natural water sources?”

“Outside, clean water, bigger than a bath, and no frogs,” Loke recited automatically. Gray hopped over the counter and stood beside him. “And I’m really, really, sorry about not following that. But I really need the help only you can give to tear this place apart. You’re my strongest Ace, my favorite and most beautiful and wonderful spirit. I had nowhere else to turn.”

“Oh you’re sorry are you?” Aquarius said, eyes narrowed, “You may be cute, but that won’t work on me. I have a boyfriend, thank you very much. Maybe this will help remind you and your naked friend about how you’re supposed to summon me! Hyaa!”

Loke kept a hold of his keys, mostly because he knew exactly what was coming. Water screamed from the mermaid’s urn in an impossible torrent. Aquarius usually made sure he wasn’t knocked into anything if she felt the need to wash him away with everyone else. He was expecting to end up outside eventually, so it was a surprise when he was pulled into a hallowed out bowl made of ice as water blasted outward.

“Your spirit is crazy,” Gray said, trying to hold his ice-make steady as they were washed towards one of the walls.

Loke coughed and wiped his mouth clear of water. He grinned, “The best women always are.”

“You’re crazy too. Get ready to jump.”

Phantom’s guildhall sat on a hill in the middle of Oaktown, and Aquarius’s wave sent them flying over it through a hole in the wall someone else had punched out. Gray’s temporary raft fell away and the two of them jumped instead of falling with it. They skidded along a roof, then managed to jump/fall down into the street.

They turned around in time to see Phantom’s headquarters collapse on itself with a mighty crash.

“Well, it’s not what we wanted,” Gray said, holding out a fist, “But it’s still satisfying as hell to see that place topple.”

Loke bumped it with his own, “Out with bang. Thanks for your help getting out of there.”

A small cheer had gone up when the guildhall crumbled, and they headed for it. Outside of town, they stopped to bandage the worst of the injuries.

With Makarov green and dying, it was a sober walk back to the train station. Al and Biska eventually wrangled a Horun Crawler, and Erza gave them Master and directions a place in the East Forest where a healer named Porlyusica lived. She specialized in magic curse breaking and seeing them take off wrung a final cheer from the Fairy Tail mages.

Loke walked with Erza, who was giving off general ‘don’t talk to me vibes’ that made everyone else steer clear. Soft murmurs wafted through their procession. About Makarov, about what Phantom did to him, about what was going to happen next, and as always:

“Why did Phantom start this in the first place?”

“Thank you for your support back there,” Erza said at last, during a lull in the whispers surrounding them. “I should have held it together better, but I just never thought Master could…” she trailed off, unable to finish. Then she made herself take a breath, “That’s not an excuse. It was only thanks to your support that I pulled myself together to lead, and I promise I will be better next time. It’s just . . . I can’t believe he’s hurt like that.”

Loke took a while to figure out what to say. “Chains of command are important. At Fairy Tail, with everyone jockeying for more power and position, it’s more important than most places. I learned that from Lucy. Remember how she kept deferring to you after convincing you to stay and finish the job on Galuna? She would have done the same thing I did if she had come.”

Erza looked him over with a critical eye, at least she stopped feeling sorry for herself. Then she looked forward on the path they were walking. “I suppose she would have. That’s not a Fairy Tail mentality, those of us raised in the guild don’t think that way. I’m glad we have people that can think that way, it makes us stronger.”

“For what it’s worth, I was ready to support any call you made,” Loke said with a flirty smile, “I think you made the right one, but if you ordered otherwise…Natsu could handle Gajeel, and whatever cheap trap magic they used on Gramps, I bet you could have taken it knowing what was coming. I’ve seen your magic; I’ll follow you anywhere, Erza Scarlet. Battle, bar, a lovely dinner for two, or even the bedroom, if you’d like?”

Erza turned red under his flirting, which had very interesting implications.

Which turned into very painful implications as she drove her armored fist into his gut, sending him staggering sideways while trying to regain his breath.

“I have no time for playboys, and I would never judge myself equal to a wizard saint,” she huffed. Then marched forward, still blushing.

Gray came up beside him, “Dude, what just happened?”

Loke had to stay bent over, but he grinned at Gray as he wheezed out, “I told you, the best women are always the crazy ones. Erza, apparently, can’t take a little flirting without getting violent. Good to know.”

Gray looked at Loke’s hunched form, then back towards Erza. He shook his head, “You’re either braver than I will ever be or dumber than Natsu if you’re thinking of going after Erza.”

Loke motioned to Erza stomping ahead of them, then winced when it hurt, “At least she isn’t doubting herself anymore or worrying about Gramps to the point of distraction. That was the real goal. Definitely worth a bruise.”

It felt a little surreal, getting on the train with the rest of his guild to head back to Magnolia. They were still stalemated with Phantom Lord on one hand, both central guildhalls down and several members thrashed. On the other hand, Phantom still had their wizard saint, and it was more than losing a powerful piece, most of the members of Fairy Tail were scared now in a way they hadn’t been yesterday.

Makarov was their unbeatable trump, and he was beaten.

The train ride was mostly silent, everyone probably thinking the same things he was, all the questions already asked, with the remaining concern: “What comes next?”.

As they got off at Magnolia station, Loke put a hand on Gray’s arm, “Hey, I’m going grab Lucy something to eat and check on her and Shadowgear. I’ll meet you back at the guild.”

“Alright, I’ll let Erza know,” Gray said, then smirked, “Though we’ll have to see if she’s recovered from your last conversation.”

“I’m telling you, Erza’s worth a little pain,” Loke said, “You should try it some time.”

“Hard pass,” Gray said. “Tell Lucy hi for me.”

Loke started towards his house, hoping Lucy would be okay seeing him. Then grimacing over the thought that he was going to be the one to tell her about Gramps. Maybe if he described the symptoms well enough, she'd recognize what happened to him.

Something plopped on his forehead.

He looked up into a raincloud, and more rain started to fall. Loke held out a hand, and droplets gathered in his palm.

“Weird, it’s been a cloudless sky all day,” he said. “And it’s still warm out.” Then he shrugged and started walking again.

A woman came around a corner, her hair and eyes the deepest blue he had ever seen, and she was dressed for a rainstorm. She was singing a children’s song under her breath, something about wandering through the rain.

“Hey,” he said as she approached, “Are you lost? I have an apartment you can use to take shelter from the rain if you want.”

“Drip, drip, drop. There is no shelter that can prevent the rain from falling on a rain woman,” she said, hardly glancing at him. “Excuse me. Drip, drip, drop.” Then she pulled out a heart umbrella and opened it. Was she the one making it rain? Not the weirdest thing he’s seen. The woman was beautiful, if a little sad.

“Well, are you lost?” Loke said, and she stopped. “I can point you towards whatever you’re looking for.”

Something swirled up from the ground. A man. Not the way Virgo popped out of the ground from one of her tunnels, but as though he was a flower, sprouting rapidly from the stone.

“Now, now, Madam Rainwoman, do you flee from our target? This is the one we’re searching for.”

“Is he?” the woman said, turning back to face him. “Yes, I suppose he is.”

"I believe introductions are in order,” the man said, “I am known as Sol of the Earth, and my lovely companion is Juvia the Rainwoman, also known as Juvia of the Great Sea.”

Loke reached for sword and keys, “You’re Phantom’s element four.”

“None of that,” Juvia said, and suddenly Loke was drowning. He was floating off the ground and he was drowning in the water gathered by the woman. He fumbled the keys from his pocket, and they clattered on the ground.

He tried to stroke through it, but the water belonged to the wizard in front of him. It was like fighting the strongest current, and only served to deplete his oxygen faster. He couldn’t even begin to draw his sword against the pressure.

"Struggling is futile,” Juvia said. “Nothing can break the waterlock from the inside. Drip, drip, drop.”

Sol started speaking then, and Loke was almost glad to start blacking out. His voice was annoying, even through the water.

Notes:

Lucy plays it smart and stays back, let's see how long that decision lasts. Loke got to wreck house and has some trouble with water and women.

Look I had to get the scene of Erza punching Loke out for flirting with her in, and this was hilarious. You can also see Lucy's influence on Loke, though the decision is executed with Loke's personal flare, lol.

Chapter 24: The trail to Loke

Lucy looked up from the romance novel she was reading as Mira called out, “Knock knock.”

“Oh, hey Mira,” Lucy said, putting the book down to help her with the bags she was carrying. It looked like clothes and toiletries for the three when they wake up. “Here to see Team Shadowgear? They are knocked out still and probably will be for a while longer. Are the others back yet?”

Mira nodded, frowning and wringing her hands, “They wrecked Phantom’s guildhall, but Master was gravely injured during the battle. He’s being treated by Porlyusica in the woods right now, but everyone at the guild is taking it pretty hard. I was feeling useless, so I thought I could come here and relieve you of Shadowgear duty. I doubt any Phantom members are wandering around now, so even I should be able to watch them to be here when they wake up.”

Mirajane tried to force a smile, shoving her hands behind her back as if to physically push her mood upwards. But there was nothing to smile about in what she said.

What Mirajane lived with scared Lucy to her bones. Scared her in a way violence never could. As soon as Lucy’s magic runs out, she dies. And weirdly enough, there was comfort in that. Lucy was a being of magic and would never have to live without it.

Which was why she had no idea what to say to Mirajane and her fake smile. Lucy looked over their sleeping friends and back at Mirajane.

“Levy and the others are stable,” Lucy said slowly, “And if you’re sure Phantom Lord isn’t going to strike tonight, and it sounds like not, then I think we both belong at the guild. The hospital has strong anti-attack magic runes in place. It’s for scared wizards when they wake up, and when treating magic inflected wounds. It should be enough to keep any wizards from coming to finish what they started.”

“Oh, but I’m sure they’d like a friendly face when they wake up,” Mira said quickly, looking at the ground again.

“If you need a break from the guild, I’m sure they would,” Lucy said softly. Mirajane’s eyes widened and darted to her, but Lucy smiled at her, hopefully taking any accusation out of what she was saying. “I know I’ve missed your smiling face lately. Take all the time you need to sit with them and be by yourself. But honestly, if Master’s out, with the guildhall…you’re one of the people that make Fairy Tail home. And if you can stand being around people a little longer, I think we would all like to see you there.”

Mira’s lip trembled. Lucy opened her arms for a hug.

THe Demon Mirajane of Fairy Tail's S Class started crying in Lucy's arms, “I’m scared to see Master like that. I hate being powerless. And Elfman was there…I can’t-I can’t…”

“It’s okay to cry, you don’t have to be strong for me,” Lucy murmured, “These past two days have been really, really terrible. Staying at the guildhall must have been hard for you. I know it sucked staying here.”

Mirajane spilled everything. How useless she’d been feeling, how angry she was at their home being destroyed, at their friends being attacked, at Master for falling, even if that’s not his fault and definitely a trick. She didn’t know what was wrong with her magic, why it acted like this, why the demon souls she had captured refused to come at her call. Her transformation magic was pathetic. She hated being nothing more than a pretty face.

“You’ve never been just a pretty face,” Lucy corrected that last one, running her fingers through her hair. “You’re a leader in so many ways. Because you don’t fight right now and you let people be themselves, people listen when you tell them to knock it off. You’ve soothed over more clients than the rest of my team combined, and you make sure everyone is taken care of. You’re the one that told me Natsu was going alone to help Macao when he got stuck on that job, after all. Don’t think I don’t notice those subtle hints you drop around the bar for everyone else too. Who needs to be looked in on, who needs a higher paying job to make rent and who should take an easier one. A pretty face alone couldn't do all that you do.

“I don’t know what’s wrong with your magic, but I’ve seen a lot in my life, and I don’t think you are meant to stay powerless. You have a different skill set right now, and you use it to take care of Elfman, and everyone else at the guild. And when your power comes back, you’ll have everything you need to be strong and kind.”

Mirajane shuddered a one last time in her arms, then pulled back and blew her nose on a hanky. She smiled, and this time it was genuine. “You know, that means a lot coming from you.”

How much did everyone actually know about her? But now was not the time to get awkward over it. Mira probably just meant as Fairy Tail’s ‘Guardian Angel’ and someone pretty and underestimated, not the zodiac lion with crumbling strength.

After all, at least Mira had a chance of getting her strength back.

“And respect means a lot coming from you,” Lucy turned the compliment around with a smile. “Do you think we should head for the guild? We can take the long way around.”

“I’d like that,” Mira said, holding out her hand. “I suppose it was a little selfish of me to walk out just before the dinner rush.”

“They’ll understand.”

It was a genuinely nice walk back to the guild. That weird raincloud was gone, leaving only sunshine behind. They didn’t talk anymore about the war with Phantom on their way back, and instead talked about various regular guild clients, and Mira invited Lucy to watch her next photoshoot with Sorcerer Weekly, promising that it was actually a lot of fun and maybe she could get some professional shots done too. Never one to turn down a chance to have her vanity stroked, Lucy agreed to come if she was around next time Mirajane got a modelling job.

They approached the guild and their conversation dried up. While there was no physical raincloud over the place, the place emanated so much melancholy there might as well have been.

“Thank you for this Lucy,” Mira said, for maybe the tenth time, “I really needed it.”

“We’re Fairy Tail,” Lucy said, smiling at her, “We help each other, and when the time comes, we will get Phantom back for what they’ve done. We’re strong enough. Porlyusica’s a master healer, and we don’t give up until the score is even. That’s what I’m going to be smiling about.”

Mira smiled back at her, “There’s our Guardian Angel.”

The two of them walked in smiling, confident, and the aura of the place did change a bit. Brightened. They split, Mira to go behind the bar, and Lucy to where Happy, Gray, and Erza were sitting.

Happy saw her first, “Lucy,” he cried, flying onto her shoulder.

“Hey Cat, I heard it’s been a rough day,” Lucy said, reaching up a hand to scratch his ears. Which reminded her of doing the same thing to Loke.

“You can say that,” Gray sighed. “Porlyusica thinks Gramps will pull through, but apparently he was hit with a wind spell that swiped all the magic from him and scattered it into the air.”

“Likely the work of Aria,” Erza said, “The strongest of the element four. He must have ambushed Master while he and Jose were battling.”

Lucy nodded, “How were the rest of the Element Four? Were they all on par with Erza and Laxus?”

Gray jerked towards her, “Didn’t Loke tell you? Only Gajeel showed up to the guildhall battle. And Aria was the only one we knew was upstairs with Gramps. We don’t know where the rest of them were.”

“Loke?” Lucy asked slowly, “No, I heard about the battle from Mira. Was he supposed to come tell me?”

As though sensing Lucy’s stress, Natsu joined their hushed conversation circle.

“He was headed your way as soon as we got off the train station two hours ago,” Gray said. “He never came by the hospital?”

Lucy shook her head, then paused.  “You said you didn’t know about three of the element four. There was a strange raincloud in town all day. I don’t know when it disappeared, but do you think it was their water wizard?”

“On our way out, Gajeel was talking about being surprised that Fairy Tail had brought ‘the ponce’ with us,” Natsu said, eyes going wide. “Do you think he was talking about Loke?”

“Keep quiet,” Erza ordered, lowering her voice even further. “If they took Loke for whatever reason, we’re going to need a different plan to get him back than what we used today. We aren’t recovered enough for a full front assault, but if word gets around that Loke’s kidnapped, that’s what’s it’s going to come down to, and we will lose. Our only hope is to make this subtle. Do you understand?”

Lucy nodded, so did Gray, Happy, and Natsu. Erza looked around, then led them away towards the exit. They stopped around the back of the guildhall, looking over the bay.

“You three are not the team I would have picked for subtle,” Erza continued, “But you are the best bet for finding Loke and getting him out of Phantom’s hands if that’s where he is. Avoid unnecessary fights at all cost. Lucy is in charge of plans, and when she says run, you run. Got it?”

Gray and Natsu started to argue, but Erza summoned a sword, “If you two cannot agree to Lucy’s leadership in stealth, then I will have no choice but to send her and Happy alone. Stealth is absolutely critical. Sneak in, break him out, get back home. No bonuses, no bruises, no vengeance. This is about Loke’s safety alone, am I clear?”

“Yes Erza,” the boys agreed through gritted teeth.

“Lucy, you have until 8 AM tomorrow morning to be back here. I won’t be able to cover for you longer than that. Get a message to me if you’re going to be later,” Erza said, clenching her fist, “I hate to say it, but Master left me in charge, and that means I need to stay here and keep everyone else safe and morale together. Do not let me down.”

“We won’t,” Lucy said. She turned to Natsu and Gray, “Come on, we’ll start at the train station and see if Natsu or Happy can pick any traces. He wouldn’t have gone without a fight, so look for marks of that as well.”

“Right,” they said, and the four of them took off.

They headed to the train station, and Gray took them on the most obvious route to Loke’s apartment. Natsu and Happy didn’t quite have their noses to the ground, but it was close.

“He said he was going to his place, then going to bring you something to eat,” Gray said.

“Uggh, there’s too many people and it all smells like rain,” Natsu complained.

A glint of metal caught her eyes, kicked to the side of the road. Lucy scrambled after it, rushing in front of a couple who scoffed at her rudeness.

“Are those what I think they are?” Gray asked.

Lucy nodded, pulling the keyring out of the planter box that they’d been left it. Dirt on your key was an affront to nature and an absolutely vile sensation to feel. “This doesn’t make sense,” Lucy said, using her skirt and a nearby hose to wipe the keys clean. “The most valuable thing about Loke is his keys. Celestial wizards go after each other all the time for them, I assumed Phantom had a celestial wizard that wanted a boost by killing him and taking his contracts.”

“What!” Natsu yelled. People were starting to cross the street to get away from them.

“Obviously they want him for something else if they left his keys here,” Gray said. “But it doesn’t matter much to me. Can we use the keys to track where he’s gone?”

Lucy shook her head, “The magic runs through Loke and these are the gates, in a sense. Separated, neither Loke nor the keys can do much.” Not with Loke’s current level of power anyway. “Still, we should take them with us. Happy, can you take charge of them?”

“Aye,” he said, accepting them from her. She wasn’t prepared to carry them in her black shirt red skirt combo, Gray couldn’t be trusted to keep his pants on, and Natsu, no matter Erza’s orders, was going to be more concerned with punching the enemy than keeping Loke safe. Keeping celestial keys that weren’t her own in her pocket wasn’t prohibited by any law, but it felt wrong on a fundamental level.

“He probably won’t be up for using them so we shouldn’t count on him to help us get him out,” Gray said, “At Phantom, he used three gold keys right after each other. What’s our next step?”

That was impressive on Loke’s part. Gold keys took massive chunks to summon on a wizard’s power, she would have guessed he was at two gold keys in a row, but if he summoned three, he was probably at the end of his limit and his keys wouldn’t have done much good anyway.

“Natsu, did it smell like rain at the train station? I didn’t notice any signs of recent rain there,” Lucy asked.

He blinked, “No, it didn’t. This whole area of town is washed out, but not the train station. That just smells like people in the sun.”

“That means they didn’t take Loke out of Magnolia by train,” Lucy deduced. “Now we run around the perimeter of the city and see where the rain started and stopped. The water element four drags rain around as a battlefield advantage. I watched the raincloud wind in circles this morning. On a sunny day like today, it’s a trail even Gray and I can follow.”

“Let’s do this,” Gray said.

“Time to make ‘em pay,” Natsu agreed. They took off running for Circle Ave and didn’t slow down or look back.

           

 

 

 

Loke woke up alone, with his cheek pressed to cheap cobble stone, his hands bound, and sunglasses cracked. Overall, not a good way to wake up. There was something with water…he was drowning. But he was headed home.

Phantom got him. He surged upwards.

“There you are, Master Loke,” a voice called. Twisting around he saw the door to his cell, and an absolute creep behind it. “I was beginning to get worried about you. I’m glad you’re finally awake.”

The door swung open. Between the Phantom sigil on his hat and the wizard saint sigil on his tie, it was clear Loke had been taken hostage by none other than Phantom’s Master.

Loke tilted his head back, as though pleading with the heavens, and cried, “Oh no, I can’t believe it’s finally happened. Aquarius warned me that my playboy ways would get me into trouble. I can’t believe I’ve been kidnapped by a creepy old stalker who’s going to defile my innocent body!”

“What!” Jose yelled, scandalized, horrified, and disgusted all at the same time.

Loke let his head fall forward and shook it, “I can’t say I didn’t see this coming. I’m just too irresistible: the body, the hair, the eyes. What if I make a deal with you? If I promise to help you fix your hygiene problems and get you a date the old fashion way, will you let me go with my innocence intact, Mister?”

“How Vulgar!” Jose screamed, “I was going to apologize for such poor accommodations, but clearly Fairy Tail has already turned you into a gutter rat. How uncivilized.”

Loke’s cracked glasses slid forward down his nose, “What other conclusion is there when you’ve separated me from my friends, tied me up, and are now approaching me alone in a darkened cell?”

Jose stomped his foot, Lucy style, “That you’re now Phantom Lord’s prisoner, you gutter snipe!” He took a deep breath, “However, if you are truly bothered by the current situation, I have a room prepared for you. You won’t be tied up and everyone here will consider you an honored guest. All I need in exchange is your promise of cooperation.”

On the one hand, it would be so much easier to escape from here unbound.

But Jose knew his magic, knew that he couldn’t break his promises without damaging his word as a celestial wizard. Giving that promise would be a chain a thousand times tighter than the ropes that bound him now.

Loke dropped the act, “If you want to talk uncivilized, why don’t we start with your unprovoked attacks on my guild? We can go towards the numerous laws being broken regarding wars between guilds, scoff at your inability to fight Master Makarov without resorting to dirty tricks, or start shunning Phantom Lord as guild altogether for the act of crucifying people because it gives them a sick pleasure. I’ll let you decide. Honestly, I have no idea what you will resort to next, Jose Porly.”

“Ahh, but see,” Jose said gleefully, “It’s not nearly as uncivilized as you make it sound. All those were necessary to completing a job that we’ve paid to do. We’ve been hired to capture a certain Fairy Tail wizard, and if we have to take down the guild along the way, that’s Fairy Tail’s problem.”

A chill went down his spine, “What are you saying?”

“I’m saying, your father is paying a pretty penny to return you to him,” Jose said. “Everything that has happened to Fairy Tail was necessary to obtaining you: Master Loke Heartfilia, privileged heir of the Heartfilia Railroad Empire. Honestly, you never did get around to telling your Master, boy was he surprised! That was exactly the opening I needed, so it was very much appreciated.”

“No,” Loke denied, the pieces falling into place with the weight of anvils. “No, he doesn’t want me anyway. I’m surprised he noticed I was gone. And I’m a Fairy Tail wizard now, he can’t claim me and I won’t go back.”

Jose shrugged, turning his back on Loke, “You’ll have to take that up with him, I’m afraid. I was curious why on earth the heir to a business tycoon fortune ran away to work for such a low class guild, but your language already says it all. Clearly you were born for the sewers. Your mother must have been a real piece of work.”

“Shut up!” Loke yelled, straining against the restraints. “Don’t you dare talk about my mother like that.”

“Well, look at that sore spot,” Jose taunted, walking away, “Enjoy your cell. I have preparations to oversee. We need to make sure transporting you to the Heartfilia Estate goes off easy, and I have the feeling that Fairy Tail is going to need to be mowed over before they let that happen. Which is honestly the real treat involved in taking this job.”

Loke surged to his feet rushing forward on shaky legs, only to have the cell door slammed in his face. Jose laughed and walked away. Loke roared and slammed his forehead into the door on purpose.

Levy, Jet, Droy.

The guildhall.

Everyone injured during their attack on Phantom.

It’s all because his father wanted him home and didn’t have the guts to talk to Loke himself.

(What else was new?)

He had to get out of here before Fairy Tail got hurt trying to rescue him, or he was turned over to his father. He kicked harder.

When kicking at the door got tiring, Loke made himself think logically. It was an inward opening door, a hunk of solid wood. It didn’t matter how many times he kicked it, it wasn’t going to move.

Full use of his arms might change that, which meant getting the bindings off was the top priority. Strange for a prison cell, but the corners were supported by load bearing beams at sharp stone points. Perfect friction saws. Loke didn’t know how long he sawed at the bindings, but it was long after dark by the time one of them snapped. Two more snaps followed, and his hands were free.

His wrists were raw, but he was so grateful for arm movement he didn’t care. He wished for Lucy’s light magic, it would have been so much easier to see if there were any other weak points. The tiny window could barely fit his arm through, but it did show him other unpleasant news now that he could haul himself up to the bars. This was a tower, at least thirty stories high, if not more based on how far away the trees he could see were. There’s no way he would be able to jump and land without killing himself.

He would have to climb down if he could get past the door. Why did it always come down to stupid endurance? He swore once this crap was over, he was going to train from morning until night. Then there was getting his keys back, and his sword, though he’d save up for a new sword if it was the difference between getting out of here or not.

Loke needed to get out of his cell first, there could still be a staircase somewhere.

The bars on the little window in the door gave a nice view over the countryside, mostly rock hills, but not much else. There was no magical component to the door, but he couldn’t tell if the door had iron bars running through it, reinforcing it, sealing him away.

No. He knew it swung inward. There was no sound of bars clicking into place when Jose left, he would have known, since his face was pressed against it. Even if there are bars inside the wood, he just had to think around it.

How do you think around a door? What did he know about construction?

A lot. He knew a lot about construction. And doors had hinges on the side that they opened towards. It wouldn’t get past a deadbolt necessarily, but it was his best bet. Bracing himself against the door to take the weight off the hinge, he started with the bottom one, and didn’t stop when his nails broke and tore.

The bolt holding the hinge together rose, millimeter by millimeter. He wasted half an hour getting some of the rope under one hinge to pull it up without destroying his hands, but by taking the weight of the door on his back and pulling, it might be going faster. He had to keep trying.

Bottom hinge free. Kicking didn't do anything, not with the top hinge intact.

The top bolt would not budge, there was too much weight holding it in place.

No. He had to try again.

And again.

And again.

Notes:

Oh Mirajane, poor baby. You just take your second to cry, all right? Lucy beats Loke in sheer escape time, but Loke wins points for refusing to give up here.

Chapter 25: Rescue

Notes:

I reserve my right to upload on Tuesdays. Woo-hoo!
Warning: Swear Words

“So, we think that’s it?” Gray asked. “Your call Lucy, how do we get in and out?”

They were crouched in the area just outside of the main castle. Concealed by old walls and the darkness of night, it was a safe spot to plan from. The fortress walls were ridiculously high, and the towers even higher. There was a lot of movement on the ground floor. Everyone was wearing Phantom colors and displaying their guild marks. They wouldn’t be able to sneak in, even if they had the right clothes. On top of that, Natsu’s hair is too distinct as Fairy Tail’s Salamander.

Normally, she’d call that prisoners were kept in the basement. She’d been in plenty of castles, and it was a classic M.O. for a reason. Difficult to reach, easy to trap, demoralizing, metaphorically the lowest on the totem pole, their smells and screams not bothering anyone else: the prisoners were always in the basement. And if Loke was with them, Virgo would already have them down there. But something about the towers bothered her.

“Is it just me, or are the towers too tall and narrow to be used for anything useful,” Lucy said. “Normally towers are good places for living quarters. But…”

“I can go check it out,” Happy offered.

Lucy nodded, “Good idea. Fly up to a window, look inside a room that isn’t lit, then come back and tell me what you see.”

“Be careful buddy,” Natsu whispered.

“Aye Sir!”

He flew off, and the three of them were left in silence. Natsu lasted about twenty seconds.

“I hate waiting,” Natsu complained, “We can go in and take them all on. Screw Erza!”

“And if they put a knife to Loke’s neck and demand we surrender?” Lucy asked. Natsu went a furious kind of silent, “They don’t play by Fairy Tail rules. We are going to be gone before they know we were here, just like I promised Erza.”

“I still think we could take ‘em,” Natsu grumbled.

Happy flew back, “I didn’t find Loke, and each tower is just a bunch of rooms stacked on top of each other with tiny windows, but the weirdest part was that there were no staircases halfway up the tower. How do you think people get up and down? Do they all have wings?”

“Sounds like the place to keep a prisoner to me,” Gray said, cracking his knuckles.

“An easier place to start than anywhere else,” Lucy agreed. “Four towers, four of us. Happy, do you have enough juice to get each of us to the top of one of the towers?”

“Aye.”

“Okay,” Lucy said, “here’s the plan. Happy will drop each of us on a tower roof, and we slowly climb down. It sounds like there is only one room in each tower level, so looking in the window and whispering for Loke should be enough. If someone sees us, we’re going for quick knock outs, Happy give a kitten routine and keep your back covered, whatever it takes to keep them from triggering an alarm. Once you reach the bottom, meet back here. If people are talking, listen for anything about where Loke is being kept before moving on.”

She then divided up the towers between them, emphasized that no one could know that they were here, they NEEDED to be quiet, and Happy took off with Gray. Then Happy delivered her, and finally Natsu, before heading to the last tower himself.

  ~ 

The top pin for the hinge wasn’t moving, his fingers sore and cut from trying.

“Hey Loke, that you gruntin’ in there?”

“Natsu!” Loke said, looking up. There was a flash of pink hair in the starlight beyond the door.

“Sweet!” Natsu said. “Let’s get you out, then tear this place apart!”

Loke took one second to process what Natsu said, another second to connect the implications, and a third to scramble backwards from the door. He was just in time, and still on the ground when Natsu kicked the door open, the deadbolt hanging attached to the frame, wood splintered around it.

Natsu put his hands on his hips, “What are you doin’ lyin’ around for? Do you know how worried Lucy’s been?”

Loke’s could only stare at Natsu, who frowned and lit a fist with flames. He knelt down, “Hey, you’re not hurt, are you? I didn’t smell a lot of blood.”

Loke shook his head, sitting up, “No-no, I just…I wasn’t expecting. I mean…uhhh.”

Natsu tilted his head, “You weren’t expecting us to come save you? Of course we came, you’re part of Fairy Tail.”

“But…it’s my fault,” Loke said, looking down, “I didn’t tell anyone who I really am, and Phantom Lord…they’re attacking Fairy Tail because my dad hired them to. Everyone that’s gotten hurt, it’s because of me. You guys shouldn’t have come, people are just going to keep getting hurt.” He squeezed his eyes shut.

Natsu flicked him in the head.

“Hey! What was that for?” Loke said, rubbing the spot.

“You done throwing a pity party?” Natsu asked, “We came because you’re part of Fairy Tail now, how many times do I have to say it? You’re our friend. Who cares what you were before, you want to be in the guild, right?”

“I . . . people going to keep getting hurt.”

“That’s not what I asked.” Natsu said, his voice as serious as stone. "Tell me what do you want?"

“I want . . . I want to stay in Fairy T-Tail,” Loke said quietly, voice cracking at the truth of it. It wasn’t freedom as he imagined from the mansion, it was so much more. The people and the magic, the adventure and the friendship. Independence and freedom and choice.

He wanted it so much he could cry.

“Then that’s all we need to make this worth it,” Natsu grinned, he quickly bound Loke’s still bleeding hands with some bandages before getting to his feet. “Come on, let’s get going. Everyone’s gonna be waiting for us.”

“Just like that?” Loke asked, standing up. “But Phantom —”

“We can take Phantom,” Natsu cut him off, “We’re already going to burn them to ashes for everything they’ve done. And if you can’t protect your friends, then what’s the point? Now hurry up, it’s still a long way down.”

Just like that.

“I’ll need to get my gate keys before we head back to the guild,” Loke said, following Natsu outside.

“Oh, we found those back in Magnolia,” Natsu said, “We followed the trail of rain here from where you dropped them, you probably should keep better track of them by the way, Lucy says that they’re pretty valuable. Happy has them right now.”

“Was it just you and Happy?” Loke asked, watching how Natsu hung from the ledge, inched around the crenelation to the side, then let go to land on the level just beneath them.

Incredibly dangerous, lots of miscalculations could lead you to being part of the pavement. He followed Natsu down as exactly as he could.

“Nah, Lucy, Happy, and the popsicle are checking out the other towers,” Natsu said, waiting for Loke to land before starting the next level. “Erza would have come, but the guild isn’t doing too hot right now with Gramps in the healer’s hut. She didn’t want them worrying about you too if we could get you back before morning.”

The next bit was a longer fall but had a wider landing area. A short fall next, Natsu catching him when his balance wobbled and pulling him onto the sturdier ledge. Repeat. They were at a landing with windows just beneath them. Natsu raised an eyebrow at Loke, then looked back at the two windows. A decorative bar was suspended in exactly the right place.

“You ready to bust in some windows?” Natsu asked with a grin. They crawled carefully over the rounded tops until they were hanging from the creaking decorative bar. Loke’s foot slipped once, sending his heart into overdrive.

As he hung by his aching hands, getting ready to swing his feet into glass windows to bust up an entire tower full of powerful wizards, dangling hundreds of feet above their possible demise, Loke smiled.

He copied Natsu's swing for momentum.

“Now!” Natsu yelled. He swung and let go, closing his eyes as he braced for impact. Natsu crashed through glass first, letting Loke follow with much less resistance.

By the time Loke had his feet under him and his balance back, Natsu’s flaming fist had buried itself in a big guy’s gut, sending the man staggering. A kick to the chin knocked him out.

Loke almost felt bad when he saw the guy had bandages over his eyes.

It was a nice suite, probably the room they would have given him if he had agreed to not escape. Especially since there was his sword on the table. He dashed for it, and secured the scabbard to his belt, pulling the sword free.

“Here we are Phantom! Come get us!” Natsu yelled as Loke threw open the door to the staircase.

Natsu set the furniture on fire on his way past, cackling the whole time. The staircase spiraled around, a holdout to give the higher leveled combatant the advantage when fighting, and boy did they use it. It wasn’t like fighting in Phantom’s guildhall or at Galuna, while it lasted somewhere between the two fights in terms of duration, the name of the game was terrain. And if the terrain was the heads and shoulders of enemy wizards, bonus.

Natsu was laughing like a maniac the whole time and Loke couldn’t stop grinning.

Twice a wizard with more magic ready than the rest forced the pair onto a landing, and it was almost too easy to tag team them before taking on the stairwell again.

“No one-on-one matches?” Loke asked. Natsu was sliding on the banister on the way down while Loke ran.

“The others would kill me if we got separated,” Natsu said. “And they broke the rules first by kidnapping you. So not tonight. Unless we see Gajeel, then he’s all mine.”

“Deal,” Loke said, using a downward slash to send two would be defenders into the wall as he passed. They did not encounter Gajeel as they exited the tower, but they did find Gray waiting for them as they threw open the doors and exited.

“Subtle Natsu,” Gray emphasized, icing the doors shut behind them. “We were going for subtle. In and out without them ever knowing we were here.”

“Loke!” Lucy yelled, flying down with Happy carrying her. Happy dropped her in the circle of friends, and she stumbled as she crashed into him in a hug. He hugged her back, letting her hold him.

“Hey, I’m okay,” he said, going on autopilot, “No need for tears, your face is too pretty for that.” She wasn’t crying yet, but the grip on his shirt and her scrunched face suggested it was a close thing.

“We were worried they were going to take Loke hostage and threaten him,” Natsu said, rolling his eyes, “No worries about that once I found him. Don’t tell me you made it all the way here without wrecking what you could.”

Lucy turned to Natsu and screeched, shoving Loke away in the process.

“Geeze Lucy!” Natsu yelled holding onto his ears.

Her high-pitched screech devolved into words as she grabbed him by the arm and dragged him behind her, away from the fortress. “Don’t engage! I told you, Erza told you, we had a plan. Knock out moves only, no explosions, no loud challenges. They could have killed you both with numbers alone! You had to alert the whole damn castle! We’d be dead if Gray hadn’t ice sealed the doors.”

“We can take ‘em! I still gotta go back and fight Gajeel,” Natsu complained.

“NO! We’re going home!”

Lucy stumbled forward as Natsu slipped free of her grasp. Natsu looked confused as she fell. Then Lucy looked backwards, glaring with obvious tears in her eyes.

Natsu gaped.

“Natsu, stop being so mean,” Happy scolded. “Remember, girls are delicate.”

“Shut up you, stupid cat!” Lucy said, angrily wiping at her tears. Which only made her cry more. “I’m not sad, I’m-I’m angry! I’m so-so angry! I’m not delicate! I’m a-I'm a fucking force of-of fucking nature! AND WE'RE GOING HOME BECAUSE I SAID SO!”

Loke and Gray shared a look, trying to figure out what was going on, wanting to help but not wanting to make it worse.

Natsu just looked awkward.

“Fine,” Natsu said, not looking at her, “Let’s just go back to the guild.”

“That’s what we’re supposed to do!” Lucy screamed, getting to her feet and stomping away. “Now come on before they catch up to us! We’re going to go back so Erza can kick your ass!”

Loke hurried up beside Lucy, watching her carefully as he walked beside her. It took him a while to figure out what to say. He sorted through pick up lines, hoping to at least make her laugh, but the set of her shoulders didn’t change. She didn’t need to laugh right now.

And if you don’t know how to make a girl not mad, apologies and shows of appreciation were on the menu.

“Thank you,” he said finally, “For coming to get me. Sorry for making a mess of the escape.”

Finally her shoulders loosened a smidge. She shook her head and took a deep breath, “Of course we came for you. I’m glad you’re safe; I shouldn’t have blown up like that.”

The air clear between them, Happy flew up and gave Loke back his keys.

Behind them, Gray said, “Erza’s going to kill you.”

“No serious injuries and we’ll be back by the deadline,” Natsu argued, “Even Erza can’t get too mad at me.”

The grin in Gray’s voice was obvious, “Oh no, not for that. You made Lucy cry, and you know how Erza gets.”

Natsu immediately ran up to Lucy and began to beg her not to tell Erza about that part. Lucy held it over him that she hadn’t decided yet, still sniffing.

Everything was back to normal.

Notes:

Lucy is allowed some swear words here, as a treat. Once again, her brilliant plan of sneak in and steal the thing was thwarted by Natsu's need to blow stuff up, but at least Loke was having a good time.

Chapter 26: Regroup.

They were lucky a train was running this late in their direction. They almost missed it, but they managed to throw Natsu on in time to hop on themselves. After an hour’s worth of apologies from Natsu in the span of ten minutes, Lucy sent him to sleep with a rune.

Lucy marked herself, but halfway to Magnolia she shifted in her sleep. The hand she marked smudged against the seat and she woke up. Instead of letting the other occupants know, she just kept laying against the wall.

Her own disastrous adventure played behind her eyes.

The top room was a cell, but it was empty., so were the three cells beneath that one. Some scary jumps and maneuvering and she made it onto the window ledge of a room that was furnished as living quarters and the outer structure widened, hopefully to connect to a staircase. The lights were off inside it, and a small pull on window let it creak open. Seems like you can afford a lack of security this high up.

Well, you actually couldn’t. Lucy was going to prove just how costly that mistake would be, but first she made herself wait. Humans rarely knew how to wait longer than a minute before needing to move. Patience would be key. 

Lucy hadn’t let on before, but this was absolutely terrifying. Phantom had tough wizards, and she was running her power off her life force. She still couldn’t tell when her magic container was shifting to dangerous territory.

She should not be doing this mission.

But she was the only thing keeping Natsu and Gray from shouting challenges to the sky, and she was the only one that could. Lucy couldn’t leave Loke in Phantom’s hands. They weren’t officially a dark guild, but they were sure acting like it. Gajeel was attacking his own guild, they were crucifying people, they destroyed Fairy Tail’s guildhall, and Master was on the brink of death.

If they didn’t want Loke’s keys, they wanted celestial magic for something far more sinister. Celestial magic can be used to power spells otherwise impossible in this world because the magic itself was of partly of another world. But Loke wasn’t anywhere near ready to fuel one of those spells. Time or reality distortion spells, Spirit King summonings, Burning Straights, Crossed Glass, if they tried to use Loke for any of them, he’d die.

He’d die. Her friend, with cute pickup lines and to die for smiles, who looked at her family with respect and kindness, who recklessly chased adventure and kept holding out his hand to her. Loke would be the second celestial spirit wizard she indirectly killed, if something went wrong because she declined to be part of the group that saved him.

For a being that had had centuries to come to terms with the fragility of mortal life, that terrified her.

She waited and listened. Nothing moved after she cracked open the window, no sounds or shifting shadows. After five minutes she finally allowed herself to slip inside.

Fire jumped to call, encircling her, curving into a dome so she was standing in a bird cage made of flames.

“My, what a pretty little fairy I’ve caught."

Lucy spun and the fire mage stood there, curtain swaying behind him as he moved from his hiding spot. “Totomaru, of the Element Four, at your service,” he said with a bow. Then he walked closer, and Lucy shifted into a defensive stance. “Well, of all the nasty things one can say about your guild, you are a persistent bunch.”

“And for what a bunch of heartless, terrible humans you Phantom scum are,” Lucy spat, “Your S class is good at magic. Now that we have the compliments out of the way, do we go to insults or do we fight?”

Totomaru frowned, “My dear, the fight is already over. You’re trapped. The only question is do I turn you over to the Master now, or do I see if you’re willing to tell me exactly what your plans were and how many of you there are first?”

 “You may have formed a cage, but Fire magic consumes with no substance,” she lectured, readying a fist, “And these bars mean nothing if I’m not afraid of pain — AHHHHH!” her body seized, and she went to her knees, curling away from the flames. Then she was on the floor and everything from her body, to her vision, to the sound of Totomaru’s voice went fuzzy, like a poor communication lacrima connection. And it hurt to the high heavens. She’d never felt this kind of pain before, worse than inside the Eisenwald hideout, worse than her bad nights.

It ended. Her body was back in the world for the moment, the pain at manageable amounts.

“What was that!” Totomaru demanded, backing up slowly. He constricted the size of her cage to less than her arm span, and the flames were less controlled, more jagged and hotter than before.

Lucy shrank into a small ball. She talked big game about being willing to die. But if her body tried to heal from one of these flaming bars again, that would be the end of her. She’d disappear from the mortal world one last time and cease to exist.

Lucy didn’t want to die. Not like this.

Then there was an explosion outside the window, and the sounds of screams. Totomaru looked away from her his hands going slack, and the flames flickered. Using that second, she rolled, then kept rolling to put out any remaining flames on her person.

“What —”

Lucy kicked out his shins, sending him to the floor. Then kicked his chin upwards, in what she knew was a knockout blow. Using her light pen, she sent him to sleep with a rune. Then she hurried to the window.

The tower diagonal from her, specifically the mirrored suite in height, was on fire.

That bastard! It had been what, eight minutes? Ten? And he already screwed up the plan. If Loke died or was sacrificed to some stupidly dark magic because Natsu couldn’t keep his flames in check, she was going to kill him.

Loke hadn’t died, so she hadn’t had to kill Natsu.

She did have to chug spice-enhanced flavored milk while taking the stairs. She had divided the last of it into four bottles to last her the next month and a half, and she already had to use one. It was a terrifying guessing game behind each closed door. Were the inhabitants woken up by the explosion and right now getting ready for combat? Were they still sleeping and she was waking them up? Was it Loke behind the door?

The longer and louder that Natsu’s rampage went on, the more people were awake as she made her way down. She ended up in six battles she shouldn’t have and had to use a lot more magic than she liked.

Soon rooms were empty as she reached them, lights left on as they hurried to stop the commotion at the other tower.

Happy had found her in a window, told her that Gray had sealed all the ground floor entrances to the buildings, including hers.

Gray was her current favorite boy for that move.

Happy flew her down to join Gray and she was able to hug a not-sacrificed Loke and start screaming at Natsu.

It was probably an over-reaction. Natsu thought he was working with the same wizard that took down Everlue, Sherry, and helped take down Lullaby. Natsu couldn’t have known the danger he was putting Lucy in, because she hadn’t told him that her magic couldn’t replenish, and that’s not his fault. She’d have to be extra nice to Natsu the next couple of weeks to make up for blowing up at him.

(And, technically, there was a good chance she would have died if not for the explosion occurring exactly at that moment. If she was being fair.)

(Gray was still her favorite right now.)

As though summoned by her thoughts, Gray spoke to Loke, “Hey, I was wondering. Did you ever figure out why they kidnapped you?”

Which was a really good question. She’d been throwing too much of a tantrum to bother asking it when they met up, then she’d been unwilling to break the peace that came after his gratitude and apology. Then Natsu had been himself and made it all about him. They hadn’t covered why Loke was singled out in the first place.

Loke was quiet for an excruciating amount of time. It took effort keep her breathing steady and not hold it in anticipation.

If it was time magic, if they were trying to use time magic without her key to help stabilize a spell, she was going to —

“I guess you deserve to know,” Loke said with a sigh, “I wasn’t trying to deceive you guys, it just didn’t come up. Well, it kinda did, but I liked everyone not knowing. I’m Loke Heartfilia. I ran away from home, and apparently my dad hired Phantom to bring me back. I’m sorry I brought the guild so much trouble.”

Gray was quiet for almost as long as Loke had been, then said, “Heartfilia, as in…this, Heartfilia?” There was the sound of Gray moving his arms, but that didn’t tell her anything. What did he mean by this? Why couldn’t he speak for eavesdropping ears that weren’t raised in modern Fiore.

The running away didn’t surprise her though. It was something of a family tradition for the Heartfilia’s. Often enough to be known for it among spirits, Heartfilia mothers set it up so that their children who would inherit the keys struck out on their own with only their keys for help at some point as they approached adulthood. Relying on each other like that built relationships like nothing else. She hadn’t paid attention to what the Heartphilias were up to recently, but this was their oldest coming of age game.

Loke snorted, “Yeah, biggest financial empire in the country, King of the Rail Roads,” he said bitterly. Way to clarify Loke, good job. “He treated everyone around him like crap, and they let him because he had money. He was looking around for a wealthy family with a daughter to arrange a marriage for me when I left for good. He hasn’t contacted me at all in the past year, I assumed he gave up on me. I never meant to bring this on Fairy Tail’s head.”

“I believe you,” Gray said. Loke slumped across from her. “You think I wouldn’t? Your apartment is terrible. Clearly whatever you went through at home is Grade A horror if you’re willing to live in that.”                             

“Very funny,” Loke said drily.

So Phantom wasn’t screwing around with forbidden magics. That was a relief. The Heartfilias turned rich or noble at some point, was that why they stopped using whips?

Loke would have gotten his keys from his mother, Capricorn had Lucy do…something, with Layla, no, to his contract with Layla Heartfilia. Twenty-ish years ago, if she was counting the time differentials correctly. Maybe twelve years ago? Then there was that time with the old contract ten (seven?) years ago they had been called together to fulfill.

That was a vague memory for being within the last decade, one of the last things she did for Angelica Lilica before she and Aries ended up with Karen.

Why couldn’t she remember?

Her impending death was probably messing with her memories.

Point was, if Loke’s dad was trying to drag him home by force, then dad wasn’t in on the Heartfilia-runaway scheme.

Lucy had assumed the conversation over, but Loke said, “How do you think the guild…”

Gray shrugged, “Probably won’t change anything. You’re the same person, and you’re not the first run-away Fairy Tail has taken in. Plenty of us are orphans, but we have our fair share of run-aways and abandons. They might gape for a second, because that’s a lot of money to run away from, but that’s it.”

“Thanks, I needed to hear that. You feel the same Lucy?”

Lucy opened her eyes and sat up with a stretch, “What gave me away?”

“Your hand fell against the seat,” Loke said, “And you hold your breath when thinking really hard. What were you thinking?”

“Hmm, mostly putting things together,” she lied, putting other things together in that moment.  “Knowing about the emergency stop switch in Kunugi, knowing about guild law, that sort of thing.”

Loke smiled at her, “I’ve learned more in the past year on my own than all the years I spent cooped up with lessons on how to run my dad's empire, but yeah, I learned those things back then.”

“Honestly, Natsu is going to have the biggest reaction,” Lucy teased, “He finds out your dad owns transportation companies? You are immediately going to be Natsu’s worst enemy.”

Loke started laughing then, and it was completely unrestrained. She’d heard him laugh before, but this laugh was almost wild with how freeing it sounded.

 

 

At the guild, they took it like Gray predicted: a little surprised, but ultimately unchanged on their course of action. Loke took one look at their wounded friends, and immediately started to shut down.

She bumped his shoulder, and even his magic barely flickered against her, he was so down. “Hey, not your fault.”

Elfman nodded beside her, “Yeah, being targeted by dangerous people is just the downside of being filthy rich. Besides, it’s clearly your dad’s fault.”

Loke’s shoulders tightened.

“Read the room, man!” Gray scolded.

Elfman jumped, finally figuring out what might have been callous about what he said, “Um, I mean, it’s Phantoms fault for taking a kidnapping request!”

“I know that, I know all that,” Loke said, fists clenching, “But none of this would have happened if I dealt with my father properly before running away. Fairy Tail wouldn’t be in this mess.”

“Phantom hated Fairy Tail long before this,” Erza said matter of factly. “And it’s no longer about the job for us or them, and the tensions would have come to a head one way or another. Now it’s about our guildhalls, our members, and our masters. No child is responsible for the actions of their parents, we won’t let you take any of the blame.”

That finally made Loke look up with wide eyes.

“Besides, you want to stay in the guild, right?” Natsu said with a grin, “That’s what you told me. I can’t see you playing the part of grumpy businessman. Running around and getting into fights, going on adventures, that’s where you belong.”

“Exactly,” Gray said. “So no more of this ‘my fault’ crap.”

Loke looked to be on the verge of crying, and he wouldn’t want people to see that. Lucy was trying to think of a way to break the too intense emotions when Mira called from the doorway.

“Lucy,” Mira said, “Can you come with me a second?”

“Of course Mira,” she said, sharing a confused glance with the others. At least this distraction gave Loke the chance to get a hold of himself.

She jogged after Mira and followed her into a back storeroom. Cana was on the ground glaring at her cards and Laxus’s face was grinning from the lacrima.

“There she is, Miss High and Mighty,” Laxus jeered, “Well, I’m waiting.”

Lucy looked at Mira, who couldn’t look at her as she said, “I contacted Laxus to ask for his help in dealing with Phantom. He said he wanted an apology from you before he even considered it. We haven’t been able to locate Mystogan.”

Lucy looked at Cana, who looked to be trying to burn a hole into her deck for failing her.

Then she looked at Laxus.

“Let me get this straight,” Lucy said, “You’re willing to let Phantom destroy Fairy Tail and take one of our members against their will, because I insulted your ego?”

“I might be willing to help you guys out of the hole you dug yourselves into if I get the right apology,” Laxus taunted, “And for your information, the more skin you show can only help your chances.”

“You pig!” Cana yelled. Lucy put out a hand to stop her.

“Of all the sick moves you could pull,” Lucy said, shaking her head.

“That’s no way to talk to someone you’re begging for help.”

Lucy put her hands on her hips, “And that’s no way to talk to a guild you want to lead, Idiot. You want to show everyone that you should be the next guildmaster of Fairy Tail? Well here is your chance. Master Makarov is out of commission, members of the guild are in danger of dying, and there’s an enemy with the power of a wizard saint that needs to go down. Prove you’re worthy of being guild master by getting your butt down here and. Leading. The. Guild. You do that, I’ll shout my apology from the top of Kardia Cathedral for all of Magnolia to hear. I will pay to publish it in every newspaper from here to Perengarde. Earn it first.”

Mira and Cana weren’t breathing beside her. She was the Lion. The leader of the Zodiac Spirits. Most powerful among them.

And she meant what she said.

Laxus’s face was turning purple, at least in the dulled colors of the communication lacrima.

“You know nothing of power,” he seethed at her, “How dare you! I can’t wait to see Phantom tear you all to pieces. When only the strong survive, that’s the guild I’ll lead.”

“I know that Erza, Mira, and Cana are each five times the wizard you are,” Lucy said. “They are here. They are leading. While you whine about a bruised pride and demean the name Fairy Tail.” Lucy turned to Mira, “I have a guild to help. Call me when it’s no longer toddler hour.”

She walked away without looking back. “Get back here Blondie! You better hope Phantom kills you, because that will be a thousand times better than what I’m gonna do to you! YOU BI —” The lacrima shattered behind her.

Lucy turned around and saw Mirajane holding her hand out, tears in her eyes. She sniffed, “How could anyone in Fairy Tail be so heartless? I thought you had him, he was so close to taking the challenge. I thought…how did Laxus become like this?”

Cana stood up and put her arm around Mira, “Hey, we’re younger than him, it wasn’t our job to keep him from turning out like this. It is our job to keep the guild in one piece, even if the rest of our S class isn’t around. He’ll figure it out, or he won’t. I don’t think we can worry about that right now.” Cana looked at Lucy, “But in the future, I hope you’re ready for some lightning. Laxus isn’t going to take what you said without fighting back.”

“I can take it,” Lucy promised. “I meant what I said. It’s more than talent or raw magic that makes a great wizard, it isn’t even a requirement. It’s how you use what magic you have, and the heart you put behind it. Erza’s in charge, the two of you are leading on morale and backup, and we need to hold together until Master is better. It’s time to go out there and be Fairy Tail wizards.”

“Right,” they said, game faces on.

The building shook.

They looked at each other and ran for the door.

Notes:

Lucy's experience wasn't quite as fun as Natsu and Loke's, unfortunately. Laxus v. Lucy round two has once again ended with some sick burns but no bloodshed and minor casualties to guild property.

Chapter 27: In hiding

Lucy followed people out the back door, and Cana and Mira followed her, the three of them coming to a stop beside Lucy's team.

“What is that thing?” Natsu asked. “Is that the guildhall? I thought we left that back in the countryside?”

Phantom’s countryside headquarters, grown legs and given animation, was walking towards them across Magnolia Bay.

“Still think we shouldn’t have wrecked it more?” Loke asked her, looking green.

“How do we fight that thing?” Wakaba asked.

Erza was shaking, “I never anticipated this. To go to such extremes to attack us…”

“It’s stopping there,” Lucy said, as it settled down, about a mile from their guildhall in the middle of the bay. Then part of the center hall fell down, and a cannon pushed itself forward.

Magic gathered at the mouth of the canon.

Erza spun, “Everyone! Get out of here! Now!” Erza ran forward awash in light.

“Erza no!” Mirajane yelled. Every wizard could feel the energy building. At this distance, it was a shot meant to kill.

“She requipped into adamantine!” Happy said.

“There’s no way she can block that,” Cana said.

More pleas for Erza to run, to not be foolish.

“I’m protecting the guildhall,” Erza declared. “Now run! That’s an order.”

“You heard her,” Loke called to everyone, “Back up and give her some room. If Erza thinks she can do this, she can. Now let’s move.”

Which was right, and wrong.

“Cana!” Lucy yelled over the shouts. “Help her!”

“I can’t block that,” Cana yelled back.

“You worked on your defensive line, right?” Lucy demanded. Cana nodded, surprised.  “Then I know you can do something, so do it!”

Cana froze for a second longer, then nodded and ran forward.

Lucy headed backwards with her team. Gray was restraining Natsu.

“Erza!”

“We have to have faith in her,” Gray said.

Erza set herself in defense, but turned her head when twelve of Cana’s cards flew around her. Cana yelled, “Strength! Justice! Temperance! Sun! Armored wall!” A sky blue magic circle bloomed just in front of the two wizards, at least as tall as the guildhall. Cana braced herself behind Erza, and said something impossible to hear over the gathering magic across the bay.

“Go with it Erza!” Lucy yelled desperately, “YOU’RE STRONGER TOGETHER.”

Erza turned towards the gathering energy, it was so much energy, and stabbed her shield downward into the ground, just behind Cana’s sheild. Erza’s own magic circle grew in exactly the same spot, a steel blue that swallowed Cana’s. The Canon fired.

Mirajane gasped and pointed, “Look!”

It was impossible to look away. At the last second, something changed in their defense. The magic circles spun into alignment. Sky blue within steel grey, creating one whole, blinding wall, tripling in size. Both women were yelling their challenge, braced against each other as the cannon shot.

“Unison raid,” Gray said, awed enough to finally let go of Natsu.

“They’re doing it!” Macao cheered. Everyone joined him in screaming and cheering. The beam disappeared, and Erza and Cana fell forward.

Everyone rushed to them, cheering.

“You were right Lucy,” Erza groaned, letting Gray help her sit up. “That’s exhausting.”

“Once again, Erza and Cana are the manliest ones in the guild,” Elfman approved.

“I never thought that you could overkill a defense against a Jupiter Canon,” Macao said, naming the blast for everyone else, “But that thing was chump change against you.”

Jose’s voice boomed from his castle, “Makarov is defeated, and Erza and Cana are severely drained. There are no more chances for victory. Turn Loke Heartfilia over to us immediately. You have no choice.”

“As if any guild would turn one of their members over to a monster like you!” Bisca yelled.

“He’s one of us, and we never turn our backs on our own!” Alzak added.

“You’re never getting your hands on him,” Macao yelled.

Members took up the cry, finally voicing their anger. Lucy looked to Loke, who seemed to be struggling with emotion again. What the hell did his dad do to him that he expected something less? His hand covered his face.

“We would never betray him like that!” Erza yelled, staggering to her feet. “You’d have to kill us first!”

“Stop asking, because we’re going to take every one of you jerks down! You hear me?” Natsu yelled.

“He’s our friend, that’s the end of it!” Gray yelled.

“Well then, it seems you need to be served a second helping of Jupiter!” Jose’s voice yelled. “Good luck pulling off a defense a second time! I’m giving you fifteen minutes to come to your senses before you and your whole city is toasted.”

It only had a 15 minute cool down? With that much magic energy? That was insane!

And to threaten the town behind them, that was worse than criminal, that was terrorist.

“They’re gonna fire on us again?”

“What are we gonna do?”

The questions grew louder, and Mirajane spoke up.

“We’re going to fight back, that’s what we’re going to do,” she said, and her soft voice carried, the certainty winning out over fear. “That is our choice. We are Fairy Tail, and that is always our choice.”

Black figures poured out of Phantom Headquarters, cloaked and red-eyed, and flew towards them. Cana named them, “Jose’s speciality, dark shades,” she gritted out, “He can make an almost unlimited number of copies, they can attack for him. They’re not human.”

“So you have two options, die by my shade magic, or die by the Jupiter, it’s going to be entertaining to see you pick!” Jose declared.

“We need to take on both,” Cana declared, “We need to take down the Jupiter Canon and defend the town and the guildhall against the shades.”

“15 minutes right?” Natsu asked, looking at Cana. She nodded. “That’s all I need to tear that thing into pieces. Happy?”

“Aye Sir!” Happy yelled, and Natsu was being carried off.

“Elfman, with me, we’re heading to their guild hall too,” Gray said, and Elfman charged off with him. Probably heading for the docks and boats the guild kept at the base of the cliffs.

Mirajane looked like she wanted to stop Elfman from going, but pulled her hand back. Instead she said, “Erza, Cana, how are you doing?”

“Lower on magic than I like,” Erza said, “But I can fight.”

“I’ve got all the fight I need,” Cana said.

“You two are on defense,” Mirajane decided, “Stay here, we need you ready to defend again in case the others can’t stop Jupiter in time. I’ll take care of Loke, he should be moved somewhere Phantom can’t get their hands on him.”

“I approve,” Erza said, shifting into her heaven’s wheel armor. “Take Lucy with you, she’s good at keeping people safe.”

“Not looking forward to a repeat performance,” Cana said, calling her scattered cards back to her hands, “But we’ll handle defense. You get Loke out of here.”

“Wait what?" Loke shook his head, “No —” Lucy and Mirajane were already pulling him out of the fight.

“We have to get going,” Lucy said, pushing him around the corner of the guildhall, “We don’t have any more flyers, and if a Phantom gets you now, we can’t get you back.”

“I didn’t run away from home just to be protected!” Loke shouted at them, pulling them to a stop. “Let me fight.”

“We’re proud to fight this fight for you,” Mira said, looking him dead in the eye. “It’s about honor, individually and for the guild. No one sees this as your fault. But they will see it as theirs if Phantom takes you.”

Loke looked ready to argue some more, but Mira put a hand in front of his face, “Please, do what I say.” Mira rapid cast a sleeping charm, expertly without a magic circle showing.

Loke fell asleep; Lucy caught him.

Mira nodded at her and Reedus, “You two take him to the hideout. We’ll make sure you aren’t followed.”

“Oui,” he said, and started painting a carriage.

“Thank you for stepping up,” Lucy said, smiling at her, “You should take Bisca to the guild roof, and together spot shot any that try to make it past us overhead. She might even give you a gun if you ask nicely, Deputy Master Mirajane.” Lucy winked while Mirajane stuttered. She jumped into the back of Reedus’s carriage, Loke in her arms bridal style.

Reedus took off, and luckily it was clear streets from start to finish. The people of Magnolia seemed determined to leave this mess to Fairy Tail, which was a relief. They could barrel down the streets without anyone blocking their path.

It only took ten minutes to reach the hideout at Reedus’s speed. A very long ten minutes. Loke’s magic was back to full snuff, snapping and pulling at her, but she’d rather Loke poke at her missing limbs and make her feel like she was drowning than let him get taken.

She felt Karen’s ghost sitting beside them, her heel tapping on the floor of the cart, the way it always did when she was waiting for someone to get to the good part.

Loke started to come to as they arrived.

“Hey, what…Lucy?” he asked groggily.

“We’re here,” Lucy said, helping him sit up.

He looked around then glared at her, “I told you I wanted to fight! I’m not some damsel in distress, I can help!”

“Retreat is sometimes the only path to success,” Lucy told him, tired of this arguement already. “I know you want to fight but being out of the way is the most useful thing you could do to take down Phantom. If Phatom has to waste resources playing hide and seek with us, it takes pressure off the other fighters and helps everyone.”

“Of course, the goal is to never have them find us,” Reedus said, and the carriage slowly vanished beneath them, letting them stand. He used a key to open a nondescript door in the warehouse district. “So hurry inside.”

Loke gave Lucy one last pleading glance, and when Lucy didn’t budge, he sighed and went in. Lucy was the first to make herself comfortable, parking herself on some crates of what she was sure was booze.

“Hey Reedus, when was the last time we needed to use the safehouse?” Lucy asked.

“Hmm,” Reedus thought, taking a seat across from her and pulling out his sketchpad, “I believe we asked Bisca to hide in here while Master talked down the Magic Council from arresting her for being a thief before she joined the guild.”

“That’s right,” Lucy mused, “How long was she in Fairy Tail? Two weeks? Alzak was in charge of guarding her, and they came out with the best two-man partnership we’ve seen. I was going to guess back when Jet’s crap mother finally came looking for him after seven years and booby-trapped the whole town in order to drag him back to Stella.”

Reedus nodded, “That was two years before Bisca, you weren’t in the guild yet. Did Levy tell you about it?”

Lucy nodded, “Team Shadowgear was already teamed up, so it was just logical for all three of them to wind up here.”

“I get what you guys are trying to do,” Loke said, looking at the ground, “But none of those things wrecked the guildhall, put down Master, and left the people of Magnolia in danger of imminent destruction.”

“I know. But what we are saying is that that doesn’t matter. We protect our own, from the entire world if that’s what we have to. Next time this happens, it’ll be your turn to protect someone else. I refuse to believe that it’s wrong to use your magic to protect someone you care about.”

Reedus nodded, “She’s right, and we’ll keep saying it until you understand it.”

“You guys fight dirty,” Loke said, shaking his head, but looking up at last to smile at her. “I should have known better than to try and out-stubborn you.”

“You know it,” she said, giving a small smile in return, “We don’t expect you to be happy about it, but I hope you’ll forgive us.”

“As if I could stay mad at you."

Lucy didn’t know how long they just smiled at each other. Long enough that she was sure Reedus had a nice picture of them looking like fools.

Lucy went to the mini fridge in the corner and got them all some drinks.

“So, I still hate this, can you distract me?” Loke asked, sipping his soda, “What about your family Reedus. Run-away? Orphan? Perfectly normal mage?”

“Perfectly normal, I’m afraid,” he said, “Someone has to be. I joined when I was sixteen, eleven years ago now? And while I come from a family of artists, I’m the only one with magic. I have a sister that lives in Lilinth, while my parents live in Crocus.” He smiled fondly, “We send each other sketches and paintings instead of letters.”

“That sounds happy,” Loke said, “What about you Lucy? Runaway? Orphan? Perfectly normal?” his eyebrows creased, “Wait, you never had parents, orphan then?”

“When did I mention parents?” Lucy asked, scraping at her memory, pretending to sip her drink.

“Oh, the second day you met me,” he said airily, “Of course, you were sloshed out of your mind and demanding we play ‘Never Have I Ever’ while surrounded by passed out dark mages, so it’s understandable if you don’t recall.”

Ugh, that memory was fuzzy. Like the rest of her life recently.

Lucy groaned, “I can’t believe I told you that, but I’m going to keep my secrets just a bit longer, if you don’t mind.”

“You’ll tell me,” Loke said confidently. “You promised.”

Before Lucy could remind him that the promise was that he’ll know, not that she’ll tell him, there was a bang on the door, denting it inward.

Lucy jumped to her feet, taking her fighting stance.

“Who could have followed us here?” Reedus sweated.

BANG.

“My guess is one iron dragon slayer, if he has a nose like Natsu,” Lucy said. BANG. “Loke, you wanted to fight. I doubt I can take a dragon slayer on my own. Reedus, he’s bigger than a house for all intents and purposes, okay?” BANG.

“Oui,” he said and immediately started to draw wild hogs to rush whoever came through the door.

The door smashed open, and sure enough, one pierced up dragon freak with Phantom’s mark on his shoulder. Two cronies followed, male and female.

“So this is what’s left of the Fairy Tail defenders,” Gajeel said, looking them over, “Fatty, blondie, and the ponce. Guess I’ll have to wait to get a good fight in. You two can have this one.” And he jumped up to the ceiling and stuck there like an overgrown bat.

Lucy looked over their opponents, stopping Loke with a hand when he went for his keys. They needed to see what magic they were dealing with before summoning anyone. Reedus sent purple boars after the enemies.

“No match for my mirror magic,” the girl bragged. “Four mirror!”

Four mirrors appeared before her, and the boars disappeared into them. They shot back out at Reedus, and Lucy managed to kick through them just before they hit their original caster, light shining from her ankle. Her battle plan was forming, she just needed to know the man’s magic.

“Cute trick, but mirror magic only means something if we attack from a distance,” Lucy said, rolling her eyes and shoulders, “Please tell me your boyfriend has something more impressive than a gimmicky defense.”

They both immediately puffed up while Gajeel laughed.

“Ew! I’ll show you, Sound Blast: Howling!” the man called out. Sound magic burst forth, and the three of them covered their eardrums, writhing under the attack.

“And what’s wrong with being my boyfriend?” the girl asked, putting her hands on her hips once his attack died down.

“We’re cousins Sue, everything’s wrong with that.”

“But you were so offended, like, I make a great girlfriend,” Sue argued.

“Virgo,” Lucy said quietly, standing up again, “Underground sound chamber for him. Reedus, on my signal, follow with black paint for her. Loke next, take out the mirrors. Understand?” She looked behind her, and they nodded.

Loke swung out a key, “Open, Gate of the Maiden, Virgo!”

There was a chime, a poof, and Lucy forced herself to watch the bickering cousins, who jumped at the sight of someone else joining the fight. She couldn’t hide, not now, but she couldn’t watch either.

“How may I serve you, Big Brother?” she asked.

“See what you can do about dragging baldy underground,” Loke said quietly. “Preferably something like an echochamber, but any old box will do.”

“Yes Big Brother,” she said, and spiraled her way into the ground.

“Now!” Lucy yelled, charging forward with an attack that was more light than substance, and at a much slower pace than she usually went.

“You learned nothing,” Sue said, taking the forward position again, “I can make it work even at close range! Three Mirror!”

Lucy was running slow enough that Reedus could follow behind her, which meant she had plenty of time to admire herself in triplicate as she approached.

“Ahh!” she yelled, pulling her fist back. She used the change in posture to re-balance herself and cartwheel to the side, surging forward around the defense.  

“What?” Sue asked, jumping back from Lucy’s attack, giving her a straight shot at the other cousin.

The man took a single hand summoning stance, “No you don’t, Sound —AH!” Virgo pulled his feet from under him, disappearing just before Lucy’s punch would have landed. Lucy pivoted and watched Loke shatter Sue's spell by cutting through the areas that Reedus had covered with black paint to break the reflective properties.

Lucy took the opportunity to kick Sue from behind and straight into a wall. Loke came to a stop beside her. The ground vibrated beneath them, and Virgo popped up.

“Big Brother, how much air did you want him to have?” she asked.

“Uhh,” Loke said, looking at Lucy.

She gathered her strength and looked at Virgo’s innocent, open face. Blank as ever. She would do what Lucy said, because Loke wanted her to, no matter her own feelings. “Let him pass out from lack of air, don’t let him die.”

Virgo checked with Loke who nodded, and she disappeared again.

“Well, well, well,” Gajeel said, clapping. “That went differently than expected. I’m actually going to have to get my hands dirty. It would be so much easier if the little princling came with me, but I can’t say I’m upset at getting the chance to mess with Blondie here.”

Lucy felt the snarl build in her features, “You’re the one who attacked Levy, Jet, and Droy. You’re the one who destroyed the guildhall.”

“Careful Lucy,” Loke said, pulling up on her right, “He can expand his limbs into metal beams, giving him a lot of range in addition to having a dragon roar.”

“I take it back,” Lucy spat, “Reedus, he’s not bigger than a house. Loke, Virgo can help if she finds the opening.” And with that she put on her full speed to jump up towards her enemy, fist reared back. He shot an arm out to stop her, but she used her light magic to push herself just enough off course to reach his body.

His other arm hardened to block her hit.

Lucy had struck hard enough to dislodge him from the beam. They both fell to the floor.

Then they were on each other again a moment later. He had this confused look on his face as they fought, which ticked her off. She took out his ankle for that. But what should have sent him to the floor turned into a tumble that he got out of by expanding his arm to smash her in the ribs.

“You’re not normal, not a normal holder type anyway,” he said when they both landed at a distance. “Why do you smell weird?”

“Why do you look weird!” she shouted, rushing forward again, feinting with a punch to get the kick that she wanted in. How dare he insult her?

The iron dragon slayer had no time to say anything else as he was very occupied with defense.

Unfortunately there was no defending against his counter attacks. Those took all her balance to dodge and rebound.

Gajeel did a double jump when she wasn’t expecting it, and Virgo popped out where she was aiming a kick. She barely avoided the spirit, throwing herself off balance, and neither of them could avoid the iron beam bashing directly through them at top speeds.

Virgo got to disappear back to the celestial realm.

Lucy slammed into the wall. Air burned its way out of her lungs.

“Lucy!” Loke yelled.

Lucy blinked spots away, just in time to see Gajeel take out Reedus with a kick to the chest. “Reedus!” Lucy yelled holding out her hand.

“Don’t tell me you actually like to hang out with guys like that,” Gajeel said, shaking his head, “And you were doing so well Blondie. I guess you’re nothing special after all.”

“You shut up,” Loke yelled running forward with his sword. Lucy got to her feet and ran, hoping one of them got an opening. Gajeel kicked backwards and punched forwards, which she only barely managed to dodge by pushing a handstand onto top of the limb. He batted away Loke’s sword and then socked him one in the gut.

“I’m done playing with you,” Gajeel said. “I’m taking him back to the Master.”

“I’m not done with you,” Lucy said, squatting to prepare her leap.

“Mirror Magic: Kaleidoscope!”

Lucy leapt upwards, into a suddenly-there mirror, and passed through it, until all she saw were reflections of herself from every angle.

“I hope you like looking at yourself Blondie,” Sue called, “Because that’s all you’re going to be seeing for a long time. Just try to spell your way out of my mirror prison.”

Lucy roared and cracked a fist against the wall, testing its strength. It didn’t fracture, and the force reverbed back up her arms, showing off its magic-reflecting properties. She didn’t know how much magic she was running on after that battle with Gajeel, but she doubted it was enough to break through on sheer force and continue to fight afterwards.

Lucy pulled out her light pen and drew the sixth and most difficult rune she knew on the wall of her prison: dispel.

All her rune spells required an in depth knowledge of the interlocking magic impact marks and linguistic implication within the ultimate magic circle. Most wizards nowadays agreed it was a dumb way to use rune magic. The strength of rune magic was its ability to work around other spells and set rules so you didn’t have to brute force spells. Using runes this way required an upfront magic cost and a excessive focus, making it an unpopular choice overall, and a terrible way for a primary rune magic user to cast spells.

Luckily for Lucy, it was just the thing for a magic-rebounding mirror prison.

Dispel attacked at the magic of the creation of a spell, ignoring magic typing. The rune reflected off every mirrored surface, multiplying its effects as she held out her hand, diminishing how much magic she was required to put into it.

“Dispel!” she yelled, shoving magic into the rune until she heard her prison crack. Then she punched forward with a lit fist, and the mirrors cracked more. Two knee strikes, and it shattered completely. Lucy fell to the ground, landing in a crouch, and she watched the magic dissolve into sparkles around her before it hit the floor.

Sue flinched back, her eyes wide. “Three—”

Too slow.

Lucy punched her boob, making her stagger and pale. Lucy took out her feet next and pinned her as she thudded to the floor.

“You came here, and you were going back. How?” she growled.

Lucy let up enough to let the girl breath and speak, “Fly-bike,” she gasped. “Roof.”

Lucy nodded and stood up. She kicked her one more time for good measure. When Sue groaned, curling up, Lucy said, “Your cousin is alive, he’ll be fine. You’ll find him at the bottom of the last tunnel that Virgo came out of.”

Flybikes worked like magi-carts, only there wasn’t room for passengers and could go through the air. From the air, it wasn’t very far to the…was that a metal giant casting an abyss break? No, it was frozen. What happened while she and Loke were gone? Was anyone else in danger?

Just before hooking herself in, Lucy hesitated. Flybikes sucked up even more magic power than magicarts. If she used this to get to Phantom’s castle halfway over the lake, she’d burn through her magic. If she chugged her flavored milk, she should be able to make it to the castle and fight, but there was no way she’d make it another month to get more powder. Was throwing another fighter against Phantom worth her life?

No one else knew they had Loke.

Her light magic was a perfect counter to Jose’s shade magic.

Levy, Jet, and Droy, crucified to trees in Magnolia Park.

Loke held out his hand to guide her onto the boat to Galuna Island, green eyes seemed to look straight into her soul, but he was smiling, so that couldn’t be right. “I bet they could really use the Guardian Angel of Fairy Tail.”

A life where she took the coward’s option and backed down now wasn’t worth living anyway. Lucy hooked herself up to the flybike and kicked it on.

Lucy shot across the sky like the star she was.

Notes:

If you pay close attention, you'll hear Porlyusica screaming about stupid spirits in the woods.

Let me know what you think!

Edit: So SORRY! It took 8 hours to realize that I accidentally had the last part of last chapter in the first part of this chapter. My bad, all fixed now!

Chapter 28: The Phantom Lord and the Iron Dragon

Pain. Every time he tried to move, it felt like Gajeel cracked another one of his ribs, though he knew bones didn’t work that way. It was just the first one that was either bruised or cracked in that one joint attack with Lucy that utterly failed. Then it just hurt over and over again as Gajeel tossed him over his shoulder and flew them back across Magnolia towards the Phantom Lord guildhall. 

Loke passed out a couple of times on the trip over, and kind of wished he'd just stayed passed out. This sucked.

Finally Gajeel dropped him on the ground.

Look up. Stand up. Lucy, Natsu, Gray, and Erza would get back up. That’s what Cana and Elfman would do.

On his knees, he finally got his head up, only to be staring into Jose Porly's ugly sneer.

“Well, I’m glad you’re alive, little princeling,” Jose mocked. “You’re worthless to me dead.”

It hurt like all hell, but he got to his feet, almost falling three different times, but he stood up. “You’re gonna pay,” Loke said, pulling back a fist.

Gajeel grabbed the fist and hoisted Loke’s whole body into the air. Why did Gajeel have to be so stupid tall?

Jose spoke in a voice that was kind of like Loke's celestial one, echoing here and there, letting all of Fairy Tail hear him, the usual threats and jeers, but with the blood rushing in his ear, Loke was going more off tone than actually registering the words.

Jose his fist dug into Loke’s broken rib and he yelled.

Gajeel lowered him to the ground, letting him collapse backwards against a wall. Words started registering again.

“Keep watch over the boy,” Jose said, walking away, his cape swishing behind him, “There are some pests still lingering in our guildhall that need to be taken care of.”

“You mean Salamander?” Gajeel asked, almost excited.

“Among others. They’ve been lucky so far, but I tire of them.”

“Send Salamander my way, would ya?”

“No promises,” Jose sang, shutting the door behind him.

Well, Natsu was nearby, that was good. And Jose said 'pests' as in plural, so Gray and Elfman were probably still causing a fuss as well. 

There had to be an advantage somewhere in the room. Gajeel was humming something (it was actually kind of catchy?) and using a washrag to clean himself up. A rag and a waterbottle, not a sink, unfortunately. They were in a stone room, a couple of tables and benches nearby, and an electrical box ran along the wall. Purple curtains and banner hung on the walls, softening the stone a little. Not a terrible guildhall side room.

A magic signature burned through the guild headquarters. He was no expert like Lucy, he was stuck reading base magical presences, but even to him this felt like heat and flame.

Gajeel grinned, walking back towards him, “Now, why don’t you be a good little prisoner and scream for help. That should be enough to draw the little salamander out.”

“Nah, you should leave me here and go find him yourself,” Loke said tiredly, “Natsu’s been begging to be the one to take you down for days.”

“Sorry can’t disobey orders, you're stuck with me,” Gajeel said, eye glinting, “We’re going to have to draw him to us. Did you know blood is a really powerful smell to dragon slayers? Wonder what he’ll do when I spill an unhealthy amount of yours?”

Gajeel’s arm turn into a saw.

This wasn’t going to be pleasant.

 

 

“Is that Lucy?”

“She looks like a shooting star!”

“She’s burning those shades into a crisp!”

That was all Lucy heard as she sped over her guildmates and through her attackers. Normally you would only feed pure magic into the vehicle, it damaged it otherwise, but Lucy had a short ride and was feeling particularly violent at the moment.

The result was the entire skybike had an aura of light magic as she flew. When she saw the shades still attacking the guildhall, it was the least she could do to take out the reinforcements that Jose had sent to harass her friends. It did take up more magic though, and she chugged the rest of her milk just in case.

She would see this battle to the end.

Gajeel had said he was taking Loke to Jose, so she would go to Jose and show him the wrath of a lioness. He took someone she was protecting and would die for his arrogance. It didn’t matter if he had the power of a wizard saint. It didn’t matter if she died doing it. She had the advantage against his shade magic, that had to count fir something.

Lucy would make it enough.

Lucy didn’t bother using doors. She locked onto the strongest magic presence in the building, ignoring Natsu’s explosive aura, and drove straight towards it. It was almost satisfying how many walls the flybike busted through on her way in. 

She burst through one final door and turned the bike to a skidding stop, taking her magic away from the bike and disconnecting the plug in the same motion.

“Lucy?” Gray asked as she kicked the now wrecked bike away.

Gray was standing next to a mostly unharmed Mirajane, a thoroughly thrashed Erza, and a moderately injured Elfman. Everywhere crept the black darkness of Jose’s power.

Lying off to the side was a large wizard in green, probably one of the element four, either earth or wind.

“You might have heard, he got Loke from me,” she said, brushing stone dust off her clothes. “I’m going to get him back.”

“He’s too strong for a one on one,” Erza warned, “Remember, he’s comparable to Master in terms of power. You have to let us help you.”

Erza rose to her feet like the queen that she was. Injuries were inconsequential to her right now.

“I’m a real man, and even I don’t like this,” Elfman said.

A slow clapping started at the top of the stairs and they all looked up. “Bravo! Very keen, Wizards of Fairy Tail,” Jose said, standing in the black cloud of his own magic aura. “I thought this would be fun, but never did I imagine it would be this entertaining. You took down my Jupiter Canon, you defeated my elite element four, and you even brought my giant to its knees. I am impressed despite myself.”

“That’s their master?” Gray asked.

“It’s like he’s standing in a black cloud.”

Lucy lit herself up with her power and marched forward. His shadows stopped touching her, fleeing her holy light.

Gray and Elfman flanked her.

“Ahh, I believe this is the darling Guardian Angel,” Jose sneered, “Though, not much of a guardian from the state I left your little friend in.”

“Where is Loke?” Lucy demanded.

“Gajeel gets so bored you see,” Jose said dramatically, “It’s rude to leave him without anything to play with.”

“And that’s all I needed to know,” Lucy said, bracing to rush past him. Gray and Elman took that for the cue it was.

“Ice make Saucer!”

“Beast Arm!”

Lucy lit herself up as bright as she could manage, and rushed straight forward and low.

“Watch out!” Erza called.

Just as the three attacks were about to land with full force, Jose conjured shadows that sprayed like bullets.

Lucy’s light kept them from touching her, but the sheer force of the attack sent her skidding backwards, barely keeping her feet.

She wasn't the target. Lucy flung out a stream of light, but it was too late.

Elfman and Gray yelled. The shades passed through them, stealing strength and magic as they went.

Lucy brightened her aura more, until a hand yanked her arms out of the casting position.

Jose grinned at her. Next she was flying into the staircase.

Tucking into a roll to avoided the worst of the damage, her legs absorbing the worst of the impact.

Another explosion sounded.

“Elfman! Gray!” Mira yelled. Lucy struggled to her feet.

“Don’t you dare!” Nightwing Erza slipped through the spray of shades to slash at Jose.

He pulled the same trick, using that ridiculous speed of his, to send Erza flying in the opposite direction from Lucy.

His attack stopped, and the panting of the Fairy Tail wizards filled the air. “The Titania, too fast for my range attacks, and…” Lucy stood up, drawing his eyes to her, “The Guardian Angel, whose magic happens to be the counter to my own. One took a shot straight from Jupiter, the other is still recovering from a fight with my iron dragon slayer. Yet both of you are still standing.”

“I stand because I stand for my friends,” Erza declared, getting to her feet to level her sword at him, “They fill my heart with enough strength to withstand any pain.”

“I stand because I swore to use my power to protect the people I care about. If it kills me, so be it. That promise will give me more than enough power to defeat you,” Lucy said, readying herself.

“Powerful, courageous, and exquisitely beautiful, both of you,” Jose said, his smile jacked up to serial killer creepy, “Destroying you will bring me unbelievable pleasure!”

“Well, you have more taste than some of the losers I’ve had to beat up,” Lucy said, unable to stop a small smile. “Erza, can we call him bigger than a house?”

Erza gave a small laugh, “I believe in this case, that would be acceptable. Though I will handle him alone if you would like to pursue Loke’s safety.”

If your enemy wants to give you time to recover, then you take it. Lucy reached out for magic signatures, a wall shattered in the distance.

Lucy shook her head, “I already had my fun with Gajeel, Natsu’s got this one. Loke’s safe for now. Which means the only threat left to Loke is the fool standing between us. A much better match up for me.”

Natsu better make sure Loke was safe before he started destroying walls.

“Now that’s just rude,” Jose said, taking an advanced casting stance, “I said so many nice things about you, and this is what I get!”

 

 

           

Loke needed to do something, but Gajeel had an iron grip and was dragging him through the halls while his head wound bled profusely. At least the head wound wasn’t deep or meant for real harm. Gajeel just wanted blood and, apparently, head wounds bled a lot.

Finally Gajeel tossed him against a wall. “Well, that should do it,” he said, grinning, nose twitching.

“You’re one sick bastard,” Loke said, going for his keys, “I hope you know that’s all it’s going to say on your grave when Fairy Tail’s done with you.”

“If I had a jewel for every time someone called me that, I wouldn’t have to work for a living,” Gajeel said with a grin, “But I’ll admit, it’s pretty gutsy to go mouthing off when you’re on the edge of dying, and your guild along with you. Still, would have much rather have had Blondie than you. Maybe after we’re done here, I’ll go play with her some more.”

“You won’t be laying a hand on Lucy,” Loke said, getting to his feet. “And she’s way too good for you anyway.”

Gajeel’s grin widened, showing off razor teeth. He flashed a throwing dagger between his fingers. “Well, that’s it for insults I’m willing to hear from you. Let’s see how you do without your throat!”

Gajeel threw the knife.

Loke threw his arm up and waited for more pain.

“GAJEEL!” The floor erupted between them, and Natsu burst through the floor like a rocket. He caught the dagger between his hands.

Fire surrounded Natsu like wings, as he yelled. He sent the dagger back to its owner, covered in flames.

It glanced off Gajeel’s iron arm; he was grinning.

“I knew it! To catch a salamander, the perfect bait is fairy blood.”

“You’re going to pay for even thinkin’ of laying a hand on my friends!” Natsu yelled. “He’s one of us, and unlike you Phantom scum, everyone in Fairy Tail is my friend, and I won’t let you hurt him any more!”

Natsu rushed Gajeel, and their battle started.

“Loke? Are you okay?” Happy said, coming through the hole Natsu had made and landing beside him. “Natsu got really mad because he smelled your blood everywhere.”

Loke couldn’t look away from the dueling dragons. Like with Natsu’s fight with Erza, he used only unexpected angles to attack, turning on a dime every time he touched ground or wall or pillar. Each hit sent Gajeel smashing across the room. Like Lucy, Natsu used his magic as both the power and the decoy, brilliant tongues flaming out covered where his actual attack was coming from.

“Loke, we should probably get back,” Happy said, “If you’re okay I mean.”

“Huh?” Loke said, finally looking down at the cat. “Oh, right, I’m okay. It bled a lot, but I’ll be fine, nowhere near dangerous amounts. Probably.”

Loke stood up, wincing, and he and Happy kept their eyes on the wide ranging fight in order to stay out of the way. Loke swiped an extra pair of blue sunglasses from his pocket and put them on, helping him see more clearly. 

“You got a big mouth on you for Fairy Scum,” Gajeel taunted.

“That’s four of my friends you’ve harmed,” Natsu said, “I’m going to make you pay for each one of them!”

Gajeel sent and extended punch, and Natsu danced on top of it, aiming for a kick to the face when Gajeel’s sword arm came out, forcing Natsu back.

“How about I show you exactly what I did to them instead!” Gajeel yelled, and the spikes on his sword arm started running up and down the blade at vicious speeds.

“Ooo, I’m so scared,” Natsu taunted, dodging each of Gajeel’s swings. Natsu couldn’t risk taking a hit from that, forcing him to keep greater distance than before.

He was able to evade, but it cost him the ability to counterattack.

Gajeel was destroying more of the room with every swing. His blows cracked walls and floors like they were ceramic plates.

The stalemate went on, neither able to hit the other.

Loke could only watch.

“You’re a nimble little fairy, I’ll give you that,” Gajeel said, finally ending the stalemate and retracting his sword arm. “Let’s see how you handle this!” A magic circle appeared at his feet, and with a yell he cast something that turned his skin to metal.

“Dragon scales!” Happy gasped.

“Try this!” Gajeel yelled, charging. Natsu braced to block. Gajeel hit, and Natsu flew. The wall crumpled and his body joined the rubble on the floor.

“Natsu!” Loke yelled. His hands went to his keys, and Natsu started to stand up, gripping his new, purple forearm. It shouldn’t have been possible to bruise that fast, even if it had been broken.

His keys. He’d used Virgo today. Thursday. Aquarius was off. Third Thursday meant Taurus as was off, and Cancer required 24 hours between summons.

No, he had contracts with five gold keys now. Natsu growled at Gajeel and launched another attack as Loke fumbled for his newest key. “Open, Gate of the archer, Sagittarius!”  

Natsu was batted into another wall. The sounds of his crash mixed with the bell of his spirit’s entrance.

“Got anything that can pierce steel?” Loke asked, eyes on Gajeel. The dragon slayer raised an eyebrow at him.

“I believe I have something that can do the trick,” Sagittarius said, an arrow appearing in his grip.

“On my mark.”

“You better not be thinkin’ of getting in on my fight!” Natsu said, rolling to his feet once more. “I know you’re new to Fairy Tail, but we have rules. And this fight is mine until he knocks me out, and we’re a long ways away from that happening.”

“What?” Loke asked.

Happy nodded beside him, “I’ll give you a copy of the full list later. But unless the opponent is bigger than a house, the fight goes one on one, until the Fairy Tail wizard is knocked out. Then you can take your turn.”

“Not that it matters if I have to fight both of you at once,” Gajeel said. “But at least your guild appreciates a good fight. Didn’t expect it, honestly.”

“So you better stay out of my way Loke!” Natsu said, charging up a flamed fist, “Because it’s my turn!”

Sagittarius looked at Loke, waiting for orders. Loke looked at Happy, who nodded.

“Stand down for now,” Loke said, against his better judgement. Sagittarius’s arrow vanished. “But I’d like it if you could stay at the ready.”

Sagittarius snapped a salute, “Moshi, Moshi!”

“All you, Natsu,” Loke called.

Natsu landed a punch to the chin, full of flames, and Gajeel took it. Natsu drew his hand back, gasping in pain, while Gajeel grinned. “You ain’t scratching me with those baby punches of yours.”

“Well then, Fire Dragon Roar!”

“Iron Dragon Roar!”

The magic met in the middle and exploded outwards. When the dust cleared, Natsu was breathing heavily while Gajeel laughed, the walls finally cracked for good, opening up the room to the outside.

“And that’s the difference between Iron Dragons and Fire Dragons,” Gajeel bragged, “You can blow flames at me all day long and you won’t scratch my armor, while just one steel shard roar leaves you in tatters.”

“You sure you ain’t feeling a breeze right about now?” Natsu asked, grinning with his split lip.

Gajeel’s face cracked.

Sagittarius gave him another look, checking to see if now was the time, and Loke shook his head.

“I don’t breathe regular fire, and the fire dragon roar will destroy whatever it touches,” Natsu proclaimed. He tossed off his vest, “Are you ready to get serious?”

“Let’s go!”

Their magic auras charged up another degree. Guess he knew how Natsu ended up without his shirt after facing Erigor.

“I’m ready when you are!” Natsu yelled.

“The sky’s not big enough for two dragons,” Gajeel retorted, and it was weird, but he had the same look on his face that most of Fairy Tail had when they got their hands on a good fight.

He was honestly enjoying this.

This had been Gajeel’s goal all along. This fight. Right here. “Guess I’m just gonna have ta knock you outta the sky!”

They jumped towards each other, and to get the upper hand, they both propelled themselves upward using pure magic blasts on their feet. Like the dragons that taught them, they had taken the battle to the air.

Loke’s eyes were wide, “How much magic do they have to burn?”

Then the building started crashing around them, and Sagittarius picked him up before they jumped together to safety, Happy holding onto his pant leg.  

“Thanks Sagittarius,” Loke said, when they were set down in a place relatively free of falling debris.

“Look, they’re both exhausted,” Happy pointed out. Both dragon slayers were scratched up and breathing heavily. Gajeel’s iron scales were looking worse for wear, and Natsu had lost the feral look in favor of trying to get enough air in his lungs.

Then Gajeel scooped up bits of the iron scaffolding that had been busted in the fight and shoved it into his mouth.

“That’s not fair!” Natsu whined, “You’re eating right now?”

Gajeel grinned and chomped down on another bite of metal.

“He eats iron like Natsu eats fire,” Loke realized, “But is this really time for a snack?”

“This isn’t good,” Happy warned, biting his nails, “Natsu gets a magic boost whenever he eats fire, it recharges his magic. If it’s the same for Gajeel, then Natsu’s going to be in trouble.”

“I didn’t realize he got a magic boost from it,” Loke said, “Is that why Lucy keeps throwing flaming weapons at him?”

“Aye. Though Natsu’s not always quick enough to catch it; Lucy does it without warning.”

He hadn’t questioned it when she’d done it way back with their first encounter with the ex-Eisenwald guild members, there had been a lot going on and Loke thought Natsu just liked the taste of fire, but a magic boost made an unfortunate amount of sense.

Sagittarius grinned beside him, pulling an arrow into his bow, “Now, while I don’t have arrows that themselves are engulfed in flame, it is a relatively well-known phenomenon that if you apply enough force and friction to the proper materials, combustion is not long behind. If we are not allowed to attack the enemy based on honor rules, it seems like making fire is nothing more than leveling the playing field. May I?”

“Go for it!”

Several arrows flew in quick succession, one after the other in a row, missed both dragon slayers, and pieced the steel contraption on the wall behind Natsu. Loke hadn’t noticed it before, but it was comparatively undamaged.

Until it exploded.

Gajeel threw up his hands to protect himself, like Loke and Happy.

Natsu slurped.

The fire disappeared.

“Thanks for the snack, Loke,” Natsu grinned, wiping his mouth.

“You’re amazing Sagittarius,” Loke said with a grin, “I never would have guessed arrows could do that. You rock!”

“I aim to please,” Sagittarius said with a bow.

The sounds of battle in the distance crescendoed, ending with the sound of collapsing walls and screams. They all turned in the direction of the opening to the outside, where the Fairy Tail guildhall could be seen in the distance.

Or it would have been, if the guildhall wasn’t collapsing under a shadow monster that could only have been conjured by Jose.

“What? No!” Natsu yelled, running for the opening.

“The guildhall,” Happy whimpered, tears coming to his eyes.

It seemed like the whole world held its breath as the guildhall crumbled.

“Haha, look at that,” Gajeel laughed, “About time Master Jose finished knocking that heap to the ground. Is this the part where you start crying?”

“Levy. Jet. Droy. Gramps. Loke. Erza. Cana. The guildhall. And everyone fighting just to have a place to be ourselves. I don’t know how many more people you have to hurt until you’re satisfied,” Natsu said, giving Gajeel a look that promised pain, “But it ends now.”

“Iron Dragon Roar!” Gajeel cast.

Natsu slashed though the magical energy of the attack with his hand, using his magic to do nothing but reinforce his body.

Gajeel looked a lot more worried, and even took a step back, “That’s not possible. I’m not going to lose to you.”

Natsu exploded into flames, “Messing with Fairy Tail is the biggest mistake you’ve ever made!”

Gajeel launched an attack, which Natsu met, fist for fist. Gajeel’s scales cracked. If there was more talking, Loke couldn’t hear it. There was only the flame and the explosion. Gajeel couldn’t seem to strike back, and Loke sent Sagittarius home and Happy got him out of there and into the air.

They watched as Natsu and Gajeel used the full extent of their dragonized elements.

The dragonslayers tore apart the rest of the room they had been in, and the entire top of the structure fell into the water below. Dust was everywhere, obscuring the fight. Finally an explosion bigger than the rest tore through the air.

“Natsu!” Happy yelled, and flew them through the dust cloud over to where their friend stood a level above where he had sent Gajeel. The iron dragon slayer’s scales had fallen, he wasn’t moving on the ground. Natsu was still standing.

He roared.

Then he crashed to his knees. Happy flew them down to where he was chuckling.

“See, I told you I could do it without help,” Natsu grinned at them. “Though, I think I’m gonna rest a bit.”

~

~

Notes:

Happy Tuesday update everyone! Gajeel's awful days are over, Natsu got his victory roar, and Erza and Lucy are showing some tagteam magic. Loke also now has homework, lol.

Chapter 29: Fairy Law

Lucy stood beside Erza, just beyond her sword swing, and had to fall into a recovery stance. Her magic levels were doing fine as far as she could tell for now, but her physical body wasn’t keeping up. Between the hits from Gajeel and the number of times Jose had already thrown her into walls, her body really wanted to use magic to recover, and she wasn’t letting it.

“How are you holding up?” Erza asked, not taking her eyes off Jose.

“Ready for another round,” Lucy said, shifting her weight to the balls of her feet and lifting her arms up once again.

The ground beneath them started shaking and Lucy had to focus on keeping her feet on the ground and her eyes on Jose. He was roughed up from their combined attacks. They’d had the most success with Lucy clearing a path for Erza to get in a swipe. Jose was missing a sleeve with a deep bicep cut to match, had a goose egg on his head, and several minor injuries, but not near enough to put a stop to him.

It sounded like the building was collapsing around them, and dust was falling everywhere, but it settled with the sound of something heavy falling in the waters of the cove.

“My, what an unruly dragon you have in Fairy Tail,” Jose said, tisking and shaking his head.

“Unruly, maybe,” Erza said, “But never underestimate his power. I’d consider him at least equal to myself.”

“Oh, but your power is magnificent Titania,” Jose said, “And truly, the fact that both of you are still standing is a testament to that strength. No one has lasted this long against me in ages. You know what’s the worst?” His magic aura gathered tightly around his index fingers, and Lucy braced to dodge. “That so many powerful and talented wizards are allied with Makarov.”

He flicked out, and both of them dodged to the outside. He forced them apart, and now they were attacking from different angles, instead of Erza just behind her. Magic bullets struck out in all directions, and Erza couldn't dodge and get closer, Lucy needed to regroup with her.

“Imagine! How do you think he’ll feel with his guildhall destroyed and his children dead and gone?” Jose laughed. The angles weren’t limited by the direction of his fingers, Lucy was burning too much energy on a defensive light. “He’ll be so devastated; it will be the work of mice to swoop in and kill him!”

“People aren’t your toys!” Lucy yelled. She circled and met up with Erza behind his back. Lucy took the lead and rushed forward, concentrating her magic tightly, burning away the bullets targeting them. Just as she was about to roll out of the way to give Erza the clean shot, Jose jumped in the air, letting them run through where he had been to stike them in the back.

They rolled and skidded. Or Lucy did, Erza was probably good enough to dodge that one. She stopped when she hit where Mirajane was collapsed.

Then she made her screaming body stand again.

Pain was a warning, move on.

Erza missed a strike as he dodged. Now Erza was on the stairs, and Lucy close to the door.

Jose continued as though she hadn’t said anything, and they hadn’t been attacking him, and their friends weren’t struggling just to keep breathing through their injuries. “You know, as long as I can remember, Phantom Lord has been at the top. Missions completed, number of members, and of course, capital. Just as it should be. Then it came into jeopardy.”

If he wanted to monologue and give them a rest, Erza’s eyes said to take it.

“Then the names of Erza, Laxus, and Mystogan became known throughout the land. Tales of Salamander spread, and most recently, a Guardian Angel. Now Phantom and Fairy Tail are considered equals, the top guilds representing this kingdom. The thought disgusts me!” he said, turning on Erza, “I refuse to be equated with such a feeble guild!”

“Silence,” Erza yelled, rushing forward, “You will cease to speak ill of my guild, and my master!”

Jose taunted her, keeping just out of her reach, always facing her, and Lucy made herself move into position to hit him from behind. “Lucy’s right, you are pettier and more despicable than I thought." Erza’s yelling and slashing provided the sound cover she needed to move undetected. "We’re fighting for our lives because you had a fit of jealousy? This is your foolish attempt to prove a point? This is why none of the powerful wizards you envy chose Phantom Lord. Master Makarov doesn’t act like a spoiled child!”

Lucy planted herself, but didn’t light her fists or feet. Erza drove Jose back, keeping his entire attention on her rapid swings. They approached and Lucy raised her foot, lighting it at the last second, catching him in the base of the spine with a whip kick, while Erza attacked with a terrifying slice. He blocked her blade but Lucy had wrecked his balance and he went flying.

Jose rolled in the air and landed on his feet, sliding on the landing. They had been so close to making him eat stone wall. “So, someone in your guttersnipe guild knows how to be quite and play with others. Wonders never cease. I’m surprised you’re not better known, Lucy of Fairy Tail.”

Lucy charged forward, yelling, and Erza was a step behind her. Lucy didn’t roll to the side this time and instead went left, letting Erza go right.

Jose dodged under their strikes. He kicked Lucy away and disarmed Erza.

When Lucy got back to her feet, Erza was wrapped up in shade snakes.

Then she was screaming, and Lucy raced towards her, hands full of magic. Jose stepped between them, kicking her away again.

That time it took her longer to stand up, she had to give some magic to healing. Jose was already turned back around, his attention on Erza. Lucy’s chest was heaving from exhaustion.  

“Yes, I dislike you all personally, but the real trigger for this whole event was when I was hired by the patriarch of the Heartfilia family to find his missing son.”

He was really set on this monologue.

And hell Layla, what kind of man did you marry?

She had been an elegant kind of refined spitfire from what Lucy remembered of her, the few minutes they worked together. “The heir to one of the kingdom’s greatest fortunes was now in Fairy Tail. Makarov had finally decided to buy his way to the top.”

Erza screamed as lightning cracked around Jose’s snakes, and Lucy wished more than anything she had enough juice for a Regulas Max, but that was beyond her right now. She just needed to get close.

No, use the monologue. Sneak up from behind. The constant magic circle meant the spell needed to be continuously cast. Tripping up Jose would do just as much as getting her hands on those snakes.

“Fairy Tail had access to the Heartfilia Family fortune. And it was only a matter of time before you surpassed Phantom Lord, unless we wiped you out first."

Erza whimpered again under the magic of a wizard saint with torture and vengeance on the mind.

Lucy froze unless words were being spoken.

Then Erza started laughing. There wasn’t a single moment that Erza’s eyes flickered to her. “I don’t know what’s more hilarious, your concern about something as silly as a guild ranking or how misinformed you are about Loke.”

“What!” he demanded, focusing all his attention on Erza.

“He came to us as a runaway,” Erza laughed, her voice filling the room, disguising Lucy’s steps. “He has no access to his family’s fortune! He rents a dumpy basement apartment for 85,000 jewel a month. He works hard to make a living, he gets into fights and into trouble. He pretends to be smooth but falls apart at the first sign of real friendship, while constantly extending his hand and his humor to those who might need it. Loke is no different than any other member of Fairy Tail. He’s why we’re at war, and we have no regrets. Loke may be the son of the Heartfilia family, but just as flowers do not chose where they bloom, children do not choose their parents.”

Erza pried her arms free, fists tight, freeing her torso.

Lucy slid closer.

“You know nothing of Loke Heartfilia of Fairy Tail,” Erza cried.

Lucy swung her foot back, pushing power through the limb without letting it manifest in light. Jose moved a half step closer to Erza, tightening his spell, “and you know nothing of us!”

Lucy kicked forward with Erza’s last yell, and hit the same exact spot she had earlier on ‘nothing’.

Jose stumbled to his knees. Lucy rushed forward to catch Erza, kicking his face on her way. The wizard summoned another sword into her hand and used it to help brace her as Lucy set her back on her feet. Lucy kept Erza’s arm around her shoulder until Erza could find the strength to pull it back herself.

“I suppose I should have known better than to count you out,” Jose growled, back to his feet slowly. “Your little tag team act is really starting to get on my nerves.”

Lucy used her free hand to pull out her whip and snapped it in the distance between them.

They needed recovery time, needed him back long enough for Erza to pull herself to her feet once more. All Lucy's effort would be focused on defense until that happened.

Then something amazing started to happen. Light fell on her skin, on her Fairy Tail mark, and it healed.

Beside her, the crumbles of Erza’s armor reassembled on her body. Skin knit and bruises faded.

The relief made her knees weak, and with Erza’s weight, they slid to the floor.

“Lucy, Erza, you have done well against this monster,” Master’s voice came from where the doorway had long been shattered, his voice giant-deep, “But I think more than enough of my children’s blood has been spilled already.”

“Master,” Erza cried. Relief broke her voice in a way that an enemy never would.

Tears came to Lucy’s face, and her free hand, her guild-marked hand, went to cover her mouth at the sight of their tiny guild master lighting up the room like a sun. Gray and Elfman were knocked out between them, and their scratches started closing and healing as well.

“Children have been made to suffer because of the incompetence of their parents. We are both to blame, Jose.” Master Makarov said, and Lucy’s heart was far too full. This wasn’t about her, not really. But it was for her, the same way it was for Loke and Erza and Natsu.

“Master,” this time it was Lucy’s turn to speak with a tremble.

The healing light receded, and Erza was the one pulling Lucy to her feet while Lucy wiped at her tears. Makarov didn’t look away from Jose, but he knew they were there, and could guess at the battle they fought.

“Let us end this here and now, a fair fight with no more innocent blood. Girls, get the others out of here,” Master Makarov said.

“So you are willing to take responsibility for the catastrophe that will follow a duel of the two wizard saints?” Jose said, his shade magic covered the whites of his eyes.

“There is nothing I will not do to save my children and my guild!” Makarov said, and white power gathered in his fingertips. Jose attacked, and seven magic circles from Makarov formed a shield that caught each of his shade snakes. “Erza, Lucy, please.”

“Yes sir,” Erza said.

“Gramps!” Gray yelled. Gray and Elfman were on their feet, and Mira was getting to hers.

“We want to stay and help,” Elfman said.

She and Erza used the Master’s cover to reach the others. Lucy looked to Erza.

“We have to move,” Erza instructed, “So long as we are here, Master Makarov can’t fight to his full potential. He can handle this, I have faith.”

Lucy looked to Gray, and they both nodded. Elfman was helping Mira to her feet and leading her out the hole Lucy had made in her entrance. They jogged off the battlefield and onto the metal giant’s shoulders.

They could only get so far before the magic energy summoned by Jose and Master Makarov sent them staggering again. It was enormous, the power they summoned. Sky and ocean responded in kind. Lightning cracked, and waves pulled back, trying to lash against the iron giant, but forced away by the power emanating.

This wasn’t Makarov’s Giant magic at all, this was a form of light magic he was wielding, backed by something deeper and more powerful, the healing light from before a small taste of the preparation for this spell. How far away would she have to go before the electric sensation zinging through her guildmark subsided?

How wonderful would it feel to be closer? Lucy drifted closer almost against her will. It felt so good.

What was this magic? It almost felt compatible with hers, it was so pure. She could feel the bonds of her guild tying her to her guildmates, the way a celestial spirit was tied to their wizard.

Erza just kept smiling, Gray looked frustrated that he couldn’t watch, while Elman kept Mira steady.

Then a whisper of pure power seemed to come from every direction. Lucy would have flinched if the magic wasn’t so…kind. Gramp’s voice spoke clearly, harshly, as though right beside her. “I invoke Fairy Law.”

“That’s one of the guild’s three sacred magics,” Mirajane said, voice awed.

The ground was still shaking, but Lucy looked upwards. She gasped, and the others followed. The biggest magic circle she had ever seen lit the sky above them, bigger than Deliora or Lullaby. It emanated the same healing light, and the center symbol tying the spell together was a golden fairy.

All that power shot downward to their master; the light was blinding. It should have hurt, the others closed and covered their eyes.

But Lucy knew light magic. It was beautiful enough to bring tears to her eyes for a different reason.

“Fairy Law,” Erza said, and when the others looked at her, they realized the brightness didn’t hurt. Erza was smiling, “It’s a spell that vanquishes darkness with holy light. It only affects those who the caster sees as their enemy, and is powered by the strength of those the caster sees as friends and allies, specifically fellow guildmates. It’s one of the most legendary spells in existence.”

“It’s beautiful,” Lucy whispered.

The magic left, and Jose’s once incredible magic signature was no more.

“Come, we should head back to the guild,” Erza said. “Master is just going to be cleaning up a little.”

They used the magi-boat that Gray and Elfman had taken to get to the giant, Lucy’s fly bike now twisted scrap metal. Mirajane confidently hooked herself up as the magic supply, and within twenty minutes they were being welcomed by their celebrating comrades around the tatters of their guildhall. Happy and Loke arrived a minute later, Natsu must have volunteered to swim back after he recovered his strength, or Happy was going to go back for him later.

“Hey! Look on the giant!”

“Is that Gramps!”

“Master’s okay!”

“What do you think? Giant’s Wrath or Fairy Karma?”

All the guild members gathered on the edge of the cliff, cheering Master Makarov. The cheering fell quiet as he held up a hand.

“We are victorious, but I had very little to do with it,” Master Makarov called, and his voice cleared the chasm between, “This victory is yours, my children!”

Lucy cheered as loud as the rest. She would have let out a lion roar, it was in her chest and not linked to her magic at all, but that would have been distracting.

Still, she hadn’t felt like roaring in a very, very long time.

The cheering died down eventually, and Mira started organizing bandages and medical supplies. The healing light hadn’t reached all the way here, and despite the help, Lucy could feel several of her own bones still aching in pain. She kept her magic away from trying to heal it though. While it felt like the healing light did more to restore magic power than physical injuries, she didn’t exactly have any to spare.

 

 

 

Happy dropped Natsu off at the edge of their group, nice and quietly.

“Did you see Gramps wreck it?” Natsu asked excitedly, hanging onto Loke and talking to their group.

Natsu interrupted Lucy asking if she should have tried to protect the guildhall instead, and everyone was eager to switch topics.

“How could anyone miss it?” Gray replied, smiling widely. Then they remembered they hated each other and turned their backs, “And did you have to go so ridiculously overboard when taking down Blacksteel? You almost collapsed the whole thing on top of us.”

“Like Phantom has room to complain about property damage,” Natsu scoffed. “And Gajeel deserved it for what he did. Your own fault if you didn’t tear through the roof yourself. Did you even do anything?”

“Took down a member of the elite four by myself,” Gray said, “From what I hear, all your opponents were either finished by someone else or half dead when you got to them.”

Erza caught Lucy’s eye, and Lucy nodded. She latched onto Natsu’s shoulder, while Erza latched onto Gray, turning them back around. “Fairy Tail won the war, I hardly think now is the time to fight,” Erza cooed.

“Yeah, stop pouting and give up pretending to hate each other for a day,” Lucy said, smiling brightly.

Natsu and Gray went stiff, and Loke decided to help them out of their misery. “Hey, Natsu, you should probably go get bandaged up,” Loke said, “Follow me. Mira has the medical supplies out.”

He led Natsu over to the first aid area, where people were still being bandaged and cleaned. Reedus waved hi at him with the arm not in a sling.

“Hi Natsu,” Mira said, smiling, “It was wonderful to see your handiwork up close. You have some injuries left over?”

Sheepishly Natsu held out his hands. His knuckles were busted raw.

“Oh dear,” Mira said, taking his hands. She led him to a spot to sit down and started dabbing alcohol.

It hurt watching him hurt. Everywhere Loke looked, it hurt to see how many lives were affected by Loke’s choice to run away.

It was only supposed to affect him. He could handle working hard and living like everyone else. He thought he could handle his father's anger on his own. He thought that was the change he was making when he ran.

And now nothing he cared about was left unscathed while the perpetrator lost nothing.

Mira asked him for more water, and he fetched it. He played errand boy for Mira for as long as he could, helping tend to people.

That stopped, along with all conversation, when Makarov arrived, a new staff in hand to survey the wreckage. Fairy Tail filed in behind their guild master.

“Well, they’ve really done a number on us, haven’t they?” Makarov said, “A brutal reminder that war never comes without cost to everyone. We’ll rebuild, but I wish we’d been able to keep the place intact.”

“I’m sorry Master,” Lucy said, stepping up, her head bowed, “I made the wrong choice. My magic was the best counter to Jose’s, and I wasted my effort trying to attack him directly instead of protecting our guildhall.”

“No, it’s my fault. For not telling anyone who I was or making sure my father wouldn’t search for me in the first place.” Loke said, stepping up beside Lucy, who flinched away from him.

“You’ve been through much, children, in the past couple of days,” Makarov said tiredly, “No one blames you for your choice of how to defend your friends, Lucy. Nor do we blame you for your parentage, Loke. Do not be sad for this.”

“That’s right, everyone’s okay! Isn’t that worth a smile?” Levy’s voice called out, walking forward with Jet and Droy.

He turned, but Lucy was already running around him. She threw her arms around Levy, teary eyed once again. “You’re alright!” Lucy cried.

“Of course we are,” Levy soothed, she tucked Lucy under an arm and turned to Loke, “And Loke, we heard about your secret. Nobody blames you, we promise.”

“But if I hadn’t —”

“It’s impossible to share completely in each other’s joys and sorrows,” Master Makarov gently interrupted, “but we do share to some extent. That’s what it means to be part of a guild. One person’s happiness becomes everyone’s happiness, one person’s anger becomes everyone’s anger, and one person’s tears becomes everyone’s tears.”

Lucy sobbed, loudly and unashamed. Loke felt tears prick at his eyes.

It seemed impossible; the world didn’t work like that. But Makarov made him want to believe that it did.

Master Makarov continued, “You both should know by now how much everyone cares for you. For the tears and the laughter you both bring.” Makarov finally looked back at him, “Hold your head high, my son, for you are a proud member of the Fairy Tail family. Lean on us now, while your heart heals from the trials it has had to bear.”

Mouth trembling, Loke straightened his shoulders. “Yes Sir!”

Master Makarov grinned at Loke, “I get the feeling you’d prefer to call me Gramps. You may, if you were waiting for permission.”

“Ye-yes Gramps,” Loke said, flushing red as his voice cracked. A couple of tears leaked out of his own eyes. Darn it Lucy!

“There is much work to be done, and the Council is likely to come investigating sooner or later,” Gramps said, his wince clear. “I want everyone to go home and take tomorrow off. The day after we start rebuilding. Stay in town until the Rune Knights come, better than irritating them by making them track you down.”

Then Gramps started wailing, something about being too old to go to jail, and Erza was trying to calm him down, and people started wandering off to find somewhere to grab a beer after a long day. Loke thought about joining them, but he felt wrung out and exhausted. He still had a visit to plan, he had to stop this from happening again.

But first…a nap.

He returned to his apartment and slept for 16 hours.

Notes:

Still Friday in my time zone, barely made it. Very busy work week, but glad I could get this out. Loke and Lucy and blame themselves buddies.

Chapter 30: Bucket List

Lucy dragged herself out of bed early the next morning. Lack of magic wasn’t going to kill her today, but she didn't have time to waste.

After getting dressed in white capris and a blue blouse, she busied herself with laundry and cleaning until it was time to start her trek to the woods. Porlyusica would be upset that she wasn’t giving a week’s advanced notice, but the healer wouldn’t turn her away.

Upon reaching the door, she found a Phantom flag sitting in a bush, weirdly enough. She pocketed it for fun, and because litter would make the healer even more grouchy. Lucy knocked on Porlyusica’s door.

“I’ve had more than enough humans here for the next year. Go away!”

“Not a human,” Lucy called back. “I’m sorry to bother you, but my situation has changed and I would like a consultation if you’re available.”

Lucy waited for a full two minutes before the healer threw open her front door. She turned her back, and Lucy followed her inside. “Am I to presume that you got caught up in that ridiculous war, and now you’ve come to beg for more powder? Well tough! Two months was the absolute minimum! For a truly potent brew, it would take at least two and a half. I was already rushing it to accommodate your previous foolishness!”

“I actually came to apologize for wasting your time earlier,” Lucy said with a bow, “I know you’ve gone far out of your way to help me. I did use up the rest of your medicine in order to save my friends. Please don’t bother with continuing the brew. I will accept the consequences of my actions and I have come to terms with my fate. Thank you for all you’ve done. Again, I apologize for wasting your time.”

Her peripheral vision showed that Porlyusica’s mouth had fallen open. Having said what she needed to, Lucy turned back to the door.

Lucy jumped as a hand shot out.

“Shut up and sit down like a good patient,” Porlyusica growled.

She sat down on the patient’s bed and waited while Porlyusica searched her cabinet for something. The she turned around and hurled a glob at Lucy’s face, nailing her on the forehead.

“I guess I deserved that,” Lucy said, cringing at the disgusting feel of the paste drying on her face.

“Don’t start acting like a human now,” Porlyusica scowled, “I made this tincture specifically to track Makarov’s recovery from the magic drain spell. For wizards suffering from magic drain, it turns different shades to indicate how close to empty you are. Now let’s see…” she held up a chart with different shades of blue and purple on it, squinting between it and her forehead. It was going to be gross to get out of her hair, wasn’t it? “A sky blue, not surprising. Though not what I expected. After going toe to toe with Phantom Lord it should have be paler. If you come back here in two hours for the test again, I can estimate how much time is left for you.”

Lucy bowed, “Thank you. If I had to guess, it felt like some magic came back after being in close proximity to Makarov using Fairy Law. That light magic…it felt sister. I felt it help, like my body was absorbing magic through my guildmark.”

Porlyusica nodded, “Fairy Law is a magic of heart and holiness. Its purpose is to aid allies of the caster, and defeat enemies. It relies on bonds, much like celestial magic. When used by the guild master, it lends strength to nearby guild members and all who bear the mark will know that it has been cast. Now come back in exactly two hours.”

Lucy walked through the woods. And while she felt Karen’s ghost watching, it never manifested beyond that.

“I’m coming Karen,” Lucy told the wind, “It will all be over soon.”

In her wandering she crossed the path to Natsu’s house. He’d still be asleep right now, but she walked towards it anyway. She knew where it was, even if she’d never been there herself. Peeking in the windows, she saw Natsu, asleep in his hammock, while leaving the place completely trashed. He really did live in a pigsty, though it wasn’t worse than Taurus’s house in the celestial world. The wall across from her was full of old job requests and souvenirs. She could spy the Everlue job and that dratted maid outfit.

Smiling, Lucy pulled the Phantom flag from her pocket, and used a pen to write: Phantom Falls - Victory for Fairy Tail! on the dark purple fabric. She folded it and put it on the doorstep, then wrote in the air above it with her light pen: for your dragon hoard of memories.

“Soon that’s all you’ll be,” Karen’s voice whispered. “A dusty memory.”

Lucy was cruel, wasn’t she? Getting close and finally forming a team in the guild, just in time to die. Well, she’d do her best to vanish, instead of die. Before her magic ran out, she’d tell Master that she was quitting, that she had an emergency and had to go back home. Hopefully that would be enough to keep Natsu and the others from trying to track her down. Gramps will stop any attempts to track her down if she asks. Then she’ll be gone, and eventually someone will get a hold of her manuscript.

And I wont care anymore.

Lucy shoved those thoughts away. Dying came to everything and everyone, even stars. She was the Lion. She would accept the consequences of her actions with grace and dignity. Lucy had made her choices and would not cower. She would enjoy the walk in the woods that she had left to her.

It was a lovely morning.

Back at Porlyusica’s, bracing herself for the slap of paste only helped a little. Lucy kept her eyes closed as Porlyusica read the color change. Then waited quietly while she wrote and did her calculations.

“You were right, without using any magic, you will run out before I am able to complete the brew,” Porlyusica said, “Fifteen days approximately. I assume you consume less of your magic when you are asleep, but I don’t know how much less, nor do I know if your biology hits the same fatality point as magic drain in humans. Based on your reports and what I know of the human experience, your pain will increase dramatically during the last two days and you will begin to dissolve sporadically.”

“I see,” Lucy said quietly. It was a lot more time than she thought she had. “Porlyusica, what do humans do when they know they are going to die? Spirits always know, and it is always just…respected, just accepted when one of us passes. We smile and nod at the one on their way out. But I’ve been living as a human for so long, maybe I should add in some of their traditions.”

The healer eyed her for a long moment, “I didn’t believe you before, when you said you had accepted your death. It is the nature of living to cling to life, and the death of a star can’t be anything but tragic. Instead you seem to die like plants. The season changes and you cease.”

Lucy nodded and waited for her to continue.

“When humans know they are going to die, they get their property in order. Usually this is done by writing a will that indicates what property should go to whom,” Porlyusica explained, “They finish business that was previously unfinished. They make sure the people they love know that they are loved and will be taken care of after they have passed.”

Lucy smiled at each point, “Thank you, that gives me some ideas.” Lucy stood up and bowed, “Please Porlyusica, please continue to take care of yourself and the guild. I care about both of you deeply, and am glad to know that in my absence, you will take care of each other.”

Porlyusica tightened her lips, then grabbed her broom and went after her, “The best thing that ridiculous guild of yours could do is stop getting in unnecessary fights!” Lucy dodged around her swings, grinning, “Then no one would ask me to treat another human and I could finally get the peace I came out here to find! I hate humans!”

Lucy made it out the door, and a thwap of the broom closed it behind her.

She creaked it open again to smile at the healer, “Don’t you mean our guild?” Lucy asked, then laughed and danced away. She’d been there enough times to recognize the photo of a young Porlyusica with Master Makarov and Master Bob, standing in front of the guild.

“Shut up you blasted nosy —” Lucy dodged out of there with a self-satisfied grin, missing the projectile the healer had thrown at her for her teasing comment.

Lucy went back to her apartment and made a list. She wrote it in Ancient Renkit, a tribute to Mara Nightlin, her first wizard, and all the Ancient Renkit homework Lucy had helped her with.

Things to do before I die:

1. Get the Phantom incident resolved with the Magic Council. Will not look good if I vanish during questioning.
2. Finish novel and figure out a way to get it into Levy’s hands sixteen days from today.
3. Write will. Dispose of money properly.
4. Spend time with team, make sure they have each other and will continue to support each other after I’m gone. Wouldn’t want Fairy Tail’s strongest team to split apart because of me.
5. Pay any remaining debts and write apology letters for promises unfulfilled.
6. Make it to Karen Lilica’s grave on the final day. The time has come to pay up.

It was a pretty good list in her opinion, and totally doable in the next fifteen days. And written in the order that she should do it in.

First the Magic Council. She found a new sheet of paper and started to write her script. Lucy had a contact in the Magic Council from before she joined Fairy Tail when she was independently collecting information on dark wizards. Time to call in the numerous favors he owes her to get a quick response and resolution to Phantom.

Lucy changed into a red shirt, took her script to the post office, and shut herself in a recording room.

“Hey Bolt, calling in a favor, I don’t know what you’ve heard about Fairy Tail and Phantom, but Phantom instigated an attack three days ago, and we were at war until Fairy Tail finished it yesterday evening.  It was all defensive on the part of Fairy Tail, but we’d like the Magic Council to investigate quickly and provide a ruling. We need to rebuild our guildhall and get back to taking jobs.

“Master Makarov has ordered everyone to stay in town until your guys get here, but it would be better for everyone to get started as quick as possible. Honestly? Natsu only gets more difficult to work with the longer he is forced to stay in one place, and there are a couple of times when his will be the only testimony available. The rest of us aren’t much better. We’d also like to know what to do with the magical robot giant in our back yard.  I’ll see you soon.”

Two fingers made a victory sign and she blew blew a kiss. It was sent with barely a nod from the postal workers.

Time for list item number two.

Lucy re-read her whole manuscript and used the editor’s pen to add and delete and rewrite. The deadline was here.

Somehow, knowing exactly when she was going to die gave the final feelings needed to pick the words that captured her banishment, her death sentence. Prose flowed from her pen into perfect sentences and her hundreds of years of life breathed through her story.

An afterword was the final touch. A prayer of forgiveness from her guildmates, apologizing that she didn’t have the courage to tell them in person. It was so much less than they deserved, and there was so much more to write about her recent adventures. But she had made the decision to where to end it long ago, when she had given up chasing dark guilds and changed to protecting the people she could with the time she had left.

Lucy put her pen down at 11 o’clock at night.

She had an hour long bath and went to bed.

In the morning, she dropped her manuscript off at the post office and paid the extra fee to have them hold it for fourteen days and then mail it. Coming out of the post office, she spotted Loke carrying a bag of groceries.

“Hey Loke!”

 He looked over and smiled, unable to wave back with his hands occupied.

“Hey Lucy, what brings you out this way?”

“The post office on this corner opens an hour earlier than the one closest to my place,” she said, “I had something I had to mail early this morning. Do you live around here?”

He nodded, “The next street over. You want to come over for a bit before heading to the guild? I have yogurt.”

Lucy smiled, “Sure, let’s see this dump you, Natsu, and Gray keep talking about.”

“Don’t say we didn’t warn you.”

They chatted casually. Loke’s aura snapped at hers, and it hurt, but she focused on him, her friend, and accepted the pain this morning. He told her about the lady at the market who gave him extra apples every time he flirted with her, and Lucy traded a story about the fishermen who always warned her about walking on the edge of the canal. Then one day she was coming home for a job that required her to dress up, and one of the fishermen actually fell in after getting distracted by her beauty.

“I believe it,” Loke said sincerely, “You are likely the most beautiful woman I’ve ever met, and it has tripped me up more than once. And I routinely hang out with the stars.”

“Don’t let Aquarius hear you say that, her vanity couldn’t take it,” Lucy flirted back. “Though you can say it to me all you like.”

Loke tilted his head, playful smile turned into scrunched eyebrows, “How do you know about Aquarius?”

Hell. Hell. Holy hell. Did she just ruin three years of work for a flirt with a celestial mage? Lucy scrambled, “Uhh…oh um, Gray met her. He told me about her attitude problems while we were searching for you. She seemed like the vain type, and you were mentioning stars…”

Loke shrugged, “I guess that makes sense. And we’re here, the apartment of despair.”

Loke unlocked his door and Lucy winced. Loke kept things clean and decent, but you couldn’t get around the awkward stains on the wallpaper and rugs, the falling apart appliances, or the lack of light.

Lucy almost summoned a witchlight by habit, but remembered just in time she didn’t have the magic to spare. “Yikes, you guys weren’t kidding. My place is amazing compared to this.”

“Can you believe I pay more than you do?” Loke said, going to the kitchen and putting away his groceries, “I’ve tried every cleaning product in the market on that carpet, and it looks so much better than when Natsu was here to tempt me with the S class quest.”

It looked a lot better with him in it. He carried his own sort of glow with him. He held out a cup of yogurt for her, and she had no regrets, not even when the ashy taste coated her mouth.

They talked about the Durre job he declined. Him and Emily Durre had run around the same parties as children and he hadn’t been quite ready to face her.

“Do you think you are now?” Lucy asked.

Loke shook his head, “Not just yet. Soon though. And I’m not sure I could stop myself from flirting with your charges,” he said, “Might make things a little awkward with their fiancés.”

“Even if Erza and I were there to flirt with instead?” Lucy checked cheekily.

“That might be enough,” Loke said, pretending to consider it, “and if not, Erza’s fist is enough to knock the romance out of any scene.”

Lucy giggled, because Gray had told her about that too on their way to rescue him. “Very gutsy. Don’t you think Erza’s prettier than me? She and Mirajane are the only ones I might concede to.”

“Ah, I get it now. You sensed Aquarius’s vanity easily enough around the aura of your own." His smile was inclusive, daring, mischievous. "And I’ll tell you the truth if you promise never to tell anyone else.”

“If you’re worried, my ego can take not being as pretty as Erza,” Lucy said, confidently, “We bathed together on that last transport job, it would be an honor to be second place to her.”

Loke’s eyes went unfocused at the image she gave him, and she laughed as he blushed. “Now that’s playing dirty.”

“I assure you, we were very clean,” Lucy teased. “Not a smidge of dirt anywhere.”

“I was going to explain that your confidence puts you in a league of your own, but it seems you’re a little more preoccupied with Erza. I won’t stand in the way of you two if that’s what you’re asking.”

This time Lucy laughed loud enough to break the moment. She got distracted and the yogurt spilled on the floor.

“Wow Lucy,” Loke said with faux excitement, “I think you’ve actually improved my floor. Strawberry pink on yellow beige, it really brings out the springtime hues.”

Someone this beautiful was not allowed to be this funny.

Her hands on her cheeks to stop her giggles. Loke was smiling at her, eyes half-lidded. Lucy’s heart twisted in a new way as she tried to understand the expressions on his face. Her hand moved down to her chest, and she could feel the heat of her blush there. She was blushing everywhere.

Loke’s eyes followed her hand, then slowly moved back towards her eyes, but stopped at her lips. Lucy’s heart shot into overdrive, pounding with each millisecond neither of them moved.

Then he moved a little closer, and it was a thousand times worse.

And better.

And far, far too much.

“Better clean that up,” Lucy said, jumping to her feet. “Yep, it may be pretty, but it’s going to get sticky and gross if we leave it there too long. Here we go!” she grabbed a sponge from the sink and cleaned it up before Loke could even stand.

“Were you going to head to the guild today?” Loke asked, grabbing a dry rag. He joined her on the floor.

“Um, yeah, I was going to see what I could do to help rebuild,” Lucy said nervously, “Seeing how much as we can get done before the Magic Council interrogates us makes sense, and we don’t know when they’ll come.”

“I’ll walk with you,” Loke said.

Why wasn’t her heart rate returning to normal? She flirted with lots of guys, all the time! And Loke was a playboy, his lines were probably the same thing he used on all the girls. He probably kept yogurt for every girl he brought to his place and told them they were the most confident, beautiful woman he had ever seen.

Loke disappeared to change clothes, because apparently some yogurt got on him at some point, and Lucy washed her silverware, embarrassed. He came out in yet another graphic tee, this one for the singer Syren, with the name of her most popular song across the chest and her signature pose.

“Far cry from the suits you grew up wearing,” Lucy said, and her heart started to get back to a reasonable rate. This was Loke, guildmate, serial flirt, and friend. He was just good at what he did.

Then he grinned at her, and she had to start the process over again as he led her out the door, keys and sword strapped to his side. “That was the point, actually. Don’t get me wrong, I can rock a suit just fine, but no one expects a noble in these clothes. And it’s kind of…freeing, I guess. Suits involve so many layers and being covered neck to toe. I wanted adventure, I wanted real friends, and the freedom of having a wardrobe of only cheap shirts that have art printed on them? Just what I was looking for.”

That was when Lucy realized that in the time she had known Loke, she had never seen him wear the same shirt twice. “How many do you actually own?” she asked, and this time, they kept the conversation easy.

They made it all the way to the guild, and it was time to get to work, hauling the trash. They didn’t get much of a chance to talk the rest of the day, which was just fine with Lucy, because she needed time to sort out what had happened that morning.

Near as she could figure, Loke had been about to kiss her.

Also, using similar deduction skills, she had wanted him to kiss her. That fluttery, too much feeling was attraction and desire, and what she had been missing out on every time she decided against going on dates and getting a boyfriend.

But that was ridiculous for so many reasons, it didn’t bear thinking about. So she would squash the crush by never being alone with him, and he would find another girl to flirt with, and in 14 more days, it wouldn’t be her problem.

The Magic Council came by the next day and Natsu still tried to run. But then, so did Master, so maybe that was more habit than actual belief they could get away with it.

They separated out those closest to the conflict, and Lucy and Loke were taken in for questioning first.

Lucy wasn’t surprised to find Doranbolt waiting for her in the first tent. “So, Birdie, let’s hear the mess Fairy Tail made this time.”

“Good to see you again too, Bolt,” Lucy said, sitting down and making herself comfortable, pouring herself a glass of water. “Tell me, what’s the latest ruling by the Magic Council concerning a guild taking kidnapping requests? I know taking assassination requests automatically makes you a dark guild, but does kidnapping work the same way?”

Doranbolt rolled his eyes, “You know, you aren’t nearly as funny as you think you are. Start at the beginning and go from there.” He turned on the recording Lacrima.

Lucy nodded, “So we’re coming back from a job and the townspeople are looking at us with fear and pity, saying things like…” Lucy included as many details for the recording lacrima as she could.

The questioning went on for four days. Everyone’s testimony taken and examined and re-examined to find any discrepancies. At the end of it, the magicstrates onsite declared that the Council will review the evidence and make a ruling at a later time, but as far as they could tell, Fairy Tail acted only in defense of themselves and the innocent people of Magnolia.

Even for people who disliked Fairy Tail, the broken Jupiter Canon pointed at Magnolia in the lake wasn't easy to ignore.

The giant eventually collapsed a couple more times and formed a little island. The Magic Council would also be in charge of figuring out what to do with that in the coming weeks, though they’d have to work that out with Magnolia and/or the Kingdom.

Though the questioning was exhausting, Lucy did find time to write her will. Loke was getting her apartment with six months of rent pre-paid. He deserved to not live in a dump. It even checked out with her terrifying landlady. There was a certain comfort to living with a mage in your building aparrently.

When the Magic Council packed up, all the rubble had been removed by the guild members whose testimonies weren’t as crucial, and everyone was focused on rebuilding now. Which was good, but Lucy didn’t want to spend the remaining eight days of her life on construction work.

Lucy hadn’t gotten to spend a lot of time with her team during the questioning. They were kept purposefully apart so they couldn’t corroborate their stories. Keeping them together was next on her list.

The answer occurred to her when she took a slight detour to help an overturned food stall.

“You Miss, the kind one with golden hair,” a man called to her across the street. Lucy, glanced at him as she returned the last of the cabbages to the cart. A flamboyant feather hat matched his round body as he bounced up and down. “Yes you! Please, come here.”

There was a line in front of his stall, and maneuvering around them gave her time to figure out he was one of those lucky pick game stalls where you paid for the chance to win a variety of prizes, with resort tickets being the lucky grand prize they never actually let anyone win.

A vacation sounded like a wonderful way to bond her team together and spend her last couple of days. Five, three-day tickets to Akane Beach Resort, (yes, while Happy is a sentient being with rights, if all it took was a couple of meows to keep her from buying another ticket, he would meow with the best of them or get left behind). Too bad these games were rigged to never let the grand prize actually be won. Shame.

“Miss, I saw what you did there, helping out my friend across the street. Like should be paid with like, why don’t you take a free pull? A reward for your kindness,” he said. People started chattering, excited, and Lucy shrugged.

“If you insist,” she said, and he wiggled the box of numbered sticks. 777 was the lucky grand prize, but the restaurant coupons as minor prizes might be a good bonding time, and Mira might appreciate any of the clothing gifts that were offered. She had nothing to lose from a free pull.

Lucy felt one fall into her hand and pulled it out.

777 burst from the stick with a flash of sparkles.

“What do you know, karma favors the kind!” the man cheered, “Here you are miss, the grand prize. Must be used within the next month, no refunds, and we hold no liability,” He shoved the tickets in her hand, “Now who’s going to keep up the hot streak and get this fabulous second prize of 500,000 Jewel!”

The crowd cheered and Lucy got shoved back to the street.

Well, problem solved. There should be enough memories here to keep her friends together after she was gone, and the perfect reason to go right away.

Notes:

Lucy: Oh boy, an all expenses paid vacation with my friends will be the perfect way to spend the last eight days of living and I won't even have to use any magic. What could possibly go wrong?

Lucy got so much done in this chapter, I'm so proud of her.

Chapter 31: Loke Heartfilia

Lucy waited until lunch time, then cornered her team. Loke wasn’t there yet like she hoped, but she couldn’t delay any longer and they could find him together if he was still sleeping.  

“Hi, so I know this is kinda sudden, but y’all want to go to a resort with me? I won free tickets,” Lucy said. “They’re for Akane beach resort. I thought we could take our team and go. We deserve a break after all that questioning.”

“Woah!” Gray said, eyes bugging out, “Akane, that’s a really fancy one! You really want to take us?”

Lucy smiled and was about to respond when a water hose on full blast nearly knocking her over.

“What? Why? I thought we weren’t starting on plumbing for weeks!”

Erza coughed, going red, “Uhh, Lucy?”

“Huh?” she asked. Lucy looked at the boys to see if they knew what was going on, but their eyes were firmly glued to her figure. There was a frustrated shriek from behind a nearby pile of lumber.

Lucy looked down and her white blouse, by some unholy property of earthland fabric, had gone see through, leaving her red lace corset bra available for the world’s viewing pleasure.

“Oh,” she said, flustered. All hell, this had never happened to her before. Celestial clothing doesn’t go see-through. You usually didn’t wear a bra either, the clothing just perfectly supported your bust. When Earthland clothes had started giving her trouble, she went to largest store nearby and asked what she was supposed to do about support. She’d bought the pieces that flattered her figure the best and wouldn’t show up under the collection of tops and skirts Master Bob had given her when she couldn’t look at her old celestial clothes any longer.

And it wasn’t really that bad. Lots of women wore tops that showed less than her corset bra. Like Cana. And why hadn’t the boys looked away yet? What did human women do when this happened to them? Lucy couldn’t have been the first in the history of earthland.

She looked around for help, but only met more stares at her chest from males and females alike. It was only when she spotted Wakaba and Macao’s lecherous grins that she decided there was only one proper response.

“Stop looking Perverts!” Lucy yelled, covering her chest with one arm, and using her other arm to punch Natsu into Gray, sending them flying. She picked up Gray’s discarded BLUE shirt, indignant flush firmly in place, and slipped it over her head. There was another pained squeal from somewhere nearby. She glared at the other men, who suddenly had something much better to be doing.

“You really just going to take my shirt like that?” Gray asked, wincing and rubbing where his head hit the wood pile.

“My first day in the guild, you walked up to me, naked, and asked if you could borrow my underpants,” Lucy reminded him, firmly buttoning his blue shirt all the way to the collar. Then undid the top buttons when her bust pulled too tight at the fabric. “At least you had already discarded your shirt.” She put her hands on her hips, “Now, do you want to go to the resort with me or not?”

Natsu immediately bounced back from her hit, “Four days at the beach for free? Count me in!”

“Of course it’s a yes,” Gray said.

“I look forward to this experience as well,” Erza said with a smile. “We’re leaving tomorrow, correct?”

Lucy nodded, “Now we just have to go tell Loke. I wonder where he is?” He hadn’t been among the perverts looking at her underwear, of that she was sure.

“We shall set out at once to inform him of the opportunity,” Erza decided.

She marched off, and the rest of them followed. Gray kept shooting her looks, and while she didn’t think it was taboo for females to wear men’s clothing in this age, but she hadn’t done it before, so hopefully it didn’t mean anything too weird.

It couldn’t though, right? They would have said something when she had worn one of Loke’s shirts before on Galuna.

They got to Loke’s apartment, and while Natsu worked on sliding himself through the narrow windows and Gray went to find a chimney, Lucy went to knock on the door like a sane person. What was wrong with these people?

Erza opened the front door, “He doesn’t appear to be here.” Then she turned to glare at Natsu and Gray, “Chimneys and windows are so uncivilized. And they can’t possibly be up to regulation.” Erza wrinkled her nose, “You mentioned he lived in a bad apartment, but this is really bad. We shall have to convince him to move somewhere more accommodating in the future.”

“No kidding,” Gray said from the couch, “This thing would give anyone back problems.”

“His stuff isn’t nearly as nice as Lucy’s.” Happy agreed, using the walls as a scratching post. Lucy yanked him up.

“So maybe don’t destroy the few nice things he has left,” Lucy threatened, and Happy nodded. She sat him down and scratched him behind the ears.

“Hang on, this note was on the counter, to whomever breaks into his apartment next,” Erza said. Her face paled, “It says he’s going home to make sure something like Phantom never happens again!”

“WHAT!”

 

 

Loke had hoped to never take this particular train again. The scenery was the countryside that he had grown up around. Escaping to, exploring, trying to find adventures. But instead of invoking the few happy memories he had, he was stuck reliving the bad ones.

“Do you have any idea what kind of trouble you caused me by not being in your lessons when you were supposed to?” Father demanded. Loke shrank away.

“I was going to do my lessons later,” he mumbled. “But today’s my—”

“I don’t have time to track you down and scold you every time you decide to slip out a window when your teacher’s back is turned!” Father yelled, ignoring him.

“But mom —”

“Your mother is no longer here to indulge your wild habits,” Father interrupted again, “If you had been in your lessons when you were supposed to, you would have been here to entertain Lord Drynell’s son, and I could have had an actually productive day. Instead you were running around like a feral beast, and embarrassed me before my business partner. We will be lucky if he works with us at all.”

“James is mean!” Loke burst out.

Father glared, “We all have to do things we don’t like, that’s part of growing up, and growing up a Heartfilia even more so. According to my assistant, this is a cry for attention from me. But resorting to improper behavior is not something I will reward. Instead, there will be a punishment schedule given to all your tutors, it will be comprehensive enough for each future incident that could come up, and we will not have this discussion again. My attention will be granted when you deserve it through perfect attendance and proper behavior. Am I clear?”

“But today is —” Loke tried one more time, desperately, but his father turned his back. He walked out of the room, letting the door swung shut behind him.

A minute passes, and his tutor comes in, ashen faced. “Your father has ordered that you re-write the next chapter of your Alvarian textbook before bed. If you do not finish before supper, you are to go to bed without supper.”

“But today’s my birthday,” Loke explained desperately, “Mom always had us go to the river on my birthday to celebrate.”

“I’m sorry Master Loke,” his tutor said. “But you really should get started on your assignment.”

Loke had cried in the bathroom for hours, then he did his assignment, and went to bed without supper. His tenth birthday had gone unremarked, so had the next three. Until his fourteenth birthday, Loke was a model son. Learned everything his tutors would teach him, and they had to bring in a new tutor just to keep up.

It had changed nothing. His father still ignored him, demanded even more from him, and the schedule updated to reflect his new standards of behavior. Confined to his room if he used the wrong utensil during fancy dinners, getting 90% on a test instead of above 95% took away desserts for two days.

Then he turned 14.

“Father, today is my birthday, I was wondering if you could be obliged to have dinner with me,” Loke practiced outside his father’s study.

It wasn’t the river trip he really wanted, but maybe that was too close to Mom. Father still mourned Mom in his own way, and just dinner would be more than enough. He had finished all his work for the day, hadn’t had a punishment in the past three weeks for improper behavior, and even negotiated with the cook to make his father’s favorite food.

He practiced a couple more times, then took a deep breath and knocked on the study door.

Nothing.

He knocked again.

“Master Loke?” a young house maid asked. Maybe the daughter of one of the maids? She was young, maybe a year older than him. “What brings you here?”

Loke smiled to hide his nerves, “I came to speak with my Father.”

“Mom said the Master left last night to make a meeting in Crocus,” she said, tilting her head, “Did you not know?”

Nothing had changed. His good behavior meant nothing. His work meant nothing.

Father wanted nothing to do with him, and the void of that statement threatened to swallow him whole.

No, he could do something.

Loke smiled charmingly at the girl, and held out a hand, “Well then, it looks like my dinner plans cleared up. Could I oblige you, pretty maiden, to have dinner with me tonight?”

Her eyes widened, then she flushed. “I’m-I’m free. I’m Marla. Give me an hour to get properly dressed for going into town?”

He had been planning on wasting the dinner made for him and his father with her, but the adventure of getting lost in town was a far better plan.

Loke bowed, smiling, “I’ll be waiting for you beside the plumeria tree in one hour.”

Eventually Loke broke so many rules that the punishment schedule amounted to child abuse, and the staff started looking the other way when he slipped out of windows or snuck into the kitchens.

When Marla’s family got fired for her part in helping his escapes to town, Loke put his business lessons to good use for the first time. He wrote two apology letters, a breakup letter, a letter of recommendation, and two letters of introduction to wealthy business partners of the Heartfilia’s who needed them, but were always looking for ways to get under Father’s skin.

From then on Loke always played around with multiple girls, never too serious with a single one, and they always knew his game. His father, or whoever he put in charge of punishing those encouraging his son’s ill behavior, could never justify leveling retribution at so many.

The only threat that could have actually make him behave, taking away his keys, well, Loke wondered when his father would resort to that, but he never did.

The train stopped at the junction point to switch conductors, and Loke was the only passenger to get off. It wasn’t technically an official stop, since the only thing here were barracks for conductors to live or sleep in if they want, and the Heartfilia estate.

Loke crossed through the estate and walked down the path. He wasn’t surprised not to run into anyone until he reached the driveway, it was the middle of the afternoon and he hadn’t exactly sent advanced notice.

Ms. Supetto was sweeping the driveway near the house, and he stopped when she spotted him. He waved with a hesitant smile.

“Master Loke! Thank the stars you’ve returned!” she cried. The broom clattered to the ground and the small woman swallowed his waist in a hug.

She had welcomed him back with a phrase he had only ever heard Mother use.

“Now, now, no tears on that beautiful face of yours,” he said, putting his arms around her.

She cried harder.

Then the rest of the staff came out, one after another, crowding around him. The people who had actually raised him. The maids that snuck him dinner, his tutors who also controlled the library and the accountings, grounds keepers that pulled him out of trees when he was too small to figure out how to climb down; they all gathered around, cheering and asking about when they were going to have their next adventure on the estate.

“Father been treating you well?” Loke asked. They all nodded. For all the crap he inflicted on his son, his dad was fair and just with his workers. They were paid well and stayed out of loyalty as much as they did for the job.

A servant he hadn’t seen before stood at the front door, “Young Master Loke, the Master wishes to see you in his study.”

Well, that was new.

Above them, standing in the large window that overlooked the grounds, was a glint of blond hair. It moved away, finished watching the scene now that his orders had been delivered, refusing to join in.

That was familiar.

“Very well, I assume he wants me out of these clothes first?” Loke asked, giving the female servant a roguish smile, “I accept. And I certainly wouldn’t mind your help.”

She put a hand over her heart, blushing, then ran into the house.

“Still have your way with women I see,” Miss Supetto teased, wiping at her eyes. “Come on then, better not keep the Master waiting. Your room is just as you left it.”

It was exactly as he left it, minus the vase he had broken the night he left. It was still done up in creams and reds galore, several paintings that cost at least a year of his rent each, and enough room to fit a family of four. A black suit was left on the bed, waiting for him.

“Better get this over with,” he said. His current clothes went into his pocket, and he donned the suit. It was too small on him and the maids spotted it immediately. They brought out a suit that was exactly his size, and even had the support for his sword. His sunglasses really added the final touch.

“Handsome as ever, Master Loke,” Julietta, the maid in charge of alterations, said, “I had a couple of suits prepared for when you came back, and I guessed at what your measurements would be. You can’t sew for as many young men as I have in my day without getting the knack for it.”

“I wouldn’t look half as good without your skilled needlework, that’s for certain,” Loke complimented, catching her hand and giving a squeeze of gratitude. “Thank you, and everyone else. I think I’m ready to see my father now.”

The familiar hallway echoed with his steps. It had been four years since that disastrous 14^th birthday.

He could practically see the ghost of himself practicing what he was going to say, only for the man to never be there to hear it.

Loke shoved the door open so hard it banged against the wall, then strolled in while his father spluttered by the window. The doors rebounded and closed behind him.

“You leave without a word and you return with the manners of a heathen. You are a Heartfilia! You come from a different world than the low class wizards, cease acting like them at once.”

“You’re right, I left without a word. Seems a dumb choice in hindsight. But the darndest thing, I could never find you to let you know," Loke said, "Since you are finally ready to talk, would you like to start? Or shall I? Us talking happened so rarely, I was never sure on the protocol.”

“The protocol is that I speak, you listen when I speak, then do as I say,” Father growled. Loke took up leaning against his father’s desk, then motioned with a hand for him to continue.

With only an eyebrow twitch, his father continued, “This rash and foolish behavior must cease at once for the sake of our family and our name. All young men go through a rebellious phase, but the time for childish antics has passed. I’ve arranged a marriage for you with the Duchess of Pemlie from the southern continent. She has recently come into her fortune and is interested in the match. With her resources, our business interests will be secure. I’ll need you to supervise the projects running towards the southern continent, and that should give you enough experience to go full partner with me upon that project’s successful completion.”

Loke nodded, taking off his suit jacket and rolling up the sleeves of his shirt, “Just what I expected. You done yet?”

Jude Heartfilia glared at his son’s undressing, “Consider this as an investment in your future. With one action you secure our spot as the top of society. More money than your guild would make with all their paychecks combined. Though honestly, you already wasted so much by forcing me to pay another guild to destroy it. Your selfish choices brought your guild its fate. Good thing you’ve come to your senses, I didn’t want to waste any more money on that.”

“Okay, I’m going to stop you right there,” Loke said, pushing himself off the desk and slinging his jacket over his shoulder. “I see I’m not the only one who doesn’t know how this conversation should go. It’s my turn to speak, and your turn to listen. You call me selfish? Selfishness involves being unable to look at people’s needs beyond your own, which is all I have ever gotten from you.

“I have never been silent about what I wanted. I wanted adventure, and magic, the freedom to experience the world. Above all I wanted the family I remember having as a child. Your money has never given me that and it never will!”

“Loke.”

“I’m warning you,” Loke said, pointing with his right arm. His green Fairy Tail mark shone in the space between them, “Come at me or my guild again, and you will be my enemy. Our enemy. Fairy Tail has suffered for calling me their own, and I will not let you hurt them again. I love the memories of Mom that come with this house, I love the staff that raised me in your eternal absence. Ms. Suppetto. Iban. Olgard. Margot. But I will not hesitate to tear this place apart brick by brick if you dare bring harm to the people I care about again.”

Loke let his arm fall, and his chin jutted towards the portrait of his mother that still hung above the arched windows, vibrant orange hair and Loke’s hazel eyes, “And I know Mom would support my decision if she was still here, because I am finally happy.”

His dad whispered something, but Loke found, for the first time in his life, that he truly and honestly did not care what his father had to say.

“I’m taking the suit; it would be a shame to let Julietta’s tailorship go to waste. This is my final goodbye. I’ve finally found a family that lets me freely be myself, and I choose them over you, and over myself. It’s time I leave the unhappy memories behind me for good.” He turned his back on his father, on his old life, and lifted his right hand in a farewell salute, “Farewell, Father.”

Loke should have been expecting the mob of servant staff as he left his father’s study. They were crying how proud they were of him. How much they were going to miss him. Loke gave them all hugs and said his goodbyes to them as well, thanking them for their parts in his life.

Then he had just one last goodbye. He refastened his suit jacket and went to see his mother for possibly the final time.

 

 

 

“You sure this is where we get off?” Gray asked while Natsu kissed the dirt. The rest of them slid their vacation bags into their pockets.

Lucy nodded, looking over her map and walking forward, “Uh-huh, this road should lead straight to the house.”

“You know, it is a rather beautiful place,” Erza said, looking around, “What money can buy, I suppose.” The sun was starting to set, and it was rather pretty.

Natsu suddenly recovered, “Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s hurry and find Loke!” He charged off down the road, and really, there was only one response.

“Not if I find him first!” Gray yelled charging after. Happy took to the air.

Lucy followed, hot on both their heels, “I can sense him, take the next left!”

“You’re going to scare him away running like unruly children!” Erza said, following at the same pace.

They all spotted him at roughly the same time, and together yelled, “LOKE!”

Loke turned and his mouth dropped open. He was standing in front of a beautiful grave, and Lucy’s eyes widened as she read the names on the graves they were running past.

They were all members of the Heartfilia clan.

“Loke, what are you doing here? We meant it when we said we didn’t want you to leave,” Natsu cried.

“Yeah man, you’re one of us,” Gray said, coming to a stop next to him. “We read your note, but couldn’t believe it.”

Happy landed on his shoulder and nuzzled his neck, “Things wouldn’t be the same without you. Please don’t leave Fairy Tail.”

“What? I’m not leaving Fairy Tail,” Loke said, looking between all of them. “I just came here to talk to my father and let him know I’m never leaving Fairy Tail. To make sure he didn’t try something like that again.”

“Wait, what?” Lucy asked.

He gave her a shy smile, “I suppose my note could have been clearer.”

Then Erza started laughing, Gray and Natsu looked at the ground or the sky, nudging each other and calling each other stupid for thinking Loke was leaving for good.

“That was a mean prank Loke,” Happy sniffed. “But I’m glad you’re not leaving.”

“Next time be clearer!” Natsu yelled, “You had us worried sick over you!”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to,” Loke said, then smiled wide, “I can’t believe you guys came all the way out here though. It’s not exactly easy to get to.”

“Of course we came,” Gray scoffed. “No way were we letting you lock yourself in the lifestyle you ran away from. You belong out adventuring with us.”

“And it’s our fault, we shouldn’t have jumped to conclusions,” Erza soothed.

“Since you’re all the way out here, mind letting me introduce you to my old friends?” Loke asked.

“We shouldn’t take too long,” Natsu said with a grin, “Cause after all this drama, we’re going on vacation!”

“What?” Loke asked.

Natsu slung an arm around him and started to explain, and Loke led them away towards the huge mansion on the horizon.

Lucy took a moment to appreciate the beautiful grave that Loke had been visiting. Layla Heartfilia, died at age 29, in the year 777. Lucy might be off on her dates, but she was pretty sure that was the year she had met Layla. The Heartfilia bloodline had an old contract Layla had fulfilled, calling something through an eclipse gate. The contract was old, but didn’t require much effort on Lucy’s part. At least until Aquarius hadn’t been able to make that party and Layla had performed the spell anyway.

Performing that spell without the final key had a cost, and the price for the caster might have been what killed her.

“You’ll get lost if you fall behind Lucy,” Loke called.

She ran to catch up.

Layla’s son was happy and alive, and Fairy Tail was going to take care of him. That should make any mother happy, even if there was no way she wasn't disappointed in her absolute jerk of a husband. Even if Layla had died fulfilling a promise she hadn’t made.

Perhaps Layla had been a little like Lucy. Maybe Layla had made a choice she could live with, even if it meant her death.

After saying hi to the staff that had basically raised their friend, they started on their walk back to the train station.

“I’ll be honest with you,” Gray said, looking around, “I’m really digging the town you grew up in.”

“I agree, your hometown is quite charming,” Erza said. “It’s such a peaceful place.”

Loke looked confused, then smiled, “Oh, this isn’t a town, this is all just part of our gardens. The Heartfilia estate goes all the way up to that mountain over there. We have an amazing team of gardeners, you only met half of them. I spent so much time as a kid running around here.”

It was only because of her time as a guild wizard that Lucy understood just how much money that was in pure land alone. Add on the buildings, and…and her brain broke, trying to calculate it. So she let the numbers slip away.

“Holy crap he’s rich!” Gray yelled.

“And acts like it’s nothing!” Natsu added. They clung together and started guessing prices of the things they could point at. Because everything they could point at belonged to the Heartfilias.

“Captain Erza, our two best soldiers are down,” Happy said, snapping her a salute, “What are your orders, sir?”

But Erza was frozen, staring upwards, “The sky…it’s so beautiful.”

Happy started flying around, calling for a medic.

Loke looked at her, “Uhh, do you think they’ll be okay?”

Lucy nodded, laughing, “Just give them a minute.”

Loke chuckled as well, and Lucy took the time to look over him in his suit. He looked far too attractive to be legal.

“You weren’t kidding, you do pull that off,” Lucy said.

“What can I say?” Loke teased, “I’m flexible and make great arm candy in any situation. Always good to hear my talents appreciated, let me know if you’re ever in need of my services.”

He looked over their friends, and a new smile crossed his face, softer and fond. “I told my father that my mom would have approved of my decision to leave this estate behind, and I really believe it now. She would have loved you guys.”

If Layla had followed the Heartfilia tradition of the coming-of-age runaway, she probably would. But Lucy wasn’t supposed to know that, time to establish what she should know.

“She had celestial magic too, right?” Lucy asked. “Your father doesn’t seem like the type, and it’s a pretty rare magic.”

“Yep,” Loke said, “Aquarius was her spirit first, so was Cancer, along with Crux and Horologium. And I kind of remember another spirit, he looked like a goat, I think. She gave away her gold keys for a while, she entrusted them to dear friends, and when I was ten, they brought Aquarius and Cancer back to Mom and she gave them to me.”

A goat? Capricorn.

That was odd. The other zodiac spirits had to have an in-person meeting with her if they were going to making any significant changes to their base contracts after initial negotiations. (Silver keys just submitted a request form, which she also carefully vetted.) Capricorn had wanted to change his contract to give priority service to the descendants of his current wizard and Lucy had approved.

Lucy was probably getting her Earthland times mixed up again. It was possible Capricorn had been talking about the wizard Layla had given his key to. That had to be it, because Capricorn would never break his promise, he was the most to-the-letter of all of them. The bloodline contract clause would supersede his current one to allow him to seek Loke out ages ago if the promise had been made with Layla, no matter his current contract.

“Hey guys, quit lagging behind, we have a vacation to get to!” Natsu called to them. The four other wizards had recovered and were grinning, waiting for them. Lucy started running to catch up.

Loke was one step behind her.

Notes:

And there's the meat of Loke's backstory, how he became the flirty playboy we all know and love. Lucy's got some suspicions about Layla and Capricorn, but in eight days it won't be her problem anymore.

Now she just needs to have her fun, relaxing vacation where nothing will go wrong.

Chapter 32: Akane Beach Resort (good times only!)

Taking the late train to the coast the night before let Lucy and her friends arrive at Akane Beach Resort early in the morning. Lucy wanted to preserve her magic, so she refused to put Natsu to sleep, and Erza finally sent him to sleep her way. The rest of them conked out fairly well on their own. Gray was the one shaking her awake when they arrived in the morning, and she saw that the boys had left her the dubious honor of shaking Erza awake.

The boys had the luggage out and were out the door, leaving her on her own if Erza wasn’t a morning person.

“Hey Erza, smell that ocean? We’re here.” The woman hadn’t had armor on the whole trip, surprisingly enough. It made her seem a lot more approachable, even if the boys weren’t convinced.

Erza's bare arms showed faded white scars that wrapped around her wrists like bracelets. Usually hidden by glove or gauntlet, the scars from Erza's extended time in chains weren’t stark, but they were present.

Aries would have had the same marks if Lucy hadn’t done anything.

Maybe when they got back, Lucy could find out who manufactured magic containing chains. Blowing up a factory that made chains would be a fantastic way to go, even if it wouldn’t really solve any of the underlying problems involved with people who thought they had the right to put chains on others.

Lucy’s finger barely touched the scar when Erza jerked awake, magic already reaching for her requip.

Lucy held up her empty hands and Erza canceled her spell.

“We made it to the beach.” Lucy explained slowly lowering her hands. “We need to go check in and start our beach fun.”

“That’s right,” she said looking around, “I suppose the boys are already out with our luggage.”

“Yep,” Lucy smiled, “They swore it took all of them to get all of your bags off the train.”

“Well then, we shouldn’t keep them waiting,” Erza said, standing up.

This time she requiped purposefully, donning a pretty sundress, hat, and sunglasses. Her smile was blinding.

It wasn’t particularly crowded at the beach. It was later in the season, and the price and distance of this resort made the beach spacious and gave them practically free reign of the activities they wanted to do. Loke and her went whale surfing, while Natsu, Gray, and Erza made a team for beach volleyball.

Natsu had wanted to go whale surfing at first, but Loke reminded him of his motion sickness last minute. Lucy had been willing to let Natsu pay for forgetting, but Loke was nice like that.

They had flag races, they made their own game of beach volleyball, boys verse girls, then Natsu and Lucy verse Gray and Erza while Loke ref-ed for a break.

“I keep telling you, endurance is going to be your downfall,” Erza teased.

“I’m working on it, I promise,” Loke said, “Natsu’s up for a serve!”

They made sandcastles and buried Gray when his swim trunks disappeared. Erza went to find them, and Lucy made Gray a particularly spectacular set of double d’s. They pushed each other on rafts in the surprisingly calm ocean, ate shaved ice, and built a sandcastle big enough for Happy.  

Lucy kept noticing a particular shade of blue, a woman that seemed obsessed with watching their fun. It was a little creepy, but it was also a public beach, and it wasn’t like Lucy could pretend her friends weren’t attractive.

“Don’t mind her,” Gray said, catching Lucy looking over at a flash of blue during their dinner at a beach-side restaurant. Erza was off sunbathing somewhere, and Natsu had gone to see if they had more hot sauce.

“Who?” Loke asked, looking around. “Oh,” he said, surprised, and the blue vanished from Lucy’s peripheral, “Juvia, of Phantom’s elite four. I thought she had a rain curse.”

Gray shrugged, “I had to defeat her in order to stop Phantom’s giant from casting Abyss Break, the rain stopped when she went down and doesn’t seem to have started up again. She’s been hanging around the guild construction site and hasn’t hurt anyone yet. She’ll come talk to us when she’s ready.”

“You think she wants to join Fairy Tail?” Loke asked.

Gray shrugged, “Wouldn’t be the first time. If you get the chance, ask Bisca her story.”

Lucy blinked, then pointed, “Hang on, was it her that doused me in front of the guild? Cause I did not need everyone seeing my bra like that. Did she know what happens when you get a white shirt wet?”

“When did that happen?” Loke asked, pouting. “I didn’t see it.”

“The morning you took off,” Gray said, waving away the incident, “Look, I didn’t say she was sane, I said she’s mostly harmless until she figures out what she wants to talk to us about. Don’t waste this vacation worrying about it. And we can take her if she does suddenly decide to become a problem.”

“Oh?” Lucy teased, “And those burn scalds Mira treated were no big deal, right?”

“Loke and I will protect you if you’re scared,” Gray flirted back.

“Swim trunks optional?” Lucy checked, which made Gray gasp and look down, only to find he was still wearing his for once. She and Loke got a good laugh from that.

“Very funny guys,” Gray said rolling his eyes. But the fond smile on his face said he didn’t really mind their teasing.

Later, after they showered and cleaned up, Lucy put on her one formal dress, a red wine number, and while the boys headed straight to the casino she went to make sure Erza didn’t miss out on the fun.

The boy’s room was slightly bigger and had a balcony, so she went to check there. Erza was admiring herself in the mirror, back in her armor, when Lucy arrived. “Hey, come on, everyone’s going down to play some games.”

“Oh, that’s right, there’s a casino attached to this hotel," Erza said. "This is really a first class place. Let’s see…requip!”

With a flash of light, Erza was dressed to the nines in a purple floral dress with a daring slit up the thigh and no back. Her hair tied itself into a formal updo and white elbow gloves completed the look.

“Looking good!” Lucy grinned. “Ready to party?”

“I suppose it’s okay to let myself relax everyone once and a while,” Erza said, checking herself out in the mirror one more time.

Lucy grabbed her hand and pulled her out the door, “Trust me, I get looking at the gorgeous visage that is yourself, but you can do that when we aren’t on vacation. You’ll still look just as good.”

Erza laughed and ran through the halls with her, “Can’t argue with that I suppose.”

They waved hi to the boys as they passed through. Erza wanted to play at the poker tables, so they left Natsu and Loke to the slot machines, and Gray said something about going to get a drink.

Erza was in her element at the tables, all eyes on her as she bluffed and won her third hand.

“I shouldn’t be surprised you’re good at this,” Lucy said with a grin, “I always knew you only showed what you wanted people to see.” Their dealers were getting switched out, giving them a moment to chat.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Erza said, winking at her.

Several loud noises and a couple of distant screams sounded. Closer than the roller coaster screams they’d been hearing though.

“Oh, it looks like the parade has started,” someone commented.

Erza turned back to Lucy, “Believe me, this hot streak is just beginning.”

“Then I believe I have a special game for you tonight,” the new dealer said. He dealt five cards, from right to left, landing almost perfectly in front of Erza.

D E A T H

“And while we’re at it, why don’t we raise the stakes a bit higher, shall we Sister?” he asked, looking straight at Erza.

Lucy jumped to her feet, falling into a battle stance.

Erza was frozen.

No, Erza was trembling as she whispered, “It can’t be. Sho? Is that you? You’re alive?”

“Erza, friend or foe?” Lucy asked.

“Alive, most certainly. Friend, maybe once. Foe, most likely, if you don’t come with me right now,” Sho said.

“Give me a call Erza,” Lucy said. She searched around for strong magic signatures. Sho had one right in front of her, and she picked out three more in the room next door, those that didn’t belong to her friends. “He’s got company.”

Erza should have been able to sense them. She should be requipping into armor, or at least giving her some indication of what was happening.

“You brought the others with you?” she asked. “Who? Is it…”

“Jellal is putting the finishing touches on our project, he couldn’t make it here tonight,” Sho said, “He also wanted your reunion to be private. I can see why. All these people around really kills the vibe.”

The lights went dark, and Lucy lit up her fists in time to see Sho vault over the table and into the crowd.

“Crap, a light wielder,” Sho flinched. Cards poured from his hands, even as Lucy rushed to punch him. When the cards came flying towards her, she had to give up her attack in order to dodge. A gunshot rang out.

“What’s going on!” Erza demanded.

It was disgustingly easy to dodge the attack because the crowds of people were gone. The lights flicked back on and Erza gasped. “You can use magic now? Who taught you?”

Erza should have sensed that right away. He was at least on par with Jet and Droy.

“I’ve learned a lot of things since you’ve been gone,” Sho said. “You’re not the only one with powers anymore.”

Lucy danced out of the way as a magic circle appeared under her feet. 

“Oh boo,” a girl with strange markings on her face said from behind her, “And I was sneaky as a kitty too. Looking rosy, Erzy-werzy.”

“Miliana?” Erza gasped.

“Erza, no one can be strong in everything,” Lucy said, “Tell me if you can’t make a call.”

“I-I,” Erza stuttered, then gained resolve. “Stand down Lucy,” Erza decided. “They were my friends, and they are here for me. I’ll go with you if you promise to leave the others alone.”

“I don’t think you’re in any position to be calling the shots,” Sho said, “You don’t deserve to after you betrayed us the way you did.”

Erza couldn’t meet his eyes. She was trembling again.

“And that’s enough,” Lucy said. She jumped forward and snapped out a kick that would have taken Sho in the chin if he hadn’t vanished in a flash of cubes.

He reappeared next to Miliana, with a new friend slung around his shoulder. The blockfaced man said, “None of that. Just let us go with Erza and everything will be right dandy.” He smirked at Erza, “Looking fine. Life on the outside’s been good to you, huh Doll?”

Erza blinked, “Wally?”

He tipped his hat to her, “Gone through several changes myself. Old mad dog Wally that you grew up with is a thing of the past.”

“Erza, they may have been your friends before, but they’re threatening innocent people now, and I’m betting they are responsible for that gunshot from before. We can take ‘em, but I need you to be all in,” Lucy pleaded.

“A simple necessity to ensuring your successful retrieval, Erza,” a man said, uncloaking himself from the shadows just behind Erza.

“Si-mon,” Erza said, voice cracking.

Each new arrival was a shock to her system, and this one hurt her more than the others for some reason.

“Erza! Are you a Fairy Tail wizard or not!” Lucy demanded.

“But that’s not all she is,” Sho taunted. “Long before she was part of your guild, she grew up with us in a very special place.”

“It’s true,” Erza said, head bowed, one arm bent to grip the other. “I grew up with these people before I ever set foot in Fairy Tail. I’ve been waiting for my past to catch up with me all my life.”

“I get it, you have unfinished business with them,” Lucy said, desperately trying to keep her eyes on everyone at once, “But you are going to woman up and face your past on your feet, not as a captive. I know those marks on your wrists, don’t you dare let them put you in chains again!”

That snapped Erza out of it, and a second later the glow of her changing into Heaven’s wheel had everyone but Lucy into looking away. Lucy used the distraction to jump a kick against Miliana, knocking her off the countertop she had been perched on and into the support beam behind her.

Erza sliced through every card Sho threw, and Lucy had to decide between blockhead and metal chin.

Blockhead transforming his hand into a gun made the decision for her. She raced for where it was pointed at Erza and kicked the gun upwards. It went off, shattering the ceiling tiles.

Lucy grabbed the gun arm, intending to wrench it behind his back.

She did not expect it to pop off in her hands.

“Ahh!” she shrieked, throwing it as hard as she could away from her.

“Nice try Blondie,” Wally grinned, and the gun arm reappeared in his shoulder joint, pointed back at her. The red light couldn’t be good, so she lunged forward, up close and personal. Her arms gripped his shoulders tight in an almost hug, and he blushed.

“Let’s dance,” Lucy said, smiling cheekily. Then she dug her knee into his stomach six times in a row. The lights went out, but that hardly mattered when Lucy was this close to her opponent. In a ballroom two step, she swung her and Wally around so that his back was towards the others, and lit her fists with light, letting Erza see.

Erza had requipped into her Nightwing armor and didn’t seem to be having any trouble slicing through Sho’s cards or Miliana’s rope. Lucy kneed Mister Smooth Gun twice more, the satisfying gasps indicating she finally got the solar plexus perfectly. Then released him for some space, and kicked upwards, hitting his chin and sending him flying in a knock-out kick.

She followed up and was satisfied when he didn’t move again. As their range player, he had to stay out of battle.

But they were missing someone else.

Simon’s eye started to glow in the dark.

Lucy rushed forward, but he vanished. The lights went back on, and Erza had Sho and Miliana back to back, her swords on either side of their necks, holding them in place.

Lucy pulled out her light pen. “I’m putting everyone to sleep for now.” Wally was the easiest marking she’d ever done, with his forehead flat as a writing desk.

Then she approached Erza and her captives.

“Don’t let her touch me, sister!” Sho said, terrified.

“It’s a simple sleep spell,” Erza said, “I have no desire to put you in chains, just as I have no desire to be in chains. We’ll wake you up after we decide what to do.”

Sho was crying as she marked him. Ezra lowered her sword, letting Lucy catch him and put him gently on the ground. 

Lucy took a extra second hunched over him, riding out a wave of pain from these small uses of her magic. As soon it was tolerable again and she stood up.

“It wasn’t supposed to be like this,” Miliana said, with a disbelieving laugh, “We were supposed to take you guys by surprise. Leave your friends behind and return you to the Tower. It’s not fair that you betrayed us and you over-powered us.”

“I’m sorry,” Erza said, as Lucy drew the rune on Miliana’s forehead, “But you’ll see, it’ll be for the best in the end.”

“You guys seem to be missing one,” Loke’s voice called. He was walking Simon forward with his sword to Simon’s back, Simon’s hands up. Loke was in his suit again, and this was so not the time to be attracted to him. “I go to the bathroom for five minutes and all hell breaks loose. I found this guy watching your battle from the hallway. The poor dress code and magic signature just screamed suspicious.”

“You rock Loke!” Lucy cheered.

“Simon, you being part of this stunned me the most,” Erza admitted. She requipped into her day armor. “You were always the best of us. The Simon I knew would never hurt the innocents of this resort.”

Simon’s eyes softened, and he lowered his raised hands. “We all know that’s not true.”

“Not me, can I get an explanation?” Loke said. “Are you going to try and fight big guy?”

Simon shook his head, “You are right, Erza, while I agreed to come on this assignment, I always knew there was something Jellal wasn’t telling us. I looked for information elsewhere long ago and found truth. If you are confident in your spell keeping the others down, you should go collect your remaining three friends.”

“Three?” Lucy asked.

“I believe he is talking about me,” Juvia said, walking in while supporting Gray, “I was able to block the worst of his attack against my beloved Gray with my waterbody. But unlike the others, I was not blinded by the spell. I truly believe he did not mean to kill us.” She smirked at Loke, “And I was able to protect my Beloved Gray while you were off playing games.”

What?

Erza raised an eyebrow, “Gray? Your thoughts?”

“We’re not dead, and we could be, that’s a point in his favor. Natsu took a bullet to the face from blockhead, but after he finishes rolling around and screaming in pain, we can get him in on this,” Gray said. “And Juvia’s trying to prove herself worthy of Fairy Tail, I don’t think she’s in cahoots.”

Natsu rushed in then, “Guys! Happy’s missing! Block head took him!”

“Natsu?” came Happy’s voice, moaning from a pile on the floor.

“When did you get over there, buddy?” Natsu asked, rushing for him.

“I don’t know,” Happy whined. He was a ways behind where Lucy had fought Wally, and Lucy had a sneaking suspicion that Wally had tried to keep something living in his pocket. A big nono, since all living things had to do was move around a little and they’d be out. Not that she’d be telling anyone. Happy would become unbearable knowing he’d been stuffed in there.

Gray was finally standing on his own, though Juvia looked a little sad about the fact.

“So, mind explaining why these guys were looking for you?” Gray asked Erza.

“Maybe we should go somewhere a little more private?” Loke said. The cards of the resort goers started piping up, demanding to be rescued that instant.

They looked at Simon, who said, “The spell will end if Sho is out of range and not actively maintaining it. We should be far enough away on the boat we used to get here.”

So they moved, taking the sleeping wizards with them. Simon carried Wally, Natsu took Miliana in a piggy-back, and Erza carried Sho in a bridal carry. They followed Simon quietly down the beach, no one talking until they reached a ship anchored just beyond the boundaries of the resort.

The hold was the only place big enough to fit them all, so they leaned the sleeping wizards against the wall and took seats, looking at Erza for her story.

Erza took a deep breath, glanced at Simon, then focused on her Fairy Tail friends. “I grew up with them. Simon was from the same village I was born in, but the rest of them I met after a dark magic cult attacked my village. I am going to have to go finish this business on my own, but…but at least I can share my story. They took us to an island and promised we were helping build a Tower to Heaven…”

The story spilled from Erza, bursting forth like a dammed river coming free. She couldn’t stop now that she’d started. Erza kept glancing at Simon, as though expecting him to step in and correct her, but he let her say her piece. When the words swelled up and choked her, Simon was quicker than the rest of them to put his hand on her shoulder. A look between them, and she continued. Being part of the work group with each of them, and Master Makarov’s friend Bob. And Jellal, the boy who gave her courage to be happy. The boy who broke in to rescue her after she protected Sho. The boy who was tortured in her place, who watched her lose her eye, and who she led a revolution to save.

And the boy who turned to Zeref for power and received it. The boy who banished Erza from the island, threatening to kill her friends if she dared breathe a word of the operation, and sent her on the lonely path to become the woman she was today. All for the sake of resurrecting the darkest wizard in the entire history of magic.

“Is that true?” Sho asked from behind them. The mark on his forehead long gone, as was Wally’s and Miliana’s. Either someone had accidentally unmarked one of them, or she hadn’t been able to put enough magic power into the writing to hold. Sho’s head fell into his hands. “That can’t be true. It just can’t! Jellal said you were the one who burned the boats. That you betrayed us. He couldn’t have been lying! He wouldn’t.”

“You know whose story makes more sense,” Simon said gently. “You know Erza, we all do. And…what good could possibly come from that tower?”

“But Jellal said we’d remake the world into one that cared about us. He promised us a paradise,” Sho cried. Wally couldn’t look up, and Milianna was sniffling.

“I still betrayed you,” Erza said, fists tight in her lap, “I left you there, I tried to forget my own weakness. I could have told someone, I could have tried to spare you, but I was a coward, too scared to face Jellal or the Tower again.” She looked up, and there was steel in those brown eyes, “No more. I will confront Jellal. I will make him pay for his crimes, on my own two feet.”

“That’s what I’m talkin’ about!” Lucy cheered.

Erza gave her a grateful smile. It conveyed a whole conversation about giving her strength when she couldn’t find it here, and how grateful she was. The meaning was so clear, Lucy would have suspected telepathy if she didn’t already know Erza’s magic.

“You’re not going anywhere without us,” Gray said. Standing up, he rolled his neck then turned to Simon, “So, now that we’re all on the same page, I think it’s time we get started towards that tower of hell. I remember the news back then, of the towers found and the stories from the kids that were able to get out. An eighth tower like those is no place to go alone.”

“Not this time Gray,” Erza said, shaking her head, “This is one battle I must face alone.” She glanced at the three still slumped against the wall, “Stay here, my friends will help you find the right path for you, here in the outside world. It’s not paradise, but it is beautiful and free.”

“No way!” Natsu and Sho both jumped to their feet, shouting.

“I have to make Jellal pay for his lies!” Sho said, “I deserve to face him just as much as you do. He lied so much. He didn’t say a single true thing. He made me hate you, Sister.”

“You can’t tell me to sit back. This guy’s been haunting you for years!” Natsu said, “And he sent goons to kidnap you,” he looked at Erza’s old friends, “No offense, but he is going to have more people helping him. I’ll let you fight Jellal, you called dibs, but you can’t kick us out like that. You’re a member of Fairy Tail, and he messes with one of us, he messes with all of us.”

“It’s too dangerous,” Erza said, folding her arms, “I’ll be able to focus better on my task if I don’t have to worry about the tower killing any more of my friends.”

“As if that place could kill me,” Natsu scoffed, “You just want to keep all the good fights for yourself.”

“No one can be strong in everything,” Lucy said, reminding Erza of her own words, offered to Lucy back when she couldn't stand to see Virgo make a contract, “You almost let yourself be kidnapped. We’ll let you do what you have to, but let us be there in case you falter. You would never let us do something like this alone, and we won’t let you in return.”

Support. Just support. She could play support and not use her magic. Erza needed her there emotionally. It would be fine.

Lucy would make it fine.

“You said you would never forgive yourself for turning your back on us as a kid,” Miliana said, wiping away tears, “For walking away when you could have helped. Don’t exile us Erza. We need to know what happens!”

“This isn’t even an argument, we are not letting you do this alone,” Gray said.

Loke spoke up, softly, “Please let me repay the help you gave me, let me support you as you face your demons. Just as you faced down a Jupiter Canon for mine.”

Under this onslaught, Erza sat, stunned. “I-I don’t know what to say.” Tears started to come to her eye. The one that wasn’t partly fake.

Natsu and Gray started freaking out.

Simon put a hand on her shoulder, “Having them with us will only increase our chances of putting an end to the evils of the Tower. Jellal wanted you there, he will have measures in place against you, but not all of us. Trust them and trust yourself.”

Erza smiled, finally nodding, “Alright, but you’re all under my command, understand? You go where I tell you to, stop fighting when I tell you to, and most importantly, do not get between me and Jellal.”

“Unless you’re making really stupid decisions,” Gray added.

“Yeah, or you’re crying again. All bets are off then,” Natsu said, stretching.

“I’ll get the ship started,” Simon said, taking his hand back. “I’ll be reporting to Jellal that retrieving you was a success. He will soon find out the truth, but this should get us to the Tower unmolested.”

“One moment,” Erza said, and she turned to Juvia, “I understand that you wish to join Fairy Tail, and that you are not our enemy. But this is more than I could ever ask of my friends, much less a stranger. For your help in protecting Gray, I will vouch for you upon our return to the guild. You have no reason to stay, and no one expects you to.”

Juvia looked troubled and glanced over the rest of the assembled wizards. “I am afraid I’m not very good when it comes to expressing myself, but aside from Fairy Tail holding the loyalty of my beloved Gray, I also wish to join because of the strong bonds that bind your guild together. I have never…I have never experienced bonds like the ones here in this room. If it is my choice, I choose to follow you on this quest. Please allow me to help protect those bonds.”

Erza looked like she was going to protest, but Natsu was beside Juvia first, “Welcome to the Guild!” he said with a grin. He patted her roughly on the shoulder, making her stumble.

“Don’t do it so hard,” Lucy told him. Simon and Erza slipped away, Wally started talking quietly to Sho, while Miliana took the opportunity to finally hug Happy tight. Then the ship started moving, Natsu got sick, and Lucy and Gray went to find somewhere to stash his sleeping butt.

When there was a quiet moment, Lucy tried to gauge how much magic she had left. She had only used it during the previous fight when Simon made it dark, and in her sleeping spells, but that was still more than she had been planning on using with only a week left to live. She would have to try and defeat any opponents without magic, or failing that, fall back and let the others fight. She refused to let Erza go without her, but Lucy also had to refuse to be another friend of hers lost to the Tower, or Erza would never forgive herself.

And the Tower gave her a really, really bad feeling.

Notes:

Yay for fun in the sun! More yay for tragic pasts being revealed!

And Yes, Lucy is perfectly happy in delusion land, thanks for asking.

Chapter 33: The rest before the Tower

Loke wandered around the ship. There was a bed made up for him, but he was too restless. They would arrive around noon the next day, and it promised to be a difficult one. They were going to be making a battle plan in the morning.

It was a pretty big ship actually. Lucy would probably get lost in it at some point. He snickered when he saw her waiting outside of a cabin door, eyes closed. Probably waiting for someone to come find her, looking casually amazing in her gown. Loke intended to sneak up on her, but she opened her eyes when he was just two feet away and put a finger to her lips.

He walked the rest of the way and tilted his head. She smiled and pointed at the door.

“Jellal kept his word. We all had food and education, even though we did waste so much time building that awful tower,” Simon’s voice came through. The door had to lead to the pilot area. It was much newer than the pirate ship they used to sail back from Galuna, but Loke was familiar with how they all worked. Heartfilia ran international shipping as well as trains and buses.

“I’m glad he wasn’t lying about that then,” Erza said. There was a quiet shuffling of armor, “I feel…tired.”

“You can rest here,” Simon’s deep voice promised, “The Tower will not be any easier on your heart, I’m afraid, but you can rest on this ship.”

“You will probably think me foolish, but I at my most relaxed when I’m coated in armor.”

“No stranger or more foolish than the rest of us.”

Lucy caught his eye and jerked her head. Time for a quiet exit. They made it onto the top deck before he figured out something to say.

“I never figured you for an eavesdropper,” Loke said casually leaning against the railing.

“I was going to ask if we should be sending any messages to the Magic Council,” Lucy said, “It sounds like we might want back up, but I heard Erza finish a message to the Magic Council herself. Then a tender moment was happening, and I couldn’t interrupt. I’m also hoping for something more solid as a plan, and a little more verification that Erza’s old friends are ready to be allies and aren’t going to fall apart or turn us over to Jellal. But Erza needed that moment with Simon more. We have time before we reach the Tower.”

“Not quite the vacation we were expecting,” Loke laughed.

Lucy smiled, “But I’m glad we were together. Able to help get Erza through this,” Lucy’s gaze drifted off, “I’m glad no one else saw her when they first showed up. She…she was a kid when that all happened, yet she felt so deserving of whatever they were going to do to her. She shut down; it was kind of terrifying.”

“Did you have any idea this was in her past?” Loke asked.

Lucy shook her head, eyes trailing upwards, “Everyone has a past in Fairy Tail. I knew it was bad, she had scars on her wrists that could only have come from chains, but that’s it. She’s hinted a couple of times, that she knew what it meant to be weak, that she knew there were things people couldn’t face that had nothing to do with strength.”

Loke remembered on Galuna, Erza’s snarl at the cult of the Moon, “I got a hint of that as well. She doesn’t think very highly of cults, worse than the average person anyway, and now I know why.”

“Yeah,” Lucy said, still gazing upwards.

A half moon had already set, leaving Lucy lit only by the immense starlight. There were no lights on the ship as it trudged through the ocean. She was still in her wine red dress, and she looked far away. Untouchable. More painting than person for this moment of contemplation. Sad, as she always was when considering the misfortune of others. It pulled at him the way a sad, beautiful girl always does, and because there was something wrong with it being Lucy who looked like that.

Desperate to break her mood, he looked where she was staring, “You know, if you stop running away every time I summon a spirit, I could introduce you to some of those stars. I don’t have a contract with Gemini or Leo, but I have a feeling Lyra would love to sing for you.”

Lucy gave him a wry smile, “What makes you say that? I’m nothing special.”

“Lyra has a talent for singing according to the strong emotions of her audience,” Loke said, “You feel everything so strongly all the time, she would love to sing for you. I would call her out tonight to sing for us, if you would let me.”

“Anyone ever tell you that you are too charming?” Lucy asked, her smile turning flirty.

“Never. Not once,” he proclaimed, then winked at her, “They were too busy being charmed.”

Lucy giggled, “You’re going to do just fine. I’m so glad you’re in Fairy Tail.”

“Then is that a yes to meeting Lyra?”

Lucy shook her head, “No, it’s not. No celestial spirits for me, okay? Please respect that.”

Loke hesitated, but nodded. “You’ll tell me one day. Why you can’t stand them?”

“I promise that you’ll understand,” Lucy said, pushing herself off the railing. “Now let’s go spend some time with Erza’s old friends. I want to know what they think is going to happen at the Tower, and we should probably finally save Happy from Miliana. Maybe schedule some sleep before our adventure if we can.”

Happy did need saving, but he agreed to let Miliana put a bow around his neck after Lucy and Loke agreed it looked dashing. Wally kept trying to chat up Lucy like one of those old gunslinger movies, and Lucy just laughed and promised him that their guild had their own couple of gunslingers they would love to introduce him to, occasionally playing along. Sho stood apart and watched them with blank eyes, but Lucy wanted to know more about his card magic, since it was kind of similar to Cana’s, with Gray joining that conversation. Sho wouldn't join their conversation with more than a word or two and Lucy and Gray ended up chatting about versatile magic without him.

No one felt like sleeping. Except Natsu, who eventually stumbled into the hold clutching his stomach, begging for a sleep rune that Lucy denied. 

Loke was listening to the various kinds of cats Milianna wanted to pet after this was over when he noticed Juvia talking to Sho. It was more than Sho had talked to the rest of them.

“I just don’t get how they can be happy after hearing the truth,” Sho admitted, eyes drained, “I hated her, and she didn’t deserve it at all. I was going to send her to Jellal, and…”

“Sometimes lies are the only things we have to believe,” Juvia said, her eyes on Gray, “But once we have truth, we can finally move forward. I can’t imagine how you feel, not really, but Fairy Tail…they forgive. It is about who they are, not what you’ve done.”

Lucy called him over to join a round of cards, and Loke didn’t hear anything else between the two melancholy mages. There were some naps as the hour grew late, but when everyone woke up for the day, they finally got around to the planning that Lucy wanted. Wally gave them a rundown of the lay out of the tower, reporting that Jellal liked to hold his meetings in the newly finished top of the tower.

That was when Simon and Erza came in, saying they would be approaching the tower in one hour.

“Great,” Lucy said, sitting them both down, “Because there is no reason not to go in this with a bonafide game plan. Sit. Here’s the layout of the tower, locations of the barracks, sites of strong magical power, and where Jellal is likely to be. I know Erza gets first crack at Jellal, but we can give her the best chance—hang on.” Lucy slapped Natsu’s bicep so he'd hopefully pay attention.

“What!” Natsu lunged forward, eyes popping out. He immediately turned green again.

“We’ll explain the plan again once we’re on solid ground,” Lucy said, “But if you hear it enough times, maybe it will sink in and we won’t have to cover you when you screw it up. So no sleeping, since you ditched my last, excellent plan in favor of explosions.”

“Luuuuucy,” Natsu whined, curled up on himself.

“That’s what you get for being pathetic,” Gray laughed.

“Simon, are these approximations correct?” Erza asked, looking over Lucy’s scribbled notes.

“Do you not trust the rest of us?” Sho asked, eyes sharp.

“Do you trust me, Sho?” Erza asked softly. “I wouldn’t, if I was you. But this isn’t actually about trust. Simon has known that the Tower of Heaven would need to fall for a long time, he has had more time to think about strategic points. I’m sure you gave Lucy the best schematics you knew.”

“These are accurate,” Simon confirmed, “I don’t have anything to add, except that the tower does not make sense when you are there in person. In a way that words can’t describe. It wasn’t built with symmetry or ease of access in mind, it was built to call on dark, twisted magic. Expect to be confused.”

“Right, so I was thinking—” Lucy said, and laid out her plans. The quickest way to get this taken care of would be to attack from the top like they did at Phantom’s towers, but with the eight people, and Jellal at the top, there was little chance of getting all of them there stealthily, plus Erza had already called Jellal’s battle.

Lucy wanted to divide up into three groups. Group C that tackled everything from below, causing as big a distraction as possible and drawing most of the tower defenders downward while protecting the boats/escape route. Group B would hold the middle and prevent any of the wizards in the barracks from heading upwards to back up Jellal, as well handling whoever Jellal sent down from his highest room. Group A challenged Jellal from the start, and they started at the top. Once Jellal was out, they would clear levels as they made their way down, collapsing the tower on their way. Eventually everyone they could save would be at the docks, and with a final blast, they would collapse the tower completely, and get out.

“I don’t know, something seems off about this plan,” Gray said. “It’s too…”

“Organized?” Lucy challenged. “Look, I know it’s not plan T, but—”

“I like plan T!” Happy said.

“—BUT,” Lucy cut back in, “There are a lot of people in this that might end up as collateral damage, and no one knows exactly what Jellal’s plan was besides kidnap Erza.”

“He wants to resurrect Zeref,” Erza said, “The cultists twisted him to that idea more tightly than anything else.”

Lucy seemed to be struggling with something, glanced at Loke, then nodded at Erza. “Okay, but I still think my plan stands the best chance of success. Look, there is plenty of property damage, lots of flexibility, and you can pick which team you want to be. Happy will run communications back and forth, ninja style, so Team B knows when Team A wins, and Team C can let Happy know if they need backup.”

“Can I be with the Kitty?” Miliana asked, raising a hand.

“The name’s Happy,” Happy said, puffing out his chest.

“That’s one way to divide it,” Simon said, “If those who know the tower are in group B, then they will be less likely to cause alarms, letting the concentration of fighters head to the lower levels while being able to surprise anyone else. Happy will have the most time with Group B, simply by their nature of being in the middle.”

“I don’t want Sister to face Jellal alone,” Sho said, “And Jellal has screwed with my life too, I want to be part of Team A.”

“And no offense to you guys, but we did just meet after you attacked us. I want to be in Team B, providing backup and crowd control,” Gray said.

Natsu groaned. Everyone ignored him.

“A mix would be best, since we’re still working out trust issues, but we need to keep Team A small.” Lucy said, writing down the teams. “The tower is tall, and despite our distraction, Jellal won’t let a flyer keep moving up and down without retaliation. Two people at most in Team A. Erza, who do you want with you??”

Erza looked up at Simon, then she turned and nodded at Sho. “You have to promise to do as I say and stick to the sides. If Jellal threatens you, he gets the upper hand. I would rather go alone, but if I must take someone, I would like to take Sho. You are right, you deserve a chance to face him as well.”

Sho smiled for the first time that night, a hard thing, but a smile nonetheless.

They divided up the rest of the groups without too much hassle. Group C was Lucy, Loke, Juvia, Natsu, and Wally, who would play distraction and take out the bulk of enemies at the ground floors and hold the docks clear. Juvia wanted to be with Gray, but her magic was necessary for sneaking into the docks, so she eventually agreed. Gray, Milianna, and Simon would hold the middle in Group B. Sho and Erza would head to the top as Group A.

Lucy’s plans hadn’t failed yet. Loke didn’t have any particular preference for his group, this was Erza’s show and he was here for support. And he was a strong swimmer, thanks to Aquarius turning swimming into an essential life skill, so covering the docks sounded right.

And beating up a bunch of child-torturing cultists before destroying an evil monument designated to resurrect the most evil wizard to have ever existed? Sounded like a pretty good time.

That was when their boat blew up.

           

 

 

Lucy’s ears were ringing. She was in water, and her ears were ringing. Lighting a fist, she released air from her mouth, watched which way the bubbles went, then followed them to the surface. It was cold, but not deadly waters at this time of year. She swam towards an ice platform that could only have come from Gray. Ship debris floated past.

“Gray! Who’s missing?” Lucy called up from the water.

“Natsu! Loke and Miliana as well. Sho and Wally are over there, Erza’s with me out cold. Juvia is looking for the others. I have to stay here or the ice will melt.”

“Happy?”

“Aye Sir!” Happy called from Gray’s ice raft.

“See if you can spot anyone from the air! Watch out for whatever hit us.”

“Aye!”

Happy took off and she swam directly downwards for thirty seconds, then lit both her fists in more light than actual power. They she swam back up and took in another breath. “Happy?”

“He spotted Natsu,” Gray called. “It looks like Sho is helping Loke out of the water.”

“My love, I saved her,” Juvia called out on the other side of the ice boat, “Even though she is a love rival.”

“Juvia has Miliana,” Gray called. “Where are you Lucy?”

“Coming!” she said, stroking forward and kicking her legs. Stairs of ice appeared in her direction, and she scrambled up them, shivering at the cold. Miliana was knocked out but breathing, Juvia was standing shyly next to Gray, who rose out of his casting stance, Erza lying beside him.

“What gave us away?”

“Darling Fairies, it certainly didn’t take you long to turn my closest friends against me,” a new voice rang out. Erza jerked awake, clutching Gray, “But then, betrayal has always been a specialty of yours, Erza Scarlet. Unfortunately, I’m not quite ready for you yet. Please play in the water a little longer before coming in like good little guests. You’ll all have your chance to die in the name of Zeref, don’t worry.”

“That would be Jellal, huh?” Gray asked grimly, “Gotta say, not a fan.”

“Hey Erza, since you got knocked out from a silly explosion, you’ll have to get to Jellal before I do if you want to fight him!” Natsu cheered above them. “He’s the big battle right? Then he’s mine! Happy, straight to the top!”

“Aye Sir!”

“Natsu!” several voices yelled his name at the same time.

“That idiot!” Lucy screamed.

“I can’t let him face Jellal, he’s not ready ye,” Erza said, climbing to her feet. “Requip!” Erza stood in nightwing armor. “I’m going after him, get everyone else to safety, that’s an order!”

Before Lucy or Gray could protest, Erza took to the sky.

“So much for your plan,” Gray snarked at her.

“Oh put a sock in it,” Lucy scoffed back, “It would have worked if someone hadn’t given us away to Jellal.”

“Don’t talk to my darling like that,” Juvia said, glaring at Lucy.

“Bigger problems,” Lucy said, “Either Jellal had eyes on us in the boat, or someone’s a traitor. And what does he mean by not ready for us yet?  It sounds like he’s working in a time limit.”

“Good questions. I don’t have the answers yet, obviously, but no matter what else, we need to get to the Tower. Now.” Gray took a casting stance and change the shape of their iceberg. Juvia started swinging her arms to propel them forward.

Lucy had time to point towards the Tower as they passed the boys on the shipwreck debris, and at least Wally nodded, then she focused on shifting her weight with their ice raft and keeping a passed out Miliana from flying off. Loke had Aquarius, he could catch up. Lucy was forgetting something, but she didn’t have time to focus on it right now. There was an evil mastermind and dark resurrection magic to stop.

 

 

           

 

“So…how should we get to the Tower?” Loke asked Sho and Wally. It was extremely unfair that Gray got the boat with the beautiful women while Loke was stuck here with the trigger-happy Blockhead and Mr. Emotionally Unstable.

Still, better than being alone.

“I don’t get it, why did Jellal attack us like that? We almost died! We were his friends,” Sho asked, staring at his hands.

“Hey, you know Jellal. He’s a forest and not the trees kind of guy,” Wally comforted, “He’s so twisted up in Paradise…he’s not the friend we thought we knew. The friend we always knew Erza was, no matter what anyone else said.”

Right, awesome. Have to fix Emotionally Unstable first.

“Hey,” Loke said, kneeling down beside Sho, who watched him wearily, “None of us died, and I get the feeling Jellal could have killed us if he actually wanted to with that blast. He wanted to delay us, not kill us. I don’t know what that means, but I’m pretty sure you wanted to get to the Tower and ask him, right?”

Sho nodded, fists clenching, “That’s right. He’s going to answer for his lies and his betrayal first!”

“I’ll help you get up there, but we need a way to get to the tower right now. Meeting up with my friends and Miliana should help if we can follow them,” Loke encouraged. “Wally, do you have any magic that can help?” Loke technically had Aquarius, who might be willing to get them to the tower, but he didn’t want to spend a summoning before reaching the tower if he didn’t have to.

“Nothing that can control this thing,” Wally said, shaking his head. He held up a hand that turned into a propeller, and Loke winced. Their piece of deck was already half sunk, no way was a tiny propeller like that going to make it the rest of the way.

“Okay, I have something that might work,” Loke said, pulling out Aquarius’s key. He took a step towards the edge.

A hand shot out of the dark water.

“AHH!” the three of them screamed, clinging to each other.

Simon’s metal jaw and muscled shoulders came up next as he pulled himself further onto the piece of wreckage.

Simon coughed then asked, “I don’t sense Erza or the others, are they okay?”

“Simon!” Sho and Wally exclaimed, rushing forward to help him up. Loke tried to get his heartrate under control.

“Erza took off for the top of the Tower, so did Natsu and Happy. The others are heading for the docks,” Loke answered.

“Then it looks like this is the new Team B,” Simon said drily, standing up. “I should have known I hadn’t fooled Jellal, he was always the cleverest.”

“I have a spirit that can get us to the Tower,” Loke said, “But nowhere near the middle. We can find the others and work our way up to Erza and Natsu together.”

“No need, not this close.” Simon said, “I can transport us through the shadows, if you’ll allow me. Your friend’s plan was a good one, we should try to stick to it.”

“Her plans are pretty top notch,” Loke bragged.

“I’m glad that’s settled. Darkness, arrive.” A silver and black magic circle erupted from his formed fingers before Loke could protest. Between one breath and the next, they were swallowed.

An eternity of a moment later, the four of them collapsed on the ground inside the tower.

Notes:

After some ice breaking and flirting, and more dodging the question, they get close to the tower. Only for Lucy's plans go up in flames before even hitting the docks.

Chapter 34: Enter the Tower of Heaven

It was only when Loke was coughing and groaning on the floor, after having all the air sucked out of him, that it really hit. Gray and Lucy had wanted a mix of Fairy Tail wizards and Erza's old friends in Group B because these guys weren’t trustworthy. And someone had let Jellal know that they weren’t escorting Erza in chains, which could be a hidden camera lacrima, but could also mean a traitor. It was up to Loke to make sure it didn’t happen again.

But that was okay, he could handle it.

“I love ya to death pal, but that power still rankles,” Wally whined.

Overhead, the same male voice that had announced their boat getting wrecked rang from the ceiling.

“How unfortunate that my little surprise did not stop you for nearly as long as I had hoped. Alas, when all the pieces are on the board, the only thing left to do is play. You have made your move, let’s see how well you meet mine. I have three guests for you to play with. Defeat them, and we’ll see who stands long enough to challenge me. Let the game for paradise begin.”

“That’s ominous. Right, so…is this the center of the tower?” Loke asked, forcing himself to stand up and look at the hallway.

“There is a larger, central chamber with suspended metal platforms up ahead, and that is the center of the Tower." Simon explained, "Every hallway leads to it between above and below. I figured it would be better to recover out here than to head straight in. People don’t always react . . . well to my magic.”

“Don’t worry about me,” Loke forced a smile, “You sure there isn’t anyone else you want to rat Jellal out to before we start bringing this place down?”

They looked at each other, and it was Wally who answered, “No…no, actually. We were separated from the others because we had the knack of magic. Never thought about it before, but we’re pretty lonesome up here. No one else I’d trust to believe Erza over Jellal.”

Sho got angry again, “It was all part of his plan to manipulate us like puppets to hurt Sister. Even if something was strange, we never got the chance to talk about it with anyone! How could we know? All we’ve ever known is the Tower. How could we know there were people who would accept us?”

Loke rolled his eyes, “Yeah, the evil backstabber strikes again. You can either sit here crying about it, or we can secure the big room and you can head up to Erza and Natsu and actually do something. Maybe we can stop the resurrection of Zeref while we’re at it.”

“Sho needs time to process his new reality,” Simon said gently, standing up. “It is difficult to realize that the world is not how you believe it to be. Let him come into his own understanding, and he will be more capable of surviving and aiding your friends this night. Peace.”

Loke sighed and ran a hand through his hair, “Right, okay then. You break down here, I’m going to check out the center room. Join me when you’re ready.”

Loke started down the hallway, and Wally followed him, Simon and Sho staying a bit longer behind them.

“Sho’s a good guy,” Wally said, walking up next to him. “He’s just a little fragile.”

“Fragile’s not good for a fight,” Loke said, uncomfortably, “Look, I’m sure he’s a good guy, but I have friends that are counting on us, and he can scream at the world later. You’re worried about Erza, but I’m worried about everyone. You’re handling it okay.”

Square teeth grinned at him, “Not really, but them’s the breaks. You’re right that now’s not the time, but don’t mean it don’t feel like taking one in the kisser each time we figures out something else screwed up.”

There were sounds of fighting ahead.

“Let’s see if we can’t kick in someone else’s teeth for a change,” Loke said, drawing sword and keys.

They ran forward through an archway, just in time to see Natsu being swallowed by a giant owl bird man.

 

 

Miliana woke up slowly. First was the throbbing pain of a headache, followed up with knowing that pain was on the outside of her head too. A lump, just above her ear, didn’t like her head laying that way. Then there was the noise making her head ache even more. Her eyes slid open, giving her a fuzzy view of a bare back. 

Magic flashed, turning the woman into a silhouette. Fists down and at the ready, ball gown slightly torn but clinging to her after being drenched. Her hair had somehow stayed up in a ribbon but was limp as she watched the fight flash before her.

By Magic, this woman was beautiful.

Something came flying their way, and it was only as Lucy kicked it upwards that Miliana realized it was a body of one of the Tower guards. Still Lucy didn’t join the fighting but returned to standing guard.

“Gray, above you,” Lucy called loudly. Miliana leaned around her to see some of the Tower patrons tip boiling oil from the rafters. Gray made a stew pot of ice where he had been standing as he jumped out of the way. A slice of water sent the people pouring the oil crashing into the same pot. Their shrieks joined the cacophony.

“Hey, are you feeling okay?” a soft voice asked. Lucy had moved to crouching beside Miliana and was steadying her with a hand, “I’m glad you’re awake. That looks like a nasty bump and I was scared for a while there.”

“It hurts, and I’m not thinking my best,” Miliana admitted, “But I can keep going.” She took Lucy’s hand, trying and failing to not blush, and let herself be pulled to her feet.

She staggered immediately, a spike of pain going through her head. Lucy had an arm around her shoulders, and Miliana's vision went black.

“That’s bad,” Lucy said, her voice distant. “Gray! Juvia! Miliana needs medical attention, I’m taking her to the infirmary!”

Miliana was slung on Lucy’s back, and it took all her effort just to hold on as Lucy started jogging.

“Which door?”

“This one,”

“Stay with me,” Lucy said, each running step sending a wave of pain through her.

Milianna tried to stay awake. It would suck to disappoint her guardian angel. . .

 

Lucy ran, holding tight to Miliana because the girl had the weakest grip. If Lucy remembered the map right, she just needed to turn left at the top of this staircase then go past the normal doors that held living quarters and hit the big doors that held the kitchen and the infirmary. She knew precious little about human anatomy, so hopefully there would be some instructions or some healing poultices. You can’t have a huge construction thing like this, train wizards with as deadly abilities as these guys, and not have healing poultices.

Lucy never hit the black doors. Instead she ended up in a dead-end room that dipped and rose like a diamond. This had not been on the map. Shoot.

“Miliana, Miliana, I need you to tell me how to get to the infirmary from here,” Lucy pleaded. 

Miliana lifted her head and blinked, “Spiral…”

Spiral? Like, spiral staircase? Miliana wasn’t going to be much help, better to backtrack, maybe she had meant to turn right at the top of the staircase.

Hurrying back the other way, she wished she had Compass. Or anyone, really.

Two more dead ends, Lucy couldn’t even find the staircase she had come up, so she started opening doors. Cleaning closets, spare stonework tools, a room of disconnecting pipes, and eventually a room full of toy cats. There were cat dolls and cat eyes everywhere, done up in the signature colors of the girl on her back, which seemed to be every pastel that could never match, ever.

“Miliana, I’m pretty sure this is your room,” Lucy said, “You got anything good in here that might help?”

“Bed.”

“Right.”

Careful not to trip with her charge, she lowered Miliana onto the bed and as soon as she was flat, the girl curled up and groaned into one of her pillows.

“Should I go and bring back medicine?”

One of Miliana’s arms flopped out of her fetal position and started slapping around her bedside table. There was a waterbottle, three cat plushies, a crystal cat, and a couple of cookies. Lucy offered her the waterbottle, but Miliana slapped it away. Her hand finally landed on the crystal cat and pulled it to her chest. There was some mumbling and a flash of light.

Lucy waited.

A full minute after, Miliana sat up with a sigh and a smile. “That will do, I’m much better now. Thanks for bringing me here.”

“Umm…your welcome?” Lucy said. “What is that?”

“Oh, this?” she asked, holding out her green crystal cat. “This was a present the boys got me. It’s enchanted to reduce swelling and pain. The boys got it when I started my monthlies and they didn’t know how to help me.” She rolled her eyes fondly, “Boys, right?”

“You get pain and swelling monthly?” Lucy asked, worried. Was there an extra disease Miliana was fighting Lucy should be worried about? It would be better to secure an exit and protect Miliana there if she was too sick to be a proper fighter. They really should have mentioned this earlier.

“Yeah,” she said shyly, “It isn’t as bad as this lump, obviously, and cramps aren’t really swelling, but Jellal had the lacrima enchanted to handle kind of everything, just in case. Pretty sure it’s just normal pharmacy meds that flash into my body faster via Lacrima. I’m guessing you’re probably one of the lucky ones that gets it super light, huh?”

Huh? Was this…what?

Miliana quickly stood up, blushing, “Never mind, let’s get back to your friends. They might need our help. Point is, I’m good to go.” She frowned as she looked around her room, “I guess I won’t be coming back here after we wreck everything. Can I have a minute?”

“I’ll guard the door,” Lucy said, and Miliana went and started shoving select items into her pocket, while Lucy watched for people coming their way.

“Okay, ready to go,” Miliana said, “Wow, we’re on the completely wrong floor and side of the Tower, you got really lost.”

“Just lead us back,” Lucy groaned.

“Right, this way,” Miliana took off at a light jog, Lucy right behind her. A couple of sloping hallways and sharp turns had them at a large stone chamber, where a person was strumming their guitar, their back to them.

He turned around, and his impossibly long tongue lolled out as he smiled. “Freaky! I was hoping to get a couple of hot chicks for my show. My lucky day!”

Lucy did not have the magic for this.   

 

 

 

 

Loke froze as the owlman shivered and grew pink hair.

“Oh, how rude of me, eating in front of guests, but I hope you can forgive me for not sharing. I needed all of him for the proper absorption of his powers,” the owlman said.

“Loke, do something! Help Natsu!” Happy cried, getting to his feet on one of the hanging cages.

Loke ripped his sword free and jumped forward, slicing with his key, “Open, Gate of Canis Major!” The wolf landed on top of the next swinging platform, then jumped forward. Loke had to steady himself as he landed, gripping the chain, while Owlman took to the air.

With a jetpack. What the hell?

“At least you two are playing the game correctly,” Owlman said. “So, to be fair, I’ll give you a little hint. My magic digestion process takes 10 minutes. If you defeat me before then, you may have a chance to retrieve your friend. I tell you this in the name of justice.”

“Do you seek his death?” Canis growled from above. The angle made it difficult to get eyes on either of them.

“See if we can knock him out first,” Loke instructed, not believing he was actually going to give this order, “Take kill shots if…if we can’t get him in the first seven minutes. And don’t drag this out so you get the chance to kill.”

“As you ask,” Canis said.

“Bird verse dog, such an old story,” Owlman said. And Loke jumped onto the next cage, settling into the swinging motion, as Simon and Sho hurried into the room. Walley caught them up as Loke continued to jump around the swinging platforms and tried not to think about falling.

He was panting by the time he got close to where Canis was chasing the dodging owlman.

“That’s Trinity Raven!” Simon called out to him, “Assassin’s guild, they’re known for slaying generals in the Cabrian War!”

“That was Justice!” Owlman yelled back, turning to glare at him.   

Simon clapped, and everything went dark. A snarl tore free of Canis, followed by a thick thump.

“Canis? Are you okay?” Loke asked.

“Owl’s see in the dark,” came a whisper behind him, and with a punch Loke was shoved off his platform. Loke squirmed, trying to grab on a nearby cage, when Happy swept him up. Two gunshots, a burst of fire, and the lights came back on.

 Panting, he looked over his shoulder, “Thanks Happy.”

“We’re running out of time for Natsu,” Happy said.

“You all really need some combat experience,” Owlman said, shaking his head, “I am an agent for justice, not an agent for slaughter.” On the ground, Simon was nursing his arm, Sho was collapsed back against a wall, and Wally was down flat. Loke looked up where he sensed Canis crouching on the highest cage, and two nods let Loke know the plan.

“Will leaning work?” Loke asked Happy, ignoring Owlman’s monologue. He hadn’t trained for aerial combat with Happy, so this was going to be a disaster, but it was Natsu’s only shot.

Happy nodded, “Knees up for higher, legs back for lower.”

No time like the present to make a disaster.

“Hey, murderer,” Loke called, interrupting a futility monologue, “I’m not done with you yet, and I’m going to need my friend back.”

Loke brought his sword up and Happy rushed him forward, almost yanking the thing out of his grip. Luckily, he had held onto his sword through many an Aquarius tantrum and kept hold of it through Happy's burst of speed.

Owlman flew up to meet him, flames blazing. Sword in front dispelled the flames, which he wasn’t sure he would have been able to do to Natsu’s actual flames. He was weaker than Natsu right now, at least while he was still digesting.

“You’re too full to put up a good fight, aren’t you?” Loke said, kicking at the owl in order to free his sword form a grab.

“Not at all,” the owl said, punching forward. Happy kept him out of range, just barely. Loke tried to lean where they were going, but it was slow, not giving him any time for a counter attack. He gave up and let Happy handle the flying while he focused on keeping his sword front and attacking. “Being full makes me stronger than I ever am!”

Loke only got his sword in position to block maybe a third of the strikes, leaving cuts each time across the bare fists, but the rest was Happy’s dodging, much as he hated to admit it. They only had to keep it up a little longer and a little higher.

“Natsu probably tasted disgusting, he’d give anyone food poisoning,” Loke said, going for a slash to the stomach. He got a cut on owlman and a sock to the cheek for it. “Do you have any idea what that guy eats?”

“You are more experienced than those on the ground,” Owlman commented, as Loke focused on the right shoulder that had a chunk missing from Wally’s bullet. “But nowhere near as good as the Salamander. Your crimes are less, but it was partly by your hand that Eisenwald fell, yes?”

“They couldn’t have done it without me,” he said with a smirk. Loke pulled his knees up and Happy flew him backwards and higher.

“Then it is your turn to face justice!” Owlman called out, lunging forward with an uppercut that would put Loke out.

Claws first, Canis landed on the owl, tearing off the jetpack. His teeth latched around owlman’s head. The two went plummeting just short of Loke and Happy.

Canis followed owlman all the way down to the ground, leaving a crater.

“Natsu!” Happy yelled, taking them into a dive.

In the crater, Canis’s jaws had released owlman’s head, as it was currently throwing up his friend.

“Not dead, just as you requested,” Canis said grumpily, “I still don’t see why you won’t let me feast. That wizard would have tasted more like chicken than most.”

“Intelligent beings aren’t prey,” Loke repeated, as he had since picking up the spirit. “You did good, thank you.” With a nod, Canis went back to the celestial world to heal the limp he was sporting after that fall.

“Ugh, Happy?” Natsu said, wiping himself clean of owlman’s internal body fluids. Happy was crying into Natsu’s disgusting shirt. The fluid started to evaporate, showing it was more magic than physical bile, though still plenty nasty, and Natsu blinked at him, “Loke?”

“I can’t believe you let yourself get eaten by that guy,” Loke said, holding out a hand.

“Flying on his jetpack and these swinging platforms made me motion sick,” Natsu said with a wince, accepting the help up. “It’s okay Happy. At least it wasn’t Gray that saved me, I would never have lived that down.”

“Everything okay?” Simon yelled from above. Natsu gave him a thumbs up.

 

Notes:

Gray and Juvia show off their area attacks and are holding the docks, Lucy got lost again, and Loke had the first of the trinity raven trio. Canis Major is just a big wolf, but one that really wants to eat people. Certainly came in handy in this fight, and Natsu is saved the embarrassment of being saved by Gray that he had to face in canon.

Lucy was doing so good at not using her magic in the tower, she made it the whole chapter! Let's see if she can pull this trick off again.

Chapter 35: Vindaloo

“Ready to Rock ladies?” the musician sang, strumming the guitar. He immediately sent a wail of absurdly loud music in their direction.

Lucy clamped her hands over her ears, her body faded at the edges then came back together. Even her atoms were trying to escape this racket.

Evetually the attack ended, and she was already exhausted.

“That was the worst!” Miliana said, “And I like listening to cats yowling!”

“No taste, it seems. I’ll just have to change that. As I’m sure you know, nothing’s hotter than two chicks going at it with each other. The screaming, the hair pulling, an all you can handle and more catfight! So which of you is ready to party?” their enemy said, still strumming.

“Miliana, I’ll distract while you set the trap,” Lucy said, getting ready to charge.

They had gone over each other’s abilities thoroughly on the boat, Miliana's ability to cut off magic was a pretty good match up for fighting a sound wizard.

“Right,” Miliana said, putting something like a game face on.

“None of that,” their enemy said, “I pick…you! Let’s see your claws, sex kitten." He strummed directly at Miliana.

Lucy charged.

He danced out of her way, still playing as some kind of purple sound magic came out, slow enough that Lucy could keep on him and out of the way of his spell, but his hair expanded to act as a balance to keep him out of her reach.

“Kitten tail!” Miliana called, her voice deeper and raspier than before.

Something wrapped around Lucy in the middle of a kick, sending her to the floor.

Lucy rolled in her constraints, the rope growing to keep her trapped, but she made it to her feet to face her captor.

Miliana had gotten a makeover.

Gone were the cute pastels and kitten makeup, sharp eyeliner and deep purple lipstick had taken its place, whisker triangles replaced with curving lines. The yellow jacket had vanished and her stockings were now ripped. Brown hair was now in gelled spikes instead of pigtails.

That was all Lucy had time to process before blinding, agonizing pain.

She was screaming. Her throat had to be bleeding from the way the sound ripped out of her.

Her body fell apart; leaving only the scream.

Her body came back together. A rope coiled on the floor at her feet; Lucy scrambled away from it. She fell on her butt and crawled away backwards as fast as she could, keeping it in sight. Her back hit a wall, and she pressed against it, the rope was still too close.

Punk!Miliana and their opponent were looking at her in shock.

“What kind of crazy sick magic was that?” the guy asked, grinning, tongue lolling out, “Now that was real music to my ears. Those screams came right from the soul. Succubus, let’s see if we can get an encore!” He started playing, and Miliana’s ‘kitten tail’ snapped back to her hands as she smirked.

“Miliana? No! We need to fight him together. I’m not strong enough to take him alone! Can you hear me around his spell?” Lucy cried. 

Miliana snapped her kitten tail out like a whip, “Nobody’s spell, just finally embracing my true inner feline. You ready for some claws?”

Lucy could live to be as old as Crux, and she would never forget the blinding agony of what just happened.

She didn’t want to be here.

She couldn’t do this.

She was going to die to Miliana under a spell.

“We can give her a little explanation,” the man said, “My succubus spell turned your friend into my minion. Isn’t she gorgeous? I could have turned you both, but that would be boring. Now, let’s hear some more screams.”

He played a song.

Lucy got to her feet.

Miliana strutted forward, swinging her hips.

Lucy ran.

Miliana’s magic probably didn’t drain a wizard’s magic, just neutralized the magic particles.

But Lucy was magic.

Stardust and magic, woven with belief and memory and bonds and a stubbornness that was three parts lioness and two parts Fairy Tail wizard at this point.

Take away the magic, and she was dust and dreams.

Punk!Miliana snapped the tail whip.

Lucy ducked and rolled.

Back on her feet, she continued to run. The door was just in front of her. Time to run back for help, or at least get Miliana to chase her. The spell might have a range on it that Lucy just needed to get them out of.

“No escape this way,” their opponent sang, using his hair to launch himself across the room to land in front of her.

He played guitar and his hair became a swirling wall behind him. His tongue swirled less than a foot from her face.

Lucy stumbled back.

Something wrapped around her ankle.

Lucy jumped forward as fast as she could, and the tail couldn’t retract fast enough to keep her caught. Landing, she ran for the center of the room, scanning for any other exits.

Upwards. There were at least ten huge tunnels that dumped into the room. Dumped like this was a sewage trap. Nowhere to go.

Miliana snapped out another attack that Lucy dodged.

Miliana. The girl’s magic signature wasn’t strong as Loke, maybe the same as Laki. While more than enough to put Lucy down if Miliana got her again, it was not enough to strengthen Miliana’s body with magic. Lucy’s only option was to try to get close enough for a knockout hit.

She could do this.

Lucy was Fairy Tail. Running away should never have been on the table anyway.

Lucy was Fairy Tail. Fear was swallowed back with every other emotion in favor of a fight.

Punk!Miliana strutted forward to their opponent’s song, and the mark across her breastbone matching the mark on their attacker’s back.

“Death’s Hand Caucus: Assassin Guild,” Lucy said, forcing her arms not to tremble. “Trinity Raven. Vindaloo. You’re here with the others, aren’t you? Jellal hired you.”

“Glad you’ve heard of me Babe,” Vindaloo said with a vicious smile. “Always good to know my work’s appreciated, but you must be crazier than I thought if you know me. Tell you what? Give me a good show with Kitten here, and I’ll give you an autograph somewhere you’ll never forget. Otherwise Kitten gets one, the inside of her thigh is looking a little empty.”

“Is that a promise?” Succubus Miliana asked, throwing a seductive smile over her shoulder, “Meow.”

Lucy sprinted.

She rolled under the first whip, came up swinging, but Succubus Miliana caught her on the backswing.

“Constrict,” Succubus Miliana ordered, and the air was forced from her lungs. She had to keep her magic from trying to heal her. She didn’t actually need earthland air. She could handle this. She needed to be ready for the magic neutralizer. If she was going to die, hopefully Miliana wouldn’t have a memory of this. Hopefully it would all be blank, and without a body, no one would ever know what happened to Lucy of Fairy Tail.

“I don’t hear screaming, be a good kitty for me,” Miliana asked.

“Stop it,” Lucy said, through gritted teeth, because it did hurt. A lot. “Stop this, this isn’t you. And you’re strong enough to fight this. You survived Jellal, you survived the Tower. Fight this Miliana. He’s sick, and you are so much better than him.”

Her eyes didn’t smile with her grin. “Naughty girls get punished.”

Miliana was in there, fighting. Watching.

“Kitten tube.”

“I forgive you.” 

Lucy screamed. Her every nerve was dipped in acid. Tears would have fallen, if they had a body to fall from.

Again she fell apart. This time she didn’t let the pain drop her completely. As soon as she had enough sense of self to stop screaming, she rolled. Stopped in a crouch, then sprang up with every screaming pain synapse telling her to lie down and give up.

The top of her head hit Miliana’s chin, sending the woman off her feet.

Not nearly as strong as it should have been, but enough for the moment. Lucy landed on her knees.

Vindaloo was laughing like this was prime Lacrima Vision. The winning plan hit her like a punch.

Back on her feet, wiping tears from her face, turning to face Succubus Miliana again, Lucy positioned herself between Miliana and Vindaloo.

“So not Rock. How do you keep doing that?” Milianna groaned, climbing to her feet. “You’re not supposed to be able to do anything! It’s not fun bondage if you don’t stay stuck.”

“Maybe you’re just not rock-rocker enough,” she said weakly. Over her shoulder, though never taking her eye of Miliana, she said. “You sure I can’t get that autograph first? I hear there’s nothing quite like dying with your killer’s symbol on you. Best way to come back a ghost and haunt this world forever.”

“Now you’re singing my song,” Vindaloo cackled. “But I can make as many groupies as I want, and who wants a willing one? Tear Kitten apart, and maybe I’ll give you the privilege anyway.”

“No fair, he’s my soulmate, I claimed him first!” Punk Miliana screeched.  Both her arms came forward, “Kitten blast!” Out came a wide spiral of the kitten tail.

Slower, slightly, but covering a wider area, more controlled, harder for Lucy to dodge.

Lucy backpedaled, trying to keep her feet, going as fast as she could while keeping her balance and facing Miliana.

Miliana’s face was viciously gleeful at the other end of the spiral.

Her left eye dripped a tear.

Nails dug into her shoulders from behind.

Lucy fake gasped, Vindaloo grinning above her, “Not so fast.”

Faster than him, Lucy trapped his hands against her shoulder, she flung herself and Vindaloo into the spiral of the attack, his guitar scraping her bare back.

Both of them got caught in the kitten blast, Lucy screamed again as both her and Vindaloo's magic was neutralized.

Her body fell apart and into nothing.

Lucy wasn’t surprised that death was a silent, starless night.

 

Loke could not figure out where Jellal had gotten such crap designs for a tower. None of it made any sense. They had left the room at the actual middle, deeming it a dumb battleground with Natsu’s motion sickness, and were one and a half levels up in a wide hallway. The hallway was a completely different size than the other hallways and should have collapsed the tower with it’s terrible design long before this.

“I’m bored. Happy, let’s go to Erza,” Natsu said, one minute after they had decided to wait there.

“I’m not sure I’ll be up for dodging explosions again,” Happy said with a wince, curled up on Natsu’s shoulder.

Natsu shrugged, “Then we can go the long—”

The kind of scream reserved for actresses in horror movies rang through the halls. It was distant, but loud enough that it would have deafened anyone closer. It was so loud, it didn’t make sense, anyone in that much pain shouldn’t be able to scream that much.

“LUCY!” Natsu yelled, and took off running, Happy clinging for dear life.

“That might be Milianna, I’m going with them,” Walley decided, following Natsu.

“Then I’m going up to Erza and Jellal,” Sho said, pushing off a wall. “That was the original plan, and Erza shouldn’t be up there alone.”

Still, the kid waited for permission. After a moment, Simon nodded.

“I’m concerned Erza won’t be able to fight to her full abilities with Jellal. There is too much…history. I was hoping the Salamander would be the one beside her, able to take up the battle should Erza falter, where the rest of us will be liabilities or targets, but hopefully we might be what she needs,” Simon said. He turned to Loke, “Will you stay and act as rendez-vous?”

“Not a chance,” Loke said. “No offense, but I don’t trust you guys. And no way am I letting Erza be up there with the three of you and no backup. I’m going.”

“But the others—”

“They’ll figure it out,” Loke said confidently, “We’re Fairy Tail and we’re good. Come on, let’s head for the action.”

“Your friend Lucy does not seem to be doing fine. I believe it would be best to follow her plan and have someone here,” Simon insisted.

“That didn’t sound good, but you don’t know Lucy, she’s as strong as they come,” Loke said, squaring his shoulders to Simon’s argument. “Stronger than anyone I know. And if something did go wrong with her, the sooner we help Erza, the sooner we can get out of here, which is what everyone really needs.”

Simon hesitated, then nodded, probably seeing that he couldn’t stop Loke anyway. They ran towards the stairs.

Lucy’s screams echoed through the halls twice more as they ran in the other direction. Loud and haunting no matter how far they ran.

Natsu would get there to help, Loke had to believe that.  

 

 

Gray ran, Juvia on his heels. He had covered for Lucy’s exit with Miliana, but the infirmary was a five-minute run from the docks, and they hadn’t come back yet.

After an hour of thinning the cultist numbers, he and Juvia picked a smaller ship and stood guard, letting the remaining cultists escape and load up with their injured. With no assurance that the Magic Council was coming for arrests, there wasn’t any point in keeping them prisoner.

Gray put up with Juvia’s shy shuffling and mixed squeals for another thirty minutes before convincing her to leave the ship behind and head for the infirmary. Lucy was gone too long, sitting here wasn’t enough anymore.

That made Juvia pout for some reason, but they went.

They found the infirmary empty of medicine and guildmates.

“Where should we look next?” Juvia asked, concerned. “Should we make our way up the tower in accordance with the plan?”

On the one hand, that would be what everyone expected them to do, though this was a much smaller Team C than Lucy had wanted. On the other hand, there were only so many ships left, if they got too far away from the docks, they might surrender their only escape route. He also couldn’t split from Juvia, there were too many unknowns and limited ways to get back to each other.

“We should—”

Lucy’s screams pierced the air. Human throats weren’t supposed to make sounds that loud.

“Lucy!” Gray yelled back, charging in the direction of the sound.

They made it to a hallway with a drop off on either side, making a little bridge across the oblong chamber. A woman with pink hair and a white dress turned around holding a red sword sheath horizontally before her. Oriental style arches lined the bridge behind her; she chose this battleground specifically for aesthetics.

“I am Ikaruga of Trinity Raven of the Death’s Hand Caucus guild,” Ikaruga said, “I was hoping to face the swordswoman Scarlet, but I will be your opponent for this game. Prepare for battle.” Then her eyes widened, “But—have some modesty! I know fairies are scum, but do you really fight so indecently? Where are your clothes!”

Gray looked down, but he still had his pants on. Deciding that commenting on Ikaruga’s own ridiculously low neckline was in the category of ‘bad idea’, he picked a slightly different response. A woman hired by Jellal and looking to challenge Erza to swords couldn’t be a pushover. “An assassin and a prude. I’ll do my best not to strip any further.”

The woman’s face heated up to a full red.

“Another woman attempting to steal my precious Gray,” Juvia fumed to herself, while Gray took a summoning stance. Juvia really should not be focusing on her jealousy and instead focusing on the people trying to kill them. Then again, while he wasn’t quite sure what to do with Juvia’s naked attraction for him, it was better if her jealousy was aimed at enemies instead of allies.

“Begin,” Ikaruga said, dropping to a crouch and launching herself fast as Erza ever was. Gray started with walls.

 

 

 

Lucy felt something drip on her face and blinked herself to consciousness. Everything hurt, worst nights hurt, and she wanted to sleep, but knew better than to sleep somewhere water could drip on her.

Natsu’s face was above her, his arms around her, eyes scrunched closed.

She breathed in to speak, but that hurt even more, so she took a moment to look around the room. Happy and Miliana were holding each other and crying, Miliana back to her normal self. Vindaloo was wrapped up in Miliana’s kitten tail, his hair popped off and his guitar broken against him.

A tear dropped on her cheek, and she looked back up at Natsu, who’s face smoothed out in awe.

“Hi,” she said, her voice raspy.

Natsu crushed her to him, careful not to hold too hard. “I thought you had gone like Lisanna,” he whispered, voice raw in her ear.

Lisanna. Lucy hadn’t been in the guild when she died, but she had learned about the girl who used to be Natsu’s best friend from Mirajane a few weeks ago. She had been killed on an emergency request with her siblings, swept aside by Elfman who couldn’t control a beast form. If Natsu had come in here while she was passed out, yeah, that might have triggered something.

“I’m…” Lucy didn’t know what to say.

“Okay” was a lie so easily poked through. “Not going to die” was an even bigger one. The things she actually wanted to say sounded too much like a goodbye.

            I’m so happy I got to be your friend.

            I’m glad you’re here with me.

            I know you’ll be okay again.

“Lucy!” Happy’s voice said, and she was hit by flying cat and kitten girl.

“But your pulse, I couldn’t find it! I was so sure you’d died!” Miliana cried, burying herself in Lucy’s stomach. “I don’t know what happened. It wasn’t supposed to hurt, just cut off your magic, and he made me—he made me—your screams—”

Lucy put a hand in her hair, “Hey, remember what I said? I already forgave you. That mind control spell was sick, and I know you were fighting it as much as you could.”

“I couldn’t find your pulse either,” Natsu said, voice gravelly. “You were just…”

She didn’t know Miliana’s medical experience, but Natsu had gone through Fairy Tail’s annual training. She tried to feel for her own heartbeat, which pushed magic through her body, carried by the celestial spirit equivalent of blood, ichor. Faint, slow. It was ragged, barely their and beating much slower than a human’s.

“I think I’m going to have take myself out of the game,” Lucy admitted. “I’m out of magic right now.”

“What? But you’re—” Natsu said.

Lucy gave a pained chuckle, “Pathetic, isn’t it? And I so wanted to help.”

“You took out one of these freaks,” Natsu said, nodding at the constrained and still passed out Vindaloo, “More than I’ve done yet. Come on, we’re getting you out of here for now.”

Lucy winced, “I’m not sure I’m up for walking just yet,” she admitted. “Why don’t I rest here with Miliana a while more, then we’ll head for the docks that Juvia and Gray should have cleared out. We’ll wait for everyone to get out, while you go back and help the others clean up.”

“That has got to be the worst plan you have ever come up with,” Natsu said, gathering her in a bridal carry and standing up. “You’re crazy if you think I’m letting my partner go off alone after…I’m getting you out of here. End of plan.”

“That’s a dumb plan,” Lucy said, “You, Gray, and Erza are the strongest we have on our side. Vindaloo was no pushover, and we barely survived him. If the tower is stocked with others like him, they’re going to need your help.”

“You need it more,” Natsu said, not looking at her. “It’s Erza’s battle anyway, and Loke’s with catgirl’s friends. Together they should be able to handle anything that might get in Erza’s way. That popsicle is too stubborn to get taken down by anyone but me and Erza, and he has Juvia with him. You need me more. I’m not going to lose a friend because I was too busy looking for a fight, so stop arguing.”

“But—”

“Shut up!” Natsu said, his fingers dug into her thigh and shoulder for a moment. Then he took a breath, eyes closed, and relaxed his grip. “Just shut up and let your friends take care of you. You can’t stop me, so stop arguing.”

Sighing, Lucy leaned her weight against his chest, knowing it made her easier to carry. “Fine. For now.” She closed her eyes, “but soon I’m going to have to take care of myself, and I want you to promise that if something does happen to me, you won’t blame yourself. Picking these battles was my choice.”

“Don’t pick battles you can’t win,” Natsu retorted. He wasn’t going to listen, not right now, not so close to thinking her dead. But hopefully he’d remember this when the time came for her to vanish.

She made a noise of disagreement but didn’t say anything else. Lucy closed her eyes and let Natsu’s magic aura envelop her, ready to lash out at whatever threatened her and their guild. Earthland magic had felt so alien three years ago. And it still wasn’t the brilliant kiss of starlight and the rush of rightness and home, but Natsu had become family, and earthland magic now felt familiar, a painting she could admire, a song she could enjoy without being able to play the instruments. Hopefully he wouldn’t waste too much time looking for her when she was gone.

Maybe she’d become another question he asked while on his quest for his dragon father.

        ‘Have you seen a dragon?’

        ‘Have you seen a beautiful blonde heavenly angel with gold bracelets?’

Ha, as if.

Lucy prayed that there would be a way out of this for him that kept his heart healing. Natsu has lost too much.

“And so we reach the final stages of our little game. You fairies have done much better than I expected. Only one of my players left, and the final time limit has begun. The Magic Council has decided our dreams are too much of a threat to them and their power, and in thirty minutes, this whole place will be leveled by an etherion blast. Hurry! Hurry!”

That Jellal could make announcements when Erza was supposed to be beating him senseless did not bode well.  

Please don’t let my friends lose anyone else.

Notes:

Lucy managed to not use her magic, and still had the worst time. Now Natsu's taking himself out of the game to keep Lucy safe, and Loke's headed up to meet Jellal. But at least Lucy hasn't completely faded yet!

Chapter 36: Etherion Blast

Erza dug her seventh sword into the stupid barrier. Requipping the Giant’s Hammer, she stood back, jumped, and slammed the hammer down on the protruding sword hilts. Each blade snapped, and still the barrier was too strong to let her pass.

The barrier seemed to use the same kind of link magic that had Phantom’s giant casting the abyss break by the power balances of the Element Four. Erza had rushed up here to end this with Jellal, leaving Natsu and the other behind, but the barrier spell was strong not only because the caster was strong, but because its vulnerabilities were likely in the wizards attacking her friends.

Maybe she and Natsu could have overcome it together, but Natsu had been swept up by one of the mages Jellal was using to charge the barrier. It was up to her friends to eliminate the locks. As much as Erza wanted to help her friends, she couldn’t risk Jellal getting away, or Jellal having even a moment to himself to regroup. As soon as her friends took care of the last mage lock, she would be in with a sword at his throat.

Instead she attacked the barrier, because there had to be reciprocity to the spell, even if it was disproportionate. The more of their magic went to upholding the barrier, the less they had for themselves to use against her friends. Hopefully.

Jellal’s noise about an etherion blast was either an epic bluff or a suicidal reality.

It had to be a bluff, but her friends’ lives were on the line. It had to be a bluff, but if they hit the ten-minute mark, Erza was going to get everyone out of there, Jellal or no. The Tower will fall to the etherion blast, and Jellal with it, and everyone…everyone else she cared for would be safe.

It would have to be enough.

“Erza!” Happy cried, flying towards her from a nearby window. “Erza, you’re never going to believe what’s been going on!”

Happy filled her in. Lucy and Miliana down and out, Natsu and Wally guarding them as they headed for the docks and hopefully to a ship. Gray and Juvia were engaging a swordswoman that was the last of the mage locks. Loke, Simon, and Sho were on their way up to help her.

“Get everyone out,” Erza ordered, “If the Etherion isn’t a bluff, then we all die. We can’t risk it. I’ll be fine. Get to the other groups and get them on the boat and as far away from the blast as possible.”

“But what about you? They won’t leave without you,” Happy said.

“Jellal has to have a way out, he values his own life,” Erza lied, “I’ll hitch a ride out with him, or instead of him, but everyone else needs to be gone. It’s your turn to save their lives Happy. Go!”

Happy snapped a salute, “Aye Sir!”

A minute passed, and the pink glow of the barrier was mocking her.

Growling, Erza swung the Giant’s Hammer straight at the barrier.

It shattered. The spell keeping the barrier up was gone, that meant none of Jellal’s cronies were left.

Happy could do this. Her friends would be safe.

Knowing Jellal was going to need speed from her, she put away the hammer and called a long sword. Erza walked in with her head held high, standing on her own two feet.

She would face her past on her feet like the woman she was, and not the child she had been.

Even if it meant her death.

Thank you Loke, Gray, Natsu, and Lucy. It’s because of you that I am strong enough to do this. Please be safe.

“Is the game over already?”

“This was never a game.”

 

 

The three of them finally made it to the top of the tower, about seven minutes left until the supposed etherion blast, according to his watch. Loke vaguely remembered studying the Etherion Canon in his foreign business transaction lessons, and the lesson basically said that even though Fiore promised not to use their dangerous magical weapons of mass destruction, most countries were unwilling to get into trade wars or any kind of war with Fiore, just in case, unless they had their own dangerous magics to threaten Fiore back like Alvarez had.

Now that they knew the Magic Council was a bunch of possibly corrupt hacks, Loke was a lot less confident in those promises not to use the Etherion Canon. Instead of standard military action, it was entirely possible the Magic Council was going to wipe this tower off the map permanently due to some B.S. cooked up by Jellal.

Loke thought he had seen Happy for a moment, but the cat had disappeared around a corner the opposite direction from where Sho and Simon were leading him.

Sho started sprinting again as they passed the piles of Erza’s broken swords, Simon and Loke right behind him.

“Sister! Are you all right?” Sho asked, skidding to a stop in a room that had clearly undergone a battle.

Erza was pinning Jellal, a sword to his throat.

“Sho? What are you doing here? Get out before the Etherion hits!” Erza yelled at him.

Jellal launched Erza off him, and she rolled to her feet. Erza was wearing a strange outfit, no armor for once, just chest bindings and red pants with flames.

Jellal cackled, “No, no, this is as much Sho and Simon’s achievement as it is ours!”

Sho screamed back, “Shut up! You’ve been lying to me my whole life, and I’m going to make you pay.” Sho flung out his cards like throwing stars.

Jellal conjured a shield that caught all of them.

“Simon, get everyone out,” Erza ordered, “Sho, I know you’re hurting, but you won’t be able to do anything if you’re dead.”

“I can’t leave you behind Erza,” Simon said, “Not with Jellal, not again. You still want to save him, and he can’t be saved.”

“I can handle Jellal,” Erza said, “I’m not scared of him, or anything in this tower, but I need my friends to be safe. Do it, as a favor to me. We’re running out of time.”

“Erza, we’re already out of time,” Loke said, pointing at his watch, “There’s no way we can get down to the boats in the remaining five minutes. And I still don’t think he’s telling the truth about the etherion blast.”

“A graveyard to welcome Zeref back to the world of the living,” Jellal mused with a chuckle. “Erza, the survivor come back to see the end of what she has sown. Loke Heartfila, here in misguided friendship and with all the stubbornness of Fairy Tail to keep him from a logical retreat. Simon, here for a one-sided love. And Sho,” Jellal’s smile showed teeth, “Here looking for true vengeance, one sip enough to turn him away from hope forever. Quite the bouquet for our god to cherish upon his return.”

“Erza?” Loke asked, because her gaze was flitting between everyone assembled. It was like Phantom Lord all over again, Erza unsure of the right call to make and the only one that could make the call. Simon was firmly keeping his eyes on Jellal, Sho was shaking with rage, and Jellal was smiling like it was Christmas morning.

“Stay back,” Erza ordered, leveling her sword again at Jellal, “Stop the etherion blast, or I kill you. I was previously content to wait, but the situation has changed. I had hoped that everyone had been sensible and had gotten out when the etherion countdown started, but now that I see that is not the case, I won’t let them pay for our sins. Stop the blast.”

One eyebrow raised, Jellal replied, “The Magic Council has decreed our tower an issue of national security. Even I could not stop the blast, five minutes from its activation.”

She took a breath, and released it, “Then I have to hope that your death will stop the blast, it is the only option to keep my friends safe.”

Even, resolved, that was the Erza he trusted. Loke drew his sword but stepped backwards.

“And I had hoped for more time together,” Jellal said and something shifted in his face, his eyes went wide and he crashed to his knees. “No, no, no! The R system has no magic source, you’re right. I knew it, I knew it, but I couldn’t stop. Zeref kept whispering, telling me to go forward. I knew I had to stop, that it was impossible, but he whispered and I was too weak to resist. My friends weren’t able to help. Leave, now!”

“You want us to believe you were one of Zeref’s pawns?” Sho yelled, “Like you made Sister a pawn? And all of us?”

“I know I don’t deserve your belief in anything I say,” Jellal said, his face in his hands. “but it’s truth whether or not you believe me. None of you saw, we were all subject to his games!”

“Simon, get everyone out, now!” Erza ordered, grabbing Jellal’s shoulders, “It’s not too late. It’s never too late. I can still help you. I know people on the outside, people who can free you from this possession.”

“Erza—” Simon started.  

The hair on Loke’s neck stood up. “Guys, I think we’re out of time.”

Jellal launched from where he had fallen to wrap around Erza, something that was half embrace, half hold. “This is it. At least we’re together, at the end.”

Loke watched Erza close her eyes and embrace him back, her sword disappearing, even as the stone roof started to crumble apart from the vibrating air and force of the gathering magic.

“Sister!” Sho said, flinging himself onto the couple like a child.

Simon hesitated, then knelt down as well, his big frame encircling the other three.

“Are you kidding me!” Loke demanded. “I’m not dying in your insane group hug. You can’t tell me Jellal had no way out of this. What kind of evil mastermind are you? What was the point of enjoying your little games if you were just going to get everyone killed?”

“The Tower has one fatal flaw Loke,” Erza said, her voice trembling, “It was never going to work. There isn’t a magic source strong enough to power a resurrection of the dead. Whatever they did to Jellal, whatever lies were poured into him, it was never going resurrect Zeref. There was only ever this ending. I’m…I’m so sorry you got caught up in this.” Her voice broke. Tears flowed from her one eye as she blinked at him over Jellal’s head, Simon’s forehead against and above hers, and Sho buried in her side.

“Not a strong enough power—Erza, the etherion blast is the magic power source! You idiot, this is the plan! The Tower must have a way to convert an etherion blast into useable magic energy!” Loke yelled.

Erza stiffened.

“Too late,” Jellal sang. Light crashed all around them, the world ending in a fiery blow that sent Loke backwards off his feet.

           

 

There was arguing as the seven of them sailed away from the island tower. The arguing stopped as magic filled the air.

Gray dropped to one knee and a magic circle bloomed under the hands pressed to the deck. “I’m giving us a double hull. Juvia, try to keep us above the water. We’re still too close.”

“We’re out of the range of Simon’s teleport!” Miliana said, her voice shrill.

A shell of ice covered the ship. Juvia stood at the back, the side closest to the tower, ready to move. Natsu braced himself, staring up at the Tower room where the rest of their friends should be.

Lucy had expected a lot more whining from Natsu about being away from the action, especially after meeting up with everyone else and technically delivering her to safety.

Instead he refused to even considering heading up, saying it was Erza’s fight, and they weren’t going to get involved. Because you only got involved if someone lost. And Erza was unbeatable, she didn’t lose (except to him when he finally got the chance to fight her).

Ergo, Natsu wasn’t needed for this fight.

Natsu was needed to keep Happy from flying all the way back up the tower looking for Loke’s group. The cat certainly felt like he had failed, not finding them in time on his way down to deliver Erza's message to the rest of them. 

Lucy looked above the tower, wondering when she’d be able to see the strike.

BIG—the only thought she had time for as the blast struck the Tower.

She had imagined a kind of lighting, but this was so much more. Wide and white, a tunnel of unrestrained ethernano engulfed the tower. The force of the strike had Lucy clinging to the rope seatbelt Natsu had given her.

Then came the water, and Juvia was pinwheeling her arms trying to keep them on top of the massive wave headed their direction. It rose so high it obscured their view, a massive wall of water ready to swallow them, and their boat was facing the wrong way.

Holding on for dear life, Juvia got them over the wave just as it broke, letting them slide down the back of it, still being pushed miles out, but their ship remained in one piece.

Natsu dropped, seasick, and Gray iced him to the floor to keep him from rolling into the water. Lucy didn’t have whatever human attribute gave people motion sickness, but the whole thing was terrifying, unpleasant, and she didn’t blame Natsu for being overwhelmed by it this time.

"Look!” Happy said, pointing back. Everyone that could looked back (Natsu was iced the wrong way).

Where a dark tower had loomed, now stood a crystal spike piercing the sky.

It was wrong.

Wrong like a time gate and a hole in the very universe itself.

Wrong in the way she knew down to her bones.

The monstrosity that had taken shape could pierce through reality, and there would be no repairing the damage, no contract or law to bind it. Wrong. Broken law of magic wrong that would levy a curse to break the world if it was actually used. This was the Tower of Heaven.

“Something’s wrong!” Lucy yelled, “Take us back. Take us back now!” Wally, in charge of steering, scrambled to do as she said.

"But Erza—” Happy started.

“Erza doesn’t know everything,” Lucy said, feeling slightly blasphemous as she did. “She couldn’t have predicted that thing. It needs to be destroyed, now.”

“We can at least get back in range of Simon’s teleport,” Miliana said, voice small. “It’s the R system, I never imagined it would look like that. We need to give them an exit.”

“I trust you, Lucy,” Gray said, finally standing up from his casting, “You have a plan?”

“Just plan T,” Lucy said grimly, “Wreck it. Tear it apart any way you can. Turn it into tiny pieces. Get it out of this world, before it destroys everything. Everyone who’s up there needs to get out before someone gets sacrificed to Zeref.” Resurrection magic always required someone else take the place of the dead. “And we need to break it down into parts before the magic energy destabilizes and blows up. We could head for shore as fast as Juvia could push us with the motor, and we will still be in the blast range when it destabilizes, so would most of the coast. Our only chance is if we separate the pieces into more stable lacrima.”

"But what about the people still in the tower?” Happy fretted. “What are they going to do if we make the Tower fall?”

“We’ll be in range of Simon’s teleport,” Lucy said, nodding at Wally, who nodded back. “And you have to be ready to catch anyone that falls, Happy. I’ll be watching too, and I’ll let Juvia know if someone needs catching.”

“Meow, I wish there was more I could do to help,” Miliana said.

“Keep eyes and ears open, Baby Doll,” Wally said grimly, “Whatever happens is gonna happen fast. We need everyone together on this.”

           

             

 

Loke sat up, rubbing his head. The group hug had split apart in the blast too, so there was that. The Tower was in a different shape, parts of it had truly been just sick decoration, or maybe they were meant to break apart after channeling the power of an etherion blast. The true R system crystalized into a giant ethernano lacrima, if he was reading the building magical energy right.

“This was your plan all along?” Erza said, getting to her feet, pulling a sword with her, “You used me, you used us like pawns. And I fell for it, again.”

“Don’t blame him, he had help,” the same voice said in a different direction. In walked Jellal, only this time in a white coat.

“Seigrain?” Erza asked, taking a step back. “What are you doing here? You’re responsible for the etherion blast. You were working with your brother all this time!”

“This reminds me of the first time we met, do you remember?” the second man said casually.

You would think that during storytelling time, Erza would have mentioned the evil mastermind had an identical twin on the Magic Council. Lucy wouldn’t have forgotten that detail.

Seigrain continued while Loke inched to where his sword had landed. “You were fourteen and accompanying Makarov to the council to give an in-person apology. You darling girl, you drew no less than six swords on me and didn’t let up until I admitted I was Jellal’s twin brother.”

“You situated yourself on the Council so young, was it all for this moment? I should have killed you back then. You’ve been working together this entire time,” Erza growled at them.

“Not quite,” Jellal said, “See the real mistake was being seen by you at all.”

“Nothing worse than having to come up with a lie on the spot,” Seigrain said, mirroring Jellal’s pose perfectly.

“Even I couldn’t believe it when those fools on the Magic Council believed me.”

“Doesn’t matter. They’re all dead and their building rubble. I couldn’t have done that part without Ultear.”

“So devoted and willing, she proclaimed she would give up her life to see my dream fulfilled, and she likely did.”

“She certainly wins the award for being the easiest to manipulate. Though Sho comes in at a nice second.”

“What are you saying!” Erza demanded, “What lie?”

Sho was slightly behind her, his fists clenched.

“And that’s what really makes this perfect,” Jellal said with a chuckle, “Even you believed the evil twin ruse.”

“I never had a twin, Erza,” Seigrain said, pityingly, “There was only ever me.” And Seigrain stepped into Jellal. They became one mage. “Me, and Zeref, and our dream to see him reborn into this world.”

“A thought projection imbued with your magic,” Erza realized. “That’s why it was so easy to overpower you. Your magic and attention was split between here and the Magic Council. Prepare for battle!”

Erza launched herself forward, sword ready, and swung. Jellal ducked under it and snapped. Erza froze mid-spin, twitching in place. A red snake tattoo slipped over her shoulder.

“None of that. See, there’s a sweet spot between now and before the R System destabilizes. I need to get your flesh fused with it during these few precious minutes, so no time for a battle, though I’m sure it would have been lovely,” Jellal said, the innocent smile making Loke’s skin crawl. “You dodged all of Trinity Raven, meaning your magic is still wonderfully full, but I have a schedule to keep. Your body is going to be the perfect clay for Zeref’s new body. Good thing I was able to slip all three of you binding snakes during our touching moment.”

Simon and Sho were trapped as well, the snakes were over Simon’s torso and climbing up Sho’s ear.

“You didn’t get me,” Loke said, leveling his sword at Jellal.

Jellal raised one eyebrow at him, “I am a wizard saint. I am in the final stage of a decade long plan, and you are barely worthy of the title celestial doorman. Don’t tell me you actually intend to fight me?”

“Don’t fight him,” Erza pleaded, “He’s too powerful. Leave and try to find the others. Don’t get caught up in this.”

“Listen to the Titiania,” Jellal said, making a shooing motion, “Go along. Shoo-shoo.”

“Maybe I’m not the best wizard,” Loke said, “but I am a Fairy Tail wizard. And you don’t get to take Erza, you don’t get to harm her ever again. And I will do whatever I can to stop you. That’s the title I’m worthy of.”

“Maybe the Salamander could have given me a fight,” Jellal said pityingly, “A dragon slayer? Now that’s curious. But you? That’s pathetically boring.”

“You could release the others and we all take you on together,” Loke offered, “If it’s an interesting fight you’re looking for.”

Jellal sighed and held out a hand, “Dark absorption.” A ball of purple light flew at Loke. He swung and hit it, the runes in his sword flared as he cut the magic from existence.

Jellal shot three more, Loke sliced through two of them, and let the third one pass harmlessly by. He set to lunge forward, but Jellal was quicker. Jellal’s lunge took him inside Loke’s guard, one gloved hand on Loke’s sword, the other on his chest.

“You certainly live up to the foolishness of your guild,” he promised, “Die, knowing that.”

Jellal pushed, and darkness swallowed up Loke from behind.

“Sorry, your father’s not here.”

“Your father refuses to see you until you master these. I know you mastered the previous set, but that’s what he said. It’s your fault for sneaking out again.”

“The guildhall is gone.”

Loke kept reaching out, but no one would look at him.

 

 

“What if we had Juvia focus on sweeping the debris out to sea?” Gray asked while Natsu punched his way up the tower, shredding the supports hopefully along the way. The sun was set now.

“Whatever my darling Gray needs,” she said, wiping away a sheen of sweat, “The island drops away suddenly, and the ethernano does not appear to float.”

“Lucy?” Gray asked, making Juvia huff.

Lucy sighed, “It’s a good idea. We can’t keep all this magic energy stored in the same place. Spreading it along the seafloor might cause a slight environment disaster, but better than the Tower exploding with the multiplied force of an etherion blast. Go for it.”

“Should I go all the way up there?” Happy asked, flying above her, eyes on the top chamber. “Erza and the others might need me to fly them down if Simon’s hurt or out of magic.”

“Stay sharp,” Lucy said, slumped back in the boat. “It doesn’t sound like a battle right now, but you might ignite it if you show up. Hold steady Happy.”

“How are you holding up?” Happy asked. “You don’t look so good.”

“Don’t worry about me,” she said, cracking him a smile, “We just need to get back to Magnolia, and everything will be fine.”

It wasn’t a lie, wasn’t a promise. They would be fine, eventually.

She looked up at the Tower, “You hear that Loke? Erza? We need to get home so everything will be just fine.”

“They know,” Happy said. Together they watched Natsu and Gray punch the lacrima into fragments while Juvia swept waves of it into the ocean. Get her in water, it seemed, and Juvia was a rival for Aquarius.

Lucy couldn’t help with this, all she could do was pray.

And who would listen to the prayers of a fallen star?

~

Notes:

I wanted to give a little context to some of the scenes last chapter, so this monster of a fic has previously been limited to Loke and Lucy's perspectives primarily for my sanity. If I couldn't skip over the fights and moments they aren't there for, this fic never would have gone everywhere. I write from the perspectives of other characters for two reasons:
1. temporarily keep track of where a crucial narrative aspect is going timewise while Loke and Lucy are elsewhere. That was why Gray had a moment last chap, the third part of trinity raven and situation of the docks needed to be paced. Erza's snippet in this chapter is for the same reason, to keep track of what Erza and Happy are doing.
2. Give myself some time inside a character's head so I know what they would do in an upcoming Loke or Lucy scene. That's what Miliana's little perspective was about. I needed to explore Miliana's feelings before her big fight with Lucy, and out came Miliana distracting herself from her falling apart reality by jumping into a crush on Lucy.

So that's the reason other perspectives occassionally come into my writing. It's rare, but if it does happen, it's for those reasons.

Chapter 37: Sacrifice

Guilt from disappointing everyone in his life who had ever counted on him filled him up, choked him. He couldn’t breathe to get the apologies out—

Natsu slapped him hard on the back, “You had us worried sick over you!”

Wait, that wasn’t…

“You’re crazy,” Gray said with a disbelieving laugh beside him.

“You were good out here. I believe I underestimated you.” Erza said, folding her arms.

Finally Lucy came, glowing at her hands and feet, and held out a hand to him. Lucy giggled, a kinder light in her eyes than her hands, but no less brilliant, “You’re going to do just fine. I’m so happy you’re in Fairy Tail.”

The inside of his wrist tingled lightly, a reminder and a warning, or maybe a memory. His hand closed around the hilt of his sword, and with a slash, the world around him dissolved, sending him to his knees, back in the tower.

Beside him, Erza was staring, open mouthed, sinking into a protruding lump of tower lacrima beside him. Jellal was monologuing to his captive audience, back turned. Without hesitation, Loke grabbed Erza’s shoulder and pulled her into his arms and out of the tower.

“You’re joking,” Jellal said flatly as Loke pulled Erza’s arm over his shoulder.

“Not all of us are mentally unstable,” Loke said, pulling Erza’s feet free. “My fears and insecurities don’t have that tight a grip on me.”

Erza pushed Loke aside, no longer bound by the snake. “Thank you for your help. Protect Sho and Simon while I deal with him.”

“Give him hell,” Loke said, getting out of her way. Specifically out of the way of her enormous sword.

“You are going to regret those actions,” Jellal said, tossing off his coats. “Meteor!” A magic circle the cousin of his own celestial circles bloomed in front of Jellal, and suddenly he was rushing forward at speeds Loke couldn’t see. Erza met him in the middle, and they both bounced back before meeting again.

Loke worked his way around the battle towards Simon and Sho.

“Any ideas for how to free you guys?” Loke asked. He tried using his magic cancelling sword to pry apart or cut off the snake, but the runes wouldn’t light up. Getting him out of the trap must have been the final stroke of magic the sword could handle, a close look saw the lacrima in the hilt cracked.

Loke couldn’t exactly blame a magic item for not holding up under the power of a wizard saint either. It was just a sword now, and a damaged one at that now that he had a good look.

“Chariot!” Jellal yelled, and they watched Erza get blasted off her feet by a seven-circle attack. She rolled and came up kneeling before throwing another sword at Jellal.

Jellal ducked around it and the madman flew straight towards the three of them in full celestial body.

Erza was behind him.

Jellal hit Loke like a train. Loke was thrown backwards into a crystal pillar. Air vacated his lungs. One crystal spike got him in the shoulder. Of course this hell tower was made up of spiky glass crystals.Gritting his teeth, Loke groaned as he pulled himself off the pillar. The pain made him black out for a moment as he pulled free, but he could hear snippets of dialog from the dueling wizards.

“…fight with me. Don’t attack them, you’ve hurt them…”

"…hurt you the most to lose? Loke’s the only one not bound…”

“You’ll pay.”

He forced himself to stay conscious as Erza continued her battle. The Tower was buzzing beneath them with slowly building energy and cracking apart as the two powerhouses fought.

Since he was alive enough to pay attention to them, he figured the spike must not have gotten his lungs or heart. Blood slicked down his back, but the pain was achey now, not sharp, so he should be fine. Simon and Sho were flopped to the ground to his left and right, a good twenty feet away. Thrown like bowling pins.

Erza’s Heaven’s Wheel armor was in tatters around her as Jellal struck another blow. Which was not the Erza he had known.

Oh. She was deliberately keeping herself in between Jellal and the three of them, being forced back on defense in order to keep them safe. Unable to go all out, Jellal was winning, though not without cost. He was bleeding from several cuts, and took another hit to get Erza in a grapple, throwing her to the side.

Jellal was between him and Erza again.

“Loke will hurt the most, I think,” Jellal said, his hands flashing magic circle creation signs in Loke’s direction. “His involvement is entirely your fault. You aren’t ever allowed to leave the Tower, Erza. Never! This should remind you of that!” Loke tried to run, but the wound in his back was slowing him down.

“Don’t! I’ll kill myself!” Erza threatened, three swords pointed down towards her, ready to strike, “Then you won’t have your sacrifice.”

“Erza!” Loke yelled.

“You were convenient and poetic, but don’t think that you’re not replaceable,” Jellal said, not even looking at her as power built in his hands, “In fact, I bet your little salamander would be just as good a sacrifice. Kill yourself, and you doom even more of your precious Fairy Tail family!”

Erza was fast, but not fast enough.

“Altaris!” Jellal screamed aimed directly at him, too big and too fast to dodge. Loke closed his eyes.

The attack shot off.

Hit.

“NO!” Erza screamed.

Loke opened his eyes.

Erza was in front of him.

Sho fell to the ground in front of her.

“What? No!” Loke yelled, and scrambled forward, all pain extremely secondary. Erza came up on Sho’s other side.

“Why? How?” Erza asked, clutching Sho’s hand. Loke noticed the binding snake swirling itself inside one of his cards, and seven more cards were scattered around him, completely black.

“He trapped some of the magic power in his cards,” Loke said quickly, “Maybe it was enough.”

“I have always wondered…” Sho said, his voice strained, barely able to take air in. “What would have happened… if you hadn’t been punished in my place. I found the tunnel, and convinced everyone to escape, it should have been me, but I was weak,” He coughed and focused on Loke. “Loke’s strong enough to take care of you. Promise you’ll do it. Protect Sister.”

“I promise,” Loke said, ignoring the way the promise felt against his magic. This was a promise he would make and keep without hesitation. “Of course I’ll take care of her. But Erza needs you too. She needs her little brother, so you better pull through this. Come on, you had to have blocked most of the damage, you can pull through.”

Sho wasn’t paying attention to him, his eyes were on Erza.

“Sho, don’t leave me,” Erza said, her one eye tearing up again. She pressed Sho’s palm to her lips, and whispered, “Please. Not you, not my little brother.”

He coughed and blood started to bubble and spill out of his mouth. No.

“You made…it…okay…to smile,” Sho wheezed.

"I could only smile because you and the others were there. Please Sho, please don't die."

His eyes lost focus.

His chest stopped moving.

Erza wailed and collapsed on Sho's shoulder, whispering to his hand, "no, no, no, please, no."

Loke’s hands went to start chest compressions, but his palms only pressed shattered bone fragments deeper into organ tissue.

Loke held a corpse.

Mom had died in her chambers where he wasn’t allowed to go the last days she lived. He had never seen the light leave someone’s eyes, or the stillness. This was tattered flesh and shattered bone,

Sho was gone.

Empty.

There was nothing in his eyes, no light, no movement, no pulse or flux of breath. Dead. He was really dead.

Dead.

“JELLAL!” Erza screamed and turned on him with purgatory armor covering her body.

Jellal laughed as they battled, “What a useless sacrifice! He was trying to be heroic, the most cowardly of us all. And it was pointless. All he accomplished was making things more painful for you. How typical of Sho's entire life!”

"SHUT UP! I'll KILL YOU!"

Dead.

Though . . . they were standing on a giant lacrima meant to resurrect the dead, the Tower of Heaven. Jellal was a wizard saint . . .

Loke slapped himself. Sho was dead and dead was dead. Whatever dark magic spell Jellal's insanity cooked up to make him think he could resurrect the dead, Loke wanted no part of it. Would not have a part of it. He certainly wouldn't make Sho a part of it.

Erza and Jellal were moving too fast for Loke to keep up; zigzagging back and forth through the room.

Erza struck Jellal across the face with the hilt of a sword, but Jellal sent a shot of light magic into her hip that spun Erza into the ground.

Spiderweb cracks formed where she landed and Jellal gave another laugh.

The Tower shook, and Jellal dropped the spell he was preparing as Erza pulled herself to her knees. Then the Tower shook more and there was a sound of a distant explosion.

“What? NO!” Jellal yelled and flew out a window. Erza collapsed back to the ground.

 

 

“Happy, now!” Lucy said, as a yellow blur flew down from the top of the Tower, heading straight for Natsu.

“Aye!” Happy said, going at his top speed. The yellow blur kicked the red blur off the tower, but Happy caught him, beginning the fighting and the insults anew. Hopefully Natsu could keep Jellal distracted long enough for Erza to escape.

 

 

Erza, face down on the ground.

"ERZA!" Loke screamed, running to her, tripping over shards of the broken room to crash on his knees next to her. “Come on Erza, you can’t be lost here too. You promised Natsu a rematch, and he’ll never shut up if he doesn’t get it,” Loke babbled. Her eyes were closed, but she had none of Sho's stillness. Her chest moved, she was panting, precious blood sluggishly pulsed out from a magic burn on her arm.

“You can’t be serious,” Erza said. 

Erza really was just taking a breather. Loke let himself breathe again as well.

“Deadly serious, that boy can whine,” Loke laughed, relieved. “And you need to show off that Ice Empress armor for Gray, we both know he’s at Natsu’s level as soon as he believes he is. And Lucy, what kind of example are you setting for Lucy if you die like this?”

The Tower shook dangerously again, a kind of shuddering earthquake that would have seriously worried Loke if he didn’t have bigger problems.

“Get me to Simon,” Erza said.

Leaning on each other, Erza over his good shoulder, they walked to where the large man was crying, lying where Jellal's spell had thrown him, the binding snake wrapped twice around his jaw.

Erza grimaced as she pulled out a dagger. She found the head of the snake along his shoulder blade and lightly stabbed it. Enough to break skin, but not enough to bleed. The snake crumbled to red dust. Simon put his hands over his eyes and didn't stand up.

“Sho,” Simon said, voice breaking, “I should have sent him away, I shouldn’t have let him come. He wasn’t thinking straight, Jellal had hurt him too deeply. I—I should’ve . . . .”

“I know,” Erza said, her voice cracking, “I know. God, I know.” She pulled him to sitting upright and embraced him.

Loke kind of wished he was in this one, but he didn’t deserve to be, not after… not after it was him.

Sho died trying to save Erza.

Who was trying to save Loke.

He hadn’t even been nice to Sho, and Sho had died with the small hope that someday Loke might be able to help Erza. In an effort to thwart Jellal’s plans that left the man laughing.

And now he was dead.

“It wasn’t any more your fault than ours,” Erza said, taking a deep breath. She released Simon, wiped the tears from her eye, and turned to Loke. "Do not blame yourself for Sho's death."

“But the attack—” Loke’s throat closed up, unable to finish.

Erza grabbed him in a hug, and the blinding pain of her holding his wound momentarily knocked the sad thoughts out of his head.

“No, Sho…I’ll explain later, but Sho carried enough guilt and anger for this entire tower. I had hoped that being able to confront Jellal would ease it, but that’s not what happened. Hurting ourselves with his sacrifice…we can’t do that to Sho. He tried so hard to be helpful, we need to use the opening he gave us. That’s the best way to honor his sacrifice. God, forgive me, I sound so callous.” She wiped the tears out of her eyes.

“No, you’re right,” Simon said, taking Erza’s hand, but looking at Loke, “We made him promises, let’s keep them.”

“You couldn’t possible have imagined how annoying that guild of yours could be when you joined it, otherwise you would have run anywhere else,” Jellal said, flying back in.

“What are you talking about?” Erza said, standing up and stepping forward, while Simon and Loke leaned on each other. “The others fled on my orders.”

“Well they’ve come back, and they have decided to tear my beautiful tower apart, piece by piece, until you go with them,” Jellal scoffed. “Sure I could kill them all individually, and make you watch, but the Tower is already almost inoperable. Better to start over with a clean slate, and no pesky fairies.”

The others were attacking the Tower at the base, taking it down. That had Lucy written all over it. Loke couldn’t help but smirk. He loved this hell of a guild.

Though he didn’t love the black and silver magic circle Jellal was drawing.

“An abyss break?” Erza demanded, “What about the Tower? You’ll destroy everything you worked so hard to build!”

“Now that I’ve built it once to completion, I can build another one in half the time!” Jellal bragged as magic gathered. “And no mistakes next time, and no one to wreck my work. You’ll all be dead!”

“Why Jellal? Years upon years of your life to this, you killed Sho for this, and you can destroy it just like that? Why!” Erza screamed.

“I was chosen by Zeref to remake this world! Remake it into one of our freedom! Only I can hear his voice. I was chosen, and I chose him back! I will kill as many people as I need to to make that dream a reality!”

Erza pulled in a deep breath, “Fairy Armor,” she called. Pink, shining armor coated her body, spikes arranged like miniature wings, and two matching swords appeared in her hands with winged crossguards.

“You don’t get to remake the world,” Erza Scarlett declared, “And you don’t get to hurt anyone else. You had friends who trusted you, who could have pulled you out of your darkness, but you chose darkness instead.” Crouching, she flew upwards towards the massive abyss break energy. Energy built and clashed, lightning coming from her swords, growing stronger the closer she got, “YOU DON’T GET TO HURT ANYONE I CARE ABOUT EVER AGAIN!”

Loke was glad he somehow still had his sunglasses, because the lightflash between them was blinding. He thought he saw Jellal flinch, just before Erza won the final clash.

The light died.

Erza landed.

Jellal fell with a sickening crunch and didn’t get back up.

“Knew you could do it,” Loke said, flashing her a thumbs up as she fell to her knees, armor fading away. She shot him a small smile in return.

The Tower trembled again, and the ceiling cracked.

“I think it is time we rejoin our friends,” Simon said, helping walk Loke over to Erza.

“They’re idiots,” Erza huffed, trembling as they pulled her to her feet, “This much magical energy isn’t stable, it can’t be kept in one place for long. We’ll be lucky if we can get far enough away when this tower does blow.”

“Don’t doubt Lucy’s plans,” Loke said. Simon went to collect Sho’s body and Loke nodded at Jellal. “What do we do about him?”

Erza looked tired, “You heard him. He will stop at nothing to rebuild the Tower if he has the slightest chance. And the Magic Council, the only people that might be capable of holding him, is most likely in tatters. We leave him to the fate he has chosen.”

Loke nodded. Simon stepped close and the world went dark.

Notes:

Loke beats Jellal's spell with the power of mental stability. Erza beats Jellal with the power of will and incredible violence. Simon survived the tower, but Sho didn't in this universe. Sho sacrificed everything to take the hit for Loke, and in the end, actually secured a place in paradise. How are we all doing?

Chapter 38: Farewells

“Simon!” Miliana screamed as their four missing friends appeared in front of her from a shadow. They all collapsed on the icy deck.

“EVERYONE! Time to go!” Lucy screamed. They all waved to let her know they heard her. Wally and Miliana helped them to sit up.

"Come on Sho," Miliana said, "You're heavy-" Simon put out a hand to stop Miliana, shaking his head.

Miliana gripped Sho tighter, her face changing from confusion to horror before she dropped Sho's body back to the deck of the ship with a thump.

"No," Wally said said, covering his eyes.

Erza was leaned against Lucy on one side and Lucy at least had the strength to tie Erza in so she wouldn’t fall out. She looked beaten to hell and started blinking awake as the loudest crashing sound yet happened.

“Sho?” Lucy asked quietly, and Simon shook his head. The tall man carefully situated the body where it wouldn't roll and Miliana tied Sho's body in beside her, weeping and holding tight to him.

“His sacrifice saved the rest of us,” Erza said.

Lucy looked up and saw as much as felt the Tower destabilize, physically and magically. Gray had Juvia on his back, and she had both hands filled with magic circles, sweeping the rest of the crystal shards into the sea as Gray slid them down an ice slide towards the boat. Natsu seemed to be getting some final kicks in with Happy holding him, helping tilt the Tower away from the boat and towards the nearest drop off.

“Please tell me you have a plan?” Erza begged her.

“Wally?” Lucy asked.

Wally jumped, wiping away his tears, and got the boat started away sailing away from the Tower.

The Tower started to glow.

“The plan was get back here, destroy the Tower and scatter as many pieces as possible into the ocean to minimize the blast, wait for you guys to find us, then run like hell,” Lucy said. The boat started to pick up speed. Gray’s ice bridge landed him and Juvia roughly on the deck, a second before Happy and Natsu touched down.

Natsu had dragon scales on his face as he collapsed onto the boat, his body thrumming with the same frequency as the Tower behind them. His breath smelled like acrid decomposing misapplied magic.

“Did you eat Etherion?” Lucy asked incredulously. “Are you stupid?”

“Fire is one of the elements inside etherion,” Natsu said, panting as the dragon scales faded. Then he turned green from the boat. Dragon Slayer magic was such a pain, 400 years ago and now.

Luckily Natsu shouldn’t have access to raw etherion for a snack again, so he should be okay. He had to be okay, she couldn't consult the celestial world notes on dragon slayer magic anymore. She had to believe he would be okay.

Juvia was panting and trembling as she stood up again with the help of the railing. Juvia’s face was pure Fairy Tail stubbornness as she lifted her trembling arm again.

“Do you have the magic to help us get away?” Lucy asked her, hating that she had ask more of this woman who was clearly at her limit.

Juvia nodded, falling against the railing for a moment, then staggering back to her feet.

“I think I can help with this one,” Loke said, rolling over and falling halfway out the boat. Lucy and Erza lurched to hold him in as he said, “Open, Gate of the Water Bearer, Aquarius!”

Lucy let go and scrambled back. Not fast enough to avoid the disgruntled look of the celestial mermaid, one that lingered just a second longer on her before turning to her wizard.

“Hey Beautiful, get us away from that as fast as you can, without capsizing us, if possible,” Loke asked, slumping back into the boat.

“You almost get yourself killed, and this is what you ask for?” Aquarius ranted, but in the way that actually meant she was worried. “You selfish bastard. Oh, I’ll send you to shore!”

Water burst from her urn, and Lucy scrambled to pull Juvia down as they surged forward. Their feet slipped and Juvia clamped right back onto Lucy as everyone screamed and Natsu threw up on Erza and Wally.

Three minutes into Aquairus’s wave the Tower exploded. A pillar of light was channeled back into the sky, they saw it just before the energy wave hit their boat. Hard.

There was a ripple through the water. Loke winced. Aquarius must have been hit hard enough by the shockwave to get sent back.

Aquarius would hate that. She held the record among zodiacs for longest time without being physically forced back home, using her rare summonings and immense power to only leave earthland on her own choice.

Lucy might have cared more if they weren’t suddenly sailing through tsunami waters. Juvia and Gray kept them afloat and on top of the wave,  Gray with stablizing wings of ice and Juvia with the last dregs of her magic, letting them ride the wave the rest of the way to the shore. They arrived in an hour, compared to the fourteen hours it had taken to get to the Tower.

The tsunami deposited them on the roof of their hotel, funnily enough. Together they watched the wave recede back to the beach.

“So, do we wait around to give our reports to the Magic Council, or nahh?” Lucy asked, slumped against the side in fetal position.

“You need to get some sleep,” Erza said. “You don’t look well. I didn’t hear glass shattering. The wave didn’t break windows and only crashed against the buildings closest to the beach. Our tickets are good for one more night. If the Magic Council gets their act together enough to find us before we leave tomorrow morning, we give our reports, otherwise we can send reports from Magnolia to whatever is left of them. Simon and I sent them a message on our way to the Tower, they know the gist. They also knew that we were on that island when they fired the etherion blast, so I’m not feeling particularly charitable at the moment.”

“Works for me,” Lucy yawned.

Lucy crawled out of their boat and stumbled towards their rooms, where she collapsed on the bed, her hands fuzzing out as barely there, before coming back.

Karen’s eyes were on her back, tapping her foot as she stood beside the bed.

The pain hadn’t diminished since she miraculously pulled herself back together though Miliana’s last spell.

In spending her magic to reform her body, Lucy must have triggered the final two days of intense pain that Porlyusica warned her about.

“Just let me leave them in Magnolia,” Lucy begged quietly, knowing it was far too much to ask as another wave of pain set in, “I’m the only one you want to hurt.”

Karen’s ghost vanished for now.

 

 

Loke watched Lucy stumble down the stairs, and turned back to Erza, “Do you have any idea what’s wrong with her?”

“No,” Erza said with a frown, “She was kind of like this back after her unison raid, where she absolutely had to sleep, but Lucy doesn’t go down until she’s out. Juvia? Will you go watch her?”

Juvia nodded, “She…she saved me. When the wave hit, I was going to fly out, but Lucy grabbed me,” she said, wrapping her arms around herself, “We may both be in competition for Gray’s heart, but she at least seeks to be an honorable opponent. I will return her favor of watching over me.” Then quietly she whispered to herself, “And I’ll make sure she does not attempt to use her weakened state to cuddle up to my beloved, kind-hearted Gray.”

Loke checked on Gray to see if he was aware of just what their stalker thought of him, but he was talking with Simon and looking over Sho’s body. Lucy might need sleep, but their night was far from over.

They re-wrapped up the immediate wounds with supplies from their luggage, primarily the gaping puncture wound in Loke’s shoulder, but also Gray and Natsu’s hands and Erza’s ribs, then got to work.

Loke had never thought about all the effort that went into hiding a body, but as he helped Gray, Miliana, and Simon carry Sho’s ice casket, it really was only fair. A horrible truth learned beside the good ones.

Erza, Natsu, and Wally dug the site and were ready for them when they arrived. It was midnight after the new longest twenty-four hours of his life. The universe was really going to have to work to top this one.

After Erza and Miliana placed Sho’s body in the ground, Loke helped the others move the dirt into the grave. Erza carved a grave marker into the cave wall above Sho with a sword, not hiding the tears streaming down her face. They stood around it, the moon setting through the cave opening.

Gray and Natsu took guard at the entrance, and Loke wanted to join them, he wasn’t part of this group of mourners, not in the same way they are.

But he couldn’t move.  

“You finally got out of the tower Sho,” Miliana started, tears trickling down her face. “Now you can finally get some rest and have a view over the whole wide world. Pretty close to-to paradise.”

“You messed up Jellal’s plans for good, and you saved your sister like you always swore you would, what you said when you knew the truth, anyway,” Wally said. “We knew things were gonna get rough, that this might be the price, but by Jove, I wish you hadn’t been the one to pay it.”

“I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you better,” Simon said, “You always had such love and kindness. I pray that you find peace at last. I’m sorry this is all I can offer you, Brother.”

“I never regretted being the one they took back then,” Erza said softly, “Even with everything that happened afterwards, I’m glad they thought I was the one who had the plan to escape, not you. And you have no idea how…how proud I am, and how thankful, that I got to see who you grew up to be. You protected me, and you protected my friend, and I will never forget that, Little Brother, just like I could never forget you. I love you.”

That was everyone, everyone had fallen silent and was staring at the grave, except for the ones staring at him.

There was a reason he hadn’t gone to stand outside with Gray and Natsu, there was something else he had to say, but it felt…shallow, compared to Sho’s lifelong friends. Still, he had to say it.

“Thank you,” Loke said, “Thank you for protecting me and Erza. And I swear by my magic as a celestial wizard, I will do my best to keep the promise I made to you. Jellal…he thought your sacrifice had been in vain, but that’s not true at all. You were a hero. Thank you.”

Loke stepped away from the grave and went outside to stand with his teammates. Natsu nodded grimly at him, while Gray put a hand on his uninjured shoulder and squeezed. The three of them turned outward towards the ocean and the sinking moon and waited. They would give the Children of the Tower all the time they needed to mourn in private.

Watching the constellations move, it was another hour before the rest of their group exited the cave, and it was a somber walk back to the hotel. Loke grabbed his pajamas and by the time they came out, it was decided that the Wally, Simon, and Miliana would be in Juvia’s room, Juvia leaving them a note and her key before falling asleep next to Lucy.

Loke was out as soon as he hit the bed, approximately three-thirty in the morning.

And was shaken awake two hours later by Gray.

“Whatzzat?” Loke asked, blinking.

Frowning, Gray said, “They’re gone: Wally, Simon and Miliana. Erza saw them on the beach. We need to get going.”

Loke threw on his green parka and followed Gray out to the beach, where Lucy, Happy, and Natsu were standing. Erza was talking to her old friends who were standing in the surf beside a boat, though they were a bit too far to hear exactly what they were saying. The beach was littered and glistening with shattered ethernano.

Then Erza re-quiped into a large yellow armor and flag, and Loke was much more awake.

Loud as a bullhorn, Erza yelled, “You need to know that whenever a wizard wishes to leave the Fairy Tail Guild, they are free to do so, however there are three rules they must abide by!”

“But we never even officially joined!” Wally yelled.

“Let her do this,” Simon said, when Miliana and Wally started to protest, his eyes never leaving Erza.

Loke looked at his guildmates, who had on sad smiles. Lucy looked about to cry, the sensitive sap that she was.

“First! You must never reveal sensitive information about Fairy Tail to others for as long as you live. Second, you must never use former contacts met through your time in the guild for personal gain.

“Third, though our paths have parted, you must promise to live your lives to the fullest. That means you must treat every day as though it were your last in this world. You must never forget about your Fairy Tail friends for as long as you live. Let the Fairy Tail Farewell begin now!”

The flag Erza was holding was their guild flag, and she raised it high.

“Yes Mam!” The five of them said.

With a grin, Natsu braced himself and spat three fireworks into the air.

“May your journey bring you happiness!” Erza cried. Gray let out his own maker-magic that spiraled into glittery explosions.

Lucy whispered instructions in his ear, and pulling free Sagistarius’s key. With Lucy's help, Loke followed their lead, letting out his own light based fireworks. Lucy didn’t use any of her magic for some reason, but instead yelled, “WE’LL NEVER FORGET YOU! COME BY THE GUILD SOMETIME FOR A DRINK! STAY AWAY FROM BOSCO! MAKE SURE TO KEEP EACH OTHER SAFE!”

The three freed travelers yelled some more heartfelt words back, but Loke couldn’t hear them around the fireworks and Lucy. And that was okay, Erza was closer, and the words weren’t for him to hear.

The snippets he did hear explained themselves. Pleas to be happy, to find your own path, explore your freedom without the past holding you back. Promises that there were happy memories too, and affirmations of belief and strength. They needed the freedom to travel the world, but they would remember Fairy Tail.

They would always remember Fairy Tail.

The Fairy Tail wizards kept the fireworks going until long after their voices had faded, and their new friends were dots in the darkness before dawn.

“What is this? Unauthorized fireworks on the beach? Do you lot know what time it is!” a voice screamed behind them. They turned to see a very sleep deprived and irate hotel manager marching towards them.

“Oh crap, run!” Natsu said, and the six of them took off, stumbling away laughing.

He caught the tear tracks still on Erza’s face as they ran, and the tears streamed down from both eyes.

 

 

A few hours later the hotel manager not so politely asked them to leave, even paying for their train tickets back to Magnolia. Juvia had already left by the time they got back from their beach chase, so she didn’t get the perk.

Lucy's pain was steady. Excruciating, but steady, and Lucy knew how to fake a smile through pain.

Just two more days left, tomorrow night it would all be over.

Seeing Erza’s tearful smile, she had no regrets.

As they piled into their train back to Magnolia, it was just her and Erza for talking. Gray, Loke, Happy, and Natsu piled into the beds in the day car on the other side. There was no way she could sleep with this kind of pain, and no magic for a sleep rune. Luckily a very long-sleeved sweater Akane Beach Resort sweater kept Erza from asking questions across the table between them about why her hands would occasionally flicker from existence.

Lucy didn’t ask why Erza wasn’t trying to sleep on the train.

Erza opened up about what had happened to her in the Tower, and everything in her heart. Feelings about Jellal and the rest of her friends.

Erza thought that even with the destruction that Lucy had ordered, the Tower’s explosion should have done more damage. Erza thought Jellal might have fused himself with the Tower at the end, the way he had always intended Erza to, and channeled the energy into the sky.

It was possible, Lucy agreed, because all they knew for sure was that Jellal was subject to rapid changes in personality, something linked with spirit possession. She had seen the pillar of light shoot upwards in that final moment before the blast, and that wasn’t the natural explosion of an unstable lacrima.

It wasn’t likely, but she hadn’t known or talked to Jellal like the others. If that’s what Erza thought happened, if that’s what her instincts told her, then Lucy would trust it was probably true.

Erza’s words dried up a couple of times, but if Lucy waited, they came back.

Erza’s story made her wish for a pen. This story, these stories, Gray and Loke’s too, needed to be recorded, even if they never left the Fairy Tail guildhall library. Someone should know this pain, their growth. Gray’s determination, Loke’s heart, Erza’s light. Lucy wanted to be the one to write it. To write everything that had happened to her after joining Fairy Tail, the guild that took such good care of her. The guild that loved her and all her broken friends.

“I’ve told you everything I think, I feel lighter after sharing it with you, that’s a special gift you have,” Erza said, smiling into her tea. “Are you okay, after everything?”

“I think I need more time to process things,” Lucy lied, “It was . . . it was a lot.”

Erza waited a minute more, but when Lucy didn’t speak, she smiled and nodded. Erza joined Lucy on her side of the table, put an arm around her shoulders, and touched their foreheads, gently for once.

Lucy’s eyes fell closed and accepted the warmth of Erza’s aura, the way her magic reached out to protectively encase her. Erza’s aura was deliberate, it encased her like fullbody armor, but swathed out in long, soft, deliberate ribbons around the people she cared about.

“I’m glad you didn’t die Erza,” Lucy admitted, her voice breaking, “Fairy Tail would never be the same without you.”

“I learned something very important,” Erza replied softly, “You don’t die for your friends, you live for them. So many times I was ready to die, I thought it was my destiny, that it would spare everyone else suffering, but then…then Sho did die. And my life will be worse without him here. I dreamed last night, of the pain you and the others might feel had I actually died in the etherion blast, if I had killed myself before Jellal could sacrifice me to Zeref, and I was wrong to ever think my death would bring peace. You don’t die for your friends, you live for them, until the very end.”

“Until the very end,” Lucy murmured, and a chill seeped through her. A shudder racked her body with more pain, but Erza’s eyes were closed, missing it.

Some ends came sooner than others.

Erza opened her eyes and the two women smiled, releasing each other and going back to leaning against their seats.

“You know, when Loke was worried I was dying, he mentioned you,” Erza said casually.

“Yeah?” Lucy asked, hopefully just as lightly. She cast a glance in the direction of the sleeping car where their friends were crashed.

“Indeed,” Erza said, smiling gently, “He told me that Gray and Natsu still need to surpass me in a fight, and scolded me over the kind of example I would be setting for you, dying up there.”

Lucy giggled. That was what came to his mind?

“Fairy Tail’s already done quite the number on that boy,” Lucy said. 

“Just Fairy Tail?” Erza asked, “Because I was calling you all insane for trying to separate and stabilize the lacrima, but he had complete faith that it was your plan and for good cause.”

Lucy took a second to work out the implication, then laughed, “That’s cute. But it could never work out. I may not have much dating experience, but I know I could never…not with a playboy, and certainly not with a celestial wizard.”  Lucy grinned at her, “Now…you and Simon on the other hand…”

This time it was Erza’s turn to blush, “I know…he might…but he hasn’t exactly met a lot of women in the Tower. I was probably just a childhood crush that he never had the chance to get over.”

“Loke had faith in my plan for a couple of hours after being my friend for two months,” Lucy teased back, watching Erza grow red, “Simon held faith that you never betrayed them despite Jellal’s manipulations for years.”

“I’m sure it’s not like that,” she said, her hands fluttering nervously, “I’m not the little girl he knew.”

“And he’s certainly not the little boy you knew; he is built! Did you see those shoulders? Come on, romantic feelings or no, you have to admit he’s hot.”

It was Erza’s turn to glance towards the door to their train compartment before looking back at Lucy, her cheeks pink, “Okay, fine. Simon grew up to be quite…uh…handsome.”

“Especially if you like the strong, quiet type,” Lucy mused. “He’s going to be good for keeping Miliana and Wally from getting into trouble. Calming them down if nothing else. I wish we had set up a way to contact them, just in case.”

“They know where to find us,” Erza said confidently. “Now…what is your type, if you don’t like tall, dark, and handsome, or carrot top celestial wizards?”

“Okay, but you have to answer too,” Lucy giggled. They talked about boys and the guild and reconstruction and Juvia.

There was a knock on the compartment door, and it opened to reveal a vendor, “Can I interest you ladies in a snack? A drink? The latest news lacrima about the fall of Era and the Magic Council? News paper’s covering that also, and the magicart races too!”

Lucy got the news lacrima and a drink. Together she and Erza listened to a recording that survived Ultear’s destruction magic, used just when the Magic Council had exhausted their own magic to fire the Etherion Canon.

Lucy heard the council members debate about whether the lives of her and her friends were worth saving compared to the danger of Jellal succeeding in resurrecting Zeref. Heard Jellal convince them that he was the bigger threat, that the weapon of mass destruction was the only chance they had. Heard them fold, one by one, because who could trust Fairy Tail to succeed in stopping or halting Jellal? The Council couldn’t, not when Seigrain was insisting this was the only way.

They heard when Lucy, Natsu, Gray, Loke, and Erza were deemed acceptable losses. Heard their decision to break all the safeguard laws to fire on the very mages the Magic Council was supposed to protect.

Heard the moment of silence the Magic Council held for the Fairy Tail wizards, fallen while attempting to stop Jellal.

Heard the etherion canon fire.

If Lucy had more than two days to live, she’d make them pay for that. Her friends’ lives were not acceptable losses. They wanted to show off their power.

As terrible as the destruction of Era was, a small part of Lucy wasn’t upset.

Plus most of their officers had been on the boats that had caught the fleeing cultists, so the death toll was much lower than what it could have been.

The reporter came back on, and gave a history of Jellal/Seigrain. How his power distinguished him early, as did his work as an aid for the chairman of the Magic Council. How many commenters thought Jellal and Ultear were brought on the Council specifically because certain members thought their votes would be easy to manipulate because of their age and inexperience. How Erza Scarlet, one of the wizards sentenced to death by the Council, had warned everyone when she was thirteen that Seigrain was Jellal and operating a Tower of Heaven cult, but no one believed her. Hopefully whatever magic regulatory body that came next would do better.

Yeah, part of Lucy wasn’t sad to hear the Magic Council was no more. She was dying, it was okay to think dark thoughts like that.

Slowly the boys woke up and joined them, minus Natsu. And as they ate and laughed, and talked and traveled, Lucy decided that spending her second to last day on a train was fine when her friends were there with her.

 

 

 

Getting off the train that evening was exhausting. Loke had managed about five hours of sleep total after their non-stop Tower escapades. There was about an hour of daylight left, and Erza had warned him that this kind of thing was something they had to report to Master Makarov right away, especially since the news reports were unable to confirm they were alive.

So they trekked back up the hill to the guildhall construction site and had a two hour debrief with Gramps, telling their parts of the story, getting yelled at for being reckless, and finally being ordered to get some rest, Gramps would handle any Magic Council representatives that might come with questions. And guild questions for everyone that heard the news. They split up to walk back. Erza over in Fairy Hills, Gray on the south side, Natsu east towards the forest, and Lucy and him in downtown.

It was after sunset by now. Lucy’s story hadn’t made much sense, but very few things made sense at this point around the exhaustion.

“So that certainly wasn’t the vacation I planned for everyone,” Lucy joked weakly.

“I hope not,” Loke said, thinking over the painful, terrifying, and horrifying things he had learned and seen.

“Hey, you going to be okay?” Lucy asked, stopping them at the corner where their paths diverged.

Loke winced, “Not right now, but maybe. I’ve never…I’ve never seen anyone die before. And he died protecting me. I wasn’t even nice to him, I kept acting like he shouldn’t be breaking down over discovering his life was a lie. Then he…”

“I know,” Lucy said softly, the wind pulling at strands of her hair, “And sometimes you aren’t allowed to break until everything is over, that’s a lesson we learned in Fairy Tail that Sho never got to learn. That’s how it is. Next time you’ll be kinder, and Sho knows that you’ll be in Fairy Tail, going on crazy adventures with Erza and everyone else. The words sound hollow now, but promise me you’ll stay with Fairy Tail?”

“People sure do expect me to promise a lot of things,” Loke said with a dry laugh, “Do they know that a celestial wizard can’t break their word, or do regular people ask others to make promises all the time?”

“I know what your word means,” Lucy said, stepping closer to him, pushing her hair back behind her ear. “And I’m asking anyway. Promise me that you will stay with Fairy Tail at least until you’ve healed from the things this adventure has hurt.”

Loke smiled down at her, her eyes shining in the moonlight. “I was planning on staying in Fairy Tail much longer than that, but if it will make you feel better, I promise to stay in Fairy Tail at least until I have healed from the things this adventure has hurt.”

“Good,” she said firmly. She hesitated, then took another half-step closer. “You know, I believe there’s a debt you haven’t paid me, for winning a bet.”

Debt? He could never pay back what Lucy has given him in Fairy Tail, and he would spend his whole life as her friend trying to do just that. What bet?

Pink sprinkled along her cheeks as she tilted her face upwards.

He remembered.

His hand came up slowly and cupped her cheek, checking to make sure he understood. She blushed darker but didn’t move away. Leaning down, he guided her lips to his, and she moved against him, featherlight. It was soft and hesitant, but she met him equally in the gentle kiss. It felt like he was kissing starlight for the moment he had to think before she pulled away, slipping out of his arms like a moonbeam.

“There,” she said, “Debts settled.”

“You don’t need the excuse of a debt to kiss me,” he said, smiling, “I’m here and willing any time you are.”

She gave him a pained smile, “Goodnight Loke, remember your promise.”

Lucy turned and walked away down her street, and he watched her go. Not the best kiss he had ever had, but certainly one of the most intriguing. He smiled to himself and walked back to his apartment, thinking of his blonde teammate and future kisses he could bet for if that was how she wanted to play.

Notes:

Loke's not going to be worrying about nightmares tonight!

Here's the deal I'm willing to make. See, the next three chapters are big, they are the finale of part one, the next chapter especially is a long one, and I just feel like I don't want to drop the last chapter in the middle of a week. I also want a little seretonin boost from reviews from these long awaited chapters. Normally I get three to four reviewers per chapter chatting with me (you're great and I love you you're the reason I keep my current three chapters a week schedule) but I'm having a tough weekend and would really like to chat about this fic this weekend with more of you.

So here's my deal. I'm posting this at midnight my time zone. If I get the magic number of at least seven different people leaving reviews in the next 24 hours, I'll post the next chapter Saturday. If I get seven or more different people leaving reviews on saturday, I'll post the third finale chapter on Sunday.

Now if all of you are too shy and I don't get my 7 different reviewers, then I just follow the normal posting schedule, of the next chapter on Sunday and the third finale chapter on Wednesday. So, you just wait a couple of days. I don't want to punish anyone, but I would like to chat and I thought this would be a fun way to encourage y'all to speak up a little more. I get two hundred hits within 24 hours of posting a chapter, let's see if you can win the prize for the special chapter release schedule.

It can be the same seven reviewers each day btw, I love my consistent reviewers, as previously mentioned. See you either Saturday or Sunday or both, up to you guys!

Have fun and stay safe in general,
thecagedsong

Chapter 39: Past and Present

Lucy didn’t walk back to her apartment. Instead she doubled back towards the guild construction site. Sleep wouldn’t help now, not with her body screaming itself into falling apart.

With her team down for the night, this would be the best time to slip away.

She was such a thief, taking that kiss from Loke as she cracked under her own lies and sins.

Her guildmaster was drinking by himself, sitting on one of the construction beams, as she approached for the second time that night. Everyone who had shown up to work on the guild that day gone home; there were no other magic signatures nearby.

“Yes child? Something else you want say about your adventures, this time without your team?” Master Makarov asked tiredly. “Another headache to add to my collection?”

Well . . . Lucy wasn’t quite sure how to answer that.

Makaravo sighed and turned fully towards her. “Don’t mind me, tell me what it is you want to say so you can go get some proper rest.”

Lucy took a deep breath and straightened her back, “I’m leaving Fairy Tail.”

Gramps blinked. He looked at his bottle, then back at her, “I’m sorry, say that again? I believe I misheard you.”

Taking another steadying breath, Lucy repeated, “I’m leaving Fairy Tail. It’s time for me to go.”

Master hopped down to stand in front of her, “Help me to understand, because if I heard you correctly, that would mean that you are leaving your teammates after going through misery and heart ache with them. That you came here alone means you hoped to leave without telling them. And the Lucy I know wouldn’t do that to her friends.”

Lucy bit her lip, though that didn’t even register compared to the rest of the pain. Her hands spasmed again, their disappearance carefully hidden by long sleeves. “Master Makarov, you accepted me into your guild without questions about how or why I came here. I’m sorry, but I have to ask that you let me leave the same way. It has to be like this.”

“Things are often not as hopeless as they appear to the one in the middle of a mess. Perhaps you can tell me what’s troubling you, and we can help you find another way to accomplish what you feel leaving the guild will do," Master Makarov offered.

Lucy shook her head, refusing his words. He didn't get it.

"You aren’t a coward, Lucy, to sneak off in the night.” Makarov scolded gently, “There is always another way, such as Erza finding a way to leave the Tower alive, and Fairy Tail fighting for Loke when he only saw surrender. When your team stayed Gray’s hand from performing Iced Shell on a demon already slain, that was a way out that none of them could see for themselves.”

“But I am a coward,” she whispered, tears coming to her eyes. “And if there was a chance for fighting to save me, it passed long ago.”

“We do not abandon our family because circumstances become difficult,” Master said. “A truth you have long known, and that you have taught others. It is clear by your face that you do not wish to leave, and how could I send one of my children off in such circumstances? Come now, I will walk you home so you can get some rest. And if you still feel the same way in the morning, we’ll give you a proper Fairy Tail send off.”

Throat thick with tears, she nodded. Who knew Gramps cared this much? When other members left, some of them did just say goodbye and walk out the door with a reminder of the rules.

Why did he care so much about her?

Letting Gramps tell her team she was leaving voluntarily had been her best bet for getting them to let her go.

And Lucy wanted to hear the words directed at her, just once.

To be told that she would not be forgotten.

To pretend like she could come back to the embrace of the guild one day.

To believe that today was a parting, not an ending, for just for a while.

To see the sign that Gramps would still be looking her way even after she returned to dust.

Selfish.

Lucy cried as he walked her back home, past where she had given Loke her goodbye kiss, though he didn’t know it. At her door, Gramps waved her inside, not commenting on her tears.

Here was the moment, the last chance to demand a farewell, but the words clogged up her throat and wouldn't come out.

“Now get some rest and we’ll face our next challenge in the morning,” Gramps said.

Lucy nodded. She wiped away her tears, gave her best smile, and walked inside.

Going to speak with Master Makarov (No, Gramps) was a mistake. If she had just left, her team wouldn’t have found out until after she was dead, and no one would have known anything. Now Gramps was going to be looking for her tomorrow, and Fairy Tail would know she hadn’t trusted them with her secrets. Should she tell them? What would hurt them more, not having her trust now, or knowing they had always harbored a killer, a contract breaker?

Could she make the ones that managed to still care for her watch her fade?

Her molecules fuzzed out, and she let out a small gasp, tripping onto her bed until the episode passed, then waited for the strength to move again.

“I don’t know how much more of being her spirit I can take,” Aries sobbed into her shoulder. Leo petted soft fur. “I’ve never had anyone as bad as her. The men she makes me deal with, and it feels like every couple of seconds I get ripped apart!”

It was Tuesday in the mortal world, Aries’s day off. They had a few minutes before Karen could call her again. After her last bout of dealing with human men, Aries had collapsed, crying, and Leo wasn’t going to stand for this anymore.

“This suffering isn’t in your contract,” Leo said, eyes hard. “I won’t let this kind of abuse continue. Call a challenge Aries, please! Let me help you.”

“I can’t,” she cried, “I didn’t use the base contract with her, you know that. She took me from that swamp, so I told Karen I would help her no matter what with anything she asked! I’m an idiot, a stupid baby idiot.”

“Hey, hey, hey,” Leo said, cupping her friend’s face, “You listen to me. I won’t let you suffer anymore. I promise. I’m the lion, I can swap in with you. She won’t hurt you again.”

“But you can’t threaten her!” Aries said, gripping Leo’s hands, “You have a contract with her too!”

True, the swap ability was supposed to be used in dire circumstances against wizards she wasn’t contracted to. If she was contracted to a rule breaker, the idea was that Leo could talk to them normally.

But Karen had gotten sick of Leo’s attitude, and the fact that Leo looked younger and prettier than her, a long time ago. Her wizard only summoned her in the heat of battle before dismissing her. Her own contract with Karen would get in the way, but…

“I have a plan,” Leo promised, “It might hurt me a bit, but I can take it. I’m a combat spirit. My plan shouldn’t break my contract with her, and I’ll take whatever pain it will cost me. I love you, and I can’t stand by and watch you get hurt. Trust me, please.”

Trembling, Aries nodded and buried her head back in Leo’s chest. It would hurt, but she had a high tolerance for pain. For wizards she had loved, Leo had survived much worse. She would do the same for the spirits she loved, and hopefully be able to show Aries how that love can strengthen someone, if only Aries could keep going long enough to see it.

They hadn’t felt like lies at the time. But after the near constant agony of her magic drying up, Lucy doubted her pain tolerance. It hurt so much, she wished…

But letting her friends see her like this, knowing it was because she had broken a law of magic, because she wasn’t human, that would be so much worse. Lucy stood, groaning at the pain. Maybe she would just disappear before the morning, there were worse things than dying in one’s bed. Probably.

But no way would she be that lucky.

She already knew where she needed to die.

There was a chance that Makarov was watching the front of her house for this very move, so Lucy pulled a Gray and went for the chimney.

How wonderful that her teammates had shown her so many ways to get in and out of her apartment besides the front door. Once outside, she fled across the rooftops. Her steps made no noise, her mass barely there. But she still had enough of her body to drop tears.

I loved being in Fairy Tail. Be happy.

At least this way she would be able to die still wearing her mark. There was a small, odd comfort in that.

 

 

“Loke! Loke! Open up! Stop sleeping and open the door!” Natsu shouted.

There went the comfort of his happy dreams. Ugh, he needed another ten hours at least, his body was that sore. What could Natsu even need him for? Probably the Magic Council remains, looking for some reports. He buried his head in his pillow.

“LOKE! Lucy’s missing! Get up!”

Loke immediately rolled out of bed. He put on his tinted glasses as he stumbled to the door, “Whaaddya you mean Lucy’s gone? We saw her just last night!”

“What happened after you two split up from the rest of us?” Natsu demanded.

Loke really woke up then. “Nothing unusual; nothing that would make her leave! How do you know she’s gone? Did she leave a note?”

“Gramps said that she went back to the guild alone,” Natsu explained, and Happy flew into his apartment to start checking closets and under furniture, as though Loke was hiding Lucy in his laundry basket, “She tried to make up some crappy story about needing to leave Fairy Tail right then, but Gramps talked her out of it and got her back to her apartment. I went to crash at her place hours ago and it was empty and she hasn’t come back!”

“Not here!” Happy yelled back to them, closing the cabinet under his sink.

“Can’t you track her with your nose?” Loke asked, going for his clothes.

“I tried that,” Natsu said, tugging at his hair, “I think she went up her chimney, but then her scent just disappears! It’s like she flew away or something. I don’t know. You sure nothing happened last night?”

Loke was going to die before the end of the day.

“Nothing happened,” Loke said, jumping into his bathroom and changing out of his pajamas as quickly as possible. He opened the door again, “Where else have you checked?”

“She’s not at the guild, Gramps was going to check with the girl’s dorm. He’s going to get the rest of the guild looking. I came to you first, since you saw her last before she started talking nonsense to Gramps,” Natsu said.

“Okay, let’s get Gray in this,” Loke said, “You check everywhere between here and his place, and I’ll check all the stores and shops near her place.”

“Right,” Natsu said. “Happy, go with Loke.”

“Aye sir,” Happy said.

“Meet back up at Lucy’s apartment in an hour,” Loke said, “There might be some clues we missed. I swear that if whatever was possessing Jellal got into Lucy, I’m going to kill Jellal twice.”

“Get in line,” Natsu snarled, then took off running in.

“Lucy!” Loke started to call. “Lucy, where are you!” Happy joined in.

Hang on Lucy, we’ll find you.

 

 

 

Found you.

It was nearly noon by the time she had stumbled her way to Karen’s grave. Set away from literally everything in a forest to the west of Magnolia. Closer to Tulip, where Karen was from. It truly was a magnificent grave, surrounded by waterfalls on a stone bridge. One day it would collapse into the water, a reminder of when Karen knew the meaning and value of impermanence.

Leo felt the summons. She had known when Angelica Lilica had died of natural causes and had been waiting for someone to pick up her key again.

“Are you…you’re Leo right? I remember you, from when I was a little girl,” a pretty girl asked, her eyes wide. She was maybe sixteen. “You haven’t aged a day. You have got to tell me your skin care regime.”

“Trade secret,” Leo winked at her. “But yeah, I’m Leo. You’re related to Angelica, aren’t you?”

The girl nodded, “I’m Karen, her great niece. She gave me your key in her will. You’re a zodiac spirit, right? I’m still getting used to this. My family didn’t like to talk about Aunt Angelica.”

“That’s right,” Leo said, “I am a celestial spirit. And I remember Angelica talking about you, said you took after her more than anyone else in the family when it came to glamour and boys.”

“I hope so, she was dynamite, I hope I’m as cool as her when I grow up,” Karen said with a nervous smile, “So how does this work?”

Karen was cute, this was going to be a fun wizard. “How this works is that you and I form a contract, and when you need some help, you can open my gate and I’ll help you. I’m a combat spirit, so what this contract means more than anything else is that if you bring me to this world on your magic, I will fight for you with everything I can use. I’ll do whatever I can to keep you safe if you’re in danger.”

Karen looked conflicted, “Did Aunt Angelica need you for a lot of fights?”

Leo laughed, “No, your aunt rarely needed me to fight for her, though she was glad to have a combat spirit when her usual kind of trouble landed her in a bad neighborhood late at night playing cards or singing in a bar. But I’m plenty helpful for a lot of things besides fighting, I’m multi-talented. Dancing, singing, acting, cooking, studying. With how old I am, there isn’t much I can’t do.”

Karen looked more closely at her, then grinned, “You were in one of Aunt Angelica's movies, weren’t you? I recognize you from Jailbird. So you fight and act?”

“As I said, multitalented,” Leo bragged with a flip of her hair. The waterfall behind Karen became louder for a second, and Leo asked, “Where are we?”

“Oh, this is my favorite spot in the forest,” Karen said, looking around cheerfully, “I love taking people here, it’s just so beautiful. Parents have been showing kids this spot in my family for generations. And it’s fun because I’m the last person that’s going to have memories of it like this, see where the water is eating away the rock bridge?”

Leo nodded.

“I want to life my life like that, swept up in this singular moment,” she said with a blush, “Kind of cheesy, especially to an immortal. But I know I’m only going to be a small bit of your life, a moment on a deteriorating rock bridge, so…I don’t know, this felt like the place to make my first summoning.”

Turns out they were both like this rock bridge. Crumbling away under the currents of time. Lucy was about 700 years old, young for a celestial spirit. Not too young to die though. No one is.

 

 

I’m too young to die! Loke thought, holding his hands up as Erza levied her sword at him.

“Don’t think me a fool. Something happened between you and Lucy last night after the rest of us separated. Speak now,” Erza commanded.

Levy and Erza had been the only ones at Lucy’s apartment when he and Happy showed up. They had asked the same questions Natsu had, but they had caught his lie.

“I swear, nothing happened that would make her leave,” Loke said, trying not to flinch or sweat or show fear. “Lucy checked to make sure I was all right, made me promise to stay in Fairy Tail, and left towards her place. I went home alone and went to sleep.”

“It’s odd she made you swear to stay in Fairy Tail,” Levy mused, “You haven’t given any indication that you were leaving, right? Maybe she wanted your promise because she knew she wasn’t going to be there to keep you in Fairy Tail herself. Did anything else she say sound like a goodbye?”

He rethought about the scene last night but didn’t control his features well enough as he did it, since Erza’s grip tightened on her sword, “Speak.”

“Uh, okay. She asked that I pay back a debt I owed her last night,” he said. “Then she said ‘debts settled’ before walking away. That does sound like she was planning on leaving, in hindsight.”

Erza’s sword vanished and she folded her arms. “That is worrisome. Was there something unusual about the debt?”

“Nope!” Loke squeaked.

Levy squealed, “Lu asked you to kiss her!”

Erza flushed, “Wh-what?”

“That’s such a storybook move, Lu would totally pull it,” Levy said gleefully, “You and Natsu were in jail, but Lucy won the full pot on your fight. Loke had bet a kiss, and Lucy made sure it was paid in full before she left!”

“At least you didn’t insinuate my kissing skills chased her off,” Loke said, relieved. He winked at Levy, “I’d have to show you how wrong you were, and we don’t quite have time for the full, proper experience.”

Levy blushed, but Gray coming down the chimney and Natsu coming through the window saved her from becoming an even more flustered mess. Erza was still pink.

“So we’re going through her stuff to look for clues?” Gray asked.

“If she didn’t want us to go through her stuff, she shouldn’t have left,” Levy said, as though they needed an excuse to go through her stuff. “I’ll start with her books and papers.”

They each took different sections of the apartment. Lucy would yell at them later for this, because she was not gone for good, and would be back to do just that.

 

           

 

Six years, that’s how long it took from the start of Karen’s change in attitude for Lucy to acknowledge that the Karen she had met here was gone for good.

Karen had been good at boys and glamour, even more than Angelica. Things came easily to her. So easily, she assumed she deserved everything she had. That anyone could have the same if they just tried. And when Lucy had told her that she was multitalented, Karen had eventually understood that to mean multipurpose tool. Karen stopped being interested in helping paint someone’s roof or finding their lost items.

Or talking to Lucy at all.

Lucy was so much better at the job after all, why shouldn’t Lucy just do it all herself? Karen eventually got enough rank to take monster hunting requests, and again, all Lucy.

Which was fine, really.

What Karen did to Aries was not fine. After Lucy had punched one of Karen’s boyfriends that got a bit too frisky, Aries took over Karen’s host duties at Blue Pegasus. That had really been the final straw for Lucy to admit things were never going to be good with Karen again. It had taken far too long for Lucy to act on that abuse.

“That’s enough Karen,” Leo said, gripping her forearm. As Aries’s gate finished swinging closed, Leo heard the relived sobs echo through the gates. Thank goodness Leo had decided on this plan before Karen went through with hers. Leo had never tested the switching power through anti-magic cuffs.

“What are you doing here? I didn’t call you. Get your hands off me,” Karen said, yanking herself free.

Leo let Karen go.

“I’m here to renegotiate our contracts,” Leo said, moving to sit on Karen’s pool table, “I’ve had enough of your abuse, and I’ve had more than enough of watching you abuse Aries. So you are going to release us from our contracts and I’m going to stay here in the mortal world until you do.”

“It’s cute, how you think you have the power to order that,” Karen laughed, selecting Leo’s key, “Close, Gate of the Lion!”

The order tugged at her but Leo didn’t move.

Karen’s face twisted and swung Leo's key again, “Close! Gate of the Lion!”

“Close!”

“I order you to go back to the celestial ream. Close, Gate of the Lion!”

Panting from magic exertion, Karen finally stopped swinging Leo’s key, “Why won’t the gate close?”

“Because I don’t want it to,” Leo said, matter of factly, “And you’re not strong enough to make me on your own. Now, release us from our contracts.”

Manicured nails fisted in Leo’s shirt pulling her close, “Never. You’re my spirits, and you will always be my spirits. You help me do the high paying jobs, and I get paid. That’s our contract.”

“Funny,” Leo said, still refusing to react, “Nowhere in that contract says you can use chains and whips on us because you felt like it.”

“Aries betrayed me by talking to Master Bob behind my back!” she snarled. “If you want to talk contracts, Aries refused to serve me first.”

“You act like your abuse is a secret,” Leo shot back, “As if the only way to know what a snake you are is if we told someone, instead of being evident to anyone with eyes. Release us from our contracts!”

Karen threw her on the ground, “That’s your great plan, isn’t it? Stay in the mortal world, tying up my magic, until I give up?”

“Or we could skip that part, and you could just dissolve our contracts right now,” Leo said, getting back to her feet.

“You forget, not even I have unlimited magic power,” Karen said, eyes narrowed, “I’ll run out in ten days. And then you’ll be gone. Celestial spirits can’t survive in this world without human magic.”

“Really? You give yourself ten days? I’m pretty sure your magic can’t even sustain me here five.” Leo said, straightening her clothes casually, “You forget, I’m stronger than the others, I can stay in the mortal world on my own power. I will drain every drop of your magic dry every day until you release us. So release us from our contracts, sell our keys to the highest bidder, and find a holder-type magic to train yourself in that won’t be akin to slavery.”

“No! You’re mine forever!”

 

“We’re going to be here forever,” Happy complained. “How does Lucy have so much stuff?”

“It’s our best option, Happy,” Levy said, rifling through another set of papers. “People leave traces of their secrets in their things, Lucy especially, since she liked to write everything down.”

“This sucks,” Natsu said, throwing a book to the ground, “If she was in danger, why didn’t she tell us anything?”

“You are looking at this the wrong way,” Erza said. “The question isn’t why didn’t she tell us, the question is what could scare Lucy so much that she didn’t?”

“That’s what I said!”

“No, it isn’t, Flame Brain. And cool it or her landlady will kick us out before we get to the bottom of this,” Gray said. “Erza’s telling you to stop focusing on Lucy trusting us and start focusing on what scares Lucy. As far as I know, nothing scares Lucy. She faced down demons, nobles, dark wizards, and even Laxus without breaking a sweat. So we know that what’s threatening her isn’t any of those.”

“Do you think it had something to do with the Magic Council?” Loke asked, “She got really freaked out when that guy on Galuna knew stuff only the Magic Council should know.”

Erza tapped her chin, “I think you are on the right track. I doubt it’s the Magic Council, as their members are either dead or recovering in the hospital, but maybe we should also look at strange behavior over the past couple of weeks that might have led up to this.”

“Hard to figure out her strange behavior, when she’s always been strange,” Gray said. “She doesn’t team up with anyone for over a year, then joins up with Natsu?”

“Hey!”

Gray continued, counting off his fingers, “She got ridiculously drunk in the middle of a dark guild. She had to have that weird spice on everything and treated Loke like he was diseased since the first time she met him—wait,” Gray sat up from where he was slouching, and everyone turned to him, “She said she was cursed, she told me on the way to Hargeon and Galuna Island. She said she had called out a celestial wizard who mistreated their spirits, but that her curse normally didn’t bother her and she could handle it. She didn’t want to talk about it and said everything was fine, so I didn’t press for more.”

“Lucy’s been cursed!” Natsu and Happy yelled together, mouths falling open.

Levy turned to Loke, “Do you know any celestial spirit wizards that might have cursed her? You all gamble for the small number of keys, the community can’t be that big.”

Loke shook his head, “We uhh—Mom, when she was alive, warned me about other celestial wizards. I’m not supposed to try and find them, because if there’s a crook celestial wizard, well, death is one way to end another wizard’s contracts, and then their keys are there for the taking. Key sellers know better than to tell their clients about each other.”

“That’s what happened when Lucy met up with Duke Everlue, except he just went to jail. You don’t think he’s the one that cursed Lucy, do you?” Happy asked.

“It sounded like the thing with the wizard happened a long time ago,” Gray offered, “And she had mostly avoided it until Loke joined the guild. I don’t think it was Everlue.”

“I have never heard of a curse like that, one tied to proximity to a certain kind of magic,” Erza said, frowning, “Levy?”

“Sorry, not at all,” she said miserably.

“Hang on, she said it was painful to be near Loke,” Gray said, standing up. “Maybe her weird spice thing was medicine. If it’s a magical illness caused by a curse…”

“Porlyusica,” Erza nodded, “Let’s go.”

 

 

“Let it go already,” Karen begged, “You know I can’t give up your contracts and my keys. I have to make rent and buy food! I promise I won’t abuse Aries anymore. It’s been eleven days, and I don’t know how you’re taking up my magic, but I’m completely dry. It’s going to make me sick soon.”

“Selling your chains and whips should buy you the food and rent you need, and selling our keys would easily allow you to purchase a different kind of holder magic to use,” Leo snarked, her breathing heavy. Her previous record for time in the human world had been seven days of dragging her wizard through a desert. This was much worse. While Karen’s magic supplemented hers as it replenished, it exhausted her to keep up such a poisonous connection while mostly supporting herself in the mortal world.

“You have no idea what you’re talking about, you have no idea the pressure I’m under as a human. And I shouldn’t have to do anything. I’m your wizard, and you’re killing me. That’s a violation of your contract.”

It wasn’t. While inaction and passive action that killed your wizard did violate the rules, Leo wasn’t taking more than Karen could give. Draining the sink each time it tried to fill up with water didn’t affect the plumbing. Karen wouldn’t die from magic drain, though it would exhaust her.

It was the only leverage Leo had.

“You know my terms, Karen,” she smirked from under her bangs, barely seeing Karen standing in the forest grove she had chosen as her battleground. The pain was too intense for focus, burning from foreign air and sun. But she still smirked because Leo wasn’t ready to give up. “I’m not responsible if you chose death by starvation because you refuse to sell your torture devices and toys. More than that, I don’t care. What does it tell you that I would rather suffer for however long it takes for you to see sense then let you have access to a single one of my friends ever again?”

“I’m not perfect, you know,” Lucy told the grave. “Sometimes I wonder if I made the right choice back then. Maybe you could have changed, learned to love us. But that’s what being a leader means: making the call and seeing it through. I didn’t trust you, and this is me seeing it through. I would still rather die than have let you chain up Aries.”

The grave didn’t answer, nor the ghost, and Lucy grunted as cramping waves of agony rolled through her body. Curling up in a ball lightened the pain a smidge, but she felt her form dissolve and nothing made that sensation easier.

When the worst of that wave passed, Lucy put her fingers to her pulse point and felt nothing.

She laughed, “I’m a ghost too! No pulse, legally dead, haha! Can you imagine if I actually became a ghost though? We’d be stuck together for the rest of the afterlife, talk about hell.”

Karen’s ghost sent her the impression of an unimpressed raised eyebrow.

Lucy sighed and closed her eyes, listening to the falling water. Earthland waterfalls sounded different than celestial waterfalls. Lucy might be the only person who knew that, and the knowledge would die with her.

She made her way over to the low railing, curling around it, focusing on the sounds. The rush and breath of water, harsher and more varied than the celestial world’s tinkling flows.

Lucy opened her eyes and looked down at the water crashing on the rocks below. If she jumped in the water, she would die. Either her body will scatter in the current, or her body would flare once trying to repair damage with her remaining magic, fail, and she’d be gone. No more magic, just stardust and forgotten dreams swept away by the river.

She slid under the rail, and kept going until she was dangling by her hands. If her hands vanished now, that would be it. Lucy imagined the fall, the letting go, the silence from the environment and her own body for the first time in three years.

She started to loosen her grip, but . . .

“. . . until the very end,” Erza’s voice whispered.

Lucy pulled herself back onto the rocks and curled up again, safely away from the edge.

“Alright Erza,” Lucy whispered, “This is me, living every agonizing moment, until the very end. Doesn’t make sense, but here it is. Until the very end.”

Porlyusica had told her that life clings to life, and Lucy hadn’t understood what that meant until now. It was stupid, useless, but maybe, maybe . . . maybe doesn’t matter. Doesn’t matter if she lives a few hours longer, she didn’t need to think about it, it’s the same thing one way or another, so might as well be this way.

But as Lucy clung to these last moments, refusing to think about why she was choosing to do what Erza said instead of ending this agonizing pain a few hours early, she had to admit that Porlyusica knew a lot.

 

 

“I don’t know anything, now get out of my sight, filthy humans!” Porlyusica screamed, beating Gray over the head with a broom.

Loke hadn’t been sure what to expect when they told him about the hermit healer in the woods that Fairy Tail used in dire circumstances. He could hardly imagine this draconic woman tending to Gramps when he was out with magic drain or tending to Erza when she had lost an eye.

“Please Porlyusica,” Levy begged, “Lucy’s vanished and she was scared. We need to know everything she told you about her curse.”

The witch stopped beating Gray to wave the broom threateningly in Levy’s face, “And I told you, your master was the last one of you troublemakers that I will ever treat. If your friend had a curse, she didn’t get it from me. Now leave. I hate humans, especially obnoxious ones that demand answers I don’t have!”

“We know she visited you, you old hag,” Natsu said, yanking her forward by her cloak. “So tell us what you know!”

Looking him in the eye, she growled.

Loke didn’t see how she did it, but one second Porlyusica was glaring at Natsu, her feet barely touching the ground, the next she was thrashing all of them with her broom, hard enough they were actually pushed out her door. She was ranting about being threatened by humans and never helping one ever again.

The door slammed shut.

“Well, that was a bust,” Gray said.

“I told you, I caught Lucy’s scent near here, and she dropped something off at my place before we went to the resort,” Natsu insisted. “The old hag knows something, and I’m not leaving until I find out what it is.”

“Porlyusica has made her position clear,” Erza said, rubbing her own head, “And we don’t want to be responsible if she really does leave our guild without a healer because we pushed her too hard. Even if Lucy was here, she could have been just visiting. If anyone would visit this woman for a polite hello, Lucy would.”

Levy sat up and beat her fists into the ground, “If only I could find her novel. She mentioned it was autobiographical. I bet whatever secret curse was bothering her was in there.” She turned to Loke, “Wait a second, your Southern Cross spirit. Isn’t he an expert on…everything? Especially celestial magic? Maybe he knows what her curse was!”

Loke shook his head, “I can’t summon him until after five o’clock. We can try him then. But she knew I had Crux, surely Lucy would have said something if he could help.”

“Lucy ran away from the cross guy,” Happy reminded him, “Maybe she thought it would hurt or he’d tell us stuff she didn’t want us to know.”

“Does she have any family we can contact?” Levy asked. “Maybe they’ll know what’s going on with her?”

“She said she had never had parents,” Gray said, “And she’s never mentioned anyone else.”

Erza let out a sarcastic laugh, “She really did just show up at the guild one day, just like the rest of us. Fairy Tail accepts whoever thinks they want in, and askes no questions. It works out so well most of the time.”

“Come on guys, she didn’t do anything else weird?” Levy asked. “Any other kind of clue? We need to look somewhere in the two hours left until we can ask Crux.”

“Miliana kept talking about how she didn’t have a pulse,” Natsu said quietly.

“What!” everyone yelled.  

“That’s why I’m sure that if there was something wrong, Lucy would see Porlyusica,” Natsu insisted. “She was acting weirder than normal at the Tower. She barely used any magic and it didn’t recover. She was super weak after her battle with the rocker dude. When I got to her, Miliana was crying because she couldn’t find Lucy’s pulse. She kept saying the spell Lucy was hit with didn’t hurt, just cut off her magic, even though Lucy was screaming in pain each time it happened. I was shaking and couldn’t find her pulse either. Then she woke up.”

“That’s right,” Happy added, putting a hand on Natsu’s knee, “Miliana told me that Lucy shouldn’t have been able to use magic while bound, but she did and moved through the bindings. Like she turned into a ghost for a second.”

“A separate magical ability? Or part of her curse?” Erza asked herself.

“I’m going back to her apartment,” Levy said, standing up, “There has to be something there that we’re missing. A receipt in her pocket, a letter from an old friend, her damn novel. I refuse to give up, and we can think over Lucy’s weird behaviors at her place as well as anywhere.”

They followed Levy, none of them had a better plan.

 

 

“You know, this isn’t nearly as quick as I thought it would be,” Lucy said to the ghost sitting on the tombstone, “It had seemed so po-poetic, dying at your grave. Beautiful too, coming to my end here with you. Tying up the end of this half-life with the person who started it. But there had to be a better plan.”

Karen’s ghost staring at her.

Lucy sighed, “I know, you gave me other options. Ones that wouldn’t have led to me spending my last day of existence talking to your grave. You gave me every option except the one I would accept.”

“It’s been thirty days! I haven’t been able to take any jobs, please come back. I promise I’ll treat you and Aries better than I treat myself. Just please work with me!” Karen begged.

“You’re lying,” Leo taunted, “I’ve seen you lie. To your guild, to your boyfriends, to me. I know what it looks like. I feel you lying. But you can’t feel that I’m telling the truth, can you? You will release us from our contracts, and I won’t leave until you do!”

Karen lashed out with her foot, hitting her in the stomach. Leo winced, the agony across their bond more potent than the kick itself, though that wasn’t fun either. Karen hadn’t dared strike her before, but with each sting of agony, better Leo was here and not Aries.

“I can’t wait for you to die! Then I can summon Aries as much as I want, and I’ll make your suffering look like a picnic. You hear that? You’re only making things worse for her. I’m going to bring her to the edge of death, send her back, and do it all again, just you wait. You can watch from beyond the grave, you stupid lion! I’ll dance over your ashes!”

Her. Not Aries. Karen would see that her only choice was to release them and use her magic elsewhere. After constantly being emptied by the zodiac lion, Karen’s magic container should be much stronger than before, a goodbye present.

Another kick to the stomach.

A present Karen didn’t deserve.

 

 

“It’s a present,” Happy said, “Why don’t we open it? It could have the clue we’re looking for.”

That was the question, and the answer was that they had found two boxes in Lucy closet wrapped the same way with the same tag.

Happy Birthday to our favorite customer!

From the gals of Oh La La

And each time Erza had turned into a stuttering mess, Gray and Loke had mentally gone somewhere they absolutely weren’t supposed to in public, and Levy hadn’t been able to look anyone in the eye. Then Natsu made them feel extra perverted for their reaction by asking what Lucy would wear that for. Happy had been out of the room for the previous presents, looking through her fridge or trash or something.

“Happy is right, we have to look,” Erza said with a wince, “Natsu, Happy’s too young for this.”

“Hey, what do you mean by that?” Happy asked, folding his arms in a pout.

Natsu picked him up by the neck and stuffed him under the bed, “Check and see if she kept anything weird under her bed,” he said.

Erza quickly opened it and unveiled an absolutely sinful pink coreset with matching thigh-highs and panties. Erza was screaming without opening her mouth, Levy buried herself deeper in one of Lucy’s books, and by the stars, pink was Lucy’s color.

The door to Lucy’s apartment banged open, and everyone jumped. Erza actually squeaked and stuffed the lingerie back into the box.

A stout old woman walked in, glaring at them all and waving a manila folder.

“One of you had better be Loke,” she threatened, squinting at them all behind her turtleshell glasses.

Five fingers, including Happy under the bed, pointed towards him.  He tried a charming smile, “I’m Loke, Mam. And who are you, Beautiful?”

She threw the manila folder with perfect aim to hit his face. “Your new landlord. That has the keys and the girl’s letter. Should have known she’d get the dates wrong, same way she’s always late on her rent. Can’t keep a calendar to save her life! Come by when you don’t have company for the paperwork,” she slammed the door closed, and a picture on the wall fell and cracked.

“Loke?” Erza asked, holding out a hand.

No fool, he handed the folder over. “I have no idea what’s going on, I swear,” Loke said.

“Here are Lucy’s keys, and here’s the letter,” Erza said, taking the items out.

Hey Loke,

By now Levy’s gotten my package, so you know all about me, just like I promised. I hope one day you’ll forgive me for not telling you in person, even if I don’t deserve it. I couldn’t in good conscience leave you in your dump of an apartment, and since I won’t be using mine anymore, I want you to have it. The rent’s paid for the next six months, and the landlady looks scary, but if you let her yell at you, she won’t actually go too hard when Natsu sets the curtains on fire or Happy scratches the walls. Don’t let them do that. The curtains and wallpaper are absolute pains to replace.

Of course, you might not want to stay here, and I understand. It’s up to you.

Lucy.

“What package?” Levy demanded, snatching the letter and turning it over in her hands, “Why doesn’t Lu ever date things!”

“You haven’t had anything delivered to you?” Erza asked.

“No,” Levy said miserably.

“We can ask the landlady when Lucy gave this to her,” Gray said, pushing at Loke, “Go on.”

“She said that we were early,” Loke pointed out, “That Lucy got the dates wrong for when these would get delivered to us. For when I would show up here. Maybe the package hasn’t been sent yet.”

“Or maybe it hasn’t arrived,” Erza said, her eyes widening. “You can delay sending your package if you want. She might have mailed it before leaving but put it on a delay.”

“But that means she’s known she was going to leave for a while,” Happy said, crawling out from under the bed.

“Lucy wouldn’t do that to us,” Natsu insisted, “She’d let us help.”

“I’m not so sure,” Loke said, “A couple of times I reminded her that she promised to tell me what her deal was with celestial wizards, and she corrected me to promise that I’d understand.”

“Her manuscript!” Levy yelled, “That’s what she mailed me! That bitch! She’s had it finished for days!” Levy ran out the door, Natsu and Happy on her heels.

“Wait, where are you going?” Erza yelled after her.

“To the post office to get my package!”

“Loke, figure out when Lucy left the letter with the landlord, and meet us at the post office,” Erza ordered, following after the tiny titan.

Loke looked at Gray, “Does Levy…”

Gray sighed and nodded, “Yeah, she always gets like that about new books. Sweet as sugar and one of the most responsible of us, but get between her and a book she’s been waiting for and Levy starts to crack. I accidentally ruined her book once as a kid, and she won that fight. She went to therapy for it as a kid, but that worked out about as well as it did for the rest of us.”

“I’m going to hear about that one day,” Loke said, picking up the keys and turning off the lights behind them.

Gray cracked a grin, “We’ll tell you about it after you get your own Magic Council mandated therapy session, kay?”

“That’s going to be sooner rather than later, isn’t it?” Loke asked, locking up behind them.

“Up to you.”

“Has Lucy ever gone to Magic Council Mandated therapy?” Loke asked.

Gray cocked his head, “Don’t think so. Not yet at least. But we’re here.” He took a step back.

Loke swallowed and knocked. It took a lot of shouting for her to listen that he wasn’t there to sign the paperwork, not until he knows what happened to Lucy, and finally got out that Lucy had given her the spare keys and documents the day after the Phantom Lord final battle.

At the post office, Erza was trying to separate Levy from the postal worker she had in a choke hold with surprisingly little success. Wherever Lucy was, he hoped she was okay and doing better than he was.

 

 

 

“I hope my friends are okay,” Lucy whispered to the crashing waters. She was curled around the railing after her most recent pain wave. Not going to fall, but she wanted to watch the water. Hopefully Makarov had done the respectful thing and kept quiet, maybe covered for her. He had to know she was serious after sneaking out.

That would be nice. If Gramps just told them that Lucy had…what? There was literally nothing her team would believe after she’d been so useless leaving the Tower. No job, no family, no excuse they would believe to let her be, not that she’d been able to give one the night before. Her leaving voluntarily right now would be as unconceivable to them as it had been to Makarov.

Would her death be as unconceivable as Karen’s had been?”

Karen had taken to a new tactic. Crying for help across their contract bond in order to get Leo to react. Leo had to fight her instincts to head straight to Karen to protect her. A little patience and searching showed a false danger every time. Karen leaning too far over a bridge with Hibiki there to catch her. Karen inhaling and “considering” eating a poisonous flower. Karen trying on her own magic chains on to see if it would kill Leo faster.

Underneath each thrill of fear and cry for help, the sadist was waiting for her to answer the call. Leo had gotten good at blocking her wizard’s emotions. Karen’s poisonous psyche didn’t help convince Leo of the danger, but that was the point, wasn’t it?

The days got easier, Karen’s voice quieter, until it was hardly there at all. The pain settled into a kind of crampy ache, and it felt like Leo had figured out how to breathe.

She waited, grinning, ready to show Karen that the Lion did not falter in her duties. Karen would never take a key again. And Aries would never suffer more of her cruelty.

Karen might even grow into a decent wizard.

The pain and agony had been worth it.

Master Bob showed up before Karen did, and Leo practiced her smile on him, “Hello Mater Bob, how are you doing today?” 

But there was something wrong with his eyes. He usually had a smile, even if it was forced. It wasn’t there today.

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s Karen,” he said, his voice breaking. He dabbed at his face with a handkerchief, “She took a job, and got ambushed by a dark wizard. I told her not to leave until this was settled, that she wasn’t ready. But she was desperate. When they found her body, she had died of magic drain from trying to summon a second spirit, and a blow to the chest. A dark guild was active in the region, we think that’s what got her. I’m so sorry.”

“No,” Leo whispered, then shouted, “No! She can’t be dead! She’s not!” She searched her magic container, followed the line that was supposed to bind her to her wizard, to Karen, and felt it fluttering.

Cut.

“No, she can’t—I never wanted her to die!” she said, curling up on herself. Leo shoved her magic towards the broken bond, trying to reconnect it, trying to find Karen.

Master Bob had tried to put a hand on her shoulder, but Leo shook him off.

She couldn’t be.

“Karen, you can’t be dead,” Leo sobbed, tears coming to her eyes, “You were supposed to break our contract. Use a different kind of holder magic and become a great wizard. You’re not dead Karen! Come back and solve this between us now!”

Her roaring demand was met with silence.

Dying really did take forever when you let it happen naturally. Is this what humans go through? No wonder there were so many people looking for immortality.

At least Karen didn’t suffer. Shoving all her magic into a second summoning, forcing it, it would have hurt until she tipped the scale with everything she had left, everything Lucy had allowed her to have. With that final plunge, she would have been gone.

Leaving Aries in the hands of whatever dark wizard had murdered Karen for her keys.

Hopefully Aries hadn’t had to kill anyone for her new wizard, the little lamb had gone through so much already.

“On earthland, science says that the stars take hundreds of years to die,” Lucy said out loud, then coughed as another spasm ripped through her. “But we know it only takes three, huh?”

Behind her, Karen’s ghost was leaning against the grave. The ire was gone, leaving only patience. The kind Karen had never had while alive.

“You could have been a great wizard,” Lucy told her, “If I had let you recover, you would have been able to summon two keys at once. Two silvers, at least, but probably zodiacs by the time you died. With that kind of magic container, you could have made any kind of holder magic work for you, and you had the drive to aim high. You could have been something, if one of us had bent instead of both breaking. I’m sorry about that.”

Lucy looked up at the sunset colors of the sky. “It might be nice to make it to nighttime, to die under the stars.”

Air vanished, and streaks of magic laced over her skin, begging her to retreat to the celestial realm. To live. Tying Lucy’s body back together when it couldn’t touch her gate.

It stopped, and she panted against the railing, careful not to slip off.

Yeah, she’d try to make it to see the stars one last time.

 

 

 

They were going to be able to see the stars soon. It was past five, which meant he could technically summon Crux, but it hadn’t felt the right time to bring it up, not with Levy and Erza bashing the heads in of everyone who didn’t immediately tell them where Lucy’s package was being held. And before they could tell them where the package was, the duo wasn’t picky.

Eventually someone stayed conscious long enough to point to the post office building closest to Loke’s place.

(It was only then that Loke remembered Lucy using that post office the same day she had given the stuff to her landlady, but decided he like his head where it was and didn’t offer that piece of information.)

Only three people were headbutted before Levy got her package at this post office.

Since Loke’s place was closest, they crashed there for Levy to read through the manuscript in peace. She had torn it open in the post office and begun reading right there, and no one could convince her to move.

Gray and Natsu did rock, paper, scissors, and with a sigh Gray hoisted Levy over his shoulder. The girl adjusted automatically to keep reading, and Loke led the group to his apartment.

Gray seamlessly put Levy down, she didn’t even look up.

“Should you have your Gale Force Reading Glasses on?” Erza asked, and Levy didn’t react.

“I’ve heard Lucy complain about them,” Natsu offered. “Sure you read fast, but you don’t get to enjoy it as long or something. And you can miss some stuff stuff. Lucy had one book she needed to read in the middle of a battle and would not stop complaining about not getting more time with it.”

“Time is of the essence,” Erza said, requipping into a stronger armor, “Lucy has been missing the whole day. Levy may re-read her novel later for greater effect.”

“Wait, hold on,” Loke said, knowing Erza was actually lowballing the armor she’d need to separate Levy from that book long enough to locate Levy’s Gale Force reading glasses. “I can summon Crux now. Let’s see what he knows about Celestial spirit curses before trying to get glasses on Levy. Lucy knew the question, but she didn’t know how to help herself. We need to know how to help her, otherwise finding her doesn’t do us much good.”

Erza nodded, looking relieved, and sat back down.

Loke pulled out Crux’s silver key and called out, “Open, Gate of the Southern Cross. Grandpa Crux!”

With a cough Crux looked up at the group before settling on Loke, “How can I help today?”

“Hey Grandpa Crux,” Loke asked. “I was wondering what you could tell us about curses that make the cursed unable to be near a celestial wizard.” Because he was watching closely, he noticed an unusual twitch.

Crux might have gotten a glimpse of Lucy during the Changeling debacle, there’s a good chance he knows exactly the information they were looking for.

Now it was up to Loke to ask the right questions.

“I will search the archives,” Grandpa Crux said.

“Ahh, he fell asleep,” Happy said. “Your spirits are really lame.”

“He’s not asleep, that’s him searching his memory,” Loke retorted.

Crux jolted back with a yell, scaring the others, before he calmed to say, “There is no such curse that makes a being unable to bear contact or proximity to celestial magic.”

“Of course there is, Lucy told us that!” Natsu said, “And she flinched and ran away every time Loke got too close or pulled a spirit out.”

“There is no such curse that makes a being unable to bare contact or proximity to celestial magic,” Crux repeated meaningfully.

“Natsu, calm down,” Loke ordered. “Crux knows everything, but there are things he’s not allowed to say, especially if you don’t ask the right question. He can’t tell me who has contracts with other keys, for example, but he can tell me which spirits are currently without contracts. You have to be patient and ask the right questions.”

“He said that there is no curse,” Erza mused, “but Natsu is also right. It could be that ‘curse’ was Lucy’s word for it, but it might have a very specific definition. Can you ask him if there is a situation that causes the same reactions we observed in Lucy?”

“That’s how you do it,” Loke encouraged, “Grandpa Crux? Can you tell me what possible afflictions could cause someone to flinch from a celestial spirit wizard, be unable to bear proximity to a celestial spirit, or have a long-lasting magic drain?”

Grandpa Crux looked through the archives again.

Grandpa Crux nodded himself back to the present, “The only possible afflictions that would cause someone to flinch from a celestial spirit not attacking the person are psychological. Severe emotional or physical trauma are the most likely, but hallucinations or extreme fear may cause similar effects. Several things may cause someone to flinch from a celestial wizard, but to flinch solely because of the magic they possess, it is possible the person could read magic auras, and had a similar psychological reaction as mentioned before.

“Long lasting magic drain comes from a number of different sources. There are several spells. Magic Drain (wind), Magic Drain (sound), Magic Burn (fire), Magic Desolate (shadow), Enchant Magic Drain (script), Bane Particle Dispersal (curse), FACE (large scale, etherion) and so on. A magical being may be cut off from the source of their magic’s renewal. Also commonly used are magical items that drain a wizard of their magic. Magic drain cuffs (commonly used by Magic Council Authorities), magic drain rooms (common to most mage policing bodies, not to be confused with rooms laid with a magic draining enchantment), Magic drain rings, magic drain earrings, magic drain chains, magic drain crytsals (long range and contact based), magic drain —”

“Shut it off,” Natsu whined.

“Crux, thank you,” Loke said.

“Just ask him if he knows Lucy’s story,” Gray said. Loke could feel Crux waning. The previous two searches had drained him.

“Might be our last question guys, and that question might not get anything if it’s protected information,” Loke said. “It might be worth the risk.”

“We have learned that Lucy’s issues with celestial wizards, her ‘curse’, is psychological, likely paired with her ability to read magic auras,” Erza said, counting two off her fingers, “We have learned that the magic drain may have caused her problems at some recent point, but before the Tower, since she mailed the manuscript before we left for the resort. And finally, we learned that this spirit knows Lucy’s specific situation, and likely has been trying to help us all along.”

“Caught that too?” Loke asked. Crux was being very careful with his word choices.

“Ask about her pulse,” Natsu interrupted. “He already knows all about the diseases, so he won’t have to search again, right? When can someone move and breathe and have magic, but not have a pulse?”

He checked with Erza and Gray, who nodded, and asked Natsu’s question.

Grandpa Crux’s shoulders relaxed a fraction, “While pulses are necessary for life in humans and most animal life, beings of magic sometimes have something that substitutes for a pulse and moves magic through their veins. This pulse-like reaction weakens with the being’s magic but does not necessarily cease function in the being like a pulse in a human. Those pulses may function at a level undetectable to most, while still providing life and magic to the being until they fade. Health issues can make pulses difficult to find. There are also the possibilities of genetic alterations that make pulses difficult to detect, but still present.”

“Lucy’s not human?” Gray asked. “But she’s so… human.”

Loke had a sinking feeling. “How long has Lucy been in Fairy Tail?”

“Two years,” Erza said, her voice shaking, “And rumor has it she was poking around dark guilds for about a year before that. It’s not possible, is it?”

“Granpa Crux,” Loke asked, “Tell me everything you know about the light magic user I know as Lucy.”

“Due to the celestial realms personal privacy laws…the only information I can offer you is that the one you know as Lucy had a previous affiliation to and debt with the celestial wizard Karen Lilica.”

 

 

“Karen Lilica. Karen Li-li-ka. Ha, bet you didn’t think I’d make this far, did you Karen?” Lucy asked the air. She wasn’t quite sure if Karen was there anymore, it was really hard to tell around the pain. Not that Lucy had ever claimed super ghost sensing abilities, but now she was lying flat on her back, staring up at her stars, and after spending all day with the snooty ghost of her ex-master/victim, she should feel more qualified than most to tell when being visited by the dead.

Except she didn’t. Because even the stars were starting to blur around the agony of the last drops of her magic draining away.

“I didn’t think I’d get this far either,” Lucy admitted. Because it didn’t hurt more to talk than not talk, and talking was distracting, so why not? “I mean, honestly, who ever heard of a celestial spirit making it three whole years! I should have been toast after a month without you, if not six. I am the strongest of them, you know. Don’t tell Aquarius, but I best her in pure strength. Seriously, the best thing about exile? Not having that witch tell me off for not having a boyfriend.”

Tears streamed from Lucy’s eyes, “Skies, I miss her. She’s obnoxious and lazy, but the sheer gall on her is enough to make me taunting Laxus look pathetic. I really looked up to her as a cub, you know? Your form shape shifts a lot that first year as you settle into your skin and figure out what parts of your role, what parts of the human mythos giving you form that you want to physically and personally embody. I’d be exiled again for just talking about this stuff to a human. But you’re dead. The Aires before the Aries you know? He was black, and six feet tall on four hooves. He was no sheep to count to go to sleep, but a full-on Ram, combat spirit from horn to tail, and the fluffiest thing about him was his heart. That could have been me, but a lioness.”

“But noooo, baby Leo wanted to be tough like Aquarius, not take anyone’s nonsense and look beautiful doing it. It’s how I ended up so human. I used to have a tail, I think. Lost that after I contracted with some wizards in a row that liked me to spend more time among humans. If I stayed for a couple of months in the celestial world, I might get it back. Or if I really, really wanted it. Ha. Wonder what the next Leo will pick?”

“I think I’d like my tail back, unless it meant missing years with my Fairy Tail friends. Haha, that fairy would have a tail. I’m still a fairy, Gramps wouldn’t remove my mark. I had to be something, when I couldn’t be Leo.” She felt her tears evaporating off her face, not enough magic left in her form to let them gain permanent existence.

“I wouldn’t have made it this far without them, but I’m surprised I made it to them at all. I spent magic like you wouldn’t believe hunting down your killer. And no, it wasn’t just to make sure Aries’s key was in good hands, it was also…vengeance. You were a terrible human being, but you deserved the chance to change, to get better, to become a great wizard. Some bastard stole that from you; I was going to steal it from them right back.

“Heh, Fairy Tail calls it Fairy Karma, but we weren’t fairies back then. I have no doubt the bastard would be dead now if we had been. But then we wouldn’t have had as many pretty boys, tricky trade off.”

The clients at the host club weren’t always gentlemen in their behavior, but the wizards were undisputedly attractive and fun to hang out with.

Too bad they all hate her now for killing Karen.

Her body pulsed, and she waited it out. No use screaming. Every couple of minutes now she had a wave as bad as Miliana’s attack in the Tower, but even soul-rendering agony gets boring after a while. Even screaming got tiring.

“Hibiki punched me, you know, after your funeral. Heh, I might be the only girl he’s ever seriously hit. I just let him yell at me, and let him punch me. The point was to make him feel better after all, the least I could do after we spun ourselves into your death. Our death.”

Another wave of agony, and this one forced a gasp from her. “I think this it,” she said.

“Lucy? Lucy!”

She lurched to sitting and saw Loke running towards her.

Notes:

You tripled the reviewer goal, you absolute mad lads! Before I even woke up in the morning! You all had me crying happy tears this morning, you so earned this chapter. I've been vibrating from wanting to post this chapter all day. Now, let's see if you can do it again, lads and ladies. At least seven different reviewers within the next 24 hours, and you'll win a third update this weekend!

So, what did you think?

Chapter 40: The fault is not in our stars

Lucy started laughing.

“That’s what’s holding me here, isn’t it? The universe isn’t going to let me break promises with any more celestial wizards. Oh, oh, that’s so hilarious!”

“Lucy,” Loke called, crashing to his knees beside her. “Lucy, I know. Levy got your manuscript, and between her and Crux, I know.” He put his hands on her shoulders, “I know, please let me help you.”

“I’m sorry,” she said, tears gathering in her eyes, arms wrapped around herself. “I tried my best, I promise. I didn’t want anyone to get hurt because of me.”

Lucy curled into a ball, tears evaporating off her cheeks, “I’m sorry. I'm selfish and I’m sorry.”

“Hey, hey,” he said, pulling her into a hug. It was terrifying how little she weighed, how fragile her skin felt. “I know you didn’t want us to hurt. But that’s part of being human, part of making friends; it’s hurting when they hurt.” He pulled back and wiped at her eyes.

The liquid evaporated off his fingers into magic particles, shit.

“Lucy—no, Leo. You’re Leo." Loke affirmed, "The zodiac lion, leader of the celestial spirits. Leo the Golden Lion. You’re going to be just fine. I know about Karen, about Aries and what you tried to do and what happened afterwards. But I don’t understand why you’re still here! Karen died, your contract ended, you should be in the celestial realm. How have you survived in Earthland without a wizard? How can breaking a contract keep you here?”

“That’s right, you-you don’t understand,” she stuttered with another shaking, laughing sob, “That’s why I’m still here. Because I promised you would understand. Loke, I’m banished. Exiled. I was contracted to Karen. I was summoned to the mortal world, using up her magic, and when she called for me to fight, I didn’t come. Can you imagine?"

He couldn't. His spirits always came, that was who they were. 

Lucy sobbed, "I broke my contract. I’m a contract-break-breaker."

"Hey, talk to me. I need you to breathe, okay? In and out." 

With his help, she made herself breathe, made herself still, and her words came through clearer. “I stood by, in my superiority, and I let Karen die without even trying to fulfill my contract. Celestial wizards lose some of their magic when they break a contract. Celestial spirits are banished for breaking the laws of magic that make us what we are.

"I have violated my oaths, my word, my promise, and I used my magic in Earthland outside of the bindings of contracts to hurt one I was sworn to protect. I haven’t been Leo since Karen died. Celestial spirits can’t. Break. Contracts.”

She said it with an accepting finality Loke hated.

“Make a contract with me, one you can’t break,” Loke tried, speaking faster as her skin grew even less solid, “They will have to let you back into the celestial spirit world, to keep from breaking your contract with me. Right?”

Lucy shook her head, then doubled over in pain.

Her head should have hit his knees, but it wasn’t there, her skin disappearing from under his hands.

“Lucy! No!” he said, He gathered up as much pure magic as he could, and shoved it at her, begging her to accept it.

“You’re putting someone dying of thirst in the ocean,” she panted, “I can’t drink. I can’t offer you anything more than I have right now. My gate is sealed shut.”

“I promise to give you all the magic I have, to sustain you for as long as I live,” Loke pled desperately, shoving more magic at her. “Accept my contract!”

A whispy hand cradled his cheek.

Though her eyes were tight with pain, Lucy was smiling, “And kill you too? Never.”

Lucy gasped and faded, but came back together again.

Breathing heavily, she continued, “I made my choices. And I will die for making those choices. Some endings come sooner than others.

"But you have to understand, knowing that there is a celestial wizard like you?" Lucy looked up at him, eyes shining, "That you, Loke Heartfilia, are looking over Fairy Tail and the other spirits? You made me happier than I ever thought I could be again. Thank you."

“No! No! I don’t understand!” Loke yelled, hoping she was right, and not understanding was enough to keep her here, his voice cracked. “You can’t leave Fairy Tail like this, you can’t leave me! If you love the guild like you say you do, you have to live. You dying because you wanted to protect Aries? That’s wrong. And you fight it when people are wrong, you always do, so we have to fight it.”

“This is the way it is,” Lucy said, voice creaking like tissue paper. “I did everything I could to make it right, but it was still wrong. I’m not human, it’s fine.”

“No, I won’t let it happen this way.” Loke leaned forward so her face was pressed to his neck, gentle as he could be, and closed his eyes. He took all the magic that she couldn’t accept and changed the spell. “I’ll get you home, Lucy. Open Gate of the Lion! Leo!”

It wasn’t a key turning in a lock like other summonings.

He had no key.

But with Lucy in his arms, he could sense her gate now that he knew to look for it. Lucy was her key. Loke poured his magic together, the spell was his fists punching at her gate, demanding it open.

“Open! Gate of the Lion!” He screamed in his celestial voice, letting the imagery of Natsu punching walls fuel the empty points of the spell. This would be the most important wall a wizard would ever break through. It was his magic against the barrier between worlds. “OPEN! GATE OF THE GOLDEN LION!”

“LOKE! Stop! Stop!” Lucy struggled in his arms, but he clung tighter even as she screamed at him, “Your magic, stop, you’re draining yourself. You’re not allowed to die! You can’t! You promised me!”

“What use is magic if I can’t use it to save the people I care about?" He demanded, "You taught me that. And if the law says you have to die for using magic to protect Aries, then the law is wrong! Open the gate of the lion! NOW!”

It burned to use his celestial voice with each word, but each sound beat against her gate with as much magic as he could muster. Everything he had. Let the whole celestial realm hear him.

“OPEN THE GATE OF THE LION! LET LEO LIVE!”

There was a snap of energy between them, forcing them apart. His glasses flew off his head.

The air was different, charged with something that felt like magic, but it wasn’t the magic of Earthland that he knew.

The sky changed.

The waterfall stopped falling and flew upwards instead, and Lucy was clinging to him again as the water took shape.

There was a thump greater than Lullaby’s footsteps, and they saw…something. A big something. Much bigger than Deliora. It had to be a spirit, standing there above the waterfall, but it was so big. A spirit that looked like a crystal knight? Loke had never heard of a spirit like that before. What kind of magic did it take to summon a being like that? Had he accidentally summoned it?

 “The Celestial Spirit King?” Lucy whispered, “What is he doing here?”

“King? As in ruler of the Celestial Spirit World?” Loke looked at the giant. That meant he was the one that had banished Lucy.

He was the one who could save her, even now.

Loke stood up, ignoring the way Lucy clutched at his jacket. “Are you the one responsible for exiling Leo the Lion for a crime she did not commit?”

 

 

“Loke!” Lucy hissed, tugging at his arm. She had no idea what was going on. Loke had somehow called a Court on her contract with Karen.

Which was impossible. You can’t call for a court on a contract after a final judgement. Or on someone else’s contract. For some reason, instead of a panel of Aquarius, Capricorn, and Pisces ruling on her Court like was supposed to happen if the lion did call a court, the Celestial Spirit King had made a demi-dimension in the barrier between worlds to pass a ruling himself.

She didn’t know how or why this was happening, but Loke telling off the Celestial Spirit King was probably the only way to make things worse.

At least her magic stopped draining away for the moment. The Celestial Spirit King would not let her die until the end of this court. Her magic was frozen with the rest of time in this place.

“Old Friend, Young Wizard, as you both know, a spirit cannot be responsible for the death of their key holder under any circumstance. That is celestial law, and both wizards and spirits must abide by it.” His crashing boulders of a voice vibrated through her, a reminder of the command that had sealed her fate the last time she tried to open her gate. A reminder of how much more he was than even the leader of the zodiacs.

His arms folded and he looked down on her with all the judgement and disappointment Lucy had made a fool of herself to avoid. “It was not by your hand, Leo the Lion, but by your contract. You swore to fight and protect your key holder while in the human world on her power. You refused and Karen Lilica died. For this denial of your contract, for this death of your key holder, you have been banished from the celestial world forever. Are any of these facts contested?”

Lucy bowed her head in acquiescence.

“That’s not what happened at all, and you know it!” Loke shouted first, fists clenched. “Leo was in the middle of contract negotiations when Karen took a job she couldn’t handle. Celestial Spirits feel pain, they can be hurt, and Karen was hurting Aries. Leo suffered because Karen abused her contracts with her spirits first. But despite the abuse, Leo never hurt Karen. Karen left Leo behind when she went on a job, left in the middle of negotiations, and that’s not Leo’s fault!

“The Lion is the leader of the Zodiac Spirits, and she had to protect Aries. You were wrong to banish Leo, and Karen was wrong to attempt to banish Aries through using Earthland magic. Leo doing her job as leader should not result in a death sentence!”

Loke was insane. You can’t renegotiate a contract when one party is unwilling, that’s the whole point of a contract.

And Lucy still didn’t know why the King had come for Loke’s call. Was it because Loke was bloodline? The King shouldn’t care! Never has another celestial wizard had standing to bring a claim on a contract they weren’t party to, bloodline or not.

Yet, the King was here.

“I must say, it is sorrowful to remember Aries's naivety in making her contract that allowed for such abuse to occur, and it pains me to see my old friend in such a poor state. My heart breaks over the events that led to such drastic consequences,” the King said, bowing his head.

What. WHAT!

Her mouth fell open, and she didn't have the will to close it.

“You keep calling Leo your old friend, but you aren’t acting like it!” Loke scolded, “Open your eyes and see that your old friend has more than suffered enough for any fault you still want to give her. After she was banished, she spent her remaining magic looking for Aries, to make sure her friend was doing okay after Karen’s death. Even if Aries hated her! Lucy needed to know she was going to be okay if it was possible.

“That’s what it means to be a friend. When a friend asks for another chance, you give it! And when your friend is in danger of dying, of being seriously hurt, you do everything, everything to keep that from happening. Just like Lucy did for Aries. You should be learning from her, not killing her.

"If letting Lucy die like this is your definition of friendship, then you have never had a friend in your life! You understand nothing about what actually binds people together.”

Blasphemy of the highest order. If a silver key had said that to the celestial spirit king, they’d be jailed for 200 years following the expiration of their current contract.

And it was wrong. The Celestial Spirit King was bound more tightly and knew more personally the bonds that make magic flow better than any other being in existence.

If he said Lucy was unworthy and unable to make and keep a contract, he was right.

Loke started gathering magic, and while a summoning would be easier here in the border, he had already spent too much magic trying to open her gate.

Too much.

He’d suffer human magic drain at this rate, she could already feel his magic dwindling.

“Loke, please stop. You’ve made your point. And he’s not going to change his mind! It’s the law! Sometimes circumstances don’t matter!” Lucy begged. “Some-sometimes things break and all that’s left are the consequences. You need to stop, or you’ll die!”

He turned his head to look back at her, the aura of his magic visibly flaring around him in a way that was almost blinding.

Breathtaking.  

“Do you want to live? Levy needs to talk to you about your novel. Natsu, Gray, Erza, Levy, Happy, they’re all in this forest looking for you. Do you care about me, about them, about Fairy Tail, at all?”

“OF COURSE I WANT TO LIVE!” she screamed, eyes clenched shut, her fingernails digging into her arms “I love being part of Fairy Tail! I want to see everyone grow up. I want to see Aries and the other spirits again! I love them so much! But it doesn’t matter what I want. Sometimes there isn’t mercy.

“I’m not mortal! I don’t get to grow from my mistakes, I don’t-I don’t get to rejoin my family in the sky or let other people slay my demons or leave the Tower. Karen’s life is gone, and sometimes-sometimes there’s only more blood until the law is satisfied.” Face puffy and voice horse, Lucy looked up at him, pleading, “That’s not something you can change!”

His smile was more angelic than she could ever be, and he hadn’t let up a single ounce of the magic power he was gathering.

“You’re right, but you need to trust me. Because while I can’t change it by myself, he can, so I'm going to change him,” Loke said, turning back to the King, “And I’m going to do it by showing him what it actually means to be a friend.” He switched to his celestial voice, “Leo did nothing wrong! Because it can’t be a crime to protect the people you care about! I summon every spirit that can hear my voice. Answer my summons if you are willing to give your friend, Leo the Lion, another chance!”

His aura was bright enough to light up an enormous magic circle under his feet, as wide as an abyss break, and inside it, all nine of Loke’s celestial spirits stood.

There was nowhere to hide. Loke’s light was too bright, it was too late, she could see every one of them and they could see her.

Aquarius, Cancer, Virgo, Sagittarius, Lyra, Canis, Taurus, Crux, and Horologium. They chose to stand with Loke. Even in the demi-realm, they had to be exerting their own magic to help Loke sustain them all.

They chose to come.

Virgo was smiling at her, so was Cancer, Taurus, and Lyra. Aquarius and Sagittarius were frowning at her for causing so much trouble. Crux and Horologium looked at her with concern, but all of them stood tall.

They stood with Loke against the ruling of the Celestial Spirit King.

For Loke.

For her.

“You . . . I thought you hated me for what happened," Lucy cried. "I haven’t been able to face you. I’ve barely been able to face myself.”

Her body was shaking from the admission. More of them were shaking their heads.

She knew that expression from her first year of, when they were teaching her what it meant to be a celestial spirit. Silly Leo, that's not how that works.

“They are here because they are your friends, and they feel the same way I do,” Loke said. His magical aura faded to almost nothing. The other spirits vanished, and he collapsed.

“Loke!” she yelled, scrambling on her hands and knees to catch him.

“Your friends came because they know that you dying isn’t going to bring Karen back, and a law that demands you die . . . needs to make an exception for you,” he said, sitting up the rest of the way on his own. He looked up at the Celestial Spirit King. “The only question left is whether or not the Celestial Spirit King is actually your friend like he claims he is. Will you grant Leo mercy from the awful choices of Karen Lilica?”

Her throat was so thick she could barely talk.

“Don’t do that again,” Lucy sobbed, pressing her forehead against his shoulder, “Please, say what you want, but don’t use any more of your magic. You’re risking your life. And if everything you say is true, it applies to you too, and you can’t risk your life any more for mine. Promise me!”

“I can’t make that promise,” Loke said, never looking away from their judge.

His hand cradled the back of her head gently, but his words were as firm as a mountain. “I’ll do whatever it takes to convince him that you deserve to live. If he still needs a life to make up for Karen throwing away hers, he’s going to have to take mine before I let him take yours.

“That’s what you’ve done for me, over and over again. Every time you overused magic because I got us into something stupid: Eisenwald, Galuna, Phantom. You risked your life by using your magic. Now that I understand, I’m going to do the same for you. You're my friend, but you can't tell me what to do here. So shut up and let me do this.”

Lucy could only cry into his shoulder; stupid-loveable-idiotic-amazing-friend-stupid-guild-friend-dumb-stupid-friend-loyal-brave-stupid-Loke-Loke-Loke.

Though he held her tighter, Loke was still looking up at the King.

Lucy couldn't look anywhere, she just held him and cried.

“Your passionate pleas and defense of my old friend have made me consider that perhaps this is truly an exceptional case that deserves a different resolution than what the law would ordinarily require."

What?

Lucy looked up, breathing heavily around her sobs, eyes wide.

The King continued, “It is true that Leo’s actions were motivated by a desire to protect Aries, her sister in the stars, as the Lion has been called upon to do since the stars first gathered. The Human Wizard is willing to give his life for Leo, despite not having a contract and while having a complete knowledge of her past sins against celestial wizards. This proves beyond any doubt that Leo is not so corrupted by her actions to be incapable of forming the bonds that define the relationships of celestial spirits and their wizards. Never have I seen such devotion or such a bond in all my years.”

What?

No.

What?

“Are you…” Lucy trailed off.

A scepter appeared in the Celestial Spirit King's right hand. Twice, the staff struck the ground, the sound ringing through the Celestial World, calling the stars to attention for a proclamation.

“I am so moved. By my right as King of the Celestial Spirit World, I offer mercy in this case. I find that Leo the Lion has suffered sufficient penance to match the severity of her crime. From here on forward, the title of contract-breaker shall be removed from her, and Leo the Lion shall be restored to her position among the stars. I hereby pardon Leo the Lion for the transgressions that occurred during her contract with the wizard Karen Lilica, and grant Leo the Lion return passage to the Celestial World. Your gate is unsealed,” he declared.

And so it was.

Reality bent, her magic and all the magic of the celestial spirit world bent with it to make his words true.

Her gate was open, her ability to make contracts restored.

Lucy could feel it, the cracks Loke had made in her gate were repaired. It was yawning open, waiting for her.

Loke's aura didn't hurt anymore, her own magic was reaching gleefully back.

“I don’t…I don’t know what to say,” Lucy cried, rubbing at her eyes.

“I do!” Loke cheered, “Thank you! You’re a pretty good friend after all, King!”

The Celestial Spirit King grinned at Loke, giving him a thumbs up. That was something she was going to have to process at a later date.

There was going to be a later date.

“You may not know what to say, Old Friend, but I trust you know what to do?” the King asked.

She blinked, rubbing her eyes, and it took an embarrassing second, but she smiled at him, “Yes. Yes, I know what to do.”

“Then I will see you back home soon. Take care not to dwell too long,” the King said and raised his hand. He disappeared with a splash of water, the river rushing back into its place. The Court ended, returning them from the border between realms to Earthland.

Along with the restored reality came the some pain, but being at the border with an open gate had rejuvenated her. She could have a small conversation before leaving.

“You…you have no idea how much that should not have happened,” Lucy said, still bewildered, wiping away the rest of her tears.

She flicked her hands to the ground, and droplets from her tears darkened the pale stone.

“I can guess at how much you wanted it to happen though,” Loke said, standing up and stretching. “The only way you could have left more clues for us to track down was if you left a to-do list of what you were doing.”

Lucy blinked, then slapped her forehead, “You mean you didn’t find the list I left under my pillow? I totally forgot about that.”

Loke groaned, “I can’t believe we forgot to check your bed! That would have saved us so much time. Do you know how many postal workers have concussions right now?”

Lucy laughed, and it was the freest laugh she would give of her suddenly very long life.

“So, what did the King mean when he asked if you knew what you were supposed to do now?” Loke asked.

Grinning, she pulled her key, the key that had been broken for three years and had been part of the lock sealing the gate shut. Lucy took a moment to relish the whole imprint of it in her hand.

“Lucy!” five voices shouted. Natsu, Gray, Erza, Happy, and Levy were scrambling out of the forest and onto the rock bridge.

“Lucy! Are you okay?” Gray demanded.

“Lucy,” Levy cried. “You, you’re so strong! And your book was so good! I can’t believe you were going to leave me like that. I can't believe you were never going to let me talk to you about your book, you-you loser!”

“We tried to get in, but there was this weird blue-white thing and no matter how hard I punched it, I couldn’t break through. It was there for a minute then it was gone,” Natsu rushed.

“What?” Loke asked, turning to Lucy, “a minute?”

“Time is nothing more than a river to the Celestial Spirit King,” Lucy told him, gesturing at the waterfalls behind them, “You saw what he can do with rivers. I told you, that shouldn't have happened.”

Happy huffed, hugging her, “You scared us! Disappearing like that, where are your manners?”

“That was a pretty awful move, trying to disappear like that,” Gray agreed.

They all surrounded her, touched her, squeezed her close, and she really was going to fly apart soon.

“Erza?” Lucy begged.

“Okay, okay, everyone, give her some space,” Erza said. Everyone stepped back, letting Lucy breathe for a moment.

Erza stepped forward and pulled Lucy into a hug that slammed her head against Erza’s breastplate.

Her atoms started to fly apart again, letting her stumble out of Erza’s grip, while simultaneously making her guildmates scream.

“I-I apologize for my rash action,” Erza stumbled, then threw herself forward in a waist bow. “Please! Hit me in retribution for causing you pain in your weakened state!”

“That would probably only make things worse,” Lucy said, feeling herself start to fade again, and hunching over to contain the pain.

“That’s your cue,” Loke said. “Don’t worry, I’ll explain.”

“But it’s better, right? You’re going to be okay?” Natsu demanded, looking at her, hand outstretched, “You promised it was going to be alright.”

Lucy couldn’t stop her smile, and reached out to briefly squeeze his hand. “Loke helped me keep that promise, but yes, everything is going to be alright.” Natsu gently squeezed her hand back, then let go with a nod. Trusting her.

She'd have to work hard to deserve that trust after all she had put Natsu through. 

She turned to Loke, and held out her other hand, “We don’t have time for a full contract right now, but I look forward to working with you, if you’ll have me.”

“Doesn’t sound like anything’s changing,” Loke said, shaking her hand, letting her press her key to him. “We’ll always be on the same team. And you’ll always be my friend Lucy first. Unless you prefer me to call you Leo.”

“I’ll respond to either,” she promised, leaving her key in his hand. She winked as she opened her gate, “And I like your shirt.”

He looked down and she laughed as she left Earthland for the first time in three years.

On his green shirt, “Leo” was printed in the bottom corner, and white lines and diamonds drew her stars.

           

 

 

“So, she really was a celestial spirit,” Erza said, folding her arms. “I never would have guessed. I still had trouble believing it, even after Levy showed us her book and Crux all but said it. At least until I saw her nearly disappear for myself.”

“But Lucy’s so normal looking,” Natsu said. “Aren’t your spirits supposed to have cool scales and claws and stuff.”

“Virgo’s normal looking,” Loke pointed out, leading them off the rock bridge.

“You say that, but I’ve seen her turn into a giant gorilla!”

“Virgo looks how she wants to look, so does Lucy,” Loke said, running his thumb over the beautiful metalwork of Lucy's key.

“Can I see it?” Levy asked. “Lu did a drawing of it on one of the pages from memory.”

Loke held it up, “What do you think?”

“That’s actually a bit too awesome of a design for Lucy,” Happy said, “Why is there a lion?”

“Levy mentioned that Lucy felt responsible for Aries because she was the leader, and the leader is the Lion,” Loke explained.

Happy scrunched up his face, “A lion is like a big cat, right? Does that mean I’m going to look like Lucy when I grow up? Gross! I’m never growing up.”

“You had plans to grow up before?” Gray asked, getting some chuckles.

Loke yawned as they set on the path back to Magnolia, “Okay, after we get back, no one is allowed to have a crisis for 48 hours. No guild wars, no curses, and no suicide attempts. If someone with a problem comes knocking, Gray gets to freeze them in cryostasis, and we will let them out after the 48 hours are up, and deal with it then. Sound reasonable?”

“Extremely,” Erza said, also yawning.

“Lucy sure is exhausting,” Happy said.

“When are you going to summon her?” Levy asked, “Because I really need to talk with her about her book.”

“Not until Friday at least,” Loke said, “She’s been away from the source of her magic for over three years, she’s going to need some rest before coming back to earthland again.”

“Hey, can I read her book next? I only got through one chapter, and it ends on the cliffhanger. You know a copying rune, right?” Gray asked.

“I would like one as well,” Erza said, “I’ve been curious ever since she refused to let us read it during our sleepover.”

Levy grinned, “Oh, I know the perfect punishment for Lu scaring us. Yes, everyone gets a copy of her book, and I’m going to spend the next 48 hours getting it published. I’ve got contacts in the publishing world that can make it happen. Thank you translation jobs! My copying runes are imprecise the more script they have to copy, but we can probably stop at the post office to make it happen.”

“Yeah, I’m sure the one you and Erza terrorized is still empty,” Natsu said with a smirk.

“Clearly we weren’t scary enough since it still took forever to get my package,” Levy huffed.

So they made a detour to the post office near his new apartment, and there were a couple employees after hours guarding the broken windows, but they fled at the sight of the fairies. It’s not like they were the ones that broke the windows, the workers and customers had jumped out of them rather than be headbutted, totally not their fault.

. . . Probably not the argument to use in front of a judge if someone did try to take them to court for damages.

Levy printed eight copies. One each for Loke, Erza, and Gray, two for her publishing contacts, one for Gramps and one for Mirajane, who were definitely going to want to read it, one to leave in the guild for anyone else who wants to read it. Levy kept the original for herself.

“She’s going to hate this,” Loke said, grinning tiredly at his copy, “I’m pretty sure she was glad to be dead before anyone read it, so she didn’t have to face people knowing the real her. I can’t wait to see her face.”

“That’s why it’s the perfect punishment, for scaring us and keeping secrets,” Levy said gleefully. “Since you lot are probably still exhausted, I’ll go give Master the good news that Lu isn’t dying today and his copy of her novel.”

“Levy, the depths of my heart know no bounds in my gratitude for you,” Erza said, bowing her head.

“He’ll probably want the full story tomorrow, so show up sometime, but until then, this should keep him satisfied,” Levy said, and waved goodbye before heading back up the hill towards the guildhall.

It was only nine o’clock at night, but it felt like so much later.

That might also be his magic exhaustion talking. He was pretty sure something weird was going on to let him summon that many spirits. And that was after all the magic he had spent hammering at Leo’s gate? Yeah, he wasn’t going to be up for another summoning for a while.

He waved off everyone and headed to Lucy’s apartment on Strawberry Street. Since Lucy was going to be sleeping in the celestial world, he felt no guilt taking the housing contract she had gifted him. He’d keep her stuff for when she wanted to hang out there.

Pseudo roommates?

Ehh, they’ll figure it out on Friday.

Of course, he had forgotten that his pajamas and all his food was back at his apartment, so that was a bummer. He ate one of Lucy’s yogurts for dinner, then stripped to his boxers, slipping beneath her covers. Soft, and it still smelled like her. He’d definitely try to work in the pseudo roommates thing going forward.

Loke’s hand reached under the pillow and found the crinkly piece of paper that had to be Lucy’s to-do list that could have saved them so much time and people so many concussions. He pulled it out and flipped the light back on.

Only for it to be written in a weird, hieroglyphic language.

“Typical,” he laughed. He pulled his key pouch to his chest and snuggled into a very, very long sleep.

Notes:

You did it, you amazing folks really did triple the quota I challenged for you each time, thank you so much! Please don't ever feel shy about leaving a review, whether it's a string of emoji's or incoherent or rambling words citing what you liked in the chapter/story, I'll love it. You rock!

Here it is. Levy finally got to read her book, Erza's hugs continue to be the biggest danger of being her friend, Natsu gets to come off panic mode, and Gray and Happy gave Lucy the scolding she deserves. Loke shouted down heaven and heaven answered. Lucy finally let herself cry about everything, and let her friends take care of her for once instead of always taking care of them. Now they all have a future.

I realize I could have diverted a bit more from canon and it would have been a good story, but I used this chapter to set up so many things for what happens next, I'm super pleased with how it turned out. Everyone can breathe now, and get a good night's sleep tonight, we earned it.

Let me know what you think! And use this chapter to guess what my day job is, lol.

Stay safe,
thecagedsong

Chapter 41: PART II: Spirit and Wizard

Lucy slipped through her gate into the celestial world. All the vitality she had spent three years feeling slip away returned to her like the assertion of gravity. She was falling into herself. Magic filled her every pore and atom. She fell to her knees, trying to take it all in.

Was this what it was like to not be in pain?

The tears came back, but not the messy sobs of before, and she didn’t try to wipe these away. They fell onto the orange grass as she breathed in the white drawf blossom scented breeze.

In the distance, she heard a true celestial waterfall.

Looking down at her very solid hands, Lucy lit her fist with starlight, just because she could. She breathed in deeply, and celestial magic refilled the tiny sliver of her magic container that she had been using to light her fist.

She didn’t remember ever being this full. Full. Full. Full.

And so Tantalus drank from the spring and ate of the fruit and was sated.

She fell back on the grass and breathed.

“Leo!” came a shout Lucy never thought she would hear again. Lucy sat up and Aries flung herself into Lucy’s arms, crying.

“Hush now, baby girl, everything is going to be alright,” Lucy said, hugging her back.

“But-but, it was my fault, I’m so sorry, so, so sorry!” she cried.

“No apologizing. It’s not your fault, and it will never be your fault,” Lucy said, “I have no regrets. Except that I couldn’t find you in the human world. Your new wizard, how are they?”

Aries wiped at her eyes and after sniffling a bit more, she said, “My wizard, she’s-she’s fine, though a little scary to other people. She’s professional with me. Her requests are reasonable. I-I made sure to use the default contract this time. Sorry.”

“Good girl, I’m so glad,” Lucy murmured, petting her hair. “I’m so proud of you. You did so good.”

“I’m-I’m over 200 years old now,” Aries sniffed, “You don’t have to keep treating me like a baby.”

Despite being a recognizedadult among spirits, she leaned into Lucy’s petting.

“Is that right?” Lucy cooed, “Sorry I missed your birthday. We’ll just have to have a celebration this year to make up for it.”

“You, you turned 700, right? That’s a big one too,” Aries said, pulling away and drying her eyes again.

“Hmm, 702 passed this month,” Lucy mused. The longest three years of her life. She shook her head, “We’ll celebrate my 700th this coming year too, what are they keeping the exchange rate at?”

Libra, Horologium, and the Celestial Spirit King work together to set the time differential between the celestial spirit world and earthland. Libra can determine the best balance that benefits the most spirits, Horologium is needed to set the stream in the castle clocktower, and the Celestial Spirit King uses his foresight before approving any changes.

Lucy licked the air, usually the easiest way to tell the current exchange rate, but couldn’t quite figure it out. Had it been so long she had forgotten how to do this?

“I’m sorry, but I think you should guess,” Aries said, with a small smile.

Well, that was a challenge.

Lucy walked away from the Gates, and instead of crossing the nearby bridge. She climbed down to the river and sipped some of the Milky Way from her cupped hand.

“I…don’t think I’ve ever tasted this time differential before,” she said. Eyebrows furrowing, she took another sip, “It’s very slow, but…no way, is this a 1.5:1?”

Aries laughed, “I’m sorry, but you’re close, it’s actually 2:1. Two days here for one day on earthland. First time I’ve ever felt it. It’s just for today, so everyone gets a chance to welcome you back, and so people can plan their drinking not to have to work with hangovers. They are setting up the party right now! I asked to be the one to greet you, and delay you while Pisces and the Sisters finish setting up. I’m sorry if I wasn’t the first one you wanted to see.”

“Oh Aries,” Lucy said, going to give her another long hug. “Of course you were the first one I wanted to see. I’ve thought about you almost every day I was away, hoping you were okay and not blaming yourself.”

“That’s what Aquarius told me,” Aries sniffed, “She said, she said that you would be insulted if I blamed myself for your choices, that I had to woman up and stop crying. It…kinda helped.”

Oh yeah, Lucy had gotten that phrase from Aquarius a few times herself.

Well, at least Aquarius will never know how much Lucy has always looked up to her. Probably. Lucy would might have to threaten Loke to never talk about her admiration for the mermaid in the future when she inevitably slipped up and he noticed.

Wait. No. Loke was her wizard now. Could she casually threaten him like she did all her Fairy Tail friends? Aquarius did it, but she was Aquarius, you expected her to be contrary. Lucy would have to test the waters when Loke summoned her to figure out where they stood on wizard/spirit vs. friend/friend.

Though her crush on him definitely had to go, no way in hell was she dating her wizard after everything that just happened.

Oh, this was going to be so confusing.

“What’s the typical exchange rate lately?” Lucy asked.

When she left, it had been 1:30, probably because their contracts with Karen were so terrible the timekeepers were trying to speed through Karen’s lifespan. Instead it just felt like there was no break from Karen’s tyranny as they were summoned multiple times a day.

“1:7,” Aries said, and Lucy nodded. That was a pretty typical exchange rate ever since Fiore had become the country with the majority of keys and adopted the seven day-week. It was especially useful when there were lots of active contracts, so you could schedule just for certain times of the celestial day and have the rest to yourself without being on call.

There had been ages where the contracts and wizards were so joyful they kept the exchange rate at 1:1. They must have really missed her to make it 2:1. Or really needed extra time to set up for the party.

“Any sign of Capricorn?” Lucy asked.

Aries shook her head, “No, he’s been gone since long before you left. He must still be off continent.”

Lucy hesitated, then nodded, “Okay, I’ll buy that.”

For now. She would have to visit the archives soon to check on Capricorn’s active contracts, something wasn’t right about it.

“So, have I been delayed long enough to finally enjoy my welcome back party?” Lucy asked.

Aries shook her head, “I’m sorry, but just a couple more minutes. Do you want to visit the Closet first?”

“Great idea,” Lucy said, wrinkling her nose at the resort sweater and jean skirt she had chosen to die in. What had she been thinking?

Right, she hadn’t. She’d been too busy being in pain to think about what she was wearing aside from covering her hands as necessary.

They both vanished and reappeared at the Closet, and Lucy couldn’t stop grinning at the celestial spirit clothing. Beautiful.

She didn’t think she wanted white the strapless dress she had rocked Before, but she had certainly missed the quality of these clothes.

She dove right in. What would Loke like to see her wear?

No. No crush. No feelings.

Combat. He was going to have her in plenty of fights, if he kept running with Natsu, Gray, and Erza. They never took jobs without some combat element. Black boots with a golden stripe at the top, leggings under a blue pleated short skirt. Free movement plus some sight obstruction of her hips. Shirt was sleeveless, black with blue and white stripes across the bust, and a star in the middle. And…black fingerless gloves that went down past her wrist, covering wrappings for extra support when she had to throw a punch.

As she was getting dressed, she paused at the bracelets and anklets she had worn for three years to cover her actually using her power. She had pretended to be a holder type so no one looked too closely at her golden lion magic circles.

Simple cuffs she had slipped on one day and never taken off, they had never actually been enchanted.

Funny how much they looked like restraints.

She grabbed one bracelet and crumpled it in her fingers, tearing it apart with her renewed lion strength. Then another.

Each one tore away with a squeal, the shoddy earthland metal no match for her here.

“Leo? Are you okay in there?” Aries called.

“Perfectly fine,” she said, smiling, and dumped the scrap metal in the trash. It landed with a satisfying clank. She got dressed and tied her hair into Leo’s ponytail at the top of her head.

When she’d been delirious with pain and waiting to die, she had wanted her tail back. She could either get it back by spending a lot of time in the celestial realm, (not going to happen while Loke was her wizard) or visiting the Cauldron.

Hmm, maybe one day. Her tail did help with balance, but she felt pretty human right now, the Cauldron might not even respond to the request. Better not shock Fairy Tail with too many changes too quickly.

She looked pretty darn good the way she was right now.

Lucy stepped out, loving the feel and support celestial clothes gave her. “What do you think?”

“Different from your dress,” Aries said, “Are you expecting a lot of fighting?”

“Kind of,” Lucy said with a grin, “It’s not the perfect outfit yet, I’ll probably change it up a couple more times, but my wizard’s a bit…danger prone, let’s say. I can tell he’s going to need this side of me.”

“I’m sorry, but is that what you’re going to wear to your welcome back party?” Aries asked.

Lucy blinked, “That’s right! Ballgown time!”

She threw herself back into the closet and headed for he ballgown section. Then for the pink section. She found a dress that was perfect, though it was buried way in the back. All the bows and frills she couldn’t afford in the human world, looking classy and covered up, multiple skirts and off the shoulder. Probably the last time she was going to wear something non-combat friendly for a while, might as well go all out.

Though this was something like what Emily Durre and the other rich girls Loke ran away from would wear.

No, don’t care about what Loke thinks. Just like she wouldn’t care what Natsu or Gray would think about what she’s wearing.

Lucy thought she would look pretty, that’s what mattered.

She put it on and loved the way it flattered her figure. She left in Leo’s ponytail, she had missed wearing it. Pulling her hair up this high and tight with earthland hairbands had given her a headache, but no such problems with celestial clothing. Boots stayed, but punching wraps were replaced with delicate white gloves.

Lucy wasn’t sure what to do about her guildmark, and didn’t want questions right now.

“Okay, ready!” Lucy said, bursting out of the closet a second time.

“You look very pretty,” Aries complimented. She had changed into her own party clothes, a longer white dress that made her almost look like an adult.

“You too,” Lucy said, “Can we go to the party yet?”

Aries nodded, smiling. Lucy held out her arm so they could escort each other.

They reached main pavilion, and the Sisters and Pisces had really gone all out on the decorations. Banners and ribbons, dwarf stars and crystals, the decorations were twirled and twined around the stone columns and pavilions without every blocking the celestial world sky. All the effort made the usually beautiful Celestial World shine.

“You guys,” Lucy said, tears starting again.

“Welcome back, Princess,” Virgo said, stepping forward with a flower crown and a smile. Lucy laughed and threw herself into hugging the maid spirit. The party began with Lucy crowned and it seemed like the entire spirit world had turned up. Hundreds of Niccola (even her special own pet Plue! He was so excited he was shaking the whole time), and every zodiac except Capricorn. Then there were the silver spirits: Aquila and Anila, Cygnus and Cetus, everyone. Even her little brother, Leo Minor.

Hugs and stories and memories and laughs, all combined with the floaty feeling of having her power restored. Full. Full. Full.

Then there was Aquarius.

“Admit it, you missed me,” Lucy said, grinning at the mermaid. “You wouldn’t have joined our wizard during the Court if you didn’t.”

“Don’t get too ahead of yourself,” Aquarius snorted, folding her arms and glaring, “Do you know how much work I’ve had to do picking up your slack while you went off to play martyr? And training a new Leo would be an enormous pain I would also have to do, especially with Capricorn away.”

“You can’t fool me,” Lucy sang, wagging a finger at her, “You like me. You’ve had me going for the past seven hundred years, but you liiiiike me. You miiiiiissed me.”

“You know what? I take it back,” Aquarius snarled, “Exile was too good a fate for you.”

“Nope, no taksies-backsies!” Lucy laughed. She wasn’t sure if she was drunk on the magic or the alcohol. Then Scorpio appeared with drinks for him and his girlfriend.

“What are you ladies chatting about?” Scorpio asked, handing Aquarius her drink and giving Lucy a one-armed hug.

“Just asking Leo if she had found time to date while in the mortal world,” Aquarius said cutely, placing her hand possessively over her boyfriend, “I just want her to be as happy as we are.”

“And, there it is,” Lucy said rolling her eyes with a smile. Scorpio hadn’t been fooled by Aquarius’s sweet act since before Lucy was formed, and he was only a little older than Lucy herself. 

Scorpio loved to see Aquarius try it anyway, he thought it was both hilarious and sweet. He loved her wild side.

Didn’t stop Aquarius from glaring at Lucy when she didn’t play along.

“No, I was rather busy dying,” Lucy said, “It didn’t seem quite fair to fall in love with someone when I never knew how much longer my magic would sustain me. I mean, talk about awkward conversations when I start to fade from existence in the middle of a date!”

Now they both looked uncomfortable, and Lucy took immense pleasure from it.

“Well, now that that’s resolved, are you actually going to try dating someone?” Aquarius asked, voice sweet as sugar.

Loke’s smile flashed through her head, and she immediately shoved the thought away.

Smiling as wide as Aquarius, Lucy said, “Not for a while, I’m still trying to figure out how being stuck in the mortal world changed me. You know how spending too much time with mortals can mess with you. I need some time to focus on myself before dating.”

“Well, you’ve always been an expert at that,” Aquarius said, “When you get a minute, there’s some of paperwork on your desk that you need to take care of, Pisces and I got a little behind.”

“I’ll take care of it,” Lucy promised through her smile. It was nothing less than what she had expected. “Oh, I haven’t greeted Lyra yet, I’ll talk to you later. It’s going to be so fun, having the same wizard again.” It had been three hundred years since they had shared a wizard, and the break wasn’t nearly long enough.

“Welcome home, the place wasn’t the same without you, that’s for sure,” Scorpius said, raising a toast to her.

“Oh, one last thing,” Aquarius said, “Please tell me you did not purposefully pick that dress. Because that would make everything about your return relatively pointless.”

Lucy looked down, then back up, “I just found it in the Closet. Was it made for someone special?”

“You know…” Scorpio said, looking closely at her. Aquarius put a hand on his arm, pulling him back.

“Don’t,” she said softly, “It’s better that she doesn’t know.”

Scorpio hesitated, then nodded. Aquarius shot her a look that promised she would regret it if she asked about the dress.

Lucy put a hand on her chest, and gasped, “You know, sometimes I forget just how old you are Aquarius. You probably know where every article in the Closet came from. I hope one day you’ll teach me the secrets of old age.”

Scorpio started laughing, while Aquarius fumed.

“You really are something else, you are,” Scorpio chuckled. “I’ll give you one hint. Don’t get exiled again, you’ll live longer.”

Lucy laughed and walked away, leaving Scorpio to tease his girlfriend. The only zodiac spirits older than Aquarius were Pisces and Capricorn, though you couldn’t tell by maturity levels. A some of the silver keys were older, but that didn’t comfort Aquarius whenever Lucy took pot shots at her age.

Lyra sang for the second half of the party, and Lucy was proud that she only cried half the time. The songs were so happy!

Finally all the food was eaten, the games played and stories shared on both sides.  With 12 hours remaining of their 2:1 day, they were shooed out so Phoenix could finish clean up.

Lucy walked past her neighbors in the Lion’s house street. Ursa Major and Lynx waved back. She finally went to her home, found the only bed in the multi-universe that could best the one she left back at Strawberry Street, and fell asleep.

Notes:

Lucy's turn to sleep after her very exhausting day.

This is more of a prologue to part two than an independent chapter, but I loved writing the celestial world like this. For a while I considered making this a series and dividing up the three parts into different stories, but decided to keep it all one mega fic.

I'm using this drawing by toodramatic911 on deviant art as my reference for my description of Lucy's standard spirit form outfit, though with gloves. Isn't it lovely? Her party dress is the heartfilia pink dress from canon.

https://www.deviantart.com/toodramatic911/art/Lucy-Heartfilia-Outfit-Change-687816622

Let me know what you think!

Chapter 42: First thing's first

The next day, Lucy dressed in the outfit she had chosen before the ballgown, and felt the time differential resume its 1:7 beat and taste. Loke probably wouldn’t call her until the end of the week in the mortal world, so she had all morning to get some things in order.  

First was Taurus. She took the long way to his neighborhood and found him watering flowers outside his house.

“Leo, what mooves you and your hot bod over here?” he asked.

Lucy stepped up to him and yanked him down to her level by his cow bell, “Loke. Why is he fighting beside you with a close combat weapon?”

“Err…because that’s what he had?” Taurus said, not looking at her, but not struggling too hard either. Unsatisfying.

She shook him, “Next question. How many hours of practice with him did you get in before letting him join you in close combat?”

“I don’t really remember,” Taurus said, starting to sweat, “At least twenty.”

Not nearly enough, but not insignificant either, if he was telling the truth. Lucy let him go. “We are going to get him on a weapon that is at least mid range, with forty hours of training, before we let him near combat again. He is going to die of old age, got it?”

“Yes mam,” Taurus said, snapping her a salute. Then he grinned at her, “Have I mentioned how much I missed your dom-moooooo-neering leadership?”

Lucy rolled her eyes, “As long as you follow, I don’t care what you think about my leadership style. I’ll try to mention it to him when I’m summoned to make my contract, but if you are summoned first, go ahead and mention I’m getting him a celestial world weapon. Mid. To. Long. Range. I’ll fill out the acquisition forms later today.”

She turned to leave, but Taurus stopped her with a question.

“You really think you’re going to get him to old age? He’s reckless,” Taurus warned with a frown.

“Then we better take very good care of him.”

 Lucy disappeared and reappeared at her next destination. She had been planning to walk to enjoy the scenery she had missed so much, but Taurus would have kept asking her stupid questions, so fast travel was the better option.

“Grandpa Crux?” Lucy called, knocking on the library tower door where he lived.

 “Hmhum,” the old spirit said, opening the door a crack, then all the way. “Leo, my dear. How can I help you? Might I say, you’re looking wonderful today.”

“Thank you, I feel much, much better than I have for a long time,” Lucy said with a smile, stepping inside. She gave him a quick, gentle hug, which he returned much more firmly, before ushering her to one of the visitor’s desks.

“How can I be of assistance?”

“Two things,” Lucy said, “First: Capricorn. I need his current active contracts. I’m concerned about his absence and some things I learned about him in the human world.”

Crux nodded and flew up to gather the records she requested while Lucy took a seat.

He came back and laid Capricorn’s record book open on the table. Lucy looked through his contracts, and like she thought, he had two active ones. Layla Heartfilia’s bloodline descendants, and another current contract with a wizard named Zoldeo. Lucy knew she wouldn’t have approved a bloodline contract modification to a wizard that wasn’t…well, bloodline bloodline, and the Heartfilia were one of the few bloodlines left.

His contract with Zoldeo was base, with a modification for leaving if Layla Heartfilia’s descendants took up celestial magic.

Which Loke had. Capricorn was either in violation of contract, or something was keeping him from Loke beyond his own power to change.

Lucy flipped the book to the section on summonings, and all it had was Capricorn exiting his gate over eight years ago at Zoldeo’s call, nothing more recent than that.

There must be something wrong with the tracking spell on his gate, it might have stopped updating off continent. Fast travel in the celestial realm did have a distance limit, and the few times Lucy had been contracted to wizards living outside of Ishgar she had found it easier to use other gates closer to where her wizard was physically located and share a house with a foreign constellation.

It hadn’t stopped the gate usage tracking spells when she did that though, just included a different notation if she was using a gate/residence in a different part of the skies. Capricorn was an Ishgar constellation, the records would be kept here no matter how he entered and exited the realm for administrative purposes.  

It was possible Capricorn had shut down the spell himself for privacy purposes. Though . . . he hadn’t filled out the paperwork to stop summoning recordings, she hadn’t catalogued that anywhere in Capricorn’s file. Capricorn’s last exit had been around the time Karen came into Aries key, so she’ll admit she wasn’t paying the best attention to the low-drama goat, but she hadn’t fallen behind on her paperwork until she had Switched.

Even if there was missing paperwork regarding the privacy request to shut down the tracking spell, Capricorn would have been required to submit yearly reports about the gate’s use for maintenance reasons.

Something was going on, but there wasn’t much she could do unless Capricorn called a Court, asking her to interfere and rule on the contract discrepancy.

Leo could try Switching places with him, the way she had done for Aries, but…Capricorn wouldn’t like that. He was the most stickler for the rules among them, and she shouldn’t use the Switching power unless she asked him for permission in the celestial world first or she had more information to justify it.

Not to mention it would be all on her own power in the mortal world again, and she flinched away from going back to that state so soon.

Logically, she knew it wouldn’t hurt at all for the first week at least, if not more after expanding her own magic container while in the mortal world, and there’s no way resolving Capricorn’s issue would take longer than a few hours before she could switch back.

Emotionally, she couldn’t convince herself that switching wouldn’t be the equivalent of the pain she had just left.

Then there was the fact that she would be leaving adventure-seeking Loke alone so soon after making a contract with him, when he still needed more magic and combat training. That would require additional arrangements and dangers.

 A year. One more year, with the Zodiac on the look out for the old Sea Goat. She would ask the Canines to check the tracking spells to see if there was a mistake on that front. If nothing turned up, then she would switch and find out what was happening before switching back. 52ish days in the celestial world, and 52 weeks in the human, assuming the time differential remained 1:7 going forward. She pulled her calendar from her pocket, the one she picked up from her house (it automatically adjusted to the time differentials) and marked the day.

She also marked three weeks before to make arrangements with Loke. Loke might even be willing to help track down the Sea Goat after she figured out where he was, it seemed like his kind of adventure.

Lucy closed Capricorn’s book and handed it back to Grandpa Crux, thanking him.

“And the second thing, my dear?”

“And the second thing,” she repeated, wagging a finger at him, “Is a warning. This is me scolding you for violating my privacy in order to help my friends come find me. Bad. Now, don’t do it again, and we will be—”

Crux chuckled, and turned it into a cough, “I’m sorry, Miss Lucy Leo, but I’m afraid I have no idea what you’re talking about. I haven’t violated any privacy laws.”

Lucy raised an eyebrow, “I was going to let this go with just a warning, but if you’re going to insist on your innocence, we’re going to have to keep talking. They had my manuscript, but I purposefully used the pseudonym of Chrissy Nightingale, a made-up wizard that might have ties to the Nightingale bloodline that died out a hundred years ago, and a made up guild, to protect Karen’s privacy while obscuring several other key details.

“Loke said that it was you and my manuscript that led them to looking for Karen’s grave. The only thing I didn’t provide was the identity of the wizard. So the identity must have been supplied by you. You know that you are forbidden from revealing the name of previous contract holders, alive or dead, without my permission to anyone.

“Only the Celestial Spirit King, or Capricorn, Aquarius, and Pisces, should they be acting together in my stead, can access that information without my consent. So, please, explain how you did not violate our privacy laws.”

Lucy did not like the twinkle in his eye.

This was gonna hurt.

“You are aware, I presume of the updated code that supplanted many of the old privacy laws three hundred and eighty years ago, yes?” Crux said cheerily.

Lucy nodded slowly, really not liking where this was going.

“You might not be aware that only certain relevant sections had been replaced, leaving a few of the older code provisions still active and applicable.” Crux fetched two books for her, the more recent law book, and the older law book. He started with the one she was more familiar with and opened up to the 70-100 section where they kept the privacy laws, and handed it to her, “Please confirm for me if section 84 was supplanted by the new code.”

Lucy really didn’t want to see the end of this. But if there was a loophole, she needed to know about it before she made this mistake again. She read over the section header, and sure enough, Sections 73, 84, and 91 had not been supplanted by the new code, and there was a footnote to review the previous code for those laws should they be applicable.

Why couldn’t they have just copied and pasted the unrepealed sections like normal people? She was pretty sure almost all the other sections that were unchanged had been copied over. Capricorn had led the committee on the revision of the lawbook, but she did the final review.

Why didn’t she insist on it back then?

Wait, there had been some things she allowed to be left footnoted references, things the committee and herself assumed would never be relevant and therefore didn’t focus their energy on either repealing or modifying.

“Section 84 in the older version of the code is still good law.”

Crux handed her the second, older law book, and she took a deep breath before turning to section 84.

Lucy immediately slammed the old codebook shut.

Heat crawled up her face, “That’s preposterous, I would never…he’s a celestial wizard, by the Stars!”

“You must understand, my research showed that you not only engaged in an amorous embrace, but a romantic kiss with the Celestial Wizard Loke Heartfilia, not twenty-four hours prior to his requesting personal information on you.” Crux instructed professionally, as though this was any other part of the law.

But there was a twinkle in his eye that said he knew exactly what he wss doing.

“Please stop,” Lucy begged, covering her face with her hands.

“—Under Section 84, romantic partners are given limited access to typically private information, such as the names of current contract and debt holders. While your contract with Karen was broken, your exile was paying the debt owed—”

“Stoooooooop.”

“—to that broken contract and consequently Karen. Therefore, it was information accessible to your romantic partner, should it be properly requested. Loke properly requested the information. No laws have been broken.”

Lucy waited a few seconds, then cracked her fingers apart to look at Grandpa Crux’s eye-twinkling smile. “Are you done?”

“Oh, I believe I am finished embarrassing you for today, little Missy,” he said with a laugh. “Maybe next time you’ll check your legal references before accusing me of breaking celestial code.”

“You could give Fox a run for his money, you crafty old coot,” she said, finally dropping her hands, willing the heat in her face away. “To be clear, as of creating a contract with Loke, he is never to be considered my romantic partner again. Especially since, according to Section 8, it is illegal for spirits and wizards to have romantic entanglements.”

“Really?” Grandpa Crux said, “Because I believe that not only is section 8 merely the outline for the base contract, and the provision you are referencing is meant to protect the spirit from being subject to unwanted romantic advances.

“Or perhaps you meant to refer to sections 45, 46, and 49, which are much more on point for your argument, as they discourage seeking after romantic relations with your key holder or your spirit as they can interfere with the working relationship. Those provisions were never intended to supercede Eternal Law One, as you are well aware.”

“I thought you said you were done embarrassing me,” Lucy whined, cheeks pink, “And I just got back to the Celestial World after nearly breaking Eternal Law Two, Eternal Law One is not going to happen. Especially since I intend to follow 45, 46, and 47 to the spirit and the letter. And you know Loke is a playboy, he’ll have had a romantic hug or kiss with a girl in the previous 24 hours on any given day anyway.”

Grandpa Crux shrugged, “My intention was merely to advise the Lion, as I have been tasked to do since the first Leo took up the mantle. And I will be adding to my personal records that our King granted mercy likely because he was coming close to violating Eternal Law One himself. Anything else I can help you with?”

“Yes!” Lucy said eagerly, “Please bring me my own file. I made some promises in the human world that I would like to have a quick summary of. I assume you still kept track, despite my exile? Only way you could have known about . . . the other things. Though I’m kinda surprised you did.”

The last part came out a bit more vulnerable than she liked. But this was Crux, everybody’s grandfather. He had seen Aquarius through her shifting forms and watched Leo's first Regulus Impact. If she couldn't be a little vulnerable with him, then she couldn't be vulnerable with anyone.

Here and now, the ancient spirit brushed a hand over her cheek, waiting until he had Lucy’s full and unflustered attention.

“My dear, I kept a very close watch of you. If there is one thing you can learn from these dusty records, it is that miracles do happen, and they happen because of love more often than not,” Crux said fondly. “You have far too much love in you, spilling out towards everyone around you, not to have earned a miracle. And I was right.”

“I love you too, Grandpa,” she said, holding his hand in place for a second before letting it go. “Still not happening between me and Loke.”

Crux chuckled and took back the law books and Capricorn’s file, then brought back her own. She wrote down everything she had active in her calendar book.

She was right, her contract with Fairy Tail as one of their wizards was binding on her until properly dismissed and her mark removed. Good to know. Some of her other earthland promises were also recorded. By the time she finished a few minutes later, Grandpa Crux had already fallen asleep.

Lucy closed her file, replaced it among the shelves, and tiptoed to the door to the archives to leave the old man to his nap.

Next was the backlog of paperwork that Pices and Aquarius had left. She would work on that until Loke called her to make a contract.

Though . . . maybe the base contract would need some adjustments for her and Loke’s relationship. She’d make some edits first.

Notes:

Lucy takes care of her affairs in the celestial world, and Crux knows what's up.

I really wanted to put in Loke and Lucy making their contract this chapter, but it was too long so it got split into two. (I can't keep posting massive chapters or you guys are going to catch up to edolas before I finish it, lol.)

Also, it might border on plaigarism if I don't give a shout out to RicardianScholar Clark-Weasley on Fanfiction.net for the story "Tales of Fairies". Seriously, one of the best fanfic authors I've read. It's a very long collection of one-shot AUs, prompts, and explorations that I cannot recommend enough.

Nalu is pretty prevalent in the stories, so that might not be all you Lolu fans' cup of tea, but if you want to know what Erza's, Loke's, Levy's, Gajeel's, Gray's, and Mavis's Magic Council mandated therapy sessions were like (which I know you do), you should still check the chapters with the title "x goes to therapy". Also highly recommended as inspirational for this fic is #17 Everyone invades Lucy's home and #354 A Celestial Mage's Charisma.

Just make sure you have a good adblocker on or are using an app before heading back over to ffn, it's having some issues.

Chapter 43: Contract

Far too long later, with still way too much paperwork left, Lucy felt the summoning begin to echo and popped over to her gate.

She took a single moment to admire how pretty the golden archway was from this side, before jumping through. Lucy reveled in the dematerialization and rematerialization sensations, but especially the moments in between when she was simply her own pure soul essence.  

Lucy landed on a very familiar bed.

“So, I decided to take you up on the apartment thing. That’s still an offer, right? Even though you’re not dead?” Loke asked, standing in front of her with a smile.

“I did that for your health,” Lucy teased, “And seeing how I’m not exactly going to be using it, I would be honored if you took it over.”

“I wasn’t planning on getting rid of anything,” Loke said, “Just adding my things that aren’t complete trash, so feel free to make use of any of your things. When looking for clues, we found a couple of unopened presents that you are more than welcome to make use of.”

Lucy tilted her head, trying to remember any unopened presents she had been keeping.

Her eyes went wide.

“You opened them!” she squeaked.

“To be precise, Erza opened them. In front of everyone,” Loke said.

Lucy grabbed her pillow and curled up, face hidden. Her teammates were absolute nightmares.

When she had the nerve to look up again, she glared, “You opened dusty presents tucked into the deepest part of my closet, but didn’t look under the pillows?”

Loke shrugged, still grinning. “Wouldn’t have been able to read your weird language anyway.”

“Levy could read it,” Lucy huffed. “It would have told you exactly where I had gone to die.”

“Meticulous to the very end,” Loke said, shaking his head. He bounced onto the bed beside her, “So, being the meticulous woman that you are, does that mean you already have an idea about how you want our contract to work?” He picked up a green notebook and a pen. “I assume you want the base, so we just need to figure out what days you’re free.”

Lucy cleared her throat, “Uhh, actually, I have a couple of modifications to the base I’d like to make.”

She pulled the revised contract from her pocket and held it out to him. “Just some simple things, I have some promises I made over the past three years that I will need to temporarily suspend our contract to fulfill, and some requests I’d like to make of you. I crossed out some things that we don’t need. All open to negotiation, of course.”

Loke took the papers, amused, “Been a while since I held a paper copy. Horologium, I think, as my second spirit. Aquarius had simply growled at me that she was only available Wednesdays before leaving. All the others verbally agreed to use the base and we just discussed schedules and summoning specifics. Give me a minute.”

“Take all the time you need.”

“Thanks,” he said, not looking up.

Lucy wandered to the closet to see that he had indeed kept all her clothes, simply moving his stuff in alongside hers. The bathroom had her old products tucked under the sink, while his took up the cabinet and shelves. Both their towels were hanging up.

The kitchen was actually stocked now, with all kinds of food, including yogurt. She grabbed one and popped it open. The spoons in the same place she kept her silverware, the contents of the drawer doubled with his silverware added.

Well…adding maybe half a full set. Boys.

Grinning, she tried the yogurt, and tasted the fruit flavors this time, instead of just the cool texture. Peach. Deli—Lucy made a face.

Her throat tightened and she gagged on the yogurt, spitting it out in the sink and scrubbing her tongue. No wonder everyone had looked at her weird for only eating it. That was nasty.

Being here and using Loke’s magic, to sustain her opened her senses to what a human would experience while here. She found a candy bar to munch on instead, sighed with chocolate pleasure, and wandered over to her desk.

Loke had added his few books to hers and included a picture frame of Layla Heartfilia herself. Loke really did take after his mother. The eyes were his father’s, dark brown instead of Heartfilia golden brown, but the orange hair, the dimpled smile, delicate chin, high cheekbones, they were all Layla Heartfilia.

“Okay, got a couple of questions,” Loke said.

“I figured.” Lucy replaced the picture and sat back down next to him

“Let’s start with your contracted days,” Loke said, pointing at that section. “You listed every day, and every time. That’s really not going to work. You gotta reserve some time to yourself.”

Lucy pretended to think about it, scrunching up her face, then said, “No, I really don’t think I do.”

“Lucy.”

“Loke.”

“Come on, didn’t everything start to go wrong for Aries because she didn’t set proper boundaries?” Loke asked, putting pen to paper.

“Loke,” Lucy said, using her hand to cover his, stopping him from altering the section, “You were willing to die for me. You are still willing to die for me. And I’m a bit attached to Earthland right now. Should you need me, one o’clock Monday morning to get you home after a Fairy Tail party or six o’clock Friday night when you get ambushed on the train, I want to be there."

She blushed and moved her hands to her lap, not looking at him, “To be clear, I kind of want to be there for everything. For guild events, like Fantasia and the Endurance Run. For goofing off and going on jobs. So no, I refuse to create a time I can’t be there for you. Except for the times I literally can’t, like in section 10.”

“Section 10 is fine,” Loke said, “But you’re going to get tired of me eventually. It will take longer for you to get tired of me if you have known time off.”

“How about this,” Lucy said, turning to the end of the contract. “You agree to meet my requests for time off, without question or reservation, when I ask for it. And I can ask for it four times a year, for up to a week each time. And this is outside of my other breaks in Section 10. Is that satisfactory?” she said, turning the contract back over to him.

Loke frowned as he read what she wrote, then looked back at her for any sign of weakness.

He sighed, “Why do I feel like this is the best I’m going to get from you?”

“Because it is,” she said sweetly.

Loke scrunched his nose, “Fine, but they weeks off can be back to back if you want and roll over if you don’t use them all in one year.”

Lucy sighed, “If you insist.”

“I do,” he said, adding in the terms to the contract.

“Okay, next section,” Loke said, “What’s this about taking up mid-range weapon training?”

Lucy scowled at him, “What the hell made you chose a short sword as your weapon of choice? Not even a saber, a short sword! Do you know how ineffective that is to use with Spirits? Not only do most of us outspeed you, but it will horribly divide our attention between the people we are fighting and every blade that comes within five feet of you. Since your sword is only three feet long, that’s all of them. I read Taurus the riot act already.”

“Hey, I won that sword in a game of cards, and it was excellent for dispelling magic. Plus, swords are cool,” Loke argued. He folded his arms, “And I already have practice with swords. You’re asking me to change my entire fighting style.”

“No, being good at combat is cool,” Lucy corrected. “Not dying is cool. So I am going to help you pick out a midrange or distance ranged weapon from the celestial world armory, and you are going to put enough hours of practice in to become excellent at it before we join Natsu on another combat job.”

He pursed his lips, “Are you saying I can have a saber?”

“I’m saying you can have a bow,” Lucy emphasized, “You can have a glaive. Or a chain and sickle. Or throwing knives. Or a whip like most Heartfilias. Or a freaking gun. But you can’t. Have. A. Sword. Hell, I think we have a combat boomerang somewhere in the armory if you want it,” she said, remembering it. She shook her head, “Forge had a phase. But if you are going to fight beside me and the others, you are going to inflict damage in a way that doesn’t leave you vulnerable to being skewered.”

He frowned at her, unconvinced.

Lucy sighed, softening her voice. “I know there’s always going to be someone or something better than you, that will get past your guard occasionally, but you are going to give your spirits a chance to do something about that by keeping as many enemies as you can at a distance.

“You’ve started with a combat style that doesn’t work in concert with your magic. We can fix it now, or wait until you’ve sunk more time into the short sword and plateaued in your ability. A better supporting weapon for supporting your more combat oriented spirits that can take hits better is the smart move. This will let you defeat a greater number of enemies. The strength of your magic against other wizards is flexibility. You distract Natsu from a distance while Aquarius douses him perpetually? You win. I distract Gray with light refractions off his ice creations in close combat while you strike from a distance? You win.”

“And Erza?” Loke asked, raising an eyebrow.

Lucy laughed, “You think having a sword will help you against Erza?”

Loke’s mouth twitched in a half smile.

Lucy shook her head, “Some wizards are good because they are overwhelmingly strong in one area, and they use that strength to batter different types of magic into submission.  Dragonslayers, Juvia, how Gray uses his maker magic most of the time. Other wizards are good because they have the flexibility to counter great varieties of magic, letting them always pull out a trump card for the situation at hand. Most maker magic, celestial magic, and Levy' script. Erza.

“Erza needs a strong defense to survive one attack before the enemy needs to recharge? Adamantine. Needs to counter a specific elemental magic? Empress armors.”

“Erza’s also enormously strong,” Loke pointed out.

Lucy nodded, “Great wizards have elements of both. Natsu’s learned to use his flames to take to the sky and a few other tricks. Gray’s heavy focus on close range combat lets him test his opponents before he figures out the right ice-make to finish the job, while also giving him range options to pull out that his opponent might not expect. Erza’s immediate strength is in flexibility, but she’s also trained her strength to make that flexibility truly dangerous.”

He was thinking, Lucy could win this.

“But do you think Erza would be as good as she is if her primary training focus was on unarmed combat instead of weapon training?”

Loke frowned, “On the one hand, I don’t like you telling me that I can’t use a sword. You’re asking me to master a wholly new skill set as part of our contract. On the other hand, after the fight with Jellal, the magic dispelling runes on my sword fell apart anyway, and I really want to know what you have in the celestial armory for me to try.”

Lucy waited him out, not budging on this, and he finally sighed, “Fine. I’ll completely change my battle style. But I’m not turning down any jobs with our team, no matter how long it takes for you to decide I’m good enough.”

Lucy thought it over, and smirked, “Deal,” she said, and deleted that part of the contract with her editing pen.

Loke would wish he had just agreed to her terms soon enough.

“Okay, last question,” Loke said, surprising Lucy. She had done quite a bit to the contract, she had expected a lot more discussion. “You completely deleted section eight. I remember and am okay with the other sections you deleted or altered to make them at our option instead of automatic. I’m cool with those if you are, but I really just can’t remember what section 8 of the base contract was.”

“You’re joking,” Lucy said, turning pink. She had been hoping for a flirty smile and a wink before he agreed to that one.

He shook his head apologetically, “I can look it up, I keep my rule book nearby, but it’ll be quicker if you just tell me. If I don’t remember it, it’s probably something that never comes up, right? Like section 16, no sacrificing spirits in dark magic rituals. But I just can’t remember it.”

“You are seriously trying to kill me,” she complained, reaching for the pillow again. “It’s the…”

The corner of Loke's mouth twitched.

Lucy immediately started beating him with the pillow. “You bastard! This is why I crossed it out. I have to set an example, especially coming off my exile that barely missed breaking one of the three eternal laws, and if you weren’t such a huge flirt, it wouldn’t even be a problem!”

He was laughing as she continued to pelt him with her ridiculously soft pillows. Seriously where were the stiff resort pillows when you needed them?

A hard swing pushed him off the bed, unbalanced as he was from laughing.

The thump of him landing on her also very plush carpet didn’t stop his mirth.

Lucy glared at him, holding the pillow threateningly, leaning over him from her position still on the bed. “Apologize.”

He grinned up at her, “I apologize for being sooooo charming that you can’t help but flirt back. And I apologize that according to the strictest interpretations of celestial law, that behavior is deemed ‘initiating or pursuing romantic entanglements’ and therefore against the base contract. And I am sincerely sorry, that your only option is to cross it out of our contract completely—” she started hitting him again when he couldn’t finish for laughing so much.

Eventually she gave up on the pillow and turned away, huffing and holding the pillow tightly, and waiting for him to stop.

“Okay, okay, I’m done,” he said, climbing back onto the bed, “Obviously I’m okay with deleting section 8 completely.”

“Look, I’m going to be as clear as I can, okay?” she said, not looking at him and clutching the pillow tighter. “I’m holding you to the ‘nothing has changed’ bit. You don’t have to change your behavior, but I’m still not going to date a celestial wizard, especially not my wizard. Everything that happened before, it was emotions around me being about to die. Any relationship between us more than friends or spirit/wizard is not going to happen.”

“Got it,” Loke said, putting a hand on her shoulder, “Flirting like we have been, okay, but I will never ask for anything more. Can’t promise I won’t fall in love with you though, so let me know if you ever change your mind.”

“You’re too charming,” she promised, turning around with a small smile, “You’ll fall in love with a lucky someone who you deserve and can love you back.”

“I can wait for the day you realize it’s you,” Loke teased back.

Lucy rolled her eyes, but he knew her lines. He would fall in love with someone soon enough. It always happened with her celestial wizards. They were simply too loveable. 

“Well, anything else we need to discuss?” Loke asked, picking up the discarded papers. “I’m happy with the contract.”

She shook her head, “I'm happy. And we have a renegotiation clause, in case we do think of something.”

“Then we’re ready,” he said, picking up the pen and signing his name at the end.

Lucy took the pen and the contract, re-read it one more time in case he made an alteration and forgot to run it by her and confirming the changes they had made were clear and unambiguous.

Then she signed as Leo.

Their magic auras merged into a binding tie. All the reaching Loke had been doing for her since day one, she had finally been able to reach back once.

Now contracted, a thick line of magic connected them seamlessly.

“Great,” Loke said as the magical contract split to give them each a copy. He walked towards a sealed trunk she hadn’t noticed before, unlocked it, and placed their contract in it, next to his copy of the Celestial Law book.

Lucy put hers in her pocket to be filed with the rest of her active contracts.

“Mind heading to the guild before we start training?” he asked. “I think they still have some questions for you.”

“Sure,” she said, standing up. “And really, you have permission to get rid of my clothes and products and stuff. Anyone you bring over is going to think you’re living with a girlfriend.”

“Just a friend,” he said, walking out the door. “And I assume you’re going to want to crash any future team sleepovers, so might as well keep the stuff just in case.”

Lucy smiled.

 

 

At the guild, Loke watched Lucy’s face very carefully. He watched it twist in confusion, then pale in fear. She shot him a horrified look. He smirked as he pointed to Levy, who was sitting at the bar, chatting with Mirajane, a very special book open between the two of them.

A book also sitting at every other table in the guildhall.

“Levy! What did you do!” she yelled, rushing to her friend.

“That’s what you get for not giving me your manuscript right away, like you promised,” Levy said with a grin. “And there’s nothing to be embarrassed about, everyone really likes it.”

“Well, you did have a few run-on sentences that were hard to follow,” Erza said, dropping a load of stones on the ground near the makeshift bar, “But otherwise I agree with Levy. Your work is very engaging. And extremely vulnerable. Your emotions are so raw across the page.”

Lucy cringed into Levy’s shoulder.

“I was supposed to be dead,” she wailed, hiding her face.

702 years old, and she still whines like a thirteen-year-old.

“So, I take it the age and species difference hasn’t turned you off her then,” Gray said, coming up beside him.

Loke raised an eyebrow, “You read her book and didn’t fall in love with her? Not even a little?”

Gray shrugged, suppressing a small smile, “Never said that. But you’ve got to admit, she’s just as crazy as we always suspected.”

“And I believe this is you admitting that I was right, and the crazy ones are the only ones worth it.”

“Not ready to concede that part yet,” Gray said, “You draw up your contract?”

Loke couldn’t stop his grin, “Oh yeah. Go ahead and tell Natsu that literally nothing has changed.”

Gray raised an eyebrow, posing a question.

Loke raised his hands, “Never let it be said I pursued a woman beyond her own wishes. I don’t have to stop flirting with her, but she made it abundantly clear she won’t date me.”

“Clearly you’re still going for it,” Gray said, shaking his head, “Lucy kept secrets from Fairy Tail for three years, I think she’s too guarded for even you to crack. And a warning, if you two fight, I’m going to be on Lucy’s side. Because Erza will definitely be on Lucy’s side, and no one is worth being on the other side against Erza.”

“See, that’s the same kind of honesty Lucy and I have,” Loke grinned, holding out his hand for a fist bump, “I wouldn’t expect anything less from you.”

Gray rolled his eyes, but returned the gesture with a grin, “Maybe you two are crazy enough for each other.”

“Lucy! Lucy!” Natsu called, crashing into the area. Then he leaned in and sniffed her, “Wow, you really are a celestial spirit. There has always been a small hint of star stuff, like Loke’s keys, but it was covered up by a lot of other things. Now you’re full of it.”

“Is that a problem?” Lucy asked dangerously. Loke and Gray walked closer to join the group.

He smiled his toothy grin, “Nah, it smells good. Just gonna take a bit to get used to the different bits citrus and stardust. So do you turn into a cat?”

“Nope. I like this form,” Lucy said, gesturing to her body.

“Does this mean you’re stronger now?” Natsu asked, “Now that you’re not sick or cursed or whatever, are you stronger? Will you fight me?”

“Woah, hang on,” Loke said, “Lucy’s still recovering from almost dying and three years of having her life force sapped away.”

Lucy rolled her eyes, “In some ways I’m stronger, in some ways I’m weaker. I’ll need to test it out in actual combat first to really tell. The balance between the power Loke’s giving me and my own is different than what I’ve been using, so I’ll need to adjust to that in my fighting style. Then there’s the fact that I had to take just about any hit before, but now I have the option of going back to the celestial realm to heal, and sometimes that’ll be the smarter move so Loke can summon someone that has a better chance at continuing the fight. Still figuring it out. I’ll grow stronger as Loke grows stronger.”

Natsu leaned back and folded his arms, “You know, you’re kinda lame for being a celestial spirit. No claws, no animal fur. You sure Loke can’t trade you in for a dragon or something?”

Lucy appeared too affronted to even respond to that.

“What would you do with a dragon?” Happy asked.

“Fight it of course!” Natsu cheered.

Lucy snorted and turned back to her drink, “As if Draco would bother with fighting you.”

“Wait, so there really is a dragon celestial spirit?” Natsu asked, perking up. “Hey Loke! Let’s go track—”

“No.” Lucy said, slapping a hand over his mouth, “Draco nests in the far north, outside of Fiore, and you have to trek through an eternal blizzard to reach his lair, where he then sets you three impossible tasks. If you complete them, he will give you his key. But they are impossible, so you die trying instead. He’s a spirit, not a dragon like Igneel, so he won’t fight like Igneel, and he won’t know anything about Igneel. It is not worth the years it would take to claim his key. Do you understand?”

Lucy removed her hand, and Natsu pouted.

“That’s something I would usually have to ask Crux about,” Loke said, “You’re being pretty free with information now.”

“Draco isn’t trying to hide, he’s actually bored and wants someone to get his key, but refuses to back down from his impossible tasks because of pride. Since he’s not keeping it a secret from either world, he’s asked me to pass along the information,” Lucy explained. “Not to mention I needed to say it to keep Natsu from doing something stupid.”

Gray laughed, “Nothing has changed, has it?”

“Well, I wouldn’t say that,” Levy said, sliding a new set of papers towards Lucy, “So I pulled a couple of strings, and aside from the title, a few edits, and a demand for a sequel, I think I can get your book in the publishing process within two weeks. Thoughts?”

“Not agreeing to a sequel,” Lucy said immediately. “Sure, I have a bit of a story collection planned for Fairy Tail stuff, but those probably shouldn’t go anywhere but Fairy Tail archives. And an idea for a fiction novel, but that’s like, way down the line. With no idea how time is going to unfold, I can’t agree to anything binding my actions in the future.”

Levy nodded and made notes.

Lucy took a deep breath, then said “Levy, even though I’m alive, I gave you my manuscript, including all rights and royalties. So leave me out of any contracts. Full rights are yours.”

“Even edit approval?” Levy asked, raising one eyebrow and red marked-up manuscript.

They all watched Lucy still, her hands half reaching in what had to be a knee-jerk reaction to snatch her manuscript from prying hands.

“Yours,” she said, placing her hands back on the table.

“Really? Cause I think you’d be very interested to see the changes they want to make to chapter 19—”

“Don’t they dare touch that!” Lucy yelled, finally snatching the manuscript. “Jaiten, the new Aries, and the birth of Stella? That chapter sets up the entire rest of the book, and it took ages to find the proper balance of foreshadowing and emotion—what were they thinking of changing?"

“Well, you never did explain how the old Aries died,” Levy pointed out, “So they took what they knew of your likely death and added elements to his story. Filling in the blanks.”

“Oh yeah, that part confused me too,” Loke said.

“You mean you don’t know how stars die?” Mirajane asked, “I assumed you already knew everything celestial spirit-y that Lucy wrote about.” She also turned to Lucy and waved a finger in her face, “And don’t think I’ve forgotten how you lied to us then went off to die alone. Haven’t you learned anything in Fairy Tail? The next time something big is happening, you tell us. Got that Missy?”

Lucy flinched, “Yes mam.”

“As I was saying,” Mira turned back to Loke, “I thought you already knew all the celestial spirit stuff Lucy mentioned in the novel.”

Loke shook his head, “I didn’t know a lot, actually. She writes about a couple of spirits I’ve only vaguely heard about and I’ve never heard of any of the wizards she mentions, though maybe my mom mentioned the Heartfilia ancestors at some point. I recognized Aquarius and Taurus of course. Before Lucy, I didn’t think that celestial spirits could die.”

“Right,” Levy said, turning back to Lucy, “So how did the old Aries die?”

“It’s…you know…” Lucy struggled. “Like…guys! I was supposed to be dead!”

“But you’re not, thanks to Loke,” Mirajane pointed out. “So you can tell us.”

“Nope, not telling. I’ll change it to old age or something,” Lucy said, pulling out a pen. “It’s private, the death of a star. Not something you talk about, and spirits just know the reasons and respect it. He didn’t screw up like me, and it completely ruins his foil to the new Aries, changing his character completely, if they write he died of broken magic laws.”

“Aw, I hoped you were done with this boring writing stuff,” Natsu groaned.

Levy smacked his shoulder, “Lucy contributed more to this world with her work of art of than you can understand. Be supportive.”

“You didn’t read it?” Lucy asked.

Natsu shrugged, “Do you see how many pages you have on that thing? No thank you. You’ll tell me anything important, so what’s it matter?”

“I’ll save it for when I’m older,” Happy said, “When I’m old and fat like you, maybe I’ll be interested in it then.”

With a flash, Lucy scribbled across Happy’s forehead before going back to her book.

“Huh? Natsu? What did she do? What did Lucy do to me!”

“It says ‘Obnoxious cat’,” Loke volunteered with a grin.

“It’s what you actually are,” Lucy said, “You need a hell of a lot more magic before you come close to being a magnificent lion like me.”

“Wahh, you’re so mean!”

“You were mean first!”

“Okay Brats, I know we’ve had more than enough excitement these past few days, but we still have a guild to rebuild! Get to work!”

“Yes Sir,” they called back to Master Makarov, and went back to work rebuilding.

Gramps did call Lucy over for a private chat that ended with a hug.

Loke checked a couple of times to see if Lucy was flagging, ready to insist she rest some more in the celestial spirit world, but she waved him off every time, and maybe he was imagining it, but it kind of felt…across the strings of his magic, that Lucy was really happy. Not tired, just happy to be with everyone. And he would never stop that.

It also turned out he could sustain a gold key for a couple of hours, that was pretty cool to know.

Notes:

Finally we get to the contracting. And Lucy goes to the guild. Lucy may be all "No dating celestial wizards" but she also refused to put it in their contract, lol.

Chapter 44: Miss Fairy Tail

Lucy smiled beautifully as she popped another strawberry in her mouth, “You didn’t have to make pancakes for breakfast. You’re going to wish you had more room for food once all the street vendors have set up.”

“With you in the parade, I wasn’t sure if we’d get to hang out today,” Loke explained. “Plus Erza finally gave me the day off from training, so I had some extra time and energy this morning.”

“And a bigger appetite from all the training you’ve been doing, I’m sure,” Lucy said with a grin, looking very pleased with herself.

Loke glared at her, “I still can’t believe you told Erza I was switching weapons and I needed to be fully trained with a partner on it before taking a combat-based requests. You cheated. I should have just asked Erza for a saber.”

“You were able to hit a moving target last week with the chain and sickle, right?” Lucy said, “We can spar tomorrow. If your defense is good enough, we’ll take something more adventurous for the next job, I promise.”

Loke pouted.

“I’ll have to be careful not to get distracted by how cool you look using it,” Lucy teased. That made him feel a smidge better, even if he was just playing into her pretty little hands.

After going over a huge arsenal of weapons, he and Lucy finally settled on the sickle and chain, or Kusarigama. It had a weighted ball on one end of the chain that was swung with one hand or two. The chain swirled the weighted ball into a redirecting shield for defense. The sickle the chain was attached to was good for catching weapons and close combat attacks. The weighted ball could be swung to entangle weapons or enemies from a distance and was good for disarming or immobilizing while he went in for the strike with the sycthe.

 It did look cool. It could work in close combat if needed, while still primarily working in mid distance and defense to cover his spirit’s backs and keep them from being overwhelmed.

Plus Lucy promised an extendable chain once he mastered the basic one. Once they picked the weapon, Loke was excited to try it out on a job.

Then Lucy told Erza.

Lucy’s permission was all Erza needed to knock on his door, loudly and without remorse, every day at the crack of dawn. After being put through the ringer by Erza endurance wise, he’d spar with her and one of his spirits out.

After being exhausted by weapon training, he would spend the rest of the day helping rebuild the guild if they didn’t have a job, usually calling out a spirit to help for a couple of hours. Lucy most of the time, but Cancer, Virgo, or Taurus if it was one of the days he was determined to give Lucy a break.

Secretly, Loke was glad the biggest adventure they had  Phantom-Tower-Lucy was getting attacked on one of Lucy’s escort jobs or a client with a silly name they couldn’t laugh at. It was okay to have a break between adventures.

They kept Lucy’s spirit status a secret from her clients, just for fun.

“I still can’t believe we got the guild finished in time for Fantasia, I thought you were all joking when you set that deadline. Pass the syrup,” Loke said, joining Lucy at the table after placing their pancake stacks in front of them. “It takes five months to build a train station after the tracks are laid, you built a guildhall in two and a half.”

“Gajeel ended up helping cut a lot of time out of setting up the structural supports,” Lucy pointed out. “Only fair since he tore the place down.”

Gajeel hadn’t shown his face during the day construction, but Master’s instructions had them leaving bolts to be screwed in at the evenings that would be done by morning. They only learned it was Gajeel completing the ironwork parts when the guildhall was completed and they started planning the opening party.

When Gajeel had shown up, Loke had sized him up, and the iron dragonslayer sized him up right back. Gajeel looked away first, and Loke nodded to Lucy, getting her to stand down. Juvia vouched for him, and Gramps gave the okay. Natsu didn’t hesitate, and that was apparently all that was needed for the rest of Fairy Tail.

Remembering Gajeel's fight with Natsu, Gajeel probably should have signed up with Fairy Tail in the first place anyway.

“So . . . not that I’m complaining, but is the cheer outfit for a special occasion?” Loke asked, giving her a slow look over.

A red vest top with a gold fairy patch and a matching short skirt with bronze dance heels. Very cute.

“A bit of Fairy Tail fun we like to have the morning of Fantasia,” Lucy said, starting to eat faster herself, “Now hurry up so we don’t miss it!”

At the guild almost everyone was already there and in high spirits. People were practicing for their float performance, others were advising newcomers on the best stalls during the festival, and some were getting started on the alcohol early.

Loke was personally most excited when he saw the first planned event of the day: the Fairy Tail Ladies Beauty Pageant. Lucy’s name was the seventh contestant, and explained why she immediately vanished behind the stage area with a wink after they arrived.

“I mean, it’s a little insane to run against Mirajane, but I’m not going to complain,” Loke told Gray with a grin.

Gray raised an eyebrow, “You’d be surprised. Mira’s beautiful, of course, but the talent portion is what makes this a Miss Fairy Tail pagent. Some good magic can go a long way with this crowd.”

“Alright, is everyone ready to get started!” Max called out, the host for the event. Loke cheered with the crowd. Even Natsu yelled out that the contestants should fight each other.

Gray preferred his too cool to care vibe and didn’t react at all.

Some people just didn't know how to appreciate the good things in life.

First came Cana, who called a blinding shield of lightning before changing into a swimsuit behind it. Mirajane stepped up next, and she showed off her ‘Happy’ face, making Loke laugh even as the others lamented the lack of pin-up poses.

“I see what you mean,” Loke said to Gray, who grinned back, “Think she did it on purpose to let others have a chance to win?”

“Dunno, she likes to be unexpected.”

Then Erza came out, and Loke whistled as she danced through rapid full body requips. Her everyday went to Nightwing, to Purgatory, to bikini, to Lolita, and this was probably the only time she smirked at cat calls. Loke cheered his support, of course, as a friend.

A friend who knew how to appreciate a good costume change on a beautiful woman. Though it felt like something . . .  

“Oh, it’s a one round beauty pageant, probably to cut down on time for all the other events. It’s up to them to combine the bikini and talent portions,” Loke said, finally getting it.

Gray laughed, “If we told the girls there was a separate bikini portion, we’d get an earful. We tell them do what it takes to win . . .”

“They’ll show off anyway,” Loke finished, smirking. Brilliant idea, whoever thought of it.  

It also let the more modest girls have fun on stage. Levy scripted light, flowers, and butterflies behind her. The cheers for her were at least as loud as the others, if only because her two biggest fans made up any of the difference otherwise caused by the lack of bare skin.

Juvia, with her peppy new hair style, showed off her water body magic with a splash. Bisca came on, and her sniping coins in a bikini then catching them was ridiculously impressive.

Finally Lucy stepped onto the stage, hands holding ribbons of light to look like pompoms and cheer outfit in place. Six small balls of light jumped into place in a circle with her at the center. She struck an opening pose, one arm squared above her head, the other below her chest.

“You guys ready for a cheer?” she said with a wink as the crowd cheered for her.

Lucy threw up a music lacrima and flipped forward, her fairy lights pulsing outward in the star with the beat.

She landed and immediately jumped to do splits in the air, the lights streaking in outward arcs. Front to back splits. A double backflip into a crouch before she spang upwards and did a toe touch mid air.

“What’s the best guild?” Lucy cheered, cupping her hands to magnify her yell. She pointed to the crowd.

“Fairy Tail!”

Lucy did a cartwheel forward, lights rolling in the air with her. She landed, then spun around until she was on one knee. Hands at her mouth.

“What guild do you love?”

“Fairy Tail!”

 “I can’t hear you!”

“FAIRY TAIL!”

Lucy spun back onto her feet, lights flaring around her in an arch.

“What guild puts on the best Fantasia Parade?”

“FAIRY TAIL!”

“THAT’S RIGHT!” Lucy cheered back at top volume.

Lucy did another backflip, higher than all her other jumps, and her lights rushed in to cover her with a glowing sphere. Loke screamed as loud as he could with everyone else.

The sphere of light landed, the music cut. Feathered wings made of light unfurled to show Lucy standing, one hand at her chest, one in the air above her head, lit with her own light.

 “And don’t you forget it!” Lucy said with a wink.

The crowd roared. Loke knew who the winner should be.

Her light magic receded and Lucy took a bow to more applause.

“Oh boo-hoo,” a disgusted voice cut over the fading cheers,  “You think a little cheer and a light show is enough to earn the title Fairy Queen?”

A woman walked on stage wearing a green dress, long honey brown hair, glasses. Loke had never seen her before, and he thought he had clocked all the beauties of the guild.

“Entry number eight. As the very definition of Fairy and Beauty, I think I’ll save everyone the trouble and just declare myself the winner right now. It is your true queen of the fairies: Evergreen!” She finished with a haughty laugh that shook her glasses down her nose.

Lucy scowled at her, “Hey, wait for—” Loke felt it through his magic at the same time he saw it with his eyes: Lucy turned to stone.

“Lucy!” he yelled, lurching to his feet.

“Umm, not good. Everyone, run! Get out of here. This is Fairy Tail business,” Max told the crowd.

Not idiots, the civilians left.

“Evergreen! What do you think you’re doing?” Gramps demanded, jumping on a table, “Get off the stage and restore Lucy. You’re going to ruin the festival for everyone.”

“But I worked so hard on my act,” Evergreen pouted, “And I really think you will want to hear my terms.” She gave a sinuous wide sweep with her arm; curtain rose and showed all the contestants were turned to stone, likely getting ready for a final bow when Evergreen caught them.

Gorgon eyes, had to be.

“It’s the Thunder Legion,” Gray muttered grimly beside him. “Laxus’s lapdogs. They all have magic in their gaze. We don’t know much more than that, but we know Laxus wouldn’t pick people easy to beat to team with.” Loke followed Gray’s eyes to the rafters, where two men stood opposite each other.

Elfman named them, “Freed and Bixlow.”

Well, this was very not good. Loke had kept Lucy away the days Laxus was haunting the building site.

Lucy hadn’t been able to tolerate the bully when she was one lightning strike away from dying. Regaining her immortality wasn’t going to change that and Loke didn't want a target on her if they could avoid the unpleasantness. 

Looks like Laxus hadn’t forgotten about Lucy though.

Lightning struck inside, right next to Lucy, and Laxus appeared from the flash, arm slung over Lucy’s shoulders, hand laying right on her chest. “Finally, Blondie here needed to be taught something about when to shut her mouth. She’s so much more tolerable this way.”

“Get your hands off her!” Loke yelled, others joining in.

Laxus cut them off with a loud laugh, “Now that I have your attention, unless you want me to break these chicks one by one, we’re going to have some fun my way.”

“Laxus, get your hands off Lucy,” Makarov growled. “I’m serious. You need to stop fooling around.”

“Don’t think he’s fooling Gramps,” Gray said grimly.

Freed jumped down, “I’ve always wondered who was the strongest in the guild; it will be a pleasure to find out.”

“Can’t wait for things to go absolutely haywire,” Bislow laughed, following him onto the stage. “Fighting is the only way to throw a real festival.”

The two men couldn't be more different. Bixslow let his tongue loll out unnaturally while laughing, showing off his fairy tail mark. Around him five wooden tikki dolls hovered and cheered "fighting! fighting!" Two of the dolls under his feet let him fly.

Freed could have been the eurdrite son of a noble from his Heartfilia scion days. His unblemished and expensive red coat contrasting with light green, well kept hair  that flowed smoothly down his back. Rapier at his side, though magic wasn't immediately obvious. An unflinching unemotional expression and a mild voice suggested such an unbothered logic that, if Loke had seen him hiding away from a Heartfilia ball in his families' library reading a book, Loke wouldn't have blinked.

In fact, maybe he had seen the man before. His voice sounded vaguely familiar, like he had been kissing a pretty girl and the voice had told him the library was occupied and Loke needed to find somewhere else to canoodle. But that was a scene that happened often enough Loke wasn't sure it had actually been Freed one of those times.

Laxus laughed again, drawing attention back to him.

“There’s only one rule,” Laxus said, “Last person standing is the winner. It’s an all out Fairy Tail battle royale!”

“Nice and simple, just how I like it!” Natsu cheered, stepping onto the table, “Let’s go Laxus!”

“That’s the attitude,” Laxus said with a laugh, “Glad you could see it my way.”

“Natsu,” Gramps warned.

“Don’t be an idiot,” Gray said.

Natsu walked forward, “It’s a festival right? Fantasia always needs a few good fights to get the mood right.”

Evergreen and Bikslow took over the actual rules. Take down the minions, take down Laxus, you have three hours, or the girls turn to dust. You have to find them hiding in the whole of Magnolia. Then the four of them left in a sweep of lightning before Gramps could set them straight.

Happy freaking Fantasia.

Everyone ran for the door. Gray asked Loke with a look what he was going to do, but a head jerk towards Lucy told Gray what he needed to know.

Gray went off to look for Laxus without him.

Loke took Lucy’s key in hand and stood before her statue in the much emptier guildhall, so different from when it was filled with cheers for her, “Force Close, Gate of the Lion,” he tried, swiping his key to close her gate. Like he expected, there was a barrier literally locking her into this realm. Across the string of their connected magic, there was an unnatural heaviness to it, a stillness maybe, he only noticed now that the movement was absent.

Because she was still in Earthland on his power, he couldn’t summon another spirit while she was here even if he wanted to. If she was trapped here for long enough that his magic ran out, he would die like Karen. Luckily he was used to having her out for hours at a time. By the Thunder Legion’s own time limit, it shouldn’t be an issue.

He touched her cheek, “Sorry Lucy, not even a month and a half of being my spirit and you’re stuck here again. Not a thing I can do about it.”

“Ahh man,” Natsu whined, sitting on the ground. “Laxus! You dirty cheater! Let me out of here! I want to fight in the festival! Laxus!”

Loke walked over to him, “Natsu? Why are you still here?”

“Hell if I know, probably because Laxus knows he can’t take me in a real fight, and I could just sniff him out. Couldn’t get rid of the ozone stench, so he got rid of me instead, the cheater!” Natsu whined to the ceiling, getting up from where he had fallen on the ground.

“Says here it won’t let you out if you’re over 80 years old or a stone statue,” Loke said, which had to be why Gramps was scowling in a corner. He looked Natsu over, “You’re definitely not stone…”

“Do I look eighty to you?” Natsu huffed.

“My grandson planned this quite well,” Makarov said gravely, “Despite their perchance for vanity, it is Erza, Mira, and Cana who lead this guild beyond me, with Lucy supporting them and getting the others to follow their lead. By removing them, the hotter heads will run wild. And so Laxus leads Fairy Tail down the steps Phantom Lord once took, prioritizing power and reputation before the bonds of family.” His fists clenched, “I’m going to give that boy the spanking of his life! Just you wait!”

“Reedus, you’re here too?” Loke asked.

The bigger man was hiding behind a pillar, which didn't actually conceal him all that much.

“I’m afraid Laxus is going to hurt me,” he admitted.

“That’s alright,” Gramps said, calming down, “I have another job for you, if you are willing. Could you please visit Porlyusica in the east forest? She might have a potion that cures petrification. Erza is likely the only one here beside me who could handle Laxus.”

“Gramps,” Natsu whined as Reedus left. “I could take on both of them!”

“You have raw talent, Natsu, but you lack discipline and experience that would bring you to their level. Pretending otherwise is foolish,” Gramps scolded, “And for whatever reason, the enchantment is keeping you in as well. You are trapped as I am.”

“But why?” Natsu whined.

“A guess?” Makarov offered, “Dragon Slayer Magic is a mysterious and lost art. You learned it from your dragon father, Igneel, and it is possible it contains some of his essence inside you. The runes are not intelligent, and it may sense your magic is much older than you are, much older than eighty years, and prevent you from leaving accordingly. Whatever the reason, it does not change the reality.”

“Fine,” Natsu said, then turned to Loke, “And what’s your excuse?”

Loke held up his hands, “Lucy’s here. I’m not strong enough to summon more than one spirit yet, and I can’t send her back while she’s bound in Evergreen’s trap. I doubt Evergreen could kill her, but while she’s here I can’t use my magic."

"What about your weapon, you've been training, right?" Natsu asked.

Loke shrugged, "I’m only decent at my chain and sickle with a partner, that’s how I’ve practiced, so that’s out too. I’ll do more here, in case you need someone to get something later.” He put his hand through the barrier, just to make sure he could.

“Wait, something changed,” Gramps said, and Loke backed up.

Together they read Jet verse Droy verse Alzak.

“Why are those guys fighting each other?” Natsu asked.

“Whoever set up this enchantment must have set up connected enchantments throughout Magnolia,” Loke realized.

Not good. When he was a kid a wizard left an enchantment square on a section of railroad tracks. Father and Mother were tearing their hair out trying to deal with it for over a week. There were very limited ways around a well crafted enchantment trap.

“Freed,” Gramps growled. Made sense. Helmet and crazy tongue didn’t strike him as much of a reader, and you needed to study a lot to get to even Lucy’s capabilities with script magic, much less someone who could set up a connected enchantment of this level.

More matches started to crop up on the rune wall, along with a countdown.

Natsu growled and slammed his face against the barrier.

Notes:

Lucy's a statute and trapped in Earthland again! She didn't even get exiled this time! She just wanted to have fun and have her vanity stoked in a little friendly beauty pageant. Loke's trapped by association, Natsu's trapped just because, and the Fantasia Fighting Festival has begun.

Chapter 45: Battle Royale

They watched as the stats continued to change. Nab beat Vitgeer, Laki took out Ellie, Bee, and Victoria, Wacaba took out Macao.

Reedus engaged Freed.

“That’s not going to go down well,” Natsu said.

Evergreen verse Elfman.

“That’s a tossup,” Natsu admitted “Elfman’s got the variety to match Evergreen’s more powerful spells, but Elfman will hesitate if it looks like someone might actually get hurt. Evergreen wont.”

Bixslow verse Gray.

“The popsicle should take care of him,” Natsu dismissed.

It was ridiculous. Insane. Loke was watching Freed’s runes set up matches with Natsu acting as a sports commentor. Loke groaned, “This was not how I imagined Fantasia going.”

“Aw, come on, it’s just a little fighting festival,” Natsu said. “I’m just mad Laxus won’t let me out of here.”

“Natsu, did you miss the part where the girls will be turned to dust if we don’t take all of them down?” Gramps asked.

Natsu rolled his eyes, “He’s just bluffing to add some drama. The girls would have stopped our fun anyway. There’s no way he’ll actually kill anyone.”

“You really believe that?” Loke asked. Was this one of the time Natsu was right and everyone else was wrong?

“Of course!” Natsu insisted.

It might be one of those times, Natsu was good at figuring out people, but Gramps looked grim.

“Even the tiniest risk is not one I’m willing take with their lives,” Gramps said. “I want to believe as you do, that Laxus would never walk such a dark path, nor Freed, Evergreen, and Bixslow. But he stopped listening to me long ago, and I’m not willing to risk the girls on this hope. I must ask that you take this seriously.”

“Freed took out Reedus, there goes our hope for a cure,” Happy sighed.

“It’s not a risk,” Natsu said, “There’s no way this is anything more than a tournament. He’s bluffing.”

“Bluffing, am I?” Laxus said, a projection of him appearing in the guildhall. “If I’m bluffing, why are you too scared to join?”

“I’m not scared of anything!” Natsu shouted, “Get your stupid barrier to let me out and I’ll show you just how not scared I really am!”

“Huh,” Laxus said, looking honestly surprised. “Didn’t expect that. But if the barrier is stopping you, then you’re essentially useless to this contest anyway. And let’s be real, without Natsu and Erza in the game, you don’t have anyone capable of taking out my Thunder Legion, much less taking on me. You should just surrender now, old man.”

“There’s Gajeel and Gray!” Happy argued. “They’re both as strong as Natsu!”

“Gajeel has decided he doesn’t want any part in helping the guild or freeing the girls, not that I blame him,” Laxus laughed, “And you’re really going to pin all your hopes on Gray? That weakling?”

“Careful who you put beneath you,” Loke said, “They have a way of striking upwards.”

“I’d watch your mouth, rich kid,” Laxus scoffed, “Your betters are talking. With the blonde trapped, you’re worse than useless.”

“You can’t kill Lucy,” Loke said. “If we have to, we’ll shatter her stone ourselves and bring her back from the Celestial world. You couldn’t face her before, what makes you think you could face her now?”

“Oh, don’t you worry, I have a special plan for your little girlfriend. One that will teach her her place,” Laxus said, smirking. “Step out of the guildhall and find out. If you manage to bring her back, please give her my thanks. It was her nonsense about the guild being stronger together that inspired the idea to make everyone fight each other. Look how easy it is to make everyone split apart. And oh look, your last hope couldn’t even take down Bixslow.”

They turned around and saw the announcement of Bixslow’s victory over Gray.

“No way!” Happy yelled, “You must have pulled some kind of dirty trick to win.”

“Shut up and fight me!” Natsu said, throwing himself forward with lit fist. He went straight through the projection.

“That’s enough Laxus, end this now. I surrender,” Gramps said solemnly.

Laxus blinked, then started laughing, “That’s really all it took. The last of your precious ‘children’ go down and you’re ready to throw in the towel? How pathetic is that! Alright, I accept your surrender. All you have to do now is announce to the whole town over the guild loud speaker that you're taking an early retirement and handing the guild over to me. Easy!”

Gramps went red, “That was your plan this whole time, wasn’t it? You brat!”

“What’s more important, your title or your children? Pick now,” Laxus said, turning his back, “I’ll be waiting for the announcement.”

Laxus vanished in a shower of red runes.

“Are you going to do what he says?” Loke asked Gramps. If it was the only way to get the girls back, it would be worth it, but Laxus wasn't exactly inspiring confidence in his leadership skills with this stunt. Maybe they could all leave Fairy Tail and start a second guild called Fairy Nail or something? It was the people he cared about, not the guild name. It would suck to leave after putting in all the effort to rebuild the guildhall though.

Gramps shook his head, “It was never about my title. But Laxus has neither the heart nor the head to lead this guild. We shall have to wait and see what happens for now. I can’t turn the guild over to him. Are you truly going to attempt to break Lucy’s statue?”

Loke winced and shook his head, “I’m pretty sure it would send her back to the celestial realm, but she’s currently trapped in this world, kind of like she was when she was exiled. There’s a chance, however small, that this might do her in for good, and I don’t want to risk it if it can be avoided.”

“Then we wait,” Gramps said.

So they did. The numbers went down as the Thunder Legion started taking out the remaining guild members. Freed took out Alzak. Bixslow got Laki and Nab. Evergreen took out Max and Wakaba.

They were in the final battles when a clatter drew their attention to the bar.

“Gajeel?” Natsu asked as the iron dragon slayer popped his head up. “Have you been here the whole time?”

“He’s eating the silverware!” Happy cried.

Gajeel finished chewing. “Took a nap. Something happen?”

“You’re only missing out on the Fairy Tail Battle Royale,” Natsu said. “I can’t believe I’m missing it.”

Gramps drew up to his full height, “Gajeel, will you go out and fight for the guild, save the girls, and defeat Laxus’s tyranny before it begins?” Gramps challenged, thrusting a fist into the air.

“Sure, why not?” Gajeel said, hauling himself over the bar, “I have a bone to pick with that guy anyway.”

He marched to the door and ran straight into the barrier.

“You can’t get through either? What do you think you’re doing, copying me!”

“I ain’t copying you,” Gajeel said, pounding on the wall. “I ain’t a statue and I ain’t eighty, so why won’t you budge!”

“Hey, something’s changing!” Happy called out. Gajeel stepped back and they watched the guild numbers run down to three.

“There’s only three people left? Who?” Natsu asked.

“You three useless boneheads are the only ones left!” Gramps yelled. He hung his head, “All is lost.”

“Man, guess I have to wake up Erza,” Natsu groaned, turning around. “And I was hoping to show her up, just this once.”

“What do you mean, wake her up?” Loke asked, looking over her still body. “She’s stone.”

Natsu lit his fists. Fire glinted darkly in his eyes, “I’m gonna melt the stone off her of course.”

Erza was still posed, larger than life, as Natsu took her body into his flaming arms.

“What! No, Natsu, do you know how hot fire has to be to melt stone?” Loke asked. “You don’t melt stone, that’s why we make stone ovens. That’s not how it works.”

“Watch where you’re putting those hands, Salamander,” Gajeel huffed.

“Be very careful Natsu,” Gramps warned, gripping his staff tight with nerves.

“Don’t worry, I got—” a crack appeared on Erza’s face, and a fragment of her forehead chipped off.

Natsu's screeched, “Oh no! I didn’t mean to break her!”

“Erza!” Gramps yelled.

“Don’t worry, I’ll just glue it back into place!” Natsu said shakily. “Happy, get the glue!”

“Do we even have glue?” Happy asked crying and flying around.

Did they just kill Erza? No. No. No.

Gajeel turned his fist to iron and stepped up. “Don’t be ridiculous, obviously we have to weld her back together using my iron and your flames. It’s the only option,” Gajeel said, fist already becoming iron. “Ready?”

“THAT’S STILL NOT HOW THAT WORKS.”

The cracks grew bigger and now all of them were yelling. Loke was about to witness death by stupidity. Another huge crack appeared and Natsu jumped back, letting Erza fall.

With a shatter and a cloud of dust, Erza sat in front of them in her Lolita outfit, staring at her hands.

She wasn't bleeding and all her body parts seemed to be in one place.

Loke breathed a sigh of relief, mirroring Gramps beside him.

“I feel warm,” Erza observed. Her eyes narrowed at Natsu, “That is your doing, I presume?”

Loke had been in Fairy Tail long enough to know it was time to duck. Natsu was sent flying towards the ceiling with a kick.

“But how?” Gramps asked.

“I’m not sure,” Erza said, touching her face, “But I believe it has something to do with my right eye.”

Sight magic, gorgon eyes. A false eye must have messed with the enchantment.

“Do you know what’s been going on?” Gramps asked.

“I have a good idea, I heard a lot of it,” Erza confirmed. “I’ll head for Evergreen. With the others in play, we’ll have a better chance of taking on the Thunder Legion,” she smirked, “It’s hardly fair to have a contest of strength without all of us.”

She strode over to the barrier, reading the current postings. “I see I have already been added to the roster. Freed’s magic automatically updates. That’s good to know, it means he’s still actively casting this spell. Knocking him out should get rid of the remaining barriers. He will be my second target.”

“Wait, it changed again,” Happy pointed out, “Someone else just entered the game, but who?”

“The rest of the girls are still stone,” Natsu said, looking behind them.

“I think you lot are forgetting a member that’s frequently out of town,” Erza said with a small smile, “Shame I’ll have to avoid him, but don’t forget we have one more qualified contestant for the strongest wizard in Fairy Tail.”

“Oh, of course!” Natsu said with a grin.

“Back when I need him the most,” Gramps added with a relieved sigh.

“Oh, yeah,” Loke said, picking up on who they must be talking about. “He’s that good?”

“He really is,” Natsu said.

“Mind explaining to me who the hell y’all are talking about?” Gajeel asked.

“Mystogan,” Loke said, “The remaining member of Fairy Tail’s S class. Do you think he’ll come here first?”

“It’s possible, but I’d feel better if he knew the details of what’s happening,” Gramps said grimly.

“I can use Erza’s charge as a cover,” Loke volunteered. “I’ll head to the edges and warn him without getting too close. I can’t stay here any longer, and with everyone gone, so long as I avoid the thunder legion, who don’t know me well anyway, I’ll be good. Worst case scenario is I get knocked out of the running with the rest of the guild.”

“Very well,” Gramps said. “I agree that is worth the risk. Happy, will you go with Loke?”

“Aye sir,” Happy said, giving a salute.

Gramps nodded, “Keep low, the thunder legion are all capable of flight magic.”

 

 

Lucy came to with a groan. That was going to ache. How did she keep getting trapped? She rolled her shoulders, watching the other girls shake off their petrification as well.

“All right, that’s Evergreen down,” Natsu said.

She looked around. “What happened? Where’s Loke?”

Master Makarov gave them an update.

“You sent Loke, while I was still petrified, towards a possible forced battle with Mystogan?” Lucy demanded. She ran for the door, “I gotta go-”

-Lucy slammed headfirst into the barrier, which shoved her back onto her butt.

“It got you too?” Natsu asked.

Lucy growled and rubbed her head while she read the text, “Of course it got me, I’m over seven hundred years old. What’s your excuse?”

“Laxus is a jerk! How come you don’t look like a geezer?” Natsu charged.

“Why don’t you? I’m immortal, Numbskull!” Lucy shot back. “What’s your excuse?”

“Don’t worry Lucy, the game has to end now,” Makarov said. “He has no more hostages, no one has to fight anymore. And trust me, for this abuse, Laxus will face a punishment the likes of which has never been seen before!”

“Now, I don’t know about hostages part,” Natsu said. “I still think he was just trying to have a little bit of fun. Only way to do that is to keep all the party poopers out of it. Go easy on him, nothing wrong with trying to find out who’s the strongest.”

Everyone was silent.

Finally Master sighed, “Natsu, I don’t know what I’m going to do with you.”

“Come on, we got enough people here now, I say we brawl! Come at me Lucy!”

“No way! We have bigger problems!” Lucy said skirting away from him.

“I’m always ready to throw down,” Cana said, cracking her knuckles with a smirk. “Let’s go.”

“Please don’t encourage him,” Mirajane asked.

Juvia and Gajeel stood off to the side, “It’s quite a fun guild, isn’t it?” she asked with a smile.

“It ain’t boring, I’ll give you that,” Gajeel said, looking away.

The atmosphere changed, the air grew heavy and everyone braced themselves. Magic started to saturate, and the runes on the door filled up then pulled off. Laxus’s head appeared, formed by the runes.

“It looks like one of my rules got thrown out. Guess I’m just going to have to make a new one to replace it.” Laxus grinned, “Play by my rules, or the whole of Magnolia goes up in lightning. I’m activating the Thunder Palace, and there isn’t anything you can do to stop me. So get to fighting!” Laxus’s voice rang out.

The talking head dissolved, the runes shooting out of the guildhall.

“Laxus, you despicable child! How dare you even think of using the Thunder Palace! Laxus—” Master started as a shout, but shouts turned to gasping. The breath wouldn’t come to him.

He clutched his heart as he fell over.

Cana and Lucy rushed to him, while Mira went for their first aid kit. He wasn’t passed out, but he was fighting for air. Gasps wracked his body.

Curled into a ball, their giant of a master had never looked so small.

“Guys, we have to look outside, something’s happening,” Bisca said, eyeing the window.

The Thunder Palace was revealed. Thousands of floating lightning lacrima surrounded the city. A threat to the city Fairy Tail couldn’t ignore.

What a scummy move.

“How nice of him to give me some target practice,” Bisca laughed, summoning a gun.

No, too easy. “Wa—"

One shot was all it took to send Bisca into screams of agony. None of them dared to touch her until the lightning magic stopped.

Bisca fell to the ground, smelling of singed hair.

“What was that?” Juvia asked, trembling, as Lucy and Mira helped Bisca sit up.

“A type of body-link magic,” Cana explained, frowning. “Whoever destroys the lacrima ends up pulling the energy into themselves. It’s as despicable as it is dangerous.”

“We can’t let him hurt the townsfolk,” Bisca said, drying her tears and waving everyone off. “We have to stop him.”

Lucy frowned, “I’m guessing the controls for the thunder palace are where Laxus is hiding.”

“We do need to stop him, but until you recover, I’m going to ask you to stay here with me Bisca,” Mirajane said. “Come on, we’ll attend to Master. What can we do about the barrier keeping the dragon slayers in?”

“Script magic,” Levy said, hoping on the roof and sliding down to the barrier, pen in hand. “Leave that to me. I can get Lu and our Dragon Slayers out of here in no time.” She started poking at the spell.

“You can do that?” Gajeel asked.

Levy nodded without looking away, “Yes. I’ve looked at Freed’s work before, but he knows that, so I’ll have to watch for misdirects, but I can do it.”

“Okay then,” Mirajane said. “Cana, I need you to head for the edge of town. We need Porlyusica to come help Master. Try not to get into fights, but my guess is that Freed or Bixslow will be guarding the edges to make sure no one tries to run away. Juvia, if you could go with her and help her fight, she’ll have a better chance.”

“Let’s go Juvia,” Cana said. “The quicker we get help for Gramps, the quicker we can show these losers what happens when they mess with the Guild.”

“Right,” Juvia said. Cana hopped the balcony railing and jumped from the roof and Juvia followed after.

Notes:

Erza survives near death by stupidity, Loke goes for a fun little jaunt across town with Happy, Cana and Juvia set out in Reedus's footsteps, and Lucy can't cross Freed's barrier.

Chapter 46: Bixslow

“Thank you, now that I understand the situation, I believe I will head directly to Laxus,” Mystogan said from the street. Happy had flown him around to locate the wizard and it was a pretty easy tell. Even among the chaos and characters of people getting ready for Fantasia, the staffs and full body wraps marked this particular wizard.

 They were calling to each other, Mystogan in the street and Loke on a roof, trying not to trigger an enchantment trap.

“Do you know where he is?” Loke said.

“I have a guess,” Mystogan said, amused. “For one exhibiting such a god complex as to believe they have control over life and death, one building fits better than any other. Do you agree?”

Loke thought it over, but it was Happy that answered.

“Kardia Cathedral!” Happy exclaimed. “But that’s so obvious. How has no one found him?”

“I think they were more concerned with covering ground than fighting smart,” Loke told him. When Loke looked back at Mystogan, the wizard was gone.

“That guy’s good,” Loke complimented.

“There’s a reason he’s S class,” Happy said. “Though he keeps to himself so much, we don’t know all that much about his magic, except what the others have said he did during the S-class trials.”

“Probably a holder type, with all those staffs,” Loke said. “Still, let’s get back to the guild and see if there’s anything else we can do.”

“Aye,” Happy said, and Loke was ready when the cat picked him up and headed for the sky.

Unfortunately, neither of them were ready for the lightning lacrima that jumped into existence. They crashed, unable to swerve enough to avoid it, startling them into a free fall. Loke clutched Happy and closed his eyes, bracing for the impact.

“No!” Happy yelled and the blue magic circle of Happy’s magic appeared, saving them at the last second. Cat and human landed lightly with a thump.

They lay there for a minute, before Loke made himself sit up. He looked up at the giant circle of hovering lacrima around the city, each about three and a half feet wide. “What are those things?”

“Thunder Palace time! Thunder Palace time!” several voices cheered.

“What’s a thunder palace?” he asked the voice over his shoulder. “AH!”

Bixslow’s tikki dolls laughed at him before stacking on top of each other and shooting off an energy blast.

Happy swept him to the air before it hit.

 Bixslow revealed himself from around the corner, riding the remaining two of his dolls.

“Wohoo! I was wondering if you were going to show your face. We have special instructions for you.” Bixslow’s grin promised he wasn’t going to like it, whatever it was.

“Happy?”

“Aye,” Happy said, winging him up to the sky. Loke pulled out his chain and sickle just to have some kind of weapon in hand, but there was no way to swing the chain defensively the way he was supposed to with Happy in charge of directions and speed.

Ugh, Loke would need to add Happy to his training partners.

Still, Happy was no slouch on his own. Happy expertly wove them around the dolls and their attacks. Loke knocking away the few attacks he could with the scythe.

The dolls surrounded them in the air and started swiping at them.

Instead of striking, Loke analyzed their arcs, and figured how Happy would move to dodge after the first few. He held out his arm, blade poised and arm strong.

Happy figured out what he was doing and swung them right on target.

The sickle sliced wood, dropping it from the air for good.

Happy wasn’t done and used him to slice through another before Loke could even think.

“All right!” Loke cheered, “Three more to go.”

“Sorry to disappoint,” Bixslow said, landing on the roof in front of them. The remaining dolls rushed to their master, and Happy turned them to face their opponents. “But I control the souls inside the puppets. The body doesn’t actually matter that much. And what do you know? This little toy factory is full of the perfect vessels for my babies!”

Loke was knocked out of Happy’s grip from behind.

It was a hard landing, but he kept his feet as they hit the roof. Above them were five dolls: three wooden tiki faces, two stuffed animals.

One was a lion. If only Lucy was here right now.  

“It doesn’t matter how many we take out,” Happy said, voice filled with dread, “He can just grab more from whatever’s nearby.”

“Then we have to ignore the dolls and focus on him,” Loke said, turning back towards Bixslow.

“Yeah…good luck with that,” Bixlow said, chuckled. “Babies . . . attack!”

He braced to hear the sound of the dolls charging an energy attack, but an energy beam wasn’t the game. First one doll struck his back. Then his hip, and now his chest (dumb, left the guard open trying to recover from the hip).

He swung the ball and chain, fast enough to cover his left, and poised his sickle to strike at the dolls going by on his right.

It wasn’t enough, being on the defensive like this, Bixslow would wear him out first, but it was all he had.

They dolls hesitated in the face of the swinging chain, just like the girls did in practice.

The stuffed bunny threw itself in the chain. Trapped and immobilized the stuffed bunny completely took care of the chain.

Leaving that side completely open to the other four. His sickle blocked one wooden tikki, but the others zoomed in and got three strikes to his shoulder and back.

He whipped the chain, throwing the stuffed rabbit off the roof and got his defense up, but that move took too long. The attack pattern repeated, and Loke couldn’t break the outcome. Two hands had the stronger defense here, but it wasn’t enough. He needed help, but couldn’t call a spirit, Lucy was still in Earthland.

Happy was fluttering nearby, sweeping at the dolls and trying to draw some of the attacks off, but the attack was focused entirely on him.

One struck the back of Loke's knee, sending him to the ground, but he managed to recover and put his defense back up. He had already lost this game of stamina, but what else could he do?

 “What’s taking so long, pretty boy? Why can’t you call one of your little friends for help?”

“Don’t you have any other moves? BORING.”

“Oh, oh? Almost got that one, better luck next time.”

Bixslow’s heckling was obnoxious, particularly when Loke ended up kneeling again, even if he managed to recover before the next hit.

“There we go, such good little babies you are,” Bixslow cooed. “Missing something starboy?”

Loke looked up to see a familiar pouch sitting in Bixslow’s hands.

“No!” Loke said, dropping the chain to reach for his keys. The dolls swept in three pushing at his back, the other two at the front of his legs, sending him to the roof face first.

Stupid. Erza would have demanded 40 repeats for dropping the chain instead of switching to a one-handed defense like he was supposed to. Why did Erza always have to be right?

Bixlow grinned and shook Loke’s keys at him.

“See, Laxus has a bone to pick with your mouthy blonde,” Bixslow explained. “I always knew there was something weird going on with her soul, but wasn’t my business, you know? Kept it even from Laxus when he went on a rant about her, and boy did she get him ranting. But he’s got plans now, specially after Freed told him everything in her little book.” Bixslow pulled out his keyring, thumbing through them. “Leo the Lion, right?”

“Stop it!” Loke yelled. He tried to crawl forward, but the dolls were pressing down with too much weight.

He couldn’t stop this.

“Here it is! Such a pretty key, isn’t it?” Bixslow teased. He separated it from the ring, flipped it along his fingers, then threw the other keys off the roof. Bixslow held the key close to his face. “Fit for a pretty girl. Laxus said he always knew she was meant to be a servant. You better be figuring out how you’re going to release her from her contract so Laxus can take her key. The only thing we know for sure from her book is that death will end your little contract, so I’ll kill you if you can’t come up with something else.”

“You’re gonna have to, because I would never let Lucy fall into Laxus’s hands!” Loke yelled, fists clenched as he kept trying to move forward. He gained an inch. “Give those back!”

Bixslow laughed, his tongue coming out to swipe up and down the length of Lucy’s key.

 

 

Literally only five minutes had passed. Levy had gotten the enchantment’s text from the barrier and was currently hovering over several piles of books. Gajeel was hovering over Levy.

Mira was tending to Master and Bisca, leaving her and Natsu to sit on the tables and grumble.

“Can’t you help Levy like you did with Changeling? Get us out of here faster?” Natsu asked.

“I’m nowhere near her level,” Lucy said. “I’d just get in the way at this point. She’s knee deep in language coding and construction. I just know whatever languages my wizards have had over the years and my basic scripts. Not even two months of being Loke’s spirit, and we’re separated.”

“You sure you don’t want to fight me? Pass the time?” Natsu asked.

Lucy shook her head, “We need to be ready for the second that barrier falls,” she straightened with a jolt. “Something’s wrong. Someone else has my key. It’s not in Loke’s hands.”

Eyes wide, she rushed to the door where the barrier spelled out the stats.

Loke verse Bixslow.

“No. No, no, no, no, no! Let me out! LET ME OUT!” Lucy screamed, pounding on the barrier.

“Can’t you just go through the spirit world thingy?” Natsu asked beside her. “Like what Virgo did?”

Lucy stopped and processed what Natsu just said.

“I’m such an idiot!” Lucy cried. “Thanks Natsu!”

“Wait—” Natsu yelled as she turned into her gate, shaped for herself alone, no hint of a barrier. He was right, Freed’s runes only barred physical passage across the line. She could do this!

Dragon claws dug into her lion’s soul.

Kick, tear, destroy, KILL.

GET CLAWS OUT.

The need burned as hot as Natsu’s flames, but she couldn’t.

Be still. Allow the dragon inside and through.

Loke was in trouble, any action but going partially through her gate and appearing at her key would wreck Loke on the time differential.

Five seconds. Just five seconds.  

Lucy, contrary to every screaming instinct to kill the invader, pulled Natsu deeper into her soul so they could fit through her gate. His flames burned inside as he clung tighter.

Pain was just pain. Even soul-searing pain.

Four seconds.

It was Natsu; that made all the difference.

Inside her was his fear, kept where no one was allowed to see, his soul’s stupid intensity, his passion for the wellbeing of his friends, for her.

Here, Natsu was made of love and flame the way Lucy was stardust and dreams.

She held him tighter inside, accepting the burn and the pain and her own fear as she made the pivot away from the celestial world and toward her key in Earthland.

Three seconds.

Natsu knew she hated this. Natsu knew he royally screwed up by grabbing her. Her fear, her anger and pain, surrounded him.

Natsu felt the way she was holding herself from clawing back and ripping off his scarf to let him suffocate. Any wrong move from him would be an attack on her soul, was already an attack on her soul.

Natsu felt way she refused to act on that pain because this was Natsu-partner-friend-nakama.

Lucy shoved them both towards her key as fast as she could.

Two seconds

Sticky, warm, and wet swiped itself down her body. Torse, butt, thigh, calf, foot, slime-greed-invasion! KILL EW EW EW SLIMY EW HATE HATE HATE VIOLATION HATE KILL EWWWW GROSS KILL KILL KILL

Natsu recoiled from the sensation, burning hotter trying to stop it.

Hurt-pain-gross-KILL-ew!EW! UCK! AHHHHH!

Emotions mingled, both of them were shuddering together.

One second

Awful-awful-AWFUL—

Lucy re-entered the mortal world screaming.

Natsu was dealt with by her fist in his vest, no letting him get his feet.

Bixslow was dealt with by a kick to his chin, then using Natsu’s body to beat him flat to the ground on his back, then stomping her high heel into his slimy mouth.

His tongue and cheek were pinned to the rooftop by her whole weight. His stupid tongue he always had lolling out. Across her body

Everyone tied up for the moment, Lucy closed her eyes and kept screaming with until she was out of air. Then she took a deep breath and screamed again for good measure.

Bixslow’s hands were grabbing at her skirt, her leg, her ass, even trying to use Natsu to yank her off balance, best he could from his position anyway. Grunting.

Gross-tongue-ew.

She dug her heel in harder.

“YOU SHUT UP!” she screamed at Bixslow, grinding her heel to make her point. “Don’t move or I swear I’ll tear your mouth wide open before lighting your skull up like a jack-o-lantern!”

He still didn’t stop trying until she punched him in the face, half shattering his helmet.

Finally he stopped grabbing her.

“As for you,” she said, turning her attention to Natsu, who had his hands over his ears and looked close to passing out. She shook him like a misbehaving Happy until he looked at her and uncovered his ears. “Don’t you ever do that again! Stars, I’m going to be sick.”

“A-aye,” Natsu said weakly, nodding.

She shivered and threw Natsu off the roof, digging her heel harder into Bixlow for good measure. “Go kick Laxus’s butt, and don’t look at me for at least a week!”

“Right, sorry, see you!” Natsu squeaked from the next roof over.

Natsu scampered into the street and out of sight, letting Lucy mentally let go of him for a minute.

Right, they were on a roof, not the ground. Explained the shingles and slight incline.

“He’s in Kardia Cathedral!” Loke called out helpfully.

“Got it, thanks!” Natsu called back.

Lucy took a deep breath. Slimy-ew-ew-wind on leg where key still wet-ew-ew

“Are you okay?” Loke asked. She finally looked at him.

He was currently pinned to the roof about ten feet away by five dolls. A little bruised, but he wasn’t bleeding or unconscious, just pinned. Safe.

Next.

“No,” Lucy spat, she grabbed her key lying nearby, made things a little better by rubbing the siliva onto her skirt, and put it in her pocket. 

Next.

She looked down at Bixslow, “I feel violated. I feel like Bixslow’s tongue has wiped itself down my body, parts no one gets to touch, much less put their tongue on. Release Loke and explain to me why I shouldn’t shift my heel to pierce through your skull.”

Bixslow whimpered and pointed shakily towards his mouth.

“Seith magic, right?” Lucy asked, grinding her heel again as he writhed and bucked in pain. “You control lost souls with your magic. You need your mouth to control them, do you? I don’t believe that.”

With a flash his hand threw off his broken helmet and Lucy was staring into toxic ooze green eyes.

His eyes started glowing, and the call of his magic pressed against her, pulling at her soul to submit to him. To give up, become one of his.

Pathetic.

“I’m not like one of your little dolls, or even a regular human,” Lucy spat, staring straight back. “My soul is bound to that man lying over there. I get stronger when he believes in me, and he is stronger for having my contract. You can’t take me from him, you worthless piece of shit.” She punched downwards and broke his nose.

Blood pulsing down his face, Bixslow glared and attempted to increase pressure. She wanted to laugh.

Lucy remembered Loke’s aura pulling at her when she was dying. Ignoring Bixslow’s call was a little buzzing in her ear compared to that siren call. A tickle, maybe a breeze. But it was irritating as hell that he was even trying to get her this way.

A punch to his solar plexus from above left him gasping from a pinned open mouth. Lucy stomped her other heel into his left wrist.

Bixslow’s eyes widened as her free hand reached for his face. She pinched at the skin below his glowing green eyes, pulling his right eye open even wider. “I can make sure you never take another soul ever again, you know.”

His eyes were wide with fear now, no control of his breath, trying to buck her wildly, but unable to move from her pin points.

He couldn’t touch her like this, but she was still slimy. All over. Everywhere. The feeling of his tongue on her repeated itself over and over again, no matter how futilely he struggled beneath her.

“Let me explain something you might not be aware of,” Lucy said, “I don’t think you killed those souls you carry around, I don’t think you have actually used your eye ability to make a lost soul. I think your eyes saw them lost and wandering, and you pulled them into your orbit and bound them with your curse to give them home and fun until they are ready to move on.”

His breathing stuttered, and he froze.

“But then, Makarov’s never particularly cared if there was a killer in the ranks of our guild.”

Bixslow squeaked, the pressure of his eyes let off completely.

She pushed down on his broken nose with her palm, lightly, not enough to make him pass out, but she didn’t want his attention to wander.

“I don’t know what you know about me, if you read my book, but you should know that I chose not to add in my kill count when I wrote that. I didn’t want to be remembered for the awful things my wizards have asked me do over the years, but there were plenty.”

She said this casually, pulling on forgotten memories of when she was a different person. When she really didn’t care about any mortal life except that of her wizard. “It was typically other celestial mages that I killed, it’s the surest way to break a contract after all, and Celestial Wizards are so greedy. Eleven celestial wizards in all, I think, dead by my hands. But I didn’t particularly care back then, mortal lives pass so fleetingly, and I wasn’t contracted to them.

“I am over 700 years old. I was born before Fiore was a country. Before any country had laws that outlawed assassin requests, before we had magic guilds, before we had prisons that could hold mages. Even then, I was good at getting my wizards out if I liked them. I can’t tell you the number of prison guards I’ve left with shattered skulls or with hearts pierced by their own broken ribs, I didn’t bother keeping count of the humans that weren’t celestial wizards.

“I’ve fought in war. I’ve fought to keep my wizards alive in the scummiest criminal gangs you can imagine, and through the most lethal court politics. And when I was exiled to Earthland? It was for killing the one person I was sworn never to kill, my own wizard.”

Bixslow was crying, his eyes finally screwed shut to brace himself. She took the pressure off his nose.  

“Fairy Tail taught me some things though. About the value of a human life. About protecting our nakama. Until today, you were one of the people I would have killed for, Bixslow. A guildmate. But how many of our guildmates asked you for mercy? How many tried to get you to remember all our memories as friends and allies? I bet you told them that you were never their friend. Or that friends didn’t count today. If that’s true, there isn’t a single reason I shouldn’t kill you, is there?

“You betrayed the trust of your guild. You violated my body. You probably threatened to kill Loke so Laxus could get his hands on me. I have no personal aversion to killing.”

The sun was hot on her neck, her ponytail falling forward. They were high up, visitors and townsfolk alike were going about festival business. The thunder palace loomed above them.

Bixslow may have submitted to her, but it wasn’t enough. He didn’t get it. He wasn’t hurt enough. His tongue was still on her skin—

WHY WOULDN’T THE MEMORY STOP?

“Magic is wonderful, and the stronger the wizard, the more the body leans on magic to keep itself alive when damaged.” She lectured, forcing herself to the present, “But there are things even magic can’t keep you alive through. If I actually rip through your cheek, you’ll have a scar, but you probably wont die.

“I shift, and my heel goes through your brain? Probably not going to survive that. Or, you were so excited to have my key inside you, to violate me, maybe I should use my key to dig out your eyes. You might live through that, though you’ll be blind. Might have to learn a different kind of magic. And if I get a little too enthusiastic, my key might just dig up your brain. No living through that.” She leaned in closer and said softly, “My key already needs a cleaning, might as well make it worthwhile.”

One second, two seconds. His pulse beat wildly, breathing shallow. Bixslow opened his eyes, looking past her, flicking to Loke.

Lucy waited, taking a moment to decide if she wanted to look.

She looked.

Loke was shaking, his own eyes wide. Scared.

Too far.

To cut the tension, Lucy sighed dramatically, “Good job, you actually did manage to communicate a reason to let you live. Loke is my wizard, and if he says no killing, I won’t kill you. And so you throw your life at his mercy. I hope Laxus is watching this.”

It was quiet on the roof as she stared down at Bixslow, literally ground under her heels. She envisioned the move it would take to scar, then the movement to kill, and felt inside herself for how that action would feel.

It would feel like justice. Pleasure, even, as the threat to her body and her wizard would breathe no more. But also pain.

Her heel was stabbing through his fairy tail mark, printed on his tongue.

When one of them dies, everyone suffers.

Lucy has walked through Magnolia's graveyard, where more than one tomb held a fairy.

“Loke? What’s your call?”

Lucy asked, just to make sure Bixslow knew who really held the power here, but she knew Loke’s answer.

He was a much better person than her after all.

Bixslow knew her paying attention to Loke would be his only chance to regain ground against her, her attention divided. She shifted her weight to keep him pinned and almost missed Loke’s response.

“You’re hurting, I get it. I mean I don’t, I don’t know what you feel right now, but I get that you want to kill him,” Loke said, his voice trembling. “Do what you think is best.”

“What?” Lucy asked, finally turning to look at him. Bixslow held very still beneath her.

“Our contract is different Lucy, and I swore nothing was going to change because you’re my spirit,” Loke said, voice shaking but gaze steady. “I wouldn’t-I wouldn’t be telling you what to do here three months ago, you’d be telling me because hell if I know anything. I know you can resolve this without killing him, but if you feel the need to, go ahead. He’s guilty of everything you said, though I doubt he knew that licking your key would make you feel violated. I didn’t even know you experienced the sensations of your key on your actual body. If you need an order, I order you to decide the best course of action.”

Lucy stared into Loke’s eyes, but they didn’t falter. He was serious about giving this choice over to her.

Loke would let her kill Bixslow.

She looked down at Bixslow, his breath hot against her ankle. It was difficult to imagine Bixslow didn’t know that it was wrong to do that to her key; souls were his specialty. The thunder palace was a similar body link magic.  

But Loke wouldn’t lie to her. Celestial magic was rare, it wasn’t impossible that earthland wizards didn’t understand the body link between celestial spirits and their keys, that it wasn’t the same for the bodies of the spirits he controlled. It could be a blind spot. It was so obvious she hadn’t bothered to include that information in her novel, though it was implied a couple of times.

Yesterday she would have classed Bixslow as a mostly harmless weirdo, someone a little creepy and prone to making inappropriate remarks, but not someone to actually do anything inappropriate to someone else. Bixslow was messed up in the head, that was certain, because the creepy pervert bit was an act, and that’s a messed up act to put on, but he never crossed boundaries that she heard of.

Lucy just admitted how messed up she had been when she arrived at Fairy Tail. Paying for her own murder charges. She hadn't even considered feeling guilty for the other humans she had killed before she spent time at Fairy Tail.

She was still messed up even after everything if she was even thinking of killing a human again.

Natsu would still see Bixslow as a guildmate, probably, even after feeling how violated she was. If Laxus’s death threats weren’t enough to knock the nakama senses out of Natsu, this wouldn’t. But Natsu had left this to her, he would let her kill Bixslow too, even if it made him upset.

Loke was giving her the decision, but he also would never look at her the same if he actually saw her murder someone disarmed and at her mercy. There was still a chance for this to be guild shenanigans, but that was no longer an option if someone died.

All it took was letting him go after violating her.

Gramps and Bisca were at the edge of dying thanks to Bixslow and his friends.

It wouldn’t teach anyone anything if she killed Bixslow, except that Lucy was a killer. He would be dead, everyone would know not to mess with her or her wizard, but things would never be the same between her and the guild, or Loke and the guild. Friendships would be strained and never recover. Everyone would be able to see the blood on her hands for themselves.

Contract. Being the reason the guild was messed up would be an embarrassment as a guild wizard, even if the action was okay by celestial law, even if Loke said it was okay.

Even if no one but Loke would know it hadn’t been in self-defence, but by choice.

It was her or the guild, and Lucy knew her answer.

Lucy straightened. She pulled a fist back and gathered magic in it.

“Close your eyes Loke,” she ordered.

Bixslow did too, maybe to pray.

“Regulus Impact!” she punched downwards, letting the magic force push her body into the air. A lion of blinding yellow light erupted, pushing Bixslow through the floors until the final crash in the basement.

His dolls rolled off Loke, no Bixslow magic to help the souls animate them, and the toys fell into the hole she made.

Loke started to slide too, but she pulled him onto the top floor of the toy factory before she could follow their opponent.

Lucy carefully leaned over the hole to rinse off her key with water from a broken pipe. The water rushing over her whole being made her shiver, but at least the feeling of Bixslow’s tongue was more distant. The sliminess was less too. Drying on another section of her skirt was even better, the memory more distant.

“Is…is…” Loke tried to ask.

Lucy walked over to him and offered back her key. The rest were missing, need to find those. “He’s alive. Knocked out and out of magic, going to have a hell of a headache later and several broken bones, but alive. I’m sorry for acting like that.”

Loke looked her up and down. She tried and failed to smile apologetically. He threw his arms around her and squeezed her tightly.

“I was so worried about you,” Loke said. “I’m sorry you got trapped on Earthland again, and for everything that just happened. I’m so happy you’re okay.”

Lucy started to tear up, “That was so awful. Natsu clawed into my soul when he came through my gate, and the spit—and I was stone but couldn’t get to you. Then Natsu had to be the one to remind me I’m a spirit not a human and can always come to you, and if I wasn’t so mad at him for the gate thing I’d be embarrassed.”

“Lucy li-ikes Loke,” Happy sang, flying in with them.

“Shut up!” Lucy cried, letting go of Loke and grabbing for him.

Happy hugged her tight, trembling. She hadn't noticed him before, and that make showing mercy a little easier. Lucy wouldn't ever want to traumatize Happy like that, and Happy would have freaked out and told the guild the truth of Lucy, even if Loke had managed to keep it a secret. Now she'd just hold him and let everyone's bodies realize the danger had passed. 

“You were really scary,” Happy whispered.

He was so young.

“I’m sorry I scared you,” Lucy whispered back.

Notes:

Natsu and Bixslow messed up at the same awful moment, and Lucy paid the price. Natsu's was an honest mistake (why this was different from his trip with Virgo in Everlue mansion will be explained later), but Bixslow . . . complicates things. Lucy's spent so much of this chapter wrestling with that, what do you think of her choices? Loke's choices?

 

(Just realized that the first part of Loke's battle was supposed to be part of last chapter, no wonder it was so short. Oh well, extra long chapter today! I'll fix it in a couple of weeks.)

Chapter 47: Loyalty

“I know we’re supposed to be going for help for Master, but you should know that if I meet Freed or Bixslow, I’m fighting them. You keep heading for the woods,” Cana said as they ran for the edge of town together.

“Bull Trail path, and her cottage is in a tree, right?” Juvia checked.

“That’s right,” Cana said. “She’ll scream a bit, but tell her that Gramps is in danger, and she’ll come. Escort her, I don’t know if she has a mark or not, but we need to keep her from getting involved in a fight before she gets to Gramps.”

“Healers are so scary,” Juvia said with a groan. “Do you know what healers try to do to a child with a rain curse and a waterbody?”

“Tell me later, I think I see him!” Cana said, picking up the pace. “Freed, you coward! Come out and fight me!”

They stayed on his tail all the way to the outskirts of town, right at the beginning of the path to the healer’s cottage.

“There you are, I was waiting for you,” Freed said, turning around.

Waiting.

The trap sprang as Juvia caught up to her.

“The stronger wizard may leave this barrier after defeating their opponent,” Juvia read, dread in her voice.

“Scared to take on both of us?” Cana yelled at the dispassionate Freed. “Wizard up, get rid of this enchantment and fight me! Let Juvia go.”

“Is this what you’ve made all your friends feel? Like they had no choice but to hurt someone they care about?” Juvia demanded.

“The rules are as stated,” Freed said. “Though, I will admit to some partiality. I wish for Cana to emerge victorious from this battle.”

“You really need me weaker from fighting Juvia before you have the guts to challenge me, don’t you?” Cana snarled.

“Not at all,” Freed said. “However, Juvia remains tainted from her time in Phantom Lord, there is no telling when someone else will claim her loyalty and cause her to act against the guild. Cana’s years of service mean much more to me in the face of that. A battle with you, Cana, will be honorable, while a battle with Juvia will be tainted by her disgusting history.”

“Worried that she’ll turn against the guild?” Cana barked a laugh, “Like you’re doing right now? You lost any moral high ground the second you agreed to use hostages. Use ME as a hostage.”

“Yet both of you are unharmed, are you not?” Freed asked, tilting his head, “Not as much can be said for our guildmates who were taken into Juvia and Gajeel’s care.” Juvia flinched. “We threaten Magnolia? Juvia fueled the abyss break that would have shattered this city. Laxus’s demands are more than reasonable after the pathetic leadership of Master Makarov let a defeated enemy crawl into the winner’s ranks to escape their crimes with no repercussions.”

“I hate that Freed still doubts me,” Juvia said quietly. “I’ve tried so hard to be worthy of this guild.”

“Don’t listen to him Juvia,” Cana said, not looking away from Freed. “You’d never do what he’s doing, which makes you my guildmate way more than he is right now. Because that’s the difference even a child can spot, Juvia wasn’t betraying her friends and allies when she did that, you are.”

“Juvia assisted in the trap that sent Master Makarov to his death bed through magic drain,” Freed argued. “Your defense of her against me has no moral high ground. We aren’t betraying any ideals of the guild that Master Makarov didn’t already foolishly betray himself.”

“That’s rich,” Cana scoffed.

“Please,” Juvia begged, “After Laxus’s last message, Master Makarov fell ill, there’s something wrong with his heart. Let me go inform Porlyusica, let her heal Master Makarov, and I’ll return to fight Cana if that’s what you need.”

Freed’s eyes widened, “The Master’s heart?”

“Are you surprised!” Cana demanded, “You’re making us fight each other, threatening the town and making ridiculous requests! His heart has never been good because of his magic, you know that! What the hell did you think this would do to him?”

“I-I can’t break the rules of the game,” Freed said, shaking his head. “You must fight. But . . . once one of you defeats the other, and I have defeated the remaining opponent, I will escort Porlyusica to the guildhall. It will ruin Laxus’s plans if the Master were to fall in such a manner. So let’s make this quick.”

“Still the pathetic lap dog at his heel,” Cana scoffed. “I know you can let us out, so stop killing Gramps and just do it already!”

“What I admired most about your guild is the bonds between your members,” Juvia said slowly. “If doubts about my loyalty are part of the reason Laxus and the Thunder Legion felt they needed to create this cleansing by blood, then I will prove to everyone that I will not betray the guild.”

Juvia made a fist and looked at Freed, “Do you swear you will fight the last wizard standing in this trap?”

“Of course, that is the game.”

Juvia turned into her waterbody, gathering energy and crouching.

“What are you doing?” Cana yelled, pulling cards. “You’re just giving him what he wants!”

“I’m proving to our guildmate, and everyone else that may doubt my loyalties, that I will never hurt someone in Fairy Tail!” Juvia yelled. With a burst of magic, Juvia sprung up to bounce against the walls of their prison, bouncing higher and higher.

“It doesn’t matter how high you go,” Freed called, “The only way out is over the prone body of your opponent.”

“Juvia, NO!” Cana screamed.

“Defeat him and take back the guild, Cana, bring Master what he needs,” Juvia said, opening her arms wide to slice through the two lacrima inside their enchantment.

The lacrima broke apart, shattering. Juvia turned to smile down at them, suspended in air like an angel.

Lightning tore through her body.

In the air, there was no escape for the lightning to ground itself. Juvia was screaming her entire fall.

“Chariot, Moon!” Cana yelled desperately, and a cushion of air slowed Juvia down for a moment, before she fell the final foot to the ground, letting the lightning finally leave her. “Juvia! Juvia!”

Her hair was singed, and Juvia’s back muscles twitched against Cana’s lap.

“I love Fairy Tail. I’m sorry, but I could never hurt you or anyone in it,” Juvia said, reaching up to brush Cana’s tears away.

Cana hadn’t realized she was crying.

Juvia's hand couldn’t make it all the way before passing out.

“Judgement, Tower, Chariot,” Cana screamed, turning on Freed, “LIGHTNING!”

Freed barely managed to get his sword up, the power of the attack sending him skidding backwards.

He would pay.

Cana had one family left, had only Fairy Tail, and Freed was tearing it apart.

He would pay, he would pay, he would pay.

           

           

 

Loke felt a lot of somethings, but the emotions wouldn't untangle enough to be recognizable. Yes, he knew that Lucy was old and badass and, yes, Loke had been warned all his life about other celestial wizards that might do anything, including murder him, for his gate keys, but he had never put it all together.

Lions weren’t tame, leaders couldn’t afford to be squeamish, and how did he think celestial wizards murdered other wizards for their keys?

The stronger spirit wins.

Lucy was the strongest of them all.

“Come on, let’s get out of here,” Lucy said, when Happy finally calmed down.

Happy picked up Loke and they followed Lucy to a slightly different roof. She sat with her back against a waist-high lip on the roof. Her cheer skirt was short but somehow managed to cover everything even as she brought her knees to her chest. Magic maybe?

Happy sat beside her, placing a paw on her thigh and giving her a worried look Lucy didn’t meet.

Cheerleaders and cheer didn’t seem to quite go together like they had earlier that morning.

Did Lucy wear black and red while contracted because it better hid bloodstains? How often—

NOPE-New thought-new thought-new thought—

“Is there someone else we should be fighting?” Loke asked. “Who’s left?”

“We could probably go after Freed,” Lucy mused. “But Cana’s been looking for someone to punch for a while, if Erza didn’t get to him first. Levy’s working on the barrier spell keeping Gajeel trapped, so soon he’ll be out at full force heading for Laxus. Natsu, also fresh, is going after Laxus. Honestly, we should go after the Thunder palace, I have a feeling there’s only going to be one way to stop that.”

“Is that what those lacrima are? A thunder palace?” Loke asked, looking up at the circling orbs. “They look like some magic fireworks I’ve seen.”

“That’s what Laxus called it anyway,” she shrugged. “Lacrima filled with lightning magic ready to attack the town. We can destroy them easily enough, but each of the lacrima comes with bodylink magic. Unless Laxus gets an attack of morality and decides to stand down, unlikely, or Natsu and Erza can remember to ask how to shut down the thunder palace in the middle of beating Laxus up, even less likey, the best we are going to be able to do is take his lightning on ourselves so it can’t threaten the town or the people here.”

That was going to be unpleasant. He hadn’t heard about bodylink magic before today, but it wasn’t hard to figure out. He’d heard about people who got hit with real lightning, and it wasn’t pretty.

“Do we have to worry about long term damage from taking lightning, or does the magic kind not leave people with memory problems and muscle spasms?” Loke asked.

Lucy shrugged, “I haven’t seen effects like that on humans that have endured lightning magic in the past. Hurts a lot, but if it caused the same long term effects, Natsu would be even stupider than he already is and Laxus would have been sued and be a lot more careful than he is.”

Did she kill any of the lightning—nope, “People. Should we warn them? Does Magnolia have evacuation procedures, or can we get the word out so people lay low like they did when Phantom was attacking?”

Lucy shook her head, “Magnolia on a normal day would just evacuate or wait it out, but the visitors would cause a panic and possibly a stampede, which have so many casualties.”

“Should we get started on the Thunder Palace then?” Loke asked.  

“No, we have—I mean, it’s not like . . .” Lucy squeezed her eyes shut. She wrapped her arms tighter around her knees. “Look, I hate myself right now for everything that happened today, and I would just really like to talk about it.”

His plan had been to never talk about what just happened. Eventually his thoughts about Lucy’s kill count would go away and they could just pretend it had never happened.  

His backup plan had been to talk about it in ten years. Maybe around a campfire, with the others around, reminiscing about his early days at Fairy Tail and laughing together about the day Lucy scared him, Happy, and Bixslow shitless.

His third back up plan had been talk about it after he had the chance to work out his feelings with weapon drills and running, and definitely after several alcoholic beverages.

But brave, badass, beautiful Lucy was making herself small by curling in on herself.

A sad, beautiful woman; Loke’s one true weakness

“Okay…which parts do you want to talk about?” Loke asked, taking a seat in front of her. “Talk to me Lucy.”

“I’m so-rry,” Lucy said, her voice breaking as she cringed against the wall. “Having me here all the time leaves you powerless. And-and I thought I was making up for it by strengthening your magic stores while I’m here and teaching you to fight in a better style, but that didn’t matter. So many things could have happened to you and it would have been all my fault. Because I wanted-wanted to be in a stupid beauty contest.”

“Well I certainly don’t regret seeing you in the Miss Fairy Tail pageant,” Loke said, a smile in his voice.

It wasn’t enough to get Lucy to smile back. She just shook her head and rubbed at the tears in her eyes.

He sighed, “Look. Even if I did get hurt because my magic was supporting you, I wouldn’t blame you. I can feel my magic getting stronger by summoning you for long periods of time. You’re making me a stronger wizard, and I get to spend time with a beautiful woman. All wins for me.”

Still no smile. Lucy’s brown eyes looked so big as tears gathered and her lip trembled.

Logic, maybe logic would help her.

“Hey, we don’t know what would have been different if we’d been in the fight from the beginning," Loke tried, "But now Mystogan knows what’s going on, you were able to take down Bixlow, and Natsu’s free from the barrier. Awful as it sounds like it was for you, Natsu is going after Laxus and will end this whole nightmare and let us get on with the festival.”

“Natsu’s only chance is if his stupid pride doesn’t get in the way and he accepts help,” Lucy sniffed.

Pettiness was much better than self-hating tears.

“Where does that sit on the likelihood scale of ‘Laxus getting an attack of morality’ and 'Erza and Natsu remembering to ask how to deactivate the thunder palace’?”

Her lips twitched as she fought a smile, “It’s the most likely outcome. Winning is much more important than winning alone, though he’ll have to be pretty wrecked before he admits that.”

“There it is,” Loke said, smiling back, and she couldn’t stop the small smile this time. He moved to sit beside her, his back also against the retaining wall.

“I should be apologizing to you,” Loke said. It was easier to speak of hard things looking over the roof than looking at her. “I should have made it clearer to Natsu that going to the celestial realm through your gate was forbidden. I shouldn’t have lost my keys to Bixslow and let there be even a chance of whatever hell Laxus was going to put you through.”

He shook his head, “No, where I really messed up was that I’ve been making sure you and Laxus don’t cross paths because I wanted to avoid drama. I shouldn’t have been trying to control that. You probably could have goaded him into saying something that would have warned us what he was planning weeks ago. You have a special way for getting under his skin.”

“I do have a talent for irritating Laxus, don’t I?” Lucy said, letting her head fall against his shoulder. Loke put an arm around her to make her more comfortable and she accepted it by snuggling in closer. Happy adjusted too by jumping into her lap.

“Try not to lose our keys so much, but if you do, I’ll get them back for you. I promise. Just stay alive until I get there, okay?”

“At least you aren’t going to ask me to back off on summoning you,” Loke said.

She seemed to be debating something. Loke let her think.

“It’s…Celestial Spirit magic is more linked to emotions than other magic. You know that, right?” Lucy asked hesitantly.

Where was this coming from?

“It is? How?” Loke asked. “I don’t feel a sudden burst of magic when I’m angry or desperate, not like Natsu.”

Lucy shook her head, “Not like Natsu. Dragons are territorial; their strength lies in themselves and comes out when their territory is threatened. Fairy Tail, you and I, we’re his territory. Your strength is different. Your strength is in people fighting together and relying on others.” She paused, mouth twisted as she fought to find the words. “I didn’t talk about it directly in my book, but you know the real difference between Mara and Hillary? Hilary started out with stronger base magic and more experience, but Mara actually liked me and I loved her.”

Mara Altair, who asked her shyly for help with homework and would call her out to play the mandolin for Lucy. Mara who went on a quest to save her brother and who defended her Renkit friends from racial abuse. Verse Hilary Nightwalker, who’s biggest role in Lucy’s memoir was being the wizard too weak to force a gate closure after she attracted a marionette wizard.

“So my magic grows because I care about you?” Loke asked, amused. “Section 8 seems counter-intuitive then.”

“Not like that,” she scolded, thumping his chest, “The more you want me here, and the more I want to be here, the more power I can use. The more you believe in me, and the more I believe in you, the more of my power I can use to supplement yours. The more I know you, the more I can just know your emotions and come help when you need it.

“I’m trying to say that we’re close enough now that if Bixslow or anyone else takes your keys, I’ll know and I’ll come to Earthland on my own and bring them back to you. You just have to stay alive long enough for me to do it.

“It’s not the sudden emotional demands of self that Natsu uses to push his limits. Your magic comes from emotions that grow over time, fondness and familiarity and everything that actually makes people strong through hardship, not bursts of passion.”

Loke tried to understand, he really did, but he didn’t feel stronger for getting to know Lucy better. He doesn’t have a great sense of his magic container overall. Lucy was treating this information like the great secret to celestial power, but how was he supposed to know that he was getting closer with his spirits? That wasn’t exactly a quantifiable measure.

His magic grew during endurance training, specifically having Lucy out for long periods of time, but was she saying that it was because they were spending time together, not just training his magic container?

Wait.  

He did remember feeling his magic grow once.

Virgo’s fist buried in the wall next to his face, pulled by Sherri’s strings. Loke clutching his dislocated shoulder.

Virgo had a tear on her cheek.

That’s when he knew she was hurting, that she hated everything about what was happening, and was struggling to get free from someone else’s control like he had been struggling to do his entire life.

It was only then that he could enact the force gate closure. When he had reached down inside himself and known what Virgo wanted and felt beyond what he was seeing her do. Beyond what the marionette wizard demanded.

“I think I understand,” he said. “And it’s good to know that even without my keys, you’re just a couple of steps behind me. Still, I think I’ll keep a better eye on them.” He grinned, “Does that mean that since I believe you can beat Laxus, you can actually beat Laxus?”

Lucy chuckled, “If only. Laxus has the ability to turn into lightning and zap himself across distances. All he’d have to do is threaten you and I’d give. Sorry, you have to convince me you could defeat Laxus on your own too.”

“Darn. Guess it’s back to the practice field,” Loke said. “By the way, if there’s a sensory body link with your key, what do you feel when I’m holding it? It’s not . . .”

“It’s not invasive,” Lucy assured him. “The sensory link is an awareness in the back of my mind most of the time. Like you technically know what your left foot is feeling whenever you’re asked, but you don’t spend time thinking about it unless you know something is wrong. The sensation-link is strongest when I’m crossing between realms, and using a proper summoning stance just feels like you have an arm around me, guiding me to my key so I can cross into this world in the right spot.”

“Well, that offers some potentially very interesting uses,” Loke mused. When Lucy narrowed her eyes at him, he corrected, “Ah, nevermind, didn’t mean to say that out loud. Don’t mind me. I’ll keep summoning you with proper form, as usual.”

“You’d better,” Lucy said, snuggling in.

“Those thoughts will have to wait until after I make you fall in love with me anyway.”

“Had to ruin it, didn’t you?” Lucy said drily.

Despite ‘ruining it’ Lucy didn’t move away.

 

 

 

Mira was pulling Elfman along, and despite his protests that he was fine, he let himself lean on her. Her power may have vanished, but she still had the strength to carry her little brother.

She would always have the strength to carry her little brother.

There was an explosion on the bridge ahead. They ran.

“I will admit, your skill has increased, greater than anticipated,” Freed said, mouth bloody and coat burnt. “I never imagined you would learn how to set traps with those cards of yours. I am used to being the one controlling the battlefield.”

“Lucy taught me defense, and Loke used to have a sword like yours that could dispel magic with a swipe,” Cana said, wiping blood from a wound on her forehead out of her eye. “I’m stronger because instead of pouting and being brainwashed by a disappointment like Laxus, I learned from my friends.”

“Don’t talk about Laxus that way,” Freed roared, lunging forward.

Cana jumped back, catching his arm in another card trap that shrank down and squeezed, locking his arm in place. “Give up Freed.”

Freed grinned, “Dark Ecruture: Agony.”

Black writing scrawled over Cana’s chest, and her spell disappeared as she dropped to her knees screaming. She threw her weight backwards and fell off the bridge. Mira and Elfman were too far away to catch her.

From above, Freed adjusted his coat. “I apologize, but though you put up a good fight, this is where your participation in the game ends.” With another swipe of his sword, a new flash of script text poured across her shoulder, “Darkness.”

Cana’s screaming doubled.

“Stop this Freed!” Mira begged.

“Act like a man and fight me!” Elfman roared.

Cana stopped screaming and slumped to the ground.

Freed glanced at them. “I’m sorry Elfman, but you have already been eliminated from the competition by losing to Evergreen. I’m going to have to insist you stand down.”

“I’m ready for round two!” Elfman said, pulling a fist.

The fact that it wasn’t a beast arm showed he wasn’t nearly recovered enough for this fight. He still jumped to the top of the bridge near Freed anyway.

Freed let out a slow breath, “I didn’t want it to come to this, but you leave me no choice. I have a much more important task to accomplish. There is only one ending for those who break the rules of the game. I need to end this quickly. Dark Ecruture: Pain.”

Elfman yelled, black magic turning his scalera purple.

“Freed! Stop! He’s not as strong as he used to be! Elfman!” Mirajane yelled, running to put herself between Cana and the fighting.

Freed started adding more stroke of pain, suffering, and torment, until Elfman, her strong, manly brother, was screaming.

“Stop! Stop!”

“And the final Ecruture,” Freed said, resetting his stance. His eye blazed black.

The final Ecruture was death.

The world froze. Lisanna, tossed aside by the beast. Lisanna, lying on the ground, unable to see her.

Lisanna, begging Mira to take care of Elfman, that she didn’t blame him.

Lisanna, unable to move or see, asking Mira to remember that she loved them as she vanished.

Lisanna, not moving anymore.

Lisanna, never moving again.

A grave.

And this bastard dared to threaten her family with that spell.

The world shattered, and the demon inside her took over. The block on Mira’s magic, it had always been about her fear of losing control of the demons inside her. Of unleashing what Elfman unleashed when he failed to take over the beast.

Now, Mirajane Strauss didn’t care.

If Elfman was going to die by the hand of a member of Fairy Tail, there was no reason to hold back. No one left to protect. No reason not to let the world bleed and face the wrath of a demon she might not fully control.

Mirajane Strauss let the demon take over.

Freed stopped his spell against Elfman, but it wasn’t good enough. Seeing her brother still alive, it wasn’t enough make her pull away from tearing Freed apart.

Not this time.

It was the Advent of Satan.

Notes:

Friday Evenings are the magic day for uploads now. Sadly, in looking at the demands of my job and looking for my next job, I needed to go down to one upload a week and at a day and time where I won't get distracted with uploading. We're going down to once a week uploads, with possible bonus chapters on holidays.

If lucy had been feeling more generous towards Natsu, she would have added that his bursts of passion fueled magic are only possible because he nurtures the every day relationships too, but she wasn't feeling very charitable towards Natsu right now, lol.

Chapter 48: Thunder Palace

There was a burst of immense power to the northeast. Lucy sat up straighter; the sticky ooze of demonic energy brushed at the edge of her senses.

Demons? Here?

Of course Zeref’s pets would cause a rukus when they were divided and fighting amongst themselves.

But something felt different about the immense magic signature. It wasn’t just a demon, it was racked with human magic.

Lucy stood up, and Loke followed. A giant black magic circle pulsed outwards, and then narrowed into an attack.

It wasn’t hard to connect the dots.

“What’s that?” Loke asked as two fighters took to the sky in the distance.

“The Demon Mirajane, Satan’s Soul is awake,” Lucy said, staring off. “Mira was S class but had a mental block on using her magic ever since her sister died when Elfman couldn’t control a beast takeover. If she’s back…”

“Good that we have something else to throw against Laxus and the thunder palace, but bad because whatever happened was bad enough to break the block,” Loke guessed. “Do we go help?”

Lucy thought for a moment, then shook her head, “Erza took out Evergreen, we took out Bixslow, she must be fighting Freed. You said Laxus is in Kardia Cathedral, right?”

“That’s what Mystogan seemed to think,” Loke said. “Made the good point that someone playing with us like this must have a god complex.”

“Natsu, Mystogan, and Erza are after Laxus,” Lucy said. “We need to start gathering the rest of our guild to prepare to take out the thunder palace lacrima. No more lackeys, no more hostages, the game ends for real. Mira will handle herself, this was always going to happen at some point. We should trust her and whoever is with her for now.”

“And if Freed dies?” Loke asked, more out of morbid curiosity than anything.

“If Freed did something to convince Mira that she needs to kill him, he deserves to die,” Lucy said casually, getting ready to jump to the next roof as Happy settled on Loke’s shoulders. Then she froze. “Well, that’s what I think. You?”

“You seem to think I have some great aversion to capital punishment,” Loke said. “I hope that’s not what happened, but I’ll trust Mira like I trusted you. These are innocents and guildmates they’re hurting, and the Magic Council isn’t functioning. Mira knows these guys better than anyone else in the guild I bet. I’ll trust her if she thinks death’s the answer, like I trusted you.”

“Sorry, rich kids tend to get squeamish when it comes to death, animal or human,” Lucy said, jumping over the rooftops with her eyes cast downwards for her guildmates. “I need to know your lines.”

“I’d do it if it had to be done,” Loke said. “I grew up with the philosophy that you should never ask or pay someone else to do something that you were unwilling to do yourself.”

“You don’t know how much I appreciate that.”

           

 

 

“One hundred swords, that’s not enough,” Erza said, panting. “Please, Fairy Tail, I need your strength.”

Her voice was a whisper on the wind, but as Lucy and Happy and Loke stopped their rooftop run at the same time, Loke knew he hadn’t imagined it.

“Was that . . .” Loke asked, not quite sure how to finish that sentence.

“Erza’s asking for help,” Lucy confirmed. “I don’t know how, but how doesn’t matter. Happy, fly up high and see if you can find her. My guess is she left Natsu and Mystogan, maybe Levy finally freed Gajeel too, so she could take down the thunder palace herself. Look for several swords.”

“Aye sir,” Happy said, letting go of Loke to fly into the air.

“Erza can talk to us telepathically now? And we’re just going to ignore that?” Loke asked.

Lucy folded her arms, “Can you honestly tell me that that’s what’s important here?”

“A little,” he said, “And we don’t have anything else to talk about while Happy scouts. We haven’t been able to find anyone.”

Lucy groaned and rubbed her temples, “Focus. I need to tell a story. We should have met people by now, other wizards recovered from their battles, but we haven’t seen anyone. We’re on the west side of town, that’s where Mystogan entered for whatever reason. Assume he got to the center cathedral. We sent Cana and Juvia to Porlyusica in the east, a little south east is where Mirajane is currently beating Freed, though that battle seems finished.”

“Reedus was heading to the east forest as well, and he made it all the way to Freed. Freed was probably guarding that exit,” Loke pointed out. “And if he didn’t run into any battles until Freed at the exit, that means most of the guild went in a different direction.”

“Right,” Lucy said, nodding. “The guild is placed at the north-most point of Magnolia, the lake behind it. Someone should have run into Laxus in Kardia Cathedral before now, but no one appeared to fight him on the enchantment board, right?”

“Right,” Loke affirmed, “Maybe Bixslow and Evergreen chased people around the Cathedral so no one would end the game early?”

“Parade Street,” Lucy said, hitting her fist into her palm. “We have Parade Street barricaded for the Fantasia Parade. No one would have been able to take the direct route to the Cathedral. The Thunder Legion are all flyers, it wouldn’t have been hard to corral people together. Magnolia’s a big city, there was no reason for people to get into fights unless they were intentionally being idiodic and traveling together, which I wouldn’t put past our guild, but Bixslow and Evergreen were purposefully blocking the area to make people step into enchantment zones together.”

“Except for the road to Porlyusica,” Loke said, remembering his visit there, “The fastest way from the guild to her cabin is to split at north circle road and travel through Violet boulevard. What does that tell us?”

“It means that most of our members aren’t near the rim of the thunder palace,” Lucy said grimly. “Mira, Cana, Juvia, they have the east. Erza…”

“Erza’s to the north,” Happy said, flying back to them. “I talked to her, she had a bunch of swords ready to attack them all at once. She’s got the ones over the guild. Her goal is to be able to take out three hundred, but she’s going to need help with the rest.”

Lucy took a deep breath. It was very noticeable, given she was still in her cheerleading outfit. He’d seen sporting events on lacrima visions, but hadn’t ever met a real cheerleader. Lucy’s acrobatics would put them all shame, much less the way she filled out her uniform.

No time for those thoughts. End the city-threatening lightning lacrima first.

Lucy closed her eyes, and they waited.

“What are you doing?” Happy finally asked.

“Estimating how many lacrima there are in total,” Lucy said, “now hush.”

He could guess at the math, but he couldn’t do it in his head. Assuming Kardia Cathedral was the center, you could get the circumference if you knew the distance between the church and the guild, which clearly had a couple right above it. If you remembered how many were above the guild, and how long the guild was, which they had talked about pretty frequently while rebuilding, you could get an approximate slice of the perimeter. Multiply that by how many slices in the circle, and you get a good estimate.

Loke looked up and counted ten of the lacrima, and he really didn’t like how small a slice of the circle those ten were.

“About four hundred and sixty,” Lucy said, opening her eyes. “We can’t take out 160 by ourselves. I’ll take as much of the body link as I can, but some of what I destroy is going to bleed into you. That much would kill you, especially with how much of your magic I’ve already taken up today.”

“So we’re not as bad as we were now that we have Erza, but we still need to find people,” Loke said.

“We can’t,” Lucy said grimly. “Not really. Everyone is gathered closer to the northern neighborhoods. We might be the only ones able to reach the west and south, so we can’t leave. We should just start destroying on our side, as many as we can at once, and hope others get the clue. Laxus is probably getting desperate. We’re out of time.”

“Hey Fairy Tail! Hope everyone’s doing all right!” a man’s voice came into his head.

“It’s Warren!” Happy cheered.

“Everyone who can hear me, we need your help. See those lacrima in the sky? Laxus left us another present, and we need to take them out. Each of them is filled with lightning, and they’re a danger to the whole city. It’s going to be a painful blast once we take them out, but we’re wizards and we can handle it. Anyone else they target has a good chance of dying, and we can’t let that happen.”

“Everyone, I have the three hundred to the north,” Erza said. “I thank you graciously for your assistance, we don’t have a lot of time. Three minutes, at the most.”

“Sorry it took so long to bring help Erza, had to find this guy first,” Gray said.

“I’m just relieved to have help at all,” Erza assured him. So Gray had heard Erza’s plea for help too. Was there some kind of connection between their team?

“Erza, you’re back. The other girls, does that mean…” Jet asked.

“Erza, we need to know that Levy is safe,” Droy finished.

“Bisca, is Bisca alright?” Alzak asked.

“We’re fine boys,” Cana came in drily, “Levy’s at the guild, so she won’t hear, but we’re all free from our stone prisons.”

“Bisca was the first to take out one of the lacrima, but she’s doing just fine now, you’ll be happy to hear Alzak,” Mirajane said. Beside him, Lucy let out a sigh of relief.

“Right, now we need to fan out—" Warren started.

“Hey, why should I listen to you?” Droy demanded. “You certainly weren’t listening to anyone earlier.”

“Yeah, and Alzak, I have a bone to pick with you, you shot me in the back!” Max yelled.

Everyone started murmuring death threats against their fellow members.

“Would everyone shut up!” Gray yelled.

“Practice what you preach!” Several people yelled back. Cana and Erza were starting to mutter death threats against people who weren’t staying quiet, while Lucy beside him seemed to give up on the conversation and was starting to plan her next jump back towards the lacrima.

Loke started laughing, “I love you guys.”

People started to quiet down, but he couldn’t stop laughing. Happy and Lucy were staring at him.

“No, really. I love you guys so much,” Loke said, taking off his glasses to wipe a tear of laughter, “I always wanted to be in Fairy Tail, you seemed so warm and adventurous, and now I can’t imagine life without all of you. We’ve been through so much together, attacks and battles, we rebuilt our home together, and with a timer on us, all you guys want to do is argue over combat etiquette. I love you, ya crazies.

“I may be new here, but no way am I gonna let anyone destroy this city. I’m certainly not going to let all that time spent building the new guildhall be for nothing. Now, Lucy says that if the two of us take out all the lacrima Erza isn’t, I’ll probably die. But if you all don’t get your act together and sort this out later, that’s what I’ll do. You taught me that that’s what it means to be a Fairy Tail wizard afterall. Wouldn’t want to let you down.”

It was silent across the telepathic network.

“Well, how about it? Is everyone gonna let the newbie show them up?” Cana teased.

“Now we have to do it or we look bad,” Macao said good-naturedly.

“He may be new, but Loke’s got more Fairy Tail spirit than the rest of us combined. Let’s help the guy out,” Wakaba added.

“Laki, we’ll talk later,” a woman said. Within ten seconds everyone had given an agreement to deal with their problems after they took down the thunder palace.

“Great job Loke,” Gray said, grin in his voice, “You got everyone to calm down. Now, Lucy?”

“Right, okay everyone, thanks to Warren and Gray, I think we have a plan to take them out at once. We have about a hundred people here, close your eyes for a second, Warren’s going to deliver an image of which lacrima to aim for. Get to a roof and wait for the countdown. Hurry. We can’t give Laxus a warning, and we’ve wasted nearly all of our time,” Lucy said.

Loke closed his eyes and two lacrima appeared in his head. Opening his eyes, they were to the southwest. They must have the very edge.

“You were figuring this out while everyone was arguing?” Loke asked.

“Warren’s good, don’t doubt that,” Lucy said with a smile. “He was able to put me, Erza, and Mirajane in a separate channel and help us pinpoint with everyone’s signal. Get ready.”

They headed for their spot, and Loke could see other wizards take to the rooftops in preparation,

“FOR FAIRY TAIL!” Erza bellowed across the telepathic signal.

Fairy Tail answered in kind.

Magic circles sprung across the sky, easy to see from where Happy had lifted him into the air. Happy dropped him from above to use his chain and sickle on his two, before Happy went after one of them himself. Lucy had jumped to the other side and sent out a lion of light from her fist that took out fifteen.

They landed, and over the telepathy were cheers of victory. Happy caught him, and as they flew back to the roof, he saw every single lacrima shatter in a firework of gold glitter.

“Perfect,” Loke said, “We’ll be able to convince the townspeople it was part of the festivities now.”

“Uh-oh,” Happy said, as the first lightning strike hit a member from above.

“Yeah, that’s gonna be a bit harder to explain,” Loke said.

“We’ll figure it out,” Lucy promised. “Couldn’t have done it without you. I had the how, but they wouldn’t have listened to me yelling like I planned.”

“Glad to know I can do something around here,” Loke joked. Then he got serious, “If you head back now, I doubt the bodylink magic can cross realms.”

Lucy shook her head. “If I did that, the pain of all seventeen would hit you. This way we split it. Take off your shoes.” Her shoes were already off.

“Scale of one to ten, how bad is this going to be?” Loke asked, kicking off his shoes and trying to brace himself.

It hit them both before she could reply, and they were screaming. Some distant part of his brain noted that it wasn’t the same scream she had used in the tower, and he’d feel relief about that when the pain stopped.

The lightning stopped eventually. They were all flat on the roof, struggling to breathe.

“Everyone all right?” Gray asked tiredly over the telepathy.

A chorus of groans suggested that everyone was probably alive, even if they still hurt so bad they wished they weren’t.

“This really is the best guild,” Erza said, pouring love through the thought.

“Would be better if Laxus could get over his rebellious phase,” Macao chuckled, and everyone laughed and rested. They felt the communication cut out.

“Gonna head back now?” Loke asked.

“I’d like to see Laxus lose, if you don’t mind,” Lucy said. “See Natsu bragging about it, the whole shebang, but I’ll go back if you want me to.”

“We’re not seeing much from here,” Loke groaned, patting the ground.

“Hmm, good point,” Lucy groaned, not sitting up. “Happy, doing okay?”

The cat didn’t say anything. Loke reached out and felt his chest move. “Little guy’s knocked out.”

“He wouldn’t have it any other way,” Lucy said, rolling to her side. “I’ll stay here until he wakes up, then I’ll leave. We’re gonna need to help with the parade though. Too many people will be too injured or magic sick to do it.”

“You really think we’re still going to have the parade? What about Master?”

“Porlyusica’s got him,” Lucy said with confidence. “I think you should summon me and Lyra for the parade.”

“You really think I can handle two summons at once?” Loke asked, swinging his head around to look at her. “You serious?”

Lucy laughed. “Loke, you’ve had me out for over 12 hours at a time, it’s already been six hours today alone. Every time I’m out you’re expanding your magic container. You’ve grown a lot this past month with our training, and you’re only going to get stronger.”

“You’ve been secretly training me by guilting me into letting you hang out with our friends?”

“Stick with me, and you’ll be a powerhouse in no time,” Lucy promised. “You’ll see why your magic is the best, it will just be a lot of hanging out with your friends.”

“You’re so much work,” Loke groaned as a tease. He’d felt the magic strain of having Lucy out for extended periods, and now he knew why it never seemed to get easier. Lucy was probably using more and more of his magic to train him each time. Never such an increase that he’d notice, the sneak.

“I’m worth it though,” Lucy flirted. “And you’ll do it, because it means you can have me around as much as you like.”

“Well now, that is a tempting reward,” Loke flirted back. “And if I want you around all night long?”

Lucy squeaked. She actually squeaked!

He laughed.

“So, when’s the wedding?” Happy said. “That way you can flirt in private and stop tormenting the rest of us.”

“Shut it you stupid cat!” Lucy said.

Loke was about to comment when he felt magic power building.

“It’s coming from the Cathedral,” Loke said.

Lucy tried to get up, but fell back down, “What are those guys thinking? Are they actually going to let Laxus release that in Magnolia?”

“Release what?” Loke asked.

“It’s Fairy Law,” Lucy said. “It targets your enemies and can provide a healing boost to your allies. One of the guild’s sacred magics. It’s what Master used to take out Phantom’s leader. If Laxus uses it here—”

“He’s trying to wipe out everyone,” Loke said, trying and failing to get up.

“It’s coming,” Happy warned, closing his eyes as the magic released.

On her hands and knees, Lucy lunged at him. Together they crashed to the roof just as the light washed over and past them.

Leaving them untouched.

“You okay?” he asked Lucy, lying on his chest.

“That didn’t hurt.” she said, shocked, "You?" She pushed herself above him, carefully looking over his face.

“Nothing,” Loke said, relaxing.

He could get used to Lucy being on top of him like this. And now that no one was going to die, or there was nothing they could do about it if they were, he could have thoughts like these. “Guess he did it wrong.”

Lucy shook her head and looked towards the Cathedral, “No, he did it right. It means that, despite everything he’s done, no one in Fairy Tail is his enemy. If I’m not, then no one is.”

“What do you know?” Loke said, really not caring.

“You liiiiiiiiike him,” Happy teased. Lucy finally noticed their position and turned bright red. She rolled off him to lunge at Happy.

“Stop it Happy!” Lucy yelled, giving the cat a nuggie. Happy managed to squirm away, taunting about how Lucy luuuuuved Loke.

“Tell me Lucy, do Celestial Spirits wear white at their weddings?” Happy asked, fluttering his eyelashes and making Loke laugh.

“That’s it, you’re better, Laxus can’t actually kill anyone, I’m leaving,” Lucy huffed, still red.

With a poof of magic, Lucy vanished.

Happy giggled again, “She luuuuves you.”

Loke laughed too. It hurt, but a good hurt.

Notes:

That takes care of the thunder palace, and Loke is feeling better.

Hmm, I have a halloween special that takes place after Fantasia. You might get more chapters so I can post the last fantasia chapter and post the special for the holiday, lol. Or I might post it as a side story. Keep an eye out for that this next week!

Chapter 49: Fantasia

“What’s up?” Lucy asked, answering the summons by taking the seat beside her wizard. They were in the guildhall, so she hadn’t come prepared to fight.

“Erza has an announcement about Master, I thought you’d like to be here to hear it,” Loke explained.

“Great, thank you,” Lucy said, smiling.

Looking around, there were a lot of bandages and the smell of burn ointment underlay the typical beer and magic smells. People seemed to be in a generally good mood despite the injuries. and she could see parts of parade floats getting their final touches at different tables.

Lucy spotted Natsu and Gajeel and winced, “Laxus got them that good? Did they even win?”

“It was more of a tie, really,” Happy said.

Natsu waved at her. He tried to say something, but the jaw bandage muffled his words to incomprehensible.

“Sorry,” Lucy said with a shrug, “I can’t understand you.”

“He says it’s cool that you and Loke beat Bixslow and that you’ll have to fight him soon,” Gajeel translated, bored.

“You can really understand him?” Gray asked.

“It’s because they both speak stupid,” Happy teased.

“Or dragon,” Lucy said thoughtfully, as the two dragonslayers continued to talk. “Dragons are probably more about body language, and they were both raised by dragons.”

“Shut up, you’re the stupid one!” Gajeel said, nearly headbutting Natsu. Natsu headbutted him back with more muffled insults.

“Or maybe it’s just the language of stupid,” Lucy admitted, making Happy laugh.

“Hey everyone!” Erza called. “It’s time for the announcement. I am happy to report that, thanks to Porlyusica, the Master is expected to make a full recovery and he will be ready for Fantasia tonight!”

The whole guild cheered.

“You were right about the guild going forward with the parade,” Loke told her, “Not only did everyone decide it was best for the guild’s spirits, but Gramps insisted on it.”

“Of course he did,” she laughed.

“You ready to be in it Juvia?” Cana asked, slinging an arm around the woman.

Juvia paled, “But I’m so new! I’m not ready!”

“You’re a member of Fairy Tail, aren’t you?” Macao said.

“We heard about what you did; you’ll be great up there,” Wakaba added.

Juvia started mumbling to herself in a corner about the pros and cons of performing in a parade.

“Isn’t she adorable?” Cana said with a grin.

The door to the guild swung open. Within seconds all the talking shut down.

Laxus had walked in.

He was just as bandaged as Gajeel. He didn’t meet anyone’s eyes as he walked forward.

The air was thick, ready to spark as though the lighting palace was in there with them. Hands hovered, ready for magic or weapons should Laxus move too fast.

Lucy watched coolly. There wasn’t anything he could do to her after all.

He did accidentally meet her gaze, and his eyes and head immediately dropped further to the floor.

“I’m here to see the old man,” Laxus said to his silent  guildmates.

“You can’t just walk in here like that!”

“Like hell are we going to let you see him after what you did!”

Shouts errupted from every corner of the guildhall.

Erza held up a hand.

Everyone made space between their two S-Class wizards. The guild held its breath. Laxus finally met Erza’s eyes.

“He’s in the infirmary,” Erza said with authority. She quelled further protests with a look. 

Part of Lucy did want her own moment to straighten things out with Laxus. Between his ‘special orders’ for her and Loke, and the message she wanted him to pass onto Bixslow about being a pervert and never coming near her again, she felt she had earned it.

But his rebellion had never been about her. It had always been about his relationship with his family, and demanding some kind of retribution for her specific hurts would lead to everyone wanting their own piece of his hide. That kind of hatred wouldn’t help the guild, and it certainly wouldn’t set the right mood for Fantasia.

Natsu skipped and ducked, sliding until he was right in front of Laxus, finger pointed at him.

Only for another muffled tirade no one could understand.

“What’s he saying?” Happy asked Gajeel.

“He says next time it’s going to be one on one, and he’s not gonna lose, so Laxus better prepare himself,” Gajeel said, then coughed, “Or, that might be what he’s saying.”

Laxus looked into Natsu’s eyes for a long moment, then walked away. Natsu was getting ready for more muffled challenges when Laxus raised his hand and called over his shoulder.

"I look forward to it."

Natsu got teary-eyed.

“I guess on some level, your hero will always be your hero,” Loke said, shaking his head. “It’s probably worse now that he knows Laxus is a dragon slayer too.”

Lucy blinked, “Wait, what? No, back up. I thought Laxus grew up in the guild? How is he a dragon slayer?”

“He wasn’t raised by a dragon, but it was Dragon Slayer magic. Dunno how, but it was,” Gajeel said with a shrug.

 

~

 

Lucy stayed to help the guild prepare for the parade. She practiced her ribbon routine with Levy and Bisca, while Loke practiced fireworks with his keys.

He was going to be on the last float with Master, just after Natsu’s fireworks. The plan was that he and Lyra were going wave for the first half, then Lyra was going to sing a goodnight and goodbye for the last stretch.

“You sure I can do this?” Loke asked. Lucy was standing beside him, hands on her hips. “This won’t kill me?”

“No, it won’t kill you.” Lucy promised, “I’m cheating a bit and using plenty of my own magic to be here right now. But the true block to multiple summons is something else and you're past it.”

Still, he hesitated. This had killed Karen, but Mom had summoned multiple spirits at once. He took one more look at Lucy.

Lucy placed a hand on his shoulder, “Go on. I need to get up to the front, and Lyra needs to decide if she wants to change into a costume. If I start to feel too much strain on you, I’ll leave. You trust me with your life, right?”

Loke let out a breath, “Of course I do. Okay, here it goes. Open, Gate of the Lyre, Lyra!”

His celestial voice rang true and with a stroke of her harp, Lyra appeared.

“Leo! Loke! You know, you don’t summon me nearly enough,” Lyra scolded.

Loke shrugged with a wide smile, “You limited your summons to three times a month. Each time I think about summoning you, I worry about needing you later. I’ll try to be better about it.”

“Oh, I didn’t mean it like that,” Lyra pouted cutely. Then her eyes went wide, “Wait, Leo’s here on your power. I’m your first double summon, aren’t I?”

Loke nodded. It was tight. He could feel his magic leaving more rapidly as he supported both spirits. Lucy was right though, he could sustain this drain for a while.

Lyra squealed, “Oh this is so exciting! And we’re going to be part of a parade?”

“That’s right,” Loke said.

“Lucy! Your float’s about to leave!” Cana called to them.

“Right, that’s my cue,” Lucy said. “I’ll see you at the end, have fun you two.” With a wave she took off running.

“She’s so happy,” Lyra said with a sigh. “It’s been a long time since she’s been like this.”

“Really?” Loke asked.

Lyra shook her head, “Now, where’s our float?”

As they passed through the streets, everyone was cheering, and while Master was dancing on top, Loke got a few cheers for his fireworks too.

Then came a moment that felt like it defined the guild.

Loke watched Makarov stop dancing and got ready himself. As one, he felt more than saw his guild raise a finger and thumb into the air. Makarov had explained what it meant to everyone in their final powwow before the parade. What it meant every time they did it after one of Gramp’s pep talks.

What it would mean to Laxus.

They all agreed to it. Loke wasn’t sure how everyone had changed from ‘I want a piece of Laxus’ to ‘Let’s make sure that even if he is expelled, he knows that we’re still looking his way’.

Erza was the one to answer his question.

“He acknowledged Natsu,” Erza explained quietly. “I get why it would be confusing to someone new, but ever since Natsu joined the guild, Laxus has refused to acknowledge him unless Natsu was literally shoving a fist in his face. Even then, he’d punch Natsu across the room and pretend he hadn’t noticed. Laxus acknowledging Natsu isn’t about Natsu earning his respect, it’s about Laxus learning to respect the annoying kid beneath him.”

Loke remembered Lucy challenging Laxus in the guildhall. Natsu was screaming from the base of the stairs that he was with Lucy all the way, but Laxus didn’t look at him, even said Lucy was standing alone.

Laxus had changed, and he was going to keep changing as he dealt with his punishment, but he was still family. He would always be family. (And the idea that you could screw up as bad as Laxus did and Fairy Tail would still care about you made a lump in his throat). Loke was willing to remind Laxus of that, and so was everyone else.

The crowd cheered at the synchronized move, and Loke thought he saw a shadow the shape of Laxus.

Today, Fairy Tail had chosen love over hate.

Today, Fairy Tail chose to forgive.

           

~

 

 

Two hours with two spirits out had wiped him. He slept for twelve hours. The next morning the guild was in full crisis mode. Laxus was announced as banished, Natsu was throwing a tantrum about it, Freed had cut his hair in atonement, and Gramps was trying to leave.

Everyone tried to talk Gramps out of it, but it was Freed who actually got through to him. “Please, Master, do not compound the sorrow of Laxus’s banishment by leaving as well.”

Erza got Natsu to calm down eventually, and things seemed to settle into a new normal.

The new normal included the Thunder God Tribe hanging out more with the guild. Evergreen was trying to convince Reedus to draw her and Freed could be seen chatting with Mirajane. Bixslow took the longest to heal out of everyone, and Loke saw him turn around and leave twice when Lucy was in the guild. He kept his distance from Loke if Lucy wasn't there, and could be seen teasing Juvia about her crush on Gray. Which was actually good for both of them because it seemed to cool her down and let Bixslow make another friend.

Freed approached him and Lucy shyly, about a week after Fantasia, one of the guild’s copies of her original manuscript in hand.

“Lucy, may I sit? I wished to ask you some questions about your writing. I found myself enjoying it quite a lot,” Freed said, with a slight bow of the head.

“Of course you can,” Lucy said, making room for him on her other side. “I’m glad you liked it.”

“It’s no Kemu Zaleon, but I could see where his work influenced yours,” Freed said sitting down. The two spent at least two hours talking symbolism and the way that Lucy chose to represent viewpoints of real events, though much of that was Freed asking what was real and what was exaggerated. As well as asking about celestial magic secrets that she hadn’t included but made parts of the story disjointed.

Levy joined in halfway, and though Lucy deflated a couple of times at their critiques, it was easy to tell that the two of them loved literature and admired Lucy from an academic standpoint as well as a personal one.

“Loke’s getting tired, so why don’t we continue this another time,” Lucy said, smile exhausted. And while he was actually good to support her for a while longer, it didn't take a genius to realize Lucy was the one tired here.

“Sorry,” Loke said apologetically.

“That’s alright,” Levy said. “Of course we’ll chat again soon.”

“I actually had one more question before you leave, if you don’t mind,” Freed said. “Bixslow.”

Lucy and Loke tensed, and the rest of the table noticed.

“Before I answer your question, I believe I need to know what your response was to Laxus’s special orders regarding me and Loke,” Lucy said.

Freed bowed his head in shame, “As is your right. Laxus ordered us to retrieve your key and make sure your contract with Loke ended by any means necessary. I believed, as I think Bixslow and Evergreen believed, that you would break your contract with Loke before letting him come to harm.

“Once free, my understanding of Celestial Spirit magic is that while Laxus could summon you, you were under no obligation to make a contract with him. I believed that Loke would be free to go join another guild without you. I  predicted you and Laxus would find yourselves in a constant battle of wills after he took over the running of Fairy Tail. One that neither of you would win, but neither of you would lose. It is my shame not to have understood the harm that sequence of events could cause, or the other possible outcomes of Laxus’s orders. I am deeply sorry for that.”

Lucy looked over his bowed head for a long moment before saying, “I believe you and accept your apology. What do you want to know about Bixslow?” Lucy said.

“I was curious about the details of your battle,” Freed said, watching closely. “Bixslow himself won’t speak of it except to admit that he went too far and that he intended to never speak to you again, even after both myself and Evergreen shared our own sins regarding that day.”

“Good.” The table flinched at the flint in her tone. “He got my message then.”

“Don’t you think that’s a little harsh?” Gray asked. “I lost to him too, and it was because his attack would have hit a child if I dodged it. They were all—”

He was stopped by Natsu’s hand on his shoulder. “Drop it,” Natsu said, giving Lucy’s set mouth a quick glance. “This is different. Lucy doesn’t have to forgive him.”

Natsu and Lucy had some kind of understanding between their looks, then Lucy turned to Loke.

“Now I’m just bringing the guild down,” she said with an apologetic smile. “And I don’t want that. I’ll see you next time, 'kay?”

“Sleep. Please.” Loke begged her.

She laughed and vanished in a puff of smoke.

Freed turned to him. “Whatever happened, Bixslow feels more contrite than any of us,” Freed said. “I would appreciate if you could pass that on to Lucy.”

“On some level, I think she knows that,” Loke said. “He didn’t mean for Lucy to feel what she felt, but it happened. I know that, and I’m okay with him, but Lucy…I think she might forgive him one day. But I’ll back her if she never forgives him. She doesn’t want her feelings to influence the rest of us, so don’t punish him for Lucy’s grudge, okay?” That last part was directed around the table, where he could see his guildmates struggling with the instinct to pick a side.

“And you’re good with that too?” Gray checked with Natsu. “You’re usually the first one to say that Fantasia was nothing more than a party.”

Natsu pulled his hand back and shuddered. “Loke’s right. I don’t . . . know. Lucy’s allowed to hold a grudge on this one. They want to be separate, we should let them.”

“And thus we end with more questions than answers,” Freed said with a frown. “I do not think it possible to separate them completely while she continues to spend time at the guild. What do you think will happen if they are forced to meet?”

Loke remembered the threats Lucy made and winced at the thought.

“Shit!” Warren said, turning pale at the other end of the table.

“Rude,” Loke told him, then turned back to Freed who was analyzing Warren as the easier target, “She’ll probably do her best to ignore him so long as he doesn’t try to interact with her. Unless he messes with me or her again, she probably won’t maim or kill him.”

“Well that’s alright then,” Gray said with a shrug, “We’re all scared Erza’s going to do us in for stepping out of line, if Bixslow’s scared of Lucy the same way, no harm done.”

Most of the table went back to their previous conversations, accepting Gray’s explanation. What’s one more terrifying female that would destroy the people that stepped out of line? People wandered away until it was just Erza, Gray, Natsu, and Loke.

“It’s not the same at all, is it?” Erza asked sadly.

“No,” Loke said shaking his head. “But we shouldn’t talk about it here.” He eyed Warren, who ducked his head guiltily.

“Cool, dinner at Loke’s!” Natsu said, jumping up. “I’ll grab the drinks.”

“I will supply dessert, and I think the porkroast I started at noon should be ready soon,” Erza said, standing up.

“I’ll bring pasta salad,” Gray said. “Meet there in an hour?”

“Wait, what’s happening?” Loke said.

“An hour at the latest,” Erza decided.

“I’ll let Happy know,” Natsu said.

Loke sighed as his friends scattered for their meal assignments. “Now I know how Lucy felt.”

 

They only broached the heavy topic again once the food was gone and the dishes done, everyone sitting with their preferred beverage in his living room.

“Before anything else, are you two are okay?” Erza checked with Loke and Natsu. She didn’t have to specify what about.

“Just let me shove the memory away as deeply as possible,” Natsu said, shuddering again.

“Happy might be a little scarred,” Loke admitted, glancing at where the cat was shuddering in Natsu’s lap. “But I’m good. Or I will be.” Then he paused and shook his head, “No, it will take me a while to be okay too. Lucy….”

Natsu, sitting beside him, nudged his shoulder, “Happy told me. It’s easy to forget how much she’s lived outside of Fairy Tail.”

“What’s that got to do with it?” Gray asked.

“Dark celestial wizards aren’t afraid to kill other celestial wizards for their keys,” Loke said. “Remember? That’s how Karen died.”

“Yeah, what’s that…, oh,” Gray said, getting it. “Lucy’s actually killed before, like deliberately and not just self-defense. When you said she probably won’t maim or kill him…”

“I think Gray and I need to know what happened,” Erza said, quietly but firmly.

“It was so scary,” Happy said, his voice cracking. “One second Loke and I were pinned by Bixslow’s babies, then he stopped to show off he had Loke’s keys. He was saying something awful about killing Loke so Laxus could get his hands on Lucy. He licked her key then Lucy was screaming and throwing Natsu off the roof and threatening Bixslow. She was really going to do it too, really kill him! And Loke wasn’t stopping her!”

Natsu held Happy as he started to cry, letting the cat hide in his chest, “I grabbed onto her when she left to get to Loke through her spirit gate. Said she knew Loke didn’t have her key anymore and poofed away. It wasn’t anything like the time where I went through with Virgo. I was hurting her, and I felt it.

“I felt everything she felt, and it took everything she had to keep herself from ditching me in the celestial spirit realm to die. It felt like forever, but she was traveling as fast as she could. Just before we broke back into this world, I felt Bixslow’s tongue all over her body like it was my body. She screamed, used me to knock down Bixslow, threw me off a roof, and I ran as fast as I could.”

Natsu shuddered again, and held Happy tighter, “If she had killed him for that…I wouldn’t like it, but I wouldn’t . . . I wouldn’t have blamed her either.”

“There’s a kind of bodylink magic,” Loke explained, “Between spirits and their keys. They can tell when I’m not holding them, or when they’re underwater, or when someone is touching them. So when Bixslow licked her key….”

The horror on Gray and Erza’s faces spoke the words they couldn’t say.

Loke ran a hand through his short hair, “I’m sure Bixslow didn’t know what he was doing to her. He was just being creepy like his usual schtick. I didn’t even know how closely my spirits were linked to their keys.

“I didn’t know what to do then and I don’t know what to do now. I just told her I trusted her. That whatever she did, I trusted her to make the best decision. She let him live, obviously. She stared right into his gaze and punched him through a building. Then she cried on me a bit before we got to work on the Thunder Palace.”

Erza blew out a slow breath, “That’s why you don’t blame Bixslow or Lucy. It’s unfair to ask her to give up her hurt and pain and vengeance for the guild, but she surrendered it for us anyway. There are times where the bodylink is implied in her memoir, but…”

“Didn’t realize it was such a weakness,” Gray finished for her. He looked at Loke, “You haven’t been acting weird about the fact that Lucy’s killed people, you okay?”

“I’m trying to be,” Loke admitted. “She keeps asking me the same thing. And I will never order her to take a life, but…”

“But you’ve been avoiding giving her any orders,” Erza said with a nod, “And as much as I hate to admit it, should we truly face an enemy that leaves us with no other option, we would all kill to protect each other.”

“Then we treat her like we’d want to be treated if we had to do something like that,” Natsu decided. “And I wouldn’t want anyone to treat me differently.”

“We respect that she should never be against Bixslow,” Gray said. “And keep them as far apart as she wants.”

“We do our best to make sure she is never in a position to have to kill again,” Erza said softly. “I took lives in the Tower as a child. Part of becoming strong was so that I could end threats and protect people without ever having to resort to killing again. To be strong enough to show mercy. Lucy seems to have reached that strength on her own, but we do what we can to make it easier.”

“We don’t tell anyone else,” Loke added, feeling stronger now that his friends had echoed what he was feeling, “That’s her business. She left out the people she’s killed from her memoir because she doesn’t want anyone to see her that way. We’ll tell Gramps if we need to keep them separate and tell him if he asks questions, but no one else.”

“She’s the same Lucy, we just know more about her, right?” Happy asked, rubbing his eyes clear of tears.

“That’s right,” Natsu said, rubbing Happy’s head to make him smile, “She trusts us not to treat her differently, so that’s what we’re gonna to do.”

“Aye!”

Natsu seemed to be thinking something, then turned to Erza, “Since we’re doing the touchy-feely stuff, your turn. What happened against Laxus?”

“Natsu,” Erza warned.

“No,” Natsu said stubbornly, “Mystogan looked just like Jellal and you shut down. We both know you could have taken Laxus down, and there’s no way Mystogan was actually Jellal. The guy must have actually had a twin brother.”

“What!”

“Seriously?”

Erza sighed and put down her tea, “Look, I will admit that I did not recover from the revelation that Mystogan looked identical to Jellal as well as I should have, but that was a personal weakness. I am fine. I already informed Master Makarov of the connection, and if I do see Mystogan again, I will be able to react more appropriately. Should Igneel have appeared mid-battle, you would have also taken some hits that you should have dodged, so drop it.”

“Fine, just don’t go losing your head again,” Natsu huffed. “That was just embarrassing.”

“Do you want a rematch right now? I’ll show you embarrassing,” Erza said, eyes glinting. “Your injuries won’t keep me from holding back after such insults.”

“Alright, that’s what I’m talking about,” Gray said with a grin.

“No, no fighting. I finally got a nice apartment, and you guys are not going to wreck it. Take it outside,” Loke said.

“I’m game if you are,” Natsu said.

Despite the late hour, they went to the sidewalk and prepared to fight. Erza sent Natsu directly into the river with her first punch, where Juvia was spying on them, accidentally knocking her out….

Notes:

Happy Halloween everyone! Early chapter for the holiday, and to announce that the Halloween special is up! It's the "sequel" to this, and I had a lot of fun writing it. click the button just below this note to check it out! A cute halloween date with a splash of Ace Attorney.

We have some falling action with the fantasia parade, the guild readjusting to the the thunder legion, and the team actually talking about their problems! I'm so proud of them.

Let me know what you think!

Chapter 50: A Fateful Encounter

Notes:

Publishing this early because I'm going to be very busy and very tired the next two days. Also I wanted to create something in the wake of US election stress.

A month passed since Fantasia, and they went on jobs and chilled in the guild hall. Despite Loke’s love of adventure, even he could admit to being glad the adventures were lower key than Fantasia or their two weeks of insanity when it went Phantom-Tower-Lucy. There were still adventures, but they were unexpectedly being attacked by a monster on a job or trying not to laugh at the client’s stupid name. Easily handled with plenty of time spent in Fairy Tail.

Cana approached him one particularly beautiful day.

“What’s up?” he asked.

Once she was next to him, she put a hand on his chest, no doubt able to feel his heart rate increase as she left it there.

“You know, I was just ready to start dating again,” Cana purred, leaning in closer. “Tell me, are you free? Or is Lucy not the sharing type?”

Loke gave his best smile and let his fingertips graze her hand. “If you’re serious, there’s a restaurant I’ve been dying to try. I can pick you up at seven?”

Cana snorted and pulled her hand away, “Definitely not dating Lucy yet.”

“You’re breaking my heart,” Loke playfully pouted, “Only pretending to offer a date for a tinsy bit of gossip? Cruel Cana. My poor heart will never recover.”

That had Cana laughing. “Wow, you really are cute.”

“Is that a yes then?”

Cana shook her head, “It was true that I’m on the dating market again, but unfortunately the cards told me that you have a different fate today. I just wanted to see if you finally swept up my friend before delivering their message.”

“What did your cards say?”

Fortune Telling was one of the trickier magics; he had never heard a truth from a legitimate one before.

Then Juvia sighed behind a pillar as Gray chatted with Jet, and maybe he had heard a prophecy from a real one before. In the middle of a fight the day he met Gray. But there wasn't much information to be gleaned or used from "I foresee trouble with water and women in your future." It certainly hadn't prepared any of them for Juvia. Navigating the possibilities of the future to pick the one most likely, understanding the meaning to get the desired outcome, those were the skills of a true seer. Sorcerer Weekly had Cana as one of the best in the business.

“The cards say that today you will have a fateful encounter,” Cana said, folding her arms. “There’s someone new that’s going to enter your life, just for a moment, but you will meet them again and they will change your life forever. So pay attention, okay?”

“Hmm, maybe you should spend the day with me?” he offered, “Help me spot this fateful encounter, if it’s that important.”

Cana patted his cheek, “Cute. Dead cute. Okay, dinner at seven you said? Instead of picking me up, meet me at this restaurant you’re so excited to try. The Halidome, right? But you have to ask Lucy first.”

“Why do I need to ask Lucy to go on a date?” Loke asked, brows furrowing. “She knows I’ve been on several since she became my spirit.”

“Because Lucy and I go way back,” Cana said plainly, no room for argument. “And if she has feelings for you, she gets first dibs. Goodness knows she needs the experience. She’s never had a boyfriend before.”

Loke raised an eyebrow, “Seven hundred years, and you don’t think Lucy’s had a boyfriend?”

Cana laughed, “Lucy’s a terrible liar, ask her about it while you’re asking her about our date. It’s all over her book too, she writes like someone who’s never been kissed.”

An intriguing kiss under the streets lights and full moon. Something she wanted before she died. Could she…

Loke shook his head, “I’ll ask Lucy, since that’s your condition, but she’ll say yes. Let’s meet at the Halidome, seven o’clock.”

“I’ll be there, and I won’t hold it against you if you aren’t,” Cana said with a smirk, “Enjoy your fateful encounter.”

 

At first he thought that the fateful encounter was going to be the Sorcerer Weekly reporter, that he would get an interview to make him famous or something. That turned out to be a bust when the reporter ignored him for literally everyone else in the guild.

Not that he tried too hard, he didn’t need help getting the right kind of attention. He had a date tonight after all, no need to get twisted over the press.

Not to mention the guy was weird and would probably just write how he broke the law all the time with his team. Or he’d write about his messed up family and background as an heir to an enormous fortune. That was the kind of publicity he didn’t need.

Just as he was getting ready to leave the guild, Mira stopped him, “Hey Loke. There’s an emergency request asking for Lucy. The client wants her to report first thing in the morning, but they live in Mush. You would have to be on the train tonight. Do you want to accept it?”

“What’s the emergency?” he asked, holding out his hand for the request. Unlike most requests, this one didn’t have a picture on it, but it was worth a generous amount.

“Wealthy land developer,” Mira explained, “Plots of the forest near Mush are up for sale. She wants Lucy’s light magic to help her determine which plots have the best soil for farming and which have the best for construction. The plots go fast, so she’s willing to pay extra to get Lucy there tomorrow.”

“Probably not, I have a date tonight,” Loke said. “But I’ll send you a magic note to alert the client if we do decide to take it.”

“Are you going out with Lucy?” Mira said, hearts in her eyes, “You two kids have fun! Oh, you two look so cute together.”

“It’s with Cana actually,” Loke said, turning to leave. “And I get the serial boyfriend vibe from Cana. It’ll be fun while it lasts though.” He gave a last wave and couldn’t figure out the look Mira was giving him.

It didn’t matter. Lucy had made her stance on dating him clear, so she wouldn’t have a problem with him dating someone else. If she did have a problem, she would just have to get over it. He wasn’t going to stay single forever just because Lucy may have a crush she would never act on.

Still, since he was going to call her that afternoon, he stopped by the bookstore. Upon arrival, Loke grinned and took out a camera to get a few pictures of the display that held Lucy’s book.

Local Author indeed. She was going to be so flustered over this. It had taken several back-and-forth edits, lots of consulting with Levy and Freed, a decision to sort it under ‘fiction’ and make some bigger changes to preserve some celestial secrets, and a change in title, but it made it to final publication at last. They kept the original manuscripts at the guild, but Loke was sure this version would be a good read as well.

Loke made sure to get the display in every angle, and even asked a couple of people to pose with the book for him. One person purchased it after getting his picture taken with it.

“You said you’re taking pictures for the author?” a guy asked behind him. “Does that mean you know her?”

“You could say that,” Loke said with a grin. “You a fan? Her book has only been out three days.”

“Letona is amazing,” the guy said, completely serious. “I read it all in one sitting; I couldn’t put it down. Never has fiction felt so real. Her style choices were all non-fictionesque, which smoothed over her first person voice and created such a real world. And don’t even get me started on the way she builds her themes. She builds and develops them so carefully that when their final scenes hit it feels like the breath is knocked out of you.

“Letona is a genius. When the book finished, I was so worried this was published post mortem since most fiction authors if they give dates move the dates so that present day is in the year of release.”

“You really are a fan,” Loke said, slightly taken aback. “Letona is alive and well.”

The guy laughed, “I’m her biggest fan and I’m not ashamed of it. Ghostwatch is a treasure. I actually changed my travel plans to come here, hoping she was going to do a signing soon.”

“No, she’s very private,” Loke said, and watched the guy’s shoulder’s drop. “She isn’t going to be doing any signings for this book.”

“It was a long shot,” he signed, shoulder’s slumping. “How did you meet her? I’m Sam by the way.”

“Loke,” he introduced, shaking Sam’s hand. “I met her in my guild.”

“Are you a photographer for a writer’s guild?” he asked, tilting his head, “That makes sense, I suppose.”

Loke shook his head, “No, I met her in Fairy Tail. She’s a wizard and a writer.”

“That’s really cool,” Sam said, smiling wide. “Letona’s probably a psydonym, her biography on the back cover is so mysterious. Most authors would brag about being a wizard, trying to get in on their trendy stories. But she knows so much about magic, it doesn’t surprise me she practices.”

“Hey, do you want to meet her?” Lucy would be soooooo flustered over this stranger knowing all her secrets and knowing it was her. It would be adorable. “I was going to show her these pictures this afternoon, but I think it would really make her day to hear your review of her writing in person.”

“That would be amazing,” Sam gushed. “Do I look ready?”

“You look fine,” Loke dismissed. Sam was a bit plain, but his excitement and expressive face made up for it. Loke made his decision, “I’m going to meet her now, so come or don’t come, it’s my only offer.”

Loke started to walk out the door, and before he got to the street Sam was beside him.

“Got over your nerves then?”

Sam nodded, “This might be my only chance to see her in person, I’d hate myself forever if I missed it. You only meet an author like Letona once a generation.”

 “How old do you think she is?” Loke asked. “For all you know, she could be Kemu Zaleon’s age.”

“Maybe,” Sam laughed, “But then I’m in love with a woman Kemu Zaleon’s age. I’m not ashamed.”

“You read her book three days ago,” Loke pointed out.

“A book she poured life and all her heart into,” Sam replied. “I’m sure there are parts of herself she didn’t write onto these pages, but those parts will also be complicated and beautiful and messy in same wonderful way, colored by kindness.

“For example, she tried to write the main character as a confident woman, but lets those parts ring false, preparing you for the insecurities hiding underneath. And they are real faults with real consequences, things you can tell Leotona has experienced for herself. The bluff into leadership to becoming an actual leader, but still not knowing enough because of her earlier bluffing, the way it crashes on her when she defends Aries. And—”

Twenty minutes. Sam dissected Lucy’s book, pulling out parts of Lucy that Loke knew were true of her, but Sam did it from her book alone. The whole walk back to his apartment left Loke questioning just what he was doing. Lucy had kept her picture and name out of the book for important reasons of her own.

What would letting this fan boy meet her accomplish?

It might help her self-esteem, if fanboy was right about that. Which he might be. On the one hand, Lucy always seemed endlessly confident and prepared and ready to lead and make decisions, but he also remembered the passages about bluffing. It was entirely plausible Lucy didn’t think she was worth much, either as an author, leader, or Lioness. She might believe she had just gotten really good at faking it.

At the base of his stairs, he stopped the fanboy from talking about the brilliance of the title.

"Hey, I didn’t tell her I was bringing a fan, can you wait here so I can ask if she wants to meet you?” Loke said. “I’ll take your book and get it signed for you no matter what.”

“Alight,” Fanboy said, handing it over. “I’ll wait down here then.”

On the stairs up, he remembered Cana’s prediction. So far, Fanboy was his only new encounter, and no way was he going to be in Loke’s life longer than it took Lucy to tell him to get rid of the kid.

“Hey Lucy?” Loke called, swinging her key to open her gate. It was obnoxious to do the full summons every time Lucy was in Earthland, so they settled on a system where he used the formal call if there was going to be a battle and an informal call if it was just to hang out with her.

“What’s up?” she asked, appearing beside him.

“I have some pictures to show you,” he teased, holding out the folder he had put them in.

Lucy rolled her eyes and opened it. Immediately closed it. Opened it again, eyes wide, “That’s the display?”

“All yours,” he said happily. “Check out how many people were looking at them.”

Lucy jumped up and down, squealing. “Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh. I’m really a published author. It’s me, it’s my story.” Her face went white. “Oh no. All those people know my story. They know everything.”

“Relax,” Loke said. “They think your name is Letona. You’re perfectly safe.”

Lucy sighed dramatically, “You wouldn’t understand. It’s about how many people know your heart, not your name. I’m a newbie on the publishing block, there should not have been that big a display. They’re going to know how I felt about my wizards and how cruel I can be and all my mistakes and oh stars, why did I let Levy publish this?”

“Hey, hey,” Loke said, grabbing a hold of Lucy’s shoulders when she started hyperventilating. "Hey, look at me. People love what you wrote. The boneheads in the guild like it, and most of them don’t read anything more complicated than Sorcerer Weekly.”

“But they know me,” Lucy explained. “It’s like… Of course they like it. They get to explain how weird I’ve always been. This is about strangers. Knowing and judging me. They’re going to hate it.”

“Now that’s false,” Loke said. “There’s—”

Fanboy was the only encounter Loke had had all day, and if he was supposed to be significant, maybe it was because Lucy liked him. If Lucy started dating this random fanboy who read her literature and saw her soul, but wouldn’t date him because he was her wizard…

Lucy was waiting for him to finish his sentence.

“There was this one guy who claimed to be your biggest fan already,” Loke said at last. “You should have heard him go on and on about your themes and character arcs. I’ve read the book and paid a lot of attention to it, but he was obsessed with every word choice you made. In fact, look at this. He gave me this to ask you to sign it, and he’ll pick it up at the bookstore tomorrow.”

He handed her what had to be the most worn copy of her published book in existence, so used after only three days.

Lucy took it reverently and started flipping through. Because fanboy had shown him, he knew that his favorite passages were highlighted and notes written in the margins. Delight and wonder crossed Lucy’s face as she took in evidence of someone engaging with her work.

“Of course I’ll sign it,” Lucy said, flipping to the title page. She wrote a little note of gratitude and signed as Letona.

“I’ll go put this by the outer door so I don’t forget it,” Loke made up, quickly leaving.

 At the base of the stairs, Fanboy looked up at him hopefully.

“Sorry,” he lied, handing him the book. “She said that I shouldn’t have brought you here. She doesn’t want her written work to take over the life she loves, so she only lets me and a few others actually see her in person. Letona really appreciated your love for her book though, and she wishes you the best.”

Sam let out a sigh, “I thought this might happen. It was too good to be true. I’m in town for a while, so if she ever changes her mind and wants to meet her biggest fan, I’ll be at the Horseshoe Inn on Parade Street.”

“I’ll let her know,” Loke promised. “And this isn’t where she lives, if you were getting any ideas, this is my place, she was just waiting here for a bit.”

“Got it. Don’t worry, I’m not some crazy stalker, I’ll respect her space,” Sam laughed. “It was nice meeting you Loke, thank you for trying.” He walked out.

Okay, Loke felt a little sorry.

Back upstairs Lucy was eating strawberries. She did that, randomly start eating whatever he had whenever she was here. Apparently pre-contract Lucy only ever tasted ash, but post-contract Lucy could enjoy the pleasures of fruit and chocolate and cheese and meat.

“Hey, so I’ve been meaning to ask you,” she said, wiping down her mouth with a napkin with a pattern he didn’t know they had. “What do you think about going on a hunting trip with me and Canis? There’s a good forest near Mush, and letting Canis kill things every once and a while keeps her happy. We can invite Natsu if you want, but it will be good to practice a gold and silver again.”

“Mush…” he said, the city scratching at his memory. He snapped his fingers, “Right, you were requested for some land developer in Mush.” He pulled it out and handed her the request.

“Rela, haven’t worked with her in a while,” Lucy said reading it over. “Okay, we can go tonight, then stay an extra two days for our hunting trip. Rela has usually already limited her selection down to five plots or so, so we’d be done with her request by noon.”

“Oh, wait, actually,” Loke said, backpedaling, “Actually I was going to ask if you had a compelling reason to do this job, like the client was a close friend or something. I have a date tonight, which means I wouldn’t be able to make the last train.”

“Oh, right, dates,” Lucy said. And there was something in her voice, but he couldn’t figure it out around how normal she was keeping it. “No, there isn’t anything special about Rela, I don’t feel the need to drop everything to help her. You can turn down the job and we’ll do our hunting trip another time,” she handed the request back. “Is that all?”

No. He needed her to keep talking. Jealousy? Disappointment? What was she hiding?

“Have you ever had a boyfriend?” Loke asked.

Lucy blushed immediately, “Have-have you been talking to Aquarius about me? I swear, that mermaid needs to stay out of it. I can’t believe she told you that!”

“It was Cana, actually,” Loke said, amused as flustered Lucy tried to explain that Celestial spirits were considered young until they were two hundred years old at least, and by then, blah, blah, blah. It would have been more convincing if her sentences actually ended instead of being smushed together in a rush. Still adorable, he let her explanation go on a bit longer just to enjoy her flushed cheeks and flailing hands as she refused to make eye contact longer than a second.

“Lucy, it’s okay,” Loke said, once she paused to take a breath, “I don’t care if you’ve never had a boyfriend. Everyone does love and romance at their own pace.”

“Exactly,” Lucy breathed a sigh of relief and collapsed in the desk chair, “I’m so glad you get it.”

He grinned and bent down so his face was just above hers, “Just be prepared so that when you fall in love with me, you don’t confuse those beautiful feelings of yours with something else.”

“Shut up,” she said, still flustered. “Why were you talking to Cana about that anyway?”

“You don’t think Cana would walk up randomly and start telling me all about your non-existent lovelife?” Loke asked, raising an eyebrow.

“As a matter of fact, she would,” Lucy said with a laugh. “But she’d throw in something about your own love life. Did Cana help you get your date tonight?”

“Actually,” and Loke was watching her very carefully, “Cana is my date tonight, is that okay?”

He saw it, a twitch and a hesitation.

Subtle, but present.

“You’re going on a date with Cana?” Lucy asked, a hint of friendly curiosity that was almost too mild. Lucy was many things, but she was never mild when it came to their friends.

“Yeah, she insisted I check with you before she agreed to go out with me,” Loke said, and Lucy’s face softened. “So?”

Lucy smiled genuinely, her voice much more normal, “You should go out with Cana, she’s wonderful and prefers a traditional romancing, just don’t try to match her drinks. And you can cut off paying for her drinks after the second one, she won’t mind.”

“That’s it?” Loke frowned.

Lucy blinked, “What were you expecting? Cana’s a great friend of mine, and she’ll make a good girlfriend for you. Or did you want more advice? I didn’t think you’d need it.”

Loke sighed dramatically, “Alas, here I was hoping for a jealous rage followed by challenging Cana to a duel for my love. I’ll just have to make due with unwavering support.”

Lucy rolled her eyes, “Not that traditional. Need anything else from me, or should I leave so you can get ready for your date?”

“You’re fine turning down the request?” Loke checked, getting ready to throw it in the trash.

“It does bother me a little,” she said, looking at the folded paper again, “Rela isn’t frequent, but she’s been a client of the guild for years. She used to request Mirajane before Mira became assistant guild master and asked me to step in. I have a host of light spells useful for analyzing soil quality from that time I was contracted to a farmer’s daughter, which actually works out much better than Mira’s poison index. You’re strong enough, could I take the request? If I take the 8 o’clock train, and I’ll be done at noon tomorrow. You can hold my gate open for 16 hours, though it will get a little draining around hour 10. I don’t think you’ve held my gate open longer than twelve hours yet.  I get the request done, and you get to go on your date.”

“You sure? That’s a long time to be out alone."

Lucy laughed, “I could be out on my own power for a week, if not more, before I notice a drain on my stores, and a month before I really get lonely for company. A month and a half before it gets painful. I can handle 18 hours on yours. You won’t notice the drain until tomorrow, so stay up as late as you want with your date. Or if it does become too distracting, just close my gate and head for Mush in the morning. If we’re delayed a day we’ll lose the bonus, but there’s a chance we won’t lose the job and can make it up to Rela.”

“Is that what you want to do?” Loke asked.

Lucy hesitated for a moment, then nodded, “Yeah, it is. It’s no mountain hunting trip, but this way everyone’s happy. And I’ll eat tons of desserts on the train, so time well spent.”

“Well, okay then, that’s what we’ll do,” Loke said. “You go head for the train, stop by the guild to let Mira know you’re accepting the request, and I’ll get ready for my date tonight.”

“Okay,” Lucy said, standing up. “I’m glad we’re agreed.” She hesitated, then stepped close cupped Loke’s cheek like Cana had done earlier. His heart rate sped up, and Lucy's smile was almost . . . something. Sad? Wistful? Her pink lips hid far too much, as did those warm brown eyes he could get lost in. “Have fun. I’ll miss you, but trust me, this is for the best.”

“What do you mean by that?” Loke said, watching her mouth.

Lucy pulled back, “Nothing. Now get ready.”

           

           

 

Loke left an hour early to spend some time walking around the darkened streets to clear his head. He was all dressed up for his date, but something didn’t feel right. He’d been on dates with women since meeting Lucy, even since she became his spirit, and none of them were affected by his crush on Lucy.

Lucy gave her okay, and if he was interpreting her final statement right, him dating Cana would help Lucy get over any remaining feelings she might have for Loke, which was what she wanted.

So why was his chest tight? He normally planned some fun conversation topics before going on a date, but every time he tried to think of things to talk about with Cana, Lucy's wistful smile entered his head and he forgot whatever he had been attempting to come up with while his stomach clenched.

Loke walked faster, and it helped. A little.

What was wrong with him? He’d always played the wide field before because it was fun. Because the feelings and flirting were great, and because if he didn’t, the girls would be targeted by his father. Now…

Now his father had no control over his life, the things he felt for the women he dated paled to anything he felt for his friends at Fairy Tail, much less what he felt for Lucy, Natsu, Gray, and Erza. They were so much more than the girls he dated. Dates weren’t as fun as . . . well, they were still plenty fun, but it was a shallow fun compared to spending time with the guild.

It might be different because Cana wasn’t a random date, she was a guildmate. She was looking for a boyfriend. She was beautiful and playful and powerful. She…she could date and meet anyone she wanted, a complete stranger, and he wouldn’t feel a thing about it.

That still wasn’t a no, because that hadn’t mattered to him in the past when looking for a girlfriend. The real question was something else.

Was he willing to let Lucy start to get over the smidge of previous romantic feelings she may have had for him?

Was that sliver of a chance with Lucy worth giving up a potential relationship with Cana?

Loke stumbled, and looked up to find the Horseshoe Inn in front of him.

 

 

“The train hasn’t even started yet,” Lucy laughed. “You’re supposed to keep me company; how can you do that when you’re asleep?”

“Happy can do it, please, don’t let it start,” Natsu begged.

She had picked Natsu up at the guild when she reported the request taken before heading to the train station. Natsu had jumped at the chance to do a job with her, and on the way here had pouted about her trying to cut him out. He cut the pouting act for the familiar routine of him begging to be sent to sleep during the train ride.

“I don’t know, Happy? Are you a good conversationalist?” Lucy asked playfully.

“Aye,” Happy said. “What’s your favorite fish?”

“I prefer vegetables and poultry to fish. But out of the fish, I like shrimp the best. With the right seasonings it tastes like an ocean paradise.”

Happy froze in place. Then he turned to Natsu, shaking his head, “I’m sorry Natsu, I can’t talk to her anymore. Her favorite fish is shrimp. You’re on your own.”

Lucy laughed.

"Please Happy, no, you have lots of things to talk about, right?' Natsu insisted desperately, "You can keep talking, you're great at talking! You're a talking cat after all! So Lucy can talk with you, after she send me to sleep, right?"

"I don't know," Happy said with a singsong tone, "I don't think she's a good enough conversationalist for me. It will be pretty boring."

"PLEASE-"

“Room for one more?” Loke flirted over her shoulder. Lucy couldn’t keep the wide smile off her face that was her usual reaction to that voice.

The smile dropped the next second, “Wait, what about your date?” Lucy asked. “Tell me you didn’t stand up Cana for this job.”

Loke shook his head, “Nah, Cana didn’t really like me. I sent a guy her way she would actually want to date. So, Lucy mentioned a hunting trip afterwards near Mush. Do you two want to join?”

“A hunting trip! You guys actually do that?” Natsu said, almost aflame with excitement. “No one ever wants to go hunting. Once Alazak tried with me, but he kept using guns and he ended up shooting me and letting the prey escape.”

“I’m a lioness,” Lucy pointed out. “Of course I hunt. Loke’s going to train two keys at once, me and a wolf spirit that also hunts. We’re going to have to teach Loke the ropes though.”

“Oh man, it’s the be—” Natsu sunk down, covering his mouth, as the train started moving.

“Alright, give me your hand,” Lucy laughed, pulling out her light pen. Natsu gratefully gave it to her, and was asleep within seconds, slumped against the window. Lucy looked up at Loke, who was looking down the train compartment after a blue haired girl with pig tails. “Are you going to chase after a different girl tonight, or are you going to sit down?”

“Sorry,” Loke said, shaking his head. “thought I felt something weird. Do we have a place to spend the night in Mush?”

Notes:

CHECKPOINT! This is a long fic and this is a great place to stop for a break. The rest will still be here after you go eat a meal, go to the bathroom, straighten out your back, grab some water, talk a walk, or go to bed for the night. (Talking to you three a.m. folks) see you back here after you go be human for a bit!

Anyway, if you're all set to continue, there's the fateful encounter! I love Cana, it was so fun to play with the facts here. Loke's getting a clue that maybe dating all the girls isn't worth nearly as much as dating one particular girl, even if she is being stubborn about it right now, lol.

Let me know what you think!

Chapter 51: Crush

“No Lucy today?” Mira asked Loke.

He raised an eyebrow, “Well hello to you too.”

Mira giggled, “I didn’t mean it like that, I’m always happy to see you Loke. But you’ve been back from Mush for a week and I haven’t seen her since you both took that request.”

“Yeah, well, we ended up on a hunting trip with Natsu…” Loke said, not really sure how to finish the thought.

“Oh dear,” Mira sighed, offering a sympathetic smile, “Is she fighting with Natsu? Hunting trips with Natsu are kind of a Fairy Tail rite of passage, but they always go…well…Lisanna was 11 when she convinced me to watch her and Natsu while on a trip.”

“What happened?” Loke asked.

Mirajane sighed louder this time, “Lisanna became vegetarian, Elfman still has scar marks from when Natsu mistook him for prey, and I slew most of the beasts. Then we tried to cook it, and I had accidentally poised them when I made my kills. I mean, I could eat the food, but no one else could. Overall, it was pretty traumatic.”

“Wow. He mentioned Alzak accidentally shooting him, but your story sounds worse,” Loke said, slightly impressed.

Mira shrugged, “Natsu hunts like a dragon, that style isn’t compatible with others that aren’t part dragon. I think he’s tried hunting with most people in Fairy Tail at some point.”

“His style is compatible with Lucy and Canis,” Loke said. “The three of them figured out how to coordinate pretty quickly. I guess I never saw Lucy as a huntress, but she has a side that’s all teeth and claws, just like Natsu.”

“Does that bother you?” Mira asked.

Loke expected her to judge him. Considering her baby sister used to turn into animals, her brother turned into beasts, and she’s been around Natsu for forever, he assumed she would demand everyone accept the beasts that reside inside his guildmates without blinking. But she was honestly curious.

“I don’t know,” Loke admitted. “I don’t know how to feel about it. It’s one thing to know she’s not human, it’s another to see her use claws of light to slash the throat of a wilderbeast and skin it. It’s not like she didn’t warn me, she knew I’d be squeamish about blood and killing things, but I didn’t expect that.”

“What did Natsu think?” Mira asked. “I’ve been wondering for a while if Natsu has a crush on her, and I thought it was a sure thing after he volunteered to hop on a train with her so she wouldn’t be lonely, but it sounds like Lucy was showing a different side of herself.”

“He was…just happy,” Loke said, not sure if that was the right word. “I’ve asked Natsu about it, and I don’t know if he knows what it means to have feelings for someone. I wasn’t getting crush vibes from him while he and Lucy were hunting. He was just happy to have someone to hunt with.”

“Some part of him probably thinks that families hunt together, since that has to be one of the things dragons taught their kids,” Mira said thoughtfully. “That’s probably one of the reasons he and Happy go on so many fishing trips. It’s like hunting, but I know he didn’t learn fishing from Igneel. You and Lucy probably made him feel at home in a way the rest of us haven’t been able to. Unless you weren’t able to keep up.”

“I wasn’t able to at first,” Loke admitted, “i was tired from magic use and my pervious life experience wasn’t exactly a hunting culture. But they got me up to speed pretty quick. I mostly played bait and helped dress the carcass, but I was part of it.”

“That’s good then,” Mira said. “It sounds like you just need a little time adjusting to Lucy’s complexities, but I think you’ll get use to it soon.”

Mira didn’t know the half of it, but her cheer did make him feel a little more optimistic.  

“Yo, Loke!” Natsu said, coming up to him.

“What’s up?” Loke said.

“I need to do something important. Can you meet me by the Sola tree in Southgate Park tonight?” Natsu said. There was a gravity to his words Loke wasn’t used to. “Make sure to bring your keys.”

Loke raised his eyebrows, “Uh, sure.”

Natsu grinned and slapped him on the back, “Great! See you later!”

He marched triumphantly away.

Loke turned back to Mira, “I wonder what that was about?”

“Well, it sure sounds like the set up for a confession to me!” Mira said gleefully. “Oh, I knew Lucy and Natsu would make a cute couple, I was hinting for months that Lucy and Natsu should team up before she actually followed him to help out Macao. I called it! Unless he’s going to confess to you, which, not bad for a couple, though you enable him too much. If he’s attracted to men, that would explain why he doesn’t let me set him up with any girls! I mean, he didn’t let me set him up with any men either, but maybe he was nervous—”

“Woah,” Loke said, holding up his hands. “Back up there. Did he look nervous to you? I’ve gotten more than a dozen love confessions in my life, and none of them acted like Natsu just did. I think you’re reaching.”

“You know Natsu,” Mira said confidently, “When has he been nervous about anything? Why would being in love be different? Be honest, who is he more likely to confess to, you or Lucy?"

Lucy was the obvious answer. Part of huntress Lucy coming out involved a slight change in behavior. It was subtle, but when asked like this, the body language between Natsu and Lucy had changed during the trip.

It suddenly included a lot more touching and a lot less words.

He had asked Natsu about Lucy before, back on the way to Galuna island forever ago, but Loke had decided Natsu’s feelings were platonic. Mostly because of the absence of nerves, jealousy, or attraction.

But maybe Natsu just didn’t get nervous about anything short of imminent punishment from Erza. Or maybe he showed attraction like a dragon would, not a human, and Loke’s been missing the signs.

“You really think so?” Loke asked Mira. “The guys made it sound like Natsu’s never shown special attention to anyone in his life.”

“Not quite true,” Mira said with a soft smile, “I have seen him show a different kind of affection for a girl. My sister Lisanna. They used to play house together as children and it was absolutely adorable. Lisanna is very different from Lucy in a lot of ways, but I’ve never doubted that Natsu knew when someone was special to him.” Mirajane focused her smile on Loke, “You know, it’s surprisingly easy to talk to you about Lisanna.”

Loke shook his head, “I doubt that’s me, you and Elfman have gotten over some pretty big emotional blocks recently, right? If you’ve grown strong enough to talk about the good times with her, then that’s your strength coming through.”

“Maybe,” Mira conceded. Mira eyed Juvia shaking in the corner, and decided to bring the conversation back to her point. “I still think you better plan out how you’re going to respond if Natsu confesses to one of you. He does have soft feelings under that brash personality of his.”

 

 

Loke left soon after to pick up a package. It had some things from home that the housekeeper mailed to him, things his father was going to get rid of that she thought he might want. It wasn’t anything spectacular, some cufflinks and old love notes.

Which brought him back to Mira’s suggestion: what to do if Natsu did want to confess romantic feelings? If he confessed to Loke, that was easy, Loke was a pro at rejecting people without hurting them too badly. Loke was firmly heterosexual. Men just didn’t hold the appeal for him that women did. He’d tell that to Natsu, give him a hug, and start figuring out their next adventure.

Now, if Natsu wanted to confess to Lucy, that was trickier. Loke had already blocked one potential romantic interest for Lucy, and blocking Natsu, who she might very well return feelings for, was a step too far over the line into controlling.

He had promised Lucy that things wouldn’t change now that she was his spirit. And aside from spending a lot more time together without her flinching, things hadn’t. If Lucy wasn’t his celestial spirit, he might give her a warning about what was coming, but he knew he wouldn’t have the right to comment beyond some flirting teasing.

So that’s what he decided he would do.

“Hey, how are you recovering from the trip?” Lucy asked, appearing at his summons.

“Just fine, you get blood out from under your nails yet?” he asked back casually.

Lucy examined her nails critically, “They’re still recovering from breaking two of them on that second to last kill, but they’ll be fine.” She dropped her hand, then gave an awkward laugh. “To be honest, I was worried I finally weirded you out.”

Shoot, caught.

“Can’t say I expected you, Natsu, and Canis to begin roaring after conquering that alpha Vulcan,” Loke admitted. “But I’m mostly over it.”

Lucy gave an embarrassed cough, “Yeah, I’ve gone hunting with my little brother a couple of times, but …yeah. I can see why that was weird.”

“Did it feel good to roar like that, even if you don’t normally do it?” Loke asked.

Lucy was still blushing, but now she was smiling, “Yeah, it did. You roar to declare something your territory. Roaring together with them, we were powerful together. But it was also weird. We don’t have to do that again any time soon.”

“Natsu roared after defeating Laxus,” Loke said. “Would you have roared then too?”

She took a minute to think through her answer, “If I beat him with Natsu, probably,” Lucy decided. “But the dragon instinct is a bit more solitary than a lion’s pride. When you’re down to your instincts like that, Natsu could have just as easily determined I was a threat and gone after me until one of us submitted and earned the final roar.”

“I don’t think Natsu would ever seriously battle you into submitting to him,” Loke said.

Lucy laughed, “You do realize you’re talking about the guy who challenges everyone and thought hitting on women meant hitting women? It’s nothing personal, it’s how he makes himself stronger, by challenging everyone he sees as strong until he’s the strongest. It’s a compliment, but not something I’m terribly interested in testing.”

“So, if I were to say that Mira thinks Natsu’s going to confess his love to you tonight under the sola tree in Southgate park, you would say…” Loke tried.

Lucy’s eyes went wide, “WHAT?”

“Not so loud,” Loke said, rubbing his ears. “Natsu got weirdly serious this morning and asked to meet up under the sola tree tonight, asking me to bring my keys. Mira and I had never seen him like that, and we’re pretty sure he’s going to confess to either you or me. I figured I’d give you a heads up.”

“What? But, what?” Lucy said, turning all kinds of red. “No, no, no, no, no, no, no. No. You got it all wrong, there’s no way that doofus likes me like that.”

“I don’t know, you got pretty touchy with him over the hunting trip,” Loke said, folding his arms and raising an eyebrow. “You should have at least considered it at some point.”

“No, that’s just…female lions hunt with female lions,” Lucy explained, gesturing wildly. “That was like, treating Natsu like a sister in battle.”

“Maybe dragons only hunt with their mates,” Loke pointed out. “Come on, you’ve never considered the possibility that Natsu might have feelings for you? The guy left a battle in the Tower of Heaven for you, it had to cross your mind at least once.”

“Nope, no way, you’re wrong,” Lucy held up her arms in an ‘x’. “He probably just wants something stupid. Mira’s a matchmaker that’s been trying to set me up with guys since I got to Fairy Tail. You’re just caught up in Mira’s delusion.”

“So you’re going to turn him down if he does want to confess to you tonight?” Loke checked. “Natsu’s never had a girlfriend, you’ve never had a boyfriend, it could be a good match.”

“Nope, nu-uh,” Lucy said, blushing. “Pass.”

“Be a little gentler on the guy,” Loke admonished, shaking his head, “His only crime is falling in love with you. We’d all be in jail if that was a crime.”

“Sh-shut up.” Lucy said, shaking.

“I could turn him down for you,” Loke offered, unfolding his arms and leaning forward with a smirk. “I’ll just tell him that we’re secretly a couple and you’re madly in love with me, so sorry, but Lucy’s taken. Would that be better?”

“That’s so much worse,” Lucy groaned, rubbing her temples, “And we’re not dating, and we’re not lying to Natsu. Look, he’s not going to confess any feelings, so all this is useless speculation.”

“If you’re sure,” Loke said. “Do you want to meet Natsu with me, or only have me summon you if Natsu asks?”

“Let’s just meet him together, and prove I’m right, that he’s not going to confess romantic feelings for me. Otherwise you might talk him into confessing feelings just to see me flustered,” Lucy accused, the red starting to head down her neck.

“You are adorable when you’re flustered.”

“You’re awful,” Lucy said, getting to her feet.  “Nine o’clock? If I’m here that long, I want to take a bath, we don’t have rum berries in the celestial world and I miss the smell.”

“Sure, and so you can get prettied up for your date,” Loke teased. “Maybe I should be helping you plan a return confession instead of a rejection.”

“Leaving now,” Lucy said.

           

 

 

 

 

In her bathtub, Lucy sunk down. Natsu couldn’t really have feelings for her, right?

Then again, when she was dying his aura made her feel safe enough to curl up in. And she had spent a lot of time cuddling in that aura of safety.

Lucy respected him so much.

And he has spent a lot of time carrying her.

He inadvertently felt her soul, even if they had survived the awkwardness of that. What she felt from him then had been care and trust and sorrow, but nothing romantic.

Granted, it wasn’t exactly a romantic moment. Could he have fallen for her since then?

Natsu made sure she had company when Loke wasn’t going to come to Mush.

And she’s beautiful, so could she really blame him?

“Lucy, you’re the only one for me. I love you,” she imagined Natsu saying, eyes shining and mouth smiling sweetly. Lucy dunked herself to try and knock the image out of her head.

Red from more than just the steam of the hot bath, Lucy accepted that she might have been giving out flirty/attracted signals to more than just Loke.

“Doesn’t matter,” she said aloud. “I’m not dating Natsu, even if he is in love with me. And I will stop imagining him as that hunky!”

THAT WAS NOT WHAT HE LOOKED LIKE.

To help her stop imagining a daydream-y Natsu, she pictured Loke instead.

“Lucy, light of my life. I love you, and only you. Will you please say you love me too?” Imaginary Loke said, which was a bit easier to picture with less fantasy involved, considering how many pick up lines Loke had already used on her.

Plus he was already ridiculously attractive, so he didn’t need help from her there—

AND SHE WAS GETTING OVER LOKE. Which meant no using his image to imagine romantic confessions towards her. 

Out of the bath, the rumberries doing much less to soothe her than she hoped, she wore a robe and looked over her human world clothes Loke had left in place.

“Right, rejecting Natsu,” she said, trembling like a niccola, “What do you wear to a love confession you aren’t going to accept? Boring, ugly clothes? Wait, I never got to wear that new dress!”

New dress on, tags removed, Lucy smirked as she checked herself in the mirror, “Looking good.”

She froze. She did not want to look good for Natsu! She did not want to let him think for even a moment that she returned his feelings!

No, he wasn’t going to confess his feelings at all!

“Right, ugly clothes,” she tried again. She laid out her least favorite outfits on the bed and looked in the mirror again. “Flat hair doesn’t really work with this neckline, I should pop by and see Cancer.”

Lucy slapped her own cheeks, “No. This is not a date. Loke will make fun of you for just dressing up. Do not treat this like a date.”

Lucy ended up doing her own hair anyway, running out of time, and heading to Southgate park.

Loke gave a long whistle when he saw her. “Wow, you really went all out. You never dressed up like this when I confess my love to you.”

“Shut up,” Lucy said, unable to stop blushing and stomping past him. “I never got the chance to wear this dress after buying it, that’s the only reason I chose to wear this. Now let’s go find out what Natsu wants. Which will not be a love confession.”

“So why is your heart pounding?” Loke teased in her ear, a step behind her.

“It’s not,” Lucy insisted, shooing him out of her ear.

The pounding ichor in her ears was from more than just realizing she never figured out exactly what she was going to say.

She walked faster anyway.

Finally in front of Natsu, though his back was turned, she folded her arms. “Natsu, we’re here. What’s going on?”

“Lucy?” Natsu asked, eyes going wide as he looked over her. Her stupid, inexperienced heart seemed to speed up even more. What was wrong with her? “What are you doing here?”

“I thought it would be fun if Lucy was here as well,” Loke said beside her, “You know she has a major fear of missing out on things.”

“But I need Virgo,” Natsu whined. “And you can’t summon her while Lucy’s here, right?”

“What!” Lucy squeaked.

Natsu was going to confess to VIRGO?

Natsu looked around the empty park before leaning in closer to Lucy and Loke, “I heard a rumor that Gramps buried a treasure here. A box of embarrassing photos of everyone in the guild! I’ve tried to dig here, but the ground’s too tough. I need that maid of yours to find it.”

Lucy shut down. A tool with no lacrima inside.

So she took the Erza solution.

“Ah!” she yelled, punching Natsu in the gut. Then Loke for good measure, because more than a little of this was his fault. Then she vanished back to the celestial world, where she spent several minutes screaming into her couch pillows.

STUPID STUPID BOYS!

 

 

 

“What the hell?” Natsu said, rubbing his solar plexus where Lucy had knocked the breath out of him. “What was that about?”

“I have some guesses, but let’s just never talk about this again,” Loke groaned. “Give me a second, then I’ll summon Virgo.”

“You shouldn’t tease Leo so much, Big Brother,” Virgo scolded, appearing right away.

They never did find the photos.

 

“Well duh,” Lucy said later, after cooling off. “If Master had buried the photos, there would have been overturned earth where he did it. The photos probably never existed to begin with.”

 

~

 

Weary from his train trips to Acalypha, plus the adrenalin rush that had spurred this little adventure, Loke was tired. But sleep wouldn’t come, so he pulled himself onto his roof.

The stars looked dim in the center of Magnolia, even this late at night.

There was a tug, and Lucy appeared. Uncalled, she seemed to have come through completely on her own power.

“Something up Lucy?” Loke asked tiredly.

Lucy laid back on the roof, “Nope, just wanted to see the stars from down here. I thought you might like some company.”

Loke laid on his back beside her.

“What did Virgo tell you?”

“Just that you saw your dad.” Clear and unhesitant, Lucy wasn’t going to keep up the charade. Good. “You don’t have to say anything. I don’t have parents, but I know how important they are. You can ask me to leave if you don’t want company.”

He wasn’t sure what he was feeling, and having Lucy here wasn’t worse than not having Lucy here. It didn’t change anything, he was just . . . tired.

“I used to be known as Lucky Loke Heartfilia, did you know that? A business magazine picked the name once, and it stuck.”

“It sounds like you didn’t feel very lucky at the time,” Lucy said.

He stuck out a hand and traced the Ursa major and minor constellations, still bright and complete even in the middle of the city, while considering Lucy’s understatement.

“You’re right, it didn’t feel like it, but I’m not so ignorant as to think I wasn’t much luckier than some. I did have good years with my mom and dad, I had my spirits and good looks and the strength and ability to leave, eventually. Lots of people aren’t as lucky with their trials. Then I met Gray and I’ve been nothing but lucky.

“I think . . . I think that’s what my mom and dad were thinking when they named me. You mentioned in your book that when you took on the name Lucy, that names were a kind of wish people put into others. You called yourself Lucy, because of the song about the girl in the sky, a final hope to wear when all else was lost.”

“Sometimes hopes and wishes work out,” Lucy said softly. “I thought you were named after that old trickster god.”

Loke chuckled, “I thought I was too. I learned about him while my dad was ignoring me, and it certainly felt like poison being in that house.” He sighed, “But I was wrong. Yesterday my dad visited me to ask for a huge chunk of money. He lost his business, in part from the fines from the government for hiring Phantom for a kidnapping request, I think. I told him to get lost, then heard this morning that the merchant guild he was going to had been attacked by a dark guild.”

“Which dark guild?”

“Monkey’s fist or something. Virgo helped me take care of them. But my dad hadn’t even arrived yet, so he was never in any danger. Then he told me that my name wasn’t related to that old god at all. He and my mom met at that very merchant guild, Love and Lucky, and left when Mom was pregnant with me. The sign had a bunch of letters missing, they got my name from the letters that were still lit.

“I think, at the time, they wanted me to have both. Love, to make life worth it, and luck, to make it easier than it could be.” Loke snorted, “Or maybe they were just being stupid. Who names their kid from busted up signs?”

“People can be silly and heartfelt at the same time,” Lucy pointed out, tracing the gemini constellation the same way had had traced the Ursas. “I think this is one of the few times where the truth matters less than what you want to believe. I know I was never luckier than when you decided to tag along with Gray and join Fairy Tail. If part of that was God listening to the wish your parents had when they named you, then I’m thankful.”

If I’m your luck, then you’re my love. The pick-up line came to him, but it was one of the rare nights he didn’t feel like flirting. Something was easing in his chest, talking with Lucy, he didn’t want to break the moment for once.

Silent and sacred, the moment breathed between them.

“You said you don’t have parents, but someone had to raise you, teach you the ropes and how to be a spirit,” Loke eventually pointed out. “You don’t know everything now, so you couldn’t have been born knowing everything.”

“Fine, but don’t laugh,” Lucy said. “If I had to pick one person that raised me, it was probably Aquarius.”

Loke laughed anyway. Lucy wasn’t upset and didn’t even pretend to pout.

“No wonder you’re such a stickler for the rules,” Loke snorted, “I thought it was because you were the leader, but no, it’s because Aquarius drowned you every time you didn’t eat your vegetables, isn’t it?”

“It was pretty bad,” Lucy encouraged, letting him laugh. “One time she . . .” Lucy told some of her silliest stories about Aquarius teaching her how to be the lion.

If Loke started to cry during the middle of it, well, hopefully the night hid that part.

Notes:

And here's the last in-between chapter! Natsu's thoughts on romance continent to be a speculation constantly derailed by gremlin behavior. Loke met his impoverished father and has FeelingsTM, but Lucy's there to help. I love them.

Oracion Seis is next Friday and I can't wait!

Chapter 52: Allies

“There you are Loke, I was hoping to get some help from Lucy, if you don’t mind,” Mira asked Loke when he was at the guild a few days later.

“Sure,” Loke said, pulling out Lucy’s Key, figuring it was the same thing Mira had asked for help with a couple of days ago. “Lucy, Mira needs your help again.”

“What can I help with?” Lucy asked, making Mira jump.

Mira calmed and nodded towards Reedus in front of the stage, “Master is at a guildmaster’s conference right now. He asked us to organize all our information about the recent spikes of dark guild activities. I collected reports from all our members over the past couple of days, but it would be really useful if you could help organize the information.”

Lucy turned serious, “I can do that.”

“Why would Lucy be helpful?” Natsu asked between bites of food.

“It’s in her book, Moron,” Gray said, dropping his shirt on the ground. “When Lucy first got banished, she went on a one-woman manhunt for a dark celestial wizard. She spent a year where she did nothing but hunt down rumors of the criminal underworld. It was two years ago now, but she’s still probably one of the most knowledgeable people in Fiore that isn’t a dark wizard themselves.”

“I knew that,” Natsu huffed.

“So we took down Eizenwald, I stopped Monkey’s Paw in Acalypha, though the army let some of them escape afterwards,” Loke ticked off. “Isn’t going toe to toe with them considered a guild war? That’s the reason we got in trouble for dealing with Eizenwald, right?”

“Don’t forget, the Magic Council is still trying to pull itself back together,” Levy said, walking up with Team Shadowgear. “We just got back from talking with one of the former council members during our job working his restaurant.”

“What did he have to say? Any news on the Council reforming?” Erza asked, joining their group.

Droy shook his head, “He stepped down even though he was the only member that never agreed with firing the Etherion Blast in the first place. He thinks the Council is going to be functional soon, and warned us that Fairy Tail wasn’t going to be getting as much leeway from the new council. But it’s definitely not ready just yet.”

“He specifically wanted us to tell Natsu and Gray, so consider the message delivered,” Jet said with a grin.

“Why me?” Gray whined. “I get the pyro, but me?”

“Try that again when you have your clothes on,” Happy said.

Gray looked down and sighed before collecting his shirt and pants.

“Well that’s crap,” Loke huffed, folding his arms. “If the Magic Council was more focused on doing their job than going after us when we do their job for them, maybe I’d actually respect them. But if it wasn’t for us, the guildmasters would have all died and Zeref would be resurrected.”

“We have to respect the Magic Council,” Erza warned, “Whatever their incarnation. Their specialty in anti-magic magic means that we could never hope to match might to might, and they are the ones to keep the dark guilds in check, whatever help we may lend them.”

“Okay Mira, we’re done,” Lucy called out.

Everyone got up to look at the board drawn with light pen. There were three center circles and from those branched out several smaller circles, each filled in with information beneath them, things like aces, specialties, and regions of operation, suspected guildhall locations, estimates of members.

“You had a lot of information,” Mira said quietly.

“I didn’t realize there were that many,” Gray said.

“They usually know better than to confront official guilds,” Lucy said, “But you can’t obtain the money they do without leaving traces.”

“What are the three in the center?” Loke asked. “Oracion Seis, Grimoire Heart, and Tartarus?”

“They’re collectively known as the Barum Alliance,” Lucy capped her light pen. “All other dark guilds pay tribute to and get some protection from those three. Their numbers are limited compared to the guilds under their protection, but each individual member of the Barum Alliance has power that makes even wizard saints hesitate. They know of each other but prefer to work alone on their own long term goals and in their own regions.”

“Eisenwald and Mokey Paw are both under the Oracion Seis,” Cana pointed out, dropping in on the conversation as well. “They must be the ones that control magical crime in this part of the country.”

“Oracion Seis’s other sub-guilds have also been the ones responsible for the most of the recent uptake in dark guild activity,” Mira observed. “In the absence of the Magic Council, the regional guild masters are currently meeting to talk about what to do about them.”

“And we have come to a decision,” Gramps called, coming up behind them. “The Oracion Seis are moving, and we have decided it is time to take them down.”

Everyone gasped at the announcement.

Except Mira, “Welcome back Master! How was the conference?”

“We have decided that we must act now, and so we are sending in coalition of allied guilds to take on the Oracion Seis,” Gramps said, giving everyone time to recover the seriousness of the moment. “Fairy Tail, Blue Pegasus, Lamia Scale, and Cait Shelter will all be sending representatives to work together. Even working together, we expect it will be one of the most difficult battles of your lives.”

“Ah, we don’t need those other guys,” Natsu complained, “I bet I could take them all on myself.”

“You will take this seriously Natsu, or you will not be given the chance to try,” Gramps said, immediately settling Natsu down. “This mission will have the primary purpose of taking down the Oracion Seis, but of strong importance is also your ability to get along and work with our allied guilds. Fiore is uniquely vulnerable at the moment, with our Magic Council out of operation, and jobs they would normally handle are being attempted by guilds. How this goes could be the difference between our country falling apart or remaining stable.”

“Any idea what the Oracion Seis are after?” Lucy asked.

“We know they are approaching a deep, untouched part of the Worthwood Sea,” Gramps said. “A part rumored to be cloaked in perpetual darkness. For this reason, I am inclined to send our six person team of Natsu, Erza, Loke, Lucy, Gray, and Happy. The conference let us collect all available and the magic held by their core members make these six the best choice. Along with their proven ability to work together, Erza’s experience and leadership, Natsu and Lucy’s ability to counter darkness, and Loke and Gray’s flexibility to respond to the somewhat unknown magics of the Oracion Seis gives this team the best chance of success. Happy’s maneuverability will also likely be key in navigating the woodsea.”

“What kind of magic are they rumored to have?” Levy asked.

“We only know rumors of three,” Gramps said. “There are rumors of a speed wizard, a dragon slayer, and…” Now he cast a glance at Lucy, “a celestial wizard.”

“I was never able to confirm that one, nor locate the wizard. Are you sure?” Lucy said, eyes tightening.

Master nodded, “In pooling information, we have become relatively certain.”

Lucy’s fists clenched.

“Which is why Loke is selected for this mission, despite his relative inexperience,” Master said with a nod at him.

“I’m afraid I’m going to have to request that Loke and I be taken off this job for that very reason,” Lucy said. “Celestial Wizard battles hold more stakes than you realize. Not only will Loke be immediately targeted, but should he be killed, which is what that wizard will do, her power would be doubled by all of Loke’s Keys.”

“Can’t you just not make a contract with them?” Droy asked.

Lucy let out a slow breath, “I could, and I would refuse, but my fellow spirits wouldn’t. We don’t see mortal lives the way you do. I can’t explain it well, but even a celestial wizard that has just killed our previous wizard has a magic and charisma that is difficult for us to resist. Don’t judge us stars, everyone has their vulnerabilities. This one makes us unsuited to this mission.”

“Lucy, I’m not backing down from this, and I’m not letting you back down from this for my sake,” Loke insisted. “You’ve been searching for Aries for years, for Karen’s killer. I’m not going to be the reason you never get closure if this wizard was the one to do it.”

“Lucy, you may decline of your own accord, but I am going to ask you to be part of this coalition,” Gramps said. “We only know as much as we do about the Oracion Seis in part because of your efforts and contacts in the first place. You are the expert on the topic.”

Expertise paid for with reckless expense of her lifeforce. There was a hardness in her eyes Loke was starting to recognize.

Hopefully settling the matter of Karen will let her grow past this particular darkness.

Gramps continued, “You are not allowed to decline on Loke’s behalf, as I’m sure you are aware. If you fear for his safety, I suggest you work out a plan with the coalition to defeat the celestial wizard first, using the knowledge that the celestial wizard will be focused on claiming Loke’s keys.”

Lucy’s eyes narrowed, looking around the room. Then she relaxed, “Fine. Loke? I’m putting in a request for a week of vacation, starting immediately.”

“WHAT!”

 

 

“You didn’t have to scare us like that Lucy,” Happy whined, the following day in their cart, “You were really mean.”

“Sorry Happy, I didn’t mean for it to be so dramatic,” Lucy apologized again. She wrinkled her nose at Natsu’s drool. “Isn’t making me Natsu’s pillow punishment enough?”

"Nope,” Loke said, “Not only did you scare me, but this is not how you were supposed to use that vacation clause.”

“You were the one that insisted on it,” Lucy pouted. “And maybe if you could summon two gold keys by now, I wouldn’t have had to use it, but no way am I letting you go up against another celestial wizard, much less a member of the Barum Alliance, without me or with me and only be able to summon a silver.”

Yeah, it wasn’t a real vacation, and while she was in earthland entirely on her own power, their connection wasn’t cut off. Loke could call her, and she would hear his voice echo through her gate and could appear by his side at any point in this next week, using her gate as a fast travel to him, though she wasn’t obligated by contract to appear.

“Who do you think the other guilds are going to send?” Loke asked.

“I have some guesses,” Erza said, looking uncomfortable, “But it doesn’t matter who they send, we will cooperate and succeed.”

 

 

“Wow, this is a big place,” Gray said, “And all the way out here?”

“It’s a secondary home of Blue Pegasus’s guildmaster,” Lucy said, walking through the familiar door.

“Welcome to Blue Pegasus’s hospitality,” three voices chanted in chorus.

They immediately started showering Erza with compliments. Loke hovered nearby, taking notes.

Lucy kept her arms folded, standing slightly behind Gray and Natsu as they introduced themselves.

“A bit over the top, don’t you think?” Gray asked, looking at her. He blinked, “Wait, don’t tell me you’re jealous of how those guys are treating Erza?”

“Come on Lucy, you’re better than wanting to be pampered like that,” Natsu whined.

Lucy gave a light laugh, “It’s not that. It’s that I wish Cait Shelter and Lamia Scale were already here. If the alliance is going to break apart before it even gets put together, it’s going to be right here.”

“What do you mean?” Gray asked, eyeing the three wizards skeptically. “They’re a little over the top, but they don’t seem that bad. You got a problem with them?”

“Karen’s guild was Blue Pegasus, not Syren’s Song. That was a guild I just made up,” Lucy said quietly, watching. “I thought I told you guys that. Hibiki was Karen’s boyfriend.”

“You’re joking,” Gray said, frowning at the group.

“So Hibiki just watched Karen abuse you and Aries, and did nothing,” Natsu added, starting to crack his knuckles.

Lucy steeled herself and linked arms between Natsu and Gray, startling them both, “You weren’t there, and you’ve only heard my side of the story. Natsu, you are not going to run off to start this on your own and you are not going to fight anyone here from any of the other official guilds. That goes for you too, Gray. Natsu, you run off, and I will never use my magic to let you sleep through a vehicle ride again. Gray, I’ll tell Erza what happened to her armor cleaning kit.”

“No need to get personal,” Gray said hurriedly.

“Lucy, you can’t mean that,” Natsu whined.

“I do mean it,” Lucy said firmly, squeezing their arms. “We will not be the first aggressors.”

There was a commotion and everyone heard a desperate, “Not him,” from Erza before a portly wizard tumbled down the stairs in a parody of a dramatic entrance. He stopped at the bottom of the stairs, and righted himself in a casual movement that sort of suggested falling down stairs was a habit for him. Made sense, for his stout frame, he had very small feet. His mane of red hair fluttered behind him as he sniffed the air and stepped forward.

Each step took Ichiya closer to Erza, who was starting to pale, “Oh dear, what is that I smell? The parfume of my dearest Erza has arrived at last! It has been far too long since I have enjoyed this delicious aroma.”

“Back OFF!” Erza screamed, striking the small wizard with a sword, sending him careening into the front door.

He would have hit the door, if a hand inside a block of ice hadn’t stopped him.

“Is this any way to treat guests?” Lyon said, stepping into the room. “Lamia Scale demands greater respect than to be attacked upon entry.”

“Oh hey, you guys did end up joining a guild,” Natsu said, bouncing out of Lucy’s grasp.

Gray casually shrugged her off too, “Let him go Lyon, we’re allies here.”

“He attacked me first,” Lyon said, tossing Ichya back towards the Trimen anyway. “I was merely defending myself.”

“Carpet Doll,” Sherri cast and stepped inside, and Lucy grit her teeth as she stepped aside and off the animated carpet. “Ah, you were so close to dying last time we met. Did you finally give in and let the little wizard boy put his hand up your shirt?”

“Put the carpet back, Slaver,” Lucy spat. “It’s not nice to take things that aren’t yours.”

Done with the Lolita style and pigtails, instead Sherri had decided a formal half-updo with and evening ballgown was the appropriate attire for taking on a member of the Barum alliance. Sherri let the spell go with a smirk. A twitch of those puppeteer fingers let the carpet settle for her to glide upon it in heels.

“Wait, Lucy, how did you defeat Sherri back on Galuna Island?” Loke asked, looking between her and Sherri.

“Yes, I’ve been wondering that myself ever since I woke up with a raging headache about to be swept out to sea,” Sherri glared.

“I’m better than you,” Lucy snapped, “What’s so complicated about that?”

“Peace. We come here to face a bigger enemy, one that will require us setting aside past grudges and working as a team,” a new voice said, deep and calm, following in behind the other two.

The man was tall and broad with brown skin and a long black beard. He carried himself with a gravity that acknowledged his power even if you couldn’t sense the dense slats of magical aura surrounding him. He knew he was dangerous, he held his arms folded under overlapping robes, not a threat. Not at the moment. This powerful man was a member of Lamia Scale? Only one man fit the description.

“Jura, welcome,” Erza said, recovering her cool. “It will be a pleasure working with you and your guildmates. My apologies for the rough introductions.”

“Erza Scarlet,” Jura said, tilting his head in recognition. “Apology accepted.”

“Your guildmaster sent four wizards and two pets?” Sherri gave a tumbling laugh. “Our guild knew we could get the job done with only three wizards.”

“Or Lamia Scale is underestimating the threat we face,” Lucy shot back.

“Yeah, and don’t call Natsu and Gray pets!” Happy added.

“I heard Cait Shelter is only sending one member,” Eve said.

Small, blonde, shiny hair and smile. Lucy hadn’t known him three years ago, and he was on the younger side, one of the little puppy/younger brother types at the moment. All sincere flattery and bubbly excitement. He was probably new to the guild, but if he was here and teamed up with Hibiki, he was powerful.

Ren, their tall, dark, and handsome Tsundere, she also didn’t recognize. Well, maybe on her exit from the guild that last day, she had a vague impression of a new tall black haired man desperately looking at his guildmates for a cue of what to do as Lucy left the main hall with Karen screaming behind her.

Ichiya was currently sniffing around Erza’s waist, short man that he was. The least attractive of the group, with pencil limbs and a four o’clock shadow. Lucy did know him from Blue Pegasus, but Karen and Ichiya steered clear of each other, so he wasn’t involved in their mess. He had his own following, from what she remembered. A knack for elegant flattery made him popular with their clients, and even Lucy had to admit he was the best smelling man she had ever met, at least until he started using his perfumes in battle. Aside from the nice smell, very few things were attractive about him, but he was S class in terms of power.

“If…if…STOP THAT!” Erza yelled, mounting Ichiya on the tip of a polearm, then finished her statement. Ichiya didn't seem to mind. “If Cait Shelter understands the threat well enough to volunteer to send a member, do not underestimate their power, even if there is only one of them.”

“Who could be that powerful?” Loke asked.

“I’m—” a small child tripped on Sherri's misplaced carpet.

Lucy glared at the woman, a walking talking accommodations violation, but she was busy looking at the child like everyone else.

“Sorry I’m late,” the girl said, getting up but not lifting her gaze from the floor. “I’m Wendy Marvel of the Cait Shelter guild.” She threw herself into a bow at the waist. “I know I’m not what everyone expected, and I’m not a fighter, but please don’t send me back! I’d be so embarrassed! I’m not much of a fighter, but I’m really good with support magic and and—”

“Hold your head up Child,” said a white cat, walking in on two legs, dressed as a tiny lady. “They are never going to respect you if you don’t have confidence in yourself.”

“Another talking cat?” Gray asked, eyebrow raised.

“Right,” Wendy said, straightening up, then frowned, “Wait, why did you follow me Carla?”

“You’re too young to be traveling on your own, of course I came with you, and good thing I did,” Carla said scolded.

“She’s beautiful,” Happy said, eyes wide.

“Aw, Happy has a crush,” Loke teased.

“Shut it Loke!” Happy whisper-shouted. Carla’s ears twitched, but she didn’t dignify Happy with a response.

“Wendy Marvel, we didn’t mean to be rude. Of course your aid is welcome among us,” Erza said.

“That girl’s going to be a real cutie when she’s older,” Eve commented.

“It looks like Hibiki doesn’t plan on waiting for her to grow up before giving her special treatment,” Ren added.

Hibiki was about to put an arm around Wendy’s shoulder when Loke appeared behind him and grabbed it.

“Now now, none of that,” Loke said with a forced smile. “I’m going to set an age limit for your services right here. Understand?”

Hibiki shrugged, “A little hospitality and pampering never hurt anyone, but have it your way.” He turned to Wendy, who looked confused, “Please, make yourself at home here and let us know if there is anything we can get for you. Water, tea, snacks, we have some set out in the corner, but please ask if you would like something else.”

In front of her, Natsu mused, “Wendy Marvel, I feel like I’ve heard that name before.” He watched Wendy intently as she conversed with Carla.

Well, conversed was a strong word. The girl giggled at Happy’s attempts to get Carla to talk with him.

Natsu turned to Gray, “Hey, can you remember her for me?”

Gray sucked in a breath to call Natsu a moron again, then gave up with a sigh, “Yeah, I’ll work on it.”

“Thanks.”

Jura, wisely, banged his staff on the ground. “Now that we are all here, I believe we should begin the mission briefing.”

“Of course,” Ichiya said, taking a small platform as a stage for his poses. “We are gathered here today. To take down one of the greatest evils of our world. The Oracion Seis. Before they obtain the ancient weapon buried in this forest. The evil known as . . . Nirvana. Hibiki?” Ichiya asked.

“Of course,” Hibiki said with a bow. He stood beside Ichiya and summoned his archive magic. “We don’t know much, as everyone is aware. We have these photos of their members, don’t ask how we got them, it’s only because of their recent flare up of activity. First up is Cobra, the snake wizard we suspect of having dragonslayer magic due to rumors of seeing scales on his arms and eating poison for a boost in magic. Then . . .”

Each wizard was presented and the plan laid out: (1) Locate their hideout, (2) make sure as many of their members as possible are inside the hideout, (3) bomb it from above with Christina.

“We think teams of two would work best,” Hibiki said. “And each pair attempt to locate either the hideout or a member. I will run communications between everyone so that we remain united and coordinated.”

“Alright! Let’s hunt some oracle signs!” Natsu cheered, jumping for the door.

Luckily, Lucy was waiting for this exact move and snagged him by the scarf. “What did I say, Natsu?” she barked. “Sit still or suffer motion sickness for the rest of your suddenly very short life!”

The other guilds made faces at her threat, but it was a second to shove him into Gray, who nodded and agreed to hold him back until everyone was done.

Lucy stepped forward. “We need to play this as smart as we can. There is a good chance they know we are suspicious of their activity and they likely know we are coming. They will have had their lesser dark guilds watching the guildmasters' meeting. We need every advantage we can get. Is anyone unfamiliar with someone else’s abilities?”

“Par-pardon,” Wendy said nervously, “But aside from Erza and Natsu, I don’t know anyone’s abilities.”

Lucy nodded, casually taking center stage. “Right, we need to exchange information to work together well. Let’s go around and share our abilities so there are no surprises and we can make up the best teams for this. I use light magic to power up my combat abilities, there are holy aspect to it capable of combating a variety of cursed and dark magics.”

Each person went around and gave the name and a short description of their magic.

“Okay, now, can you pull up the picture of Angel,” Lucy asked Hibiki.

He didn’t move.

The moment grew longer, his face unreadable as he stared at her. Lucy waited him out.  

“Why are we listening to the little doll again?” Sherri asked flippantly.

“Everyone will listen to Lucy, because she spent a year of her life tracking and investigating the Oracion Seis, looking for the wizard that killed someone she cared about,” Erza said, a very big sword in her hand.

Sherri backed down. Hibiki's face finally twitched, but with a nod from Ichiya, Hibiki brought up the picture of Angel.

“Right, this is the most likely candidate for the Oracion Seis’s Celestial Wizard,” Lucy gestured to the white-haired woman. Agularia bloodline if she had ever seen one, blue-white hair, pointed eyes and chin, tall with broad shoulders.

Though the words felt like poison, she continued, “The good news is she can be almost completely neutralized by Sherri’s magic. We can also predict that if the Oracion Seis has any idea that we’re coming, which they likely do, Angel will be targeting Loke. I propose Loke and Sherri team up and attempt to set a trap for her. Loke claiming Angel’s keys early will free them up to help other teams, and it’s possible we can find a way to use her against the others.”

Loke and Sherri eyed each other, but didn’t say anything yet.

“Racer,” Lucy said to Hibiki.

He didn’t look at her, but he did bring up the proper picture.

“We know that his specialty is speed, it's in his name. We have our own speedster in our guild, and the faster they go, the less time they have to maneuver against sudden objects. They also generate heat that can leave burns in their wake. I propose Lyon and Gray work together and attempt to target Racer. An icy floor can neutralize most speedsters.”

Again, Gray and Lyon didn’t say anything, but looked at each other seriously.

“And the last one we can guess at is Cobra,” Lucy said, as his picture came up behind her. “I managed to obtain several descriptions of his magic. After putting everything together and observing Natsu, Gajeel, and Laxus in Fairy Tail, I believe he is a poison dragon slayer. Probably one lacrima fueled like Laxus, since no rumors mentioned anything about being raised by a dragon, and that’s not something a dark wizard would hide.

“As Fairy Tail has learned, the only true match for a dragon slayer in combat is another dragon slayer, and from his picture, you can tell that his snake helps him attack from the air. I think Natsu and Wendy should team up to take on this member, with Carla and Happy to give them aerial maneuverability. Wendy’s support spells will compliment Natsu’s magic nicely. Natsu also has better than human senses, and will hopefully be able to spot a likely basecamp from the air. Healing maybe be able to neutralize Cobra’s poison as well.”

“Oh yes please!” Wendy said, then blushed, “I mean, it would be my pleasure to work with Natsu.”

“I’m all for that plan!” Happy said.

Everyone waited as Natsu looked at Wendy, then relaxed as he broke into a huge smile. “Sure you can team up with me. It’ll be nice not having to wait for these slow pokes. And I’m always down for fighting with someone strong.”

“Good,” Lucy said relieved. “We can’t really plan any more targeted teams since we don’t know the abilities of the other members of the Oracion Seis. But Erza, Jura, and Ichyia are the strongest of us, so if each of you splits up, the rest of the pairs will each have a powerhouse to help handle whoever they come up against and a support fighter.”

“I’ll go with Erza!” Eve volunteered.

“You should pick me, I’ll help you out,” Ren said coyly.

“Jura, do you have a preference on partner?” Erza asked, ignoring them. “I would personally prefer to team up with Lucy, but her talents are likely most compatible with yours between the three of us. I can vouch that she reads battlefields well and you won’t have to worry about her when unleashing your power.”

“I believe I would prefer to work with Ren, a ranged teammate is likely to work better for me, no matter how skilled they are at dodging,” Jura said, an apologetic nod at Lucy.

“That’s fine then, I’ll work with Erza, Ren with will work with Jura, and Eve will team up with Ichyia,” Lucy said. She gave a quick glance at Hibiki, “Hibiki will run communications from Christina, as planned.”

He still didn’t look at her.

“Right, now lets get going!” Natsu said, jumping up.

Gray pulled him back down, “Does anything get through your skull? We leave when Lucy finishes up with the plan. We still don’t know where we’re going.”

“Hibiki has all the pertinent information on the location, he shall inform you with the utmost curtesy and accuracy. He will begin after I go make a letter of the alphabet.” Ichyia tiptoed off.

“You go Teacher!” the trimen applauded. People broke off into smaller conversations to wait. Everyone paired off with their new partner, though Gray kept Natsu in grabbing distance while he snarked with Lyon.

Erza folded her arms next to her, “I believe I can make the educated guess about why you were excluded from the Blue Pegasus special?”

“You probably can,” Lucy admitted quietly.

“I wouldn’t have guessed, except you described in detail how Aries took over host duties, and only one guild has that requirement for their members. Is everything going to be okay?”

Lucy looked at Hibiki, who was staring fixedly at the archive magic in front of him.

“We should be, but I suppose that depends on him.”

Notes:

And back to the action! There's so much crunch to Lucy and Sherri, I was devastated when canon made them dislike each other over in petty popular girl fighting ("she thinks she soooo cute.). If you wanted to avoid the whole 'almost killed each other part' issue, which I get, go with the fundamentally at odds powers where Sherri treats Lucy's spirits as dolls to play with after Lucy has fought so hard for them to know their own worth as equals.

Hibiki is clinging to his professionalism by the tips of his fingers, I tell ya, and he's still slipping. I sure hope there isn't some kind of force that attacks conflicted hearts. That would be just awful, you know? ;)

What do you think of Lucy's vacation clause use? The pairings? Blue Pegasus in general? Let me know!

Chapter 53: First Strike

“Right, thank you for your patience,” Ichyia said, returning and striking another pose on his platform.

“Amazing job Boss,” the Trimen complimented.

“Okay, here’s what we know about their location ,” Hibiki said, taking the lead again. “As you can see, a dark cloud obscures the entirety of this particular gorge. Our best guess is that this secondary defense was activated after a previous seal on Nirvana was broken. Blue Pegasus and Cait Shelter are the closest guilds to this area, and we’ve had Christina patrolling these lands for the past three years. Here’s a picture of the area before the darkness activated.”

“It’s still blurry,” Happy pointed out.

“Strong magic auras affect most lens, that’s why photos of strong wizards have to be taken with very specific equipment,” Ren explained. “We never noticed, but in all our photos for the past three years, this area is blurry. It’s approximately fifteen miles across in a rough circular shape with several rivers running through it from the cliffs, emptying into an underground river on the east side.”

“Forest terrain, several hills and rivers,” Lucy analyzed. “Not going to lie, I wish we had brought Juvia and Gajeel.”

“You know they had separate missions for the Master,” Erza scolded. “We have a solid plan. And if each pair enters from different sides and meet in the middle, the most likely location of any strong magical energy, we’ll cover most of the ground and have a set rendez-vous.”

“A brilliant plan from the beautiful Erza,” Hibiki complimented, pulling up another picture of the Woodsea and circling it in red. “We can meet Christina here, and she can drop off pairs for an omni-directional approach.”

“Finally! Last one to the Rendez-vous is a rotten egg!” Natsu called, punching through the door and taking off running. “Woo-hoo! Freedom!”

“Gray!” Lucy barked.

“I’m not his babysitter Lucy!” Gray yelled back, chasing after Natsu. “And no way am I losing to you, ya Pyro!”

“I was afraid of this. Fairy Tail got out of control, and now we’re gonna have to fix that,” Hibiki moaned, looking at the busted doorframe.

“No point in waiting,” Erza said, “Keep up you two,” and charged out the door.

Lucy started laughing as her and Loke ran out the door, “I’m glad I held his attention that long!”

“Honestly, you might have used up all our luck on that,” Loke said, right beside her.

“It feels so childish that we’ve gone fist to fist with these guys before, doesn’t it?” Lyon said, a smile in his voice.

“They’re just as obnoxious as I remember, that’s for sure,” Sherri said.

“Much better stamina and speed Loke,” Erza approved as they caught up to Natsu and Gray.

“It’s not like you and Lucy gave me much of a choice,” he said. “You’ve had me on crazy workouts for months now.”

“Aren’t you glad?” Lucy said, then ran up to be beside Natsu. “Don’t leave Wendy behind, and I know you think you can take these guys on solo, but let her use her magic. She’s not a fighter, and they might try to target her because of that.”

“Wendy? How far back is she?” Natsu asked, trying to look behind him.

“There, that must be the first rendez-vous point!” Erza said, pointing.

“Where?” Natsu asked. Asked, but didn’t stop running, ending up over a cliff.

Lucy laughed and cupped her hands to call downwards, “Natsu? You okay down there!”

“I’m gonna get there first!” came the distant cry, and the rest of their team snickered as they followed a steep, but much safer side path.

“’Sup eggs,” Natsu said, waiting for them on the rocky outcropping

“Shuddup,” Gray scoffed, “Not our fault the rest of us need our brains intact.”

The others arrived a few minutes later, and the bomber Christina followed overhead. A flying machine the size of the mansion they had just left, it had a white body shaped like a horse, and yellow horn, and blue wings that guided its smooth journey through the sky.  

“Isn’t she beautiful?” Hibiki admired. The wings expanded to stop it in place, then shifted to let it begin to circle downward.

“I’ve never seen the like,” Sherri agreed, everyone else adding their own compliments for the first spiral descent.

Then the first explosion hit.

A second and third followed, sending it falling out of the sky.

“Oh no, the crew!” Lucy yelled, getting ready to jump from the cliff after the wreck.

Eve’s hand stopped her.

“Don’t worry,” Eve said, “It’s controlled remotely, there’s no one in there. Hibiki can control Christina with his archive magic. That’s how we were going to get onboard.”  

Lucy relaxed and nodded.

“Oh, I’d worry a little,” a female voice said politely, “Especially since we already took care of the big strong bald one and the smelly short one. Oh, and we know all of your plans.”

On their left, the Oracion Seis walked out like some kind of coordinated boyband.

Natsu and Gray sprung immediately into action, Lucy and Erza a step behind them. Her team went for Cobra, who jumped to meet them, but Lucy went straight for Angel and Gemini.

The twins met her fist for fist, lion to lion.

They weren’t as strong as her, they had to break the deadlock first.

On her own, Lucy had more magic power than Angel. They knew it too, their eyes narrowed in accusation.

Racer got her in the side, sending her flying. The twins used her body to shove Loke off the cliff, and she was in the ground, everyone was in the ground, it was all mud—

Erza was yelling somewhere far away. Ice shattered. Every move Lucy made to break free from the mud wasn’t enough, they were drowning.

The mud hardened.

 Everyone was on the ground, held hostage by a spell from their leader. Except Loke, where was Loke? Did he fall off the cliff?  

“It wasn’t even very much fun,” Brain said, shaking his head. “Goodbye, it is such a shame you won’t get to see the world we intend to bring about with Nirvana. Magnum P—No, it can’t be.”

Brain stopped his casting. Wendy squeaked and ducked her head under his stare.

“You gonna finish the spell, or what?” Cobra asked.

“New plan. That’s Wendy Marvel, the Sky Maiden. Magnum Pierce!”

 Wendy and Happy were swallowed into Brain’s staff as he finished his attacking spell, sending the rest of them into darkness. 

           

 

Loke groaned and sat up. He was at the base of a cliff. Lucy had thrown him off the cliff.

No. There was something acting as a double of Lucy.

Real Lucy must have been the one taken out by the fast one and the double threw him over the cliff. His sickle and chain managed to hook onto a tree and slow his descent, but it was still a landing hard enough to bruise.

Up on the cliff, Lucy was calling for him.

“Here!” he called back.

A few seconds later, Gray was sliding down an ice staircase to fetch him.

“Come on, we need to regroup,” Gray said grimly, as they started to head back up the stairs, “Erza’s hurt pretty bad, Wendy and Happy got kidnapped, and Jura and Ichyia are badly hurt. Everyone else is a little roughed up, but okay. Jura prevented what was supposed to be a killing strike at the last second.”

Erza screamed and they were running.

“Stop the perfume or whatever!” Lucy screamed at Ichiya, taking off her gloves to cover Erza’s nose and mouth while still letting her breathe.

“But my pain killing parfume has never failed before,” Ichyia said, corking the concoction. Lucy glared at Ren, who blew away the rest of the scent with a blast of wind magic.

“Your magic isn’t true healing,” Lucy scolded. “It opens up the veins in the body to help the body heal itself. It’ll get rid of a toxin, but not a poison, not in a lethal amount. You just helped the poison spread faster!”

“Well, true healing’s lost magic,” Sherri spat at her. “Don’t blame him for it not working.”

“I’m sorry Lucy, but I need to borrow your belt,” Erza grunted, stealing it and causing her whip to fall to the ground.

Erza used her mouth to pull the belt tight around her bicep and summoned a sword. “We have no choice, I can’t be taken out of combat this early. Now cut my arm off before the poison spreads to the rest of my body!”

Her arm trembled.

Erza, was still in one of her speed armors, leopardess. Her skin was clammy and pale, sweat beading her brow, but the infected arm was a sickly, magic purple. The other end of Lucy’s belt was clasped between her teeth.

“No way Erza,” Gray said.

“You’re kidding. We don’t have time for your dramatics,” Loke told her.

Lyon sighed and picked up Erza’s sword, “Who are you to go against her wishes? She’s right that this might save her life and it will keep her in combat. I will do what is necessary if you fairies continue to lack the backbone to do what is needed.”

Lyon swung the sword in a downward strike, but Gray blocked it with a hand full of ice. “You haven’t change a bit, you’re just as scummy as ever.”

“We should respect her wishes,” Jura said solemnly.

“She’s delirious with painkillers and poison,” Loke shot back, “As her family, we get to make the decision, and we say there’s a way to save her life without losing her arm.”

The group was divided. Did these guys know anything about advanced medical procedures?

“Even if the poison hasn’t already spread, the shock or bloodloss could kill her just as easily.” Loke said, shutting down this conversation for good, “We don’t have the resources for an amputation, if that’s even what’s needed.”

Erza yelled and the belt length she shoved in her mouth fell out. She toppled onto Lucy, who caught her carefully.

“Wendy can save her,” Carla spoke up. “What you need is Wendy. Her support magic is lost magic, she’s a true healer. Erza doesn’t have any other hope.”

“Right,” Lucy said, laying Erza down gently. “Back to the original plan. They’re good at working together, and we’ve lost our air support. Instead of six pairs, I want four groups, three exploring and one group remains here with Erza. We fan out from this point and try to find their base, or pick them off one by one until we do find their base.”

“We clearly can’t work together, so we should stay with our own guilds,” Sherri decided.

“Where were you?” Lucy demanded, spinning on her. “It takes miliseconds for you to control a celestial spirit’s body. Why didn’t you immediately take control of Gemini?”

“You rushed in there like a barbarian before I got in range to control her spirits!” Sherri shot back. “Then the spirit was you, and I could pick one of you and hope for the best, or try and summon a doll and protect my guildmate. Excuse me for choosing my love over your dumb plan.”

“And what about before when Ichyia was a spirit and we were spilling all our plans to him?” Lucy demanded. “I warned you to be on the look out! I told you that your magic could nullify hers, I even warned you that they likely knew we were coming and they were preparing to act against us. But because I’m the one that said it, you couldn’t listen to me long enough to put those disgusting slaver powers to good use! It's a perfect copy to everyone else, but you should have seen the new ability to control him if you were any actual kind of Marionette wizard.”

“You’re such a hypocrite!" Sherri screamed, "You keep going off about how I’m a slaver for controlling celestial spirits, then you get mad at me for not controlling one? What is wrong with you!” 

Lucy's lips pursed, her eyes narrowed and her body tensed in a way Loke had only seen once before, making him want to hide.

At least Happy was kidnapped and not here for this one.

Loke didn't like Sherri, he could still hear the way she laughed as she forced Virgo to drive her fist into the wall where his head would have been if he'd been a second slower. But they had all agreed Sherri and the others were more cruel and vicious because of being exposed to Deliora's aura.

Sherri was actually being much more sensible than she had been on Galuna.

Lucy disagreed.

Loke guessed it was coming, but he still flinched when Lucy's fist flashed out to yank Sherri's face down to hers by her dress.

“YES I HATE YOU!” Lucy screamed back. “I wish I just killed you on Galuna so you would never enslave another celestial spirit ever again. I still want to tear out your throat! But I’m going to beg you here and now to stay with Loke, and beg you to enslave some innocent celestial spirits, because even though I hate it! Even though you make me sick! We. Do. Things. We. Hate. For. People. We. Love!”

Lucy released Sherri and bent into a bow, eyes screwed shut.

“So I’ll protect Lyon, I’ll take any hit for Lyon if that’s the promise you need, but you have to stay with Loke! Angel will be back for him, and she’ll be back with help or a plan because now she knows you can counter her because I tried to play it smart. But if you’re here with Loke and Hibiki, you’ll have a warning, you’ll have help, and you’ll have the best chance of keeping him safe out of everyone. So please, I beg you to use your awful powers and do the job were came here to do and take down the Oracion Seis!”

Lucy’s chest was heaving, her whole body went into that last plea.

Loke and Lyon shared an awkward look, each silently asking the other if they were gonna get in the middle of their self-proclaimed protectors.

Not a chance.

Wait, did Lucy just? Did she really say?

Sherri took a deep breath and let it out. “This is the action you will take for the love in your heart? I suppose I must accept. I will protect your love from Angel, if you agree to protect my love in my place.”

“Deal,” Lucy said, holding out a hand.

Lucy just admitted she loved him, twice! Ha! They couldn't talk about it right now, obviously. He wasn't going to fluster her just before going to battle, but Lucy's own feelings and own words trapped her now! YES!

Sherri waited a moment, then shook Lucy's hand. A declaration of peace. 

Lucy spun around to address the rest of them, “Here are the new groups. Hibiki, Sherri, and Loke are going to stay here and form the base camp around Erza. Natsu, you go with Carla and Ren. Go as fast as you can down the middle, search for any hint of Wendy and Happy on the wind. Come back here immediately when you have Wendy. Hibiki will be running communications from here, so listen for him.

"Jura, Eve, and Ichiya will go through a western path. Even injured, that should be more than enough power and support. Focus on following rivers and waterways, if Natsu can't sniff them out, they're using the river to cover their tracks.

"Gray, Lyon, and I will head down the east side. Natsu’s heading straight north for the center. The east group is spreading out over the hills, and see what we can from the height advantage Does anyone have any questions?”

“I love a strong woman in charge,” Eve flirted.

“What are we waiting for?” Natsu asked. “Come on!” Natsu took off, Carla hurrying behind him. Ren looked torn for a moment.

“You ladies keep yourselves safe, not that I care, but it would be bad if you got hurt,” Ren said, then took off after his group.

Jura turned to his own guildmates, now bandaged from the previous attacks he endured. “Stay safe you two, I will not be reporting any bad news to our guildmaster, understand?”

“We’ll do our guild proud, don’t worry about that,” Lyon said.

“Go with my love."

With a nod, Jura’s group took off, leaving the home base group and Lucy’s group.

“Here’s a question,” Lyon said. “Why are you abandoning your wizard now? Aren’t celestial spirits supposed to be concerned only with their wizard?”

“Lucy’s on vacation,” Loke answered for her, still grinning, “Not that that changes when I listen to her brilliant plans. I can summon her to me if I need her, but we’d both rather have her going to get Wendy.”

“It’ll be easier for Sherri to use her magic if I’m not here,” Lucy admitted reluctantly. “She’s the best bet for keeping Loke safe, so I’ll leave and see if I can’t take down a different threat. You and Gray know each other’s styles, and fighting beside maker-magic is tricky if you don’t know how the wizard is going to move. If we absolutely need to, Gray and I can pull off a unison raid, which should take care of any member of the oracion seis, though it wipes our energy. That’s why I’m going with this group.”

“Any more dumb questions, or can we get to the part where we save Erza?” Gray asked.

“One last thing,” Lucy promised Gray. She turned to cup Loke’s face in her hands, making him turn the tinsiest bit red. “Stay alive, and call if you need me. She’s not better than you. Not you. You know the body language to signal Canis now. Make sure Sherri knows which spirits are yours. Angel has Gemini, who can make copies of other people, so be careful trusting people who look like friends, but there will be holes in their memory, so look for that if someone is standing somewhere they aren't supposed to be.”

A deeper warmth from her trust budded in his heart, joining the giddiness. Lucy was amazing.

“Can I get a kiss for luck?” Loke flirted.

Lucy bit her lip. She had to know he was just teasing her, but she still asked, “Will it help you stay alive through this?”

Well, if permission and an excuse was all the woman who was in love with him needed . . .  Loke smirked, “Oh, absolutely. Nothing could make me more capable of winning any and every fight and coming back to you than a kiss right—”

He didn’t actually expect her to pull him forward, but she did with a yank. Lucy pressed her lips to his cheek, then pulled back.

“Stay alive,” she ordered.

Then she was off running, and Gray followed her with a yell, “Holy Crap Lucy!”

Loke touched where Lucy had kissed him gently, warm, and turned to Lyon. “Lucy’s immortal, and with where she’s at right now, she can take just about any hit but a strong enough one will remove her from battle for a while,” Loke told Lyon, “She’s going to keep her promise to take hits for you, so try not to need her to.”

“Don’t worry, I can hold my own,” Lyon assured him, and turned back to Sherri. “Remember that, and don’t fret about me. I will separate from Lucy if that’s what’s necessary for the good of the mission, just like I would separate from you if the match ups are better that way. But I will return. Trust me and keep yourself safe.” Then he was running to catch up with Lucy and Gray.

Now Loke was just going replay that memory of Lucy kissing his cheek over and over again until someone comes to kill them.

“Help me get your friend more comfortable,” Sherri ordered, “Her tourniquet’s tight, but if we raise the rest of her body above her poisoned arm, it will also help slow the spread. It might only buy her seconds or minutes, but it might be the difference between her living and dying.”

Loke pushed the memory back for later and got to work.

 

Notes:

The Oracion Seis claim the offensive first, wrecking Lucy's beautiful plan. Luckily she's smart enough to immediately come up with the next one because they had the previous strategy discussion. Lucy just needed to get through to Sherri, and there's only one surefire way to do that!

Lucy(to sherri): the people I love are going to die if you don't stop being a self-centered prima Donna and work with me!

Loke: Lucy said she loves me!

Let me know what you think!

Chapter 54: Search

“I can’t believe you,” Gray laughed at her, “You’re really going for it, you’re going to play the player! You’re actually stringing him along. I didn’t think you had it in you!”

“Shut up Gray,” Lucy said, blushing furiously. “If I’d known how close you were gonna come to dying on Galuna, I would have kissed you too if it would have made you want to stay alive. It isn’t like that!”

“Sure it isn’t,” he teased.

“Is this really the time for petty romantics?” Lyon said, joining up.

“No, it’s not, so shut up Gray!” 

“I mean honestly,” Lyon added, “She confessed her love for him to Sherri, a goodbye kiss before a battle against one of the three greatest evils in the land is nothing compared to that. Have some perspective.”

A slight look backwards showed Lyon’s stupid little grin matched Gray’s.

“Not you too,” Lucy cried, “It’s not like Sherri was going to listen to any other argument, it was the only thing I could think of!”

“Sure. And you kissed him.”

“HIS CHEEK” Lucy protested while the boys laughed.

There was a falter in their steps at the same time.

“The weird aura of this place must have cloaked them,” Gray said.

“The question is, will it be faster to fight them or dodge them?” Lyon asked, shifting to a combat stance.

“They’re not very strong,” Lucy decided, reading the auras. The strongest was about the same strength as Wakaba. “No time for theatrics. We hit hard and we hit fast, and we hit until they tell us where the base is. Ready?”

“Why is she the one giving the orders?” Lyon raised an eyebrow.

“Because her plans have saved the world more than once. Plus she’s over 700 hundred years old, we got to give deference where deference is due,” Gray said.

“Look who’s fallen—” was all the prelude the spokesperson had time for before Gray punched him out. The three of them worked surprisingly well together. Gray’s preference for close combat pushed him into the center of the fighting, while Lyon covered his back and took out ranged spellcasters with his ice animals. Lucy went straight for the trees, knocking opponents towards Gray and Lyon with her greater agility and balance.

Seven minutes, and Gray and Lyon were standing above a pile of twitching bodies.

“I know going straight for the attack is quicker,” Gray said, mushing his foot into one bruised face, “But it’s less satisfying than giving them an out and only beating them to a pulp after they’ve insulted the guild.”

“Based on their hairstyles, this is likely the Unicorn Guild, one of the guilds under the Oracion Seis,” Lyon mused. “We went into battle expecting six opponents, but in the dark fog they hid whole guilds.”

“Doesn’t matter how many they throw at us,” Gray said, kicking the body away. “We’ll take them all down. According to the pooled information between the guilds, the most they could have is eight dark guilds in here, and that’s only if they called on every single one of their sub guilds.”

Lucy crashed to the ground between Gray and Lyon, a face under her hand.

The boys winced as the skull cracked.

“I blunted that blow to your head,” Lucy said darkly, bangs covering her eyes, her Leo ponytail falling forward. “You felt it, didn’t you? The way I kept your head just high enough above ground that our landing wouldn’t knock you out? I didn’t have to do that. Now, you can either tell me where the Oracion Seis’s main base is, or I finish the job and crack your skull open right now like an egg. Your corpse will serve as a warning to the next conscious member of your guild that I find, and we’ll see if they are willing to give the right answers to my questions.

“And if I find out you lied? I come back and I kill you. And I kill everyone in your guild. And we give another dark guild hiding in these woods a chance to make the correct decision.” Lucy tilted her head back so her victim could see her narrowed eyes. “So, how are you going to spend your one chance?”

Five minutes later, they were following a stream west towards a round waterfall where the ruins of an ancient civilization once stood, which was acting as the current base of the Oracion Seis.

“We’re making good time,” Lucy said with a cheerful laugh.

“And you said I was scummy,” Lyon said. “What do you call what Lucy just did?”

“Acting skills?” Gray offered.

“Does her wizard know she’s insane?”

“I think he likes that about her.”

“I can hear you two,” Lucy called behind her. “Look, it’s been thirty minutes since we separated into groups, and we already know where they’re keeping Wendy and Happy. I just wish we could tell the others.”

“Hibiki was rather vague on the details of how communication is supposed to work,” Lyon said. “I wasn’t planning on counting on him for external coordination in the first place.”

“Archive magic is old magic, recently remembered and learned again. But at its core it is development and utilization of complex telepathy externally contained,” Lucy explained. “He won’t contact me, but one of you guys will hopefully hear his voice in your head soon. It feels a little invasive, but he can't actually see or hear anything you don't think at him. It's seamless and dead useful. Don’t shut him out. You can ignore him if you’re fighting, but don’t try to shut him down.”

“Geeze, is there anything you don’t know?” Lyon asked, somehow making it sound like an insult.

“I just said I don’t know where the others are or how to contact them,” Lucy said loftily. “Maybe you’d know more things if you listened better.”

“She’s got you there,” Gray laughed.

Lucy caught eyes with Lyon, and together they immediately started ragging on Gray’s listening skills, mainly how they out the door faster than his clothes when someone called him a bastard.

 

 

 

“Come on, Erza,” Loke said. “It’s just you and me again, hopefully this goes better than the last time it was just the two of us. You have to hang in there so I don’t break my word to Sho. I promised to protect you for him, remember? If I don’t, it’ll affect my magic, and then all your work helping me will go to waste. Lucy’s work too. What kind of example are you setting for her?

“You know, Lucy told me that when she was waiting to die at Karen’s grave, she could have ended her pain quicker by jumping in the water. But you told her that you live for your friends, and you live to the very end. It was your example that saved her life then, don’t let her down now.”

“You know about Karen.”

Hibiki had set up his archive magic almost as soon as the groups took off, and hadn’t looked away from it since. Sherri was sitting at the top of a tall tree doll, keeping watch for approaching wizards. This was the first thing Hibiki had said to him.

“I know more than you do, whatever you think you’ve heard,” Loke said, turning his attention to the wizard.

He had sensed the tension between Hibiki and Lucy back when they were making plans, they were not subtle, but never would have guessed the source of the tension was Karen Lilica.

Hibiki gave a bitter laugh, “That’s rich. If you know about what she did to Karen, how could you make a contract with her? Much less trust her here with your life. I was shocked to see her. Master Bob said she would die for what she did, breaking the laws of magic like that.”

“What do you think you know?” Loke tried. He had a guess where Hibiki fit in among the pseudonyms of the book, but wanted it confirmed.

Hibiki finally turned away from his computer. “I suppose it’s good we’re dealing with this now. I know because I was there. Because I held Karen’s hair back as magic drain from Leo’s presence made her throw up. I know because I watched her grow increasingly desperate and suicidal as Leo tied up her magic with no end in sight. It was all I could do to keep Karen alive for as long as I did, night after night.

“I know because Leo’s the reason I lost the woman I loved.”

Yep. Joel the boyfriend. He had punched Lucy after Karen’s funeral, but it also sounded like Karen kept some important details to herself about what was going on between spirit and wizard.

“Archive magic, it’s all about information recording and retrieval, right?” Loke said, pulling a familiar manuscript from his pocket. “How fast can you read this?”

“Why? Is this what Leo wrote about Karen?” Hibiki scoffed.

“Read it, because when you’re done, you’ll know why the question isn’t why I trust Lucy, the question is why should I trust you after you saw what Karen did to her and Aries, and you watched,” Loke said, keeping his tone even and firm. “I’m going to need that back. That’s an original manuscript, it’s precious.”

“If you insist, but this won’t tell me anything I don’t already know,” Hibiki said, taking the bound pages.

His magic conjured a desk of light that Hibiki laid the manuscript on, and with a press, squares of light fitted between each page, making a block of light. A pentagon with a bar appeared that slowly filled in.

Once the bar was full, the words ‘completed download’ appeared above the bar.

Hibiki handed the manuscript back to Loke, then put his hand on the completed download button. A new bar appeared above Hibiki’s head and started to fill.

Loke saw the story start to hit. Hibiki’s face tightened, his eyes grew glassy. Without looking at Loke again or saying a word, he went back to his archive.

.

 

 

 

“We did it, those are the ruins,” Lucy said looking over the cliff. “There’s water about four hundred meters that way. Unless it’s super shallow, we should survive the jump.”

“Lucy! Good to see you!” Natsu called, coming in from an angle. “You get to beat up a dark guild too?”

“Not everyone is as monstrous as you, you feral beast!” Carla cried, flying in behind him. Ren followed after, panting a little from the run.

“Yeah, the Unicorns, what took you so long?” Gray said.

Carla slapped a paw to her head.

“Met up with Argon again, had to give him a proper beating,” Natsu said. “He’s done nothing with his life but think about revenge. I had to beat it into him that he’s failing at life if that’s all he’s thinking about.”

“Who?” Gray asked.

Lucy sighed, “Erigor. You know, the wind wizard who wanted to use Zeref’s demon Lullaby to kill all the guild masters?”

“What! When was this?” Lyon demanded.

“You were busy worshipping the moon,” Gray said, waving a hand. “Let’s get going, Erza doesn’t have time for us to waste.”

Lucy heard the blur first, saw a dust cloud, and put herself in between it and Lyon, kicking upwards. She hit, locking herself into a poorly positioned grapple. Her kick meeting Racer’s forearm.

“Woah!” Lyon yelled, jumping back.

“Fast little one, aren’t you?” Racer grinned at her. He switched his grip too fast and she went flying into a tree, tossed by that same leg.

When the world stopped spinning she saw everyone else recovering from similar attacks, and the wizard Racer grinning above them.

“Sorry, but this is the end of the line for you losers,” Racer said with a manic grin.

“Natsu, Ren, Lucy, take this and go after Wendy,” Gray said, casting an ice bridge down to the ruins. “Lyon and I can take this clown down. Back to plan A, since he found us like this.”

“Have fun!” Natsu said, jumping on the slide. Ren followed while Racer was preoccupied with Lyon’s birds.

Lucy hesitated.

“Don’t worry about me,” Lyon instructed. “You already took a hit meant for me, and I was able to brace myself for his subsequent attacks. Sherri would leave this fight to me now, and you promised to act in her stead. Now go!”

“Remember, he can’t turn well at the speeds he’s going, and he’ll naturally take the path of least resistance,” Lucy instructed. To Gray she said, “Keep Lyon alive.”

“I’ll keep the rest of your promise to Sherri for you,” Gray said, casting a spear of ice, “Now go!”

“Sure you don’t want a good luck kiss too?” Lucy teased.

Gray rolled his eyes and shoved her onto the slide as she laughed. She just had to focus on holding on and arrived at the island safely.

Ren immediately turned to her as she landed.

“I don’t know what’s wrong with him,” Ren said solemnly, “We got to the bottom and he just froze.”

Beside him, Natsu had his cheeked puffed out in a pose Lucy had seen more than enough times before.

Lucy sighed, “Don’t worry about him, he’ll catch up when he’s ready.”

 She turned to look around the ruins. Several rivers dumped into this basin, they were on an island in the middle. Stones inhabited by moss were just square enough to be man made throughout the small island. The structures certainly weren’t defensible, neither was the sunken location. There had to be an underground river carrying away the water so the island didn’t sink itself.

It was almost too circular. Maybe magic cut grooves in the land to be like this for another purpose, and magic or an aqueduct kept the hole from filling up.

Not helpful. No sounds over the rushing water gave away the location of Happy and Wendy, nor were any of the structures enclosed enough to hide them.

“None of these dwellings look big enough or stable enough to hold the Oracion Seis. What do you think?” Lucy asked, “I doubt the dark guilds were lying if both of them sent us here. And if it was a trap, we should have already sprung it. If Racer was the trap, this was a terrible place for him to set it, no way to use his magic to his advantage, that’s why he’s fighting up there. I don’t sense any magic signatures down here either.”

Ren closed his eyes for a moment, then stuck his arms out straight in front of him. Slowly he turned in a wide arc. Without opening his eyes, he stopped and pointed. “The wind currents are strange in that that direction. There’s a deep cave that way.”

Lucy and Ren jogged to that side of the island, and Lucy sent a fairy light behind the waterfall Ren pointed out. Light passed through a large circle behind the water.

“There’s an opening here!” Lucy said. She extinguished the light and hurried forward. “Let’s go! That’s some talent Ren!”

“Glad I could be useful,” Ren said, following her dash towards the secret cave. The water was shallow enough to wade here. “To be honest, watching Natsu’s combat ability wasn’t good for my ego.”

Lucy laughed, “It isn’t good for anyone’s ego.”

“You two talking about me?” Natsu said, running up beside them. His head jerked towards the cave, “Happy!”

They rushed in past some aesthetic candles, the Oracion Seis were definitely leaning into the dark guild vibe, only to be brought to a halt.

Wendy was kneeling on the ground, crying. Happy was collapsed beside her. Looming over them was Brain’s grinning face.

Set against the brown stone cave wall was the back of a blue head.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” Wendy cried, “I had to do it, I’m sorry.”

“Did you heal him child?” Carla demanded. “You know what that man has done. And you know what complicated healing does to you!”

“I’m sorry,” Wendy repeated, before falling sideways in a dead faint, barely missing hitting her head on a rock thanks to Carla catching her shoulder.

Slowly, the new-comer turned around, his expression blank. The red markings around his eye were unmistakable even in the dim candlelight.  

Council member, wizard saint, and evil mastermind. Their own personal boogey-man, back from the dead.

“Jellal,” Natsu growled. “I’m going to make you pay! How dare you show your face again!”

Natsu ran forward at full speed, only for Jellal to rapid cast a propulsion spell, throwing Natsu into the wall hard enough to make the whole cave shake. Rocks fell to bury him, meaning there was no way this cave was stable enough for a real fight with a member of the oracion seis. Not with the way the water started to dribble down the wall above Natsu.

“Natsu!” Ren and Happy cried out.

“Everyone needs to calm down,” Lucy ordered, “Natsu, stop it. You know Erza would have wanted Wendy to heal Jellal. Erza thinks we owe him our lives for that last escape from the Tower, we can hear him out.”

Brain was laughing, “You think you can hear him out? Jellal? He’s on our side, now and forever, just waiting—” Jellal rapid cast the same spell on Brain, burying him under another pile of rubble.

Jellal slowly walked forward, and Ren took an offensive casting stance, but Jellal was walking towards Lucy. He wasn’t reaching for magic, though that rapid casting was no joke.

He wasn’t moving aggressively; his steps were slow, eyes unfocused.

“Erza,” he said when he reached Lucy, finally focusing on her. “Tell me. Tell me what you know about that name.”

Lucy looked around. Brain wouldn’t stay down for long, and getting Wendy to Erza was still their top priority. She looked at Ren, who was watching her closely for a sign to attack. Did Jellal not get a good look at her at the Tower? Natsu fought him, why wasn’t he asking Natsu this question?

Something was wrong here, she needed space to figure it out. A space that wouldn’t bury them underground.

“Ren, Happy, Carla, take Wendy and Natsu to basecamp,” she said, purposefully omitting Erza’s name. “I’ll go somewhere more private with Jellal and see what he knows. We will exchange information. Your mission is paramount. One of you is going to be needed to carry Wendy, and the other to fight off anyone trying to come after you. Can I trust you with this?”

“What kind of man would I be if I left you alone with the likes of him?” Ren asked, not dropping his stance.

“One who respects me and my decisions and my priorities. Now, can I trust you?” It was a gamble here, but there was too much at risk and too much to be gained. At least she had a tsundere and not a knight in shining armor type to convince.

He searched her face for any sign of hesitation, and, finding none, dropped his casting stance. “I’m not one to doubt the resolve of a Lady.”

“That’s right,” Lucy said, turning back to Jellal. “You come with me; I’ll tell you about Erza if you tell me what’s going on with you.”

Jellal nodded, “There’s somewhere we should go, follow me.”

“Lucy don’t do it, not even you can stand up to Jellal,” Happy begged quietly. “Erza barely survived.”

Lucy gave a quick look towards the entrance where Jellal was waiting for her, and she leaned down to give him a quick hug. She whispered quickly, sounds only a cat could hear. “Don’t forget, I’m immortal. Even if he does attack me, I can leave and heal and I’ll still be one summons away. That’s why I have to be the one to do this, and you have to be the one to help our friends back at base. Be strong, and don’t let Natsu prioritize me. I believe in you Happy.” She pulled away and looked him in the eye with a strong smile. “Will you do it?”

Sniffing, he yelled out, “Aye Sir!”

“Good. Protect Carla and Wendy too. I’ll see you later.”

With that, Lucy walked out with Jellal.

Notes:

The banter was my favorite part of this chapter. Gray and Lucy just have such good personalities to play off each other. Lucy's not quite on the same page as Loke, but they have bigger problems to deal with right now.

Now Wendy is heading back to Erza, Lucy's gone off with Jellal, and Loke and Hibiki have named the elephant in the room. Ugh, this is such a fun part of the arc.

Chapter 55: Compromises

“Alright, I see how you might be inclined to forgive her, if that’s all you saw to the story,” Hibiki said. “But the story ends with her waiting out her death in Fairy Tail. And even then, she’d still prioritize herself over her contract with you. How did you come to trust her?”

“She almost died for me, multiple times,” Loke said. “And you didn’t understand what happened if you think Lucy was prioritizing herself. She was prioritizing Aries’s right to be free from pain. If it was just herself dealing with Karen, Lucy wouldn’t have done anything, she would have taken Karen’s abuse for the rest of Karen’s life, but she loved Aries. If I ever got to the point of treating anyone, especially my spirits, the way Karen was treating Aries? I’d want Lucy to kill me too.”

“She wasn’t like that!” Hibiki insisted, whirling on him. With a breath, his shoulders dropped and his hand went to run through his hair. “Karen was…Karen had a way of making you know you were the most important person in the world to her. She was adventurous and strong, and could play the piano like an angel.

“Karen fought her family to keep possession of those keys, they were the only thing she had from her aunt, the only one to ever actually support Karen. Do you know how lucky I was, that out of everyone, Karen wanted to be with me?”

“Lucy does,” Loke said seriously.

Hibiki was startled out of his memories. “Leo hates Karen. She’s the reason Karen’s dead.”

“You’re from Blue Pegasus, you’re supposed to be an expert on love,” Loke said. “We both know that you can only truly hate someone the way Lucy did if you loved them first. Lucy never forgave herself for what happened to Karen. And if you read the chapter where they met, Lucy saw what you saw. That Karen was fun and daring in a way that makes the world want to follow her. If you didn’t see that from her book, you aren’t as smart as your magic makes you look.”

Hibiki was silent for a moment, trying to see some falseness in Loke. But Loke didn’t care, he knew whose side of the story was right.

Loke also knew what was important right now, and Erza’s pained breathing was a much higher priority than Hibiki’s long dead girlfriend. At least Sherri was minding her own business while on lookout.

Hibiki came over and knelt next to him. “Let me check her pulse again. I can’t establish contact with the people in the Woodsea right now. The same thing that blocks pictures is blocking my telepathy, but I want to be able to give them an estimate of how Erza’s doing when they do come into my range.”

Loke nodded and moved aside, so Hibiki could place his fingers on the pulse point of Erza’s neck. He closed his eyes while he counted, utterly focused, and it was good to see Hibiki really did know what was important here too. A screen of magic appeared, showing Erza’s heartrate, not that Loke knew what the numbers meant.

After two minutes of counting and checking the screen, Hibiki stood up and the spell vanished, “Her heart rate is fast, her body is struggling against the poison, but Erza is in top shape, she can handle an accelerated heart rate and fever for a while longer. It’s when her heart starts to slow down and falter that we’re in trouble.”

“Thank you,” Loke said.

Hibiki waited a moment, then said, “Why do you call her Lucy?”

Loke shrugged, “That’s how she introduced herself when we first met. You know, when she was dying and running on borrowed time, but still taking down dark guilds and becoming my friend. Even though it was painful for her, she never abandoned me or anyone else in our guild. She told me she doesn’t mind which way she’s called. And it doesn’t really matter to me what she is, human or spirit, she’s Lucy.”

Hibiki let out a long breath, “You really love her, don’t you?”

“I care about all my spirits,” Loke said diplomatically, but the big smile on his face gave away the rest.

They were quiet for a few minutes, each thinking about what had been said.

“I’m glad we had the chance to talk,” Hibiki decided. “Karen was wonderful, but I admit, she didn’t talk about her spirits the way you do. Leo . . . Lucy did love her, in the beginning. I remember the first time I saw Karen summon her, she joked that it was time for them to get pedicures together again. Karen yelled at her to focus on her opponent. It didn’t seem strange at the time, but after reading Lucy’s story…”

“You can love Karen and forgive Lucy, you know,” Loke said.

Hibiki laughed harshly, “Now you’re the expert?”

“Nah,” Loke said lightly, “But Lucy wanted Karen’s story to be read as a tragedy, not a triumph over evil. I think it would make anyone happy, to be remembered as someone good who made some bad choices and had some terrible habits, instead of a paragon. Not a complete angel or a complete demon. It’s better to be hated for who you are than loved for who you are not and all that jazz. You can still love her, even though she did awful things.”

“And that’s the real answer to my question, isn’t it?” Hibiki mused. “You can trust Leo, even though she’s done awful things, because that’s the nature of love.”

“We do awful things for the people we love,” Loke quoted Lucy back at him. “It’s also why I’m trusting you, despite being on Karen’s side of their conflict. Are we good?”

Hibiki looked over Loke once more, then nodded, “Yeah, we’re good.”

“Oh, this scene is just bursting with Love, I’m weeping at its beauty,” Sherri cried from up in her tree golem. They looked up to see her wiping her face. “For all the falseness of Blue Pegasus and the obnoxiousness of Fairy Tail, underneath, you both do understand Love!”

Hibiki and Loke looked at each other and started laughing.

“Yeah, I’m glad we talked,” Hibiki said, wiping a tear away, “It’s good to see some light in this darkness.”

 

 

 

Ren wasn’t sure what to expect when he explained the situation to Natsu, while digging him out of the pile of rocks. Natsu got real twitchy, glancing between where he could probably smell Jellal and Lucy heading, and the knocked out Wendy.

“Come on, Erza doesn’t have time. Ren needs to carry Wendy, I’ll carry them, Carla can carry you, and we’ll get Wendy back to Erza before Erza dies,” Happy insisted.

“Ren can handle the transport, I can’t leave Lucy alone with Jellal, and I can’t let Jellal anywhere near Erza,” Natsu insisted. “Lucy doesn’t know everything.”

“No, but her plans have been solid,” Ren pointed out, pulling Wendy into a secure bridal carry. “She asked us to trust her, and to prove worthy of her trust. We are wasting time Erza doesn’t have, and I won’t be able to protect Wendy without dropping her.”

Natsu growled and hit the cave wall, walked in a circle, then came back to them.

“Fine, but as soon as I get you guys back to Erza, I’m going after Lucy and Jellal, and no one better stop me.” Natsu decided. “Let’s go Happy.”

“Aye Sir,” the cat said, sweeping Ren and Wendy into the sky.

Carla picked up Natsu and they flew out of the cave and over the battleground where Gray and Lyon were still fighting, sans shirts.

“You don’t think I can battle these chumps and keep you from leaving?” Racer demanded, kicking them both down to the ground. Ren twisted to make sure Wendy didn’t take any of the blow and blacked out for a second at the hit.

“Get up and get going!” Lyon yelled, and Ren made himself stand, pulling Wendy up with him. Natsu gathered the cats, both completely knocked out. They took off towards the mouth of the gorge where they left Erza.

“You need any help?” Natsu called to the ice wizards behind them.

“Just go! Erza’s more important! We can handle this guy!” Gray yelled back.

“You’re not going anywhere!” Racer yelled.

“If you’re not done by the time we get Wendy to Erza, I’m coming back for you!” Natsu yelled behind him. An ice wall sprung up so high and wide, it was three minutes before they reached the end of the wall’s shadow, so they didn’t exactly hear a reply.

Gone was the battle-happy fairy Ren had run here with. Grim determination and a punishing pace was in its place.

At least until the kid started talking to a tree.

 

           

 

“Finally! I’ve established contact with Natsu’s group,” Hibiki said. “The aura of Nirvana has been messing with archive’s telepathic abilities. Natsu! Natsu! Tell me what’s going on. Have you located Wendy?”

Loke looked over Erza, who had dark purple veins crawling up her collar, shoulder, and chest despite their best efforts to slow the infection.

“Oh mighty tree, we ha- Wendy and are hea-ing back to Erza.” Natsu’s voice came through, staticky and broken.

“Mighty tree, what?” Hibiki asked. “Natsu, it’s Hibiki from Blue Pegasus. I’m talking directly into your mind. Who else is with you?”

“Who? I’m with Ben, Wendy, Happy, and Carla, but Wendy and -la are knocked out -ld.”

“Ben? Wait, you’re with Ren?” Hibiki said, typing rapidly, “The aura must still be messing with my magic, only exceptionally strong magical signatures have gotten through. Listen carefully Natsu, I’m going to send you an information package that will download into you a map of the location of our temporary base camp.”

“Hey! what does that mean? Stay out of my head you creepy tree!”

“Is he always like this?” Hibiki asked Loke, who snickered.

“Yeah, that’s Natsu.”

“Oh, I see it now. That’s so cool! Thanks Mighty Tree! If you can, tell Loke we’ll be there soon!” Natsu said. “Come on Happy, the tree says to go this way.”

Hibiki cut off communications with a sigh. “So that worked out, even if I do feel dumber for having that conversation. They should be here soon. With Erza back in fighting shape, we’ll be able to counter our enemies more effectively and hopefully stop Nirvana.”

“Hear that Erza, just hang on a little longer,” Loke encouraged, gripping her good hand.

 

 

 

 

“Nothing at all,” Lucy repeated. “Nothing about the Tower, nothing about Sho or Simon or Zeref. Just Erza and Nirvana.”

Jellal nodded. “It seems unbelievable. I feel unbelievable, but it’s the truth. I know how I feel about those things. The name Erza brings memories of light, happiness, and joy. Feelings of peace and laughter. Nirvana, though I didn’t know the name, feels wrong and dangerous. I can’t explain it more than that, but that’s why I think we should head directly to it and stop it.”

“But you remember how to cast magic circles?” Lucy checked. His rapid-casting was something she had only seen in the most skilled and kind celestial wizards and their most dangerous opponents, and that was usually because the spirit had been at the ready based on how their wizard was feeling, sensed from across realms. Most wizards needed at least a second to organize their thoughts into the circle, feed the circle their magic, then aim and release. Current magic trends named spells in a beat trend to the casting beats, so modern wizards used the name of the spell to focus it.

Jellal didn’t need that to send people flying.

“I am not confused about the world,” Jellal confirmed. “I know it detracts from my story. I remember history and government and spells, but not how or where I learned that information. I know things about food and what dwellings are supposed to look like, but I have no memory of specific foods or buildings. Just the concepts.”

“No, that tracks,” Lucy sighed. “I’ve met a couple of amnesiacs that have the same condition. Procedural memory, concepts and facts, are stored in a different part of the brain than personal memories, this is a house compared to this specific house. Why do you want to destroy Nirvana?”

“I don’t know,” Jellal shrugged, “Like I said, it’s just wrong. Now will you please tell me more about my own past. About Erza. Who is she?”

If she swore at him, would Jellal remember those words?

Lucy had been humoring Erza’s theory on possession before, back on the train after the Tower, but these really were the signs.

If he was possessed the night he got taken for attempting to free Erza in the Tower, his last memory before possession, then a memory of Erza would remain, even if possession wiped every other memory. If functioned as a kind of anchor point for possession spells, a way to always have access to the mind of the possessed.

He wouldn’t remember the wrongs he’d done right away, though with training and some trauma triggers, everything else should eventually come back.

The creepy voice whispering to him in his sleep was even more on point for possession. And just like Celestial laws made exceptions for spirits controlled by marionette wizards, Fiore Law didn’t punish people for actions beyond their own will if possession by a dark wizard was involved.

Lucy explained this to him as he led them through a winding path in the Worth Woodsea. She never would have been able to find this place on purpose. Was she being hasty? The protections and this hiding place have already thwarted the Oracion Seis. Instead of bringing Nirvana into play, even to destroy it, it would be better to knock out all the remaining dark wizards first.

But Jellal…he wasn’t all there. He could be duping her, he did remember facts about magic, he probably knew the signs of possession better than she did. But there was an . . . oddness to everything he did, and he would have gone to Natsu first if he was faking it. He was telling the truth as he knew it for the moment. If his instincts were to destroy the evil machines hiding in the trees, that seemed like a good instinct to cultivate.

Also, there was no telling how much longer the Woodsea would stall the Seis. The Oracion Seis had a plan to locate and activate Nirvana before they knew Wendy could heal Jellal, that had been genuine surprise on Brain’s face the first time. It was safer to let Jellal destroy it with a guaranteed path to it, than to pit the time it takes to destroy the Seis against the time it takes the Seis to find Nirvana through whatever their plan A was.

“Spirit possession . . . that explains some of why I am this way,” Jellal said. He probably wouldn’t have admitted he remembered anything about spirit possession if he was faking it, another point in his favor. “But please, tell me about Erza.”

Lucy smiled despite the situation. “Everything you feel when you hear Erza’s name? It’s all true.” Lucy shared memories of their resort vacation and the sleepovers they had. The way Erza held her own against a wizard saint and a Jupiter canon blast.

“I’m glad to know the one memory that is my own isn’t a lie, even if it is just emotions,” Jellal said, his shoulders relaxing more the longer she talked. “How do I know her?”

Lucy took a deep breath, “Remember what I told you about being possessed? Erza hates you right now for the things you did while possessed. And if you are faking your signs of possession, I will hate you too and help her kill you. But you two met while you were children in the Tower…”

His face started to pale, but Lucy didn’t hold back the awful things he’s done.

The thing about possession is that it can never be completely absolute. There are times when the possessing force grows weak, moments when the possessed can stop and ask for help. Jellal, if telling the truth, had been under this influence for years. There were times he should have known something was wrong and tried to make some noise, get some help, but he didn’t.

She talked as they crept deeper and deeper into the Wood Sea.

           

                                                      

 

At least the blonde was a good storyteller, even if she wasn’t useful for anything else.

Cobra had been following the pair for nearly an hour now, having crashed in on them in the middle of her gushing about Erza.

He was following much closer than he wanted to be, but he couldn’t hear the sound of Jellal’s mind, and the blonde’s mind was fuzzy, like she was on a slightly different frequency than a normal human mind.

Even that would have been enough, people had to think about the directions they were going. He knew the Wood Sea well, and a few thoughts of what she was looking at should have been enough to pinpoint where they were to follow at a far distance.

The problem was that the blonde was shit at directions. He lost them three times trying to follow her fuzzy thoughts.

So here he was. Creeping along fifty feet behind them, keeping the pair in sight. Luckily the blonde was loud, so loud that even though he was limited to hearing her physical movements instead of her mind, he could have followed her at a mile behind.

He stayed closer than a mile when he realized he didn’t recognize this part of the Wood Sea. Her voice bounced off rocks and canyon walls, making her harder to pinpoint. Jellal really was taking him right to Nirvana, and neither of them noticed him and Cubelios over the blonde’s story telling.

And if Cobra learned more about Jellal and the Tower than Brain had ever wanted him to know, that was his business.

Notes:

Loke and Hibiki hash out the Karen/Leo issues as best they can, Ren is once again concerned about fairy tail's common sense to power ratios, and Lucy is taking Jellal wrangling duty seriously (and enjoying a literal blank slate of an audience, lol.)

The newest dragon slayer is learning a bit more this time around than he did in canon, thanks to Lucy's knack for story telling and Jellal's amnesia.

Chapter 56: Angel

“Look alive boys,” Sherri said, jumping down from her wood doll. “The Salamander’s almost here.”

“I concur,” Hibiki said. “I’ve got locations on Sir Ichiya and Jura, but nothing on Eve, Ren, Gray, Leo, or Lyon, aside from a few flashes. Hopefully they’re in teams, but the people I was able to locate are separate. After we get Erza healed up, we should try to regroup.”

“We brought Wendy!” Natsu yelled charging in to the clearing. “How’s Erza?”

“She’s held on,” Loke said, watching a very tired Ren bring a knocked out Wendy into the clearing. He laid her down by Erza then sat with his back to Sherri’s wood doll.

“Alright squirt, time to wake up!” Natsu said, pouncing on Wendy and shaking her.

“Not so rough!” the other boys yelled, reaching out a hand to stop him.

Natsu ignored them completely, “No more lying around! I saved you, now you gotta save Erza!”

Loke was about to jump in to stop him from snapping the little girl’s neck on accident when Wendy opened her eyes.

She saw Natsu and scrambled backwards, covering her head, which Loke didn’t blame her for.

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I had to do it, I owed him! I’m sorry I healed Jellal,” Wendy cried.

“You did what!” Loke yelped, fear tumbling into his heart in a way not even the Oracion Seis had been able to inspire.

“I can overlook that for now,” Natsu said, kneeling and bowing before Wendy, hiding his clenched fists. “We’ll deal with that later, but please, we need you to heal Erza.”

“Look, I don’t know as much about Jellal as these Fairies,” Ren said, “But Lucy said Erza would have wanted Jellal healed, and even though it’s not ideal, Jellal attacked Brain. He’s not on the Oracion Seis’s side, which means at worst you gave them another enemy to divide their attention, and at best an ally, if Lucy gets through to him. So stop apologizing for that. I know you’re a kid, but you’re also a guild wizard right now, and that means putting aside your emotions and doing what needs to be done.”

Wendy visibly steadied, taking a deep breath. “Right. Okay, Erza’s been hurt?”

“It’s poison,” Carla told her. “It shouldn’t be complicated, but it’s progressed pretty far. You can heal this.”

“I will,” she said, pulling a fist.

Natsu raised himself and they watched as she conjured a blue magic circle, one with a dragon centermark that looked like Natsu’s but blue.

The black and purple receded back down Erza’s body, then disappeared. The feverish flush cooled to a healthy sigh, and all the tension seemed to go out of her body. Wendy ended the spell and wiped the sweat from her brow.

“There, it will take her a little bit to wake up, but she’ll be all healed up when she does,” Wendy said.

“Thank you,” Natsu said.

“Now, I must insist that Wendy not be asked to heal anyone else,” Carla said. “She will say otherwise, but the child is at the edge of exhaustion.”

“Carla, I’m fine,” Wendy insisted with a blush. Or maybe the flush was from over exertion.  

“You are not!”

“How long will it take Erza to wake up?” Loke asked, interrupting the guardian/child tirade. “We’ll protect Wendy as best we can until she has her strength back.”

“Oh, it varies depending on the person,” Wendy said. “Erza’s really strong, so probably only a few minutes.”

“Alright then,” Natsu said, getting to his feet. “Let’s go Happy! Find Lucy, kick Jellal’s butt so he doesn’t hurt Lucy or make Erza cry again, get rid of whoever’s left of the six orange saints, and destroy that weapon. We’re ready to go.”

“Alright, that’s what I’m talking about,” Hibiki said. “Things are looking up.”

“No, rewind, what’s this about Lucy and Jellal?” Loke said.

“Lucy made it to us at the same time as Natsu, just after Wendy healed Jellal,” Happy explained. “He wanted her to tell him about Erza, and Lucy went with him to find out what he knows. Lucy swears she’ll be fine, but you know Jellal.”

“You don’t know Jellal, not like I do,” Wendy said. “Jellal is nice and kind and he saved me.”

“I’m thinking Miliana,” Natsu told Loke, and it took a second to figure out what he meant. He thought Wendy was like Miliana and the other children of the Tower, they all thought Jellal had saved them and was going to give them heaven, not realizing how he was lying.

Loke nodded to show he understood. They would let Wendy keep thinking what she was thinking for now, Jellal would show his true colors soon enough.

“I don’t know what that means, but I’m not crazy,” Wendy said, stomping her foot. “It was right after my dragon, Grandina the sky dragon, vanished. I was really young and all alone. I couldn’t do anything by myself. Then Jellal came and we traveled together for over a year! He protected me, helped me, and we saw so many things together. Then he had to go handle something that was too dangerous for me and left me with the Cait Shelter guild. So I don’t care what awful things everyone says about him, I don’t believe it! Not him, he couldn’t!”

“Fascinating,” Sherri said drily. “But there are too many of us here doing nothing, and not enough of us out there completing the job. We need a plan.”

“Collecting information is—”

Hibiki was interrupted by a pillar of black light shooting into the sky. It felt like the whole atmosphere changed, and chains of light swirled around the pillar.

“Is that Nirvana?” Ren asked.

“It can’t be,” Sherri said, “The power is too intense, how did they hide it?”

“Look at the trees,” Hibiki said grimly. Together they watched clouds of darkness rise from random trees and go to gather into the pillar. “The wizards that bound this power must have stored the power in the trunks and roots of the Woodsea. It’s not ready yet, it will have to reclaim the divided and sealed power before it’s operational. We still have time to shut it down. Let’s get Erza—”

“Erza’s gone!” Happy yelled. “Oh no, do you think she heard us talking about Jellal and went after him?”

“Damn it!” Natsu yelled, “She never thinks straight around that guy.” He ran off yelling. “I’m coming Erza, he’s never going to make you cry again!”

“Natsu, wait!” Loke yelled after him. “Happy?”

“Aye sir!” Happy yelled, flying after his friend.

“This is why no one likes working with Fairy Tail,” Hibiki seethed. “We finally have enough fighters ready to make a determined counter assault, and two of them take off on their without so much as a thank you.” The wizard made himself take a deep breath. “No, we can still make this work. We’ll go after them, and it’s not like we don’t know where they’re headed.”

“Hibiki! Hibiki! Can you hear me? Oh God, is that pillar of light Nirvana?” Eve’s voice came through Hibiki’s open archive screen.

“Eve? Where are you? Who are you with?” Hibiki asked, returning to his spell. “With Nirvana reclaiming its dark magic, it must be lightening the field blocking our telepathy.”

“I’m with Gray and Lyon is down! We were taking on Racer, but Racer had a bomb! Lyon threw himself off the cliff with Racer to protect Gray. Lyon’s dead from the blast. Gray doesn’t think so, and I can’t convince him to give up searching the debris to check out the pillar. Is it Nirvana?”

“Lyon. Lyon, my love, is dead?” Sherri asked, trembling. “She said she would protect Lyon. She promised. It’s her fault!”

“Shit,” Hibiki said. He threw out his hand and three pentagons appeared around Sherri. She jumped, but they exploded, knocking her out.

Sherri collapsed gently, eyes rolling up in her head.

“Hey, what was that for?” Loke demanded. “She’s allowed to be upset, why did you attack her?”

“Her heart was wavering in her grief,” Hibiki said. “I haven’t been completely honest about everything I know about Nirvana.” He glanced at the towering pillar of light, then back to Sherri. “Don’t worry, she just knocked out for a little bit. I lost Eve; we have to start moving after Natsu. Ren, are you up for it, or should I carry her?”

“It seems my job is to be a taxi service to passed out ladies today,” Ren said. “There are worse jobs, I suppose.”

He stood up and Hibiki and Loke helped get Sherri on his back. They started running in the direction Natsu took off, and Hibiki explained what he knew about the real purpose of Nirvana.

In theory, it was simple. People’s hearts were generally predisposed towards positive emotions or negative, those emotions were positive or negative depending on whether they drove people to help or harm. Nirvana had the ability to change the inclination towards one or another. When it was getting warmed up like it was now, it would forcefully switch any hearts wavering at the border between good and evil to the other side of the alignment.

“I didn’t tell anyone this because dwelling on the nature of good and evil is frustrating and frightening,” Hibiki explained “Just knowing about the effect could push people into a position of wavering. It starts off asking who’s responsible for your pain and moving onto blame. Master Bob only told me.”

“That’s why you were glad we sorted out the Karen business before,” Loke realized as they dodged around trees. “The intense emotions mixed up in that could have left you wavering, like hearing about Lyon being blown up made Sherri waver.”

“That’s right,” Hibiki said.

“But good and evil aren’t simple like that. Natsu’s angry, possibly in a blind rage, but he’d never help the Oracion Seis,” Loke protested.

“That’s why it’s complicated,” Hibiki said. “Ideologically, I agree with you, good and evil aren’t tied to emotions just like choices aren't tied to emotions. Yet the magic is able to make distinctions, suggesting we’re wrong, and things are more black and white than we know them to be. Don’t think about it too hard, focus on helping our friends.”

“I’m worried about Natsu, what if he wavers?” Happy said. Waited a moment then said, “Actually, that’s not too different from regular Natsu. He’d still be an idiot that wanted to fight everyone.”

“I’m sure Natsu will be fine,” Loke said.

He wished he could say the same thing about Lucy. All he could think about was the repressed rage she had while Bixslow was being crushed under her heel. And she was with Jellal, who could drive anyone to the brink.

Hold on Lucy. Hold onto what you know to be good. Despite your anger, you’d never make the guild look bad. Remember that if you can't cling to anything else.

 

 

 

“I see what you mean about it feeling wrong,” Lucy said quietly. “You really think you can do this?”

“Absolutely,” Jellal said, already in the middle of casting. “I have to break the last seal on it, but I’ll have what we want underneath. I’ve done terrible things, things I’ll spend my life atoning for it sounds like, but this is the best start I can think of.”

“We’re on the same page then,” Lucy said, stepping forward to guard Jellal.

The aura of Nirvana had been messing with her ability to sense magical energies this whole day, but now that it was activated to the first stage and under the final seal, the aura wasn’t a fog anymore, it was more like distinct rays of energy. Which meant she sensed clearly the person watching them.

It had to be a member of the Oracion Seis, since an ally would have recognized her and confronted her about what the hell she was doing. It probably wasn’t Racer or Angel, Gray wouldn’t have let Racer come after her and Angel was definitely going after Loke. Hoteye was possible, but his personality didn’t seem suited to sneaking. It was either Midnight or Cobra, assuming Brain was running their side’s communications.

If Midnight used a form of dark magic, she could be a good match up, but she didn’t like her chances against Cobra. She’d been poisoned before and it wasn’t fun, especially since she was refusing to retreat to the celestial world until everyone was back at Fairy Tail.

Whoever they were, they hadn’t moved yet, which meant they were probably waiting for Jellal to break the final seal. It was possible their stalker didn’t know about their plan to destroy Nirvana. Jellal seemed trapped in talking in vague terms at the moment, and she’d dominated their conversation with stories about Jellal’s past and Erza on their way here.

Was this a huge mistake?

All she could do was hope Jellal wasn’t fooling her for some plot of his own. He seemed sincere. Her experience said he was sincere, that he wasn’t faking. But now wasn’t the time to be taking risks.

She had to take the risk, this could end the showdown before it hit the halfway mark.

It was worth the risk.

Lucy stood ready and she prayed.

 

 

 

“We’re lucky the Salamander is easy to track,” Ren said. “Subtle isn’t really his thing.”

“We all have our strengths and weaknesses,” Hibiki said. “Unfortunately, it seems without his other guildmates to reign him in, we are going to have difficulty coordinating those strengths and covering those weaknesses.”

“He stopped,” Loke pointed out, pushing faster as it grew quiet ahead.

They crashed onto a scene Loke thought he’d never see.

“I always said your motion sickness was going to get you killed one day,” Gray said, standing over Natsu on a raft, digging his foot into his cheek. “What do you know? Today’s that day.”

“What’s wrong with you Gray! You’re going too far. This isn’t a fair fight and you know it!” Happy yelled.

“Did Nirvana get to him?” Loke asked.

“It’s possible, does he hate Natsu that much?” Hibiki asked.

Happy snapped his wings open, “Let him go!” Happy surged forward, only to immediately be turned into an ice cube and tossed to the side.

“Happy the flying cat. Uses aeria magic to fly, can only carry one person at a time, easily neutralized,” Gray said. He looked up, “Hibiki Lates, uses archive magic, playboy, no more information. Wendy Marvel, healer and support specialist. Young and impressionable, needs to be protected until she grows into her own. Ren. Wind magic user and playboy. No further information. Sherri Bendy. Marionette Magic user, dangerous to celestial spirits, tacky dresser, owns a giant flying rat, in love with Lyon. Huh, good thing she’s knocked out.”

“You’re not Gray, you’re a celestial spirit,” Loke said, his heart starting to pound. “You’re the one that tossed me off a cliff as Lucy, and the one that pretended to be Ichyia. You belong to Angel.”

So much for Lucy’s planning. He had been sticking close to Sherri all day for the moment Angel came for him, and right when he actually needs her, she’s knocked out because she was too close to the deep end.

“So close,” not Gray laughed, “You’re supposed to start by saying my name. But you don’t know it, do you Loke Heartfilia? Newbie the guild, and a pretty inexperienced celestial wizard. A bit of a playboy, but he has a heart of gold he offers to anyone he thinks could use it. Isn’t that something. What’s this? You have a crush on Leo?”

“Angel’s nearby,” Hibiki said. “Ren, Carla, get Wendy and Sherri out of here. Wendy’s support magic isn’t compatible with ours, and Sherri’s just a target that can turn on us right now. Go!”

“I was just waiting for someone to give the word,” Carla said, sweeping Wendy into the air.

“Wait, I want to help!” Wendy said, struggling.

“It’s okay Wendy,” Loke called up to her, “Recover your energy, we’re going to need it later. We’ll be fine.”

“Take care, and watch your emotions,” Ren reminded Hibiki, before taking off with Sherri.

“That’s okay, they’re chump change compared to the Salamander,” the not-Gray said, folding his arms, his eyes changing color and shape. “And it’s more fun this way, less people to interfere. Get ready. Ice make Lance!”

“Open Gate of the Archer, Sagittarius!” Loke said, and every single ice lance was shattered by a slew of arrows. “Take down the spirit masquerading as Gray.”

“As you command!” the archer said, keeping the not-Gray busy. Unfortunately, with the spirit standing over a motion sick Natsu, Loke couldn’t get close enough to rescue him.

Loke had his sickle in one hand, keys in the other, chain spinning in a defensive shield, but the chain wasn’t suited to sloped terrain. Something else to add to his training regime.

“Right, let’s move onto the fun part,” Not-Gray said in the lull of battle. With a poof that looked like a gate, the spirit turned into a not-Loke.

“Sagitarius, attack Hibiki,” Loke’s own celestial voice ordered.

“He has a contract with me, it doesn’t matter if you take my form. My spirits only listen to—” Several arrows shot at Hibiki, who couldn’t completely block all of them and was shoved back. “What!”

“I’m sorry, I don’t know what came over me,” Saggitarius said desperately. “I just felt like I had to obey.”

“I am you, idiot. I copied your magic like I copied your friend’s,” the spirit said. “This is why it’s such fun to go against celestial wizards,” Not-Loke laughed.

He carefully plucked an identical key ring from the pouch on his belt.

“Let’s see, my, you do have a lot of keys. Wait,” Loke’s own eyes narrowed, “How did a noob like you get an audience with the Celestial Spirit King? Doesn’t matter. Saggitarius, take him down!”

“Master Loke,” Saggitarius said, straining against the pull to turn his arrows on Loke.

“Force Closure, you’ve done enough, thanks,” Loke said, swiping the key to close the gate.

“Until next time!” the spirit said, relieved.

“Finally,” Not Loke said, twirling a key in hand. “Open, Gate of the Archer!”

“Reporting for duty!” Saggitarius reappeared on the raft beside fake Loke, then did a double take. “What?”

“Sagitarius, throw Natsu off the raft! Then go back!” Loke called.

“Sorry, but only the wizard that summoned the spirit can enact a force closure,” Not-Loke said. “And he’s under my orders. So kill him.”

Again, the arrow started to point towards Loke. “I…can’t…”

“I don’t believe that!” Loke said. “Your contract is with me Saggitarius. You swore to protect me from harm!” Loke said in his own celestial voice. “Now fulfill that contract and take out the imposter!”

“Aye Sir!” Sagitarius said, letting the arrow fly at the imposter. Not-Loke ducked and scowled, the arrow going through his ear.

“You’re no fun, go back,” Not Loke dismissed.

His edges started to fuzz, but Saggitarius looked to him. Loke nodded and the spirit disappeared.

“How do you like playing with my little pets?” a woman’s voice asked. Angel of the Oracion Seis walked forward, standing on the other side of the river. “It’s been a while since I’ve let them play with another celestial wizard. You may take some time to gaze upon my angelic beauty before I kill you and take your keys.”

Loke narrowed his eyes, hands brushing over his keys. Here she was, Karen’s killer and the real reason Lucy suffered all these years.

He hated it, but he didn’t trust Lucy not to lose herself in her pain if she was summoned, leaving her vulnerable to Nirvana. He wasn’t lying to Hibiki, Lucy had loved Karen. But that spirit of hers could convince Lucy to come if he asked.

The widening of its eyes said it was having the same idea.

Loke grabbed Lucy’s key. “Whatever you do, don’t come! It doesn’t matter what you hear me say, do not come!” he ordered.

Angel looked confused, “Now, that’s not an order you hear a celestial wizard give very often.”

Not-Loke laughed, “He’s telling Leo not to come. She’s somewhere else. He’s worried that seeing you might darken her heart to the influence of Nirvana.”

“Oh my, well, how rude would it be not to grant her that little blessing,” Angle said, giving a high-pitched laugh, “Go on, summon her!”

Not-Loke pulled out Lucy’s key. “Open, gate of the Lion, Leo!”

A magic circle appeared, but faded with no answer, and Loke let out a grin. “Sorry to disappoint you, but Leo’s on vacation right now. She isn’t bound to answer my call, and she’s not going to now that I warned her.”

“Hmm,” Angle mused. “I’ll just have to kill you then. Violently killing two of her wizards when she could have prevented it should be enough to push her over the edge. This is such a fun stage of the plan. Even on vacation, she’ll feel the tether of your contract sever. Gemini, return to the celestial world for now.”

With a puff, the spirit’s true form revealed itself to be two twin dolls, mirrors of each other. “Pridi-Pridi. I’m Gemi.”

“I’m Mini, pridi-pridi. Hopefully we’ll get the chance to mess with you again, Newbie.”

With a puff, they were gone. In that puff, Loke jumped into the water, key pointed down.

“Open, Gate of the Water Bearer, Aquarius!” His celestial mermaid appeared with a splash of water. “Wash them away!”

“Don’t tell me what to do, Brat, you’ll get washed away too!”

“Fine, I can take it, just end them.”

“You really have a lot to learn about fighting other celestial wizards,” Angel scoffed, pulling a new key herself. “How did you get so many keys? Open, Gate of the Scorpion, Scorpio. Let’s teach him a lesson about Spirit compatibility.”

“I really don’t like where this is going,” Loke said as Aquarius dropped her urn to cover blushing cheeks.

“I was born to be wicked!” A tan man with a metal scorpion tail announced as he stepped into their world.

“Honey bunches of Hunk!” Aquarius squealed.

“What do you know? It’s my mermaid of delight, Aquarius!” Scorpio said, stepping into the water and pulling Loke’s spirit into a hug. “Back that wicked tail of yours up for me.”

“Yep, really bad,” Loke said with a groan.

“Oh, you don’t know how much I’ve missed seeing you here, Love Muffin,” Aquarius simpered, cuddling into him.

“Heard a lot about you, Loke, right?” Scorpio said, turning towards him. “Finally getting to meet my blue bombshell’s wizard is…wicked.”

“Wait, what has she said about me?” Loke asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Excuse us,” Aquarius said, before Scorpio could respond, patting his shoulder.

She not so gently turned him around and hissed in his ear, “You make me look bad in front of my boyfriend and I’ll make your life a living hell you will never survive.”

“Got it!” he yelped nervously.

“Good,” she said, then spun them around. “He’s so funny, isn’t he?” Aquarius latched onto her boyfriend, “Hey, so do you want to get a bite to eat?”

“Sure thing, Wicked Princess,” Scorpio said, turning them so they walked down the river. He raised a hand and called behind him. “Angel, I’m taking my baby for a night on the town, you got this, right?”

“Have fun!” Angel said, cheerfully waving them off. She turned back to Loke with a smirk, “So, what do you have left now that your strongest spirits are down? Aquarius is off with her beau and you told Leo not to join our game. You’re out of options. You could try summoning Leo again?”

“No way,” Loke said. “Because I know what you’ve done and who you have left on your keyring. I will never make Lucy fight Aries.”

Angel giggled, “You’re spoiling my fun. Open, Gate of the Ram, Aries.” A shivering little lamb appeared, a girl with pink hair and white fur, who shifted uncomfortably as Angel put her hands on her. “Aries, be a dear and kill Leo’s wizard for me. You’re so good at it.”

Aries started to sniff, tears gathering in her eyes.

“But, but, but…”

Angel shoved the lamb forward, and her celestial voice ordered, “Kill him!”

With a cry, Aries sent a stream of pink wool towards him, which was easy enough to keep at a distance with his spinning chain.

“Sorry, please tell me why Leo isn’t answering you summons, sorry!” Aries begged as she sent more wool his way.

It took a second to figure out what Aries was worried about. “Oh, don’t worry,” Loke assured Aries, “Lucy’s using her contracted vacation days. It isn’t like before.”

“Wool bomb,” Aries said, and her voice was relieved, even as she sent a devastating attack that tangled his chain and shoved him hard onto shore, covering him in wool.

With a flick of his keys and a whisper, he completed his first combat double summons.

 “That’s enough,” Angel said. “Try to get in close and hold him in one place! Chisel!”

“Alright,” Aries said. The wool vanished. His chain and sickle fell to the ground with a clatter next to a hole in the ground. “Huh?”

With a grimace, Angel grabbed Chisel, letting it turn into a sword, and jumped sideways, dodging Virgo and Loke erupting from the ground. A powerful spin sent Virgo and Loke crashing into Aries, who shrieked.

“Now Chisel!” Angel yelled.

“Big Brother!” Virgo yelled, kicking him. 

He was sent rolling, but stopped in time to see a green beam of light cut through both pink haired spirits.

“Virgo! Aries!” Loke yelled. He rolled to his feet, “How could you hurt your own spirit like that!”

“What are you talking about?” Angel sneered. “She served me, she’s not hurt, so no one should be complaining.”

“They feel pain! They trust and love us, how could you treat Aries like that?” Loke yelled.

“Don’t blame me because you don’t know how to use your spirits properly,” Angel said, “Though Virgo’s diver magic was—AHHH!” Canis flew at her from the treetops.

Canis had reacted to a duck of Loke’s head, and now had his teeth in Angel’s shoulder. Before he could do more than bloody her shoulder, Gemini appeared as Loke, grabbed Chisel, and beat Canis off her.

The stroke was sharp enough to send Canis back to the Celestial World, and the big dog went with a pained cry of apology.

Angel stood up angrily, one hand holding her impractical dress in place, letting her shoulder bleed.

“You’re better than I thought you’d be, I’ll give you that much,” Angel spat at him. “I didn’t expect you to be able to summon two keys at once. But the time for games is over, and nothing you have can counter Gemini. Now finish him off.”

“Taurus!” he called out, dropping to his knees in the river from so many rapid summonings. “Strike fast!”

“Taurus! He’s gemini! Strike him not me!” Gemini said, making Taurus stop in his tracks, glancing between the two.

“You’re the first spirit I claimed on my own Taurus,” Loke reminded him with his celestial voice. “We agreed to admire beautiful women together, now are you going to honor that or not!”

“Of course I am, you can count on—” his eyes wide, Chisel slashing through him. “Moooo!” He went back to the celestial world.

Loke’s magic container pulsed close to empty. He could try for Cancer, but that would probably go as well as Taurus did.

 Lucy wouldn’t take any magic to summon since she’s running on her own power, but Angel would drive her over the edge.

He couldn’t, wouldn't, let that happen to her.

Hibiki, despite their earlier talks about Karen, was fighting himself on the shore. If Nirvana was that strong, Lucy wouldn’t have a chance against Angel while Nirvana was active. This was her weakness, he would not put her in a position to have her heart twisted against her.

Gemini Loke, mirroring even his dumb Akane Resort T-Shirt, approached with a vicious snarl. Gemini would not hesitate to strike Loke down, but if this was the end, he had one last request.

“Release Aries from her contract,” he demanded, still on his knees. He looked past Gemini to where Angel burst out laughing.

“Do you really think you’re in a place to be giving orders? You can’t even stand!” she laughed.

Gemini struck and his back hit a rock so hard it knocked the breath out of him.

“I mean it,” Loke gasped, barely keeping his head above water. “Release Aries from her contract. She’s lived a slave too long, she should be able to be with her friends without being ordered to hurt them! You say I have a lot to learn about celestial spirits, but you know nothing. Release her from her contract.”

“What will you give me in return?” Angel said. “No one does anything for nothing. Beg.”

“You should do it because it’s the right thing to do. Because Aries isn’t happy,” Loke growled. “But I’d give you anything you ask for, short of my celestial spirits. Money, information on Fairy Tail, anything. Just let her go!”

“Well, that one’s tempting,” Angel mused. “You’d be willing to hurt your guild for a spirit that isn’t even yours? But Gemini’s already copied you and your every thought, so even if you did know anything valuable, I already have that information. I’d rather just end this pathetic whining and take your keys over your dead body. Gemini?”

“Please. Leo and Aries need to stop suffering, we can do that!” Loke begged. “Please.”

“Gemini! Finish him off!” Angel ordered.

Finally, Loke looked up in the face of the spirit that would take his life.

His own face.

Hopefully Lucy wouldn’t hold it against them. Against any of them. And if she did something Fairy Tail reckless, hopefully the celestial spirits wouldn’t hold it against her.

Loke forgave Gemini, even as they raised Chisel above his head. Celestial spirits didn't see mortal lives the same way most mortals did, and to hate Gemini for this, for following the orders of a wizard they enjoyed working with, would be to hate the nature of celestial spirits. To hate his spirits, his magic, his mother's magic. To hate the parts of Lucy that she had been so scared he would hate when she let them slip past. He couldn't hate it, it just was.

He didn’t need to see himself at the end. 

Loke closed his eyes and remembered his first summoning from Mom’s lap. He remembered thinking the clock was funny and talking to Horologium non-stop to keep hearing the funny voice.

He remembered why they went to the river for his birthday every year. It was so that Aquarius could eat cake with them and tell him to eat his fish so one day he could have a tail as cool as hers. The first time he summoned each spirit, promising to work with them and being so excited to meet them.

He remembered Lucy, his brave lioness, most of all.

One day you’ll understand what it means that I’m giving this to you.

I like your shirt.

You’ll fall in love with someone who you deserve and can love you back.

He remembered…he was in the middle of a battle and should not have had this much time to remember things.

Above him, Gemini Loke was trembling.

“What’s wrong with you!” Angel screamed. “I said finish him!”

It was his voice, and the voices of the two spirits of Gemini, that answered her. “He loves us. He loves us so much. He loves all celestial spirits. How can I hurt someone who loves us this much?”

“You can feel that?” he asked, awed. What an amazing ability to literally feel what someone else feels for you.

With a cry, Gemini vanished and Chisel floated back towards Angel.

“What a useless spirit,” she groused. “Even for celestial wizards, if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself.”

Loke stood up, trying to move to where his chain and sickle had been freed from Aries wool.  

There was a splash and hands closed around his throat from behind, making him freeze.

“Hibiki?” he asked, trying to turn his head.

Angel started laughing, “Oh my gosh, your friend actually changed sides during the middle of our battle. This is amazing. Kill Loke! Go on! Get revenge on Fairy Tail’s celestial wizard for your pain.

“Don’t freak out, I’m going to help you with a spell by using a rapid download. It’s going to feel strange, but go with it, as long as she thinks I’m hurting you, she’ll give us time to do this,” Hibiki said inside his head.

He closed his eyes as he felt the download start, and immediately knew it would be too much.

“That’s too many spells,” Loke thought at Hibiki, “I don’t have enough magic left for them. It’s going to kill me.”

“I’m helping with the magic supplement, and just let the circles’ spell points draw through you without thinking too hard on any one of them. I’ll be the wind and waves, you already have the wood and the blueprints, now you just have to hold the ship together. You can do it, let the magic draw through the bonds you have to the spirits you love. If anyone can pull this off, you can.”

Loke tried to follow directions. It was like trying to draw a picture with both hands and his feet while the room was spinning. If he had been alone in trying to hold the shapes of this spell together, it would have fallen flat, but Hibiki helped hold the shapes. Loke held the binding thread that pulled them into a single spell, woven from the magic of his contracts.

Lucy. Aquarius. Cancer. Taurus. Lyra. Crux. Saggatarius. Horologium. Canis. Virgo. Lucy. The spell drew extra strength through his connections with them. Expanded.

Stabilized.

The incantation poured from Hibiki into Loke and out of his mouth.

“Survey the Heavens, Open the Heavens...

All the stars, far and wide...

Show me thy appearance...

With such shine.

Oh Tetrabiblos...

I am the ruler of the stars...

Aspect become complete...

Open thy malevolent gate.

Oh 88 Stars of the heavens...

Shine!

Urano Metria!”

 

 

Loke woke to water brushing his chin, a very empty magic container, and the certainty that something cool had just happened, if only he could remember it.

“I knew you could do it,” Hibiki cheered wearily from the shore.

“What did I do?” Loke asked, looking around. He blinked at Angel’s floating form. “Aries’s key.”

He swam over to the floating woman and yanked her keys free from the pouch at her belt.

Her eyes shot open, her hands shot for his throat. With a twist, she was drowning him, and knowing her, laughing about it. Still, he clung to her keys as he tried to kick her away.

There was a flash of green light and something breaking. Angel loosened her grip and Loke crouched and shot upwards, Happy style, headbutting her in the chin from below, knocking her out of the water and finally getting him some air.

He collected his chain and sickle from the shore and collapsed on Natsu’s raft, trying to pull air into his lungs.

Natsu groaned, making his first sound in a while. Loser. How bad was it that he couldn’t even roll off a four foot wide raft to make himself feel better? Maybe Loke had just forgotten how pathetic motion sickness made Natsu because he was used to Lucy putting him to sleep each time.

Loke couldn’t relate. A ride on the water soothing, even the little bumps as you went over swells was more like something to rock you to sleep than something to make you sick.

Irregular bumps. There shouldn’t be irregular bumps from the way the raft had been tied.

Hating everything, Loke sat up to find Hibiki waving at him weakly from a hundred yards away. Loke turned around and scrambled to the head of the raft. “You’ve got to be kidding me,” he said, searching for the loose binding rope. Hopefully it wouldn’t be too different from horse reigns.

It was very different from horse reigns. He had to throw his whole weight around to get the slightest movement, and even then he usually couldn’t recover.

A bad turn sent the raft spinning in a circle, and Loke heard the sound of a greater waterfall ahead.

Giving up on the ropes. He wrapped Natsu around the waist and shoulders with his chain and when they got near some stumps, threw his sickle to catch.

The tug from the caught sickle wasn’t strong, but it would have to do. Loke rolled them both into the water. Natsu started spluttering, and based on the weird pulling, actually threw up, but Loke didn’t have time for him aside from keeping their heads above water.

Loke slowly inched them towards the shore, and though they ended up closer to the drop off than Loke liked, they should be able to rest there.

Until the stump cracked and the release of his anchor sent them both into the current and over the waterfall.

Notes:

Fairy Tail once again proves less than cooperative, Lucy's plan once again falls through due to some very unfortunate timing on Eve and Hibiki's part, Loke put up a good fight, but did need a little extra help to actually win the battle there, and Loke got Angel's keys!

Chapter 57: Circle of Destruction

Jellal was working when she felt it, a tug in her heart that was her binding contract to Loke.

“Whatever you do, don’t come! It doesn’t matter what you hear me say, do not come!”

What the hell had he gotten himself into? Part of her was tempted to go to him anyway, especially when the tug came again, ordering her to appear for battle. There was something wrong with the order though, a false note. When Loke called her for battle, it was with the excited certainty that they were about to kick butt, a pinch of concern about her over-exerting herself, and a thread of admiration he didn’t try to hide.

This call was smug, elated. In any other situation, she still would have come, but it wasn’t hard to guess what was going on. The Gemini twins were being brats again. No wonder Karen died when Angel had Gemini under contract. Those two were easily swayed by the personalities of their wizard, almost more deeply than even Virgo was. Virgo remained a people pleaser no matter her master, but the twins took on their wizard’s ideology and world view, copycats to the end.

Angel of the Oracion Seis was vicious and cruel. She could have used another spirit to kill Karen, but if she was using Gemini now, she probably used Gemini then. Had Lucy ignored Gemini’s call? Maybe, she couldn’t remember through the haze of pain that lay over those memories.

The most likely scenario was that Angel and Gemini had ordered Aries to kill Karen, and Karen died trying to summon Chisel, Leo, Vulcupula, or even Aries back to her side.

It was Angel’s fault Leo’s life fell apart, that Karen died before she could change, that Aries had to suffer the pain of slaying your own wizard.

Angel, who was now engaged in battle with Loke.

Who wanted to use Lucy the same way.

“Calm yourself,” Jellal said quietly. Lucy blinked and looked at him.This was the first thing he had said since starting his work on the self-destruction circle. “It’s Nirvana, there’s something different in the air, it’s pushing at strong emotions. This is a bad time to dwell on negative thoughts. Trust your friends to be strong enough on their own and stay on guard.”

He . . . was right. The nasty aura from Nirvana wasn’t helping her, and she did trust Loke.

“Talk to me, what are you thinking?” Lucy asked. “I need distracting.”

“I’m thinking about what you’ve told me,” Jellal said. “The people I’ve hurt and the things I’ve done. I’m committing them to memory, so I remember what I need to atone for. I don’t think there is enough repentance in this world to make up for taking the life of someone who trusted me, or destroying the life so thoroughly of one who brought me happiness. I’m trying to think of things I can do after we finish this to continue my repentance. Perhaps you could help me with that, if you need a distraction from your own emotions.”

“Doesn’t that mean you’re thinking about your intense emotions?” Lucy questioned.

“No, because the sad thing is, the strongest emotion my situation makes me feel is sadness that I do not feel more intensely. You named people that I hurt, a boy who loved me as a brother that I killed, and I feel so little. That’s what hurts, but even then, I know that the emotion isn’t as strong as it should be. I think that forgetting might be my greatest sin of all,” Jellal said, sounding sadder than he gave himself credit for.

The worst thing is that, even though I grieved her, part of me felt a dispassionate satisfaction that this particular demon would never haunt Aries again. Maybe I wasn’t grieving my former wizard at all, maybe I was grieving who we could have been, what we should have been. Maybe that was the real reason I was kicked out of heaven. The consequences of apathy will haunt me in a way caring never could.

It was odd, hearing her own sentiments in her novel from Jellal. A twisted mirror that wasn’t the same at all, except for the emotions they wore inside themselves. A twisted mirror she needed to deal with here and now, and not Loke’s emotions over their bond. She muted those because he told her not to come no matter what, and she would trust him. Believe in him. He could do it.

“I can tell you what I did,” Lucy offered quietly, turning away again. This time she faced outward.

“I killed someone who trusted me, who had once brought me happiness. I didn’t forget, but I didn’t grieve as I should have either. I had to atone in other ways. It was so quiet when Karen died. I dedicated myself to finding the other person who hurt her, and I collected information on the dark deeds of others, holding them accountable for their crimes when I could. That stopped being productive. I was spending too much time dwelling in darkness, even if I was attempting to fight it. I was stopping some evil, but I wasn’t adding anything good to the world either. Then I joined Fairy Tail. I took protection requests, because I couldn’t protect Karen when she asked for me. I’ve never ignored one.”

Lucy went on and she wasn’t just talking to Jellal behind her, explaining the things she did to right her wrongs, she talked to the oracion seis member in front of her too, the one waiting to ambush her and Jellal while he worked on breaking the final seal.

Lucy had always believed stories had the ability to change the world. Both worlds, human and celestial. That’s why she had written hers down, hoping something would change. But she hadn’t written down what Fairy Tail had done for her, how they reminded her of a world brighter and bigger than her sins, and what was worth dying for because of what was worth living for. How atonement required believing everyone could change.

That changing and trying mattered, even if she could never truly make up for the people she had killed.

This was the story Jellal and the Oracion Seis needed to hear, so she spun her story of redemption. She wrote a story of hope and change and spoke it into existence.

 

 

Ren watched Sherri wake up slowly. He’d been on her side of Hibiki’s rapid brain busting downloads more than once in a practice arena, and it was the opposite of fun.

“Take it easy,” he said.

“What happened?” she asked, sitting up too quickly anyway and regretting it.

“Nirvana was activated, and your heart started to waver,” Ren said. “Eve reported that he thought Lyon was gone during a battle, but we got a report while you were out that your guildmate was found, alive but unconscious.”

“He’s alive,” Sherri said, relaxing against the wall he had laid her against. “Where are the others?”

“They got into a battle with Angel, so I took you out of the fray. I couldn’t let us become liabilities.”

She paled and sat up again, “Oh no! The whole point was that I would handle that celestial wizard for Loke.”

“Hey, you need to calm down,” Ren said, putting a hand on her arm. “When Nirvana is activated, wild negative emotions can be used to make you do things you wouldn’t normally do. Attack your guildmates and allies, hurt people, hurt yourself. You’re a passionate woman, anyone can see that, but you’re going to need to be a better wizard and stay calm for a bit. Lyon’s fine, and I think Fairy Tail has proven they can handle themselves. Lucy will understand.”

Ren didn’t like lying to Sherri, but letting her go out of control right now was the worse option. She could hate him when she wasn’t likely to go insane because of it.

Sherri searched his face for a flaw in what he was saying, but seemed satisfied. “You can let go of me now. I will control myself.”

Staring into her eyes, he brushed his thumb along the inside of her elbow for short moment, showing his interest in this particular burning sun of a woman, before letting go completely and looking away.

It was a shame she was among the last to arrive, he had a feeling she would have appreciated some Blue Pegasus pampering.

They sat in the quiet a while. Carla had swept her girl to someplace safe high up.

They both looked in the direction of the approaching magical presence at the same time.

“Tch, I finally found some pesky guild wizards,” the man said stepping out from behind the trees. “You don’t look all that challenging.”

The two of them jumped to their feet and took casting stances. It was the one called Midnight, the sleeping one that they knew nothing about. They had to be ready for anything.

“Tree doll!”

“Air burst!”

 

 

 

 

 

“You two are absolute disasters, I swear,” Gray said as Loke blinked himself awake.

“Huh?” he said.

“I heard you yelling as you went over the waterfall,” Gray said. “You two would have drowned if I hadn’t rescued you, and all you have to say is ‘huh’?”

“You can hardly blame him for being confused, he’s been unconscious for the better part of two hours,” Lyon said beside him, also shirtless for some reason.

“I can blame them,” Gray said, “They’re the idiots that got themselves thrown over a waterfall in the first place.”

“Two hours?” Loke said, finally noticing the change in light. “Sunset.”

“What happened to you two?” Eve asked. Loke finally noticed the snow wizard was with them. He was so quiet when there weren’t girls around to flirt with.

“Keys,” Loke said, patting the ground around him.

“Here, you had shoved them so hard onto your wrist they were cutting off circulation,” Lyon said, handing him a set of seven. “Gray says they aren’t yours, which means they belonged to Angel, correct? Were you able to subdue her before falling into the river?”

“Yes,” Loke said. “She tricked Natsu onto a raft, using a spirit that made itself look like Gray, but I fought her and won. Took her keys for good measure, so she’ll be powerless for the foreseeable future. I was out from magic exhaustion.”

“You gonna make contracts with them?” Gray asked.

Loke shrugged, groaning at the motion, “They still have active contracts with Angel til we get her arrested or she dies. Then I’ll ask them what they want to do. If they want to contract with me or go to someone else or somewhere else.”

“Hey, wassup?” Natsu said, finally sitting up. He blinked, “Huh, did the light pillar change?”

“Yeah, it changed while you guys were out,” Gray said standing up. “We should probably start heading for it to see what’s up.”

“Wait, did Sherri help you against Angel? That was the plan, wasn’t it?” Lyon asked. “You didn’t mention her.”

“Oh, right,” Loke said. “Nirvana has the power to change people’s natures from good to evil. Sherri heard Eve report that Lyon had died and came really close to losing it. Hibiki had to knock her out for a bit. Ren took her somewhere safe when the battle started.”

“It’s good she’s not alone, but all the same, I would rather go look for her and confirm her safety and the fact that I’m alive, rather than heading for the source,” Lyon decided.

“I’ll go with you, none of us should be alone, and I’d like to meet back up with Hibiki and Ren,” Eve said.

“Happy?” Natsu asked, looking around.

“He was frozen in Gray’s ice near Hibiki,” Loke filled in. “He’ll catch up or he’ll get Hibiki to safety.”

“Let’s go stop Nirvana,” Gray said.

“Don’t die, it would make saving your lives today rather meaningless,” Lyon said drily.

“You know Fairy Tail, you can’t keep us down,” Natsu said, jumping to his feet. “Come on.”

Despite feeling like he couldn’t summon even Crux without passing out, Loke got to his feet.

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Lucy, you’re with Jellal?” Erza said, walking up to them. “What’s the meaning of this?”

Jellal turned away from the now completed magic circle and faced her. Lucy watched and waited.

“Who are you? Do I know you?” Jellal asked, looking to Lucy.

Erza looked to her too.

“Jellal, this is my friend and guildmate, Erza,” Lucy said slowly. “Erza, Jellal’s lost his memory, everything except your name.”

“Erza,” Jellal said, eyes widening. Immediately he dropped to his knees, “A thousand apologies wouldn’t be enough for my crimes against someone whose name makes me feel the only happiness I know.”

“You don’t remember?” Erza said, heart break in her voice. “You’ve forgotten everything? The Tower. Simon. Wally. Miliana. Sho. Me.” Her voice sharpened to blades as she swept an arm out. “No! No, you don’t get the leisure of forgetting the crimes you’ve committed, the pain you’ve caused everyone around you. You can’t have forgotten!”

“I don’t intend to let the loss of my memory absolve me of my crimes,” Jellal said, head bowed. “I know there is no making up for the horrors I’ve caused, but I’m going to spend every day trying. Starting with Nirvana.”

“What do you mean?” Erza asked.

“I’ve rigged the entire apparatus with a magic circle of self-destruction. It will activate in six minutes,” Jellal said. “After that I will help capture the Oracion Seis. Afterwards, I will do whatever you ask of me to make things right. The only thing I can think to offer is the rest of my life in service for my crimes.”

“Part of him wanted to offer his death, but I told him that wouldn’t mean much of anything,” Lucy said.

“No! You’re kidding me! That’s what you’ve been doing this whole time!” Cobra said, rushing through the bushes with his snake on his heel. “I thought you were undoing the final seal!”

“Why did you think I was here?”

“Entertainment?” Cobra snarled at her. He reached Jellal’s circle and started pressing at it, looking for weaknesses in the spell. “How complex is this thing? I can’t get past the outer ring.”

“Complex enough that you will never get around it without the deactivation code, so you should stop trying,” Jellal said, still looking at the ground. “I will destroy Nirvana and begin my penance.”

“You believe Jellal, knowing everything I’ve told you, even the times he pretended to be possessed?” Erza questioned Lucy.

Lucy looked at him, still kneeling on the ground. “I do. But you know him better. You can kill him if you don’t believe him. He’d welcome it. He’s already been declared dead and I won’t tell.”

“What!” Erza said, horrified at the suggestion.

Lucy smiled, “Yeah, that’s what I was going for. His reactions have been sincere for the past three hours, so I’m inclined to trust him, especially since he set up this sweet circle of self-destruction. Old Jellal would be trying to use Nirvana to get people to build the Tower again. He attacked Brain, so again, clearly not on their side. He also attacked Natsu when Natsu came flying at him, but we’ve all done that.”

“One final question then,” Erza said, turning back to Jellal with narrowed eyes. “Why? Why do you seek to atone for sins you don’t remember? Why do you believe Lucy?”

“I believe her, because if there is one thing I know in this world for myself, it’s the feelings that the name Erza invokes in me,” Jellal said, looking into her eyes at last, as though it would be his only chance to see her ever again. “Erza is calmness and laughter and joy and a light in the darkness. Lucy shared with me her stories of you, and they were the same. Lucy confirmed the single thing I know to be true, so how could I doubt her about the rest?”

“He has all the signs of spirit possession,” Lucy said quietly. “I’ve seen it before. I know he knew those signs, well enough to fake it, and I’m not saying he’s innocent. Jellal never reached out for help during the periods of the possession’s weakness, but it does lower his culpability, and he might have been surrounded by enough darkness that they didn’t react to his cries for help."

But . . . There was still something else Erza needed to know.

"You know I have no right to judge who deserves forgiveness," Lucy admitted softly.

 

“Enough kneeling,” Erza decided, extending a hand. “If you truly intend to make amends, then make them on your feet, and I will judge your actions for myself.”

Jellal accepted it and stood.

“Give me the deactivation code!” Cobra yelled, lunging for Erza, “Or the woman dies!”

Erza had a sword out and Jellal a magic circle before Cobra got within a foot of them. He was blasted backwards with a cut on his cheek.

“Wow,” Lucy said, impressed. “Your reflexes are off the charts.”

“It’s beautiful,” a new voice said, and everyone turned to see Brain stroll into their grove. His staff thunked at each step. He took a deep breath as though enjoying the sickly-sweet smell of compulsion magic combined with the acrid tang of destruction magic.

“Brain, Jellal rigged a self-destruction circle to it, I can’t break through without the deactivation code,” Cobra explained, getting to his feet.

“That is one of the beautiful things about this scene,” Brain said. “You didn’t forget anything I taught you, this circle is as clean as any of the ones you made during our practice, do you remember?”

“Sorry boss,” Cobra said, “He’s not going to be joining you on memory lane. The ethernano wiped everything.”

“Is that so?” Brain said with a laugh, “Well, our need for Jellal has passed, so no great harm done. He already completed the difficult part by locating Nirvana and breaking the final seal.”

“There’s a destruction circle, and Jellal won’t be giving you the deactivation code, it’s too late,” Erza said. “Now the question is, do you come quietly or do we have to fight as your weapon crumbles around us.”

“I’m not called Brain for nothing. Were you aware that I used to work at the Bureau of Magical Development? And did I not say I was the one who taught Jellal this very skill?” Brain asked, walking up the circle.

“You can break it!” Cobra cheered.

“Not on my watch,” Lucy said, and lit her foot up to kick Brain. He blocked her with his staff and sent her flying. She recovered and landed. “Erza, we literally have to keep him away for just six minutes, move!”

“I see Cubelios’s poison didn’t take the first time, we’ll have to try again,” Cobra said, rushing forward, snake just behind him.

Jellal moved to push him back with a rapid cast, but Cobra predicted it and went high, dodging Erza at the same time.

“Careful of Nirvana, the magic energy will fry anyone too close,” Jellal warned, as Lucy tried to sneak under Brain’s guard again.

Again, Brain blocked her, then struck.

Instead of sending her flying, he pushed her into the pillar of light, making her gasp in pain. It was worse than Natsu’s flames, it seemed to be trying to rewrite her into pure energy. But she couldn’t vanish now.

Lucy grabbed for Brain. She took an extra dose of pain to swing herself out of the energy and crouched on top of the staff, which he was very careful to keep free of the pillar of light. Lucy punched his ear, sending him off balance, though you couldn't tell the way he flung his staff to toss her into a tree.

Bark grated against her weeping sores as she slid to the ground, and she blacked out for a minute, still denying her gate.

She woke to the sensation of falling. Above her, Cobra and Brain were laughing as Nirvana activated, shooting upwards.

“Lucy!” Erza screamed, barely clinging to Jellal’s arm and a piece of Nirvana’s structure.

Taking a page from her book, Lucy grabbed onto a divet in stone and hung on tight as it sailed into the air. She waited until the rapid rising stopped and was grateful to look down and see a leg of the stone beast fifteen feet below her. The orb shape of the contraption meant that she couldn’t see Erza and Jellal anymore.

Lucy dropped down, let herself rest for the count of ten, then pulled out a piece of magic note paper and a pen from her pocket.

I’m fine. On a leg and near an opening, will meet you inside. Lucy.

A quick spell and the paper folded itself into a bird and took off upwards.

Inside, she took inventory of herself. There were magic burns up and down her back, turning her shirt backless, though it still connected at the collar and waist. The sores were weeping a little, maybe a lot, but there was no time to bind them closed.

Ignoring the urge to return to the celestial world was oddly easy. Maybe because she ignored the desire for three years or maybe because she was a stubborn idiot. A glance at her hand suggested the latter, and the pink fairy made her smile.

She took off at a jog.

Notes:

Ah yes, the week between christmas day and new years. Time for couch behavior. I hope everyone is having a wonderful end of the year.

Lucy's weaving the story of how Fairy Tail changed her, and convinces Erza to let Fairy Tail give Jellal his next chance. Loke's got Angel's keys, keeping her out of the picture, and the fairy tail boys are heading for the action.

Chapter 58: Enter Nirvana

“We’re just hoping Lucy and Erza are on this thing, right?” Loke asked Gray. “We haven’t heard anything about them?”

“You really think they’d be anywhere else?” Gray replied as they ran up the very long leg of Nirvana.

“Anyone seen Jura or Ichiya?” Loke said.

“Nahh, we don’t need ‘em,” Natsu said, leading the group, “I said we didn’t need the other guilds to take these guys, and what do you know? The five of us—” Natsu stopped running and talking at the same time, letting Gray and Loke rush past him.

“What’s wrong?” Loke asked, while Gray groaned.

“Have you even fought anyone?” Gray demanded, “Or have you spent the entire day trying not to upchuck! That’s really pathetic Natsu.” Now Loke could feel the movement of the leg, and he started running again until the slope became too steep and he had to hang onto the rough stonework as the leg moved. Gray was hanging on just behind him while Natsu was where he originally stopped, now flopped against the stone.

“What do we do about Natsu?” Loke said, “I don’t think this thing is going to stop moving any time soon.”

“You can ride animals, right?” Gray yelled at Natsu, “That means your motions sickness is all in your head! Think around it!”

“Yeah, like…this isn’t a vehicle, this is a stone octopus!” Loke said.

“Octopuses aren’t made of stone, and they don’t belong in the forest,” Natsu complained, still looking green.

“Either this is an octopus, or you’re useless, so make your choice!” Gray said.

Natsu steeled himself, “You’re right, I can do this!”

He started running up the steep slope, then stopped again.

“I can’t do this.” He clutched his stomach.

The leg jerked suddenly and Loke couldn’t worry about Natsu while he was hanging on for dear life.

“NATSU!” Gray yelled, and Loke looked up just in time to see Natsu slide completely off the leg.

He dropped like a stone, and there wasn’t anything they could do.

“Someone call for a rescue?” Happy yelled flying in faster than Natsu was falling.

“Alright!” Natsu cheered, “That’s what I’m talking about.”

“That idiot’s gonna be the death of me,” Gray muttered.

“Come on, there’s an entrance at the leg joint,” Loke said, relieved. Then called up to Natsu, “You head to the top! We’ll go inside and see about stopping it from the inside!”

“Can do! Let’s go Happy!” Natsu said, rushing forward.

“Just you and me,” Gray said, helping Loke onto the ledge of the opening.

Loke grinned, “Not quite the guys night out I thought we were getting to, but it will do.”

Gray laughed, “You really were a sheltered kid, weren’t you? We’ll drink ourselves stupid after this, and you can’t invite the girls or Natsu.”

“Deal.”

 

 

It took some exploration and passing by a giant lacrima room, but Lucy made it onto the lowest level of the city proper. With the aura of Nirvana contained, her ability to sense magic signatures was back. There was a blur in the sky way above her, which was Natsu and Happy fighting one of the remaining members. They ranged over the whole city, Cubelios and Cobra if she had to guess, but they also had to keep Nirvana under them or be left behind.

How many members were left? Brain and Cobra probably used the activation of Nirvana to escape Erza and Jellal.

Gray and Lyon would have beaten Racer, and Loke was still alive, which means Angel’s out. That left Hoteye and Midnight. Four members of the Oracion Seis, and on their side, Natsu, Erza, Jellal, and her confirmed. Unknown number of other allies could have made it onboard.

Control centers tend to be central, that’s probably where Brain and Cobra ended up after activation. If they were together, that meant Hoteye and Midnight were probably out looking to clean up the rest of them. There were two strong powers up a level and to the right, and another pair to the left and up several levels. One pair, probably the higher one, was likely Jellal and Erza. The other pair might be the Oracion Seis, but it would make more sense for them to split up to conquer the rest of their enemies.

Lucy took off for the closer pair, it was more likely to be allies than not, and if they were enemies, she would blind them, find Erza and Jellal instead, and the three of them could take on Hoteye and Midnight together.

As Lucy ran through the city, familiar architecture reminding her of the story of these people. Four hundred fifty years ago during the Age of War; she had been partnered with a non-bloodline wizard, but he had been kind for his time period. A warrior that had agreed to use his family’s treasures and treasured friends in battle in exchange for his family’s protection during the wars and power centralization. There were groups that tried to claim neutrality, like the Nirvits, but everyone knew they were crazy.

Only crazy people believed they could stay out of war forever.  

Once two main powers had established themselves in this region, they immediately went to trying to subdue the Nirvits. The Nirvits were known for their scholarship and magical engineering, they were never going to be allowed to live in peace.

Lucy spent days helping attack the barriers the Nirvits had set up. One of her wizard’s friends had used seer magic to spy behind the barrier, and not even Lucy could figure out they were doing, the magic they were creating.

She did remember the style of their clothes, the shape of their houses. The way their magic allowed them to grow stone like trees, letting the buildings grow like branches. When the barrier finally went down, they found a broken people. Their great mages and engineers dead; libraries burned to the ground. There were some children and magicless adults still alive, but they were hollow, and no matter how the armies treated them, all they could say was that their dark magic had been destroyed.

The armies left them to the brutal woodsea and returned to safer ground to continue their fight against each other. Lucy thought back then that the children would be adopted by different villages and families, or else conscripted into the war. Never did she think she’d be running through these streets again.

The ghosts had long left these halls, and whatever weapons they sought to make for peace were going to be used by a dark guild for war.

Making sure to stay always focused on the two magic signatures so she didn’t get turned around, she landed on a roof they were running past, and gasped.

Jura and Hoteye, but they weren’t fighting each other, they were running together. Had Jura been part of the Oracion Seis this whole time? This didn’t make sense. Did Hoteye use some kind of brainwashing magic? But his magic in their initial battle turned the ground between liquid and solid states. With a physical powerhouse like that, you wouldn’t develop a specialized trick magic, especially not one strong enough to ensnare a wizard saint.

“Lady Lucy,” Jura called, pulling Hoteye to a stop. “Please join us, your presence is welcome.”

“Explain yourself Jura!” Lucy said, lighting her fists and standing upright. “What is the meaning of this?”

“Oh my, does she really think she can take both of us on?” Hoteye said. Not meanly, almost amazed.

“I’ll do what I have to,” she said.

“What are you doing?” Jura asked, then glanced at his companion. “Oh, no, Hoteye has been helping me! He switched sides. During Nirvana’s early stage of activation, those whose hearts were wavering between good and evil were forced to switch sides. Hoteye’s heart was wavering, he knew that what he was doing was wrong. He’s given me information on the Oracion Seis and Nirvana, and now seeks to help us take down his former guild.”

“Where once I believed in prosperity gospel, that money could buy you all things you desired if you just have enough of it, I was forced to realize the truth. Money was never going to bring my brother back, and love is the only path to obtaining the miracle I seek. It’s all about love!” Hoteye said, smiling at her.

Lucy didn’t lower her fists.

“I swear by the honor of my guild, he speaks the truth,” Jura said, folding a hand over his heart.

Lucy let go of her magic and jumped down to join them. “Well then, how could I doubt that vow?”

“The throne room is where Brain will be controlling Nirvana,” Hoteye said. “We were making our way there.”

“We don’t know what his plan is or where he’s taking Nirvana. He didn’t share that with the other members, but it isn’t hard to guess that we don’t want him to get there.” Jura added.

“Alright, let’s go,” Lucy said, getting ready to run again. “Straight up or through the streets?”

“Ahh, to be young,” Jura said with a sigh.

“So you really did turn on us, Hoteye,” a slithery voice said, walking out of the shadows.

“Midnight, I see you’ve woken up,” Hoteye said disdainfully. “You two should go to the center after Brain. I will handle my former ally. All the six prayers are equal in power.”

“Is that really what you believe? You’re dumber than I thought. No wonder Father didn’t entrust his full plan to you,” Midnight said, walking out from around the corner.

“Emo kid, 12 o’clock,” Lucy said. “Jura, do you think we can leave him?”

“We talked, I believe we can trust him even against the Oracion Seis, I would not have let him join me otherwise,” Jura confirmed. “Take care, Hot Eye.”

“Please, don’t call me that,” Hoteye said with a sigh, “I have no need to hide behind a false name any longer. My name is Richard.”

“We’re not supposed to reveal our real names!” Midnight scowled. “You truly have betrayed us.”

“Take care, Richard,” Jura said, then took off running. Lucy had just enough time to see the straightened spine in the former dark wizard. The strength of being named after so long, (“No…Leo.”) before she took off after the wizard saint.

Their backs would be safe enough in their escape.

“Looks like we ended up together after all,” Lucy mused.

“I hope you didn’t take offense at our planning meeting,” Jura said. “The way you led that meeting to completion is a testament to your leadership, as was the re-organization after the first failed attack. I would hate to have given offense by requesting another teammate. I am merely not used to working with a partner. The nature of my magic makes me likely to unintentionally hurt an ally.”

“I’m just teasing,” Lucy said with a laugh, “I could never be offended by a good strategy. Well, unless you tried to tell me to go with Ichyia. I might have been offended by that.”

“He’s a good and reliable wizard, underneath it all,” Jura said, a small smile on his own face.

“I’m sure he is, but he can be reliable somewhere else,” Lucy said. “Now, we have a rule in the Fairy Tail guild: once you declare an opponent, they’re yours until you give up, pass out, or ask for help. Unless the opponent is bigger than a house like Nirvana is. So how about we travel together, but I won’t jump into a one-on-one battle you claim until you ask. That way you don’t have to worry about smushing me on accident.”

“Your guild sure is something else,” Jura said with a light laugh. “I accept your terms.”

They were halfway up to the throne room at the top when Natsu’s roar split the air. It wasn’t his normal one, the roar that declared victory and announced territory.

This was pain. A cry of warning and a cry for help.

Lucy jumped, reacting before thought. Bouncing between the walls of an alley, and stood on a roof and let loose her own roar, supplementing his. Letting him know she was near. She was coming.

HOLD ON! I’M COMING!

 

 

 

Loke and Gray, once they made it into the abandoned city, went for the center. They caught occasional glimpses of Natsu going at it with Cobra in the sky, but they couldn’t tell how it was going between the dragon slayers.

 Then a roar sounded, and they both had to stop and cover their ears.

“What is that?” Gray yelled, though it was mostly reading lips. “Is that even human?”

“It’s Natsu!” Loke yelled back. “He does this, and there’s Lucy!” Just as Natsu’s was starting to fade, Lucy’s lion roar screamed out just as loud. He hadn’t hunted with them enough to know more than who’s roar was who’s.

“Since when does Lucy roar?” Gray asked, her roar dying enough to let them remove their hands from their ears.

“No idea,” Loke said. “I think Natsu brings out lion instincts in her for some reason. They did this when they got a big kill while we were on a hunting trip. Not that loud though.”

They started running again and Gray asked, “Do you think it’s fun? Roaring like that I mean? It always looked kind of stupid when Natsu did it, but if Lucy does it too…”

“It probably has to be a spur of the moment thing,” Loke decided. “And I think lion and dragon roars mean different things. Lucy tried to explain it to me. So pain or victory or whatever, maybe roaring does make it better. We’ll only know if we try, I guess.”

“Natsu wouldn’t let me live it down,” Gray said, shaking his head, “I’ll let Lucy handle it.”

“Lucy said she sees Natsu like a female lion hunting buddy,” Loke remembered. “Think we should tell him that?”

“He’d probably call them both dragons, and not even care that Lucy sees him as a girl,” Gray laughed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lucy and Jura arrived just in time to see Brain strike Cobra in the back.

“You know, I was wavering, listening to the girl talk about redemption,” Cobra said, shaking and curled up on the ground. “I fought it off for you. And this is how you repay me?”

“Why should I settle for a second rate dragonslayer that fell so easily to the real thing?” Brain said airily.

“Not cool man,” Natsu said, trying to get on his elbows before turning green and collapsing.

“You know, when this started, all I wanted, was to hear the voice of my true friend,” Cobra whispered, before closing his eyes.

“Well, now that three of my Oracion Seis have fallen, I’ll be needing to replenish our numbers,” Brain said. “Once the Salamander has had his heart turned by Nirvana, he’ll be a fine upgrade from Cobra.”

“Tell me, what are your goals. Where is Nirvana heading?” Jura asked, stepping forward.

“Why to the Cait Shelter guild of course,” Brain said grandly. “Can’t you tell by the direction? But then, I can hardly blame an earth mage like you for being shortsighted, can I?”

“There are plenty of other guilds closer than Cait Shelter,” Jura said. “Why them?”

“Yell if you need help,” Lucy said, bracing herself into a racing position.

“I don’t believe I can yell as loud as you and Natsu, but I’ll make it known if I require assistance.” Jura said drily, “Take your friends to safety.”

“You really think you can beat me?” Brain laughed. “The last time the girl tried I defeated her while also reprograming a magic circle. Did she tell you that?”

“Hey, I’m still standing,” Lucy said.

“Not for long,” Brain promised, “Dark Rondo!”

Using his staff, he sent the spell her way, and while she jumped to dodge it, Jura covered her with an enormous rock wall.

“I am your opponent now,” Jura said. “I will have my answers about your plan if I must beat them out of you. Earth Crash!”

Lucy wanted to stop and admire the magic. Jura was amazing, a master of his craft. He was as steady as his magic. No matter how piecing the attack Brain threw at him, he had another layer of defense ready, or weakened the attack enough that a simple dodge could thwart it. Brain was going to run out of magic long before Jura, and Jura used the entire terrain. It was always beautiful to watch a true master in action.

But she didn’t have the time. Natsu was suffering from more than just motion sickness, he must have gotten some of Cobra’s poison while fighting him. Nothing so direct as Erza’s bite, but it wasn’t limited to his arm. Happy had the same sickly aura and purple sheen to his eyes and nose.

Because he had listened to her stories, Lucy checked Cobra’s pulse as well. With her back torn up like this, this was going to hurt like hell.

“Here to help,” Lucy said grimly. “Happy, I’m going to put you in Natsu’s scarf, do you have the strength to hang on there?”

“Aye Sir,” he said weakly. Lucy wrapped it up tight, more than used to dealing with a motion sick Natsu at this point, and pulled him over one shoulder. Pain, but pain she could handle. Then she pulled Cobra on top of him.

Or she was going to, when his giant snake reared up and bared its fangs around the body of its master.

“I’m trying to help him,” Lucy said. She obviously and slowly looked towards the battle where Jura and Brain were crushing buildings like they were children’s sandcastles. She allowed the fear to show, and motioned that she was going to do the same with Cobra as she had done to Natsu, who was groaning on her back.

It was just pain. She could handle pain. She had lived with pain. This was nothing.

“Your back’s so gross,” Natsu whined.

“Shut up,” Lucy shot back, “I’m trying to save your life. Now Snake, Cubelios, will you let me help your friend?”

It coiled around Cobra, then let go, turning its back. The body language was obvious.

“Take us to the top, that should be a safe place for a bit,” Lucy said, moving Cobra and Natsu onto the back of the flying snake. She mounted it and held the boys in place. Wings came out, and it was a slow ascent, but they made it to the top.

“I don’t get it, why did you help him?” Happy asked.

“Because if we’re going to let some of them try to redeem themselves, might as well let all of them,” Lucy said, not really knowing herself. “Look, Hot Eye got turned good by some crazy magic of Nirvana, he’s helping us and even taking down Midnight for us. Now Jellal’s also working with us to take this thing down. So why not a poison dragon slayer? We forgave Laxus and the Thunder Legion, so why the hell not?”

“Does that mean you forgive Angel?” Happy pouted. “Cause she was mean and froze me solid.”

“No, that witch is evil,” Lucy snorted. “And it’s not really forgiving them. If I wasn’t going to kill Cobra, then it’s wrong to just leave him behind where he will get killed. Look, don’t question it too much okay. He’s not going to be a problem for a while.”

The snake set up a defensive circle around where Lucy had lain Cobra against a pillar, and that was fine with her.

Natsu and Happy were having trouble breathing, they needed Wendy.

Using her superior vantage point, Lucy looked around the edges of the throne room for her and Carla, hoping she could spot them before it was too late.

Notes:

Hmm, almost forgot about this chapter, between the holidays and my current sinus infection. Let's see, Lucy's new policy on redemption is being tested, but you know, better more allies than less. Loke and Gray are absolute bros and making their way towards the action. Richard is firmly against the goals of the oracion seis. Jura and Brain are going at it. Natsu fought Cobra to what is more correctly a stale mate. Hopefully Wendy saw the giant stone machine and thought 'hmmm, maybe I should get on that?'

Did I miss anything? It was a fun chapter, if only for the banter.

Stay safe!
thecagedsong

Chapter 59: Klodoa

Loke and Gray came on Jura and Brain’s fight just in time to see Brain crush through ten of Jura’s rock walls. Jura used the debris of those crushed walls to bury Brain standing upright, then used two hands made of earth to squish Brain with a crunch that had to be breaking bones.

“So that’s the power of a different wizard saint,” Loke said. “I saw Jellal in action, and Gramps, but to know there are ten of these guys…”

“It sure is impressive,” Gray said. Brain collapsed in a total knock out, and when Jura approached the body, so did Loke and Gray.

“Oh, welcome. I’m glad to see more allies made it on board this nightmare,” Jura said with an acknowledging nod. He looked back down at Brain, “Now, tell me why you seek to destroy the Cait Shelter guild of all the guilds, and tell me the rest of your plans.”

“I’ll never tell,” Brain swore. Then gave a bloody cough, “You know, all I wanted was for my son to be safe. I made him into the strongest among us, you’ll never defeat him.” The man passed out for good.

“Hey, answer his questions. This is no time for sleeping,” Gray said, grabbing at the guy’s necklace to pull him forward. He yelped and immediately jumped back, “Okay, I swear I saw one of his tattoos just disappear.”

“Perhaps he stored power in those lines,” Jura suggested with a frown. “And this is an attempt to recover.”

“He’s still out of it,” Loke said, trying and failing to feel for a pulse, though he did feel a wash of breath from his mouth, so he was still breathing.

“Let’s meet up with the others at the top of this guard tower,” Jura said.

They took the winding staircase on the outside and made it to the top, where Lucy was standing over Wendy, Natsu, and Happy. Cubelios seemed curled around a knocked out Cobra off to the side.

She turned to look at them and broke into a huge smile.

“You’re here!” she yelled rushing forward and throwing her arms around Gray and Loke in a hug. They caught her then all three of them flinched when they tried to hug her back, only to feel the weeping sores where her shirt should have been.

“You look awful Lucy,” Loke said, turning her around to take a look. “What happened? And why haven’t you gone back to the celestial realm to heal?”

“I didn’t even notice,” Jura said with a frown. “I only ever saw the front of you.”

“It’s just pain, I can handle pain,” Lucy said firmly. “I’ll heal when this is over. I can still fight and run.”

“No, if you’re staying here, we’re binding that up,” Loke said, pulling a roll of bandages from his pocket. “I can’t make you leave, but keeping those wounds from being aggravated may be the difference between winning and losing a fight.”

Lucy looked ready to argue, but sighed and accepted the gauze and bandages, “Fine, but someone not a human male is going to be the one to help me.”

“What do you have against—you know what, nevermind, let’s get Wendy,” Gray said, noticing Lucy’s glare and the way she folded her arms over her chest.

Luckily the healer joined them a minute later.

Natsu and Happy were cured of poison, and Lucy bandaged up (her shirt discarded, but since the bandages covered her entire torso and shoulders, she seemed fine without it.)

“I don’t get it,” Wendy said, looking down at a still pale and unresponsive Natsu, “Poison is easy to clean and heal, it’s mostly removing and purifying foreign material. He should be feeling better.”

“Don’t blame yourself,” Lucy said tiredly. “It’s not that kind of injury.”

“Yeah, the moron gets motion sick, even on something this big and stable,” Gray said.

“Oh,” Wendy brightened, “Then I have a spell for that. I’ll just restore his sense of balance!”

With a push of magic around Natsu’s ears, the dragonslayer was bouncing around the roof in no time.

“Now that everyone has been healed up, I require your assistance with something.” Jura said, pulling everyone’s attention to him. “I can’t find the control circle. Brain was controlling Nirvana, knocking him out should have stopped it, but we’re still moving,”

“Does that mean Brain set this thing on autopilot?” Gray said, starting to panic, “That means he could have set this thing to auto fire on the Caith Shelter guild as well!”

“Wait,” Loke said, “Magic we can’t break. We’ve seen this before, with Phantom’s giant and the shield in front of Jellal’s tower. Magic Source Body Link.”

“That’s right,” Lucy said. “An easy way to make something seem invulnerable is to outsource the weak points within mages. If Brain set it up so each member of the oracion seis was a key to protecting the spell.”

“Wouldn’t it have slowed down though?” Gray pointed out. “Each time we took out a member of the element four, the giant slowed down. And this is way bigger than Phantom’s giant. We’ve taken out nearly everyone from what I can tell.”

“Midnight and Hoteye, now known as Richard, are the only two left. They are currently fighting each other,” Jura said. “But I agree that Magic Body Link isn’t likely to be why Nirvana is still moving. An autopilot function within the contraption is more likely than a sudden seal.”

“Well then what are we going to do?”

“Jellal might know,” Wendy mumbled.

“What?” Loke asked her.

“I have an idea,” she said, turning and running off. “It’s a long shot,” she called behind her, “But I have to try!”

“Wait!” Lucy yelled, but Wendy was already going down the stairs. “I’m going after her.”

“Lucy, that’s a terrible idea,” Happy said, pulling on her leg.

“We can’t let her go alone!” Lucy protested.

“Actually, we can’t let you go alone,” Happy clarified. “You’d get lost within seconds. She has Carla, you’d never be able to find your way back here.”

“He’s got a point Lucy,” Natsu said, shaking his head solemnly.

“Shut up, you couldn’t even move two minutes ago!” Lucy defended.

“I’ll go after her,” Loke decided. “Happy come with me. Unless you can think of something better, I think the rest of you are left with Plan T. Good luck.”

Loke took off after the small girl.

“How are your wings Happy?” Loke asked. “I know that the aerial battle with Cobra must have been exhausting.”

“Not too much for the Catamander!” Happy cheered, landing on his shoulder. “Natsu and I have been training. I can keep going. And I don’t think Carla has as much endurance or speed as I do, we’ll be able to keep up with them.”

They got to the bottom floor just in time to see Carla sweep Wendy into the air. Happy wasted no time following.

“Loke, what are you doing?” Wendy asked.

“This isn’t exactly the time to be running off alone,” Loke said, letting Happy pull them beside Carla. “You’re looking for Jellal, right? We’ll help you.”

And if he happened to get the chance to punch Jellal and show Wendy that he was a sick bastard, all the better. Hopefully Jellal wasn’t with Erza.

 

 

 

Lucy shoved down the instinct to protect Loke and follow him. You don’t get anywhere by ignoring your blatant weaknesses, and being directionally challenged was hers. Wendy was already pushing the edge of her sensing range, her magic unique but not as strong as Jura or Erza. This was the best choice.

“What is plan T?” Jura asked.

“Plan Take ‘em by Storm,” Natsu said with a grin. “About time.”

Lucy sighed and explained for Jura, “If all else fails, turn it all into rubble and hope for the best.”

“Natsu, I don’t know if you noticed, but this thing’s fricken huge!” Gray said. His voice echoed, just to emphasize the point. “There’s no way we can bust all of this up.”

“It’ll be tricky,” Lucy said, “But I think if we focused on taking out just one of the legs, that would be enough. It’s big, but it’s heavy. It probably needs all six legs to balance and walk. Especially with Jura’s earth magic it should be possible. It’ll be dangerous for us, but if we do it, we’ll slow it down at worst and stop it at best.”

“Well, I don’t have any other plans,” Gray said, stretching. “Let’s get to work. Luckily down is easier than up. Ice-make—”

“Hello? Jura, it’s your ally, Hoteye!” Hoteye’s voice echoed around them, “I wasn’t able to completely subdue Midnight, he escaped and is headed for the throne room. There’s a command center at the base of it. Hurry and you should be able to confront him and take control of Nirvana. Hurry!”

“Alright, now that we can do!” Natsu said. “We’ll just bust up this place afterwards.”

"This way, I can sense the magical energy,” Jura led the way down the stairs.

“You know, we could have really used that magical telepathy earlier,” Lucy whined.

It took maybe three minutes to find the chamber at the base of the throne room.

“Everyone get ready,” Jura warned, and they all took attack stances and nodded. Jura threw open the door and the world went black.

 

 

 

 

There was an explosion behind them, just when Wendy was filling Loke in on how she knew Jellal.

“That was up near the tower, do you think the others are all right?” Wendy asked anxiously.

“They’re fine,” Loke assured her. “We need to focus on what we’re doing.”

“Loke is right. If you chase two mice you catch none,” Carla said, folding her arms decisively. “Now what will you focus on? Protecting the others or finding Jellal and stopping this from destroying our home?”

“How are you tracking him anyway?” Loke asked.

“By his smell,” Wendy said with a blush. “It’s throwing me off a little bit, because he doesn’t smell like I remember him smelling, but it’s distinct.”

“Dragonslayer senses,” Loke said with a smile, “Your magic sure is amazing.”

“It’s not that great,” Wendy said, looking at the ground. “Healing magic is rarer, so I focused a lot of my training over the years on healing and support enchantments rather than offensive part of being a dragon slayer. Compared to Natsu, I’m not strong at all.”

“That’s a lie,” Loke said. “Every person Erza beats up today goes to your credit for healing her and keeping her alive. As someone who also plays support, don’t underestimate what it can do.”

“What do you mean?” Wendy asked, tilting her head.

“I summon my spirits, then support them as they battle with me,” Loke said. “I also feel like I’m not as good as wizards who specialize in offensive magic sometimes. But that’s wrong, and I get something better. I have a fistful of friends with my magic, which beats Natsu’s magic any day. And when Erza was poisoned, Natsu felt helpless, there was nothing he could do, but you could. Even though you’ve focused on training your healing magic, doesn’t mean you don’t have some awesome kickass dragon abilities hidden in there.”

“If you say so,” Wendy said, unsure.

“Carla, are you rested yet?” Happy asked. “You can have some of my fish if you’re hungry.”

“No, I’m quite fine, I’m ready to go. Do you know which way Wendy?”

Wendy took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She breathed steadily for a few seconds then pointed. “His smell is coming from that direction. We’re coming close.”

They flew low to the buildings so they didn’t miss him, and when Loke spotted Erza and Jellal confronting Midnight, he pulled Wendy aside and they landed a couple of roofs away from the battle. It had to be a couple of roofs, because all the buildings near the combatants were in shattered ruins.

In this city of ghosts, it was easy to hear what they were saying. As Erza explained reflector magic, Loke groaned and pulled Wendy down lower.

“Shouldn’t we help them?” Wendy asked.

Loke shook his head, “Reflector magic’s a pain. Anything we throw at Midnight could be used against Erza. We let her handle it for now.” Still, they looked back up to watch the fight happen, though neither of them made a sound.

Erza let loose a barrage of swords which were sent right back at her. Amazingly, she deflected each attack. Not so fun, several of the swords she deflected flew onto the roof where they were watching, and Loke got a nasty cut on his arm for not moving fast enough. Just another wound to add to the collection.

Wendy laid a hand on him, healing it instantly, and he smiled at her gratefully, even as Carla glared at her and hit her knee in rebuke.

“You don’t have magic to spare for more healing,” Carla hissed.

“Sorry!”

They looked back at the battle, and saw Erza stand up again from where she had fallen on the ground.

“You have two significant weaknesses in your defense,” Erza said, requipping and standing up. She showed him those exact weaknesses with a calm, practical demonstration. He couldn’t control her body, and he could only control her armor or the area around himself.

“She figured that out so quickly,” Wendy said, eyes wide. Jellal said the same thing, marveling over who Erza had become.

Seeing Jellal was seriously messing with his head. The guy was an insane jerk who killed Sho and had tried to kill Loke and all his friends multiple times. But Wendy swore he had saved her (and he was starting to get an itch of an idea about that), and Erza wasn’t attacking him. If he had convinced Erza that he could be trusted, then maybe he could be.

Ha. More likely was that Jellal was playing Erza again. Loke would expose him at the first chance.

Then a bell starting ringing, and a glance at the stars said midnightish. “How do they have a functional bell? This thing has been buried for 400 years!” Loke whispered.

“They built a magic machine that change people from good to evil,” Happy said in his, ‘well-duh’ voice. “I think they can handle a clock.”

Loke didn’t have anything to say to that, especially since Midnight was laughing crazily. Erza and Jellal froze, their faces turning terrified, while Midnight held a dark purple magic circle in front of him.

“What’s happening?” Wendy asked, trembling, “Why aren’t they finishing him?”

“Some kind of psychic link magic,” Loke said. “He’s distracted, but if we try and attack him now, it will either go great or it could do something really bad to their heads. Let’s give them a chance to break out from the inside.”

“Can they do that?”

Erza moved. Midnight fell.

“How…how did you overcome my midnight hour illusion?” Midnight croaked.

Erza stood up with one eye closed while Jellal shook himself back to reality. “I lost this eye the night Jellal tried to save me and was tortured in my place,” Erza said. “When I got it fixed, it rendered visual magic ineffective against me. I suppose that is an additional weakness. You may also be a child of the Tower, but that does not excuse your turn to darkness. And it is a shallow and weak heart that would use such wretched memories against us.”

“All I wanted,” Midnight said, falling forward, “Was a place to rest.”

 

 

 

“Shut up, I’m trying to sleep,” Gray whined beside her in response to Natsu’s groaning.

“Sleep, why are we sleeping?” Lucy asked drowsily. Everything hurt.

“Where’d the lights go?” Natsu groaned.

“On it,” with a flick of a finger, Lucy conjured a fairylight, showing the small pocket of space they had. “What happened?”

“It was a trap,” Gray said grimly. “We fell for it like idiots and got buried alive.”

“Jura?” Lucy said, getting to her hands and knees. “Where’s Jura?”

With three skyward punches, Natsu broke through their little pocket, Lucy and Gray widening the hole behind him. “No, Jura!”

Before them stood the wizard saint, his magic signature completely gone. The three of them scrambled out of the hole as Jura trembled in his defensive stance. All around them stone had curled protectively, but it was cracked and shattered.

“I’m glad…I was able to protect…my allies,” Jura said, before slumping forward in a dead faint. Lucy rushed forward, looking for a pulse, but she couldn’t find one with her trembling fingers.

“Jura…he…” Lucy couldn’t finish. Gray pulled her away and into a hug that she gladly accepted, burying her face in his chest.

“What was that? Some cheap boobytrap?” Natsu yelled spitting fire.

“Brain’s last gift, though it was quite the pathetic attempt, considering it only took out one of you,” a new voice said. Emerging from the darkness…Brain’s skull staff, speaking independantly. “He would have had the same effect letting Midnight take care of you, but it’s done, I suppose.”

“And who are you supposed to be?” Gray asked, letting Lucy go.

“I am the seventh, secret, and final member of the Oracion Seis, the Great—”

Natsu had grabbed the staff and started hitting it on the ground roughly.

“Hey, he might have information,” Gray said.

“And do it right,” Lucy said, folding her arms. “It’s made of wood, set it on fire.”

“What! No, no, no, no,” the staff slipped out of Natsu’s hands. “I am the Great Klodoa! And I will deal with you all myself.”

“Why is this thing heading for the Cait Shelter guild?” Lucy asked. If Jura had thought it was important information to have and this thing felt like talking, well, Natsu could always burn it later.

“You don’t know? Nirvana was created by the Nirvit people to be a weapon to end all wars by turning people’s hearts towards good. Only they found the weapon to be too terrible and sealed it deep within the Woodsea, the remainder of their people devoted themselves to keeping this power sealed. Those very descendants are the only ones capable of sealing Nirvana again. Once we destroy them, Nirvana will remain supreme forever! Haha!” Klodoa said.

“Okay, now can I burn him?” Natsu asked.

“Go ahead,” Gray said. “Just make it fast so we can get to destroying a leg.”

“Wait! You can’t kill me, it would be the same as murdering your little spirit friend over there, and you fairies are against murder, aren’t you?” Klodoa said. Natsu hesitated.

“Sure changed his tune from talking about kicking our butts,” Gray said. “Lucy?”

“Not the same, but I’ll kill him if it makes you guys uncomfortable,” Lucy said, grabbing the stick. She tried to break it over her knee, but it just bent around so she didn’t make contact.

“What do you mean we’re different. You’re a key, I’m a staff!” Klodoa said, avoiding all her strikes by bending, even if it couldn’t wriggle from her grip.

“I’m not a key, I use my key to cross dimensional walls. I have a life and a soul. You’re like a wind-up doll with a lacrima inside it. The echoing voice of someone long gone. Natsu!”

“On it,” Natsu said, grabbing the wooden shaft the next time it dodged away. His fist lit with flames and the staff finally shot free of her hands, giving her splinters on its way to bat itself against the wall to put the flames out.

Then it froze, and a look of horror crossed its face, “Midnight is gone. Master Zero has awoken!”

Notes:

Whoops, a day late. You'll have to excuse me.

We got the players roughly healed, new groups formed, Jura's down, Nirvana's still heading for Cait Shelter, and plan T is going much slower than normal.

Hope everyone is having a lovely week, I'm working on my own recovery still, but your well wishes are very well received.

Chapter 60: Christina

Midnight fell and Erza turned towards them. “You four can come down now, the battle is over. Thank you for staying out of it.”

“Awesome job Erza,” Loke said, carefully climbing a drainpipe thing down from the roof. “What gave us away?”

She gave a tired smile and put a hand to her head, “I’m sorry that my deflected swords went after you. Was anyone hurt?”

“I had a clean cut,” Loke admitted, “But Wendy healed me right up.”

“And I am putting my foot down, so don’t even think about asking Wendy for healing,” Carla said.

“Don’t worry,” Jellal said, “I have all but exhausted my magic in that last fight, but we are not in dire need of healing.”

“Jellal,” Wendy said, a sob in her voice. “Jellal, do you remember me?”

Jellal looked her over for any sense of recognition, but shook his head, “I’m sorry, I don’t know you.”

“Don’t take it personally,” Erza said with a sad smile, “He doesn’t remember either of us.”

“What! He doesn’t remember the tower or Sho or-or,” Loke asked, starting to tremble with anger.

Jellal bowed his head in sorrow, “I don’t. I know I’ve brought misery to people, people who trusted me, people I cared for, and Fairy Tail. I’m sorry. I wish I could feel the weight of my sins, but until then, all I can do is attempt to make amends for the man I was.”

“Lucy thinks there was spirit possession involved,” Erza said. “And so far his actions since Wendy’s healing have only been to stop evil and help me and Lucy.”

“I tried to destroy Nirvana before it became fully active, but my circle of self-destruction failed. I failed, just as I failed against Midnight,” Jellal said, squeezing his eyes shut, the picture of self-recrimination.

“Hey man, we can’t all be Erza,” Loke said awkwardly.

At least it made Erza laugh.

“Watching your fight with him helped me discover the weaknesses in his power,” Erza assured Jellal. “And you’re still going to help us try. Do you two have any idea on how to stop Nirvana?”

“We were hoping you’d know,” Wendy said, paling. “We’re on top of the last mountain ridge before Cait Shelter, what are we going to do?”

“Last we saw, Gray, Natsu, Lucy, and Jura were going to try plan T, but we’re still moving,” Loke said. “Maybe we can hurry and help.”

“I can’t sense them, but Nirvana is big. Lets start running and see if we can find them,” Erza decided. They got to running.

 

 

“Who’s Master Zero?” Lucy asked.

The skull was chewing on the end of its tail like it was biting its fingernails. “There have always been two sides to Brain, the cool, collected strategist, and the overwhelmingly destructive monster. Brain was able to seal the destructive side under six seals—”

“The six prayers, that’s what those tattoos were about, I knew I saw one disappear!”

“Bully for you,” Klodoa snapped at Gray. “With Midnight gone, Zero has been unleashed.”

“You’re going to make me blush Klodoa,” Brain’s voice said, but it wasn’t gravelly anymore. It was heightened with glee.

“Master Zero!” Klodoa said, bending before him, “I’m sorry, but these pesky brats eliminated the prayers. I was just about to finish them off in vengeance for harming your precious body—”

Zero stepped forward, holding out a hand to stop the staff’s groveling. “I see the one who damaged this body is already taken care of. I am not displeased. On the contrary, it will be my great pleasure to destroy the rest of these wizards myself.”

In Lucy’s experience, tattoos made people more menacing. But with bulging red eyes and army green coat for contrast, that did not apply to Zero.

Without his tattoos, he looked more unhinged.  

“Just try!” Natsu said, taking point. The three of them jumped to attack at once. Gray went high with an ice-make canon while Lucy and Natsu went straight in with lit fists and feet.

Zero countered them both without losing that stupid grin of his. They got him to turn around to defend, and Gray hit him straight in the back.

He shrugged off the hit like it was nothing.

Lucy and Natsu pulled a mirrored punch, but even though it landed on his chin, the chin didn’t move. It felt like her fist had bruised instead.

“Cute,” he said with a grin.

He held up a hand and a rapidcast magic circle sent both of them skidding backwards. They tried attacking again, Natsu going high while she went low and Gray went behind. Zero dodged her, kicked Gray, and grabbed Natsu by the face to throw him across the room. Lucy managed to kick him in the groin, finally making him wince, but his other leg swept her into the air.

She took an explosion point blank. She stayed awake long enough to hit the ceiling, but didn’t feel herself hit the floor.

 

 

 

 

 

They didn’t get far. The whole city started to tilt. Carla grabbed Wendy and flew her towards a building to grab onto, but Loke and Happy went tumbling for the whole block. Erza had Jellal in a vice grip.

“What’s going on?’ Happy yelled. Midnight rolled onto the building beside them and Loke grabbed onto him out of instinct. “What are you doing?”

“I don’t know!” Loke yelled back, “Lucy saved Cobra, it seemed like the right thing to do!”

“Fairy Tail real-ly needs to fig-ure out what it means to have an en-enemy!” Happy said, bouncing in the wind as the city tilted more.

Loke felt the magic buildup underneath them, “No! They’re getting ready to fire Nirvana!”

Above them, Wendy was screaming.

Nirvana stopped rising.

Happy carried him and Midnight towards the flat side of a building that Erza pulled them up on.

“It’s about to fire, we’re too late!”

Wendy clung to Carla and cried.

There was the definite sound of a laser focusing, then a blast from above.

“Look!” Happy yelled. Above was a broken, beaten up airship. It dropped another bomb on Nirvana’s leg.

“The Magical Bomber Christina,” Erza said, awed, “I never thought I’d see it fly again.”

“What’s wrong with it?” Jellal asked.

“The Oracion Seis blew it out of the sky,” Wendy said, as another bomb dropped. “But they got it working again.”

“Come in, anyone come in, can you hear me?” Hibiki’s voice sounded desperate. “Please, is anyone there?”

“I am here, alive, but not well. I’m tied up and rather unable to move, unfortunately,” Ichyia said.

“Commander Ichiya, good to hear from you. I got your location. Anyone else down there?”

“We’re here Hibiki!” Loke laughed. “Beautiful ship you’ve got there!”

“Loke, good to hear from you,” Hibiki’s voice said in their heads. “I see you’re with Wendy and Erza. That’s good. As for Christina, she’s seen better days, but for a bunch of wizards from different guilds, we work together well. We got to Christina after Ren, Sherri, Lyon, and Eve all had a bad run-in with Midnight. Christina lost a wing, so Lyon’s got one made of ice to keep the magic balanced and directional. Ren is using his wind magic and Sherri her marionette magic to keep us in the sky. Those bombs were curtesy of Eve’s snow magic.”

“I iced together several bombs to make a bigger explosion,” Eve’s voice came over tiredly. “We hit a leg, and it…it moved the beam. The blast missed the guildhall. But that’s…my magic.”

“You did well Eve,” Hibiki said. “We’re all burning the end of our magic, just getting here exhausted us, so don’t expect more help from Christina.”

“Are you going to be okay?” Wendy asked.

“Don’t worry about us, we have enough to be able to land, but it will be up to you guys to do the rest. I found more information in the archives, what I’ve been trying to find since the beginning. Those legs aren’t legs, they are actually magical siphons that take energy from the ground they land on and use it to power Nirvana. At the top of each leg is a lacrima. Destroy those, and Nirvana goes down for good.”

“We can do this, we can really do this,” Wendy said, tears swimming in her eyes.

“There’s a catch,” Hibiki said grimly. “They all need to be destroyed at the same time, or the other lacrima will simply repair the broken ones. I would…I would coordinate the attacks myself, but I’m at the end of my limits as well. I can download a twenty minute timer in your heads to coordinate. But there needs to be six of you capable of taking out the lacrima.”

“We have four here,” Erza said.

Wendy paled, “I’m sorry, but I don’t have offensive magic. I can’t do it. I’m sorry.”

Erza looked her over, then nodded. “Very well, we have three here. Ichiya?”

“I’m afraid I can’t get anywhere in time,” Ichiya said. “I’ve been trying to free myself for hours, but nothing I’ve done has freed me. You will need someone else.”

“Come on, we need three more,” Hibiki said. “Is there anyone else there?”

“Never had I imagined someone from the light could have such mastery over archive magic,” a new voice mused.

“Brain!” Erza yelled.

“Quite the cute little plan you have there, but you should know I go by Zero in this form,” Zero said.

“How is he hacking my telepathy?” Hibiki asked desperately.

“I am a true master of archive magic,” Zero said. “You are skilled, I’ll give you that, but nothing compared to the years of experience I have sunk into the art.”

“That’s how you learned about Nirvana in the first place,” Hibiki growled. “Get out!”

“But I wanted to give you a warning,” Zero said condescendingly. “So your plan requires destroying all six lacrima simultaneously? Know I will be waiting at one of the lacrima. If you still intend to go forward with your plan, you will have to defeat me within…twenty minutes you said? I can’t wait to destroy the unlucky soul that gets sent to me. Much like I destroyed three of your comrades already. Three little fairies, wings torn off and unable to stand. That’s all I wanted you to know. I look forward to killing you all.”

“Lucy!” Loke called. “Gray, Natsu!"

“I can’t do it anymore,” Sherri said over the connection.

“Sherri!” Ren said, and Christina started falling from the sky.

“We’re going down! Anyone! Please! We need three more wizards. Is anyone else there!” Hibiki said.

“Lucy, you stupid puppet. You kept calling me a slaver, someone who traps people against their will. Prove you’re more than a doll right now. Dolls can’t stand up and fight on their own. So are you a puppet or are you a person?”

“Gray, you’re embarrassing Master Ur. Now get up and make her proud.”

“Natsu, Gray, Lucy, we need you. Now.” Erza ordered. “Prove yourselves the Fairy Tail wizards I know you are!”

“We’re here,” came Gray’s subdued voice. “Ah!” They could telepathically hear the panting as he wrenched himself into an upright position.

“I’m not… a doll,” Lucy growled, also out of breath, “You stupid. Slaver.”

“Ugh. We hear you. Erza,” Natsu said, gasping. “We’d never . . . embarrass . . . the guild, you know that.”

“That’s six!” Hibiki said. “I’m starting the download now. A twenty minute timer. That’s all the time you have before Nirvana’s ready to fire again. I’m also giving you a map on how to get to each Lacrima and where everyone else is at. Whoever gets Lacrima number five, please also pick up Captain Ichiya on your way out.”

“Stick with one title, will you?” Lucy complained, and they heard Gray snicker.

One of the transparent hexagons of Hibiki’s archive magic came over everyone’s head, even Jellal’s and the cats’. There was a weirdly familiar sensation of a clinical sort of magic sweeping through him, and suddenly he knew the routes through the ghost city and knew the numbers of lacrima.

“I got number one!” Natsu cheered.

“We’re closer to five and six. I’ll take five. Lucy and Erza owe me,” Gray said.

“Six for me then. Thanks Gray.”

“I’d actually rather be rescued by my honey. Erza?”

“I’m sorry Ichiya,” Erza said overly sweet. “I’m taking number two.”

“I’m up for number four,” Loke said.

“I’ll take—” Jellal started, but Erza cut him off with a sweep of her hand.

“Who’s that?” Natsu asked.

“We’ll also take number three,” Erza said. “We’re on the clock, so get moving.”

“I’ll leave it to you guys. Save Cait Shelter and the world,” with that, Hibiki’s telepathy dropped off, likely as he passed out. They took a moment to watch Christina’s descent from the sky then turned towards their lacrima.

“We must be ready, any of us could run into Zero, and Erza’s the only one that stands a chance at beating him,” Jellal said.

“No, I believe Zero will be waiting at Lacrima number one,” Erza said. “Natsu was too quick to pick it.”

“But we gotta go help him,” Loke said. “Erza, you’re number two, you could—”

Erza raised her hand, “It’s not like you to doubt Natsu. Trust him. If he wants a battle with Zero, he won’t let us down.”

“Natsu…Dragneel?” Jellal said, then held his head like he had a splitting headache.

“You okay?” Loke asked, going on guard. One flicker of the old Jellal, and Loke was going to stab him.

“I’m fine,” Jellal waved him off. “I just…just a headache. I’m fine.” The man walked away.

“Wendy, can you go with him?” Erza asked. “He’s more drained from his attempt at a circle of self-destruction than I thought, and he pushed himself to fight Midnight anyway.” She shook her head, “Told me to let him take on Midnight by himself first, and because he declared an opponent, I let him. What a mistake.”

“I’ll go with him,” she said, nodding. She ran after him.

Erza turned to leave, but Loke stopped her, “Hey, are you…I don’t know, compromised? You’re not great at making decisions when Jellal is concerned, and that’s fine, but be honest with yourself and with me. Is your evaluation solid? Or clouded by your past?”

Erza looked at him quietly, her attention inward. “I respect your need to check. At times I’ve doubted myself as well, but Lucy also believes him. My feelings may be clouded, but I see the same things she did. Keep checking us if we do something completely out of the ordinary.”

“You mean like leaving Jellal to be a lynchpin in our only plan to save the world?” Loke asked. “Because we just did that.”

“But we sent Wendy and Carla after him,” Erza said with a smile. “She will be able to verify his ability to do what is needed. If he attacks her, Carla will be able to get her out. If he fails, she might be able to find the strength within her to cast offensive magic if it saves her guild. It is dangerous, but we don’t have options.”

“I needed to check. What should we do with Midnight?” Loke said, nodding to where he had dropped the unconscious man.

Erza sighed, “I’ll take responsibility for him. Lucy’s sleep rune would be so useful right now.”

“Midnight seems to like his sleep anyway,” Loke said. “He probably won’t wake up.”

“Hold him upright for me,” Erza instructed. Together they tied Midnight with sashes from Erza’s wardrobe and she hauled him over her shoulder. “Now you and Happy get running. You have the farthest to travel, and we’re down to fifteen minutes.”

“Let’s go Happy.”

Notes:

Shorter chapter this week. I am finally feeling better!

Let's see. Loke is staring down Jellal, and Jellal feels so pathetic he's going to roll over and take it. Wendy is doing her best. And Natsu, Lucy, and Gray are getting bullied into standing up again despite being blown up twice in one hour. That's what it means to be a fairy tail wizard everyone.

Chapter 61: Nirvana Falls

 

Lucy made it to Lacrima six with four minutes to spare. She was pretty close to hers, and Gray had given her an ice slide for several layers of the city. Too bad even with a map in her head, she still took three wrong turns. Panting, she slid down to lean sideways against the wall. She had remembered spotting this contraption when she first entered through a leg. It was good to know that destroying it wouldn’t have changed anything since it needed synchronous destruction. She would have kicked herself if destroying just one would have stopped the whole thing and she hadn’t done it.

Back before her exile, keeping herself from her gate this long would have been unthinkable. It felt like holding her breath, repressing the instinct to return to healing and safety. A tightness in her chest held back only by her own will power. Yes, she had incredible magic stores, but she didn’t replenish them here like everyone else did, and she was limited in her ability to spend them at once. If her magic was trying to heal her body, she couldn’t use it offensively and vice versa. That wasn’t something she had even known before her exile.

How did she stay here when blacked out? No clue. A knock out should have sent her back. Made her release the breath. Maybe she was relying on that contract with Fairy Tail to get the job done. She couldn’t leave until the job was done because the current time differential meant that without a wizard to call her, even a moment in the celestial world would be several minutes here, minutes she and her guildmates couldn’t afford to lose.

The timer hit two minutes, and she wished Hibiki was still running communications. Not that there was anything she could do for the others, but she’d know where to direct her worry.

She didn’t like the vibes she was getting from her connection with Loke right now. Not at all.

 

 

Loke ached in every part of his body and he walked slowly down the hallway the map in his head said he should go.

“Do you need to rest to catch your breath?” Happy asked. “I didn’t notice because I was carrying you, but you’ve been moving slowly.”

“Honestly? I couldn’t back down in front of the others, but I’m too low on magic for a summons,” Loke said.

“What do you mean?” Happy asked.

“I mean that celestial magic isn’t like the others, I don’t have small spells. I use huge chunks at once for every summons,” Loke said. “I only have two levels of spells, silver and gold, and after whatever hell spell Hibiki helped me cast against Angel, I’ve been dry. Another hour and I might have enough for a silver key, but I definitely don’t have enough for a gold.”

“What are you going to do?”

“What I said I’d do,” Loke said grimly. “Celestial wizards keep their promises, even if it means throwing myself at the lacrima over and over until it cracks. Even if it means I have to crawl there, I’ll do it. I’m not so bad that I need to crawl, but there’s a reason I was too slow to dodge Erza’s sword. I’m exhausted.”

Finally they arrived at Lacrima four with a minute-thirty left on the clock.

“So what are you going to do now?” Happy asked.

“Fly me up there,” Loke said, pulling his sickle and chain from his belt. It was heavier than it had been since he first picked up the darn thing. “Let’s see how strong it is. Can you manage that?”

“Pridi-pridi!” came Gemi’s voice. “We can help you with that.”

“Yeah, let us help,” said Mini.

“Gemini,” Loke said, hand going down to the keys he had added to his ring. “I didn’t summon you. Don’t you still have a contract with Angel?”

“We won’t tell if you wont,” Mini said.

“We’ve always admired your magic and your emotions,” Gemi said.

“You’re strong everywhere. We want to help.”

With a flash, Loke was looking at himself, but not beat up, half dead, with his clothes stiff from dried river water. “We’re using our own power to be here, like Leo’s using hers, so don’t worry about your magic,” Gemini Loke said. “You couldn’t summon a nikkola right now.”

The little dog spirits were the most popular celestial spirits, because they took almost no magic at all to summon and were good pets.

“Thanks,” he said.

Gemini Loke drew out his keys, “We were going to use Cancer, is that okay?”

“That’s fine, thank you for asking.”

“Open, Gate of the Giant Crab! Cancer!” Gemini called out.

“Not looking too hot, Ebi. Leo around? She wouldn’t have let you get so bad.”

Loke laughed. “Sorry, not this time. I need you to strike that lacrima up there when I give the word. One minute and twenty seconds.” He looked over at Gemini, “Do you have Hibiki’s download too?”

“Yep! We’re a perfect copy!” Gemini said proudly. “And man, you are so far gone for Leo, no wonder you and Taurus get along.”

“Is there anyone not in love with her?” Loke asked rhetorically. “Get ready Cancer.”

 

 

 

Lucy stood up at the minute mark and steadied her breath. Maybe she was imagining it, but it felt like when Erza had called her during the Battle of Fairy Tail. When Erza had called her and Gray and Loke and hell, maybe Natsu, pleading for help. When they were all collapsed after Zero’s brutal explosion, the telepathic conversation going on around them had been like listening to a conversation in a dream until Erza ordered them awake.

Their team had some weird telepathy going on, but it wasn’t Erza calling for help this time. It was Natsu.

She didn’t have much strength to spare, but she had belief in him. And a celestial spirit knew more than anyone how powerful that belief could be. Lucy shoved all her belief towards Natsu. He would be okay. He was handling Zero, and he was going to win.

The timer went to one and she screamed, “Regulas Impact!”

Like she hoped, it was overkill. The lacrima didn’t just break, it shattered into dust. The whole city started shaking apart, and she started running. The others did their part or they didn’t, but she’d take the falling apart as a good sign.

Through what had to be some kind of sewer tunnel, Lucy bounced back and forth between walls to climb all the way back up to the throne room, there was something she had to check.

All the way to the top, she saw the snake guarding one unconscious dragon slayer, just like she had left them. The biggest difference was that a pillar had fallen on top of her, pinning her tail and stopping her from flying away with her charge.

“Here we go, don’t hurt me, I’m trying to help again,” Lucy said, moving slowly. The snake watched her, but she didn’t strike when she put her hands on the pillar. “Final push body.” She couldn’t lift it far, the Nirvits knew their stonework, but it was enough.

The snake slithered out, pulling Cobra with her. She got in the air, opening her wings, and waited.

“Well, if you’re offering,” Lucy said, and for the second time, arranged Cobra on the snake’s coils and flew off on a flying snake. This time down to the ground. She sensed a group of wizards, and, with a fairylight acting as guide, sent the snake down that way. Not directly in front of her friends, but close.

“Why?” Lucy asked when they landed. “You could have left me, I was expecting you to, both times actually.”

“She likes the sound of your voice,” Cobra said, stirring where she was holding onto him. “I think you’re too loud, but Cubelios likes it, and she likes your dreams and stories.”

“Cobra, how long have you been awake?” Lucy asked.

“Erik,” he grunted, pushing her away and stretching. “Since we cleared the main body of Nirvana. My real name is Erik, since there’s no more Oracion Seis.”

“Erik. I like it,” Lucy said, “The short sharp sound at the end keeps some of your bite in play.”

“I was going to ask why you saved me back, but clearly it’s because you’re insane.”

“You listened to me,” Lucy said with a shrug. “And hell, if we’re giving Richard and Jellal a second chance, why not give everyone a chance, if they are willing to take it.”

“Richard,” Erik mused, “He hasn’t gone by that in a long while.”

Lucy looked down at his wrists, and Erik looked to see what she was seeing, before using his sleeves to cover the scars. “You were children of the Tower, all of you. Jellal looked for people with magic, but the ones we met couldn’t have been the only ones among the slaves, though they believed they were. He traded the rest of you to Brain and other dark guilds.”

“You know too much,” Erik said. “And what the hell is wrong with your head. You’re coming in all fuzzy.”

“You can read minds?” Lucy asked, interested.

“I can hear them, like I can hear everything. And speaking of things wrong with you, you couldn’t find your way out of a paper bag! I tried following you by your thoughts on where you were going, but it’s like you were walking on the other side of the country for all you understood. You even put the sun in the wrong spot.”

“I walk by moving constellations,” Lucy said sagely. “You may see a sun and a blue sky, but I see all the stars the sun blocks. Or I see no stars when the trees are too dense and can’t find my way anywhere. The Tower was a nightmare to navigate.”

Erik laughed, “I can imagine.” He turned away, “Your friends are wondering where you are.”

“Let’s go then,” Lucy said. “Come on Cubelios. What do you eat? Rats? Cowpigs? Wait, probably forest Vulcan, then you don’t have to eat for like, a month. We can pick some up on our way back.”

“Back where?” Erik said hesitantly. “You really think we can just slip into Fairy Tail like in your little fantasy?”

For him, she thought of Gajeel and Juvia, of herself.

“It’s different and you know it. I’ve actually killed people,” Erik said. “I chose to do it.”

“You’ve been groomed to be a killer since you were a slave,” Lucy said. “Look, Nirvana’s magic? It’s terrifying. People aren’t good and evil like that. And forcing people to be good or evil against their will is wrong and all kinds of impossible. But changing hearts? Changing sides to someone willing to take you in and support you and give you a single chance to be something better? That happens every single day. I don’t know what’s going to happen with you, but I’m willing to talk it over with my guild master and give you a good reference.”

“I’m literally a member of the Oracion Seis,” he felt the need to point out again.

“I’ve killed people before too. We don’t judge people by their pasts, only their potential futures,” Lucy said. “And what did you do, actually? You couldn’t do anything about the circle of destruction, you listened to me tell some stories, and you fought with Natsu. Natsu’s already forgiven you for that, especially since Wendy made sure there was no lasting harm. Honestly, since you’re a dragon slayer, he’s gonna want to adopt you.”

“What?”

Lucy giggled, “You should see him with Gajeel, another Dragon Slayer. We’re already working on adopting Wendy.”

He shook his head, “I’m not a dragon slayer like him. And did you already forget I poisoned Erza?”

“That wasn’t personal, if she’s willing to give Jellal a chance, she’ll forgive a Child of the Tower on the opposite side of a battle. We also already did that with Sho, Simon, Miliana, and Wally,” Lucy pointed out. “You might as well come with me, or I’ll tell Natsu where you are, and he’ll come get you. Accept the inevitable.”

“It’s not going to work like you think it will Blondie,” Erik said, even though he started to follow her.

“Probably,” she admitted, “but isn’t it fun to hope?”

“Look, if you’re going to make me do this, at least be covered. Take my coat.”

 

 

 

 

Loke wasn’t sure how he ended up inside Horologium, but was glad for it as he crawled out to where Natsu, Jellal, Erza, Gray, and Ichyia were gathered.

“Thanks for getting me out of there,” he panted, “But how? I didn’t summon you.”

“I came through my gate of my own accord to help you of course,” Horologium said with a bow. “As your power grows by the day, be expecting more visits from your spirits when you are in need. I am of course, the most useful. I provide a perfectly oxygenated environment, can regulate to the optimum temperature, and I assist in the prevention of acne.”

“You do?” Erza said, extremely interested.

“You worry about that?” Loke asked getting to his feet. Then he shook his head and gave Horologium a big smile and a pat on the woodwork, “Thanks for your help! I’ll definitely continue to count on you in the future.”

“My pleasure to be of service. Until next time!” Horologium disappeared with a puff of smoke.

“Good call,” Lucy said, walking into the clearing. “You should use Horologium way more than you do. He also does laundry and mending.”

“Something you are sorely in need of all the time,” Loke said, turning to face her. She was wearing a familiar white coat, and a slightly red Cobra filed in after her. His giant snake slithered in on his heels.

“You too, huh?” Erza asked her, gesturing to Midnight, who was still asleep and tied to her back. Or she could have been gesturing to Jellal, who was cautiously walking up behind her.

“Guys, Erik, he’s investigating the possibility of a change of heart,” Lucy said. “Thoughts?”

“I’m game, I can’t wait to fight you again!” Natsu said with a fist pump, “I have whole new strategies to take care of that pesky mind-reading crap.”

“You actually mean that,” Cobra, no . . . Erik, said.

“Yeah, well, roaring really loud seems like a cheap trick,” Natsu said, “I want to take you down properly. And you’re a dragon slayer too, so we need to work on your non-magic roaring so next time it doesn’t knock you out.”

“Erza, you were the one that nearly died, what do you think?” Gray asked.

“Well, he followed Lucy of his own free will, that’s a good sign,” she said, folding her arms and looking him over.

Erik didn’t flinch from her gaze.

“He and Cubelious also got me off Nirvana,” Lucy said. “A safe flight down off the Nirvana death trap.”

Erza’s eyes went to his wrists, and the same marks that were on her and Jellal were on Erik. He shrugged and clasped them behind his back to hide the scars.

“I…am willing to bring it before the guildmasters and see what they think,” Erza decided.

“My friends! Let us rejoice in the love that brought us here,” Hoteye said, crashing into the clearing with a splat of the softened ground. With him were Wendy, Carla, and Jura.

“Jura! You’re okay!” Lucy said, clasping her hands together.

“Yes, I’m fine and I appreciate your concern,” Jura said, straightening himself. “I was merely exhausted of magic energy and passed out from lack of it. I recovered enough to wake up and get out of there.”

“Erik! Macbeth! Are you both also considering the merits of love over the merits of money and power?” Hoteye asked.

Midnight remained asleep.

“Nirvana got you good, didn’t it Richard?” Erik said, shaking his head. He eyed Lucy and Erza, “But honestly, Brain was always waiting to shoot us in the back for not being good enough. That won’t happen with these guys, it makes a normal guild not look as bad as I thought it would.”

“Nope! If we’re going to take you down, it’s going to be from the front in an all out brawl to see who’s the strongest!” Natsu said cheerfully, making several people laugh.

Then Wendy started crying.

“Wendy, what’s wrong?” Natsu asked.

“It’s…It’s all over, and my guild’s gonna be okay, and… and…you kept your promise,” she cried, throwing her arms around Natsu.

“Sometimes people need to cry,” Erza soothed when Natsu rapidly looked between everyone for a clue about what to do. “It’s okay.”

Hesitantly, Natsu patted her back, “Well of course I did, Wendy.”

“Once everyone has had a moment’s respite, I suggest we make our way to the Cait Shelter guild,” Jura said. “Given our current location, that seems like the nearest place of safety to get a night’s rest before reporting to our guild masters.”

“Of course you’ll be welcome!” Wendy said, smiling as she wiped the rest of her tears away and stepped away from Natsu. “We don’t have a lot, but what we have we’ll be happy to share.”

“Does anyone have any objections to leaving now?” Jura asked the group.

“Actually…I have to make a letter-umpff,” Ichyia said, running face first into a wall of red text.

“An enchantment?” Gray said, jumping to his feet. Lucy ran with her hand out and pressed against the opposite wall.

“It’s not Freed’s work. Anyone else know any enchantment Wizards? Erik, Richard, any of the lesser dark guilds trying to stage a rescue?” Lucy asked.

Richard shook his head, “No, those guilds were left far behind in the Woodsea.”

“It’s the Magic Council, it has to be,” Erza said.

The sound of marching footsteps came over the hills.

“But they weren’t back together yet!” Natsu fretted. “Aw man, they’re coming for us!”

“Natsu, I need you to stay calm and keep that fire in your body until I say so,” Lucy said seriously. “Everyone remain absolutely silent. Say nothing. For all we know this is a dark guild from Tartarus or Grimoire pretending to be the Magic Council. Even if they are real, what happens right now will determine the relationship between the guilds and the new council going forward. I mean it, everyone silent until I get us a private audience.”

She met everyone’s eyes, to show how serious she was, and spent some time on Loke, who was standing next to Natsu, and darted her eyes towards him. Loke met eyes with Gray, who nodded. They were on Natsu baby-sitting duty.

The Magic Council had scapegoated Erza for Eisenwald’s use of Lullaby. The Magic Council had fired an etherion canon on her and her friends while in the Tower of Heaven. Lucy was alive to keep her promise to herself to never let anything like that again.

Lucy turned around and struck an offensive stance; everyone copied her. “I demand you name yourselves. If you don’t, we will consider you enemies.”

Notes:

The Natsu-Zero fight happens like it did in canon, with Jellal jumping in to give the flames of rebuke that let Natsu be strong enough to take on Zero after taking the brunt of an attack. Didn't feel like writing it, this story isn't about Natsu and Jellal, but they've reconciled. Fairy Tail might not know how to have an enemy, but they sure do know how to make a friend.

Now Lucy's real opponent has appeared: the Magic Council. And she'd determined to fight this to the bitter end.

Chapter 62: Lucy vs. Lahar

“Stand down, Lucy of Fairy Tail,” a man called, striding forward. “We mean no harm to the Fairy Tail guild. I am Lahar, commander of the fourth containment unit of the Magic Council. We seek the members of the Oracion Seis and the fugitive known as Jellal.”

“Denied,” Lucy said, unwavering. “We have no proof of your identity. For all we know, you could be a dark guild disguised as the Magic Council. Last we heard two days ago, the Magic Council was still undecided on members and recovering. You expect us to believe you’ve gotten your act together, re-certified the codex, reorganized the military forces, and have conveniently come right after the magic weapon known as Nirvana has finally been destroyed? Go to hell.”

It was the same way she had always stood up to Laxus. The same way she had pulled Erza’s sword over her own heart. Loke loved this woman.

“It doesn’t matter if you believe it,” Lahar said. “You will either turn the requested persons over to the Magic Council or we will be required to use the deadly force in order to complete our objective.”

“Yep, that sounds like what a dark guild would say,” Gray quipped. “We’re with you Lucy.”

“This party just took down one of the guilds of the Barum Alliance,” Lucy said. “You may have anti-magic specialists in your ranks, but are you really willing to go against this group right now?”

“For Magic’s sake,” a new voice declared. What looked to be Lahar’s second in command stepped forward. “You know me Lucy, now will you stop being a brat and let us do our jobs?”

Lucy flinched, but her stance tightened. Natsu read the same body language cues and coiled his body for a pounce. Gray was focused on the soldiers. Sorry Lucy, but she should have known better than to give him Natsu duty.

“No. Your appearance and supposed familiarity are not enough. Transformation magic is literally one of the most common types of magic. Four people in Fairy Tail alone could pull off a double like you,” Lucy said. “Set up a neutral zone. One with a sound barrier so that we can discuss matters in private.”

“Provision 262 of the magic codex of laws states that a citizen can require proof of magic council affiliation of any council soldier or their commander before being compelled to obey,” Loke said.

Lahar narrowed his eyes at him. “Provision 267(b) states that proof is unnecessary during exigent circumstances.”

“Lucy, may I?” Loke asked, because he hadn’t meant to speak.

“Go ahead,” Lucy encouraged, not moving.

“Exigent circumstances are defined as circumstances in which there is a danger to the public, a dark mage is fleeing, or there is danger of evidence being disposed of or obscured,” Loke recited with relish. “You have us trapped inside this barrier. No one is in danger, and we are asking nicely to talk. All of you will watch the rest of us with creepy intensity while you grant Lucy her private conference, so there is no danger of evidence being obscured. We just want to talk.”

“So, are we fighting or talking?” Lucy asked.

“Grant the audience Lahar,” his second in command advised. “They aren’t going anywhere, and we don’t want to make the new council members deal with a bloodbath if we don’t have to. You know that even if we will win, we’ll lose people.”

“Neutral ground conference granted,” Lahar said reluctantly, “Give us ten minutes to set up the private area.”

“Have some of your men escort the wizard Ichyia to the bathroom while you get set up,” Lucy instructed, still not moving aside from a slight roll of her muscles to keep her at the ready. “Despite me leading this initial interaction, we are a coalition. The Wizard Saint Jura of Lamia Scale, Ichiya of Blue Pegasus, Wendy Marvel of Cait Shelter, Erza Scarlet and Lucy of Fairy Tail will be attending the private conference as representatives of the coalition. Loke Heartfilia will attend with us as our legal representative.”

“Tell them the exact requirements for the neutral ground enchantment,” Loke advised, figuring he was allowed to now.

“The barrier must be privacy only, and not a physical barrier, we must be allowed to leave it at any point. The barrier must be big enough to accommodate all of our representatives. The barrier must prevent eavesdropping from the outside. The barrier may prevent the use of magic. The barrier must be opaque." No use letting Natsu read her body language during this, he'd start punching within minutes. "And no one but the selected representatives may enter through the barrier. The barrier will be along the border of our current enchantment. Anything I missed guys?”

“Your description seems quite thorough, I approve,” Jura said.

“I concur as well, though if we can hurry up the part where I am excused, that would be immensely appreciated,” Ichyia said.

“Proceed,” Erza said.

“No weapons of any kind should be allowed on neutral ground,” Loke said. “And physical or magical violence may be outlawed.”

“Add Loke’s terms,” Lucy said.

“You have too many wizards from Fairy Tail,” Lahar said. “Either you or Erza Scarlet may be allowed as the guild representative, but not both.”

“Erza?” Lucy said, turning her head to look at the woman. “You have seniority in both years and guild rank. What’s your call?”

“Both Master and Mirajane designated you as the dark guild expert in our team,” Erza said seriously. “Provided before you enter, you discuss with me the goals of our guild, you may be our representative.”

Lucy nodded and turned her head back. “I will represent Fairy Tail. Do we have our terms?”

Lahar was discussing things quietly and rapidly with two people around him, before turning back to her, “We accept your terms. The conference will be limited to thirty minutes upon all parties entering. Please send Wizard Ichiya to the border.”

“Oh thank goodness,” he said, tiptoeing to the border and crying in relief. At last Lucy relaxed her fighting stance, and everyone else did as well.

“Group huddle,” she called. “Everyone.”

Natsu and Gray closed in on Lucy, throwing their arms around her and bending over slightly to create a wall. Everyone else followed suit, except Midnight who was sleeping, now pulled off Erza’s back. Jellal and Erik did so with a kind of disbelieving shrug. Seeing Wendy pulling the wall down between Erza and Jura was absolutely adorable. With a sign from Erik, Cubelios slithered in an arc outside their circle, giving them an extra level of protection and badassery.

“Okay, I got us a private conference,” Lucy whispered. “There’s still some suspicion that they aren’t really the Magic Council, but there’s a good chance they’re legit. I do recognize the second in command. My guess is that they want to scapegoat Jellal for everything wrong with the last Magic Council and the etherion blast.”

“Am I a scapegoat if it really was all my fault?” Jellal asked tiredly.

“It wasn’t,” Lucy insisted viciously. “You and Ultear were two of ten council members, and it takes nine to fire an etherion blast. It was against national and international laws to even consider firing it at all, but they did it anyway. You were seventeen when they put you on the council and made you a wizard saint because you were powerful. They didn’t do a decent background check because they thought they could manipulate you easily. You were apprenticed when you were thirteen and Erza attacked you, revealing everything about who you were, and they believed a stupid story about you having a twin brother instead of believing Erza. Yeah, you did bad things, but they were the ones that decided to sacrifice every Fairy Tail wizard here based on unverified information, and I am not excusing them for that. We let the last Magic Council scapegoat Erza and it literally blew up in everyone’s face and nearly killed all of us.”

Jellal and Erza both seemed stunned at her onslaught.

“I know you two have enough history, drama, and pain to power several lacrima shows, but this time, it’s about something bigger than you." Lucy said, and shifted her gaze away from Jellal and Erza to Jura and Wendy, "It’s about holding the Magic Council responsible for their own fuck-ups. Natsu and Erza can tell you about the sham trials they put wizards on when they want a scapegoat. We didn’t do anything about Erza being the Eizenwald scapegoat, but we are not letting them get away with that this time, or they’ll just end up corrupt and incompetent. Again.”

“Um, Lucy?” Wendy hesitated. “I’m not so sure I should go in with you guys. I mean, I know my guild decided to send me, but that’s because my magic’s rare, not because I have authority in my guild or anything.”

“They chose to send you to be their representative among us,” Jura said. “That qualifies you to be their representative among the Magic Council as well. Correct me if I’m wrong, but from the stories I have heard, you know Jellal and do not wish for him to be put in jail?”

“Of course I don’t!” she said vehemently.

“Shhh,” Lucy reminded her.

“Of course I don’t!” Wendy whispered. “He’s done nothing but help us, and he saved my life. He can’t even remember all the bad things he’s done. How is he supposed to learn any lessons if he doesn’t know what he’s done wrong?”

“I have an idea about that,” Loke said. “From here on out, that’s not Jellal. That’s Mystogan of the Fairy Tail guild. We actually can't prove that you aren't Mystogan, outside of the word of Brain. And we’re traveling with Erik, Richard, and Macbeth, a group of freelance wizards that were treasure-hunting in the Woodsea and volunteered to help us take down the Oracion Seis.”

“No one is gonna buy that,” Erik said.

“Actually, we do have a mysterious member of Fairy Tail that goes by the name of Mystogan and bears a striking identical resemblance to Jellal,” Erza said thoughtfully.

“I remember,” Loke said with glee. “Mystogan can’t be Jellal, and we’ll all vouch that he’s Mystogan. Wendy will confirm he couldn’t have been at the Tower as a preteen because he was traveling with her. Mystogan’s jobs for Fairy Tail also put him with solid alibis against being Seigrain or Jellal. It’s the identical twin fallacy. We have all the evidence we need to keep him out of custody.”

“And the rest of us?” Erik said.

“I do not feel comfortable lying. As someone seeking to turn their life around, I wish to properly atone for my sins, and that means facing the reality of my crimes,” Richard said.

“The Council’s justice won’t redeem you,” Lucy said seriously. “They’ll use the capture of the Oracion Seis to boost their own image and competency without giving you a fair trial or actually putting in any effort. Redemption is out there, Richard. It’s fixing your mistakes by making it up to the people you hurt and doing good to fix the evil. It’s in collecting all the dark mages that used to be under you and setting them on a different path. Rotting in a cell for the Magic Council’s ego won’t redeem you.”

“This is unexpected, from the girl who sent the whole Eisenwald guild to the Council’s mercy,” Gray said.

“Yes, I did that, and the Council betrayed me by being corrupt bastards and ordering our death,” Lucy seethed, the radio broadcast announcing a moment of silence for her friends' death ringing in her ears. “Even now they’re trying to claim credit for work we’ve done without doing any work themselves. So they are going to lose this battle with us until they prove they can govern fairly. I’ve seen this before. If they don’t get their act together, we’re headed for war or someone else will jump in and taken them out like they did the last council while they are too busy plotting against us.”

“This plan has the added bonus that, hopefully assuming Hibiki hasn’t been questioned yet, no one knows the faces of the Oracion Seis,” Loke whispered. “You did good keeping your magic and faces in disguise. Just don’t mention the dragon slaying magic, okay?”

“What are we whispering about?” A face popped up between Erza and Jellal, making Erza jump back. With a glare from Lucy, she put her arm back around the sweaty man.

They filled him in, but he frowned, “I dislike these deceptions. Blue Pegasus wishes no ill will with the new Magic Council. I cannot support actions that create it.”

“Lamia Scale will side with Fairy Tail,” Jura said with a nod, “For as much weight as my word holds. There is the law and there is what is right. Sending these men behind bars without fair trial or acknowledgement of their redeeming acts is wrong. Our guild was dismayed at the circumstances of Erza's arrest as well, after our guildmaster had been saved by the strength and quick action of Fairy Tail. If they re-certified the old codex without taking the time to reform the flaws, that is exactly what will happen. Richard, you seek your brother. I’m sure your brother seeks you too. You will not be reunited if you are turned over to the Council now.”

“Wally,” Richard said quietly.

Wait a second… the Fairy Tail wizards thought.

“Blockhead?” Natsu questioned.

Erza reached out a hand to pat Richard’s shoulder, “I know your brother, Richard. Wally is currently traveling the continent with friends. In all fairness, he is not guiltless of crimes either, and we did not report him to the Council.” Her hand curled into a tight grip. “The Council left us to rot, three months ago and ten years ago. If they seek to punish us for the people we became in the Tower, the blame falls on them. I will stand for you and Wally.”

Richard was frozen. Then he dropped to his knees, tears streaming down his face.

Richard put a hand to cover his eyes, head bowed, “You know, every day in the darkness I’ve prayed for enough money to buy a miracle that would reunite me with my brother,” Richard wept. “It is app-appropriate, that I am finally granted my miracle on the day I turn to the light.”

“Ichyia,” Erza said, looking down at the short man beside her, “If any of these people get taken by the Council, I will be sad.”

“Well that’s a different story completely,” Ichyia said, cheering up. “Master Bob supports any action done for the happiness and wellbeing of a beloved honey. I will support this plan.”

“That was easy,” Natsu said. “And I get to punch them all out if they try to take them anyway, right? Erza, Gray, and I are on guard duty.”

“I can guard myself,” Erik said, with a hiss of agreement from Cubelios. “Blondie, they don’t plan on bending, especially Lahar. He think’s Jellal has the blackest heart of anyone that ever lived for taking down the previous Magic Council. Doranbolt has already used up all of his sway with Lahar just getting you this private conference.”

“That’s why we brought Loke in, he’s our lawyer. Plant enough plausible doubt and they can’t make their arrests. You remember the stuff you looked up for Natsu and Erza, right?” Lucy checked.

“I’m finally getting some benefit out of my education, but yeah. I can quote chapter and verse at them. Probably not better than Lahar, but he won’t be able to take total advantage of us hopefully,” Loke said.

“Okay, break,” Lucy said. Their arms dropped, Ichyia’s needed a little more force than the others, but together they faced the Magic Council and watched the lines of rune text slither onto the ground, a solid wall of repeated red text making the area opaque.

“Here goes nothing,” Loke said. “I really wish we had gotten the chance to sleep first.”

“Erza asked me how long she must continue to right the wrongs of this world,” Jellal said quietly to Lucy as he followed her to the edge of their barrier. “I thank you for helping her right this one.”

“The answer to her questions will always be this,” Lucy said with a smile. “At least one more. Just one more wrong to right. Will you tell her that?”

“I will,” Jellal said. “Would you like help checking the barrier to make sure they didn’t slip in any surprises?”

“Please,” Lucy said. “Loke’s right and we’re tired. I’d likely make a mistake by myself.”

“The conference room is ready,” Lahar said. “Please let the requested representatives step inside.”

“We are going to check and make sure you aren’t double crossing us,” Lucy said tiredly, “As is our right.”

Jellal only needed a minute at the barrier.

“They’ve included a truth telling spell for both parties, be prepared,” Jellal warned. “You may only tell the truth within these walls. It’s not compulsory, but no lies can be spoken.”

“Great,” Lucy said, straightening her shoulders. “We’ll tell the truth. So much truth they’ll choke on it.” She marched inside without looking back.

I’m going to marry this girl. Loke cheerfully followed her through.

 

 

They had set up eight chairs. Lahar, Mest, and some kind of clerk were sitting on one side, and Lucy took the center chair out of the five that faced them. Deliberately, before she sat down, she removed Erik’s jacket and placed it on the back of the chair.

“Miss Lucy, what are you doing?” Lahar asked, startled. “There is no need to disrobe.”

“It hurts to have the weight on my back,” Lucy said honestly. “I’m modest enough with my bandages, and I think it will benefit this discussion to give everyone a visual reminder what the guild wizards have suffered personally to take down the Oracion Seis and stop Nirvana. Not all of us are issued clothing with protective enchantments, Commander Lahar, if you actually are from the Magic Council.”

“You were made aware that we can’t tell lies within these walls,” Commander Lahar said impatiently, “I have the authority from the Magic Council that I have claimed.”

“Not good enough,” Lucy said. “Your dark guild could call themselves the Magic Council.”

“Stop being difficult Lucy,” Doranbolt said, with a sigh. “Congrats on your victorious battles,” here he held up the victory sign, “You’ve trusted me in the past, do it again now. And honestly, for all the pain you claim to have just gone through, one would think you’d be more ready for help. Sorry I’m not wearing red.”

“What is going on?” Lahar demanded.

“Lahar, meet Birdie,” Doranbolt said, gesturing towards Lucy. “Her record for the capture of dark wizards beats yours by twenty, so try not to get bent out of shape. Lucy is no friend to dark guilds.”

“She’s your source!” Lahar said, livid.

“That’s me.” Lucy said, keeping her anger to a simmer. “The Anti-dark Wizard Wizard, the Guardian Angel of Fairy Tail, and yet the Magic Council didn’t hesitate to sacrifice me and my friends the day of the Etherion blast. A few months before that, they actively and deliberately made my guild into a scapegoat after ignoring my warnings. And now they come out of nowhere, to a location they should not have been able to find, ready to take credit for both the destruction of the Oracion Seis and Nirvana to avoid doing their jobs. So tell me why the we’re having this conversation at all and why me and my friends aren’t finding a place to rest and gain our strength back.”

“Because you’re harboring criminals!” Lahar shouted, throwing his hands up into the air. “Justice must be done for the pain inflicted by Jellal and the members of the Oracion Seis that you are protecting.”

“We aren’t protecting any members of the Oracion Seis,” Lucy said. She felt a sizzle of warning from the runes, but there was no more Oracion Seis, there was just tired former slaves. She believed that with her whole heart, it wasn’t a lie. “Out there is Richard and Erik, two guildless wizards who helped us destroy Nirvana and take down the Oracion Seis, which puts them way above you in my book.”

“You are harboring Jellal! You claim to lay responsibility for the mistakes of the previous council at the feet of the new, yet you protect the truly corrupt member of the Council that was the reason for your suffering,” Lahar said. “Do not claim innocence in this!”

“Jellal doesn’t remember anything! You can’t punish him for something he doesn’t remember doing!” Wendy said.

“Ignorance is no shield from responsibility or justice,” Lahar said. “Codex 133.”

“Evidence of possession and compulsion magic is a defense,” Lucy said, eyes narrowing, “He displays all the signs of being under possession since he was a child. You know, when he was a child slave in a tower lying less than a day from Fiore’s shore that the Magic Council never found?”

“Tragic childhood does not excuse murder or the countless lives he has taken and ruined,” Lahar scoffed. “Just as ignorance does not. And do you have a name for the one who supposedly possessed Jellal?"

“No, but then, the law must make allowances for that, since most victims never do,” Lucy said.

“Anyone who talked to him in the Tower would be able to tell you that he believed Zeref to be the one whispering to him all those years,” Loke said. “You would also know that Jellal would have taken control of the Tower activities when he was eight years old. Do you honestly believe an eight year old could have done that without being possessed by some greater force? That an orphan with no education was able to see the Tower to completion?”

“Council Members reported no signs of possession while he served on the council, how convenient to suddenly find them,” Lahar said, slashing the air with his arm. “The Magic Council is a gathering of experts on magic and magical law, they would know the signs better than you, Lucy of Fairy Tail.”

“Would they?” Lucy demanded. “Because you claim they were experts on magic and magical law, probably accumulated through years of wisdom and experience. Then why did the council elect a 17-year-old they also decreed a wizard saint into their ranks? Why did no one question when Erza Scarlet attacked him for being the leader of the Tower, claiming his true name was Jellal? The answer is because they wanted to control and manipulate him for his vote. They aren’t gods, Lahar, stop worshiping them. They are politicians that wove their own destruction.

“You want to lay the etherion at feet of Jellal, but it took nine votes. Scapegoating Jellal now will do nothing but let the Magic Council continue to deny their own responsibility. I told them about Lullaby and Eisenwald, and I got a pat on the head and told to be on my way. I fixed it and saved the entire city of Clover with my friends, and Erza and Natsu got sent to jail. A rat in the Magic Council tried to resurrect Deliora, the Demon of Destruction. You know these are facts, you could say them in this space as easily as I am. Yet you still bow before them.”

Doranbolt placed a hand on Lahar’s shoulder and held out another toward Lucy, gestures for peace.

Lucy squashed the instinct to bite that hand.

“Lucy, I’m sorry that you feel the Magic Council has let you down,” Doranbolt said, while Lahar tried to retain control of his breathing. “But your issues with a corrupt, dead council are not what matters right now. What matters is that you have three members of the Oracion Seis and Jellal with you, and we have orders to arrest them for their crimes. That is all that matters. Don’t waste your thirty minutes arguing ideology.”

“Pardon me, good men,” Ichyia said, “But those men are not members of the guild the Oracion Seis. They are Erik and Richard and Macbeth, guildless wizards. Richard and Erik have provided assistance to this coalition. What makes you believe otherwise?”

Good form. Loke might be able to dance the truths and lies with her, but she hadn’t been sure about the rest of them. She trusted Jura to remain silent until he was absolutely sure of his words, but Wendy was held together with a determination made of glass and Ichiya is prone to exaggeration on a normal day.

To be honest, Lucy did want to debate ideology for as long as it took. That was the heart of the issue, the Magic Council not providing fair trials and avoiding responsibility for their mistakes was the reason it was morally wrong to turn over these people, and why they wouldn’t. The Council would prove themselves true, then Lucy would work with them again.

But Doranbolt was right, and their time for this was limited. Time for their final strategy.

“They are Cobra, Hoteye, and Midnight of the Oracion Seis, you cannot claim to have both defeated the Oracion Seis and be ignorant of that fact,” Lahar said coldly.

“Am I to understand that the Magic Council has maintained records and descriptions and identifications of the members of the Oracion Seis that they did not see fit to share with the magical guilds?” Ichyia said darkly. “Three members of Blue Pegasus are still hospitalized for attempting to obtain such information on our common enemies as their under guilds wreaked havoc through our cities. Answer. Did the Magic Council refuse to share crucial information regarding the members of the Oracion Seis?”

The council wizards were silent.

“Why would you do that?” Wendy cried, “We only knew a little bit, but almost died because we didn’t know more. So many of us were hurt, my guild was almost completely destroyed! Why would you keep information that might have helped us to yourselves?”

“You do not deny that those wizards behind you are the wizards known as Hoteye, Jellal, Midnight, and Cobra,” Lahar said, attempting to redirect the conversation.

Lucy stuck her arm out sideways, cutting off the others. “Those are guildless wizards known as Erik, Richard, Macbeth. They have never given us another name to use. They are Children of the Tower, and Richard and Erik came to our aid when they realized their abuser in the Tower, the Oracion Seis member known as Brain, was present. Erik began helping after I helped his friend Cubelios the snake and after Brain shot him in the back. Richard began helping upon realizing Jura meant him no harm. Hoteye, Midnight, and Cobra died in combat in the abandoned Nirvit city that became the weapon known as Nirvana. I suggest checking the wreckage for their bodies, and the body of Brain. Lay this to rest.”

“What about Macbeth?” Doranbolt said, focusing on them, “You claim help from Erik and Richard, but not him?”

“I have only ever seen him asleep,” Lucy admitted.

“That’s right,” Loke said. “He didn’t help, but we couldn’t leave him asleep on Nirvana, so we bound him for easy transport and took him with us.”

“You claim their innocence?” Lahar said, incredulously.

Lucy remembered Cobra whispering about just wanting to hear his friend as he fell, destroyed by a magic blast from Brain.

“No human is innocent of everything,” Lucy said. “But they have enough innocence to be worth fighting for.”

“Despite your claims, we will need to take them in for questioning,” Doranbolt said smoothly. “I’m sure if they are as innocent as you say they are, the Council will find no reason to keep them in custody."

"The Council will not give them a fair trial, not if you didn’t bother to review and modify the codex before reinstating it. You aren’t taking anyone,” Lucy held her ground. “Trust me on this now, and I might be willing to work with the new council in the future.”

“We will use deadly force to secure Jellal, do not doubt that,” Lahar said. “Do you want that Lucy? If the tired coalition out there falls in their protection of guilty men, will you bear that on your conscience?”

“Have you killed someone, Lahar?” Lucy asked back casually. “Are you going to order death to those under the protection of the coalition of guilds? To the people who stopped Nirvana and saved the world from being corrupted beyond their own hearts ability to refuse? Because that’s what Nirvana was attempting to do to Cait Shelter. Blacken their hearts into attacking each other and leaving a bloody massacre behind because they are the only wizards that knew the secret to sealing Nirvana.”

“Seriously?” the third member of the council team said. Lahar and Doranbolt levied glares at him.

“How about this? We give you Macbeth, he might be what you say,” Lucy negotiated, “We will also take you to where Brain is buried in rubble, where Loke left Angel powerless, and where Gray and Lyon dumped Racer. For each member of the Oracion Seis, you give a fair trial, allowing members of the coalition of guilds to testify at their trials, and the judge will be supplied from the Royal Courts, not the Magic Council. That is the deal we are prepared to offer.”

“I can’t promise that! That’s against the law, and you are harboring Cobra and Hoteye, they clearly aren’t dead!” Lahar said, pinching the bridge of his nose, “This is why I hate Fairy Tail. And you haven’t negotiated anything about Jellal, so I presume he comes with us.”

“You call him Jellal, but the Jellal you know died in the Tower of Heaven as it destabilized,” Lucy said. The man out there was a repentant, desperate amnesiac, not the same man from months ago. Who could still technically be Mystogan. “That face belongs to a long-time member of the Fairy Tail guild named Mystogan. Wendy will testify that when that man was ten years old, he traveled the country for a year with her, and was nowhere near the Tower of Heaven or the Magic Council.”

“That’s true!” Wendy burst out. “He told me his name is Jellal, but he couldn’t have done those awful things everyone says he did, he was with me! And I know him, he would never. Maybe he was named Jellal like a twin brother or something, and he used the name Mystogan because there was someone doing terrible things that looked like him. But he didn’t do those awful things in a tower! He was with me!”

“Identical twin,” Lahar scoffed, “You really think we’re stupid enough to believe that?”

Lucy snickered, “That’s the Magic Council you’re calling stupid, but we have all the proof we need. If you need Fairy Tail verification, go ahead and submit it through proper channels to our guild. It’s not a crime to look like criminal.”

“I don’t believe you. I have a warrant for the arrest of Jellal and I am not leaving without fulfilling it,” Lahar said, and the clerk produced the document.

Loke tilted his head, “Hang on, how did you know someone that looked like Jellal was involved in Nirvana? All the reports we submitted to the defunct council included the detail that Jellal of the Tower had died.”

“That’s right,” Lucy said, feeling a chill go down her spine. “The man out there was brought here by the Oracion Seis while in a coma. They must have believed he was Jellal of the Tower, not knowing about the unfortunate resemblance between Jellal and Mystogan. Wendy healed him. I went with him to destroy Nirvana with a circle of self-destruction.”

“A circle of destruction on the weapon Nirvana?” Lahar  “Jellal would never do that.”

"There you go," Loke said.

“Erik and Erza were there, can confirm if your own truth spell  on me isn’t enough for you,” Lucy glared. “Brain used to work at the Bureau for Magical Development, and was able to undo the circle of self-destruction that was placed on Nirvana, and finish activating it. Since Brain didn’t inform you about Jellal, nor any of the guild wizards that knew of his presence, nor any of the Oracion Seis, how did you know that he was here? And why did you believe it when all reports indicated that Jellal was dead?”

Silence for a full 30 seconds.

“Hibiki is an archive magic user,” Doranbolt said carefully. “All information in the archive is available to every user of archive.”

“You have magical tracers on my guildmates, on our Hibiki Lates. He would never store sensitive information in available spaces on the archive until after his comrades were out of danger. Even our communications weren’t stored, though they were actively hacked by the Dark Wizard known as Brain.” Ichyia said, and it was scary how serious his voice was. “Illegal tracers on citizens of Fiore completely innocent of even the shadow of guilt. You disgust me. You are guilty of every sin Fairy Tail has laid at your feet.”

Lucy took a deep breath and let it out while counting to ten. The Council wizards’ mouths were sealed shut by their own spell.

“Jura, Ichyia, Wendy,” she said as neutrally as possible, “Please extend to your guild masters an offer from Fairy Tail. We have a rune mage that is capable of laying an enchantment to clear off magical tracers. We have had its protection around Fairy Tail for a while and offer the same protection to our allies.”

"It will be Blue Pegasus's greatest honor to accept the gracious offer of the Fairy Tail guild," Ichyia said, striking a dramatic pose.

“I will inform my guildmaster of your offer,” Jura said, and Wendy repeated the formal language.

“When I accepted the 'no lies' addition to the enchantment you placed,” Lucy spat, “I did so with the intention of making you choke on your own truths. Never did I imagine you were so ready to push the corruption from the past council immediately into action. This is your last chance to accept the deal I have laid before you. Mystogan belongs at Fairy Tail; that wizard out there will come with us. You may tell your superiors that your information was incorrect.”

“When we find evidence that your guild is harboring criminals and wanted fugitives, your official status will be revoked,” Lahar said darkly, “And your entire guild will be subject to the justice of the Council. This is your last chance to prevent that outcome. Do you really have that authority to doom your entire family for the sake of three criminals?”

“No one is completely innocent,” Lucy said, feeling her magic blaze in her eyes in reaction to her feelings. “Especially not in our guild. Try and find legal evidence, and we’ll see what you come up with. Fairy Tail stands behind our offer.”

“Blue Pegasus stands by the offer made by the Fairy Tail guild,” Ichyia said, “We find the Council’s actions reprehensible and unbecoming of civilized society. Should the Council wish to avoid a fate similar to their predecessors, we recommend cleaning up your act. The parfume of humility would serve you well.”

“The Lamia Scale guild stands with Fairy Tail,” Jura said. “Never have I been so disappointed in those who granted me the honor of being considered a wizard saint.”

“Cait Shelter stands with Fairy Tail,” Wendy said. “You won’t hurt my friends and the people who’ve helped me and saved our lives.”

“You don’t understand, this isn’t a negotiation,” Lahar growled. “We cannot disobey our orders. The point of this conference was to prove our credentials and make you understand who we were taking into custody.”

“And you failed the second part,” Lucy said, clenching her fists. “Because I do not understand why you would take any of the people out there into custody, when you have multiple testimonies under dubious truth compelling magic that they are not who you claim they are!”

“Sir, five minutes left,” the clerk said nervously.

Erik, I don’t know if you can hear me, but it’s not looking good. We have good reason to fight though, the Magic Council is undoubtably corrupt. When I give the signal, start attacking, and I mean everyone.

If her thought message didn’t work, then it would be a dash between her and Lahar to see who could order their people first. Despite their anti-magic specialty, with Jellal, Jura, and Richard on their side, she liked their odds of escaping.

She did not like her odds of leaving the guildhall alive after she explained to Master Makarov that they resisted Magic Council arrest for the sake of Jellal, Erik, and Richard. He could technically remove her mark and disown her from the guild and throw Fairy Tail at the mercy of the Council if he disagreed with her that much. But that would be awful.

This bluff was her only way.

“You don’t have enough for probable cause,” Loke jumped in. “Reasonable suspicion doesn’t need evidence that will stand up in court, but all reasonable suspicion gets you is the right to look further into an issue. This conference is looking further into an issue. Probable cause requires evidence that is admissible in court. You need probable cause for an arrest, and with several testimonies of respected guild representatives saying otherwise under a truth spell, you don’t have it. Let it go for now, and you can come after us if you find probable cause.”

There was silence. The tent shook from a breeze outside.

“I don’t like you, Loke Heartfilia,” Lahar said.

“You’re just mad because you can’t trump everyone with tidbits of law like you’re used to doing,” Doranbolt said. “You can’t find a way around his logic, and the recording lacrima means we can’t claim ignorance. I think we should take four of the six Oracion Seis, thank the coalition of guilds, give them a warning that future action of this magnitude without Council consent will result in disbandment of their organizations, write the reports to initiate a follow-up inquiry, and call it a night.”

“You want me to leave Jellal free?”

“Jellal is dead,” Doranbolt said plainly. “I always told you I didn’t believe in resurrection magic. He took an etherion blast and the subsequent lacrima explosion at point blank. He’s dead.”

“He’s right outside!” Lahar insisted. “They’ve even called him Jellal because they can’t lie.”

“We’ll look it up with their guild. They aren’t going anywhere, and if they do, that’s probable cause,” Doranbolt said. “They run, we get Fairy Tail. They stay, we get Jellal and the last members of the Oracion Seis and Fairy Tail. We don’t lose here.”

“So glad to know how much you want us to face justice for saving the country,” Lucy spat, moving her arms and shifting position so everyone could see her bandages. “Thirty minutes are nearly up, what is your answer?”

Larhar trembled in rage, but the words were true as they came from his mouth, “On behalf of the Magic Council, I must accept your deal in order to maintain peace between the council and the guilds. Know that this investigation is not over and you are all forbidden from leaving Fiore or going where the Magic Council will be unable to reach you. Should you violate these orders, we will find your entire coalition of guilds guilty and you will be punished by having your legal status revoked and being sentenced appropriately. Do you understand?”

STAND DOWN! WE DID IT! WOOHOO!

“We understand,” Lucy said. “Jellal, also known as Mystogan among the members of Fairy Tail, will, of course, be resuming his work in Fairy Tail as part of our S class. Erik has expressed interest in shaking his guildless status and becoming part of Fairy Tail. Provided Master Makarov approves, you will be able to find him there. Jura, would you be willing to sponsor Richard’s membership into Lamia Scale?”

“I would be honored,” Jura said.

“No, they will join your guilds, or we arrest them right here,” Lahar said. “We must have a way to track them for the investigation. We are also authorized to make arrests should we expect suspects to flee.”

“Let’s offer that option to them, don’t you think?” Loke said.

“Time is up,” the clerk said. Lucy stood up from her chair, replaced Erik’s coat over her shoulders, and motioned for Lahar to follow her.

“Oh, one more thing, Lucy of Fairy Tail,” Lahar said. Lucy stopped walking at the edge of the barrier. “We will certainly request ‘Mystogan’s’ records from your guild. But all guild wizards are required to show proof of their affiliation upon request. I fully intend to ask to see ‘Mystogan’s’ identification. Should he be unable to show me,” His voice went low. “I will arrest everyone out there for aiding and abetting a dangerous criminal.”

The barrier vanished as time was up.

ERIK! FIND A WAY TO GET JELLAL A GUILDMARK. NOW OR WE’RE ALL DEAD!

“Loke?” Lucy tried.

Loke winced, “That’s the law. Refusing to show proof of guild affiliation would count as probable cause.”

“Very well,” Lucy said. So much for getting out of here without a fight. “I don’t know where Mystogan’s guildmark is located. It is possible it could have been removed by the Oracion Seis while he was in a coma, but let’s ask him.”

Lucy stepped out of the barrier, thinking as hard and clearly as she could at Erik.

Notes:

Lucy's gambit may have bought some time, but will it be enough?

Chapter 63: Magical Authorities

Lahar had six of his people follow him towards their friends, which was a little extreme, but they read her body language well enough not start attacking just yet.

“So here’s what happened, huge misunderstanding,” Lucy said cheerily, “They thought Erik and Richard were part of the Oracion Seis, so weird. Luckily we were all able to vouch for the currently guildless wizards, except Macbeth, they need him for their investigation. They’re still not totally convinced Erik and Richard aren’t members of the Oracion Seis, they have to stay above radar for a little bit and be part of a guild so the Magic Council can find them as they actually do a proper investigation. We were thinking Richard could go hang with Lamia Scale, while Erik comes with us and Mystogan to Fairy Tail! But we have to ask you guys of course.”

“It would be my honor to share my strength and love with my new friend in Lamia Scale,” Richard said with a deep bow.

“Let me guess, my other option is being arrested?” Erik snarked.

“We’d take care of Cubelios, if that’s your choice,” Lucy clarified for him. “We have a Vulcan problem in the East Forest anyway. You can make room at your house, right Natsu?”

“Umm, Cubelios doesn’t eat cats, right?” Happy said shakily, glancing quickly at Cubelios then away. “Cause I’d give her a really bad furball!”

“I won’t let her eat you, and Erik’s not gonna be hanging around with a dumb animal,” Natsu said, petting Happy. “She knows you’re not food. Right?”

Cubellios nodded her head, then looked with raised eye ridges at Erik.

Erik stared for a moment at her, then started laughing, “Hahaha, you win Blondie. I’ll join you at Fairy Tail.”

“And of course, we will have to verify Mystogan is who you say he is and not actually the terrorist Jellal Fernandez,” Lahar said stiffly. “Please show us your Fairy Tail guild mark, Jellal.”

“Of course,” Jellal said with slight bow. He pulled off his shirt, showing a lot of muscles for a guy who was in a coma.

He turned around.

A purple fairy sat in the center of his back.

Lahar snapped his head to Lucy, and she managed to raise an eyebrow at him, hopefully keeping the shock out of her face. It must have worked okay, because Lahar walked forward and ran his hand over the mark.

“It’s really there,” Lahar said with awe. Lucy was ready to laugh with relief, but kept it together. Lahar focused on Wendy, who had looked surprised at first, but now looked as fierce as chihuahua (poor girl really was too cute). Lucy, he probably suspected of getting around the truth magic, but Wendy’s account was as honest as you could get.

Plausible doubt, they had it.

Lucy won.

“Is that enough for you? Our man’s getting cold,” Gray said, bored.

“Oh, he can keep his shirt off for a little longer,” Lucy flirted, giving Jellal a wink. Loke, Erik, and Natsu snorted at Jellal and Erza's faces, and Lucy laughed, letting everyone relax at her joke.

“Jellal, known as Mystogan, supposed twin of Jellal," Lahar said, very not amused, "Please stay in close contact with your guild as well. You will be subject to further questioning,” Lahar “Thank you for your cooperation.”

Lahar repeated their deal, set it into contract for Lucy and the other representatives of the guilds to sign, and it was a lot of organizing. They took the bound Midnight away and their group split up. Lucy, Loke, Erik, Natsu, Happy, and Jellal went back into the ruins of Nirvana to recover Brain and show proof of what went down. Erza, Wendy, Carla, Jura, Ichyia, and Gray took the other knights to the Christina crash site. Next to the rest of their allies, Racer and Angel’s bodies were located so they were taken into custody too.

Brain’s body wasn’t found, but that was out of their hands for now.

 

 

 

Eventually both groups met up at the Cait Shelter guild, the Magic Council was finally sent on their way with several glares behind them.

In private, Erza demanded a full run down before letting Lucy go to sleep, which everyone else got to do.

“You overstepped your bounds Lucy,” Erza said with a frown. “While the Council’s behavior is disturbing, you’ve now put all of Fairy Tail at risk for people that aren’t a part of our guild and were, until recently, sworn enemies. It would have been better to let them be taken, including Jellal.”

“I disagree, obviously. We needed to take a stand and shine a light on the Council’s behavior before they start doing worse crap and all of Fairy Tail gets wiped out by an etherion blast next time,” Lucy said, exhausted. “I’m sorry I let you down, and I’ll take all the blame from Master for what I’ve done. But the other guilds stood with us, especially after Ichyia learned they had placed eavesdropping spells on Hibiki through the archive. Oh, I also offered to lend Freed out for anti-tracer and listening spell enchantments like we have.”

“Honestly, the worst part is that I don’t feel worse,” Erza said tiredly rubbing her forehead. “What you did was the wrong move and will have dangerous and escalated consequences, but part of me is just happy that Jellal isn’t disappearing again.”

“You of all people can be selfish sometimes,” Lucy said, nudging her shoulder. “But I think rest will do us both good. We can figure out how to make up for my blunders after some sleep.”

“You have a point, I haven’t been this tired since…well, taking out the thunder palace, I suppose,” Erza yawned. “Let’s go.”

“Wait, how did you get that guildmark on Jellal?” Lucy asked, holding her back. “I’m glad you did, but I can’t figure it out. Was Erik able to listen past the barriers?”

“It was obvious what our ruse was missing,” Erza said, yawning again. “Erik didn’t need to listen. As soon as you stepped inside with Loke, we started brainstorming. It was Richard that came up with the plan. Just as Natsu can control his fire into specific shapes, Erik can control his poison. You didn’t see it, but Erik was able to move a poison under Jellal’s skin to make the shape of our guildmark and hold it during inspection. He used a milder poison, kept it skin level, and Wendy healed the poison after the Magic Council left. He’ll have to get a purple guild mark in that exact location, but we made it work.”

“Awesome,” Lucy said with a tired laugh. “We’re going to jail, aren’t we?”

“Only if they catch us,” Erza said, uncharacteristically, “And the Magic Council is going to have to work a bit harder than they have been if they want to catch a fairy.”

“Erza?”

She shook her head, “Don’t mind me. I chose to support your decision, and I will. I have a repentant Jellal and my Fairy Tail family, and our new friends at the other guilds. It is more than enough for today. Let’s get some sleep.”

They made their way into the large front room and each grabbed a mattress pad and blanket provided by Cait Shelter. They had only had a short time to meet with the Nirvit descendants (they looked exactly like Lucy remembered) and had found the Nirvits to be a warm, happy people, even if their guildmaster did spit beer everywhere when he talked.

Dawn was an hour past, letting them see through the cracks in the screens covering the windows.

They were the last ones to claim a sleeping area. The sprawl of their allies covered most of the spaces on the floor, unfortunately. Even Wendy was out here, unwilling to say goodbye to her friends just yet. She was curled up with Carla in her arms and her back to Natsu, who was spread eagle and snoring. Erik was next to the wall on Wendy's other side, wrapped up in Cubelios. There was no corner of the floor that wasn’t going to have them sleeping very near at least one person.

Erza pointed to Gray and Loke, a good four feet apart, a gap for one of them to slip in.

Erza raised an eyebrow at her in the dark.

Lucy pointed to where Jellal was curled up in a corner just beyond Gray. He was easy to miss, so much smaller when he was asleep.

Erza’s eyes said “dare.”

Together they lightly tiptoed over the other bodies, everyone seemed to be sleeping with their guilds roughly, until they got to the far end of the room where their boys were. Now that they were standing there, both of them realized how awkward it would be to just…lay down. But Lucy yawned. Then Erza yawned, and they were too tired to be awkward.

Lucy slid in between Loke and Gray, careful of her back, while Erza laid down on the other side of Gray, curling towards Jellal. Then they let sleep take them.

 

 

Loke woke up briefly to a slight kick at his hip. He sat up, going for his keys, but it was just Lucy’s foot. She must have slipped between him and Gray when Erza finally released her from the debriefing. She and Gray were spooning, likely because Gray was a frozen teddybear and her back was hurting.

“Lucy…” he whispered, touching her arm, “Hey, Lucy.”

“Hmm?” she asked, cracking her eyes open.

“Go heal in the Celestial world,” Loke said. “I’ll contact you after breakfast so you don’t miss anything, but please. There’s no need for you to be hurting.”

“Everyone else is hurt,” she said quietly.

“Which means if something does happen, one of us should be healed. Go. It takes Taurus four hours to heal, so I’ll call you in four hours.”

She still bit her lip and didn't move.

“I know Gray’s a good cuddler, but Juvia’s going to try to kill you if she finds out about this,” Loke mentioned.

In dim light, Lucy flushed.

“I’m not scared of her, and I’m going to tell her off soon,” Lucy huffed. “She’s not allowed to be stalker possessive of Gray, that’s not healthy. I’m not fleeing because I’m scared of her, just to be clear. It’s because my back hurts, even with Gray icing it.”

“Thank you,” Loke smiled.

She gave him a smile back before leaving with a poof. Gray’s arm fell, startling him awake.

“Hmm? Wassat?” he asked, trying to sit up.

“Nothing, go back to sleep,” Loke whispered. “Lucy went back to the celestial realm to heal instead of using you as an icepack. Go to sleep.”

“Lucy…kay,” he said, settling back down. Loke was back to sleep a few moments later.

 

In the Celestial world, Lucy sighed as the wounds vanished. She removed the icky bandages, washed off, and then decided to put clean ones on where the wounds had been and dressed in a loose sundress, appropriate for her vacation.  

Her doorbell rang and Plue got up from the couch to run towards the door. Probably another Niccola come to play with him. While he was still climbing the little staircase near the door, Lucy opened it for him.

Plue jumped down to hug his friend, who hugged him back before turning to Lucy and holding out an envelope in a shaking hand.

Lucy smiled, patted the messenger on the head, and cracked it open while Plue started wrestling with his friend.

Leo the Lion has been summoned.

With a poof, she landed in the Celestial Spirit King’s audience chamber on one knee, a hand over her heart and head bowed.

“Leo the Lion, answering the summons of his Majesty, the Celestial Spirit King,” she announced formally.

“Rise, old friend,” the Kind said, from his grand throne. She stood, only coming up to the toe of his boot. “It is good to see you flourishing again.”

“I will never be able to express my gratitude for being given the chance to take up my responsibilities again,” Leo said with a smile.

Though his ears were far away, there was no need to shout to be heard by a god in his own court. A check up on her? She could handle that, it would even be nice.

“And your wizard? How is he faring?” the King asked.

Leo grinned, “He loves to step into dangerous messes, but I’ve managed to keep him alive through this last one. We destroyed the final weapon of the Nirvits after some dark wizards unsealed it. I was going to authorize Crux to examine the wreckage of the last and lost city for any tomes he would like to add to his library.”

“He will enjoy that immensely, it’s been a while since such an opportunity arose. Please, authorize that after this meeting,” the King said with a grin. His smile dropped a little, “I wish this was merely a social call, but there is something else I must ask you about.”

The hairs on Leo’s neck stood up. It had been a gamble, now the dice had landed.

Leo took a parade stances, folding her arms behind her back. Time to be even more clever.

“How can I assist you?” Leo asked.

“You spent time in the mortal world while uncontracted,” the Celestial Spirit King began, exactly where she hoped he wouldn't. Leo made herself not flinch. “While that is perfectly fine on its own, you used your uncontracted time in the mortal world to interfere in what was clearly going to be a historical event from the outset, involving two of the great powers of the land of Fiore. Part of the negotiations with the gods of earthland was that celestial spirits would not engage in such endeavors without being subject to a contract with an Earthlander. I would like to hear your version of what occurred.”

Leo nodded. “It is noted in my records that I remain a member of the Fairy Tail Guild, a wizard guild in Fiore that sheltered me during my exile. My guildmaster requested I personally aid other guild wizards in a mission to remove the threat posed by the dark guild known as the Oracion Seis, the first of the great powers of the land you referenced. I used my vacation time to handle my responsibilities under my secondary contract.

"I limited my abilities and strength to approximately what I used during the second year of my exile, when I first contracted with the Fairy Tail guild, just to avoid any complications with the subset of rules you are talking about. I can only assume the second great power of the land was the newly formed Magic Council, which again, involved no magic, nor knowledge not obtained from my time in Earthland. If there was a problem with my conduct, please advise me and I will make the necessary adjustments in the future.”

Leo bowed after finishing her report. Legally, she should be fine, if on thin ice. The only way she could be in trouble is if one of the Earthland gods had lodged a complaint against her for unauthorized interference, but since she had been contracted (albeit an unusual, not previously addressed type of contract) and she hadn’t blown up Nirvana all by herself, even a complaint from an earthland god should just get her a warning.

“I see, that should be fine then,” the Celestial Spirit King said, his shoulders and voice relaxing. “You have unique circumstances that the laws do not properly address, which means the others cannot forbid it without going through the proper channels. I will caution that an excess use of your own power in Earthland during a known historic event, even in the service of your guild, will likely have very poor consequences. You are already aware of that, hence your restraint. Of course, Eternal Law One supersedes all others, should you raise that as your defense.”

We do things we hate for the people we love!

It was a struggle to keep her face from growing hot, especially as he looked down at her knowingly. Denials would let him fluster her more, and would work against her in case she ever did have to make such an argument.

Which she wasn’t! Eternal Law One wasn’t going to happen!

Leo threw herself into a bow again, knowing it was as fruitless an attempt to hide her face as whispering would be to hide her voice here. Still, better than doing nothing in the face of his tease. Or his honest reminder. Maybe it was both a tease and an honest reminder. “I will consider your advice carefully should such a circumstance arise again.”

“I didn’t mean to embarrass you, Leo. However your relationship with the young wizard develops, I’m sure it will be a beautiful sight to behold," the King said.

“Your Majesty,” Leo whined, straightening up.

She was about to say more, when looking at his grinning, fluffy mustache reminded her this wasn’t Master Makarov and she cleared her throat instead of continuing.

“Um, my vacation time is limited, and I would like to get that authorization for Crux so . . .” she trailed off, cringing at how bad that sounded.

“You are free to go,” the King said with a wave of his hand, “It was a pleasure chatting with you, Leo, as always. Feel free to drop by any time. It is your right as leader of the Ishgar Sky, but never forget you are also my old friend, and I would love to see you for social visits as well.”

Leo softened and cupped a hand over her heart, “I would like that as well, old friend. But for now, I take my leave.”

She got out of there before he could tease her again.

Notes:

They did it! They got the grumbly magic council to leave them alone for now! Huzzah!

Lucy has finally gone back to heal, but oopsie, she's treading really close to acting as an immortal god in another realm's territory. That's a nono. But not quite over the line, good for her. Lucky that her god loves her so much, lol and is pretty chill about things.

Oh! I'm making a LokexLucy playlist on spotify! If there's a song that reminds you of this couple, let me know in a review please! It's a very short list as I am not a big music listener. I do recommend everyone check out Northern Star by Dom Fera though!

Sorry about posting this just before the archive shuts down for maintenance!

Chapter 64: Explanations

True to his word, Loke called Lucy when brunch was done with at noon.

“You still have your bandages on,” Loke said with a frown, “You shouldn’t have come if you were still healing.”

“I’m all healed,” she promised. “But, since you called me here in the laundry room, you’ve picked up that I don’t think spreading my status as a spirit is a good idea. Either I’d have to admit being immortal by coming back healed or I’d have to get an earful from Carla about letting Wendy heal me. These are all clean, no smells or irritants.”

“Blue Pegasus and Lamia Scale both know who you are,” Loke pointed out. “Do you think the Magic Council will come back and question you some more?”

“Sherri, Lyon, and Hibiki know who I am,” Lucy clarified. “I don’t think Jura does, or the rest of Blue Pegasus. Ren and Eve weren’t familiar with Karen, and I never saw Ichiyia, just heard about him. I don’t get the impression any of the people who do know about me were eager to play story time with their guild about our past meetings.”

“If you say so,” Loke said, shaking his head. “Anyway, Wendy was about to show us all Cait Shelter textiles, I figured you’d want to be a part of that. Some part of your vacation should be fun.”

“Oh, where?” Lucy asked, pushing out of the room and following the voices.

The girls and boys split, and Erza, Lucy, and Wendy had a blast looking through the designs rich in colors with bold geometric patterns.

“I’ve never seen work like this,” Erza admired. “Who knew such a gem was hiding in these mountains.”

“Wow, we are smaller than I thought,” Wendy said with a laugh. “Cait Shelter’s speciality is textiles, it one of the few things I thought we were known for.”

“Sorry, but I’ve never heard of Cait Shelter either before this coalition,” Sherri said. “And everyone in this village is part of the guild? And you never knew about their connection to Nirvana?”

“No, but I arrived a little later,” Wendy admitted, “I was raised by the Dragon Grandeena, then when she disappeared I traveled with Jellal for two years or so. He dropped me here to go take care of something. They might have been nervous to tell me because I’m not of Nirvit descent like the rest of them.”

“Never doubt that they trust you, they wouldn’t have sent you after Nirvana if they didn’t,” Lucy said from behind the curtain. “What do you think?”

Since Sherri went red and dark purple, and Erza went blue-purple, Lucy went yellow and red. It had been a while since she wore a calf-length skirt. She let it twirl as she spun to look at herself in the mirror.

“You look darling,” Erza said with a smile. “I’m sorry I wasn’t faster to prevent you from getting those injuries in the first place.”

“The look is a bit stifled with our bandages,” Lucy laughed, “But the detached sleeves are fun.”

“Not bad, for a puppet,” Sherri said, but it lacked the malice it had two days ago.

“And you don’t look awful yourself, for a Slaver,” Lucy said, with a small smile.

“Why do you two call each other that?” Wendy asked.

Sherri nodded at Lucy, acknowledgement that this was her business. Lucy nodded in gratitude back.

“It’s a long story,” she told Wendy. “Right now we should go out and meet the boys.”

They emerged and rejoined with their guildmates, Wendy leading them outside where her guildmaster was waiting to address them. If Lucy giggled to see Cobra and Jellal out of their sleeveless bloody muscle shirts and into bright t-shirts and patterned vests, that was her business.

Gray had found the approximation of his usual outfit in white and blue, Natsu was matching with Cobra and Jellal, and Loke was wearing a woven grass-green tunic that left him looking fine.

“Glad you could join us,” Loke flirted, “It’s always a pleasure to see your beauty showcased in a new style.”

“That style really suits you,” Eve complimented her.

“You all look fine, I guess,” Ren said, not looking at them. Sherri was purposefully not looking at him either.

“Lucy,” Hibiki said, nodding at her.

Lucy nodded back, “Hibiki.”

That was all that was said between them, but the lack of malice in her name was more than she had ever expected to get.

“Welcome, Wizards of the Coalition of Guilds,” Cait Shelter’s master began. “Fairy Tail, Blue Pegasus, Lamia Scale, not to mention Wendy and Carla. Today marks a glorious day. The true end to the evils of Nirvana and the Oracion Seis, as well as the saving of our guild. I believe I speak for all my people when I say that it is a brighter morn than any we have seen in a long, long time. I, Roubaul, also speak for the coalition of guilds to say that we are in your debt.”

“We were happy to help you, Master Roubaul,” Ichiya said with a dramatic bow and follow up dramatic poses puncturing every statement. “It was our duty, honor, and pleasure. A hard won victory against a ferocious opponent! But from the deepest depths of despair, a bright and shining light shone down upon us: it was True Friendship! We followed it all the way to Victory!”

“Well said Master,” the Trimen complimented.

“I think they’ve used that one before,” Gray whispered, making Lucy and Loke laugh. “The bright glow is from the spotlight he’s hogging.”

“Did he even fight anyone?” Loke asked.

“To be fair, I didn’t take down anyone either,” Lucy whispered.

“You took down the Magic Council, that’s more than enough,” Loke whispered back.

Beside them, Jura was having his own quiet conversation with his guildmates, telling them how proud he was of them.

Natsu jumped into the air, “We deserve a victory party!” he yelled. The Trimens and Ichyia took up the call, and Lucy, Gray, and Loke couldn’t help but join in the cheers. And planning.

“I feel I must apologize for concealing the true relationship between the Nirvits and Nirvana. I was negligent in my duty, please accept my sincere apology,” Cait Shelter’s master said, ending the party discussion.

“Aww, it wasn’t that big a deal,” Natsu said with a grin, “We don’t mind. Didn’t really change anything. We’ll listen now though.”

“That’s right Master,” Wendy said, smiling, “I don’t mind that you kept that secret.”

“It is important. Could everyone listen closely to the tale I am about to tell? First, it must be said that we are not the descendants of the Nirvit people, we are the Nirvit people. Over 400 years ago, Nirvana was fashioned by my own hands, a tool to end all wars.”

“400 years ago?” Happy asked. Other wizards murmured their disbelief.

“Hey Lucy, finally someone older than you,” Natsu whispered with a grin.

“I’m still older than him,” Lucy whispered back, “Now hush and let him speak.”

Out came the tale. How Roubaul had wanted to end the war by reversing the morality of those who were set on the destruction of others, but hadn’t understood the true balance of good and evil, light and dark. How the Nirvit people proceeded to tear themselves apart with all the darkness they had tried to cage.

Lucy overplayed the ending of his story with the history she remembered.

Running through those streets; she let herself see what she had refused to see before. The survivors she had seen weren’t broken and pitiful, they were angry. They attacked everyone that came through, even the women and children.

Even with that, she hadn’t expected Roubaul to be the only survivor. Lucy looked at the other members of Cait Shelter, and reached out with her magic sense.

For a magic guild, there were only two magic energy signatures Lucy could detect, coming from Wendy Marvel and Carla.

“Though, survivor is a little misleading,” Roubaul said, ignoring Wendy’s gasps and continuing to look at the ground. “My body ceased to function many years ago. What you see is a projection of the man I used to be. As punishment for my sins, I, a mostly powerless spirit, have stood as sentinel over my creation for 400 years, settled in this village of ruins. I waited for the one who would come and destroy Nirvana, and once and for all consign it to the pages of history.”

A curse for a broken law of magic. Mortals get cursed with unbearable immortality, while immortals get cursed with unbearable mortality.

Such is the balance.

“At last, my watch can end, as that person has been found,” he said, finally looking at Wendy, who was shaking with her hands clenched tight, eyes shut.

“No, why didn’t you tell me?” Wendy begged. “Why Master?”

There was the sound of a shimmer of magic, and slowly, the Cait Shelter guild disappeared before their eyes.

“What’s happening?” Wendy begged, “Why are you doing this?”

“I’m sorry Wendy,” Roubaul said. “I have deceived you, and for that I can never forgive myself. Your fellow guild members were creations of mine, specters. They were never real.”

“Are you kidding me?” Natsu demanded.

“Illusions with separate personalities and operations,” Lyon said, awed.

“The creation magic is unreal,” Erza murmured.

Jura added reverently, “This is a taste of the magic that created Nirvana.”

Roubaul continued his story, “For many years I kept a watchful eye over Nirvana from this deserted village. Isolated, until one young man brought a companion that needed assistance,” this time he was looking at Jellal, and Eve and Natsu moved out of the way to give him a better view. Jellal met the Roubaul’s eyes, steady as stone, “I had resigned myself to a lonely existence, but the sincerity and intensity of his eyes convinced me that I had to take this young one in.”

Roubaul looked back down at Wendy, who was openly crying, crying like Lucy had cried when Levy was better after Phantom’s attack. Openly and without shame. Roubaul used one hand to smooth down Wendy’s hair, and Wendy held it tightly to her cheek.

“The boy had told Wendy he would take her to a magic guild, but there wasn’t a magic guild for miles. I was his only option. Wendy wanted to be part of a guild so badly, I could not deny her after losing her dear companion. I filled this village with new companions for her, so she would not be alone,” Roubaul admitted.

Slowly the members of Cait Shelter guild faded into nothing, one by one.

“No one I care for is real!” Wendy screamed. She shoved Roubaul’s hand away, “How could you do something so cruel?”

Carla was clutching her head, trying to keep her tears back.

“We both know that is a lie, darling child,” Roubaul said, as the last of his apparitions disappeared. “You don’t need these imaginary friends anymore, you’re surrounded by real friends. And now that this young man has returned, I can be at peace, knowing you will be loved and cared for in my absence.”

“Master, you can’t leave us!” Wendy cried, even as Roubaul started to vanish.

“Wendy. Carla. You both have a brilliant future ahead of you, embrace it with open arms. I was happy to have your companionship for these past years, you made the unbearable bearable. But it is time for us to let go of each other. I hope you will forgive me one day, and if not, I hope this does not cloud your brilliant future. I loved you dearly, my dear children.”

 Wendy was left alone to cry, kneeling on cobblestones in her empty home.

Carla normally would have been the first to comfort her, but the cat was just as shaken, trembling where she stood, unable to even reach out a paw to her charge.

“MASTER!” Wendy pleaded through her sobs. Her guildmark slowly lifted off her arm, vanishing like everything else.

Jellal walked forward first and knelt down behind her, extending a hand to her shoulder.

“I am no substitute for what you have lost, and part of the blame falls on me for leaving you in a place of ghosts all those years ago,” he said solemnly. “But Wendy, of everything I have heard and learned about my past, you are the one person I truly helped in my life. You alone can tell me of one time in my life where I was good, where I was in the light with you, instead of shrouded in darkness. If I can choose who I become in the future, I wish to become the person you remember me being. We can never go back, but I ask you now, will you go forward with me?”

Wailing, Wendy threw herself into Jellal, crying into his chest. His smile was tender as he stroked her hair, offering what comfort he could.

When her sobs subsided, Erza when approached them and knelt down as well. “Come with us,” Erza offered. “I know well the pain of losing a loved one and a home. Come to Fairy Tail, and we will do our best to help you heal. I swear it.”

“She means you too,” Lucy whispered to Erik, who had his hand on Cubelios.

“You are the only one thinking that,” Erik whispered back, but he wouldn’t look anyone in the eye. And if Lucy was the only one thinking that, it was because everyone else could see he was already on his way to healing.

 

 

They left quickly after Cait Shelter disappeared. Wendy and Carla went to collect their few remaining possessions. It was decided that the ghost town wasn’t the proper venue for a celebration, so they said their goodbyes with affirmations of friendship and support.

The Blue Pegasus crew was heading back to Master Bob’s safehouse,

“After all, we need to fix the entrance because someone can’t take the time to open a door properly,” Hibiki said, glaring at Natsu, who pretended to have no clue what he was talking about.

Lamia Scale and Richard were heading overland to the West towards the nearest train station. Gray and Lyon braced forearms and traded remarks, while Lucy and Sherri traded insults that lacked the bite they had had before. Sherri did lean forward and whisper something in Lucy’s ear, and Lucy gave her a grateful smile in return just before they left. Loke guessed Lucy’s secret was safe for just a bit longer.

Jura shook hands with each of them, thanking them for their help.

Richard proceeded to gather them all in a giant hug, talking about all the love that was going to have to sustain him in their absence. Lucy giggled, while the rest of them groaned, including Erik.

“And Richard, if we come across Wally, we’ll let him know where you are,” Erza promised.

“As I have said, my debt to your guild for helping God give me a miracle knows no bounds,” Richard said, giving a final bow before leaving with his new guildmates. He was sure they all said their personal goodbyes to Wendy, mostly because he saw Jura give the little girl a hug, but then it was just Fairy Tail, new and old.

“Are we heading to the train station too?” Erik asked.

“We’ll stay as long as Wendy and Carla need to mourn before we go,” Erza explained.

“We’d like to go now, actually,” Wendy said, marching up to them. She took a final look around. “I don’t think we’ll be able to say goodbye more than we already have. I want…I want to do what Master said I should, and I want to start making memories with people that are real.”

“We should probably give Master a heads up about the Magic Council as soon as possible,” Lucy admitted.

“If you’re sure,” Jellal said, again putting a hand on Wendy’s shoulder, “Then we will leave now. If you ever want to return to mourn some more, I will accompany you.”

“Thank you,” she said, wiping at her eyes, “That means a lot Jellal.”

“So, train station?” Gray asked. “After saying goodbye, I’d kind of like to let Lamia Scale get more of a head start.”

“No need,” Wendy said, smiling. “It’s eight hours by train, and you have to make a bunch of switches, but Magnolia is only five hours away by boat down the Rabbit River. Cait Shelter-Cait Shelter won’t need the boat anymore.”

“Alright, we’ll go by ship,” Erza said gently. “Lead the way.”

It was a fifteen minute walk to the river and Jellal and Erza went with Wendy to figure out the controls.

“Alright, here looks good,” Natsu said, sitting down in a tight corner of the boat. “Mark me up Lucy.”

Lucy looked down at him, “No.”

“What? Please!” Natsu begged.

“I told you not to run away during our planning session, and not only did you attempt it twice, but you actually succeeded,” Lucy said, hands on her hips. “Five hours seasick should teach you to listen when I say sit down, shut up, and help us come up with an actual plan.”

“You’re so cold,” Happy said.

Natsu started to beg, but the ship swayed and he fell over sideways, holding his stomach.

“Serves you right,” Gray laughed. “I’m going to explore a bit. Let me know if anything interesting happens.”

Loke noticed Erik looking a little green, but he was a sight better than Natsu, so he let it slide. Lucy went exploring with Gray. Erik and Cubelios took up a spot near the bow, and Happy and Carla did their little routine of Happy pouring out his soul and offering her fish, and Carla declining.

Loke found an empty room and pulled out his current double key ring.

He separated out the keys he had gotten from Angel, there looked to be less keys on it than he thought there had been during their battle, but before he could decide who to summon first, all five of them appeared. Gemini, Aries, Scorpio, Chisel, and an upright fox he could only assume was Vulpecula.

“Oh, I was just about to call you guys,” Loke said. He took their keys off the ring and held them out to each spirit. “Here you go.”

“You don’t want to work with us?” Scorpio asked, confused.

“I would love to work with you,” Loke said, still holding out the keys. “You seem like really cool people, but that’s not why I took your keys from Angel. I only work with spirits who want to work with me. I know you must have had it rough,” his eyes slid to Aries, “So I’m giving you your keys back. You can decide to contract with me, or take a break from having a wizard, or I’ll take your keys wherever you want to go. Another wizard or another place, just say the word. Think of it as an apology on behalf of crappy celestial wizards, if I’m allowed to apologize for them. You aren’t tools or pets, and I’m sorry you’ve been treated that way.”

There was a slight buzzing from his hip where the rest of his keys sat, probably Aquarius screaming about how dare he push her boyfriend away, but this wasn’t about Aquarius.

Gemi was the first to take their key, followed by the others. Then Mini pressed it back into his hand.

“We want to make a contract with you,” Gemi asserted.

“Yeah, like we said, we admire how much you care about your spirits.”

“We’re not going to give up the chance to work with you.”

Aries pressed her key into his hand next, giving him a soft smile, “It will be good to have a wizard that calls us people. I would like to share a wizard with Leo again.”

“Kid, a wizard like you doesn’t come around every day,” Scorpio said, getting him in a headlock and giving him a nuggie, “And don’t you dare try to get me in trouble with my Lady Love. Accept the contract.”

“Scorpio,” Loke whined, “Don’t! It takes so long to get my hair right! Fine, I accept your contract! Let go!”

Scorpio stepped back with a grin, and Loke turned to Chisel and Vulpecula, “What can I do for you guys?”

Writing appeared on the metal surface of Chisel, stating he would also like a contract, listing his available days as every day except Tuesdays and Thursdays.

“Alright then,” Loke said, letting the key drift back into his hand. He turned to the last spirit, “And you?”

Vulpecula had his head turned to the side to eye him suspiciously. “Drop my key in the forest and never come back for it.”

Loke nodded. “Is the East Forest near Magnolia dense enough? Or we can make a detour to the Woodsea, that place should be a lot better now that the Magic Council has cleared it of dark guilds and Nirvana is gone.”

“The East Forest sounds fine,” Vulpecula said. “If you actually decide to do it. I’ll be waiting for you to keep your word.” He vanished, and Loke set up contracts with the others.

He did ask Aries to wait a moment, letting Chisel, Scorpio, and Gemini vanish.

“Do you mind being here when I tell Lucy about our contract?” Loke asked. “I think she still has a lot of emotions about what went down with Karen, and seeing you here with us would help her.”

“Oh, of course,” Aries said. “I thought she was on vacation.”

“Maybe you can convince her,” Loke said dramatically, “But I’m pretty sure Lucy intends to use all her vacations to help me and Fairy Tail fight dangerous enemies. Can you convince her that she needs some time to herself every once and a while?”

“Sorry, but you might have noticed, Leo’s a bit stubborn,” Aries said, hiding a smile.

Loke laughed and showed her the way to the deck where Gray and Lucy were chilling.

“Aries!” Lucy said, jumping up to hug the ram. “Does this mean you’ve made a contract with Loke?”

“I did,” she said, blushing. Then she started crying, “I was so scared I was going to hurt him when you didn’t answer your summons. Sorry!”

“Hey, hey,” Lucy said, holding her close. “It’s all right. I know what I’m doing this time. You did everything right.”

Lucy comforted Aries and led her at little ways to the side for some privacy. Lucy did manage to shoot Loke a grateful smile, and an ooey-gooey warmth filled his chest. They hadn’t had a chance to talk about it, but he wasn’t going to let Lucy go now that she’s admitted she loved him. But he had all the time in the world for that, right now, Lucy and Aries needed some closure.

“So, got some more weirdos to help you,” Gray asked.

“Yep, more weirdos to help out the weirdos that break into my house and eat my food,” Loke teased. He flashed Gray the new keys. “The Ram, the Scorpion, the Twins, the Chisel.”

“Aren’t there only twelve gold keys?” Gray asked. “At this rate, you’re going to have the whole sky working for you.”

“Almost,” Loke mused, holding out Vupecula’s key, “Only if they want to. This one’s going somewhere random in the East Forest. They need a break from humans for a while.”

“If I was stuck working for the Oracion Seis, I would too,” Gray said. “Do you think Lucy’s going to stay out her full week?”

“Well, she is the one that’s going to be explaining our three new members to Gramps,” Loke said, “Depending on how that goes, she might need somewhere to flee.”

They looked over the different parts of the ship where their friends were grouped together. The wind in their hair and the fresh breeze was a wonderful feeling. Wendy's voice added to the calm as she cheerfully explained where the ropes were stored for when they docked again.

“We’re going to have to really watch out for Wendy, aren’t we?” Gray said, “The kid is gonna need it.”

“Definitely,” Loke said. “I remember being her. My dad didn’t die and my friends didn’t vanish, but none of them were quite real either, after my Mom died.”

Gray frowned, “We’ll have to watch out for Erik too, the Tower messed everyone up, but to be under Brain’s own thumb probably made that even worse.”

“And Jellal,” Loke said, putting a hand to his head, “Though we’ll have to watch out for Erik and Jellal betraying us as much as we’re going to have to watch out for people looking to come after them.”

“More Orphans,” Gray sighed. “No matter how mad Gramps is going to be that we played chicken with the Magic Council, he won’t turn any of them away. So long as they don’t betray the guild or anything, but he’s got a good sense for that.”

 

 

 

“Hey Master,” Lucy said nervously. “So…it’s a long story.” Behind her were the four people she wanted to make members of Fairy Tail, along with her team, who were absolutely hiding. Oh, and the giant flying snake.

Lucy was really glad they had snuck through the back and up to Makarov’s office instead of going straight through the guild. Luckily a magic note had made sure Master was in his office for their arrival.

“I see you have brought some new people back with you,” Master said, eyeing their group suspiciously. “Let’s start with that.”

“Right,” Lucy said. “So…they’re looking to join Fairy Tail! Isn’t that great? Wendy is a sky dragon slayer and practices lost healing magic. She’ll be a super big help. Carla is a talking, flying cat like Happy. They were part of Cait Shelter, but are looking to join Fairy Tail now! Cait Shelter had to disband, I’ll tell you about that later. Then there’s Erik and Cubelios, a poison dragon slayer and his friend. He’s a dragonslayer with a lacrima forcibly implanted in him, like Laxus. The man next to Erza is Jellal! But he’s had his memory wiped, and we kind of convinced the Magic Council that he’s our Mystogan, sort of, so can we get them the paperwork and their guildmarks?” She gave her best smile.

Master Makarov looked over her. Then the four new members. Then at the rest of her team, who were giving their best big smiles.

He reached into his desk, pulled out a bottle of drumfruit wine, poured himself a very full glass and drank it all down.

“Lucy, you are getting very close to becoming the child responsible for the majority of my headaches, and you are competing with Natsu and Laxus,” Master Makarov told her. “Start at the beginning.”

He stopped using the glass and was drinking from the bottle by the time she was done.

Pinching his nose, he said, “Alright. Be welcome, new members of Fairy Tail. Jellal, Erik, I’m going to ask to see you separately after I question Erza and Lucy further. Natsu, Gray, and Loke, you are dismissed, please help Mira get them situated with paperwork and guildmarks. Wendy, we have a vacancy at Fairy Hills. Jellal, Erik, I have no idea what to do with you two.”

“Err, I still have the contract with my old place,” Loke volunteered. “It’s a bit of a dump, but clean enough and has two bedrooms. You guys can share that until you figure out something else.”

“Thank you for volunteering that,” Master said. “We will decide if they need a closer watch after we finish talking, please be dismissed now, except Lucy and Erza. Do not leave, any of you. Jellal, I would prefer if you went by Mystogan for the moment and explain your amnesia as the reason you are going to be spending more time in the guild.”

The boys and Wendy left, and Lucy flinched when Master activated the silencing runes on his office door.

“WHAT WERE YOU THINKING! OF ALL THE—” Master went on for about ten minutes, making Lucy feel smaller and smaller as he went off on how stupid they were for pissing off the Magic Council like that, but he eventually calmed down.

Exhausted, he flopped backwards, “Now that that’s out of the way, you kids did good. I needed to get that out, but I know, really, your options were limited. There’s only so much you can do when attacked from all sides. But I thought Gajeel was going to be a project. Now we have a corrupt former Magic Council member that could regain his memories at any moment and a former member of the Oracion Seis, a dragon slayer, that the best can be said of him is that he didn’t leave Lucy to struggle after she didn’t abandon him. Erza, I trusted you to cooperate with the authorities.”

“I’m sorry for failing you Master,” Erza said, head bowed.

“You could kick me out,” Lucy said, on the verge of weeping. “I was the one that refused to cooperate and made everyone else angry enough to keep them at odds with the Council too. It’s my signature on the contract. Turn them over, kick me out, and you’ll only see me as Loke’s combat spirit, I swear. I’m sorry for bringing you so much trouble.”

Master gave a startled laugh, “Ha, didn’t even cross my mind. After everything we’ve done to keep you with us, you think I could ever bring myself to abandon you now? No child, you warned me that you didn’t want to go on this quest, that you and Loke weren’t good for it. That your judgment would be compromised. I didn’t listen.

“We’ll deal with the Council as they comes. We may all end up arrested, but honestly, that can’t last for too long, we pick up too much of their slack. And if you and Erza both vouch for these ex-criminals, that’s more than I had with Gajeel. I will interview them and see what I see. Go send Erik up here. Does his snake talk? God, what is my life?”

“Cubelios is intelligent, but I don’t think she’s verbal,” Lucy offered.

“Go.”

 

 

Erza and Lucy came back, and Lucy was nearly crying as she put her head on the table, “I disappointed him,” she whined.

“Well the rest of guild seems fine with things,” Natsu said, looking around. “Two more dragon slayers and Mystogan showing his face; they’re thrilled.”

“Hopefully this will help you learn when to choose your battles, I certainly won’t be giving up my representative authority for a while. I don’t think you’re going to be selected for S class this year though,” Erza said, sitting next to them. Erik had gone up to Master’s office with Cubelios.

“I didn’t want to be S class,” Lucy cried, “I wanted him to proud of me for getting those corrupt hacks to shove off!”

“I’m proud of you,” Loke offered. “And plenty of people would be proud of you if they knew everything that happened. Remember, you still have three days of your vacation time, you can be by yourself in the celestial realm if you want.”

“Gramps is going to make us responsible for them, I just know it,” Lucy said, turning her head to look at where Jellal was looking perturbed at the rate Cana was drinking alcohol. “Erza’s going to be on Jellal duty, which will put you and me on Erik and Cubelios duty. The Magic Council is going to skin us for this.”

“I’d like to see them try,” Natsu said, punching his hand into his fist.

“Maybe we’ll end up an independent guild like Raven Tail, wouldn’t that be ironic?” Lucy mused.

“Raven Tail?” Loke asked.

“It’s a guild that was started by Master Makarov’s son after he got kicked out a while ago,” Erza supplied. “They don’t answer to the Magic Council, making them technically illegal, but they don’t answer to any of the Barum Alliance either, making most people identify them as an independent guild rather than a dark guild.”

“That doesn’t sound so bad,” Loke said.

“They legally can’t take jobs,” Gray said. “It’s bad. We’d have to really mess up if we arrive at that point. Gramps would turn over us and Mystogan and Erik before letting it come to that, like he kicked out his son and Laxus first.”

“Got it,” Loke said, “Low profile for a while. No waves. Prove we can be good little wizards.”

“That would be ideal,” Erza admitted, “But we don’t exactly have a good track record for that. No use worrying about the future we can’t control though.”

“Right, so did Jellal take off his shirt in front of the guild to get his mark?” Lucy asked, turning to Loke with a smirk. “How much competition does Erza have?”

“Lucy!” Erza said, glancing around.

“Here I thought you this guild would be immune to shirtless guys considering Gray,” Loke said, “But he did get a few appreciative glances. Mira certainly wasn’t upset.” Erza made a small growl, setting off a round of laughter.

Erik came back looking slightly confused. “Mystogan, the old man wants to see you next.”

“Of course,” he said, standing up. To Cana he said, “It’s been…interesting, making your acquaintance.”

“Don’t be a stranger,” Cana said with a wink.

He turned and left, and Lucy motioned for Erik to join them. “So, what happened?” Lucy begged.

“Well, he was three sheets to the wind by the time I got up there,” Erik said. “He always like that?”

Erza sighed, “Only when under an excessive amount of pressure.”

“Huh.”

“He’s always under an excessive amount of pressure,” Gray clarified for him.

“Well, around the drunk hiccups, he made me promise not to break any more laws or he’d personally break my neck,” Erik said. “Also said that if I mess up big enough, it will be on blondie’s head here. Seemed to think that would deter me more than any physical threat.” He smirked at Lucy. “So, how does it feel to be at my mercy? Still feeling forgiving?”

Lucy’s hand snatched his nose, making him squeak. She didn’t quite know what to do with him, but after listening to Natsu talk about their fight she knew the only way to touch him was on instinct.

Her instinct was apparently to pinch his nose.

“Be nicer to me. I saved you from rotting in the Magic Council’s prison. And if you’re really mean to me, I’ll tell Cubelios. She likes my stories, and I won’t tell her anymore if I get in trouble with Master because of you,” Lucy threatened. He gaped at her for a moment, and Lucy let him go.

Natsu laughed, “Learn it quickly, don’t mess with Lucy.”

“Anyone ever tell you you smell weird Blondie?” Erik asked, waving her scent away from his nostrils.

“Once or twice,” Lucy said, “Other dragon slayers, mostly.”

“Wait, you didn’t have a dragon to teach you, right?” Natsu checked.

“That’s right,” Erik said slowly, “Just the lacrima and Brain.”

“Then it’s settled, I’m going to have to teach you what you should have learned from a dragon,” Natsu said, clapping his hands. “We’re going on a hunting trip. When are you free Loke?”

“Shouldn’t we take a paying job first?” Loke asked.

“And the Rainbow Sakura Festival is coming up, so jobs are going to start drying up soon,” Lucy pointed out. “We also have to consider that the more hunters we have, the bigger hunting grounds we’re going to need. It’s going to take some planning. We can invite Wendy and Gajeel too, I’m sure they miss hunting.”

Natsu rubbed his chin, “Good points, though we can leave metal face out of this.”

“Natsu,” Lucy scolded. “At least make the offer.”

“Does that mean I can turn this down?” Erik asked drily. “I’ve made it this long without hunting like a dragon, I think I’ll be fine.”

“You have to go at least once,” Natsu insisted, “You have to know what you’re missing out on before you decide. And I figured it out. Every year after the Sakura festival, a job gets posted to handle the Elibye problems outside of Rose Garden. You get 10,000 Jewel for every Elibye skull you bring in. They taste pretty good, but are a challenge for non-wizards to hunt because Elibye have Elemental magic. We’ll take the job as a group, get some good hunting in, teach Erik how to hunt like dragons, and get a decent reward.”

“Why are you getting dragged into this?” Erik asked Loke, “You’re a celestial wizard, aren’t you?”

“Lucy and my spirit Canis Major like to go, they hunt enough like dragons that it’s fun to hunt with Natsu,” Loke said.

“You and Blondie are an item?” Erik asked, quirking an eyebrow. Loke tried to think of how to explain him and Lucy, but he took a second too long and Erik shook his head, “Didn’t think so.”

“I was going to say that that’s a question for Lucy at the moment, isn’t it?” Loke asked, giving Lucy his most charming smile and leaning forward. “Why don’t we talk about it tonight over dinner. We can talk about what you meant when you told Sherri that you loved me,” he shot her a wink.

Lucy immediately flushed, red crashing through her cheeks.

“Well, I—uh, you see, about that—I'm busy tonight."

"Later then, when we have a moment to ourselves," Loke said with a smirk.

“Mystogan,” Erza said, standing up. “How did it go with Master?”

“I’m approved, I suppose,” Jellal said, looking bewildered, “I…I am uncertain of exactly what just occurred. I believe I was ordered to stay with Erik for the time being, and take all of Erza’s team if I intend to leave the city.”

“That’s about the same rules I got,” Erik said. “So where’s this place of yours?”

Lucy left while they were getting Jellal and Erik set up, but Loke knew where and when he wanted to have his talk with Lucy: The Rainbow Sakura Festival.

Notes:

A longer chapter after all the short ones.

Lucy and Sherri don't like each other, but have come out of this not enemies, so that's good; Wendy and Carla are traumatized way more than anything Brain could have done to them; Master realizes exactly exactly how much damage Lucy can do when he asks her to do something she doesn't want to; the crappy apartment goes to the new roommates of Jellal and Erik; and Loke starts making his plans for a Romantic ConfessionTM and the start of his happily ever after. There is a lot going on in Fairy Tail, as usual.

Let me know what you think!

Chapter 65: Wendy, Erik, and Jellal's first job

Cobra never slept well in cities. Dreams were muted thoughts and were nothing more than white noise, but in cities, someone was always up and there was no quieting the noise unless he took special dose of Cubelios’s poison to knock himself out.

Not ready to be that kind of vulnerable in front of an amnesiac Jellal or whenever Fairy Tail felt like barging into his new place, Cobra closed his eyes and tried to sleep anyway.

Should probably go back to thinking of himself as Erik, but that wasn’t going to be as easy as Lucy was pretending it would be.

Erik was the small boy curled up behind a rock, tiny snake wrapped around his arm, wishing he could speak to his friend.

Erik wasn’t a poison dragon slayer.

But Erik wasn’t on the Magic Council’s Most Wanted list, so Erik it was.

Hopefully fairies slept in.

 

 

It was . . .oddly easy to settle into a normal town. He’d always thought Cubelios would make that impossible, and yeah, some people jumped when they saw her, but Cubelios stuck close to him and he had a fairy printed on his neck. That excused more oddness than was probably healthy for the people of Magnolia.

Blondie and Loke helped him get a better wardrobe and stock the panty, while Titania took on Jellal babysitting duty.

Jellal was lost. The depressing melancholy that seemed to haunt the man was uncomfortable to be around. The guy didn’t even remember what there was to feel sorry for. And why that seemed to be the root of problem wasn’t worth figuring out. Unfortunately, as the oddball newcomers, Erik wasn’t able to ditch him entirely.

“Alright, Erik, Mystogan, we have a job,” Erza said. “Think you can handle some ice wyvrens?”

“Tch.”

“Large, vicious, live high in the mountains, slay approximately fifteen people every year?” Jellal checked.

“Those are the ones,” Erza said happily. “Two jobs came in, one requesting herbs that grow in their hunting grounds and another that pays per wyvern scale. Since both of you are restricted to taking jobs with our team, this is the best way to start up some income at the same time. Once you have something to start, then we can see about taking jobs in smaller groups.”

“Um…excuse me,”  the kid said, tugging at Erza’s elbow. “Would it. . .uh . . .”

“Speak up child. You must learn how to ask for what you need,” the white cat scolded the girl.

“Right,” the kid nodded. Inside she was still trembling, whispering the word please over and over again in her head, but she managed to pretend to be confident long enough to ask, “Is there room for one more on your job? I don’t think I’m ready to take a request on my own yet, and you guys . . .” are the only ones that know. Are the ones that I trust PLEASE.

“The kid can take my spot,” Cobra said. “I already have enough money for myself.”

“Oh?” Erza asked.

“Ah,” Jellal said, putting together Cobra’s late nights and the poker chip Cubelios had hacked up that morning. “Are you sure that’s how you wish to support this opportunity?”

Jellal was preparing a sermon in his head about not abusing the kindness of the guild that stuck out their neck for them. Of the opportunity to be someone that people would hesitate to stab in the back. He finished the mental scolding with thoughts of Lucy’s disappointed face, realizing she had risked the people she loved for a false hope and a con artist.

“Alright, quit it,” Cobra grumbled. “I’ll go on the stupid job. I clearly have no sense of self-preservation. Let’s go to freezing cold weather to fight nearly indestructible monsters. Why. Freaking. Not.”

“Alright, we leave in the morning,” Erza said, clapping her hands. “I predict this job will take about four days, putting us back in time for the festival. Train station, eight o’clock.” She turned to leave, planning how she was going to explain the group to Mirajane, but stopped. “Oh, and Erik? I know it is not a rule that you are used to, but please remember that using magic for personal gain against non-wizards is against the law. I wasn’t sure you were aware of that one. Please remember it.”

Jellal was impressed by Erza’s reasoning skills and spent way too long looking at her. Cobra had missed how Erza had figured out about his gambling, unless she simply read the disapproval on Jellal’s face, but it didn’t spell good news for him either way.

 

The next morning, three dragon slayers, one ice wizard, an amnesiac, two cats, a playboy, and a fairy queen got on a train. It sounded like the beginning of a bad joke that only one person would ever think was funny and required too much context for anyone to tell correctly.

“Is Lucy not coming today?” the kid asked.

“She said Natsu has to suffer without her for a while longer,” Loke said cheerfully. “She’ll meet us there, but didn’t want to pay for the train ticket.”

Then how is Blondie going to get there then? Loke was too busy being happy the kid liked Blondie to answer his question in his thoughts, and Cobra certainly wasn’t going to ask.

Loke pulled out a novel and started reading it, Ghostwatch. Cobra tried to spend the train ride in his head. It was better than the cats and little girl talking about sweets, Erza and Jellal’s flirting, or Dragneel’s pathetic moaning. Fullbuster immediately fell asleep somehow, lucky bastard. Unfortunately, Cobra’s own motion sickness kept him from escaping anywhere, even mentally, and he only caught tidbits of the novel.

He didn’t even have Cubelios to help, she had given him a flat out “no” when she realized how cold it was going to be there. Cubelios wished him luck and went to hunt forest Vulcans and nap until the flower festival.

Which she wanted to attend for some insane reason. Probably to taste the so-called rainbow sakuras. He’d probably try a bit as well. Crap, he couldn’t think about food on a vehicle.

Next order of business: become trusted enough to take solo jobs.

So three hours of hell passed before they reached the right mountain. Then a two-hour hike to border village and meeting the clients for additional details, maps of the hunting grounds, and additional information on last known locations.

Then another two hours to find the traveler’s shelter just outside the wyvern hunting grounds.

“So, are we trying to attack the nest, or are we heading for the herbs and taking on whatever tracks us down?” Fullbuster asked as they sat around the fireplace inside the shelter.

“I suppose it would make sense to split the group since there are so many of us,” Erza said, tapping her chin. “One group for fighting wyvrens, one for collecting herbs.”

“I should probably be with the group collecting herbs,” Wendy said. “But I heard that snow can get unsettled and cause an avelanch in this area, so we have to be careful.”

“We will need to keep the battle contained so it does not disturb the herbs,” Jellal said. “Though the herb is not known for growing particularly tall. If there is a patch of it visible, the snow won’t be that thick. Natsu can do snow control with his fire.”

“Better leave that to me or the herbs will be the next round of kindling,” Fullbuster said, before Natsu could even begin to whine about wanting to fight. “When we find an herb patch, I can set up an ice shelter so no one gets buried. Natsu can help dig them out after the fight’s over if they need it. I’ll help scout and set one up before joining the fight.”

They split up the group easily from there. Titania, Dragneel, Jellal, and Cobra would handle the battle, Loke, the kid, Fullbuster, and the cats would be in charge of collecting the herbs, with Fullbuster leaving once the shelter was set up.

“If I may ask, is Lucy still intending to join us?” Jellal said.

“Oh, I forgot about her!” the kid fretted, “Were we supposed to meet her somewhere?”

“Yeah Loke,” Natsu said, “Where’s Lucy? Freezing out here is the exact kind of nonsense she’d love.”

Loverboy was thinking of calling for her, but wasn’t sure Erik and Jellal were trustworthy. Where the hell was Lucy that she was within hearing distance? Cobra couldn’t hear her disjointed thoughts anywhere near here.

“Don’t worry—" Lucy said, bursting into existence behind Cobra and Jellal.

Cobra yelled and Jellal rapidcast a propulsion circle, sending Blondie, himself, and everyone else blasting backwards. The cabin blew apart, launching all of them into the snow.

Lucy groaned as she sat up. “Right, not my brightest idea, but Loke was taking too long.”

“What made you think jump scaring these guys was the right idea?” Loke complained. “Anyone hurt?”

“Apologies, I wasn’t thinking. I messed up the grounding and direction. I’m so sorry!” Jellal babbled.

“Dude, relax,” Fullbuster said, standing up and brushing the snow off. “Natsu, get the fire back up. Wendy?”

“I’m fine,” the kid said. “I flew into Erik.”

“So glad I could be your cushion,” he grumbled, ignoring the way he had jumped behind her in order to do just that when he realized what was happening. Odd instinct to have suddenly resurfaced, but Cobra had never liked kids getting hurt. “Now can you get off?”

“Wood got all soaked,” Natsu grumbled, before repeating what he did earlier to dry the wood before relighting it. “And don’t tell me what to do Popsicle. Happy? You ok?”

“A-aye sir.” The cat said, sounding a bit dazed. “Carla, my love, are you hurt?”

“I’m fine. And don’t call me that.”

“Oh dear, it’s a bit late in the evening to start reconstruction,” Erza said, already on her feet and surveying the damage. Under the starlight, it looked like the walls had blown apart, the roof in one piece but on its side and still miraculously attached to one of the walls.

“Gray can mold them together with his ice magic for tonight,” Lucy said, and she sent out five witchlights to better illuminate the damage. “I’ll bring some extra fabrics from the celestial world to account for the cold. Come on, waiting won’t make it better.”

“No. I want an explanation.” Cobra demanded. “Where the hell did you come from? No one has snuck up on me in ten years, and certainly not for lack of trying. There wasn’t even a magic circle for the teleport. What the hell?”

“No one say a word until we get the shelter back up,” Lucy instructed.

Luckily for him, the idiots forgot he could hear their thoughts, and all of them were thinking of the various ways they could possibly explain that they met Blondie after the immortal had been cursed to fade out of existence in the human realm for dispassionate murder.

Lucy’s stories made a lot more sense. When she was giving story time before, she mentioned she had been cursed for refusing to protect someone she had sworn to. Hadn’t been any curse magic he had heard of, but Brain didn’t exactly go around giving them lessons he didn’t think were necessary.

Except to Jellal, who did get all of Brain’s magic lessons, and who had it figured out by the time Fullbuster sealed the walls back together.

“So, you’re a celestial spirit,” Jellal said, settling back down around the fire.

“Wait, really?” the Squirt asked. “Is that why you smell off?”

“It explains why you sound off,” Cobra added. “Your brain doesn’t work like anyone else’s, does it?”

Natsu snorted, “That’s just Lucy.”

“Wow, I can’t imagine what it’s like to know that you’re going to live forever,” the kid said. “Do you ever get scared?”

“I feel pain,” Lucy said, relaxing between the little girl and half-naked man. “I’m scared of letting people down. I’m terrified of my friends dying when I could have stopped it. But I’m not scared of dying. Even if I had died back then, it’s just . . .it happens.”

Well that was curious. Her old teammates were all thinking over the same question, how did celestial spirits normally die? They were long lived, but there had to be ways for celestial spirits to die that didn’t involve murder and banishment. None of them knew and Lucy wasn’t sharing or thinking about it.

“What’s it like to pass between worlds?” Jellal asked. “It looks instantaneous, but Loke usually summons with a voice that reaches between worlds. Does it feel like teleportation magic?”

“Not quite,” Lucy mused. “It’s more like . . . one side has a gate. Big swirl of magic. And that magic connects with one point in the other world. That point doesn’t have the big swirling magic gate, and the point is small, so you feel compressed. You’re broken down into atoms held together by your soul, and when the gate ends, you just reassemble.

“Maybe water is a better example. I’m a cup of water in the celestial world. My gate flings me across the barrier between worlds to be caught by a funnel on the other side. The water separates in the air, but then it swirls around the funnel and ends up back together again. Of course, if you’re not a celestial spirit, you can’t get the reassembly right because you aren’t made for this kind of travel. Usually human wizards that try to get there without permission are torn apart in endless agony as your soul attempts to reassemble your body but every part is too disconnected to finish assembly. If you do manage to pull parts of you together, you are slowly poisoned by the lack of breathable atmosphere.”

“Then how did Natsu stay alive?” Happy asked. “He’s gone through twice now, and he isn’t any more brain damaged than he was before.”

Lucy hesitated, and between the way her thoughts raced and the blurring of trying to read a non-human, Cobra could only tell that it was a secret she wasn’t sure she should share. She was also embarrassed by something.

“Hey, my brain’s perfectly fine, before and—well, I only came out okay because Lucy likes me, isn’t that right Lucy?” Natsu said with a slightly forced grin.

“Natsu,” she warned.

“And I am never going to talk about it again,” Natsu said. “And don’t you dare read my thoughts Erik.”

It was too late, and he was hit full force with their combined memories of Lucy and Natsu as they both tried desperately not to think about the experience. Lucy managed to make herself think of a mermaid, before he got more than an “ugh, gross,” but Natsu didn’t have that kind of discipline by a long shot. He was still shuddering, and Cobra couldn’t blame him.

“Is it a dragonslayer thing?” Wendy asked. “I think it would be kind of fun to visit a different world.”

“Natsu had a little more protection because he’s a dragon slayer, but it was something else,” Lucy explained, thinking about the boy’s scarf, which had something to do with it. “Dragons are beings of magic, just like celestial spirits. Their form is a little more solid, and they procreate like mortals, but they’re immortal until their magic runs out, then they just fade away. Sometimes they leave bodies behind, but that’s only if they’re suffering too much to let their magic drain away on its own. Sometimes to die faster they evict themselves from their bodies by expelling all their magic at once, then they leave behind some calcium shells.”

“Really?” the kid and Natsu said together, Natsu shoving Fullbuster out of the way. “You’ve met a dragon?”

“700 years old,” Lucy pointed out, “Of course I’ve met a dragon. They were everywhere until around 400 years ago. Once Helenica, the moonlight dragon, moved a bit too close to my wizard’s village, and I was the best person to send because I couldn’t die. It took a while to get her to talk to me, but she couldn’t kill me for annoying her, so that helped. Eventually I got some ground rules laid out on when and where each group was allowed to hunt and use magic so they could co-exist peacefully.”

“What happened to her? Where is she?” Natsu asked. “I can’t believe you never told me you had met a dragon! You know I’ve been looking for Igneel!”

“Well, aside from all the time I was trying to keep my age a secret,” Lucy said pointedly, “I met Helenica about five hundred-ish years ago, and she died to a dragonslayer about 150 years after I met her.”

“I can’t believe you’re that old,” Wendy marveled, “Did you ever meet Grandeena the Sky dragon?”

“I met Igneel and Grandeena a few times, but that was around the times of the dragon wars, my wizard was friends with them.” Lucy frowned, “And Metalicana, maybe? There was a black one. Grandeeny was the white one, right?”

Lucy’s brain was its usual dense fog, but there was something going through her head about an eclipse causing memory issues.

“That’s right!” the kid fluttered, “She had the most beautiful feathery white wings and was just so warm.”

“I can’t believe you didn’t tell me,” Natsu groaned, “What do you remember about Igneel?”

“Big and red?” Lucy said uncertainly, “He laughed at his own jokes a lot. I don’t really remember anything else. It was 400 years ago and memories are fuzzy.”

“Chill Pyro, before you melt my ice and we have to do even more to rebuild this place,” Fullbuster warned. The fire had grown since the conversation started and it was starting to feel warm.

“Curious,” Jellal said. He was flipping through everything he knew on dragons, which wasn’t much. “Do you think a dragon lacrima comes from the coalition of a dragon’s soul as it tries to leave the pain of its body behind too fast?”

“I don’t think so, the soul just movs onto the next life,” Lucy said, tilting her head and looking closely at Erik. She was reading his magic aura/signature thing, and comparing it with Wendy and Natsu. “A dragon lacrima might be the magic that was ejected though. I assumed the magic dissipated into the environment, but looking back, I think it might be they expel the magic rapidly by shoving it all into lacrima, and that speeds up the process of their death. When the soul is gone the magic still has to go somewhere. They have too much of it and can survive an agonizingly long time because of how much magic they have. Erik, where’s your magic container? Natsu’s is in his stomach. Gray’s his spine, Erza’s wait, I don’t know yours,” Lucy said glancing at the redhead.

“You know magic container theory is more of a training tool than a legitimate theory, right?" Erza checked. “It’s not even a very good one as the draw of strength and magic varies by person as well as magic and the discipline of the wizard.”

“When I was cut off from the source of my magic, Porlyusica called it an amputated limb,” Lucy said. “My magic container is in my heart, but also my key. Which is also my body, in a way. I’m not saying it’s perfect as a theory, but if the question is ‘how does a dragon lacrima get made?’ I think it’s still useful as a framework.”

“Her’s is in her feet, she feels like she’s drawing it up from the ground sometimes,” Cobra said, “Jellal’s is in his chest, right side, maybe his lungs but not his heart. Wendy’s is in her stomach. The cats are feeling left out because they were born knowing their magic and running out of magic makes them feel woozy, like they’ve lost blood. And I’m not going to dignify your question with an answer.”

“Behind your eye,” Lucy nodded, guessing correctly anyway. “Your magic is elemental, but the element still needs to go through the translation process in the lacrima for you to use it, unlike Natsu and Wendy, who biologically play that role, hence stomach.”

“I feel like I should be more weirded out by Erik reading our minds all the time,” Fullbuster said. “He’s got more clarity and scope than Warren.”

“No one likes a tattle tale, but everyone responds to blackmail,” Cobra said with a shrug. “You’ll grow to hate it soon, I’m sure.”

“I doubt that,” Lucy said, “You’re not a tattle tale, and give it a couple of months and you’ll know so many secrets we would never imagine letting you go.”

“Like the fact that you’re actually a celestial spirit?” Cobra asked, raising his eyebrows.

“Nah. That one’s not so big, not like you can get me in trouble for that. Though the Magic Council might try and revoke my citizenship on the basis of non-humanhood, meaning I have no voice with them, therefore my entire defense of you is suspect and disregarded as the words of a plant, so I wouldn’t try that,” Lucy said casually.

M--assured -struction, she was thinking choppily (choppy to him at least).

I’ll kill him first. Came the thoughts from Natsu and Erza. 

Jellal was . . . fond. Weirdo. Fullbuster and the kid were thinking through metaphysical questions of what makes a person verse what makes a human.

“Right, entertaining as this is, we should probably settle down for the night,” Cobra said. “Since we’re purposefully putting ourselves in mortal peril tomorrow. Blondie, you want beast slaying or herb gathering?”

There was an unformed thought pushed towards Loke before she said, “I’ll join the Wyvren fights. I'll stay back on rescue until I’m needed. My light magic can get unweildy when reflecting off snow and ice.”

“It’s decided then,” Erza said. “We’ll tackle our job in the morning. Depending on our harvest tomorrow, we’ll see if we need the extra day or not.”

 

They did not need an extra day. Cobra ended up next to Lucy for most of it. Fullbuster, Natsu, Erza, and Jellal jumped immediately into battle and didn’t need extra help, so when they left one carcass, it was up to him and Blondie to collect the scales in their pockets while the rest continued fighting.

Lucy was weirdly preoccupied with her wizard, Loke kept coming back to her head whenever there was a lull between collection times. She was twitchy, but he couldn’t get a clear picture of why with her stupid non-human brain. He read Cubelios better than he read her when she was caught up in emotions.

Lucy focused on him when she could, purposefully avoiding her own thoughts, but it wasn’t like he had a lot to tell her about himself that wasn’t a sob story. She ended up gushing about the Rainbow Sakura festival the fairies kept talking about.

She was so excited it took him a while to realize she hadn’t actually been to the festival, her imagination about what it was like was just that vivid.

“You’ve been in Fairy Tail for over two years, right? Why didn’t you go before?” Cobra asked.

Her brain flashed to a memory of soul rendering, agonizing pain, the likes of which he had only experienced twice. Once when Natsu and Lucy threw out their inhuman roars and he had his hearing turned all the way up for a fight, and once when he was ten and Brain shoved a dragon lacrima into his skull.

“I was sick,” she said aloud. “Magic depletion sickness. Nasty stuff, it was better at some times than others, but I had a bad day the last time the festival rolled around. Before that I was on an escort job during the festival itself. Now that I don’t have to worry about either of those, I fully intend on enjoying it with everyone as much as possible.”

“Even Loverboy?” he asked, watching her flinch. Then a lightbulb goes off in her head.

“Hey, you don’t have a problem reading Loke, right?” she asked. “Oh Hang on.” Lucy used her magic to power a jump into the air, grab Natsu, spin them, and send Natsu flying back towards the five wyvrens attacking the others.

“Thanks!” Natsu yelled, pushing forward with a blast of fire magic out of his feet.

Lucy waved and landed back near Cobra. “Loke, right. Can you tell me if he’s planning on asking me out?”

Cobra gave her the most deadpan stare he had ever given in his life.

“Right, stupid thought, of course he’s going to ask me out,” she said, smacking her forehead.

“Are you saying he hasn’t yet?”

She winced, “Not since I explicitly stated I was asking Sherri to do something awful because I loved Loke before we went to take on one of the three guilds of the Barum alliance, one member of which would be targeting him specifically.”

That was what was tearing her up inside. “So him asking you out is sending you into nervous panic because . . .?”

“Because it was impulsive and stupid and I shouldn’t have done it. I needed to get Sherri to do something, I didn’t mean it as a confession,” Lucy babbled, wringing her hands. “I’m his celestial spirit, a romantic relationship is too volatile for what I need to be for him. I can’t be worried about being a good girlfriend or if he’s cheating on me or about what happens if I do fall in love and then he dies; I can’t be worried about all of that and worried about keeping him alive as his spirit.”

“Just say that,” Cobra said, bored.

 

Things were not going to go Lucy’s way. The hike back was quiet, everyone tired from hunting and gathering as the sun set.

Well, quiet for everyone except Erik, who was subject to a particularly loud internal and intense planning session.

Asking Lucy out is simple, she already kissed me and screamed to the world that she loved me (thank goodness I wasn’t dating Cana when that happened) so a date is the logical step. (That should have happened several months ago, but Lucy did things her own way.) First hang out with the whole guild during the day at the Rainbow Sakura picnic, then we will start our date . . .

It was nauseating. First they would go for a walk towards sunset, get some distance and privacy, playing in the different colored lights. He’d get her to follow him towards the cliffs, where rumor had it there was one point you could see every single Sakura tree in Magnolia, or maybe the clearing surrounded by Sakura trees where the Leo constellation would be visible soon after dark. He would explain that she made him feel this way all the time, suspended between heaven and earthland, like the world was full of wonder and together they were part of the indomitable forces of nature.

She would say his name, heart beating and slightly overwhelmed, but she couldn’t deny that, though not exactly the same, she felt for him.

BLEGH, Loverboy had an imagination just as intense as Blondie’s and he kept fussing over his plan over and over again. The number of possible confession pickup lines he had ready was particularly sickening.

Then they would talk, Lucy would try to be rational, explain this couldn’t happen, and he’d listen and tell her exactly why it would work. Maybe it wouldn’t work for anyone else, but it would work for them. They were too much together to not try.

He’d give Lucy options for how the night could end. They could stay out all night, enjoying their viewpoint with the wine he brought. They could go find somewhere to grab drinks. She could return to the celestial world. They could . . .

Well, Lucy would decide. He would be prepared.

And if she successfully downplayed her confession or refused to date him, he’d be cute and tell her that he wasn’t going to stop trying, but they could rejoin their friends for now.

Which meant Cobra was going to be anywhere else on the day of the festival. He did not need this kind of drama.

 

 

Cobra had the unique opportunity to ask himself constantly the not-hypothetical question “Would I rather be in jail than be here right now?”

Unfortunately, Cubelios was having the time of her life playing with the fairies, so the answer was always being here was better than jail.

Though it got close.

The second floor of the guild in the corner was the best place for being ignored by almost everyone. Unfortunately, he was not the only person that knew that.

“My darling Gray, why must you spend so much time being the center of attention? Why must my love rival be so frightening?” Juvia muttered to herself, looking down from behind the second-floor pillar.

They had gotten back from the Wyvern mission two days before the Rainbow Sakura festival, and with no jobs, no one was able to leave this madness behind. And with nowhere else to hide, Cobra and Cubelious were trying to stay out of the worst of the madness in their hiding spot.

Unfortunately, the possibly most psychotic member of Fairy Tail (which was saying something since he and Jellal were currently members) was currently stalking her crush ten feet from him. Given the way Titania was cracking the whip over the kitchens, Cobra was positive Fullbuster was nothing more than a pawn in the larger cake manufacturing scheme.

However, Juvia was one of those rare people who thought exclusively in pictures, not words, so he couldn’t actually hear most of her thoughts. Because of that, she actually wasn’t terrible to be around, though not hearing her thoughts almost made the words she said aloud more disturbing.

“You could go help him,” Cobra suggested. “Titiana’s not going to turn down another set of hands for mixing."

Juvia shot him a glare with puffed up cheeks, then collapsed against the wall. “The Titiana is too scary. And I’m not exactly a culinary expert. Who would want someone who can’t make the food their partner loves?”

“Who wants someone that defines their worth by how well they cook?” Cobra asked back.

Juvia didn’t look away from the temporary cooking slaves, “Do you have a paper? I need to copy these instructions down. If I practice this enough, I will become worthy of my beloved Gray.”

“You know, that’s actually the only way you could become more pathetic,” Cobra sighed.

“I didn’t ask your opinion, I asked if you had paper!”

“Do you even like sweets?” he asked.

Juvia sniffed at him, “Of course I do. More importantly, it seems that my beloved Gray does, though he seems to like them colder rather than warmer. Which fits perfectly with his love of ice magic. Oh Gray. Lucy! Get off Gray this instant! Man-stealer!”

From the sound of it, Lucy was crying over not getting the flour sifted right for the second time, begging to leave the kitchen, while Gray tried to shush her so as not to draw Erza’s attention from ordering Elfman to not beat the mixture so hard.

Loke said something flirty/encouraging to Lucy, who started internally screaming while outwardly smiling.

“That’s it. Come on,” Cobra said.

“No, I’m fine,” Juvia said, shrinking back against the wall.

“I’m not. This is pathetic, and Blondie wants out of there.”

“What do you mean?” Juvia asked, hesitantly following him.

“Oi, Blondie, let the Puddle here take over before your tears ruin any more of the desserts. Mira needs help with claiming enough spots in the park,” Cobra said.

“Really Juvia, could you?” Lucy asked, jumping to her feet. “That would be so helpful! Here you go. You only have to add these ingredients, then pour it and bake it. The boys can show you how. Let’s go Erik.”

“Eh?”

Lucy shoved the bowl in Juvia’s hands and hightailed it out of the guild, yanking Cobra by the jacket quickly enough not to give her friends a chance to question him, but slowly enough that Lucy was clearly the only one fleeing the scene.

She ran ahead as soon as they were out the door. Cobra found her hitting her head against a light pole three blocks from the guild.

“Did Mira actually need help, or were you just being kind because I am still falling apart over Loke?” she asked.

Then hit her head again.

“What do you think?” he asked, “It’s not about being kind, it’s about being sick of listening to your spluttery panic attacks every time Loverboy breathes in your direction and Puddle’s various death threats against you. Good deed done for today, I assume I can go home?”

“One more good deed.”

 

They ended up getting Stellan food and bringing it to where Mirajane was overseeing their set up for the day of the picnic. The blossoms were still budded tightly, holding back until the day in question, and Mira was sitting with Jellal and Team Shadowgear to claim their space. Apparently the lines of Fairy Tail mini flags weren’t enough to stop people from moving them to claim a spot.

“Lu, you’re a dream,” Levy sighed, getting to her feet.

“Not free,” Lucy said, handing it over. “After Jellal eats, he has to switch with me. I take over camping duty, he goes and tries to stop Erza from making anyone else cry from over-whipped cream.”

“Erza made someone cry?” Jellal asked. “How?”

“Oh, Erza turns into the sweetest when you’re around,” Mira teased as she distributed the food, “But she’s always had a little bit of an attitude problem when the guild isn’t functioning at the efficiency she wants it to.”

“Bold words for you to be talking about anyone else’s attitude problems Mira,” Jet laughed. “You and Erza wrecked the guild hall at least as many times as Natsu and Gray have.”

“Guilty!” she laughed sweetly, “Really, it’s kind of amazing we haven’t had to rebuild sooner.”

It was interesting to compare Mira’s fond pink overlay of her 'silly' teenage years compared to Shadow gear’s shudders and memories of blood splatters.

“Erik, are you staying too?” Mira asked, spreading out the food.

“We bought enough for you too, so sit down,” Lucy said.

He sat with a shrug, Cubellios slithered away to start climbing the tree, practically purring in how it let her stretch.

 

           

The next day he was back to lurking in the corner of the guildhall, avoiding all semblance of party spirit. Instead of the puddle, he got the angsty dragonslayer. The one that hadn’t been assigned to kill him a month ago.

Lugnuts was currently trying to figure out if Erik would agree to a fight, if Erik knew how to spar without lethal intent, how to ask without coming across as a villain, and wondering if a fight with Erik was worth bothering with at all.

If the guy got around to asking, it would be an interesting match. Dragon poison verse dragon metal. Some opponents were too fast or too strong that even reading their thoughts didn’t give him enough of an edge initially, like Titania. For those opponents he usually waited for his poison to slow down their reaction times before ending the fight, but would his acid-poison be able to erode Lugnuts’ iron? The usual gas cloud attacks probably wouldn’t be absorbed through his skin if he had his ‘dragon scales’ on.

Cobra’s poison could be inhaled, so the fight likely depended on how well the guy could hold his breath and get to clear air. And how fast he was. Erik always had the advantage in closed spaces, but he’d be at the disadvantage outdoors.

Still, Cobra has never made anyone’s life easier, ever, and he wasn’t going to start now.

Lugnuts was still debating internally when sunshine Mira started making her way for their hideout. Normally that would be his cue to leave, since she was in the middle of cooking for the party tomorrow with several of her guildmates already volunteering to assist, but the barmaid was debating drink flavors, so no need to run just yet.

“Erik, I was hoping you could help me out with something,” she said cheerfully. “You drink poison right? Like how Natsu eats fire and Gajeel eats our good silverware?”

“Tch,” the man beside him said, looking away. Gajeel was already planning on replacing the guild’s sets with less tasty utensils that were less breakable.

“Is this where you ask for permission to poison me?” Erik said drily.

“It’s not poisoning you if you can eat it like everything else,” Mira laughed, “But I was wondering if there were any poisons you preferred over others. Like how Natsu likes hickory wood fires and Gajeel prefers iron over stainless steel. I have a couple of drinks that are my favorites over the years, but I’m always up for the challenge of adding to our Dragon Slayer Secret Menu.”

She could not be implying what he thought she was implying.

But Lugnuts was wondering the same thing.

Mirajane wasn’t thinking about anything while waiting for his answer.

“I typically drink animal venoms, mostly Cubelios’s” Erik said, and heard her internally begin to sort through the different venoms she’s tried over the years, then become disappointed she’s only had jellyfish venom before. “Never saw any reason risk my life trying others when I knew what worked.”

“Well, would you like to try this?” she offered, holding out a glass, “It’s one of my favorites: belladonna, cyanide, and vodka. Or I can try some of Cubelios’s venom and see what I’ve tasted before that you might like. By the way, it’s in the rules, but purple-rimmed glasses are poisoned, in case someone forgot to tell you Gajeel. I do my best not to leave them lying around, but better safe than sorry!”

Insane. He thought it had been bad with the Prayers, but Fairy Tail was actually trying to be accommodating. To him. Because he promised to try to go straight. The whole guild was insane.

Mira deflated as he took his time to respond, “Or not. I’ll see what I can find around town for animal venoms, and we’ll try again later.”

It’s such a shame, I really wanted to see if we liked the same kind of poisons, but I guess I have to try more animal venoms first. If I’m gone shopping, I’ll need them to help out in the kitchen. Gajeel can probably help Levy with the bread kneading, they had such good chemistry during Fantasia. But who would Erik work well with? Evergreen maybe? She’ll be all shrieky and huffy because she knows but doesn’t want to admit that she can’t handle rolled omelets without someone watching her to keep her attention from wandering, but her sass and bite might be comforting—

Death by poison it was. Erik snatched the purple-rimmed glass and downed a mouthful. He felt his magic jump to assimilate it, though to a lesser degree than swallowing a cloud from Cubelios.

“Not bad,” he said, taking a second sip to check the flavors. “The belladonna’s what’s making it sweet? If you really want to, next time drop the belladonna, and maybe rum instead of vodka. That cyanide’s got a good . . . I don’t know, depth to it? Is that how people talk about this? Not bad. Kinda nutty.”

“Wonderful!” Mirajane said, perking right up. “Let’s try that next time. It does sound good, especially warm.”

“Drunk a lot of poisons, have you?” he asked at last.  

“The second demon I took with my magic was a poison demon,” she explained with a laugh, “After that I went through a phase, kept trying to impress a boy, so I tried a lot of them. I still crave it every once and a while, but haven’t let myself really enjoy a glass in years.”

Cubelios slithered up behind him and spat a cloud of poison in Mirajane’s face.

Gajeel threw himself backwards, toppling his chair along the way.

SHIT! This guy just poisoned the barmaid! Who knows if she can take the snake’s venom, she clearly hasn’t done animal poisons before. Well, his pet poisoned her. This is bad. Did I let it happen? Maybe if I take them down, the guild will believe I had nothing to do with it. The snake or the slayer first? If I hit them both hard across the head with one sword strike—

“Slurp,” Mira sucked it in, licking her lips afterwards with a smile that was just short of a smirk. “Thank you for the snack, that was pretty good Cubelios.”

Someone called for Mira back in the kitchen, so she excused herself with promises of his new drink being at the party tomorrow.

Gajeel straightened his chair and sat back down with a scowl.

Scared me for nothin’! At least I don’t have to explain nothin’ either. Bah! Wait. Barmaid said she was trying to impress a boy as a kid, but she grew up here with Titania and Salamander. The Stripper and Salamander are too young and stupid for her, it was probably Laxus. Makarov’s grandson with a stupid rebellious phase as a teenager might have been impressed by Mira downing different poisons for fun.

Could I beat the barmaid in a fight? Dunno. Most people think sugar and gumdrops means easy target, but not in this hellhole of a guild. Erik would go down to Mira right away, a roar would be a snack for her. My dragon scales could probably stand up to her demon form claws. Hitting her would be tough, she’s got to be fast, but she shouldn’t have much defense once I land a hit . . .

The guild was full of disasters masquerading as people.

It was kinda comforting.

Notes:

What's this? The start of Erik's domestication arc? (Lol, we have to domesticate him before we can start on the redemption arc.) Whatever Erik thought Fairy Tail would be like, this isn't it. they are being NICE of all things. What the hell?

And yes, Erik does not, in fact, remember Wendy's name. He never learned Gajeel's, lol. Baby steps.

Chapter 66: The Rainbow Sakura Festival

Lucy, Loke, Natsu, and Erza knocked at their door first thing on the day of the festival. Apparently the fairies wanted to make sure he didn’t slip away from the noisy crowds, so they walked together. Cubelios was already planning the lizards she would snack on and thinking of warming herself in the sunny branches among the cherry blossoms, the lingering autumn sunlight becoming rarer as the days pass.

The rest of the group was only mildly more interesting in their thoughts. Jellal was knocked out of his usual doom and gloom by watching Erza try to explain how excited she was for Bingo without coming off as an over-excited dork.

Erza was failing at containing her love for cherry blossom bingo, while also trying to keep herself from thinking about moments alone with Jellal among the cherry blossoms, knowing Cobra was listening.

Lucy and Natsu were jumping all over the place about the different activities, other than Bingo. Karoke, paper airplane contests, chariot, those were just some of the activities on the agenda apparently. Natsu was fully into planning out his teams, but Lucy kept being distracted by an internal panic about making sure she wasn’t alone with Loke, somehow convincing herself that if she avoided talking about her issues with him for the rest of the day, the issues would magically go away.

Loke was perpetually running over his date plans in his head, wanting to make sure all his preparations were in place for a romantic walk under the blossoms.

Good luck to him, but then, what did Cobra know? Angel was the only woman he’d been around consistently, and if Lucy was a few stars short of a constellation, Angel was a constellation drawn of black holes. Maybe Loverboy could actually talk Lucy out of her panic. Wouldn’t be the weirdest thing to happen this week.

 

 

The party itself wasn’t so bad. Cubelios loved the cherry blossoms and ate some while lounging in the branches. Cana was trying to poison herself with alcohol. Mira brought him some actual poison. Cyanide and rum was good, but for the second drink she offered one with a splash of black widow venom, and that really hit the spot. Jellal won at Bingo, and shared the cake made with the power boosting herb they gathered on their last job. Gray, Natsu, and Lucy kept giggling internally about Jellal finding the way to Erza’s heart through cake, but they managed to keep mostly straight faces.

The final bingo prize, tickets to Akane resort, made Loke, Erza, Gray, Natsu, and Lucy force a smile, even as Juvia won a bingo and went up to collect.

“You lot wanted the tickets that bad?” Erik asked, waiting for someone to think of what their deal was with the place.

Loke flinched, and shot a quick glance at Jellal.

It would be hard to enjoy, considering our last vacation ended with Jellal attempting to resurrect Zeref by sacrificing Erza and us burying Sho.

Lucy decided to laugh about it, “You know, I think they’d remember us.”

Gray joined in, pushing aside his own darker thoughts, “Think they ever got the boat off the roof?”

“Nah, much cheaper to call it a cool decoration,” Loke added.

“The fireworks weren’t even that big,” Natsu complained.

They were all waiting for Erza, whose mouth was tight for a moment, before she sighed and said, “I never did get a chance to play more than one game of poker. I was ready to clean them out.”

“That’s right, there’s a poker shark over here,” Lucy teased. “Where did you learn to play like that?”

“Like you don’t know your way around a bluff!”

Juvia slunk back, dreams of vacationing with Gray crushed by being too shy, only to be forced to compete for her tickets via short performance when it turns out four people had gotten blackout on that last call. Karaoke distracted everyone from the depressing topic, and harmless games filled up the rest of day.

Erik refused to participate, and they mostly respected that.

When the activities ended in favor of more alcohol and dancing, it was time to slip back home for the night. Cubelios had slithered off a while ago, so he had to track her down first and let her know he was done, and he’d leave the window open if she was going to stay later.

He eventually found her spying on the star-crossed couple themselves, listening like it was the greatest show lacrima vision had ever produced. Stuck, he listened too.

Lucy’s brain was it’s usual broken, fuzzy frequency, so Loverboy it was.

 

 

This was the clearing. Leo’s stars were clearly visible, surrounded by the rainbow Sakura blossoms. Leading her here was easy, a whisper and Mira had sent them to get the extra beer stashed in a deeper part of the park that didn’t actually exist. 

“Lucy look, your stars," I pointed, pulling her to a stop with a hand on her shoulder, pointing up from behind her.

She did stop and look up, beautiful brown eyes softening at the sight.

“On our way to the Tower, you were looking at them, weren’t you?” I realized, smiling, “Now they’re yours again.”

“They are mine again, aren’t they? I didn’t think I’d leave the Tower,” she admitted in the same sad and soft voice from that night. Then she chuckled, “Still not sure I quite believe I lived long enough to team up with Jellal for the paper airplane contest at the next Rainbow Sakura Festival.”

“Ever since you entered my life, every turn has been a strange, beautiful adventure.” Looking down at her, she looked up wide-eyed at him. “I’ve never felt like this about anyone before. Never this much, never this changed for the better by one person, never this in love. Just you.”

She stepped away and spun to face him, shaking her head, “Not me. Fairy Tail. This guild is what changed you, what you’re in love with. You don’t mean that about me. You’re scared of me, and I’m stubborn, and—”

“—And I love you anyways,” I cut her off gently.

“No, you have plenty of girlfriends, and I’m petty and angry—”

“They don’t matter to me, not like you do.” My hand found hers and tugged her closer, watching her skin blush even as her features stayed frozen. “They’re gone as soon as you say yes to being my girlfriend, to being with me. You’ve made me realize that one person who’s right for me is a thousand times better than all the wrong women in the world.”

Lucy desperately searched my face for the truth. Of course she would have doubts, but I’ll stand here and be as vulnerable as she needs me to be, soothe away every concern.

Lucy is worth it.

She pulled away and stepped back, shaking her head some more “Loke, I won’t date you. I told you before, I won’t date my wizard. I owe you my life, you’re my irreplaceable friend, but no. And I know it’s my fault you’re all confused like this because I kissed you and said what I needed to to convince Sherri of my plan and it’s stupid because I’m playing with your feelings—”

The absurdity of Lucy playing with anyone’s feelings was laughter inducing, and a chuckle escaped. Lucy startled into silence. His laughter grew a little manic as he realized what this was. What just happened.

Rejection.

Hard stop rejection.

Lucy would never date him, even if Lucy did love him.

I will never be good enough for you.

Glass shattered.

Keep laughing, it’s the only chance.

. . . But tone it back down from manic.  

“I had you going there, didn’t I?” I said, calming my laughter and giving my smirkiest smile and a wink, “Come on, you’re usually so good at seeing my cheesy lines for what they are, I can’t believe I got you this good.”

Lucy flinched back as if struck.

Chuckle and a headshake, keep going, “Come on, you said I could flirt with you the same way I flirt with everyone, right? There’s no need to make a big deal about it.”

“What?” Her mouth fell open.

“I didn’t realize all it took was the proper setting, some mood lighting, and the word ‘love’ to make you think I was asking to be serious and exclusive.” Light and fluffy. Keep it light and flirty. “I’m seriously in love with all the girls I flirt with, how could I not be when women are just so beautiful? Present company included, of course.”

“It was . . . a line?” Lucy asked eyebrows drawing together.

“I had you hooked, didn’t I?” Another laugh here, keep it casual, “Leo the Lion, leader of the zodiac, falls for me just like every other woman I whisper sweet nothings to, who knew?”

Just a little insulting, just enough that Lucy will want to end this conversation soon.

“No, I—”

“It was fun seeing you all desperate like that,” I said, shoving my hands in my pockets, making fists so they wouldn’t try and reach out for Lucy again, “Sure didn’t expect you to get like that though. Is it because there’s a celestial spirit that you’re actually crushing on? An immortal like you, I mean. That would explain your panic.”

That had to be it. She might love me, but she won’t date a mortal because she’s going to live several more centuries.

She wont date me because of one of the few things I literally can’t change. I will die and she wont.

“You don’t want the spirit you’re crushing on to think you have something going on with your flirty wizard.” I give a dramatic sigh, shaking my head and turning away from her. Hide my own face. “I’ve been told it’s a hazard to keep my company, other boyfriends get so jealous. You’re not the first woman to panic over my flirting when there’s another love interest in sight. And I’m me, so who could blame them?”

“What? No that’s not what’s going on here.” Lucy defended herself, “And you don’t understand anything about what it would mean to date a celestial spirit, or for me to date my wizard.”

Another short laugh, too short for her to realize it’s fake. Turns out he was spot on. “Man, I really had you going. You still think I was serious.” A smile over his shoulder. “You don’t have to be so defensive. Sorry if you got caught up in the moment, I know I can be irresistible. Look, if there is a celestial spirit you’re interested in, let me know and I’ll track down their key for you. You and your mystery friend could be like Aquarius and Scorpio. If there isn’t anyone yet, just let me know if that changes. Think of it as an apology for making you panic like that.”

Home stretch. The tree thicket was right there, other festival goers just beyond it. Lucy wouldn’t be able to follow if he tried to lose her. “Now you seem like you’re a little confused, I didn’t mean to throw you off so much. I’ll adjust my flirting so I don’t make you swoon again. Take your time to get your head on straight, I’ll see you back at the party.”

Finally, freedom.

Monica and Jessica crashed the Fairy Tail party, and there was no reason to avoid them now.

That’s right. Maybe I could find Lori too, the architect’s guild was picnicking somewhere near Fairy Tail’s spot. I’d wander back alone, shake my head at Mira so she wouldn’t say something and back near the guild was some lovely female company that actually wanted my attention.

Lucy would hate me for a while, call me a wretched playboy, probably, they always do when they got a little too serious and he had to draw some lines. But then she’d pull herself together and fulfill their contract, just like she always did.

I’m giving up on her, just like she wanted. And that was what mattered.

 

Huh, Cobra had never met anyone who actually thought in sound effects, but that sure sounded like Loverboy’s little glass heart shattering.

Cubelios finally slithered down from the tree.

Wasn’t like Cobra hadn’t seen that one coming, though Loverboy’s little self-defensive/self-destructive mind games there at the end were impressive. Lucy was still trying to figure out what just happened, her head full of scraps of questions that were even more disjointed than she normally sounded.

Lucy sounded a lot more desperate than usual though, time to go before he got caught and was forced to play friendly ear/therapist again.

A new voice entered his hearing.

Neither of them are at the guild party, fan out through the forest, three groups of three, anti-magic fields at the ready, but don’t cast until we bully them into resisting. Emmett has an enchantment around the guild festivities to keep the bulk of Fairy Tail from interfering, and extra transports for any rowdy fairies that interfere anyway when we drag them back in front of his guildmates by the cuffs.

Welp, the Magic Council had come to call.

It was a nice month of freedom, but it looked like Blondie’s bluff was about to dry up.

Cubelios saw him tensing and wound around him for comfort. He would regret leaving her most of all.

Then again, if one of the people they sent was thinking this loudly about a plan that made them look as morally corrupt as Lucy claimed they were, they probably didn’t know about exactly how much he could hear.

Which means the Prayers hadn’t tattled on him yet.

So either they were waiting to question the Prayers until he could be locked up with them, minimizing his chance to escape, or there was enough affection in that crazy band of murderers that they didn’t want to rat him and Richard out.

There was a sliver of a chance Blondie’s bluff would hold up.

“Go find Lucy, she’ll take care of you,” he murmured to Cubelios, knowing she shouldn’t be caught with him. For a bunch of toads, the Magic Council wasn’t known for imprisoning beings they didn’t classify as intelligent, but he wasn’t exactly going to push his luck.

Cubelios licked his cheek before slinking off the way they had come.

“Enjoying the Rainbow Sakura trees?” he asked the approaching Magic Council goons. Only three of them were sent to approach, trying to look weak enough for him to overpower, while the rest of the squad was camped out near a teleport specialist for the first sign of resistance.

“Erik, currently a wizard of Fairy Tail, we have been sent to request your presence at the Magic Council headquarters in Era for further questioning regarding your activities during your capture of the Oracion Seis,” their leader informed him.

“Alright, knew this was coming,” he said. “You have a carriage waiting? Let’s get going.”

“Wrists out,” the leader said, stepping forward, a second one holding out the anti-magic cuffs.

Cobra raised an eyebrow, “I’m voluntarily coming in for questioning.”

“It’s a formality,” the leader said pleasantly. “Are you refusing?”

He sighed and held out his wrists and started stepping forward.

 “We are also picking up your friend for further questioning,” he said quickly.

“Mystogan walked off with Titiania last I saw,” he said, and the panicky one flinched at the thought of one of his friends trying to face down the Titiania if she decided she didn’t want to let Jellal go just yet. “Do we really have to wait for him?”

“Are you trying to cover for him?” the leader demanded.

“Nah, but goodbyes between lovebirds are always a little sickening, don’t you think?” Cobra, no, better start thinking of himself as Erik for when the mindreaders showed up, shrugged, “Hey, did you guys talk to my guild master? I’m supposed to be up for a monster hunting job a couple of weeks from now, but I’m guessing we don’t know how long it will take to convince you I’m not part of the Oracion Seis. Could you send him a note or something?”

“How . . . responsible,” the leader ground out. She sighed, “We’ll make sure he receives notice.”

Blondie had figured out this direction and her steps were headed this way. Erik walked faster, but that made the cuff holder step back and their anti-magic wizard step forward with a magic circle primed.

Lucy sprinted to his side, stopped, and fell into step, stopping him just short of the Magic Council guys, “Something the matter Erik?”

“The Magic Council finally got around to requesting my presence, mind telling the old man?” Erik asked.

Lucy put a hand on his shoulder, “You alright with this? Master has the right to accompany any members of his guild for council questioning. We could make them wait.”

“Nah, the Old Man’s three sheets to the wind again,” Erik said. “No need for trouble, I’ll come back. Keep Cubelios from getting sick off forest Vulcans until then. They want to take in Mystogan as well.”

“Any idea how long this will take? We were counting on him for a job soon,” Lucy asked the magic council squad, which had dropped the magic circle and gone back to looking formal and unperturbed.

“Unknown at this time.”

Want a kiss for good luck? Lucy thought randomly as she glanced at him, making him laugh. Turns out he could actually hear her when her hands were on his body.

She startled at the laugh, Whoops, guess you heard that. A random thought, sorry. I mean, I wouldn’t mind it, I guess, so long as you promise not to bite me.

“You really are a few stars short of a constellation Blondie. See you when this is over.”

Lucy glanced behind her, and thought at him, Look back.

Behind him was the guild, Freed smug over undoing the enchantment meant to keep them at the bounds of their reserved spot. The fact that the enchantment had been laid at all told them exactly what was happening.

Together, his guild thrust their pointer finger and thumb into the sky.

No matter how far apart we are, we’re looking your way. It was a single thought with several voices, thought in the same cadence, matching one grinning old man.

Imbeciles. He thought back, unable to keep a small, real smile off his face as they cuffed him.

Notes:

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. . .
. . .
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Well . . . would any editor/beta reader ever condone making such a pivotal relationship moment for Loke and Lucy be experienced through the eyes of Erik? I don't know, but I sure had fun writing it this way after a couple of other ways didn't work. Lucy sticks by her previous decisions and Loke's terrible coping mechanisms have returned. The path to true love never did run smooth, alas. This moment was not their moment.

Oh, and Erik got arrest-Sorry, taken in for questioning. That happened too. Let me know what you think!

Oh, and thanks so much to everyone who shared the songs that made them think of Loke and Lucy! Here's the link to the spotify playlist I made, for anyone who wants to see the final product and listen to some cool music all themed around Loke and Lucy's relationship, lol. https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4MZQ4TSJiLFXyQrczjUdrl?si=0368c2a7dad042f9

Chapter 67: In Custody

Collecting Jellal had been easy. A final look between Jellal and Erza, their only thoughts each other’s names, and Erza nodded at him to go.

Just before Jellal got into the back of the magicart with Erik, Jellal stopped, some image playing through his head that Erik couldn’t hear.

He turned back to Erza with a genuine smile.

“I remember,” he said, “It was the color of your hair.”

Erza didn’t have any coherent thoughts through her screaming emotions as Erik and Jellal were prodded into the magicart.

Weirdly, Erik’s dragonslayer hearing wasn’t completely restricted by the magic cuffs. His range was much shorter, but it was a sloppy design since he could still hear thoughts at all. Brain’s anti-magic spells were never so sloppy that it let thoughts through.

The cuffs were twice as itchy though.

It was good while it lasted. Jellal thought as they passed out of Magnolia. Erik nodded his agreement, surprising him. Jellal went off on one of his tangents of magical theory that attempted to explain why Erik could still hear thoughts based on the various designs of anti-magic cuffs over the years.

Nerd.

The trip was silent otherwise. Even their guards stopped thinking about their prisoners. They had kept worrying about the two of them being too easy take in after a kerfluffle with questioning Titania a while ago, waiting for an ambush. Now the guards started to think about what they were going to do once they got off shift.

I know they have relaxed their guard, and the wilderness outside of Era is ideal for making an escape, but please don’t attempt to leave. They will level our misbehavior at Fairy Tail, and there is still a chance for us to get out of this. Even if we don’t get out of this, this is our penance to pay for the lives we chose to destroy, not Fairy Tail’s punishment for daring to protect us.

Erik slung himself lower in his seat. Jellal understood.

You’ll keep Fairy Tail safe because they’re keeping Cubelios safe. They hate me more than you, but the other members of your former guild will be the sealers of your fate. Mine’s already sealed, isn’t it?

A ducking nod of Erik’s head. There was no way they’d let Jellal walk out of there. Brain was dead or gone, which meant it was going to be Angel, Midnight, and Racer they’d offer deals to to rat him out. Richard was also coming in in the morning, according to the driver.

No. Sorano, Macbeth, and Sawyer.

Or should he pretend he’s never met them?

Jellal actually doesn’t remember meeting them. He’d started to gain some shapes of memories, his dreams were filled up with the Tower, but nothing concrete. The Tower would come back in full, probably while he was rotting in a cell.

No one was allowed to escape the Tower.

Jellal was running over the memories of the past three weeks, attempting to preserve every detail. The man was going to count on those memories to endure his incarceration.

The past three weeks certainly beat out most of the bloody smears of his time with the Prayers.

Though . . . It would have been nice if the Prayers could have been there too.

 

 

 

They arrived in the morning to the bright eyes of their happy torturers. Lahar met them with a smirk.

“Right this way gentlemen, thank you for being so accommodating.”

They went through the winding labrynth of a headquarters, and were shown a steel door.

“Let’s have Cobra first.”

Erik looked around the otherwise empty hall expectantly.

“Pardon me, Erik. Erik shall go first,” Lahar said, his smile tighter. He removed the cuffs and opened the door.

Erik felt the anti-magic runes flare around him as he entered the room. The poison in his saliva grew even thinner and everything grew actually quiet. A much more complex and complete enchantment than what was laid on the cuffs.

Maybe if he got out of here he could get the green fancy one to do something like this for his bedroom. Sound damping rather than magic dampening, because the magic dampening itched like it always did.

Other people seemed to think that a good night’s sleep was a key ingredient for holding back murderous urges, it was worth a shot.

Sorano slumped over a metal table in beige prison clothes, her hair a limp, oily mess.

“Who are you?” she asked without missing a beat.

“I’m suspected of being part of your dark guild, the Orators Six or something?” Erik said, letting his mouth quirk up.

“Please, we shall begin this joint questioning session momentarily. Be silent for the moment,” one of the frogs asked, shuffling papers around.

The frogs can smell lies, rumor has it, but speaking in questions didn’t trigger their abilities, according to Brain.

“Or what?” Sorano wrinkled her nose, “And does anyone really believe we would have let you into our guild? We have standards. They’re still looking for Cobra and Hoteye then?”

“It is your testimony that you have never seen this man before?” the magicstrate asked.

“Duh, that’s what I said,” Sorano scoffed.

“Mr. Aaron here,” the magicstrate paused.

“Erik,” Erik corrected.

“My apologies, Mr. Erik here is currently taking shelter with the Fairy Tail guild while we sort this mess out. The reports say you were celebrating the Rainbow Sakura festival with your new guild friends when our men arrived. We’re terribly sorry to have interrupted that, the Magnolia Rainbow Sakura trees are a heavenly sight of beauty from our reports.”

Erik shrugged, “They’re alright.”

“No, the sight is absolutely breathtaking! My brother went once . . .”

It was obvious they were trying to get Sorano to rat him out through the misery loves company tactic, with a helping of blind jealousy. Now it made sense why they had removed the cuffs. They wanted her to think he was getting off scott free and having the time of his life while she was sentenced to rot for the same crimes.

Too bad for them Sorano had used this very tactic on the Unicorn guild two months ago to figure out which of their elite members were cheating on their tithes.

“Pardon me, that’s not what we’re here for,” the magicstrate finally said when neither of them reacted to her act. “Now, your guildmates said that you assisted in taking down Racer and Angel of the Oracion Seis after Nirvana was activated, is that true? Is this the Angel that you helped defeat? Please speak clearly so that your recorded testimony can be played at the sentencing hearing.”

“I don’t remember beating you to a pulp,” Sorano said tightly.

“Misstating the testimony there,” Erik said casually. “I ended up on the giant stone thing as it activated. Brain, a former slaver at the Tower, shot me in the back while I was trying to figure out who the bad guys were. Then I helped the Fairy Tail wizards escape the collapsing contraption." To Angel ye added, "I didn’t see you at all after Nirvana activated. Though you look a little familiar. I remember your weird hair spike from the Tower of Heaven. Former slave too?”

“Yes, I was there.” Sorano said, defeat evident as she put her head back down on the table. “Someone told me that there were eight towers, but the Magic Council, in their infinite wisdom, stopped looking after they found seven. Brilliant, aren’t they?”

She was a pill, but he had always appreciated her sarcasm.

“I heard that too. I got out on a small boat during the first wave of the rebellion with a few others. I wasn’t waiting to save the upper tower workers once we took over the docks.”

He had been on that boat, but their boat ran into a reef a mile out and they had to retreat to the Tower.

Angel snorted, “I wish I was that smart. I just kept hiding until the fighting was done. I was nearly dead from dehydration when they found me.”

“I met up with Erza, the girl whose magic let us make the second rebellion in the first place, a few weeks ago. She’s part of Fairy Tail, but then you probably knew that.”

“I was told she burned the boats on her way out to save herself,” Sorano said bitterly. “But not sure I ever believed it. We were too easy to lie to.”

“Please keep your conversations to a minimum and focus on the questions being asked,” the frog said hypocritically.

How was it that the most they’ve ever actually talked about their pasts was while being watched and across the interrogation table.

“Now, how did you know Brain? How did you recognize him in the Woodsea, and why did he shoot you in the back?”

“He was shorter than I remembered as a kid,” Erik said. “But the tattoos aren’t something you forget about a man that uses magic like him. I was stuck in the Tower only eight years ago, it’s not something you forget.

“Natsu Dragneel was destroying stuff and picking fights with people, I thought . . . I thought Dragneel was the one in the wrong for a while. I don’t think I have to tell the Magic Council that Dragneel can act like a menace. Brain shot me while we were fighting, laughing the whole time. He certainly hadn’t forgotten me.”

“Brain wasn’t that bad, so long as he remembered he was dealing with kids,” Sorano said tiredly. “He had a point that being ruthless and willing to kill was the best way not to be the one killed. But I don’t want to talk about him. I have a favor to ask.”

Erik raised an eyebrow.

“Look, do you think they’re going to arrest someone clearly not Cobra? You’re getting out of here unless they’re more evil than I was,” she said, rolling her eyes, “When the cultists came to my village, my little sister was a baby. They left her behind in a burning building, Yukino Agria. One Tower kid to another, see if she’s alive for me? Watch out for her if she is?”

Huh, he never knew that. Probably because her sister was most likely dead. Brain was so focused on pumping up her own vanity she probably didn’t ever let herself think about other people. Certainly not people that had been left behind.

“Please focus on my questions, why did Brain shoot you in the back? He wouldn’t have been helping Natsu Dragneel.”

Erik raised an eyebrow at the magicstrate, “Should I know why? If Brain said why, I missed it, because I was being shot in the back. I have the scar if you want to see it.” To Sorano, Erik said, “What village?”

“Azella. She’ll be eleven if she’s alive.”

“Alright. I’ll keep an ear out.”

Sorano nodded.

The frog kept asking questions Erik did his best to answer, neither of them giving away the plot as far as he could tell. Telepathically gained testimony was forbidden by the Magic Council, one of the few rights wizards don’t give up.

Thank goodness they actually held to that, Brain wasn’t sure they did.

Sorano wasn’t cracking. She must really want someone to look into her sister.

The girl would be too young to be a guild wizard, but he’d see if there was a job near where Azella used to be and he could spend an afternoon looking up adoption records.

After hours of the questioning going nowhere, after bringing in three different questioners with different styles, they finally said he was excused to go back to his room for the night. He stood up and was led out, but paused just before leaving. Sorano was staring vacantly at the table again.

“If you were part of the Oracles or whatever, it doesn’t sound like you’re going to get visiting hours,” he noted.

 Sorano sighed, “Yeah, I don’t expect you to be able to tell me one way or another about Yukino, but asking someone to look into her is the least I can do as a big sister.”

Jellal was still gone when he returned. Given his poor sleep the night before, he was out before he hit the pillow in their cell.

The following day Macbeth and Sawyer gave him similar conversations, though without any requests to look people up on the outside. He hadn’t expected it from them, to be honest, but it turns out there was some solidarity after years of being each other’s company. They weren’t going to rat him out.

Then it was Erik’s turn to be on the other side of the table, across from magic council frogs alone.

His favorite part was where the frogs read out his crimes but purposefully got some details wrong, as though he would break his story to correct them about the number of people he killed when bringing the Unicorns back into line or who was with him when he killed a military general on Brain’s orders.

He just stared at them blankly and denied knowing anything.

Maybe he was playing it too cool. Maybe a normal person would have been frustrated at this point, but he knew the tricks for keeping his lies straight.

Brain had considered that an essential part of their education.

The third day he finished early and had some time to kill in the room while Jellal was still in the hotseat. The room had magic dampening enchantments like the interrogation room, so it wasn’t particularly comfortable, but better than being asked stupid questions.

Erik and Jellal were likely only allowed to be sleep in the same quarters because their room was bugged and the Magic Council was hoping to catch them conspiring.

Joke’s on them, Erik and Jellal were used to keeping their own silences while they lived together.

The tower was loud, so loud, with the jeering and the swords clanking and the only thing that gave him strength was snake even more scared than he was. He had to protect Cubelios, had to, because otherwise the cultists would put her in a stew—

BANG-BANG-BANG

Erik jerked awake, reaching for magic that slipped away from his grasp.

The door flung open and a cart with two large far-vision lacrima was wheeled in as someone lifted Jellal bodily out of bed and slapped him with a set of magic sealing cuffs.

No, magic stealing cuffs, Jellal immediately started gasping as his magic was depleted, his magic signature shrinking.

Lahar glanced at Jellal, then back to the lacrimas.

He growled.

“How are you doing this!” Lahar demanded, shaking him by the cuffs.

“Doing what?” Jellal wheezed.

“You expect me to believe that there just so happened to be a Jellal sighting the same night we took you into custody?” Lahar demanded. “It must be Fairy Tail, one of their transformation mages attempting to give you an alibi. Lucy said there were four of them in her guild.”

“The Demon Mira, the flamey old man, what’s his face . . .” Erik said, trying to calm the instinct to lash out at whoever attacked his slumber. Former slave, dragon, outlaw, no part of him liked being woken up this way, but killing Lahar would make everything else rather useless.

“Macao,” Jellal wheezed out, still suspended in the air by the magic-draining cuffs. Those couldn’t be legal, considering how deadly magic drain was.

“Right, Macao’s the flamey old man. Old Makarov, and who else?”

“Loke has a spirit capable of doubles, though the magic of the double is limited by Loke’s own magic,” Jellal panted. “All of them . . . all of them were at the Rainbow Sakura Festival three nights ago. Your own men that picked us up saw them.”

“Impossible,” Lahar seethed. “This is footage from Seven, taped three nights ago.” He pointed at the other lacrima, showing a fleeing Jellal. “This is a live broadcast at the border. Explain.”

On the recorded lacrima, Jellal cast a yellow magic circle with a star in the center and turned into a destructive ball of light before heading directly into the camera lacrima, destroying it.

It fuzzed for a minute before another differently angled camera took over, showing him streaking away.

On the live recording lacrima, Jellal was shooting from tree to tree, occasionally hitting the ground and leaving a crater in his wake while the live recording lacrima watched him from above. Blue hair and the tattoo/birthmark/scar thing on his face clearly visible.

“We gave you the explanation, it’s not our fault you’re so obsessed with Fairy Tail you won’t believe it. Not even a wizard saint is powerful enough to maintain a spell across country borders, or make it there and back in that amount of time,” Erik grumbled. “Especially not Stella, they have major magic security. So why don’t you release Mystogan and I, and let us get back to our day jobs. Or at least let us sleep.”

Lahar growled and cursed some more but left the room. Jellal was left in the cuffs, but allowed to relax on the bed.

No one came through the door for another two days, food delivered through a dumbwaiter. Jellal seemed to stablize, but his color was getting worse. It was probably the fact that he had the magic of a wizard saint that let him deal with the magic draining cuffs for so long.

Finally another knock came.

“Orders from the Magic Council,” a new frog announced, walking in with a scroll. Lahar scowled beside the frog, who ignored the man. “The wizards of Fairy Tail, Mystogan and Erik, are to be released back to the custody of their guild as there is a lack of probable cause to continue to hold them accountable for the crimes of Jellal and Cobra of the Oracion Seis. This order is effective immediately.”

Lahar’s mouth was set as he turned towards them, staring a hole through the floor. “Pressure from the media. It looks as though you two are getting your way, for now. Thank you for your cooperation. Allow me to escort you to the train station.”

Well.

The magic cuffs on Jellal finally released, and some color came back as he was allowed a minute to meditate and reclaim some magic.

Just before they exited the building proper and reached the train station terminal, Lahar put a hand on Jellal’s shoulder, “I don’t know how you pulled this off. Either of you. But I will find out. And when I learn how Fairy Tail has tricked the Magic Council, I will take the entire guild down for their deceptions. Don’t think of leaving the guild. We’ll be requesting reports on your activities.”

“I don’t know, maybe focus on taking down the rest of Barum Alliance yourselves and then Fairy Tail won’t have to get in your way,” Erik said, pulling Mystogan out of Lahar’s reach. “Come on Mystogan.”

Mystogan stayed silent but nodded at Lahar before following him to the train station.

The Magic Council isn’t above bugging mages. Wait until we walk through the guild and Freed’s runes wash any listening spells off before talking.

Fine by him, Erik could use some time not talking in order to figure out what the hell just happened.

Well, he knew what happened. Fairy Tail had gotten the real Mystogan to pretend to be Jellal to give this Jellal an alibi. They would both share one identity going forward, for as long as they could pull it off.

The Prayers hadn’t ratted him out. Richard hadn’t broke. Jellal had an alibi. He was heading back to Cubelios and Fairy Tail. Back to listening to Loke and Lucy’s ridiculous love story and watching Erza and Jellal think sappily about each other. Juvia stalking Fullbuster and Dragneel challenging everyone to fights. Back to the old man who had done all this, for them.

It wasn’t . . . terrible, actually.

Still, this freedom was a gift from those trapped behind him. He owed them, and . . . and Blondie was right, they deserved the chance to see who they could be outside of Brain and the Tower. All of them. Fairy Tail hadn’t been able to give it to the other prayers this time, and they hadn’t been ready to think about a world outside of their past just yet. But maybe they were now.

Erik would come back for them. The Magic Council wasn’t going to stop coming after Fairy Tail, and he had personal experience that challenging these brats was a one-way ticket to defeat. One day the Magic Council would slip up, they’d be crushed and betrayed by their own corruption, again. And it would be sooner rather than later if they kept prodding Fairy Tail.

Then Erik would free the others, and everyone would get a choice about who they would be outside of the Tower.

He had no time to rush this.

Notes:

CHECKPOINT! This is a long fic and this is a great place to stop for a break. The rest will still be here after you go eat a meal, go to the bathroom, straighten out your back, grab some water, talk a walk, or go to bed for the night. (Talking to you three a.m. folks!) See you back here after you go be human for a bit!

If you're all good, I have ask, did anyone see that coming? One very important fairy was missing from the party, and it was Mystogan! The identical twin fallacy strikes again, and this is the kind of drama Sorcerer Weekly ate right up! Even the Magic Council is subject to some politics and need for damage control, lol.

Let me know what you think!

Chapter 68: Back to Cait Shelter

Would it have been so bad to be found guilty by the Magic Council? He had hurt people, good people who trusted him and innocents that he hadn’t known at all, and incarceration was the widely accepted method of being punished for that.

It would be . . . simpler to live a life in a small box and accept the pain of isolation as his redemption.

But it was because that was the easier option that he couldn’t accept that path. To rot in a cell would be so much easier than trying to figure out some good he could do that day instead. Someone to help, some task he could complete that would justify his freedom in even the smallest way. Penance was much harder then enduring punishment, so that was the path he would walk.

Natsu had accepted his offer of the Flames of Rebuke when they were destroying Nirvana. The flames of rebuke were a magical fire of pure emotion containing the essence of Jellal’s own sins and damnation, if the creator of the spell had a correct understanding of the afterlife. In jail, Jellal would die a sinner, but outside jail he could try and earn forgiveness, could try to cleanse the sins that would doom Natsu through his own repentance.

Jellal had to believe in a god that could forgive, had to believe in a justice that wouldn’t condemn Natsu for taking the only aid Jellal could offer him to defeat Zero. Even though Jellal believed in justice, he also believed the contrary idea that giving up on righting the wrongs of this world would doom an innocent Natsu to hell.

Sometimes righting wrongs for someone else’s sake was the only thing that convinced him to get up in the mornings. The burden was that heavy.

What could Jellal do with this reprieve from incarceration that would make his sorry life worth living with his sins? That was the question of every sunrise.

What more do I need to do?

Each morning Jellal jogged through the streets of Magnolia before dawn, wearing a glove and carrying a plastic bag, picking up trash as he went.

Then he showered and got Erik out of bed, his unlikely co-conspirator in redemption.

After making them breakfast, he would successfully wake Erik up, and while Erik got ready for the day, he would head to Fairy Tail.

Lucy had shown him how to find local jobs that were usually for a good cause but got left on the board because the person asking for the service was unable to offer a proportional reward or the service requested was relatively boring or uninteresting.

Fairy Tail had a few trusted clients that operated that way, and the idea was to let the younger mages, when there were younger mages, get experience and a sense of right and wrong during work while building community ties and keeping them from getting lost in neighboring cities.

Now those adolescent mages had their eyes on bigger rewards and better tests of their skills, therefore those jobs were still accepted but less touched. There was one that looked promising, replanting a section of the senior living home gardens that had a few exotic magic plants that mages would be better prepared to accommodate. It was possible the plant mage, Droy, was the true target for this request, so it would probably be better to wait until the end of the day to let Droy decide if this was something he was interested in.

Plans for securing employment made, Jellal nodded at Mira behind the bar, who finished up her daily prep. Together they quietly went upstairs to Mira’s office. Jellal took a stack of complaints and began the repetitive task of noting who sent the complaint, what the issue was, what compensation they were asking for, if any, noting if the person was a client of the guild or any other special relationship, crosschecking that it was actually one of their wizards causing the problem and not someone else according to the request log, and then drafting a formal apology letter Master Makarov would sign later if appropriate.

Mira used this time to balance the guild’s supplies and keep an eye on him. Jellal also had a stack of signed letters, apology and otherwise, that he was responsible for addressing and sealing.

He had asked Master Makarov if there was anything Jellal could do to personally assist Fairy Tail, out of gratitude for all that the guild has done for him.

Master Makarov had laughed, “You could handle the stacks of complaints on my desk from Natsu’s property destruction and handle the mail! Wouldn’t that be something!”

Jellal had shown up early the next morning to accomplish the offered task. Athough Master Makarov was surprised, he also did not hesitate to turn over the stacks.

The repetition of paperwork was nice, and the variety of situations people wrote to Fairy Tail’s guildmaster about were often entertaining in their own right. This morning was a particularly angry neighbor of a client who complained about the noise accompanying the Thunder Legion excavating a possible ancient burial site for several centuries-old, deceased wizards. At the end was the mention of a worry about the excavation threatening the foundations of his house that Jellal marked to follow up on.

“Complete destruction of a mansion this size is a big one, even for Fairy Tail. I can’t say I’m sorry that Everlue is out of the picture, the evidence uncovered in the wreckage of his house shows his deeds were worth several times the cost of his mansion in fines alone. Why, he makes me look like a saint,” Jellal said, looking up from a report and smirking at a dark-haired woman in white.

The woman rolled her eyes as she answered, “Everyone knows that the Council was able to tie up twenty different investigations with that evidence. Alymia’s just making a fuss because she has a vacation home in that neighborhood and the property value just went down from the capture of a criminal and the eyesore of a wreck Fairy Tail left behind.”

The memory fragment left and Jellal was back in his body, his lungs growing uncomfortable for lack of air.

A deep breath helped his lungs, but did little to help his spinning thoughts.

“Should I get Erza?” Mirajane asked casually, no hint of the teasing or playfulness she usually used to ask him if he would like Erza’s company.  Jellal had had enough of these fragments return in her presence that she had learned to be casual about what was happening.

Jellal had done a lot of paperwork before losing his memory it seems.

“No, it’s another paperwork memory,” Jellal said. “I believe I may have been the council member assigned to reviewing complaints as they concerned Fairy Tail.”

Mira gave a tinkling little laugh, “That’s not surprising.”

Jellal wasn’t quite sure what to make of that statement.

Not surprising because Fairy Tail had caused several complaints to be made to the Magic Council?

Not surprising because, at the time, he had apparently been interested in keeping track of Erza in order to sacrifice her in a dark magic ritual to resurrect Zeref?

Not surprising because everyone else on the Council hated Fairy Tail enough to fire an etherion blast on their members when given the chance?

Or, the most likely implication because it was Mira, it was not surprising he volunteered to take on the Fairy Tail cases because he has always been deeply concerned with the welfare of Erza Scarlett?

Uncertain of what she meant, or how he was supposed to respond to any of those possible insinuations even if he was certain which one it was, Jellal stayed silent and returned to his work.

 

After assisting with the paperwork, Jellal went to the guildhall and observed his fellow members. Erik was present by then. Cubelios was a surprisingly early riser, and usually didn't let him go back to bed after Jellal's second wake up call.

There was something particularly odd about Cubelios, and it has only become more apparent the longer he was around her.

Jellal had assumed her to be a magical creature at first, a highly intelligent one, a basilisk subspecies or chimera of some sort, but she was always paying rapt attention to the stories shared by the Fairy Tail members. Content to listen in a way unusual to magical creatures who still retained animal intelligence that assisted in hunting and survival. Listening to stories was not a trait of magical creatures, though some did enjoy the sound of voices. 

But was more than the sound of the voice. She answered complex questions correctly, and 

A close examination of Cubelios’s body with an eye for magic showed some unusual signs for laid magic instead of inherent magic. As a guess, she was probably cursed to this form from a different form.

Now, was intelligence was part of the laid magic?

Did it transform her from a garden snake into a venomous winged serpent, or was she a human transformed into a venomous winged serpent, and the laid magic was actively hindering her quality of life by preventing her from using human speech and hands?

Erik had read his thoughts on this matter and told him to leave Cubelios alone or Erik would be joining the Seis in prison for first degree murder. After all the effort Fairy Tail had expended to keep him alive and Erik out of prison, Jellal heeded the warning.

Still, it was a magic puzzle his brain was inclined to solve, particularly when she was watching Freed and Levy chess match.  

Erik couldn’t murder him for following Cubelios’s wishes, not with how much he had changed and how much he clearly cared for his friend. Jellal wouldn’t do anything until he was more sure of the spells place upon Cubelios, then he would present the option to Cubelios herself if she wished to regain her original form. Now, if only she would rest in a position that allowed him a better look at the underside the final quarter of her tail. That was his best guess for the spell origin point since it wasn’t her head, and that should tell him—

“Um, Jellal?”

“Yes Wendy?” he snapped his head towards her. She was fiddling with her hair and avoiding eye contact. He gave what he hoped was an encouraging smile. “Is there something I can do for you?”

“Um, it’s not really a big deal, and only if you have the time!” Her eyes darted around the room, then back to her twisting hair, “I think . . . I think I left something behind at Cait Shelter that I want to go get. Will you . . . go? With me, I mean.”

Jellal softened, “I would happily travel with you. Allow me to clear our plans with Master Makarov. Would it be acceptable to have Erza travel with us?”

Wendy winced, but nodded. “Just Erza though. I don’t want all of Erza’s team involved, it’s really just a small thing, and I’d really like it to be just the two of us, but I get why Master Makarov might insist on Erza coming along, and it’s okay if it’s just her.”

“I understand,” Jellal said. “Will Carla be coming along as well?”

Wendy shook her head no, vigorously.

Jellal nodded gently. “Very well, give me ten minutes, and I’ll return to confirm our plans. Is there a particular way you would like to travel?”

“Could we, uh,” Wendy was blushing fiercly. “Could we maybe go by foot? I just . . . I just want to see if I can maybe trigger your memory of me while we are traveling.” A possible resurgence of a memory of something he did right, instead of slimy smirks over paperwork and casual betrayals of his friends? This was an easy yes. 

Jellal smiled and nodded, “I would like that as well. Are you prepared for the journey? It will likely take three days if we travel on foot, possibly four.”

“I’m all packed,” Wendy confirmed.

“Very well, please wait.”

 

 

Jellal knocked on Master Makarov’s office door.

“What is it this time?”

“Master? I seek your approval for a trip I would like to take.”

The door opened. It was the first time in a while that he had seen the guild master of Fairy Tail without a drink in his hand.

Master Makarov grinned at him, “Jellal! I’ve been meaning to tell you, you’ve been doing fine work. I wasn’t sure what to believe when you volunteered to take over some of the paperwork, never had that offer before, but you’ve really been doing a stellar job my boy!”

Jellal inclined his head, “I’m glad I could be of assistance. Please, let me know if there are any other duties I can assist with. While my request will take me away from the guild for the next couple of days, I will be sure to catch up on the paperwork upon my return.”

“Right, you wanted to take a trip?” Master Makarov focused, “I assume this is different than a job with Erza’s team? You know you don’t have to ask me for those, you just let Mira know your plans and if you’re taking Erik.”

Jellal shook his head, “This is different. Wendy has requested I travel with her back to the former headquarters of the Cait Shelter guild. There is something she left behind she wishes to retrieve. She has also requested that we travel by foot, specifically to see if it jogs any of my memories of spending time with her. She wishes to go alone, but will understand if you would feel more comfortable if we were accompanied by Erza. She would like to avoid additional people beyond that.”

Makarov’s mouth twisted as he rubbed his chin. “It has been a while since you joined and you have given me no reason to mistrust you. You report what memories have returned to you, you assist with the paperwork, you haven’t destroyed anything, attacked anyone, tried to recruit people to a morally ambiguous cause, or sought information on Zeref.”

Huh, that was a very, very low bar. Much lower than Jellal thought it was.

“You have also done well in helping Erik make the necessary adjustments, and if this is your true nature, then you are a serious, respectful, and highly skilled young man. Wendy has asked for your assistance alone in what is likely to be a painful and emotional experience for her.”

Jellal bowed his head and waited. Makarov sighed, “I’m sorry Jellal, but your history in the Tower shows that you can be skilled at manipulating the hearts of vulnerable youths, and your years of deceit with the Magic Council shows that you are very aware of how to play a long game of manipulation. I believe taking this slowly is the best course of action, even if Wendy would prefer it otherwise. Take Erza with you, and you can go.”

“Thank you for your trust, Master. I will return both Wendy and Erza safely to the guild.”

He turned to walk out. It had gone almost entirely as expected, though it seemed Makarov was more inclined emotionally to trust him than he assumed. That was nice.

Jellal had never been quite sure what to make of the man. Apparently Jellal had been granted a title that indicated the guildmaster was of somewhat equivalent magical power to himself, though Jellal himself agreed with Lucy that Jellal’s own appointment to the title had likely been political rather than a true equality of power. The man was constantly drinking and yelling, but his yelling had a warmth that felt . . . odd. When not yelling or drinking, he had a good sense of humor, but was capable of a seriousness that befitted the guildmaster of a powerful guild.

Trusting seemed the wrong word for Master Makarov. A naive word. Hopeful, but pragmatic was a better description, perhaps. But there was also something compelling about the man, something that made Jellal not want to disappoint him, beyond even his desire not to disappoint Lucy, Natsu, Gray, and Loke.

As much as he desired to impress Master Makarov, nothing truly compared to the fear that he would disappoint Erza.

“You realize it is much more than likely that it was Mystogan who assisted Wendy as a child and not you?” Makarov asked just before Jellal closed the door.

Jellal hesitated. Then said, “I am aware. I do not have a twin brother to my knowledge. Based on the information I have been told, I can imagine no scenario in which I have a twin brother, but I also saw the lacrima footage and I can’t deny the resemblance.”

It was one thing to trust Fairy Tail’s assertion that he resembled a member of their guild, and another thing entirely to see his own face on a lacrima screen in real time.

“If it was not me that accompanied Wendy back then,” Jellal continued, “That does not change the fact it is me accompanying her now. I will let her speak her feelings, keep her safe as necessary, and be truthful about what I do and don’t remember. Wendy is smart, I’m sure she has realized the likelihood of matters as well. If she still believes it will give her comfort to have me with her, I’ll do my best to be a comfort to her.”

 

Erza had agreed quickly and asked for an hour to get ready for the trip. Wendy and Jellal were waiting for her on the outskirts of Magnolia for Erza’s arrival, as agreed.

“I’m sorry that this trip is already not turning out how you wanted,” Jellal said.

Wendy shook her head and her hands in protest, “No, it’s alright. It’ll be fun to have Erza with us. I know everyone else is still working on trusting you, I kinda expected this to happen.”

“Are we ready?” Erza asked, in the same jogging gear she had had on for the endurance run last week.

“Yep, it’s this way,” Wendy said, pointing down the trail.

“Lovely weather for a backpacking trip,” Erza said, taking the lead down the trail.

Wendy hummed in agreement and Jellal was content to watch Erza and Wendy pick their way on the path around the lake.

As they left the lake behind, Jellal said, “I’ve been meaning to ask Wendy, where did you meet me?”

“Oh,” Wendy tilted her heard in thought, “I don’t really remember the place. My dragon, Grandeeny, had left and I couldn’t find her. We weren’t near her nest either, I couldn’t find anything. I was five years old or so at the time, so I also didn’t know what direction we headed after we started travelling together, though you taught me how to read the sky for directions towards the end of traveling together. I remember the first few months was more jungle-y than forest-y, so maybe it was more south?”

“It could have been in Clover Canyon,” Erza offered, “The base of it is surprisingly jungle-like, though it is difficult to imagine two children navigating that area safely.”

“Mayb—Whoa!” Wendy tripped, but Jellal was able to catch her.

“Easy there,” Jellal said, making sure she was settled on her feet before releasing her.

“Sorry! I hate that I’m so clumsy!” Wendy cried, covering her face.

Jellal chuckled, “There is nothing wrong with being clumsy, especially when you have someone there to catch you.”

Wendy blinked, “You . . . you said that before.”

“Really?” Erza asked.

“Maybe it was just something really similar,” Wendy admitted, “You said there was nothing wrong with being clumsy and slowing down a little, especially when I had you there to catch me. Do you remember that?”

Jellal carefully picked through the memory fragments he did have, looking for a five year old blue-haired girl. Paperwork, the black haired woman, his wrists in chains, Natsu standing tall, Erza as a child in a dirty shift, her hair beneath his fingers.

He shook his head “I’m sorry, there’s nothing I can consciously recall.”

Wendy took a moment to accept that, nodded, and grabbed his hand, “That’s fine. You’re here now. So let’s keep going,” she smiled at him and pulled him down the road, “You volunteered to catch me, you can’t do that if you’re not close by!”

“Very well,” he said, a small matching smile on his face. They stayed like that, linked at the hands, until they passed back into a forested section near the base of Mt. Hakube and Wendy let go of his hand to chase down a river she heard (she heard it long before Jellal or Erza could.)

They were 3/4^th of the way there when they stopped for the night. Jellal had brought along some of his stores of canned food, Erza pulled a strawberry cake out, and Wendy pulled out some pasta she had made the night before. It was a mixed taste meal, but enjoyable all the same.

“Hey Jellal? Can you tell me a story?” Wendy asked as they laid in their sleeping bags for the night. “You used to talk a lot more, and I miss your voice.”

An unusual request, and an unusually difficult one.

“I’m not sure I remember any stories,” Jellal said, looking up at the starry night sky. “Lucy told me some stories, but Erza would be able to tell those stories better, and Lucy best of all. I’m not sure I remember them well enough to be able to keep all the details straight, and I don’t want to misinform you about Lucy.”

“It doesn’t matter if you can’t tell a story well, I just want to hear you talk for a bit, but don’t worry about it if it makes you uncomfortable,” Wendy said, her voice trailing off shyly.

“The thing I know best right now is magic, I could give you a very boring lecture on magic if the goal is to fall asleep to the sound of my voice?”

“Okay.”

The fire’s last embers popped as he thought through the library of spells and magic principals he did know, trying to find something that wasn’t too darkness oriented. Some boring principle . . . Would how to read forced transformation spells (the technical term since curse magic was a very specific phenomenon that operated outside of ethernano principles) be too dark for her? Or get him in trouble with Erza?

He was thinking about Cubelios again. Maybe the basics was the best place to start.

“There are two generally accepted ways for people to become wizards. The first way is to be taught by another wizard already experienced in magic. A beginner wizard is taught how to reach for their magic container and use it to either fuel holder magic instruments, such as Loke’s celestial keys or Cana’s cards, or push it into specific patterns in your body, such as your ability type dragon slayer magic as taught to you by Grandeeny. The Archeological Record suggests that before there were wizards, humans had already started using lacrima-fueled tools, but the genesis of humans accessing the ambient magic within themselves is a much murkier area of historical thought.

“Scholars throughout the ages have debated which came first, humans realizing that they must contain environmental magic and be able to use it in the place of a lacrima and with more precision and skill, or if magical creatures, such as dragons, had magic first and taught ability type spells to humans. There is no strong consensus.

“However, it is agreed that dragonslayer magic itself was only generated approximately 400 years ago, while magic of both ability type and holder type is recorded as existing up to 2500 years ago. I suppose Lucy would be able to shed some enviable light on this particular historical debate. It wouldn’t surprise me if Celestial magic, holder magic taught by beings from the celestial spirit world using another world’s tools, is actually the first instance of wizards.

“There is another school of thought that the first wizards were not the kind that were taught. While 99.9% of wizards are taught magic, some people become wizards though a method called ‘forced expulsion’.

“Forced expulsion occurs when a human previously unable to use magic is put in truly horrific circumstances. When a human is forced to suffer beyond the mind or the body’s ability to cope, the magic container will defensively expel magic to change the situation. It is rare that this happens, even threats and fear of death are not enough to trigger this type of magic. Torture is capable of creating a forced expulsion, but even then the phenomenon occurs in less than one in one thousand odds.”

Huh, the citation eluded him, but the statistic itself spoke to rather . . . unethical experimentation. It was probably time to move on.

“Because there is no guidance or spell points from the untrained, newly minted wizard, the magic in their body is expelled in copius amounts as the person’s last opportunity to save themselves from their agony. Current theory holds that the magic takes a form that is both suited to the wizard’s personality and capable of removing the danger. The form is instinctual and combat oriented, though it is typically a known form of magic rather than a newly created one, oddly enough.

“This most often happens to children, and never happens to someone who has previously accessed their magic container. Because of this small sample size, little is known about forced expulsion wizards. Those wizards tend to be more powerful on average than those that were taught magic, though whether it is because of the method of their magic’s genesis, because of the unique synergy between the form of the magic and the wizard, because they developed their magic as children and gained experience and intuition from a young age, or because they have faced situations that strengthen the heart and will beyond most learned-magic wizards, we are unable to prove one way or another.

“The lesser accepted theory is that the first human wizard was created through a forced expulsion, and learned how to use magic following that incident before teaching others how to access their magic. The main benefit to this particular theory is that there is no reason to believe humans have not always been capable of a forced expulsion, or the cruelty required to create one, but the lack of a record of any such event predating other magic uses suggests it is much more likely—”

“She’s asleep,” Erza interrupted quietly.

He looked across their pit of embers and found Wendy’s mouth open as she gave little snores of breath.

“Ahh,” Jellal said awkwardly, “I suppose I shall have to save what the archeological record does contain regarding human wizardry to send her to sleep tomorrow.”

Erza was on her elbows looking at him, her feet away from the fire. “Do you have any personal memories associated with the knowledge you just offered? Or is the information just known to you like your spells? Why did you pick that topic?”

“Most of the spells I could have lectured as long on were . . . not appropriate for current company,” Jellal said delicately. Erza shifted forward and her hair fell to cover on of her eyes. “History seemed like a way to be able to speak at length. Is there something—”

“Now that you’re mine, I have a little test for you,” Zeref’s voice whispered, played, demanded. “There’s a girl coming here. She’s causing so many problems. She was easy to deal with before she had magic, but you being in danger seemed to have sent her into a forced expulsion. Your test is to deal with her in a way that removes her from this island and convinces those who remain in the Tower to continue to build my home for resurrection. Will you fail me?”

“No, Lord Zeref. I’ll take care of her for you.” Already the plan was forming. Take away the magical lynchpin, make her the enemy, and those left behind will happily turn on her and go back to the job.

Erza as a child threw open the door to the room of his communion with Zeref. “Jellal!”

Perfect.

“You . . . I received a memory,” Jellal said, mouth fuzzy. He didn’t want to share this one, but no lies. Not to Erza. “A voice I thought to be Zeref warned me that a girl had a forced expulsion because . . . because I was in danger. The voice ordered me to get rid of her, a test to prove myself. Then you arrived. I was . . . I was going to take away the magical lynch pin of the workers, make it look like you betrayed them so their hatred would make it easier to convince them to continue building the tower.”

He felt sick.

“It wasn’t you,” Erza said quietly.

He frowned at her, “I came up with the plan, whether the compulsion—”

“No, that’s not what I meant,” Erza interjected. She glanced at Wendy, and continued quieter, “I’m sorry, I’m not ready to talk about fault yet, not until you have all your memories, and maybe not until we know who or what was possessing you. I meant that it wasn’t you being in danger that put me into a forced expulsion. It was something else.”

“Oh.”

As much as Jellal wanted to talk about fault, (as much as he wished people would just hate him and blame him the amount he deserves) he would respect her desire not to talk about it for right now.

(He would take the mercy of more time to try and make up for his sins before Erza made her final decision about him.)

“It was . . . there was an old man. He was in our workgroup at the Tower,” Erza explained haltingly, “Rob. He had a Fairy Tail mark on his back. He looked after us. After your revolt failed, you managed to get me free but took my place in the torture chamber. I was guilt-ridden with all you were going to suffer because of me, I was suffering from my own weakness and helplessness. But it was only when Rob died to protect me from a blast of death magic that I experienced a forced expulsion. It wasn’t you.”

“I see.”

Was it good that his failed attempt at a rebellion and subsequent capture wasn’t Erza’s tipping point into the unbearable? Was the fact that the voice lied to him more proof of possession? Rob was another blank space in the past he was trying to take responsibility for.

How Jellal hated that Erza had to bear these memories alone.

“I’ve never let myself examine those memories too closely,” Erza admitted. She rolled onto her back in her sleeping bag, “But you should know that you didn’t have magic before you took my place in the torture chamber.”

“Huh?” Wait. No, he had magic. He was going to use it to destroy Erza’s life. “I thought . . . you said I led a rebellion to save you.”

“You did,” Erza said, a little fondly as she gazed at the stars, “But far more dangerous than your magic has always been your charisma. I was in danger, and you managed to rally all the prisoners across the work groups to revolt without a shred of magic.”

“I’m sorry Jellal, but your history in the Tower shows that you can be skilled at manipulating the hearts of vulnerable youths.”

“Honestly, that kind of charisma is much less fathomable than maintaining a perpetual magic infused thought projection sufficient to fool magical experts,” Jellal admitted.

“Just like your magical power, charisma is a power that can be used for good or evil, it’s about sincerity for you, more than charm,” Erza told him. “But that’s not what I meant. A logical chain of events. The torture they used on you was worse than the pain of me losing my eye, and as bad as watching Rob, the only supportive adult figure in our lives, die in front of me while protecting me.”

Ah.

“You believe I experienced a forced expulsion while undergoing torture.”

Erza nodded, “Yes. And I believe that your magic was powerful enough that whoever was behind the Tower cults took notice, but even a magical expulsion wasn’t enough to thwart their power. They possessed you because they saw the potential in your magic, and you were at your weakest in every way.”

Jellal knew the theories, knew what it took to make a forced expulsion, and had just explained the deep, soul rendering pain that was required.

Did it make his recrimination less? Could he afford to think of it that way?

Erza used her forced expulsion to save him. He used his forced expulsion to torture her.

But Erza didn’t want to talk about blame today.

“I shall have to readjust my explanation to Wendy tomorrow regarding the small sample size. Perhaps I’ll write a paper on the phenomenon if I regain my memory of the incident. Given the rarity of the event, there are likely very few papers written by people who experienced the sensation firsthand.”

Erza gave a cute snort.

“Would I be able to use your story and experience as a data point in this hypothetical paper?” Jellal asked, a small smile in his voice. “Only after I write all the awful details of my own experience, of course."

Erza laughed again, then turned away from him, “Good night Jellal.”

“Good night, Erza.”

 

`

 

`

Notes:

What does Jellal do for fun? Apparently mentally draft various magical research thesis papers, lol.

Jellal is trying so hard to be worthy. Wendy is trying so hard to be happy. Erza is trying so hard to figure out her own feelings. I love it! What do you guys think?

Chapter 69: Mourning

“We’re almost there!” Wendy called, rushing ahead. There was a nearby river and Jellal was starting to recognize the area from their previous visit. “Come on!”

The deserted village remained untouched. A gentle breeze blew past empty houses.

Wendy slowed down as they reached the center of the village.

“We . . . we had some food stored in that building,” Wendy said, pointing to the one on the left of the guildhall. “Could you two go see if there’s something we could do with it? I don’t want animals trying to get in for it. Which is silly, but I’d also rather not let it go to waste. Since I ate it and didn’t die, I assume the food was real and didn’t vanish with everything else.”

“Of course,” Jellal said, encouragingly, “We’ll meet you back here when we’ve got it sorted.”

Wendy nodded and rushed into the former guildhall.

They found the food Wendy mentioned, stored underneath a communal kitchen area. Dried herbs, root vegetables, sacs of flour and rice, dried meats. Jellal meticulously tucked away all the food that was salvageable into his pocket, and some that was a little questionable, but could probably be saved if you cut off the moldy parts.

Erza found some of the fabrics and outfits that also remained in a nearby storeroom. They were too big for Wendy now, it was likely the area where the girls had gotten dressed their last day in Cait Shelter. When Erza touched them she had looked at him, and Jellal nodded. Wendy could grow into them. The Nirvit legacy and culture was hers to decide what to do with.

“Perhaps a birthday gift when she’s older?” Erza asked hesitantly.  

Jellal smiled, “I think she’d like that. You will be able to keep them in better condition than this basement.”

Erza nodded and sent all the spare outfits into her pocket.

After that they waited for Wendy to return in the main rotunda.

And waited.

After 20 minutes, Jellal threw a concerned look at Erza, and she nodded. They headed towards the guildhall.

Wendy’s shuddering breaths could be heard upon entering.

Jellal raced forward, throwing open doors until he found the room Roubaul must have used as his office. He fell to his knees behind the desk; Wendy sobbing under it, trying and failing to be silent in her grief.

“I’m sorry,” she cried, clutching a crinkled paper to her chest and somehow hunching smaller. “I’m sorry.”

Jellal didn’t hesitate to pull her into his lap, wrapping his arms around her as Wendy clutched at him, her sobs finally gaining some volume.

“It’s alright, you can cry. I’m here, you have nothing to be sorry for,” Jellal murmured, stroking her hair and feeling Wendy clutch him tighter.

Erza put a hand on Wendy’s shoulder, sitting beside them, and they let the young girl keep sobbing.

Eventually she wore herself out.

Erza brought her a glass of water.

“I’m sorry,” Wendy said again, her voice a little raw. “I know they weren’t . . . I know they weren’t real, but-but I can’t stop missing them. It’s stupid.”

“You have the right to mourn the people that helped raised you,” Jellal told her.

She shook her head, eyes downcast. More, he had to be convincing. Where was that damn charisma people were so concerned about now? There had to be something, something in his limited memories, that could comfort her.

Something . . .

 “How were you born, Wendy?”

“I . . . I don’t know my par-parents, I only remember Grandeeny,” Wendy admitted. “But Grandeeny told me I had parents that died-died.”

She took another sip and started to breathe more evenly.

“How was Lucy born?” Jellal continued.

“Huh?” Wendy asked, tilting her head, voice almost back to normal. “Lucy? She’s a celestial spirit. I read her book, but she doesn’t really explain how she was born. The previous celestial spirit of those stars dies and a new spirit takes their place.”

Jellal nodded. “How was Grandeeny born?”

Wendy’s brows came together, “From an egg, probably. I think. Why?”

“Just because Lucy and Grandeeny were born differently, does that mean you wouldn’t have the right to mourn their absence when they left?” Jellal asked slowly.

Wendy’s blue eyes widened, her mouth clicking shut. Then she shook her head.  

“But that’s . . . that’s different,” Wendy protested weakly. “Carla, Carla won’t talk about anybody from before, she says they weren’t real and we need to move forward. It’s like crying over an imaginary friend, not a real person like Grandeeny or Lucy.”

“The people you knew were born from Raubaul’s mind and magic,” Jellal said firmly. “That is different than how you or I were born, presumably. But Lucy and Grandeeny were both born differently as well. That doesn’t make them any less real.”

“But . . .” Wendy’s lip trembled.

Her breathing was starting to go ragged again, Wendy fought to keep it even.

“May I share a story?” Erza asked softly.

“A story?” Wendy asked, looking between Erza and Jellal. Jellal tilted his head forward in permission.

Erza would help make things clearer, she always did.

“Okay,” Wendy decided. She got off Jellal’s lap with a small blush, and the three of them settled against the wall behind the desk, Wendy in the middle.

“This is a very special story about a girl very much like you,” Erza said, tilting her head back to look at the ceiling. “She lived on a small island in a small village. Her parents had died from sickness, but she lived with an innkeeper and his daughter. The girl didn’t get along with the innkeeper’s daughter very well at first.

“When the young girl was six years old, a group of marauding thieves came to the island and stole the island’s sacred treasure, attacking everyone there so that the islanders wouldn’t be able to follow them and to try to get the treasure back. The thieves killed everyone except this young girl and the innkeeper’s daughter. They were the only ones to survive the attack.”

Maybe Jellal could have lectured on circles of destruction. Wendy had experienced so much loss and anguish, Erza’s darker story didn’t seem to phase her. Wendy was focused, nodding along, her breathing slowing.

“As the only two survivors of their village, it was tricky to survive, but they got by and became good friends. Mavis was the young girl, and Zera, her friend the innkeeper’s daughter. Mavis dreamed of leaving the island one day, of having many friends and adventures, but Zera was a bit more scared of the outside world, weary of strangers, and satisfied to stay on the island with her one friend.

“One day a group of treasure hunters arrived on the island, looking for the island’s sacred treasure, which had been lost. Mavis convinced the treasure hunters to take her with them, to let her hunt for her island’s sacred treasure with them, and then Mavis convinced Zera to come along. Mavis had many adventures. She grew her illusion magic to even more incredible heights and helped the treasure hunters learn magic as well. Mavis became good friends with the treasure hunters. Or so she believed.

“One treasure hunter, Yuri, planned to claim the sacred treasure of Mavis’s home for himself. He didn’t lie, he told Mavis that he was going to take it, but it was a betrayal all the same when the treasure was located and he took it for himself.

“What he didn’t know was that there was a curse on the treasure. Yuri refused to believe Mavis’s warning about holding the treasure in his hands. Instead, he believed she was trying to trick him right back. The curse activated, and Mavis sacrificed something very precious to free Yuri from the curse.”

“What did she sacrifice?” Wendy asked.

Erza smiled sadly, “Her ability to grow up. She was cursed to remain in a child’s body for the rest of her life. But it was worth it, to save the friend that had betrayed her.” Erza’s eyes darted to him, then back to Wendy.

“That’s awful,” Wendy said, a hand pressed to her chest.

“But from her sacrifice, Mavis had earned Yuri’s true friendship.” Erza continued. “Yuri told Mavis a secret the treasure hunters had been keeping. It was a secret he couldn’t keep any longer, now that he knew Mavis was a true friend. While Mavis had insisted that Zera had been accompanying them the entire time, they had never seen Zera and had lied to Mavis about being able to see Zera.”

“What?” Wendy asked, eyes wide. “You mean . . .”

Erza nodded at her, “That’s right. In the attack on their island, Mavis was the only actual survivor. The innkeeper’s daughter died all those years ago. Mavis’s illusion magic had activated as a child, and conjured Zera to keep her company and grow with her. From just about the time she was six, until she was fourteen, Mavis's dearest, oldest, and only friend, her dear Zera, was an illusion of her own making.”

Jellal’s eyes were wide and Wendy gripped his hand tightly.

“What happened then?” Wendy asked.

“Knowing it was an illusion, she wouldn’t have been able to maintain it,” Jellal said quietly, forgetting it was a story.  

Erza nodded. “Jellal is right, Mavis couldn’t maintain it. Zera started to fade before her eyes, and Mavis threw her arms around her oldest friend and cried.”

Wendy’s entire being, except for the one hand gripping him, was turned towards Erza. Unblinking, unmoving, barely breathing.

“Zera told Mavis that she had to go, that Mavis was strong enough to move forward without her now. But Mavis refused, she didn’t want her friend to leave, and didn’t care that she wasn’t real, she was real to Mavis.

“Zera laughed and asked where Mavis thought she was going. Zera was going to the place she would always truly belong, right inside Mavis’s heart. She was always going to be right there with her. And it was okay to miss having her around, but it was also okay to move forward without her, because Mavis had things to do, living friends to stand beside her, and so many adventures to have.

“Zera vanished, appearing before the treasure hunters for just a moment to giver her last wish: that the treasure hunters would take care of Mavis. They promised, and Zera was gone. Mavis cried.”

Wendy sniffed, and tears leaked out, which she quickly wiped away. “Then-then what happened?”

Erza put an arm around Wendy, touching their foreheads, her eyes closed, and Wendy’s eyes closed too, “Then Mavis decided she would make a magic guild. A guild that would always be a place where lost little girls with imaginary friends they carried in their hearts would be welcomed. Where people who had lost everything, people who had their whole lives burned to the ground, would be able to find a home and work. Where people would stand beside each other, and live with each other, and know what it meant to be trusted. Where people knew what it meant to be safe with their friends.”

Erza pulled away from Wendy, and glanced up at Jellal, “Where everyone would accepted no matter their past. Where they could start over. A place where even if someone betrayed their friends, they could start over and decide to be the friend they had pretended to be before.”

She looked back down at Wendy with the most beautiful, most heartbreaking smile, and said, “Mavis called the guild Fairy Tail.”

Wendy let out another sob, let go of Jellal, and threw herself at Erza.

There was a flash of magic as Erza requipped into a shirt instead of armor. Erza’s magic really was amazing for sheer speed.

Erza accepted Wendy into her arms and put a hand on the back of her head, stroking her hair. “So you see, Fairy Tail was made for just for people like you. Young women who need a place to be a home and need a place cry over departed friends, no matter who made them with their magic. Zera was real to Mavis and Cait Shelter was real to you. Their effect on your heart was real, and you are allowed to mourn them.

“It doesn’t make you any weaker than the first founding master of Fairy Tail, so cry as long as you like. We’ll be here. And if you want to talk about Cait Shelter, we would love to hear it.”

These tears didn’t worry Jellal like Wendy’s earlier suppressed sobs had. Tears pricked at his own eyes. What an amazing story. What an amazing guild.

Some hurts could be healed with tears shed in the arms of friends. That was the point of Fairy Tail after all.

Wendy eventually calmed down and managed a few deep breaths. She pulled back and straightened out the crumpled sheets of paper she had been clutching.

The paper was actually five different pages of colored pencil drawings of multiple people on each page, dressed in the fabrics of the Nirvits with names clumsily written beneath the people, and “Cait Shelter” written across the top of the first one.

With another attempt at a deep breath, Wendy croaked, “This is what I came back for. I made it years ago, so I forgot about it when . . . Anyway, I bought the materials on my first trip into town and gave it to Master Raubaul. I hoped it would still be here, it’s . . .” words failed her again.

“It’s proof that they existed,” Jellal said gently, and Wendy nodded. “Will you tell us about them?”

Wendy nodded and pointed to the first woman. “This was Adai, she was in charge of the kitchens . . .”

Erza and Jellal listened and asked questions about the members of Wendy’s previous family, and let Wendy’s words pause and falter, let her cry, and the afternoon passed into evening before they were done.

Wendy was so tired after everything that she didn’t need another story to fall asleep that night.

And if Jellal woke up and Wendy was cuddled into his side in the middle of the night, he pretended nothing had happened, went back to sleep, and let Wendy wake up first.

“We could stay longer if you would like. There isn’t anything pressing at the guild, and we aren’t short on food stores,” Jellal pointed out over breakfast.

Wendy smiled and shook her head, “I don’t know how I could ever thank you enough for yesterday, but I feel much better today. I have what I came for. I want to go back now. But . . .” she bit her lip a moment, then said, “But if I wanted to come back here again?”

“I’d be happy to accompany you again,” Jellal confirmed, smiling back. “Maybe next time Carla will be interested in coming with us. People experience grief at their own pace, she might be ready to face this place the next time, but we will accept if she isn’t.”

“Alright,” Wendy said, standing up, still smiling. “Let’s get going today. We have a lot of ground to cover!”

Notes:

Look, LOOK. Wendy's story makes me cry every time, and she is going to get the chance to cry about it herself, Darn it! You can't keep taking her family from her like that!

Luckily she has Erza and Jellal now, who know what it is like to mourn, and they will not be leaving her alone any time soon.

Now that I've done a little bit of justice to Jellal and Wendy, back to the regularly scheduled programming with Lucy and Loke and the Edolas arc next week!

Stay Safe,
thecagedsong

Chapter 70: Familiar Faces

“Hey! We got news!” Warren and Max yelled, running back into the guild. “Guildarts is back!”

“Who’s Gildarts?” Loke asked.

“He’s unequivocally the strongest Wizard in Fairy Tail, male or female,” Erza said with a smile. “He’s been gone for three years on a job.”

Loke blinked, “What kind of job takes three years?”

Mirajane explained the levels of requests. A, B, and C ranks available to all members, though Mira and Gramps monitor A rank requests for newer/less experienced wizards. S class, double and triple S class, then decade and century quests.

“I can’t believe anyone would devote their lives to a request that’s going to take a hundred years,” Lucy said. “I mean, I could live that long, but that’s your whole lives, right?”

He had called Lucy out for their first day of hanging out at the guild since . . . since the Rainbow Sakura festival. He had waited until they were already at the guild, when he had Janessa under one arm, Ella under the other, and Cana had come over.  

So everything was fine.

“That’s just who Gildarts is,” Erza said with a laugh, overhearing them from the next table. “And, while not common knowledge, if you are skilled enough in your magic, and it runs through your body thick enough, your life span does get extended. One of the reasons Master Makarov is so hail despite his advanced age. But if you’re at that level of magic, it probably won’t take you a hundred years to complete the request. Gildarts is back after only three.”

Outside they heard sirens for something called the Gildart’s shift.

“What’s that?” Wendy asked. “Why do people have to get ready whenever he comes home?”

“Go outside and see for yourself,” Mirajane said mischievously.

Loke, his lovely companions, Lucy, Wendy, and Carla all went outside and watched the entire town rearrange itself to make a path directly through the city.

“No way,” Loke said. “You do all this for him?”

“Believe it or not, after Gildarts joined Fairy Tail, this was the cheaper option,” Mirajane said, shaking her head. “It’s been like this for as long as I’ve been in the guild, but apparently before they built the shift, Gildarts would accidentally break so many houses and shops with his crash magic, it was just easier.”

“You’d think they would kick him out of town before resorting to this,” Loke said, watching the lone man approach the guild.

“Not for a member of Fairy Tail,” Janessa said. Or was she Ella? Shoot. Pet names it was until he could remember.

“Magnolia was a blip on the map before the Fairy Tail guild,” Lucy explained, also eyeing the man slowly walking towards them, “Fairy Tail has always had strong wizards and a pretty open enrollment policy, but they saved the town from some pretty bad wizards and stuck around to help rebuild it and help it flourish. Maybe there was some debate, but Magnolia will pick Fairy Tail’s side every time, even if the Magic Council won’t.”

“You sure know a lot,” Mira said. “You haven’t been contracted with a Fairy Tail wizard before, have you?”

Lucy shook her head, “No, but I’ve heard about Fairy Tail in nearly every contract I’ve had for the past hundred years. I’ve been called on to fight a couple of Fairy Tail wizards, my wizard worked under the Fairy Tactician back in the day, and this guild has always been the subject of gossip.”

“Alright, here he comes!” Natsu cheered, running towards Gildarts.  

“Natsu sure is excited for someone that sounds like they were barely around,” Loke said.

“Aye, Natsu and Gildarts have known each other a long time, and Natsu really looks up to him. He was around close to when I born, so I’ve known him my whole life,” Happy said.

While they waited for Gildarts to finish walking to them, Happy shared his story. Lisanna being captured by a forest Vulcan, the way they used to play house, Gildarts coming to their rescue.

Looks like getting Gildart’s approval was part of the Fairy Tail checklist.

Janessa (Ella?) pulled him back towards their drinks, laughing cutely as her whole body bounced with the motion.

Then again . . . maybe getting Gildarts’s approval could wait.

And if he sat so he faced a wall and couldn’t see the flash of Lucy’s golden hair or Gildarts, that was no one’s business but his.

 

 

 

Lucy sat next to Cana, silent around the cheers of joy.

Well, Loke wasn't cheering with joy, he was facing a wall, giving all his attention to two brunette women hanging off him. The three of them were still happy and laughing though. He clearly summoned her to hang out with other people, not him. Not after whatever the hell happened at the Rainbow Sakura festival.

But that was okay, because there was someone that really wanted Lucy here today, and Lucy wasn't going to let her down by thinking about someone else right now.

“This might be the last time he’s around for a while,” Lucy said casually. Cana didn’t look at her.

“It’s not the right time,” Cana said. “I have to…”

I have to be someone he can be proud of; someone he wants to claim.

Lucy remembered. It was hard to forget finding Cana sloshed out of her mind in the alley by her apartment a little less than a year ago.

“He’d be a nut not to be proud of you,” Lucy said, nudging her with her shoulder. “But it’s your decision.”

Cana relaxed a smidge, “It’s easier, with you knowing. I didn’t expect that.”

“Well now, those are some interesting secrets, ladies,” Erik said, sitting down next to them. “More interesting than everyone else right now. He really that special?”

“He’s strong,” Cana said. “Magically powerful. He could have taken on your old guild within minutes. Of course Fairy Tail is going to celebrate him.”

“And what would you be knowing about my old guild?” Erik asked carefully, “I was a guildless wizard before.”

“Sure you were,” Cana snorted. “And Lucy, the cards show that he won’t be going anywhere until after the next S class trial.”

“Fortune teller, with a lot of magic heritage,” Erik said, “Interesting.”

“It’s impolite to hear thoughts,” Cana said. “Now hush.”

Together they watched Gildarts be confused about the rebuilding of Fairy Tail and Mira’s adulthood. Or maybe it was the fact that she was pink and smiley instead of goth.

“Wow, I must have missed a lot,” Gildarts said, putting a hand to his head.

Mira laughed, “You could say that.”

They listened as Gildarts reported a job incomplete, his first one ever, and Makarov congratulated him on making it home alive.

How much magic would it take to complete a hundred-year quest, if Gildarts couldn’t do it? In her sense of magic, he burned. Lucy had faith that her team could handle just about anything, what was—

“I see what you are thinking, and I am going to stop you right there,” Erza said, glaring at her.

“Not thinking anything,” Lucy said guiltily. “Nope, not a thought.”

“And there he goes,” Cana said.

“The pyro’s gonna follow him,” Erik said, bored.

“What do you—” Gildarts used his crash magic to make a separate entrance through the side. The others complained about him using the door, but Lucy sprung into action.

“No,” she said, catching Natsu by the scarf before he could mimic his hero.

“What? How’d you know—Erik! Not cool man,” Natsu complained.

“Don’t be so obvious!” Erik called back.

“Please don’t,” she asked letting go of his scarf. “We worked hard to build this. You worked hard to build this wall. Please don’t wreck it on purpose.”

He searched her eyes for a moment, then scoffed, “Fine. Let’s go the normal way Happy.”

Natsu walked out through the hole Gildarts had made, making Lucy sigh, but at least the guild wasn’t any more destroyed than before.

“Is it just me, or did Natsu get 50% more tolerable since he teamed up with Lucy,” Warren asked with a laugh.

“It’s not like he’s gotten into less trouble with her around,” Mira pointed out. “It’s just that she’s taken the time to really get to know him, so he listens to her too.”

“Reminds me a little of Lisanna, don’t you think?” Cana asked Mira.

Mira’s smile was unbearably sad, “Yes, she does.”

 

 

Lucy stretched at her desk, finally caught up on all the paperwork that accumulated in her three-year absence. There was a small stack left, but it was all from since she had gotten back to the Celestial Realm.

Fox put in for a ten year break and removed her key from the mortal world after Loke dropped it in a forest, easily granted. Other minor requests. Some spirits wanted to move their key to where it would be found and needed special permission to use the service gate, since they didn’t have enough power to break through the barrier between worlds on their own.

Pheonix had recently been reborn, part of her twenty year cycle, and Lucy needed to schedule a visit since she seemed to be extra depressed this time around.

Perceus and Pegasus were currently having a row and had wrecked each other’s houses, so they were both requesting Forge and Chisel to help them rebuild. Foreseeing the possible complications, Forge and Chisel had requested Lucy set a schedule for workflow so they wouldn’t show favorites.

Little things she did to keep the stars shining.

She put her head on her desk and closed her eyes.

It had been a while since Loke last called on her, back when Gildarts had come home. That was the first time she’d been summoned since the Rainbow Sakura Festival blew up in her face and she had helped send the signal to Mystogan to put the plan into action.

It would be Christmas soon. Even though it had been a little awkward last time, Loke wasn’t keeping her from Christmas festivities, was he?

That conversation with Loke was just so confusing!

He had been sincere, right? When he first started talking among the trees, he had to be. Loke shot down her insistence that he didn’t love her, and seemed prepared to do so until the sun came up.

But she couldn’t accept his confession.

She just couldn’t.

It would kill her to be in a relationship with him. Either it would go south and they’d break up and her personal oaths to see him to old age would ache and she’d make bad judgments or he would make bad judgments because he couldn’t rely on her. She didn’t know if she could work with someone after a breakup but she would have to and it would be agonizing. Or they wouldn’t break up and there was so much involved in that!

Loke had no idea what it meant to love and be in love with a celestial spirit.

Layla Heartfilia hadn’t been able to accept even a true platonic love, once she’d been told what it meant.

Leo the Lion had to think in decades and centuries. As Lucy and Leo, she had to think in oaths and contracts. She had to say no, she couldn't be selfish.

Then Loke called her out for being so serious.

Had she read the situation that wrong? A confession seemed like the place they were headed, that’s why she had been freaked out leading up to the dang festival. Was it her? Did she make something out of nothing because other people made it something, like she had when Loke convinced her Natsu was going to confess?

They had had real moments, she knew it.

Or, she thought she did.

Were those part of the flirting game too?

No. The Celestial Spirit King would not have responded to a casual flirt. She knew the echo of Loke’s emotions, something that only came when she was strongly bonded to a wizard. During Fantasia, she knew when he was being serious, and when he needed a break from serious and used a flirt to get it. She felt him during Nirvana’s activation, when he was fighting Angel, and had read that situation right.

So then what the hell happened during the Rainbow Sakura festival????

No, this was annoying.

Yes, he was her wizard and her friend, but he was not worth this obsession or these thought spirals. She got what she wanted. Loke wasn’t going to ask her out, and wasn’t apparently hurt by her confused signals. He was never going to stop being a playboy and mean it, so anything suggesting more than friendship, she just had to treat like a casual flirt.

Lucy was the one that made everything awkward last time.

She just . . . wouldn’t do that again.

She’d be her happy, peppy self, and never trust the word ‘love’ from Loke ever again. Loke probably thought he was being respectful in not summoning her and giving her space because she was the one that got too serious.

He was still training his magic, at least. He still called out at least one of his celestial spirits every day for a couple of hours, but nothing invoking intense emotion, so they were probably hanging out. Aries had gushed to her about going to dinner with Loke, where she had apologized for laughing when Loke got awkward about recommending the lamb on the menu.

This was a good thing, and the best thing he could do while she got her head on straight.

Lucy had been greedy in her contract terms, taking all his magic for herself. He literally had to develop better relationships with the others to grow as a wizard. This was good.

Hopefully she wasn’t missing out on too much. It was probably a job dry spell, Loke didn’t wake up early enough to catch a job when everyone was looking for work after the festival. His emotions weren’t particularly intense, so no big fights, though he was currently confused about something right now.

Next time he called her out, she’d behave perfectly normal. Lucy would show him that she wasn’t confused anymore, and he could rely on her.

Just like she wanted.

Enough of that. Lucy took out one of the documents she just finished reviewing and approving. It was Virgo’s use of the service gate to the Celestial World without pre-approval, dated for four and a half earthland months ago, listing her then-wizard as Duke Everlue.

Reason for use of guest gate:

Urgent need to respond to a summons, and Leo’s friend needed to be reunited with her to better ensure Leo’s survival.

Additional information:

Leo’s friend was already dressed in celestial clothing sufficient to ensure survival for duration of service gate travel. (Leo, if this emergency-use form contains an insufficient explanation to justify an emergency, please feel free to punish me as you see fit.)

Virgo had believed even then that Lucy would either be coming back, or her paperwork would never get done and she wouldn’t get in trouble, cheeky girl. Virgo had planned from the first time Natsu and Lucy split that if Everlue called her to fight Lucy, Virgo would bring Natsu with her through the service gate.

Natsu had assumed all travel was like going through the service gate, which was why he thought it ok to grab her when she was using her personal gate. Unfortunate circumstances, but a good heart behind all the choices involved.

There had never been any condemnation, not from Virgo, all she had wanted was to help Lucy survive as long as possible. It was sweet, and you had to keep physical reminders of love from emotionally distant/difficult friends.

Lucy would be keeping a copy of this in her desk for whenever her celestial family was being particularly unbearable. Or for like now, when she could use a reminder of love.

One of the Vulans, the Flying Fish, dropped a new form on top of her head before flying away, and she sat up and caught it before it fell to the ground.

It was a notice from Horologium of another emergency summons to save Loke from a dangerous environmental hazard. Horologium needed to fill out a notice form every time he did that because after 50 emergency breakthroughs, a gate needed maintenance or it would start to malfunction, he was on 44 as of saving Loke from a collapsing Nirvana. They’d probably need to do maintenance on it sooner rather than later with how danger prone Loke was, could she fit it into the work schedule she was developing—

—Wait.

Horologium had done the emergency service, filled out the form, and sent it to her, and Loke still hadn’t called her out from whatever emergency situation needed Horologium’s spacial stability feature for in the first place.

Loke had left confusion for a hint of irritation and anger.

“Open, Gate of the Golden Lion, Leo!”

She went through her gate. The usual compression happened, but it was taking longer, the route was different. Where the hell was Loke? Did he go off continent? Lucy pushed more magic out, joining Loke’s magic and trying to speed up the summons.

Wait, shoot, she accidentally sped past the opening made by her key. She came around again and made it through this time.

“Hands Off,” Lucy said, appearing in time to twist backwards the wrist of the guard currently  intent on grabbing her wizard.

Voices all around them gasped, several versions of “Where did she come from?” erupted.

Something was wrong with the air. With the whole world. But that didn’t matter.

“Arrest her, she clearly is using some kind of teleportation magic!” someone called.

She punched her captive, knocking him into the ranks of goons.

Loke freed his weapon and backed her.

Where were the magic signatures she normally focused on when facing multiple opponents? Even city guards usually had one magic signature among them in groups this large. But there wasn’t anything from anyone.

Nothing but her and Loke anywhere.

The guards reformed ranks and began to close in.

They had numbers, but without a single wizard in their ranks it would be an easy clean up.

“Any pertinent details before I knock them all out?” Lucy asked.

“No, go ahead, but I have a lot to catch you up on so stick around.”

“I have a feeling that I’m going to be requesting another vacation. Can you give me an opening?” Lucy ducked into a racer’s crouch.

“Now.” Loke used his sickle and chain to wrap together two of the pikes on her left then yank them out of the guard’s hands, across the front of the rest of the approaching ranks. Lighting her fists and feet, Lucy sprinted through the opening and knocked three off their feet before kicking each one into the ranks of their allies.

Using an opening to get behind the ranks, she rushed them, kicking the bodies into each other from behind before they could turn around to guard.

She circled back and stopped at Loke’s side. Twenty magicless guards groaned in piles around them, cursing her.

They shared a smile, a real true one, before he froze and turned to look elsewhere.

“Lucy? Loke?” Natsu cried out.

Together they turned to where Natsu was waving at them.

“Oh, nice, easier than I thought,” Loke said, jogging to meet up with him. Lucy kept herself just behind him, specifically between him and any guards that might recover and try for a lucky shot.

Loke missed a step and she crashed into his back.

“Huh?” she asked, looking over his shoulder. Only to be staring back at the gray eyes and model face of her own wizard.

~

~

~

Notes:

These two are not coping with a shot-down confession well, but Loke's trying to recover in his own way and Lucy is doing her absolute best to not overthink things (it's not one of her strong suits.) Lucy does some paperwork, Loke does some traveling, and now another familiar face has appeared!

It's amazing guys, I FINISHED WRITING EDOLAS. Now that I'm out of this arc, I can properly edit it and I've started writing Tenrou. It's going so fast, I'm having so much fun again. I don't know how long Edolas would have taken me if I wasn't posting this and you all weren't writing such lovely reviews and awesome ideas. This arc specifically is dedicated to all my reviewing readers.

Stay safe,
Thecagedsong

Chapter 71: Edolas

“Seeing Natsu and Wendy was one thing, but this is unreal,” Other Loke said, putting a hand to his head. Other Loke shook his head, “No time. If you’re with these two, come with me. We have to get out of here.”

“Yeah Loke, I’m going to need a vacation for the next week,” Lucy said.

Because if Natsu was there and he let Loke take the fight, things were so much worse than she could guess.

“Granted,” Loke said. His magic cut off from sustaining her and she asserted her own magic in its place. Other Loke raised an eyebrow, but didn’t ask questions. When he started running for the outskirts of town, they all followed.

There was a small clearing with a pond, completely shrouded by trees, where Other Loke finally stopped. They each took a seat on the various logs and rocks.

Other Loke had the same haircut, body, and face as her Loke, but he had a hardness to his mouth that her wizard never had. A face that rarely smiled. He was also dressed in a five-piece brown business suit and held a matching brown suitcase. His tie was in a complicated knot, his shoes were high quality, but in need of another shining. The only similarity was their sunglasses.

He tried to evaluate her, he knew she was the greater threat, but his eyes kept drifting back to where Loke was recovering on the log beside her.

“Still need to work on that endurance, don’t let Erza catch you out of breath from a little escape from town,” Natsu warned teasingly.

“Give me a break, I walked like five miles into town before running out of there,” Loke complained.

“Okay, start talking,” Lucy said. “Where are we, how did everyone get here, who are you, and why is there no environmental magic here?”

“We’re in Edolas, not Earthland. Apparently everyone got here from your world a giant hole in the sky,” Edolas Loke said, arms folded and eyebrow raised.

Excellent, another world. She wouldn’t have to hold back here, the gods of Edolas had no agreement with the Celestial Realm and had already violated any possible interdimensional laws by letting their peoples engage in interdimensional kidnapping. Everything was fair game here.

“I’m Loke Ashley,” he introduced, “The guild master of Fairy Tail, a dark guild, and apparently I’m the Edolas version of him,” Edolas Loke nodded at her wizard. “And Edolas hasn’t had environmental magic for at least the past seven hundred years, magic has been banned as a finite resource everywhere but the Capitol, and primarily comes in the form of magic weapons and magic tools, rather than human cast spells like your friends seem to define magic. Now your turn.”

“And how come you can use magic here?” Natsu added.

Lucy started, “I’m the spirit of the lion constellation, Leo, but I go by Lucy. I have a contract to work with Loke and lend him my magical assistance and I’m a member of the Fairy Tail Guild. Loke summoned me here using his magic, but now I’m sustaining myself on my own magic. I’m guessing you two can’t use magic here?” Lucy asked Natsu and Wendy.

“Not even a little,” Wendy said, pulling at her pigtails.

“We can’t either,” Happy said mournfully. “We could for a little bit, we flew Natsu and Wendy here, but then our magic stopped working.”

Lucy nodded, “That makes sense. I can use magic because my magic has always been used in incompatible worlds.”

Natsu groaned loudly, “None of this makes sense. Why can you use magic but I can’t?”

“You have a theory,” Edolas Loke said, looking at Lucy.

Edolas Loke had razor sharp read of faces and expressions, she hadn’t twitched like Loke had at Natsu’s whine and added that to her confidence to deduce she had a theory.

If they needed to fool him later, it would be tricky.

Lucy shrugged, “It’s just a guess, but a wizard’s body is always drawing in environmental magic at the same time they are internally producing it. It’s how you refill your magic containers after using a spell. Drain a wizard to zero, beyond the point of self-recovery, and they die. Non-wizards too, that’s why magic-carts have self-limiters. Magic is too essential to Earthland biology to let you get close to zero.

“Basically, your bodies know that you can’t draw magic from the environment and refuse to put magic into spells to make sure that you don’t become magic drained. So you don’t become like what happened to Master Makarov back when we were fighting Phantom. Here in Edolas, without any environmental magic, your bodies are sensing a crisis and preserving what you already have.”

No one was nodding their head confidently. Time to try again.

“You know how difficult it is to force yourself to breathe while you’re underwater?”

This time everyone except Edolas Loke nodded.

“It’s like that,” Lucy explained. “Underwater, you know you can’t breathe in water instead of air because you’ll die. It’s only when you’re about to die that your body will risk letting you breathe in water. Then you drown. Your body senses that there is no ethernano in the environment here, you can’t breathe in a sense, so it’s not letting you expel magic when there is no source to replenish from. Your body is holding the magic inside you to keep you alive against your will just like it holds in air underwater.”

Finally comprehension dawned, but Other Loke was the one to ask, “So why are you different?”

Lucy shrugged, “I’m always in an environment where I can’t replenish my magic outside of the celestial realm and I’m meant to return when I get close to running out. Earthland or Edolas, it’s the same for me, that’s how I’m built.”     

“That explains how you can use magic, but how come Loke can use magic?” Wendy asked. “You said he summoned you on his own power first, right? Is Loke breathing in water right now?”

“He doesn’t look like he’s drowning,” Natsu commented, squinting at Loke.

He shrugged, “Beats me. . . wait.”

Light flashed, and Loke was crompressed into the four corners of a box. He reached out his hand to the flat glass of Horologium’s insides. It looked like they were buried in snow.

Horologium wiggled and squirmed until they were on top of the snow, and only then let him out.

“What happened?”

“I sensed a rapid and violent disturbance in space-time and broke through my gate to rescue you,” Horologium said. “There wasn’t time for explanations.”

“Where did you take me?” Loke asked, stretching and looking around.

“Nowhere. We have remained in exactly the same spot. The rest of the environment was swallowed by the space time distortion,” Horologium explained casually.

“WHAT?” Loke yelled spinning around. “This is Magnolia? Where’s the guild? My friends?”

“I do not know that information.”

“Can you send me where they went? Send me into the distortion?”

“I’m afraid not,” Horologium said, his clock hands sagging, “I can only protect you against space-time ruptures and a variety of environments and some attacks, I can’t create them myself.”

“Loke Heartfilia, good to see you,” Jellal said. “I believe I can explain.”

Loke spun around and tripped over the loose snow. Ash. Something. There were bubbles. Horologium asked to leave over their bond, and Loke let him vanish.

“Jellal, what are you . . . ” Loke took in the staffs on his back, and the shape-distorting outfit, the same one he wore during Fantasia, but without the face covering. “Mystogan.”

Wow, Erza, Lucy, and Natsu had been right about the resemblance.

“My explanation will have to be brief, there is only a short period of time where the gate between worlds remains open and I am able to send you through,” Mystogan said. “I am not Jellal’s twin brother, but Jellal from a parallel world called Edolas. Edolas has been stealing magic from Earthland for years, but they have become greedy and decided to take all of Magnolia. Their spell takes matter from earthland and converts it into an ethernano lacrima. People, buildings, plants, all of Earthland contains ethernano in this era, so everything from our realm is useful to them.”

“But trained wizards contain more ethernano than any plant or building,” Loke said, feeling his heart sink. “They targeted Magnolia specifically for our wizards, didn’t they?”

“I’m sorry,” Mystogan said, bowing his head, “They were always building up to this, but I couldn’t find a way to stop them before it reached this level. Now there is no more time for questions. I want to see if I can find others that escaped their spell. Eat this.”

He held up what looked like a red candy.

“What—” Mystogan flicked it into his mouth.

“Go, find our guild, rescue them. They will be trapped in a giant lacrima somewhere near the capital. I’ll be behind you as soon as I can confirm there is no other help to be found. Everyone is counting on you,” Mystogan announced.

“Wait I have more—” Mystogan swung a staff and a magic circle appeared under him, sending him shooting to the sky.

“—I landed in Edolas, my jacket caught on the edge of a floating island. I used Aries to create a bed to soften my landing. Eventually found a road and came into town. I was looking for some food when I got called out as a Fairy Tail wizard and summoned Lucy,” Loke finished.

“I know I didn’t think to specify trans-dimensional adventures as something I didn’t want to be left out of, but this is definitely something I wanted to be summoned right away for,” Lucy huffed, crossing her arms.

“Let me take you out—I mean, give me a break,” Loke switched tactics, “No one has a rule book for what to do in trans-dimensional adventures. I summoned you as soon as there was danger. All you missed was a boring walk.”

There was a flirty line he aborted in there.

They were still weird and it was definitely her fault.

Lucy forced a smile, “Well, that’s okay then.”

The aching and awkwardness would go away eventually. She’d just have to force a smile until then.

“I still don’t get it,” Natsu complained, “How come Loke can use magic and I can’t?”

“The red thing Mystogan threw down his throat must have been a magic muscle relaxer,” Lucy decided refocusing on the magic puzzle instead of the emotional one. “Just like you can technically open your mouth under water and suck in water, or you can still use up oxygen by swimming underwater, even though it won’t be replenished. Loke is spending his magic here, swimming while holding his breath. You four have bodies that don’t want to swim because it will use up oxygen faster,” She glanced at Loke. “Be careful with your summonings. If all you have left in you is a silver key, don’t summon one and you stop there. I’m guessing you could probably summon all your gold keys at least once if you don’t keep them out too long, but you are your own best gauge.”

“Got it,” he said seriously, then grinned. “But you know what this means, right? I’m currently the strongest mage in Fairy Tail!”

“Lucy’s stronger,” Happy pointed out.

“But Loke can summon the mermaid thing,” Natsu countered, “And even Lucy’s scared of the mermaid.” He sighed, “But it doesn’t exactly make me feel great about saving all our friends if Loke’s the strongest wizard in Fairy Tail.”

“Hey! I’m right here. And I basically have an army here. We can take on anyone that gets in the way,” Loke bragged, “If their magic is all tools, earthland magic is way more advanced. Leave me and my army to it!”

“Sure, but you can still only summon one at a time. So you’re less an army, more like a one-man band,” Happy put in.

“And I could so take Aquarius.” Lucy scoffed, “Not that I’d let you near any water to summon her.”

“There’s a river in the sky! I bet she’d actually love that,” Happy cheered.

They set to arguing, but playfully.

“Idiots,” Edolas Loke scoffed under their arguing.

 

 

Edolas Loke led them back into town during a change in guard shift and walked them to a beat up old inn.

His twin stopped them between the two doors that made up the entrance. “I’m guessing you two don’t have any money either? Your friends were dumb enough to enter a shop without local currency, but don’t tell me I’m stupid enough to think this comes free too.”

“Obviously we don’t have money,” Loke scowled, “I told you everything that happened. You didn’t actually lead us here thinking we had local currency, did you? Cause that’s way more stupid.”

“Good luck Loke, you’re a real cheapskate in this world,” Natsu pouted.

A skinflint with money and walked around in a suit and briefcase? Father would have loved to have this Loke as his son.

“You should probably head back and camp near where we fled before,” his evil twin shrugged, turning towards the door, “I have a favor I can call in for myself nearby, but I’m not bringing your ignorant butts down on their heads. This is the cheapest place I know, but even they won’t barter for just anything.”

“Hey,” Lucy said, “I put a good chunk of the royal guard in this town on medical leave for the next week, if not longer depending on how advanced your medicine is here. That has to be good for something, especially if they are hunting your Fairy Tail. And we’re going to do more damage before the week is through. Surely that’s worth a night at the cheapest place you know.”

Other Loke folded his arms, “You’re asking for payment in advance of a service I didn't ask for? When you’re all probably going to end up executed in the next two days? That’s a sucker’s deal.”

“You’ve stuck around this long,” Loke said, resisting the urge to shake his Edolas self down for pocket change. “You saw how powerful Lucy is. Even if we do die, we’re definitely going to cause enough problems for the kingdom on our way out to be worth a night at an inn?”

“Please Mister Loke?” Wendy asked. “We don’t exactly have camping gear with us, and by the time we get out of town again it will be too dark to forage.”

“Sorry kid, you’re barking up the wrong tree if you want pity points from me.” Edolas Loke said, turning his back.

“Man, I cant believe how selfish you are here,” Natsu said, shaking his head.

“Every cent I spend on you is a cent that won’t go to keeping Fairy Tail running,” his evil twin said. “Don’t pretend you wouldn’t do the same in my place. I don’t need to stick around here and be insulted some more.”

He made for the door.

“Wait,” Lucy put her hand out to stop him, “We can trade something worth more. But we can’t do it here. Get us our room, and I can make you an offer worth your while.”

Of course the brilliant and bea—his FRIEND was smart enough to come up with a deal.

Another glance at Wendy and other Loke sighed and went through the other door. He got them a hotel room and led the way.

“Alright, what’s this deal you’re offering? It better be good, or I’m kicking you all out,” Edolas Loke said, spreading himself across an armchair like they were in his personal boardroom.

Was his face always so punchable? Cause if it was, Gajeel should be applauded for his restraint back then.

“Magic is a finite resource here, right?” Lucy asked, sitting down on the bed. “What if I told you I could get you the schematics for a machine that can generate either light or propulsion from a type of concentrated alcohol? No magic involved.”

Other Loke raised an eyebrow, “I’d say you’re bluffing.”

“Do you really know how to make magic out of alcohol?” Happy asked.

Lucy shook her head, “It’s a long story, but I have to approve patents in the celestial world. Chisel and Forge are always trying to outdo each other in new inventions. They were challenged to create an invention that doesn’t run on magic by a spirit that nullifies magic, but the patents are basically useless in the celestial world or earthland, since it costs so much more to produce the ethanol fuel where environmental magic is so abundant.” She nodded at Loke, “Grandpa Crux can look up the patents and schmatics, it’s publically available in Crux’s library.”

Loke was already reaching for his keys when Edolas Loke stuck out his hand to stop him, eyes narrowed suspiciously, “What’s the catch? You’re basically offering us a way to become independent of the Kingdom’s economic chokehold on magic in exchange for what? A night at an inn?”

Lucy shrugged, “Hey, if Edolas finally learns to get along without magic then maybe you’ll stop trying to turn my world and my friends into disposable power sources. It’ll take some experimenting to make it work with the resources you have in edolas, you’re going to have to distill the alcohol properly and build the thing. The patents only produce light through a bulb or forward propulsion through an engine, you’re going to have to figure out all the other ways to replace what you currently use lacrima for. You also can’t make money off of it until after Loke is gone from Edolas, but once our worlds stop touching, then celestial patent law can’t exactly hold you accountable.”

“It’s like that saying, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure,” Wendy added. “It’s practically useless in our world. So take just accept the deal.”

“You’d be stupid not to,” Loke added with a grin.

Other Loke looked at their grinning faces, trying to find the lie. “Fine. We have a deal.”

Loke called Crux and they got Edolas Loke’s payment all squared away in two precious notebooks he tucked very carefully into his things after studying them. Lucy, Natsu, Wendy, and Happy decided to try and figure out a board game that was left in the room and Carla wanted to brood while looking out the window. Loke announced he was going to pass on the boardgame and take a shower instead.

Unsurprisingly, his double followed him into the master bedroom after he said he wanted to shower. They could finally see how far the likeness extended.

“Assuming, as we must, that parallel universes exist, I still don’t see how genetic doubles exist. Our worlds began to diverge 700 years previous at the earliest instance. The idea that every single one of our ancestors fertilized the same egg with the same partner at the same time is ludicrous,” Edolas Loke said.

Loke raised an eyebrow, then shucked off his black long sleeve shirt and his green t-shirt with the word ‘Rebel’ stamped across it in white.

Loke let it dangle from his fingers in a dare.

“Dad was one of the richest business men in the world, he built his fortune off public transit ways: trains, boats, magi-carts. Mom was born noble and became a mage, but died when I was ten. Dad went spiraling and ignored me until I ran away to join Fairy Tail,” Loke said. Other him studied his body, his guild mark, the keys attached to his belt.

Edolas Loke carefully pulled off his suit jacket, vest, and unbuttoned his shirt, hanging up each piece so as to prevent wrinkles.

Loke purposefully let his shirts drop to the floor.

“Father was a Fairy Tail wizard,” Loke said, eyeing his clothes in disgust. “Mother was a noble businesswoman, she manufactures lacrima-run vehicles. Father died early on in the raids when magic became illegal. Mother is under constant watch by the kingdom for suspicion of selling vehicles to dark guilds, I can’t risk contacting her.” His guildmark was on the center of his back.

“Trying to honor Mom with the getup?”

“It may be the end of our world, but doesn’t mean I have to be sloppy about it,” Edolas Loke scoffed. “I keep the guild finances in check and make sure everyone’s needs get met. It benefits me to look like someone clients can trust. What do you do?”

Loke raised an eyebrow, “I occasionally have fun, for starters.”

They both stepped closer. The mole to the left of their bellybuttons and the one just under their right ear were exactly the same, as well as the birthmark on the right breast.  Their guildmarks were even on the same forearm, though business boy had picked black.

Only their scars differed, old white lines that you had to be within a foot to see properly.

“Chased off a cliff by a monster,” Edolas Loke said, pointing to a scar on his chin.

“Blade from an enemy that wanted me to bleed a lot,” Loke said, pointing to the scar near his hairline. Then he pointed to the one across his left shoulder. “Fell out of a tree when I was nine.”

“Sparring practice got out of hand,” his copy countered, indicating a thin line across his bicep. He touched the one on his hip “Crashed through a window without tucking my knees.”

Loke turned to show off the one on his back, “Impaled by a spiked lacrima.”

Edolas Loke turned, showing a second guildmark in the center of his back, green with a black M inside it, probablyto show he was guildmaster. He also showed a similar circular mark, placed a few inches further up, “Erza Knightwalker backed me into the horn of her Legion before tossing me out of the sky.”

The red freckles on his shoulders were the same intensity, though they’d need a mirror to see if each one matched.

“Bathroom mirror?” Edolas Loke asked.

Loke stripped down to his underpants first, and so did his counterpart.

They went in together.

 

 

Things looked grim. There was at least five days of walking to get to the Capitol where the lacrima of Magnolia was probably being stored. An army out for their faces and between them and their friends. They had no idea how to free their friends once they find the darn Magnolia lacrima. Unknown help may or may not be on the way via Mystogan. Wendy and Natsu, Happy and Carla, they were all magicless for the foreseeable future.

For some reason, the most vexatious thing of all is that she couldn’t understand the rules of the stupid Edolas “classic” boardgame at all. Wendy and Happy seemed to be getting it, and Happy was shaking his head at her.

“Come on, you read the rules, it’s simple. Blue on black, Red on whites,” Happy insisted condescendingly.

“Can confirm, predestined conception sex is totally a thing,” Loke said, walking in with his counterpart, a towel around his waist and freshly showered, bringing the smell of clean soap and mint. “We’re completely identical down to our freckles and birthmarks.”

He may have been avoiding her, but he’d kept up his training with Erza these past two weeks. A lot more lean muscle was on his body than there had been at Akane Beach Resort. His Edolas counterpart wasn’t a slouch either.

“What?” Wendy squeaked.

Right. Child.

“Soulmates. He means soulmates,” Lucy corrected, glaring at Loke to not corrupt the child they were in charge of. “The same people get married and have kids in every universe at the same time, which means that soulmates have to exist on some level, so that everyone has the same parents and the same genetic makeup, even in completely different worlds.”

“Sorry about that, but I’m AroAce,” Edolas Loke told his Earthland self. “No romantic soulmates for me or you it seems.”

“Maybe, or maybe there are just too many women perfectly matched for me to settle down with only one,” Loke said, raising an eyebrow at Lucy. “Thoughts?”

“Explains how none of your playboy ways have caught up to you yet,” Lucy said sweetly, ignoring the drop in her heart.

Three weeks ago he would have followed up with a flirt specifically geared towards her.

No. She wanted him not to be serious about her. Stop whining that he was following her wishes. Her eyes went back and forth between the two men, identifying the same freckle patterns Loke mentioned earlier. “But you really are identical.”

“If you switched clothes, I don’t think I’d be able to tell you apart,” Wendy admitted. She was trying to look at them for comparison, and modestly not look at the men in towels at the same time, poor thing.

“Hey, this reminds me of the time Gemini turned into Lucy!” Happy said.

“Who?” Edolas Loke asked.

Loke grinned, picking up his keys and shaking them gently, “A pair of transformation spirit’s I’m contracted with. They can copy anyone perfectly.”

“Big pranksters,” Lucy added. She turned to Natsu, who was studying them intently. “Got something to add?”

Natsu cracked up, “You can literally wash your own back! Oh! I know!” He started switching between mirrored poses. “You two should totally develop a mirror routine and put on a show! I bet a ton of people would pay to see that!”

“If two’s good, how about three?” Another Loke in a towel jumped into existence behind the two already present.

“You’re not supposed to use your summonings willy-nilly,” Carla scolded. “We are almost entirely reliant upon your magic and will need you later.”

“It’s not my fault,” her wizard said. “I didn’t summon them.”

“We came through our gate ourselves because it seemed like fun,” Gemini grinned. “Now, which one is Earthland Loke?”

Gemini swung all three of them in a mess of switched spots and limbs, red hair and freckles. Lucy caught sight of at least one ass before the towel was readjusted. The three unbalanced and fell on the floor behind the couch arm and out of everyone’s sight.

They all hurried around to find a pile and several messed up towels. Natsu immediately slapped a hand over Wendy’s eyes.

Three identical voices began arguing with each other.

“That was unnecessary.”

“Couldn’t you let us put clothes on first?”

“Get off me already.”

The three of them adjusted to the same position on the ground and stood up with identical motions, readjusting their towels. They turned back to the group with a similar synchronization, confidently putting one hand on their hip as they did so, guildmarks all facing away. Natsu let go of Wendy’s eyes.

The three copies looked at each other as they realized what just happened, then looked at everyone else. All at the same time, and with the same smirk, they asked, “Well?”

The one in the center had no magic signature, he was the edolas version, but Gemini was the perfect copy for a reason.

Lucy smirked at the one on the right. “There’s no fooling me.”

Three eyebrows raised. Loke sent a pang of sorrow across their bond on the left, while a burst of amusement came from Gemini’s perfectly mimicked bond on the right.

“On the count of three, point at the earthland Loke!” Happy called out. “One, two, three!”

Lucy pointed to the Loke on the left, Natsu the Loke on the right. Wendy the Loke on the right. Happy the Loke in the middle. Carla the Loke on the right.

“Leo cheated,” Gemini said with a laugh, figuring out where they went wrong. They poofed into a copy of her. “Now lets see if Loke is as good as Leo is.” The twins pulled her around the corner of the doorway and spun her around in a few circles. Loud enough to be heard through the open doorway, they said, “Should we get into towels too?” Before spinning them around again.

“We’re getting dressed,” her Loke called out.

Lucy examined the split ends Gemini showed, and wrinkled her nose at how soft her face was. Why hadn’t she gone for sharper cheekbones in the beginning? She was old enough now that she would like the respect a twenty-something got at first glance instead of a teenager.

“You were too focused on these,” Gemini giggled, squeezing their bust.

“Right, that’s why,” Lucy laughed.

When the Lokes re-entered the main room, Lucy walked back in with Gemini, arms around each other, both wearing an amused smile. She’d played this game before with Gemini and their wizards. Four had picked right, four hadn’t, because it really was just guessing.

Well, one of them had used the same trick Lucy did, feeling across the bond for a clue about their initial guess, but Loke wasn’t at that level.

“Don’t worry Loke, I won’t be offended if you can’t tell us apart,” Lucy said.

“Yeah, Gemini is the perfect double for a reason. I’d actually be worried if it was obvious which was which, because that would mean there was something wrong with Gemini,” Gemini added.

“Now there’s two of every humanoid in this world,” Edolas Loke snorted.

“Only fair I get a double too.”

“You know how much I hate missing out.”

“Maybe I should kiss you?” Loke teased. “I bet Gemini wouldn’t be able to copy kissing technique.”

“Gemini could copy that,”

“I’m happy to try it out.”

“What!” Lucy said, stepping aside to scowl at Gemini.

All the fingers pointed at Lucy.

Gemini laughed, “What? You would. That was your first instinct.”

Lucy folded her arms, “Liars.”

It was not her first instinct. Her first instinct was to say that Loke hadn’t kissed her long enough to know anything about how she kissed. Or her second thought, which was the suspicion Loke asked this question to get them to break character. Or her third, which was to offer to kiss Gemini and see if he could tell from that.

Gemini laughed, “Sure, that’s what you want everyone to think. But you can’t fool yourself.” They tapped her forehead.

“Alright, that’s enough meddling, you liars. Go home,” Lucy huffed. The twins laughed, but did as they were bid, chaos caused.

“Wait, did you make the rest of AroAce by falling in love with a being singular to your universe?” Edolas Loke asked his twin, raising an eyebrow. He glanced at her, “Can you even have children as a celestial spirit?”

“Now that’s way too personal a question,” Lucy said, folding her arms. “I am not answering that.”

Though she’d much rather talk about her reproductive capabilities than the fact that Loke’s own double thought he was still in love with her. Probably.

Actually, they definitely needed to switch topics altogether. She didn’t want to talk about either.

“Once in a universe chance to ask questions about the nature of fate and love, and you care about how personal your reproductive cycle is?” Edolas Loke asked, raising an eyebrow. “I have to stock up on supplies for the women of the guild, part of our expenses. There’s no need to be shy about the conception and birth of children.”

Lucy’s face grew hot, “Of course I’m shy about it! And you have no idea what you’re asking about. Are you telling me you would walk up to your Levy or Cana and ask them about whether they can have children and you think they’d just answer you?” Lucy demanded.

Edolas Loke shrugged, “Sure.”

It was a quiet answer, almost defeated. He wandered to the window, overlooking the darkened sky and lit windows. “When you live on the edge of society, people are defined as either survivors or dead. Other distinctions of gender or sexual orientation . . . social niceties and privacy, they don’t matter anymore. I care about money, because money is survival for our guild. Whether any of my guildmates are in a situation to have children is a matter of survival and requires additional resources. So yeah, I wouldn’t hesitate to ask, and they wouldn’t hesitate to answer.”

The room seemed to grow darker as he spoke.

“That’s sad,” Happy said gently.

“Maybe. But I can’t imagine living any other way, certainly not the way you guys do, fooling around with power and magic just because you can,” Edolas Loke said, looking back at them. “We should get some sleep. If you’re really planning on taking on the Kingdom, you’re going to need all the energy you can get. Maybe you can make a difference.”

“That’s the plan,” Natsu said, grinning.

Maybe it was just Lucy, but she thought Other Loke’s smile was just a little more hopeful.

But maybe it was the starlight was falling on him, that always made a scene look more hopeful to her.

“I hope you weren’t offended by my interest in the subject,” Edolas Loke said, more gentle. “It really was just intellectual curiosity.”

“No offense taken, but I will be maintaining my privacy,” Lucy huffed, sticking her nose up.

“I will respect that, of course.”

Lucy hummed, “Maybe you are Loke.”

“Nope, definitely not me,” Loke said, scrunching up his nose. “Are you planning on sleeping in that suit?”

Lucy rolled his eyes, “Right, let’s see how many of us can fit comfortably on the bed. Local Loke, you’ll probably want the couch instead of being squished with us,” Lucy said, walking into the bedroom.

“I think I saw some extra blankets in the closet,” Wendy said, following her.

“Oh, by the way, Lucy probably can have children,” Edolas Loke told her Loke, “If she couldn’t because of her nature as a spirit, she would have said so and wouldn’t have been embarrassed about it as a long-time, well known irrevocable fact of her biology. So chances are good that she can have children. Make of that what you will.”

“Shut up! You still don’t have any idea what you’re talking about!” Lucy yelled behind her.

Notes:

So, how do we like Other Loke, everyone? Any musings on the nature and implications of multiple dimensions in Fairy Tail? Let me know with a comment!

Stay Safe and healthy!
thecagedsong

Chapter 72: Fireball

Loke ended up on the other couch in the main room after Natsu kicked him off the bed in the middle of the night, so he was the first one to see his double’s note in the morning.

Earthland Fairy Tail,

            As other me knows, a business can’t run itself for very long and it’s time I went back to my Fairy Tail. There’s work to be done. You have a plan, a map, and a clue about how my world works, I can’t help you anymore. Take on the Kingdom in your suicide mission if that’s what you need to do for your Fairy Tail; I need to take care of mine. Though I doubt your success, I wish you luck.

            Loke Ashley

“THAT JERK!” Loke yelled, waking up the two wizards, two cats, and the celestial spirit still sleeping in a pile on the bed.

“You guys said everyone had their personalities switched in this Fairy Tail, right? Well clearly Edolas me is a stupid money-driven flakey business lackey! We’re trying to take down the Kingdom here, and he leaves without so much as a goodbye? We just decided that our universes are linked by soulmates at least, and he calls what happens to our guild none of his business!”

Loke read aloud the letter as everyone got ready for the day. On the street, Loke still hadn’t let it go.

“We would do the same thing for our friends,” Wendy pointed out, “Also, the only thing that might be more obvious than traveling with one leader of a dark guild is travelling around with the leader and his identical twin. We’ll probably be better at sneaking around with only one of you.”

“You too Wendy?” Loke said, miming hurt.

“Oh! Uh, I just meant . . .” Wendy lost her words.

“She just meant don’t worry about it,” Natsu said, clapping him on the back, “Who needs boring cheapskate Loke when we have the real thing right here!”

“Got that right,” Loke said, punching his fist into his palm, “So how are we getting to the capitol?”

“Looks like they invented airships in this world, mostly operated by the army. Most other vehicles are Lacrima powered and have been banned for the past ten years,” Lucy said excitedly, walking up to them with her nose in a book.

“Is that where you went?” Natsu asked, wrinkling his nose. “It really does just take a book to put you in a great mood.”

“We lost our main guide to this world, a book seemed like our best bet,” Lucy said, gale-force reading glasses perched on her nose as she flipped through her book. “This one is fascinating. It talks all about this violent tribe that demand tribute from the humans of this world. They’re called exceeds, and they seem to have inborn magic internally produced even, the only intelligent species that does in this world.”

“Hey Lucy, maybe you should put those away?” Loke suggested, walking close to her in an attempt to block the view of her from people on the street. Insane that even something as simple as Lucy’s glasses were probably considered illegal magic here.

“One sec, almost done.”

“We’ve heard about the exceeds,” Wendy said helpfully. “Everyone’s really scared of them and they don’t like to talk about it. Apparently they look like Happy and Carla.”

“Doesn’t matter, I could take them,” Natsu scoffed.

“Huh,” Lucy said, putting her glasses and book away in her pocket, “Are they limited to—”

Lucy was cut off by a loud noise coming above them, and they all looked up to see an airship hovering above the city.

“It’s the royal guard, hide!” Wendy said, shoving them behind a pillar as two files of guards marched past.

“They’re probably going for the airship,” Loke said. “We have to take the risk and follow them.” Together they crept through allies and tried not to look too suspicious as they followed the soldiers to the most open space in town. They caught some conversation from the guards along the way.

“—calling for reinforcements in the capitol.”

“Probably need extra men to keep the crowds under control when they turn that giant Lacrima into magical energy. We on the list?”

“Day after tomorrow, right? I hope I’m not called, that would make me miss—”

“They’re talking about our friends,” Natsu hissed, pressed close to the wall they were crouched behind.

“Everyone and everything from Magnolia too,” Wendy added.

“We have to get on that airship,” Lucy said, eyeing the soldiers around them. “We don’t have time to wait for another chance if we only have two days.”

“Once the magic extraction process is underway, we’ll likely lose any chance of returning our friends to their original forms,” Carla added.

“Lucy, who do you want to team up with for this?” Loke asked, hands on his keys.

“We don’t know how to fly the airship even if we forced our way onboard,” Lucy pointed out. “It’s a better idea to see if we can steal some uniforms and sneak on.”

“I’m tired of sneaking, and none of the uniforms will disguise Wendy,” Natsu said, standing up. “Time for plan T, and we’ll just force the person flying it to fly it to our friends for us. Let’s go Lucy, Loke.”

Carla scolded, “That is completely unnecessary, not to mention dangerous.”

“I think we got the weird Natsu,” Happy said, “No way would Natsu ever want to get on a vehicle.”

Natsu made a face, then shook his head, “Nah, it’s fine. With Wendy’s troia spell, vehicles aren’t a problem anymore!”

“I literally can’t use magic here,” Wendy said, clearly disappointed in Natsu’s poor memory.

Natsu paled, “Actually, you’re right, it’s way too dangerous, we should find another way. Like walking!”

“It’s too late,” Carla said, pointing. The loading dock came down from the ship itself. “We don’t have time to figure out another way.”

“Alright, plan T it is,” Lucy said, standing up, “Scorpio to cover me, use his range to keep them at a distance while I take them out from inside their formations. You’ll know when.”

Lucy fluffed up her hair, changed her shirt to a low cut, lacy black tank top, and left their hiding place.

“Hey boys, I hear you’re going to the capitol, can I, like, get a ride?” Lucy called out cheerfully, to the guards, waving enthusiastically.

“What’s she doing?” Natsu asked.

“She’s completely lost her mind,” Happy said mournfully. “We all knew it was bound to happen, but why now?”

“Hey Miss, this is a restricted area, you can’t be here!”

“Aw, but I need to meet up with my parents in the capitol,” Lucy pouted. “I’ve been visiting my cousin, but I really don’t want to miss the Lacrima magic extraction. Pretty please?”

One put a hand to his head as he approached her, “Look Miss, this is a government—”

Lucy punched him into three others, and Loke took his cue.

“Open, gate of the Scorpion, Scorpio!” he called. “Leo needs backup!”

“Wicked!” Scorpio called.

Lucy immediately focused on the west side of the square, letting Scorpio cover her friends from the remaining soldiers on the east side. The soldiers were easy enough, they were trained to form ranks, but she was already in their midst.

“What is going on?”

“Who are these people!”

“Is that Loke of Fairy Tail? Get hi—”

“Retreat to the air—” Lucy took care of that one personally, but it looked like the airship had decided to retreat from the ruckus anyway.

“MOVE!” Lucy ordered her friends, grabbing the end of the lowered loading dock, using an excess of strength to keep it grounded.

It had so much more power than a flybike, Lucy had grossly miscalculated its upward propulsion. The aircraft easily lifted her off the ground, never mind her center of gravity or magic enhanced strength.

“LUCY!” her friends called together.

“I got you!” Wendy said, clinging onto her dangling legs.

“Loke! Natsu!” Lucy yelled over the increasingly loud airship. Her legs were at the height of the rooftop. Natsu made a jump for her, but without his magic he couldn’t reach them, or maybe he knew better than to grab onto Wendy, the preteen wouldn’t be able to hold their combined weight with her current grip.

Someone caught Scorpio in the back, the way they came from, and his magic signature vanished from Edolas. Natsu and Loke were surrounded.

“Wendy, I’m going to drop us, ready?” Lucy called down to her. Her head nodded against Lucy’s legs.

Lucy let go, then the sound of an engine, audible over the airship, startled her into grabbing on again after sliding only an inch.

“It’s some kind of magicart!” Wendy called up to her.

Lucy contorted to catch a glimpse of Loke halfway into a vehicle with a Fairy Tail fairy on the roof. He gave her the half head roll she had taught him while hunting, “circle the prey,” before jumping into the magicart and speeding away.

It would be easy to pop through her gate and appear beside Loke, but she couldn’t leave Wendy like this. Loke was calm across their bond. Lucy was going to choose to believe in him.

“New plan Wendy!” Lucy called down, as they rose higher. “We’ll meet them in the Capitol. You ready to hijack an aircraft?”

“WHAT?”

The loading dock was going more horizontal as it was raised back towards the airship. She pulled herself forward until both she and Wendy were no longer in danger of falling or being chopped by the closing mechanism.

Above them, several soldiers leveled spears and and frowny faces in their direction.

“I said, are you ready to hijack an airship with me?” Lucy asked, as they cleared the last few feet.

Wendy put on her game face and nodded. “That does seem like our only choice.”

“You are under arrest, in the name of the King!”

 

 

 

 

“Loke thought you guys might need a lift, hop in,” another Natsu said.

“But Wendy—” Carla said, as Happy pulled her towards the vehicle.

Natsu scooped them both up and opened the door, “We can’t get to her right now. She’s safer with Lucy than we are down here. We’ll have to meet back up with them at the Capitol.”

Loke took a second to meet Lucy’s eyes and gave her the signal for attacking from two directions. Lucy nodded and started to pull herself further into the airship while Loke hopped in the vehicle.

“Seatbelts on, and the scream handle is just above the door. GO FIRE!” Edolas Natsu yelled.

What was a scream handled and why—AAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!

 Their screams filled the magicart and Loke quickly located the recommended handle. Eventually the blurry outside was desert instead of town, and Loke’s heart stopped trying to escape his chest in an attempt at self preservation.

“I don’t know what possessed you guys to try and hijack an airship, but that has to be the dumbest thing I’ve ever seen,” Natsu said. Edolas Natsu. Who drove vehicles crazier than Erza, while his other self tried not to barf in the back seat.

“Well, if we knew help was coming, we wouldn’t have had to try something so drastic,” Loke scoffed, eyes focused on the space in front of them full of rocks and cliffs. The depth of his distain didnt come through quite properly with his deathgrip on the scream handle. “You said this world’s me sent you? He could have mentioned that in his note.”

“He didn’t know I was in the area already lookin’ for him,” Edolas Natsu explained. “Sent me your way when I caught up to him outside of town.”

“Thanks for saving our lives Natsu!” Happy said cheerfully. “We were in big trouble.”

“Wendy still is in big trouble. We have no idea how Lucy’s magic will hold up against however many soldiers were on that ship!” Carla said.

“If your girl’s got magic on her, they won’t rough her up too bad. The King has a kill order on the guilds, but lone or paired wizards get taken for questioning in an effort to track down the supplier and the guildhall,” Natsu told them, only one hand on the wheel. “Worst that’ll happen is they get arrested and brought to the castle for questioning, but we’ll beat them there, easy. I’m way faster than that hunk of flying garbage. Then again, there isn’t a vehicle I couldn’t leave in the dust. I’m kind of a big deal around here, they call me the Fireball.”

“Glad to know you can keep it together on a vehicle in some universes,” Loke said.

“Is Puke Face back there your version of me?” Natsu asked, giving a quick glance towards the back seat. “Loke wasn’t kidding that the similarities stop at looks. How pathetic.”

“Yeah, it’s pretty bad,” Happy sighed.

Loke shook his head, “No loyalty. Our Natsu’s not usually like this, he just gets sick on vehicles.”

One Natsu shrugged while the other one groaned.

“Just don’t ruin the upholstery, puke out the window if you gotta,” Edolas Natsu warned, “I couldn’t imagine your life, I wouldn’t be Fireball the Courier Wizard if I tossed my cookies just from sitting in a car.”

“Wait, there’s no Self Energy plug, how are you driving this?” Happy asked.

Carla tilted her head, “The people of Edolas don’t have inborn magic, they must have a different power source than personal magical energy. It seems that they’ve made greater strides in technology, particularly vehicles, in order to compensate for the lack of available environmental and personal magic.”

Loke really hoped Lucy was okay, and that her plans for hijacking the aircraft didn’t involve an SE plug, because there obviously wasn’t going to be one. Really, the best plan was for her to get captured, not reveal the extent of her magic, then surprise them on the way to the castle.

The vehicle spun to an abrupt halt, and Loke smacked into the back of Fireball’s seat. “Hey, are you trying to kill us?”

“You guys really are ignorant,” Fireball scoffed. “Magic is a limited resource, especially the magic fuel my baby runs on. You get caught with it unauthorized? You’re dead. Which really cuts down on my suppliers. Also means I can’t afford to take you closer, so get out.”

“You’re just going to leave us in the middle of the desert like this?” Loke asked. They were surrounded by rocks and cliffs on all sides.

“I won’t have enough to get back to the guild’s new location if I take you any closer, now go cry about it somewhere else.”

Natsu was already out of the vehicle, “Hello solid ground!” he screamed, practically kissing it. “I’ve come back to LIFE!”

“You really are nothing like our Natsu,” Loke said, unbuckling his seatbelt.

“Take a lesson from your me, he knows when its time to pick up and move on,” Fireball smirked, almost matching Natsu’s return grin. “Now get out.”

Loke didn’t quite see what happened, but suddenly he and the cats were dumped out of the car. Loke rolled back around to look disbelievingly at Fireball.

He was grateful for the rescue, but you don’t just save someone to dump them in the middle of nowhere!

“Look, if you want to take on the Kingdom, I won’t stop you,” Fireball said, one arm around the backrest, “But don’t you dare go dragging my Fairy Tail into your suicide mission. I only helped you because of Loke, my Loke. I couldn’t pay back my debts to him in a million years, so I could never say no to him. Thank him for your rescue, but leave us out of it when you get caught going after your idiot friends. I don’t want anything else to do with ya. For me, driving is all that matters.”

Natsu’s fist clutched the front of his double's shirt, “Hey, I want to talk to you for a second.”

“No wait! I can’t leave the caaaaar!” Fireball cried. “Get your hands off me right now!”

“Sorry, but I gotta ask you something, I want to have a niiice heart to heart with myself.” Natsu said, forcing him to the ground in front of them.

“Cut it out! Nooo!”

“Now tell me,” Natsu said, when Fireball finished getting his balance on the ground. Natsu crouched down, “How is it that you don’t get car sick?”

“That’s what you wanted to ask?” Loke said, standing up and shaking his head.

“I-I don’t know why, I’m sorry,” Fireball said, his hands thrown up before him, trembling, “Please don’t hurt me.”

All his friends had the same exact question.

“Is this really the same wizard that just kicked us out and told us to take a hike?” Happy asked for the rest of them.

“Hey man, we’re not going to hurt you,” Loke said, which got Fireball to lower his hands a bit.

“You’re . . . not?” he asked hesitantly.

“Why would I hurt someone that has the secret to not being motion sick?” Natsu asked, forcing a smile.

His hands shot up again and he ducked his head, “I don’t have a secret, it’s just not something that happens to me. I’d call it biology, but you’re me, so I don’t know why I don’t get carsick. Sorry!”

“Aww, you really don’t have an answer?” Natsu pouted. “No special training you did or something?”

Edolas Natsu shook his head, then hesitated, “Maybe if you focus on why vehicles are so freeing while driving one? The world changed a lot on me, it’s entirely different than the way it was when I was a kid, that’s a long story, but once I was behind the wheel of a car? I had so much control, I felt like I was faster and stronger than all my problems. So . . . maybe . . . that?”

“Huh, try driving one?” Natsu mused, then turned green, “The thought makes me sick, but it might be worth a try.”

“So behind the wheel is when you’re confident and in control?” Loke asked. “Do you always change into a crybaby when you get out from behind the wheel?”

“I guess I was pretty rude to you, wasn’t I?” Fireball admitted, finally lowering his hands. “I just feel so confident when I’m driving, it’s the only time I feel alive, sometimes I run my mouth. People tell me I’m like a completely different person. I’m sorry.”

“Quite the shallow apology, but it seems like it’s the best we’re going to get,” Carla humphed, then sighed. “This explains why no one was surprised to find us hiding under the table at the guild, isn’t it?”

“It’s quite nice under the tables in the guild,” Fireball said brightly, finally lowering his hands all the way.

“If you’re acting nice now, does that mean you’ll take us the rest of the way to the capitol?” Happy asked.

Fireball shook his head, “I’m really sorry, but I meant it when I said that I can’t. If I bring you any closer, I’ll be the one stuck in the desert with no magic fuel. I only took you this far because my Loke told me to. I know it’s a bit of a hike, but you should be in the city long before nightfall.”

“What do you mean?” Loke said.

Fireball pointed to a nearby cliff edge, and they all went to check it out.

Sure enough, the biggest city they’d seen yet was just a couple hours of hiking away with a clear path for them to follow.

“Well why didn’t you say so!” Natsu said, grinning. “You know, you’re not so bad me.”

“You’re amazing too,” Fireball said, awe coloring his voice. “You’re brave and confident even outside of a vehicle?”

“I can’t believe this Natsu is such a baby,” Happy laughed.  

“You should get back to your guild,” Loke said. “Other me seems like the kind of guy to bill you for every minute that you’re late.”

“Oh, he’s not so bad, he just likes everything to be organized so everyone gets taken care of,” Fireball defended his guildmaster. “He only charges fees when we’re late for known guildshifts. Since the last one was an emergency, I won’t have to pay the finding fee. He also told me to give you this.” Other Natsu handed over a bag of coins, “It should cover two nights at a cheap inn in the capitol, he said he doesn’t like owing people and something about inadequate payment.”

“I didn’t think stingy Loke had it in him,” Happy said.

“Me either,” Loke said, taking the bag of coins.

“We should get moving as well. If we want to intercept the prisoners on that airship before Wendy ends up in a dungeon, we can’t afford to waste time,” Carla said, starting down the path down the cliff. Happy and Loke followed. But Fireball had one more question for Natsu.

“Are you really going to take on the Kingdom?”

Natsu tilted his head in confusion, “We just want to get our friends back. If the Kingdom gets in our way, we’ll do what we have to. Wouldn’t you do that for your friends?”

`

`

`

Notes:

We learn some more background, Lucy greatly underestimates what it takes to anchor an airship and the party splits up. We meet Fireball, and it kinda makes you wonder if under the training and bravado, is Natsu scared all the time? Something to think on.

Let me know what you think about the chapter!

Chapter 73: Airship Piracy

After the oracion seis, non-magic foot soldiers were a piece of cake. A flash of pure light, keeping it from blinding Wendy, was the first order of business, and while some soldiers clumsily thrust their spears forward, most flinched back to cover their eyes.

A continuous call was amplified to throughout the room, ordering all soldiers to the cargo bay in order to arrest the intruders. 

The airship had a pulley system hanging loose above the docking platform to help with loading cargo, it was child’s play to bring Wendy up to that, get her mostly balanced, then ricochet off the walls of the enclosed space until everyone else was down. They were trained with spears and for open spaces, marching in large groups. The enclosed cargo bay filled with crates and soldiers required a maneuverability they didn’t have.

There was more than one cry of “Monster!” usually accompanied by “How is her body glowing!” and “Where is her magic coming from!”

Without even ability type wizards to compare her to, a being made up of pure magic was pretty uncomprehensible to these guys.

Eventually no more soldiers were coming in, despite the continuous announcement on the ship speakers.

Lucy jumped back up to Wendy.

“What are we going to do about them?” Wendy asked.

“I’m open to suggestions?”

All Lucy could think of was dragging groups of them to an open deck somewhere and throwing them off the airship, which she didn’t want to do for a multitude of reasons. Foot soldiers weren’t like dark wizards, they were following orders and trying to feed their families.

Using surprise and tight spaces, she could keep the spears from being all pointed at her at once, but there was no guarantee they wouldn’t be able to catch them from behind is they were just left here. She still couldn’t let them get up and corner her and Wendy, possibly forcing the two of them off the open deck of the airship.

Wendy looked around, then pointed to something lightly attached to a recently loaded crate.

A net.

“You grab the weapons while I get that rigged up?” Lucy asked.

“Now that I don’t need magic for,” Wendy said cheerfully. Lucy brought Wendy back down and the loudspeaker changed to call for soldiers to report when the intruders were captured just before they finished putting their captives away.

“Everyone that’s left isn’t going to be a soldier, right?” Wendy asked.

“Probably, but there might be someone of higher rank that decided not to get their hands dirty,” Lucy said. “I think the guy on the loudspeaker is probably the leader of these men.”

“I think I have an idea,” Wendy said. “We couldn’t sneak on and steal some uniforms before because I’m too small, right? Well, what if you disguised yourself and pretended to turn me in? That should bring us to the guy in change, then we can threaten him into bringing us straight to the Capitol to meet up with the others.”

“I don’t like the idea of you pretending to be a hostage, we don’t know how hostages get treated in this kingdom,” Lucy said, frowning.

“You can beat up anyone who tries to touch me,” Wendy assured her, “We just need to be able to explore the ship and get through some doors.”

Lucy thought about it a little more, then said, “Only if we don’t tell Carla.”

Wendy grinned, “Deal.”

Lucy made quite a few wrong turns trying to find the leader, (who knew there could be so many turns on an airship) but luckily she had the excuse, “Sorry, I’m new, never been on one of these things before, can you point me to where I’m supposed to take the prisoner?” for the three staff members that they came across.

Eventually they found the right door, and knocked, “Sir, I have the prisoner.”

“About time, enter.”

Lucy walked in with Wendy, the girl pretended to wince.

“Aw man, you mean I almost made myself horse over a little girl?” the man said, pushing back his drooping bangs with a gloved hand. “Why did it take so long? And why don’t I recognize you?”

“I was one of the new reinforcements called in, Sir,” Lucy said. “The intruder got herself trapped on the pulley system, it took a while to knock her down.” She kept her head bowed in mock deference, but couldn’t keep her eyes from the control panel.

There was no SE plug, so it wasn’t the higher model Earthland vehicles like she had been hoping, where you plugged yourself in and thought about where to go until the vehicle reported the correct destination.  Instead, beside the officer was a map with lights, which hopefully led to something good, but it was also possible the actual driver was located somewhere else and this was the officer’s quarters.

“Why isn’t your squad leader reporting to me?”

“The prisoner managed to drop the crane on him, temporarily knocking him out. He’s getting the injury checked out and told me to report to you with the prisoner,” Lucy improvised.

“You must be green, the way you’re gawking at everything,” the man said, getting to his feet. He came closer, bending down to get a better look at Wendy, “Now, what did you think you were doing, stowing away on a royal army airship?”

This close, Lucy finally detected very faint magic, only noticeable from the lack of it everywhere in this world. He had something Lacrima powered on his belt, something much stronger than the standard issue soilder spears.  

Wendy huffed and turned her face away.

“And what about you?” he asked, looking up at her with a smirk, his hand going to his belt.

Lucy let go of Wendy, grabbed his hair, and punched him in the face.

“What the hell!” he yelled, wrenching himself away, leaving yanked out hair in Lucy’s grip. His nose was definitely broken. The second it took for Lucy to get around Wendy was all it took for him to whip out a wand in the shape of a pointing wooden hand, the Lacrima probably clutched in the fist.

“Command Tact, be still!” he commanded.

Wendy froze in place, tripping Lucy, who caught herself on the edge of the map. A blinking light that was likely the ship was slowly moving over the ocean portion of the map towards the Capitol.

“Stand upright,” he commanded, and Lucy glanced back at him, taking a coiled defensive position, not quite sure what was supposed to be happening. At the moment, the man looked as confused as she felt. “Why aren’t you obeying me?” He swished the wand away from Lucy and pointed it at Wendy, “Seize her.”

“Whaa?” Wendy asked as she started moving forward, “Lucy! I can’t control my own body! Watch out!” Wendy grabbed onto her arm and tried to force Lucy to the ground.

But really, it was Wendy.

Lucy lifted her arm to dangle the girl off the ground. She tilted her head at her opponent in question. There was an insignia on his lapel, identifying him as Hughes, general of the third division of the Edolas Royal army.

He took a step back, “What are you? Is this exceed magic?”

“You know, I really don’t like my friends being forced to attack me,” Lucy said, removing her helmet that Wendy grabbed to try and topple her. Wendy let go of the helmet and threw her arms around Lucy’s waist, just as Hughes turned to flee.

Instinct kicked in. Lucy pulled Wendy off her and tossed the child at the man. Wendy screamed. She hit him just before he reached the exit, sending his head face first into the metal door with a nasty thud.

“Oh stars,” Lucy said, rushing over. She pulled the wand from the man, tossed it to the other side of the room, and pulled Wendy off him (making sure to put her body in a position that would prevent the door from opening). “Wendy, I’m so sorry, usually things grabbing me are minor opponents, I should not have thrown you like that. Please tell me you’re okay, Carla is going to kill me.”

“I’m alright,” she said, rubbing her head. “It was shocking, but your aim was spot on. He cushioned the impact.”

“And this is still part of the ‘don’t tell Carla plan, right?” Lucy asked nervously.

Wendy laughed, “I won’t if you won’t. At least I could be good for something without my magic, even if it was just as a projectile.”

Lucy sighed and hugged her then. “I am going to buy you the yummiest cake when we get back home.”

Her opponent came to and immediately scrambled away from her, luckily also away from his wand and the door.

“I don’t understand, my command magic takes control of everyone, human or exceed, how were you not affected?” He babbled, his arms flung up to protect his face. “Who are you, and what do you want with me?”

She knew how she wanted to deal with him, but Wendy was still in her arms. Not taking her eyes off Hughes, she leaned down and whispered “Nod if I have permission to be scary.”

Wendy nodded and let her go, getting to her feet and stepping back, kinda guarding the door.

Lucy let her head fall forward, her bangs obscuring her face, and focused all her hatred for what this world had done to Magnolia into her glare.

“Who am I?” she growled from deep in her chest.

He flinched.

“The arrogance of humans will never stop.” She stood up. “Tell me, did you laugh as you stole the life and magic of other worlds? Was it fun? Destroying cities? Did you feel superior, believing there would be no consequence for your indiscriminate destruction? Be honest.”

“No-no,” he said, trying to press himself further into the wall. “We only took what we needed.”

“Children. Families. Homes. Lives.” Lucy said, marching forward with every word. She put a foot on his chest and pushed him further into the ground. “If you can take it, it’s yours. Yours to use. Yours to destroy. That’s the kind of philosophy that justifies the destruction you wrought upon my world. By your own logic, I should just kill you now.”

Lucy lit her fist with magic, watching his eyes go wide at the lack of a tool in it. “I should use what I find in this room and on your corpse for my own gain. Because it would be fun. Because I can. Because as long as you live, you’re a threat to the people I care about. Because you have magic I want.”

“No, please, I don’t want to die. We were only following the King’s orders,” Hughes pled with her.

“Wendy, look at the map, see how fast we’re moving. How long until we arrive?”

Wendy did what she said, and Lucy waited, keeping her fist lit, “An hour maybe? It looks like we’re halfway to the Capitol across the water.”

She took her time, staring at him in silence.

Mortals rarely know how to wait, and Hughes was twitching in less than 30 seconds.

Lucy kept her voice low and smooth, “You say it was necessary, that you didn’t enjoy it? I don’t believe you. I’ve walked your cities, I’ve heard how everyone talks about the extraction. You all get a kick out of your kingdom’s mighty ability to destroy the lives of others. Tell me, did you really think there would never be a consequence for stealing from a land of abundant magic?”

“Your home has so much, it’s not fair,” he said, almost against his will. “Surely you could spare some for our dying home?”

She ground him under her foot, feeling his ribs bend, but not break.

“Have you figured out yet what I am?” Lucy asked. “Why you can’t control me, but you could control my friend?”

His eyes darted between her and Wendy, “You’re both from the other world, you’re both human, it should have worked. You must have some magic from your world you brought with you that protects you.”

Lucy lit up her entire body to just short of blinding, her magic aura becoming visible. “You didn’t take ‘some’ magic you thought we could spare.”

 She was a shining pillar of light reflecting in his eyes as he gaped. “Your people got greedy, Hughes. You took my whole city, my home, my family. You have exceeds here, celestial beings with a queen of unfathomable magic power to lead them. You fear and bow to this goddess.”

A pause.

“There are no exceeds in Earthland.”

Lucy crouched, and her hand shot for his throat. She ran a claw of light across his rapid pulse point, gently drawing blood without severing the artery.

His chest expanded and contracted more quickly under her boot.

“Earthland has me.”

His gasps were wet and his shaking almost violent, his pupils dilated with fear.

He was ready.  

“The Kingdom took without asking. It’s time for the Kingdom of Edolas to pay back what is owed. Here is what I’m willing to offer.” Her hand pulled his chin so he was looking her in the eye. “Tell me everything you know about how to get into the Castle, about the magic lacrima my family is currently trapped in, the magic extraction process, how to stop it, and how to convert my friends back to their normal bodies.

“If I think you’re lying to me or you refuse to answer, I toss you from the top of the ship twenty minutes before we reach the capitol. If you convince me you’re telling the truth, I’ll toss you from the bottom of the airship ten minutes from the Capitol, and give you a life preserver. Your choice.”

She let the pulsing aura of her magic ease, lifting the pressure within the cabin. Her magic retreated back under her skin. A quick glance showed Wendy had taken possession of Hughes’ wand.

There was a long moment of silence, before Hughes stammered, “They-They’ll kill me, and I am-I am loyal to my king. You’re going to kill hi-him and all the people I care about. I won’t live anyway, once I’m branded a traitor. You’re asking me to throw my life and people I love away or die.”

Should have thought of that before convincing the populace to brag about destroying another world.

Lucy sat on her temper. “I’m not cruel, or unreasonable. I have reason to believe there is a way to reverse the destructive spell on my city and my friends. They are all I care about right now, not Edolas politics and not vengence. Not yet. Tell me where they are, how to save them, and the location of the machine you use to pull magic from my world and everything you know about it, and I won’t touch your king. I won’t even touch the army except to knock them out of my way.

“But if you don’t tell me, I’ll have to knock the information out of the king myself. If my people die, I’ll kill twice as many people from Edolas, because I will care about vengeance then, and it will be clear to me that nothing more than the law of reprisal will make sure you never touch my world again.”

Hmm, that flinch meant the law of reprisal meant something similar in edolas. Or Hughes was a clever little general and could figure out what it meant from context clues. Good.

“So, Huges, are you a fool of a patriot, all blind loyalty and confidence that the magic beings of my world won’t stand a chance against your people? Or are you a loyal citizen and a leader of men who will use the chance offered to him to minimize casualties and save both our people?”

Lucy held out a hand.

Hughes eyed her hand, but after fifteen seconds, he accepted it, letting Lucy pull him to his feet. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath before his shoulders slumped, “Here’s what I can tell you.”

It wasn’t much. Edolas opened anima portals and converted everything that got sucked through into Lacrima. The king can speed up the magical extraction process, but if its not sent back through the portal within a week, the magical extraction process naturally occurs. They were going to speed up a demonstration on a broken off piece of the main Lacrima in the palace’s central plaza tomorrow. The main Lacrima of Magnolia would naturally reach the point of no return the following dawn. He didn’t know how to send a Lacrima back through an anima portal, or how to work any of the machines. A group of royal wizards worked together to operate it, Hughs was the military muscle.

“Time check Wendy?” Lucy asked.

“Umm, about twenty minutes from the capitol?”

“Well, this chat has been fun,” Lucy said, grabbing his shirt and heading for the window. Time for some extra squeezing. “Too bad I don’t believe you about the timelines, those sound like overly dramatic propaganda and you haven’t offered anything else of value. Looks like we’re back to killing enough people of Edolas to show that the price of magic is too steep. Let’s go.”

“WAIT!” Hughes yelled, struggling against her grip.

“Nah, you’ve wasted enough of my time,” Lucy said, using a powered up fist to punch the window. Spiderweb cracks erupted. It would only take one more hit, so she braced herself for the vacuum and drew her fist back, giving Hughes one more chance.

“NO! No! Look, I can tell you about a secret passage into the Castle, I swear, it will lead straight in, no guards, and you can find someone who does know how to operate the anima. Please!”

“Well now, that is more promising,” Lucy said, turning away from the cracked window.

“It’s an old escape route, built by one of King Faust’s paranoid ancestors.” Hughes babbled. “There’s an old mine shaft, two miles directly east of the city. You leave the east gate and at the two mile marker head straight north. I found the entrance when I was kid. It leads straight to the royal quarters, no one monitors it.”

Threats and torture rarely got good information, you usually had to squeeze information out of two people so they could confirm the other’s story. Hughes was probably lying, either about the existence of the mine shaft or the fact that no one monitors it. Probably the latter, but an ambushed ambush has so many possibilities she could explore once they met back up with Loke.

“Now that’s what I’m talking about,” Lucy grinned. “Congrats on not being useless. Now come here.”

Lucy forced him onto his knees before her and grabbed her light pen,

“What are you going to do to me?” he asked, a tremble in his voice. “What’s that for?”

“Some more Earthland magic, ready to see it?”

A second later she let him fall back with a thud, completely asleep.

Immediately she went over to Wendy and knelt down to meet her eyes, “I’m sorry I had to be like that, are you okay?”

Wendy nodded vigorously, “You were so tough and cool. I knew you were bluffing the whole time, but you were so good at acting! Can you teach me how to be scary like that? Please!”

Lucy smiled, “Yeah, I can teach you, but we have to be somewhere safe first, alright?”

Wendy nodded.

Carla was going to kill her, but it was worth it. If there was one thing her escort missions had taught her, it was that every woman should know how to draw a hardline with people and be able to hurt the people that cross it.

“What are we going to do now?” Wendy asked.

“We have ten minutes to figure out how to crash this ship in the bay and use an emergency craft to make it to the capitol ourselves,” Lucy said, replacing the helmet. “I’m hoping there’s an instruction manual around here, but it’s probably where the pilot is, not the officer’s cabin. Let’s go look.”

They found the pilots, put them to sleep, and found the manual for flying the thing. Unfortunately it had too many words she didn’t recognize, technical terms that didn’t exist in earthland. She did find the passenger flip card titled “in case of emergency landings”, which showed where life rafts were stowed in the occasion of a water landing after a hull breach. Since the hull wasn’t breached, the ship would work well enough as a life-preserver, keeping her promise to Huges.

“How are going to land this in the water if you put the pilots to sleep? We’re running out of time.” Wendy asked.

Lucy couldn’t stop a small grin, “Have we ever taught you about Plan T?”

Five minutes later the magic fuel pumps and guidance controls were all busted up and leaking magic fuel everywhere. The aircraft was rapidly losing height and air was being sucked out of the craft.

Lucy and Wendy jumped from the roof of the aircraft when they were a survivable distance from the water, outside the Capitol’s bay. In the water, they pulled the tabs for the raft. It inflated, and a little magic fueled motor sent them heading towards the shore near the Capitol.

Evading the dock authorities was a little trickier, but Lucy knew how to wait, and Wendy was much better than any of the boys she usually teamed with at following her lead. Still dressed in her soldier’s outfit, whenever someone asked why Lucy wasn’t joining the rescue effort for the downed ship, she simply said that Wendy was a civilian she was escorting back to her parents by orders of her captain.

If people weren’t convinced, she pointed at Wendy behind her back, rolled her eyes, and mimed rubbing a coin between her fingers. Symbols of greed were good in most nations. There was too much going on for anyone to question deeper than that.

Between the docks and the main streets of town were several buildings likely used for cargo storage.

Thankfully they were mostly empty, and the narrow alleys between them gave plenty of cover.

They gave cover for a lot of things.

A scuff of a boot in an alley behind them. No one had been there a moment ago when they crossed that area.

The main street was so close, another seventy meters, quick enough for a dash. For either them or their pursuer.

Gambling on her guard uniform would depend entirely on who her stalker was and if they had friends. That they hadn’t confronted her yet meant they likely weren’t the guard or weren’t fooled by it.

Wendy was at risk in an alley battle, no room and no cover for her if they came at them with an area attack.

“Wendy,” Lucy whispered, keeping their same, unhurried pace. “Don’t look back. Someone’s following us. I want you to run to the main street, turn right and keep running until you see a clothing shop. I’ll find you there.”

“I want to stay with you,” Wendy whispered.

“It’s too tight to fight here without putting you in danger, and fighting in the open will draw guards to us. Please.”

“Fine, but be careful.”

Wendy immediately took off running forward, not looking back like a good girl.

 Lucy followed her two steps, until she distinctly heard someone jolt, realizing their prey was getting away. Lucy covered Wendy by zigzagging up the walls of the narrow alley, turning to face the other way as she did so.

The sihlloutte showed a suit and broad-rimmed hat. Not a soldier, but probably not up to any good. She jumped down in front of him, a fist of light pulled back.

He flung up his hands to protect his eyes.

“Gajeel?”

~
~

~

Notes:

As I was doing my final edits, Natsu last chapter and Lucy this chapter had me laughing.

"You're going to take on the kingdom?" "We just want our friends, if the kingdom gets in the way, take them down."
vs.
"Either I come down on Edolas like a nuke or a scalpel for your Kingdom's crimes, your choice soldier."

Wendy is having a great time! At least until Lucy sent her away.

Let me know what you think!

Chapter 74: Plan A

“The royal city sure is different,” Happy said. “Everyone’s smiling and you’d never know that magic is scarce around here.”

“It’s because they hoard it for themselves in the royal city and pretend not to know the suffering of their people elsewhere,” Carla huffed. “Now we have to hurry and find where the airships come in.”

“There are a lot of guards in that direction,” Loke said, stopping at a crossroad, “There was a big crowd near the last airship landing. Do you think people gather for airship landings? It almost sounds like a parade or festival.”

“Oh, like their version of Fantasia?” Natsu said, immediately heading down that way. The rest of them shrugged and followed since they didn’t have any other leads.

It was not Fantasia.

An enormous lacrima, almost too big for the plaza, stood surrounded by guards and further surrounded by a dense crowd.  An old man stood on a platform in front of the lacrima.

“PEOPLE OF EDOLAS! HEAR ME NOW!” People quieted. He raised his arms and his voice, “I, King Faust, bring you the anima project’s biggest success yet! A lacrima harvested from a world of unlimited magic power. Tomorrow, tomorrow we will harvest it into enough magic power for years to come! Rejoice, my people, the superiority of Edolas has come to fruition. All will bow before the Kingdom of Edolas, and magic power will rain down from the skies forever!”

Faust went on, but his words blurred into the same kind of power hungry rhetoric Loke had heard from powerful men all his life. We are successful and right and deserving, others are not, yada, yada. The difference was this speech was being given straight to the people instead of to shareholders.

They ate it up just the same. Some people were crying tears of joy over the idea.

“That’s our friends he’s talking about,” Natsu spat. His hands made fists, but no flames bloomed out where there should be.

Their friends were right in front of them and there was nothing they could do.

Well, there was something Loke could do. People would get hurt, but in the middle of this crowd they’d also act as a shield from the surrounding soldiers.

“Loke, let’s go after him,” Natsu spat, fire in his eyes.

Taurus, Loke decided, putting his hands on his keys.

“Natsu? Natsu!” Wendy cried out, running up to them. She threw herself in Natsu’s arms, and he was knocked out of his rage to grab onto her.

“Wendy?” Natsu asked. “Where’s Lucy?”

“Someone was following us, she asked me to run ahead and meet her at a clothes shop, but I got swept up in the crowd. Are they really talking about our friends like that?” Wendy cried.

“Come, let’s leave. There’s nothing more to be gained here,” Carla said, looking around at Faust’s adoring fans. “I know you boys want to go after the king right now, but it’s foolish. There are too many opponents and there are children in this crowd.”

Loke blinked and immediately took his hand away. Had he really been thinking about using these people as a shield? They were still people even if they were cheering for their deaths.

“But—” Natsu stopped himself, glaring at the guards.

Who were definitely looking at them as they were suspiciously not happy with King Faust’s speech.

Loke put a hand on his shoulder and shook his head. “We’ll save them, but not right now. We need Lucy and we need a plan.”

Natsu met his eyes, and the spark of rage subsided back to an ember. Still holding Wendy protectively, Natsu led them out of the crowd.

“Wait, wait, I’m supposed to meet up with Lucy,” Wendy said, rubbing her eyes as Loke turned down a street. “She said to meet her at the first clothing store on the right side of the road after turning out of an alley. I don’t remember the alley, but she’ll be looking for me.”

“Lucy can return to me at any time,” Loke told her, “Now that she doesn’t have you to worry about, there’s nothing stopping her from coming to me. Let’s go find a place to regroup and make a plan. She’ll come when she realizes she’s lost you.”

They found a room despite the festivities, and Loke had to apologize for the way Natsu growled at the innkeeper for asking cheerfully if they were in town for the extraction. It was a very different atmosphere from the fun the night before. Carla was scribbling plans on the notepad the room offered, and Wendy split her time between looking nervously at everyone and looking out the window at the crowded streets.

Loke got everyone some dinner, and Carla finished writing by the time everyone else had finished eating.

“I don’t think we can wait for Lucy anymore,” Loke admitted as the sun sunk behind the town walls. “Not when we need to figure something out by tomorrow. There’s nothing in this world that can keep her from me, which means she’s doing something she think will help our friends, or otherwise dealing with a different problem. She’ll come when that’s dealt with, but we can’t wait for her anymore.”

“The magic here is weird, it doesn’t work right,” Natsu said. “I think we’re just going to have to go tomorrow, see what they think they’re using to extract the magic from our friends, and bust it up.”

“I have this,” Wendy said, pulling out a wooden wand with a hand at the end of it. “I can’t make it work though. It takes control of people’s bodies and makes them follow the commands the wizard says, but I haven’t gotten it to do anything.”

“Let me see,” Natsu said, and Wendy passed him the wand. He pointed it at Loke. “Do a little dance.”

Nothing happened.

“Maybe a simpler command?” Loke suggested. “Try to make me clap.”

“And do it more commanding,” Wendy said. “The wand’s name is ‘Command Act’, that’s the spell that started it, but no matter how I said it, it wouldn’t activate for me.”

“Command Act!” Natsu declared, pointing it at Loke, “Clap your hands!”

Nothing.

“Keep a hold of it for now,” Loke advised, “We’ll keep it as a final resort, but I still have some pretty strong spirits I can ask for help once we have a plan of what needs to happen. Virgo can bury things, Scorpio can disrupt a fair number of machines in a pinch with sand, halt people so they protect their eyes and give us cover. He can also turn the sand into something more piercing if we need to get through a wall or machine. Taurus can take out a couple of battalions and crunch through metal, Sagittarius can snipe. And if I get near water, Aquarius can flatten half this city if she puts her mind to it,” Loke said.

“And when they threaten Wendy or Natsu with a knife while you are trying to deal with the soldiers?” Carla asked.

“But we can’t do nothing,” Happy protested.

Natsu ran a hand through his hair, “If we destroy the magic extraction machine, then even if we get captured, at least they won’t be able to kill our friends.”

Wendy winced, “Carla’s right that Natsu and I are liabilities. And even if we destroy the thing they are using to steal magic power, our friends will still be trapped in a lacrima in Edolas. They can probably just build a new one while we’re thrown in the dungeon. Plus there is a chance that the lacrima destabilizes and turns into raw magic anyway the day after tomorrow. That’s what the commanding officer of the airship said, though Lucy didn’t believe him.”

“Well then we take a hostage,” Natsu decided, “That laughing King’s gotta value his own life over everything else. We sneak into the palace, take him hostage, and make them return us and all our friends home. Simple.”

“I don’t think there’s anything simple about taking a king hostage,” Happy said, pulling on his ears.  

“But it may not be as complicated as it appears either,” Carla said, laying her hand on her notes. “This castle was built by a monarch of a kingdom suffering from major resource loss, he was as paranoid about coups as any other ruler. The castle has a secret escape route from the center royal apartments that leads to a mine a few miles past the east gate. We can go in that way, and get to the heart of the palace. As detestable as taking hostages is, I believe the action is only fair when they have all of Magnolia at their mercy.”

“Oh, I heard about that!” Wendy said excitedly, surprising everyone, “Lucy got really scary and mean with the commanding officer of the airship and he told us about it! I completely forgot with everything else that happened. He said he only knew about it because he grew up here and played in the abandoned mines a lot as a child. It really does lead right past a lot of the walls and security!” Wendy frowned, “But how did you know about that Carla?”

“You can verify that it’s real?” Carla asked slowly. She put a hand to her head, “I can’t explain how I know, it’s just in my head. I was convinced it was real, but I am glad you can offer additional verification.”

“A secret path straight to the king?” Natsu asked, jumping to his feet, “What are we waiting for? Let’s go!”

“Not until nightfall,” Carla scolded. “It’s hardly sneaking if we go in broad daylight. We need any guards to be asleep or at least sleepy so the security is reduced. There will still be plenty of fighting, and we will have to rely solely on Loke for magical aid. We only have a few hours and one shot at this, we need to maximize our chances of success.”

Natsu collapsed back into his seat with a groan, but it was a lot more hopeful and happy than any sound he’d made this past hour.

They could do this. They had to.

 

They met their first obstacle upon arrival at the cave. The mouth yawned open, the dark depths had already swallowed all the light from the sky.

“You know, nothing quite hits for how useless Natsu is without magic like a lightless cave,” Happy said as they all stared into the darkness.

“Hey, watch it,” Natsu grumbled.

Wendy tugged at a pigtail, “What are we going to do? Even with Carla’s map, we’ll get separated and walk into walls in that darkness.”

“Don’t worry, one of us has the magic to save the day,” Loke grinned pulling out his keys.

Lucy’s fairy lights were the obvious solution, but he really didn’t want to call her while she was on vacation even if she said it was okay. Also if she hadn’t come to him after being unable to find Wendy, there was probably a good reason for that and he was going to trust her.

So, second best for this scenario, “Open, Gate of the Maiden, Virgo!”

“Big brother, how can I be of service?” Virgo asked, giving a bow

“We need to navigate this cave,” Loke explained, “Carla’s got the map, but we need something to give up light. If you could walk with us and help keep an eye out for cave-ins or wandering people, that would be great.”

“Would these be sufficient?” Virgo asked, pulling out several torches and spark lighters.

“Look Carla, she even has smaller ones for us!” Happy cheered, jumping up to grab one of the smaller torches.

“It is recommended that each member of a cave exploring party have their own lightsource in case groups are separated and to facilitate retrieval of a lost party member,” Virgo instructed as everyone took one.

“Loke, your magic is pretty amazing,” Wendy said as Virgo carefully lit her torch. “Can Virgo really fetch you anything you need anywhere you need it?”

Loke patted Virgo on the back with a grin, “Virgo gives five star service everywhere! Prepared to assist in every situation and every locale, she also has diver magic that makes me feel sorry for anyone that thinks they can get the drop on us underground. She’s one of the best.”

“Big . . . big brother,” Virgo said, immediately bowing at the waist, “I will strive to live up to the faith you place in me.”

“I’m just telling the truth,” Loke said, with a smile. “So don’t worry about being anything more than what you are, kay?”

“Yes-yes, Big Brother,” Virgo said, still not coming up from her bow.

Which might be for reasons other than deference. Time to give her some space.

“Anywho, everyone ready for the cave?” Loke asked turning back towards the entrance.

Natsu was standing next to the entrance, staring intently at his burning torch. Then he shoved it in his mouth.

“Oh, do think that eating fire will do the magic muscle relaxer thing and let you use your magic?” Happy asked excitedly as Natsu removed the torch stick.

“You know, I think it did,” Natsu said, excitement bleeding into his voice.

“Now you’ve got a fire in your belly!” Loke cheered. “Let’s see it!”

“Fire Dragon,” Natsu called, drawing back his arm, “Iron Fist!”

Silence.

Not a whiff of magic in the air, much less fire.

“Umm Natsu?” Wendy said, “Sorry for not telling you earlier, I tried eating the air here when we first arrived. That doesn’t fix our magic problems.”

Natsu’s head, arms, and shoulders dropped with a body heaving sigh, “It was worth a try.”

“If I may,” Virgo said, back to her usual self, “Caves tend to be cold, and the air already suggests it is fall or early spring in this world. May I offer everyone additional layers before beginning our expedition?” She stepped aside to reveal an entire coat rack of cold weather gear.

Loke, Happy, and Wendy all accepted extra cloaks and gloves while Natsu pouted.

Finally they entered the cave together.

 It was slow going, but Carla led them at a steady pace according to the map she had drawn.

Virgo stopped suddenly, “I hear voices. GET DOWN!”

Virgo pushed him aside and tunneled into the ceiling, causing them both to narrowly avoid a fling of thick paste. Bundled webs? Natsu was able to dodge thanks to the warning, but Wendy’s coat got caught and she shrieked.

“Get them!” Erza ordered, presumably the Edolas Fairy Hunter Erza.

Natsu and Loke yanked Wendy out of her coat as more globs hurled towards them.

The attacks were stopped by a rockslide.

“Hurry back the way we’ve come,” Virgo instructed from the top of the cave in, “This wont hold them off for long! I count fifty—”

As she was jumping down to join them, a spear burst through the wall with an explosion, catching her in the back.

“Virgo!” Loke called, as she poofed back to the celestial world.

Erza’s face appeared in the hole.

“Huh, I could have sworn I stabbed a body,” she said, then struck away the rest of the cave-in, giving them a useless second to run.

With a charge, Erza was still faster than him and a magicless Natsu, and knocked them both aside. She caught Wendy by the pigtails and twisted her spear to Wendy’s throat, stopping them cold.

“Release her right now!” Carla demanded. “Let Wendy go!”

“We have to properly contain her, of course,” Erza said. The globs flew again, getting all of them around the torso.

All of them except Happy and Carla.

“You can drop the clever ruse you used to bring them right into our grasp,” Erza told Happy and Carla calmly as she dropped Wendy to the ground. “You have both succeeded in your mission admirably.”

“Car-la?” Wendy asked, voice breaking as she struggled to sit up.

“Don’t believe it Wendy,” Loke said, trying to shrug off the stickiness. Not too hard. They had the back of his jacket, and it pinned his arms to his sides.

But he wasn’t an ability type, all he needed was one hand on his keys and a plan. Who was the best call? Scorpio for area attacks? Cancer to cut them free and keep Erza busy? He had no doubt this Erza was as strong a warrior as theirs, Cancer wouldn’t be a match.

“Yeah, Happy would never betray us, they’re just trying to say stuff to get us not to trust each other!” Natsu said, pulling back against the soldier trying to restrain him. “They’re all just a bunch of f—” another glob hit him in the head, muffling whatever insult Natsu was trying to say.

His hand was on his key, but something was wrong. The strings of his magic were garbled.

The glob must have anti-magic properties, even if none of it was currently touching his skin. Still, he just needed the right opening.

Happy was staring wide eyed at Carla, who was holding her head and trembling.

“Good call, the whimperings of the betrayed are so tiresome,” Erza told her soldiers.

“If you think Happy and Carla are on your side, then you’re the ones about to be betrayed,” Loke threatened.

“They led you into a trap, you’re about to become our prisoners, while they return to their homeland of Extalia as heroes,” Erza said raising an eyebrow. “And you still believe they are your friends? Pathetic.”

“No, Natsu and Loke aren’t pathetic!” Happy shouted. “They’re my—”

Loke threw off his coat and turned two gate keys at once. “Open! Gates of the Golden Bull and the Chisel!”

Erza flinched into a guard, then lunged forward with her sparking spear that slid off Chisel’s form. Chisel shot Erza point blank, sending her into a wall.

Behind him, threads snapped against Taurus’s axe. Wendy started wiggling to her feet. “Carla, if you really didn’t betray me, then help me!”

“I-I . . .” she stuttered.

Loke swept Carla into his arms, “Happy, guide Natsu. Taurus! Keep them off as long as you can!”

“Piece of cake!” Taurus called behind him as he swept another frontliner for the edolas royal army into knocking out a line of his comrades.

Loke grabbed Chisel, as they ran by, and shoved his chain and sickle into his magic pocket, an extra card to play later. The spirit was light as it switched to its sword form, but unwieldy, they should have practiced this form more. Loke placed Carla on Wendy’s head as she did her best to run with still bound arms.

Carla was still crying and uncertain, but she was able to grab onto Wendy’s hair.

With a roar Erza emerged from the pile of stones and charged after them. With the exceeds leading the magicless, bound dragonslayers, Loke was at the back of the line. He spun and let Chisel catch Erza’s spear.

“Melforce,” Erza commanded, and a tunnel of wind blew him back, as fierce as Wendy’s wing attack. He pulled himself into a tumble like Erza had trained him, but Chisel was too big. It caught on the ceiling and sent him down to the ground, flat on his back.

“Loke!” Wendy called back, but Carla ushered her forward.

He heard two steps and a pause, and he swung his sword up, braced with both hands, to prevent Erza’s spear from skewering his neck.

“The fairy scum Loke Ashley,” Erza said grappling from above him. “I presume you are his equally annoying earthland counterpart? I will say your magic is beyond anything we have here. You summon beings out of thin air. Our world could never support such a magic. For now. Once we have all of earthland’s magic, using those tools of yours will be an interesting experiment for the magic weapons development teams.”

She was playing with him, but that was fine. If she was here, Wendy and Natsu were getting away.

“Honestly, your weapon and your skill with it is amazing,” Loke flattered, arms shaking as he struggled to hold her back. “Not to mention you’re gorgeous. Way more beautiful than our Erza, and our Erza is already one of the most beautiful women I know. I bet you’re as skilled in bed as you are on the battlefield, am I right?”

“And that’s enough,” she said. With a twist of her spear, Chisel shattered, disappearing back to the celestial realm. The four points of her spear pinned his chin and neck. One twitch and he’d be getting a shave.

Erza’s fist came down and he blacked out.

~

~

~

Notes:

Honestly, it's a real tragedy that celestial spirits are treated like spells instead of temporary extra party members in canon. Fixing that for this story! Loke and Natsu face the cruelty of edolas, and attempt a sneaking plan without Lucy. It . . . doesn't quite work out.

Let me know what you think!

Next week: Plan B, and we see what Lucy got up to instead of rendevous-ing with the Loke

Chapter 75: Plan B

"Gajeel?"

Less piercings and curly groomed hair instead of Gajeel’s usual rat’s nest. It was still clearly the edolas version of her guildmate.

She had caught his jacket and shirt in his fist when she shoved him against the wall, and didn't lower her raised fist.

“Ah, you seem to have more than a passing acquaintance with this face and my name, despite our unfamiliarity. Combined with the fact that you appear to wield a magic that does not appear to be independently fueled by a lacrima, I can only assume you are a wizard of Earthland Fairy Tail?” Gajeel asked, trying for nonchalant, but also trying to stare at her lit fist and not stare at it all at once.

“What about it?” Lucy asked, eyes narrowed.

“Ah, while I am sure he would love to greet you himself, my other self is a little busy keeping your violent friend from doing something dangerous to get his, ah, ‘snake’ friend back.”

And that was just incoherent and random enough a sentence in any context except her current life to be believable.

Lucy released him and released her spell. “Gajeel and Erik. You know where they are?”

He straightened his suit jacket and picked up his hat from where it had fallen on the ground. Other Gajeel then held out his arm, “It would be an honor to reunite a lady with her friends. Should we go collect your other companion that ran on ahead?”

It could be a trap. Erza was the fairy hunter in this world, and Loke a demanding businessman. If Gajeel and Erik were captured while trying to free their friends, this Gajeel could very well have been the man to do it. Wendy would stay put until Lucy could go get her.

“Not yet,” she decided as she took his arm. “Please don’t be offended by my caution.”

“Of course not, you’ve been here long enough to understand these can be dangerous times. I will, of course, respect your judgment. Shall we be on our way?”

“Let’s.”

Lucy had planned to use the walk to see what clues and information she could pick up from the city itself and continue to try and suss out her escort’s true motives, but Gajeel was surprisingly charming as they walked. Once she stowed away her disguise in her pocket (that simple piece of magic startling Gajeel more than her light magic had been), they could have been any couple in the city. He pointed out various historical landmarks within the Capitol and told her about his job as a journalist, and while she had initially decided to play along, she ended up enjoying herself.

“The flying fish souffle was a favorite of our lost prince, did you know that?” Gajeel asked, “Legend has it he tried it once as a child, and asked for it the following three birthdays until he disappeared ten years ago.”

“How do you lose a prince?” Lucy asked. “And I can confirm I’ve never quite acquired the necessary taste buds for flying fish, so I’m afraid I don’t quite believe it that it became a child’s favorite food.”

“Now that is a juicy story, but I’m afraid it’s going to have to wait for another time, we’re here, my lady.”

A basic apartment complex, not as fancy as some of the ones they’ve passed, but clean and well kept.

“Clearly the guy has better things to do, but I don’t! Who cares about the people of this world, I’m going to get Cubelios and you aren’t going to stop me, or we’re going to find out exactly which of us is stronger if we have to level this entire neighborhood to do it!” Erik yelled, slamming a door into Gajeel from the second story.

“Get back here!” Gajeel said catching the door before it could hit him. “He said he’d be back with information. We barely know anything about this place, so if you want your snake back, keep your head on straight you stupid—Blondie!”

Gajeel and Erik both vaulted the little wall to land in front of her.

“I said I would be back earlier, I apologize for my tardiness,” Edolas Gajeel said, “I received a tip on my way back that something odd was happening at the docks, and it appears to have paid off.”

“Great, you want to come with me to go get Cubelios?” Erik asked, folding his arms.

“Your turn to stop him from going suicidal,” Gajeel said growled, glaring at Erik. “An entire army was in the streets today, unless we’re willing to risk civilians, we need to do this smart if we want to turn everyone back to normal.”

“You know how to turn our friends back from being a giant lacrima?” Lucy asked, immediately honing in on the only information she didn’t have.

“Strike it with dragonslayer magic, none of the spells here can stand up to it,” Gajeel shrugged. “That’s what Mystogan said anyway. But we can’t exactly get close to it right now, we were planning on going tomorrow to blend in with the public at the viewing. We’d clear some space by giving a false warning before hitting it hard.”

“And I say you lot took on the oracion seis with the power of friendship and by destroying stuff until everything was broken except yourselves,” Erik growled, “What do you call it, Plan Tea? We can’t just wait around for the most dramatic moment! We need to save Cubelios now!”

Lucy let go of Edolas Gajeel’s arm and placed her chin her hand, “You talked to Mystogan, so I assume you got the same magic relaxer Loke did?”

“Relaxer?” Gajeel asked, pulling a small bottle from his coat, “He called them star candy, even though they’re little balls. Said they let mages pull in magic from worlds they weren’t born in and lets them use that magic. Why aren’t you with the ponce anyway?”

“Can I see that?” Lucy asked, tilting her head. He handed them over and Lucy knew exactly where Mystogan had gotten this based off smell alone.

It was the same smell she had carried with her for two years.

And she hadn’t been entirely off base with her guess. Letting the body absorb ambient magic from another world, even in smaller quantities would turn off the self-preservation instinct to conserve magic power, allowing a wizard to actually use the magic at their disposal.

“I’m leaving,” Erik said, starting to walk past her.

“Four hours,” Lucy said, slipping four of the candies into her pocket and capping the bottle again. Erik stopped. “At nighttime when the civilians have gone to bed or have retreated to bars, that’s all I ask. We’ll find a way around the walls and through the guard while the civilians are asleep. I’ll keep people from getting too injured while you two free our friends. Wendy’s waiting for me in town, with her support magic, our chances double of getting past whatever protections they have.”

“What about your boyfriend?” Erik asked begrudgingly.

What about him indeed.

Wait.

“Not my boyfriend, my wizard,” Lucy corrected with a glare while Erik rolled his eyes.

 Once she got Wendy with these guys, Wendy would be safe enough for Lucy to use her gate to find Loke, but this was a one chance kind of deal to strike at the lacrima tonight. Loke would want her to stay and make sure they had the best chance of freeing their friends. Across their bond, Loke was a little despondent right now, but not in danger.

“Loke hitched a ride in a magicart with the local Fairy Tail guild,” Lucy said. “He probably won’t make it in time for the show, but he’ll be safe until we can get at the lacrima. Let’s go find Wendy, then hang out at a bar or restaurant until it’s showtime.”

“Finally,” Erik said, marching towards the street. “Think I can get some decent arsenic around here?”

 

They went back to the alley where Gajeel had found Lucy, but none of the nine nearest clothing stores had Wendy anywhere in sight. Even calling out her name didn’t bring her running if she was in hiding. They looked all over, but the girl was still missing.

“It doesn’t make sense,” Lucy said, putting a hand to her head, “She doesn’t have magic, and no one should be looking for her specifically. She looks very different from her double, and smart enough to know not to trust the people here.”

“Perhaps she ran into allies then, people she thought she could trust,” Edolas Gajeel suggested.

Maybe someone from Edolas Fairy Tail had made it here before them, Loke again lending a hand by sending extra help. Maybe even Edolas Loke himself, Lucy had told them about their meeting.

“Probably Salamander, the Squirt ain’t dumb enough to trust anyone that isn’t from our world,” Gajeel said. “You want to check if they have her? You can pop over to Loke any time you want, right?”

Argh! Wendy was supposed to be better than the boys at not going places she shouldn’t!

At least Natsu, Loke, and Gray usually left her with an idea of where they were going before scattered. Wendy hadn’t even left a note or a message with any of the shopkeepers they talked to.

It’s not impossible Loke’s group picked her up, but going to check could strand Lucy miles outside the Capitol in the worst case scenario and be for nothing if she was with them and safe enough in the best case scenario. Though if Wendy was with them and they were here in the city, Lucy should go and restore everyone’s magic.

“Maybe.” Lucy admitted. Eyeing her current comrades, she decided, “Once we stop our friends from being made into streetlight lacrimas, hopefully it will cause enough of a commotion for her to come and find us. If it doesn’t, I’ll head to Loke and see if Wendy found them.”

“Speaking of streetlight lacrimas, they’ve all activated,” Erik pointed out. “Now will you let me go get Cubelios?”

Lucy looked up, the floating islands were distant shadows covering the stars, preventing her from getting a good gauge of the time.

 “Yeah, let’s go get Cubelios and everyone else.” She turned to Edolas Gajeel, hands on her hips, “Okay, where’s the mountain of a lacrima we need to bust up? I kinda expected to see it looming over everything since everyone claimed it was in the city. Is it on the outskirts? Or is there a giant chamber within the castle or something?”

The men traded glances. This world’s Gajeel pointed down the street. “It’s in a plaza down that way a few blocks from here. We passed by the gated entrance while looking for your friend.”

“It’s a couple of stories high, nearly covers the whole plaza, wouldn’t call it a mountain,” Gajeel said.

Huh?

Erik growled, “We’re wasting time.” He marched directly towards where everyone said a lacrima had been waiting, the gates were locked and bolted.

Erik spat acid, and with one dragon clawed hand, ripped the lock free. He threw open the gates, and they were immediately rushed by ten guards on duty.

The lacrima was too small, did they think all of Magnolia was in there? Do they even know the ratio of magic lacrima to earthland wizard? Much less the kind of magic Fairy Tail wizard's were throwing around.

Wait, that jagged edge was different from the rest. This piece must have been broken off for show, while everything else is kept elsewhere.

“I’ll take the lacrima,” Gajeel called, jumping towards, it “Don’t want you to leave acid burns on our friends.”

“No killing the soldiers either,” Lucy ordered, getting in front of Erik, “Regulus Impact!”

That knocked the night duty soldiers all away, smashing most of them into the buildings on the opposite side of the square.

“Right, concussions are so much better,” Erik snarked at her.

“They have helmets!”

Several people were shouting, more soldiers arriving at the open gates, but Gajeel was already working.

Please be wizards and not 20 townspeople in this lacrima.

Actually, please let it be two wizards and Cubelios. Erik was going to be a huge pain if Cubelios wasn’t rescued right now.

No. Gildarts and Cubelios. Let it be Gildarts and Cubelios.

Light flashed as dragonslayer magic broke the spell.

“Just you three? Come on!” Erik yelled.

Erza, Gray, and Jellal’s magic signatures appeared during the flash of light. Not Gildarts and Cubelios, but not bad either. Before the flash of light blinding everyone else could die down, she cast “Zosma Starfield!”

30 fairylights flew from her hands to different parts of the plaza, then turned blinding and started swerving, keeping cover for the new wizards. Not letting anyone know which faces from earthland were in Edolas could only help them. “Follow my magic signature! Everyone out! No talking!” Lucy yelled, then headed down a smaller side alley.

“It’s the prince!” a young girl cried from the balcony above the square. Lucy cast three fairy lights between her and Jellal, who wasn’t moving as fast as Erza and Gray, but it was too late.

“The prince is here, he’ll save us!”

“The Anti-magic division is incoming!”

“Hold them until they get here! For the Kingdom!”

Gray, Erza, and Jellal took casting stances, but no magic circles appeared.

“MY EYES!”

“Protect the prince!”

“I can’t see!”

“Save him!”

“For the Prince!”

“I’ve got him, to me!”

Several blocks away she stopped in an alleyway and the others crashed in behind her.

“What the hell is going on?” Gray said. “Why couldn’t I use my magic back there?”

“Good thing you didn’t, Lucy’s light magic doesn’t hurt her allies, but there’s no guarantee amplifying it through your ice wouldn’t have done real damage,” Erza said, rubbing at her eyes. She glanced down at her own hands. “My armor!”

“Where’s Jellal?” Lucy asked. “Why didn’t he follow?”

“More importantly, where the hell is everyone else?” Erik growled.

“Erik!” Erza asked, spinning around.

“No, first tell me why can’t I use magic?” Gray insisted.

“Shuddup everyone, I’ll explain if you give me a second,” Gajeel said. “Take these.”

Gray and Erza held the star candy. Gray swallowed his while Erza examined hers first, then ate it.

“We’re in a parallel world,” Gajeel said. “We all got genetic doubles running around. We can’t use our magic in this world without these star candy things Mystogan threw at me. You were one day away from being turned into street lamp lacrima because this world steals our world’s magic. We don’t know where the rest of Magnolia is. Bunny girl says Salamander, Loke, and the cats are running around this world too. Wendy’s somewhere in this city, but we lost her. Don’t know what happened to Jellal.”

Gray snorted, “Well that’s a load of—”

“I believe I may be able to shed light on your friend, Jellal,” Edolas Gajeel said, stepping casually into their alley and cutting Gray off. “Edolas’s prince is known to be extremely talented with magic, but he has been missing for years. Known as the lost prince, only a few castle personnel would be able to identify him on sight. It appears one of them mistook your friend Jellal for our Prince Jellal. He’s been captured, or ‘saved’ as the soldiers likely believe. He will be taken to his royal quarters in the palace, if I had to take a guess.”

“Well, damn,” Gray said, looking between the two Gajeels.

“Impossible as it sounds, that explains Mystogan’s likeness to Jellal better than anything we’ve come up with,” Erza said, moving forward with her usual efficiency. “But wouldn’t they have seen Jellal come out of the Lacrima with us? Won’t it be obvious he is from our world?”

“Possibly,” Edolas Gajeel shrugged, “How good is your friend at bluffing?”

Erza paled.

“Okay, yeah, we’re going to need to split up,” Gray said. “A team to retrieve Jellal from the palace, another team to find everyone else from Magnolia.”

“I’m through with planning things,” Erik growled, “We have magic and they don’t. Why we aren’t wrecking everything in sight until they give us our friends?”

“Because they might kill our friends before we get to them,” Gajeel growled with the irritation of someone who has said the same thing multiple times before.

“Alight, I’ll just take that big-mouthed king hostage right back,” Erik hissed. “Jellal can come with me on the way,” he started heading for the palace.

Erza sighed, “I’ll handle him and make sure we end up with Jellal. Lucy? Gray?”

Lucy shook her head, “I’ve spent too long away from Loke. It was worth it to see if we could free more of the guild, but I need to get to him, and we don’t even know if he’s in the city. Count me out.”

“I’ll stick with Gajeel, see what we can investigate about where everyone else is. See if we can figure out what’s up with Wendy too.” Gray decided. “Hopefully someone in the plaza is panicking about their earthland lacrima and we can follow them to the rest of Magnolia.”

“Anythin’ is better than spending another minute trying to talk sense into the bastard without his snake,” Gajeel grumbled. “Your turn Titiana.”

Erza nodded and ran after Erik. Lucy nodded at Gray and Gajeel before turning into her gate.

She stepped through her gate, dematerializing. She tried to pivot, but the realms didn’t touch the same way here.

 Her gate wasn’t in this realm. There wasn’t enough magic in Edolas to power the stars to create a celestial realm here. Lucy had to go all the way back to earthland to reach the celestial realm. Coming back to her key in another world took even more time without a command from Loke.

Hours had passed between leaving Gajeel and Gray and appearing beside Loke.

Who had apparently been very busy getting arrested.

 

 

Notes:

Here's Lucy! Erik has lost his emotional stability snake and quickly reverting to a 'kill everyone in the way' mindset. He's a work in progress. Babysitting Erik has brought down the mood for Gajeel's otherwise fun adventure with his rebel journalist counterpart. Lucy left Loke alone for 12 hours and he's gone and got himself arrested.

Ah well, at least she's here now and alternate universe jails don't count for the optional release clause in the base contract.

Chapter 76: Plans C and D

Jellal kept quiet as an excited child ran circles around him and an escort of ten guards brought him further into what seemed to be a kind of palace. There appeared to be little to no delineation between wealthy neighborhoods and typical seat of government functions and offices.

He had no memory of seeing a palace before, but it still didn’t seem quite the right word. He was only using the world palace because the chatty royal guard had been discussing which section of the palace they should escort him to.

And because the small child kept calling him “prince.”

He didn’t have enough memories of his past to challenge her assertion of the title, but he was fairly confident nonetheless that he had been caught up in a case of mistaken identity. Likely with his mysterious double known to Fairy Tail as Mystogan.

Now, was his inability to utilize his magic or sense any magic around him a related problem or a separate issue?

“Oh, I have to tell Captain Erza right away!” the child, (Coco?) cheered, grabbing his attention. “Did you know she’s become a captain? Did you hear about that wherever you were? She’s even got this really cool title, she’s known as the ‘Fairy Hunter’ because she’s so good at catching dark wizards. She’s the only one who’s been able to take down the Fairy Tail guild! Her stories are always so cool, but her squad was called out to deal with something important tonight. Oh wait, Pantherlily should definitely know first. I’ll go get him!”

He reached out a hand to stop his nimble guide before she could speed off, “A moment, please. It is late, I do not believe my presence is news that cannot wait until morning,” Jellal said, trying to buy himself more time.

Magicless, separated from the others, and surrounded by armed guards inside a palace? The longer he could pretend to be Mystogan, the better off he would be. He would likely be in a better position than the others to gather certain information, and he would likely need help to return to Magnolia. His current goal was to buy time.

“His Highness is right, little lady,” one of the guards chimed in, “We sent messages to the king and to the captains, they will know to look for him in his rooms if something urgent comes up, otherwise it has been a very long day and everyone, including his Highness, should be settling into bed. That means you, Coco.”

“But this is so exciting,” Coco pouted. “The Prince is back, and while there was that weird vanishing thing with lacrima in the square, this has to be a good thing? Right?”

“Of course it is,” a guard said, not looking at either of them, “But we will all be better able to celebrate the prince’s return after a good night’s sleep.”

“I second that,” an irate female voice chimed in. He looked over to see. His roommate was staring back at him with a broad smile, standing next to a purple-haired woman with bags under her eyes and a fierce scowl. The woman added, “You just had to make your timing as inconvenient as possible, didn’t you Princeling?” the woman growled.

“Now Kiana, it doesn’t set you back too much, stop staring daggers at him,” Erik said, placing his hands on the woman’s shoulders. “He is the King’s only heir.”

About an hour ago, before being swarmed by guards, Jellal distinctly recalled Erik cursing viciously at his sudden presence, which, while not an uncommon occurrence, added even more questions to this very complicated situation.

A type of dreamscape spell. It had to be. Dreamscape spells take portions of memory and consciousness and then shapes those fragments into a new, lifelike dream for the victim to experiences. Like the spell Midnight had used on him and Erza, most of the spells he could think of involved taking fear or doubt and used the dreamscape to disable the victim.

Or victims plural. Likely Erik, Lucy, Erza, and Gray were also trapped in the dreamscape spell and contributing the people he himself did not recognize. And Lucy, the 700-year old author, likely contributed to the settings and the plot of the dreamscape. Jellal was not nearly so creative. Inside this joint dreamscape, based on his first waking memories, they likely knew something was wrong and were working on it.

Erza should be able to shake it off fairly quickly due to her resistance to illusion magics, but in the few minutes for her to deal with the spell caster in the real world could feel like hours or days to him. He just had to avoid dying, as the shock of dying under most of these types of spells caused fatal damage to the brain.

Of course, this was a particularly well-crafted dreamscape and didn’t rely on negative emotions. It was possible this was a variation of the dreamscape spells he knew and the primary purpose was to get the victim to spill information. He didn’t know the exact spell for such a thing, but had the gut instinct that such a spell was possible. It could even be the Magic Council, attempting to learn more information about Fairy Tail’s misdeeds, and Jellal and Erik’s misdeeds specifically.

Better avoid revealing too much information either. Just in case. He would play along as best he could until the spell ended.

“Guards, you’re dismissed, we can get the prince settled in from here,” Erik added.

“Sir!” the crowd saluted, then marched back down the hallway.

“Sir?” Jellal asked cautiously.

“I’m technically chief of the royal staff,” Erik shrugged, “Though Kiana does most of the planning and organization, I’m the friendly face that gives those orders.” Erik nudged Jellal with his elbow, “Pretty good for the kid that you used to beat at chess blindfolded.”

“Catch up later, bedtime for now,” Kiana ordered. “You too Coco. With the extraction tomorrow on top of everything else going on, we’re going to need as much sleep as we can steal tonight. Your Highness, I recommend resting as well, as eager as I am sure you are to meet with your honored father and old friends, and as eager as they are to hear a report of your whereabouts for the past nine years, let them make the first request, and get the sleep that you can. Your room was updated for your current age, just through those doors.”

“You heard the Lady,” Erik said, patting Coco on the head.

Coco wrinkled her nose, then waved her finger at them, “Fine. But I’m coming back here first thing in the morning with Lily.” She took off running back down the hall, after the soldiers.

“Then I will retire for the night and wait to be summoned,” Jellal said, giving Kiana and Erik a short bow of farewell before heading into the large chamber set aside for him.

“We didn’t know your size before, so the clothes aren’t sized right,” Erik said, “Why don’t you come with me to my room real quick for some pajamas?”

“Whatever, I’ll send for the royal wardrobe in the morning,” Kiana said. “I’m going to prioritize getting what sleep I can. Good night.” She gave Erik a kiss on the cheek then stalked off.

Was Mira part of the dreamscape spell too?

Whatever, sleeping within a shared dreamscape spell should be fine.

 

~

 

Happy hadn’t stopped sniffing since leading Natsu to the watering hole. It was easy enough to wash the web stuff off his face once they got to water, the other issue of making his little buddy feel better was much more difficult.

UGH! This was so hard! Life without magic sucked, and there was nothing he could punch to make things better!

Well, there was that stupid king, but he was too far away.

Wendy and Carla were silent and not looking at each other as Wendy continued to scrub her clothes.

Even worse, he was the one in charge again. This sucked. Lucy was really slacking off on the job, he really needed his other best friend right now. It sucked when they were split up. He’d take Loke or even Erza or the popsicle, but Lucy was really the one that would have had everything making some kind of sense by now.

Lucy probably would have been with them hours ago if Loke and Lucy weren't avoiding each other and fighting over something silly.

But as Igneel used to say, you could keep crying about how hard it is or do something to try and make it better.

“Okay, time to get to the bottom of this,” Natsu said, clapping his hands on his thighs. “Carla,” Carla turned further away from him. He sighed, this would really be so much better with Lucy here to do the feelings stuff. “How to explain . . . Look, there are memory mages capable of putting false memories in your head,” Natsu said, which was startling enough to get her to turn around. “It’s nasty stuff, makes people think friends are enemies and enemies are friends. It’s also clear that the exceeds and the Kingdom don’t get along. I’m willing to bet that at some point the exceeds and the Kingdom lied to each other.”

“That matches what Lucy read in the book, and the way everyone’s been afraid of the exceeds,” Wendy said, not looking up from the already clean jacket she was scrubbing.

“You haven’t told us stuff, but I don’t think you quite lied either,” Natsu said. He put a hand on Happy’s head, “I don’t think either of my friends are liars.”

“Na-NATSU!” Happy cried, flinging himself onto him.

There it goes. He held Happy and petted the back of his head.

Once Happy got it out and started to quiet, he turned back to Carla with a smile, “There’s gotta be a way it all makes sense. Why you know things Happy doesn’t, and why the other Erza thought she knew a different story about what was going on than you or Happy. Wendy, Happy, and I know that you’ve never done anything you thought would hurt us, especially Wendy. Whatever you say isn’t going to change that, but we still need to know what’s going on.”

Wendy finally hung her jacket to dry and looked at Carla, who looked between them rapidly. Happy walked over and put a paw on her arm, “We were scared before, but we all trust you, I promise.”

“But . . . but we were ambushed,” Carla choked out, she ripped her arm free and folded her arms, “We were ambushed because I tried to use the information in my head, I don’t know what to trust anymore. Anything I say could lead us into another trap, or be just what someone put in my head. I don’t know what is real. I mean, Cait Shelter—” Her teeth clinked as she snapped her mouth closed.

After a moment of silence, Wendy held out her hand to Carla. “Cait Shelter was real, Cait Shelter mattered. Adai was real, Master was real. Our memories of them are real, and that’s real enough to mean something to us, even if they were real in a different way than Natsu and Happy are real. They died, and we don’t have bodies to bury, but that happens to other people too.”

Carla didn’t take her hand, and Wendy pulled it back and put it in her lap, “Lucy and Grandeeny, they are made up of magic too. They weren’t made of magic for us, but if they die, they will go away like that. They are real, so I say that Cait Shelter is real too. What the stuff inside your head is . . . it’s real to you and it’s there for a reason. If someone else put it there to mess with us, or if it’s something you heard and remembered when you were an egg and someone was lying to you, or whatever it is, we’ll figure it out together, okay?” Wendy pulled her knees to her chest and folded her arms over them.

Speaking to her knees, Wendy added quietly, “Sorry for doubting you before.”

Carla finally turned to her, tears in her eyes. She walked over and rubbed her head against Wendy’s thigh, “Oh Wendy! I didn’t­—I wasn’t angry about that. I’m doubting myself. I don’t know what I’d do if I said something that led us into another trap.”

“Oh Carla,” Wendy said, sweeping Carla up into a hug.

“Then we’ll just treat everything you tell us like it could be leading us into a trap,” Natsu said. “We won’t trust anything unless we check it out ourselves first, promise.”

“Yeah,” Happy said, “We’ll assume everything you tell us about this place is meant to lead us into a trap.”

Carla took a deep breath, “Okay. After I was born, I started receiving visions. I saw things in my head, things that were from Edolas. I saw that I was one of many exceeds sent to earth as eggs. The people of this world know that dragonslayer magic is far more dangerous to them than any other kind of magic. The exceeds, in partnership with the Kingdom, sent exceed eggs to earthland for the purpose of locating dragonslayers near where we landed, and eliminating them.”

“You mean . . .” Happy couldn’t finish, “But I’d never hurt Natsu!”

“To find and exterminate the dragonslayers was the mission of all the exceed children sent to earthland, by order of the queen of Extalia,” Carla pronounced. She glared at Happy from Wendy’s arms, “Which makes it so infuriating that you don’t know anything about it!”

“Hey, remember, we’re not trusting what got smushed into Carla’s head right now,” Natsu said, putting a hand out to comfort Happy. “Meanie Erza seemed to think there was a different plan, for you guys to bring us to Edolas so they could use our magic or something.”

Carla pursed her lips, “That was the first time I’d heard anything of that plan. I thought that by bringing dragonslayers to Edolas to take back our friends, we were abandoning our assigned mission. I had no idea none of us would be able to use our magic here. But I don’t know how I knew about the secret passageway either. It was just there.”

“Maybe whatever gave you information before, gave new information so we would end up in the trap?” Wendy offered. “Remember, I heard information from a royal captain that would have led Lucy and I into the same trap, if we hadn’t been able to meet up again.”

“So, if we assume that the exceeds and the Kingdom aren’t working together and had different plans . . .” Natsu said, really not sure where he was going with this. “Ugh!” He rumpled his hair with both hands, trying to get his stupid brain to work. “What does it all mean?”

“You and Happy are exceeds, right Carla?” Wendy asked timidly.

Carla nodded, “That’s right. We’re from here, and we are exceeds, my memories and the people of Edolas all seem to agree on that.”

“You guys aren’t exactly the fierce warriors that Lucy’s book mentioned,” Wendy said apologetically. “Don’t get me wrong! Your Aeria magic is wonderful and pretty and useful, and probably really scary to people who didn’t grow up with wizards around! But in Earthland, you’re considered support wizards, like me and Loke, not combat wizards like Natsu and Lucy.”

“Edolas had put a lot of effort into trying to get around as effectively as our magic,” Carla said, “Do you think that the Kingdom thought exceeds were sent to bring the dragonslayers to the Kingdom, while Extalia actually ordered us to kill the dragonslayers because they were scared?”

“That could be it! You’re so smart Carla!” Happy said.

“We still need to be suspicious,” Carla scolded, “Especially if I’m the one that comes up with an idea. We still don’t know why I know all this and you don’t.”

“Lots of reasons for that,” Natsu said, cheerfully rubbing his little buddy’s head, and Happy was finally smiling back. “Happy dropped on me in the east forest, way far away from Cait Shelter, maybe their weird memory magic couldn’t reach him, maybe something makes him immune, or something makes you a little more telepathic than him. Certain types of personalities take better to certain types of magic, don’t forget. I can’t imagine they were able to do a lot of test runs before sending you guys off. Let’s not worry about that part too much right now.”

“What do we worry about then?” Wendy asked. “We have an idea that the exceeds aren’t actually all that strong, that they are scared of dragon slayers, and that may be why Carla knows different things than the Kingdom. But that doesn’t help us with our problem of being stuck our here while our friends are in danger of turning into pure magic power tomorrow.”

“Oh, right,” Natsu said, deflating.

The moon started to sink down towards the horizon as they all tried to figure out something to say.

“Ugh, and this is still the only piece of useless magic we have,” Wendy said, drawing out the wooden hand and putting Carla down. She started waving it around, “Stupid Command Act! Command Act Jump! COMMAND ACT JUMP! Command-act-jump-commandactjump-commandtactjumpcommand—”

Natsu jumped to his feet, cutting Wendy’s rant off.

“Sorry,” she said, abashed. “it was just so frustrating.”

“No, I didn’t mean to do that,” Natsu said, amazed. “Wendy, I didn’t mean to do that!”

It took a second for his meaning to sink in, and the rest of them jumped to their feet as well.

“You mean it worked!” Wendy cheered.

“Your words were slurring,” Carla said. “Maybe we have the wrong incantation. Do it again, say those same three words rapidly while pointing the wand at Natsu. We’ll listen carefully and see if we can spot the true activation phrase.”

Wendy nodded and took a casting position like Loke’s, “Here it goes: command-act-jump, command-act-jump-command-act-jump.”

“Louder!”

“Faster!”

“COMMANDACTJUMP-COMMANDACTJUMP-COMMANDTACTJUMP-COMMANDJACK—” Natsu jumped.

“It’s command tact!” Happy yelled. “Is that what you guys heard?”

“Yes, I heard it too,” Carla said. “It was ‘command tact’ or ‘command jack’. Give them both a try, slowly now.”

Wendy winced, “Sorry Natsu, it feels really weird to have your body controlled like this. Are you sure you don’t mind? You could try it on me.”

“No way, you got the spark,” Natsu grinned. No way was he going to practice uncertain magic on Wendy, especially if it was uncomfortable when a skilled user used it. If an unskilled user caused pain, way, way better that it happened to him while Wendy figured out a way to use it. “Now let’s see the fire! Fire away!”

“Command tact jump!” she ordered.

Again, Natsu jumped, his muscles tensing and releasing without his say so.

They all cheered.

“Okay, this time I’m going to try to resist it,” Natsu said, “See how powerful you can make the spell.”

They went through the exercises for the next ten minutes, all the ones they could think of. It really did seem to be a matter of willpower. The more commanding and certain of success Wendy was, the harder it was for Natsu to resist the command, and the sooner he did it. The longer the command, the more focus Wendy needed to have through the whole command, and the more he could resist and delay. If he resisted longer than Wendy focused, the spell would release him. The command tact could not make Natsu use his magic, unfortunately.

“Are you sure you shouldn’t be practicing this Natsu?” Wendy asked. “You have a lot more confidence than I do.”

“Nah, I don’t have the focus,” Natsu said, which was partly true, partly to keep her with the ranged weapon. “I’m not useless in a fight if it’s just my fists, especially if we’re up against exceeds of Happy and Carla’s strength. If we’re actually in a fight and need you, I know I can trust Commander Wendy to take charge. Three cheers for Commander—” Natsu cut himself and the others off with a slash of his arm.

“Did you hear that?”

“Let’s check it out, take us down.”

The moon was blocked out as something, a giant animal of some kind, descended from the sky, carrying at least two men.

“It’s them!” One of the men shouted.

“Command Tact Stop!” Wendy ordered.

“You’re under arrest—woah!” One of the men lost their balance and ended up in the lake as the giant bug thing stopped in midair.

“It’s easier to control than a human,” Wendy told them. To the bug, she said, “Buck your other rider into the water.”

The bug shimmied while hovering and the other man fell beside friend, who was marching through the water towards them with his spear.

“I have an idea,” Wendy told them, before focusing on the bug. “Command tact, come here and fly us high into the air!”

The bug flew over and offered its back, which they gratefully scrambled onto. Holding the command much longer than she’d been able to hold Natsu, they rose high into the air, leaving the two men down below.

“Where should we go?” Carla asked. “I doubt they’ll let us fly a …mount straight to the castle without giving codewords and such.”

“Let’s go to the one place that never expected us,” Natsu said. “If we convince the exceeds to stop the Kingdom from hurting our friends, the Kingdom will obey them, right? And we can figure out the rest of what’s going on in Carla’s head.”

“We look like we’re from the Kingdom on this thing,” Happy said, “Can you get us to the corner of the island so we can get dropped off?”

“I . . . I think so,” Wendy said, a furrow in her brow. “Take us to the edge of Extalia, where there are no people around. There.”

Natsu put an arm around Wendy to keep her anchored during the flight, hopefully keeping her focus solely on their new friend.

The moon was nearly set, and it was in the utter darkness they reached the edge of the floating island of extalia. They disembarked and Wendy let the spell go while Natsu was petting it, and it took off in the night.

Wendy sank to her knees and held her head, “I’m exhausted,” she cried, “That was sooooo hard.”

“Come on, up you get,” Natsu said, kneeling in front of her, “You definitely earned a piggyback ride for that, Commander Wendy. That was awesome. We’ll find a place to rest, while you rest on my back.”

“It’s just my head that hurts, I can walk,” Wendy said with a wince, getting to her feet.

Natsu wiggled, “Then bury your head in my shoulder and rest there. Come on, you have to be tired.”

Wendy giggled, “Alright.”

Natsu and the cats started walking, not sure what they were hoping to find, but they’d know it when they saw it.

~

~

Notes:

Sorry for the late upload, I had a major migraine all of yesterday and way too much to do.

Here's everyone else after Plans A and B! Jellal does his best, because really, just another day for him and his weirdo life. Natsu doesn't like being in charge, Happy gets it all out, Carla also gets it all out, while Wendy begins to understand the kind of skill that makes royal army commanders.

Next week: Lucy stages a prison break!

Chapter 77: Breakout

“I can understand about wanting a uniform army, but your uniforms are tasteless, ugly, and don’t even look practical for fighting,” Loke told his guards, who didn’t look back at him. “It also makes it look like you don’t have any women in your ranks, which, hello, sexist much? Also how did Erza get to be a leader of the army if you don’t even let women into the lower ranks? Could you guys not afford multi-gender barracks? The Capitol looks nice, but it’s a bubble about to pop if the towns outside the capitol are any indication. This is called a mono-economy and it’s absolute trash, by the way. Mono-economy is where you have only one true industry that is ultimately unsustainable—”

Throwing every insult he could in a rambling monologue that didn’t draw nearly enough twitches from his guards to be satisfying. Two hours of this and his throat was getting sore, but stopping felt like giving up.

Hopefully the others got away and were coming up with a new plan.

His hands itched under the anti-magic goop that had hardened into cuffs around his wrists. They left him his keys, and his chain and sickle was still in his Pocket, but without magic those weren’t useful to him.

All that left was his words and his attempts to annoy the guards into having as terrible a day as he was.

“And don’t even get me started on the architecture of this palace, it’s insane. Do you even keep the prisoners in the basement like civilized people, or are we in a random cellblock a quarter of the way up the palace on the western—” Lucy appeared in a puff of celestial world smoke, cutting him off with a pop.

She darted to press herself against the wall beside the cell bars with a lion’s quiet, just in time to stay out of sight of the guard finally turning to look at him.

“What was that?”

“The goop had an air bubble in it and I popped it. It’s nasty and smells like farts,” Loke said, not looking away from him. “I’m pretty sure keeping this on me for an extended period of time constitutes a violation of international laws against torture, unless Edolas is so uncivilized that you don’t have any of those.”

The guard sighed, looked at the second guard, then turned forward again.

Lucy mimed scissors and patted her belt, where his keys were sitting on himself.

Avoided detection and she was already coming up with ways out of this mess. She was such a sight for sore eyes, especially with the way her head tilted cutely so her ponytail fell sideways—NO! Lucy said no. No more flirting. And the internal monologue about how perfect and wonderful she was needed to stop.

Lucy was still waiting for an answer with all the patience of a cat in a staring contest. (Better.)

“Hey, is this goop hypoallergenic?” he continued talking to the guards. “I know it cuts off my magic, though how the heck you figured out how to cut off a natural wizard’s magic without having any humans capable of using the magic in this world I’ll never know, unless you break this monotony and tell me, but is this thing safe? I’m pretty sure I’m getting a rash now that it’s turned into rock. Are you going to pay my medical expenses when this is over?”

Lucy nodded, showing she got the message, and put a hand on her chin to think. Ador—

“Of course you wouldn’t pay prisoner medical expenses,” Loke said loudly, “You let your own people starve while you glut yourselves on magic here in the capitol, the government doesn’t pay medical expenses for hurting innocent people.”

Lucy was smiling at him, apparently enjoying his irate ramblings he was using to keep them (and him) distracted from Lucy. It was likely the stone was too thick for them to even see her at any angle outside the cell, but no point in drawing curiosity by stopping his monologue now.

Lucy flashed a one, then two fingers, then three, then four, before she pantomimed a soldier with a spear marching and pointed towards the door.

“I know the two of you must be absolutely in love with me at this point, but it’s been, what? Two hours? And you’re the only two people I’ve seen. No one has even come by to gawk at the man from the magic universe. Is there going to be a change of guards any time soon?”

He waited a few seconds to see if he would get an answer. Lucy nodded, so he must have answered the question she had. Loke continued his rant when the guards didn’t answer him.

“I can’t imagine your crazed monarch has only one prisoner in his dungeons. Are we separate from the others in case my magic suddenly comes back? Also, when is meal time? And how am I supposed to eat with my hands like this? Your service stinks. Do you even have decent food here? Or were you lot so obsessed with magic tools that you didn’t figure out the basic tech advances for kitchen tools so your food all tastes like garbage.”

Lucy was nodding again, trying to think of her next question, though she was smiling at his rambling.

While talking about his favorite desserts he’s sure Edolas didn’t have, he made a T at Lucy with his fingers.

She wrinkled her nose and he choked back a laugh. Lucy came up with the perfect plans that did the least amount of damage to everyone involved while covering all the bases. The plans rarely worked out like she expected, but the plans were always there. However, Loke was of the opinion that sometimes the best answer was to Take ‘em by Storm and wreck house until they got what they needed. He made a T again.  Then held up two fingers and raised an eyebrow.

She could take just two soldiers, after all, couldn’t she?

She scowled. She punched a hand towards her palm, stopping short of hitting it, then flicked her fingers out like an explosion. Then mimed two people running with her fingers.

Got it. Lucy wanted to sneak because plan T would draw attention and they’d end up cornered by reinforcements before getting very far.

He finger spelled “Well then, what’s your plan?”

Lucy looked blankly at him. Guess modern Ishgarian sign language wasn’t one of the languages she knew. Shame.

He shrugged at her, all out of ideas.

Lucy pulled a light pen from her pocket and mimed writing. Ah, her script magic.

“Finally, blessed silence,” one of the guards groaned, turning to look at Loke. Loke had dropped his monologue while communicating with Lucy.

Lucy mimed drinking water.

“Hey, what are you looking at?” the guard asked, and Loke’s eyes darted back to him.

“I was trying to figure out if the graffiti scratched into the wall over there looks more like you or a slug, but you know, the resemblance to both is so uncanny, I can’t decide,” Loke said. “Actually, my throat is starting to hurt, so I’ll make a deal with you. One of you runs to fetch me a cup of water, and I’ll shut up until someone interesting comes along that can actually tell me what you plan to do with me. If you don’t or can’t get me water, I’ll sing 99 bottles of rum on the wall at the top of my lungs, getting uglier and uglier as my throat gets drier, until someone else comes along. Thoughts?”

“The rules are to have two people posted at these cells,” the guard said, turning back around.

“Come on, what do you think I’ll do with just one of you here instead of two of you?” Loke asked incredulously. “Are you really so scared you can’t head around the corner for some water?”

No response.

“Okay then. NINETY-NINE BOTTLES OF RUM ON THE WALL, NINETY-NINE BOTTLES OF RUM! TAKE ONE DOWN AND PASS IT AROUND, NINTETY-EIGHT BOTTLES OF RUM ON THE WALL! NINTEY-EIGHT BOTTLES OF RUM ON THE WALL, NINETY-EIGHT BOTTLES OF RUM! TAKE ONE DOWN, PASS IT AROUND, NINETY-SEVEN BOTTLES OF RUM ON THE WALL. NINETY-SEVEN BOTTLES OF RUM—”

“—FINE!” one of the guards cut him off. “If that continued, I’d have to call for relief for the migraine anyway. But if you don’t keep your side of the bargain, I’m going to find some more legion thread to bind your mouth shut.”

He walked off mumbling.

Lucy made a “p” with her hands. Like the letter of the alpha—ah, got it.

“Hey, while he’s gone, I need to pee. So don’t turn around for a minute, okay?” Loke said, getting to his feet.

The guard snorted.

Lucy stepped up to the bars, still lion quiet, and had the guard in a chokehold that cut off any shouting. He tried to beat her with his spear, but after one or two weak thwaps, he was out cold. Loke caught the spear and held it above Lucy so it wouldn’t make a noise as the guard’s grip slackened.

Moving the helmet so the guy’s neck was uncovered, Lucy wrote her sleep rune to make sure he stayed asleep once he could breath again, then let him slump forward.

“Much cleaner than plan T,” Lucy whispered smugly as she lowered the man to the ground. She turned back to Loke and examined his bindings. “Legion thread he said? Must be a creature unique to this world that has anti-magic properties. They probably use it to insulate lacrima and it works the same way on Earthland natives.”

“It doesn’t need to touch skin,” Loke explained, “but if it sticks to you or your clothes your magic gets sealed.”

“Let me take care of the other guard first, then we can work on these bindings,” Lucy decided, “Just in case it catches me too while I’m trying to get it off.”

“Go right ahead, though I don’t see any key holes,” Loke said, frowning at the bars to the cell. The bars were spikes stuck into the ground stopping just short of the ceiling. “There’s probably a lever on the outside that makes the bars retract.”

Lucy shrugged, knelt, and with glowing hands and very defined muscles, bent two of the bars into right angles, making enough space for them to step through.

The hallway expanded left and right in both directions before turning off into Ts.

“Which way did the guard go?” Lucy asked.

Loke pointed to the left.

Lucy crept slowly along the hallway, stopping just short of the turn off.

They waited a minute, then when the second guard turned into the hallway, Lucy punched him in the throat, pressed him against the wall, with her forearm at his throat, and scribbled on his cheek.

She was so hot.

Looking at the passed-out guards, he grinned, “Time for some bondage roleplay?”

“Huh?” Lucy asked him, tilting her head in honest innocence. Whoops, Bad. Not his girlfriend.

Will never be his girlfriend.

He forced himself to focus on the passed out guards, “Let’s stick them in the cell, unbend the bars, and you put on one of their uniforms and pretend to be leading me somewhere else where we can get more information on our friends. I think Natsu and Wendy got away, but it’s also possible they’re captured and being kept somewhere else,” Loke explained.

Lucy’s shoulders dropped in relief, “So you and Natsu found Wendy? That’s good. I couldn’t find her after I cornered Edolas Gajeel, but he was working with our Gajeel, who actually had a clue about things, so I decided to maximize their plan instead of heading straight for you. Good news is that dragonslayer magic undoes the lacrimication of magic from our world. And Gajeel and Erik are here and have their magic.”

“That’s great!” Loke said. “Our friends are in a lacrima in the plaza in the capitol city—”

“We already struck at that,” Lucy cut him off, “It only had Jellal, Erza, and Gray. Jellal got captured before we could get him the star candy that allows earthlanders to use magic here, and he is hopefully pretending to be Mystogan, who’s probably the prince of Edolas.”

“That explains the identical twin thing.”

Also meant once this was over, assuming Mystogan stayed here once they fixed this place up, Jellal could keep being Mystogan in Earthland. Neat.

“Erza and Erik are looking for him. They do have their magic and are around here somewhere,” Lucy said.

Loke nodded, “Look for Erza and Erik, or Natsu and Wendy, or Jellal. Got it. Where are Gajeel and Gray now?”

“I left them about five hours ago to raise hell in the city until someone told them where the lacrima is with everyone else,” Lucy said with a wince, “Sorry, the celestial world isn’t connected to Edolas the same way Earthland is, it took more time than I thought it would to come back to you.”

She took hold of the second guard’s spear and examined the blade. “Anyway, leading you around will be too obvious. Let’s try cutting you out of there first, then we have two costumes so we can both have a disguise. Much more freedom to be looking for our friends. It’s a good thing these uniforms cover up all individually identifying features. Especially traveling as a pair, no one should question us.”

With the sleeping guards tucked away in Loke’s cell, bars straightened again, though not perfectly, Lucy and Loke started their search. Luckily it was much easier to not pine over Lucy when she was silent and in an edolas army uniform.

Kinda.

Because her chest really did not fit into the uniform and they were definitely going to be spotted as fakes because of the ill fit, assuming any of the guards could look at her and not be immediately distracted with other thoughts.

No.

He had to stop thinking like this, even if she was right there, because she made herself clear and he was not going to fall any deeper into the Lucy shaped hole in his heart just to keep making her uncomfortable.

He just had to focus on the very dangerous palace of people trying to kill him and all his friends and not the beautiful woman walking beside him. Easy.

Lucy brushed him as they turned a corner, sending a whiff of her scent into his nose for a second before she resumed a normal walking distance.

Okay, not so easy.  Moderately difficult.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The prison cells, these ones anyway, weren’t underground, but were very high up. Then the first thing they passed was the tax department. One level up, they hit Barracks 3, with a view of the city several feet below them. Which was right next to a court of residential houses.

“The architectural styles completely diverged in this world,” Loke murmured. “Honestly, I’m going to be as lost as you in this place. Nothing about the layout makes any sense.”

“That’s why you’re letting me take the lead?” Lucy asked, amused. “Let’s see if there’s a prison level above where your cell was.”

Loke took the lead then, leading them back southward, doing his best to keep a mental map in his head of distance and space. He only had enough architectural training to make sense of blueprints for Heartfilia rail stations, ports, and parts yards. He could really use some paper to track their turns and heights, but that would wreck their soldier disguises, which had already gotten them past four different patrols.

His spacial instincts were right, just when they were approximately above his own cell, four guards were stationed outside two cells.

He put his hand on his keys, inside the pocket of the uniform, but Lucy put a hand out and whispered, “Just you and me.”

“Morning, have the prisoners said anything useful since you’ve been on guard?” Lucy asked, pushing her voice an octave lower than usual, as they headed for some guarded cells.

“Nah, the Captain’s doppleganger told her friend to stay silent for now, so they’ve been quiet,” one of the four guards answered Lucy.

“The Captain’s doppleganger?” Loke asked, pretending to be amazed, “Can I see? Are they as identical as everyone is saying?”

“It’s uncanny,” the further guard said. “You hear stories about it, but she’s even got the captain’s death glare.”

Loke strode past Gray to see Erza smirking at him from a crouched position.

“It’s unsettling,” Loke said, while Lucy stepped closer to Gray.

“What did you do with his clothes?” Lucy asked the guard as she looked in on Gray.

“They brought him in that way,” one of Gray’s guards said.

“Not like you guys gave me a choice after you got this gunk all over my shirt,” Gray complained, catching on quickly.

Lucy looked up and down the hallway, then clicked her tongue.

Loke swung the butt of the spear into the guard on his right’s face, knocking him against the bars. Erza sprang up and grabbed his overcoat, holding him in place while Loke turned an overhead swing on the other guard, whose own spear came up in a guard.

Lucy kicked one of hers into Loke’s opponent, collapsing them both under Loke’s strike.  Lucy pounced on them with her light pen. Loke spun to his first opponent, who was attempting to stike Erza and free himself from her grip on his clothes. Loke took out his knees with a hard swing. The man collapsed. Erza yanked off the helmet with her bound hand and Lucy pounced on her last victim.

Her helmet had come off in the fight, and though the man wasn’t actually knocked out, suddenly being pinned by a beautiful woman startled him into keeping still long enough for her to write on his forehead.

“You know, this probably would have been cleaner and with less noise if I just used Aries. She told me her wool has a sleep spell in it if she wants more than an impenetrable barrier,” Loke realized, looking at the pile of bodies.

“The hallway was clear,” Lucy pointed out, pulling the lever for Erza’s prison. Loke set to helping her with the legion thread. “They don’t go to sleep right away and usually shout a bit first when you use Aries. Save her help for a crowd battle, when you need space, when you need a soft landing, or when you need cover.”

“Noted.”

“I’m glad to see you,” Erza said as Loke cut her free. “Nice disguises.”

“Where did your dragonslayers go?” Lucy asked.

“And have you seen or heard anything about Natsu and Wendy?” Loke added.

Gray nodded at Loke as Lucy and Erza stuffed the guards in the cells. “Nightwalker’s crew was still hunting for Wendy and Natsu by the time they trapped me and Gajeel. Her crew had split up, and the group that was transporting you to your cell caught me and Gajeel before we could get some answers about where the rest of Magnolia is. Gajeel had just used a dragon slayer attack, and they got really excited and hauled him somewhere else while I got thrown in next to Erza.”

“We ran into a particularly unsettling man named Sugarboy. He is taller than Gajeel with this atrocious bubblegum pink armor. His weapon is like Richard’s magic, anything it touches he can turn to a softer state. He used the moments of my requips to keep dripping my armor off me, and eventually they got me and Erik with the binding threads.”

“Legion thread,” Lucy said, “I’m guessing this world lost most of their environmental magic in a natural disaster, and legion is a species that developed anti-magic properties in their thread to protect their nests.”

Gray eyed their prisoners, “Fascinating, but more to the point. We know that at least Erik and Gajeel are trapped somewhere in here. Natsu and Wendy are probably still somewhere out there.”

“Jellal is somewhere here too.”

Loke put his hand on his chin, “Safely assuming the ego on the king, and Jellal is mistaken as the prince, the royal family should be located towards the center.”

“Prisoners should be located in the basement,” Lucy said, “But we weren’t, so I don’t know what to think. Maybe we could fake having a message for the guards of the dragon slayers from Captain Erza Knightwalker? Start asking the patrols where we can find them?”

“Clever plan, except I would never give orders to people who don’t know their way around the palace,” Erza said.

“Fine then, you come up with—” Lucy turned with everyone else, and froze.

One Erza was holding a spear to another Erza's throat.

~

~

 

Notes:

Woohoo! Break out time! I personally loved writing Loke's snarky prisoner dialog. When Loke gets put in a jail cell, he bullies his jailors, lol. Loke and Lucy used disguises to meet up with Erza and Gray, but they didn't get very far.

Let me know what you think!

Chapter 78: Captains of the Edolas Royal Army

“Disguising yourselves in the uniforms of the palace guard? Clever, but a lack of foreplaning doomed you. One of the patrols reported your erratic path through the palace, another noted the uniform’s ill fit on the pair of you. Luckily I was already on my way here to fulfill some execution orders. Thank you for saving me a staircase,” Knightwalker taunted.

But Erza, their Erza, S Class Knight Wizard of Fairy Tail and the Titania herself, had already requipped neck protection. Knightwalker could try to slit her throat, but she’d get nowhere and didn’t even know it, not with the way Erza’s hair covered her neck.

“If you have execution orders, they why haven’t you executed them yet?” Erza asked calmly. More of the Edolas knights were coming up the corridor behind her, Knightwalker must have seized the opportunity to come ahead of the others.

Expecting already subdued prisoners, none appeared to be carrying legion thread.

“Why yes, I did have a question,” Knightwalker said, as though it just occurred to her, “Considering the known magical abilities of you three, my question is likely for the blonde. Hughes, one of the captains of the royal guard, was found under a sleeping spell, along with some more recently bespelled royal guards. Tell me how to undo it, and I’ll give you three a ten second head start after killing your friend.”

Huh, Hughes should have smudged the mark in that water landing. But leverage was leverage.  

“Instead of a head start, let’s make this an exchange of information,” Lucy decided. “Tell us where the dragonslayers are being kept, and I’ll tell you how to undo my sleeping spell. An exchange of information that will be utterly useless to us since you’re going to kill us immediately anyway. You kill Erza before the exchange, and your people will wither and die under my spell for the rest of their suddenly much shorter lives.”

Knightwalker narrowed her eyes, and more of her soldiers filled in behind her, and Gray spun to halt the soldiers coming in from the opposite direction.

Surrounded and cut off, Knightwalker had no reason not to take the deal.

“Very well,” Knightwalker said. “As the party with the greater leverage, I will go first. Your friends are six floors down from this very spot, down the south corridor behind the fourth door on your left. Now your turn.”

Lucy bowed, “Thank you for honoring your side of the bargain. Your people will awaken if the mark drawn on them is smudge by anything at all.”

“Hardly an equal exchange of importance, but now you die,” Knightwalker said with a glee that looked so wrong on Erza’s face. Knightwalker’s glaive caught on the neck armor with a clange.

Erza requipped, Gray put up a wall, and Lucy focused her attack at their feet, “Regulus Maximus!”

Her attack shattered through several floors and sent Lucy, Loke, and Gray falling through the new hole. Erza avoided the hold and called behind her, over the blast, “I’ll catch up after I have an important discussion with myself!”

Lucy, having taken most of the opposing force of her attack, was the last to fall, and fell flatly to slow down a little. Loke followed his training properly and was set to take the force of the landing without serious damage, while Gray was already casting a ceiling on the floors they passed so no enterprising soldier could jump through and follow them.

Loke landed and immediately spun with his arms out and a cheesy grin.

What was—shit! Missed the sommersault moment!

She landed heavily in Loke’s arms, her own arms coming around his neck to balance them both better.

Her eyes were wide, heart pounding, blushing as he smiled at her, “It seems you’ve fallen—wait, sorry,” his words cut off as his face shifted to panic and he immediately dropped her to land on the floor with a thump.

“You’re allowed to catch me when we’re running from enemies,” Lucy groaned, rubbing her sore butt. “You can even flirt, it’s literally part of our contract. But don’t drop me!”

“Sorry, but whether or not its allowed by contract, never let it be said I chased a lady beyond her own wishes,” Loke said. “Let’s get going!”

Flirting didn’t mean he was pursuing a relationship with her, that was the point he made oh so clear—

“—Hey, we fell seven floors, you guys coming or what?” Gray asked, nodding to his ice make ladder.

Right, saving Magnolia is way more important.

Gray and Loke took the lead, following the directions from Knightwalker that Lucy had already forgotten.

Now, Lucy was pretty sure they hadn’t gone underground yet, but you wouldn’t be able to tell from the way the chamber was set up. Maybe the castle was built into a mountain?  They entered a large, echoing chamber with boulders spaced around it.

Gajeel and Erik were chained up to two of them, crucified in a way that would cause their lungs to collapse after too long.

The three of them rushed forward and broke the chains. Loke caught Erik while Lucy and Gray caught Gajeel. “What did they do to you?” Gray asked.

“Magic extraction,” Gajeel grunted. “Can’t turn us into Lacrima. Can still take our magic at point blank. Canon thing.”

“They’re trying to fire a canon? Some kind of magical weapon?” Loke asked.

Erik nodded, breathing heavily, “Two floating islands, Cubelios and Magnolia are in a lacrima on one of them. They’re going to use our magic to swing the lacrima island into another one.”

“Extalia,” Lucy realized, letting go of Gajeel, “The exceeds, the tribe that Edolas is so afraid of; they live on a floating island. They have inborn magic, they’re wizards too. The explosion of the magnolia lacrima will vaporize them. It’s genocide. We have to warn them.”

“We’ll have better luck stopping the canon,” Gray pointed out. “We don’t have any way to fly up to Extalia anyway.”

“Wendy and Carla, Natsu and Happy, has anyone seen them? Happy and Carla’s wings are the best chance,” Lucy decided. “I have enough star candy to get their wings working again.”

Everyone shook their heads.

Lucy thought quickly, “Okay, then they are probably outside the palace, otherwise they would have been brought in here for magic extraction like you two. Magic Note. I can fold the star candies to be inside a magic note.”

She pulled free two sheets of paper and wrote 35 words on each:

Magnolia lacrima on a floating island. Edolas will swing Lacrima into Exceed city for big explosion, killing both. We stop swing, you evacuate Extalia.

Eat candy. Dragonslayer magic undoes magic turning magnolia into a lacrima.

Pulling free the star candies, and taking some extra from Gajeel, she folded four star candies into each, in case something happened to one of the notes or they were separated for some reason. One for Wendy, one for Natsu.

“Get me some clear air,” Lucy instructed, “The notes are too likely to be attacked in the halls. Then we head for the top of the castle, even if we have to scale the outside to do it. That’s where the king will be.”

“Fresh air, coming up,” Gajeel said, taking them in a different direction from where they came. They immediately went up three staircases and down a corridor that turned into a rampart open to the breezy dawn.

Lucy wrote the final rune to seal the messages, and they took flight from her hand and soared into the sky.

Higher.

And higher.

Where in Edolas were they?

“Come on,” Gray called to her, “If we want to really help them, let’s stop that canon and make sure their home doesn’t get smashed in the first place.”

“Right,” Lucy said, turning back to the group. “Lets go see who and what we can find, up staircases only.”

They ran.

And ran.

Fought some royal guards that spotted them as intruders.

And ran.

“This makes no sense!” Loke groaned again, calling for a break near some windows so he could get a better sense of where they were. “How did we pass residential neighborhoods, public gardens, more barracks, and a restaurant? It’s been two hours and we’ve gained ten floors of elevation at least. What kind of chop shop palace is this!”

“Is it really that weird?” Gray asked.

“It’s insane,” Loke insisted. “If a single city block of this place was proposed in Fiore, the city planner would have been laughed out of the meeting. At this point, I wouldn’t be surprised if there was an amusement park next.”

“Hey Blondie,” Gajeel called, drawing attention to him, “Do we have a plan beyond beating up the head of state or what? I’m down if that is the plan, but I don’t want to mess up if there’s something more useful going on in that brain of yours.”

Huh, good point. Even if she had really just wanted to punch him and hold him hostage, that really didn’t guarantee success like they needed.

If they weren’t going the brute strength route, then the plan should be focused around Gray or Loke, since Gajeel, Erik, and herself were much less flexible. Knowing what Jellal was up to right about now would also help, but without that information . . . her eyes settled on Loke and she grinned.

“What we really need to do is get Loke in the same room as the King,” Lucy said, “Then we need a distraction, a kind of smokescreen, while Loke calls out Gemini. Gemini can functionally become the King of Edolas, and pretty easily take his place for about . . . five minutes. That’s probably the length of their transformation time right now. If we can get the real King thrown in jail, great, but Gemini should be able to tell us how to stop them from using stolen dragonslayer magic and how to get everyone back to Magnolia in one piece.”

Erik stretched, “Alright, get Loverboy to the tyrant, destroy everyone that gets in our way.”

“Non-lethally,” Gray added. “Non-lethal poisons only. These guys . . . a lot of them are probably just trying to make a living for their families. Knockouts and sleep only.”

Erik scowled, but was saved from answering by the arrival of more footsoldiers, who were immediately incapacitated by Gray putting up a wall through the corridor.

Loke took them forward, and they were at least still getting closer to the central spire.

They wove inside and away from the sky, only to collectively skid to a stop after another half-mile of hallways and stairs.

“I didn’t mean it literally!” Loke yelled as they faced the entrance to E-Land, the Royal City Amusement Park. A magical rollercoaster appeared to set its own tracks as it zoomed above their heads. A ferris wheel, a merry-go-around, a fun house, a haunted house, a water slide attraction, and those were only the attractions Loke could see.

“Looks expensive,” Gajeel said with a grin, his arm turning into a steel beam.

“Oh, I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”

A blonde man in pink armor was lounging on the ferris wheel, bringing him down into their path. He jumped off and landed, his huge lance manuvered deftly during the jump.

He gave a short bow, “Captain Sugarboy of the Fourth Magic War Division,” then his features tightened, “My men have this area surrounded. Come quietly, without excessive property damage, and your lives may yet be spared.”

“Sorry, but your buddy Erza already told us about the execution warrants,” Gray said, taking a casting stance. “He’s mine, since Erza’s off fighting herself. Get Loke to the King.”

Ugh, Erik was a much better match up, Erza said Sugarboy’s magic was to change solids into liquids and Erik already fought with liquids and gasses. But if she brought up something so logical and basic, Lucy already knew what Gray’s answer would be.

The only darn rules Fairy Tail followed religiously, and Sugarboy was not bigger than a house.

“Send up a flare if one of us needs to come back and tag in,” Lucy said as the others started moving away.

“Hold up there,” Sugarboy said, tapping the ferris wheel behind him, sending waves of liquid metal over Gajeel and Erik, Loke jumped ahead just in time to avoid it. The metal hardened with the dragonslayers inside. “I didn’t say you could leave.”

Metal screeched as Gajeel likely began snacking and muffled swears came from where Erik was working himself free with acid.

“Oh, no, your opponent is me,” Gray said, casting a hammer to smashdown on Sugarboy, who immediately turned it into liquid. It was a distraction while Gray put up a wall between their fight and Lucy.

Lucy vaulted over the metal, careful to avoid where the dragonslayers were clawing their way out, and landed beside Loke.

 

“Should we help them?” Loke asked as metal screeched again. All the metal of the Ferris Wheel was piled on top of them. That they weren’t dead and were actively fighting their way out of the trap was just another sign of how tough dragonslayers really were.

“Probably,” Lucy sighed, going to sit down and lean against an empty cotton candy stand. “But it isn’t worth it to waste a summoning trying to get them out faster. If I tried to help I’d probably end up hurting them and making it worse. We could get a head start, but Gajeel would probably kill me if I left him on Erik babysitting duty again.”

So, just the two of them. Not able to move forward to some kind of objective, just waiting for their friends to free themselves.

Alone, together.

Cause the last time they were like this had gone so well.

Why was this so hard? He’d been rejected before, it wasn’t a big deal that he wasn’t a specific woman’s cup of tea.

Maybe because that woman had never been his perfect cup of tea—Stop. This was pathetic.

He let Lucy watch their friends and turned to look at where he thought the best exit would be. There seemed to be a fun-house school zone ahead, and a rollercoaster soared on magic above them. Getting the vantage point from the roller coaster could be useful in finding a way out, but really they should just keep heading east, and let Erik and Gajeel start smashing down the walls in the way instead of trying to navigate the paths. The worst damage they could do to a bystander was a concussion, right?

He turned to ask Lucy if she objected to that idea and found her looking sadly at him.

Lucy forced a smile that didn’t reach her eyes as she sat with her knees hugged close to her chest.

The last time she’d been sad and sitting against a wall, he had knelt in front of her and asked her to talk to him. It felt like years ago instead of less than a month. 

Pa-thet-ic.

His friendship with Lucy was not based on whether she would be willing to date him. They were still friends that were willing to die for each other and loved to hang out and just talk. She was still the one that had found him on their roof after seeing his dad again and he was the one that found her at a grave.

So why couldn’t he make himself sit by her and ask a stupid question?

“Is the guild decorated for Christmas yet?” Lucy asked first, still smiling that awful smile.

“Huh?” Loke asked, her words taking a second to process. “Oh, uh, no. Apparently the guild waits until after the anniversary of when Mira and Elfman’s sister died to decorate. Mira and Elfman were visiting the graveyard when all this,” and he gestured vaguely at the air, “happened.”

“Oh,” Lucy said. “That makes sense.”

“Wait,” he crouched down beside her, “Did you think I wouldn’t have summoned you for that?”

“I . . . don’t know?” she winced, cringing into herself. “I’ve been a little . . . confused, about where we left off?”

We left off with you breaking my heart and me trying to salvage the pieces.

No. Stop. He wasn’t listening, he was making it about himself again. It wasn’t her fault she wouldn’t date him-Well, it kinda was. She was attracted to him, loved him even, and actively choosing not to date him because he was her human wizard—

—No. Stop.

Their friendship would not fall apart because she chose not to date him. Even if he wasn’t acting like it.

Even if he had no idea why she made her decision, what had that conversation looked like from her perspective?

Loke winced, because one second he had been promising her the stars, she said no, and then suddenly he was pretending to laugh at her and making her think he hadn’t been serious. He couldn’t remember perfectly, but didn’t he throw something in her face about assuming she liked someone else?

Then he stopped summoning her for morning training with Erza and instead summoned her once in two weeks.

No wonder she didn’t want to date him, he was awful.

And no wonder she wasn’t sure if he would have summoned her to help decorate the guild for Christmas.

He sighed and turned to sit next to her, also leaning against the cotton candy stand. It had worked during Fantasia, not to look at her while they talked, maybe that was the trick.

There was a little dent in the metal where Gajeel was almost surfaced.

“Sorry about that,” Loke sighed. “I guess I have been a bit confusing, haven’t I?”

“No, it’s not your fault—”

“No, it is,” Loke cut her off. “I was acting like a jerk. Whatever your reason, you have the absolute right to not date me. You told me several times you weren’t going to date me, but I still got my feelings hurt and acted stupid about it. I’m sorry. Can you forgive me?”

“Yeah, I forgive you,” Lucy said, and laid her head on his shoulder. “Even if you hadn’t summoned me for putting up Christmas decorations, I would have forgiven you. You’re allowed to have some space from me when you want it.”

Loke shook his head, “Not if it means separating you from the rest of your friends. I was always going to summon you for putting up Christmas, even if I may have joined a different group for actually putting up decorations. Show up on your own if I’m ever being so stupid I don’t summon you for something you want to do. You have just as much of a right to be there as I do.”

“Understood,” Lucy said. They watched Gajeel break free, chewing steel, and start bending the steel around where Erik was acid melting his way through. Gray and Sugarboy had taken their battle farther away, the crashing sounds more distant. “And . . . flirting? Where are we at with that?”

Ugh, when Lucy wanted to talk feelings, she meant all of it. Not a scrap of dignity left to him, was there?

No. Stop. She was asking about boundaries before he dropped her on her butt again.

“I meant it, I’m going to stop flirting with you since you’ve made your choice. Something I need to do to get over myself, even if you don’t actually mind it.”

“You? Not flirt with a beautiful woman?” Lucy teased.

Loke pouted at her, intentionally not saying the numerous lines Lucy knew she just invited him to use.

She laughed, “I can’t wait to get to know even more of your personality now that you won’t flirt with me. Let’s see even more of what’s underneath the flirty lines.”

Rude. Maybe he needed to specify that she was being rude, flirting with him when he explicitly told her he wasn’t going to flirt back. And the way she was acting, as if she wasn’t already the person that knew him the most beneath the pick-up lines, was also very rude.

“AAAAGGGH!” Erik yelled, finally flinging himself on top of the re-hardened metal. He turned to them, “ARE YOU KIDDING ME! You two are nauseating! Ridiculous! You couldn’t even be bothered to help when I’m dying under three feet of steel? NOOOO, your relationship needs to be discussed RIGHT NOW APPARENTLY! What is wrong with you!”

Lucy rocked herself to her feet, “Aw, did the scary dragonslayer have some trouble with the metal?”

“You’re so lucky you’re immortal Blondie,” Erik hissed, climbing out the rest of the way.

“None of my spirits capable of cutting through steel could have done it without also cutting you you,” Loke explained, thinking of Taurus, Chisel, and Cancer.

Okay, Cancer probably could have finessed around the dragon slayer, but it would have really dulled his blades and made him cranky.

“Anyway,” Loke said, leading the way. “If we head directly this way, and just kind of smash through every wall in our way, it would probably be faster than trying to navigate through the halls.”

“Worth it,” Gajeel said. “I’m sick of this place.”

“All right, thata way.”

They took off and Gajeel immediately took out the corner of the school building he had noticed earlier. The animatronic students that were in the beeline direction they were heading all found themselves forcibly removed from their desks, and their desks forcibly removed from the vicinity by one of their group.

They were making their way across a stage with a weird coffin standing in the middle, then finally hit a path that was heading in their direction. Lucy was bringing up the rear, and just as she stepped into an intersection, someone barreled into her, knocking them both to the ground.

The person was Wendy-sized, and Lucy instinctively curled protectively around her and took the burnt of the fall. A giant golden key flew out of the child’s grasp and further behind Lucy as they skidded to a stop.

“Lucy?” Loke asked, causing the other two to halt their destructive march.

“Are you okay?” Lucy asked the young girl inside her arms.

She was sniffling as she noticed Lucy and looked around. "Oh-oh no! The Key!” she yelled scrambling off Lucy and towards a giant, gaudy gold key, wincing as her injured feet tried to propel her forward.

“Now Coco,” a new voice said, “It’s not nice to steal things that belong to the King.”

Lucy immediately set herself between the man and the child, “Stay right there if you want to live.”

“Lucy?” Loke asked, softly. The new man wasn’t yet in his line of sight. He could keep going with the dragonslayers without drawing attention.

“Help me deal with our new friends,” Lucy called out. “I think I found a faster way to the King.”

~

~

~

Notes:

Yay! They finally talked about it! All it took was some incredibly awkward avoidance tactics and Lucy being dropped on her butt. And emotional vulnerability. That too.

Erik had to listen to it all while scabbling for his life, lol. Poor guy.

Let me know what you think!

Chapter 79: Byro and Coco

Loke, Gajeel, and Erik started back towards her.

Erik’s ears twitched and he sprinted in the opposite direction.

“Follow him Gajeel!” Lucy ordered.

“Every damn time! Get back here Snake Eyes! It’s still not your snake!”

Loke slowed down to stroll in beside her “What’s this about keys?” The white tuffs of hair on the old man’s head looked like devil horns.

“Now, now, no need to get involved, I am Byro, the chief of staff for the Edolas Royal army,” Byro said, not breaking his stride towards them. “That child is a ward of the King, and she has taken something of his that needs to be returned immediately. Now bring it here Coco.”

“No, I’ll never surrender it,” Coco said, holding it closer to her chest, “You’ll kill Pantherlily! What’s the point of endless magic power if our friends have to die for it?”

“Excellent point,” Lucy said. “Keep a hold of that key Coco, we’ll protect you.”

“But . . . but you’re from Earthland,” Coco said hesitantly.

“Haven’t you realized it yet? Everything is topsy turvy today Coco,” Lucy explained, “The child is the only one that has the wisdom not to continue with the plan to use that key, and the old man is foolish enough to challenge two wizards way above his skill level.”

“Enough of this,” Byro growled, reaching into his robes without halting his march.

“Open, gate of the giant crab,” Loke called in his celestial voice.

Byro stopped, flabberghasted, as Cancer appeared holding several pairs of scissors.

“Hey Ebi, not sure how much I can do for the hair on this one,” Cancer called behind him, making Loke snicker.

“You summoned a being out of nothing,” Byro said, taking a step back, “What sorcery is this?” His shock turned into a scowl, and he shoved his staff forward, “So much magic power, and you still hate us for taking from your world!”

“Yeah, duh,” Loke said, then to Cancer he added, “Any part of him that takes another step forward needs to be trimmed off, can you do that?”

“A straight line cut? It would be my pleasure,” Cancer said.

Once Loke took charge of defenses, Lucy turned to Coco and dropped to her knee, “You’ve done great so far,” she complimented soothingly. “You did what you had to to protect your friend. Now, would it be a problem if I destroyed that key for you?”

“Not so fast!” Byro yelled, and doused Cancer in liquid.

The liquid exploded and Cancer was immediately sent back to the celestial world.

“He’s a master of magic potions, watch out for any liquids,” Coco cringed.

“Messy.” Loke decided, “Open, gate of the maiden, Virgo!”  

Virgo appeared and gave him a bow, “How may I be of service, Big Brother?”

“Remember when I had you trap a sound wizard in a sunken echo chamber? Could you do that again with this guy? Wait for the right moment, during the fight,” Loke said, pulling out his sickle and chain.

“Yes, Big Brother,” Virgo said and immediately drilled into the ground.

“Here, take it, destroy it,” Coco cried, pressing the key into Lucy’s hands. “Just don’t let them use it.”

“NO COCO!” Byro tried to step forward, but Loke had his chain swinging defensively.

In the moment Byro stepped back to avoid Loke’s swirling defense, Lucy cast, “Supernova.”

The key in Lucy’s hand cracked, light fill in the cracks, and the two-foot metal key flash with light and turn into dust.

The new spell distracted Loke as Byro struck.

Liquid splashed against his whirling ball and chain and splattered onto him. Loke hissed at the burn and dropped the rapidly dissolving ball and chain he had been using in order to rip his shirt off, then his pants.

Byro laughed and took another step forward, swirling the remaining liquid in the same bottle.

That step was Virgo’s cue, and his weight was already shifting forward when the ground disappeared beneath him.

Loke thought he heard a ‘thunk’, but he was a little busy watching his clothes turn into acid goop while standing in his socks and underwear.

He sighed, “Guess I’ll be sporting Gray’s look for the rest of the day.”

Lucy snickered while Coco let out a small ‘eep!’.

“Here Big Brother, clothing from the celestial world,” Virgo said, and before he could speak she had him dressed in dark green pants, a black crop top, and a green cape.

“Not bad,” Loke said.

“Princess, do you also require additional clothes?” Virgo asked Lucy.

Of course Virgo would call Lucy Princess.

“Princess?” Loke asked her anyway with a teasing smile.

Before Lucy could do something awful, like start to flirt with him again, Coco piped up, “Are you really a princess?”

Between the three of them, Lucy took a second to decide who to address first, before settling on Virgo, “I can access my closet myself just fine thanks.” To Loke she said, “I think it fits, don’t you, Big Brother?”

Loke chuckled. She had him there. As the leader of the Zodiac, and therefore Virgo, Lucy probably went through a score of honorific titles from Virgo just like he did before settling on the least creepy one.

To Coco, Lucy said, “It’s a little complicated. Princess is technically a possible translation of my title in the formal language my people used in ancient times, but I have a lot more power and authority than your typical princess in a fairy tale.”

“Oh, wow,” Coco said, going starry eyed.

 “Speaking of power, what was that just now?” Loke asked, “An attack called ‘supernova’ that can disintegrate metal?”

Lucy’s mouth twisted as she debated possible answers before settling on, “Leo the lion is on vacation in an alternate universe, I don’t need to explain the uses of my own power on my own time.”

Loke grinned, “Okay, but does that mean you totally could have gotten Gajeel and Erik out of the metal trap if you wanted to, but chose to chat with me instead?”

Lucy’s eyes widened, then she relaxed and giggled, “Maybe?”

Not flirting, just friends teasing each other.

“You haven’t defeated me yet!” Byro roared from his hole. Lucy dropped into defensive position between Byro and Coco While Loke rushed towards his sickle.

Byro’s shadow loomed over him as sickle broke apart in his hand.

~

“Virgo, grab Loke a new weapon from the armory, a Fleuve d'étoiles style chain and sickle, now,” Lucy ordered. “Loke—”

Lucy was struck from behind and sent spinning to the ground as Sugarboy sped down the hallway past her.

“Watch out!” Gray yelled, following Sugarboy on a motorcycle.

Sugarboy and Gray’s distraction gave Byro enough time to crawl out of the hole they had shoved him in, one huge purple tentacle at a time.

Coco squeaked, “He used a transformation potion! Be careful! He’s stronger than all the captains together like this!”

Lucy stood up beside Loke, she was really getting tired of meeting this particular stretch of floor.

“How long for Virgo to get me another weapon?” Loke asked her, “And what’s a Fleuve d'étoiles style?”

“I have it right here, Big Brother,” Virgo said, appearing on Loke’s other side. Loke raised his eyebrow at Lucy when he saw the sickle Virgo held out with a round ball at the top of the staff.

“Remember when I said that if you mastered your weapon, I’d get you a magical extendable one? Congrats, you’ve made it,” Lucy said as Byron lumbered closer to them. “Place a thin thread of magic into it, and don’t overthink it, it’s meant to react to instincts. Use it as you would your usual weapon.”

Loke jumped as the tiny bit of his magic activated the weapon. The chain grew in his hand to the length he had been using, each individual chain link looking like the rushing water of the river this type of design was named for. He grinned, “Now, this is going to be fun.”

“Give us a call Loke,” Lucy said as Byro pulled back two tentacles for a slap that would be difficult to dodge. Byro took up the whole path between buildings.

Lucy knew what she wanted to happen, the plan she would call for, but Loke needed to get better at commanding and coordinating his spirits in battle. It would stunt his growth as a wizard if he deferred to her whenever she was on the field, and therefore make it more difficult to keep him alive. It was time for the pop quiz.

Loke swung the ball and chain, feeling it’s weight. “Virgo, keep a hold of Coco, stay near but keep her out of the battle. Protect her. Lucy? Let’s make some sushi.”

Lucy smiled as the tentacles came down. Virgo pulled Coco backwards, rushing her passenger out of attack range, while she and Loke jumped through the narrow opening between the two tentacles, and used the force of the smack to propel them higher.

Loke swung his chain to wrap around a different tentacle and direct his landing to on top of the right tentacle, while Lucy kicked out a slash of magical energy to propel her on top of the left one. Together they ran forward.

Byro used two other tentacles to block, while pulling up and back the two they were running on.

Lucy kicked off her platform with a triple flip, claws of light extending from her feet and slashing through the blocking tentacle with a wet schnick. She landed and watched as Loke slid under the defending tentacle, his sickle raised. His slide etched a cut in the tentacle above him.

Past the defense, Loke stabbed into the moving tentacle below him, holding on even as Byro thrashed.

Another tentacle swept towards Lucy, who had to handspring out of the way. She leapt back onto the enemy and again put claws of light on her feet. This time every step she took on his body towards him made cuts.

They weren’t getting closer. There were too many buildings here that Byro could whack them against and too many ways to shake them off. He wasn’t drawing his tentacles close to his body, and she and Loke were too exposed in the streets.

Lucy jumped to the roof, but three tentacles swept her back into the street.  

Loke also ended up dislodged and fell to the ground with a thump. He got back on his feet, and they were playing the dodging game as Byro brought all of his tentacles to focus on his new game of whack-a-mole.

Hmm, they’d need to practice Loke’s longer falls and how to recover balance in midair now that he could reach it with this weapon.

Lucy could keep us this kind of battle for a while, one in every four strikes from Byro she managed to shave off part of a tentacle, but Loke was already breathing heavily after the fifth dodge.

Lucy’s plan would be to head back towards the water attraction, drawing Byro out into the open. They could split up more, drawing apart his attacks, and have a better chance of finding an opening. Firmly away from Virgo and Coco, Loke could close Virgo’s gate and summon Aquarius at the water attraction. With all the damage to the buildings here and the element of surprise, Aquarius could sweep Byro on top of the exposed buildings and end the battle.

Then again, Lucy could too, once they were in the open. Grab a tentacle and start swinging to toss this freak onto the same place, especially if she managed to damage a couple more tentacles on their way to the open space.

But this was Loke’s call. She looked to him.

 Loke nodded and wrapped the ball and chain tightly around the next striking tentacle.

“Lucy, can you throw me over him?” Loke said, expanding and retracting the weapon to keep himself on the ground as the tentacle was pulled back.

Looks like Loke was a great instinct fighter, he was already comfortable enough with the Fleuve d'étoiles style to even think of this particular plan.

“You bet!” Lucy yelled back with a grin. She launched herself into the air, and when a different tentacle came to smack her down, she flipped into a scissor kick that sliced through it to land beside Loke.

Lucy smirked as she stepped in front of him. She crouched and reached behind her for Loke’s collar and cape clasp, snagged it, then launched him into the sky using all the muscles in her core.

Loke screamed, but in a rollercoaster sort of way.

Hopefully.

Loke pulled the tentacle he had captured after him, using the force of gravity and her launch to tangle and tip the monster.

A tentacle came up to smack him back down.

Loke twirled around the oncoming tentacle like a pole on the playground and kicked off out of her sight.

Byro’s attention firmly on Loke, Lucy rushed forward. “Denembola! Denembola! Denembola!” Lucy cast, kicking upwards in small, precise arcs.

Golden crescents arced from her feet, following the trajectory of her flings and growing larger the farther they got from her. She managed to completely slice off a third tentacle halfway, and cut two others. Byro roared in pain and turned towards her.

Loke’s chain tightened, retracting.

Byro tipped. The underside of the beast was facing her.

“Now Lucy!”

“Regulas Maximus!” Lucy cast, releasing the spell at the impact of a roundhouse kick.

Byro was swallowed by a lion of light.

The light faded, and a passed out old man lay in the wreckage between them.

Lucy stepped on him on her way to Loke.

“You’ve come so far!” Lucy cheered, jumping on him in a hug. Then immediately let go when he stiffened. Whoops.

Still, praise was absolutely in order. “That was a great plan,” she gushed, “You’ve been practicing controlling how the ball and chain bounces off objects, that was so good. You were able to calculate the physics involved instinctively, you’re amazing with that thing!”

Loke did grin at her, “Only because you and Erza burned the basics into my brain so well. I have been practicing using the chain to swing and climb, how to keep and release tension. With all those limbs, even if Byro practiced this transformation before, keeping them straight was going to be a challenge for him. Especially in close combat. Getting you an opening after tangling him up was the best plan.”

“It certainly worked out.”

“Now we need to find—Virgo’s gone,” Loke immediately shifted into a defensive stance, looking around.

“Coco,” Lucy said, and spun around, “Virgo took her this way.”

She and Loke did make sure to trample Byro again on their way, there was no time to do more to keep him down.

They found soldiers, probably Sugarboy’s troops, surrounding a tall elephant slide that would shake its head and swing its trunk. One soldier was missing a spear, a throw that must have been what took Virgo out.

“Hey bastards!” Lucy called out, rushing forward. They turned to look at her, and that was all the opening she needed to knock them on their butts. She jumped up to where Coco was cowering. “Hey, I got you. Are you hurt?”

Coco sniffed, wiped her eyes, and looked down at her feet, “Not-not more than I was before.”

“Alright, up you get,” Lucy said, slowly pulling Coco onto her back. She hopped down with the girl and found Loke tossing the royal guard weapons into the pool for the water attraction.

Several royal guards had footprints over their uniforms.

A woman’s voice came from some speakers stationed through the park, “Due to maintenance issues, E-Land will be closed for the foreseeable future. Please exit the park immediately.”

“That’s our cue,” Lucy said. “Coco, do you know where we can get your injuries taken care of?”

“Um, yes, there’s an infirmary near the legion grounds, that way,” Coco said, pointing Lucy in a different direction than where Gray, Sugarboy, Gajeel, and Erik had gone.

“I think we need to split up again for a bit,” Lucy said regretfully. “I’ll take Coco and get her injuries fixed. You need to catch up with the others. Remember, our best plan is to get Gemini in the same room as the King. Coco’s help managed to stall their plans for a while, but that’s the only way to learn everything we need to know.”

Coco squeezed Lucy tighter, “Please, don’t hurt the King. He’s a good man. He took me in when no one else would, and let me run as much as I wanted. He’s like a father to me, don’t hurt him.”

“Not if we can help it,” Loke assured Coco. “What we really want to know is how to turn our friends back and get home. We can get that information painlessly, and we don’t want to hurt him. I just need to be in a room with him. I would be eternally grateful if you could tell me anything that would help.”

It took a minute, but finally Coco nodded. “Okay, I’m going to trust you. Head that way,” and she pointed with her chin in the direction that Gray went. “Don’t turn until you reach a T, then turn left. Do that again, and you’ll find where I left him. If he’s not there, then he’ll be near the Dragon Chain cannon. You can get to that room from a staircase behind the throne.”

“You’re a good kid, a hero even,” Loke told her, smiling gently. “By helping us, you’ve helped thousands of people, people who care about each other like you care about your friend. You won’t regret helping us.”

“I’ll try to catch up soon,” Lucy said. “I’ll use the break-through-walls method and head for your magic signature if I have to once Coco is safe. Don’t worry about me getting lost. Stay alive.”

“Right,” Loke said. He hesitated a moment more, then took off running after the others.

Lucy watched as long as she could; he never looked back.

A kiss for luck?

Of course he wouldn’t ask for one this time. He was getting over her like she wanted. For Loke, it was never about luck or the danger, it was about snatching another moment with her in the midst of it all. They had only done it twice once before. 

So why did it feel like she had lost something precious?

“Princess?” Coco asked timidly.

“Right,” Lucy said, smiling at Coco. “Tell me where to go so we can get you bandaged up.”

Notes:

I'm going to be super busy tomorrow, so I'm uploading a little early. Let me know what you thought about Erik taking off, poor Coco, Loke and Lucy's awesome in sync fighting, or Lucy's little thoughts there at the end. Or anything else that stuck out to you, I love to hear it.

Chapter 80: Dragon Chain Canon

Erza dragged Loke and Gray, both bound in Legion thread, to the giant door guarded by six soldiers.

“Captain Knightwalker,” one of the guards acknowledged. “What brings you this way? Weren’t those earthlanders to be executed?”

“There has been a change of plan,” Erza said, and tugged at the legion thread to make them stumble forward. “The key to the dragon chain cannon has been destroyed, but there is a way to fix it. I need to see the King.”

“No one is supposed to enter—”

Erza leveled the spear of the ten commandments at the speaker’s throat, “I am tasked with eliminating every obstacle to obtaining everlasting magic power. Tell me, are you an obstacle?”

“No Mam!” The guard said, snapping a salute, “Open the doors!”

Erza tugged Loke and Gray after her calling behind her, “Wise choice gentlemen. The next time you see me, everlasting magic power will be ours.”

They entered the chamber, which was circular and several stories high. Around the edges of the room, about fifteen feet up, a ledge wide enough to walk on circled the room and above the door to the chamber, interrupted only by the dragon chain cannon activation apparatus itself. The apparatus was flanked by two extremely hideous gold statues of King Faust, with the man himself standing between them and in front of a giant key hole.

Jellal was at his side, dressed in long blue silk robes.

Jellal froze upon seeing Erza, his mouth dropping open for a moment in a way that Loke had seen before. Jellal was recovering a memory, though what this scene could possibly trigger in Jellal’s memory was anyone’s guess.

Being dragged by Erza while tied in magical restraints before a king was a first for Loke at least.

“Your Majesty,” Erza said, dropping forward on her knee, the tug forcing Loke and Gray kneel as well.

“Captain Knightwalker,” King Faust said, “Have you brought more earthland viewers to the moment of our triumph? I believe these specific prisoners were under orders to be executed.”

More?

Loke glanced around and saw that Erik and Gajeel were also bound in Legion thread and forced to their knees.

But Gajeel winked at them, while Erik, something weird about him, jerked his head to the side.

Where another Erik was standing behind them with a smirk and a bandage over his right eye.

Well then.

“While I was fulfilling the execution order, I learned that the key to the dragon chain cannon had been destroyed. I also learned that one of these wizards is capable of magic that could replicate the key,” Erza said, not raising her head. “If it is acceptable to your Majesty, I will release him and we will kill his friend should he refuse to cooperate.”

“I see, quite the solution. What became of your earthland doppleganger? Was she not also loose in my castle?”

There was a moment of silence, as Erza lifted her bowed head and smirked at the King, “I killed her.”

WHERE THE HELL WAS THIS ACTING ABILITY WHEN THEY WERE DOING THAT STUPID STAGE PLAY????

Back when they were rebuilding the guild, when they were doing that stupid acting job with that tyrant of a director, Erza stole the male lead position of valiant knight. Which sucked because Loke was clearly destined for the role of wooing/saving Lucy from the dragon Natsu in front of a crowd of adoring women. But after stealing the role he was born to play, she had the audacity to freeze up and jumble all the scenes with stage fright.

Cast as the villain, Loke received several shallow cuts from when Erza miss-timed the fight scenes and sent blades after him.

But when the entirety of Magnolia was at stake and Erza was acting to convince people who actually knew Knightwalker, suddenly Erza was Queen of the freaking Actor’s guild—

No. Focus. Not the time. Erza was selling it, that was what mattered.

Maybe if Erza had been the villain she would actually have been able to act the part and he could have been the daring knight set on rescuing the beautiful damsel no matter what the villain threw their way—FOCUS.

“What do you think, my son?” King Faust turned to Jellal. “Should we utilize Earthland magic to destroy Earthland wizards and Extalia once and for all?”

Jellal examined them carefully.

What the hell was Jellal doing there anyway? Maybe his memories had brought his own acting ability back, and he decided he liked being at the top of the social hierarchy as this world’s prince. It wouldn’t be the first time Jellal betrayed them all.

“That plan would work, Fairy Tail wizards are famously devoted to each other in every world,” Jellal said and smirked at King Faust, “I think it’s a brilliant idea. We certainly can’t waste time. The sooner we can bestow limitless magical power on our Kingdom, the sooner the name of King Faust can go down in history forever as the one who changed Edolas’s destiny.”

Traitor.

Granted, that’s exactly what the three of them wanted to happen, but Jellal didn’t know that.

King Faust spent several heavy seconds looking at Jellal as though measuring his words for deceit. Jellal had never met Mystogan, maybe there was a part of King Faust that knew it wasn’t actually his son standing beside him, but it wasn’t enough to deter him.

“Very well, commence with your plan, Captain Knightwalker,” Faust said.

As planned, Erza turned to Loke and slashed through his bindings.

Erza Scarlett pulled Gray by his hair and placed her blade to his throat, “Summon the being that can duplicate the key, or your friend dies.”

“Gate of the Twins, Gemini!” Loke grinned.

A second King Faust appeared beside the first one.

Gray sliced his own bindings off with Erza’s spear and cast an ice-make wall, cutting off the two kings and Jellal from view. Erza threw Gray to the side and rushed around the ice make wall to 'save' the king, exactly as planned.

Loke pulled out his magic weapon and sent it to wrap around a nearby guard, who yelped as Loke spun and retracted the chain, letting him swing his captive into his fellow guards. Gray sent out ice-make lances that froze several of their enemies to the floor.

“How dare you attempt such a foul deceit!” One of the kings cried behind the wall.

There was movement behind him. Loke turned and caught a spear blade with his scythe, shoving the point to the side before it could pierce him.

Something else behind him, too fast to dodge, and Erza's blade pressed against his throat, “Stand down and allow yourself to be captured, in the name of the King! Stop, or I’ll kill him!”

Gray stopped his attacks, looking over to Loke and Erza. More binding threads were thrown at him from four directions, sending him to his knees and muting his magic signature. He glared at Erza, who smirked at him.

How lucky were they to have such a SUPER-FRICKING-STAR ACTRESS on their side.

“Same weakness,” Erza scoffed, and turned them to face the now easily shattered icemake wall. Having ruptured the ice with a blow of his staff, Gemini stepped through, King Faust collapsed on the ground behind them. Jellal was now emitting a magic signature Loke could sense as he stepped up beside Gemini.

Really Erza? Giving Jellal back his magic now? 

Wait, Jellal had to know which was which, and that it was Gemini he was standing beside since he never would have taken his eyes off the real king. Jellal had probably been waiting for the right moment to strike, since he didn’t exactly have magic to defend himself.

That was excusable. Probably.

“Retrieve the key now!” Gemini commanded. “We cannot allow ourselves to be delayed any longer. Mages! Get in position to fire the dragon chain cannon at 47 degrees.”

“But sir, we were supposed to fire at 43—”

“Are you questioning me?” Gemini demanded of the brave underling. “I said 47 degrees! Clearly more direct contact is needed to speed the swing faster. We are running out of time! Do it now!”

“Yes sir,” the wizard squeaked.

The royal wizards rushed to do as they were ordered. Loke acted horrified and made sure not to let his glee show that they were about to unlacrimize all of Magnolia with a direct hit of dragon slayer magic via the dragon chain cannon and ruin the King’s evil plans.

Because he DID know how to act, thank you very much Mister Director Sir.

“WHERE IS THAT KEY!” Gemini yelled.

“It’s still hot sir, I’m not sure it has the strength until it’s cooled a bit—” the blacksmith started to say, but Gemini swiped the key from the offered tongs anyway, grimacing but not releasing the key, taking it to the insertion point.

Jellal flanked Gemini proudly.

Gemini turned to the crowd, “Today. This moment. You are all witness to the power of the Kingdom of Edolas, ready to bask in everlasting magical power forever after. Today, you are a part of history!”

Gemini inserted the key, but before they could turn it to activate it, a spear soared through Gemini’s chest and they vanished with a burst of pink smoke.

“You ignorant BUFFOONS!” Erza screamed from the doorway, wearing a thin gray bodysuit and a long cut across her nose. She shoved aside the guard whose spear she had thrown. “SHE’S NOT ME! And that’s not the King!”

Knightwalker rushed towards them and Erza shoved Loke clear as Knightwalker began to wrestle Erza for the weapon she was holding.

King Faust yelled, “Someone turn the key! The Canon is calibrated to 43 degrees!”

Faust was no longer on the ground. The real King had crept along the edges of the room, he must have convinced the specific casting mages to change it back to the proper angel.  Several soldiers started rushing towards the dais, and Jellal activated his meteor spell, speeding in front of all of them knocking them all back into the wall.

Higher, Loke swung his ball and chain to disrupt the mages on the second level, they had to be the ones in charge of direction—CLUNK

Loke spun around.

The key spun into place under the hands of Faust, who must have jumped down from the second level. Magic power built throughout the chamber, overwhelming all his senses.

Faust laughed and laughed.

Jellal, Erik, and Gajeel, all three of them free, jumped towards the second level to disrupt the activation and casting.

All three of them were repelled by a barrier and sent flying backwards.

The magic released, and a magic window appeared to watch a golden chain with the tip shaped like the head of a dragon, soar through the sky toward a floating island with a lacrima growing through it.

It struck.

The head sunk in deeper.

 The chain began to move, towing the floating island with it.

The Magnolia lacrima was on a direct course for the island of Extalia and could no longer be stopped from down here. They were too late, too slow—

Glass and stone shattered, spraying them with debris. The ceiling caved in, roof tiles falling, and in the cloud of destruction, astride a giant blue insect . . . bird . . . manticore . . . thing, Lucy called out, “Hey guys! Need a lift?”

With several soldiers between him and Lucy, and still not able to jump quite that high, Loke grinned and used his chain to wrap around the horn of Lucy’s beast. Using his new favorite retraction feature, Loke pulled himself onto the back of the beast.

Kinda, he almost slipped off when he landed, but Lucy helped him balance with a grin.

“How did you gain control of a legion!” King Faust screamed.

Coco poked her head over the side, “This one is my personal legion. He only obeys me!”

Everyone made it on the beast, which began to rise. Beneath them, Knightwalker screamed her vengeance.

As they flew away, Knightwalker cut her hair with her reclaimed weapon, shearing it above her shoulders. Erza wouldn’t be able to pull that trick off again.

“Why do we have both of them?” Gray asked, pointing at the two Eriks.

“I didn’t want him executed as a traitor,” Jellal said. “That’s the only way Erik could have walked in unbound and convince everyone that he was this world’s Erik. He also helped orient me when I first got here, I owe him a great deal.”

“This way, in case you’ve forgotten,” Erik said, leading him down some stairs and to other apartments, presumably where this better fitting set of nightclothes was to be found. Once they arrived at Erik’s rooms, Jellal wasn’t sure if this was a separately owned avenue or staff quarters, Erik led him inside, closed the door, and turned towards him.

“What the hell are you doing here?” Erik hissed yanking Jellal’s arm. “I know they made a breakthrough in anima size stability months ahead of schedule, I tried to delay them but the King pushed the testing through faster than the safety protocols. I don’t know what you think you’re doing, but showing up here and announcing the return of the lost prince is the dumbest thing you could possibly—oh crap. You’re not the prince.”

Jellal kept silent, not quite sure what he should be doing. Deny it?

“Even down to that cursed birthmark, identical,” Erik muttered, backing away and running his hand through his hair. “They said a dragon slayer returned the mages in the lacrima fragment to their original form and you showed up to capture the Earthlanders. You weren’t chasing them, you were in the lacrima. What are the odds?”

Erik hissed a breath through his teeth and started moving around the room.

“Oh don’t worry about him,” Erik mocked aloud, “My double is at the Magic Council building with anti-spacial distortion protections, anima can’t touch him. Don’t worry about him, last report was that he died, because it turned out he was actually a slaver and a cult leader. It’s fine!”

Erik stopped and took a deep breath, frustration apparently spent and a new plan of action decided. “Okay, here’s to hoping you’re as smart as the prince. You are standing in a dimension that runs parallel to your own world. Seven hundred years ago the path of our worlds split and Edolas began to have a crisis of magic, where environmental magic stopped renewing itself and magic became a finite resource. Edolas has slowly been experimenting with stealing magic from your Earthland to renew our stores through a magical device known as anima.

“Because our worlds are roughly parallel, many if not all people have a biological double in the opposite world. Your double is known as Prince Jellal, and for the past ten years he has been attempting to stop the anima from progressing. Unfortunately, the anima experiments progressed more rapidly than Prince Jellal anticipated and an entire Earthland city has been transformed into a giant lacrima. Following the fact that dragonslayers have apparently come to Edolas, my best guess is that the King plans to use dragonslayer magic maneuver the lacrima into the magical floating city of Extalia, inhabited by flying cats known as Exceeds. At that point, both the floating island of Extalia and the Earthland city turned into a lacrima will be destroyed forever in an explosion that will either take the Kingdom of Edolas out too or revitalize the environmental magic with the residue of the explosion. Are you following me?”

What was going on in Lucy’s head on a normal day if this was the kind of complicated plot a dreamscape spell casually plucked out of it?

Wait, could celestial spirits even be subject to dreamscape spells? Did they even dream?

“A lacrima made up of all the magic power within the city of Magnolia,” Jellal said, going along with the logic of it for now, “That would be about the size of a small mountain.” Possibly the size of the Tower of Heaven everyone has told him about.

A lacrima that size isn’t stable for long periods of time. It certainly would act as a bomb if not stabilized into smaller lacrima, and would create the devastating impact Erik was describing. This plot could have been pulled from him and the others that witnessed the Tower of Heaven’s explosion.

“Yes,” Erik said, “They had the anima place the lacrima on a floating island. Based on the acquisition forms and materials I’ve been organizing, I believe they have built both a dragon slayer magic extraction device and a chain cannon capable of swinging the floating island lacrima into the floating island of Extalia once it has been charged with the proper magic.”

“Extalia. Where the magical talking flying cats live,” Jellal checked.

It was quite the thorough explanation, Happy and Carla were complete abnormalities in their world. No traceable ancestor species or theory of magic explained their existence.

According to Happy, his egg fell out of the sky one day and landed on Natsu.

Mystogan, his double in Earthland, is finally explained as well with this story. Why he traveled with Wendy, why he then abandoned her, likely because something became too dangerous or he needed to move much faster than she was able to a child.

Either Lucy has been developing a comprehensive theory based on her own inter-dimensional experiences, or he is actually in a parallel world and the City of Magnolia was in grave danger.

He couldn’t afford the risk to Magnolia in case this was actually a parallel world.

“Why can’t I use my magic?” Jellal asked.

Erik shook his head, “Earthlanders need magic to survive, your body is conserving it unless you take a certain medicine Prince Jellal was working on procuring. Bringing Earthlanders here was a backup plan. Specifically dragon slayers, since their raw elemental magic is capable of undoing the anima process and incapable of being turned by it.”

“You are here, the you from Earthland,” Jellal said, “He’s a dragon slayer. I’m guessing it was him that freed myself, Erza, and some others from the lacrima.”

Finally Erik was surprised, “I’m a dragon slayer in your world?”

“Importantly, there’s a good chance that he is making a nuisance of himself to the government of this world. If I was in charge, I would lock you up to ensure that Erik doesn’t use your face and privileges to cause more havoc,” Jellal said, and Erik winced.

Jellal continued, “Coco and Kianna seem to believe that my father and ‘Lily’ would be happy to see me. You warned otherwise. What is likely going to be the reaction if I introduce myself to the King?”

A father no one had ever mentioned to Jellal, in all the descriptions of his past that he had been given. Possibly one he had never met in his own world, but one whose identical double was going to be expecting him in the morning.

“Confusion,” Erik decided. “He knows you have been working against him and the anima project, but he has no proof. He also can’t act against you in front of others, despite being king, because you are still his only heir. Lashing out at you, imprisoning you, that would distract from his moment of glory and lose a lot of support.”

“Does he know you’ve been working with me?”

Erik hesitated, “I’m not sure. I’d like to think I haven’t been discovered, but I’m not willing to bet our lives on it.”

“Coco then,” Jellal said. “Am I right that she is a ward of the King? An innocent face that runs freely throughout the palace bringing news and cheer with her?”

Erik raised an eyebrow, “You are good.”

Hardly. The child had freedom and levity that only strong protection could allow her, and the royal family, currently consisting of the King alone, would be the only one able to offer such protections within the palace itself.

“Stay in my room with me for the night,” Jellal said. “Whether as manservant or to keep me from becoming ‘lost’ again. If they look for you in my chambers, we will know that you are discovered and arrange an escape for you. If we can last until Coco brings Lily in the morning, we will bring her with us to the King. Without my magic, a confusing, watchful presence befuddling the King as he tries to figure out Prince Jellal’s game is the best I can offer my friends that were freed and my counterpart.”

Erik rubbed his chin, “Pantherlily knows you well, but it has been several years. If confusion is your goal, then go along with everything the King says. Push the anima forward with haste. It’s also the best way to stay out of prison, witnesses or no. That you are eager to see the plan reach fruition and calm in the face of it, that will make King pause and double check every part of his plan more than anything else.”

“Then let’s do that.”

“More importantly, what’s the plan now?” Gajeel asked. “We put our everything into stopping the damn thing, but it wasn’t enough.”

“What was your plan?” Jellal asked Erza.

Erza sighed, “The dragon chain is imbued with and powered by dragon slayer magic. If we had managed to get it to hit the lacrima instead of the floating island beneath it, then it would have restored all of Magnolia and they wouldn’t be in danger of them being turned into magical energy, which will happen automatically by dawn tomorrow even if we stop it.”

“Of course, that would leave the problem of the entirety of Magnolia stranded on a floating island above a hostile kingdom in an alternate dimension,” Lucy pointed out, “But I totally get why that seemed like a smaller problem. Here it comes.”

“We still don’t know your plan,” Gray said.

“Stop it with physical force,” Lucy said grimly.

Uhh.

The island was falling through the sky fast enough to create a wind-shear.

The others can see the wind-shear, right?

“That’s the best plan you got?” Loke checked.

“It’s the last plan I got.”

Coco explained without looking away from guiding her legion, “They put all the reserved dragonslayer magic into launching the chain, then moving it with sufficient force. If we can outlast it, keep it from connecting with Extalia long enough, it will eventually run out of energy and stop moving. There really aren’t any other options if we’re going to stop this.”

“HALT IN THE NAME OF THE KINGDOM OF EDOLAS!” an exceed yelled at them, flying towards them with a huge sword drawn.

“I got this one,” Gajeel said, standing up with a grin. He leapt off the flying bug, the legion, and used magic power expelled through his feet to meet the exceed’s blade.

“Lily!” Coco cried, “Magic power isn’t worth this! It isn’t worth killing you and Extalia. I chose everlasting peace over everlasting magic. Please, we need to stop this!”

“You are defying the king of Edolas Coco,” Pantherlily yelled back. “Take these earthlanders away from here! That’s an order!”

Coco sniffed, but cried back, “I can’t! We’re going to stop it, and you’re going to be safe, I swear! I choose everlasting smiles over everlasting magic power!”

She took them around the battle, Gajeel doing what he promised and keeping the final captain of the royal guard out of their way.And something about showing his new cat who was boss? Loke must have misheard that last part. 

It was starting to get hard to hear anything over the sound of the island rushing through the sky. 

Notes:

Happy Friday! Another midnight upload because I have a BIG day tomorrow as I move to where my new job is.

We're back to Loke's internal monologue and they actually get the chance to enact the Two Kings plan and make a good effort at stopping the dragon chain cannon. Sadly it's not enough. But at least everyone is back together again! Well, almost everyone.

Next time: Erza had been graded in the Eisenwald arc by how many mountains she could kick over, it's time to test the team against a small mountain falling through the sky!

Chapter 81: Save Extalia

Lucy could use her full strength in Edolas, so this would be fine. Totally fine. The dragon chain cannon was simply a converted form of magic stolen from Erik and Gajeel, and she could totally handle them.

Sure, the situation would have been easier to handle if the six people that had been able to infiltrate the inner chamber of the dragon chain cannon had been able to stop the thing from being launched in the first place while Lucy tended to the injured child, but there was no changing the past.

She could totally handle this.

Coco flew them towards the island.

“This thing has too much force and momentum now, I don’t think we can stop it!” Gray called over the rushing wind.

“We have to try!” Erza called back, “If we fall, then we fall with our friends, but we have to try.”

“Here goes, we’re going to ram it!” Coco yelled.

“We’ll add protection and propulsion spells,” Erza said, kneeling as they got closer. Gray, Erik, and Jellal copied her, and magic circles bloom into on the flat, furry head as the drew closer.

“I’m going to another point!” Lucy manifested her aura, levitating, letting the magic propel her into the air. She shot towards the hurtling landmass.

Lucy verse a mountain falling out of the sky.

Just push the mountain away. Simple. All they needed to do was create an opposing force that would cancel the swing of the dragon chain.

Just before impact, Lucy flipped so that her feet smashed into the floating island and threw her hands up behind her head to release her magic in the biggest blast she could sustain.

The shock of impact almost forced her from this realm despite all the power she had flowing through her body that should have made keeping her body together a non-issue.

Because Lucy had miscalculated.

The dragon chain cannon had tapped into Edolas’s magical gravity that sustained the floating islands, and had changed the orbit of this particular island.

She wasn’t facing the raw power of two mature dragon slayers, she was facing a force of tectonic and gravitational proportions.

The legion, reinforced with the magic of her friends, slammed into the landmass beneath her.

All of them continued to scream through the air on a direct course to Extalia, not slowing down in the slightest.

More magic. Lucy was made up of the magic that moved planets and suns and held the universe in its dancing balance. She could do this like no one else could.

More magic.

A hurricane of magic from her hands. An equal and opposite force.

They slowed a little.  

More.

Her feet cratered into the stone, sinking into the earth encasing the Magnolia lacrima until she knelt against the lacrima itself.

She would protect them and earn her title of Guardian Angel. The light aura surrounding her body increased to blinding.

Floating island meets shooting star.

HAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! 

 

 

 

Loke used his extendable ball and chain to grab onto a root protruding out of the Extalia floating island, then retracted the chain quickly enough to land on top of the root. He pulled himself the rest of the way onto Extalia’s landmass.

Ground crunched behind him as he ran, and a glance behind showed that Edolas’s own ball and chain, the dragon chain and the Magnolia lacrima, was still swinging towards Extalia, but his friends were finally able to slow it down some once they had Extalia to brace against.

This was his friends verse a floating landmass, made up of an unstable lacrima, and they couldn’t exactly shave off parts of it like they had done with the last one of those they had dealt with.

Lucy’s plan was for them to generate sufficient opposing force and run out the force of the dragon chain cannon. If pure opposing force was needed, a tidal wave was in order—there!

A small pond, just like he hoped.

Loke fell to his knees on the muddy banks of the small, thankfully clear, pond, and shoved his key downwards, “Open Gate of the Waterbearer!”

Aquarius appeared and looked over the area, “Not bad, as far as water goes.” Then she stiffened and spun around towards where the Magnolia lacrima was, “What have you gotten yourself into? Where-What is she doing!”

Rock broke and compacted behind him as the Magnolia lacrima island swung deeper into Extalia.

Lucy was blinding, in his vision and his magic sense.

“Help her!” Loke yelled running back towards the projected impact point.

With a flash of celestial yellow light, Aquarius sped through the sky to Lucy’s aid.

As he ran back, Aquarius pulled up beside Lucy, urn held straight above her head, and a torrent of water pushed at the island.

The Magnolia lacrima was close enough to Extalia that Gray was using his magic to create four broad pillars of ice extending from Extalia to push against the Magnolia lacrima island and the sound of repeatedly shattering glass added to the cacophony of wizards yelling as they put all their force into stopping this.

Gajeel joined the effort as Loke slide himself next to his spirits to add what force he could with his own body.

“Use your dragonslayer magic on the lacrima itself!” Erza ordered Gajeel as she pushed.

“You want to deal with the giant armed cat?”

Loke could feel his magic draining the longer it supported Aquarius. Lucy hadn’t been kidding about it not replenishing nearly as much as it should have here in Edolas.

Aries to catch his fall, Lucy, Scorpio, then Virgo for their entire walk through the caves, Taurus, Chisel, Cancer, Virgo again, Gemini, Aquarius. He had summoned all his gold keys once and Virgo twice. He was spent on summonings. 

Gray gave up on using his ice magic and slid down next to Loke to push as well, though ice magic coated his arms to help. Both Eriks could be heard cussing at the pressure pushing all of them.

Lucy’s light was undimmed, even as Aquarius’s power was starting to wane.

Guess Lucy was stronger than Aquarius, after all, just like she claimed.

“Need a hand?” Natsu asked, appearing above them and adding his dragon strength to stopping the impending collision, fists burning with dragon slayer magic.

“WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?” Lucy screamed as her torrent of power narrowed.  

“It’s a long story,” Natsu panted, his arms sinking into the landmass to press against the lacrima itself next to Lucy.

“Aye,” Happy added, his wings unfurled to add his magic to the effort.

“Well . . . I’m grateful . . . for the assistance,” Erza grunted, somewhere below them.

“Is Extalia at least evacuated?” Lucy panted.

“No!” Carla cried out somewhere above them, “The bunch of liars and self-righteous bastards! They can’t-can’t conceive of losing to humans, and-and I’m going to save their stupid asses anyway!”

Wendy choked out a laugh somewhere near Carla, “Language!”

“You’re not alone!” Another voice came.

“Sir Naughty? What are you doing here?” Carla asked.

“I’m here because I want to save my home too,” Sir Naughty cried.

“I’m here too!”

“I can’t leave!”

A hundred. A thousand. Exceeds filled in every foot of space left on this side of the Magnolia lacrima.

It was forced back a quarter of an inch.

“KEEP GOING!” Gray yelled.

“AHHHAHHHHHHH!” Lucy yelled, and somehow even more magic burst from her, and everyone’s yells joined with hers.

Another inch back.

Another.

“We’re doing it!”

“Keep pushing!”

“We can’t stop now!”

“We’ll save our home with our own paws!”

Loke was exhausted, circumstances had pushed to his physical and magical limits once again.

Loke still pushed back.

Another inch. Another.

Loke cried out with everyone else and gave everything he had.

The landmass under his hands gave way before he did.

Without an enternal force to brace against, gravity asserted itself and Loke and the other non-exceeds fell through the gap.

“Here Sir, sorry for all the trouble,” an exceed said as it caught him and placed him on the grass of Extalia, next to Lucy and Aquarius.

The crater made in Extalia’s edge was huge, partly created from Coco’s legion, but really just an island sized half bowl of land disintegrated from the battling magical forces at play.

Beyond the crater floated the Magnolia lacrima. Stable and unmoving, all the force of the dragon chain canon used up.

Loke fell forward, exhausted, as the cheers of a people saved rang through the sky.

Aquarius turned to Lucy, “Now you. What the hell were you thinking expending magic like that while on vacation! Did your time among mortals wreck your brain so much you’re pulling bonehead stunts and trying to get punished? You know damn well that you can’t do this!”

“I knew . . . what I was doing,” Lucy spat back, her chest heaving as she tried to get enough air, “If you spent more than a couple minutes here . . . maybe you’d notice . . . we’re not in earthland. This realm snatched Loke first . . . I can do what I want here.”

“Oh no. Tell me you are not pulling Eternal Law One to justify this insanity, you brat! That’s the stupidest thing you’ve suggested this century, including the wretched plan that nearly got you killed,” Aquarius hunched over Lucy and pointed her finger in her face, “Tell me that’s not what’s happening. It will never work, it’s a terrible match, you’re too serious and he’s not serious enough and I am not picking up after your sorry asses when this turns out just like Capri—”

Lucy snatched and twisted Aquarius’s wrist sideways, her eyes blazing gold, the claws of her magic trapping Aquarius’s arm as she growled, “I never said anything about Law One, so shut up! This realm has no interrealm agreements with us or earthland. They attacked another dimension first, so there’s nothing stopping me from helping to hit back and fix the unbalance. That’s all. You’re overstepping.”

Aquarius glared, then hit Lucy on the head with her urn, knocking the light magic from Lucy’s eyes. Lucy swayed and put a hand to her head.

“Ladies, ladies, please,” Loke said, putting his hands up and between them and pushing Aquarius back for some space. “We’re celebrating our success, no need to be violent. You’re both beautiful.”

“You’re treading a stupid and dangerous path,” Aquarius told Lucy, “And you spent so much magic in the last few minutes you’re baselining, get your act together.” Aquarius turned to Loke, “And you need to consult with Crux about Leo before Leo wrecks herself.”

“Loke can ask me everything he needs to know about me!” Lucy spat. Then sucked in a breath and looked towards the Magnolia lacrima. 

“What’s going on!” Erik demanded.

Magic surged.  

The magic gathered, then fled upwards, the lacrima vanishing. Without the lacrima, the floating island crumbled and fell, along with the dragon chain, dissolving as it fell towards the earth.

“Prince Jellal!” Coco cried from her legion.

Everyone looked up. Mystogan was hovering above them on his own white legion. Noise erupted, demanding explanations. Mystogan held up his hands for silence.

“Tch,” Aquarius said, then vanished back to the celestial world to recover.

People finally quieted enough that Mystogan could speak.

“Thank you my friends!” Mystogan called. “I apologize that finding an anima remanent capable of returning Magnolia took longer than I expected. It was only thanks to your efforts I was able to reverse the Anima spell! The people of Magnolia are returned to their home, safe and whole, and Extalia is saved!”

Lucy let out a lion’s roar of approval while Loke, Natsu, and the others cheered. The exceeds, who couldn’t know exactly what that meant aside from the saving Exalia bit, cheered with them.

“Pantherlily,” Mystogan said, turning to the giant black exceed that had attempted to stop them. “Years ago you saved my life, a child in a foreign land. Today, I hope to have repaid that debt.”

Pantherlily had tears in his eyes as he gave a deep bow, “My Prince!”

“Fire on the traitor!”

A beam of light shot through Patherlily’s side, sending him spiraling towards the ground.

Looking back down towards the Kingdom, a swarm of legion was being led by Knightwalker on the biggest legion of them all. “You’re a traitor to the King, and you’ve earned a traitors death! Soldiers! Your orders are to exterminate the exceeds, turn every last one of them into lacrima for the kingdom!”

“Yes Captain!”

“Scatter!” Erza commanded, standing up in her nightwing armor again. “Exceeds! Hide down below. Protect yourselves! Lucy, draw the attack, keep the others with you, I’ll take down Knightwalker.”

 “Come on Erza Scarlett! Bring it! I’LL TEAR YOU INTO PIECES!”

“AHHH!” Erza threw herself off Extalia and met Knightwalker on her own legion, who was ahead of the rest.

“Ugh, what is that?” Lucy muttered, suddenly bending double. “That’s disgusting!”

“You have succeeded in nothing!” King Faust’s voice rang through the air, magically amplified. “There will be everlasting magic power in the Kingdom of Edolas if I have to drain every dragonslayer and earthland wizard dry to accomplish it!”

“Stand down!” Mystogan commanded. “I am your heir, Prince Jellal of Edolas. The future I will provide Edolas is one free of coercion, one where we sustain ourselves without stealing the lives of others to live. I choose peace for our kingdom!”

“PEACE? THERE WILL ONLY BE PEACE THROUGH POWER!”

Loke felt it then, in even his limited magic sense, down and to the north of the city was a sickening magic signature. Not even a magic signature, a hole that sucked up magic where there should be none.

“Who leads the exceeds?” Lucy asked grimly, forcing herself to straighten.

“Queen Shagot!” several exceeds called to her, and a taller white cat bowed her head to Lucy.

“Take your civilians and scatter in the crags and rocks along the countryside,” Lucy ordered.

“I can show you a place that should be safe,” one of the Eriks said, and he was swept up by and exceed to join them fleeing.

“Too late!” one exceed cried.

The sickening magic signature was connected to a ball of metal soaring into the air above what looked like a ruined stadium to the north. It cracked, and limbs, claws, and the head of a dragon emerged from the metal.

“Dorma Anim, the beast which makes the sky go black,” an older exceed whimpered.

The Dorma Anim started gathering magic power to it, the bright sky around it darkened, bringing the hovering celestial bodies into stark contrast.

There was no warning. The gathered magic shot towards them with a blaze of light.

Mystogan jumped in front of it, staff in hand, three magic circles absorbing the magic and shooting it right back.

The Dorma Anim took the attack with its forearms, and emerged without a scratch.

“For the King!” a soldier called, from the other direction. Four soldiers stood on a legion’s back, and all four leveled staffs at exceeds.

The soldiers shot out a beam that turned the exceeds into cat-shaped lacrima.

The anima that caused this mess was now travel sized.

“Run! Now! You’re too small for them if you hide in the cliffs!” Lucy called desperately to the exceeds.

They tried to scatter and follow Shagot’s orders, but Knightwalker’s squad of soldiers was between them and the ground. Shagott and some of the older exeeds got groups to fly to the other side of Extalia for a clearer landing, but too many exceeds were getting hit.

“You thought that would do anything to me?” King Faust laughed. Another beam shot out from the metal dragon, and this one caught Mystogan in the side, sending him after Pantherlily the hard way.  

Gray launched himself upwards and shot lances of ice at the nearest soldiers.  

“Coco!” Lucy yelled, running off the ledge.

Loke jumped after her.

Lucy let out a brilliant light as she fell, so bright Loke had to close his eyes.

The light dimmed, but Lucy still shone as Coco flew under them with her legion. Lucy landed first, then reached out and caught him, bringing him alongside her as Coco dove downwards.

Loke took out his enchanted sickle and chain and protected their left flank, specifically over Happy and Carla, who also landed on their legion. Gray followed and protected their right flank, also providing cover fire alongside Lucy.

“Denembola claws!” Lucy cast, and spinning crescents of light whirled from her towards the Royal Army. None struck, at this distance the legions could dodge, but it caused several yells and drew a whole lot of attention, which appeared to be what Lucy was going for.

“YOU WANT SOME EXEEDS, WE GOT SEVERAL RIGHT HERE!”  Lucy screamed.

Most of the legion split off to take after them.

One legion struck their ride. Then another.

A final legion struck, despite taking hits from Lucy and Gray, and Coco’s legion was sent into a tailspin.

Then a freefall.

Notes:

Hello dear readers, it's still Friday! I've been sick and started a new job this week (I do not recommend this combination of life events) but we're here with another chapter! Lucy verse mountain! Lucy verse Aquarius! Mystogan finally shows up and it's back to Fairy Tail verse Edolas. Lots of action this chapter. Let me know what you think!

Chapter 82: Custody Arrangements

Natsu leapt off Extalia to the north to take care of the metal dragon, Erik and Gajeel following him. Their sights were on the big beast. The king, the dragon, and Wendy should go help. It was a dragon after all, kinda, and she was a dragonslayer. Her support magic might be the difference to defeating that awful thing.

But there was someone more important that she had to speak to than the king pretending to be a dragon. This might be her only chance.

Jellal was about to head after Lucy, when Wendy stopped him. “Help me find Mystogan, the other Jellal, please.”

He looked torn for a moment, then nodded. He knelt, “Get on my back and hold on tight.”

On Jellal’s back, Wendy felt his magic power build before he cast “Meteor.”

They lifted into the sky and were flying, both of them covered in a glowing light.

It was the closest feeling to flying on the back of Grandeeny she had ever experienced, back when the sky was their home. When they flew like this Grandeeny had her practice cutting through the wind, just like . . . Wendy raised an arm, fingers pointed and wrist straight, cutting through the air in front of Jellal, making it easier on both their eyes and speeding them up.

“Thank you!” Jellal called, pushing them faster to the ground where her Jellal had fallen.

They were scanning the rocks and outcroppings, surely her Jellal would have left a crater from his fall or recovered and be watching the sky.

“There!” she said, pointing ahead of them. Two humanoids, carried by exceed wings, sped towards the castle. Jellal sped up and followed them.

 

 

They ended up at an inner chamber of the palace, way up high and right beneath the throne room. It was in the thin part of the castle, the only access point a staircase spiraling around the outside of this chamber. A walkway was suspended in the center of the room, the ceiling way high up and the floor way far down.

The glowing orb in the center felt wrong.

“You can’t be serious!” Pantherlily yelled.

“I am,” her Jellal said. “The people of Edolas need a common enemy, and a common hero, to rally them. You will be that hero, it has to be done.” Only then did Jellal turn to her, encouraging her to take the remaining steps towards him. He smiled the same smile she remembered. “You’ve done well, Wendy Marvel. I was terrified that I had been too late to save Magnolia. But you made your own hope. You helped rally the exceeds and bought me enough time. Thank you.”

Wendy’s vison grew blurry as tears came and she ran the rest of the way to him, “JELLAL!”

Jellal caught her without budging an inch, running a hand down her back. It was the same exact scent she remembered. The boy she had curled up beside under leaves and had taught her which stars to follow and which plants to eat and how to drink dew and what plants can be used as an umbrella.

That boy was beside her now, and she breathed in greedily.

Her friend. The one she would risk imprisonment and death for, because she knew he would never, ever hurt people, no matter how many people said he did it.

Jellal was right here. Holding her. He even had the little staff she made for him, a fan with wind magic she had enchanted, just for him, using the last thing Grandeeny had taught her before she disappeared.

“It’s almost over Wendy,” Jellal promised.

“Why didn’t you come back for me?” she cried, trying to quiet her sobs so she could hear his answer, “I waited for you! Why? You promised!”

“For a while, I couldn’t find you,” Jellal admitted. “The anima portal I was investigating back then was too strong, and I got swept back here for a few days, and the anima portal I used to return to earthland spit me out on the other side of the country. By the time I found you again, you were part of a community. You had friends and several caretakers who clearly adored you. Even at the age of 13, I knew you were better off where you were, rather than traveling with me and all the danger that came with it.”

Wendy beat a fist against him, “You’re wrong! You left me with a ghost! None of those people were real! You should have asked! You should have taken me with you!”

“What?” Jellal asked, horribly confused.

Of course he would be confused. Everything was confusing. She was confused.

He pulled her away and knelt down to look her in the eye. “Did they hurt you? Did you have enough food, shelter, and supplies to get by? Please say that you had enough food!”

Wendy sniffed, wiping away her tears.

Jellal’s lip was trembling, he looked to be on the edge of tears himself.

Scared. Horrified.

Jellal had watched over and cared for a five year old for almost a year, when he was younger than Wendy. Had sheltered her and walked at her pace. Could she do that? Could she do that in Edolas, a world she wasn’t born to, with strange magic and people that looked like people she knew but weren’t?

Could she?

Maybe.

But could she hold it against him when he decided to leave the responsibility of the life of another child in what appeared to be more capable hands?

“I . . . I was cared for,” she admitted, to him and to herself. “I had shelter and enough to eat. I learned even more about enchanting. I was . . . happy, back then.”

“Oh thank God,” Jellal said, crushing her to him in another hug. “I’m so glad you were safe and happy. I wouldn’t forgive myself if you had been mistreated.”

It was her turn to be held tightly, and something lifted from her shoulders.

Wendy forgave Jellal. For leaving her. For never coming back. He had all this he was trying to fix by himself, she couldn’t blame him for leaving her somewhere that was happy.

“You left me with a ghost,” she said, squeezing him back, “But he was a very magical and powerful ghost, who made sure I was cared for. When he moved on, I joined Fairy Tail, just like you.”

Jellal released her and tugged at a pigtail, just like he did back then, “Just like me. They’ll take good care of you, right?” Now he looked up at other Jellal.

Erza’s Jellal?

Erza’s Jellal nodded, “All of Fairy Tail cares for her, as do I. I will make sure she is protected, as best I can, though she has grown into a strong wizard and a powerful dragonslayer in her own right. She will never face life alone, that I swear to you.”

Jellal straightened up again, looking his counterpart in the eye, “I took on the name Mystogan to avoid association with your actions. To avoid the taint of your politics, your slavery, your Tower. Then you sacrificed my guildmates to your schemes. Why should I believe any promise of yours?”

Wendy sucked in a breath to defend Erza’s Jellal, but he held up a hand to ask for her silence.

“You should believe the intent behind my promise because you trusted Master Makarov’s word that I am trying to be a different man. You would not have pretended to be me otherwise when I was in the Magic Council's custody,” Erza’s Jellal said firmly. “You built the identity of Mystogan to separate yourself from a man named Jellal with your face that brought evil and harm into the world. You separated yourself in order to do the good you needed to.”

Erza’s Jellal knelt placing a hand over his heart and bowing his head, “Will you allow me to use the identity of Mystogan for the same purpose? I will not deny that the man was me, that those sins are mine, but may I take up the name of Mystogan to repent of those sins?”

Wendy bit her lip as Jellal looked down at him, then composed herself as Jellal turned to look at her.

“Wendy, what do you think? I will not be able to be beside you any more, or even be in Fairy Tail, but what do you think?” Jellal asked her. “Now that you know for certain he is not me, and are assured of the things he has done, do you believe this man should be allowed to take up the name Mystogan and live beside you in Fairy Tail?”

Jellal was going to take her answer seriously. He was going to listen to her this time, the way he hadn't when she was a child begging him not to leave.

It was a big responsibility to be listened to. 

“I think,” she started slowly, “I think he should be given another chance. He . . . cares. He cares a lot about Erza and me and Fairy Tail. He’s held me when I cried, and . . . and I want him to be my guildmate. I think . . .” words slipped away between her brain and her tongue, but she had to get it out. “I think . . . you’re the same, except Jellal was kidnapped and then lied to and manipulated. I think anyone would do bad things if that happened. Like, Erza’s scary and a killer in this world, but if things were different for our Erza, she could be a scary killer too.

“They can both be ruthless, but I bet they also both can be kind and loving. Loke can be smart and read people, but here he can use that to keep Fairy Tail alive, or in Earthland he can use that to get lots of girlfriends and friends.”

Wendy looked at Jellal on the ground, who was looking at her with hope, “I think you are both really smart with magic, and kind, and you can both be ruthless. I want to give Earthland’s Jellal a chance to be as good as you are, or as good as you’ll become.” She looked back at Jellal, her Jellal, with a heavy heart. “If you can’t be in Fairy Tail with me, then I want him to be with me.”

Prince Jellal smiled and took the bag with seven staffs off his back. He held it out to the Jellal on the ground.

Jellal stood and accepted the bag.

“Master Makarov has directions to my house in the woods, near the healer Porlyusica,” Prince Jellal told him. “The key is inside the bag, as is a notebook detailing my experiences using the magic of the staffs. Being a native magic user yourself, you should have an easier time than I did controlling them.”

“Thank you,” Jellal said, donning the equipment. “There is one more thing I have to know, before the anima erupts and sucks all the magic from this world. The King, is he really your father? And his counterpart . . .”

Prince Jellal nodded solemnly, “I did not realize immediately when I arrived in Fairy Tail, only later did I make the connection. Given Makarov didn’t say anything upon seeing my face, I assume he is unaware of the relationship. My mother died in an aircraft accident on Extalia when I was child. I was fortunate to be saved by Pantherlily.”

Prince Jellal nodded at the black exceed that had been watching all of this silently. “The only plan to give our worlds a chance at peace and balance is to use the anima fragments to take all of the magic out of this world, and send it to earthland to be absorbed into the environment. You will all be returned to earthland when that happens. Given that my father has disowned me, and given all the hurt and pain my family has inflicted upon the world. I intend for the only person I trust to defeat me and lead the world into it’s proper place. It is what has to happen.”

“I have not agreed to this plan,” Pantherlily said, voice curt, “I refuse to kill you after all that I have done to keep you alive.”

Anger coursed through Wendy like magic, and she punched Prince Jellal in the hip, hard. Hard enough to shove him into Pantherlily.

Prince Jellal’s mouth gaped open like the idiot he was being.

“You’re just like him!” she accused, “He’s trying to atone for everyone sins, and thinks that sacrificing his life is the way to do it!” Jellal was also gaping, so she spat at him, “That’s right, Lucy and Erza told me that after I healed you, you thought you had to die again to make up for everything. Way to throw my healing in my face!”

She turned back to Prince Jellal, “More death isn’t the answer. You dying won’t fix what’s broken about Edolas, so live and fix it like a normal person! Anything else is just stupid!”

Jellal cleared his throat, “There is also the fact that the exceeds have inborn magic like earthland wizards. They will be cast into Earthland with the anima spell too.”

“What?” Prince Jellal looked at Pantherlily, “Magic is that innate to you?”

“You are incapable of sensing magic auras, I assume?” Jellal asked, and Prince Jellal nodded, eyes wide. “It’s clear to anyone with magic that the exceeds do not exist without their magic. When the anima reverses, they will be forced to abandon this world with, just as the Earthland wizards will be.”

Prince Jellal paled and turned back to the glowing sphere, “Shit, no. I didn’t mean—”

“See, you have to stay and fix this world yourself!” Wendy said triumphantly.

“Perhaps I could shed some light?” a new voice asked.

Sir Naughty was standing in the doorway. The tall (though much smaller than Pantherlily) black exceed was pumping his fist like every other time Wendy had seen him, and his voice was as nervous as ever.

“You see,” he said, nervously stepping all the way into the chamber, “Part of the reason we sent young exceeds to earthland is that the Queen foresaw that magic would leave Edolas. At the time, we assumed it meant we, and all the magic of this world, would be sucked into the Dorma Anim, but we also prepared for the possibility of a catastrophe with the anima. The Queen is preparing our remaining people right now.”

“No,” Prince Jellal said, sinking to his knees, head bowed, “I have failed you. I have failed the exceeds. I’m sorry, my friend.”

“I’m not sorry,” Pantherlily asserted. “I could never become a leader that gained support because I caused your death. Now you will have to live and lead your people.”

“Umm,” Sir Naughty jumped in, “It’s much worse than just that. Actually, I heard your plan earlier, about needing a someone to take the blame for the destruction being caused? You . . . should come see this.”

They followed the black cat, Wendy just behind the two Jellals.

It was obvious now what was different, Jellal had magic mixed into his scent, while Prince Jellal was the same scent without magic.

But they walked with the same stride, the same determination.

Her Jellals.

 

~~

 

Happy caught Loke, Lucy dodging away when Happy tried to catch her too. Surrounded by her celestial light, she slowed her own fall.

Jellal was speeding off in the distance with his borrowed celestial light. It was always so cute when mortals used celestial magic as an ability type. Like cosplay.

Carla was struggling with Coco and Gray, so Lucy dug down deeper for more magic and pulled Coco into her own hands.

“Since when could you fly?” Gray asked, while Carla sighed in relief.

“It’s complicated,” Lucy said. “It’s also not sustainable. Hold onto me Coco.”

“Yes Princess!” Coco was suddenly unbearable tight around her shoulders. Luckily she didn’t really need to breathe. Lucy let them fall the rest of the way, slowing them just before the ground, then setting them both down gently.

She did need to breathe to talk, “Coco-here!”

“Huh? Oh!”

Coco released her with a blush, settling on the ground.

Lucy breathed and sat down. Just for a moment. There were shouts coming their way, she was feeling emptier than she liked, the celestial world calling for her. She would not be using her magic to levitate again, Denebola was probably also out of the question. All she had left was straight hand to hand magic boosted combat.

One minute more of resting.

“So, us verse the edolas royal army?” Gray asked, looking up at the hoard of manned legions sailing their way.

“Looks like it, and I’m out of summons,” Loke said.

Lucy laughed and stood up, “Standing up again, in the face of overwhelming odds, for the safety of our friends?”

“Because we’re the only ones that can?” Gray added to her question, taking up the position on her left.

Loke took his place on her right, just like they practiced, his chain already swinging defensively, the sickle braced to attack. “That’s just what it means to be a Fairy Tail wizard. I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

The legion landed on the rocks before them sending up dust clouds.

“Coco, if I got you one of their weapons, could you use it?” Lucy asked.

“Um, no, I mean, I could try . . .”

Gray shook his head, “If you don’t have training, then you’re better off not having a weapon.”

“Target the exceeds!” the soldiers called.

“Happy, Carla, go with Coco! Try to find someplace to hide!” Gray ordered before Lucy could.

Unlike the townguards, these soldiers had ranged weapons she needed to pay attention to. Their staff weapons shot beams from the head, and Lucy flipped backwards to let Loke’s ball and chain shield the first round of attacks. Then she launched herself into the ranks, swiveling her hips at the last minute to avoid a spear tip.

Lucy focused on the enemies in the second rank. The soldiers behind her turned to stab her in the back, but Loke’s ball and chain was already on them.

She was too close to the polearm users, they weren’t prepared for close combat. A roundhouse took care of two, throwing the men into their comrades. Plant the roundhouse and kicking out with her left, made a claw of light that snapped two of the weapons free from the wielders, but missed the humans.

An arm punched out in front of her face.

Lucy grabbed it, and used the soldier as a counterbalance to her next kick.

A beam hit her in the shoulder. Lucy swallowed a gasp. She reached behind her and grabbed the spear, tucking and, thankfully, throwing the soldier over her hip towards Loke.

Loke’s ball and chain grabbed the man, and flung him farther into the left flank.

Gray froze the feet of the third rank and cleared the enemies between her and him so they could stand back-to-back for a moment and assess the rearranged battlefield.

Most of the first and second ranks were cleared and trying to surround them or Loke. At the command of their leader, the frozen-in-place-by-Gray third rank took defensive positions and the fourth rank leveled spears between the third rank to shoot at her and Gray from a more protected position. 

Lucy launched herself into the one gap where the soldier was a hair slower than his friends in lowering his spear. She snatched the spear in her somersault through the gap and used it to hit its former wielder into the line of perfectly positioned soldiers. The weapon in her hand snapped, but it successfully separated half of the fourth rank from their weapons as they were bowled over from the side with their spears trapped between the third rank. 

On her other side, Gray dove under a line of fire, and once his hand was on the iced feet, spikes shot out, again separating the fourth rank from their spears locked between the bodies of the third rank. 

A man jumped on her back, and she swung him overhead and into the ground. Then swung his body into two friends that were looking to try something similar.

Surrounded, and the soldiers were regrouping. 

A tree, twenty feet into the right flank Loke’s been weakening. Why hadn’t she seen that before? A sapling, but that wasn’t nothing. A final swing and she released the man, who had been long passed out, and let his flight create a path for her.

Her back against the tree, which was bigger than she thought, and a legion loomed over her, mandibles clacking.

They shouldn’t be trained to attack humans, no matter how threatening it looked.

As a test, Lucy picked up the soldier that had been her last cannonball’s landing cushion, and threw the man at the legion.

His scream was very satisfying, and the legion ducked so the man rolled along the carapace. Dangerous as an obstacle, but a legion was much less dangerous than they looked as an opponent, good to know.

A spear blast came for her head, singeing her hair, but missed as Loke’s scythe hooked the spear shaft and shoved it downwards. Lucy kicked the man in the chin and Loke sliced through the weapon.

Gray made his way to them under the foliage during a moment the soldiers were using to rally back into ranks, his focus on trying unsuccessfully from keeping the legions from advancing. 

Side by side, their backs to the tree, a small pile of bodies at their feet, the three legions steadily approaching. Loke’s chain blocked the beams that were coming faster and faster as the soldiers advanced.

The river of stars series of weapons would take pure magic attacks and absorb them into the river, Lucy was so glad they had upgraded his weapon. His old chain would have been broken five times in the last second alone.

She picked up the soldier she had thrown at the tree and apologized as she used him as a shield against the attacks from the front that Loke and Gray couldn’t block.

The shots were coming faster as the soldiers stepped closer, but they were still out of striking range for her.  The pile of bodies that had been at her feet had crawled away, leaving only her whimpering human shield.

They came in optimum impact distance and she used her last projectile human to buy another few seconds.

A spear caught Loke’s ball and chain.

Loke yanked the spear out of the soldiers’ hand, but all their shield was down.

Lucy stepped in front of Loke, her arms reinforced with magic. One blast hit, aimed at her shin, burning and shoving her back into the tree.

But just one blast hit when four had been fired.

Another tree was growing in front of them.

The soldiers stumbled back as roots grew to trap them. The legion was swallowed by more roots, and another legion beyond it, both creatures crying out in pain. Loke yanked Lucy over his shoulder and they stumbled away from the tree, which was actually part of the same tree they had been standing in front of, which grew—

And grew.

And grew.

And eventually a very familiar flag spread out between two high branches.

“Charge!” Edolas Loke commanded.

Edolas Fairy Tail poured out of the tree and into the battle.

“We gotta show everyone who Fairy Tail’s strongest team is, ready?” Levy called, racing out with a wrench in hand, Jet skating in front, Droy throwing magical seeds that sprouted and took out two more legions.

“Nice shootin’ Love Pistol!”

“Help Natsu, wont you, Sugar Shot?”

Bisca and Alzak cheered from high in the guildhall’s branches, sniping out members of the royal army, and drawing fire to their hard to hit spot.

“Juvia! I’m with you!” Edolas Gray called out joyfully, waving around a lance with ice magic in the tip, wearing more layers than their Gray even owned.

“You’d keep up better if you shed some clothes!” Juvia scoffed, cracking a water whip against her enemies. “Take a hint from Earthland Gray!”

“You have got to be kidding me,” their Gray groaned after throwing a soldier over his hip, wearing only his pants.

Edolas Natsu was . . . crying? While wielding a boomerang? Anyway, he was teamed up with the Strauss siblings and cleared some ground around her and Loke.

Huh, Edolas hadn’t lost their Lisanna. She looked just like Mira.

“You guys okay? Sorry it took so long,” Edolas Loke said coming up beside them.

Loke grinned, “We were just talking about how much this was a Fairy Tail fight, of course the guild had to join in.”

Lucy sighed and let her light magic coat her leg and shoulder, healing where she had gotten hit. It was starting to feel like she had used up a year’s worth of magic in the past twelve hours.

Lucy tugged free and Loke released her and let her stretch.

“We drew the bulk of the army here with Happy and Carla,” Lucy said. “Their weapons are pretty breakable, you should target that. These soldiers aren’t trained without weapons.”

“Copy that,” Edolas Loke said. He used his own magic chain and sickle to swing himself up to the Fairy Tail standard, “Focus on breaking their weapons!” he commanded. “We’ll claim the lacrima from pieces!”

Cheers of affirmations came from the guild.

“Oh, a true lady doesn’t care for all this ruckus and fighting,” Cana pouted, in the primmest, princessy layered dress Lucy had ever seen. Then Cana whipped out her parasol and smashed the nearest soldier over the head and used her heels to crack his weapon in half. "But if it's for the guild."

“Thanks Cana,” Lucy laughed, “We need all the help you can give.”

Lucy jumped in to cover Cana’s back.

The Lokes slammed groups of soldiers into each other with their chains, then used their scythes to slash apart the staffs.

The Grays froze a line of soldiers trying to reform ranks, and Natsu’s boomerang took off the heads of the weapons.

Older Wendy tended to an injured Carla and Happy.

Fairy Tail fought back.

Notes:

YAY! I actually really love this chapter, probably my favorite out of the whole arc. The Jellals get their reckoning with each other, Wendy gets her closure, and Fairy Tail gets its big fight. What do you think!

Chapter 83: The End of Magic

There was a crack in the air, a change. The earthlanders felt it first and turned north. The metal dragon piloted by King Faust was hovering in the air a moment, then came crashing back down to earth on a wave of magic dust.

The magic dust, the etherion particles, grew thicker in the air, coalescing into the swooping lines found in impressionist paintings.

“OUR WEAPONS!” Someone shouted, and others joined in. 

Every magic weapon of Edolas was glowing, the etherion particles gathering and rising from each weapon in a thin stream to join the rivers of magic in the sky.

All heading towards the dorma anim.

The royal army soldiers dropped their weapons and fled.

“—NOT PAID FOR THIS!”

“IT’S THE END OF THE WORLD!”

“Alright, we won!” Gray pumped a fist.

“It came at a cost,” Lucy said, wrapping her arms around herself as her guildmates in another life cried out in fear. If magic was being pulled somewhere else, she’d be pulled there soon.

“You’re alive!” Loke encouraged Edolas Fairy Tail, “It’s not the end of the world.”

Loke's counterpart grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, “It may as well be. This is the end of magic in our world. How could you possibly understand?” Edolas Loke challenged, “You’ve always had so much magic. Can you even imagine a world without it?”

“What use is a magic guild without magic? The guild’s going to have to disband,” Droy said, beating his fist on the ground.

A world Lucy couldn’t exist in. A world without magic was a world that would literally kill her. Lucy would never have to live in such a world, and such an existence was her worst nightmare.

Nothing Lucy could say would help her the helpless Fairy Tail guild.

But that didn’t stop Loke.

“Maybe I can’t imagine it,” Loke said, grabbing his counterpart’s wrist, drawing everyone’s attention to him. “I’m not you. But I can’t imagine giving up on people who need me even less. Certainly not while I’m alive. If you’re alive, then there’s hope that we can be there for the people who need us no matter how many adventures we have to have to get there.”

Loke yanked down the sleeve of his counterpart’s suit, exposing the black fairy guild mark. “Or is this a lie?”

The wizards of Fairy Tail collectively held their breath, waiting for their leader to choose.

Hope or despair?

The Lokes stared each other down, waiting for the other to move first. 

“Not while we’re alive, eh?” Edolas Loke said, releasing Loke. He took a moment to look down at his mark, then turned to his guild. “When we accepted this mark, we swore to have each other’s backs against whatever came against us. Whether it be monsters or the kingdom. I don’t know what happens next, but we’re going to face it together. You got that?”

His guild started murmuring to each other, not yet hopeful, but not as defeated as before.

Her Loke smirked and clapped the Fairy Tail guildmaster on the back, “That’s better, I can’t have you making me look bad in front of the ladies.”

There was a huge clanking noise, and they turned to see the Capitol City spin as the apparatus that had been the dragon chain canon clicked into a new position. There was an explosion from the direction of stadium with the dorma anim, and the roars of triumph from three dragon slayers.

A ball of black energy shot upwards, and all the magic streams adjusted to higher into the sky to follow it.

Edolas Loke faced his guildmates, straightening his suit, “Alright folks, it looks like we’ve lived off borrowed time and borrowed magic for too long. Our future is here, and we’re going to go look it in the eye. Come on.”

As they ran for the city, the floating islands slowly sank and the land itself yielded up its magic.

Who knew there was actually this much environmental magic left in Edolas?

“It’s almost beautiful, in a way,” Cana said, watching as the grasses beneath their feet yielded more etherion dust with each step.

“It’s the end of the world, there’s nothing beautiful about that,” Juvia scoffed.

Cana shook her head, and looked up, “Isn’t there? In a sad, tragic sort of way?”

“I see it,” Lucy whispered to her, and Cana smiled back.

“I certainly expected it to be uglier,” Levy said.

They ran past rivers of light as formerly floating rivers of water descended into canyons below. The Capitol City grew darker as more light gathered above it.

The crash of falling islands rumbled like thunder.

The planets in the sky looked familiar, beyond the waves of etherion. It looked like the celestial world night sky, just a bit, if gravity had anchored the planets differently.

“What do we do when we get to the royal city?” Jet asked Edolas Loke.

Edolas Loke grunted, “The royal city isn’t like other cities, they’ve pushed magic into all their buildings and infrastructure. People are going to be panicking and buildings will be collapsing. Team Shadowgear is on search and rescue. Team Strauss? I want you to set up some firepits in the clearings outside the city walls. A place for people to gather that isn’t in danger of collapsing architecture until this is over. All of Fairy Tail is going to end up alive at the end of this, let’s see who we can bring to the other side with us. We’ll charge the Kingdom for our services later.”

People agreed, and others’ laughed at Loke’s insistence of being paid for this.

They arrived at the city gates. The Strauss siblings quickly peeled off to assemble fire pits and gathering places. Cana produced a tea service,  offering cups of warm beverages while the rest of the guild went into the city.

The buildings really were collapsing. There was no light except for the etherion in the sky, and people were running almost for the sake of running itself.

Master Loke, leading the pack, kept a child from being trampled, and different teams of fairies started investigating collapsed buildings for people in danger. Levy was particularly good at judging architecture supports and knowing where to add support to get people free. Lucy and Loke teamed up with her, using their magic and strength where they could. Gray teamed up with some of the other men, his ice magic doing all the supporting without Levy’s calculations.

Others guided the crowds outside the city gate, where people could wait out the magic reversal until it was all over.

Slowly Fairy Tail made their way to the center of the city, the biggest center square where the largest crowd was gathered.

“BOW BEFORE DEMON LORD DRAGNEEL!” Natsu yelled from atop a roof, wearing some super fake horns and blowing a huge plume of fire above him before cackling. People were screaming in terror and clumping together.

Beside him on the roof was a tied-up King of Edolas.

“Go my minions!” Natsu cackled.

“Demon Dragon Lord Corba doesn’t take orders from you!” Erik called up to him. Then he glared at the surrounding citizens, poison gas leaking from his mouth, “Back off unless you want to be poisoned.”

“Of course we do,” Gajeel grunted, smacking Cobra in the back of the head. Gajeel cleared his throat and announced, “Under the orders of the Demon Dragneel, us dragon slayers are going to take all your magic by force! And then we’ll take your lives if we feel like it.”

Gajeel jumped up and destroyed a nearby building with an a dragon iron saw.

“What are you doing!” Loke demanded, stepping forward.

Gray pulled Loke back, “Hey, something is going on here. It feels staged.”

Levy shoved Loke behind her, “He destroyed a building that was a few minutes away from collapsing forward, in a way that kept it contained.” She whispered, “I think we should trust them.”

“Stop being evil with my face!” Edolas Natsu cried anyway. Earthland Gray jumped in to comfort him.

“Does no one have the strength to challenge me?” Natsu demanded, spitting fire over the heads of the crowd. “If no one will fight for you, then kneel before your new overlord!”

Some people actually knelt. 

“THAT’S ENOUGH!” Jellal called, jumping down from a raised floor of the castle, holding a staff with a fan at the end. “Stop this at once! These people have had enough fear this night.”

“It’s Prince Jellal!” Pantherlily called from the place where Jellal just jumped from. “He’s been away for years trying to prevent this, but he’s come back to save us!”

“Prince Jellal?”

“The lost prince!”

“I heard he had come back.”

“Save us!”

The crowd took Pantherlily’s words as gospel truth. And it probably was, in a way.

“So, you’re the prince that’s come to fight for his people?” Natsu grinned at what had to be Mystogan. He shoved his hand forward, smirking, and twitched his fingertips lit with flames, “Bring it.”

“This is for your own good. Wind!” Mystogan cast, but the magic left the staff and trailed into the sky. He grit his teeth in frustration. When Natsu laughed, Mystogan slammed his fist into Natsu’s gut.

Natsu grinned and threw him over his shoulder into the ground. People gasped in dismay.

Mystogan kicked upwards, striking Natsu's chest, and people cheered.

“It looks like they’re talking,” her Loke pointed out.

Lucy smiled at Gray, who nodded and answered quietly, only for their group, “It’s our Mystogan. He’s this world’s Prince Jellal. If he’s going to be staying here, he needs a proper Fairy Tail send off.”

With each punch and grapple, Lucy felt in her bones what her friends were saying.

If a member wishes to leave Fairy Tail, they must swear to abide by three rules.

Natsu headbutted Mystogan breaking the grapple.

First, you must never share sensitive information about Fairy Tail with anyone.

Mystogan's right hook to the face made Natsu eat dirt.

Second, you must never contact past clients you may have worked for while in the guild for your own personal gain.

Natsu blew fire that Mystogan had to roll to dodge. Natsu didn't let him recover and pulled Mystogan into a headlock.

Third. Although our paths must stray, promise to live the rest of your life to the fullest. That means you must treat every day like it was your last day in this world. Never forget your Fairy Tail friends, you must treasure them for as long as you live.

Mystogan broke the headlock with blow jabs to the solar plexus. 

“BEGONE!” Mystogan roared for the rest of them, finally sending Natsu into the ground for good with a knockout uppercut that would be painted for Edolas's history books.

Mystogan stood, panting, and turned back to his people. He held up the staff that was just a fan now. “I HAVE VANQUISHED THE EVIL! Edolas is ours once again!”

The people roared their approval and Fairy Tail joined in.

Except Edolas Natsu, who was whimpering about how this sucked and kids were going to be screaming at the sight of his face forever.

The pull on her body became stronger, and like the rest of the etherion in this world, she and the earthland wizards started to glow.

“It looks like it’s time to say goodbye,” Edolas Loke said. Edolas Loke winked at her, “Don’t break my heart too bad over there.”

“Breaking hearts is all part of the game, worry about your Gray and Juvia first,” Loke said.

“Make good use of what you paid for, kay?” Lucy called back to Edolas Loke.

Her and Loke were going to be just fine. A little teasing wasn’t worth getting flustered and messing up this goodbye.

“Bye Levy! Keep staying on top, Team Shadowgear! I have a feeling you guys will figure something out!” Lucy called to them, unable to keep the smirk out of her voice. The mechanic Levy was going to be the one to figure out how to put her gifts to use, Lucy just knew it. She couldn’t wait to tell Levy what a punk she was here.

“Yeah, being part of a guild isn’t really about magic,” Gray said, folding his arms as they floated away. “It’s about looking out for each other and finding ways to help people. I think you’ll be more than fine if you remember that.”

“Bye other me!” Edolas Gray called out.

They met up with Wendy and Jellal in the sky, Jellal wearing Mystogan’s former head coverings. Natsu, Erik, and Gajeel came up too, and Lucy made sure to wave at the Edolas Gajeel with them.

“Hey young man,” the King of Edolas called out to Natsu, “I’m sorry. Courage, working together, kindness. I forgot myself. Tell me, do you enjoy being part of a guild?”

Natsu grinned at him, “Yeah! It’s the best!”

Only Natsu.

They travelled back through the anima portal, along with the exceeds that were still in Edolas and Erza. It felt different from using her gate. Her form didn’t dissolve, though it felt like it was being squeezed, until they fell on the ground somewhere in the woods outside Magnolia.

Sweet, sweet earthland, with its abundant magic and interrealm treaties.

“Hey! It looks like Magnolia is completely normal!” Lucy called, looking out over the city. They must be on the south side hills.

“That’s great, but could you get off us?” Gray groaned.

Lucy looked down to see literally everyone piled up beneath her, even Happy and Carla.

“Whoops, sorry!”

 

 

 

 

 

Everyone was getting their body straightened out after that rough ride when Erza said, “It may look normal, but I don’t think I’ll be quite satisfied until I see everything is normal for myself.”

“We arrived a couple of hours ago. We flew through town earlier, no one noticed anything had happened at all!” an exceed said above them.

Hundreds of exceeds filled the sky.

Queen Shagot landed with one her one wing in front of them and bowed. “Truly, we are in your debt, wizards of Fairy Tail. For all the suffering we have caused, I, and all my people, apologize.”

“No! She’s not allowed to be here! She’s dangerous and I won’t have her here,” Carla stomped her foot. “Go back to Edolas.”

“Carla,” Wendy tried to hush her. “They’ve lost their home; they can’t go back. Edolas doesn’t have any magic anymore.”

“I wont have her trying to convince this world they’re a bunch of angels with control over life and death,” Carla said, stomping her foot again. “I won’t have them stoning any one who tries to tell them they are just as weak as the rest of us. And I CERTAINLY won’t have her send anyone on missions to kill the dragonslayers! She sent me on a mission to Earthland to kill the Wendy and I won’t forgive that!”

“Hell, what did we miss?” Loke whispered to Lucy, in front of him, who shrugged. What the hell had Natsu and Wendy gotten up to after they separated in the mine passage?

“We’re really sorry about throwing rocks at you two,” an exceed murmured, others joining in.

“Yeah, we promise to be nicer to you,” another said.

As if that made STONING okay.

A white cat yowled, “AGGGH, that’s right! Queen Shagot had us give up all our eggs! She’s so heartless, GAHHHH!”

“Now calm down dear,” a blue female exceed coaxed.

Happy perked up, “Oh, hey there mister! You came along too!”

Okay, so it wasn’t all stoning.

At least for Happy.

“I assure you, she had a most honorable reason,” an ancient cat said beside the queen.

Out came the tale. Visions of the future, visions of destruction, and the decision to save their children by sending them to another world, a world free from the fetters of Edolas’s greed. They didn’t tell the people, they covered up their plan by claiming the children were going to slay the dragonslayers. It was to stop the humans from questioning, and stop the panic that would come from a message of Extalia’s destruction.

They didn’t actually expect the dragonslayers to find and help hatch exceeds.

Even more surprising, they didn’t expect Carla to possess Queen Shagot’s prophetic power.

“Unfortunately, you didn’t have conscious control of it,” Queen Shagot explained, “Of all the exceed eggs we sent away, you were the only one with this gift. I believe you began to see scattered fragments of your future, Edolas’s future, the past that just occurred. Your confusion caused you to mistake that information for a personal mission.”

Carla covered her mouth with her hands, “I was wrong?”

“Wait, does that mean . . .” Happy trailed off.

Queen Shagot smiled sadly, “You two were never given a mission. You were sent here because we wanted to protect you, the next generation, nothing more.”

The rain started pouring down, and the Queen bowed her head, “The show of false bravado I chose to put on caused you to suffer twice over, and your friends moreso. I brought anguish to all the families I took eggs from years ago. That’s why I handed you the sword.”

Sword? What sword?

Oh dang, did the queen do the thing where she subjects herself to someone’s judgement and offered Carla a sword to kill her with in order to atone for her sins? Wow. No wonder Carla had been ticked off when she arrived to help push away the Magnolia Lacrima. That’s a terrible position to be in.

They had to do something nice for Carla and Wendy after all this. Maybe a new tea set?

“So you see, it is my crimes, my deceptions, and my fault alone. Not the fault of exceed kind.”

Her people rushed to forgive her, to alleviate fault. It was a bad situation with a lot of bad options, Loke could admit that, though he wouldn’t do so as fervently as the exceeds.

“We were awful, we admit that now,” an exceed said.

“But now that we’re in Earthland, we’re going to make things right. We’re going to find the exceed children that were sent away.”

“We’re going to make sure everyone gets a fresh start!”

They exceeds sailed into the air, cheering over their new mission.

Well, if they did try to pull the angel schtick again, Loke was pretty confident Fairy Tail could negotiate a more equal relationship. It seemed like the exceeds were really good at bluffing, but so long as some of the exceeds were honest about their abilities and a part of a wizard guild, they weren’t going to be taking over the world any time soon.

“They sure are optimistic, aren’t they?” Natsu laughed.

“Thank you, everyone,” Queen Shagot cried, wiping at her face.

Carla folded her arms, “Well okay, in that case, I suppose I can forgive you and give you another chance to do better this time.”

Queen Shagot gasped and her face grew even softer, “Oh Carla . . .”

“But I don’t understand how I ended up possessing the same prophetic power that you have,” Carla huffed.

The older fairy tail wizards shared a look, wondering which of them was going to have to spill the beans about magical genetics to a six-year-old cat.

The edolas exceeds got out of there rather quickly after that, with some coughing and wanting to find a base of operations in the rain so they could see where it wouldn’t get rained on or some nonsense like that.

The white cat that called out the Queen’s cruelty earlier and his wife had a special goodbye for Happy, and they also managed not to say that they were his parents.

Shit, did Natsu know about genetics? Did Igneel teach him about genetics? Wendy had to know, at least, she was a healer.

Raised by a dragon. Then a pre-teen boy. Then ghosts.

Oh no, sex ed and the associated genetics was way above his pay grade.

Maybe Makarov could post a job flyer for a wizard to teach member magical creatures and those raised by magical creatures how sex and genetics worked. If Natsu was included in that discussion, the price tag might have to be S-Class level money.  

Erik snorted, so at least someone else also got a kick out of the idea, not that Loke would mentioning it to anyone any time soon.

With the exceeds gone, all that was left to do was go back to the guild—

“HEY!” Gajeel yelled up to the far away exceeds, “Get back here with my Cat!”

“There you are Gajeel,” a deep voice said, and they turned to look at a black exceed with round lion ears and shorts.

“Pantherlily?” Wendy and Jellal asked.

The cat nodded, “Indeed, it seems that this smaller form is more suited to the environment of Earthland. Now Gajeel, when we battled, you promised that I could come and join your magic guild. Do you hold to your promise?”

Gajeel hesitated and looked at Erza, who smiled and nodded.

Gajeel smiled, tears coming to his eyes, and flung himself onto Pantherlily, “Welcome to the team buddy!”

It was unexpectedly kind of adorable.

“I don’t expect to be given guild membership solely by recommendation,” Pantherlily said, slipping out of Gajeel’s grip. “I apprehended a suspicious person roaming about.”

“Look at you, you overachiever!” Gajeel cooed.

Pantherlily tugged at a rope around his waist, “I told you, I’m not suspicious!” a woman cried as she was pulled forward.

“No way,” Gray breathed.

Erza half reached out a hand, “It can’t be.”

“Lisanna?” Happy and Natsu asked, somewhere between fear and hope.

The woman was pale and sported a white-haired pixie cut and blue-blue eyes that were all Strauss. She pulled in a deep breath, steadying herself (sporting a bust that was also very Strauss) and tried to smile. “Hi Happy, hi Natsu,” she said with forced cheer. “Gray, I see you’re still stripping and not at all bothered by the cold rain. Erza, it’s nice to say hi to you without you trying to kill me. Loke, Wendy, I see you joined the guild here too.”

“You died.” Natsu whispered.

Lisanna winced, “Not exactly. I’m not totally sure what happened, but when I was struck by Elfman’s beast form, I think I fell through an anima portal. They’ve been experimenting with sucking in earthland magic for years.”

Lisanna looked down at her bound hands, “I found myself in an unfamiliar world, and eventually found signs for Fairy Tail. I walked into the guild and . . .”

“And they thought you were their Lisanna,” Wendy said. “But when we walked in, why didn’t you say anything? Didn’t you recognize Happy and Natsu?”

“I . . . I was scared,” Lisanna admitted, looking up at Natsu and Happy, “I didn’t know for sure if you were my Natsu and Happy, and I didn’t want to leave my siblings again. Their hearts had already been broken once, and I didn’t—But when I started to get sucked into the anima, it turns out they already knew, and they forgave me for leaving again.”

She sniffed and Wendy rushed to say, “It’s okay! It all worked out in the end.”

“Lisanna!” Natsu cried, and together he and Happy tackled her in a giant hug, getting all of them extremely muddy.

Lisanna seemed stuck between laughing and crying, and then shape shifted into a leopard-animal soul takeover, cutting herself free from the rope. She dropped the takeover and hugged Natsu and Happy properly, confirming beyond any doubt that this was the Earthland Lisanna.

“Hey, didn’t you say this whole thing happened on the anniversary of Lisanna’s death?” Lucy asked Loke, who blinked. Oh yeah, the Christmas thing.

Erza smiled and knelt down beside Lisanna. She pulled Natsu and Happy off her and gave her a hug as well before saying, “Now I think your siblings should be told as soon as possible, don’t you?”

Fruitlessly rubbing the tears free of her eyes in this rain, a flushed Lisanna nodded.

They found the graveyard, and Mira’s umbrella at a particular grave.

“Mira-nee! Elf-nii! It’s me!” Lisanna called, running ahead of them, “I’m home! I’m back!”

Mira dropped her umbrella. Both siblings caught their little sister as she crashed into them, sobbing.

“I think I’m going to head back now,” Lucy said, tapping on his shoulder. “I used up a lot of magic, I don’t think I’m quite up for a Fairy Tail welcome back party right now. But call me for Christmas decorating?”

Loke nodded, smiling at her. He could feel her exhaustion across their bond, and a small ping of regret. There was also the fact that her clothes were all ripped up again from the places she had been hit during that last fight. “Of course. See you then.”

She poofed away, and he went back to watching the Strauss reunion with everyone else.

Eventually they started to make their way back to the guildhall.

As they walked the streets, Wendy said “Wow, it really is like nothing happened.”

“I wonder if time was truly dilated in Edolas, or if Magnolia simply has yet to realize time has passed,” Jellal mused.

“Huh? What do you mean?” Natsu asked him.

“Well, Mystogan left Edolas approximately seven years ago to investigate the anima effects,” Jellal explained, “This lines up to when Wendy met up with him as a child, seven years ago. Because it was seven years ago in Edolas and seven years ago in earthland, we can assume that time passes at roughly the same pace for both realms. The Magnolia Lacrima was generated and maintained in Edolas for approximately a week. Magnolia would be completely unaware of time passing during that week, since they were turned into a lacrima. But because everyone is unaware of time passing, no one has realized that time did indeed pass in the outside world.”

“So it’s been a week, but no one in Magnolia knows it?” Erza asked. “It only feels like two days to me, since that’s when we were released from the anima enchantment.”

“I hope no one had taken a job for outside of town that they planned to travel to at some point this last week,” Jellal said.

Erik groaned, “The Magic Council is going to be on our asses again because Magnolia got turned into ash and bubbles for a week, aren’t they?”

Jellal nodded, “Most likely. It will be worse if the anima extended over train tracks. It’s possible the anima, as a tangential effect, cut off Fiore’s main transportation and communications between the north and south. That’s certainly not a problem I would want to deal with.”

“We’ll explain what we can to Master,” Erza sighed. “This one really wasn’t our fault.”

“Seriously,” Gray said, “How are we supposed to be keeping a low profile when a whole other dimension snatches us out of thin air.”

Loke winced, “Unfortunately, that will be hard to prove.”

“Hardly,” Carla said, “How else will the Magic Council explain Fiore’s new exceed population?”

They arrived at the guildhall, where indeed, no one seemed aware that anything had happened aside from their group suddenly vanishing from the guildhall. And all of that was swept away as soon as they saw Lisanna in favor of a celebration.

Lisanna cried big tears as she wailed and hugged Master Makarov.

Gramps said that there would be time for explanations after the celebration, but Erza did have to give him the news about the likelihood that time had passed without them knowing and they were going to have some very angry and concerned official asking for an explanation. They also did have to say something about Lisanna. Which lead to other questions about their counterparts.

Gray sat on a table above Cana, “You should have seen yourself over there! I can’t even, hahaha.”

“Just tell me or move on,” Cana pouted.

“Yeah, and Juvia, did you know that Gray was the one obsessed with you over there?” Happy said loudly, causing Juvia to squeak.

“WHAT!”

“Yeah, maybe it was the hair?” Happy teased.

Loke bonked him on the head, “Knock it off.” Juvia was about to cry waterfalls, so Loke quickly added, “Your hair is extremely cute and has nothing to do with it, you know Gray isn’t shallow enough to care about a hair style. It’s more like everyone can get annoyed with someone who is super clingy and puts the pressure of their entire world on their crush. Even you would get irritated with it under certain circumstances. So just breathe and be your beautiful self!”

Juvia glared at him, “A new love rival trying to damage my chances with Gray? We’ll see who gets his attention, Loke Heartfilia.”

“Yeah, and Bisca and Alzak were allllllllll over each other over there,” Natsu added.

Lisanna laughed, “They had at least a dozen pet names for each other each!”

Gramps laughed, “Natsu, what was I like over there?”

Natsu looked Gramps over carefully. Loke didn’t think they had run into Edolas Makarov, but Natsu was in Edolas longer than him, maybe he did meet Edolas Makarov. Natsu started to grin. “Yeah . . .  you know what? I think you—”

“—Sleep!”

Natsu fell over with a snore, and everyone looked at Jellal, holding one of Mystogan’s staffs towards Natsu, clearly having cast the spell. He blushed and awkwardly tried to shove the staff behind his back.

“What was that for?” Happy asked.

“He was . . . being annoying?” Jellal tried. He grabbed a beer mug with his free hand, “Boring stories are for later, tonight is about Lisanna!” He thrust the beer mug into the air, “To Lisanna!”

Never a group to turn down a toast for a friend, most of the fairies toasted right with him and got back to the party.

“Excuse me ladies,” Loke told the girls he was chatting with, “Give me a few minutes to set my friend set up straight.”

“You’re such a good friend.”

“We’ll get refills!”

Loke picked Natsu off the ground and carried him to a table upstairs that was out of the way. He watched the party from upstairs for a bit and waited for Natsu to wake up. He was also feeling a bit tired, truth be told, Lucy wasn’t the only one that had pushed their magic limits today. Lisanna had asked about Lucy, where she went and apologizing for keeping them in the rain for so long.

“What’s her name and who is she? I don’t recognize her from before or from Edolas’s Fairy Tail,” Lisanna said, with Elfman draped over her shoulder and Mira holding her hand.

“She’s Lucy, or Leo, she goes by both, and she’s my . . .” Spirit? Friend? Heartbreak? Mentor? Goddess? The sheer extent of her power on display today certainly made the last one seem appropriate. How much of her power was she holding back all the time?

In his hesitation, Mira had jumped in with a giggle, “Situationship? Lucy and Loke would make the cutest couple, and Loke’s all on board, but Lucy’s being stubborn about it.”

“You know, you’re much nicer about matchmaking than you were before,” Lisanna teased her sister.

“Happier about it at least, she talks to us about it instead of shoving us at each other or locking us in closets like she used to do,” Gray said.

Mira laughed, “I only did that three times before Master made me stop because everyone kept breaking the closets instead of just admitting their feelings for each other.”

The conversation moved on, thankfully. He didn’t know what role Lucy was going to play in his life going forward, especially since he meant it about stepping back from flirting. Maybe she’d create her own role, not just friend, not girlfriend, not just guildmate or just his spirit. The role she’d play would be being the Lucy in his life.

That still sounded romantic to him.

Tired of his thoughts, he glanced over at Natsu, who had woken up and was looking down at the party quietly himself. Specifically at the woman of the hour herself.

Tease him about Lisanna?

No. Natsu was frowning, and none of Loke’s romance senses were tingling.

“What’s on your mind?” Loke asked.

Natsu jumped and forced a grin at Loke, “Nothing! It’s a fun party, isn’t it?”

“If you don’t want to talk to me, I can call Lucy,” Loke offered. “It just looks like there’s something bothering you that you might want to talk about.”

Natsu sighed and his shoulders slumped, “Lucy’s part of the problem,” he grumbled.

Well dang, was Natsu experiencing a love triangle? Loke’s eyebrows went way up.

“No, it’s not whatever you’re thinking,” Natsu waved him down, “It’s just . . . Lucy makes feelings look so easy. She forgave Bixslow after all that . . . well, sort of. She said what she felt, that she didn’t feel like forgiving him but didn’t want him punished specifically for the thing either. She just . . . she’s so good at telling people when their behavior hurts her and holding people responsible instead whatever the hell the rest of us do.”

Lisanna . . . Loke took a guess, “You’re happy Lisanna is back, but still upset that she saw you in the other Fairy Tail guild and didn’t tell you that she was your Lisanna.”

Natsu hunched lower in his scarf.

Loke leaned back and let out a slow breath, “That is a tough one.”

“She heard me,” Natsu said, barely audible over the sounds of the party. “I said that all of Magnolia was gone and in danger, she knew that her real siblings had been turned into a lacrima and were going to become etherion fuel, and she didn’t do anything. She didn’t try to help us. Didn’t follow us. If it was up to her, she’d still be over there.

“I know it was hard, all the choices she had to make over there were hard. But it’s insulting. Insulting to us, to her other siblings to assume she could just take the whole place of someone they loved. I would have sniffed out a fake Lisanna in a second if her edolas double tried to pull the same nonsense here. I did sniff her out over there, I knew it was our Lisanna, and she lied. To my face. It just . . . sucks.”

Loke nodded, “That does suck. I can’t think of a way of holding her accountable for that either without coming across as a jerk. It’s your turn for no good answers.”

“It’s not like I want her to suffer or repent for it or anything,” Natsu insisted, “I just . . . I don’t know, I didn’t think she was capable of doing that to me and Happy.”

The noise in the guild swelled for a moment, then dropped again.

“You don’t have to pretend to be the exact person you were before she disappeared,” Loke said. “If you were close before, you don’t have to be as close now. You’ve changed, and she’s changed into someone that would lie to you to protect the status quo. You have me and Lucy to be close friends with, you don’t have to let her back in if you don’t want to.”

Natsu frowned at him, “Isn’t that, you know, unfair?”

Loke shrugged, “It’s your life, you get to pick who you want in it. If she wants to pretend nothing happened and do stuff together, use me and Lucy as an excuse, say you’re training or going on a job with us. If she talks about how she wants things to be the same, then just tell her what you told me. She’s an adult, she did lie to you, and she can take responsibility for her actions like anyone else. You don’t have to accept her reasons. You can be happy she’s back, and not ready to let her into your life again. Those aren’t mutually exclusive.”

Natsu was slowly rocking his head, as though physically turning Loke’s words over in his head and eventually smiled at him, “You know what? That does make sense. You’re pretty good at this.”

Loke grinned, “What can I say? Not all boundaries have to be the hard lines Lucy likes to draw with people. When dealing with a lady’s feelings, sometimes the softer social cues are the way to go.”

Natsu snorted, “Until they draw hard boundaries back like Erza and Lucy.”

Loke shrugged, “Yeah, well, I’m guilty of crossing the subtle boundaries they tried to draw, so I earned those hard lines. That’s just the way it goes.”

They enjoyed their slice of quiet in the middle of the party for a minute.

“I kinda like that about them,” Natsu admitted softly. “It’s nice that they’re upfront and let us know where we stand with them. Though Lucy’s much more of a push over than Erza.”

“Hey Salamander! Where are you! It’s time to show you who has the best cat in town! My cat can totally take your cat in a fight!” Gajeel called out. Natsu answered his challenged and jumped down from the second floor.

Loke had just made his way back to the ladies he had been entertaining when a brawl broke out and he had to stop Vitgeer’s over-extended punch from hitting one of the girls. Which obviously meant he had to get involved in the brawl to keep them safe, and he finally had enough combat experience that it was kind of fun.

Especially when he caught Gray unaware and threw him into Natsu.

Loke was rather proud of that one.

Notes:

And that's a wrap on Edolas!

Chapter 84: Christmas Special

Mira walked away from her chat with Bisca. Alzak kept sending his partner little glances from the table where he was pretending to agree with Max and Warren’s conversation about cleaning supplies. Loke was never going to get a better set up than this.

Leaning with his back to the bar next to Bisca, Loke let his glasses slide forward to look her straight in the eye, “Just who I was looking for,” he said with a flirty grin, letting her turn towards him before continuing, “The goddess of gunslingers herself, Miss Bisca Mulan. Can this humble man have a piece of your time?”

Her eyes went wide first, before they crinkled as she laughed, “My, you are a charmer.” She leaned in to tease him, “I guess you did put in the work for those two lasses to be asking after you earlier. Monica and Giselle ring any bells?”

Right, he’d had to reschedule a date with Monica when Gramps asked him to take on the Oracion Seis with the others, and Giselle had just gotten back into town after having to travel herself for some work.

“Thanks for the message, but the only lady whose time I’m concerned with right now is the beauty right in front of me,” Loke said. The trick was to be just over the top enough that Bisca knew he was playing with her, but sincere enough that Alzak was pushed to stake a claim.

“I got a few minutes for a guildmate, but much less time for a fool,” Bisca mused. “You tell me how much time I got.”

Witty, beautiful, and talented, Bisca was quite the catch. Shame she turned into such a tomato when trying to flirt with Alzak.

“Just enough time,” Loke smiled, “I have a favor to ask.”

Bisca raised an eyebrow, “If it’s a date you’re after, you’re shootin’ at the wrong target, Friend. I’m not one to wait in line for a man.”

This time Loke was the one to laugh, turning around and falling a little closer to her. Alzak was straight up glaring now.

“You’re a goddess to be worshiped, not one of the crowd, I don’t doubt that,” he said, then leaned in closer, and when she remained curious and didn’t flinch away, he whispered in her ear, “It’s actually about a Christmas present for one of my celestial spirits. He’s the best archer in any world, and I want to set up a shooting competition—”

“—And what’s going on here?” Alzak interrupted with a forced smile, leaning down to join their huddle. “Anything you’d care to share with the rest of us?”

“Oh! Al!” Bisca said, her voice becoming breathy, “Oh, um, Loke was just telling me about a shooting contest he wants to set up with one of her-his spirits, celestial spirits! Apparently his archer wants to test himself against my sniping. Shooting contest! A shooting contest.”

Alzak was looking between her and Loke, and Loke put on a smug grin. He gave it three seconds to let Alzak stew, lingering on the moment just long enough that Alzak couldn’t deny what he was feeling. Then Loke slapped him on the back, “I was going to ask if you could join next, once Bisca agreed. Sagittarius’s abilities are a lot closer to Bisca’s, but the more marksmen the merrier. What do you say? Tomorrow, 9 a.m.? Meet in front of the guild?”

Alzak blinked, “Huh? Wait, a shooting contest for real?”

“That’s right!” Bisca insisted quickly, “It sounded like fun to me, I haven’t had a good competition in a while. You should join too!”

It was Alzak’s turn to blush, “Oh, um, sure.”

“Great,” Loke said, stepping so he was behind Bisca. He wrapped his arms around both of them and pulling their heads close together, “Just what I was hoping for. It’s with Sagittarius the archer, he’s going to be so excited for this. I really want to make sure my spirits that are having their first Christmas with me really get a good gift, you guys are the best.”

With a careful and practiced slip away, he left the two of them, their faces inches from each other and both very red. They lingered a moment before jumping away in embarrassment. Just his little gift for their help.

 

 

“Open, Gate of the Archer, Sagittarius!” Loke called out the next morning. Bisca and Alzak were smack talking each other, much to the entertainment of the gathered guildmates come to see the show, even if it was pretty cold. A test of skill was more than enough for people to put on their heavy coats and head outside. And Gray didn’t even need that.

“Moshi-moshi!” Sagittarius saluted, “Reporting for duty.”

“Merry Christmas Sagittarius!” Loke said.

 He tilted his head curiously for a moment, adjusting to the new situation. He dropped his salute and relaxed his stance, “Is that what they call the midwinter holiday here and now? Merry Christmas to you as well then.”

“Thank you,” Loke said, “But more than wishing you a good holiday, a very important Christmas tradition is to give gifts to your friends and those important to you. So, for your gift, I got you the chance to really challenge your archery against a couple of crackshots marksmen I know.”

He had come up with this idea when chatting with Lucy about whether Sagittarius would have fun doing this. He’d initially thought of it as just a fun activity to put together eventually, but Lucy’s response made it sound like the perfect Christmas gift for him.

“Absolutely! He’d love it so much. He is one of the most competitive people I know, but no one in the celestial realm can challenge him anymore. Getting to have a real competition? He’d cry from joy.”

There was the glint in his eyes, a hunger Loke hadn’t seen before.

“I see,” he said slowly, “A competition. What a thoughtful gift.” His eyes gleamed, “Where are my opponents then?”

“Bisca? Alzak? Come meet Sagittarius,” Loke called and the crowd parted to let them through.

“Pleasure to meet another distance shooter,” Bisca said, holding out a hand, “Bisca Mulan. Magical Requip Sniper.”

Alaz held out his hand for a shake after Bisca, “Alzak Connell, my skill tends to be more fire power at closer range, but I’m here to do my best.”

“Hmm, firearms,” Sagittarius mused, “This should be a good challenge. Depending on what the competition is of course.”

“Right,” Loke said, “I had Freed help me with this part. Watch closely.” He sent up a yellow firework with his keys, and Freed set up a matching firework, dark purple, in the distance. “See where that went up?”

They all nodded.

“There is a pear tree in the east forest, right on the edge, and a bullet partridge is sitting in it, with an enchantment keeping it within twenty feet of the tree,” Loke explained, holding up a picture of the silvery bird for them to see. “The contest is easy. First one to shoot the partridge wins. A similar flare to the one you just saw will go up when the bird is hit. Get as close or as far as you need, no attacking each other, and all magic is allowed. Any questions?”

Bisca frowned, “Do we need to kill the bullet partriage? They got metal coats that usually take at least two shots. And they make a poor meal.”

Loke shook his head, “It was picked for that reason, I didn’t want to clean up a dead bird. Winner is the first one to hit it, and Wendy will heal it before we release it back into the wild.”

“Worthy prey, but I will refrain from a killing blow if that is the rule,” Sagittarius said.

“That confident, are you?” Bisca asked, folding her arms and raising an eyebrow. “Don’t go underestimating me yet. I’m guessing you got the years of practice, but I have Lindsey here.” With that, she re-quipped to pull out her sniper rifle.

“I have a few tricks of my own,” Alzak said, re-quipping two large pistols. “Don’t count me out yet either.”

“I look forward to a good competition,” Sagittarius said.

“Last call to place your bets!” Cana shouted.

“Alright,” Loke said, holding up a pink flag leftover from Fantasia, “Cross the town as much or as little as you like, no touching the townspeople, no shooting each other, no property damage. The competition starts when the flag waves.”

“Ready. . .”

Weapons slung across their backs, eyes on the city roofs, Bisca and Sagittarius took a runner’s position, while Alzak looked braced for a fight with weapons in hand.

“Set . . .”

Eyes and muscles tensed.

“GO!” Loke waved the flag and Bisca took off running normally, Sagittarius took off running on hands and feet, his horse head apparently seeing what his head couldn’t.

The other two were ten feet from the start when Alzak pointed one of his guns towards the ground and shot into the air with a “YEEHAW!”

The rest of the guild cheered their delight at the explosive start. Bisca took a moment to laugh as Alzak flipped through the air past her, giving her a peace sign before he had to let off another blast to stay airborne.

“Not going to have any ammo left!” Bisca called to him.

“And you’re going to fall behind!” Alzak called back.

“Thank you for distracting each other, you make a darling couple!” Sagittarius called out, a significant lead on Bisca.

“Oh no you don’t!”

They were soon out of sight and Mirajane released bird lacrima cameras to keep an eye on the contestants, letting the rest of them watch from the connected lacrima inside inside the guild hall.

Alzak wasn’t in the best control of his propulsion shots and kept overcorrecting, making it impossible to tell where he was in relation to the tree.

Bisca’s destination was clear, the bell tower of Kardia Cathedral, she headed down parade street so fast the lacrima was blurring.

Sagittarius swept past Kardia Cathedral and immediately took to the roofs once the cathedral was out of the way. 

Alzak landed, the pear tree was in sight. The bullet partridge nestled on a low branch. Sagittarius took aim towards the pear tree, barely visible through the lacrima. Bisca was still climbing the belltower.

Sagittarius took the first shot, and it streaked into Alzak’s path, just as Alzak took his shot.

Alzak’s bullets took out Sagittarius’s arrow with a blast.

Cheers rang through the guildhall.

Bisca set up her shot, the bird in the cross hairs, but the blast of Alzak’s guns sent the partridge fluttering to escape, making her miss. It swooped and wove through the tree and around the barrier of Freed’s enchantment without ever crashing into it.

Alzak’s new strategy seemed to be using one pistol rapidly to try and corral the bird in one area while running closer, keeping it frantic and out of reach of the others and simultaneously using the other pistol to actually take the shot on the bullet partridge.

Sagittarius was trick shooting right back, and his spiraling, curving arrows kept the partridge just too unpredictable for Alzak’s shots.

Sagittarius jumped up to balance on the chimney of his chosen roof, an extra foot of height. Now Sagittarius’s camera could see Alzak. He paused in his rapid shooting to watch his competition.

Bisca let off her second shot, missing the bird by a hair as it tried to fly deeper into the forest, away from town, her superior height kept the pear tree itself from blocking her target.

Alzak ran another angle, and started aiming for above and below the bird keeping it in place as his dual shooting closed in.

Sagittarius shot high, his arrow speeding down on the bird from above.

Bisca used Alzak’s trap to take her own third shot.

The bird darted towards the tree for cover, giving up on escaping into the forest.

The tree rattled.

A purple flare rose into the sky.

The group of fairies met up at the pear tree to hear the results. Wendy was holding the angrily twittering bird, healing in her hands, and let it go just as everyone arrived. With a final screech, it headed towards the forest, unimpeded.

“What’s the verdict?” Loke asked Freed.

“This is the projectile that struck the bullet partridge at last,” Freed said, holding out an arrow.

The shaft of the arrow was pierced with a sniper’s bullet, digging into a splinter near the head, almost parallel to the arrow itself.

“I see, the target’s final dodge towards the tree would have saved it, but contact with Miss Bisca’s bullet likely shifted the arrows course, unexpectedly ending the competition,” Sagittarius said, examining the arrow in depth.

“Give it here,” Bisca asked, holding out her hand. As she examined it, she sighed and shook her head. “It hit the back right?” she check with Wendy.

Wendy nodded. “Directly in the center.”

“Both of us would have hit it, at this angle and the speeds it was goin’, I wouldn’t have knocked your arrow off course more than a degree or two right at the very end,” Bisca said. “But yours would have hit first.”

Several cheers and groans went up from the crowd as people realized the outcome of their bets.

Sagittarius fist pumped, “Success!” He turned and bowed to Alzak and Bisca, “A success all the sweeter for how difficult it was to achieve. Mister Alzak and Miss Bisca, you gave me a competition that I will not soon forget. I have not been so challenged in decades.”

Bisca smiled and nodded at him, “Thank Loke, he’s the one that set all this up. It’s been a while since I’ve been out shot myself. We’ll have to do this again sometime, and next time you won’t be faster than me.”

Alzak shook hands with Sagittarius again, “I didn’t think arrows could keep up with a gun, but you sure proved me wrong. I’ll have a better strategy next time.”

“Your versatility was quite impressive,” Sagittarius commended. “I look forward to it.”

He saluted Bisca, “Stay sharp, Miss Bisca. Merry Christmas.”

“Merry Christmas,” they said back with a smile.

Sagitarius followed Loke back to his house, giving him a breakdown of how and why he had decided to react to each change in the situation.

“It truly was an excellent challenge,” he finished. “This was truly an excellent gift.”

“That makes me happy,” Loke said, “All I needed. Though, if you could help me figure out what to get the others, they aren’t as easy. I have an idea for Aquarius and Scorpio though . . .”

--

It was a debate which one to call out, or figure out if this was even possible for him by attempting to call both out at once. But if they could do it in the middle of his fight with Angel, surely they could make it work now.

Aquarius first. She was his oldest spirit, and he’d rather explain what was going on to her and see her true reaction instead of the cutesy thing she did with Scorpio. With a poof of pink smoke, his celestial mermaid appeared.

She took in the pretty, babbling stream she had been summoned from first. Then the two heat lamps and small transparent tent arranged over a table.  A prepared dinner sat steaming on the table, a short vase of red amaryllis decorating it.

She narrowed her eyes at him. “Why did you call me just before one of your meaningless dates?”

Loke grinned, “Because it is not one of my meaningless dates, but a very meaningful Christmas date for you and Scorpio. Lucy told me that celestial spirits like coming to Earthland for the food and the beauty, so I figured my Christmas gift to you and Scorpio would be a romantic date to enjoy both.”

Aquairus was silent for a moment, then set down her urn to run her fingers through the stream, “This is downstream of the Heartfilia estate.”

Loke nodded, “I couldn’t get back onto Heartfilia lands, Dad got penalized so bad for hiring a guild to kidnap me that he lost the business and the house. This was the best I could do. I know you miss her too.”

“There is something going on inside that head of yours besides how to make a fool of yourself,” she said with a small smile. “Keep it up, and you might become half the wizard your mother was.”

“A compliment? Did I actually hear a compliment?” Loke gasped dramatically, and she flicked some water at him with her tail. Then he winced, “The only problem is that I’m not sure I’m strong enough to summon two gold keys yet. You guys made it work when I was fighting Angel, could —”

Aquairus rolled her eyes, “My boyfriend is more than strong enough to bring himself here for a date. Tell me what dinner is.”

“Right, we have salmon with a lemon butter dressing, a wintermelon salad, and roasted potatoes,” Loke said, pointing to the dishes. He lifted the lid off the last dishes, “And for dessert, two turtle dove chocolates.”

“Hmm, this is certainly better than the hideous vase you gave me last year,” Aquarius said.

“It was the exact color of your tail! It took me hours to find that,” he protested.

“It’s hideous and you know it,” Aquarius smiled. “Now, give me your keys.”

He passed them to her and a second later Scorpio had an arm around her and she was cuddling into him.

“Did I hear right? A Christmas gift in the form of a date with my Daring Darling?” Scorpio asked.

“That’s right,” Loke said, giving Scorpio a fist bump. “My gift to you, so make sure to enjoy yourselves. It should snow in about an hour or so, so look for that, it’s absolutely magical.”

“Let me tell you all about dinner,” Aquarius said, shoving Loke’s keys back at him. He barely caught them, but that was alright, she was excited to show off the meal, that was what mattered. Time to leave them to it.

Just before he turned the corner to be out of sight, he heard Aquarius laugh. And not a malicious cackle, but a full-bodied joyful laugh. He’d never heard that before. A glance showed her nodding as Scorpio shared a story. Their eyes caught and Aquarius glared before looking meaningfully towards the stream then back at him.

Not wanting an ice bath before he walked all the way back to where he left the magicart, he hurried away. He also whispered a thank you at Virgo for helping him get set up. Loke found the location and purchased the food and borrowed the setup, but carrying the chairs, heat lamps, and tent was a little beyond him going at it alone.

He’d still need to think some more to make sure Virgo received the right gift.

~

Canis Major’s gift appeared by chance in the farmers market a week before Christmas itself. (With losing a week to another dimension, Christmas had literally come much earlier than anyone in Magnolia expected this year.)

There was a little game stall at the farmer’s market, a man had a host of chickens, and you could pay to enter an obstacle course of burrows and towers to attempt to catch one. If you caught it, you could keep it for Christmas Dinner. The chickens were both unusual large, and unusually nimble. Advertised as ‘French Hens’, whatever that meant.

Unlike with Sagittarius, there wasn’t going to be avoiding animal death with Canis’s Christmas present. He arranged with the stall owner to just outright purchase three of the hens and time on the obstacle course after the market had closed down for the day.

“A hunting challenge for you, Merry Christmas,” Loke told Canis as he summoned him. “Finally you can have some chicken.”

“Brilliant!” Canis cheered. She gave him a lick on the cheek then got to hunting.

Better than being licked after the carnage, no avoiding bird deaths this time.

~

“Thanks for doing this Levy,” Loke said.

Levy smiled, “Of course. I’ve been hoping for another chance to talk with Crux, but I haven’t been able to think of a good reason to. This is perfect! And you got permission from Master Makarov?”

Loke nodded, “It wasn’t that hard when I explained that you’d help make a copy and Crux would be allowed to keep the copy.”

“Right, the library should be empty,” Levy said, spinning through the center of the room. “Let’s get started!”

“Open the gate of the Southern Cross, Grandpa Crux!” Loke summoned with a smile and a slash of his key.

“What can I do for you today, Master Loke?” Crux asked, appearing with a bow.

Loke grinned, “You could graciously accept the present of a copy of any one book from Fairy Tail’s archives to add to your library in the Celestial World. Merry Christmas!”

Crux’s eyes gleamed as he took in the magical tomes surrounding him.

“I’m here to help you make a good choice and answer any questions that you might have,” Levy added. “I also have a prepared copy spell that will make sure the book is a perfect copy, including any enchantments on it.”

“A most kind and thoughtful gift indeed,” Crux said, stroking his beard. He drifted over to a bookshelf, “I must say, I’m not familiar with the enchantments on these particular volumes.”

“Those ones?” Levy thought, tapping her chin. “They are in the beastiaries section—Wait!”

Too late, the first book Crux opened released its spell four blackbirds that immediately started screeching and flapping through the library.

“Oh my!” Crux yelled.

“The highest shelf on the beastiaries section is used for books that actually captured beasts!” Levy yelled over the noise of the birds. “Calling Birds, they are going to get louder and louder, until they’re loud enough to shake the guildhall apart, if we don’t get them back in the book soon!”

Loke got out his ball and chain, and after several minutes caught one bird and swung it back into the book. (Open from the back cover to capture a beast, the front cover to release it.)

Just when it was too loud for them to hear each other, Levy scripted a bowl and water, which splashed down in the center of the room. The birds dove for it and quieted as they drank.

“What now?” Loke mouthed to Levy.

She gestured for Crux to take the book and hover above the birds. Then for Crux to open the book in capture position. Loke and Levy crept up beside them, arms out wide. Finally Loke got too close and the birds darted away from the water.

Straight up into the book.

“Yes!” Levy cheered.

Crux laughed, “I haven’t been on a chase like that in ages, great fun. Though quite tiring. I believe I will ask you about enchanted tomes before opening them going forward.”

After that they spent an hour looking over various volumes, before Crux decided on a book that contained instructions for using the bonds of friendship confirmed through a voluntary marking as an ingredient to craft powerful spells.

“It seems very similar to celestial magic, I’d love to keep a copy of this for a closer look later in the celestial world,” Crux said.

“Excellent choice! That book is only found in Fairy Tail’s library, I believe. It contains some of our guild’s sacred magics,” Levy said, brushing through the pages. “Most of this spell crafting is way beyond me.”

“It appears to involve some intuition as well,” Crux pointed out, “Just like celestial magic. I can’t wait to study it further.”

~

“Okay Gemini, I’m sorry, but I haven’t been able to think of any experience or gift that you would like for Christmas,” Loke told the twins. “The other spirits I asked seem to think the only thing you’d like to do is cause trouble, and I have zero ideas for that. Do you have any ideas for pranks that I could help with?”

“We don’t need help with a prank,” Gemi said.

“But there’s something else we think would be fun,” Mini added.

 There was a poof of their magic, and Lucy stood before him. “Take us on a shopping date?”

Loke raised an eyebrow, “Like that? Doesn’t your transformation give out after five minutes?”

“Not when I’m Leo,” Gemini said, “Transforming into other celestial spirits doesn’t have a time limit besides how long you can keep that particular spirit out. Oh, let me get changed into some of her clothes here!”

Gemini immediately started stripping, clearly unconcerned with the modesty of their target’s body. Loke turned around, knowing Lucy would be yelling at them if she was here instead of at the guild helping with the finishing touches on Christmas decorations. Apparently everyone did their own thing on Christmas Eve, then joined at the guild had a big party Christmas day.

Huh, maybe Gemini could transform into the rest of his spirits for him and tell him what they’d like for Christmas. He asked them while they were changing.

“Sure! That’s easy enough. Other celestial spirits don’t count for our memory banks of two people either.”

“Which transformations do you currently have saved?”

“You and King Faust. We were going to get rid of King Faust next time we transform.”

“If I call you out at the Christmas party, could you save Levy into your memory banks? I don’t think we’re too far off in power levels, and her knowledge and magic would be a really cool backup to have.”

“No problem, and I’m all done!”

A pretty red sweater dress, leggings, boots, and a white cloak that seemed far too impractical to come from Lucy’s wardrobe, Gemini was indeed, ready for their shopping date.

“Shall we?”

Lucy’s bright smile shone from Gemini’s face as they stepped up and wrapped their arm in his, “Of course!”

It was only as shopkeepers referred to them as a couple that Loke finally realized he was the target of the twin’s trouble-making.

Actually, even the shopkeepers he could brush off, Lucy rarely went shopping here. It was when Mirajane waved to him, then covered her mouth when Gemini held up two gold bracelets for comparison and begging him to buy them, that he realized exactly what trouble the twins were stirring up.

“You’re Leo, you know exactly what image you’re giving off and why exactly she wouldn’t want people to think of us as a couple,” Loke told them after paying for the two bracelets.

“Yep, we know better than you do, even,” Gemini slipped the bracelets and turned to him with a smirk, “Want to know exactly why Leo isn’t your girlfriend right now?”

Tempting. Very tempting. Aquarius had actually ordered Loke to ask Crux what was going on with Lucy to keep her from doing something Aquarius didn’t approve of. Which had something to do with a law and Aquarius thinking he and Lucy weren’t compatible for something.

Gemini currently knew exactly what that thing, or those things, were, but the way they were smiling like the cat that caught the canary said that the only thing Loke could actually expect from the information was more trouble.

“No thanks,” Loke decided. “Leo will tell me when she wants me to know.”

“Unless she’s scared to,” Gemini said, then pulled him down the street, “OH! That store looks so pretty!”

“What do you mean scared?” Loke tried to ask.

“What about this one? Oh, this one’s perfect!” Gemini fluttered over another jewelry stand.

“Gemini, focus, what do you mean Lucy’s scared?”

“Huh?” Gemini said, focusing back on him. Then smirked, “I thought you didn’t want to know.”

He didn’t.

But he did.

They were dirty cheaters.

“Fine, you’re right, I don’t want to know,” Loke said, and Gemini actually looked disappointed, “But does either Gemini or Leo think Leo is going to tell me herself eventually why we aren’t a couple?”

Gemini thought about it for a minute, then grinned and said, “I think . . . I’ll tell you if you buy these rings.” They pointed to three distinct rings inside the jewelry store display case. 

Just one of those rings cost much more than he had planned on spending on this shopping date. Each of them costing more individually than he had payed for the pair of golden bracelets already. One was a plain wide gold band, the second had a small diamond circled by two thin oval sapphires, and the third was a woven band of gold with a diamond setting that looked like a flower.

“My, you have excellent taste!” the Jeweler said, “Especially this last one.” He pulled out the woven band, “This is a special diamond that also operates as a light conduit lacrima, a powerful one, perfect for wizards. You can only find this gem in a very special mine.”

“Thank you, but it sounds a bit above my budget,” Loke said, pulling a pouting Gemini away.

“Oh, not at all,” the Jewler said quickly. “For all three? We’re having a special deal on three items bought together. 25% off the original price of each! Quite a steal, and, of course, quite the investment.”

Loke raised an eyebrow, “Wait, this isn’t a magic shop, are you even allowed to sell magic items? You need a special permit for that.”

“AND 50% off this one,” the Jewler said loudly. “I obtained these at a bargain price, but their quality is well verified. Here, see?”

The Jewler handed Loke the jeweler professional certifications for the gold and gems in each ring, and he reviewed the paperwork automatically. They were very high quality and the seals authentic, as far as he could tell.

The Jewler probably didn’t mean to put the warning notice from the jeweler’s guild in the pile he handed to Loke. Apparently some of the stock he bought off an estate sale was suspected of being part lacrima instead of pure gems, and an official was going to be stopping by the shop for a surprise inspection the following week.

No wonder he was so eager to get rid of it. The paperwork for the part lacrima ring was actually properly documented as magical, but it looked like it passed through some unauthorized sellers. Which wouldn’t mean anything for the actual owner since the law was only enforced against licensed sellers. If Loke wanted to sell the rings later for a greater amount of cash, the lacrima to a licensed magic shop instead of a jeweler, it was totally doable. It wasn’t a bad investment.

They negotiated some more, and even though Loke had to go on a ten-month payment plan to pay for all three, it was a hell of a bargain overall and the three rings were worth much more than what he paid for them.

The rings were handed to Gemini, who shoved them all onto Lucy’s fingers, and they headed back to his apartment. “Why those rings?” Loke finally asked.

“Hmm?” Gemini asked, looking up at him. They grinned and pointed at each one, “The bracelets are for us. This ring is the one Leo liked the best out of everything we saw for an engagement ring, the one she liked best for your wedding ring, and the one she liked best for her wedding ring!”

“Gemini!” Loke yelped. What the hell?

He was trying to get OVER Lucy.

Gemini laughed and ran the rest of the way to his apartment, with Loke giving chase.

They took off the rings and slipped them into the boxes the jeweler gave them and were stuffing them under the bed and giggling when Loke caught up to them.

“Oh your question,” they said, standing up and pretending like nothing had just happened. “Leo and I both think that Leo is eventually going to cave and tell you everything. It really is just a matter of time, and keeping you alive long enough for her to actually make the decision to do it. She's such an overthinker when it comes to relationship stuff.”

A ten month payment plan, somewhat damning wedding rings, and an uncomfortable rumor, just to know Lucy was dragging her feet about even talking properly about their relationship. Loke flopped onto the bed and groaned.

Wait.

If Lucy was as committed to never dating him as she said, then there would never be a reason to tell him what scares her about a relationship with him.

“There’s a chance Lucy will date me sometime in the future?” Loke asked Gemini.

Gemini laughed, “I say yes, but Leo still thinks no. She thinks she’ll tell you everything because you won’t be able to keep your promise to fall out of love with her and fall in love with someone else unless she tells you everything.”

Insulting? Maybe. But it looked like Gemini was just messing with him about Lucy, Lucy was still decided against him. Lucy was sticking to the same line she always had about not dating her celestial wizard.

“You are so fun to mess with,” Gemini said, sitting down on the bed beside him, “So, my Christmas present to you. You want me to transform into your other spirits and tell you what they would like?”

Now that would make this worth it. Loke sat up and they got started planning out the remaining Christmas gifts.

 

~

 

“Thanks Emilie,” Loke said, “You’re really helping me out with this.”

“Don’t thank me quite yet,” Emilie said, “My father is very particular about his bird sanctuary, magic warming enchantments and everything. We have six laying geese right now, but they are quite protective of their eggs. I’ll be rooting for you!”

Virgo was getting her favorite cake for Christmas, which required six goose eggs. Which were entirely out of season and out of market and unavailable anywhere except the Durre family private aviary.

Luckily, Loke had connections. 

Once Emilie let him into the geese enclosure and locked the door behind him, the prospect of actually obtaining the goose eggs was suddenly a lot more intimidating.

“Nice geese,” Loke said, approaching the open laying house. Two geese were sitting on their nests, Loke could spot eggs in the remaining four nests. Maybe this would be simple—

HONK

HONK

Loke jumped and reached for his weapon. Two geese were charging at him, and he started running. The commotion caused the other four to join the pursuit. He was sprinting and barely staying ahead of the line of honking menaces.

He rushed past the nests and slipped two eggs into his pants pocket before needing to keep running. The next circle he got another one in, and two more circuits gave all six.

The geese were getting closer and louder. Why does it feel like no matter how much he trained, he never had enough stamina!

HONKHONKHONKHONK

“OPEN THE GATE!” Loke screamed.

Emilie fiddled with the latch as he charged headfirst for it. It was his only shot, they were nipping at his heels.

The gate opened and with a final burst of speed, Loke crashed through. Emilie slammed the gate shut behind him and closing the two of them off from the cacophony of angry waterfowl.

Loke collapsed to his knees, then all fours, breathing heavily but very careful with his precious cargo.  

“Did you get what you needed?” Emily asked hesitantly.

Loke gave a thumbs up, still desperately trying to regain his breath.

Emilie doubled over with laughter. “That was hilarious! Oh, who could have guessed that the suavest heir around, Loke Heartfilia himself, would ever run himself ragged collecting geese eggs! Oh, why wasn’t I recording that!”

 “I’m glad . . . you can . . . laugh at this . . . thought I was . . . going to die,” Loke panted, but smiled as Emilie laughed harder.

“Loke, is everything alright?” Aries asked, coming around the corner.

A few more seconds, and Loke felt like his heart rate had slowed enough for full sentences.

“Perfectly fine,” Loke promised her, not quite ready to stand but sitting more casually. “Sorry, did we disturb the swans?”

Aries’ eyes lit up and she clutched a sketch pad closer to her cheast, “Oh the seven of them were just beautiful! Thank you for letting me linger longer near the swan lake, they were so peaceful and serene. Thank you for this whole trip! How did you know that I adored birds?”

Loke winked at her, “A little bird told me.”

Aries blushed, “Sorry you felt like you had to call in a favor for me, you really didn’t have to get us gifts for Christmas. There are a lot of us spirits, you certainly don’t have to do this every year.”

“But what if I want to?” Loke teased, making her blush more.

“Sorry! I got you a present too! Thank you! Sorry! Merry Christmas!” Aries shoved a parcel at him and then vanished back to the celestial world.

“Oh?” Emilie asked.

He shrugged and unwrapped the brown paper package. Inside was a pink knitted sweater made of the softest material in any universe.

“A sweater made from her own wool,” Loke said, offering it to Emilie, who gave all the proper exclamations of appreciation once she felt how soft it was. “Honestly, I probably can’t use this for anything but sleep.”

“You’d certainly have peaceful dreams wrapped up in that,” Emilie sighed, “I’d pay a fair amount myself for a sleepshirt of this material, or perhaps a blanket. Keep that in mind if you’re ever strapped for cash.”

Loke rolled his eyes, “I’m not as rich as I was a year ago, but I’m not desperate. I work enough to support myself and I invest smart enough to generate savings.”

“Sure you do,” Emilie teased. “You’ve completely changed your spending habits and don’t spend over half your money on dates.”

“I’m a working man now, I’ve reformed myself. And we all know that the quality of the company is what makes a date worthwhile,” Loke flirted.

Emilie rolled her eyes, as she always had at his antics. “All right, I will try not to make any more insinuations about your income. What’s next on your Christmas list for your spirits?”

~

Virgo’s cake went off fairly well, with the help of Emilie’s cooks, who were very interested in trying the unusual recipe. Four layers, different fruit in each layer, and purple and white icing flavored to ube and coconut. It certainly wasn’t a fiorian recipe, but absolutely delicious all the same.

Virgo didn’t ask to be punished once while enjoying the cake with the staff and Loke.

~

“And here is where our dairy maids do the actual milking,” Emilie said during their tour of the Durre dairy farm.

Taurus’s eyes were wide as saucers as the beautiful women laughed in their work.

“No touching, no comments,” Loke warned under his breath, before smiling at Emilie, “Can we talk to some of them, or are they busy?”

“I suppose there is no reason not to talk to them,” Emilie said, eyeing Taurus warily. “Minny?”

“Best Christmas present ever,” Taurus said as a maid with a particularly magnificent bust turned towards her name.

 

~

 

“That singer earlier, unusual dress style, but her voice was otherworldly! I must ask the Durres where they found her. She sounded heavenly with the winds and percussion.”

“How did you get your hair like that? It looks amazing!”

“The Durres hired a personal stylist for those of us traveling from out of town and staying at the estate. Cancer is the cutting edge of men’s couture for hair styling. I was one of his ten exclusive clients.”

Lucy walked the perimeter of the ballroom, dressed in the plain black suit and black tie the Durre family had all their personal security wear, checking for any errant magical signature spiking either from the guests or from a wizard with ill intent closing in or around the estate’s main house.

Luckily her task was instinctive and simple, because the comments at the ball were distracting, in a heart-warming, gooey sort of way.

Lucy passed Horologium watching over the dancers.

“It is Twelve O’clock, the midnight hour. The Lord and Lady Durre take this wonderful opportunity to wish all their guests still awake and enjoying the party a very, merry Christmas,” Horologium announced to the beat of midnight chimes, loud enough to be heard over the band playing.

Lucy finished her circuit as Horologium finished striking twelve times at midnight, the way he couldn’t in the celestial realm with how fast time occurred. He was truly in his element, and the nine ladies dancing with their partners seemed to smile extra widely at the charm and magic of the moment.

Loke was waiting for her beside the biggest balcony, open to the cold for some temperature control for the dance. It was the biggest gap in security if an outside presence wanted to slip in, so either her or Loke remained stationed here at all times.

Loke’s suit was more businessy than the romantic tux he had worn at the Akane Beach Resort, but he still looked particularly handsome. In a fit of rebellion the Durres had rolled their eyes at good-naturedly, Loke had switched the standard black tie for a red one. His short hair and the three rings he kept on his fingers also marked him as rebellious in this crowd.

“Merry Christmas,” she said, coming to a stop beside him. “Truly, you have no idea how happy you’ve made everyone back in the celestial spirit world. Even Aquarius was claiming that she had been given the best gift, along with everyone else of course.”

“You’re my friends and coworkers, of course I’m giving everyone gifts for Christmas,” Loke said.

Lucy’s heart swelled at how casually he said it. Like it was obvious and natural.

“Well, still, I told everyone that the Fiore tradition doesn’t require reciprocal gifts the same year, but be prepared to be absolutely spoiled next Christmas. Aries was the only one that didn’t believe me. I recommend going along with my story, and switching off years with us. One year we spoil you, the next year you spoil us.”

“But is it really spoiling if I don’t do it every year?” Loke teased.

Lucy raised her eyebrow back, “I don’t think you make enough jewel to spoil your spirits every year. I saw the bracelets you got Gemini, those were not cheap.” While most of the other gifts she had heard about could have been arranged on favors, their shiny gold bracelets had to be worth a pretty penny that Loke definitely couldn’t afford.

That being said, their mischievous grins as they showed the bracelets off suggested Loke had been tricked into spending a little more than he planned on the twins.

“Gemini’s shopping trip and Aquarius’s date were the only things that actually cost money, the rest were favors. And I basically broke even with this job.”

“Uh-huh,” Lucy said skeptically. The Durres paid well, but not that well.

Loke hadn’t mentioned her gift as something he bought. Was she even getting a gift, or did he decide against it because he had told her he was going to back away from romance and his feelings for her? Was her gift was not getting a gift?

Which would be a crappy gift, but was also all her own fault.

Lucy gave another glance around the ballroom, then walked out onto the cold balcony, doing another casual check of the grounds for suspicious magic signatures as she did so.

If Loke didn’t get her a gift, does that mean she shouldn’t give him her gift? Would that make him feel awkward, because he hadn’t gotten her anything? Should she wait until tomorrow to see if he’d give her a gift first?

But Lucy’s gift was really useful and she really, really wanted Loke to have it.

Maybe she could just leave it under the little tree in the apartment, then he could see it and chose what to do without her watching?

Ugh, but her gift needed a little explaining and she hadn’t included a note inside the wrapping.

 No, it wasn’t a big deal to give him a gift. She should just do it. He just gave everyone a gift, it was just something you did for your friends. She was going to give lots of gifts to other guildmates tomorrow at the guild Christmas party. Everyone was getting meditation charms, but also some books for Levy and Freed, some accessories for Erza and Wendy, a camera lacrima for Natso to add pictures to his wall of mementos, and a painting of the sky in the celestial world for Gray (his apartment really needed it).

Loke gave a gift to all of his spirits, this was not a big a deal.

Lucy pulled the gift from her pocket, letting it materialize in her hands as she turned to face him again.

“I thought it was my year to spoil you,” Loke joked nervously, pulling free his own gift for her.

“I’m spec–,” Lucy cut herself off. “I made this for you before I knew we were switching off years. Here. Open mine first.”

She pressed her gift into his hands and he passed her his gift in exchange.

Loke carefully undid the Christmas bells wrapping paper, pulling off one piece of tape at a time, and opened the box to reveal a dragon leather belt with some subtle stars she had tooled into it herself.

(The last Draco had shed his skin every decade or so and Lucy had some left over leather she had made from it from forever ago in her closet and hopefully Natsu never asked about the material.)

“It’s enchanted,” Lucy said, trying to read his face. “The key pouch on the belt, I mean. If you drop your keys and no one takes possession of them for five minutes, they’ll appear back in the pouch. It works on unawareness principles, so it won’t work if someone purposefully takes your keys away from you, but it should still be handy in a battle or somewhere unfriendly, like Mount Hakube or the ocean where it could be really hard to get your keys back, though of course I could find them for you and I would, and it has a good holster for your weapon—”

“It’s great,” Loke interrupted her rambling. “Useful, practical, stylish. Thank you. What’s this?”

He pulled out the white paper charm that looked like a blocky person holding a box with a star inside.

“Oh, that’s a mediation charm,” Lucy explained. “I’m giving one to most of our guildmates. Mediate with it nearby, even in your magic pocket, and it will accelerate magic restoration. A little something I picked up over the years.”

“Neat,” Loke said. “Thank you. Now open mine.”

Because it was their job, she did another scan for magical energy signatures. (She was so nervous she almost wished someone would attack the party.) Finding nothing, she turned back to the box Loke had given her. She untied the red ribbon around the box and lifted the lid.

Inside were eight wide hair ribbons, two of each color in red, blue, white, and brown, and each of them had the star sign for Leo embroidered onto the ends.  

“It was really hard thinking of something to get you, something that wouldn’t come across—well, I noticed that some of the other golden key spirits have accessories with their star symbol, and you haven’t worn ribbons in your hair like you used to before you rejoined the stars. So . . .”

Lucy brushed the silky fabric with her finger.

“I didn’t wear ribbons in my hair before my exile,” Lucy said quietly, “Levy was the one who had me try them and said they looked good. They made me look softer and kinder, like what I was trying to be. There weren’t ribbons in the celestial closet like this, I guess I kind of forgot that I liked them.”

It felt stylistically like a combination of Lucy of Fairy Tail and Leo the lion. A star’s accessory, chosen when she was an earthland wizard.

Lucy smiled at Loke. “I love it. I love them. Here, hold this,” Lucy had him hold the box and, after a second, picked the red one for Christmas. She tied it up around Leo’s tail and smiled. “How do I look?”

Loke opened his mouth, hesitated, likely setting aside a flirty compliment, and settled on, “I think it suits you.”

She took the box and put it in her pocket, and he started to put away the charm and belt to be used later.

There was something else Lucy had to tell him about the belt. She wasn’t embarrassed after his thoughtful gift.

She could totally tell him casually.

“It’s like Natsu’s scarf,” Lucy said, absolutely nailing the casual tone. Loke tilted his head. “I mean, not like Natsu’s scarf because it’s not made of Igneel’s scales, but it was made in the celestial world with celestial magic like his scarf was. Be careful about grabbing onto a celestial spirit when we’re returning to our world, you can officially survive the trip and hitch a ride if you’re wearing that. Don’t grab onto us if we’re vanishing, especially not with the intent of coming with us, not unless we ask you to.”

 “Natsu’s scarf is celestial spirit clothing? That’s how he was able to travel with you and Virgo through the celestial world?” Loke asked, running his hand over the belt again, as though trying to sense the difference in material.

“Yep,” Lucy said. “There are only very specific circumstances where we can bring humans to the celestial world, but Natsu caught me and Virgo off guard before we realized what his scarf was, so we just call it even.”

Loke raised an eyebrow at her, “I thought you told Natsu to never speak about that experience again because doing that was personal.”

“It’s different with permission, duh,” Lucy said, rolling her eyes. “If I intend to bring you through the celestial world, I’ll use the service gate. Look, just make sure you don’t get grabby with a celestial spirit on their way out and you’ll be fine. The thing with Natsu just made me need to give you that warning.”

“Understood,” Loke said. “Thank you, really.”

“No, thank you,” Lucy said. “From all us celestial spirits, and me personally. Thank you.”

~

~

~

~
~
~

Notes:

CHECKPOINT! This is a long fic and this is a great place to stop for a break. The rest will still be here after you go eat a meal, go to the bathroom, straighten out your back, grab some water, talk a walk, or go to bed for the night. (Talking to you three a.m. folks) see you back here after you go be human for a bit!

Happy Fourth of July to my USA readers. And . . . uh, . . . Merry Christmas?

Look, everything happens in a REALLY short time period, so last Christmas when I was starting to post the edolas arc, I had already written Lucy wondering if he had excluded her from putting up Christmas decorations as Loke's wake up call to think about what Lucy was feeling after the way he acted instead of just his own broken heart. Some special commenters wondered if i'd do a Christmas omake like I had done a Halloween omake, but I didn't really have any ideas for it and was just going to skip over it.

Then a week before Christmas I was like "Wait. 12 days of christmas theme for giving Loke's spirits gifts." But then I wrote it, and it contained spoilers for the Edolas arc. And important information for the Tenrou arc. So i couldn't post it out of order and I couldn't post it as an omake because it affected the canon in the story.

So . . . Merry Christmas in July? Lol.

Let me know what you think! Bisca and Alzak flirty competition, a hunt for Canis, Aquarius and Scorpiro got a date, help from Emily Durre for some of the more special birds, Taurus got to oggle some milk maids, And everyone else got to be part of a special party! Oh, and Gemini tricked Loke into buying five golden rings. Emphasis on trick. Who's gift was your favorite?

Chapter 85: Best Partners

Lisanna left to help Mira with something, but Lucy kept writing down ideas on how to present Lisanna’s story in her fairy tail history book. Lisanna’s chapter would be about losing her siblings, about what it was like to live in a world abandoned by magic, and in a world where no one truly knew you, with people you knew and didn’t know at the same time.

It was solo season, so Lucy had been using the opportunity to do some writing. Loke wasn’t fast enough to get a job among the S-class hopefuls, and the clients that typically requested her specifically usually spent January quietly at home to recover after the holidays and preparing for upcoming taxes.

Since she was alive enough to do it, Lucy was writing sort of a sequel to her first book. Except it was her time at Fairy Tail, and the stories of all her friends. She had notes and a few chapters written for all her own adventures, but she wanted to also write the stories from the perspectives of other people. Erza, Mirajane, and Lisanna had been her first targets.

“I don’t get it, why is it so hard to get a job? What’s solo season about anyway?” Loke groaned, sitting down beside her. For the first time in a while he was alone.

“Huh, I guess this would be your first time,” Lucy said, making a few last notes about word choices and tone.

Mira had heard, coming back to refill Lucy’s water, and smiled, “Oh, we’re going to announce it—”

“Mira! I want this job!” Alzak declared.

“Sign me up for this one!” Gray said, slapping down a different request

“No me first!”

Mira was mobbed by several people at once and gracefully led them down the bar to where she kept the record book.

A glance towards the door to the back offices showed Makarov grinning. He probably used a levitation spell from the door to send the latest batch of job requests towards the board, and the alert members had jumped to snatch the jobs from the air before they even reached the empty board.

“Seriously, half the guild is messing around doing nothing while the other half is running themselves ragged. What’s up?” Loke asked again.

“No guesses?” Lucy asked, putting away her notes for now.

Loke shook his head, “No one is even visiting the guild, probably too afraid of being trampled. I asked Natsu if we could go on the job he took this morning, but he just said something about ‘solo season’ over his shoulder as he rushed out the door.”

“Come on, try,” Lucy encouraged, “What would get these particular wizards hyped up and eager to complete every job they could get their hands on, while simultaneously making the other members relax?”

“Did you guess it the first time you were here during this time?” Loke countered.

Lucy laughed, “Of course I did. It’s all about who isn’t rushing around. I’ll give you another hint, everyone rushing and anxious has a dream, everyone who isn’t either doesn’t share that dream or has already achieved it.”

Gildarts and Erza were in the guild, chatting, and Mira waved away Alzak, Bisca, Gray, Levy, and Max with their next jobs.

“Has already achieved it?” Loke muttered. “It could be anything in this guild. Media attention? No, Natsu’s rushing. But Natsu’s only dream is to find Igneel.”

Okay, maybe she was being a little hard on him, Lucy gave in, “Every year at the end of January, Fairy Tail holds their S Class Promotion Trial. Master Makarov picks the people he thinks are ready to be tested to see if they are capable of handling an S Class request, and usually, but not always I hear, someone passes the trial and gets promoted. Mystogan was last year, Mira the year before that, Erza before her, Laxus before Erza. Laxus had to take the trial three times, I heard. And no one passed the S class trial between Gildarts and Laxus, I think.”

“Oh, wow, that would explain it,” Loke said, looking over the people relaxing in the guild, and the people not present. “So everyone is trying to improve their numbers last minute?”

“There are a lot of factors involved,” Mira said, rejoining them. “Number of successful jobs completed is just one of many, but everyone is on their best behavior during this time, and we get a huge boost of income from this month, so Master doesn’t mind encouraging it to get some stability for the guild while the more experienced wizards are training and taking the trials.”

“I see,” Loke said. “What does everyone else do for income?”

Mira shrugged, “Most people save up rent for this month ahead of schedule, it’s part of the ebb and flow of jobs you get used to. The guild provides free meals for our members, so they end up spending a lot of time here to save up on money otherwise.”

“Hey Lucy, when do you think I’ll be ready for S class?” Loke asked.

“Hmm,” Lucy thought looking him over, “Are you asking for an honest performance review or are you asking for encouragement from your supportive friend?”

“Let’s hear the honest performance review,” Loke decided. “I can take it.”

“You’ve grown a lot,” Lucy said, thinking of the cocky bastard that had first dragged her into a dark guild. Much more muscle tone on him, as well as the start of a fighter’s grace that hadn’t been there when they first met. “Leaps and bounds, both in combat and in your magic in general, though you could spend more time in meditation to keep growing your magic stores more. You’ve developed some strategies for using combinations of your silver keys and your gold keys together, which is good. And you’ve put in about half the work you need to become truly skilled in working beside a single gold key. An S Class celestial wizard would definitely need two or three gold keys able to work in concert, either in combat or in addressing a more complex problem. For that you’d need a lot more experience in working with groups of us, and know how we work together.”

“But you’re basically S-Class, and I work with you, so doesn’t that also make me basically S-Class?” Loke pointed out.

Lucy laughed, “You aren’t getting through an S-Class trial on my skills alone. Maybe I could do it alone, in an also totally unfair demi-god sort of way, but this is the kind of trial where it would be dishonest for me to supplement your power to win an accolade that would be attributed to your own strength.”

Loke sighed, “Right, clause 23(b). You’re not at S-Class level when you’re solely using my magic, are you?”

“Not yet,” Lucy said. “But you’ll get there. Once you get three spirits on the field and can use us effectively? Four? Yeah, at four spirits, I think you could take on Erza or Mirajane in single combat.”

“Which four?” Loke asked.

“I’d like to know as well,” Mira said.

“I don’t know, it feels like cheating to tell you outright,” Lucy said, looking between them, “No, I don’t think I can share my thoughts. It will stunt your growth as a celestial wizard if you keep relying on my plans for how to work with your spirits. I’m happy to work out plans with you if we have the time, or if you want to consult me during practice, but way you took to the Fleuve d'étoiles shows you have great combat instincts and good battlefield awareness. Lean into that. Help us trust you, work with us to figure out some basic plans you can rearrange and recombine to best fit the situation, and confidently direct us.

“Plus it would be good practice for becoming an S-Class wizard if you took the time and thought out how you would defeat Erza and Mira individually on your own. I’m not going to rob you of that training exercise.”

“But your plans are always so good!” Loke whined, and Mira laughed.

Lucy shook her head sadly, “And with that growth-stunting talk, it’s going to be a while before you make it to the S-Class. You definitely need an S-Class work ethic first.” She started to turn back to her notes.

“One more thing Lucy,” Mira said, “Then you can get back to your writing. I’ve noticed Cana is a little more stable this time around, and I’m betting it’s thanks to you. Thank you.”

“What’s up with Cana?” Loke asked looking around for her. “Is she out on a job with the others?”

Cana’s steady magic aura was coming from one of the mediation rooms, Mira probably sensed that and was just happy Cana wasn’t passed out drunk in an alleyway.

Lucy had been the one to find Cana passed out outside her house after the S-Class exam last year, but she couldnt have been the only that's ever happened to.

This time it would be different for Cana, Lucy would make sure of it.

 

~

 

The excitement was palpable as the whole guild gathered to see who the contenders would be. Loke had thought the guild was at peak excitement with Fantasia, but everyone was waiting to see who would be picked. So many people wanted to be chosen, and everyone had someone they wanted to be chosen.

Michelia turned to him and asked, “Are you sure it’s okay for me to be here? It kinda feels like I’m intruding.”

“It’s fine,” Lucy said from behind them, making them both turn, though Loke didn’t drop his arm from around his current girlfriend, “A lot of people not in the guild are here. Everyone has their favorites in town on who should or shouldn’t get chosen for the trial. Just cheer with everyone for the people that are selected.”

“I thought you were getting more of Mira’s story for the history you’re writing,” Loke said.

“Mira had to head up to the stage,” Lucy said, nodding towards the closed curtain. “I was just heading to chat at the bar with Lisanna and heard the question.” She smiled sincerely at Michelia, “I’m serious. You’re more than welcome to stay. This is a more-the-merrier kind of thing.”

Lucy continued on her way to the bar.

Loke looked back at the girl he had been dating exclusively since she caught his eye at the New Year’s party and added, “That being said, you’re also free to leave if you’re not up for all of this right now. It’s entirely up to you.”

“But I want to support you if you’re picked,” she said, snuggling in closer.

“You’re adorable,” he said, nuzzling the top of her head, “But I haven’t even been here a year, and I don’t exactly have a great track record so far. I’m not going to be picked, so don’t worry about that.”

“I actually do feel the start of a migraine,” she admitted after a minute. “I think I’m going to head home. Tell me about how everything goes over dinner?”

“Sounds perfect,” he said. She gave him a lingering goodbye kiss and headed for the door.

Michelia was a fun combination of rebellious and responsible. Like, she works a job and knows how to look after herself, two years older than him, but she was dating Loke in part because her family would absolutely hate him.

Their relationship was fun and distracting. They hadn’t said they were exclusive, but Loke wasn’t going on dates with other people. And it turns out that women could be really interesting when you picked one and actually got to know her between kissing and flirting.

The downside was that when Michelia left, it was hard not to let his eyes wander to other girls. Habits were hard to break.

And he’d been watching one particular girl for months now.

Lucy was laughing at something Lisanna said while miming pigtails.

But nope, the whole guild was doing something. Though surprisingly, no one was running bets on who the candidates would be. Maybe this event was finally too serious for Fairy Tail to run bets on. Who would be offered the opportunity to prove their growth in magic was where Fairy Tail drew the line between game and life.

Wait, nope, Wakaba and Macao were taking bets. Maybe it was just that Cana, who normally organized the bets, wasn’t doing it this time.

The curtain drew open. Standing next to Erza, Mirajane, Jellal, and Gildarts on the stage, Master Makarov beat his staff on the ground three times.

Everyone was silent after the first thump and the last two echoed around the guildhall.

With a loud voice, Gramps proclaimed, “Thank you all for gathering, it is time for the annual announcement of the candidates for this year’s S-Class Promotion Trial!"

Cheers roared through the guildhall, several people calling out the names of their favorites. Gramps had to wait until he could be heard before continuing.

"You have all worked very hard, and we have all been tested this past year with unique trials, both individually and together as a guild. I am proud of how so many of our members have grown personally and in their magic. We have overcome weighty burdens personally and as a guild." 

Another round of hollering, and Loke really felt this one. It had been an insane year, that was for sure.

“But some of you have truly come into your power and are worthy of making the attempt of achieving an S-Class rank. We honor those members today! The candidates are:"

Now this pause didn't have any cheers interrupting Gramps. This pause was about drama.

“First, Cana Alberona.”

Cana took a deep breath, steadying herself. Her gaze was steely. People clapped and cheered.

“This is the fifth year she’s been called.”

“Shouldn’t there be a limit on how many times you can try before someone else gets a turn?”

Gramps struck his staff again and everyone quieted.

“Second, Natsu Dragneel.” There were more cheers and clapping as Natsu grinned. He was excited, but probably expecting it. Definitely one of the crowd favorites.

“I’m all fired up,” Natsu proclaimed, eyes gleaming.

“Third, Gray Fullbuster.”

Gray smirked from across the table, “About time.” There was a relaxing to his shoulders that suggested he was a little more nervous about being picked than he wanted to let on. Though Loke had no idea why, especially once Natsu was called.

“Fourth, Freed Justine.” Less clapping this time, people were still a little weary of Freed, but Loke clapped himself to help make up the difference.

“I accept this opportunity to prove myself and fill the shoes Laxus left beind,” Freed said, “I will take it upon myself to become the Thunder Legion’s S-Class wizard in Laxus’s absence.”

“Right there with you Buddy,” Bixslow said, throwing an arm around him while Evergreen cheered the loudest.

“Fifth, Juvia Lockser.”

“Me?” Juvia asked, her mouth falling open.

The announcement came with the standard cheers, but extra murmurs. People were looking at each other, more confused than hurt, with excitement relighting in some eyes that had faded when Freed was called.

“Gramps has never called more than four candidates at most before,” an older member explained in a whisper.

Juvia was basically part of Phantom Lord’s S-Class, she definitely had the skill to play at the level of the other candidates. Plus her dedication to Fairy Tail had been insane since before she joined the guild, there was no question of her heart. It made sense, if you wanted a challenging competitor.

“Sixth, Levy McGarden.” Levy looked almost as surprised as Juvia, but quickly put on a game face and nodded. Not a combat specialist as far as Loke knew, but her brains could think around a lot of problems, which might make up the difference. As Erza and Lucy proved on Galuna Island, a wide and deep knowledge of magic was essential to completing an S-Class quest, so it had to be part of the trial.

“Seventh, Elfman Strauss.”

“This is what a real man looks like,” Elfman said, flexing his bicep. Brawny and versatile, he fit in with the rest, though Loke would bet on Gray and Natsu against him.

“And our eighth candidate is Mest Gryder! Let’s hear it for the candidates!”

Loke looked around, listening as people mentioned Mest had almost made it at last year’s trial and his magic was super impressive.

The attention was directed to a dark haired man giving Lucy a high five, and he actually did look kind of familiar. He had a wide, reckless grin that certainly fit in with the rest of the guild. No one was talking about what kind of magic he used though, and Loke had never seen it himself, so it was hard to judge how he’d measure up to the rest of the candidates.

“Why didn’t he pick me?” Alzak cried to Bisca, who was quick to reassure him that he’d be more than ready for the trials next year.

Alzak wasn’t the only one with disappointed hopes in the crowd. Makarov gave them a few minutes before calling for attention again, “Allow me to set out the rules for this year’s S-Class promotion exam. As with every year, this year’s exam will take place on our guild’s sacred ground, Tenrou Island.  Each candidate will select a partner and have a week to train and prepare before meeting me at the port of Hargeon, where we will travel to Tenrou Island together.”

“Take your training seriously,” Erza warned, “You’re going to have to go through me if you want to achieve the title of S-Class.”

“Me as well!” Mira cheered from beside Erza and Gramps on the stage.

The disappointed faces started to look a little less disappointed and a little more relieved.

“Good luck and good training to all our candidates!” Gramps finished and stepped away from center stage to consult with the current S-Class.

“Fight an S-Class to become an S-Class,” Loke mused to Gray, “I suppose that makes sense. What did he mean about picking a partner though?”

“It’s part of the exam every year,” Gray explained, “It’s part of the test to see if you’ll pick someone you trust to work with you and who can complement your magic well.”

“And to see if you can keep them safe,” Elfman said, joining their table with Lisanna. “You can’t be an S-Class if you can’t be trusted to look out for the people around you.”

“That’s why I’m taking my little buddy with me,” Natsu said, joining them, “Isn’t that right Happy!”

“Aye Sir!”

Elfman frowned, “If the trial is a race, being able to fly will be a huge advantage.”

“Yeah, but it’s a disadvantage if it comes down to fighting,” Gray said, smirking at Happy, who shivered. “Sounds like a good pair to me.”

With a fuller table, Juvia got the courage she needed to sit down as well.

“What if . . . we would rather be someone’s partner than a candidate?” Juvia asked, shrinking in on herself.

“No one has ever turned down the opportunity to try once they’ve been chosen as far as I know from the guild histories,” Lucy said, also joining them. “Honestly, Candidates are in the best position to support each other. S-class requests and responsibilities are no joke, challenging the other candidates as a candidate yourself is the best way to make sure the victor is ready for what comes next.”

“That’s right,” Gray said with a smirk, “So come at me with all you got, we can have a rematch from when we got hot and heavy in our last fight.”

Juvia slunk down on herself more, blushing.

“Hey,” Erik said, dropping a heavy hand on Juvia’s shoulder, making her jump and look at him. “Close your mouth and think in a clear sentence right now what it is you want to do at the S-Class trial.”

Juvia’s jaw snapped shut and her face became super intense to match her thoughts. Which were obvious from a mile away, but it was still cute.

“Yeah, that. I’ll help you do that if you take me as your partner,” Erik said, releasing her shoulder.

Juvia’s brow creased, “Excuse me, but what interest do you have in this event? Why do you want to be my partner?”

Erik shrugged, “I need to go either way. I can either go as a partner to a candidate, or I can go and stay within five feet of the old man the entire time. If we partner up, I help you get what you want, and you’ll help everyone see I can be trusted to act like a reasonable fairy and not need a babysitter the entire time. You’re also one of the less annoying people here.”

“Hmmm,” Juvia considered Erik critically, “I . . . I don’t think you are a love rival.” Juvia cast a sad look at Gray, then turned back to him, “If I must compete, then I accept your terms. You also make for satisfactory company, even if I would prefer someone else.”

“Glad we understand each other,” Erik said.

“Erik and Juvia, now that’s going to be a tough team to beat,” Gray said.

Gray had to know that Team Juvia was going to do everything they could to make sure he was the winner, right?

Gray had to be being intentionally obtuse.

Right?

Gray turned to him and Lucy, “What do you two say? Want to be my partner and help me take them down?”

“Wait, isn’t having both Lucy and Loke as your partner breaking some kind of rule?” Elfman asked, “They’re both wizards of the guild.”

Lucy looked at him and Loke answered for them, “Actually Lucy is taking some time off to take care of her own business for the next three weeks or so. There’s a promise from before our contract that she needs to fulfill, so our contract is suspended until her business is done.”

Lucy raised an eyebrow at him, “You haven’t figured it out yet?”

“Trying to steal my partner Gray?” Cana asked walking over. She draped herself over Lucy, “I called dibs on her first.”

Lucy turned and smiled beautifully at him, still wrapped in Cana’s arms, “I can’t thank you enough for helping me keep this promise.”

“Of course,” Loke said, trying not to melt at her smile. It would be so much easier to get over her if she wasn’t the most beautiful, kind, joyful—Competition and distance would help.

Yep.

Competition and distance.

Loke turned back to Gray, “So no Lucy, but I’m happy to be your partner if you still want me.”

Gray looked him over slowly and held out a hand. “Yeah, yeah, I think I do. Partners?”

Loke clasped forearms with him, smiling, “Partners.”

“I think there’s someone that’s looking to be your partner, Elf-nii-chan,” Lisanna said nudging her brother to look over at the bar.

Evergreen was staring so intently at Elfman, it was kind of a miracle he wasn’t stone yet.

“Don’t you want to help your big brother out Lisanna?” Elfman asked her desperately.

Lisanna shook her head, “I wasn’t able to train or use my magic for three years in Edolas, I’m rusty. I’m still struggling to maintain control of my souls and deal with the physical strains of transformation. Plus, I think Evergreen is ticked that Freed picked Bixslow over her, and I’m not getting in her way. Just give it a try! I bet you’ll work great together.”

“Her stare is petrifying,” Elfman gulped.

“Hey Shrimp!” Gajeel called, and everyone looked over to see him pick up Levy with one hand, “Partner up with me for the trial, I’ll make you bigger than you’ve ever been.”

Levy had been struggling as he picked her up, but at his offer, she considered, then nodded.

“ . . . he meant metaphorically, right?” Lucy asked, “Like a bigger deal than she’s been before? She’s not going to put on muscle mass in just a week of training.”

“Oh, you’re so innocent and adorable,” Cana said, giving Lucy an extra squeeze before pulling her away from the table, “Now that we know who our competition is, let’s get to training!”

Lucy walked away with Cana, but over her shoulder, Loke could have sworn she was mouthing the words ‘S-Class work ethic’ at him.

“No time to lose!” Natsu yelled, “Let’s get out of here too Happy!”

The table split up after that, it was training time.

Loke and Gray decided to stay in Magnolia for their training, which meant he could still come over for dinner at Michelia's place like he promised.

"Ugh, I should have been there to support you," Michelia complained. "I hate migraines."

"Well, you'll just have to make it up to me by cooking dinner the nights I don't take you out this week," Loke teased.

Michelia raised an eyebrow, "The room felt really intense, you sure you're not going to be training 18 hours a day with Gray?"

"I'm sure, we already talked about it. We'll stop training around six in the evening and get dinner separately."

"I'm going to miss you when you leave," Michelia said. "But it only takes a week or so, right?"

"That's what Gray said."

"Hmm, good practice for when it's you're turn next year."

Loke laughed, "I knew it! You can't wait to tell your grandparents that not only are you dating a Fairy Tail ruffian, but an S-Class one."

"Maaaaybe," Michelia said, trying to stop a smile, "But I also want you to succeed and have fun. And that doesn't mean I won't miss you." 

"Just have to make you sick of me this week then," Loke decided. "See you at 6:30 every night this week?"

Michelia laughed. 

Loke would miss Michelia too.

Notes:

And we're onto the S-Class trials! This arc is so much fun guys, I can't wait for you to see it!

Chapter 86: More Important Than Training!

“I mean it, stop this foolishness at once!” Carla said, stomping her foot. “You don’t owe this man anything. I know you spoke with Mystogan in Edolas, and he didn’t mention anything about Mest, did he? I’m sure he actually said something about living your own life and moving on from him. So why are you so determined to help Mest with the trial for Mystogan’s sake! Our current Mystogan doesn’t even know who this man is!”

Wendy ignored her and told Mest, “I’m not sure my dragon speed enchantment will help you, your teleports are already way faster. But maybe we could practice you using my dragon strength enchantment?”

“Sure, that sounds like a great idea,” Mest said. “I’d love to know what that feels like.”

“All right, here goes!”

Since Wendy was being a little brat and ignoring her absolutely reasonable request, Carla was going to go straight to management.

 

~

 

“—don’t feel like I’ve earned it,” Jellal explained to Erza.

“You have the power and knowledge of a wizard saint, it wouldn’t be fair to put you in the running for merely an S-Class rank,” Erza assured him while they were waiting for the train to Hargeon. “Master Makarov needs an S-Class to keep an eye on you to keep the Magic Council happy, and there are still several of our newer members who think you are Mystogan. To have you in any other position would raise suspicions with them and the Magic Council. It’s for the best.”

Carla hovered in front of them, but neither noticed her while staring into the other’s eyes.

“It’s just such an honor and a privilege to hold the same rank as you in Fairy Tail, I don’t deserve it,” Jellal said. “Especially since it was only this morning you watched me violate my roommate’s trust and undo the enchantments placed on Cubellios. Now I’m leaving a pre-teen all alone while I leave for at least two weeks.”

Carla cleared her throat.

“Cubellios has twenty years worth of memories,” Erza pointed out, “She’ll be fine, mentally she’s much older than her body looks. And you couldn’t have known that the transformation into a magical flying snake would cause her aging to slow. I was with you, and she specifically asked you to remove the enchantments when you offered, thanked you for restoring her and requested we don’t tell Erik to give her time to adjust to her new body while he’s gone for the trial.”

“But—”

“Excuse me!” Carla demanded, sick of this. Both wizards jumped, pulling their hands away from where they had been touching on the bench. “Really you two," Carla huffed, "For wizards claiming the rank of S-Class, you really are terrible at knowing when someone is right in front of you wanting your attention!”

“Carla,” Erza said, recovering quickly, “What can we do for you? Our train arrives in ten minutes, so hopefully it is something that can be accomplished before then.”

“Mest is an absolute stranger of a man who thinks it is appropriate to chase whatever hair-brained idea crosses his mind, such as floating in a river in winter and in the middle of a conversation,” Carla declared. “He claims to have partnered with the real Mystogan for Mystogan’s S-Class trial, and everyone s discussing how far he got in the previous trial. But no one is talking about what an absolute freak is doing picking a young girl to bring with him to S-Class level challenges!”

Erza frowned, “We all have our oddities, Carla. It’s unusual for you to hold Mest’s against him, as far out from social norms as they are. I watched him attempt to pick Lucy as a partner, but Lucy had already promised to partner with Cana. Choosing Wendy is nothing malicious, considering the options he had. Wendy’s healing and support magic is an incredible asset to any fight, increasing Mest’s already strong combat abilities.”

“If Wendy feels she is honor bound to be Mest’s partner, then I think you should respect that,” Jellal said. “It is also possible that Wendy heard all of her friends were leaving to the S-Class trial, and she doesn’t want to be left behind. Even temporarily, after losing three homes Wendy is likely concerned about losing everyone again. It would be better to support her in this.”

“Useless!” Carla said, pressing her hands over her ears, “Laki. Lisanna. Droy. Jet. All four of them have much more combat experience and, importantly, aren’t very vulnerable children! Why am I the only one that sees this as a problem!”

“Because Wendy may be young, but she is not as weak as you portray her,” Jellal said simply. “Wendy and Mest are staying near town, as are Natsu and Happy, and Loke and Gray. She is not alone, and she is not defenseless. She has the heart and power of a dragon, trust her instead of scolding her.”

“AHHH! USELESS!”

~

“Can you believe how casual everyone is being about Wendy's situation?” Carla said, “It feels like I’m the only one who cares about her well being. Wendy partnering with Mest is a terrible idea!”

“It’s so hard when no one cares about your best friend like you do,” Happy agreed.

Carla relaxed for the first time since this nonsense started. “Does that mean you’ll help me talk Natsu into convincing Wendy not to partner with Mest?”

“Of course!” Happy said. “Dragonslayers are tough, but Wendy’s still young and if you think she’s in danger from Mest, you definitely have a good reason.”

“Well, yes,” Carla said, blushing, unable to stop her tail from twitching at her slight exaggeration, “He’s weird!”

“Like . . . weirder than Natsu and Lucy?” Happy tried.

“Unsettling, he’s unsettling,” Carla clarified.

Happy wrinkled his nose, “Like . . . more than Gajeel and Erik?”

“I would want her partnered with them either!” 

Happy nodded, “I see. And we have to keep our friends safe, don’t we? NATSU! HERE IT COMES! TIME’S UP!”

Carla had been wondering why Happy seated on the edge of a cliff with several boulders held back by rope when she found him, but she was so eager for someone to agree with her, she hadn’t asked.

“Wait! NO, NOT YET!” Natsu screamed from below them. He was struggling while tied up to a pole. "I'M NOT READY!"

Happy smirked and pulled the rope, releasing the boulders to tumble down the cliff directly towards Natsu, “WORK FASTER!”

“This is your idea of keeping Natsu safe!” Carla yelled.

“Duh,” Happy said, folding his arms, “By practicing it now, he’ll be much safer during the S-Class trials if something like this happens there. How are Wendy and Mest training?”

“You know what? Nevermind.”

 

~

 

Natsu and Happy clearly had skewed ideas of danger, but Gray and Loke were more rational and both had taken to Wendy like older brothers. Surely they would see the danger and be willing to step in!

“Ice-make Lance!” Gray cast at Levy.

“Script: bullet barrage!” Levy cast, her word magic speeding through all of Gray’s lances.

Loke’s ball and chain wrapped around her arms, and he swung her along the icemake floor under their feet.

But Levy hadn’t dropped her pen. A tornado of wind surrounded her, pushing the chain loose and letting her slip free, though she was still sliding uncontrollably along the ice.

“Ice-make: Cage!” Gray cast where she was sliding into, sealing her up.

As Levy crashed into the bars of the cage, Gray snatched her pen from her.

Glaring, Levy drew with her hands and cast: “Fireball!”

Used to ducking fireballs, the flaming words missed Gray by a hair. He grabbed Levy’s hair and smacked her head into bars of the cage twice, letting her collapse back, knocked out.

There was a poof and Gemini appeared where Levy had been, eyes dizzy and unfocused.

“Good to know that’s how Levy, and probably Wendy if she thought of it, could escape a binding attack,” Loke said, heading over to Gray.

Gray shook his head, “I’m not used to beating up on Levy, I hesitated. I can’t underestimate her.” He looked over the battlefield, “Getting Gajeel into a cage would be more useful, he’d have to saw out and that would take a while. Long enough that I could set up a trap for him when he busted out while you keep Levy busy.”

Loke shook his head, “I doubt I could unbalance him with that move, even on an ice floor. He can sprout spikes from his heels and hang from ceilings like a bat. He can probably stick into an ice floor the same way.”

“Let’s do the next round against Taurus, see if we can figure out something that might work on Gajeel and Elfman.”

“Thanks Gemini, you did great,” Loke said as the Twins floating into the air, holding up his hands and giving them little high fives.

“You really do have to get close and physical to knock her out,” one of them said.

The other floated higher, “She’s got lots of plans for getting out of all sorts of traps.”

“She’s starting to have a crush on Gajeel though.”

“It’s very distracting for her.”

Gray groaned, “Did not need to know that.”

“Hey, every advantage counts,” Loke grinned as the spirits vanished. “Carla, what can we do for you today?”

Carla once again explained exactly what was wrong with Wendy letting Mest coerce her into becoming his partner. Gray seemed skeptical, but Loke was nodding.

“I get it,” Loke said, crossing his hands behind his head. “I haven’t seen him around much. Wendy is a good choice as a partner, but you’re crossing some boundaries society has for a reason when you’re a twenty-something male stranger spending all your time alone with a pre-teen girl.”

“Exactly!” Carla said, almost weeping with relief. “He’s already shown a disregard for social niceties. This is a bad idea, but Wendy won’t talk to me anymore.”

“Mest is a good guy, a good wizard,” Gray said, then frowned, “Though I guess I don’t know much about him personally either.”

“We’ll treat Wendy to dinner tonight, I can reschedule my plans, or maybe invite Michelia along to talk about boundaries,” Loke decided. “We’ll check in on her and the situation. If Mest is crossing any boundaries he shouldn’t be, we’ll find out and give our honest opinion that she should drop him, then beat him up for good measure.”

“But if everything seems above board, and Mest is treating and training Wendy with as much respect as we would . . . if she’s comfortable with it, we won’t do anything.” Gray decided.

“Of course she’ll say that she’s fine, she’s made it into a debt and pride thing,” Carla scoffed.

Gray shook his head, “Wendy has her own honor and pride as a wizard, but she gets uncomfortable pretty easily and is a crappy liar. This could be a good growing experience for her, so long as she feels safe. We'll use our own judgement if something feels off, but we won’t take the chance to grow away from her.”

 

~

 

After dinner with Gray and Loke, Wendy was happier, but she still wasn’t talking to Carla and she STILL got up to train with Mest again the next day.

Fine. If older brothers couldn’t see the danger, older sisters surely would. Women don’t leave other women alone with strange men, right?

Cana and Lucy were training in the forest between Magnolia and Hargeon, but Lucy’s field of flickering light magic was easy to spot from the sky.

“You’re getting better at not being distracted by the starfield,” Lucy said, letting the spell fade.

“Keep throwing it into our other practice, I need to be able to function perfectly no matter when you spring it or what I'm doing.” Cana said, then held up her book. “Anything useful in yours?”

“It looks like it’s just the one chapter that talks about the island, nothing that we don't already have,” Lucy said, running her finger down a page. “You?”

“Hold on,” Cana said as Carla flew down, now that the attacks weren’t threatening the airspace. The girls both put down books on top of stacks of other volumes. “You better not be spying for anyone.”

“Of course not!” Carla said hotly, “I’m here about Wendy.”

Carla explained once again how dangerously irrational Wendy was acting.  

“I don’t know,” Lucy said, fist to her chin. “I trust Mest. I met him back when I was taking down dark guilds before I even joined Fairy Tail. I never got creeper vibes from him and I’ve gotten good at detecting those over the years.”

Cana folded her arms, “You have got to stop babying her. She’s a tough kid. If Loke and Gray asked their questions and didn’t find a reason to beat him up or threaten him, then she’s going to be okay. Treating her like she can’t be trusted to make her own choices doesn’t help anyone.”

“How is it possible you are less helpful than the boys,” Carla pulled at her ears. “He’s suspicious!”

Now it was Lucy’s turn to fold her arms, “We don’t condemn people for being suspicious Carla. I know you’re worried for Wendy, but you don’t have evidence that anything untoward is happening during their training. Stay with them, watch them during training week. Then we’ll keep an eye on Wendy during the trial. That’s what we can do.”

Fine. They wanted proof? She’d get them proof. Proof from the one person no one can hide from.

 

~

 

Erik was relaxing on a beach chair, sipping his drink with his sunglasses on, watching Juvia manipulate the ocean around her. Or closing his eyes, it was hard to tell with the sunglasses. Apparently the fact that it was snowing didn’t bother these two.

“Aren’t you supposed to be training?” Carla had to ask as she landed on the empty beach chair beside him.

“Lay off,” Erik said, “My first break from being suffocated by all the knuckleheads at the guild, I’m allowed to enjoy it. And I am training. Juvia thinks in pictures, it’s harder to hear her thoughts, and therefore harder to work with her. I’m listening as she plans through different attacks and movements, for the cracks of water she hears with the pictures in her head before she does them, so I’ll read her movements better if we’re in a fight.”

Carla stared at him.

Erik tilted his head to stare back.

“You have practiced that explanation a lot, haven’t you?”

He shrugged, “I was waiting for someone to come check on me. I know what Juvia wants from me; we’re good.”

“I’m not here to check on you, I came to ask if you heard anything unusual from Mest the day the candidates were announced,” Carla said. “I couldn’t care less about how good of a partner you are to Juvia. I’m worried about Wendy and that freak that zeroed in on her to guilt her into being his partner.”

“Mest?” Erik asked, letting his sunglasses slip down his nose to watch her more closely. “You think he wants Wendy for something other than her magic during the trial?”

Carla huffed, “I don’t have proof beside the fact that he’s a big weirdo that makes me, and anyone else he talks to for more than three minutes, uncomfortable. Do you remember any of his thoughts? Anything strange?”

“I remember the usual stuff,” Erik said, “Something about the other candidates going to regret challenging him. He was a little worried about fitting in, strange since people were talking about him like he’s been in the guild forever, but Titania and Lug Nut also spend a lot of time thinking about that one. He did some sizing up of the other candidates. He wanted Lucy, but she turned him down and he was stumped for a second. Then he thought about telling Wendy he had been Mystogan’s partner and wanted to extend the opportunity to Mystogan’s other apprentice.

“I was paying attention to him since he, Juvia, and Levy were the only ones who hadn’t picked out their partners in advance. Well, and Elfman, but no way was I subjecting myself to Elfman’s constant internal monologue.”

Carla frowned and pressed her claw to her lips in thought, “That is normal for this guild.” Was she truly worrying over nothing? “Why didn’t you approach Mest to be his partner?”

“He hates my guts for some reason,” Erik shrugged, “Again, not unusual, even in Fairy Tail. He took one look at me and swore to bring me down. Look, don’t listen to what anyone else says and trust your instincts, they’re yours for a reason. Stop chasing down allies and keep an eye on Wendy, even if she’s not talking to you. Better to trust your instincts and keep her safe than trust everyone else’s and regret it.”

Now that was some good advice. Maybe Carla didn’t have evidence, maybe all she had was the way her fur stood up on end around him and the almost purposefully odd things he does, but that doesn’t mean she’s wrong.

Erik heard Carla’s resolve harden, and decided to add, “It might not be anything, do with this what you will. Prince Jellal was clearly the secretive kind, but I don’t think Mest actually knew the guy very well.”

“What do you mean?” Carla asked, turning sharply back to Erik.

Erik shrugged, “When he was thinking of how to ask Wendy to be his partner the thought was more like ‘I can say this because Jellal/Mystogan doesn’t have any memories.’ Like, he doesn’t actually know that there were two of them or what Mystogan was really up to. That was my impression, not an actual thought. Still, it made me think it was better to keep my distance if Mest is still thinking I’m a guildless wizard and Jellal might be Mystogan.”

“Not solid enough evidence, but that does help. Thank you,” Carla said. “If I can convince Wendy he’s lying about knowing Mystogan, that would really help.”

“Sure thing,” Erik said, pushing his glasses up and leaning back in his beach chair. “You’re prophetic, right? I sure wouldn’t be dismissing any inexplicable feelings if I was you.”

 

~

 

That was exactly what Carla did for the rest of the training week. She sat herself down near Wendy and watched them train. She and Wendy still didn’t speak to each other, but that was fine. When it turned out Mest was hiding something nefarious, Wendy would come crying back and Carla would mop up her tears and be gracious enough not to say ‘I told you so.’

Maybe.

On the final day before they were to take the train to Hargeon, Mest and Wendy decided to stop training around noon and go rest up for the trip and the following day. With the pair firmly going their separate ways, it was time to try for one last ally.

Levy was marching kettlebells that looked to be made with Gajeel’s iron, much faster than Carla had expected her to be able to.

“It’s improvement, that’s for sure,” Gajeel said, clicking off a stopwatch as Levy collapsed. Gajeel showed Pantherlily the stopwatch, and he tracked it.

“Oh, hey Carla,” Levy panted from the ground, smiling up at her.

“I’d like to speak to Pantherlily a moment in private, if you don’t mind,” Carla announced.

Pantherlily unfurled his wings and handed Gajeel the notebook, “Of course.”

They flew off and behind them Levy said, “Oh, Gajeel! That reminds me, there’s something I’ve always wanted to try, but I can’t figure out how to do it on myself and everyone else is a little . . . squishier than you.”

Once they were in private, Carla again explained her concerns about Mest and Wendy.

Pantherlily nodded seriously, “There are several things that don’t add up about the man; I agree he should be closely monitored. The biggest issue, to me at least, is that he claims to have been close to Mystogan. But I knew my prince. He made it a goal not to get close to anyone in this world. Wendy was an exception, but that was before Fairy Tail when he was younger, and he kept information about his past even from her.”

“That’s true!” Carla realized. “So will you help me follow them to Tenrou Island tomorrow?”

Pantherlily nodded, “I think that would be for the best.”

“AhhhHHHH!” Gajeel yelled in the distance. They looked over to see him shooting into the sky, the feathery word ‘WINGS’ stretched across his back.

Pantherlily left to help Gajeel, but that was fine, their plans were set.

Carla would protect Wendy, no matter what.

Notes:

A bit of a different chapter, but I really enjoyed writing it. I was trying to figure out a way to explore the specific dynamics and strategies of the different pairings because I wish that was explored better in canon. But I couldn't figure out how until Carla butted in with her very loud and pretty reasonable objections. Then it was just perfect. Lots of foreshadowing from the candidate pairs based on how they tackled their one week of training.

Not that Carla cares, lol.

Chapter 87: Pre-Trial Conferences

There was something about the exact location of Tenrou Island that meant there was no wind on the island or in the surrounding ocean, which also meant a gap in the currents. Most sailing lacrima recharged themselves with wind or water currents, making this a particularly tricky trip. It was four hours by boat to Tenrou Island, and the boat had to be Fairy Tail’s special craft just to reach it by following Fairy Tail's special map.

Every pair reported at the Hargeon docks right on schedule, each brimming with Fairy Tail confidence in their victory.

“Looking fine ladies,” Loke told her and Cana as they joined him onboard.

There was no wince in his voice, no regret. Maybe his feelings had finally settled away from Lucy after a week of thinking of her as an opponent and four weeks of dating Michelia.

Good. That was good. That was what Lucy wanted.

Lucy had to just keep telling herself that, and it would be completely true.

Eventually.

“How did your training go? Gray put you through the wringer?” Lucy asked.

“Sorry, but we won’t be sharing that information with an opponent,” Gray said, putting a hand on Loke’s shoulder to keep him from doing just that.

Honestly, it would be really fun to fight Loke and Gray. It had been a while since she had last established dominance over the other spirits, it was good to remind them every couple of centuries why she was the leader. It would also limit her distance light magic, as the ‘don’t harm allies’ property of magic fell apart once it refracted off Gray’s ice, so that would be a fun challenge.

“Excuse me,” Freed said behind her.

Lucy moved out of the way, silent and stone-faced as Freed and Bixslow came onboard. Bixslow didn’t look at her as he walked by, helping keep the need to destroy him in check. Bixslow was naturally a loud and outgoing person, so was Lucy for that matter. There were a few times her eyes went to him or his eyes to her, even if they were on opposite sides of the guild.

Seeing his tongue still made her skin crawl and her stomach tense like it wanted to vomit. It filled her with the need to punch something six feet into the ground.

Those two were the last on board and Cana helped pull in the boarding plank.

“Lucy, Cana. Can you come help me a moment?” Master Makarov called from the door that led to the interior of the ship.

They followed Master down to the heart of the propulsion spell and watched him set the coordinates. She and Cana used the two hatches in the middle of the boat to untie from the dock, help cast off, and helped guide Makarov away from the other ships in the harbor until they reached the open sea.

“Thank you,” Master Makarov said, “But I’m afraid there is another reason I asked that you two be the ones to help me.”

Cana and Lucy tensed, reaching for their magic.

Master shook his head, “It is certainly of a serious nature, but not concerning a present danger. No, this is about the fact that I believe some accommodations are in order for this particular trial. This is a conversation that has been a long time coming, but I was only aware of how important it was after I shared my intentions for the trial with Erza.”

“What are you trying to say Gramps?” Cana asked carefully.

“My entire life I have struggled with the question of when to seek vengeance, and when to forgive,” Gramps explained. “It is only as I have helped raise young men and women as a guild master that I understood the true cost of revenge. That is why I accepted Gajeel and Juvia, and Erik and Jellal, into the ranks of the guild, despite the harm they have caused us and others. Because the revenge of letting them suffer alone, of denying them a chance to walk a path in the light, is the cost of a life almost as surely as if I had stopped their hearts myself. I will not allow that to happen, not if I can help it, and I have so much power to help those who ask for it as the guild master of Fairy Tail.”

He took a deep breath and looked up at Lucy, “I know the cost of revenge, but I also know the cost of forgiveness, or perhaps, the cost of letting go that revenge. And I know that the cost of letting go of revenge is not paid equally by all within the guild. I would do my best to honor now the sacrifice you made in not seeking revenge back then, if you will let me.”

Cana looked between them, “Lucy? What’s he talking about?”

“During Fantasia,” Lucy explained quietly, “Bixslow crossed a line. He didn’t . . . he should have known he was crossing it, even if he didn’t. I let it go back then, but I didn’t forgive him. If I have to fight him again, I’m not sure I could hold back from killing him. Master is going to explain to us what he intends to do about that.”

“Freed messed me up too,” Cana said slowly, “Torture magic. There’s only one thing I can think of that is worse than that.”

Lucy took a deep breath. She had to be candid otherwise Cana would think the worst and that wasn’t fair. “I feel the sensations on my key across my body. Bixslow apparently didn’t know that, but that doesn’t change what his tongue felt like.”

She could feel it again. The slime. The wetness. Filling in the cracks of her.

Lucy pushed her nails into her palms and let the pain ground her. Here and now. Her key was dry and safe in Loke's hands. So was she. Safe with Cana and Master Makarov.

“So, what’s your proposal?” Lucy asked.

“In the first challenge, there will be eight paths,” Master explained, “Four lead to combat with the S class, four lead to challenges against other teams. The candidates will draw straws to take turns picking the routes, though the routes give no indication of which path leads to where, that will be a matter of luck. I will propose that Cana draws first, and draws the slightly different number one stick. I will tell you two alone which paths lead to confrontations against other teams, and together you will decide what path you wish to tread. That is my proposal.”

That . . . would be a huge advantage. It also meant that there would be no chance of Lucy and Cana ending up against Freed and Bixslow if they didn't want to, while still giving them the power to choose.

“Why does everything in this trial feel like cheating,” Cana muttered, putting a hand to her head.

Master nodded, “Under normal circumstances, I would agree that this advantage is dishonorable. But dishonor happened first before me, and I did nothing. The only request Lucy made when she gave up her revenge was to stay separated from Bixslow, and that is something much more deserving of honor than perfect fairness in the initial stages of the trial.”

Cana nodded. Even if it felt like cheating, this test was too important to Cana to pass up any edge over the others.

There was honor, then there was Cana’s need to win.

“That being said, I do not wish to minimize the harm that was done to you,” Master continued, “I am also proposing a second option. I am willing to make this advantage public. As we gather, I am more than willing to announce that due to Bixslow’s prior actions during Fantasia, most revolting of which violated Lucy’s body, your team has been informed of the paths which lead to candidate fights and will be going first. In this guild, we do not forget the sins done against our members, even if we do allow other members to grow into people that would never commit those sins again. I believe that Bixslow’s team and Lucy’s usual team would accept this without protest and would keep the others from complaining.”

An acknowledgement of her pain. It was exactly what she had wanted to avoid by forbidding everyone from talking about it (though it looked like Loke and Natsu had shared anyway with Erza and probably Gray) but she was grateful all the same that Makarov was willing to confront the darkness of what happened back then.

“The third option would be to forbid Freed and Bixslow from taking the routes that lead to candidate battles,” Master said. “The advantage to this option is that fighting another team is likely an easier path past the first round than fighting one of the S-Class. It would force Freed and Bixslow to take the harder path, while allowing you the uninterrupted opportunity to face one of the other teams or an S-Class as luck would have it. Option four would be to make this limitation private or public, according to your preference.”

That’s the option if they really didn’t want to win with an independent advantage, and Lucy would take this option if she wanted to pretend like nothing had happened. Let the offender’s life be disrupted and changed for his behavior, not hers.

Master bowed to her, “Giving you this choice is my duty as your guild master and the least I can do after so long being ignorant of what occurred that day.” He stood up. “You may discuss this together and inform me of your choice when we disembark, or at any point during our journey to Tenrou Island. Merely tell me the number. If there is certain language you would like me to use to describe what happened, I am also willing to use that according to your preference.”

Lucy knew what she wanted, the one that worked best with her and Cana's strategy, but she needed to speak with Cana about it first, “Give us a minute. I think I already know what we want to happen, but I need to check with my partner.”

Makarov nodded and left the control room.

Cana folded her arms and leaned against the wall, “I also can’t believe I didn’t know something like that happened. No wonder you’re still giving Bixslow the silent treatment.”

Lucy shrugged, “Every time he opens his mouth, I have to control the urge to rip his tongue out and go take a bath. Distance seemed like the right call for everyone.”

“Still,” Cana said, looking at the wall, “I don’t think I’d be able to sit back with just the silent treatment after that.”

“It’s not like I didn’t beat the crap out of him for it,” Lucy pointed out. “There’s a reason Bixslow had bandages longer than even Natsu and Gajeel. If we did end up against them, Bixslow and Freed would probably yield to us rather than fight. Both out of shame, and because Bixslow knows how close he came to dying that day.”

“Would you accept it if they yielded?” Cana asked.

Hmm . . .

“Probably,” she decided, “There’s nothing satisfying about kicking a yielded opponent, but that would be irritating in its own right. Like I was denied the chance to kick his teeth in and make him beg for mercy. Or like he was assuming they would have a chance of winning if they did go all out and they were yielding out of pity. I’d hate that too.”

“I get that,” Cana said, “There would be too much hurt and anger, no matter what happened, if you two were forced to talk or fight. It would end badly and raw. No good choices for either of you.”

“Right,” Lucy said, “I would have dealt with it if it happened, but I’m glad it won’t have to come to that. I think we should do option one. Keep the private advantage to ourselves.”

Cana grinned, “If Gramps thought we were too honorable to take every advantage he offered, that’s on him.”

~

Loke was watching land disappear when Lucy and Cana came back on deck after helping Gramps launch the ship.

They passed by Gramps on deck, and Lucy casually told him, “By the way, Cana and I think that Number One, the first picture you showed us was the best.”

Gramps blinked, then grinned, “Really? Let’s have another look at it and you can tell me what you liked about it.” Gramps led Cana back inside, and Cana waved at Lucy that she had it handled.

Another glance at where the shoreline used to be and there was only open sea. Lucy came up next to him.

Lucy and him waving goodbye to Galuna, where she promised he would understand her.

Lucy staring up at Leo’s stars on their way to the Tower of Heaven, practically bleeding clues about what she thought her fate was.

“You know, I never visited an island before joining the guild, now we’re going to visit my third,” Loke said.

“Life certainly isn’t boring in this guild,” Lucy said. “But hopefully this one is more like Galuna than the Tower.”

“What, full of demons?” he teased. “They weren’t so bad.”

“I have the feeling that most demons aren’t going to be as fun as they were,” Lucy laughed.

The air grew warmer as the day grew older.

Then in the final hour before reaching Tenrou, the heat grew exponentially.

“Why is it so hot?” Lucy whined, lounging in a bikini. “It’s January! It was snowing back home!”

“There’s no wind on Tenrou,” Cana explained what she already knew, “Makes it immune from most seasonal patterns.”

“I’ll take the heat any day over this boat,” Natsu groaned from the front of the ship. “Please cast Troia on me, Wendy?”

“She’s not going to help out her competition,” Gray smirked.

“Sorry Natsu,” Wendy said apologetically while sitting next to Mest.

“I know Natsu and Gray come with temperature regulation, but you don’t look sweaty at all in all those layers. Do you have a boost with that too, Juvia?” Loke asked. Despite his best efforts, Happy’s comment about Juvia’s hair got to her and she was back to her rolled hair look. Which wasn’t bad, of course, but the point was to let her pick what she liked, not what Happy teased her into.

Juvia glared at him and held her fur shrug tighter, “I will only remove my layers for my beloved.”

Said ‘beloved’ didn’t acknowledge that and instead was looking towards where Tenrou would be coming into view soon.

“Honestly, your whining is only making things hotter,” Evergreen complained.

“A real man can take a little heat,” Elfman added next to her.

“Try listening to all the whining everyone isn’t saying,” Erik grumbled. Even he was succumbing to the heat, his black sleeveless shirt off and only dressed in loose white pants.

“That’s it,” Lucy said, sitting up. Half hunched over, arms hanging down, she made her way over to Loke.

“Uh, Lucy?” he asked as she loomed over him, blocking out the sun. He could see the sweat dripping down her chest, the only thing capable of distracting him from her gaze.

Then she backed off and dragged herself to the back of the boat.

With a flick, she activated his weapon, “Hey!” Loke said, finally noticing it was gone.

Lucy jumped off the deck.

“What!” everyone yelled, jumping to attention, half of them rushing to the bow to see where she was.

Lucy was sighing in relief, being dragged by the boat on some kind of raft she had knotted from the chain of his weapon, the ball and chain wrapped around a docking cleat.

“The water’s way warmer than the ocean should be, but much cooler than on deck,” Lucy called out, her head tilting back to look at them, her feet dragging to create a second wake.

“You can’t just steal my weapon!” Loke called out with a laugh.

A second raft wove itself behind her with a push of her will. He had no idea how she did that, Loke had only ever had the weapon expand from the scythe base and even then it acted like a chain and not thread.

“Then come join me! It’s my magic!”

Well, Loke wasn’t strong enough to resist that offer. A temperature drop and floating beside Lucy in a bikini?

He could get over his feelings for Lucy another day when it wasn’t so hot.

Plus she had to be expending her magic for this, even the little bit that the weapon used, which had to be useful for his team, right?

Sliding down the chain, he crashed into the edge of her raft, feeling the relief that the rushing water immediately brought. He stabilized himself by swinging around to trailing end of her raft, laying half on top of her and half in the water.

“Brilliant, as always,” he said. The smooth skin of her legs against his chest and stomach felt amazing. The blush spreading across her cheeks was absolutely beautiful. 

Loke was so bad at getting over her.

Lucy splashed him with her hand, “I didn’t come here to melt. Now stop that, you’re going to sink me, then you’ll go overboard and have to swim the rest of the way to Tenrou.”

“Alright,” he said, relenting and moving himself onto the second raft and laying on his stomach to keep talking to her. “I didn’t realize the river of stars floated.”

“Of course it does,” Lucy said. She tilted her head back to look up at the deck. “Think anyone else is going to come join us?”

Loke looked up at bow and couldn’t see anyone looking over the edge at them anymore, “Nah,” he decided, “No one wants to spend the magic. They’re saving it up for the trial.”

“That is an advantage I have,” Lucy mused.

“Come on, how much magic do you have, really?” Loke asked. “Like, does anyone in the guild measure up to your magic stores? Even I can tell Gramps and Gildarts have way more intense magic auras than the rest of us, but I don’t sense that from you. At least, I didn’t until Edolas.”

“Oh, my magic is stored in the celestial world,” Lucy said with a wave of her hand, “What you’re sensing as my magic aura? That’s complicated, but it isn’t all the power of the celestial lion by a long shot. You may have picked up that I have a bunch of limits on how I’m allowed to use my magic, but remember the time you supported me for 24 hours?”

Loke winced, that particular training exercise had him passing out for sixteen hours afterwards, which was a bummer because they were supposed to get up early for the hunting trip the next morning.

“Right,” Lucy said, “I spend magic  to sustain myself at something close to the rate you use to sustain me, more when I’m pulling crap like I did in Edolas. Levitation is so . . . wasteful. Even if it does look cool.”

“So, you’re saying I just need to take the one day spent sustaining you,” Loke calculated, “And multiply it by three years. You are 1095 times stronger than me in terms of pure magic power.”

“Give or take,” Lucy shrugged, “I was supplemented with some earthland magic thanks to Porlyusica’s powder, it wasn’t exactly three years, and I also spent a lot more magic in exile than I did in the 24 hours you kept me out. I’m not quite sure how that stacks up to Master and Gildarts, even I don’t really get a solid feeling for the entirety of my magic container in the celestial spirit world. I also think they’re suppressing theirs most of the time.

“There are also limits on how much of the magic I can use at once. I don’t violate basic magic theory, the spell points need to be strong enough to channel my magic. Complexity of the spell circle, purpose of the spell, training to hold the spells together, yada yada. And of course, using too much of it leaves me weaker and weaker, like when you met me. Though I usually sent back to the celestial world if I use up even half of my magic. I think. I've never used that much before.”

“Spell points can get stronger based on emotions and will,” Loke pointed out. “Is there really anything that can stop you if you really want it?”

Lucy didn’t answer right away, looking him in the eye, searching for something.

The chains that made up their rafts re-wove themselves more tightly together, one raft instead of two. Lucy came closer slowly until she was lying beside him, shoulder to hip. Her lips were serious and straight, but her large brown eyes were something else, serious and something. Almost hopeful, with the tilt of her head.

“Law stops me, that’s why rules and contracts are so important,” Lucy said, her voice low and intense. Wind still curved around their faces and separated them, teasing strands of her pigtails free. “And choices, mine and others. You are getting very, very close to some big truths. Be careful.”

Leo thinks she’ll end up telling you before the end, Gemini speaking with Lucy’s voice came back to him. This . . . the truth he was coming close to had to do with why Lucy won’t date him.

Which was really important, because her lips were right there, he was warm where her body pressed against his, and he was drowning in her eyes, getting lost in the whisps of her hair he wanted to tuck behind her ears. The everything of her he wanted to touch and never stop was right there.

Lucy tilted her head back again, all the way back, and he managed to look away from her neck to notice that the ship had slowed enough to approach a beach.

“Time’s up for this particular conversation,” Lucy said. “One last dunk before we join the others?”

“Sure,” he said. A swim to shore was exactly what he needed to cool off and get his head on straight.

“Hold on tight then,” Lucy said, wrapping an arm around his waist.

Which snapped away the last of his self control.

He rolled to pull her on top of him, arms circling her shoulders, pulling her closer, his lips on her neck—SPLASH.

The raft came apart under them, dunking them in the water. Loke yelped, yanked Lucy closer, and got seawater in his mouth. There was a few moments of intense drag on their bodies, then they breached the water’s surface and were flying back up to the deck, Lucy laughing at the speed she retracted his ball and chain. She expanded it at the last second so they flew a little above the cleat she had tied it to and safely landed them on the deck.

Lucy laughed, “I forgot how fun that was. I’m definitely grabbing my Fleuve d'étoiles whip.”

“You two lovebirds looked cozy,” Levy teased them.

Lucy disappeared with a puff of smoke, making him stumble since he was partially leaning on her, then she appeared at his other side, looking completely refreshed, wearing a white sleeveless top, a flowy short red skirt, arm wrappings, and sneakers, her hair perfectly in place. Instead of the whip she normally wore at her side, she had the handle of a whip, a weapon just like his.

“All ready,” Lucy said. She gave him one last smile before walking up to Cana and hooking arms with her to walk down the boarding plank.

Gray put a hand on his shoulder, “Hey, you alright? I wouldn’t put it past Lucy to mess with your head for an advantage during the trial.”

Had Lucy just been messing with him?

No more than he was messing with himself.

“Don’t worry about me,” Loke said, making himself focus on Gray. “Nothing happened. Right here, it’s all about you and getting you to S-Class.”

Notes:

Very deep conversations here! The team's debriefing after Fantasia comes into action two arcs later, and Lucy and Cana get an advantage as a result! Then Lucy and Loke do their thing of having deep, personal, intimate conversations while thinking the other is so sexy, all while pretending they are moving on from each other. Next chapter is going to be all the action.

Next Chapter: First Round

Chapter 88: First Round

Once they were off the boat, Gramps explained the rules of the first round for the others. Eight routes, four S-Class battles and four chances to fight another team. Win or be disqualified. Before them was the trailhead for all the routes, each assigned a letter A-H. They would be given the opportunity to chose between the routes according to the lots they drew. They would draw lots in alphabetical order by last name.

Cana stepped up and drew first, pulling the stick with a “1” on it.

“Look at that,” Cana said. “Sometimes luck is a skill.”

Natsu drew number 5.

“Watch how it’s done,” Gray said, and grinned as he flashed everyone the number two.

Loke decided not point out that it didn’t actually matter the order they picked the routes in, each route had the same chance of being one of the S-Class or fighting another team, no matter what routes were closed by the time you arrived there. He was here to be a good partner after all, and that meant making Gray look good. 

~

“Recognize these routes?” Lucy asked as they stepped up to fire pit that marked the starting point.

It acted as a smoke signal. Before Erza had told Master about Lucy’s past with Bixslow, had he planned to make them race here?

“I know this area of the island is lousy with caves, and we had to chase a bullet partridge through here during my first trial, but I don’t know the area well enough to go through it without a map.”

“Then it’s good that we don’t have to,” Lucy teased as Cana pulled out the very detailed map in question.

Lucy knelt and helped spread out the map of the whole island itself, then Cana put a second one on below it that showed the exact part of the island they were in and the eight footpaths around it. Below that, Cana pulled out a third map that detailed the cave level that mapped the caves under the first one.  Between Cana using a memory mage to get the map details from her previous times on Tenrou and Lucy’s research into the history of the guild’s sacred ground, their set of maps was probably the most detailed maps of the island in existence.

Lucy grinned as Cana pulled out her deck of cards with their guildmates' faces on them and selected out the four S-class wizards. “I still can’t believe we managed to tag all of the S-class, all the candidates, and all their partners with your tracker cards,” Lucy said.

Cana’s magic poured into the cards, making them levitate in front of her. “Show me the path of present fortune,” Cana cast.

The cards fell to land over the map. Each bottom right corner of the cards perched over the exact locations of their wizard counterparts.

Cana raised an eyebrow at Lucy, “You thought you, Fairy Tail’s little angel, could give out Christmas presents to everyone with a decent amount of power in the guild, claim they were meditation aides, and they wouldn’t all be carrying them in their pockets for the S-Class promotion trial? Much less the next several years?”

Lucy smirked, “You were the one that tagged Gildarts, Gajeel, and Bixslow’s boots after making them take them off for a game at the Christmas party.”

“Everyone knows I’m a delinquent,” Cana countered with a small smile. “No one even considered celestial princess Lucy would slip them tracking spells.”

“They deserve to lose the advantage if they underestimate us.” Lucy answered with a grin. “It’s like you said, sometimes luck is a skill. Now come on, it looks like three of the paths could lead us where we want to go.”

“Gramps told me both A and C were team combat routes,” Cana said triumphantly, “F is our first-round win.”

Lucy put away the maps and saw Cana was looking at Route E, where her truest goal was waiting.

“Your call Cana,” Lucy said. “I’m with you whenever and wherever you’re ready.”

There was a moment of hesitation, but Cana shook her head, “Not yet.”

They took the longer path down Route F and the way barred behind them.

After thirty minutes of hiking, they came to a clearing near a river, and their opponent stood up.

“I had hoped it wouldn’t be your team, you are easily my worst match up,” Jellal said, wearing Mystogan’s clothes.

Lucy grinned, “That’s just how we planned it, Mystogan.”

Jellal frowned and tilted his head, then zeroed in on Cana, “Card magic, you’re a fortune teller as well?”

“People quickly forget how magic that isn’t used for punching stuff can still be useful,” Cana said, cracking her knuckles, “Now, are we fighting Mystogan or Jellal?”

Jellal threw up the bag of staves on his back, releasing the staves to stab into the ground around them in a circle. Lucy broke left and Cana broke right, but they aren’t fast enough to totally avoid, Jellal's spell “Five layer Magic Circle: Sacred Song!”

Like all layered circle attacks, the power is strongest in the center and expands outward. Lucy caught the outer-circle blast. The tree caught her.

Lucy twisted and absorbed most of the impact with her legs, her right side was already feeling some aches.

Jellal had earned his wizard saint status after all. 

Cana was on Jellal’s other side, and they both ran towards him, careful to keep outside the circle of his staves.

Cana’s throwing star cards soared with their typical accuracy, and Jellal dodged backwards into the circle, pulling a staff with him to defend against Lucy’s kicks.

Lucy sped up the tempo of her movement to stay on top of Jellal. She was so on top of him that when he dodged Cana, Lucy didn’t end up hit by the attacks either.

Lucy and Jellal traded blows. Testing each other’s speed, strength, and style.

Jellal was good. Really good.

The third time Cana sent a round of throwing star cards, Jellal heard the swish behind him. As he tensed to dodge, Lucy flared the light in her hands, and the distraction slowed him enough that a card sliced against his thigh.

Just after the card hit, he didn’t block Lucy’s next kick to his weakened side properly. He bent with the impact. His free arm grabbed her leg to lock her foot over her shoulder.

Lucy snapped up her other leg to kick him in the chin and flip free.

But Jellal was already spinning to fling her at Cana, sending Lucy absorb the latest throwing star card.

It hit, cutting her bicep. The next collison with Cana sent both of them spinning. She landed on her back instead of her feet.

“Shattered Ground.”

The ground started to quake. Lucy grabbed Cana’s ankle and flung her skywards.

The magic hit her alone, shoving her into the cracked ground, but it stopped quickly as a round of Cana’s explosion cards went off, giving Lucy time to yank herself clear.

Lucy stumbled towards the edge of the circle. As another round of explosion cards went off, Lucy grabbed one of the staves nearest her and chucked it in the nearby river before jumping to engage Jellal back in the middle of the circle, letting Cana disengage and recover.

For fifteen seconds, forever in a fight, it was just her and Jellal.

Blow for blow.

Neither gaining ground over the other.

Their one-on-one ended with Cana sending out projectile cards from behind Lucy to keep Jellal from dodging to either side. With Cana’s support, Lucy was able to narrow the range of her attacks to direct forward blows. It was all Jellal could do to block or dodge backwards.

Lucy for Lucy and Cana, backwards was where he wanted to go.

Jellal stepped out of the circle.

Lucy and Cana were inside the circle.

His hand moved to cast, but he glanced at the empty place where one of his staves had been.

“Summon Lighting,” Cana cast first, smirking.

Jellal had one second to look down at the circle of Cana’s cards at his feet before the lighting struck him, driving him to his knees. He grit his teeth as lightning coursed through his body, probably to stop the jerky motions from biting his tongue.

“You’re not the only one that can set a circle trap,” Cana bragged. “You really think you can beat me with borrowed magic?”

“I suppose that was a foolish hope,” Jellal winced once the lightning let up, getting to his feet. “Pleiades!”

Lucy summoned her magic aura into the visible spectrum, lighting the air around her with it into a shield that protected Cana.

The six beams from the sky fell on her aura harmlessly.

She jumped forward, concentrating magic in her fist. Jellal cast his meteor spell to meet her with his own celestial light.

It was always so fun when wizards used celestial magic as an ability type, like they were cosplaying Leo the Lion specifically.

The celestial etherion he summoned gleefully fled from him and joined her aura, making their grapple laughable. It must have felt like she was draining him, given the way his eyes widened.  

Using his surprise, she twisted out of the strength contest and let him overbalance, making him easier to knee in the solar plexus.

Jellal let the attack push him back. He gained even more distance with a rapidcast propulsion circle.

Out of range of her fists, Jellal cast “Chariot!”

Lucy threw herself headfirst into the attack, letting the celestial magic slide around her as she flipped into it. She landed, planted her right foot, and roundhouse kicked Jellal into the ground.

“You use powerful magic that draws from the belief and power of the stars,” Lucy taunted. “That is what I’m made of. You may as well throw water into a river for all the good it does you.”

He grabbed at her ankle to throw her.

“Nuh-uh,” Cana said first. Jellal strained to threw Lucy into her, but Lucy was too well balanced in her weight. “Sleep.”

Jellal released her and relaxed into the ground for a nice nap.

“I gotta say, there’s something very satisfying about being the one to put Mystogan asleep,” Cana grinned, brushing the dirt off her hands.

Lucy stretched, “Oh it feels so good when a plan is perfectly executed.”

Cana summoned all her cards back to her, “You read him like a book. How did you know that we could get him to exhaust himself with Mystogan’s magic first? The sleep card wouldn’t have been strong enough to knock him out otherwise.”

“I’m a celestial light wielder,” Lucy explained, “I’m a being of magic, not unlike a dragon. I don’t eat light etherion, his aura doesn't boost my attacks, but he had to know that his own magic would be less effective against me, even if he couldn’t be sure how much. Having you present the question clearly of Mystogan or Jellal, Mystogan is clearly the better choice and he needs combat experience with Mystogan’s magic anyway. Excellent job with both traps, by the way. You’re getting really good at suppressing your magic aura.”

Cana grinned, “Only because you’re such a good distraction. I can’t believe he fell for that twice. Though we still would have been in trouble if you hadn’t taken the extra second to toss that staff in the river.”

“Oh yeah. You should wake him up so he can go get it before it goes too far away.”

Cana nodded and reversed the sleep card, making Jellal jolt awake. He relaxed when he saw Lucy smile and wave at him.

Jellal stood up and dusted himself off, “I was hoping to prove I was worthy of being granted the honor of standing in the shoes of an S-Class wizard. I’m disappointed, but certainly not ashamed to have lost this match. Your combat ability was exceptional. You kept my attention divided the entire fight, effectively used a close-combat specialist with a ranged fighter, stayed divided so I could very rarely attack both of you at once, set two traps, disabled my own, and were able to do all of that without verbally communicating. That, combined with the skills that let you select your own opponent, are what granted you victory in this round.”

“All right!” Lucy high-fived Cana.

“Now that the match is over, tell me, would celestial body magic be as useless against all celestial spirits, or only one that wielded light magic?” Jellal asked curiously.

“Your range attacks would have had maybe half the effect on the others that they would have had on a human,” Lucy guessed. “But meteor increasing your speed and strength? Only I would be able to cancel that out. Your magic isn’t just light, it’s specifically the celestial etherion fueled by the hope that the light brings through the dark. That’s literally part of what I am.”

“Throwing water at a river,” Jellal said, shaking his head.

Lucy cleared her throat, “Uh, speaking of rivers. That’s where your missing staff ended up. I needed it far enough away that you couldn’t re-summon it into place.”

Jellal looked at the empty place in the circle again.

“Shit,” he bolted for the river.

They left him to it and continued down the now cleared path.

 

~

 

Lucy and Cana walked off and Gramps started a timer, Lucy giving a happy wave as she skipped off. After ten minutes, Loke and Gray walked forward to find route F blocked off.

“There really aren’t any hints about the different routes,” Gray said.

Loke, however, was corrected, “Looks like most of these battlefields will be in caves, Lucy and Cana took one of the three that look like it might be open air.”

“Let’s pick a higher one,” Gray decided, “There’s a better chance of having to fight with some exposure to the air if the route itself starts out higher, and we both have some good range options that will be harder to make use of in close quarters.”

“Route A then?” Loke suggested. It got steep rather quickly and started out in the open air. It was A or H.

Gray nodded and they set off.

The main battlefield ended up being mostly inside a cave, but also partially on an open air cliff. The path forward was blocked off with a magical x, and instructions read that it would vanish when a victor was decided. Without an S-Class there, they were stuck waiting for another team to find them. 

Well, Loke could do one thing while waiting . . .

It was about fourty minutes later when Gray stood up and said, “Alright then.”

Loke sensed the approach a second later and stood up too.

“So it seems fate has decided that you two will not be advancing to the next round of the S-Class Promotional Trial,” Freed said, drawing his sword.

“Biggest relief I’ve had all day,” Bixslow said.

Loke could only guess at how terrified Bixslow had been that it would be Lucy at the end of this path.

Luckily, that won’t be a problem for them going forward.

“I wouldn’t be relaxing if I was you,” Gray said, as Loke tossed him an extra pair of sunglasses, “Do you really think you’re up for a rematch?”

“I will be your opponent,” Freed said. “Dark Ecriture: Pain.”

Gray dodged right, then rushed, “Ice-Make: Hammer!”

“Let’s get this started, Line Formation Babies!” Bixslow called.

“Line formation!”

“Line formation!”

Loke ran forward while the dolls were assembling, then landed, pivoted, and dodged left just as the spell was cast.

He had trained for this battle, he wasn’t going to lose.

Though the sharpness of the magic that cut the stalactites behind him was no joke.

His spinning chain was enough to keep the dolls recovering and rushing at him after the line attack, but Bixslow easily escaped him by jumping upwards and letting two of his babies catch him in the air. Loke rushed right past where he had been, scythe swing meeting the air as he turned.

Loke cast the ball.

Bixslow hadn’t expected it to expand and actually hit the babies under his feet.

He dropped and two more of his babies caught him by his hands.

“New weapon you got there, very handy,” Bixslow said, thrusting himself upwards to land so he was standing on his dolls again. 

Three feet lower than where he had been.

“Now!” Loke yelled, jumping up to meet him. Bixslow dodged backwards on his babies, waiting to let Loke fall in the natural arc of his jump, one eye on Gray in case that was a signal for something.

It was, but not for Gray.

“Wh—” Bixslow heard the whistle of air, but he wasn’t fast enough to dodge the first two of three arrows shot into his back.

And with that extra push through the air, Bixslow was back in Loke’s range. Loke’s scythe caught on Bixslow’s shoulder pads and Loke shoved the man down, letting Bixslow cushion his fall.

Fast as a blink, Bixslow’s legs curled and shot out against Loke’s chest, sending him flying. He fell like he had in training, curling to take the collision with the ground in the best position, but it hurt enough that Loke wasn’t sure if he had actually done it right.

Loke snapped the chain against the ground, and more arrows launched at Bixslow from behind him where Sagittarius was shooting.

Loke charged again.

“But you didn’t summon anyone!” Bixslow yelled as he flipped his way around the arrows to put his back to a clear stretch of wall. His doll took an arrow that he wasn’t quick enough to dodge. “Pepe!”

“Keep it up Sagittarius,” Loke called to the spirit, who was now standing up to keep up fire at his forcibly stationary target. The enclosed space was a much bigger disadvantage for Bixslow than it could ever be for him.

“Yes sir!”

Freed had transformed and was going toe to toe with Gray, who had an elbow blade and ice sword at hand

“Stop shooting him!” one of the dolls said, hitting Sagittarius from behind, making him stumble. The barrage let up for a moment.

That moment let the other dolls sweep closer, even Pepe with an arrow still in him.

“Sag­—”

Loke was grabbed from behind and flung up and backwards in a suplex, barely giving him time to protect his head with his arms. With a move that was going to hurt in the morning, Loke used his stomach muscles to twist away after the impact and roll free of Bixslow.

“Line formation!” Bixslow cast, still bent backwards.

With a zing Sagittarius was sent back.

The attack continued beyond Sagittarius and took out several stalactites, “Above!” Loke called to Gray. Loke switched his weapon to one hand defensively and grabbed his keys. “Gate of the Ram: Aries!”

Aries appeared, “Sorry!”

“Defensive wall!” Loke panted, pointing towards the dolls.

“Wool Wall!” Aries cast and a wall of her wool sailed towards the dolls, catching and tangling all of them.

“Soft!”

“Bad Pink!”

Bixslow rose and made to punch Aries from behind, but Loke’s chain caught him first with the chain, binding his left arm to his side, though the right was still raised for the attack.

Bixslow jumped backwards towards Loke, intending to relax the tension of the binds and wiggle free.

Forgot his chain was magic already?

Loke retracted the chain, keeping the tension, and hauled the chain down to slam Bixslow against the ground, hard enough that his helmet came off. Loke ran forward, dragging his opponent behind him.

Bixslow scrabbled at the ground with his free arm and legs, trying to stop Loke, but with Loke’s momentum, there wasn’t enough variance in the ground for Bixslow to get a grip on.

Gray and Freed had demolished most of the stalactites that had interrupted their battle, but were still going toe to on top of the biggest one.

“Gray! I got Bixslow,” Loke called as he planted his feet and hauled with all his strength, (yep his stomach muscles were hurting) retracting the chain enough to help him get the initial lift. 

Freed glanced at them for just a moment, but that moment was all Gray needed to kick Freed into the yelling Bixslow for a midair collision.

Heh, Bixslow was a much bigger ball on the end of his chain than Loke usually used, and it did wonders to slam them both to the ground. Loke immediately made the river of stars chain vanish. 

“Ice make: Cage!” Gray cast as he jumped off the stalactite base. Like they practiced, the new cage was a third the height of a man and slammed the cage into the ground above the stunned and tangled warriors, leaving no room to stand up and try to disable the cage from the inside. Gray landed on top of it and folded his arms with a grin. “Had enough yet?”

The men didn’t respond.

That was okay, there’s only so much you can expect from people that have been knocked unconscious.

The magical x blocking the path forward vanished.

“Round one down,” Loke said, holding up both hands for high-fives, which Gray gave him with a grin.

“I knew you were the partner for me,” Gray said.

“Umm, Master Loke?” Aries asked nervously.

Loke spun to face Aries, “You did so well Aries! That was amazing!”

“Oh . . . good!” Aries said, blushing and fiddling with her sleeve, “There were a lot of places to put up a wool wall, the man seemed like a bigger threat than the floating wood, but you were pointing so I trusted you. I’m glad that was the right thing to do.”

“You did it exactly right,” Loke complimented. “Thanks for trusting me. The man was a lot less dangerous because you were able to take down his dolls. You made all the difference.”

“Um, thank you!” Aries said, her face growing even redder. “Sorry! I’ll be going now!”

She vanished, taking the wool with her, letting Bixslow’s dolls fall to the floor.

`

Notes:

Action Chapter YAY! How did I do with the fights? Also Lucy and Cana finally reveal what they've been cooking up for the S-Class trial: track everyone and pick your battles! An S-Class strategy or just straight up cheating? Let me know what you think!

Also, I posted a Lolu one-shot where Lucy and Loke have a heart to heart about their secrets pre-Phantom Lord, if anyone wants some one-shot shipping goodness to pair with the slow-burn of this fic. I was a little sad only like, 25 people clicked on the fic I posted late Wednesday Night, but I have about 300 Lolu/my writing fans that click on this fic every week, so I wanted to give a shout out here. I hope to see you over there.

Chapter 89: Bonus Challenges

The heat was getting to Lucy again when they came across crystal clear waterfall pool. Never one to pass up the chance for a bath, Lucy stripped into her swimsuit and immediately jumped in.

“Hey, this isn’t the time to be messing around,” Cana scolded as Lucy floated on her back, though she took her own moment to sit down for a break.

“We started out challenge over an hour before the last person started. Elfman was 8, right? He’s just barely getting started. The longer part of this challenge is regulating your magic stores and physical energy effectively,” Lucy declared, “We have the time advantage, use it to meditate and regain some magic right now. It will make all the difference later.”

Lucy closed her eyes and floated in the water, enjoying the sensation over the various bruises, cuts, and magic burns she had sustained in that fight. Hopefully Loke and Gray were doing alright. And if they were defeated, hopefully they stayed on the island to watch the rest of the trial. It would be stupid to leave when you could gain more knowledge about the kinds of challenges involved for the next time you were selected as a candidate.

Loke . . .

He was doing an awful job at not flirting with her, not that she was helping him.

Loke and Michelia weren’t exclusive or even officially boyfriend/girlfriend, but Loke had been keeping himself from touching Lucy since they got back from Edolas and they’d been making that balance work until today.

When he was stretched out on her makeshift tube, half on top of her? A different type of heat had coursed through her, and she’d splashed him to cool them both off.

Why did he have to be so stupidly beautiful?

Then he asked about her magic, and she was doing just as poor a job at not flirting with him. Pulling him closer with a twist of will and thought, she had been drowning in the way he looked at her. An endless puzzle he loved to solve. Wonderful. Powerful.

Beloved.

Lucy wanted to swim deeper into him, but reality reasserted itself to her relief.

Leo the lion would not date her wizard, would not take the risk, no matter how much it ached not to.

And the way he rolled on top of her before she finished undoing their rafts? Ache was absolutely the right word.

“Ugh, I can’t concentrate enough to meditate,” Cana interrupted her thoughts. “That was too easy. Nothing in life is that easy.”

Lucy stopped floating and swam to the rock Cana was on, lifting herself half out of the water to talk. “If it was easy, that’s because you have the skill of an S-Class wizard that makes it easy. Being S-Class isn’t just being able to beat your opponents into the ground, otherwise Levy wouldn’t have been allowed to try and Gajeel would.”

“That’s what all our current S-Class is based on,” Cana grumbled, pulling her folded legs closer to her chest.

Lucy’s eyes narrowed, “Just because they can wreck people, doesn’t mean that’s actually what got them the title of S-Class. Erza was able to arrive late to a cursed island filled with demons and take a few pieces of information about a demon under a holy temple and immediately be capable of breaking a three-year-old curse. Knowledge of the different properties of different magics is important. And it’s not like you were slouching on the combat side of the fight. You were faster than me to get outside the staff circle and completely avoided that first attack that I’m still aching from.”

Cana shook her head, “I wasn’t faster than you. I rapidcast a justice shield to keep the attack from hitting me as soon as the staves landed. You were right about putting in the effort to strengthen my skill with defensive spells. I would have been too injured to keep up the rest of the fight if I hadn’t gotten that up.”

“See? What part of spending a year studying defense spells until you could rapidcast basic ones was easy?” Lucy demanded.

“The part where we beat a wizard saint without taking more than minor injuries!”

Now Cana was just being irritating. “We beat a wizard saint because you learned what one of the S-Class was weak to, because we spent ages producing the best maps of this area, and because you used your magic to ensure you faced the battle you wanted. Do not take that away from yourself.”

Cana hunched lower, letting her hair fall forward to cover her face.

She looked like she had a year ago, sitting in Lucy’s apartment after a warm bath. Cana had used the hope Lucy had given her back then to get her this far, but the underlying problem remained. One of the real reasons why Cana kept failing the S-Class trials.

Lucy lifted herself all the way out of the water and sat next to Cana. She held out her hand.

Cana looked at it, then looked at her.

Lucy wiggled the hand.

Cana took it.

Lucy felt the callouses in Cana’s hand from her practice with throwing-star and explosion cards, felt the deep pools of magic inside her that allowed her to use five decks worth of cards, then summon them back to her hands to use them again and in different ways.

How could Lucy make Cana see it?

“Cana, can you imagine yourself becoming an S-Class wizard?”

Cana tried to jerk her hand away, but Lucy held tight and looked into Cana’s frightened eyes.

“Answer me. Can you imagine yourself becoming an S-Class wizard?” Lucy asked again.

Cana dropped her gaze, “I’ve failed four times. No one has failed four times.”

Not an answer and more than an answer.

Lucy added her second hand to hold Cana in place. “I get that you’re scared. You’ve almost become numb to failing at this, but I need you to try to do something with me. Do you trust me?”

Cana closed her eyes, took a deep breath, then looked at Lucy. She placed her other to cover Lucy’s, “Alright, I trust you.”

Lucy shifted to sitting cross-legged; Cana mirrored the position. “Close your eyes,” Lucy instructed. Cana complied. “Okay, nine months from now, you have passed the trial, you are an S-Class wizard. What does that Cana look like? What is she doing?”

There was a long moment of silence.

“I don’t know,” Cana admitted, opening her eyes.

“Try again,” Lucy encouraged gently. “Close your eyes. You make S-Class, do you still live at Fairy Hills?”

“I—yes? I like my place. I don’t want to move. Erza’s there too, so it’s not like you can’t live there as an S-Class.”

“Erza also lives at Fairy Hills with S-Class Cana,” Lucy repeated. “What is S-Class Cana’s relationship with Erza like?”

“We . . . I don’t know.” There was a minute of silence that Lucy waited out before Cana finally said, “She scolds me for drinking too much. I’m not setting a good example for the other members. S-Class wizards are supposed to be good examples.”

“Erza expects S-Class Cana to set a better example, what does S-Class Cana do?”

Here Cana finally gave a small smile, “S-Class Cana tells her that she’ll stop if Erza can out-drink her. If Erza won’t shut up or start drinking, S-Class Cana tells Erza to make her.”

Finally they were getting somewhere, “Erza says very well, S-Class Cana had better prepare for battle. She draws a sword. What does S-Class Cana do?”

“Just one sword? I wait for her to move first, then use the five of pentagons for a stabbing weapon, and eight of pentagons for a slashing weapon, and trap her arm in the card.”

“Erza summons a second sword . . . “

Lucy talks Cana through S-Class Cana’s fight, and Cana’s voice gained confidence. S-Class Cana soon gets Erza swallowed in trap cards and tells her that she isn’t setting a good example for the newer members of the guild, fighting in the guild like that, then releases her.

Erza admits that the fight was ill-advised, but tries to strike a deal to stop Cana’s day drinking. Deciding Erza’s glare was killing the vibe, Cana agrees to stop day drinking for a week if it will get Erza off her case.

Natsu comes in and demands that S-Class Cana fight him.

 “I tell the brat got more important stuff to do than fight you, I’m going out to lunch.”

“Natsu demands to know who or what could more important to S-Class Cana than fighting him.”

“Gil-Gildarts,” Cana said, squeezing Lucy’s hand tightly. Lucy squeezed back. This part was going to be even more important than the rest. But to keep it realistic, Cana had to use an arrow propulsion card, three of wands, to send Natsu flying across the room before she could leave.

“S-Class Cana goes to the restaurant with great beer that she and Gildarts always meet at when they get lunch together,” Lucy said gently. “Where is it?”

“Sal’s Bar.”

“Gildarts is already there, what does S-Class Cana say to him?”

“Hey Dad,” Cana whispered, trembling.

“‘Hey Cana,’ he greets back. He already has a drink ordered for you. Does S-Class Cana drink it?”

“Of course! Erza only meant to stop day drinking in the guild,” Cana said, more confidently. “Plus, he’s paying.”

“Gildarts askes Cana about her most recent job, what does she say?”

“Oh, you know, a hiking group got lost on Mount Hakube again,” Cana said unsteadily.

“Gildarts says, ‘Those folks are alive because of you. That’s a tough one for anyone else, but it was a cinch for you, wasn’t it? You were able to locate them without breaking a sweat.’”

“Yeah, locating them was easy, breaking them out of the ice wyvern den was harder, but—but not a problem for S-Class Cana.’”

Cana was falling out of the scenario, so Lucy said, “There we go, you’re done. Open your eyes.”

Cana’s eyes were shinier than when she closed them, and Lucy let go of her hand so she could wipe the almost-tears away.

“You did it,” Lucy said, patting the top of her head. “You imagined S-Class Cana. What she’s like. It turns out she’s not so different, but more confident and powerful after months of wearing the S-Class title. Natsu starts to challenge her, Erza starts to scold her about being an example, but she doesn’t care, because she’s Cana Alberona, S-Class, and she can handle being challenged to fights every day and dangerous, life-threatening emergency jobs.”

Cana took a deep breath and slowly let it out. “You know, that’s the first time I’ve done something like that. It makes . . . I don’t know, it seems doable. Like there’s a point after the desperate reaching. There’s an end.”

“The bridge between S-Class Cana and you isn’t so big now, is it?” Lucy asked.

Cana shook her head, “I think . . . I think I’ll spend some time meditating. Another fifteen minutes or so. Pull me out of it when it’s time, okay? Go play in the water.”

“Perfect, I was just getting overheated again,” Lucy said, slipping back into the natural pool.

If Lucy was a better friend, she wouldn’t have spent a year helping Cana figure out how to become S-Class, she would have helped Cana work through the wrong thought that Gildarts would reject her if she wasn’t an S-Class.

But Lucy had thought she was going to die before Gildarts returned when she first picked Cana up out of the snow. And now that Gildarts was here, it would be hypocritical to pull the ‘just talk about it’ card.

After all, there was about as much of a chance of Loke dissolving their contract and giving her key away if she told him her secrets as there was a chance of Gildarts telling Cana she was a disappointment and to leave him alone.

But the chance wasn’t zero. And so long as it wasn’t zero, it was a chance neither Lucy nor Cana were willing to take.

Not when it would break them.

~

“Well, Freed and Bixslow are out of the running for S-Class,” Loke said as they continued up the cave path, stretching his hands behind his head. “Natsu and Cana are the biggest contenders left, though Gajeel helped with Levy’s smarts isn’t going to be easy either, hopefully they all hit an S-Class and are magic spent if they aren’t out of the running yet. Wouldn’t that be lucky?”

 “You know that there isn’t an easy path to becoming S-Class,” Gray said.

Loke sighed, letting his hands drop. “Right, and Mest isn’t going to be easy either, especially if Wendy is healing him between rounds. Hey, he got pretty far last time, right? Who was his partner?”

“I . . . can’t remember,” Gray said slowly. “I should be able to remember, my memory isn’t that bad.”

“We’ll ask Lucy,” Loke said. “She seems to know him better than most. Especially since Mystogan lost his memory—” Loke halted. “What the hell?”

“What are you talking about?” Gray said. “It’s just us here. You know Mystogan is doing fine over in Edolas.”

Loke shook his head, “I don’t know, it’s like . . . I was just talking about what I know about Mest, and it seemed crystal clear that Mystogan can’t remember Mest because of the memory loss. Like an absolute fact.”

“Mystogan didn’t lose his memory, Jellal did,” Gray said slowly.

“I know that too,” Loke said, brows drawing together, “But it’s like . . . I don’t know why I was utterly convinced for a second that Mystogan had. Mest was Mystogan’s apprentice right? But why do I know that? Why do I know that but don’t know anything else about him?”

“It’s memory magic; we gotta go!” Gray said, taking off at a run. “The knowledge about Mest is fake, it’s a memory manipulation spell. We have to tell the others. Wendy could be in danger, Carla was probably sensing something off and we ignored her.”

Loke followed a step behind, and the memories cleared now that Gray pointed it out. Memory manipulation’s weakness is awareness. The things Loke thought he had known about the man were still there, but hollow. Drained of truth and disassociated from reality.

They crashed into basecamp.

“Welcome boys, congratulations on passing the first round,” Gramps greeted with a smile.

“We don’t have time for that,” Gray panted. “Mest isn’t a member of the guild. He used memory manipulation magic to fool us into letting him come here. I don’t know why he is here, but I bet it isn’t good. What route is he on?”

Gramps blinked for a moment as the awareness spread and fixed his memories.

He put a hand to his head, “Oh, this is complicated.” Gramps shook his head, “They took the other candidate battle route.”

Gramps pulled out a light pen and wrote “Congrats! Wait here!” in the air before running back down the path and turning off at a different fork.

“Hey guys,” Lucy said, when she saw them. “Did—”

“Sorry Lucy, questions later, we need to go deal with Mest!” Loke called as they ran past.

Unsurprisingly, Lucy and Cana started running with them.

“What’s up with Mest?” Cana asked.

“Whoever he is, he used memory magic to infiltrate the guild,” Gray said.

Lucy gasped, “You mean Carla was right? But Mest helped me when I was tracking dark guilds.”

“You may have met him while you were investigating dark guilds,” Cana said, voice strained, “But he wasn’t a member of Fairy Tail.”

“The memory manipulations should wear off now that you know about it,” Loke explained.

Lucy blinked, “STOP! Everyone! I know who he is!”

They stopped and looked at her.

“He’s Magic Council.”

Oh. Crap. They had REALLY ticked off the Magic Council if they were wasting resources sending spies to Fairy Tail’s S-Class trials.

Lucy turned to Loke, “You met him before, so did Wendy. Remember when we had that conference with the Coalition of guilds?”

The memory clicked, “Right, there was that magic council member who called you Birdie and convinced the other guy to let us go because they’d get Fairy Tail eventually. How didn’t I recognize him before?”

“Memory magic is a difficult art,” Makarov said, “He manipulated real memories of your previous meetings to add familiarity to the facts he implanted. One of those facts was ‘Lucy knows him better than others’ and Lucy was able to confirm that because she had more memories of him.”

“Well, what do we do now?”

“About what?”

Erik and Juvia had come out of the nearby cave exit.

Lucy nodded, “Doranbolt’s magic is useful, but his combat doesn’t match up to the rest of the guild. He wouldn’t have been able to beat you two. Where is Mest?”

“We left him knocked out beside Wendy,” Erik said, jerking a thumb behind him. “His teleportation is a pain, and the lack of skill was more than made up for by how much he hated me personally.”

“It was quite difficult to pin him down, I had to use the fact that he always went after Erik to defeat him in the end. And Wendy went down with a mild poison that causes temporary sleep added to her skin through my water lock.”

Gramps sighed, “Well, let’s go see what plots are afoot. Please refrain from explaining the situation to Juvia and Erik. I will explain later.”

They walked back as a group and found Mest sitting cross-legged, waiting for Wendy to wake up.

“Huh? What brings everyone here?” Mest said. “Don’t tell me you were waiting for us to start the next round?”

“Erik?” Master asked.

Right. Hopefully no one had blabbed the whole truth about Jellal and Erik to Mest yet.

Wait. Stupid hope. Mest had been partnered with Wendy for a week before this. He would have asked and she would have answered truthfully. He probably picked her on purpose because she wouldn’t even think to hide information from another member of Fairy Tail.

With a snap of Erik’s fingers, green poison seeped from Wendy’s pores and evaporated. The girl blinked awake.

“Master? Everyone? What’s going on?” Wendy asked, sitting up. “Did we do something wrong in the challenge?”

“I’m afraid someone is trespassing on our sacred ground, we need to gather back at basecamp to regroup and figure out what to do next,” Makarov said.

“Oh, okay,” Wendy said, getting to her feet and joining them.

Mest stood up as well, but didn’t walk forward, “I see the memory spell is wearing off. I used up more magic than I should have in that last fight against Cobra.”

Lucy folded her arms, “Yeah, it is. Did the Magic Council send you to make sure all of Fairy Tail’s leadership was here before firing an etherion canon blast on us? Can’t have us surviving after they missed last time.”

“The Magic Council?” Wendy gasped.

“Would you stop taking that so personally?” Mest rolled his eyes.

Lucy narrowed her eyes, “I happen to take execution orders very personally, you—"

“—Lucy,” Makarov interrupted her with a warning before turning back to Mest, “If the Magic Council wished to send an official representative to monitor Mystogan and Erik to ensure they remained available for future questioning, we wouldn’t have liked it, but we would have respected it. Is that what you have been sent here to do?”

“Cut the crap, old man,” Mest spat. “Wendy already told me everything. I know you’re covering for Cobra, and you’ve known you’re actually harboring Jellal this whole time. You purposefully lied to the Magic Council and used his double from another world who is skilled in illusion magic to give him an alibi. They won’t have to finish reading my report to start signing the paperwork to order Fairy Tail to disband.”

Loke wasn’t up to date on the rules for enforcing the penalty of disbanding, but if Doranbolt had heard everything from Wendy, there might be enough to make it happen.

Gray and Cana were reaching for their magic.

Gramps held up a hand to stop anyone from moving, “You will do what you feel you must, but I would invite you to wait until our S-Class Promotional Trial is completed. Please join us as an observer for the remainder of the trial before returning to make your report.”

“I was actually planning on taking a look around,” Mest said.

Gramps shook his head, “I’m afraid I can’t allow that.”

“Because this is your guild’s ‘sacred ground’?” Mest scoffed, making everyone else tense at the disrespect.

“No, because I am unwilling to let harm befall you now that we know who you represent,” Master Makarov explained. “Should you be injured or perish to the slew of magical beasts that call this island home, then the penalties against my guild will be unfair and severe. There are very few safe places on this island, and the next portion of the trial involves surviving the s-class monsters that roam freely here. That you chose to come here, that you chose to walk into danger, will not matter to your superiors should you die before returning and making your report.

“That you failed this first challenge shows me that, even with the help of an enchantress dragonslayer, you are not ready for all that you would face here. One of our S-Class wizards will be assigned to guard you should you wish to roam the island while observing the trial.”

“That sounds more like a prisoner situation than anything else,” Mest sneered. “I’ll have to decline. I certainly haven’t encountered any monsters to be concerned about.”

Makarov shook his head, “Our S-Class has been residing here this past week to clean out this area and ensure that the routes for the candidates were clear of the beasts until it could be determined who was strong enough to face the island itself. Those will be the conditions for everyone who remains on the island after failing the exam. Should you have bested Juvia and Erik, they would have been placed under the same restrictions. Please, your safety is a hanging blade over our necks.”

A magic council agent dying on their guild’s sacred ground would certainly be grounds for disbandment, if not criminal charges. Luckily Natsu wasn’t here, this negotiation would be a lot more difficult with him screaming about how they won’t let the Magic Council hurt Fairy Tail. Cana and Gray were already mirrors of clenched fists and gritted teeth every time Mest moved or opened his mouth to say something about Fairy Tail.

And, of course, Lucy was glaring like Doranbolt had murdered her and her family. Which . . . the Magic Council had come pretty close. That weighed much heavier for her than any current threats against Fairy Tail. Lucy had been treating them as a threat since Galuna Island.

Mest seemed to be weighing his options, before finally nodding, “Very well. I will act as a monitor for the remainder of the S-Class trials and accept an S-Class escort from Fairy Tail.”

Gramps nodded and Mest finally joined their group to walk back to the basecamp.

“Gramps, you can’t be serious, he’s going to try to get the guild disbanded,” Cana hissed as Mest walked ahead of them with Juvia and Gray keeping even with him. Well, Juvia might have been keeping even with Gray, but Gray had decided to keep an eye on Mest, so it was still two candidates within grabbing distance of Mest.

“There is more going on here than I can tell you at present,” Gramps murmured back. “You did well to follow my lead and I ask that you continue to do so. All is not yet lost. Have faith.”

“He doesn’t have enough,” Lucy whispered to Cana. “If he had enough with Wendy’s information, he wouldn’t have bothered coming out here. He’s looking for something else. Erik?”

“Secrets, rumors,” Erik mumbled, “Even he doesn’t know exactly what he’s looking for, something about Zeref.”

“Consider this as part of the trial,” Gramps instructed, loud enough for the group ahead to hear. “Being able work peaceably with the Magic Council is part of what it means to be S-Class, so is being able to lead others to do the same. Any treatment of Mest contrary to my orders will result in being cut as a candidate; your partner’s behavior will reflect on you.”

Gramps looked at Lucy, who had red on her cheeks as she looked firmly at the ground in front of her. Threatening Cana’s ability to become S-Class was the best way to temporarily smother Lucy’s anti-Magic Council agenda.

All bets would be off once the trial was over, of course, but depending on how Mest’s report was made . . . well, they’d have to see.

Notes:

Gray breaks through the memory magic with some insightful questions by Loke! Mest gets revealed early and everyone has to play nice! Cana finds the strength to actually picture what success looks like! (And it looks like a lunch date with her father, awww.) Lucy's worried the secret holding her back from dating Loke will cause him to end their contract! *gasp*

These bonus challenges are sure making things harder for our S-Class candidates.

Gray, Cana, and Juvia passed, but we'll have to see who else made it next week in "Second Round"!

Chapter 90: Second Round

Natsu was sitting pensively, quietly, when they arrived at base camp. He looked up, “What’s going on?”

“Let’s wait for everyone to arrive,” Gramps said cheerfully. “I’ll explain it all at once.”

“Who did you fight?” Loke asked.

“Me,” Gildarts said, coming out from behind a tent with his bag slung over his shoulder, “He didn’t beat me, but he passed all the same. He’s ready for the next stage of the trial. And I’ll be taking off, now that my part of the trial is done.”

“Wait! You can’t! What about the rest of the trial?” Lucy demanded, looking rapidly between Gildarts and Gramps.

“I told you, my part’s done,” Gildarts shrugged. “I’ll go back and help organize the welcome home party, or the congrats party if one of you manages to pass this year. Freed and Bixslow have already taken off.”

Lucy turned to Cana, who was firmly looking away.

“Thank you for helping; you can be on your way now, as I promised,” Master Makarov said.

With a two finger salute, Gildarts disappeared back down the trail.

Gramps hopped up on the tree stump where Gray and Loke had found him first, “Let’s see, Natsu has received a passing grade from Gildarts. Lucy and Cana bested Mystogan.”

“Wow, you beat Jellal?” Happy asked.

Lucy waved a finger, “Don’t underestimate us. Cana is S-Class material, no doubt about it.”

“By the way, where is he?” Gramps asked.

 “Uh, about that . . . .”

“First rule of holder magic,” Cana said for her, “Take care of your tools. He’ll be back when his staves are in order.”

Gramps sighed but nodded, “Very well. Gray and Loke have defeated Freed and Bixslow, so they advance, while Bixslow and Freed have decided to return to the mainland rather than observe the remainder of the trial.”

“Is there an extra ship they are taking back?” Mest asked.

“Can’t you feel it?” Cana asked, just short of dismissive. “Magic recharges quickly here. Those two flyers will be fine.”

“Yes, and Wendy and Mest have been eliminated, after failing to overcome Juvia and Erik,” Gramps inclined his head at the four, “Mest and Wendy have decided to remain here to observe the remainder of the trials.”

“So all the candidate challenge winners are here,” Lucy said, “That means . . . “

“Indeed," Gramps said, shivering. "Levy and Gajeel have had the misfortune of facing she who has no mercy.” 

“They did not pass, I’m afraid,” Erza said. She was holding a slice of cake in one hand and took a delicate bite of it. “It was a delightful battle, however.”

Erza looked nearly pristine with only a small cut on her chin, but Gajeel and Levy were both limping, clothes torn in six places each. Worse, they had smears all over them that it looked like they tried and failed to scrub out before coming.

“Why do you both smell like cake?” Wendy asked, her eyebrows pulling together. “Where did it come from?”

Levy winced and looked away while Gajeel grunted.

“Their tactics were unconventional,” Erza said after she finished her slice, “And somewhat disrespectful. However, they have learned a valuable lesson that will help them going forward in their lives.”

“You really tried to distract Erza by summoning cake on the battlefield?” Gray asked, cracking a grin to match Loke’s. Gemini had told them that was a tactic Levy was considering, but no one, not even Levy, thought she’d actually do it.

Natsu finally got up from his pensive thinking to put a hand on Levy’s shoulder, “I’m sorry Levy. No one deserves to see Erza like that.”

Levy shuddered.

“That means Elfman and Evergreen fought Mirajane,” Juvia said. “I doubt they were successful.”

“Don’t count us out yet,” Evergreen entered the clearing, supporting a limping Elfman.

“Yeah, we beat my big sis, so now I can protect her like a real man!”

Erza folded her arms and looked at Mira, who walked in sheepishly after them, “You let them defeat you? How?”

“I . . . don’t want to talk about it,” Elfman said, slumping and looking at the ground.

“We took advantage of our opponent’s particular weaknesses,” Evergreen said vaguely.

“They sure did,” Mira said, smiling despite looking worse for wear.

Honestly, Elfman had the best chance against Mira. Her siblings were her biggest weakness and greatest strength, no doubt about it. Though it sounds like it took Evergreen to actually take advantage of the fact.

She was a good partner for Elfman. Though their injuries meant they’d be pretty easy to take down going forward.

“Well, it appears we have our remaining teams,” Gramps said. “Let’s have a lunch break and I can explain an unexpected development in this year's S-Class promotion trial.”

A stew Mira had been simmering was distributed to the group, and while they were eating Gramps dropped the bomb about Mest for everyone else. Natsu nearly choked on his food when he heard the news, but didn’t make any sudden attacks when Gramps explained that working with Mest cordially was going to be part of the remaining rounds of the S-Class trial.

Once lunch and the dishes were done, Gramps cleared his throat. “Those who have passed the first round, please gather here.” When the five of them were in position, and their partners formed a loose ring behind the candidates, Gramps nodded. “The second round of the S-Class promotional trial begins now. To pass the next round you must search the island for the grave of Fairy Tail’s founder, Mavis Vermillion. You have six hours to find it, or you fail. No excuses. I will be waiting for you at Mavis’s grave."

“All right, you ready Happy?” Natsu asked.

“Aye sir!”

The two of them took off.

“Come on, we have a lot of ground to cover,” Gray told Loke.

Loke nodded and started running, the rest of the pairs taking off as well.  

How hard could it be?

Dumb question that Gray had already answered. There was no easy path to becoming S-Class.

~

Lucy and Cana were the last to pull away from basecamp, and Cana dodged immediately left, almost circling the camp, as everyone else took off.

“All this almost cheating gave me an idea,” Cana whispered. “Gramps said he’d meet us at the grave, right? Let’s try to follow him there. The longer we follow him, the smaller the amount of the island we have to scour.”

Lucy grinned, “Now that’s an S-Class idea. The monsters are clear of the area around here though. We'll have to keep a decent amount of distance so he doesn’t notice until there are more monsters around to blame the noise on.”

“So Mest, how would you like to proceed with your observations?” they heard Master Makarov ask from their hiding spot. “Will you await the results at basecamp with Mirajane, Erza, Wendy, Gajeel, and Levy? If you would like to observe the candidates more closely, Erza will be your escort through the island.”

Erza nodded. “Of course Master. Magic Council Agent Mest, it would be my honor to accompany you.”

“I believe I would like to accompany you, Master Makarov,” Mest said loftily. No, Doranbolt. “I would like to see the grave the candidates were sent to find with no clues.”

“Would you really?” Makarov mused, “Tell me, what do you know of Fairy Tail's first master, Mavis Vermillion?”

“Nothing, aside from the fact that she is the founding guildmaster of Fairy Tail from approximately 100 years ago.”

Ugh, Doronabolt’s voice was so smarmy and superior. Where was her friend that picked up all Lucy’s dark wizard takedowns and helped her out of the pit where the Revole guild was headquartered?

Lucy would even take the even-tempered man that had helped them out with Lahar, even if he was sure that Fairy Tail was harboring terrorists.

(She couldn’t hold that one against him too much, they were harboring former terrorists.)

“I must warn you that it was well known to my generation that Mavis’s ghost does not sleep soundly. She was a master of magics, but more importantly, she was a war hero known as the Fairy Tactician,” Master cautioned, “Her skill in leading her allies against enemies was unmatched. She pressed her heart and soul into our guild. I believe that most would consider it sacrilege of the highest order to bring the person who proclaimed his intention to force her guild to disband to her final resting place.”

His voice gained a grave, steely edge to it underneath the tired old man veneer. “But of course, we will comply with the review of Fairy Tail’s internal workings, as authorized by the Magic Council.”

Lucy couldn’t tell if Makarov was trying to bait or bluff Doranbolt into going to the grave or staying. Hopefully bait, because Doranbolt said, “I believe this stage of the trial is important to observe, despite the threat of ghosts. Please, lead the way.”

Nice! It was easy to imagine Master Makarov sensing them and leading them purposefully into danger, but now that he had to escort Doranbolt they would both be louder and Master couldn’t lose her and Cana through sheer better knowledge of the island, not without also losing Doranbolt.

Master Makarov and Doranbolt . . . took off back down the road that led to the routes. The exact opposite direction of everyone else. Once he was far enough, Cana and Lucy followed, waving hi to Erza, Mirajane, and Levy. Erza nodded in approval and Mira laughed while Levy wished them luck.

They got maybe a mile, just to the first major fork in the path when Makarov stopped, tugged at Mest, and whispered something in Mest’s ear.

Mest looked behind him.

“We’re spotted,” Lucy said, immediately rushing forward. Mest smirked and, with a hand on Master’s shoulder, teleported away.

“So much for that plan,” Cana groaned.

“Mest’s teleports are limited,” Lucy said, pulling on her clearer memories, “He has to have a good idea where he’s going, either directionally, somewhere in sight, or somewhere familiar.”

“They probably teleported along the path Mest took, let’s go!” Cana said, rushing down the path they had just traveled.

Hmm, bonus points for arriving first?

Unfortunately, it appears that in the afternoon the spot that Juvia and Mest fought turns into a den for war weasels. Lucy had to break out her whip to help Cana clear the room. At least it was decent practice to let her adjust to a river of stars weapon again, even if it did take way too long.

They raced all the way back to the firepit, then back to the ship for good measure.

Cana placed a hand to her head and groaned, “Ugh, he lost us."

Lucy sighed, “It would have worked if he hadn’t been escorting Mest. Or maybe he would have lost us somewhere a lot more dangerous.”

“Let’s try this then,” Cana said, pulling out their ever so important sheaf of maps. “Do you remember if the grave is marked on any of the maps?”

Lucy shook her head, “I remember thinking it was strange that what makes this island sacred is Mavis’s grave, but it isn’t marked anywhere. But then I realized the map maker for those histories was the second Master, Master Precht, and it seems like he drew the maps before he built the grave. There are the ruins of an old town marked to the northeast, there might be a graveyard there we can check.”

“First we try this,” Cana said, dropping to her knees and arranging the close up sections of the island on the sand before her, “You gifted both Master and Mest your meditation charms, right?”

Lucy nodded and Cana pulled out the two cards with their faces on it. Centering herself and gathering her magic, the two cards floated above Cana’s hand and spun in the air. One zipped past Lucy so fast it gave her calf a papercut. The other grazed the map, slowly moving, Mest’s face winking out of it.

“They aren’t there yet,” Lucy said, “It will be better if we wait for them to stop before following. But what happened to the other card?”

Cana sighed and summoned the other card to her and flashed Makarov’s face at her, “Gramps must have figured us out and left your Christmas present back in Magnolia. It went to where Magnolia would have been if the maps were big enough. We just have to hope Gramps doesn’t realize we gave Mest a card too and attach it to a giant lizard or something.”

Cana summoned the cards for the remaining candidates and let them take their places on the map. Natsu was the farthest away from basecamp, nearly to the other side of the island already. Elfman and Evergreen were heading inland towards the Tenrou tree.

Gray and Loke were actually heading towards the northeastern village ruins. Was that intentional?  Probably not.

Juvia was doing her thing with Erik, a few hundred feet behind Gray. All the candidates were heading away from where Mest was traveling.

“Thank you. Again.”

 Lucy tilted her head in a question.

Cana blushed and looked back down at the map. “For this idea. For picking me off the ground last year. For giving me hope and something to do between trials. I am a better wizard because of you. And probably a better person. So . . . Thanks. I know I’ve said it before, but it just hit me that if you hadn’t come up with the idea of tracking everyone we’d be running around without a clue, just like the others.”

Lucy smiled, “We came up with this idea together, remember? In the same conversation where you told me how you used your magic to predict when Gildarts would come to the guild, you told me about how surprise was the hardest part of the trial, and you never knew who or what to prepare for.”

“You were the one that asked if there was a way for card magic to track where people were in real time,” Cana pointed out.

Lucy shook her head, “You were the one that had heard of something. You paid for the specialty tracking cards, mastered the spells involved, and together we made these maps. This?” Lucy gestured at the cards gliding over the map, “This is your magic.”

Cana glanced down, and she was smiling this time. “The ones I got from the magic shop were too basic, spelled only to a specific map of Fiore. I had to redo and enhance the spell circle to work over any kind of map.”

“It’s beautiful.”

“It is, isn’t it?”

Lucy loved being the first celestial spirit key a new wizard would use. It had only happened four times, but the sheer wonder as someone embraced all the possibilities and freedom that magic gave them was so incredibly lovely.

Only about 10 to 15 percent of Fiore’s current population was capable of using the magic within themselves. But even out of that population, even less decided to explore their magic and use it. Most people ended up going with the safer, more stable paths that the rest of the world tread.

But not in Fairy Tail. Everyone in Fairy Tail made the choice to make magic their life, because at their core, they loved magic. Even if it was forced upon them, they love it.

Cana’s love for magic was reflected in her eyes right now.

She was dazzling.

“I can’t find my way out of a marketplace most days. If I was a candidate, this is where I would lose, because at the end of the day, my magic is limited to blinding people, wrecking darkness, and kicking stuff,” Lucy said softly. “You’re the reason we’re going to win this. I may have helped your training this past year, but you’re the one doing everything right.” Lucy held out her hand over the map, bent upwards at the elbow, “So let’s win this.”

Cana grinned and clasped her hand right back, squeezing tightly.

Cana released her and pointed to the map, “It looks like they’ve stopped. They’re on Route E, but a little higher and off the path.”

“I can’t believe we were expected to figure that out with no clues,” Lucy said, folding her arms while Cana gathered up her card and the maps.

“If my experience means anything, then there were clues,” Cana said. “Everything he said after ‘the second round begins now’ was probably some sort of clue.” Everything put away, Cana grinned at her, “Your magic may be kicking stuff, but your little fairy brain would have added his flower print shirt and the number of times he blinked and found rainbows as the heart of love and also the grave on Route E.”

“Come on, I don’t sound like that,” Lucy complained as they started jogging.

“I like it,” Cana said, “Sunshine, hope, and smarts looks good on you. Come on, have you really not figured it out yet how we were supposed to find Route E from what he said?” 

The clues were in what Master said? All he said was they needed to find the grave. They had six hours. No excuses. He would be waiting for them at the grave. Where were the clues in that?

Well, he did repeat ‘grave’ twice. And ‘grave’ had an ‘e’ in it, but it also has an ‘a’ and a ‘g’. The fact that the routes were the only known part of the island to the candidates, it made sense that you were looking for a route letter among the clues.

Maybe another word limited the answer down to ‘e’. A word that matched up to. “excuse” maybe? The grave was the central focus of this trial, so words like death, end, heaven, grieve, demise, final, sleep, or rest.

But the time limit was also specifically chosen, assuming the time limit was a clue and not just when Master wanted to head back for dinner. But Cana said everything was a clue so maybe out of those words, chose the ones to have six letters to match the six-hour limit, like grieve, heaven, or demise? But what made those words special?

They were like excuse, actually.

“Oh! I got it!” Lucy exclaimed. “All the words associated with the word grave that have six letters also have two e’s! Route E!”

“You forgot the sunshine and rainbows!” Cana laughed, speeding up as they crossed into the cave that began Route E.

“Because I don’t sound like that!”

They passed what had clearly been Natsu and Gildart’s battleground, the giant craters everywhere were a dead give away, and they had to dodge some very slimey, very large slug creatures that roared and gave chase.

Looking for it, Cana pointed out a small fork in the path down a smaller, darker cave. Less magiflies. Cana had to bend slightly so she wouldn’t hit her head on the ceiling.

Finally there was light ahead, signaling an end to the cave.

They slowed down. No one else could have gotten here before them and they were walking to a grave. Respect seemed appropriate.

They heard voices as they approached.

“So what should we do now? If I lie, then I’m exposed.”

“Write up the report, a failure of unconfirmed information, nothing substantial. Do it before you leave, then modify your memory to fit your report. If you truly feel that memory modification is safest for you, then—”

Master Makarov stopped speaking as Lucy and Cana strode into a circular divet in the earth, large trees and high stone walls encircled the grave site, cutting it off from easy view or access from above. Private, shaded.

The magic here was as thick as the rest of the island, but . . . softer somehow. Kinder and welcoming. Curling around those present with the touch of a friend, the touch of a mother even.

The simple stone grave stood before them, protected by a covering of wood and thatch. A stack of incense sticks lay before a vase placed on the stone steps leading up to the grave. Master and Doranbolt stood off to the side.

Cana went to the grave first and knelt down.

Lucy knelt beside her.

Cana used a card to summon a flame and light her incense stick, then offered the flame to Lucy. Together they placed the incense into the simple clay vase, pressed their hands together, and bowed their heads.

Thank you, Mavis, for creating such a wonderful guild. Lucy prayed, May we watch over this precious guild together.

After the prayer, they both stood up.

“Well done ladies,” Master said. “Cana, you have officially passed the second round.”

“Yes,” Lucy fist pumped.

Yes, they were at a grave, but as the guild master that made Fairy Tail, Mavis wouldn’t have been the kind of person to want or expect perfect reverence.

“That was awfully quick, even with the knowledge you gained from following us initially. How did you—” Makarov started, then sighed and looked at Doranbolt. “Lucy managed to give you a Christmas present, didn’t she?”

Doranbolt blinked, “Huh? Oh, the meditation charm,” Doranbolt pulled it from his pocket, “It would have looked weird not to accept it after I made us friends for my cover. And odder not to use it for regaining magic during the week of training or the trial.”

“No one expects the sincere ones,” Cana smirked.

“More importantly,” Lucy said, bouncing up to Doranbolt, “You were sounding like someone I remember being friends with back there. You’re not going to write a report to rat out Fairy Tail?”

He hesitated in the face of her smile and glanced at Master, who sighed again and explained, “This is secret information. No one, absolutely no one, can know.” Master nodded at Doranbolt.

Doranbolt took a deep breath, “I actually am a member of Fairy Tail, Mest Gryder. I infiltrated the Magic Council because of some concerns Master had. I erased everyone’s memories of my time in Fairy Tail, including my own, and only Master Makarov can give them back to me.”

Lucy and Cana looked at each other, then at Master, who nodded, then back at Mest, who sighed and leaned back against the wall of the cave where the grave was set.

“It was a coincidence, or maybe a subconscious knowledge even I can’t fully cover, that made me volunteer and the Magic Council chose me to go undercover at Fairy Tail to gather information,” Mest explained. “I’m in danger if my cover’s blown with the Magic Council, but it will all be worthless if Doranbolt gets Fairy Tail disbanded anyway.”

“We are only telling you this because you heard us,” Master said, “And because I believe you two are capable of acting as though you are unaware of this information. Mest will spend the next few hours writing up a report about his mission to infiltrate Fairy Tail before being discovered and fleeing. It will contain nothing damning, and he will modify his own memory to believe that to be the truth. When he leaves this sanctuary, it will be as Doranbolt, a Magic Council agent who wouldn’t mind seeing Fairy Tail disbanded to further his own career. You two must treat him accordingly.”

“Of course,” Cana said, she patted him roughly on the back. “If our paths ever cross again, I’ll treat you like the prick Doranbolt is.”

Mest winced, “Thanks.”

“Lucy?” Master asked. “Will you be able to continue to treat Mest with the same distain you treat all Magic Council staff? Or will the knowledge that he is actually a member of our family hold you back? I need you to be honest, we can erase your memories until the time is right if necessary.”

Lucy thought of Mest, the jumbled memories she had.

“When did this start? Three years ago when you were helping me with dark guilds, was that Mest or Doranbolt?”

Mest smiled, “Mest, but I was turning in the prisoners under the pseudonym Doranbolt, putting all the blame on you for breaking the law in attacking the guys, while I was the righteous citizen, a wizard but not guild affiliated, appalled and fixing your mistakes to bring the criminals to justice in your destructive wake. I didn’t want anything to fall to Fairy Tail, and that pseudonym eventually let Doranbolt infiltrate the Magic Council at a much higher rank a year later.”

“Bastard,” Lucy said with a smile. “I can keep up the ruse. I’m just glad one of my friends is only pretending to be a Council drone and isn’t actually one.”

“I will trust you both then,” Master said. “Now—what’s that?”

Lucy felt the chill roll through her spine at the same moment Makarov did. The magic was intense, powerful. And it stuck out like a sore thumb amongst the incredible magic of Tenrou Island, not because it was strong, though it was.  

Because in her sense of magic, this aura was death and ash.

Zeref.

~

Notes:

Cana has officially passed the second round and found the grave! And she still thinks she's cheating to do it. Is following Makarov and Mest an S-Class strategy or more cheating? Let me know!

Unfortunately, it seems Fairy Tail is not alone on this island, and the world's worst party guest has shown his face. Doesn't he have just the worst timing?

stay safe,
Thecagedsong

Chapter 91: Enemies Approach

“Don’t get caught in any battles, don’t use magic if you can help it,” Gray instructed as they ran through the island, heading roughly north. “We can’t waste time or magic fighting the creatures out here, not if we want to find the grave. Run faster and cover more ground instead.”

That was nearly an hour ago. The strategy was actually working great.

“I’m surprised nothing has stayed on our tails longer than a minute,” Loke said, his legs burning from the pace Gray set. Why did it always come down to endurance? “Maybe because it’s the afternoon, too hot to give chase.”

“Maybe,” Gray said, “But this isn’t the time to let your guard down. We’ve been looking for an hour, but I feel like we aren’t any closer to finding the grave.”

“You’re right, slow down,” Loke said, and Gray let them come to a stop. Loke sat down, breathing heavily, and drank some water, passing the canteen to Gray, who took his fill. “We don’t know where we’re going. We might circle the island at this rate, but we need to figure out a plan for finding the grave.”

Gray groaned and dropped to the ground beside Loke, “I know! I’ve been looking for signs, paths, anything manmade that might point us in the right direction, but there’s nothing.”

“Should I summon Gemini as Lucy or Levy and see what they think? If there were any clues Gramps gave about how to find the grave, I certainly missed them,” Loke admitted.

“You’re already down two summonings today. I don’t want you to waste them,” Gray sighed. “We can probably get everywhere on the island within three hours, if we don’t figure out something by the start of the third hour on the clock, we’ll summon Gemini and pick Levy’s brain. Or Lucy’s brain.”

Loke shrugged, “Where should we search until then?”

Gray looked up at the giant tree that made a giant pillar in the center of the island, and the treetop that shaded the area close to the trunk. “It wouldn’t be up there,” Gray decided. “Graves are meant to visited, it should be accessible. The challenge is to find the thing, not get to it. This round is testing smarts.”

“Makes sense,” Loke said. “It would be a huge time waste to get up there and search, only for it not to be there. It would be a great view though.”

“Maybe that’s what we need,” Gray said, eyeing some closer trees. “A bit of perspective. You said you grew up climbing trees on your estate, right?”

“I remember the basics.”

The tallest tree nearest them was sturdy enough for both of them to get a good height above the other treetops. Out to the north, the direction they had been running, the trees abruptly cut away, and they could barely make out the top of a spire.

“A city?”

Gray grinned, “And cities have graveyards. Let’s go check it out!”

Loke waited for Gray to climb down first and caught a flash of blue in the corner of his eye.

Turning to look back down the way they had come, there was something odd. Several creatures he remembered running past were visible at this height, the bigger ones at least. A scaley bird was lying in a clearing, nursing a hurt wing. A giant feathered lizard was lounging half in the sun, half on the path, clearly taking a nap despite Loke tripping over its tail five minutes ago.

“Hurry up!” Gray called.

This time Loke recognized the shade of blue twitching behind a tree.

“Coming!” Loke called, deciding not to say anything at all.

Gray might have hangups about Juvia taking out all the monsters on their tail for them, but Loke certainly didn’t.

They reached the bleached stone ruins with moss growing in and widening the cracks. You could see the outline of where buildings had been, sometimes with broken stone sometimes with dip of ground where grass didn’t grow as wild. The ruins of the town appeared to run up to a cliff face, possibly inside it if those holes in the cliff were manmade. It also spread down towards a cove.

“You’d normally put your graves at the edge of your town, right?” Loke asked, looking over the ruins.

“That’s where we have it in Magnolia,” Gray said, walking along the outer perimeter of the buildings. “Could you imagine living here? Between the heat and the monsters, life couldn’t be easy.”

“Probably lead to people here building up a lot of magic though,” Loke said. “Do you think the first master lived here?”

“Maybe, or maybe these are from even before—what’s that?” Gray spun around to look towards the sky. Back near base camp, a red firework burst and hung in the sky for several seconds while Gray swore. “Enemies approaching.”

“It looks to be a little farther south than basecamp, but it means trouble, right?” Loke asked.

Gray nodded, “It looks like the trial is going to have to be put on hold.”

“You guys had better come out now,” Loke called behind them. “We should stick together for whatever comes next.”

Gray frowned at him, then jumped as Juvia popped right out from behind a wall and Erik strolled out casually behind her.

“Oh, I get it,” Gray said with a smirk, making Juvia squeak, “You were following us, hoping we’d lead you straight to the grave. Of course you’d want to follow the team with the best chance of winning.”

“Yep. Ya’ got us,” Erik deadpanned, making Loke swallow a snort. “Now, how serious does something have to be for one of you to send up a flare?”

Gray shook his head, “Right, we’re trained on this during first aid training days. You two haven’t had one of those yet. A red flare lets nearby guildmembers know that multiple enemies are approaching that are too big for the spotting guildmember to manage alone. Considering the skill level of the people here, it’s multiple serious threats. A dark guild, probably, unless someone woke up several somethings on this island that they shouldn’t have. Point is, we need to regroup and figure out what’s going on.”

“Of course, my beloved Gray comes up with the best plans,” Juvia fluttered. “Shall we depart the way we’ve come?”

Erik’s ears twitched and he face the sky, “Heads up.”

Loke drew his scythe as he saw what Erik heard. Black dots were filling the sky and growing bigger. Maybe a hundred in the visible sky, forty sailing directly for their stretch of land. The light finally hit them right; behind the black veil of the flying spell were masked warriors.

Loke and Gray had to jump back as one crashed in front of them, the soldier appearing with his weapon at the ready.

All the soldiers were wizards dressed in black and purple robes, black masks covering their faces with a red insignia Loke had seen somewhere before but couldn’t place.

The weapons were way too big to be self-defense.

“Kill the Fairies!”

~

“Wait, is Fairy Tail actually hiding Zeref on Tenrou?” Mest asked.

“Zeref?” Cana asked.

Makarov’s brows drew together, “What makes you think we are hiding the dark wizard on our sacred ground? That pulse of magic was dark, but there are many dark magics in this world.”

“Isn’t Zeref dead?” Cana asked again.

“Not exactly,” Lucy said, remembering her various encounters with the wizard over the years. “I didn’t know he was hanging out here though.”

Honestly, Tenrou wasn’t a terrible place for the kid. The excess of magic in the environment meant that anything his curse torched could rebound fairly quickly, and sentients were only rarely going to be in the line of fire.

Mest looked between their blank and questioning faces, “Nothing. You really know nothing? Do any of you read the studies that come out of Crocus University’s Magical Research Department? Or the Bureau of Magical Research?”

Lucy was glad Master and Cana both agreed with her that the best course of action was to wait for Mest to realize how stupid that question was.

“What is even in Fairy Tail’s library anyway?” he asked, putting a hand to his head.

“Hey, it was revealed that the Bureau has been infiltrated by dark wizards and the Barum Alliance. It’s not like you can trust their research,” Cana defended.

Mest rubbed his forehead, “That’s the problem. See, the Bureau and the CU’s magical research department were both concerned with tracking levels of environmental magic in Ishgar and collecting data on large bursts of magical energy that disrupted the levels of environmental magic. They’ve generated slightly different sets of data over the years, and everyone trusted the Bureau, because their instruments were more exact and had a longer history of great research.

“When we found out from the members of the Oracion Seis that their leader was also the director of the Bureau, it led to a big investigation of their data. The biggest difference in the latest datasets is that, over the past three years, there have been flares of dark magic wrecking the environment out in the ocean. CU sometimes recorded it, but the Bureau scrubbed that data from their sets. It didn’t make sense, there were no environmental signs of something like that occurring out here, and the flares were scattered over a wide stretch of water.

“There was a theory that it was Jellal’s Tower of Heaven, but then CU’s department reported the flares were increasing after that tower was wiped out, and the nearest burst was recorded half a day away from the Tower of Heaven. Some people said it was a demon from Zeref's library, the flares are almost identical to when Lullaby was summoned, except it had the markers for human generated magic. So people were worried it was Zeref himself. Then someone else pointed out that Fairy Tail had a sacred island out here with unusual magical properties, and that could be distorting the data.”

Lucy put a hand to her head, “Thus the theory that Fairy Tail has been hiding the dark wizard Zeref on their sacred island.”

Because it’s so easy to control the whims of a 400-year-old teenager with unlimited magic and a death wish.

Anna Heartfilia and Anna’s mother had been friends with Zeref back before the worst of his books got loose, and Lucy did remember Zeref pretty well. He had an odd fascination with celestial magic for a while. She met him a couple other times too, it happens with immortals. The uncontrolled surge meant he wasn’t actively trying to ruin people right now, the Zeref she preferred, which explained why he was out here.

“Three years? I don’t remember feeling anything like this the past two trials,” Cana said, folding her arms. “Gramps?”

“When I say it increased, I’m talking from once every six months to once a week,” Mest said, shaking his head. “No one besides members of Fairy Tail know how to navigate the wind and sea currents to get here. Infiltrating the guild ranks and keeping a tracker on me was the only way for . . . Oh, uh, did I mention the magic council has five ships full of the third division hanging out at the periphery of the island?”

Master Makarov sighed, “Waiting to arrest us all at your signal, I assume?”

Mest winced and nodded.

There was a second fluctuation of the death magic, setting Lucy’s teeth on edge.

“Mest, forget the written report,” Makarov said. “Start crafting the memory spell that will have you forget the damning information against Fairy Tail. I don’t believe we can wait for the end of the second round before you rendezvous with the Magic Council.”

“Right,” Mest said, folding his legs and closing his eyes. “I’ll layer it with the current spell that substitutes the memories of our meetings, Master.”

They watched the magic gather and spread inside him as he worked.

Memory magic was complex and often full of holes, as seen by how quickly they pierced through Doranbolt’s façade, but the spell Mest was weaving was a different beast. Two magic circles each appeared above his ears, and another two over his heart.

A minute later the circles faded and he nodded at Makarov, “It’s attached to your controls of the spell.”

“What are we going to do about Zeref?” Lucy asked. “If he set off two dark magic blasts, that means something is setting off his curse. We need to quarantine him to one part of the island at least.”

Master opened his mouth to answer when a there was a crack and a flash.

The red signal flare painted the sky, visible through the trunks of the trees.

Enemies approaching.

Opposite direction from where Zeref was.

Enemies. 

Loke. She had to—

“Could someone have spotted the Magic Council?” Cana asked, barely keeping Lucy in place.  

Mest shook his head, “The ships aren’t disguised. Their sails have the council’s insignia on them, no one would mistake them for enemies warranting a red flare.”

“Someone else is here,” Gramps realized grimly. “There are other invaders. If I had to guess, people other than the Magic Council have realized that Zeref was hiding on our sacred ground.”

“Loke,” the name burst from Lucy’s lips, “I’ll go to him and Gray and get them to either here or basecamp, whatever is closer or easier to get to.”

The distant sound of explosions reached their ears. Turning to face the southwest, Lucy climbed the trees by jumping back and forth between two sturdy trunks to the top. The Magic Council ships were easy to find, given the plumes of black smoke rising from them.

In the air above them, a black aircraft continued to make its way towards the island.

Lucy reported what she saw.

“So our sacred ground is to be invaded and attacked under my tenure?” Master Makarov seethed. “I will make this right.”

“What should I do?” Cana asked.

Their voices faded. Loke was in a battle now. He sensed the danger. Danger from unknown forces trying to find Zeref. They were attacking him.

Danger.

Loke was in danger.

“Stay here, Cana,” Master ordered, his voice faint in her ears as ichor roared. “If any of the other groups have discovered the location of the grave, they may decide to rendezvous here rather than base camp. Do not share Mest’s identity, but share everything else. Mest? Lucy? Go.”

Lucy vanished into the celestial world, leaving behind the sound of Cana’s protests.

Step. Pivot. Appear.

~

“Right, that should inform everyone that we need to regroup. Let’s head to basecamp, they have less defenses there than at the grave. I believe we are going to have to cut your walk short,” Erza discarded the flare and turned back to a thoroughly beaten Gajeel.

The bodies of a humanoid chicken and dog wizard lay at their feet.

“What is that?” Gajeel asked.

They both watched their tiny master grow into a giant, one foot raised, and step onto the beach to confront Grimoire Heart’s flying ship.

“The giant’s wrath,” Erza said, smiling. “Come on, we need to focus on the members of Grimoire Heart that are already on the island after we inform basecamp. Gajeel, stay close—Ah!”

Gajeel tried to take a step to follow her, but collapsed on her instead.

Erza sighed and hefted him over her shoulder to begin the walk back. It was probably lucky that Gajeel and Levy got into a fight and Gajeel took off on a walk, that let the two of them identify the threat of Grimoire Heart early.

Didn’t mean this wasn’t going to be a long walk back to basecamp. Then again, Gajeel probably wouldn't be so bad if she hadn't thrashed him this morning.

Such was the burden of being an S-Class wizard. 

~

“When I get a hold of the guy that ruined my scarf, he’s going to pay!” Natsu spat. His white dragon scale scarf had turned black and he’d had to turn his vest inside out just so everything didn’t clash atrociously. “You sure you didn’t see what direction the crybaby went?”

“Sorry,” Happy apologized. “Elfman carried both me and Evergreen like luggage as he ran the other way. I couldn’t see anything.”

“Yeah, well, I’ll find him—hang on, who’s that?” Natsu skidded to a stop. A man with brown skin and darker brown hair stood near a cliff with his hand outstretched. Natsu crept up behind him and saw a bunch of ships out on the ocean, each emblazoned with the Magic Council’s cross.

The brown-skinned man turned his wrist stretched out towards the ships.

Explosions erupted.

“What’s going on?” Happy cried. “Did you just destroy those ships with one spell? Why?”

“Are you with the crybaby?” Natsu demanded.

The man turned towards them, “I am Azuma. Are you able to give me a fight that will make my blood roar?”

~

Jellal tasted the acrid stench of the destruction magic on his tongue and immediately jetted across the sky to find the source using his meteor spell. It wasn’t exactly like nirvana or the residue of circles of destruction, but it wasn’t dissimilar either. There was death in it, but also . . . also something he couldn’t quite remember.

He landed in the aftermath of the latest destruction, trees and plants turned to a dried black that was a single touch away from crumbling to dust.

Above him, the air filled with spheres, darting over the island.

Only one landed near him. A woman stepped calmly out of the fading sphere, with a face he only knew fragments of.

“Oh my, Jellal? Is that you?” she asked, “Now this is a surprise. I really thought that last etherion blast had killed you. I heard rumors Fairy Tail was protecting you, but I didn’t believe it after what you did to poor Erza.”

“Ultear,” Jellal named her. “I was told you died when you brought down Era on my orders after the Magic Council fired the etherion canon.”

“Hmmm, it appears that tales concerning both our deaths have been greatly exaggerated,” Ultear mused. “Now tell me, would you like to meet the man you sacrificed everything to resurrect?”

Jellal flinched a step back, “You mean . . . “

Ultear nodded, smiling bright and sincere, “It turns out he never died; he’s here. He’s here and he’s sleeping, waiting to be woken up. Sleeping wasn’t a metaphor for death, he’s alive! He’s waiting to meet us, once we find him.” She held out a hand. “Come, let’s fulfill our dream and bring Lord Zeref into the world to remake it with his full power.”

The pulse of utter darkness.

“Nothing good comes from Zeref,” Jellal said, feeling the truth in his bones. “You’re lying to yourself and everyone around you if you think differently. If you try to use any magic of Zeref, I will have to stop you.”

Ultear smiled and purple smoke began to curl from her hands, “But Jellal, Lord Zeref is the only true way to find our paradise.”

The purple smoke reached to curl around him, but Jellal snatched his most recent gift from Wendy and activated it.

With a slash, the smoke was swept away with a gust of wind, “Nice try, but—”

Purple smoke filled his senses, repeating the same words over and over again every night.

“Lord Zeref will build you paradise.”

His dreams echoed with those words, and he repeated them to his friends. He listened to what they desired most. Family. Homes. Zeref could give them all that, so long as the pieces all came into place.

Twenty years of memories poured into him, and he barely felt his knees hitting the ground.

Jellal did feel tears gather in his eyes as he watched the person he had been commit sin

after sin

after sin.

.

.

.

.

.

.

 

Notes:

A bit of a transition chapter where we mark where the various groups are during the initial assault. I still had fun with Loke casually letting Juvia fight his battles and Lucy groaning over dealing with the immortal child again. But let's be real, Natsu is the one truly suffering here, he's been the victim of a CRIME OF FASHION!

I forgot to say this before, but Happy LoLu Month 2025!

Because we are such a small community, we, the amazing charliepoet13 (who you should definitely check out if you haven't) and I, decided to start small with just two prompts to publish/add to the collection by the end of August. Here's the collection link: https://archiveofourown.org/collections/Lolu_Month_2025_FairyTail

The prompts: Contract and Royal. I finished posting my second fic last night!

HOWEVER if any of you lovely fans are inspired by or sitting on LoLu fan art or fanfic connected to these prompts, go ahead and upload it to Ao3 and tag it Lolu month (Fairy Tail) 2025 by the end of August (or mid September, we arent picky)! We'll add it to the collection and all have a blast.

Or add it to the unmoderated collection yourself. Or simply enjoy charliepoet13 and my fics and leave some fun comments about how you would respond to the prompts if you had the time/energy, that would be so much fun too! Or just comment with those key smashes! This event offers level's of engagement for everyone!

Stay safe,
thecagedsong

Chapter 92: Capricorn

 

The nearest enemy lunged forward with his spear.

Loke deflected it over his shoulder with his scythe.

He tried to twist to break the weapon, but it was sturdier than the Edolas royal army weapons. Instead of breaking, his opponent yanked it free with a blast of sand magic.

The sand kept coming. It coated his body, slowing his movements. Covering his senses. He couldn’t brush it off fast enough. It was everywhere.

Through the sand covering his ears, Gray yelled “LOKE!”

Air vacated a set of lungs, breath puffing in his face, sending the sand back to the ground, and the weapon that had been an inch from his neck bounced off his shoulder instead.

Lucy’s back was to him, filling his vision. He had fallen to his knees at some point.  The enemy’s hands stretched out over his head unnaturally.

Lucy’s nails drew blood from the vicegrip she had on the enemy’s bicep.

A bone breaking thud began to repeat as Lucy’s knee sunk into her opponent’s solar plexus over and over again. Thud. Thud. Thud. The opponent’s pained gasps were cut off with each new strike.

Lucy finally let go.

The man was about to sink to his knees when Lucy’s foot kicked upwards, sending the enemy into the air via a strike to a very sensitive piece of anatomy. Lucy threw her whole body forward with her light magic infused punch, sending the enemy flying backwards mid-fall.

“TOUCH HIM AND I'LL RIP YOUR FINGERS OFF ONE BY ONE AND SHOVE THEM DOWN YOUR THROAT!” 

There was a silence as everyone understood was very clearly that Lucy was not bluffing. 

Maybe it was the adrenaline of nearly dying, or his brain attempting to cope with his fear, but . . .

Murder Lucy looked damn sexy right now.

“We . . . we have our orders,” a different man grunted, “Attack and kill the fairies.”

It was Erik’s opponent, and Erik stuck him hard enough to send him backwards into a weathered pillar.

Lucy cracked her whip and kept her teeth bared.  

Loke decided to be responsible, “Tell me you didn’t leave Cana alone to come help me.”

Lucy cracked her whip across the neck of one man, yanking him forward to be trampled by the rushing soldiers behind him. “Of course not. Cana’s safe, I’ll explain later.”

Despite Gray, Lucy, and Erik being typically close range fighters, keeping a distance seemed to be priority for this battle. Lucy primarily used her whip and some denembola attacks, Gray used lances and hammers, and Erik used streams of poisonous gas, and one time a dragon roar. Loke and Juvia used their typical ranged attacks, and all of them remained back to back.

Maybe this was the most ideal position for the attackers in this battle scenario, but Loke couldn’t help but notice there were just a few less attackers trying to get him than the others.

Which was fine, it let him cover Lucy and Gray better at his left and right.

He gave every strike against an opponent his all, keeping them back, but it wasn’t sustainable. His muscles ached under the weight.

An endurance battle in heated open air against greater numbers. Loke had put in so much training since Galuna Island, the first time he was in this scenario, but it felt almost exactly the same.

Sure, these enemies were much stronger, but come on! After months of training he shouldn’t be winded this quickly! It had been barely three minutes and he was huffing.

Every movement was a battle in its own right.

“There, on the pillar to the east, he’s the leader,” Lucy said, “Denembola!” She sent a crescent of light magic slicing through the air towards the man, who casually dodged it with a jump.

Wait, was that a goat?

“I don’t think we can hit him,” Gray said. “I don’t know why.”

Erik grunted, “I shouldn’t be this low on magic, something’s wrong.”

“What? How is everyone else doing?” Lucy panicked.

“I can go as long as my Gray needs me to,” Juvia panted, “But I also am feeling much weaker than I should be.”

“I feel like every attack is using twice my normal amount of magic,” Gray said, but still he cast, “Ice-make cannon!”

“I’m not using much, but I’m tired and I haven’t been slacking on my endurance training,” Loke said. “Do you have an idea?”

“One,” Lucy said grimly. “I need a closer look at these guys though. Cover me.”

The next time a spell shot towards her, she ducked it and raced forward, breaking their defensive pattern. Erik caught the beam from hitting Juvia by taking the attack against a dragon-scaled forearm.

The enemy backpedaled and tried to get their scimitar in a defensive position, but Lucy grabbed the arm holding the weapon instead.

The others tried to surround Lucy, but Loke and Erik stepped in and kept them back. Morphing their circle instead of breaking it.

Lucy threw her opponent back towards Juvia and Gray, then took running leaps before she pounced.

Loke and Erik closed the circle behind her.

Two punches to the face and Lucy was able to snatch the enemy’s weapon and pass it to Gray, who flung it hard enough stab into the crack of a crumbling pillar and buy a few seconds from an approaching enemy.

Ripping off the helmet of the terrified soldier, Lucy shoved her fingers at the woman’s neck.

The woman hid her fingers under her butt.

Loke couldn't watch as he focused on striking the mask of another soldier, making them stumble back, before pulling the ball and chain back defensively.

“She’s already dead,” Lucy said.

Loke turned back just in time to see Lucy grab the soldier’s neck and snap it.

“WHAT THE HELL!”

The soldier dissolved into dust in her hands.

“Shit!”

“I don’t understand!”

“What!”

Lucy dusted off her hands, “I guess it’s time for the good girl gloves to come off. It’s human enslavement magic. Nasty stuff. Drains the will and magic of living humans. Then when you’re weakened and the caster kills you? The magic snatches your spirit and uses it as a puppet to be summoned at will until the caster releases you. Repulsive. But no use in holding back if they are already dead.”

“Finally,” Erik said, stretching out dragon claws with a suspicious purple aura on them.

“Lucy, we can’t be sure they’re all dead,” Gray pointed out.

“How many have we defeated?” Lucy demanded. “Twelve? Twenty? I don't see any bodies. The bodies all disappeared when we knocked them out enough. For those of us who expend more energy not killing, it’s smarter to stop holding back. They’re like celestial spirits, we can’t kill them in a meaningful way in this realm. But slaves instead of contract workers.” Lucy crouched, “I’ll herd them for you Erik, get ready.”

With a clap, their enemies disappeared.

Loke didn’t let his guard down, “Where did they go?”

“They were unable to defeat you,” the remaining wizard said, the one Lucy identified as the leader. He jumped down in front of them, an upright goat with black glasses and a tight-fitting suit that cut off above his abs and cut off his pants just before his backwards kneecaps. “It costs me more magic if you killed them all instead of simply dismissing them, so they were no longer needed. I shall have to deal with you myself.”

With that, the goat came down on them like a sledgehammer. Lucy had been in a sprinter’s position and was immediately kicked to the side, Loke got kicked on the back swing. He didn’t see Juvia and Gray get kicked, but Erik seemed to be the only one with enough energy still to dodge himself.

“Who are you? Why are you here?” Gray demanded, getting back to his feet. “This is our guild’s sacred land, what’s your objective?”

“I am Caprico, a member of the seven kin of Purgatory, the elite wizards of the guild Grimoire Heart,” the goat announced.

There was something strange about him, something pressing that wasn’t magic drain or . . . or anything. Something Loke hadn’t seen since his childhood, but also something he’s never been without.

Which made zero sense and Loke needed to not focus on it if he was going to help get them out of this in one piece.

“Grimoire Heart, one of the Barum Alliance,” Juvia said under her breath, and placing the insignia on the masks that had made his heart sink.

Lucy had drawn the guildmark when they were gathering the information before taking on the Oracion Seis.

“Our primary objective is to bring about the Grand Magic World,” Caprico said. “It’s a world where we, the powerful magic users, are free to explore the total extent of our magic with no restraints. It’s a world where those who cannot use magic are eliminated, and those who defy us are turned into servants and experiments. It is a world made for us and no one else.”

“Only ten percent of people can use magic!” Loke yelled. “You’re talking about killing ninety percent of sentient beings!”

The goat looked down at him, his sunglasses sliding forward, “That is not my problem.”

“I have never heard of something so selfish, cruel, and cowardly,” Juvia seethed.

“That’s fine,” Caprico said non-nonchalantly, “In order to achieve our goal, we have two objectives at the moment. The first is to acquire the Dark Wizard Zeref and awaken him in order to bring about the destruction necessary to begin the proper world order.”

Zeref? As in, Deliora Zeref? Lullaby Zeref? Wasn’t he dead? He was like, four hundred years old, why isn’t he dead!

And why were they looking for him here of all places?

Caprico continued, “The second objective is to find and eliminate the members of the Fairy Tail guild. So you see, what you believe and whether you agree to it is secondary, as you will all die today anyway. Though, I suppose I will make an exception for one of you.”

If he was a summoner, it was probably Lucy. They were going to be killed, and he would offer to take up a contract with Lucy.

“Cobra? For the sake of our prior alliance, I am inclined to offer to let you join Grimoire Heart, due to the unfortunate ending to your prior guild,” Caprico said, turning to him.

They all turned to Erik, whose eyebrows rose as high as they could go.

“You have done well to stay out of the grasp of the Magic Council by pretending to ally yourself with Fairy Tail, but you of all people understand the kind of world we are trying to build. You were trying to build a similar world a few months ago with Nirvana. If you would like to join the guild that will actually succeed at bringing about the world you dreamed of, Grimoire Heart would gladly accept you into our ranks.”

Did the Oracion Seis and Grimoire Heart work together in the past? It was probably through Brain if they did, because this was the most shocked he had seen Erik since Lucy appeared behind him in the cabin.

Erik’s dropped jaw and raised eyebrows morphed into a sneer.

The way his nose wrinkled said it all, but Erik felt the need to add, “Look, these freaks may be annoying, overbearing, and loud. Obsessive . . . ridiculous . . . unable to focus for ten combat minutes without flirting, and are absolutely awful at respecting personal boundaries.”

Thanks Erik, so happy to know how you really feel.

Not that Loke could refute the charges.

“But they sure as all hell know how to have someone’s back.” Erik said, sliding into a more coiled combat stance. “They also know how to get back on their feet enough times that no one is ever gonna knock ‘em down for good. I am picking the winning side here. I’m not going to make that mistake again.”

“Very well, I will inform the others that you have declined our offer,” Caprico said calmly.

A blink.

Capricorn was rushing Erik. Lucy yelled a too-late warning.

A hand like a blade, nails sharpened to points, dug into Erik’s chest.

“That means I will kill you with the rest of Fairy Tail, of course,” Caprico said, then removed his hand. Erik collapsed to the ground, Lucy and Juvia rushed to help him.

Capricorn took out a handkerchief to wipe his hand clean.

Erik should have heard that attack. Should have been able to dodge. Or use dragon scales. He shouldn’t have just . . . taken it.

It was the human enslavement magic, it had to be. Loke could feel it stronger than before, pressing down on his limbs like the humidity had been jacked up another three notches. Erik was too slow to react because of it.

“That’s enough,” Lucy said, standing up and leaving Erik to Juvia. “Caprico is mine! I'm calling him and he’s not bigger than a house! Everyone leave him to me and get out of here!”

“Lucy, this isn’t the time to go solo,” Loke insisted.

Gray added, “You hate that rule.”

Lucy widened her stance and dropped the cute heart knutz outfit she had picked out shopping with Cana. Her hair pulled itself into a lion tail and her black fighting outfit covered her form instead.

“You are all suffering from his human enslavement magic,” Lucy said, eyes and fists tight. “I’m the only one immune as a celestial spirit. There are six more enemies of roughly equal strength on this island, let me take care of this one. You get Erik to Wendy at basecamp and regroup with the others. I’ll take care of Caprico.”

“I was beginning to wonder if you even remembered you were a celestial spirit,” Caprico taunted. “You so enjoy playing at being human.”

It sounded like he knew her. Like they had history and this was personal.

“You know the rules! He’s mine! Go back to Basecamp, now!” Lucy ordered.  

“Aren’t you going to tell them that I’m a celestial spirit too? Or are you trying to appear as though you haven’t fallen down on the job, Leader of the Zodiac?” Caprico mocked.

No, Capricorn. The Spirit of the Sea Goat constellation.

But where was his wizard?

Capricorn rushed Juvia, but Lucy caught him in a grapple, stopping him in his tracks.

“Let’s leave this to her,” Gray finally decided. “There’s more going on here, and Erik needs help.” He and Juvia shouldered Cobra together and started back towards the forest.

“Hey Lucy?” She was set firmly enough that she could glance over her shoulder when Loke called, “He’s not better than you, so I’ll see you when you’re done cleaning up.”

Lucy smiled and nodded. Loke left and didn’t look back.

There was yelling and crushing stone behind them, but they kept going, even when the crushing stone was uncomfortably close.

Lucy would be fine. A member of the Barum Alliance was no match for her.

Deep in the woods, Gray called for them to stop.

“What’s up? How’s Erik?”

“Passed out, but somehow he’s still alive,” Gray said.

“It’s a miracle, that strike was directed at his heart,” Juvia added. “He needs Wendy.”

Gray nodded, “I agree, that’s why I stopped us. I think we need to split up. See that?”

He pointed and there was a plume of smoke in the sky.

“Natsu?” Loke guessed. “I thought Natsu’s fire doesn’t smoke.”

“It starts to smoke when it catches onto wood and he takes his magic out of it,” Gray explained, “It could be him, it could be another one of these freaks, it could be another member of the guild.”

“Wendy is at basecamp is in another direction,” Juvia realized. “I see! You want Loke to carry Erik the rest of the way to basecamp while you and I go to investigate the smoke signal! That’s a great plan, I accept.” Juvia immediately shoved Erik at Loke and bounced closer to Gray.

“Watch it! The man has a hole in him,” Gray scolded, keeping Erik upright while Loke tried to slip into Juvia’s place. “And that’s not a good plan. Loke and I have been training and working together for a while, if all of Grimoire Heart is at the same level as Caprico, we’re going to need the best team to face them. Erik is your partner, and we’re closer to basecamp than the smoke signal. You can come back and help us, but you need to get your partner to safety first.”

“But . . . but you said the strongest team,” Juvia protested. “I was selected as a candidate, meaning Master Makarov at least believes I am stronger than Loke. We would make the strongest team, while the less strong member—”

“Cut the crap Juvia!” Gray yelled. “We need to focus. I know you’re strong, that’s why I trust you to get Erik back without us. We can’t act stupid just because you have a crush on me. You are a candidate for the S-Class exam, which means you keep your partner in one piece. So act like it!”

Gray was drawing a hard line with Juvia, Loke had never been prouder.

Juvia’s trembling hands turned into fists, “You say that I must return my teammate to basecamp before you will allow me to accompany and support you? Fine. Then that’s what I’ll do!”

Erik was ripped from both their grasps and thrown over her shoulder. Juvia rushed off, calling loudly, “Wait for me My Love! I will rush back to you as fast as I can!”

She disappeared among the trees.

Loke looked at Gray, “Dude.”

Gray groaned and rubbed at his face, “I know. But the pressure of his body on her shoulder will hopefully slow down the bleeding more than we were able to while walking. Probably. I’ll have to deal with her insane crush another time.”

“At least you’re being honest with yourself,” Loke said. “Let’s head towards the smoke.”

 

~

 

“Hey Lucy?” Loke called. She was set firmly enough that she could glance over her shoulder, “He’s not better than you, so I’ll see you when you’re done cleaning up.”

A plume of power unfurled inside her, making her smile and nod at Loke.

With Loke’s faith in her, Leo the Lion wasn’t going to lose.

“Taking all the fights for your master like an eager puppy, aren’t you?” Capricorn said, teeth bared, increasing the pressure on his grapple. Leo let him push her slightly backwards, buying time for her fleeing friends.

“The question isn’t why I am fulfilling my oaths as a celestial spirit,” Leo said, gathering shining energy in her hands, “The question is, why aren’t you, Contract Breaker!”

That startled something inside Capricorn and it was enough to let Leo throw him to the ground. Before she could follow up, Capricorn was back on his feet and jumping on top of a nearby pillar.

“I didn’t recognize him with his hair so short and the voice of a man, but that’s Loke Heartfilia isn’t it? Your master? The one Capricorn is bound to serve?”

Third person?

There was a separation between Caprico, the Grimoire Heart wizard, and Capricorn, her friend that had helped her develop her combat style and made her learn every Earthland era’s style of ballroom dance.

She really wasn’t talking to her friend, his body was being controlled by someone else.

Leo kicked out the pillar he was standing on, making it fall in the opposite direction of her friends. With the humans gone, this was purely celestial business, no need to hold back.

Jumping up, he cast a black parody of celestial magic, “Hunter of Belparaso, Samagui!”

Another human spirit appeared, a hunter with a bow and fur lined helmet. Lucy rushed him, but he was well trained and had an arrow shooting for her before she could get the first hit in. Her dodge wasn’t fast enough to avoid a cut to her cheek.

“Ignore her!” Capricorn ordered. “Take out the fleeing red head and free me from this wretched goat’s will once and for all!”

Loke.

She grabbed the human spirit’s head and twisted, sending him back to the spirit world, but not before he got off three arrows, curving straight for Loke’s back.

“Denembola!” Lucy cast, kicking out two crescents of light.

“Ha! You missed!” Capricorn crowed when her light magic sped past all three arrows.

But the crescents curved and took out the two pillars that marked the entrance to the ruins, the original town gate, forcing them to fall right into the arrow’s path and stopping the attack.

“Enough,” Lucy cracked her knuckles. “Capricorn, you answer to me.”

“I AM CAPRICO!” he screamed. “Especially once I kill Layla’s only child, that animal will be gone forever!”

“That’s all I needed to hear,” Lucy said, hoping she was right about this. “I know who you are. I’m addressing Capricorn, who can hear me underneath your incessant screaming. Capricorn, as your leader, I apologize for not getting your permission first. However, I order you to act quickly once it is done.”

“Capricorn can’t do anything,” Caprico scoffed, “The flicker of his will is all but snuffed out.” Caprico rushed her, claws out to tear her apart. “Don’t count on him to save you!”

“Switch.” Lucy cast.

Just as it had when she had done this for Aries, her essence passed by her fellow spirit’s essence as she assumed their place.

Capricorn’s soul was crying with gratitude as they passed.

Bound into the spell where Capricorn had been, Lucy was shoved into a corner of her mind as the human wizard took control of her hands and feet and eyes. His magic aura was repulsive, like her key had been submerged in toxic ooze.

It scoured at her sense of self, trying to dissolve her edges.

Stars, Capricorn was going to need so much psyche counseling after this.

Eight years. Eight years since Capricorn was last summoned through his gate. Eight years of this, of holding onto his legacy contract with Layla and Loke for dear life.

“What? I’m in a human body! Ha. Ha ha! A beautiful young woman too. Oh, this has potential. I can’t believe Leo failed so spectacularly! Now I can use this form to get close to the Heartfilia child without arousing their suspicions. I’ll still have to kill him to end his cont—WHAT!”

Capricorn’s fist dug into her back.

Couldn’t be soon enough.

“Nashira Balance,” Capricorn cast.

Her body shook like ground zero of an earthquake, but each shake gave Lucy more and more control over her body as the wizard was shaken out of her. Finally, she fell backwards, completely herself again.

Capricorn caught her. “Lady Leo, I am glad to see you again.”

“Glad to see you back to yourself, my friend,” Leo said, patting his chest.

Capricorn was a service spirit, preferring traditional butler and organizational duties to combat. To better serve in this role, Capricorn’s magic tended towards spiritual balance spells, emotional clarity and calming, and restoring people to their natural minds and bodies.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t use those abilities on himself so she had needed to take his place. But once he was in control, he could easily use his magic to separate her and the wizard.

“I’m human again,” the wizard gasped. Zoldeo, if she remembered Capricorn’s contracts right.

She turned to glare at the man on the ground, “Now, I believe there is still the matter of the real contract breaker.”

“Indeed,” Capricorn said, setting her on her feet. He accessed the wardrobe to change into a full suit and fixed his tie, “I require the ruling of a Court, the wizard Zoldeo has egregiously violated his contract with me on multiple counts.”

Zoldeo’s eyes snapped up. “What?”

“Court granted,” Leo announced, letting the world shift around them.

 

~

~

~
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~

Notes:

Murder Lucy saves the day and Loke is finally starting to appreciate her properly. Erik has turns down the offer to join Grimoire Heart, but makes sure to insult Fairy Tail while he does it. Erik's defense against the slander? The truth. Gray admits he knows Juvia has a crush on him! Team Gray/Loke go investigate a mysterious smoke signal. Lucy reminds everyone why she's the leader of the zodiac by laying on a beat down before coming up with a surefire plan in under five minutes that wrecks Zoldeo in less than one.

 

This chapter is pretty good, but next chapter is one of my favorites for this whole fic. Get ready to have your minds blown!

Last chance to put in a review any theories about Celestial law 1, Capricorn, or why Lucy won't date Loke! All my foreshadowing from as early as chapter 3 pays off next chapter, and if you want people to believe you when you go "I KNEW IT!" next week, Here's your chance!

(For those very familiar with the source material, Capricorn and Layla's canon backgrounds are contradicted by canon itself, so while everything else in this fic is canon except what Loke and Lucy got up to in their switched roles, I did tweak their backgrounds a little to make more sense.) (But just a little.)

Chapter 93: Celestial Court

The pocket dimension of the Court bloomed from her hands, encasing them in a fifteen foot wide dome that sat in the border between their worlds. Standing on the ground of earthland, under the stars of the celestial world.

“Wait, what’s going on?” Zoldeo asked looking around.

Leo snapped her fingers. Two desks and a judge’s stand appeared, “You have been charged with breaking celestial law through the violations of your contract with the Golden Celestial Spirit Capricorn the Sea Goat. You are granted the opportunity to defend yourself against these charges. Following all arguments, I will pronounce judgement on this issue.”

Leo marched up to the judge’s stand. Her earthland clothes really weren’t appropriate, but her usual combat outfit didn’t feel right either. She used the closet to change into the white and blue dress with detached sleeves she had preferred before the Karen incident, but let her hair tie into twin tails tied off with the blue ribbons of Loke’s Christmas present.

Not perfect, but it would have to do.

Wait, add a long navy cape for dramatic effect. It worked for the Celestial Spirit King, it could work for her.

 The cape swished as she sat down at the Judge's seat, Capricorn took the plaintiff’s table, but Zoldeo stayed on the ground, gaping.

Ignoring him, Leo hit her gavel once, “Court is in session. Leo the Lion, leader of the twelve golden zodiac spirits, presiding.”

Zoldeo jumped to his feet, “You can’t keep me here. I summon Hero of Rubengard, San Jiao Shin!”

Silence.

Leo eyed him disdainfully from her raised bench, “This is an interdimensional court of law, Mister Zoldeo. The parties shall refrain from using magic until all disputes have been resolved. You have been charged with several violations of your contract with Capricorn, it is in your best interests to take your seat and take this seriously.”

Zoldeo gulped, and the unfortunate scarring around his mouth pulled as his eyes widened with fear. The lines of his mouth continued into his cheeks with the scar, small cuts giving him the appearance of a skull.

An unfortunate portent.

“Take your seat.”

Tentatively, Zoldeo sat at the defendant’s desk.

“First, here is the copy of the party’s contract as recorded in the celestial world,” Leo said, letting the document appear in her hand, curtesy of Crux, who was always behind the scenes as record keeper for these proceedings. A quick review confirmed it was the same contract she had examined before. A base contract with a modification for dissolution should one of Layla Heartfilia’s descendants take up celestial magic.

Leo sent the contract levitating through the air to sit in front of Capricorn, “Is this the contract you signed with the human wizard Zoldeo?”

Capricorn looked through the pages before confirming, “It is.”

The contract levitated to hover before Zoldeo, “Is this the contract you signed with the Golden Celestial Spirit Capricorn?”

Zoldeo didn’t touch it.

Leo waited.

Finally figuring out she wasn’t budging, Zoldeo took the paper and flipped through it, stopping the longest at the second page and the final signature page.

“Yes.”

“Excellent.” She hit her gavel once and exact copies of the contract appeared before her and Capricorn. “Capricorn, please explain to the Court what violations of the contract you believe occurred that form the basis of your charges against Zoldeo.”

“Zoldeo is in violation of clauses 14, 16, and 32.”

Leo nodded, turning to those exact clauses, “The Court will now read out the provisions the defendant, Zoldeo, has been accused of violating.

“Clause 14: The magic of the Celestial Spirit shall not be used in a manner aside from the contracted summonings without prior approval from the Celestial Spirit. Clause–”

“Actually—” Zoldeo interrupted, but Leo pointed at him and his words vanished.

He started to grab at his throat dramatically, so she explained, “I have been granted all powers necessary to retain order in my court when ruling on interdimensial disputes between denizens of our realms by the gods of Eathland and the Celestial Spirit King himself. You will have your turn to speak, but not while I am speaking. Do I make myself clear?”

Zoldeo froze, which was good enough.

“Let’s see . . . Clause 16: Neither the golden key of Capricorn, nor the celestial spirit Capricorn, shall be used by the contracting wizard in dark magic spells involving sacrifice, fusion, mind control, transfer of immortality, or any magic currently forbidden by the governing body of magic in the territory wherein the wizard is located on Earthland.”

No. She knew this was coming, but reading this clause made it real. The lion must adjudicate fairly according to law.

First she had to get through Court proceedings properly and fairly, then she would worry about what came next.

First, read the remaining contract clause.

“Clause 32: Special provisions unique to this contract. The wizard agrees that should any descendant of the celestial wizard Layla Heartfilia take up celestial magic, the wizard shall immediately surrender the golden key of Capricorn to the descendant, at which time this contract will be completed and fulfilled in full with no further obligations between the parties.”

Leo set the contract down on her desk. “Capricorn, how has the wizard Zoldeo violated these provisions of your contract?”

“My contract with Zoldeo began in the year 774,” Capricorn started. “In the year 777, Zoldeo summoned me and used human enslavement magic to fuse our bodies together, granting him control over my body and abilities, as well as my immortality. Thereafter he used my celestial magic and my body in combat without my consent, thus violating Clauses 16 and 14 respectively. Also in the year 777, Layla Heartfilia’s son, Loke Heartfilia, took up celestial magic and made contracts with the celestial spirits Cancer, Aquarius, Horologium, and Crumudgeon. The human wizard Zoldeo was aware of at least the contract with Aquarius and refused to surrender my key, thereby violating Clause 32.”

As expected from Capricorn, the factual allegations supported the charges perfectly.

Leo turned to Zoldeo, “Now you may speak. What do you have to say to Capricorn’s allegations of contract breaking? Do you dispute any of the facts he has stated or any interpretation of law that he has offered?”

He looked mad, fits of madness mad, as he glared at her.

His rage made it a little easier to be the force of justice she needed to be. To be what the Leo the Lion needed to be.

She met his gaze.

He thought spirits were like puppets? Animals?

Do it. Throw a fit. Attack me. I dare you.

It took effort, but some of the red in his face receded.

“Human enslavement magic is lost magic, and therefore not forbidden or ‘dark’, which are vague terms,” Zoldeo seethed. “He knew what magic I was practicing when he answered my summons, therefore he implicitly consented to the ritual. I was unaware that Loke Heartfilia had taken up celestial magic. I overheard Grammi bring Aquarius too late to save Lady Layla’s life, and a vague plan for Loke to take up the keys, but I heard nothing about Loke actually making a contract.”

Pathetic defenses, but if that last one was proven it could make for a reduced sentence. Leo turned to Capricorn, “Capricorn, do you have a rebuttal?”

“Whether or not human enslavement magic itself as illegal in Fiore is tangential. The contract violation was using magic that fused our bodies,” Capricorn said. “I am required to answer my summons according to the contracted time frames, whether or not I approve of the secondary magic my wizard is training. I did not agree to be fused with Zoldeo, nor did I agree to be kept from the celestial realm for so many years. I felt my contract activate with Loke Heartfilia after he made a contract with Aquarius, and I immediately informed Zoldeo of that fact. He held me back from fulfilling my contract with full knowledge of what he was doing.”

“I didn’t intend to fuse with you idiot!” Zoldeo scoffed. “You actually thought I wanted to be goat for the rest of my life? I certainly didn’t need your stupid voice in there the whole time even if I did.”

“Why did you perform human enslavement magic on Capricorn?” Leo asked curiously. “You already had a contract with him.”

“I . . . I just didn’t want to die,” Zoldeo admitted. “I gain the use of the magic of the spirits I enslave, I thought it would grant me immortality.”

Leo nodded, trying to keep the heaviness of her heart from her voice, “You sought to partake in the immortality of a celestial spirit? That is itself an intention to violate the contract. The effect of fusing with Capricorn was an actual violation of contract. That is sufficient under the law. Is there any other information you want to provide the Court?”

“I don’t remember him telling me anything at all about Loke Heartfilia or getting any sense of a contract obligation,” Zoldeo lied.

“I myself heard you say, and I quote,” Leo brought up a memory screen behind her to replay the memory. Zoldeo’s voice rang out, “Take out the fleeing red head and free me from this wretched goat’s will once and for all!” followed quickly by “I AM CAPRICO! Especially once I kill Layla’s only child, that animal will be gone forever!”

Zoldeo at least had the decency to be embarrassed by that, judging from the way he was cringing.

“At the very least you became personally aware that Loke Heartfilia had taken up celestial magic upon my appearance on the battlefield,” Lucy said. “You were clearly aware that Capricorn’s ability to remain present in his body was connected to his unfulfilled contract with Loke Heartfilia. That you immediately sought to kill Loke Heartfilia indicates you had no intention of surrendering Capricorn’s key to him and fulfilling your side of the contract. It does not support your ignorance defense at all.

“And finally, lack of actual knowledge is no defense when there was ample evidence of constructive knowledge. You should have known that Loke had taken up celestial magic through Capricorn’s senses and warning, even if you ‘ignored’ it. You should have known through your activities as a member of Grimoire Heart. The celestial wizard Loke Heartfilia has been involved in several events that your guild has been monitoring; the destruction of the Oracion Seis is one such event that you confirmed yourself to paying attention to.”

Zoldeo tried to speak, but no words came out, and it wasn’t her doing this time.

“-that’s right! I’m a-a human member of Grimoire Heart! You can’t do anything to me!” he finally argued.

Leo sighed and, with a flick of her hand, flipped the contract in front of Zoldeo, “Please read aloud Clause 30.”

Zoldeo read it silently and scowled. She let it go. Clause 30 was the clause binding the parties to the jurisdiction of the court and punishment according to the celestial codebook.

“Are there any more substantive legal or factual arguments?” Leo asked. “I believe I have enough to make my ruling,”

“The complainant rests.”

“Don’t I get an attorney? Can’t I call witnesses in my defense?” Zoldeo tried.

Leo nodded peaceably. “You may. Is there anyone that can honestly testify that you did not violate the contract as previously explained? I can’t command humans to testify, they are outside the jurisdiction of the Court, but I can contact them and ask for their testimony. Master Hades of Grimoire Heart, perhaps?”

Dragging the master of Grimoire Heart here would be so much fun. As a witness and non-party she couldn’t do anything to him besides ask him to testify, but taking him off the battlefield for even a little could be a game changer for her guild. And it would delay the judgment portion Leo was dreading.

Zoldeo immediately paled. He must have also realized that Hades or any of his guildmates would not be thanking him for interrupting them right now.

Shame.

“No, nothing you could do to me would be worth what Master Hades would do to me,” Zoldeo said, shaking his head.

It seems he hadn’t read the penalties section of the codebook. Big shock.

(Sarcasm is the last defense of the unwilling.)

“If there is nothing further, I am ready to make my ruling.” She paused, and when no one spoke up, she hit her gavel twice and made herself say, “Upon a review of the evidence, the arguments, party statements made in front of the judge, and the testimony of the parties, the Court finds that the wizard Zoldeo has committed three separate violations of his contract with the spirit of the sea goat, Capricorn.

“Violation of Clause 14 is a violation of spirit autonomy, Clause 32 is a violation of the personal negotiations to fulfill a prior contract, and Clause 16 is a violation of the right to be free from coercive, violating, and life threatening earthland magics. I will now read the associated penalties. The parties will have a chance to speak after the penalty guidelines have been read.”

The codebooks in front of each of them flipped to the appropriate section. Zoldeo immediately started reading ahead.

She preemptively silenced him.

“Violating a contract clause that protects spirit autonomy: 2-15 years imprisonment, with a one third time reduction if imprisonment is spent in public service to the celestial realm and the contract is dissolved upon request of the spirit;

“Violating a contract clause that protects the ability to fulfill a prior contract: 1–30 years of imprisonment with a one third reduction of time if the time served is spent in public service to the celestial realm. The interfering contract is dissolved, if any, and the prior contract operates in full force;

“Violating a contract clause that protects the right to be free from coercive, violating, and life threatening Earthland magics: 100–1000 years of imprisonment with mandatory public service to the celestial realm and no chance of early release. Following the years of public service, the contract breaker will either be released to the custody of Earthland or killed. In the alternative, im-immediate death may be granted in lieu of years of imprisonment with mandatory public service. All contracts with the celestial spirit world and its denizens are dissolved and another contract shall never be forged between the wizard and the denizens of the celestial realm.

“The actual determination of the sentence within the designated ranges is based upon the following factors: severity of violation, actual injuries suffered by the non-breaking party, repentance of the contract breaker, chances for repetition, danger to the functioning of the celestial realm, and any other factor deemed significant by the judging authority.”

Her preemptive silencing was being put to use with Zoldeo trying to scream at her.

“The Court will first hear from Capricorn,” Leo said, ignoring Zoldeo and hre sinking heart for the moment. “As the injured party, do you have any concerns or requests regarding punishment?”

“I would only like to say that Zoldeo retains magic that is a threat to the celestial world. Should he be released back to Earthland, there is no way to prevent him from attempting the ritual again with a celestial spirit upon first summoning, even if he would prevented from forming a contract.” Capricorn said sagely, “Therefore I ask that the contract breaker be subject to the immediate death penalty.”

Leo nodded.

It was reasonable.

Expected even.

Her throat shouldn’t be thick like this.

She knew, she knew! Any violation relating to dark Earthland magic rituals inflicted upon celestial spirits was enough for a death sentence. In the past it had only ever been lessened when the celestial spirit themselves asked for mercy on the wizard’s behalf.

Capricorn was never going to ask for mercy.

She turned to Zoldeo, who was shaking. “You may speak. Do you have any preference or concerns about the penalties? Any possible reason not to grant Capricorn’s request?”

Please. Give me something.

“I-I won’t ever touch celestial spirits again!” He squeaked. “Only human spirits for me. Yep. Just let me live. And that many years of imprisonment will kill a human! It’s the same as a death sentence!”

Huh? Oh!

“Allow me to clarify,” Leo said. “For the years of imprisonment, with optional service to the celestial realm, you would be transformed into a celestial spirit form that negates the effect of aging on your body as the earthland years pass. A flying fish courier for example, or one of the horses for the Charioteer’s taxi service. At the end of your term, you’d have the opportunity to continue as a servant to the Celestial Realm or return to Earthland. Do you have any preferences or other information the Court should take into account?”

“You . . . you monsters! I hate you all!” Zoldeo screamed, standing up, “Filthy animals and kangaroo courts and incomprehensible laws that are akin to torture! Kill them Agroposis! I will have my freedom!” He brandished his palms in a futile attempt to summon a human spirit.

Damn.

There was no legal justification to avoid the death penalty. Capricorn had requested it, Zoldeo was literally muttering murderous threats against their realm and vainly reaching for the human souls under his command.

He didn’t deserve any mercy.

I didn’t deserve mercy either.

Leo forced the thought away.

“I am still considering the matter, but if death is imposed, does either party have any requests regarding the method of death?” Leo asked to buy herself time.

“The traditional decapitation by the leader of the zodiacs is fine,” Capricorn said.

“Old age! Death by old age!” Zoldeo proclaimed.

Leo shook her head, “Death by old age is inaccurate. Old age causes the body to start shutting down various vital systems, but it is not a cause of death itself.” She swallowed, “Capricorn, your request is taken into consideration. Regardless of my judgment, your contract with the wizard Zoldeo is hereby dissolved.”

The copies of the contracts they had been referencing bled a red stamp of ‘DISSOLVED’ across each page.

Leo stood up and descended the stairs that led up to the judge’s platform. A beautiful sword forged of folded celestial gold and stellar silver appeared in her hands.

The Scimitar of Justice. Wielded by the Arbiter of the Court’s Judgment.

The twisting filigree of the handle was cold.

“You can’t do this to me!” Zoldeo said, overturning his chair as he backed away from her. “I’m a human, you’re all just keys. You can’t kill me!”

“You bargained for the power of another world, Oath-breaker,” Leo said, trying to put some bite into her words, but her voice shook. “You agreed to the terms, then you abused and betrayed your contract. You have shown no remorse and no repentance.”

“I CAN CHANGE! Capricorn! Keep her away from me! Protect me!”

Leo approached where he was pressing himself against the corner of the Court’s bubble. Whimpering and crying, snot trailing down his face as he pathetically begged for his life.

Her arm trembled as she lifted the sword.

The polished metal of the blade reflected back the brown eyes of the hypocrite holding it.

What made Leo different from Zoldeo?

Leo had been a sobbing begging mess herself before the judgment of the Celestial Spirit King.

There wasn’t a difference in the lack of remorse. Leo had mourned Karen, but she had no regrets to how she had protected Aries and would have made the same choice every time, just like Zoldeo didn’t regret trying to become immortal.

Was her reason more honorable?

Not under the law.

Was the difference luck? Because she had a friend that would vouch for her? A friend that would watch her and make sure she wouldn’t violate celestial law again?

Luck wasn’t justice.

But Leo the Lion could not offer mercy. If she showed mercy now, how would other Earthland wizards know that there was a price for violating celestial law?

Hades taught this man his magic, Hades and anyone else he taught needed to know that violations of this magnitude were a death sentence.

Still her arm trembled.

Killing was easy. She had been ready to kill the man with a weapon to Loke’s neck. But that was in defense of her beloved wizard, that was in battle where everyone who picked up a weapon took the risk of harm and death.

That was different.

This was holding a man accountable to his death for lesser crimes than she had been pardoned for.

“Leo, I changed my mind,” Capricorn interrupted her. “I request to be the one to deliver the death sentence.”

That was his right as a celestial spirit, and her honor as the leader of the Zodiac depended on upholding the rights of the spirits under her.

This is what it meant to be the Lion.

Leo had to give Capricorn his right to strike against the violator.

Balance. Justice.

Zoldeo continued to blubber, “Please, please, I know I let fear get the best of me, it was just that after Layla died, after I killed Grammi to avenge Layla, I lost my sense. I thought Layla would never forgive me for what I did to Grammi, but thinking back, she would have. She was always so forgiving, so intent on seeing the best in people. She was the only one to see the best in me, see the good person I could be, do you remember? That’s why she gave me her most precious spirit. I can be that person, I swear! Please, I WANT TO LIVE!”

Leo’s own memories screamed at her from the past even as Capricorn held his hand out for the sword.

"OF COURSE I WANT TO LIVE!”

Leo made her decision and Lucy swung the raised blade.

Zoldeo flinched and threw his arms up to protect himself.

The blade tip stopped to rest against his chest; Lucy used the magic of the Court to hold Zoldeo in place.

“The Court is now ready to pronounce its sentence,” Lucy said gently. “Zoldeo the Oath-Breaker is hereby sentenced to 400 years of imprisonment, with mandatory public service to the celestial realm for first 150 years with no chance for parole. The second 150 years shall be served with optional public service. The fourth century shall offer a possible sentence reduction for good behavior as decided by the Secondary Celestial Court comprised of the golden spirits Pieces, Aquarius, and Capricorn. The Secondary Celestial Court will convene every twenty years for a determination and review if early release is appropriate. The maximum sentences for the lesser violations shall be served concurrently with this sentence.

“Upon the completion of his sentence, Zoldeo the Oath-Breaker shall be released to the custody of Earthland and forbidden from ever utilizing celestial spirit magic again. Any who wish to dispute this sentence have the right of appeal. I hereby seal this sentence upon you according to the power bestowed upon me by the gods of our realms. Do you have any final words before you are sent to discuss your options for mandatory public service to the celestial realm?”

Lucy released the magic keeping him still, but she kept the sword where it was.

Zoldeo’s arms came down slowly as he looked up at her with wide, awed eyes, “You’re-you’re sparing me? You’re letting me live?”

Lucy nodded, “I believe you can serve your time and have another chance at living a good life on Earthland with a magic that isn’t slavery. I am going to need you to release all the human souls in your custody. They do not have permission to travel with you to the celestial realm.”

“Oh, um, I don’t know how,” Zoldeo blinked. “I’m really going to live?”

Lucy sighed, “Just like a dark wizard to know how to spring traps but not how to release them. I will do it for you.”

Using the magic of the Court, she made all the ties of his magic manifest and used the sword to sever the cords binding him to the souls.

He jumped as he felt the lines sever.

The souls raced free with whispered cheers and words of gratitude.

“I feel . . .lighter,” Zoldeo said, touching his chest.

“The weight of souls is heavy,” Lucy agreed. “Learn a different magic if you chose to pursue magic in the world you return to. All the people that would have known you as a member of Grimoire Heart should be dead by the time you are returned to Earthland. This is all I can do for you.”

Zoldeo swallowed, “I guess I spent seven years as a goat, I can spend a few more as a different animal.”

Grateful and trying to make the best of it, finally. It probably wouldn’t last the first year of his imprisonment, but maybe it meant Lucy wasn’t making the worst decision in the world right now.

“I’m sending you to Merope, a spirit who will help you decide which of the available roles will best fit you in your years of service,” Lucy explained. “Be warned that any defiance of this court’s judgment or harassment of celestial spirits will result in an extension of your sentence and possibly a review of whether the death penalty is appropriate.”

Zoldeo took a deep breath and closed his eyes, “Okay. I’m ready.”

With nothing more to say, Lucy pushed the tip of the sword to nick his skin; Zoldeo disappeared in a flash of light. Without both parties, the special bubble that made up the pocket dimension of the Court dissolved, and the Scimitar of Justice disappeared with it.  

Leaving her alone with Capricorn.

Lucy braced herself.

“You decided against my recommendation.”

“Yes.”

“Your sentence was completely contrary to all prior sentences concerning violations of the right to be free from coercive, violating, and life threatening Earthland magics. Your sentence was at least half of the lightest sentence given for that crime in the last three thousand years. And that case involved the spirit pleading for mercy on behalf of the wizard in order to justify withhold a death penalty.”

Lucy squeezed her eyes closed, “I’m aware.”

“His magic is an active threat to celestial spirits, there is a good chance your actions here have planted the seeds of the worst threat to the celestial realm that we have ever seen if he develops a grudge during his sentence.”

“Mmmh-hmm.”

“And you are more than aware of what kind of man he is, a member of the Barum Alliance seeking to bring about a world that treats all people unlike them as disposable?”

Lucy nodded, her heart heavy in her chest.

“Why?”

Finally she turned to face Capricorn, “Because I couldn’t let him die when I was offered mercy in his place.”

Her excuse was no reason to break with precedent, but it was all she had to offer in her own pathetic defense.

She had grown weak in her exile, and now everyone would know it.

Capricorn stroked his chin, “I see. You’ve changed. You wouldn’t have hesitated to kill him ten years ago. And it’s not just you’ve grown a distaste for killing, otherwise you would have let me kill him. You have truly changed.”

Into someone too weak to do what was right. He was being kind in a way she didn’t deserve.  

Lucy nodded, feeling a lump grow in her throat, “I have.”

Slowly, she undid her wrist wrappings on her right hand and displayed the fairy pressed there in pink. Both of them looked at the guildmark as Lucy said, “You have the right to appeal to the King. You probably should do that. You should probably also accuse me of being derelict in my duties and have my leadership suspended. Everything you said was absolutely true. I was aware of all of it and selfishly chose the only decision I thought I could live with.”

Lucy flexed her hand, “I am no longer someone that can condemn an oath-breaker to death.” She pressed her hand to her heart and whispered, “I have failed as the Lion.”

The enormous truth of what she said hit her and she dropped to her knees. Clutching her marked hand, she sobbed.

Stars above, when had she become so selfish?

Zoldeo was a threat to her celestial family, to her Fairy Tail friends. A threat to Loke. As much as she would have hated herself for striking him down while she had been spared, wouldn’t she hate herself more if someone was hurt because she showed mercy? He was a vengeful, spiteful little man that couldn’t keep his word.

And she had let him live to threaten others.

For what? Because she couldn’t stand to feel the hypocrisy of taking his life?

Pathetic.

A handkerchief was presented to her from Capricorn, and she took it to dab at her eyes.

“I am proud of you, Lady Leo.”

Her head jerked upwards, eyes wide.

Capricorn nodded, “You are the fourth lion I have had the honor to watch take up the mantel of leadership. Brave and bold, all of them, but none of them have given themselves so selflessly to their role as leader as you have. I have no idea what contract clause you broke, but that you were pardoned is likely because you fulfilling a duty to another spirit. Am I wrong?”

Her voice shuddered as she shook her head, “I . . . I had to protect Aries.”

Folding himself onto the ground beside her, he took the handkerchief and dabbed at the tear streaks she had missed, “Of course you did. I have watched you sacrifice yourself for our realm at every turn. You filled your life with selfless service. Service to the spirits under your leadership, and service to your wizards. This is the first truly selfish decision I have seen you make and I’m proud of you.”

“The leader isn’t allowed to be selfish!” Lucy cried, more fat tears spilling down her cheeks.

“No, but my old friend should be allowed to do something for herself, on occasion,” Capricorn explained gently. “When Aquarius, Pisces, and I taught you about the demands of leadership, we didn’t mean to imply you had to be perfectly selfless.”

“I don’t understand. I might have just created the greatest threat to the celestial realm in living spirit memory!”

Capricorn nodded, “And we will deal with that threat if and when it manifests. Please stop crying, it is unbecoming of the Lady Leo to do so in public.”

A small giggle escaped. Like this could be considered public. Was he worried about embarrassing herself in front of the lizards? She took back the handkerchief, dabbed the rest of the tears away, and passed it back to her old friend. “You’re not mad at me for letting him live?”

“I didn’t say that,” Capricorn said. “I am actually quite annoyed with that. I am most certainly going to appeal your decision. I am merely suppressing the annoyance until I have a better understanding of what is going on.”

Quietly, Lucy asked, “Will you request my removal from leadership duties?”

Capricorn pinched the bridge of his nose beneath his glasses, “Not immediately. Courts are an infrequent duty, and I presume in all other aspects you continue to fulfill your duties admirably. Is your inability to grant the death penalty the only change? Was your own broken contract the sole cause of your change?”

Lucy’s lips curved into a smile, “Blame Loke. His heart is so big, Cap, I can’t wait for you to see it.”

“Like his mother then,” Capricorn observed fondly. “Lady Layla died so young, I doubt she was able to teach him all the manners the scion of the Heartfilia family should know. I shall have to make up a lesson plan.”

Loke and Capricorn were going to have some bumps if Capricorn thought Loke was ready to be trained into the demeanor and elegance of the ancient and powerful Heartfilia clan. That was going to be fun to watch, maybe Virgo could make them both popcorn for that particular summoning.

Maybe she could give Loke a little help. Lucy teased as they both stood up, “You didn’t contract with Layla’s descendants to ensure they behaved appropriately, did you?”

Capricorn froze.

Stupid mouth, why go there?

Except she knew exactly why she had brought that up.

Because Lucy needed to know if Leo the Lion could truly be selfish.

Capricorn sighed, “I assume Aquarius told you some version of what happened to end our contracts with Layla? I also presume she is still . . . irritated . . . with me over the events?”

Carefully, Lucy said, “I heard the basics of it from her. I intended to ask you for the full story, but as I understand it, Layla dissolved her contracts with her golden celestial spirits because you told Layla about Law One.”

“The first of the three great eternal laws, Law One,” Capricorn mused. “We say Law One casually to mean so many things. When we love our human wizard and the human wizard loves us, there are no jurisdictional restraints on how and when we can use our power to protect them. We use the words Law One to imply a romantic relationship is forming between a human and a spirit. We use it as a defense for our actions. Now, Aquarius has managed to use it as an accusation of betrayal; she is self-absorbed like that.

“The first eternal law is that no force in either universe shall separate a celestial wizard and a celestial spirit that love each other and are true to that love. So inelegant in the modern tongue, but certainly more elegant than the shorthand we use. ‘Law One,’ how colloquial.”

“Tell me,” Lucy insisted, her heart hammering, “Did Layla Heartfilia break off her contract with you because you told her that Law One allowed us to follow a beloved human master into death?”

Capircorn watched her closely. What did he see? 

“Yes.”

“Up you go little one,” Capricorn said, picking Loke off the ground after he tripped and setting him back on his feet. Loke continued to run away from him and Layla, chasing a rouge magifly that had gotten in the mansion, his ponytail swinging as he nearly fell again.

“One day you will be picking him up from more than just a little fall,” Layla chuckled. “My boy is going to be a heartbreaker, I just know it.”

“When he returns to his mother’s skirts from such heartbreaks, I’ll be sure to have extra handkerchiefs on hand,” Capricorn said, smiling as well.

Layla shook her head and sighed, “If he takes up celestial magic like he promises now, I imagine you’ll have a front row seat to his heartbreaks. As his mother, I’m almost jealous.”

Capricorn hesitated. He hadn’t wanted to broach this subject now, not when his lady was young and so full of life.

But if she was making plans, as the Heartfilias were want to do to ensure their children had strong bonds with their spirits, it was better to make things clear now, wasn’t it?

“You hesitate. Is there something on your mind, Capricorn?” Layla asked.

Capricorn inclined his head, “There is. I find I care for you very much; you are my dearest friend. If it is my choice, I would serve you until the end rather than being passed onto another Master, even one as wonderful as I’m sure Master Loke will be.”

Layla blinked, “The end? You are immortal, Sir Capricorn. You served my ancestors. Are you saying you would rather be passed onto Loke after my death? I’m not so foolish to believe I will be the last celestial wizard you will ever befriend.”

Capricorn turned and knelt before her. A knight, as she likes to dub him, swearing fealty to his lady. “I beg for your understanding. Please know that my feelings are for my friend, my beloved master whom I would not be parted from, not by any choice of mine. Among spirits, when one of us would not be parted with such a human friend, we are given the choice when that human dies to follow them into the world that comes after. We can chose not to let death break our contract.

“You are one such friend to me. I would follow you into death, Lady Layla, and let a new spirit of the sea goat take my place among the stars. Please, grant me this honor and let me stay by your side.”

In his millennia of service he had never felt such a love for a human master, though he had watched many others make this choice before him, whether for romantic love or platonic love. He had never understood it when the lions and lambs chose a human master over the lives they knew.

Now he understood. He felt full and whole. Like this was who he was meant to become. He was finally someone that would follow their friend through all things.

He looked up, expecting to see that same love reflected back at him.

Fear obscured Lady Layla’s face.

“You would die with me?” Layla asked, a hand covering her mouth.

Capricorn nodded, confused at the tone of her voice, “I have lived many, many centuries. You are the first human I love enough to wish to follow into whatever comes next, if it is my choice.”

“No!”

Capricorn had his arms folded behind his back as he looked up at the sun, “Lady Layla could not accept that I wanted to follow her into the next world, and neither Cancer nor Aquarius could satisfactorily say they would not be invoking Eternal Law One should they be contracted to her when she died. Despite Lady Layla’s plans to open an eclipse gate within just three years from that day, she gave our contracts to loyal servants she trusted to return for the opening of the gate.

“I had you record the additional contract that Layla would allow me, granting me the right to serve her descendants should any of them take up the mantle of a celestial wizard. It was all I could do for her once she had refused my company.”

“Cap,” Lucy whispered to the grief in his voice. Words failing, she gently headbutted his shoulder.

He relaxed a smidge, “Aquarius will never quite forgive me for shortening her contract with Layla beyond its natural length, I believe, even if she would not have chosen Layla over Scorpio.”

The heartbreak inside him was the seed of fear in her.

She had to ask, the words scalding her tongue on their way out, “Do you regret telling Layla about your feelings?”

Capricorn raised his eyebrows, thinking it over for a long minute, “It seems logical, doesn’t it? I suffered for eleven years in agony, tethered to that vile man, for eight years a puppet in my own body, all because I told Lady Layla how much I loved her when I did.

“But I believe I would have regretted lying to her or hiding how I feel much more, even knowing everything that would happen. I was true to myself, and loving her made me feel a wholeness I am uncertain I will ever feel again, now that my friend has passed on without me. Lady Layla wished for me to continue to live more than she wished for me to have the desire of my heart. I would have preferred she felt otherwise, but it takes both human and spirit to bring Eternal Law One into force. I do not believe it would have worked if I was lying to her, even by omission.

“Here, at the end of my suffering, even with the ire of Aquarius and Cancer waiting for me, and even knowing that if Lady Layla hadn’t sent away her keys there is a chance she could have lived through the opening of the eclipse gate, I would chose to tell Lady Layla the truth every time.”

There was a lump in Lucy’s throat. She felt naked as Capricorn turned back to her.

“Selfish, isn’t it?”

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Notes:

So we answered the questions of 'how do celestial spirits die?', 'what happened between Layla and Capricorn?', 'why is Lucy worried about dating Loke/worried he will break their contract?' and 'What exactly is celestial law one?'. Were there any questions answered this chapter that I missed?

Lucy has been grasping at straws not to date/fall in love with Loke because it would involve a fundamental shift in her perception of herself and her future. She finally confronts that obstacle here. I love it so much.

Thoughts?

Notes:

Currently writing GMG Arc! Let's goooooooooooo!

Updates are on Fridays!

Series this work belongs to:

• Part 1 of Lucy the Lion