Chapter 1: Arrival
Far out at sea under the falling curtain of night the sky exploded in light, a radiant glowing ring grew roaring with power and pulsed with such intensity that the ocean beneath recoiled with each heartbeat. As quickly as it had come it vanished collapsing upon itself shattering reality for just a moment and giving birth to a life that had never lived.
Wind roaring in her ears as Lucy began to wake from the darkness of the abyss. Eyes fluttering open confused and disoriented to greet an inverted world. She felt suspended in a dream as her rapid decent did not register. It was not till the wind captured her cloak and harshly yanked her body into a chaotic spin that Lucy's mind snapped onto reality. It had been just in time as she flailed careening through the air rocketing towards the seas bellow, that she managed to summon a defence just before impact.
The ocean erupted as she cannonballed deep into its depths, safeguarded by a veil of magical energy that absorbed the impact, but did little else as she fought to swim to the surface. Her cloak was constructively entangling her limbs weighing her down, but she dare not part with it. Frantic and frenzied she clawed her way towards the surface with each moment the light in her eyes grew dimmer. Spots began to fill her vision and her lungs burnt with a need she could no longer hold back. At once she broke the surface sucking in life sustaining air choking on mouthfuls of seawater as she feverishly attempted to stay afloat.
With every breath came a wave that threatened to shove her back below as the ocean churned and stormed with activity the magical explosion had brought. She had no strength, her body battle worn and broken, each struggle for breath taking more her more energy then it returned. It could not be helped... she had no choice.
Giving up her attempts to swim she let the ocean devour her as her hands fought to claw their way inside the lead like weight of her waterlogged cloak. She tore and twisted dragged down into darkness not knowing if she would make it in time, but then her fingers found their way and her hand wrapped around a ring of keys. The Aquarius gate opened.
The ocean slapped her with a small impact as the celestial spirit burst into existence displacing the water around her. With no time to explain, or even breath to speak, Lucy attempted to latch onto the shocked and confused spirit hoping she would understand. She did not, and lurched away out of Lucy's reach into the darkness beyond taking with her Lucy's last and only hope of survival. She choked as her lungs threatened to defeated her and force her to suck in the deadly seawater around her. She fought, struggled, but lost... without the strength or will to prevent it her mouth flew open and breathed in her death. It did not come though... as a swift burst of speed from Aquarius who suddenly collected her in her arms, dragged Lucy back above the surface.
"Who that hell are you!? How did you summon me?" Aquarius's rough delinquent tone demanded with alarm and rage as she suspended Lucy's head above the sea, though even she could not stop the rogue waves from washing over them both. Lucy could not answer, not while water spilled from her lungs choking on her own breath, clinging to Aquarius for dear life.
"This is a really deep ocean and I don't have time to play games." Aquarius threatened enraged and without patience as Lucy failed to immediately respond. "You better give me some quick answers before I drop you to the bottom."
"I..." Lucy hoarsely gasped struggling just to keep her head above the coursing waves. "I... com.." a wave crashed over her silencing her for a moment... "i command you..." Lucy choked out with great exhaustion raising her right arm from the sea and exposing it to sight. Aquarius stared... stared at what should have been impossible, at the glowing runes of magical light which swirled and thrived, dancing around Lucy's arm in the form of a living tattoo."Save me..." Lucy managed with a final breathless plea just as the world faded, eyes growing unfocused, her body surrendering to fate as all thought left her.
Aquarius stared... stared at the girl she held afloat with her eyes slowly, but steadily, growing round with horror and alarm paling as she was confronted the impossible. It was unbelievable, unimaginable, incomprehensible... and yet... there before her eyes 'it' was undeniable.
"Girl..." Aquarius's voice wavered with shock. "How can it be possible... for you to bare the spirit kings crown..." No answer was expected... and no more words were spoken. With just a moment's hesitation, Aquarius turned and began the long slow swim towards the nearest shore. She could not disobey, no celestial spirit could disobey, for the one who bore the spirit crown... their commands were absolute.
Warm hot sun beat down upon Lucy as she woke. The sound of nature greeted her with the wind blowing through the trees and the lazy cries of birds passing over head. Waves licked at her feet and tugged at her legs, her water logged cloths an iron weight upon her form and anchored her down. She opened her eyes... and met a fierce blue, not of the sky's, but the color of Aquarius's eyes which lingered just above.
"Your awake." Aquarius stated, voice tense with mistrust. She lay the length of Lucy's body spooned against her side providing her with much needed warmth that the night and sea had robbed her of. Lucy did not respond as her eyes drifted shut and her breath became deepened taking in the rich scents of the exotic flowers that bloomed nearby. Such a small thing, a simple thing, the scent of a flower and the warmth of the sun. When was the last time she had experienced them... it had been too long.
"Where are we?" Lucy questioned hoarsely, throat raw from the sea water and head pounding with migraines. Her body ached as well, but for far different reasons. It still bore the damage and scares of recent battle and it was only the numbing chilly of her body that kept her agony at bay.
"On land." Aquarius offered less then helpful as her voice dripped with attitude. "Tell me how it is you bare the spirit crown."
Lucy ignoring the demand and groaning painfully as she attempted to sit up. It was exceedingly difficult given her weakness and the burden of her cloths, doubly so as Aquarius instead of retreating and giving her space, instead forced her back down with both her ample chest and her hands.
"Don't you dare more." Aquarius warned venomously. "You're half dead already and exerting yourself will just finish you right off. Of course I'd be quite happy if you did, but you gave me a command Impossible to disobey. So you're just going to lay there while I keep you warm and try my damnedest not to think about the fact I'm spooning with a girl. I boyfriend for Christ's sake."
"Is it really so bad?" Lucy questioned tiredly. At first Aquarius confused the comment with the girl finishing herself off, but Lucy's next words corrected it. "...being with a girl?"
"You..." Aquarius's eye twitched as homicidal thoughts filled her head. "Absolute orders or not, if you think for a second I'm okay with something like this... then you have another thing coming. If you ever tell anyone about this I will find a way to disobey you... and when that happens I will then, without fail." Aquarius made an ugly expression as she sharply jerked her thumb across her throat in an exaggerated expression. "end you."
Lucy witnessing this could not help it... it started as a smile, then a small giggle, until finally for the first time in forever she gave a full chested laugh that musically filled the air. Disturbed by the odd reaction to her threat Aquarius was caught by surprise as Lucy's arms suddenly encircled her and buried her head against her chest. Aquarius nearly exploded, what the hell had she just told the girl!? She was half a second from dishing out divine punishment, but was stilled by Lucy's happy voice.
"Thank you..." Lucy cried with all the joyous sincerity the world could hold. "Thank you..." she smiled beginning to sob as she clung to Aquarius with a painful desperation. "Thank you... for being you."
Confused and a little unnerved Aquarius stared down at Lucy, but could not bring herself to push her away. Scuffing with irritation she relented. Fine, but only just this once would she let the girl do as she pleased by crying away her sorrows nestled against her chest. Even Aquarius could see plain as day all the girls invisible scars. They were all hidden in plain sight from the fragile quake of her trembling body, to the full unmasked honesty of her sobbing wails.
"Just don't think you can make a habit of this..." Aquarius warned, but her temper was absent... if just for now. Whoever the girl was and wherever she came from, Aquarius suspected that she had many reasons for a lot to cry about.
"How did you acquire the spirit crown." Aquarius asked once more sometime later after Lucy's voice and quelled its sobs and her body grew still from shakes. She had become so peaceful Aquarius almost thought her asleep, if it were not for her refusal to release the embrace.
"I took it." Lucy responded, a flat dark reply that left a strong foreboding in Aquarius's breast.
"It's not something so easy to take." Aquarius scuffed. "Or I should say, impossible to take."
"It was impossible..." Lucy's face grimaced as she spoke into Aquarius's breasts, voice hollow and forlorn.
"Then how?" Aquarius demanded and strangely without understanding she felt apprehensive about the question. It was as if she did not wish to know the answer, or that she feared what it might be.
"It was impossible..." Lucy confirmed once again and slowly extracted her face from Aquarius's chest. Her gaze turned up to meeting Aquarius's and answered. "But only until I had killed the spirit king."
Aquarius blood ran cold as her gaze was locked with Lucy's. What was the girl saying... that she killed the spirit king? What kind of ridicules lie was that. Though it was theoretically possible that the spirit king could be killed if summoned and trapped within the human world, there was one blaring contradiction to the girls words. The spirit king even now, he still lived.
"Do you expect me to believe a story like that!?" Aquarius raged, temper hot as if the girl was taking her for an idiot. Yet strangely she felt an overwhelming panicked.
"It's true." Lucy spoke softly, as if ashamed of what she had done. Her expression grimaced, emotional torn and soon pressed it once against Aquarius's chest. "I had to kill him... it was the only way... the only way."
Aquarius wanted to shout and just let her rage and denial out... but it did not budge as her eyes grew almost maddened with denial. Despite all reason and logic, there was a part of Aquarius deep down that knew the truth of the girls words. Impossible, it was simply impossible, but even as she knew the spirit king to still live... there was no denying that she also knew the girl had slain the spirit king.
"The only way... for what?" Aquarius questioned, her voice almost vulnerable.
"It was the only way for me to save the world..." Lucy spoke and this time as her body began to tremble it was not in anguish, but rage. Aquarius watched alarmed as the girl in her arms transformed from a fragile victim into a something befitting a vengeful spirit. Breathing hatefully she spoke as if the words themselves were a vial curse. "...from Fairy Tail."