Fairy Tail is having another normal day. Normal meaning everyone present has erupted into a massive bar fight, filling the guild hall with the sounds of angry yelling and wood snapping.
The doors fly open, hushing everyone as they all stop mid-swing. Standing in the doorway is a short, busty strawberry-blonde wearing a pink blouse and short denim shorts. Her gray eyes narrow at the mages in the guild hall as she points towards the guild members as they stare at her in confusion.
"Meet me at the hillside in the north countryside, unless you're all as cowardly as everyone says! I'll defeat every single person in this room and then join this guild so I can be well on my way to the top! I can take all of you on by myself; you guys don't look so tough. Just a band of ruffians! I'll take every single one of you on tournament style. You've got three hours; meet me there if you have the guts!"
The doors slam shut behind her as she leaves. The guild members all look at each other in shock before straightening themselves up angrily.
"What did she call us?!"
"How dare she insult Fairy Tail!"
"Let's go take her down a few pegs!"
Natsu jumps from his seat, his head practically on fire as he rages. Lucy attempts to calm him down.
"What the heck?! Who was she?!"
"I don't know, but she certainly had plenty of confidenceā¦"
"I'M GOING TO THAT HILL!"
"Calm down! Everyone here is offended, not just you!"
Guild Master Makarov, who had up until that point been drinking merrily, slams his mug onto the table. His eyebrow twitches in irritation.
"I'm glad she picked a desolate spot, because I won't let her get away with that! Everyone ready for a fight, head out. You can't make a taunt like that and not expect people to act on it!"
The members cheer, heading out of Magnolia in a mob. Most of the guild shows up. No S-Class mages are present and a few people are out, but it's still a sizable crowd of angry people. The woman steps forward and flips her hair back over her shoulder haughtily.
"Glad you could join me! If no one objects, this will be a one on one for each guild member."
A few protest, but eventually they all agree to fight her one at a time. The first person steps up as the woman pulls something from her bag. She holds it above her head and then swishes it downwards.
Lucy focuses in on the item and gasps.
"I-It's a black key!"
Clutched in the woman's fingers is a black key, the head of which is shaped into a pair of horns and the rest curling into a devils tail. She brings it down all the way and stabs it into the ground in front of her.
"I summon thee, creature of darkness! Lend me your power and vanquish mine enemies! Open, gate of the beast!
A black magic circle springs up across the ground and a huge shadow pools before her, moving upwards and forming a mostly human form as it solidifies. The black mist forms horns and beastly legs with tendrils of it clinging to its body.
Natsu nudges Lucy.
"Hey, what kind if key is that?"
"I don't know, I've never heard of a key like that before..."
"Maybe it's really rare! You should fight her and see if you can win it or something."
She slaps his arm.
"You can't just take spirits from their owners whenever you want!"
"But it's so cool!"
"I don't understandā¦I know silver and gold keys exist, but I've never heard of a black key."
Happy tugs on her skirt.
"Maybe it's a demon not a spirit."
"D-DON'T SAY WORRYING THINGS LIKE THAT!"
The two are interrupted by a collective gasp. The first guild member is down in record time, and the spirit hasn't even moved yet. Now that they are watching they see the next couple fall to the same magic as the spirit summons up their shadows to attack them in its place. By the fourth person they've all wised up and tried new tactics, forcing it to really fight. It's good, but still takes some damage and is breathing hard after the ninth person is defeated.
Natsu jumps out next. He grins and cracks his knuckles, flashing the spirit a pointy smile.
"I'm not going easy on you! Nobody insults Fairy Tail and gets away with it!"
He rushes forward, hands ablaze.
"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!"
The spirit ducks around him and punches him in the gut. It manages to land an elbow between his shoulder blades before Natsu flings around and punches it with impressive force in the shoulder. It topples backwards, sliding across the ground and he rushes it again. It kicks him hard enough to stagger him and gets another flurry of punches in before Natsu overtakes it and sends it to the ground with an elbow to the head.
The woman charges over, hands balled into fists.
"Get up! GET UP you worthless creature! You aren't done yet, finish him off already!"
"Missy-"
"DID I SAY YOU COULD TALK?! GET UP!"
With a heavy sigh it drags itself to its feet and lunges at him. Fire and dark mist swirl together as the two continue to exchange blows over and over again. Natsu finally throws it back enough to end it.
"Fire Dragon's Roar!"
He wraps his hands around his mouth and sends forward a jet of flame that engulfs the spirit. It lets out an unmistakably female scream and dives from the flame. It looks like the mist is significantly thinner, almost enough to see through. Missy, what it called its owner, continues screaming.
"Knock it off and get serious! FINISH THE FIGHT! HURRY UP!
It rises unsteadily and Natsu sets his hand aflame.
Before he can strike Lucy lunges into the circle, grabbing his arm and clutching it firmly.
"STOP!"
Missy snarls at her.
"I said one on one, tart. Get lost!"
"You can't do this!"
"What the hell are you screeching about?"
Tears roll down Lucy's face.
"You can't treat them that way! Celestial spirits, they feel pain and emotion just like we do! You can't mistreat them like this!"
"What do you care? She isn't yours, she's mine! I'll do whatever I want with her!"
"You're wrong! I won't let you abuse her this way!"
All this time the spirit looks on, wobbling where she stands. Nobody can see her eyes through the mist, but she makes no move to assist or stop her owner. Missy's hands are balled into fists as she rushes toward Lucy and tries to punch her. Natsu easily throws her back, of course.
Missy screams at her spirit.
"DON'T JUST STAND THERE! MAKE THEM PAY!"
It doesn't move at first, but eventually limps toward Natsu and Lucy. She gets about halfway there before collapsing to the ground in a heap. The black mist vanishes, leaving behind a very human looking woman lying face down on the ground. Missy rushes to her side.
"GET UP! GET UP! DON'T YOU DARE RUIN THIS FOR ME!"
She kicks her a few times before Natsu approaches her menacingly. Missy backs away slowly before yelling to him.
"Fine, keep her! I don't care what happens to that trash!"
With that, she runs away. Some people consider pursuing her but most don't see the point. Lucy rushes to the aid of the fallen woman as Happy holds back an enraged Natsu.
"Let me go! I'll chase her down!"
"You can't fight her, you'd kill her!"
"I'll just punch her a little!"
Lucy flips her over onto her back, revealing a surprisingly beautiful raven haired woman. Her face looks a little like Missy's, and once her eyes open a bit she notices they have the same grey eyes as well.
She coughs, blood spilling from a lip wound in a rivulet down her cheek. She's covered in burns and bruises that are visible now that the mist is gone. Levi yells out to Jet to get a stretcher, and he's back in record time.
With that, they head back to town with the wounded woman in tow. Before they leave Lucy plucks the key from the ground and easily snaps it in half.
"Just as I thought...fake..."
She drops the pieces to the ground and hurries after the others. The broken key slowly turns to black mist and disappears alone on the hillside.
