Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail.
Genre: Adventure, Humor, Romance,
Pairings: LucyxEveryone. Yes. You read that right.
Warning: Canon gets shot to hell. Ages are a bit mixed up (Slightly younger Laxus, for one), and events go a bit differently. Domino effect is serious business.
IMPORTANT NOTICE!: ACCEPTING DRABBLES TO BE ADDED TO THE STORY! If you have an idea that you want to see happen, just pop it into the review section or P.M me with the details. Also, beautifully unbeta'd.
Anyway, hope you guys enjoy my first story.
New Game
Lucy blinked.
The nine year old had a little bit of a problem.
"Lady Lucy," her maid bustled around the expanse of her room, her boots click-clacking of the laminated surface, "we need to hurry – Lord Junelle is coming soon, and the master wants you to look presentable."
Now, Lord Junelle's appearance wasn't the major issue (though, in little Lucy's eyes, it wasn't much better); rather, the problem was the odd, glowing thing floating over her head, dark letters hovering unnoticed above.
[Spetto Ivy, Level 12, Mundane]
Lucy, trying her best to not stare at the letters – and, in typical child fashion, failing miserably – nodded absentmindedly. Eyes firmly stuck to the space above Spetto's head, she couldn't help but shake the feeling that there was something terribly wrong with the universe, and with a faint excuse she dashed out the room; making a beeline for the bathroom.
The Heartfilia heiress ran to look in the mirror, wondering if she would see her own name. Sure enough, in bright golden letters and in that one, fancy font, was her own name.
[Lucy Heartfilia, Level 7, Celestial]
Suffice to say, Lucy was not amused by this strange turn of events.
Making Friends with the Help
Slightly faint, Lucy followed behind her maid, wondering faintly just what was going on with the world. Her dress, a baby blue sundress, was clutched tightly in her small hands; she couldn't help but be slightly afraid of what had happened to her perfectly normal world. Everywhere she looked, strange letters took shape above, names and levels and all sorts of weird things labelled by this weird power.
"Lady Lucy, are you okay?" Spetto must have took notice of her perturbed expression, she realized.
"Of course I am, Spetto," Lucy smiled brightly, masking her unease, "and what have I said about calling me Lady Lucy; we're friends aren't we?"
The maid frowned. "That would be highly improper, Lady Lucy. If your father were to hear me call you that…"
"Then we'll just have to make sure he doesn't hear then," she interrupted, scowling at the mention of her father, "after all, what he doesn't know can't hurt him."
The maid just smiled. "Of course, Lady Lucy."
The young noble just pouted, opening her mouth to say something back…
Congratulations! You have created a bond with The Staff! Your Staff bond is now level 1!
…only to be rudely interrupted by an ear-deafening screech. With a yelp, she tumbled backwards, landing on her backside gracelessly, whimpering from the pain in both her ears and her butt. She would have to do something about that voice – there was only so much that she could take, and hearing that every day would be the end of her.
"Milady, are you okay?" Spetto loomed over the downed child, smothering her like a mother hen.
The Heartfilia scion toyed with the thought of pretending to be injured – she so did not want to deal with the Junelle's pig of a child – but she couldn't do that to the kind maid (and her father, but she quickly beat that thought down).
"I'm fine, I'm fine," Lucy batted away the hands, struggling to her foot, "just…just a spider, that's all."
The maid didn't look convinced, but thankfully, she dropped the subject; leading her to the place that she was to meet with both her father, and the Junelles.
She frowned at that.
Lucy wondered if she would regret not pretending to have a broken ankle.
Level Up
Lucy definitely regretted not lying about a broken ankle.
They were currently outside, lounging in the Heartfilia Gardens, enjoying the fresh spring air and the light aroma of flowers. The sun was high up in the sky, the cerulean blue canvas dotted with splotches of translucent ivory, and all-in-all it was the perfect day to relax and enjoy the sun.
[Sawaar Junelle, Level 10, Mundane]
[Jude Heartfilia, Level 10, Mundane]
Her father, and his associate, were deep in conversation; most likely working on some business deal of some sort. They each had a cold, frosty glass of alcohol by their side, and Lucy could tell that they were engrossed in conversation.
It was the sort of day she could enjoy. If it wasn't for the Junelle family's presence.
Sawaar Junelle's hell spawn was sat nearby, staring with dark, beady eyes at her; Lucy was doing her best to pretend that the other child just did not exist, but nothing she tried worked. She had tried being polite, making small talk, asking him about how he was and what he liked to do; making small talk, like her father wanted her to.
In response, all she got was a dead stare.
After that, she had tried a different tactic – asking him if he wanted to play with her. She tossed out as many games that she could think of; tiggie it, tic-tac-toe, she even offered to play eye-spy with him (though, considering his current lack of speech, she should have known that avenue would fail.)
He had just carried on staring, goofy smile on his face.
Finally, she had just decided to just plain ignore the child, already fed up with his behaviour. Instead she had taken to just scouting the grounds, taking note of all the names she could see; her only salvation from boredom.
[Saweet Junelle, Level 1, Mundane]
The words were taunting her, laughing at her failure, merrily flickering above the unresponsive boys pig like face. She could imagine them mocking her on her failure, laughing at her inability to make friends, taunting her on how much of a failure she was.
Filled with an irrational anger, she punched the other kid in the face, hard.
Lucy just blinked, anger draining from her features as she watched the unresponsive child twitch on the grass.
"Congratulations!" Lucy jumped out of her skin, horrified as the realization of what she had done settled in. "You have levelled up! Open the menu to distribute stat points!"
Ehh? She couldn't help but think, before tentatively whispering menu.
As she did, the world seemed to freeze. Birds in the sky stopped moving, their wings frozen in mid flap. Flowers were left at unnatural angles as the wind disappeared, leaves stunned in mid-air, and Lucy just stared in wonder as the whole world was paralyzed.
A pitch black screen (the colour of the night sky, her awed mind whispered) popped into existence in front of her. She tried to reach out a finger to touch the options, but felt that she too was frozen, her body unresponsive.
Legs, arms, feet – all paralyzed, muscles locked tight, movement impossible for the young girl. She struggled, panic setting in, unable to stop the tears. Liquid tickled down her cheeks, fear pounding her heart, thoughts of "why can't I move" and "please help me" and "Mama" tumbling and dancing and crashing together.
The child wondered if this was how she would die, frozen in a place that time had forgotten.
Taking a deep breathe, she calmed her heart as much as she could, before reading the options in front of her. Items, Status, Skills, Equipment, Quest Log, Party and Options stared back, each option a different colour, a sequence of white-red-blue-green-yellow-pink-orange.
Underneath them all, a blinking option called to her, a golden Level-Up catching her eye.
Ignoring the temptation to jump straight to the Level-Up option, Lucy muttered 'items' underneath her breath, a separate screen appearing as she did so.
Two separate sub-categories stared her right in the face; Consumables and Key Items. Bypassing the offer for a tutorial (she may be a child, but she wasn't stupid – it didn't take a genius to know that Consumables were, well, consumables, and Key Items were important things), she took note that she literally had nothing, before moving on over to the Key Items section.
As she thought, there was nothing there.
Quickly backtracking, she moved onto Status. Slightly unnerved by the portrait of herself (though the vain part of her preened as she realised how good she looked in the image), she glimpsed at the small paragraph beside her name, dismissing the blurb of information. Why would she need to know her own history when she lived through it?
She ignored the pang of sorrow that went through her when she read her mother's name, escaping the status menu.
Next thing that she had to check was Skills; the option she was quite interested in. Eagerly, she waited for the menu to load, anticipating what would surely be hundreds of skills. After all, she was the stunning Lucy Heartfilia. Why wouldn't she have tonnes of skills?
She was mildly disappointed to find that she had only three skills.
[Heartfilia Blood, innate ability, level MAX]
She supposed that it was self-explanatory, but she repeated the name anyway, just in case something different happened.
It didn't, so she went to a different skill.
[Celestial Spirit Magic, innate ability, Level 3]
Curious, Lucy tried to find out more about it.
[Celestial Spirit Magic gives one the ability to summon Celestial Spirits; manifestations of the stars in the sky. Able to crack open the doors between dimensions, capable Celestial Spirit Mages are able to summon multiple Spirits at once, lock and unlock The Gates, and even take on aspects of their spirits. This skill can be improved through two methods – one, through constant summoning of spirits, and two, through the collection of Golden Keys; each key requiring a minimum of 20 wisdom to summon. Collect all Thirteen Keys, and you have the power of miracles.]
The Mage in question couldn't help but think back to the Golden Keys in her room, Aquarius and Cancer, her makeshift family. Her beautiful, wonderful family. She couldn't help but smile, and wondered how she would be able to make that family grow.
Zoldeo just wouldn't give back Capricorn, the big meanie, saying she was too young, and she has to be able to summon one first.
The final skill was the oddest one, if only for the fact that she had no idea what it was.
[?, innate ability, Level ?]
She made a mental note to come back to it later; after all, she had all the time in the world, but at this minute she really, really wanted to access that Level-Up option – it was just, so, exciting.
If her body could move, it would be vibrating.
Congratulations, Lucy Heartfilia has reached Level Eight.
Lucy Heartfilia has five status points to assign.
Lucy Heartfilia may select one new ability.
Lucy's brow furrowed, the young girl deep in thought, considering those words carefully.
Choose one of the following Abilities:
Heart of a Spirit Mage
Soul of a Spirit Mage
Will of a Spirit Mage
Body of a Spirit Mage
"…I'm sensing a trend here," Lucy muttered. "Alright, what do these abilities do?"
[Heart of a Spirit Mage, innate ability. This ability, once gained, allows a Celestial Spirit Mage to reach out to the hearts of his or her Keys; allowing them to gain a greater understanding of what they want. What would take years of bonding can be done in weeks with this ability, allowing the wizard to quickly grow bonds with their Spirits. Levels up through communication with spirits.]
[Soul of a Spirit Mage, innate ability. This ability gifts the Celestial Mage with an almost sonar-like radar; enabling them to track down any nearby keys with ease. They would find that keys would fall into their possession a lot quicker than they would otherwise, and they would find that keys will appear in the strangest places. Levels up with the number of keys, with each successive level up increasing range.]
[Will of a Spirit Mage, active ability. Once a week, this ability allows you to force open the gates to the Spirit Realm, allowing you to summon an extra spirit than you would be able to naturally. However, this can cause heavy strain on the body, and repeated use can cripple a Celestial Mages magic; leading to magic disintegration. Level up not applicable.]
[Body of a Spirit Mage, innate ability. This ability influences the amount of magic required to unlock a gate, allowing a Spirit to pass through with greater ease. What would usually require a minimum of 20 Wisdom now only requires 15, thus lowering the magical strain using a key would have on the physical body. Levels up through repeated summoning, with each level increasing magical endurance.]
Lucy didn't even have to think; she knew immediately what she wanted. Whilst all the other options seemed really good, they just didn't have the same allure as this one did. She could feel that she was close to being able to summon one of them, but she just wasn't strong enough yet. Her magic wasn't ready for that strain, too young and weak for her to be able to support a Golden Key. And if this ability made it so that she would be able to summon them...
It had been far too long since she had seen them, almost a year, and she desperately missed them.
The choice was easy.
"I want 'Body of a Spirit Mage' please."
You have selected Body of a Spirit Mage. Are you sure?
"Yes." It was the surest thing in her young life.
Congratulations! You have obtained the ability 'Body of a Spirit Mage', lowering the magical requirements of summoning a Celestial Spirit.
"Thank you," just because it was a disembodied voice, didn't mean the heiress had forgotten her manners. Even if this weird bizarre world she had fallen into scared her to death sometimes, she was slowly getting used to it – and she couldn't help but feel thankful for it giving her the ability to see her friends again.
Would you like to distribute stat points?
"Yes please." The remaining options faded away, leaving an entirely new screen in its place. "Strength, Defence, Endurance, Intelligence, Potency, Wisdom and Luck…could you give me more information, please?"
That helpful text box appeared once again.
[Strength, as the name implies, refers to physical strength; its counterpart is that of Potency, which influences the strength of your magical attacks. Defence controls how much damage attacks can do to you, whilst Endurance relates to how much damage you can take before falling unconscious. Agility is your body's ability to run and dodge, increasing your success rate with dodging and how fast you can move. Intelligence controls how well you do with puzzles and tests, and things referring to academia, whilst Wisdom influences the level of control you have over your own magic. Luck, of course, is how lucky you are.]
At the moment, her stats were:
Strength: 2
Defence: 1
Endurance: 1
Agility: 6
Intelligence: 9
Potency: 12
Wisdom: 14
Luck: 7
So, she was a glass cannon: a magical nuke essentially. Decent with magic, terrible physical attacks, and so physically weak that she would probably be blown away by a stiff breeze.
It could be worse. She could be Sawaar Junelle.
After putting away three points into Wisdom, one point into Potency, and one point into Intelligence she closed the menu – avidly staring as the whole world came back to life. It was as if the world had never been frozen, everything going back to the way it should be.
Only now, there was a slight glow above Saweet Junelle's borderline comatose form, a golden question mark floating cautiously in mid-air. Approaching the question mark, it grew in shape, the question mark spreading obscenely as it turned into words.
[Quest, Bury the Body, Rank E]
[Details: Don't get into trouble for hitting Saweet Junelle; tell Duke Junelle that his child has hurt himself.]
[Rewards: 50exp, +1 bond with Duke Sawaar, Papa]
She quickly accepted, scurrying past the body, towards the two talking adults. They were deeply engrossed with their conversation, talking about a new railway line, so she had to wait for a lull in the conversation before interrupting.
"Pardon me," Lucy intervened, "Father, Duke Sawaar, but Saweet has hurt himself. I feel terrible about interrupting, but it would be for the best if you see to him."
The Duke excused himself with a scowl, muttering something like 'not again', heading towards his twitching child.
Father and daughter just stared at each other coolly.
[Quest Complete!]
Congratulations! Your Jude Heartfilia bond has levelled up! Your Jude Heartfilia bond is now level 5!
Congratulations! You have created a bond with Sawaar Junelle! Your Sawaar Junelle bond is now level 1!
…how was this her life?
The First Gate
When she scampered into the library, she almost couldn't contain her excitement.
The Junelle's had left soon after, the Duke apologising for his child's behaviour (making her wonder if violence really was the answer – it certainly seemed to solve her problems), and it was time for her Magic lessons.
Bero, an old, famous Celestial Mage was her teacher, and she couldn't ask for a better person to train her. He may be old, so very, very old, but he was still so amazing. He was allowed his eccentricities, given that he was positively ancient, and whilst his clothing was unusual (he dressed like Bumblebore, from her Happy Nutter books: his robes the colour of the rainbow, and an old witch hat covering the remnants of his silver hair) he definitely knew his stuff.
[Bero Altairis, Level 78]
Lucy froze, wondering if her eyes were working. Level 78 – just how strong was her teacher?
"Lucy, my dear!" Bero smiled, unaware of his student's shock. "I hope you are ready, because today we can do it!"
She shook off her shock – this was Bero, it didn't matter how strong he was, he was still her Bero.
"Grandpa," Lucy's hand never strayed from the golden keys at her waist, wondering what had got her teacher in a good mood. "What's the special occasion?"
"Special Occasion?" He echoed theatrically, hand placed conspicuously over a wooden box, his small hand resting on the smooth surface. "Why, my dear, today's the day you get your first key!"
That got her to release her keys. "Pardon?" Eyes wide, her brain finally made the link, staring at the suspicious box in between them. "Is that…"
Bero nodded, grandfatherly smile on his face as he pushed the container towards her. Unable to contain herself, she pulled open the wooden box, the lid pushed back on its hinges from the force she exerted. There, resting on a bed of velvet, was a silver, almost black key – the hilt in the shape of a cross, coloured a deep emerald green. It looked almost like a normal key, free from the elaborate embellishments of the Golden Keys.
It was the Key of the Southern Cross, the knowledge forced into her head from countless hours of study.
"Crux," Bero stated fondly, "he was the very first spirit that I ever summoned. Hopefully, he'll serve you just as well as he did me."
"I…I can't take this from you." Lucy returned the key. "I can't just take your friend from you."
"Nonsense." he waved off the concerns easily. "You're the only one I'd trust the old man with anyway. Now go on, summon him, you know what to say."
"But…" her concerns were ignored, as the elderly man grabbed her hand and placed the key into it, her grip tightening subconsciously.
"You know what to say," once he was sure that she wouldn't try to return the key, he leant back in his seat, "I don't have to tell you again, do I?"
[Quest, Opening Heavenly Gates, Rank C]
[Details: Open the First Gate]
[Rewards: 150exp, Key of the Southern Cross, +3 bond with Crux, Bero]
She didn't answer. She didn't need to.
"I am linked to the path to the world of Celestial Spirits, now! O spirit, answer my call and pass through the gate!" With every word, a brilliant gold circle bloomed into existence below her feet, growing and growing and growing in intensity until it was almost blinding.
Bero was oddly silent, eyes reminiscent, observing as the magic danced in front of his eyes.
Books flipped open, dusty tomes long forgotten flicking through pages rapidly. Dust, disturbed, billowed around her as she used her magic for the first time. Lights coalesced, oscillating through the colours of the stars, until it reached its crescendo.
"The Gate of the Southern Cross, I open Thee! Crux!"
The seal burned like the sun one last time, before fading away. She didn't know when she closed her eyes, but when she opened her eyes, her gaze drank in the spirit in front of her.
She did it. She was now, truly, a Celestial Mage.
[Crux, Level 15, Celestial]
"Bero, lad, was it you that summoned me," his voice, rough and gravelly with disuse, sounded like music to the young girl's ears. "It's been a while since you last used that much magic, losing control in your old age, young friend?"
Bero laughed. "No, old friend. I'm not your summoner anymore."
"Oh," the Spirit's eyes actually opened, "so you finally found me a new summoner, then? Where is the little bugger, I can't see them."
"Crux?" Lucy was too happy to care that her first spirit was an old man – she was one step closer to summoning one of her mother's spirits.
"Ahh, so it was you who was using all that magic," his eyes may be closed, but Lucy could still feel the old man appraising her. "Need a bit of control, but you'll shine."
"Oh?" the elderly Celestial Mage grinned. "Does that mean you'll make a contract with her?"
"Of course." Crux sniffed. "With my guidance, I'm certain that she'll easily surpass any other mage. Now, where was I…?"
Wordlessly, Bero slid across a hot pink journal and a pen, winking. Lucy winked back.
"Ahh! Now I remember…"
And so, they finalized their contract (her very first contract – she was so happy). In the end, Crux was available every day, 9 A.M to 5 P.M, every day but Sunday, which was his off day.
[Quest Complete!]
Congratulations! Your Bero Altairis bond has levelled up! Your Bero Altairis bond is now level 10!
Congratulations! You have created a bond with Crux, the Southern Cross! Your Crux, the Southern Cross bond is now level 3!
Congratulations! You have obtained the Key of the Southern Cross!
Congratulations! Your Celestial Spirit Magic is now level 5.
Cooking...?
Lucy soon realised that skills could come from the most bizarre of things.
"Lady Lucy…" Spetto trailed off, blinking owlishly at the strange, amorphous blob currently flailing on a pan. "What is that?"
"Honestly, I'm not sure Spetto…" She just watched as it jiggled, unable to figure out how such a thing was possible, forgetting to reprimand the maid for being so formal. "But it's strangely…hypnotic."
And it really was. The milky-white blob was undulating, stretching out and waving its strange, stubby arm-like appendages. It drew the attention of all the staff, as they observed the spectacle, entranced by the spectacle.
"We should keep it." Lucy announced suddenly, before Spetto could even suggest throwing it away.
"But…" Spetto tried to change her mind, was stopped in her tracks.
"We're keeping it." She announced once more, firm in her decision.
[Passive Skill: Cooking has been created!]
[Through trials and tribulations, Lucy has managed to harness her inner chef to form this skill. Levels up through eating food, and creating food. Level: -100]
Lucy didn't know whether or not to be horrified that her skills were so low, or proud at the formation of a new ability.
The stove was turned off by Spetto, and the squishy blob trembled as Lucy's small hands descended on the creation. It was oddly cool, despite the heat of the pan, and Lucy could imagine it purring as she stroked it.
It disappeared into her inventory, somehow fading from view without anyone batting an eye.
She was promptly kicked out the kitchen, before she could create anymore monstrosities.
When she went to bed that night, tired and aching, she couldn't help but feel proud of herself.
Her letter to her mother was different tonight, more vibrant and full of life.
Tomorrow…Tomorrow she'd summon Aquarius.
But for now, she'll sleep.
Chapter 1, Complete.
Wow. Wrote this in 4 hours. When I should have been revising for exams. Go me? Also, Fanfiction hates U.K English. The amount of red I see is crazy.
Anyway, remember: if you have any ideas you want me to write, just send me them in a P.M/Review and I'll get started. Any questions, do the same. Plus, when do you think I should bring in Fairy Tail? I know it should be soon, but how soon?
Next time, for certain! Aquarius! Spirits! Blob Monster!
Hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I hope to see you for the next one.
Edit1: Added Agility, cleaned some errors.