A Different Journey
Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece or Fairy Tail, but I do like both stories a lot. Obviously, I wrote fanfiction for them.
Also thanks to those who reviewed, favorited, or followed. This is going to be a large crossover of the the series, so I hope we can all go on this adventure together.
Chapter 2: Preparations
Eyes opened in sleepy acceptance to their new state, and the owner stretched and yawned. Each muscle relinquished its pent up stiffness, happily moving about. The soft mattress below her squealed with her shifting weight, the noise piercing her ears in a way she wasn't familiar with. Rolling up into a sitting position, she rubbed the outer shell of her ear in an effort to stop the ring in them. Over the course of her night, asleep in the bed, her hearing developed even further. She could only come to the conclusion that sleep aided her body's new developments.
That meant that her hearing came first, new and improved, and Lucy didn't label the new sense good or bad yet. If everything would be this loud, she didn't know how she would deal with the world.
Nothing smelled different, for now. But she knew it would come, just as her ability to see would get better. She didn't know about taste or touch, those seemed like such little things in comparisons to the others. And none of the dragon slayers ever said anything about taste or touch.
But, as it came back to her, they were Dragon Slayers, Lucy became a dragon, or slowly would become one. She didn't understand what it all meant, being a dragon or human, or being both. Or becoming a mixture of both, it all seemed so trivial in the end. She felt like herself, her whole self, reformed again from the completion of her memories and feelings that someone locked away. And that mystery would not come to a conclusion any time soon.
Sitting in bed would not deliver answers, so Lucy turned and shifted off the bed. Shakily, her legs wobbled underneath her, not used to her weight. In fact, they prickled with sleep, like blunt needles being driven into her legs and feet, that then travelled up the rest of her body. Grasping the stool next to the bed, she leaned some of her weight onto it. Hoped it would allow some of the feeling to return to her leg, if she just got off them for a while.
It took a few moments, the sleep disappeared from the top of her legs and then travelled down, and finally the sensation disappeared from the tips of her toes. She placed her weight solidly against the ground. Stepping lightly, so as not to be surprised by sleepy feelings, Lucy walked around the room, building up confidence on her own two legs, which wobbled at times, but also felt stronger than ever at other points.
Sweeping a gaze around the room, taking in the place she slept in for more than a week, Lucy discovered a lot more than expected. She had never been in Porlyusica's before, too terrified of the older woman. The bed, pushed beneath a window in the room, took up as little space as possible, to accommodate the fact that the room Lucy slept in incorporated a majority of a house. A tiny kitchen with herbs hung in the window above the sink, it held a tiny table with two chairs, and a basic fire stove. Next to that a small library and desk area, cluttered and ill managed, engulfed its own space, and the furniture. Like all the work piled up with no outlet. A different door situated itself between the kitchen and work area, though someone left open, and allowed Lucy to spot a tub and other things within. A bathroom. And the last door in the room, the one she knew Virgo used last time, sat opposite another door. This one shut itself tight, by the looks of the heavy lock. But she believed it acted as the woman's potion and mixing room. Which left the last door to lead outside.
Walking over the kitchen, the small table held a note and the paper Porlyusica wrote on the last time. Lucy sat in one of the chairs, looking over the notes that detailed her memories, the people she remembered. Or those she remembered with the most clarity. Shanks took the first spot, and his crew. She picked up the pen and began to write along the margins of the paper, scribbling names and half-formed memories of people, trying to find some timeline of her earlier life.
Makino, the woman who tended to Party's Bar, looked over Lucy as she rew for a period of time. Ben Beckman, Shank's first mate. Yasopp, Shank's sharpshooter. Lucky, Shank's chef. Woop Slap, hometown mayor. Her hometown, Fuusha Village, situated in Goa Kingdom in the East Blue. And there was something she needed to do in the East Blue, in her hometown, before anything else. Perhaps see Makino or the others, she really didn't know.
Garp, her grandfather and a marine. Dragon, her father, though his name meant nothing to her, and she believed she never met him. When Capricorn talked of him, with a great amount of distaste, nothing sparked within her.
And two other names, Ace and Sabo. Their names came easily, but their faces and purpose in her life stayed blank, empty and unknown. But somehow, she knew they were important to her, close to her in a way that felt even stronger than her nakama. More like her mother.
Lucy tapped the pen against the paper, flipped the page around and around, thinking of those two important names. Frustrated at the lack of answers the breaking spell offered her at the moment, Lucy went over what she did know. The East Blue, her home sea. And Fuusha Village, where Makino raised her. If she went back there, she knew answers would unfold themselves.
And somehow, those two names seemed to suggest she had to go back, something awaited her return.
It would be a detour, but a meaningful and important one. She needed to return there, if for nothing else than to see Makino and Woop Slap.
Her companions magic flickered around outside, so Lucy decided to end her thoughts, which circled around her head uselessly, and head to them. They most likely already sensed her, so there was no point in staying inside. Porlyusica would get angry anyway, if Lucy didn't get out to the yard. She pushed away from the table, stood, and crossed the room to the only plausible exit. The door, weighed down by heavy magic seal and wards, refused to move easily. It took a moment to get unstuck from the frame, but when she finally opened the door, and stepped out, she understood what all the wards intended to do.
Outside, the once bountiful forest littered the ground in heaps of decayed stumps and piles. Leaves withered against the ground, still and fallen, for the wind stopped blowing. The air itself felt churned and old, like the air in a train, recycled and dead. It matched the sky, Lucy thought as she looked up. It no longer held the sun in view. Instead, dark clouds hung, but no water lived within. The clouds' hollow purpose ended with blocking out the sun, no longer would they shed another essence filled drop of life against the ground. Burdened and wearied by the sky, Lucy shivered in fright. Nothing was right in Fiore, not anymore.
But most of all, Lucy no longer felt the magic of the world around her. That which once flowed through the water and trees, and the small bugs that crossed her path, disappeared into a void. A vacuum guzzled away all the good and life filled magic, and now the world rotted. Dark magic, Zeref's magic that seemed unmistakable to her, filled all space. Distorted her world, and she hated the way it clung to her skin, like oil poured down onto her, sliding from her head to her feet.
"Lucy," Loke called, and she turned to find him sitting with Porlyusica on an outcropping of rocks. She smiled as best she could, shook the feeling of the dark magic driven into her. The other two waited as she approached, patiently watching her skirt around fallen tree limbs that festered where they lay.
Loke offered her his seat, his jacket placed down for her to sit on. Gratefully accepting, she sat and Loke took the spot next to her, and bumped his shoulder against hers. Confirming that something lived in this land still, them. And that Lucy wasn't alone, wouldn't close her eyes and open them to find nothing around her.
"Hello, what are you doing out…here?" Lucy asked, gestured to the dead world around them with unbridled disgust. None of this would ever sit well with her. And once it returned to the way it was meant to be, she felt sure she would never forget this sight, and feel blessed when she made it disappear.
"We had a…disagreement on the next course of action, Lucy." Loke scratched at the back of his head, bowing his head a little.
"What were you disagreeing on?" Lucy asked, looking between the older woman and the lion spirit. The two shared a narrowed look between them, prolonging the time it took to get an answer. Porlyusica answered, just as Loke opened his mouth to reply himself.
"Your stupid Lion wants you working with your magic and training already. But your body is developing new organs, increasing nerves and sensory receptors at the moment. Not only that, but your magic is settling at the moment. To disturb it now could prolong the resting period, and thus, prolong the amount of time it takes for you to start your journey." The argument merited understanding from Lucy, so she turned and faced the lion. Who grumbled to himself and shook his head before giving his side of the story.
"The Spirit King wants to take you somewhere. Not only that, but he gifted you with new spirits, all of them to be precise, and wants you training as soon as possible." The shock of the gifts wore off after his words, and Lucy checked her magic. The smooth flow of her previous magic, which felt of the stars and celestial world, was missing from her body. She could still feel the stars and the celestial bodies, building and growing and consuming all of space, but a tang existed underneath. A sharp hissing, a growing roar on the horizon of her magic existed. And the sound rang out across all the heavens, shattering the flow of space and time, and sent her magic into an upheaval of activity. That was the feeling of her frazzled magic, unable to settle with something so close and ready to destroy.
A dragon would soon fly, and Lucy welcomed the change. She needed a dragon, she needed to become one.
And not only that, but her Second Origin. Something she finally unlocked during the middle of the games and didn't have a chance to use, sealed itself closed within her again. And the lock around it felt stronger, and the taunting power within, stronger than before. It felt pure, like a star bursting at the seams of its cage. Now more than ever, Lucy knew that whatever lied within the box would take time and hard training to reach again.
"I know my magic needs honing to settle down. It's because I know nothing about it, no way to prepare or use it, that it keeps jumping around. Training would be good for me, and my magic. Perhaps I could try meditating first, feeling around," Lucy suggested, rustling the part in her hair back and forth as she thought.
"You know your magic better than I can assume it is at the moment. If you say that's how it is, it better be that way. Meditation won't kill you, so I'll permit it," Porlyusica said and rose from the rock bed they sat on. Dusted the useless pollen from her clothes, and left for the house again. Lucy followed the movements of the older woman with her eyes, before she disappeared into the house, the last tree in the forest.
Loke tapped her on the shoulder, turning back to him she awaited whatever he wanted to say. He held up a belt, one that looked like a rock climber's, and handed it to her. Two holsters connected to the outside of each thigh belt, coupled to the belt as well. On it her old keys jingled happily, the shiny metal gleamed even without light. Then, another bag, he placed it on the other side of the rock, out of her reach, came into view. It jingled with each movement, making Lucy curious to the contents.
He handed the bag to her. Accepting the gift, slightly miffed by the weight, not too heavy for such an overstuffed looking bad, she opened it. Inside keys sat innocently, a lot of keys at that. On top of that pile sat three gold keys, Yukino's keys. Picking them up gingerly, she felt over the cold metal.
"I'll return these to Yukino, once she wakes up. I promise," Lucy said, looking up at Loke who nodded. He helped clip them over the belt, next to her original keys.
"But until that day, I'm sure they would love to help you."
"I'll accept all the help I can get. Are these really all for me?"
"Yes, Lucy. You are the Princess of the Stars. The King thought these would help," Loke said, smiling happily as he looked down into the bag of keys, of his brethren.
"This is so wonderful, Loke. Thank you, and thank Mustache Man as well for me, okay?" Pulling out another key, this one the Crow, Lucy twirled the black metal key in her hand. Marveled at the black wing design to it. The smooth feeling of the metal, a metal unfamiliar to her, felt heavy in her hands.
"You can thank him when he picks you up, to take you wherever he wants to take you. And he'll be here in…three hours, starting…now. So I would suggest you start your training now, and then get cleaned up. Princess you look like an absolutely beautiful in my eyes, always, but you may wish to clean up before you meet with the king," Loke said, tailored a bow and disappeared in a shimmer of golden light.
Alone in a dead forest, with only one living tree that housed a cranky and violent healer, nothing seemed to be alright. But at the same time, like everything would be alright. Lucy felt a direction in her life, for the first time, and it would lead her where she needed to go. A world awaited her return, and she waited to return to it. The despair, which still withered her heart, lifted. She wasn't alone. Perhaps those she had believed her dead, but that could be rectified. And new nakama would enter her life, just as cherished as the old ones.
Moving into a crossed leg position, she began to meditate. Her happy thoughts a focal point for the beginning of her new training. Everything would be alright, she would regain what she lost, and find more love in the life ahead of her.
After two and a half hours Lucy stopped her meditation. She got up and stretched as the muscles in her legs straightened back out, and readjusted themselves to a standing position. Thirty minutes remained until the Mustache Man would appear, and take her somewhere Loke either wasn't privy to, or didn't know. Somehow, she felt Loke would warn her if he knew, or clue her in. But since neither case presented itself, Loke not knowing seemed the more likely option.
And with her magic in better sorts, though not completely without a teacher or someone to guide her, Lucy readied herself for the King.
Calling upon Virgo, the maid appeared with the ringing of a bell, and carried a pile of clothing. More than Lucy believed needed for an outing, but most likely for some choice in the matter of her clothing. She relished in the opportunity to pick clothing from the Spirit World, most of the time the maid would just bring her clothing to wear. "Hello, Virgo," Lucy greeted her spirit, happily smiling, and noticed the other surveying her. "Yes?"
"I am glad to see you are feeling much better, Princess. I have brought clothes for you, a multitude of things that you may like. I have already gone to your house as well, and salvaged what I could. Punishment?" The maid tilted her form forward in a bow, awaiting a blow they both knew Lucy would never make. Instead, taking the clothes from the maid, Lucy looked through her options.
"Of course not, Virgo. And thank you for all of this. But do you think you could help clean me up. I don't want to put on clean clothes when I'm filthy," Lucy whined a bit at the end, feeling the buildup of grime on her own body and grease in her hair. It sickened her how dirty she became, used to bathing, or at least showering, every day. Usually to relax after Natsu had done something particularly exhausting to her mind.
"Of course, Princess." The spirit disappeared, leaving Lucy to peruse her options of clothing while she awaited. Everything looked wonderful, as always, but nothing took her breath away with desire or awe. Virgo always provided such…beautiful clothing. And Lucy knew she didn't need it, wanted it, yes, but didn't need it. But, for now, she would put on something pretty, as it became more likely that she would rarely have something beautiful and elegant to wear every day.
Pulling out a long dress from the mix, a creamy beige dress with a slit to mid-thigh on the right, and a pair of golden sandals, Lucy decided. Who knew how long it would be till she could wear something like this again? Knowing the Outer World, the Grand Line, battle ready clothing would become her new best friend.
But, as she thought with a new wave of excitement, Loke mentioned that Erza's requip abilities laid dormant within her. If she could learn how to requip, while it would never be as fast as Erza's, it would allow Lucy to wear whatever she wanted. Perhaps one of her spirits knew, she would have Crux research the magic for the best luch.
Another ringing through the air, followed by another, alerted Lucy to the return of her spirit. But the second ring also told her of another. Turning her head, Virgo and Cancer stood behind her. The crab, ever present with his scissors and gentle disposition, smiled in greeting. But didn't come any closer, mainly because she looked disgusting. He would work on her hair, after Virgo finished with her body.
The maid came closer with a towel in hand, it steamed and the heat rose pleasantly through the air. Convection baking everything around it. The cold air chilled Lucy, and the towel seemed so welcoming in comparison. The crab turned away from the scene, giving privacy to the two women.
Virgo washed away the grime and dirt with the steaming towel, and at the same began to help Lucy undress. While Lucy should have felt embarrassed by this in the middle of the woods, the feeling of cleanliness took away her shyness. Just for the moment. It still felt a little embarrassing, but soon enough the warm feeling, which ran up and down her body in a nearly sensual way, made that feeling disappear.
All clean, from face to toes, the spirit dressed her. The dress, with a white lace overlay to the cream fabric, slithered over her skin. The fabric dropped, and the hem ghosted just above the ground. Perfectly tailored. It gave enough site of the golden sandals when she walked, and she didn't trip over the bottom. And the slit, hardly noticeable while she stood still, barely seemed there. The thin straps of the dress did the job, and held her heavy bosom. The neckline scooped around her breasts, and showed off her breasts. But most everything did, and nothing could really be done about that.
The crab, who sensed the women were done, turned and approached Lucy. Ever the love for something beautiful and classy, he dressed her hair beautifully. Curling it first, he then braided the hair like a crown, around the back of her head, while the rest hung down in big and loose curls.
"Wonderful-ebi," Cancer said, proud of his work on her hair, which no longer felt greasy. He worked with a lot more hair than usual on her head, for as they both noticed when he began working, somehow the evolution affecting her body, most likely the rapid increase in cell production, also affected her hair, which grew at an alarming speed. The golden locks fell elegantly down to her hips. Somehow, this body transformation didn't seem so bad, especially since she had been trying to grow her hair long for years.
"Thank you, both of you," Lucy said, and the crab spirit, thoroughly pleased with himself, vanished into golden light.
"Of course, Princess. Now the King should be here momentarily, so I shall take my leave. Unless I should be punished?"
"No, Virgo. And thank you for telling me the time, you may go," Lucy said, and the spirit bowed and disappeared like her companion. Once more left in the yard, Lucy sat on the rock, and waited for the Spirit King. Besides her sat the climbing belt, now loaded with keys of all kinds, and she played with it. After inspecting the black belt up close, she noticed a number of golden stars and constellation littered it. Carrying the belt would not be ideal, so she considered sliding it under dress.
Lucy hiked her dress up, and stepped into the belt, careful of her shoes so they wouldn't snag. It slid all the way, and hid above the slit line in her dress. Because the dress billowed out at her waist, above which it hug to her, the keys didn't show below. The slight jingle of her walk, something she grew used to over the years, was the only thing that gave away the keys' placement on her body. She twirled in a circle, listening to the bell like sound. Then stopped, and she wondered where her whip went. It would be perfect in one of the holsters, preferably in the one by the slit for easy access.
"Are you ready to go?" A voice called behind her, and she spun to see the King grinning down at her. Having witnessed her twirling and dancing to the jingle of her keys. A blush crept up her face, before she coughed and nodded her head. He chuckled, amused by her antics and embarrassment, before he kneeled, lowering himself down to the ground, and stretched his hand out. "Get on."
Lucy did as she was told, and climbed onto his large palm. He lifted his hand, with her on it, and began to walk. She didn't know where to, and desired to know before they go there. She trusted the old man, but she felt curious. "Where are we going?" She asked, and sat down on his hand. It seemed the safer option. From what she could tell, they were headed towards the mountains, which looked darker and more ominous that normal. The long strides of the King brought them closer faster than a train ever could.
"I have someone I want you to make a contract with. Four hundred years ago I exiled this spirit from the Celestial World, and now, I want them to come back and help you." The King's mustache moved with every word, the long ends reaching for her in a way. But she barely noticed the hair, instead focusing on the words he spoke.
"Four hundred years?! Loke barely managed three, and I can't even understand that!" Lucy responded, remembering her actions that saved the Lion's life, and restored a close and dear friend to the heavens.
"Loke is nothing like this Spirit. The Lion is the leader of the Zodiacs, but this Spirit is A Celestial King, and almost matches me in power," The King explained, but seemed unwilling to divulge the information. Though it explained how a Spirit could stay out for so long, if they rivaled the Spirit King.
"A Celestial King?" She asked, confused at the term. She knew Spirit King, but not Celestial.
"Yes, it means that this spirit regained all the power it had when alive. Loke is not even close to his living self, though he barely remembers it. But I remember the proud lion I invited, the one with golden fun that blazed like a star. The first of his kind, and that is why I invited him to be a Spirit. But Leo never regained his full brilliance," He said it so sadly, and Lucy wished she could have seen Leo like that. A blazing sun. "This Spirit, regained his full brilliance. And I named him a Celestial King, the first of his kind. But, soon he became corrupted. And turned from a brilliant and blazing Spirit, to a figure of great evil and hate."
"What caused this change? If he was so brilliant, it couldn't have been just anything," Lucy said and awaited his response, still wondering who the spirit could be. None of the ones on her key ring, obviously.
"Four hundred years ago his key fell into the hands of a terrible master, his key and a few others. This master abused them, tortured them all in the name of science and discovery, and my old friend purposely killed his owner to save himself and the others. I don't mean like Leo and Karen, I mean he devoured the man whole, and relished in the screams the man made in his own stomach. I exiled him, and he didn't ask for forgiveness. He told me a king who allows his subjects to fall into the hands of monsters, is nothing but a monster himself. I felt it was true, no one treated my kind correctly, but I could not call their keys from the earth," The king's voice trailed off sadly, and out of sadness for the King, her friends, and this Spirit, she gently held onto one of his giant fingers. He chuckled down at her, but it held none of his usual booming glee.
"I don't think killing the man so intentionally was the best thing to do, but I can understand wanting to help your friends, to help save them, no matter the cost to yourself. And it obviously stuck with him, if it is the beginning of his story," Lucy reasoned, but the King shook his head.
"It was that incident that instigated a meeting between him and a man. An evil wizard. This Spirit, forgive me for not saying so earlier, is named Draco, the Dragon. I want him for you, because he is a Celestial Dragon, even if his magic and form are different. He can help, and I want to have faith in him…so listen to his story." She nodded her head, and he continued. "He met Zeref, and the Wizard showed him great power. The dark power. But of course, Draco did not agree for power, he agreed to be changed because Zeref showed him respect. Showed reverence and acceptance, something Draco never found in the human race before. The two joined forces, but were still separate. Overtime with Zeref, Draco killed more and more people, stopped feeling things for humans. And should he have found a Celestial Mage at any time, he would kill them."
"He is Acnologia, the Dragon we faced on Tenrou, isn't he?" Lucy asked, and shook at the thought of the dragon. He frightened her, because of what he could do. That power, so consuming and filled with rage, trapped them on Tenrou for seven months. But at the same time, now she understood, understood him just a bit.
"Yes, but I wish for him to be Draco again, the First Dragon, the Dragon King. I want him to see you, and be led by your light to his brilliance once more. I want Draco to fly in the night sky again. I know his crimes, and I know how severe they are…but my friend suffered greatly. And I want him to be free of his hatred. That is why, Princess of the Celestial Heavens, I wish for you to be his bearer. If anyone can find him in his darkness, and lead him from it, you will be the one, you and your heart filled with love and light," The King said, so sure and believing, that Lucy couldn't refute his words.
Lucy continued to look at the King as she tried to understand. She could turn Acnologia back into a good spirit? The King had that much faith in her? Lucy smiled at this. She promised to do her best for all those that placed their faith in her. And she would do it for herself, so that she could believe in herself a little more. "All right, I'll give it a try! I promise that I won't give up on any of my friends!"
The King smiled at the blonde in his hands. She loved all of them, and agreed to help Acnologia, a spirit who hurt her and her family. Just because she loved Spirits that much. Thank you Lucy for being the way you are. And thank you Layla Heartfilia, for raising your daughter to love us all, thought the Spirit King.
After about a half hour of walk and Lucy noticed they crossed over into the large valleys that dipped between the tall mountains, the ones she noticed they were headed to earlier. So used to the call of wild Vulcans in mountains, the silence rang through the air and settled heavily around them. Nothing more could be felt or heard, except Lucy and the King's breathing.
The dark settled even more heavily around them, leading Lucy to believe that the actual Sun left the sky long ago. And due to the clouds, her beloved stars were hidden behind deathly curtains. Perhaps Zeref planned for the stars as well, blocking them from seeing Fiore, from watching their master's die and being helpless to do anything. But he could not have accounted for Lucy. And the new power that grew within her, ready to go on the grandest of adventures.
The roaring of wind cut through all the silence and darkness around her. She looked around for the source, trying to find where the sound came from. But nothing, it seemed to come from every direction. That only confirmed that the source needed to be big, big enough that it consumed the space around her and the Mustache Man. The adrenaline that came from an unidentified source, coursed through her body and filled her with urgency. Wildly, she whipped her head around.
"He is here," the King said, and pulled his sword from its sheathe. The giant blade made her pause as she looked at it, awed by the power she felt build within him, and travel down the length of the blade. Out of habit, Lucy touched her keys, reaching under the skirt of her dress to touch the metal beneath. The voice of Loke rang the loudest, and filled the unease in her with his belief. So felt fearless, as long as someone stood beside her.
But then, she thought, why fear? The Spirit King would never allow for her to get hurt, he cared for her and wanted her to stay alive. He allowed her to come to the Spirit World when the curse came. And Acnologia, no, Draco would become her new friend. Friends don't fear friends, they accept them and move forward. And Lucy would do just that, because everything would work out.
She thought of Draco like Gajeel. The Iron Dragon Slayer didn't come into her life on the best of terms, but she forgave him. He beat her to within an inch of her life, but she survived and accepted him. Watched as he redeemed his past, and moved forward. Grew into a beloved member of her family, terrible singing and all. It felt rough at first, Gajeel refused to talk with anyone, just sat in a corner and ate iron all day. But then Levy and he began talking, and Lucy watched, happily, as two people found each other. And the lost man found his light, and his loyalty and love for Fairy Tail came to fruition.
Draco made a bad choice in his past, and he paid for it since. He hurt her and her family, but they survived. They persevered and came out on top, and now she could help Draco come back to himself. Heal his wounds. Zeref and a bad wielder turned him into the Black Dragon. She would do what she could, and help heal him of the past. Maybe they had a rocky start, but time could help mend a lot, and Lucy and Draco would take care of the rest.
"You've calmed down, that's good. Don't worry, I won't let anything happen to you," The King promised, and a roar shook through the air. The sound was unmistakable, it belonged to Draco.
"Nothing bad will happen, I know that now. Draco needs help, and I'm willing to give it," Lucy said and waited for the Dragon to come and find them. It didn't take long, he obviously tried to scare them away. But it didn't work. The both of them held their ground, and the Dragon finally showed himself. He descended towards them, charged with his massive head and maw wide open. His glistening black and blue body finally clued her into his Celestial form, he looked like a night sky, pierced by patched of moon light. While he looked ferocious, and his anger filled the sky, a deep seated loneliness seemed to cry from his bellow.
The King did not dodge him as he came towards them, but grabbed the Dragon' scruff and threw him into the ground. The earth shuddered and fell apart beneath the immense forth used against it, cracks building along the barren mountains. And below Draco a giant hole opened up and spewed the dust of the earth into the air, coating the dragon and hiding his beautiful scales from her sight.
"Is that anyway to greet your King, Draco?" The King asked in cold tone, looking at one of his old friends with a harsh glare. The tone he used made Lucy look back on his older words, believing he may have lied to her about taking the spirit back. But then again, he talked like this to Loke before agreeing to take him back.
"To what do I owe this pleasure, Spirit King? Finally going to finish me off now that the world is over and you need not worry about endangering people with your power?" Lucy never heard Acnologia, no Draco, talk before, but she liked it. In a weird way his voice reminded her of the Spirit King, old and powerful. He still sounded harsh when he spoke, and almost rasped when he did. She wondered how long it had been since he last spoke to anyone, if his voice sounded like he hadn't spoken in centuries. But she also heard smoothness in his voice that rang of his true intelligence. It seemed to fit his title as King of the Dragons, strong and intelligent. Almost omniscient as it rang through the air.
"No, old friend, I am not here to kill you. I am here to make a deal with you. I will allow you to work away your sins if you make a contract with this girl, and help her in her quest to bring back light to this world," The Spirit King said, though it sounded like an order. Draco rose his head and looked at her, standing in the hand of the Spirit King. He huffed, and his breath nearly knocked her over with the gust of wind that followed.
"Me, Acnologia, make a contract with some weak little girl that cannot even comprehend my power? I rather like it here, so I'll pass," Acnologia stood and looked like he would take off when she surprised both spirits.
"Wait!" Lucy cried as she scrambled across the King's hands and walked across his long fingers. She leveled her eyes with the dragon's, staring into those dark eyes, and found a deep rooted anger within. It should have scared her, but it didn't. "I know your power. I have seen it with my own eyes. I was one of the mages that was on Tenroujima. I am not afraid of you! I understand your power is far beyond mine. But I don't believe you like it here. I don't believe you at all!"
The words spoken garnered a violent roar from the dragon, his maw opening wide in front of her, showing his teeth and the back of his throat, which promised to devour her. Not allowing herself to quiver, she stared down his throat. One he finished, his snout came closer to her, but Lucy did not move. "What did you say, little spirit mage? It is you who I don't believe. You are not worthy to wield my key!" The words held a bitterness that rattled through the ages, from countless owners of his key that abused him, and Lucy knew immediately what he meant.
"I get it! You hate spirit mages because you come from a time where Spirits were being abused, and I know it's still going on. You hated it, you still do; you don't want anybody to see you as nothing but a key with some power behind it! That's normal! But you aren't a key to me. You're a friend!" Lucy gathered all the breath in her, needed it to yell, before she continued. "And not only that, you're my hope. You're precious and perfect, and I need you. I am not worthy, of you or any of the other stars that have come into my life. But I must ask for your help, because I am weak."
The King said nothing, watched as the young mage that all spirits adored showed them all once again that somebody cared and loved them.
"And let me tell you what I don't believe you mean. I don't believe you're content down here. That's nothing but a lie. A lie you've told yourself to stop the pain. Aren't you lonely? You've spent over four hundred years without somebody to care for you, to call a friend! You were cast out of your home, and since then everybody has hated your existence, either that of feared you! No matter how dark someone is, loneliness is the worst thing. More than being hated, I fear being alone. I'm not afraid of you Draco! I want to help you; I want to be your friend. I don't want to be your master and I hate the word. So please just hear me out!
"You aren't the one to blame for the way you are. You found a person who respected you and you liked them having your key. But that isn't your fault. You were tired of Spirits being mistreated, weren't you? You just wanted to find a person that wouldn't just see you as a key. And there is nothing wrong with that! But now that person is gone. I'm not Zeref and I never will be! But I do want to be your friend, so please let me end your loneliness! You can go home…you can be with the people you once saw as friends…and you can gain one more friend right here and now…me. I hate seeing a spirit in pain. So I ask you to be my friend, please. Let go of your hatred and let love in." Lucy's voice had grown soft at the end as she shed tears for the pained spirit. The tears trailed down her face, and she sniffled in an attempt to stop the snot in her nose from running free.
They just wouldn't stop coming. She loved spirits too much for her to be able to stand seeing one in so much pain, before her own eyes as well. Lucy took a breath as she walked forward, closer and closer to the Dragon's face that began at the end of the King's fingers. He rested there, having used the place to intimidate her. But it backfired, she came closer to him. She stretched her arms out wide and fell forward, hugged the dragon's snout to her. Her tears fell onto the dragon's scales, and though not visible, where her tears landed his scales would change to a brilliant, shimmering white that lit up the darkness. Their original color, instead of the night black.
Once she did get off, Draco looked up to see the Spirit King looking at the girl with a fondness he never displayed before for any human. "Perhaps I should formally introduce you two. Draco, King of Dragons, this is Lucy Heartfilia, The Princess of the Stars, Light of Fairy Tail, and a Celestial Dragon." Acnologia, no Draco, lowered his head again to her and placed his snout at her head, breathed in deeply and smelled her. He moved his head down to her hand, once he found something she didn't ask about.
"From this day forward, Draco the Dragon pledges his loyalty to Lucy Heartfilia. She may call upon him whenever as his repentance. A contract is now born." And with that Draco disappeared into gold light, like any other spirit. Lucy looked up the Spirit King and smiled. He smiled right back at her, and with his mind he checked on Draco, and found the Dragon already asleep in the heart of his star, recovering the powers he lost.
"Let us return you too," The King said, and began to walk back the way they came. Lucy looked down at the key in her hands, stroked the length of it gently. Solid black diamond made up the entire key, and from Lucy's knowledge of gems, it signified the power Draco held within himself. And also, his darkness, for a pure diamond should have signified his key. But, as she studied the key more closely, she discovered something. The teeth looked like that of his own fangs, the stem one of his large wings, and the bow his curved neck and head. His constellation nestled into the center of the bow, made of shimmering dust. And a small fleck of pure clear diamond housed at the base of the key, at the tip of his head.
Holding the key, she hugged it to her form, and smiled as she thought of the dragon. Most likely asleep and recovering, then placed it onto her belt, closest to the outer edge of her skirt's slit. Where she could grab it if needed.
Not wanting to wake the woman Lucy remained outside after the Spirit King dropped her off. Not really sure of what to do, making contracts with all the keys on her belt made the most sense. She walked down to the stones she meditated upon, and felt around for the keys, removing the belt and slid it down her legs, and placed it down on the rocks next to her. Pulling off the keys one by one, the process of making contracts began. But first, she pulled out her little notebook with all her contract information. Somehow the small book didn't seem like enough for all the spirits in the sky, she never thought before that she would hold all the keys.
Lucy contracted Pisces, Libra, and Ophiuchus first and happily talked to them all, but promised to return them to Yukino once she returned. After all, her fellow celestial mage loved her spirits like Lucy, and breaking them apart didn't seem right to Lucy. All three of them were happy to hear that. The mother Pisces gave Lucy a silver pair of anklets made of silver with blue, tear drop gems hanging from the metal like fringe. They would increase the power of her kicks. But she also explained reequipping, a magic Lucy wanted to learn.
"You see, all of the spirits have weapons they can give to their masters. If the Spirit King allows it, if the master, sorry friend, has enough magic to unlock the weapon for the spirit to access, and if the spirit wants to. You can send the weapon back to the spirit world whenever you want to now, just think about it leaving. And when you want them, think about them around your ankles," The mother explained, and Lucy thanked her for doing so.
"Our gifts aren't needed," Ophiuchus explained, and Libra nodded her head in agreement. "We will be available whenever you need us." Another nod from the silent spirit, then they all disappeared into golden light. Back to the Spirit World.
Lucy met Eridanus the River, and the creator of her whip. Eridanus first returned the whip, and placed it in one of the belt holsters for her. "Virgo came to my home one day and just took it. I didn't find out till later that it was gone," Eridanus laughed, the sound reminding her of rain hitting a stream slowly. The woman held an incredible charm, and as she flipped her long blue hair, which shimmered like a river of stars, Lucy felt so taken by the spirit.
"I'm sorry if she overstepped, but I really needed it, and," Lucy began, apologizing to the Spirit who waved her off.
"Oh, it was nothing to be concerned about. I soon found you using it, and I knew it was alright. As the river that flows through all the heavens, I knew your spirits' love for you. So I felt honored Virgo thought of me to help you," She replied, a smile on her lips that reminded Lucy of her own mother.
"Thank you," Lucy curtsied. Eridanus giggled, hiding her mouth behind the long sleeve of her dress.
"I can only be summoned two days a week, of your choosing. I don't believe I'll be much help in your fights, as I am a spirit of counsel, but if you need to talk, you may come to me," Eridanus replied and then left.
Next came Orion, who Lucy loved immediately. Not only because he acted so gentlemanly and kind, but because of his connection to the other spirits. Canis Major appeared with him, his hunting dog that always came out when he did, she learned. His form seemed more ancient to her than any she saw before, the leather grieves and sandals that wound up his calves, the white tunic and broad sword at his hip, a bow on his back. Born a warrior of ancient breed, the lithe form, ivory hair that shone like a distant star in the night sky, and tanned olive skin reminded her of royalty. He looked perfect.
His large hunting dog, Canis Major, looked more of what she thought Lupus would be, large and overly hairy, head bowed close to the ground as if forever checking for a scent. Not that Lucy could tell if a scent remained in the area. But the dog looked miffed, so she assumed even the scent of the world disappeared in the blast.
"Hello, my Lady," Orion kneeled on one leg before her, offering his hand which she took. He pressed a kiss to the inside of her palm, causing her to blush. Canis Major approached as well and took a deep breath of her scent, then sat back on his haunches and watched.
"Hello, Orion," She curtsied as he rose, and straightened after a brief pause. He pulled a small sword from his back, the blade the length of her forearm and wrapped in a leather binding. It looked like a long knife, rather than a sword since it lacked a guard that differentiated grip from blade. He held it out to her and she took it.
"Lady Virgo added in a holster to the belt she gave you for this gift of mine. It will settled along your lower back, as the blade is too small to take up the other holster, which is meant for a real sword. If you desire one," He spoke, and gestured to the belt on the stones. She reached for it, and looked around the top of the belt, at the back. And found a small round of clasps meant to hold the blade in place, then buckled it into place with some help from the spirit.
A small whine from the dog, after they finished, alerted them to the dog's desire. He had been ignored too long for his own liking. Orion clicked his tongue and the spirit lowered its head, looking up at them and Lucy went over and began to pet the dog. Immediately his tale wagged, happily swaying back and forth on the ground, and brushed dirt around.
"We can be summoned any day, except the fifth day of the week," Orion said, and she pulled out her notebook and wrote it down. The dog nestled his way between the book and her, and demanded more attention to himself. She gently pushed him away as she finished writing, and then scratched him behind his ears, which caused his head to loll to the right.
Cetus, the Sea Monster, took up a grand amount of space, spanning the entire area Lucy could see. She feared he would squash Porlyusica's house, but he steered clear of the structure and focused on her. While preferring the water, the spirit could be summoned on land, something which surprised Lucy for a water Spirit. Though he mention that he became stronger in the water. His gift was a talisman to place on her boat, when she got one, to steer monsters away from it. Lucy didn't know if it would work on the Sea Kings and Beasts of waters outside, but it seemed worth a shot. He allowed her to summon him any day.
Corvus, the Crow, liked to be called Raven as the world names him as such first. Corvus could manipulate shadows and take of the form of a crow and scout undetected for her. And then, before he left, he gave her a black cloak lined with crow feather. It would make people stop paying attention to her.
Hercules played the part of a true hero, all hard edges and lines, with a body amassed of muscles. When he spoke he didn't look at her, since his bashful nature made him quite shy, not that she minded. Like Orion, and from his time as well, he played the part of a regal gentleman. But she also knew him to be related to the gods in someway, allowing him a plethora of fighting capabilities. Though the stories never told which god.
When summoned, the Winged Horse, Pegasus, came with him. The two always came together, like Orion and Canis Major.
He gave her a pair of armbands, made of bronze, which would increase her strength. Taurus helped to make them. But the strength they awarded would never equal their own.
Leo Minor, Loke's younger brother, looked about Wendy's age. He wore a child's suit, with the tie designed to look like his brother's. In fact he looked like a small Loke, but without the playboy ways. The glasses on his face slid down every second, too big for his face, and he needed to keep readjusting them and pushing them back up. The sleeves of the jacket were also too big, and passed his knuckles. Lucy loved the child immediately, as he wanted to be just like his big brother when he grew up. She curbed the desire to cuddle him.
"Princess, you've done a lot of work," Virgo said, appearing from the Spirit world, and brought some clothes with her. Lucy noticed pants in the pile, and assumed that this would be the clothing that Virgo gave her for the fighting ahead. She loved the fact that the material came from the Spirit World, and therefore felt like heaven. "I have brought you new clothes. I believe these would be better suited than dressed for your journey ahead. And since you'll be a pirate. Shall I be punished?"
"No, of course not." Virgo laid out the clothes and then turned to Lucy, her fingers wiggling, and Lucy backed away in fright. The Spirit leapt for her, and began to change her clothing from the nice dress, to the clothes she brought. It ended quickly, as the spirit always seemed to take the phrase quick change to a new level.
Now, changed from the dress to something more suitable for the future, Lucy overlooked the outfit she wore. A pair of black slinky pants, which clung to her legs and butt, went up past her navel, bu only by an inch or so. They tied in the front, instead of buttoning together. Her feet adorned a pair of tight boots with a small heel, which went over to the top of her calves and also tied at the front. The material, a nice black leather, blended in with the pants. But her anklets fit nicely within the leather, and didn't cut into her skin from the tightness that pressed down onto them. Her top consisted of an arctic blue bikini top, over which a chiffon white shirt hung and billowed from her frame.
The spirit helped situate the belt over her pants, and the keys jingled noisily with her movements. Her whip hung against her thigh, and the blade at the back pressed into her. The look completed, she felt very good about how it looked on her.
"Thank you Virgo, this is wonderful," Lucy said, and her spirit opened her mouth to respond. "And no punishment." The spirit nodded and disappeared. Left alone in the clearing, and no lights on in the house, Lucy thought about her options. Sleep didn't seem necessary at the time, in fact she felt pumped and ready to fight. She wanted to. But that wasn't an option at the time, so something else would have to do.
She creeped into the house, opening the door and found no one in the room. But a light snoring came from the room beyond the locked door, the one she used for making potions. So Lucy wrote a note on the paper in the kitchen, then left again. The door concerned her less with a wall between Porlyusica and her, so she shut it normally. Like she would her own apartment.
Outside in the open air again, Lucy called upon her magic. Knowing that some small practice would not hurt her, so long as Porlyusica never found out about it. She began to run, using her magic to light up her hand and produce light to guide her and direct her around all the fallen debris on the ground. Back to the one place she needed to be at that moment. The only place she wanted to be at that moment.
Arriving at the front gate, Lucy walked into the awning area of Fairy Tail, passed the old and broken souvenir shop that never got to be reopened. Not that she minded, since her undressing doll always got bought up. That wasn't a compliment either, as most went to the perverts within Fairy Tail itself.
The door to the actual guild hall laid against the ground in front, and she walked over it in order to get inside. The remainders of the guild, floor boards, blasted and destroyed walls, and the broken roof could never compare to the actual remainders of Fairy Tail. The bodies of her lost nakama that sat exactly where they did when she passed out. Blood on the floor soaked through, and surrounded their bodies, which were indistinguishable. Only from shape and the surrounding contents could she tell them apart.
A black substance, something like cocoon, formed around them and covered their forms. It moved over them, like sludge that would not settle. She walked around the guild, and felt her resolve begin to grow. Slowly, she went around, finding little knickknacks next to bodies, which told her who each body belonged to. She said goodbye to them all, one by one, until she reached on person in particular. She gathered up his sound pods, which had laid cracked next to him, and cradled them close to her.
Achingly slowly, she ghosted a hand around his face, but did not touch the black sludge. She remembered what he felt like, and she redrew the patterns and angles of his face with her hand, her fingers. Feeling that warm skin, the scar on his face that fell across his eye. Those storm grey eyes that pleaded with her while his mouth asked something she never expected from him.
When Laxus asked her to be his mate. That night at the ball, he led her across the floor when everything was all over. The room darkened, the band finished, and all members of the guilds passed out against the floor around them. He led her through a silent dance in the dark, and asked her to be his. And he apologized, for everything he did in the past, even though he knew she forgave him, like she did everybody.
No one knew about that night, she never gave him an answer though. It seemed too sudden to answer, so he gave her time. And now she had more time that she wanted. He deserved to have known some answer before all of this, but she pushed him away when he came onto her while drunk off battle. What did he think? Did he think she rejected him already?
Her mouth and voice quivered as she spoke, knowing he couldn't hear her, but needed to say something. Even if she said it to his corpse. "I know you said you'd give me time to answer. You even said we could try dating first, to make me more comfortable. Even though I knew you wanted something like Natsu and Lisanna, where instinct made everything okay. You felt an instinct towards me, and for you even noticing someone as weak as me, that means a lot. You made me feel safe, I knew you'd protect me.
"But I can't be weak anymore. Not with what's to come. I must become stronger, and I can't be protected, as the captain of a future crew…I have to protect my nakama. So I have to become stronger. Stronger than you, than Master, than Natsu, Erza, Mira and everyone. Not just to save you all but to earn my nakam's trust and reliance. And to become the Pirate Queen, my dream since I was a child. And even more than that…I think I know the answer already. I've desired being a pirate all my life, to be free and sail all of my life. Whatever happens after this, I won't return to the Guild. I'll spend my life with my new nakama, and…you'll be the new master someday. You get motion sick, and I love the sea and sailing...if I never got my memories back, if none of this happened, I feel like we could have worked. But I am no longer just Lucy Heartfilia, I am Monkey D. Lucy as well. And that is someone different than who you knew and desired.
"I'll tell you all of this when I get back with One Piece…but for now, I have to let you go. I'll always remember that night, because it meant something wonderful to me. And I never wanted to hurt or reject you, in fact, I thought everyday about agreeing. I was going to suggest something after the party…but I don't think I can anymore.
"I will go on this adventure, and I will become someone different from Monkey D. Lucy and Lucy Heartfilia, because that's what happens when you go on an adventure. I'll meet new people, hate and love, and maybe I'll fall in love too. Because I know this dream of mine will take a while, so…I'm asking you to let me go. I'm sorry for all of this, but I'm being honest. And the me I am now…just can't see us together."
Lucy finished and wiped the tears that fell down her cheeks. She knew he couldn't hear her, but saying everything just made it all more real. Gave her closure to go off, and live her new life. The one that would lead her back to them all one day, and then would take her away.
"That was nicely said. I think he will understand when you get back," A voice said behind her, and Lucy swiveled, nearly falling over, to find Mavis. The first master didn't look as solid as usual, in fact, she looked to be fading away. Bit by bit, and she felt that soon Mavis would be gone completely. In her small hands she held the guild master's stamp.
"First," Lucy whispered and crossed the room to the small ghost, frowning when she noticed she couldn't even touch the other now. The other smiled sadly and held out the stamp to Lucy.
"You are correct in everything you've told him, and I speak for everyone when I say, we wish you all the happiness. Don't think of us too much, go and live, find happiness. When the time comes for you to save us, then think of us and do it. Greet us and let us see who you have become, and we will feel pride when we look upon you. Even bring back your own mate, I know you're a dragon now after all. Laxus, and everyone, will understand you have changed. And we will still love you. You will leave us, and you will still be a part of us. Let the power of your emotions grow and guide you, let them power you as you head into your future," Mavis said, her small smile lit up her face and made a weight drop from Lucy's chest.
One day she would get them all back, but it didn't need to consume her life. Because then she wouldn't be living.
"Thank you, First. I'll remember this," Lucy said. The smaller woman waved her own hand over Lucy's and she watched as the pink mark disappeared. Confused, she opened her mouth, intent on questioning the other.
"I have but one request. You wear the mark of Fairy Tail where every guild master has, and name your crew after us. As a reminder of the limitless adventures in this world, and the one you will go to. To inspire hope and dreams in your crew, and a ravenous desire for life and living," the master said, and Lucy nodded her head.
"Yes, I can agree to that." She peeled her shirt back, and allowed Mavis to place the marker onto her chest.
"I'll pick the color," Mavis said, and then pulled the mark back. A golden mark that gleamed and shimmered like golden dust, reminiscent of her magic, appeared. "I think it suits you. Now, go and make a fairy tale of all your own, then come back and tell us all about it, with your Fairy Tail Pirates."
"I will," Lucy promised, pressing a hand into the new mark on her flesh. The master handed over the stamp, it weighed in her hand with importance and meaning. And the master slowly disappeared into nothingness, gone from Lucy's sight. Looking around the room once more, she gathered her heart, and walked from the Guild, her left hand raised in the sign of Fairy Tail.
"Where have you been?" Porlyusica asked, Lucy half-way through the door. Morning when she finally returned, panting and out of breath. She spent all night running around and training.
"I went back to the Guild, got some things. Then I went to my apartment, or what's left of it anyway, and had Virgo hold some things. Checked out some of the local markets as well, found some food in cans that weren't broken by the blast. Though some are dented," Lucy listed, looking through the bag of food she brought back in a plastic bag. She brought it over to the kitchen table, placing it down and sighing as she collapsed into a chair.
"Couldn't sleep?" Porlyusica asked and fiddled with a number of tubes and vials, some vats of liquid too. Lucy wondered what she was doing, but didn't ask, for the moment. Somehow she felt it would be important, since the older woman looked so intent on her task.
"Not really, just needed to keep doing things. Saw the First, had a nice talk with her."
"Humph, I don't really care. But you'll be leaving by this afternoon, understand?"
"I know, what about you? Coming with me? I could use a doctor?" Lucy inquired, not sure if she really wanted the older woman or not, but knew she actually would need a doctor.
"No, I hate humans. Being stuck on a ship with their smell. No. I will stay here. The talismans and wards will keep away the darkness. While I will slip into a cryogenic magic tube. I have one for bad cases. It can take me, and this way you don't have to worry about a time limit. Just do what you want. But if you stay here, the darkness will eventually get to you. And then we'll have no hope." Porlyusica went over to a cupboard and pulled out two lacrima with green coloring. "The location lacrima will help you find you way home. We'll keep this one here, and you'll take the other."
Lucy took one, and called upon Virgo, who took it and then disappeared again to the Spirit World, not even a word of punishment. It sparked an interest in Lucy, but she turned back to the other woman. "Want to eat something first? Last meal?" Lucy asked, cringing at the way she phrased the last part. The other woman snorted and they sat down at the table, beginning their meal of canned foods.
"You really shouldn't stare off into space, Lucy." Loke appeared and said, which startled her up into a sitting position. He looked like his old self again, the one before he returned to the Stars. It felt reminiscent of her own self, returning to her old self before the loss of her memories. He came and sat down with her on the rocks, close to her where she could feel his body heat. In the cold air, devoid of any warmth or life, it reminded her of good times. A plethora of good memories flooded her mind, and a goofy smile, all toothy, formed on her lips. He chuckled besides her, before grabbing something on him. "The other Zodiacs asked me to deliver these to you. You already got your gifts from Virgo and Taurus, but your original Zodiacs wanted to give you something as well. Aquarius won't admit to it, but she worked hard with Cancer to make her gift for you. She's worried for you, not that she'll admit it."
Loke pulled out the gifts from the Zodiacs, and she smiled with each one she received. Capricorn made his weapons into toe rings, something she never thought he would think of, and they allowed her to run faster. Loke gave her two crystal rings, which adorned her middle fingers. They help channel her magic into pure strength for punching. Cancer and Aquarius made their weapons into a beautiful silver choker with a blue ribbon woven in. It would allow her breathe and fight underwater as good as on land, and also swim close to the speed of a mermaid, while it also negated the affect water pressure. Lucy immediately clasped it around her neck.
"Thank you, all of you."
Finished and rewritten on (07/23/2015). A clue to all current readers at this point, I amrewriting and changing a number of things. And will continue to rewrite till I reach the current chapter I am on. For more information go to the last chapter up at the moment and scroll to the bottom. Information will be there.
So there is another chapter! I hope you all liked it. I have a lot of ideas for this story, and I just could not stop writing.
Next Chapter Lucy will be leaving. But she will do so in an unexpected style.
Review!
~Stay Free