Hey Guys, this is the second chapter, thanks for the follows, faves and reviews. And thanks to Nella Malfoy who has been a big help as always. So enjoy.
Cedar was a port town that lay along a large bay, headlands either side. The sea was a crystal blue and the sky, that day, was clear, not a fluffy white cloud in sight. The foliage surrounding the town was a luscious green, and even in the busy place, the rustling of leaves could just be heard over the lively commotion.
Lucy stopped to admire the view as they left the train station, but Noir only continued to walk. The town was bustling with life; unaware of the danger that lurked so close, unaware of the probability of death is they knocked into Noir.
Lucy looked around, noticing her purple haired friend was far ahead, a quick pace as he hands were shoved into her pockets, clearly not happy to be here. As Lucy jogged to catch up, not noticing the looks some men were giving her or the group of shady looking characters who were stood in a corner, watching her as they whispered to each other, she wondered if she could even count the slayer as a friend, she was anti-social, more so than Gajeel, and cold.
"Noir?!" Lucy called and the mage looked over her shoulder, sighing before stopping and letting the petite blonde catch up. "So where are we going now?" She said offering a smile that did nothing to lighten Noir's mood.
"We need to go to see the Mayor, and then buy supplies." The answer was short and mostly obvious. It was as clear as day that Noir did not want to talk.
"Oh..." Lucy said, looking at the cobbled stone floor. It was a sun bleached yellow, almost immaculate, the heat made far in front of them a little hazy, and you could tell the outsiders from the locals by how they reacted to the heat. Lucy didn't mind it too much, but she was getting rather hot in the little amount of time she'd been walking in it.
Noir on the other hand was suffering inside; she hated the warmth since it was nothing like death or any apocalypse. Death was cold, death was void and death was final. She grunted when Lucy said something, not in the mood to talk as she trudged to town hall, making the doors swing open with telekinesis.
"Noir, how come you have more than one power?" Lucy asked. "The other Dragon Slayers, well True Dragon Slayers only have one, unless you're not...?"
"That's because they were purely taught that element. I wasn't, I was taught many things." Noir said curtly. "My Dragon wasn't my only teacher either." She added with a hint of distaste, as if it was something she did not want to admit.
A short, fat and old man waddled towards them. It amused Lucy, he wore a black suit with a white shirt, making him look like a penguin, it was even funnier that he moved like one. "I am the Mayor , why are you two here?" He asked, pompous and looked down upon them, or at least for his height, got a good view of the busty women's bust.
"We're Fairy Tail Mages, you have a dark mage problem." Noir said simply.
"Show me your marks." The mayor said.
Noir pointed to her upper right arm, Lucy showed him the back of her hand.
He nodded. "I hope you are successful in your endeavour, if you achieve this, your award will be waiting for you. May I ask what rank are you both?"
"I am S-class." Noir said. "She's an S-class candidate."
The mayor nodded and left them.
"I hate people like that, lecherous old men who think they're better than everybody else." Noir grumbled.
"Do you even like anyone?" Lucy asked before clapping her slender hand over her traitorous mouth, she hadn't meant to say that allowed. She saw the lilac eyes look into her own but the sound of laughing reached her ears.
"I like my Exceed but she's staying home and I might come to like you."
Lucy just looked down, still embarrassed for saying that but she felt a hand on her shoulder, and looked up to see Noir with an amused smirk.
"It's fine." Noir said, with those words Lucy began to call, known she had been forgiven. While Noir believed there was nothing to forgive, it was a question all the same and she knew herself she wasn't the most sociable of people.
The shop Noir walked into was more than questionable; the outside had red paint peeling revealing damp. Lucy was pretty sure she saw some rotten planks and the place smelt strange. It didn't help that it gave off an uneasy feeling and the corners of the shop room had cobwebs in them.
The walls were at one point probably cream but now looked yellow, as if someone had smoked constantly underneath them, staining it with nicotine and tobacco smoke. The floor was oak planks, creaky, not rotten but had cracks and overall not very safe.
Lucy tripped, her face slamming into the small of Noir's back as the Slayer looked over to the Blonde who just blushed, knowing she'd messed up again.
"Watch is Sunshine; the Master won't be pleased if you managed to get hurt before the mission." She said with a slight smirk as she walked into a darker area of the shop, where even the light didn't seem to want to reach.
The shelves seemed rather sparse here, the odd eyeball floating in a jar that moved to face Lucy. Lucy bit back a shriek as she hurried after Noir, staying barely a step behind. She looked around to see bat wings being kept in cases and swords displayed on the wall. They seemed to be the only ones in hear, the only noise was the occasional creak of a floor board.
Then something caught Lucy's eye, a lone Black key was being displayed in a case. She stopped by it, noting that it was Orion the hunter, his key was interesting, the end of it was like two bows and the tip was like a hunting knife.
The Black Keys were rare, as rare as the Golden keys and Lucy had only seen one before in her life. She knew she didn't have enough money to buy it, but she couldn't help but wish she did.
Suddenly the sound of talking filled the shop.
"Oscar." Noir's voice rang out, Lucy turned to see a timid Ginger man walk up to Noir, he was smaller than her, much skinner and very, very afraid.
"... Noir... I have the supplies you ordered... that'll be... 1000 Jewels." His voice shook as he spoke, as if he was afraid to charge her.
She gave him the money and then looked at Lucy. "How much for the key?" She asked as she lifted the bags he handed her.
"... You have to gain permission from the spirit king to use Black Keys." Oscar whispered.
"I'm sure my friend can handle that. I'll give you... 100,000 Jewels." His eyes widened, that was much more than he was going to ask her for, he just nodded timidly and she then gave him the money.
He walked to the case, still shaking, with a brass key in hand, unlocking it slowly before lifting the lid. "... I don't want to touch it... you can get it out." He murmured and Lucy nodded picking the key up, a cold feeling ran though her body as soon as her hand connected with the dark metal.
Noir then walked from the shop, not offering any goodbyes as Lucy scrambled to follow. "Bye, thanks for the key." She shouted to Oscar who just offered a timid wave.
Noir opened a portal, throwing the bags she held into them without much care. Lucy only got a brief look at the dark void that lay beyond them; it looked like nothingness and inspired the feeling of emptiness that began to creep up inside her.
"Noir... thanks for the key." Lucy said with a bright smile, ignoring that feeling but she came to wonder, did Noir feel empty inside? An outcast by a magic she possessed.
"It depends if the Spirit King Accepts you as their holder or not." Noir said as she continued to walk, her hands once again going to her pockets. "We'll make our way into the forest, there's a clearing just before it, and I'll tell you what to do."
They walked for what seemed like forever, but in reality was barely over an hour. When the Slayer stopped in the middle of a grassy field, nothing but a lone tree next to her, swaying gently in the wind, she closed her eyes, listening the rustle of leaves and the song of the birds, enjoying the peace for a moment before her lilac eyes flickered open.
"Black Keys are Demonic or Infernal Spirits, they are essentially slaves, needing permission from the spirit king to be used or very rarely, give the permission out themselves." Noir said with her hands still in her pockets as Lucy collapsed on the ground, stretching out her legs and turning her ankles, wishing she hadn't worn flimsy slip-ons.
"So what do I do?" Lucy asked; confused at how she could contact the Spirit King.
"Ask one of your Spirits to ask the king for you." Noir said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world and turned back to the sky, ignoring Lucy.
Lucy was about to summon Leo the Lion when Noir threw up an ethereal barrier, blocking a black orb that headed their way. "Brave..." She murmured. Her hand was out, palm facing the forest but then dropped, the barrier remaining.
"Is that them?" Lucy asked as she climbed to her feet quickly, glancing around but was unable to sense anything.
"It's all of them." Noir said as she sniffed the air. "I can just smell the death and emptiness."
Lucy opened her mouth but then shut it. Instead watched the trees carefully in front of them, hoping to catch a glimpse at one of people attacking them but to no avail, she looked at Noir's whose face with creased with concentration.
Seven black orbs slammed into the barrier but it never faltered. Noir's hands then made a shape if she was holding a ball, bringing them to the side of her.
"Apocalyptic Dragon's Endless Nightmare." She growled out as a sphere that burned with an ethereal flame shot through the barrier, shattering it and towards the forest. Even Lucy heard the impact of the sphere to a person, heard the screams as he found himself in a nightmare, and then the silence as his body ditched consciousness, unable to cope.
"Open, Gate of the Archer." Lucy said, holding out Sagittarius's key, and the horse/archer appeared from a brilliant golden gate. "Sagittarius, can you please try and aim for the men who are attacking us?"
"Yes Milady." He said with a salute, and aimed his bow, letting go of the arrow and watched it fly though the air and meet the soft flesh of a human, knocking them out of the battle.
"I'd thought they'd be harder." Lucy said looking at Noir who shook her head.
"The students are easy pickings; the master has only attacked once. Leave him to me." She said as she made a diamond, pressing her index fingers and thumbs together. "Apocalyptic Dragon's Barren Wasteland." The life around them shrivelled away, the grass and tree's disappeared, burning up into the air, leaving the five mages in plain sight, and the two unconscious forms on the floor.
Sagittarius picked off the outer two before Noir shouted.
"Lucy, get him out of here and get behind me!" Her voice was urgent, even slightly panicked.
Force closing the gate, Lucy moved behind Noir, confused until she was a dark wave of light approached them from the centre person. It killed all the people near him, all the life that surrounded him, it grew closer and Lucy froze.
It hit Noir but did nothing, only to backlash at the man, killing him instantly. Noir sighed. "... I wasn't supposed to let the students get killed." She murmured as she walked up the still bodies.
"... What do you mean?" Lucy asked.
"Do you think I can walk free without the Mages Council having some reign over me?" Noir asked and Lucy shrugged. "They told me to kill this person, he was too dangerous to try and take in, but the students could be punished..."
"But the rule..." Lucy began but Noir shook her head.
"Master knows and he accepts, reluctantly but he found me when my Dragon abandoned me, raised me with the guild." She let out a sigh as she knelt on the ground, brushing her hand across the dead grass. "Every time I do this, I feel like I betray him, but if I deny the Council, I get locked up for the rest of my existence... The Mage used Death Wave, once the spell had finished, it would have killed him anyway."
"Oh..." Lucy said. "Thanks for saving me."
The noise of a branch snapping echoed around them.
I hope you enjoyed it, if there's anything you'd like to see in it just ask and yeah, thanks for reading. See you all in the next chapter.