Friends United!

Lucy had trouble catching her breath when she was back in the Celestial World. Virgo and Leo hadn't seen her in this much pain since she'd been poisoned. Everything in her body hurt, and even though she was immortal, the arrow that had struck her was just as painful as you would imagine. She couldn't seem to stand, either, and was praying that she wouldn't be called back anytime soon since her energy was absolutely drained.

"Princess." The maiden said, taking a seat next to her, "It hurts to see you in such pain. I have failed to protect you once again." She frowned.

"H- H- Hey." Lucy muttered, looking up at her, "It's fine…" She smiled, "You do- don… donee tah worry about m... m … me."

She tried to push herself up but failed once again and fell to the ground with a loud thump.

"You must not push yourself, Princess." She ordered, "You need to wait for your energy to regenerate. There is good news, though. As long as you are unable to fight, your key holder will not be able to call you."

"I see." She mumbled, "Thisis, a… a… a glass half f-f-full kinda deal, huh?"

"I suppose that's what you could call it." The maiden said, picking her former mage up and carrying the crying girl back to her house. Virgo stayed with the blonde, staying calm as she cried on the maiden's lap.

She's in so much pain. The pink-haired girl thought to herself, if only I could help her.

Wiping a few tears away, she looked up at her friend, "Wh… where's Loke?" She asked suddenly, wobbling on her feet as she attempted to walk on her own, failing miserably.

"No need to worry." Virgo reassured, helping the girl up and supporting her as they walked back to the blonde's home, "Big Brother and Aquarius have gone to Earthland to get help from your comrades." She explained, handing her off to Aries so the maiden could open the door for the two.

And as Lucy looked up at the ram, she saw something she saw something flicker in her eye, and her whole body was shaking. Not out of fear though, but out of rage, which was something the blonde had never seen before. The light pink-haired spirit was always so timid and full of self-doubt, so to be seeing her like this was something new. She was almost as frightening as Aquarius.

"Please watch over the Princess, Ms. Aries. Big Brother is calling me." Virgo said with a slightly concerned look in her eyes.

The ram just nodded and helped the young woman the rest of the way inside. She sat down on the couch and lay Lucy on top of her, "Miss Lucy." She sighed sadly, about to say something else when she noticed that her friend had fallen asleep on her lap.

Aries hugged the girl close to her heart, face shaking at the sight of the cuts and bruises. Oh, how she hoped that her friends could find Lucy's key soon. If they couldn't? Well... She didn't want to think about that.

"Aries." Lucy mumbled, opening her eyes and smiling at her friend, "Why does it… hurt?"

"Oh goodness, are you in pain Ms. Lucy?" She asked in her timid voice, "I'll do my very best to try…"

"No, that's not what I mean." The blonde said, "Why does it hurt… every time I'm summoned by him? I don't understand…"

"I can't say for sure." She said, "But it is likely due to the fact that he's using your key even though you aren't contracted to him." The ram suggested, "It's just a theory though, Ms. Lucy. I'm sorry that I've disappointed you, I'm useless after all!"

"Open, I said Open! Come, Lucy!" A voice shouted, "How come you are not responding? You are my property! Come forth, Gate of the Defender! Lucy!"

"No way." The blonde responded in a furious tone, "There is no way I am responding to you."

Azrael was shocked at the voice echoing in his head. Was this… telepathy? He cleared his throat, "How dare you say no to me! I am your master! Come at once, Lucy!" He shouted at the top of his lungs, catching the attention of a couple of people passing by.

"No!" She shouted, the loudness echoing in the wizard's head, "I refuse! Even I wanted to help, I couldn't. You have hurt me to such a state to where it is impossible for you to summon me."

He drew his key once more, as if trying to test her words. When she didn't come, he growled, "How dare you!" He shouted, "How dare you make a fool out of me!"

"I never made a fool out of you." She answered calmly, "You made a fool out of yourself. You are a disgrace to other Celestial wizards. Many of my friends are afraid of their keys falling into the wrong hands, such as yours. Rest assured, I will not let you put a finger on them!" She growled, "And for the record, this isn't telepathy, you whiny little wannabe stupid-ass, ugly- mugged…" She cleared her throat, "I am talking to you through my key. That's how we spirits communicate with our mages, whoever holds our key can hear me. So, get this through your thick skull, you moron. I am no longer going to respond to you. Let's see how good you are on the run without me, not that I ever did anything. I'm impressed you didn't get caught; I will say that at least." She coughed and hugged Aries, who jumped in surprise, but hugged her right back.

"I have no business with a dark guild." She finished, cutting off the conversation and falling asleep on Aries's lap. Her wounds were quickly healing, as was her Celestial spirit magic. Unfortunately, the more she resisted, the more magic energy was drained out of her.

"Hang in there, Lucy." Aries begged, tearing up at the sight of her friend.

Meanwhile, the Fairy Tail guild was on the hunt for their friend's key. At first, they were confused by Virgo's sudden appearance, but since her "Big Brother" had summoned her she had no choice but to leave her Princess's side.

Considering the emergency, they managed to grab a few friends from other guilds to help them search. They weren't sure how powerful this dark wizard was, and if he had an army behind him. So, nevertheless it was better to be safe than sorry.

The fastest runner in the group, Coco, was doing her best to resist her urge to run farther ahead, but she knew that she had to stick with the group. Their former enemy had a strong admiration for Lucy, and truly believed that she was royalty (Thanks to Virgo, who always called the blonde "Princess)."

Yukino, from the Sabertooth guild was a helpful asset as well. Prior to the end of the Grand Magic Games, her guild had been rivals with the Fairy Tail guild. Even though the white-haired woman was not a member, she couldn't help but feel loved whenever she entered the guild. Lucy was a close friend of hers now, and the thought of her in the hands of a Dark Guild… it sent her blood boiling.

All though many of these people came from different backgrounds and had very different opinions, there was one thing they all agreed on- how much they loved Lucy. Virgo seemed especially distressed as she ran alongside Erza, looking distracted. The redhead looked to the maiden with sympathy, as if reading her mind.

"It will be alright, no need to worry." She reassured, "Lucy's a tough young woman. She can handle herself out there."

"I know exactly where she is." She stated aloud, causing the whole group to stop running and stare at her in shock.

"Wha—then what's all this runnin' for? What're we doing when you know where she is? Lucy!" Natsu shouted, "Yell if you're dead!"

"Please calm down." The maiden ordered, "I simply said that I know where the Princess is, I never said I knew where her Gate Key was."

"I don't understand, are those two things different?" Coco asked, her childlike voice filled with worry.

"Yes, Miss. You see, us Celestial spirits all reside in the same realm, as you know. Lucy is currently there with Aries, the Golden Ram. Although a dark wizard does have her key, this has no effect on where exactly in the Celestial Realm she is." The maiden said, "Though her Gate Key is a whole different story."

"I see. Say, how is she Virgo?"

"Not very well, Mistress." The maiden said sadly, "Her wielder takes advantage of her. She accidentally took Big Brother with her through a summoning gate and he told me everything after the gate was forced closed by himself. That… that evil man." Hands rolling into fists, she stared up at Erza through tears, "He used her as a shield. An arrow went straight through her heart."

Everyone's eyes widened in shock. Boiling with rage, Coco and Natsu charged ahead, not getting very far when they were grabbed by Erza.

"Not so fast, you two." She said, "We need to stick together."

"But you heard what Virgo said, Lucy's been shot! She's probably in serious pain right now, we need to find that damn key at once and you slowpokes can't stop me!"

"The Princess could be hurt!" Coco cried, "Please Ms. Erza, let me go after her! I am much faster than than Natsu!"

"Believe me, I understand your reasoning, but we cannot risk getting separated. We'll just have to go on together, it's the only way we can save our friend."

"And put that bastard in jail." The pink-haired man said.

"Indeed. The evil-doer shall pay for his sins."

"Mistress." Virgo said, causing the woman known as Titanya to look at her once more, "I admire your bravery and determination. Please, keep the Princess safe." The maiden begged through tears.

Erza nodded, "Of course. We'll protect her with our lives."

"I'm afraid I must take my leave. Master Leo shall be at your side to assist you as much as he is able. I must take my leave now and I ask Big Brother to summon me whenever my help is needed. I shall gladly help whatever way I can, now best of luck to you all!"

"Thank you, you were a great help." Erza complimented, waving goodbye as the maiden disappeared.

In the Spirit Realm, Lucy was feeling much better. She was able to sit up by herself and was smiling brightly when Virgo told her the news.

"My friends are coming for me?" The blonde said in excitement, "I knew it! I am wondering how they found out, though."

"Aquarius was fearing for your safety and went to warn your friends."

"Oh, yeah?" She said, "I didn't realize she was worried about me. I always thought she couldn't stand the sight of me."

"Oh, no. Believe me, Miss Aquarius loves you." Aries assured, "Although she can be a little rash sometimes, she really does admire you and how much you care for us."

"I see." Eyes twinkling with happiness, Lucy got up and brushed herself off, "I suppose I should go thank her then."

"Are you sure you're up to walk? Your wounds haven't healed yet."

"Don't worry about me Aries, I'm fine." The blonde reassured, "Virgo, will you take me to her?"

"Gladly." She bowed, grabbing her Princess's wrist and gently leading her away from her Celestial Realm.

"I don't understand." Lucy said, "She's not anywhere around here."

"Yes, I have noticed that as well."

"Then why are we still walking?" She shouted angrily.

"Do you wish to punish me?"

"You're so weird!" She paused, "Seriously? Where is she?"

"Aquarius must be somewhere on Earthland. I can no longer sense her presence."

Lucy nodded in understanding, "I guess I'll have to thank her when she gets back, then." The blonde said, a smile on her face. She let out a light chuckle of her own, "Knowing her, she'll probably deny it though."

Virgo smiled as she saw her friend acting so amused. She was glad her spirits had been lifted and hoped that they would stay that way.

Although she could not admit it to anyone, the maiden considered Lucy her closest friend. Sure, she had been around the other Celestial spirits since the beginning of time and loved them dearly, that was true. Lucy, though… she takes the cake.

"Is something wrong, Virgo?"

The maiden jumped in surprise, "Mm?"

"You've been quiet for a while, is everything alright?"

The maiden just nodded, "Yes, Princess. I am perfectly fine. Now, shall we return home?"

"No, I like it out here, it's so relaxing." The blonde said, looking upward at the floating crystals, "It really relieves all this stress. Hm, I think I'll stay here for a while."

"Very well. I shall take my leave then, Princess." Bowing, she disappeared into thin air, leaving a relaxed Lucy alone.

Unfortunately, neither one could be prepared for what happened next.