Chapter Nine
Lucy wasn't sure when Luna was coming back. It felt like it eons, but she bared it, occasionally coming out of her daze to scratch her nose or sneeze. "Lucy...Lucy!" Lucy's eyes flashed open and saw Lumen crouched in front of her.
"KYAAA!"
"Aye! Geez Lucy, do you always act this way?"
"Well…maybe, but it's not every day that there's someone in your face."
Lumen chuckled while rolling her eyes. "Whatever, Lucy, Stella and Luna wants to meet you."
"What for?"
"You'll find out soon enough." So Lucy stood up, and followed Lumen through groves of trees and bushes, before ending up at the hill where Luna and Stella were.
"Stella…Luna?" Stella looked up.
"Lucy, there you are what were you doing?"
"I had her meditate for a bit, increasing her magic stamina…it seems to have been working well," Luna piped up. Lucy agreed.
"Oh, that's good." Stella seemed a bit…stressed, maybe even more stressed then she was, considering all of the surprises Lucy seemed to unknowingly have popped up every now and then.
"Stella? Are you okay?"
"…Lucy, the reason why both Luna and I have called you here, was because we wanted to tell you something."
Luna continued, "It…has something to do with your bloodline. You seem to possess…the same blood that Angel Andromeda has."
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"EH?!"
Back at the guild, everyone was rewriting their letters, marking down the most recent even that happened between Natsu and Lisanna. Lisanna got through to them, some said, but they weren't sure how Natsu was going to act. He's already been through several phases of different behavior, so many were prepared to prevent any bad or suspicious conduct. Wendy hurriedly scrawled her final letter on a pretty piece of parchment provided by Levy, who was trying to fit a novel she was recommending into a large manila folder. But in the corner of the guild, Natsu was trying his hardest to correctly spell words in his neatest and best writing on a piece of white paper. Erza wanted to help, but he politely declined, trying to make up for his previous actions with better conduct.
"He's trying his best you know."
"Huh?" Mira looked up from her elegant letter to gaze at her sister, who was already done with her note, packed and sealed away neatly.
"Natsu," Lisanna continued. "Natsu's obviously being affected by Lucy's absence. This is his way with coping with it, you know we should respect it."
Mira clapped a hand on her shoulder. "I know, but his health shouldn't suffer. He should try going on missions or something to keep his mind off of her. It's only been a few weeks you know."
"Yeah, I know…Anyway, here," Lisanna handed her letter to the bar maid. "I think everyone's almost done with their letters, we should start packing them now." Mira agreed and Lisanna started to gather everyone's letter…besides Natsu's, who—wasn't trying to spell his words correctly, but trying to find the correct words to say.
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"EH?! I HAVE WHAT?!"
"Uh…Angel Andromeda's blood."
"EH?! So?! What—what—what's the deal with having her blood?"
"Angel Andromeda is…well an Angel. She was one of the guardians of the constellations, for example, Draco the dragon was another but I'll explain that later. She looks after certain constellations, the moon and Heaven. She's very important to the world and after world. By having her blood…you have her powers."
"…E-"
"Lucy," Stella said, "We know this is very…sudden, with you being a Spirit Caller, but that makes you all the more powerful, and…I'm afraid that not any of us can help train your other powers besides the ones we excel at and have."
"…So…that means?"
"It means," Lumen spoke, "That you have to go to Angel Andromeda herself, to perform your new powers."
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"EH?!"
Lumen sighed, "Can't we just get her some duct tape to shut her up?"
"Lumen," Stella hissed.
"Sorry, but you've got to admit, her reaction is just going to be the same, and it can get pretty annoying sometimes," Lumen said in defense.
"Um…can someone just elaborate on the whole guardian thing?" Lucy spoke up.
Luna nodded. "There are many Guardians; most are in Heaven, just like Angel Andromeda. Draco the Dragon is another, as I used him as an example. Many who are constellations are either Guardians or Lieutenants of the Guardians, like Leo the Lion or Taurus—yes that pervert of a bull is a Lieutenant, and thank Mavis that he's Draco's Lieutenant, I don't know what Andromeda would do if Taurus was under her command. Anyway, most of the spirits you obtain are actual apprentices of Angel Andromeda herself. Which leads me to the next topic. After you're well into your training, I'm going to be asking you to call out the Zodiac. It doesn't matter if you don't have all of the keys. The Zodiac will answer to any Spirit Caller. After that, it's possible you can go meet Angel Andromeda, for only Celestial Wizards can enter, especially if they have her blood."
"So what you're saying is…I can meet Angel Andromeda? And just by calling on the Zodiac? That seems easy enough."
"Yes, it does seem easy, but Lucy, you have to keep the Zodiac present for a long period of time. For if the Zodiac disappears for lack of magic power while you're in Heaven, you could stay there, and potentially die. The only way to enter Heaven is to be a soul too, and as a Spirit Caller, you can step out of your body when in deep meditation. If your soul is trapped there…in Heaven…you'll be lost…forever."
"But why is being trapped in Heaven a bad thing? I'd still be meeting Angel Andromeda…right?"
Luna fidgeted. "Yes…but…Angel Andromeda's bloodline consists of powerful wizards. Entering Heaven is a feat they all have done, no matter what their magic is, while managing to come back to their bodies. Andromeda told me that, 'if they come to and from Heaven, they'll return to be greeted by an Angel.' But then…she told me this, '…those who fail to return…get banished to the Abyss of Eternity…and that means…you're entire being, everything connected to you, will be gone. No one will remember who you are, history will be rewritten…and you'll be forgotten."
