Disclaimer: I Do Not Own Fairy Tail.
"Eventually my sister and her husband grew out of control, the battle was too great." Austris passed a hand over his face, "my daughter led an army of her people and humans as did Cassiopeia and Cepheus, it was a savage civil war and ended thousands of lives."
"What happened?" Lucy asked on the edge of her seat, so far Austris had told her that she was their daughter, and how his sister had tried to take over the kingdom.
"You..." he paused grief striking his features "you sacrificed yourself, you used your entire life force to create a barrier between the two worlds, preventing the spirits from entering Earthland, but you couldn't completely close it off, there were loopholes, so you made those loopholes into keys and cast them all over Earthland..."
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"This can't go on" Andromeda wiped her sword clean of the blood of innocent people and she cringed, tears leaking from her eyes; a pair of arms encircled her and Perseus held her close, "But we have to keep fighting… I just don't know if I can anymore" she cried into his chest, gripping his shirt in her hands, there was blood all over them, the ground, their comrades, the spirits hardly suffered, all they had to do was hop back and forth between the human world and theirs to heal and come back for more.
It was never going to end, the current battle had stopped for now, both sides calling stalemate, but it wouldn't last long.
The night wore on and Andromeda found herself alone on a cliff looking up the sky, her fellow spirits and human friends below her, planning their next move. They couldn't keep doing this, eventually the earth would be wiped clean of them all, and the strife would continue.
If only the spirits couldn't come into this world, if only she had the power to prevent them from walking this earth.
The moon shone so bright she was sure it looked more like spotlight on her, waiting for her to make a decision, and it was a hard one. She had asked Crux to find her the info to create a barrier - he popped up next to her, speak of the devil - "I have found what you were asking for princess' he said bowing.
"What is it?" She asked softly, he fidgeted, "it's okay crux I need to know."
"It's dangerous…" he almost sounded as if her were pleading, but he might as well have, he knew she would go through with it, she would do anything to maintain the peace for the people she loved, it was why they all loved her so much.
After a moment of silence as he somehow hoped she would change her mind and not want the info, he sighed in defeat "it would take a great life force to create a barrier, but it wouldn't completely prevent them from coming back and forth, it would just be more draining on their magical energy and they wouldn't be able to hold onto the tendrils of their life force if they stayed here too long, but they would still be able to come and go as they please." He told her.
"Can we fix that?" She asked him, he sighed again.
"I suppose, if you took that energy and attached it to a sacred object, something that had meaning to what your trying to do, then it would prevent them from being able to come here altogether, the first part you would most likely survive, but princess" he pleaded again "the second part would completely drain you, you will die." He clasped his hands together begging with his eyes for her not to go through with it.
"Let me see the spell." She said ignoring him; she already made up her mind. -
Aria came bursting through the tents entrance in a panic "she's on the cliff, I don't know what she's doing but I heard part of her and Crux's conversation we have to stop her!" She cried before racing back outside and flying upward to the top of the hill.
Perseus tore out of the tent with the royals behind him, fear suddenly gripped his heart and it constricted painfully, it almost stopped completely when he looked up and saw the swirling of gold energy; the telltale sign of a life force being used for powerful spells, he shot upwards using his water to propel him forward and landed smoothly beside the swirl of light. "Andromeda!" He shouted, trying to reach her, but the light knocked him backward, and he stumbled.
"NO!" he roared trying to reach her again, using his powers to try and push through, Andromeda was busy mumbling the spell as her hair began to dull, and her eyes began to fade from their beautiful silvery color to a slate grey, she was floating just above the ground, staring at the moon, eventually that burst of energy boomed over the landscape, the strongest force of it flattening her companions to the ground for a short period of time, the force then slowly dissipated into a soft breeze that covered the earth.
The spirits began to feel a pull toward their world and a drain on them, Andromeda collapsed but not before Perseus caught her, Aria hovered nervously over her, her hands fluttering not sure where to check first, or what to even do.
Austris and Ariadne quickly rushed to their daughter but all were interrupted when bright flashes appeared before them in the shape of keys, each spirit catching them as they formed an existence.
The royals held gorgeous ghost like keys that looked like the Aurora borealis, Perseus and Aria alike held crystalized keys in their hands, Virgo, Leo and Capricorn stood behind them;
All baffled over their golden keys, Andromeda breathed deeply in and coughed alerting everyone to her condition, she looked so pale and weak. The water god leaned his forehead against hers and cried, his shoulders shaking, "what did you do?" He whispered.
They soon carried her back to tent and laid her to rest, all sitting around in various parts of the room until she woke up. Ariadne was the first to notice her daughter stir "Oh sweetheart!" She cried, "what did you do?!" she wailed, lifting the blonde upright so she could hold her while she rocked her back and forth.
"It needed to be done." Andromeda whispered back
"Damnit no it didn't!" Perseus shouted running a hand through his blue hair, he stomped back and forth pacing, "we can fix this," the words rushed out of his mouth desperately, "we can draw your life force back and you'll be fine, we'll win this godforsaken war and pretend you didn't just do something stupid!" He snapped, Aria flinched at his harsh words but the others stared at him with pity.
"Perseus..." He heard her whisper and as much as he wished he could stay mad… he couldn't. He sighed and went to her, Ariadne gently set her daughter down on the bed and he clasped her hand tightly as he saw the light fading slowly from her eyes. "You all know it wasn't going to stop, that this is what I could do to save everyone, who knows how long this would go on? How many more lives this war would take?" She breathed in deeply; her words were coming out in gasps now.
"With those keys we can only be summoned here, our spirits would have to rely on human magic to be here at all, but maybe... it's for the best we never interact with humans ever again." She whispered.
"I barely have the energy to cast all of the keys across Earthland" her breath was shaky, and she blinked slowly, "but I have to try." She continued, determination, despite the faraway look in her eyes glinted in the depths of grey.
"Princess" Leo came forward suddenly and bowed to one knee before her "as the leader of the zodiacs, we would be honored to serve human kind in honor of your sacrifice and hopefully make up for the wrongs of all of our people." Tears were streaming down his face, and his voice shook, "allow my power to cast our keys across Earthland, so you don't use your own." He pleaded.
The blonde smiled gently at him and laid her hand on his head, he looked up at her, "thank you Leo" She breathed out, closing her eyes for a moment and they waited with bated breath but she opened them again "I accept your wishes."
He nodded and in a flash of the Zodiacs keys shot out like shooting stars, flashes of gold could be seen across Earthland as the keys were scattered far and wide.
"I don't want anyone to hold our keys." Perseus spoke on behalf of the guardians, "we will cast our keys as well, but in the deepest bowls of the earth, we don't need anyone wielding our power for evil." With that each of the guardians own power cast their keys, they could all feel the pull of their world weighing on them, getting stronger and stronger and they knew eventually they would disappear.
"We will cast the lesser spirits across Earthland as companions to human kind" Her mother spoke "and we will destroy our own keys."
"We do not want anyone to possess our power; it's too much for anyone, ill intentions or good." Austris and Ariadne snapped their keys and they dissipated in the air like stardust, their feet lifted from the ground, no longer able to touch the earth ever again.
"Then I will use my remaining energy to cast our enemies the same way the guardians cast theirs." Andromeda told them, "I can feel you all slipping away" she smiled sadly at them, it was true, they could feel it themselves.
Perseus picked her up gently and cradled her in his arms "I love you." He whispered.
She brought her hand up to his cheek and cupped it, he leaned into her touch "I love you too." she sighed happily.
He crushed his lips against hers desperately, as if he could keep her there that way, when they pulled away he lay her down on her mothers lap who stroked her hair, as the last tendrils of her life force was drained away, and she faded before their eyes.
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"We watched our daughter die in our arms." Austris finished, Lucy turned to see Ariadne sobbing silently behind them, and her heart shattered. Austris watched his daughter carefully, he had kept many details of his tale from her; only telling her what was necessary, like how she was in their world, where she stood, the battle, her sacrifice and what had become of them all.
He wasn't sure if it was right telling her about her personal relationships with some of the spirits, knowing in time she would find out, and he knew some of her old friends would want to tell her themselves.
"We thought she was gone forever, but then we sensed her; in the womb of a woman, a celestial mage who carried the same kind heart as our daughter, and she was born in the human world as Lucy."
He wanted to envelope his daughter in his arms finally, the light of their world they missed her dearly and watched her grow up from afar and it hurt deeply, but at the same time they were overjoyed that she was never completely gone.
Lucy gaped at him, she thought this must be a joke, but the seriousness on his face told her that what he said was true, "So I was a celestial spirit?" She asked him, he nodded.
"I died..." she processed, he nodded.
"What about the spirit king? I thought he ruled over the celestial spirit world?" She asked
Austris ran a hand through his hair and flecks of sunlight drifted out, she became mesmerized by them until he cleared his throat and her attention was back on him. "We created him from a cluster of stars, powerful enough to keep the energy alive in the spirit world, that you think is our world, but it isn't; it's another dimension separate from ours to keep the spirits who were willing to serve the humans safe."
"If I made the more powerful ones into keys, can't people control them?" She asked him.
He shook his head before answering "no, they are too powerful for their own good, they would go against their human owners and try to destroy them or find a way back here, in which case I'm guessing someone actually found either Cassiopeia's or Cephus key, maybe even both, but they would have to have immense power to summon them."
"What about the... good spirits?" she asked.
"In order to honor your death they allowed their keys to be cast away as well, not wanting to be wielded by foolish humans who would abuse their power." Lucy winced at that, it didn't sit comfortably with her that she was the reason her spirits had been abused.
"Who.. um.. what was my life like in our world?" She winced at the word our.
Austris smiled, "aside from you being beloved? You had many friends who fought beside you."
Ariadne's voice interrupted him then "yes Perseus and, Aria, they were best friends a-" she stopped herself and looked at her husband who shook his head mildly, going unnoticed by the three who had turned to look at the woman behind them "Monoceros was your companion, and Chiron was your mentor." She continued and left it at that.
"What about my spirits?" She asked them, she wondered if she had been good friends with them in her other life, and was eager for the answer.
Ariadne nodded her head and smiled sadly at her "we realize you have a very fond friendship with your spirits now, and we are grateful for them taking care of you. They were more or less our servants in the castle, Virgo was your hand maiden," She told her "Leo and Capricorn were your personal guard, you didn't have the kind of relationship you have with them now."
Lucy frowned, she didn't like the sound of that, and she wondered if that was why Virgo called her hime all the time, why all of her spirits (minus Aquarius) called her princess.
"If I was so great, why did Aquarius hate me?" She asked with a deadpan look on her face.
The two crowns looked at each other again "we don't know, she adored you, she is Perseus's little sister," Lucy frowned, what could she have done to Aquarius that made her hate her so much?
"Why was the Hydra after me? And why was he so hell bent on me taking that key?" She asked them then.
Austris and Ariadne frowned "we actually don't know the answer to that question, many of the spirits that tried to enslave humanity disappeared into another realm not long after your death, and it worries us how desperately they wanted you to take back your power." Austris answered her. "We do think that the spell you cast didn't drain your entire life force, a piece of your very soul must have survived somehow, and none of us thought about you becoming a key yourself, we don't even know how long your key has been here or where it was all this time."
Lucy frowned "So am I still a celestial spirit?" She asked them
They looked at each other, "not now..." Ariadne said carefully, "you might become one again over time, or maybe a half breed, the first of your kind, we do not know what is going to happen to you, if you'll get back your full strength or if your own power will become too much for you."
Lucy paled "so I might die?!" She asked in a panicked voice.
Her mother shook her head, "I don't know sweetheart, but we think it's wise for you to seek out your guardians" she told the blonde.
"The guardians?" She asked bewildered.
"Yes" Austris confirmed "They'll be able to help you, and fight beside you when all goes wrong."
"Where do I find them?" Lucy felt determined by her task, determined to save her nakama, and Earthland from these spirits, if they were as bad as the crowns said they were.
"Aria wants to be the first to be found, well" Ariane chuckled, "Perseus and Aria both want to be the first ones found, but Perseus is letting Aria go first, she's very excited, you two were very close, almost like sisters" The southern crown's eyes twinkled.
Lucy grinned at her "I can't wait to meet my old.. and new friends" she giggled behind her hand.
The Northern Crown nodded approvingly "Aria can be found in what you call Magnolia?" He asked unconsciously looking toward his wife as if to confirm it, to which she nodded anyway.
WHAT?!" The three mages shouted.
Austris looked at them confused "yes, she ended up growing the rainbow tree as well as growing in it, the first one to be exact and it would be the largest one, we believe."
"You gotta be kiddin me" Laxus growled in annoyance, for the first time speaking since Austris explained everything.
Lucy sighed in exasperation, why couldn't this have been a little easier? "So I find her and then what's next?" She asked finally after rubbing her temples several times.
Ariadne was the one who answered her "She'll tell you the location of Perseus next and then so on."
"Okay" Lucy said in a deflated and very tired voice, she wanted to go to bed already, and sleep forever on top of that.
"We're going to take our leave now" Austris said then, "good luck, and even though we feel this is awkward for you, we love you." Lucy looked up at him when came up to her and gently pulled her into a hug as if he was afraid she would disappear on him "we are very proud of you, as we always have been, our beautiful daughter."
He left then, walking back up into the aurora, they all watched until he disappeared, Ariadne was next cupping Lucy's face into her hands it broke the blonde's heart to see the woman cry. "I know your name is Lucy now, but would you mind if I called you by your other name one more time?" She sobbed out and Lucy nodded, tears threatening to spill from her own eyes.
"Good bye for now Andromeda!" The spirit threw her arms around her daughter and held her tightly for a long while "I hope we can see each other again, I don't want to miss out on anymore of my daughters time." She cupped her face again, wiping away the tears Lucy could no longer hold back "I missed you, and I love you so much sweetheart." the Southern crown kissed Lucy's forehead and hugged her again before she too disappeared the same way the southern crown had.
Lucy collapsed in the snow after they were gone, the information suddenly hitting her in the gut and she was terrified at what she had learned, she felt Laxus scoop her up gently and carry her to their tent, Virgo took it upon herself to go ahead and set up one tent and a large bed for the three of them. He gently undressed her and Bickslow got her pj's from the pinkette; he took his turn helping her get dressed again before they both stripped down to their boxers, Bickslow laying her down in the bed between them
Lucy snuggled up to Laxus making up for last night when she snuggled against Bickslow; the difference was, Bickslow wasn't half naked. She sighed in contentment when she felt the lightning slayers skin touch hers.
Bickslow laid back, arms behind his head, he chanced a glance at Laxus who looked up and the two men locked eyes for a moment. They were worried; the events unfolding seemed to be getting more confusing and more worrisome as time went by.
They felt like there was missing information but they couldn't put their finger on it, eventually Laxus opted for sleeping, curling himself around Lucy protectively, Bickslow stayed awake awhile longer contemplating over everything before he finally passed out from exhaustion, they could figure it all out tomorrow.