The next morning the members of Fairy Tail, appeared surprised to find Lucy, snuggled up between Erza and Wendy. She was cradling a gold crystal in palms as she slept. Natsu was the one who woke everyone up by shouting in joy exclaiming, "LUCY! YOU'RE BACK!" Lucy tried to open her eyes when she found herself in a tight bear hug. "Natsu, stop, I can't breathe!" He let her go apologizing for his exuberance.
"Hey, nice to see you. Did you find what you were looking for in the Aokigahara Forest?" Gray asked, indicating the crystal in her hand. He then rubbed his eyes hoping that he didn't get any dirt in them. When he blinked his still saw something unusual about her mark.
Erza was the first to make a comment. "Lucy, what has happened with your mark?" the young lady grabbed the blond's arm and pulled it closer, causing said girl to land on top of her lap. "Ah stop twisting my arm so hard, you're going to tear it off!"
Erza said nothing, but did change her positions so they were both sitting comfortably against the cart. She looked at all the symbols, a tiny frown on her face. "Strange, these mark have a tiny version of our guild mark overlapping glyphs. The glyphs remind me of the Three Legendary Spells, but the fourth is nothing I've seen before." Lucy pulled her arm free holding her hand curling protectively into her chest along with the crystal. Something told her to hang on to it until the right time.
"Lucy-chan are you okay? What happened last night? You're acting strange and I'm worried about you," Wendy said tugging at the ripped sleeve of Lucy's outfits. All their celestial clothes were nearly threadbare, they would need to get new outfits soon. Brushing the moss out of her hair, the little girl asked more questions only for Lucy to stay silent.
Instead she started packing up camp and helping Carla prepare breakfast. The others shrugged following her lead. Whatever had happened to her last night was a private experience and they should respect her wishes. So they ate quietly and just followed her lead as she led to out of the forest to a small clinic for traveling guilds to rest up and heal.
The clinic was very clean and beautiful painted with blossoming trees and pictures of guilds of all sorts marking the wall. The waiting chairs were very comfortable and wide range of magazines from Sorcerer Supreme to the Doll Catalog. The receptionist was a pretty woman with looped pink hair in an old fashion styled nurse outfit. She looked up and greeted them, "Welcome to Guild Travelers Clinic, my name is Nurse Gaiety. How can we serve you today?" Team Natsu got the funniest feeling like they should recognize this girl, but they were drawing a blank. It was Happy who then took charge flying up on to the counter. If she was unnerved by a flying blue cat that talked she didn't show it.
"My friends and I were in a hospital about a week or so, having suffered some injuries. We just need a check up to see if we're all better or should rest some more. Can you help us," he purred as he got his ears scratched. He was really liking this pretty nurse.
"Of course, Dr. Redwood, would be delighted to see you all," she pressing a button. The door behind her opened to reveal a middle age man with red hair and beard with oval glasses, wearing a white lab coat and some casual clothes underneath. "You rang Nurse Gaiety? Ah I see we have some mages from Fairy Tail here. It's an honor and a privilege to offer my services to you. Can you tell me what's bothering you?" he said with a thick, but warming voice.
As they explained about their injuries and recovery, Dr. Redwood decide to check over Erza, Gray, and Natsu. Nurse Gaiety got the Exceeds and Wendy. She also volunteered to check Lucy out, who agreed to that.
It was a nice checkup room with pretty posters and a tree painted on the wall. There were couple of chairs and the table looked soft and plush. The nurse gave Wendy a quick check up, telling her lungs sounded great, she also warned her to be careful where she went. If she breathed in more dirty earth, she could develop asthma or allergies. The two Exceeds giggled a lot as during the examination.
"My dear nurse, giggle, how do you learn to, giggle treat Exceeds?" Carla asked between giggles. Nurse Gaiety just laughed, "A lot of your kind came this way about seven years ago. They were pretty sick so we helped them."
"We're there any blue Exceeds?" Happy asked between getting his pulse checked then getting his blood pressure looked over. The nurse nodded say a couple looked a lot like him. Happy seemed delighted to hear that. Gaiety gave both Exceeds a clean bill of health, though Happy didn't like being told to eat less while Carla was supposed to eat more.
Lucy was the last one. She appeared to be in good health, actually great. It was as if her tumble in the river and the trek all over the country hadn't happened. The nurse remarked that it was almost as if her body was charged as it prepared for something. Lucy thanked her and went to find a place to converse with her guild mates.
Half an hour later the others finished their checkups. Natsu was fine, but told not to act so, reckless or use his head, because if he developed more concussions, there was a chance he die of them or aneurysm. Gray's wrist was healed, it had shrunk a bit. The ice maker promised to follow up with some physical therapy to help regain full function. Erza was the happiest of them all. Dr. Redwood had explained the reasons behind tearing her tendon, (aka pushing her body so much it just finally gave out). Her brace got switched out with a mid-thigh length walking boot with extra protection. His instructions were too slowly start putting weight on it while slowly getting it back to normal through therapy. She promised even finding a special armor boot that would help out.
Once they were outside and back on the tree lined road The Knight spoke. "That man is a miracle worker. I can still fight now, but need to be careful. I guess I should dial down a bit on my activities huh?" Erza joked a little. She adjusted the button on her new shirt. The doctor had been happy to lend them some clothes which resembled more or less their usual outfit. Brushing hair back she observed Lucy studying the map and using a light pen to mark up the map and started connecting lines together murmuring to herself.
"No, I drew that wrong, erase. Okay the exact position in the legend was here, then if I go here and take in account graphical changes over time, then yes I figured it out! Thank you guild girls! " Lucy exclaimed pumping her fist in the air startling everyone. She was so happy it took her a few seconds to come down and notice the team looking at her. "Sorry, I'm excited because Levy and the rest of the girls figured out the language with Crux's help. I know what it means and how it's related to the final fight."
"Well don't keep us hanging, share already," Natsu said, jumping into the cart only to get motion sickness, even when Gray had just set the cart down. Happy tried to help him by giving him motion sickness pills, alas they didn't work. Still he managed to get it together as everyone looked at the map sprawled out. All the locations of the platinum keys were connected with marks of guilds or places the gold keys had first come from according the legends. When you connected them all up it made the picture of two door gate. The dot where the handle on the right side was where the snake key had been, the other door knob was equal distance away in straight line that led to Fairy Tail's guild building.
The others were astonished by this and asked what this gate was. Lucy explained about how Star Maiden Danica had broken the barrier between the worlds was the mark at the center of high door frame. There was another dot at the base of the door, that's where Star Maiden Esther came through to bring her teachings to Earth. See where this lock is holding the doors closed, that's were Star Maiden Estrella cast her spell to separate the two worlds and start this quest."
"Whoa that so cool, its right between our two villages, but why have you drawn an extra line?" Erza asked noticing a line out of place.
"Because the alignment that occurs at the final battle shifts the power towards Starwatcher village. When the battle is over, the true Star Maiden, will have the power to use her bonds with the spirits to open the gate to fuse the worlds together as one!"
That was clearly the most shocking news they heard. Opening that gate could change everything, including what this blessing was. They needed to get to Starwatcher Village now! As Gray and Natsu got ready to pull the cart, Lucy simply raised her hand, the guild mark glowed as Celestial Magic surrounded them. In the blink of the eye they traveled from the road into the outskirts of the Starwatcher Village!
They looked around in astonishment, never before had they seen such power from Lucy. Staring at her they could see a gold outline shimmering around her. Said mage simply put her hand down, her eyes looking at the empty buildings, the empty roads. Instinctively she stared down a particular road without acknowledging her friends who were chasing after her demanding an explanation.
They stopped in their tracks as they saw a middle age man walking towards them. He didn't seem to see him as he just kept walking towards them intending to bump them. Erza drew her sword holding it out in front. "Hold it civilian! I demand to know who you are and where Hoshi Supernova is. Did you not hear me? I said stop!"
The man continued towards them, muttering something as he walked towards them. He stopped for a minute apparently talking with someone they couldn't see. The man resumed his path, this time the three elder mages were ready for any sort of trouble. Natsu was just waiting for a chance to fry him, when the man passed through him, then continued on his way. "AHHHHHHHHH! That guy just walked through me! Am I dead? What is going on? Happy bud, hit me!"
"Okay, remember you asked for it," Happy grinned as he punched him in the face. When Natsu yelled, he decided to have a little fun scratching up his face before settling down on the ground giving a Cheshire smile. His buddy face looked like it lost a battle to barbed wire. When Natsu started to yell Happy simply purred reminding him what he said.
"Knock it off you two, I don't think were dead. Maybe they are, look around us," Gray said pointing. All around them people were appearing walking and going about their daily lives. Something about them was off. He looked a little closer, the people seemed a bit blurry around the edges. Slamming his foot on the ground he covered the street with ice. His eyes focused on their feet, they appeared to be making a bit of contact, but not enough. "Natsu, burn my ice up."
Natsu looked up from yelling at Happy. "Huh, why?" Gray rolled his eyes and told him to do it. Grinning like a madman he disgorged flames all over the place. The ice rapidly melted increasing the rate of molecular movement. Eyeing the people those nearest to the hotspots reacted in an appropriate manner. They pulled at their collars or ran away screaming.
"That's curious, they have no reaction to us, like they can't perceive us, but our magic seems to have an effect on them. Why?" Wendy asked holding tightly to Carla for comfort.
Erza was the one who cleared up the mystery. "A powerful magic spell was cast, causing this entire village to shift from this reality to one that moves at a different molecular rate. Their out of phase with us," she explained. Hearing that shocked them. A spell that held up this long was truly an indication of the power of the castor. They needed to find Lucy fast.
Lucy, who had just finished a bit of research in the library she was heading to the Observatory. In the library she got her confirmation about what she suspected about the gate on Earth and the blessing from the Celestial Spirit Royals. The consequences of this fight would change her forever. The sun was starting to set as the sky changed. As she walked lines of blue energy seemed to come to life running through the road. There wasn't much time left. Gazing at the newly made Observatory, she took a deep breath patting her key ring. "It will be okay my friends. You'll see."
She started the long climb up through the temple stairways, feeling the ancient magic in the walls. The murals were peeling paint. Some of the rooms had fallen into disrepair as she entered the main observatory. The big telescope in the middle was still intact as was some of the equipment. A model of the universe hung from the ceiling. Taking a few steps towards the center, she watched as the dome started to open as the telescope sank into the ground along with the rails revealing a geometric symbol on the floor. A door on the far end connected to the new space module opened and out stepped Hoshi in her new look. "You made it in time, I was beginning to fear you miss the alignment at moon rise."
"Sorry for the delay, I needed to check the ley lines to see if they were properly opening," Lucy said simply adjusting her skirt and shirt. She wished they were a bit looser, but she couldn't do anything about it now. She stepped forward placing the gold crystal in the center of the floor as Hoshi pressed a button. Out of her module came a large radio dish aiming up to catch the energy from the alignment.
"It's almost time. Are you ready for what's next?" Lucy nodded knowing what she have to do. Her ears perked when she heard her friends. They were coming up the stairwell fast. If they interfered now it would ruin everything. She glanced at Hoshi who nodded.
"Lucy hang on we're coming! There's no way we're going to let you fight that girl on your oooooooooooooooowwwwwwwwwwnnnnnnnn!" Natsu's wail coupled with the others in unison as a powerful gravity magic attack shoved them up against a wall holding them there. "What the? Lucy help us!"
Tears were in her eyes as she raised her hands calling on her magic. Smiling softly with an expression of regret. "I'm sorry, but you can't be allowed to interfere with the final battle. I have to do this on my own. Forgive me, Celestial Swirling Stars Barrier!" Team Natsu dropped to the ground as a swirl of different colored stars swirled around them, preventing any attempt to get closer. Turning her back to them she took her place in the box at the edge of the circle watching as the moon rose.
The time was now as the full moon aligned itself above the observatory. Both mages marks started to throb as their reaction to one another became harmonized. As the air hummed Lucy struck the ground calling forth the power of the ley lines. Across the land of Fiore that ley lines light up creating the gate startling everyone. The energy surged towards Lucy, who was struggling to keep it stable. At the same time Hoshi was under a strain as her radio dish transferred the energy from the alignment to her mark causing her head to hurt badly. The crystal in the center glowed splitting in half. Right when they couldn't hold it any longer they released the powers into one half of the crystal. The two powers combined together in the middle of the crystal creating a powerful silver ball of energy. It was sent out from both sides creating a sphere trapping the girls inside. The space inside the sphere created a world part Earthland and Celestial Spirit world. Here, all contracts were suspend and amplifying their cores to help them call on all their spirits, while enhancing their magic.
"Time for a little roll call. Weakest to strongest?" Hoshi asked, Lucy nodded holding her keys in her hands waiting. "I/we call forth our silver spirits: Come forth our friends of the constellations!" The sounds of the gates opening was louder than usual as the spirits appeared in front of them like chess pieces. Lucy's five were outnumbered by Hoshi's seven, which was okay. "We call forth the Golden Zodiac! Come forth now!" Instantly Lucy felt safer with her ten spirits as Hoshi's borrowed keys looked a bit nervous serving their new master for a time. Now to finish this. "We call forth our faithful animal friends. Rise forth platinum Animal Zodiac!" The last spirits appeared, their bonded years in their arms.
"You remember the rules right Hoshi?" Hoshi nodded with a grin of delight on her face. "Good, I know the consequences and what the blessing is. So let's begin now."
In the blink of an eye; Hoshi telepathically told Scutum to shield Pisces while Shing and Xiaoying attacked from above. The others were told to stay back until a command was given.
Lucy analyzed the attack, knowing if her spirits were defeated, she couldn't use them again. Then Hoshi would be one step closer to attack her directly with her space magic. Concentrating hard she also gave telepathic commands. "Aquarius, team up with Horologium. He'll defend you long enough for you to weaken Pisces. Hopefully he can trap Scutum inside him to give you a chance to defeat both of them. Lyra, Pyxis try to use your powers to confuse Shing and Xiaoying. Remember they change forms while still using their powers."
From behind the barrier Team Natsu watched as the two Celestial Mages commanded their spirits to attack. Lyra was playing her song as loudly as possible to confuse Shing. The flying rooster let out a crow as he struggled to maintain his sanity as the Lyra switched songs to a soothing lullaby. Unwilling to fall for her trick he changed into his human form. He pulled out his dagger from his waist thrusting it at her. She levitated out the way and he sprang into the air using his own power of levitation to chase after her. The female spirit was dodging and circling about to avoid being struck down.
As this was going on Pyxis was using his sense of direction to lead Xiaoying all around the battle field. The shape shifter had changed into a peregrine falcon, she flapped her wings to get high enough before making a dive towards the little flying compass. Adjusting his wings he banked hard to the right as Xiaoying flew past missing him by inches. Landing on the ground she switched to her human form undoing the braids in her hair. "This is going to be simply too easy. Oh Pyxis, why don't you come closer. I'll let you touch my hair, even use a few strands to help find a mate," she giggled stroking her locks. Stroking her hair until it shimmered.
Though she was surprised when someone popped next to her. "Oh your hair is so amazing! I love the color. What beauty treatments do you use? Oh we should get together for a girl hair day!" Lyra said. She had abandon her harp on the ground as she braided the platinum spirit's hair. Xiaoying struck fast tying Lyra up squeezing her until she turned silver dissolving from the scene. She and her key reappeared in a penalty box.
"Why was she sent there instead of returning to the Celestial World?" Wendy questioned her friends. Before their eyes they saw Pyxis zoom closer splitting to the side as the two platinum keys took each other out, only for Pyxis to fall from exhaustion. Again they were moved out of the way as Lucy two spirits took on the pair from Hoshi.
"This is a battle to determine who the True Star Maiden is. Spirits and mages must work in harmony to overcome their opponents in this duel. While trapped in that sphere maybe they can't leave until the duel is over," Erza suggested. Watching the way the silver spirits protect the gold ones it made the most sense.
Gray nodded observing how strong Lucy had become. He witnessed her transferring her energy into her spirits increasing their power. Her boned was so strong she no longer needed to speak her commands. "Am I seeing things or is Aquarius actually following Lucy's orders this time?" he asked puzzled. The others looked closely and realized it was true.
Aquarius creating a mini tsunami around her gathering power to douse the mother and son Pisces. The mother was using her water magic to send the water in other directions. Her son used his trident to strike at her when Horologium encased him and some water inside his body. The boy screamed as he tried to get out, but he had reverted to his fish form. The mother fish attention was diverted seeing her son in trouble. At that moment Scutum jumped in front of her to block the water attack aimed at her. The force of the attack was so much both him and the mother went out of play. There was bong as Horologium vanished along with the son both going out play.
Aquarius was cheering in victory when Libra danced around her swinging her scales about. The mermaid used her tail to swipe at Libra's feet, but the dancer hopped and skipped. Twirling around, she raised one of her scales making the water lighter floating at the top of the sphere. Using her other scale she made the mermaid so heavy she started to crush the floor. With a twist of the wrists the scales banged together as the spirit and water collided with one another. Libra took a bow only to have Hoshi yell "Watch out behind you!"
The spirit managed to dodge at the last second as Ling, Fain, and Capricorn came after her. She twisted around as she leaped over Capricorn kicking him in the back only for him to grab her then spin her really fast as he let go towards a wall. Only her gravity magic kept her from making an impact. Two ladies appeared by her side, Cassiopeia and Andromeda. The queen's crown glittered as the points lit up and Andromeda's chains flicked up and down. "Time to rock it and roll it girls. Hey Mom, let's have some fun."
"Always my dear, shall we rush them?" Her two companions nodded charging forward. Lucy called out to her spirits. "Stand your ground and take the first blow, use their own momentum to counter attack. Ling use your powers to help guide Capricorn. Fain if you get a chance turn human and go after Andromeda."
"As you command Mistress Lucy-sama." They called out. The fighting renewed as the mages and spirits worked as one. Team Fairy Tail was cheering and shouting out advice, well Wendy and the Exceeds were. Taking turns cheering, Gray, Natsu, and Erza tried to break the barrier so they could get closer to the sphere to help their friend. It was slow going yet they were determined not to mess up.
The battle between the mages was getting intense. Not only we're they able to telepathically able to command their spirits, their magic was getting stronger. As evidence Hoshi used a space magic spell, Rings of Protection, to save Cassiopeia and Andromeda while recalling Libra back to her side before sending out Lacerta and Vulpecula to take their place. The foxy vixen smiled as she did a handstand before wagging her tail back and forth confusing Capricorn. He struck at her only for her to flip over him, pushing off his back, then rotated backwards as she bit into Capricorn's horns trying to drag him down. He resisted grabbing her and tossing her to the ground, pulling his arm back he got ready to take her out of the game, not seeing her smirk.
"Capricorn no! Celestial Magic: Spirit Weave!" Lucy held her hands out, her mark glowed as she molded and then spread her magic across the ground trapping the fox before she could vanish. The little fox spirit struggled and whimpered by was pulled out of the game. With that little problem gone she searched for Lacerta knowing the spirit could be in disguise anywhere. Holding out her hand with fingers spread she chanted, "Celestial Magic: Spirit Boost!"
Ling let out a snort as her enhanced senses went into over drive. Her eyes glowed as she looked into the future. Side stepping she avoid being bitten by Lacerta. The lizard spirit changed colors disappearing again. As before Ling's ears heard where the lizard would appear. She tried to get to her fellow spirit only to be bowled over by Tong. His super strength left a big bruise on her side. "Sorry about that Ling, but I got to fight for my mistress okay?"
"Your annoying Tong! Let's see how your strength matches my precognitive abilities!"
"Lady Ling don't get distracted ah!" Capricorn let out wail as Lacerta appeared on him biting and scratching. Seeing his friend in danger Fain let loose his spirit trying to attack it from the astral plane. That was foolish as Andromeda took him out of play before hiding behind her mother whose crown protected the. It was a comical scene if the stakes weren't so high. As they all wrestled around they knocked into one another. Both mages tried to get control, but soon seven spirits were out of the game. Only Cassiopeia and Andromeda remained in play having floated out-of-the-way.
Hoshi grunted angrily. She was down seven of her fifteen spirits, but at least she still had the combination of mother and daughter. With only eight left her next few moves could make or break her. Still look at her rival from across the sphere she found herself grinning in delight, her body a lit with excitement. Her cores were surging all around inside her in anticipation of finally getting the duel she always wanted. "I have to say, I'm impressed. I never knew you could be powerful enough to forge bonds so deep it lets to access the forgotten part of Celestial magic."
Lucy nodded as she gave commands for Hu to take on the mother and daughter. After a second thought she asked Gemini to assist. Turning her attention from the battle she respond to her rival. "Star Maidens, Danica and Esther, wanted humans and spirits to live with one another in peace. To forge bonds powerful nothing could break them. By working as one we can do anything. That's the reason Esther created the caster side of the magic."
"While Estrella took the memories away to prevent more uprisings of mages. Only the truly dedicated who share a pure loving friendship could ever hope to regain this ability." The native to the village recalled the joy she felt the first time she used the caster magic to make Kora stronger. That had been the day she declared her full intentions of being a Star Maiden. Snapping back to present she saw the growing smile on Lucy's face, it was a mix of teasing and sadness. "What's the matter with you? Are you that eager to face me one on one?"
Dividing her attention between the fight and Hoshi, she called out asking something. "What happened to you Hoshi? The little girl I saw in training use to be light hearted and kind. (Hu refuse and summon Lucy Ashley. Gemini copy and work together with her.) Something must have happened to change that."
Growling, Hoshi ignored her as she Mushu into the fray, hoping his power would overcome his fellow spirits. Crux joined in swinging his head about in an effort to help. "You don't know anything about me. Whatever your vision was that girl doesn't exist anymore," she grounded her teeth together and slamming her sandals in the ground. Her side of the sphere started to darken as the energy started getting chaotic. Team Natsu, who had finally broken through the barrier and stood at the edge only to fall back by the pressure.
"What is Lucy doing? Is this really the time to start talking?" Happy asked.
"She's doing it for a reason. If she reach the part of Hoshi that remains untainted, this fight could end without a sacrifice being made," Carla replied. With the enormous pressure building they made their way slowly back to the sphere.
Lucy was talking over the noise of the fight, her mark glowing in synch with Hoshi's linking their hearts and minds as one. A pulse of emotional energy confirmed what Rogue told her. A pure hearted soul being absorbed by corruption, which meant Hoshi's heart and mind were at war with one another. There was another pulse as her own heart and soul was felt by Hoshi.
"Stop pitying me please! Just because I haven't been as vicious and mean this time around doesn't mean anything. I may have loved you, idolized and wanted to be just like you, but that was ages ago. Now we're rivals," Hoshi hurriedly spoke. Her whole body was shaking as she tried to keep it together.
"Don't deke me Hoshi," the blond girl said. Her focus shifted from the battle as the spirits took it upon themselves to figure out who should be fighting and what strategizes to use. Unconsciously the other Celestial mage was doing the same thing. She appeared highly agitated taking a step back as Lucy inched closer, careful not to step over the line. "Please, I know something traumatic happened seven years ago. That before that you and I were not so different. We could have been sisters before you let the darkness inside."
"Stop talking, you don't understand a word your saying!"
"Then tell me, what happened? Does it have to do with your Aunt Aiday and cousin Hoshiko, maybe your mother Haruko? The pages stop around the day you would have been declared the Celestial Spirit Priestess to be. Talk to me, what happened."
"DON'T YOU GET IT LUCKY LUCY? MY FAMILY BETRAYED ME JUST LIKE YOU WERE!" Taken aback by her statement everything froze. No one made a sound as Hoshi tried to catch her breath. Tears slipped down her cheek as she told them what happened.
"My mother Haruko was very ambitions. She had the blood of Star Maiden Tahti in her veins and my father Kai had Zornesta's blood in it. They married, but kept mom's last name because it was a higher lineage. I never knew how ambitious my mother was or how little she cared about people until after I was born."
"My father died shortly before I was born, he was part of the security force that protected our traders as they learned the latest news. He was killed by a thief trying to steal from us. When I was born I looked so much like my father, some of the nurses worried she reject me then, but my blood saved me.
"As I grew up I knew I wanted to be a Celestial Spirit Priestess, to bond with our sacred treasure. I was born near the end of the snake year while my cousin was born near the start so she would always be older than me. Both of us had a chance to win the right to become Priestess Oba's apprentice. After being chosen as a candidate I worked hard, pushing myself to the limits, but still having time for fun. My mother, gave me private lessons pushing me towards space magic, while trying to force me to see that point of the quest was different then I was taught. Her ambition was to have the new Star Maiden rule over the earth forcing the "unworthy" in her eyes to become servants of the great Celestial Spirits," she told them bitterly spitting at the floor. She clutched her keys tightly trying to find the words to go on. "I was only seven when she started only to be forgotten six months later. I was too much like my dad, stuck in the old ways so she worked with her sister Aiday and cousin Hoshiko to help her earn the position."
Again a wave of memories hit as Lucy the only could see. She watched through Hoshi's eyes and reliving her feelings. The destruction of the nearby Rosemary Village, the neglect from her mother and outward animosity from her aunt and cousin. The simple joy that came from being with Celestial Priestess Oba as they talked and saw her potential to use space magic responsibly.
"At the last day of our training I defeated all the other students; including my cousin earning the apprenticeship. I was offered the key and felt, the bond between Quing and me, form at once. Together as one we shared the same dream. To explore Fiore, meet great Celestial Mages to learn from, and eventually take on the quest. But it was not to be."
"Priestess Oba made a false prediction didn't she? Somehow your mom and aunt bribed her so Hoshiko could take the prize. That's what happened, your ultimate betrayal?" Lucy whispered softly. It felt like someone had punched her in the gut. The others understood as well having worked hard to earn their reputations and skills. To have it taken away by falsehood would have been the ultimate betrayal.
"I only learned about it half an hour before my inauguration. Oba told me that the spirits feared I would turn dark and cold because of my link to space magic. That my bloodlines would over power me. Instead, she was going to let me keep the title and stay here in the village teaching me, while my cousin would get the key and the chance to travel a year before settling down to wait for a quester. I was in shock. I couldn't believe my friend would be taken away. I couldn't let that happen."
"What did you do exactly?" Erza questioned. "How have maintained this spell for so many years?
Hoshi shrugged her shoulders, not having an answer. All she remembered was right before she was told to give Quing to her cousin something snapped inside. Her rage, powered by her bloodline opened up her second core, giving her access to limitless space magic. She had cursed the village promising to become the monster they made her. She would gather the keys becoming a Star Maiden then they all see they were wrong. That was her whole story
Hoshi wiped her eyes before taking a firm stance. She was tired of the pity and this battle. She wanted to prove to her rival that it was her destiny to win. Seeing that most of her spirits were out of play she gave a command. "Quing, Libra, Pegasus hold back! You're not too engage Lucy's spirits anymore!"
"Fall back everyone! Loki, Yue, and Plue get behind me!"
Outside the sphere Natsu seemed very confused. Lucy still had a few spirits left and so did Hoshi, but both girls had removed their spirits from play. Instead they were taking a few steps out of their boxes onto the field. The crystal hummed shining brightly. There was a flash of light forcing him to cover his eyes. When he opened them up again both girls were cloaked in a living magical aura enhancing them. Their bodies changed getting toned, but lithe. The strangest part was the glowing eyes. "Lucy! What happened to her? What's going on? I thought this fight was about their spirits not them! We need to do something!"
Gray, who had tried to freeze the sphere to get in, was forced back. Hit bit his lip as he looked at his smoking hands. He attempted to call on his ice to heal them only to let out a grunt as he painfully summoned his magic. Pushing himself up from the stone floor he flopped a little as he stumbled back and sat down hard on a rise in the floor. "Forget it Natsu, we can't get in there. This is their fight not ours."
"I refuse to give up, I'm getting inside their! Happy help me!" Natsu shouted. Looking inside he could see the girls circling one another keeping an eye on each other. Their spirits had worried expressions on their faces wincing as the magical cloaks licked one another causing a cracking sound in the air. Both girls sprang back towards the safety of their zone. They eyed one another waiting for the other to make the first move.
"Max Speed Happy!" The Exceed cat acknowledged his request flying high to the ceiling of the building. Crossing across the moonlight Happy's wings startled to sparkle with power. Even the fire Dragonslayer felt his magic growing slowly as they approached the sphere. "Fire Dragon Secret Art: Crimson Lotus Fire Dragon's Fist!" Plowing into the sphere he rapidly hit different parts causing explosions all over the sphere. Inside everything shook inside. Some spirits let out shouts of dismay and the mages tripped forward aiming to make a face plant when their three special bonded friends pulled them back.
Erza, observing the consequences called force an enforced magic lariat. Flicking it around she yanked Natsu out of the sky with such speed, it sent Happy twirling around the room before crashing on top of the sphere, which repulsed him. He let out a wail as he flew out of the air and Carla grabbed him. Meanwhile Erza tied up Natsu. "For once in your life listen to your surroundings! Look at them, they are to warriors who have reached their full potential. This is the end phase. We have to let Lucy fight alone." She looked on as the girls gathered their magic ready to make their first move.
Steadying their feet, Hoshi made the first attack. Lifting her arms up she felt the dark matter growing. When it was the size of a baseball she pulled her hands down, back and pushed forward. "Space Magic: Dark Matter Bauble!" Gathering power from the environment, it started to twist around as it streaked towards Lucy.
Without panic Lucy counter attack. "Celestial Magic: Positive Light!" A triangle shape beam emitted from her hands. The two attacks clashed pushing back and forth, as one tried to take over the other. The girls poured more power into their attacks each trying to win. The energies got intense until the both canceled each other out leaving them sweating.
"Celestial Magic: Sparkling Wishes!" Shapes made of sparkling yellow diamonds fused together walked or flew through the air moving towards Hoshi. A variety of wishes attempted to overwhelm the other mage. The green clothed mage cast a spell involving static burst destroying the wishes. Lucy bent backwards to avoid the attack. She the straightened up pushed down doing a sweep with her right leg kicking out pure celestial magic attempting to knock Hoshi off her feet. Hoshi did the same thing spreading space across the ground causing a divide to form.
These are parlor tricks compared to our ultimate magic. Time to take it up a notch. "Secret Art Space Magic: Spiraling Galaxy!" Her cloak grew in size and intensity. Bits of the sphere joined above her head where the galaxy was forming. Lucy watched in horror. She didn't have enough time to cast Urano Metria or the skill to maintain it for long. The marks on her hand started to throb as she felt the power calling to her. She needed to act fast to avoid being defeated by the galaxy that was twisting around towards. One mark lit up as she started to chant. "Gather! Oh river of light that's guided by fairies!"
Outside the members of Fairy Tail jaws dropped. They knew that incantation, but it was impossible that for Lucy to have that power! Yet, the proof was right there, the symbol for the spell started squiggling down her arm as she continued to chant. "This is impossible! How can she use this power? It belongs to the First Master Mavis!" Wendy exclaimed. The others just looked on as Lucy aimed for her target completing the spell.
"Shine! In order to perish the fangs of evil! Fairy Glitter!" The light got brighter and brighter covering the entire room. The power of the spell was so great it tore through the galaxy ripping it apart, heading straight for Hoshi's chest. There was no time to think or act, but someone did. There was a streak of black diverting the power away back into the power streams. The crystal started to crack, but the healed expanding the field even more causing the Fairy Tail members to scramble backwards. As the dust cleared, Lucy was barely standing, allowing her guild mark to absorb the left over magic to restore her. Her eyes widened as she saw what had occurred.
Yen had protected her mistress by casting her invulnerability onto her by standing in front of her. She had done it so fast no one had seen her move. Instead all they saw was a smoking, injured Libra on her knees with her scales barely hanging on. Both spirits had protected their mistress. Hoshi called out their names trying to see how badly hurt they were only for them to dissolve into silver light and reappear in the penalty box out of play. It was a touching gesture.
"How could you two do something like that? You're not meant to shield me from danger at the risks of your own lives!" Hoshi cried as she looked at them sadly. The other spirits were already comforting them, helping with their injuries.
"We do what we must, mistress. To protect our friend. You have loved us so much that we acted on our own accord to shield you from harm," Yen whispered softly.
"It was a pleasure to assist you child. I enjoyed our time together," Libra said before falling unconscious. Hoshi stroked her face then stood up and marched towards the edge of her home base. She stared hard at Lucy and her remaining spirits. After casting such a high level spell, even gathering the left over energy hadn't been enough to keep her standing. Jai, Cheng along with Virgo had transferred some of their power inside her renewing the girl at the cost of being eliminated. Leaving her with seven gold, one platinum and silver.
Hoshi looked at her three keys, two silver and one platinum left. "I refuse to give up. I may be done a few spirits, but I'm not out! Aquaria, I want you to fly in front protecting my allies once I summon them! Ready for round two?" she said changeling. Spreading her arms and legs wide, she channeled her the magic through her three cores using Yukino's magic to assist her with this secret art.
"Secret Art Space Magic: Alien Invaders Attack!" Swirling smoke formed in tight circles, before vanishing away. The aliens that appeared looked like the stereotypical look of outer space beings. The giant eagle let out a screech as he and the army surged forward at incredible speed. The army discharged green lasers striking everywhere. Several strikes came close to Lucy who dodged and bent to get out-of-the-way. Suddenly, her feet gave out, causing her to fall. Three aliens were close to her; aiming to attack.
"NO! Leave Lucy alone you monsters!" Aries proclaimed jumping in front of her flinging wool balls. The enemy was soon under a pile of fluff as Aries stood her ground kicking and punching anyone that got to close. Peering behind the ram she saw Taros, Scorpio, and Sagittarius fighting the aliens in a deadlock battle. It was chaos with neither side gaining anything. Suddenly Aries fell in front of her. "Help, she injured!"
"Give her to me ebi! I'll make sure she's okay," Cancer said, already tugging his friend out of play along with himself. Anger filled her looking at Hoshi who was using her fingers to manipulate the army. Above her Aquaria was using his wings to deal damage to the rest of her Zodiac friends. It was too much for her; bringing back memories of the Phantom Lord's attack. A second mark started glow powering up her guild mark. Her eyes narrowed as her cloak vibrated with power.
Erza started to shiver, the familiar warmth of love and purity filling the air as the light got stronger. Natsu, Gray, and Happy, stopped arguing about trying to break through as they saw the first female castor to this spell. Only Wendy and Carla were confused having never seen the effects of this spell. When asked what it was Erza simply told her it was Fairy Law, a powerful spell indeed.
The light filled the sphere as globe of power grew. The aliens vanished and blinding all the spirits. Loving energy protected the spirits. Hoshi felt the warmth and love spread through her body; instead of the expecting harshness. When the spell ended only the spirits remained. They were okay though exhausted so they headed out of the game. Painting hard Lucy had one eye on her hand and the other on Hoshi. "I couldn't eliminate you, I don't see you as my enemy. No matter what happens I will never use the three great spells and the hidden power First Master Mavis spoke of to hurt anyone."
While the rest of Fairy Tail appeared discombobulated by her words Hoshi's eyes crinkled in delight. "So it's true about Mavis using the Four Quadrant Orbs to create her guild's great three magics?" Lucy nodded, understanding that at the core the spells were Celestial Magic, the alterations meant she had to work harder to maintain them. Hoshi knew that it, as well that, Lucy wouldn't use magic she didn't understand. She also would be hesitant to use Fairy Sphere after living through the consequences.
Hoshi was nearly out of power and her emotions were all over the place. Quing sensed what she was going to do quickly wrapping her tail around her pulling her back. "Now that spell is too powerful! You can't predicate the effects when you're in this state of mind!" Pegasus grabbed her shirt trying to stop her, but her cloak shoved them away. Pegasus called out to other spirits. "Stop her, this spell will consume her!"
Loki, Yue and Plue rushed forward using their powers as Hoshi cast the spell. Secret Art Space Magic: Black Hole Engulf! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" The black hole appeared out of nowhere started to sucking up everything in the sphere. It shook and cracked before bursting apart as the black hole grew bigger and bigger trying to suck up everything. The observatory started to rip apart as pieces of it flew inside the event horizon being crushed.
Erza requiped into her Purgatory Armor driving her club deep into the ground before reaching out and pulling Wendy under her. Happy and Carla dug their claws in the backs of Gray and Natsu who were using their magic to keep a grip in the floor as they started to get dizzy from the lack of oxygen. "We've got to do something! If that black hole remains open it will keep growing until it engulfs the country, even the Earth!" Erza told them,
"We have no way to get close enough to do anything! Anything we did would be sucked in or backfire on us," Gray shot back.
"Can you collapse one of these with fire?" Natsu asked. Erza shook her head. She knew it could be billions of years before the hole collapsed on itself dying. There was nothing anyone could do. Suddenly amongst the heavy winds and the screeching of several pieces of metal and rock flying through the air was blocked out as they heard the sound of pure magic coming to life. Before their eyes, the ley lines grew in power and they saw the moonlight getting stronger overhead. Carefully twisting around them saw an unbelievable sight.
Lucy was using a small version of Fairy Sphere, a semi-circle, to keep Hoshi and all the spirits behind her safe. Hoshi herself was trying to stop the spell yet nothing she did was canceling the spell. The girls appeared to be arguing over something when Lucy shoved her away. Loki grabbed her hand pleading with her, but she gave him a teary smile assuring him. She left the safety of the semi-circle as she struggled to stand as she walked towards the black hole. All four marks glowed as her magic surged until she appeared to be pure magical energy.
"What is she, no Lucy don't! Not even you can stop this spell! Please don't!" Natsu cried out. He struggled to get free, but the pressure held him down. He could only watch tearfully as Lucy jumped into the black hole casting her spell. It was a bit of Fairy Sphere, but a glorious light radiated from her. Deeper and deeper she fell into she was out of sight. Everyone feared the worse. Just then the black hole became a brilliant gold causing the event to change shape around, growing smaller and smaller. All at once it collapsed at once gone forever. As everything settle down, they looked for Lucy, but saw nothing. The finale battle was over and it seemed the teen had paid the ultimate price.