Chapter 11: Try – P!NK

Streams of sunlight that poured through sheer curtains happened to be the ideal way to, in Lucy's perspective, greet the morning. No amount of noise or alarm clock could do the job better than the warm sun. With sleep in her eyes, Lucy sat up from her comfy pink bed and stretched her long slender arms above her cranium and, with a satisfied groan, she looked to the window as to greet the blue skies decorated with cotton-like clouds. It felt good to have the whole bed for once but while she slowly grew more awake, Lucy struggled to make out the usual soft snores of the fire-eater and his blue-furred sidekick. With her face still pointed towards the sky, Lucy assumed her luck had changed. Not only did she get the bed to herself, but the whole apartment. Now she can have a bath, cook herself breakfast and get ready at a leisurely pace before she headed off to the guild.

'I wonder when I will see him today,' Lucy thought. 'When there is desire there's gonna' be a flame.'

The mage was nervous as she felt the need to see pink hair and green eyes, take in a spicy scent and hear a particular squeaky yet deep voice. But all of that would have to wait as Lucy decided to start her day without the blue exceed and her partner. She folded the quilt over and proceeded to get out of bed, but something was wrong, the room wasn't the right colour or shape, her floors which used to be hard wood was tile and the pink fabric of the quilt was a mixture of reds, oranges and golds. When her eyes adjusted to the light, Lucy was soon met with the harsh reality of where she was: on the Island. Her bright and relaxed persona quickly melted away which left reality and loneliness. "When there is a flame, someone's bound to get burned," Lucy replied to herself.

While she brought her knees to her chest, Lucy hid herself behind her legs and hugged them tightly as the memories of the previous night flooded back. "That's right. He can't walk on the Island. How am I going to get back home?"

Stray tears were rubbed away as Lucy slowly started to change back into her loose robes, but sounds of panic from the practice set the mage off in alarm. "Just because it burns, doesn't mean you're gonna' die Lucy," the blond mentioned as she stashed the key holster into her robes and headed for the main room, ready to fight.

As she stood in the entrance way with a key ready for action, Lucy was greeted by chaos. Five or six spirits roamed around the room while several people waited to be treated. Tomo was hard to spot due to her size, but soon appeared on top of her usual tower of books beside her patient. "Tomo, what wrong? Who's attacking us?" Lucy shouted out as she hurried to Tomo's side. "What can I do to help?"

"Well first, you can get the hell out, your cluttering up my practice," Tomo replied with agitation. "What did I tell you Hana, you use that move again and you'll rip open the muscle."

Lucy was confused at the commotion, but a friendly face in the crowed seemed to calm her, the Chinese deity He Xiangu. Once she drifted over to Lucy's side and playfully pulled at the long blonde strands, she handded the mage a cup of tea similar to the previous night. 'Master and spirit working together to become strong, must be nice,' Lucy thought to her self as she took a sip from the cup, Aquarius in mind.

"Blondie, this may be a slow start to my day, but you make it worse by milling around. Hurry up and drink your tea so He Xiangu can bring you out to the field," Tomo spoke with impatience as she worked on her patient.

"The field?"

Tomo looked up, frustrated once again of Lucy's presents, "Yes, you're going to train just like all the other mages."

The choice to carry on the conversation was quickly diminished as Lucy drank her tea and started for the doors when a spirit crossed the mage's path. Curiosity took over as Lucy glanced back at Tomo and whispered, "These aren't all of your spirits, are they?"

"Course they are, who else would they belong to?" Tomo replied as she tied a tight knot on Hana's arm who groaned in complaint. "Quit your whining it's punishment for not heeding my advice."

"But Tomo, you can't possibly summon six spirits at once," Lucy asked with genuine concern in her voice.

As the healer finished up with her current patient, Tomo headed towards another table. "You're right, I should have summoned all twelve, but unfortunately I don't have the room. He Xiangu, get her out of here."

Without a hesitation Lucy was hurried out the doors, spirit in tow. Once the timber doors slammed shut behind mage and spirit, Lucy quickly readjusted her robes and looked back at the closed entrance. "What a fine way to be greeted for the day," Lucy commented as she stuck her tongue out.

A soft, childlike giggle was heard as Lucy faced the spirit. Her robes had changed in colour and style since the previous night, but her white hair still flowed upwards through several golden rings, like the tail end of a ghost. With a gesture for the mage to follow, the spirit led the way through the mossy covered path but stopped when she became distracted by a colourful flower close by. As she gently plucked the blossom, He Xiangu faced Lucy and ran her fingers through the mess of blonde hair and wove the strands into an intricate five strand braid which she tied off with the flower she just acquired. Once finished, the spirit continued to lead the way as Lucy marvelled at her handiwork. "He Xiangu, is there anything that is not beautiful about you?"

Before long, Lucy was lead to an open field similar to a large sports stadium. The amount of mages within the field deceived Lucy as each spirit mage had their own private corner to practice summoning spirits. Lucy was in awestruck as she witnessed unique creatures of different shapes, origins and sizes in the open space. With a glance back to He Xiangu, Lucy bowed in appreciation who looked at the mage as if to say, 'you've gotta get up and try.'

The spirit started her departure which left Lucy confused, "H-hey, are you going back to the practice?"

The spirit shook her head as she gestured to the flower in Lucy's braid, a reminder that Tomo's sprits often are sent out to retrieve medical supplies.

"Oh, you have to search for more supplies for Tomo?" Lucy guessed and the spirit shrugged as if to say 'Kind of.'

"Well I'll head off first, and maybe meet you again sometime. Thanks for the tea." Lucy bowed to the spirit and took off into the field. Once Lucy was a fair distance away from the spirit, she could feel the island as it drained her body of magic, slowly. It was similar to gravity that pressed down on to her body which forced her movements to become sluggish. 'If only the guys knew what was going on up here,'

"Ugh, I thought I wasn't supposed to feel the effects of this stupid magic drain," Lucy whined, "And I haven't even summoned a spirit yet today. How does Tomo manage to open six gates? It's suicide."

"It's because you're a weakling," Ami's voice rang like a bell.

Lucy peeked over her shoulder and made eye contact with the monk who appeared to be in top health. Her beads chimed as they flowed with the wind while she stood proudly in place. "Here, I found your bag," Ami stated as she threw Lucy's pack into her arms.

Happiness bloomed across Lucy's face, "Thank-you, this is my favourite bag. I thought I lost it back in the castle dungeons," Lucy exclaimed as she nuzzled the fabric. "Where did you find it?"

"The thrown room, but never mind that. You should be able to summon your male spirits now, I'm sure Tomo explained the whole lack of 'male' interaction," Ami explained.

"Yeah, that's one messed up rule and this Seto guy is sounding pretty sketchy," Lucy commented while she pulled the pack over her shoulder. "He has to have a god complex if he keeps women on his little island. It's kind of perverted."

"Huge Island actually," Ami corrected, "and celestial spirit magic is more dominate in female genes then male."

Lucy stopped her rant and gave an irritated glare to the monk. "Anyways, is this guy a deformed monster, or a spoiled child?"

"Well, some find him very handsome," Ami explained, "But he has a terrible tempered. You'll meet him eventually, we all have at one point. He likes to 'learn' about his citizens"

Lucy made a face as she tried to object but was interrupted when two girls similar to her age entered the conversation.

"Ah, just in time, Lucy these are your sparring partners and teammates, Yuka and Kai Lan."

"S-sparing? Team?" Lucy was pleased to make new friends, but it felt wrong. These girls in front of the mage would be the island equivalent to her teammates, her guild, back on Earthland and while Lucy understood that she needed to get stronger, It was just hard to warm up to the idea of a new team. "I'm Lucy."

"Yuka is the master to the keys of planets," Ami continued, "And Kai Lan has the elements, both very formidable opponents who have been on the Island for about two or three years."

With a glimpse at the two girls, Lucy could tell Yuka was shy as a dove while Kai Lan was explosive like a fire cracker. Before long, Ami led the group towards a patch of field to start the session.

"Listen up. I'll sit in for this round to make sure everything runs smoothly, but don't go thinking I'll be here every time. You see Lucy," Ami gestured for them to pull their holsters out, "all keys are connected to one another. Whether it's through a similar element, animal, attack or origin, the key holder must find the connection and strengthen it. Some mages don't wish to make a connection but often find they have no choice, strength is in numbers and once a bond is made, magic transfer is possible."

"What is magic transfer?" Lucy asked.

"If your connection to another celestial spirit mage is strong enough, you can transfer some of your magic and energy to them and vice-versa," Yuka replied.

"Handy as it is, you must first make the connection," Kai Lan reminded the group. "But don't worry Lucy, we all have each other's back so you have nothing to worry about. Now let's fight."

"Or you can demonstrate," Ami countered. "Lucy I'm sure you've noticed that many of the mages up here can summon more than two of their spirits at one time. You should be able to do the same in a few months. With the training we are all forced to do, it's not uncommon to get stronger within a short time period. Kai Lan," Ami gestured to the field.

"Sure I've seen it but how is it possible?" Lucy asked as she continued to think about how much strength she would need in order to leave the island.

"The island isn't like Earthland, Lucy. It's almost like the ruins have no rules or restrictions," Yuka explained. "It's the only thing about this place that makes living here bearable."

"It's not home though, it's-"

"You're still new so we don't expect you to understand. But the ability to get stronger, faster without the hassle of other mages belittling you're style, Heh, I'll take that any day," the hyped-up mage commented while she walked a good distance away. Kai Lan stopped and faced the group with a fierce look in her orange coloured eyes, "And even if it means pushing your self so hard that you could die, it's all worth it in the end when you are stronger then you've ever been."

Ami shook her head, "you're being a bit dramatic, Kai Lan."

"What, nobody has died up here and that's what the healers are for," Kai Lan explained as she turned her attention back to Lucy. "We all try to make a connection with a healer a.s.a.p. but for now, I'm going to show you what a true Celestial Spirit mage can do."

And with her fierce determination, a large circle started to glow from under Kai Lan's feet in multiple colours. The mage held her key holster in her right hand as she raised her left above her head and with a deep breath, a ball of light formed over the key holster which allowed twelve strands shot out and evenly surrounded their master along the barrier of the circle. "I summon thee, gates of all elements," Kai Lan forcefully spoke.

Just as her words were heard, the spirits started to take shape behind their respective keys. Lucy was too fascinated with the action to really see the detail of the spirits. But just as quick as the spirits manifested, they all disappeared except for three, the water, earth and air elements. As the mage collapsed to the ground, the water spirit caught her master just in time and gently lowered her master onto the lap of the air element. In applause, Ami made her way to the exhausted mage. "Very good execution, you need to learn how many spirits to summon to they can properly stabilize."

Kai land looked up to the monk and nodded in thanks. "No problem, next time all of my spirits will surround me."

With a proud smile, Ami directed her attention back to the other two mages, "Out of you two, who has the most direct link to a water spirit?"

A moment past and Yuka raised her hand, "Technically Aquarius, despite her mermaid form and water based attacks, is an air element. Cancer, Scorpio and Pieces are the true water elements."

Lucy watched Yuka with wide eyes, 'She knows so much about my spirits, yet there isn't any information written down about them.'

Yuka added in, "Which means that they follow the planets Pluto, Neptune and the Moon, if you classify Pluto and the Moon as planets."

'Written down information,' Lucy continued to think to her self as she readjusted the strap that irritated her shoulder.

The bag grew too heavy for the blonde mage, she finally placed it on to the ground as she searched for any objects that could be parted with so to lighten the load. Within the folds, Lucy came across a note pad and the purple glass bottle that made a smile grow onto her face. "Letters don't need magic to be written or sent."

Ami's voice continued as she interrupted Lucy's train of thought, "You just made your first connection to each other, Continue on."

Yuka followed her orders and walked to Kai Lan's side while Ami watched as Lucy rummaged through her bag, the order ignored. "Lucy, I didn't give you the bag so you can get distracted from your training."

"No, that's not it. I need to," Lucy hesitated, "Washroom."

Confused at the blonde's intentions, Ami pointed in the direction and scrutinized as Lucy ran off, bag by her side. "Need someone to show you where it is?" Ami called out.

"No, I'll find it!" Lucy called back.

Once Lucy hit the forest path, she took off in search of the island's edge. The mage ran as fast as humanly possible while she passed by spirits of all shapes and sizes accompanied by their masters. After a while, the sun hit its peak of the afternoon threatened to set which left Lucy in a rushed state. Ami would have been out in a search for her and it would only be a matter of minutes before the monk would track her down, if she hadn't already, but the edge wasn't anywhere in sight. Hope was faded as the mage stopped to take a breather, her body leaned against a leafless tree. Energy lost, Lucy fell to the ground as she forgot how quickly her magic was drained. "I need to find the edge soon," Lucy stated to herself.

With her bag on top of her lap, Lucy rummaged through until she found two key items, a pen and a pad of paper. After a moment passed and Lucy sorted through her thoughts, she started to vigorously write down everything she's learned about the island. She wrote about its stages, weakness, magic drain, issues with males and, of course, Seto. Also on the paper, Lucy explained that she wasn't harmed and about her plan is to get stronger so she could leave the island. The words, 'things might seem impossible for you to find me, reach me, save me. But I promise on my honour as a Fairy Tail mage, I will come back home. Wait for me,' was her last statement before she signed her name at the bottom of the stationery.

A quick once over the five-page long note and Lucy realized that she wrote a letter, but who does she address it to. After a moment, Lucy quickly scribbled a name onto the top of the first page and rolled all five notes together as she pulled out the bottle and plunged the letter and the flower into the glass container then sealed it over.

As she placed a kiss onto the base of the bottle, Lucy thought to herself, 'If we have any luck at all, this bottle will find you. you've gotta' try.'

The bottle was placed gently into her bag as Lucy pulled out her key holster and with glimpse at the keys, Lucy knew that there was no way she would be able to summon them all like Kai Lan, she wouldn't even be able to summon most of her stronger spirits at the same time. "Don't worry everyone, we'll make it through this," Lucy comforted as she pulled out one particular silver key, "Pyxis, I summon you."

Once Lucy's words became a command, the red penguin like compass appeared in front of his master and with a happy jingle, he waited for the next command.

"Pyxis, can you tell me which way the edge of the Island it?"

The spirit was happy to oblige its master as it took a moment to find the requested destination then with a dance, he pointed in the direction.

"Ah, thank you Pyxis, you can go back now," Lucy smiled.

Once the spirit disappeared, Lucy debated if she had enough energy to summon one more spirit, Horologium. A vote against it, Lucy took a chance and once again headed off in a run towards the direction that Pyxis directed her. Luckily for this mage, the edge of the Island was only a few moments away as a whole new inspiration bloomed inside of the mage while as she approached the end to the island. Lucy stopped just short of the ledge and fell to her knees as she chose to crawl the rest of the way. Once there, she sat on her knees and inhaled the smooth crisp air that blew in. "This is a good spot," Lucy mentioned to her self as she looked over to see nothing but ocean. "The bottle was washed with tap water, the paper was bought at the store and the pen belonged to my father's old office, nothing magic about it."

The bottle was soon pulled out from her bag while Lucy took one last look at the glass container then towards the horizon. With a deep breath, Lucy held the bottle out by the neck and made a silent prayer that the bottle would make it through the shield and maybe, just maybe, someone will come across it and be kind enough to deliver it to him.

As she exhaled, Lucy released the bottle from her hopeful grasp. "You better not let me down, you hear me!"

Her brown eyes watched intensively as she searched for signs that the bottle wouldn't make out of the shield but since she was so high up, Lucy just had to believe that the bottle was free and it would be easily found.