Hello all! Thanks for the reviews and alerts/favorites!

Now this chapter, along with a few others will take place in that three-day gap which Fairy Tail was fixing up after the Grimoire attack. So pretty much, this will be Loki and Lucy along with some friends until maybe later on…

So yes, the DISCLAIMER applies.

Ch 11: How to Catch a Fallen Star

Here we find a world covered by a blanket of night, with stars cast through the sky. It was a mysterious place filled with peaceful silence and an air of regality. Patches of houses lined the place, their architecture similar to that of the roman era. Far past the houses rose a floating isle, tethered down by a bridge. A castle-like structure stood tall above the rest of the towns, indicating the home of the Spirit King, Queen and their court.

This was Caelestis, world of the spirits.

Upon the bridge was Leo, humming a tune as he walked up the path with a familiar friend in tow. It was Aries twiddling her fingers nervously. She had little idea in why they were heading to see the king, much less why Leo was called. Had he done something wrong? Was he going to get stuck in Earthland again? Oh surely not! It would kill him and Lucy! Oh poor Lu—

"Aries…I'm not in trouble."

She let out a breath.

"B-but…you haven't been called to his c-castle in such a long time Leo. I-I'm worried."

Leo shook his head. "I don't get why you're worried…It's not your fault. Anyway I just asked you to come along…just in case!" He chuckled, winking. The gesture did not ease the nervous ram in the slightest.

"Leo…the last time you were called here—ah!" She stopped, bumping into the back of the still lion. She paused noticing his happy expression fell at the reminder. She flinched, realizing it was inappropriate.

Leo however, shrugged before continuing on, the smile plastered back on his face. "Lucy is fine…there hasn't been an incident."

"…I see…"

The rest of their stroll lingered in silence as they approached the tall doors of the castle. Aries stopped, gaping at the huge structure. Wondering how the world they were to open such large gates. Leo smirked at her expression.

"You haven't been here before have you?"

Aries turned, realizing the lion was talking to her. She then shook her head. Of course, the lion was talking to her! He wouldn't talk to the wall would he?

"U-um….V-virgo brought me here once…." Her eyes cast down in embarrassment.

Leo nodded, it was understandable for the virginal maiden to come to the castle as she made clothes for the court quite often. That along with her weird fetish with making Lucy's clothing as well. It then reminded him about the boxes of fabric lining his hallways…

"Leo…h-how do we open the door?" Aries whispered, cutting into Leo's trail of thought.

He blinked before placing his hand on the door. "It doesn't open."

"Huh?" She tilted her head.

"It disappears."

Right then, Leo declared his name to the door. A light radiated through the door starting from where his hand was planted against its surface, spreading throughout the opening. Once encased in light, the door itself then exploded in a shower of gold glitter.

Aries widened her eyes in astonishment. Virgo had done no such thing when she entered the castle—from what she could remember. Most of the time, the eccentric spirit would just take the easy way out and use her own magic to create a pathway into the inner workings of the building.

This for sure was much more elegant…and much less dirty.

"Hello…?" Leo called, as he stepped upon the white marble tile. Looking around the hall was empty. He expected that seeing only few spirits lived here, about 6 or so in number and he only had seen one in person; the king himself.

However it wasn't the king that responded to his call, it was a small petite woman in a Victorian dress, crème in color. Her hair billowing down to her waist adorned with stellar accessories and the occasional white lily weaved into her green hair. Her gold eyes spoke of wisdom and beauty as she walked towards them. Those gold orbs then widened as she saw the two spirits bow before her. They, of course, knew who she was.

The Queen, bored out of her mind, decided to play with them a bit.

"This is quite a sight! Do you bow before everyone here in this castle?" She pondered, her dainty hands covering her lips. Seeing the confused looks on the two she chuckled, her high laughter echoing through the hall.

Looking at the nervous ram, she smiled cocking her head aside. "Now now, my dear Aries…no fear. You are here for nothing. Merely a guest in this wondrous castle of ours." She chimed, hugging the ram before moving to the still bowing lion.

"Leo…you have been called here. Is that right?" She asked slowly, picking the lion spirit off his knee.

He nodded curtly.

The queen clapped her hands in excitement.

"Good, good...you remember! That's nice…however our King did not call you." She stated, her eyes focused on him.

"But I thought—"

"Hm? You think only the king may call their subjects? That is quite strange…but no. The king has little reason to trifle in the issues of the Elliptical Zodiac." She pointed out, prodding him lightly against the chest.

He eased back, apologizing for his mistake only to be shrugged off. The queen seemed less perturbed by his lack of knowledge.

Aries, squirmed as she wished to say something. The Queen noticing her discomfort eased her into talking.

"Ah…but he's our King…"

"And I'm your Queen. I rule over the elliptical keys. He rules over our court and the silver keys. I still say your banishment—" Her eyes glancing over to Leo who flinched at the words. "—was never his ruling to call for…yet it seemed just. However, I digress! My issue does not lay in you my dear spirits! But in another."

Leo and Aries raised their eyebrows.

"Someone has not come home in quite some time…I do worry for her."

"H-how long…?"

"Three days in Earthland time."

Leo frowned, he knew the problems with staying on Earthland for such a long time, however he had spend much longer their than the other spirits, he didn't know how long this one would last.

"Who is it?"

The Queen frowned, her eyes gleaming with worry.

"Pisces."

"P-pisces..?" Aries questioned again. The queen only nodded.

"Her sister has not been informed yet. I doubt she'll notice with her current infatuation with Scorpio." The queen snorted unlady-like, causing a giggle to come from the ram.

"Hmph. If Aquarius found out, I wonder what would happen if Lucy summoned her..?" Loki trailed off, imagining a huge tidal wave of disaster coming her way. That along with him saving her upon a white horse…

"—Your master I presume Leo?" The Queen asked, tilting her head aside in amusement. She gleamed with mischief as a subconscious smile disappeared off Leo's face, becoming a pin straight line.

"O-our master ma'am…" Aries added, quickly apologizing for the interruption.

The Queen widened her eyes, realizing how accomplished the mage was. To her, finding one of the keys was hard enough. Some of the spirits, to make it difficult, had thrown their keys across the land. Why, she could remember one in particular hidden on some sort of demon island! Immediately after the thought, she shook her head. She had to stop floating off!

"Hm…and what is this female to you…?" The Queen asked, encircling Leo.

He stiffened, noticing the predatory gleam in the Queen's eyes.

"There is so much we can do for those that are our friends. For we are loyal and true until the day they die. However, there is something they do not have that we are forever with—time. For us it is eternal, never ending much like the light that is radiating from the stars. It runs through space and reaches distances they, humans, may never reach. So I must say it now…." She trailed off, her eyes staring into Leo's as if she was trying to read his soul.

"….Is she more than just a friend dear Leo? Have you bitten off more than you can chew…?"

Leo twitched and immediately glanced away from the Queen's piercing eyes, not to miss the amused chuckle falling from her lips. It seemed he gave away enough, yet she wished for an answer.

Aries frowned at his silence. "L-leo…there is nothing to hide," She smiled faintly at the lion whose sleeve she tugged at. "…Gemini was the first to know…they streamed through her memories."

Eyes widened.

"So it's true? This is not mere talk from the Elliptical Zodiac? And I thought Virgo was just a mere gossi—"

"Wait. Virgo? What the hell?" Leo blurted out before bowing in apology. Again, the Queen shrugged it off.

"Of course, Virgo practically lives here! Someone like her would know about the world behind these walls. Still…I must give you my congratulations…and my caveat. Spirits have done this before dear Leo…and they do lose their will in this realm." She frowned, moving closer to him to embrace him in a hug.

"They lose their mind to a broken heart and disappear," She whispered into his ear before pulling away. "and from the looks of it," She scanned him, "She has you smothered in her warmth…so remember—always. Humans will pass…and you must take the pain."

From then on, the Queen continued to converse with the two spirits as if she had been locked up in the castle for centuries. From the basic gossip to the strange and downright wrong had passed between the trio's lips. Leo seemed stiff as the conversations continued on, which wasn't missed by the eyes of the watchful Aries. She only hoped for his well-being, especially after the warning he had received.

Time then seemed to speed up as Leo and Aries soon found themselves leaving the castle, and walking back down the bridge. The Queen from the gate waved them off in happiness, her head cocked aside as she gave the two a last glance.

As she turned, the gate behind her returned in a dazzling display of light, only to be ignored. Her eyes were focused elsewhere, specifically on a being foreign to the land of Caelestis. Her golden eyes curled in greeting.

"Hello, lion star. I question why you are here." She stated with her royal grace, with a steely undertone. She furrowed her brows at the guest, wondering why a star would enter the spirit realm. They had no reason to dwell in this world, as their world was full of their own.

The spirits and the stars as much as they worked together, they were selfish with everyone but those they worked with. It was rare to see stars befriend spirits who were not under their guidance.

"The one who holds my name has been here…." Regulus stated, looking at her for confirmation.

"Yes. Leo has graced me with his presence. I do not understand how my spirits are your concern."

"He is a special case."

"Of course...aren't we all?"

"Spirit Queen, you do not understand. His heart lies—"

"—with a human—a mage none the less. I have no need to hear anymore as I've been informed. Now leave." The Queen hissed, turning away from the lion.

"You do not know everything, young spirit!" Regulus roared to her, causing the Queen to stop in her tracks. "Immortality does not suit spirits who fall for those on Earthland! Their deaths, no matter what, scar those in our realm! Do not let this one fall like the others…at least, give him a chance to live."

"I have no ability to do so." She spoke defiantly, her back facing the lion.

The lion chuckled darkly. He knew of this Queen's stubbornness and it irked him to no end. "There is someone who does. We all know of her." He pointed out, throwing out his trump card.

It worked.

The Queen spun around, furious at the thought. There was no way the Key Maker would grant such a wish! "…That will never happen!"

The lion mused before his form faded away, the Queen rushing to claw at him."...you are too late young 'Southern Crown'…for it is already written in the stars."

Lucy sat day dreaming as she stared at the clouds from the carriage pulled by a purple boar-bison. In her lap lay her norm: her mother's book and a stray pencil. It had become boring staring at silver print for quite some time…and the clouds had decided to be interesting that day.

Beside her sat her canine companion, Plue, shivering in glee at being out. His curiosity perked at his name in the book Lucy left open, especially with her name printed beside it. After finding that appealing for only a few seconds, he began to wander the small space of the carriage, occasionally tripping over feet. Particularly a pair of feet dressed in black shined shoes.

Loki didn't seem to mind the shivering creature.

His own thoughts were wandering to the conversation he had with the Queen and Aries. Of course Lucy was going to grow old…and unfortunately die. While he…would forever stay the way he was. He glanced over to the Stellar Mage finding that they had locked eyes.

She only beamed before returning to her lounging self, looking over a cloud that took the shape of Happy.

He instead of slowly turning away, his head spun, his eyes glued back to the outer scenery. He scowled at the fact. How long would it be until she finally took it in? 5? 10 years? Or even maybe in the next few months? Who knew?

Either way he was in turmoil. Would he truly get over the fact if she died?

Even if he tried, there was no way he was going to let go. No amount of time would heal such a wound. Hell, it took him years to get over the fact that he killed Karen. How was he supposed to deal with losing someone he loved?

There was no way he was going to let her go six feet under any time soon.

"…Loki? Are you okay?" A voice broke in, causing his eyes to shift in the person's direction. Lucy looked at him uneasily.

He nodded stiffly. "Yeah...I'm fine…"

"Are you sure? Because you're bleeding." She pointed out to his hand. He had been clenching it for some time and it was streaming blood. He raised it up, noticing his fingernails were coated in the red substance.

He blinked.

"Oh…Oh." Immediately he widened his eyes. He then shot up only to crash his head into the roof of the carriage and fall back to his seat. Now not just his hand, but also his head and ego were bruised. He sighed dejectedly before dropping his head back onto the seat.

"Fuck…" He mumbled.

"…you idiot!" She snorted, before placing a shocked Plue back into a seat. "I didn't expect you to jump…it was just a little blood." She chimed, her hands now in her bag searching for some bandages. A small 'there we go' at the sight of the bandages in her bag was all Loki needed before he felt something warm touch his wrist.

He could only stare at her as she worked; wrapping it with such tenderness around his hand and tying it with a bow he knew was going to fall off eventually.

She whistled before clapping her hands in accomplishment as Loki flexed his hand, finding it a bit loose. Lucy stared at her work before she shrugged and scratched her head. "…Uh I think that'll do. If Mirajane was here, she'd be able to tie better knots—"

"It's fine Lucy…thanks." He said quietly before huddling himself back into the side of the carriage and peering out the window once more like a cat on a windowsill.

"…Are you sure you're okay…?" Lucy questioned once more, hoping to see his eyes stare back at her. She frowned sadly at his answer: a hesitant nod.

She only shook her head in silent aggravation, reluctantly understanding his need to be alone. His crossed arms and distant behavior was enough of a sign and Lucy couldn't seem to pinpoint why he was that way.

The two then lay in an awkward silence for several hours while Plue shivered in sadness at the invisible boundary between Lucy and Loki. The little spirit felt the stifling air between them, and found it dark compared to the bright sunny day that was beginning outside the carriage.

Lucy then sighed, breaking the silence. Her book snapped shut and was stuffed forcefully into her knapsack. Moving to Loki's side, she leaned her head onto his shoulder and shut her eyes.

"If you aren't going to say anything, at least let me help you like this…" She whispered tiredly as she rubbed her eye. Looking up she couldn't help but felt accomplished at the ghost of a smile upon his lips.

God, she had to stop finding herself in these weird dream states. Honestly, she didn't know when she ingested some sort of drug or something that keeps on bringing her here randomly.

The world seemed grayer than before, not as dark or speckled from her previous greetings. She was sure that she could see silhouettes in the horizon of this gray, once black, world. Looking around once more, she noticed a familiar stream of light float her way and form into the gold feather pen she held once before.

'Oh great. The lion's back.'

"You don't seem happy to see me little human. I suppose I deserve that for pulling you into this world night after night…or afternoon" Regulus rolled his eyes, finding himself comfortable on the floor which took some sort of black and grey stone.

Why am I here again?

"Now that's a good question, but I still cannot answer that for you." Regulus noted, his eyes glancing to corners of his pupils.

Lucy groaned before walking away, finding the world now more interesting as there was something actually out here, not just darkness or something she could fall into possibly in the next ten seconds.

"I suggest standing there Lucy. You never know when you might meet something else other than me. They might not be so friendly."

'You're not either, buddy.'

Immediately she spun, frustrated with the vagueness of the lion, why couldn't he just tell her about Loki and what crawled up his ass and died!

Lucy hissed, before scrawling something angrily into the air.

Why should I listen to you? I have done nothing to deserve being played by a radioactive lion!

As soon as she finished her angry statement, she regretted the words, seeing the insulted look upon Regulus's face. Quickly it contorted into something of an angered sneer. Immediately she leapt into a run barely getting a few feet before finding herself face first back onto the floor, pinned by the angered feline.

The pen had flew out of her grip and clattered onto what she considered stone. Unable to speak, she flailed wildly before placing her forehead back onto the stone, letting out a sigh.

"Are you done mortal? Of course, I would rather not do this to someone like you either, however it seems you are the current obsession of my spirit companion. For that, I have to make sure he is happy. We are immortal beings of course and I'd rather have him appeased than dying in misery…and he can't really die if you catch my drift."

Lucy blinked and turned her head so her ear laid flat on the pavement. Her brown eye stared at him, her lips wording Loki's name in a question.

"Of course. He is who I talk about—well I mean, he's not obsessed but…damn you make this difficult! How shall I explain this?" He wondered leaning off the girl. Finding less weight on her shoulders, she prepared to flee once more, only to find something pressed on her clothing.

Looking down she raised an eyebrow.

From what she could see, she wasn't wearing a white nightgown anymore, it was more of a dress, the back of it longer than the front. Her feet were still bare as always, and for sure she could feel her hair braided and longer. Regulus who finally got his words, reclaimed her attention after her short discovery in the wardrobe change.

"You are different from that harem that once followed the little spirit. None of them could see this world or even remember their meetings here. From what I can see, you noticed something." He clawed at the fabric beneath his paw, raising it up to her. Her hand went out to reach it, finding it being one of the softest things she's ever touched. She never had anything like this in her closet back in Magnolia.

"You wouldn't have tried to run either…if you couldn't see anything, but I'm guessing you can see something?" He tilted his head. Noticing her lack of the feather pen, he leaned aside noticing it had fallen onto the floor. Commanding it to rise, it floated back to the duo and landed gracefully into Lucy's hands. Quickly did she scrawl several words:

Grey and White silhouettes…not just black everything anymore. Why?

Regulus stilled, finding her words unappealing. "…too much. You see too much for a human right now…it's as if—no. I cannot let you wander here any further."

Lucy took that somehow as a good thing, finally rid of these strange dreams! Now she didn't have to deal with the lion any longer! She smiled at the lion, later finding it not happy in the slightest.

He snorted. "Even if I bar you from here, you will come back, human. So don't get your hopes up. It's been cast into the stars. One may think fate is kind to you."

She frowned.

Regulus sighed and looked at her, his eyes lidded in annoyance. "For my antagonizing, I will leave you with this then…just to appease your rattled brain."

Huh?

"He likes you too damn much."

The carriage had stopped. The purple bison-boar snorted at Loki as he passed by, both giving the other a glare. Plue stayed in the carriage with the sleeping Lucy while he walked around, surveying where they had stopped. Looking around, he noticed the sign of the town, Roselio and a stamp looking similar to a pinwheel, its blades replaced by the shadows of four dog heads.

Sighing, he walked over to the carriage immediately greeted by it shaking profusely along with a sudden screech. Quickly did he open the carriage, noticing Lucy had fallen off the seat her, form on the floor. She didn't notice him open the door as she cursed out the lion who plagued her.

"…you okay?" He looked on, uncertain if he should've asked at all. The girl was growling at herself, spinning around for her knapsack.

She nodded her head repeatedly, continuing to mumble about her discomfort for the lion. Finally focusing on Loki, she waved him off, telling him she'd be ready in a second. Loki complied, not wanting to get in the middle of the tense mage's internal argument. However, he did raise an eyebrow at the small whisper of the name of the lion. Of course, it being the namesake for his attacks.

Finally did the female walk out of the carriage, Plue resting comfortably on her shoulder. Layla's book open in her hands, as she looked down at it and back up, giving a small sound of approval at the Roselio Sign. Patting the Purple Boar Bison in thanks she watched it then snort and disappear in a loud crack. The magic sustaining it depleted.

"So why are we here anyway Lucy?" He tilted his head as he stepped in pace with the girl. His curiosity peaked after being left in the dark for most of the trip. Of course, he brought it on himself, dwelling in thoughts he didn't wish to think of further.

"We're heading to another guild…Quatro Cerberus." She noted, turning on a random street. It seemed the guild was popular in its home town much like Fairy Tail was to Magnolia; some signs posted on the streets had directions exactly for the guild.

Lucy wondered if that wasn't always such a good thing for it was like brining an exterminator to a hive of bees. Still, being a guild full of powerful mages made up for that. They were resilient creatures after all.

"Why?"

"I need to see another Stellar Mage…he has the rest of the Elliptical Zodiac." As she continued walking, she noticed her companion had stopped at a sign. His look of scrutiny directed at the girl.

"You mean Pisces, Capricorn and Libra?"

The mage nodded.

"My mother said we could destroy the lullabies with a spell if we had all the Elliptical Zodiac present. We need to summon all of you guys."

Something in Loki's mind clicked, recalling the Pisces had been missing, and obviously, the mage who 'lost' her was in this guild. He hissed to himself, realizing Pisces was risking the life of another mage! If she stayed out any longer, it might not just kill her but also whoever this faceless mage was. Speeding back to Lucy's side, he then took care in observing his surroundings, while Lucy focused on several more signs hoping to get to the guild soon.

This eagerness for finding the guild was the only thing keeping her from jumping Loki and asking him what was wrong. Normally he'd be cracking jokes by now not keeping his attention on everything else but her. It wasn't that she missed the attention, in fact she thought it was quite humorous and embarrassing. It was that she was so used to it, it pained her to see him everything but sunny. In the back of her mind him being a clouded sun for several hours—almost a day, was too much for her.

"Hey I'm guessing this is the place…?"

Looking to him then to the building, she nodded dumbly, finding the place very different compared to Fairy Tail.

Quatro Cerberus was a fortress in itself. Its stained glass windows displayed their proud symbol along with dark colors of navy blues, greens and the occasional brown. The guild's grey brick was splotched with occasional crawling vines and the stray moss which ran behind the brick walls, hiding the rest of the guild in view. Into the sky above shot several spires, each one decorated with Cerberus gargoyles.

"Holy crap…" Loki whistled, walking through its gates, peering behind the brick. Lucy's eyes glimmered at the Angel's Trumpet and Moonflowers that grew in flower boxes. Yet she shuddered at the sweep of a bat flying by, her eyes widening as one swept before her, almost throwing Plue off her shoulder.

"Be careful of the bats, they are quite a handful."

Lucy followed one of the bats, leading to a familiar man. He wore a hat with a frayed tip. Its red rim bearing spikes. His attire was that of a long robe, open from the middle. It was plain black in color along with his shirt and dress pants. Upon his neck was a collar similar to that of the rim of his pointed hat, the spikes not as large as those on the hat's rim.

She smiled, realizing who he was from years back, Goldmine, the leader of this guild. "Ah…hello sir…we're from Fairy Tail—"

"Sure you are! Your little stamp on your hand there proves it," He pointed, causing the girl to raise her hand. "Makarov told me all about you. He said you'd be accompanied by a few people…although people I'm sure is not the correct term." Goldmine tilted his head, noticing the white little creature sitting—shivering on Lucy's shoulder.

Immediately did she address Plue who tilted his head in greeting, while Loki behind her nodded.

"Well then, welcome! I hope you aren't going to destroy anything here…I'd have trouble cleaning up. So come on, come with me." Hooking into Lucy's arm, he brought her to the front entrance; a standard issue guild door, the one thing which seemed the same with every other guild. Pushing the gate open, Goldmine smiled at the roar of greetings.

Lucy gaped. It's scary yet mysterious exterior was surely a facade for the warm interior. Fire places stationed on each wall while drapes of a maroon color fell from the ceilings. Their tables were rounded at the edges, made of a dark polished wood along with its matching benches. A pair of winding stairs were positioned at each side of the guild main hall while doors lined the walls opening into the unknown.

Members walked all over the place, some contrasting with the exterior of the guild, wearing the brightest of colors, even lighter than that of Natsu's hair. It was a mix of characters in this guild, yet it seemed they desired the dark warmth and cozy feeling that was offered here in Quatro Cerberus.

"Well then, up we go! Your rooms are prepared for the night in the higher corridors."

"But I need—"

"Amery isn't here right now, so I'll introduce you to our Stellar Mage tomorrow." Goldmine stressed.

She pouted, deciding to ask if she could take a few more minutes to look around. With his curt nod, Fairy Tail's little starlet began looking curiously at their insignia, etched into the wall. Her companion, the one with the strawberry blonde hair, from what he could see had to ease her away from their trademark and up the stairwell. Her little friend, who had decided to take its own little tour, launched itself onto the steps, hopping one step at a time hoping not to fall back down or stepped upon. Goldmine shook his head and scooped Plue up into his arms, before jumping the steps, skipping every other one until he reached the top.

Fin~ Ch.11

A/N: Well this one came out quickly, even after my little detour for Inception (great movie btw, one has to watch it.). Chapter 12 is in the works, while I'm plotting up other things.

So comments, questions, reviews go forth!