Hello Everyone! I'm back from my exams with a nice new longer chapter for you guys! Thanks for all the lovely reviews and well wishes. Please enjoy this chapter!

Chapter 12

Nadea cursed fluently as she ducked to dodge a swooping attack, her old bones creaking in protest. They were in serious trouble this time.

A screech sounded overhead and she blindly sent a flare blast upwards, hoping to hit something. The village had survived the last three attacks only because there was only one or two golems attacking. Libra could keep it immobilised while Pisces took it out. This time however they were not so fortunate.

While not as tough and strong as the golems, the enemy came in numbers this time. There was a pack of half a dozen hound like creatures the size of horses and maybe another four or five flying creatures that were currently badgering her.

Libra kept a few contained within her gravitational field but the range of her control was limited and the creatures quickly learned to stay away.

Nadea dodged another attack and sent another flare shot, this one making contact with its intended target. The flying creature screeched in pain but the attack wasn't near close enough to take it out.

The mother son pair of Pisces were busy protecting the villagers and Nadea could feel that they were both tired and seriously injured. Her magic too was running out from Libra having to maintain the gravitational field.

"Shit!" Nadea didn't manage to dodge this time and was sent sprawling in the dirt. The hound that had attacked her righted itself and leapt towards her for another attack - the finishing one.

I can't die here! The village!

Bringing up her arm to protect her face, Nadea turned her face aside and braced for the pain, hoping against all odds that she would survive this. Instead she heard a metallic thunk and a familiar gold shimmer.

"Nadea!"

A chocobo came running towards her, thundering to a stop right beside her. Its rider dismounted swiftly and crouched beside her.

"Lucy?!"

"Nadea-sama! Are you okay?!"

Nadea nodded vaguely, stunned to see her pupil here so suddenly. Lucy easily lifted the tiny woman onto Muffin's back, making the dazed woman's hands hold on to the reins.

"Get her somewhere safe Muffin. Scutum, go with them and protect the villagers!"

The yellow bird hurried off with the golden shield trailing behind. Lucy turned to glare at the creature that had almost killed her teacher. The creature responded with a snarl of its own.

She quickly evaluated her options and formulated her battle strategy. Protecting the villagers was the priority but the enemy was spread out around the village. She was going to have to spread out too and search for stragglers.

She sent the hound like creature scrambling away for easier prey with a few cracks of her whip. Summoning several gold keys and two silver to her hands, Lucy simultaneously open five golden gates and the two silver.

Magic drained out of her in a whoosh and she was momentarily disorientated, black spots appearing in her vision. Loke and Virgo immediately reached out to stabilise their master.

"Princess, are you okay?"

Lucy took a deep breath and nodded, "Yeah I'm good. Never tried opening so many gates together before."

Straightening, she shifted her gaze to her spirits before her. "Taurus, Gemini, Capricorn, Virgo, Loke, destroy the creatures and protect the village. I can only keep all your gates open for an hour. I want the enemy cleared out in half of that. We cannot perform any combination attacks with so many gates open and we need to spread out to search for the enemy and villagers. Collateral damage to the village buildings is acceptable. Okay?"

Her spirits all nodded grimly, determination in their gaze. The village too, was dear to them.

"Gemini, transform into me and use Caelum. Summon Sagittarius and Scorpio and head to Libra's location. I'm sure she has several trapped in her gravitational field but Nadea-sama's magic should be running out by now. Take out the trapped creatures with your ranged attacks."

Gemini immediately transformed into Lucy and summoned the other two spirits.

"Alright. We have never encountered this type of enemy before but the previous two types were both incredibly strong. It won't be an easy battle but I trust all of you. I know spirits cannot die but take care of yourselves guys. Let's move out!"

Her small spirit army spilt and headed into different areas of the village. Lucy notched Sagitta, the other Silver key she had summoned. Calling out to Scutum, she established a mental link with her spirit.

'Scutum, any enemies near where most of the villagers are?'

'No Mistress, the defenses are too strong here. The creatures have gone in search of easier prey.'

'Alright. I'll need to close your gate now. I need Sirius with me.'

'Yes Mistress. Take care...'

Lucy summoned Sirius to her side and worried momentarily. He was so much smaller than the hound like enemy... Maybe she should send him back. But Sirius immediately took off in a random direction, having picked up on a scent of one of the enemy and Lucy forgot her worries, chasing after her canine spirit. She trusted her spirit, she trusted all of them.

The next hour was one of the most harrowing in Lucy's twenty years of life. The scent that Sirius had picked up on was a flying creature. While it wasn't as strong as the golem or serpent, it was a lot faster and annoyingly difficult to land a hit on, even with Sagitta.

She only managed to get it out of the air after landing three consecutive shots to its wing while it was distracted by Sirius. After that it was an all out brawl on the ground with Sirius and her Flueve d' Etoiles.

She came out sweaty and covered in dirt but victorious. After that they hurried along to the village square where most of the villagers had gathered. There they found an incredibly tired looking Loke fighting off a couple of the hound like creatures. Together they managed to take out the two creatures and catch a breather.

By then Lucy's magic was running dangerously low and she could no longer keep standing. To conserve energy, she closed Leo and Sirius' gates while waiting for the rest of her spirits to appear.

One by one, her loyal spirits returned to her, all looking worse for wear. Lucy sent them all back to the spirit world with a word of thanks and by the time Virgo came limping back, Lucy was barely conscious. The second she made out her loyal pink haired servant in the distance, she closed her eyes and gave in to the darkness.

Great job guys...


"Nngh"

Chocolate brown eyes slowly opened, blinking blearily in the soft sunlight streaming through the window.

"Lady Summoner! You are awake? Would you like some water?"

Lucy nodded slightly, the movement sending stabs of pain into her brain. Groaning slightly, she pushed herself into an upright position and accepted the cup of water gratefully from the random village girl.

I should really stop fainting like that...

"Is-" Lucy's voice cracked and she took another swallow of water, "Is everyone okay?"

"We lost a few friends, but it would have been a lot worse if you weren't here La-"

"How many?"

"... ... eight, my lady..."

Lucy felt her heart squeeze and a lump formed in her throat. She punched the bed ineffectually in anger as she tried to hold back tears.

Eight!

"I'll just go get Lady Nadea..." the girl quietly slipped out, giving Lucy the privacy she obviously needed.

I should have gotten here earlier. I shouldn't have left. I should have...

"There's not point blaming yourself girl."

Lucy's head snapped up at the familiar voice, "Nadea-sama! You're alright!"

"Hmph. Thanks to you. Guess we're even now." The old woman replied, caustic as ever.

Lucy smiled truly, she had really missed her teacher. "I'm sorr-"

"There is nothing you have to apologize for girl. If you didn't come when you did, Pomodo would be gone already and so would I"

"But if I hadn't left-"

"But nothing girl. You don't owe this village anything. Eight may have died, but you saved eighty other people. Don't be so hard on yourself." Nadea cracked one of her rare smiles for her pupil as Lucy broke out in sobs, grieving for the eight she didn't manage to save.

After all of thirty seconds, Nadea grew sick of Lucy's noisy crying, so she anapped at the girl and told her to get out of bed already.

Lucy followed her mentor outside and was greeted with a messy sight. Half the houses were nothing more than rubble and the ground was torn up in many places, rendering wagons and other wheeled vehicles unusable.

"My Lady Summoner!"

"Birk! I'm so gald to see you're alright."

"Lady Summoner!" Birk cried, falling dramatically to his knees, "Thank you for delivering us from evil! We believed you would come and we were right! The Spirit King has sent his chosen one and his children to rid us of this evil!"

"Err chosen one?"

"Ignore him."

"Lady Summoner Nadea! I didn't mean to offend you, Your Brightness! We are truly grateful for your help as well-"

"Birk. Shut up."

Lucy smothered a snicker as the red faced village elder reluctantly stopped talking. "Ahem... so..."

"If you would excuse me-"

"You're excused."

"-I have to get back to the repairs." Birk bowed hastily and stalked off.

"That wasn't very nice." Lucy chided, wagging her finger at the older woman.

"Hmph. He's annoying." Was Nadea's curt reply, "Come on, we need to talk."

Nadea lead Lucy to a small empty hut near the outskirts of the village. The interior was not unlike Nadea's own cottage up in the mountains.

Seating herself at the table, Lucy asked "Whose house is this?"

"Mine."

"Yours? You have a house in the village?!"

"They gave me one."

"And why would they do that?"

"Because they wouldn't be alive if it wasn't for me."

Lucy was stunned momentarily into silence, she had forgotten about the other attacks Reeve mentioned. "Oh..." she said softly, "What happened?"

"One fine day Libra just suddenly showed up and told me the village was going to be attacked."

"How would she know that?" Lucy asked.

In a rare display of patience, Nadea actually answered the question without any indication of irritation at the interruption. "Pomodo is under the divine protection of the Spirit King. He watches out for them."

'So the villagers were actually correct in their faith...' Lucy mused

"By the time I reached the golem was already terrorizing the villagers." Nadea continued, "Needless to say I managed to defeat it, and the two others after that"

Lucy frowned in concern, where the heck were all this creatures coming from? And why does it like Pomodo so much. She had heard of attacks from similar creatures in other areas like the serpent that attacked the Highwind, but never as frequently as it was here in Pomodo.

"I encountered one of the creatures on my travels as well. A sea serpent attacked the ship I was travelling on. It was inky black, just like the golem and the creatures that attacked us last night, and just as hard to kill." Lucy shared.

Nadea placed a mug of tea in front of Lucy and motioned her to drink. Lucy took a small sip and sighed in satisfaction, instantly feeling less achy as warmth suffused her limbs.

"Great so now we know there four different types of these creatures out there and they are hard as hell to kill." Nadea grouched.

"Five actually, I heard of a village that was attacked some 'black floating creatures'" Lucy used her hands and made air quotes.

Nadea sighed, "We still know nothing of where they come from."

"Mayb-"

"Princess," Virgo suddenly appeared in a golden shimmer, bowing to the two summoners, "The King would like to speak to you."

Lucy was only slightly shocked at her spirit's sudden appearance. She had to be getting used to it by now. "Me? What for?"

"It's about the creatures from the attacks." Virgo answered, "Shall we?"

"Wait wait wait, hold on a minute. I can't go to the Spirit world!" Lucy exclaimed, "Just one hour there is like 4 four days out here. What is there's another attack while I'm gone!"

"I can tak-" Nadea began.

"Noooo way. I nearly lost you last night. No way I'm letting you face any battles alone." Lucy cut in.

Nadea harrumphed, crossing her arms indignantly, "But you need to hear what the King has to say. It could help us find out where these bloody creatures are coming from."

"Princess, if I may? I could stay here and come get you if something happens." Virgo suggested.

Lucy chewed her lip furiously, she didn't want to leave the village defenseless again. She barely got here in time the last time. But she knew if the Spirit King wanted to see her it had to be something important. "Fine... but I'm leaving Gemini here as well. She can summon help if anything goes wrong."

"Open! The Gate of the Twins. Gemini!"

"Piri piri, the King wants to see you princess." The twins chimed.

"I know, that's why I'm leaving you two here to protect the village. If anything happens transform into me and summon as many as you can manage okay? Virgo will come get me."

"Roger!"

"Okay, let's go Virgo." Lucy nodded to Nadea who gave her a curt one in return. Virgo bowed and the interior of the hut disappeared, replaced by the infinite depths of the heavens.

"Lucy Heartphillia, thank you for answering my summons." The King's booming voice sounded.

"Princess, I will take my leave now."

Lucy nodded at her spirit and Virgo vanished with a final bow.

"What is so important you had to see me in person?"

"Do you know who Imperatus is?"

"Yea, the evil guy from a thousand years ago." Lucy answered, "Wait. Don't tell me he is the one behind the attacks! I thought Lenea Adastra ended him a long time ago!"

"So did I, but it's unmistakable. The creatures that attacked the village are his creation."

"But... how?" Lucy puzzled, "And why didn't any of my spirits recognize them if they fought the same creatures a thousand years ago?"

"Lenea sealed their memories when she retired from magic." The King said, "There were a lot of horrors Imperatus inflicted in his time, particularly for celestial wizards and their spirits. And knowing her spirits could live forever, she didn't want them to have to remember those horrors for an eternity."

Lucy nodded in understanding, she would have done the same thing if it was her. "So how do we defeat Imperatus if Lenea didn't manage to?"

"Do you know how Lenea managed to end Imperatus a thousand years ago?"

"Yeah, Sagittarius said she used the Dragon and the Phoenix." Lucy answered.

"Ah yes. You see, it takes an immortal to kill an immortal, it's just the balance of things. The Phoenix granted Lenea Adastra immortality for that brief moment, which by all means, should have allowed her to kill Imperatus. And kill him, she did. However, there was an unforeseen circumstance, which I believe, disrupted the balance, which is how Imperatus is still alive today."

"What was it? The thing that disrupted the balance?" Lucy couldn't resist asking.

"Lenea was pregnant."

Lucy's jaw dropped, how could Lenea had gone into battle with child?!

"She didn't know it at that time of course. She only discovered her pregnancy after the defeat of Imperatus and returning home."

"So how does Lenea being pregnant result in Imperatus being alive today?" Lucy asked.

"Phoenix can only make one person immortal. And although the baby was barely formed, it was another life. Even I do not know what really happened, but my best guess is that the splitting of Phoenix's power between Lenea and her baby resulted in Lenea not becoming fully immortal and thus, not enough to kill Imperatus. Just weaken him severely perhaps, enough that he had to take a thousand years to recover."

"Imperatus was ridiculously strong right? And immortal. A thousand years is a bit long for him to take to recover." Lucy was a little skeptical. The explanation was just too ungrounded for her to accept.

"Imperatus is a spirit Lucy. He had to recover here in the Spirit World."

"Oh okay..." That made a lot more sense. A thousand in Earthland was only less than a dozen in the Spirit World. "Then why didn't you find him while he was here in the Spirit World?"

"I admit, that was an oversight on my part," the King sighed, "Until these last few months, I too believed he was dead. I didn't want to believe that he was somehow, still alive."

Lucy bit her lip, feeling a bit guilty for questioning the Spirit King like that. "So what do we do now?"

"You have to stop him?"

"What?! Me? Why me!?" Lucy exclaimed.

"Because, you're the strongest celestial spirit mage alive and you're Lenea's direct descendant."

Lucy couldn't help but flush at the high praise, "Since when was I a direct descendant of the Adastra line?"

"Since you were born. Didn't you know? Layla's maiden name was Adastra."

"But still!" Lucy argued, "There's got to be someone more qualified. Anyone back at Fairy Tail is probably a better choice!"

"Can any of them open the gate of the Phoenix when the time comes?" The Spirit King raised his eyebrow at Lucy.

"Ugh." Lucy couldn't think of any other argument, "How can I defeat an ancient evil like Imperatus."

"Not alone you won't. I will be there to help you as much as I can Lucy, along with all your spirits." The King reassured Lucy, "You can do this Lucy. The world is counting on you."

"Waaay to put on the pressure… And really? That was sooo cliché." Lucy gave the King a dirty look and sighed, "Alright, how do I start?"

The King smiled in satisfaction, feeling a lot more optimistic now that Lucy had agreed to fight against Imperatus. "You start by finding the two keys necessary for Imperatus' defeat. After the battle, Lenea returned the keys to their resting place, and even I do not know where they are."

"So how am I supposed to find them?!" Lucy was still a little exasperated from having such a huge responsibility suddenly thrust upon her.

"I will give Crux the access to whatever records the Spirit World has of the two keys. You can start from there. I too will search from here in the Spirit World."

Lucy sighed, nodding in acquiescence. "Alright. I should go back now, I have been gone long enough." She had been here for over three hours, which would mean that she had been gone for twelve days. Man the time here was screwed up.

"Thank you Lucy Heartphillia. I am truly grateful for your help." The Spirit King opened a gate for Lucy to pass through and she began to fade into golden shimmer.

"It might be time for you to go home too Lucy. You'll need it."

Lucy's eyes widened as the celestial world faded out of sight and she found herself back in Pomodo again.

Home... Fairy Tail...

End Chapter 12


So? How was it? Let me know by reviewing! Sadly I have more bad news. I am travelling to Sydney for my graduation trip next week so it is very unlikely that I would update until like June maybe... unless... you guys are sooooo lovely... and leave me some reviews?... Then I might just be so happy and so motivated that I would update while in Sydney... Okay? Okay! Love you guys so, so much :) Thank you for reading and enjoying the story!

P.S. As an extraaaa incentive to review so that I might update sooner... Natsu and Happy might be finding themselves lost in a certain forest the next chapter... sound familiar? (Hint: Chapter 1) XD