In the bath Levy asks me about everything that happened. "I'm sorry to ask. I know how much it must hurt to think about it, but I need to know what kind of past you've had, and what kind of person you are. Call it closure."
I look at her for a moment before launching into the story. I tell her about my childhood, how I thrived in magic and combat training, but always managed to screw up in my family's eyes. "Now that I've thought about it, all the times I screwed up were times I did something benevolent." I grew up with a different set of morals and my parents tried hard to kill those morals. I told her about my brother's control magic. "he was never any good at fighting and he could never use the magic I could because he didn't have the capacity. The only caster magic he could use was shadow possession, and that was limited so he learned holder magic, control and manipulation magic. My parents encouraged him to use it to his advantage and make people work for him. I knew all about it, I just never thought he'd manipulate me like that.
"Eventually, when I turned 13 or 14, my brother gave me a charm he said he would use to help our parents like me better. He said I'd get their approval if I wore it and let him help me become better in their eyes. That's when my life started to blur in a lot of places. I would come out of jobs feeling foggy, and my brother said that was just a side effect. My parents finally started to show affection toward me, though I never knew what I'd done to deserve it, and I didn't care. I figured they would never do anything bad, or make me do anything bad, so what's the harm in letting my brother help me become a star in their eyes?" I laugh bitterly. "And then… when Erza killed him the spell broke all of the sudden and I saw -." I stop, hugging my knees to my chest.
"You don't need to continue," Levy says softly, tears welling up in her eyes. "I'm so sorry," she says and looks as though she wants to hug me but she keeps her distance. It'd be weird considering we're both naked in a bath. "I thought for months that you were a monster, but the real monsters are your parents. I'm so sorry I ever blamed you."
I shake my head. "i shouldn't have been so foolish. I should have questioned why my parents liked me all of the sudden. I was too pleased to figure out what was happening. I should have run away like I wanted to when I was 12. I was going to find my own path, my own life away from them. I wanted to learn Celestial Magic and become the strongest Celestial Wizard out there. I should have done that…" I tell Mira and Levy bitterly.
"There's no turning back time," Mirajane tells me gently. "And there's no use in dwelliing on the past. All you can do now is put your best foot forward and make the future your own."
Levy nods. "That's right! You're free now to make your own choices and become the person you want to become!"
I don't know about that. I smile, "yeah, you're right! This bath felt great, shall we get going?"
The three of us dry off and dress in silence and then they lead me to the canal. I hold up Aquarius's key and call, "I call upon thee in the world of the Celestial! Pass through the gate! Open, Gate of the Water Bearer, Aquarius!"
She appears in the canal in front of me, a glamourous Mermaid with a water jug in her hands. When she catches sight of me she freezes.
"You," she says icily. "He was right, damn it," she grumbles. "What do you want?"
I feel my insides twist up at the look she's giving me and I bite my lip. "Aquarius, Hi. Uh, I need to ask you something."
"You better make it good!" she snaps at me.
"I need to know about Andromeda and Draco," I tell her quickly, squeezing my eyes shut and opening one to see her reacting. "Or Lucy and Natsu, as Fairy Tail tells me. Are they really one and the same?"
How much reassurance do I need? Am I really stil hoping that I'm not a murderer?
Aquarius glares at me before nodding stiffly. "I'm not allowed to talk about it." She says and vanishes, closing her own gate.
"Aquarius! Please wait!" I plead after her, holding out my hand to grab her. I get a handful of water instead and drop my hand. "She just left! Without even making a contract with me!"
I hold up the next key, furiously holding it out in front of me. "Open: Gate of the Lion, Leo!" I exclaim. "And he better not close his own gate like Aquarius just did!" I say to Levy and Mirajane, who are both sitting back and watching intently.
"If anyone will help you, it's Loke," Levy assures me.
"Leo," Mirajane corrects her.
"Oh yeah," Levy giggles. "I'm so used to Loke."
"Call me whichever you like, ladies," the lion spirit says cordially, appearing next to me. "It's been a while, hasn't it? You two are as beautiful as ever."
"Gray's still seething about what happened between you two at the funeral," Levy tells him, ignoring the flirtatious compliment.
"Can we not talk about funerals?" I ask her, grimacing.
"Sorry!" Levy says quickly.
Leo chuckles and faces me. "You have my key now?" he asks me, he looks like he disapproves, but he isn't lashing out like Aquarius did.
"Please don't just close your own gate like Aquarius. I really need to ask you about something," I tell him, putting my hands together, begging him.
"I can guess what it is and I'm not allowed to talk about it," Leo tells me.
"You have to help me get their memories back!" I exclaim, ignoring his warning. "it's not right that they can't remember the lives they left! Why'd you take them?"
"I didn't take anything," Leo snaps at me. "You're the one who killed Lucy and Natsu and we found a way to keep them around. The price was their human memory."
"So that means you stole their memories!" I retort. "They need them back! THey aren't Lucy and Natsu without them!"
"No, they aren't," leo says darkly. "They're Andromeda, spirit of the Princess, and Draco, spirit of the dragon. Why do you think they need their memories back?" Leo challanges me.
"They aren't the same without them! Memories and experiences make up personalities and without them, Draco and Andromeda can't perform as well as they might have before! They're only drive would be following orders. They'd be like robots if you left them like this!" I explain to him earnestly. "Yeah, they break orders to protect me, but that's not good enough for me! I only want them to fight alongside me if I'm doing the right thing, not just because I'm their Celestial Wizard."
Leo watches me for a moment before closing his gate and leaving me. "That bastard!" I shout angrily before he reappears in front of me with fabric in his hands.
"Put this on," he instructs me and I take the piece from his hands, seeing that it's a mini dress with thigh high socks. The outfit is a light blue color with green trimmings.
Mirajane and Levy cover me while I change. When I'm done they both stop and watch me as I approach a waiting Leo.
He takes my arm and the two of us vanish from Magnolia.