Author's Note

Hello Universe! It's your favorite legendary Palkia here!

I think it's cause this is my first "non-crossover" thing. I've written a Pokemon-Sonic crossover and a Naruto-TMNT crossover. So welcome to my first non-crossover lol and like my first Fairy Tail story. It probably won't be as long as Eternal Wind, give or take it might be 15 chapters (plus maybe a sequel) however with all the support for this, I'll keep it going!

I'll also update the info for the description as well. I was planning on keeping the characters from the prologue a mystery until I uploaded the first chapter (and if some of you guessed them good for you) Since this category is constant getting new stuff unlike most of the other story categories I've written in, which have like nothing posted ever XD So hi for those of you who are just find out about me!

I don't know how often I will update this. If it is really popular I'll update it more often. I got two other stories in progress, and one seems to be more popular over the other for now. So, let me know if you want this to be updated more often!

Last thing, this is set sometime between after the gang comes back from Tenrou but before Grand Magic Games.

Anyways, onto Chapter 1!

I do not own Fairy Tail.

Chapter 1

Claws of Captured

3 months earlier in the Spirit World…

He flopped onto the bed, exhausted and tired. The battle he had just fought in was one of the longer ones, and if he had to be honest, he wasn't expecting it to be that difficult. Of course, he knew better than to underestimate his foes. Unfortunately Aquarius taught him that once, and he hoped that it wouldn't happen again. Not that he was afraid of the water mermaid, but being hit with a giant wave of water wasn't the greatest thing in the universe, especially since it came after trying to flirt with her. Yep, she was off his list for a long time now, that was for sure.

The young man put his hand through his hair, which was now even more of a mess than it usually was. Not that it was a mess to begin with, but sometimes his mane-like hair was hard to maintain. In even worse condition at the moment were his clothes. He wore a jet-black suit, with a white buttoned shirt and a red tie. Now, they were just covered in dirt and dust and torn in some places.

He had placed his glasses on the nightstand next to his bed. The frames had broken when a guy, oh what was his name? He honestly couldn't remember, since that guy had punched him in the face, destroying the glasses. Why did he even wear glasses to begin with? It's not like he needed them to see or anything. He had just gotten used to them when he wore them to disguise himself in Earthland. Speaking of which...

Leo the Lion, or Loke, sighed, his exhaustion getting the better of him.

No, he couldn't return now. He was too tired to do so. Even if Loke could force open his own gate, like he's done many times, it wouldn't stay open for too long. Plus, Lucy might smack him on the head if he did return. Ah Lucy. His beautiful master. The lion spirit had to admit, she indeed was beautiful. If only his flirting could pay off for once with her, she might actually be his. Yet she was smarter than that.

Loke had proclaimed his love for her many (and probably embarrassing) times. Some of these included a literal light show, to somewhat cheesy pickup lines like, "I'm your knight in shining armor!" and so forth. Even he had to admit, some of them were pretty bad. Since when did he have to resort to almost anything at this point? The spirit knew why.

He hated to say it, but there was nothing for him in the Spirit World. Romance-wise and not to mention there was literally nothing he really wanted to do here to begin with. Aries was too shy for him, and the, "I'm so sorry!" sometimes got annoying to him. Not that he didn't care for her of course. She was practically a little sister to him, and one he loved very much.

Virgo was pretty much out of the question. Loke found her to be creepy at some points, her sadistic nature and constantly asking for punishment sometimes made him nervous for her. He tried to think of a time when Virgo didn't ask for some sort of punishment, from either slapping to getting pummeled. And unfortunately, he couldn't remember. Maybe one of her previous masters invoked that mantra of punishment into her.

Aquarius...yeah Scorpio could have her. Libra wasn't his type. He didn't want to think of Pisces, since the mother already had a son. Ophiuchus...was that relationship even possible to begin with? As for other spirits, Loke just didn't have any interest in them. Sure the rest were silver keys, but he had least thought that some would have some sort of character. Maybe that's why his key as well as the others were considered gold instead of silver.

Aside from that, there wasn't really much to do here to begin with. Loke had a master, and frankly speaking the lion spirit barely spent any time in the Spirit World anymore. And what was there even to do around here? There were no towns, there were no cities, heck there wasn't really any entertainment to begin with. All there was was his and the other spirits' houses, each within their own respective constellation. Loke even had the largest house, and he felt like he barely used it, or rather didn't need it!

Course being absent from Spirit World for three years didn't help. But at the same time, there was also that three month time difference. He had never told Lucy about the time difference. So three years in Earthland was practically 12 days in the Spirit World. And seven years...Loke shivered at the thought.

Seven years had translated into 28 days in the Spirit World. That was the longest time he's ever spent at home. Of course, he sometimes made trips back to Earthland to see the guild, since he was able to open his own gate. But Loke had a feeling that Lucy wasn't dead at the time. Otherwise he would've felt his key drop into the ocean. Golden keys couldn't be destroyed, not even Acnologia himself could set them ablaze. The only way to break them was if the spirit was powerful enough to break the key or if someone were to summon the Spirit King.

Speaking of said moustache man, oh great now Lucy's got him thinking about it. He hasn't even seen him around lately. What does the guy even do? Though sometimes it was hard to see him since all of them lived very far apart from each other. The king doesn't just sit around all day does he? Unless he really is like the big pervert he sometimes comes off as.

Loke shook his head. Spirit King obviously could do more than he could. However, at this moment, he felt a little bit useless, and a tad bit lonely. The fight from earlier didn't help him at all. Lucy had summoned him in the middle of a fight against another dark guild, the name of the guild he did not know. But they were pretty powerful, even in the lion spirit's terms.

He felt something off about them, like a dark aura was with them in that battle. And it felt familiar to him. Loke didn't know why. However, he had to ignore it for the moment and fight for his master. Hmmm, that certainly went well. A couple of punches and kicks, and not to mention some burns from Natsu who accidentally shot a Fire Dragon's Roar at everyone, and five seconds later he got sent back.

The lion spirit knew that his master was alright now. He could feel it. Maybe she had summoned Aquarius to send in a tidal wave. Or perhaps Sagittarius a barrage of arrows at her foes. Maybe even Taurus to swing his axe around. The thought of his other spirits being more useful to her than him made him feel upset. He was supposed to be the leader of the Zodiacs! And the other spirits could handle the situation better than he could!

What did he have going for him? Regulus magic, that was pretty much it. Sure, the magic itself was useful since he was a combat specialist. However, at the same time Loke felt it wasn't useful. For close range yes it was very good. Long range? He had Lion Brilliance for that. But could it compare to tidal waves, sandstorms, a barrage of arrows, heck even a wall of wool? Those seem to do a lot more damage than his own attacks.

Other spirits had the power to bend reality itself. Some had power over the weather and elements. Some had the power to obtain the ability of others through touch. And some...well they had an interesting way of fighting, but it still worked out for them! He had magic too! So why did Loke feel like he was...weak?

It was a term the lion spirit often thought didn't describe him well. Weak. Defenseless. Vulnerable. Loke rolled onto his side, his head along with his messy lying against a pillow on the bed. He was beginning to second guess himself about what those words meant to him now. Loke was supposed to be fearless. The courageous lion.

Yet Loke didn't feel like one. In truth, he's never actually seen a lion before. There were none that lived in Fiore, as the climate and conditions weren't suitable for the species itself. Really the only thing he's seen is whatever the head of that thing was when it came out of Regulus Impact.

He'd seen goats, rams, bulls, fish, crabs, even scorpions during the times with his previous masters. And thankfully, none of those spirits were even remotely close to genetically related to their animal counterparts. But they still have some attributes, Capricorn even more so.

He had the hair of a lion, he supposed. Even then, everyone else looked similar or at least tried to play the part of looking like what they were based off of. From what Loke knew, lions were supposed to be fearless, strong, kings of the jungle in a sense. So wasn't he supposed to be like that? The strongest of them all? Yet, from the most recent of battles, he wasn't strong.

Was that why Lucy wasn't summoning him lately? Loke had begun to notice the recent long periods of time he's spent in Spirit World. He could feel that Lucy had summoned other spirits. Did she really think of him being weaker than the rest? No, that wasn't it. Maybe when she tries to reach his key, it gets caught up in the other nine golden keys she keeps with her. But if that was the case, why had it happened like six to seven times?

Lucy couldn't think of him as weak. He knew that his master loved all of her spirits, and treated them fairly, This also meant respecting their contracts. He, out of all her spirits, had the least amount of non-summonable days, with his count being at zero. Loke wanted to be able to be summoned at any time to help his master. After all, that is what he has constantly promised to do. So wouldn't it be logical to have summoned him more often then, since he was available at any time?

Sometimes he began to wonder if he was just playing an act. Perhaps putting up a front to hide his weaknesses. Loke had shown himself as this strong pillar of strength to both those of the Spirit World and Earthland. Yet was he as powerful as he seemed? Was he really hiding himself away that much?

Loke felt a presence enter his room, dragging him out of his depressing thoughts. He didn't bother to sit up or turn around. His body ached and it hurt to move a little. How hard had these thugs hit him? Wasn't he supposed to have enhanced durability? Wasn't he supposed to be able to, ya know, take a hit? Not to mention, why didn't he feel up to speed yet? Nevertheless, the lion spirit had nothing to fear, since the presence that entered his room was another spirit.

Rematerializing in his room was the ram spirit herself, Aries. She looked completely fine, her white woolen dress clean and perfect as ever. When she first saw the lion spirit resting on his bed, back to her, she was beginning to think something was wrong with him. Usually he would be up and at it, greeting the ram spirit in a heartbeat. To see him in this state, this...this was definitely unusual.

"L...Leo?" she asked timidly.

He didn't answer her. Aries then looked over near his bed and saw something on his nightstand. A broken pair of glasses. How did those break? She then assumed that he was asleep.

"Leo?" Aries asked again, this time a little louder. Loke realized he was being called. Sometimes he forgot his name was Leo, since he was so used to being called Loke. Then, he began to move.

"Hrmmm…" he groaned. He realized he felt terrible.

"Ah! I'm sorry!" Aries said immediately, thinking he was mad at her for disturbing him. He began to sit up on his bed.

"No, it's alright Aries," Loke answered, now fully sitting up, but still had his back to her. He clenched his head a little, feeling the room spin. Man, were the lights always this bright? "You wanted to see me?" he asked.

"Oh yes!" she said. "Lucy is alright! I helped her out. We defeated the dark guild and she's safe. I...heard that you were defeated so I came to tell you. Ah! Bu..But you pro..probably already knew that! I'm sorry!" Aries stuttered at the last part.

Oh, so it was Aries she summoned. And it looks like everything had been taken care of. Wait a sec...how did she know already that he had been defeated?

Had news of his most recent return already spread through the Spirit World that fast? Now Loke felt humiliated. This was the sixth time this has happened since the time his master came back from Tenrou Island. No doubt if he came out of his house, there would be spirits out there who would question his most recent line of defeats. Aquarius especially. He swore the mermaid was coming after him for the title of "Leader."

Silence filled the room for a few minutes. Neither of the spirits spoke. Aries became worried. He was acting strangely. "Are you alright, Leo?" she asked. Then, she immediately took it back. "Ah! I'm sorry!"

Again, he didn't answer for a little bit. Loke thought about what to say. Then, he answered her.

"Aries, do you think I'm...weak?"

She looked up at him. Surprisingly, when he spoke, he didn't even turn around. What made him think of this? Aries never expected those words to come out of the lion spirit's mouth. She knew that he wasn't weak. Leo was the strongest of the twelve Zodiacs, right? Was he doubting himself?

"N...No!" Aries answered immediately. "I just...you're not weak! Why do you think you are weak? I'm sorry!"

She realized she shouldn't have asked that. But in reality, she did want to know. Did some sort of event happen to make him feel this way? She knew Leo as a spirit who was strong and powerful, fearless. For him to act this way was strange in her eyes.

"Lucy hasn't been summoning me lately," he answered her. She thought about it for a moment. Now that Aries thought about it, she as well as other spirits have been summoned more often than he was for a little bit.

"And my track record in fights has gone down. I've lost against six mages during the times I was summoned by Lucy. I haven't lasted five minutes in battle until I'm sent back again, because of injuries."

"Have I become weaker? It feels like I can't beat anyone anymore. Maybe I should give up the title of, "Leader of the Zodiacs" to someone else. I don't feel worthy of it." He sighed at the last part.

Aries couldn't believe what she was hearing. Of course, even she knew how much Leo loved their master. But now, he was beginning to feel like he was useless? Enough to get rid of his own title?

"Don't do that," Aries told him. That was when Leo the Lion finally turned his head to her. He had a questioning look on his face.

"Huh?" he asked.

"Spirit King gave you that title for a reason. You are the strongest out of all of us. He gave it to you because he knew that you deserved that title." She then regretted saying too much. "Ah! I'm sorry!"

A smirk formed on Loke's face. It made him feel a little bit better now. He stood up and got off his bed, now looking at her.

"Thank you Aries." He then smiled.

That was the Leo she knew. But then, he soon regretted standing up, as the world began to spin around him once more. The lion spirit staggered, now feeling the full effects of the fight. Aries gasped, now seeing his weakened state.

"Leo!" she cried out in fear.

Before he could hit the ground, she was able to grab him. Aries had to admit, he was very light. Was he always this thin? Then, she noticed that he was sweating a little. She put her hand to his forehead. He was burning up! Her eyes widened in fright. Spirits never got sick! Not like this anyway! She immediately got him into his bed. His hazel colored eyes were struggling to stay open.

"Ar...Aries?" he asked. He tried to keep his eyes open, but he could barely make out the worried expression on her face.

"I'll...I'll go get Spirit King!" she announced. "I'm sorry!"

The ram spirit disappeared in a pink puff of smoke. Spirit King coming here? That was the last person he wanted to see. He didn't want anyone to see him show weakness. Loke felt absolutely terrible. Soon, it was becoming hard to keep his eyes open, and he drifted off into unconsciousness.

The lion spirit woke up an hour later Spirit World time. He felt something draped on top of his forehead. A wet washcloth. His eyes then began to focus, and he saw 11 silhouettes. It was the other Zodiac spirits. Only, something felt off about them. Aries, Virgo, and Capricorn looked worried. The rest however, only gave him a glare. Even Aquarius was there, giving him a death glare.

"Ev...Everyone…?" He tried to speak out.

Then, one by one, they turned their backs to him, and vanished from his room. Even Aries, who looked slightly nervous, vanished once more in a pink puff of smoke. Eventually, the only one who was left was the blue mermaid herself. She turned her head in disgust at him.

"Tch!" Was all she said, her eyes not meeting his. Then, she proceeded to leave as well.

"Wait!" he called out to them.

But by that time, they were all long gone. Loke sat up in his bed, trying to make sense of the situation. He put his hand to his forehead. The fever was gone. Unfortunately they had seen him in a time of weakness, he realized. Something that he did not want happening. Loke felt lonely again.

The lion spirit rubbed the washcloth against his face. He felt better now, no longer feeling any pain. But at the same time, he felt guilty of showing himself that way. What would they think of him now?

Loke needed some fresh air. Perhaps a visit to the guild was an order? They certainly knew how to cheer him up. And not to mention that he would be seeing Lucy again. His heart swelled in happiness at the thought of it. Spending time with his master. Maybe he could take her out to dinner? Yeah, that was a good idea. It probably would've been a few days since the fight had occurred.

He didn't hesitate to get out of his bed. Loke rushed to his closet to put on a new suit and other clothing. The one he was currently wearing he realized, was torn and dirty. He couldn't wear dirty clothes to a date. That would just be undignified of him. Now what to wear? Be casual or formal? Eh, go formal. Lucy would probably like him in nice clothing.

So Loke got out a clean, black suit coat, black pants, and a red-colored tie, along with a nice looking belt. He changed, now feeling better that the haggard clothing was off of him. The lion spirit rushed towards his mirror, looking into it so he could fix any imperfections in his choice of clothing for the night. So far so good. Lastly he decided to keep his mane of hair instead of switching to his human form. He just liked his spirit form better. Besides, it wasn't like there were a ton of Celestial Spirit mages running around, right?

He smiled at the way he looked. He looked cool, and he preferred it that way. If he wanted to impress Lucy, he had to make a good first impression, and clothing was the way to do it. The lion spirit grabbed a new pair of glasses. Sure he didn't need them, but those at Fairy Tail got used to him wearing them. With that, Loke departed from the Spirit World...and it probably the last time he would ever be there…

When he rematerialized in the guild, Loke had to duck his head, as there was an empty, oncoming beer mug flying straight towards him. Thankfully he evaded it in time, and none of the alcoholic drink got on him either. He glanced over his shoulder, trying to see where the owner of said beer mug was. Unfortunately he couldn't tell.

Another massive brawl was happening in the center of the guildhall once again. He wasn't surprised by the slightest when he saw at the center of it all was Natsu Dragneel and Gray Fullbuster. The two always seemed at odds with each other. And with them fighting, everyone would start fighting. He glanced over to his right, seeing the only few non-participants, who looked slightly disappointed at the sight in front of the. And one of them was Lucy. He walked over to her, putting his hand on her back, which startled her.

"Loke!" she exclaimed. He smiled at her. "How did you get here?"

"I came through my own gate for you, Princess," Loke answered.

Lucy almost rolled her eyes at the flirt. She had gotten used to it by this point. Well, since he was here, she might as well have him do something for her.

"Do you think you can stop the fight while you're here?" Lucy asked. He nodded, though he somewhat regretted it since he came here neatly dressed.

"Anything for you Princess," Loke promised.

With that, he jumped into the fray, trying to stop it like his master commanded him to do so. Lucy sighed, thankful that she had gotten away from his flirting. Mirajane came up behind her, as Lucy sat at the bar.

"It's been awhile since I've seen Loke here," she commented. Lucy then noticed her presence.

"Oh Mirajane!" Lucy greeted. The silver haired mage smiled at her. "But what do you mean by that?" she couldn't help but ask.

"Ever since he became your spirit, he's made himself scarce around the guild. Once in a while he'll come in on his own. I kinda miss him. He would always be around, flirting with every girl he sees. Not to mention he got into fights with Natsu a lot."

"Really?" Lucy questioned.

When she first entered the guild, her first impression of the lion spirit didn't seem like the type of guy who would fight. Then again, he did say to his troop of girls that he would join the fray, which led Lucy to cross him off of her, "Potential boyfriends" list. Yet still, even now he didn't come off as the type of person who wanted to start a fight.

Mira nodded. "Oh yes, those two would often get into fights many times. Of course Natsu fought with Gray more often, but there was the occasional fight with Loke. And a lot of the times they were evenly matched."

Lucy never imagined Loke to be that powerful. Sure, he was the Leader of the Zodiacs, but to be on par with Natsu? That was a feat.

Lucy glanced back towards the massive brawl. She could barely make out the silhouette of her lion spirit fighting everyone else. Then, to her horror, she saw his body fly out of the fray, and straight into one of the walls. Loke's eyes widened behind his glasses, which proceeded to fall off as he hit the wall. He felt the wind get knocked out of him. Then, his body hit the floor.

"Loke!" she shouted in fear.

The blonde mage immediately ran over to him. Wendy, who had been sitting near her and watching the brawl, saw what happened to the lion spirit, and ran over to help. Loke glanced up at Lucy, realizing that she was by his side.

"Lucy…" he trailed off. Everything hurt once again.

"Wendy, could you help Loke please?" the blonde mage asked.

The Sky Dragon Slayer nodded, now putting her magic to use. Loke could feel his bruises being healed, as well as the pain fading away. But that still didn't make him feel better. He didn't last long in that brawl. Usually he could last much, much longer, long enough to be the last one standing. Why had he been...so weak?

Just then, Erza had finished talking with the guild master, and came out of his office. Only to see a brawl occurring. She got angry in an instant. Couldn't they go at least one minute without having a fight? Her magic flared up, and her eyes were fueled with rage. So much so that some of the magic users could sense this, and back off. Not all of them however.

"What is going on here?!" she screamed.

A second past, and all of the mages in the fight stopped, terrified of the red-haired requip mage. Some muttered their apologies. Others, like Natsu and Gray, who had their fists in each other's face, swiftly went to try to mind their own business, even though they wanted to continue the fight. Then, one by one, they returned to where they were sitting.

Erza sighed, at least things looked semi-normal again. However, when she turned to look at the corner of the guild, she saw Loke lying on the floor, with Lucy and Wendy hovering over him. The blue-haired mage was using her magic to heal him. Erza ran over to them, trying to see if he was alright.

"What happened?" she asked. Lucy looked up at her.

"He just came into the guild. I asked him to stop the brawl, but…" She silently gestured to the spirit in front of her.

"I see…" Erza trailed off. She then noticed a charred mark on his clothing. A fiery punch to the gut. "Natsu…!" She angrily growled out in frustration. Erza then stood up and walked away, determined to punish the Fire Dragon Slayer.

Unfortunately Loke heard her comment. Natsu was the one who punched him out of the fray? He felt even worse now. Being beaten by some enemies was bad, but somehow, this felt even worse. Wasn't he on par with Natsu at one point? What happened to his strength?

"All done Loke!" Wendy exclaimed. He looked over at her. He didn't even realize she was done. At least he felt better.

"Thanks Wendy," Loke said to her. The blue haired girl smiled at him, and ran off to join her friends. Lucy however remained with him. The lion spirit tried to sit up, but his body ached.

"Here, let me help you," Lucy offered. Loke shook his head.

"No, I'm alright," he insisted.

But his features said otherwise. She reached for his hand, indicating that she wanted to help him up. With no real other choice, he took her hand, and she helped him up. Loke tried to balance himself, and eventually he stood up straight.

"Thanks," he said to her.

The two sat in silence for a moment. Then, Lucy spoke up.

"Umm, Loke?" She asked.

"Yes Lucy?" He answered her.

There was no flirt in his words or in his tone. He could've thrown one in there, but he chose not to. The lion spirit had a feeling what she was going to ask him about.

"When you said you came through your own gate for me, what did you mean by that?" Lucy spoke. Loke smirked at her, but at the same time he felt a little nervous. He never really went this far before. Would it go bad?

"Oh yes, well…" he trailed off. "Would you like to go out to dinner with me?"

Her eyes widened at his statement. Not only that, but she could tell he was serious. There was no flirt in that answer. There was no smooth talk. There was no image of "Loke the Playboy" in his words. The lion spirit was dead set on taking her out to dinner tonight. Lucy felt her heart pound. What was this feeling? But then...it stopped. She remembered. Lucy lowered her head.

"Loke, I can't."

His breath was caught in his throat. His pupils had gone to the size of slits. Loke hadn't expected this to happen.

"Why not?" He had to ask.

"I...I already promised Natsu that I would help him with a few things tonight." She didn't lift her head. Loke felt his heart tear in two.

"Oh…" he trailed off. Lucy saw through his distress.

"Bu..but maybe we could do it another time!" She mentioned. "Not tonight, but maybe during a time that's good for both of us." Loke nodded solemnly.

"Yeah…" was all he said. Then, he began to walk away from her. She lifted her head to see him go.

"Loke…" she whispered sadly. But he didn't hear her. Loke continued to walk on.

Somehow he felt even worse than when he was punched out of the fight minutes ago. Were Natsu and Lucy...together? No, that wasn't possible. She couldn't have loved Natsu! It just didn't feel right to him! Loke sighed sadly. He felt so lonely. Sometimes he wished that he was around Lucy more often. She had saved his life after all, and she helped him get through his worst times. Yet she didn't need him now. The thought of her not needing him made him feel worse.

Well, what else could he do while he was here? Hmm, he could talk to Gray. The two were pretty close friends during the time when he was exiled. It seemed like Gray understood his problems, even though he himself was a spirit and Gray was human. However the ice mage was still a good friend, so maybe he could talk to him about this.

But once he neared his table, he saw a familiar water mage clinging to his arm. Juvia, he realized.

"Gray-sama!" Juvia chimed. "Juvia loves when you fight! Especially without clothes!"

"Would you get off of me!" Gray shouted. "That's so creepy!"

Loke could only watch the awkward interaction between the two mages from afar. So much for hanging out with Gray tonight.

Maybe he could go by the bar and talk to Mirajane? She usually had his favorite drink in stock. Perhaps a drink was all he needed at the moment. It was worth a try. So he walked over to the bar, passing by Erza who was giving Natsu a good pummeling. The two mages didn't even seem to notice him. It was like Loke wasn't there to begin with. Then, he sat down, Mirajane smiling at him.

"Welcome back Loke!" She said. "What can I get for you?"

"Do you have my favorite, Mira?" He asked. Then, his thoughts went downhill as she shook her head.

"No," she answered. "We just ran out of it. Sorry Loke. Do you want anything else?"

He shook his head. "No, I'm fine," Then, the lion spirit left the bar.

Alright, maybe he needed some actual fresh air. This day wasn't going well in the slightest. He walked over to the exit, and opened the door. No one seemed to notice him leaving. Not even his master. Loke shook his head, and opened the door. Once he was outside, he closed the door behind him, walking out into the streets of Magnolia.

The lion spirit walked along the canal for a while. He lost track of time. But it didn't really matter to him. He could survive for another three years in Earthland if he wanted to. The night itself was cool and calm. There was no moon tonight, so the stars were out tonight. Loke didn't even realize it, but he was walking away from Magnolia.

Finally he let himself lie down on a grassy hill, finding himself staring up at the stars. He could identity all twelve of the zodiac, including his own. The constellation Leo. Leo the Lion. Here Loke was, back again trying to determine who he was. Was he really Leo the Lion, the Leader of the Zodiacs? Did humans know him and love him by the name of Loke?

The lion spirit sat up, staring at the great stars before him. He could make out the stars in his constellation, especially Regulus. His mind began to wander, which led to him begging the star to give him power.

'O Regulus, I ask of you, show me who I really am!' Loke silently pleaded. 'I wish...to be fearless, strong, like the lion…'

The rest of his thoughts were cut off, as he felt a small prick against his neck. Loke reached to the back of his neck, and pulled something out. To his shock, it was a small dart. And before he could say anything else, the lion spirit couldn't move. He felt weak, like his magic had been drained. The upper half of his body fell to the earth once again. He felt woozy.

Loke tried to remain conscious, hoping that he could somehow contact Lucy. But it was no use. Whatever he was hit with made his mind fragmented, and he couldn't think straight. He began to slightly panic. How could he let something like this happen to him?

Then, he barely made out two silhouettes that were hovering over him. Two guys, it looked like.

"Ooooo, looks like we caught the big one!" the one one his left side said.

"The boss will be very happy," the one on his right said.

He couldn't move. He couldn't summon forth any magic. His body was practically shutting down. The world began to darken around him.

"Lucy…" Loke mentally called out one last time, hoping that she would hear him.

Then, he fell into darkness, the last thing he saw was the star of Regulus twinkling back to him. The lion spirit was unconscious. Farther away from where he was, Lucy heard a voice calling out to her. She turned around, thinking it was Loke. But he wasn't there, so she continued on her way. Little did she know that she would regret it later on…

His hazel eyes opened slowly, now seeing the different environment around him. Loke could feel the change of environment. Where was he? It was cold, dark, and gloomy. Underneath him was what he could only describe as a stone floor. Was he underground? Then, Loke began to sit up, and he heard the clanging of something along the floor. He turned to the source, and gasped.

Chains. Long, golden chains were attached to his wrists and legs. Whoever had captured him really wanted to make him their prisoner. Well, not if he could help it. They probably had no idea who he was. Loke then focused, and began to perform a Return. However, when he opened his eyes, he realized nothing happened. He wasn't in the Spirit World. He remained in the chains.

"What?" he said.

Loke tried again, but nothing happened. He remained in the same position he was in. Why couldn't he leave? Hmm, maybe he could break the chains? Loke began to gather magic, however at the same time, he felt no magic gather. What was going on here?

Then, he realized that there was something on his neck. He reached for it, and found that it was a necklace. The string was brown, and the pendent itself was a star sign. His star sign. Maybe this was the reason he couldn't summon magic. Loke tried to take it off, but as soon as he touched the pendent, a surge of energy went throughout his entire body.

"Ahhhhhh!" Loke screamed out in pain.

The blue electrical shocks flowed through him. It then stopped, leading to him collapsing on the floor. His breathing became haggard, and he felt weak. Loke wanted to return home so he could heal. But something was holding him back.

"Hahahahaha!" a cynical laugh echoed throughout the place he was captured.

It was a woman's voice. His eyes widened in fear. It sounded so familiar to him. No, it couldn't be. He must be dreaming! Yes! He must still have a fever in the Celestial Spirit World and this was all a dream!

Loke heard footsteps approach him. He became nervous. Then, he saw a silhouette of someone opening the door to his room. The door opened. Loke gasped. Fear immediately spiked through his system, as well as shock. Shock from the fact that this person was standing in front of him!

"You can't escape me this time...Leo."

"Karen!"

Author's Note

That is the end of Chapter 1! Yee! Let's get into some stuff!

I don't know about any of you, but like after Grand Magic Games, it felt like Loke just got dropped for no reason. Maybe that's just me. Sure, he showed up in Tartaros for a bit, but then he just...disappeared. Like he'll show up like once in the next two arcs, and that's it. Lucy's spirits in general just don't show up anymore. Sure, she has the Star Dress, but still. Even in the sealing of Acnologia, they just...don't show up.

That's why I wanted to throw in that he hasn't been summoned lately and so forth. Also I really love Loke (doesn't help that I'm a Leo myself XD) and it kinda hurt that he just got dropped. He had a very good backstory, and probably could've had more character development and so on. Truth be told, I wanted to see more of the Loke when he was with Karen per say, serious, but still throw in the flirts.

That was one of the premises behind this story, as well as a few others you will find out later. This will be a Loke-centric story as you could probably tell. And maybe some Lolu later on down the line? Depends on how I go with this story. Definitely certain I'm not shipping Nalu, that's guaranteed.

Lastly, tell me what you guys think! I love reviews! They keep me going! And they let me know you guys enjoy this!

Arceus I wrote this in 3 days. That's probably the last time an idea is gonna come that fast XD

Anyways, Until Next Time, See Ya Universe!

Palkia