Lucy stared straight ahead into the room as Virgo asked "See what, princess?" Before Lucy could answer the Nikora that was with them suddenly started moving frantically, like it was trying to walk, if not run, back to them, but was unable to move. Lucy and Virgo watched in horror as he suddenly burst, and what was left was pulled into the vortex that only Lucy could seemingly see. Lucy's eyes widened in horror as she said "Out Virgo, now!"
Virgo obeyed her and Lucy stayed a few moments longer to see if the vortex would move or grow or anything, but it just kept in place, slowly swirling. Satisfied that it seemed to be contained in the room, at least for the moment, Lucy followed her friend outside, who was doing her best to keep the other, smaller spirits back. Lucy called out "Virgo, can you keep doing what you're doing? I'm going to get some help."
"Sure princess, but who can handle this? The Celestial Spirit King is on the other side of the Kingdom until tonight and what if that thing moves or grows before then?" Virgo asked. Lucy considered this, waiting for the Celestial Spirit King wasn't an option she wanted to do, unless she had to. Snapping her fingers she asked "Virgo, do my keys still summon you here in the Celestial Kingdom?" Virgo nodded and said "Yes, though it will take time for whoever you call to reach here."
"That's fine. I'm going to get Loke and have him take me home, then I will talk to Grandma about this. It's a long shot but if anyone besides the Celestial Spirit King knows how to handle this, it will be her." Lucy answered as she pulled out Loke's key. Virgo nodded her agreement and said "When you're here in the Celestial Kingdom, just grip the key and think of the one it belongs to, they will rush to your side."
Lucy followed Virgo's instructions and not too many minutes later, Loke showed up. Lucy informed him of what she had discovered and how it appeared that she was the only one that could see it. Looking a little unsure, Lucy said "Perhaps I ought to send you to talk to her Loke and stay here myself." Loke shook his head and said "While you may be the only one that can see it, if what you said about it not moving is true, Virgo and the rest of the spirits around here should be fine. Let's get you to Anna."
Reluctantly, Lucy took Loke's proffered hand and in a flash of light they were back in her room. The only thing different was Millianna wasn't in the room once more and of course the light from behind her curtained windows showed it to be mid-morning outside. Lucy thanked Loke and sent him away before she got changed into attire more appropriate for her world, having been loaned some of the Celestial Kingdom's finery by Virgo.
Once that was accomplished she rushed out of her house and down the streets to where Anna would have already started her lessons with Yukino and Hisui. Opening the door to the room where her grandmother was teaching, Lucy's eyes met Anna's. Seeing the concern on her granddaughter's face, Anna dropped the teasing she was about to do and calmly asked "What's wrong Lucy?"
Lucy informed her grandmother of her having been summoned to the Celestial Kingdom in the middle of the night and of finding the weird, vortex like thing that had sucked in the unfortunate Nikora. Anna frowned before answering "I know what kind of magic you saw Lucy, and it's not good. Think of it as a black hole, it is sucking up the magic that is literally in the air in the Celestial Kingdom, but it will have also done so to the citizens who wandered to close to it, like the Nikora you mentioned. Sadly, those who have already been lost to it cannot be saved, they have been changed into pure, magic energy."
Lucy's heart sunk. That meant the poor little Nikora who had been so helpful to her was gone for good. Anna snapped her granddaughter out of her thoughts, quite literally. "There will be time to mourn all of those lost later Lucy, for now, you need to focus on destroying that thing." "Is that possible?" came the soft voice of Yukino. Anna nodded as she replied "But it will take all three of you to do so." "What do we have to do?" asked Hisui.
"You need to return to the Celestial Kingdom and then get as close to the Vortex as possible. Stand in the position I taught you and recite the chant. Be careful, for while you are just humans even your bodies can be transformed into magical energy, there is a little in all living things after all. The chant will not only dissolve, so to speak, the black hole, but it will block the one who cast it from ever doing it again." Anna instructed.
"But I thought you said that this chant requires magic to work and while I know we all have magical energy, surely that won't be enough will it?" questioned Lucy. "The Celestial Kingdom is high in magic power, why do you think the caster chose there and not in with some magical beings in this realm? Remember it's literally in the air there. All you have to do is focus on channeling it through you and into your words to give them power." Anna answered, "Now go, we can talk more about how it works if you still have questions later, there are other Spirits that need saving. If the black hole runs out of magic in the air around it or nothing else magical gets near it, it will start moving."
Lucy nodded and summoned Loke, requesting that he'd take her and the other two to the Celestial Kingdom. It took a few trips, but he quickly accomplished her request, depositing them just outside the building that Lucy had found it in. Virgo had managed to not only keep the other spirits back, but had even gotten them to move further away from the building in the time that Lucy was gone. "Good work Virgo, we're going in there to, hopefully, get rid of the problem." Lucy said to the pink haired spirit.
Virgo nodded as she said "Very well, but be careful princess!" Hisui smiled at Lucy's blush, she knew it bothered Lucy for Virgo to call her that in her presence but it didn't bother Hisui any and frankly it was better than some of the names Virgo had suggested, from what Hisui had heard. The green haired princess followed her blonde and white haired friends into the building, both she and Yukino letting out a gasp at the sight of swirling vortex.
"Remember, be careful!" Lucy said, "As soon as you start to feel any sort of tugging sensation, stop! Then we'll recite the chant together." "Right!" Yukino said, as she moved off to the right, Hisui nodding as she went in the opposite direction. Once in position, all three girls slowly made their way towards the vortex, each stopping as soon as they felt close enough.
They all nodded at each other and reached their hands towards one another, though they couldn't reach each other, as they chanted "Oh stars far and wide that embody the heavens, by thy radiance reveal thy form. We implore Tetrabiblos, eternal ruler of the stars above. Now that the aspect is in plea we ask that you lend your power to us, let your unrestrained rage flow and open the raging, tumultuous gate. With all 88 heavenly bodies. Shining! Urano Metria!"
Concentrating on making the magic of the Celestial Kingdom flow through them, all three girls were shocked at the flash of bright light that consumed the vortex. Closing their eyes against it, they only reopened them when they could tell it had receded. They let out sighs of relief, the vortex was gone! They had done it! Now they just had to inform the Celestial Spirits that those lost could never return.
Lucy took it upon herself to do so, letting Yukino inform them of the good news that they were no longer in danger of being sucked in by the vortex. The blond girl watched the group celebrate for a moment before she said "However, there was a cost we were unable to get around." This caught the attention of the Spirits and they all settled down, watching her anxiously. Letting out a shaky breath she continued "Those who had already been lost to the vortex could not be saved. I'm sorry we couldn't help your friends and family."
The Celestial Spirits let out sounds of despair, tears forming and letting loose from some of their eyes as others grew still and silent or had barely contained anger behind their eyes. Loke finally stepped forward and said "Hisui, Lucy and Yukino, don't feel bad. It will take time to get over the hurt of losing those unfortunate enough to have been caught in the vortex, but think of all those you have saved! Why Lucy, if you hadn't agreed to go looking in the middle of the night or even at all, we might all have been doomed to such a fate!"
The other Celestial Spirits nodded their agreement, some trying to smile through their pain to show the girls their gratitude. Lucy wass still struggling with the thought that she led the final victim of the vortex right to it, she doesn't think she'll ever forget that poor little Nikora's expression. Virgo could see the stress on Lucy's face and she was pretty sure what was causing it, so she made a plan in her head. "Why don't you three come back with Loke and I to the castle? The Celestial Spirit King will want to talk to you himself about all that happened. We can put you up in a couple of rooms to rest, channeling magic isn't easy, especially for those who can't really use it."
Lucy was definitely feeling the lack of sleep from the night before and the other two did feel a bit drained as Virgo had implied. Loke took Lucy's arm, he could see both her sorrow and exhaustion and he wanted to be sure she didn't stumble and fall on the way there. Lucy flashed him a grateful grin and leaned on his arm for both physical and emotional support on their rather short journey to the castle.
Once there, he turned her over to Aquarius. The normally gruff Spirit exchanged glances with Virgo and Leo, ones that told far more than any human's ever could. Then she escorted Lucy to a room with a plush bed and a change of clothes laid out for her. As Lucy changed behind a screen, Aquarius asked with a gentleness she had never used on the blond girl before "Are you alright?" Lucy took a steadying breath, she knew she could never lie to Aquarius and so she replied "No, but I will be."
She thought this would be enough to sooth the water spirit, but as she came out from behind the screen she was surprised to see Aquarius eyes were filled with concern. "What's wrong?" Aquarius asked. Lucy bit her lip before settling on the edge of the bed and motioning Aquarius to join her. Once the Spirit had done so, Lucy said "I still feel awful about the Nikora that helped me. If I had known that vortex would suck him in, I would have pulled him back, heck I should have made him wait outside the building after he showed Virgo and I it!"
Aquarius stopped Lucy from saying anymore by surprising the girl with a hug, one which she quickly returned as Aquarius started to say "Don't beat yourself up over it Lucy. Nikora are naturally curious and not always the brightest Spirits. You saw how much trouble Virgo had holding them back, I'm sure, from going even after they knew the danger was very real." Feeling Lucy's nod against her shoulder, Aquarius continued "That little guy probably would have found another way to get near that thing, I know in your realm there is a saying that goes curiosity killed the cat, well here its curiosity killed the Nikora."
Lucy giggled a little in spite of herself and Aquarius pulled back from the hug as she asked "So what else is bothering you?" Lucy blushed, looking down at the bracelet on her arm and drawing Aquarius' attention to it. She recognized it as the one Loke had had them all help with in creating the false stones to go with a dragon scale he had also brought with him. "Does it have something to do with a certain dragon?"
Aquarius nearly laughed as she saw the blush deepen on Lucy's face, before she squeaked out "Sort of." Clearing her throat, Lucy continued "It's just… I'm worried. Not only for him, but his family, the friends I made there and even all the magical beings I didn't get a chance to meet. Acnologia aims to kill all the dragons, you know, and they were heading into a war with him when last I saw them." Aquarius frowned, she had heard rumors swirling about such a thing, but she had thought they were just that, rumors. Still she covered up her frown before Lucy looked her way and said "I know I can't promise that nothing will happen to anyone, it is a war after all. But I can promise that they think and worry about you just as much."
Lucy looked up at Aquarius with surprise as she asked "What do you mean?" Aquarius smirked and said "Well he gave you one of his scales didn't he? Dragons don't just do that for someone they've met in passing or even that they are helping. There is a lot of trust involved with that, and with trust comes care." Lucy looked thoughtful and Aquarius figured she had dumped enough on the oblivious girl for now, so she stood and headed for the door as she said "Get some rest Lucy. The Celestial Spirit King and night will be here before you know it."
With that she exited the room, leaving in her wake a very thoughtful Lucy. Her thoughts weren't on the Nikora now though. Aquarius' talk about Natsu had brought him roaring to the front of her mind once more. True, she had known that when Natsu gave her the scale that it was a very rare thing, but somehow she hadn't questioned it, it just seemed a very Natsu thing to do. Now she wondered though if maybe there was something more to it. A yawn broke her out of her thoughts and she decided to give into sleep.
XXX
When Lucy awoke, the sun was just setting and she could hear the special chariot of the Celestial Spirit King headed their way. She quickly redressed and exited the room, meeting Hisui, Yukino and Aries in the hallway. The meek spirit led them to the great hall that Lucy had met with the Celestial Spirit King just the night before. He was already seated upon his throne when they entered, the eleven other Zodiac Spirits and several others also in attendance.
The Celestial Spirit King smiled down on the group as they all curtseyed, Aries making her way to join the others and standing by Leo's side as the Celestial Spirit King spoke. "The others have filled me in on the work you three have done. Thank you so much for helping us and for ridding us of this catastrophic problem before it grew out of control."
Seeing the sad looks in the girls' eyes, particularly Lucy's, he added "Do not worry about those who have been lost. Their spirits have returned to the heavens and one day they will come again. After all, every shooting star is just one of my subjects coming to join us in this land from the heavens above." The three girls smiled which the Celestial Spirit King returned before continuing "I know you did what you did with no plans for rewards or gifts, but please let me give you this one. Lucy, step forward please."
The girls exchanged puzzled looks as Lucy moved to obey. "The three of you will receive the same gift, if you choose to accept it." the Celestial Spirit King said, rising from his throne so he towered above them all. "What is it, sir?" asked Lucy. "I want to give you all a little magic." The three girls gasped as he continued "Your powers will start off small, but will have the potential to grow and it can aid you in your use of magical items. The power I wish to bestow upon you is of the Celestial Kingdom, so it will be strongest with Celestial items, but it is not limited to them."
Hisui spoke up and said "While your gift is most wonderful and generous, I feel that to lead my people fairly and justly, I must refuse your gift. The wizards have their own leaders that they answer to and are like a kingdom within and so I while I would love to accept your gift of magic, to be fair to all of my people, I must refuse. If it is possible to give a portion of what I would have received to both Lucy and Yukino, then please do so."
The Celestial Spirit King smiled at her and said "Then for you, let me give you the Crown of the Stars. It is a magical Celestial Item and it will allow you, if ever you are in need, to call upon any of the Zodiac Spirits, provided those who hold their keys are not in need of them at the moment." Hisui smiled and knowing it wouldn't be polite to refuse this gift, she graciously agreed to do so. The Celestial Spirit King then made a motion with his wrist and a ball of light appeared in it.
Bringing it closer to Lucy he said "I promise this won't hurt, though it may feel a bit odd." Lucy nodded and he used his other hand to pull at the light so a small stream of it left the ball, then he focused it on Lucy's forehead and it flowed into her, spreading throughout her body. It left an odd tingling sensation in its wake as it did so, but the Celestial Spirit King had been right in that it didn't hurt. When it was done, a small star like pattern glowed for a moment where it had entered and then faded.
Yukino was summoned next and found it to be just as Lucy did, not painful, just an odd sensation. Once this was done, the Celestial Spirit King invited them to stay, but all refused as each had families or guards that while Anna would have surely informed of what they were doing, would be worried with the girls having been gone so long, especially Hisui. So with the help of Loke, everyone made their way home. After bidding the lion Spirit goodnight, Lucy saw Millianna lying awake on her bed.
"Millianna, if I write a letter or two tonight, will you take it to them tomorrow?" Lucy asked after greetings were exchanged. "Of course." Millianna said with a smile. Lucy thanked her, then left her room to inform her family of her safe return. Once she had done so and dined with them, she sat and wrote several letters, placing each in the special bag Millianna had procured from Makarov that was much like the one Lily had used before. Once that was done, she stretched before flopping down on the bed and falling promptly asleep.
Little AN: If the Urano Metria spell doesn't seem quite right, I copied it from my story Something Just Like This and in that one when I went looking I found several versions just within the episodes of Fairy Tail where it was used, so I kind of mashed up my favorite wordings of them and made this one :'D
As with the previous chapters, I'll answer the reviews right after my magical being info thing, so if you aren't curious about that and have a review that you wrote on the last chapter that you want to see the answer to, feel free to jump ahead to there!
This time I will be covering Nymphs! This is my version of nymphs, though they do share some qualities with mythological ones. There are several different kinds of nymphs, trees, stones, metals, etc, all of which can make amazing and terrifying things with there "element", for lack of a better word.
Answers to Reviews!
Ember Reverie: lol yeah, Natsu thinking of Lucy is adorable :D In my head, the Nikora village is def cute :D
FireShifter: Hope you enjoyed the chapter!
FTAnt: lol yes def Lucy-fied XD