Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or its characters; that right belongs to Hiro Mashima. I do own the Original Character (OC) in this story, though.

Author's Note: The OCs name is Sionet, pronounced See-oh-neet. And I do not want her used by anyone, anywhere else. So if you do not like that, I politely ask you to turn around and leave now because I don't see the point in you wasting your time and mine.

Lucy felt her metaphorical legs grow weak as she listened to Andromeda speak, explaining her tale. It was a far cry from what she was told and that the woman kept constant eye contact, voice very clear and unwavering, all good indicators that she wasn't lying. It was almost scary to hear the horrors of what had gone down nearly six hundred years ago when Andromeda chose to leave the Celestial body, her constellation going dark. Another thing that was made clear was the woman's pain at the choice she made.

Understanding what it meant to leave behind all you knew to start a new life over in a new place, strange and unknown. Especially going from having magical powers on a different level to a magicless human woman. The similarities to her own situation were glaringly obvious. A part of her hurt to hear that because she chose to leave Sei-roo and the others, to renounce her crown as Sei-roo's Queen, meant that she could never go back or that another spirit of similar abilities could inhabit it. That, to Lucy, was just plain classical misogynistic sexism.

"Lucy, don't take a stance against him. I can guarantee that because you are here in Limbo with me, that my son, Mard, is doing it," Andromeda said, her voice soft and understanding. "He did that for me when I was murdered during the Holy Crusades of the Religion that is now mostly followed in Earthland."

Lucy paused and recalled a brief conversation she had with Mard Geer a while back about his mother. And she felt like a dunce.

"You said you became a magicless human," Lucy said, pausing to make sure she chose her words carefully. "did that mean you lost your magic or was it sealed away?"

The way Andromeda's Onyx eye widened before she burst out in peals of laughter had Lucy feeling confused. She decided to wait patiently for the former-spirit to collect herself and hopefully give a response.

"Oh, you're a smart little gal, aren't you?" Andromeda said, still chuckling in amusement. "It was sealed as it was directly linked to who I am. Meaning that in each of my lives I lived, it was slowly passed to my children. And yes, that meant Mard Geer has some of the abilities to hold or chain-like I once did."

Lucy felt as if so many things clicked in her mind. When she had fought Mard Geer when he was a demon, he had used thorns and flowers used to imprison. That those abilities were dealing with many things, his father was a pagan god of nature, and it seemed he got magic that merged from both parents. Unable to help herself as the sheer craziness of it, Lucy wrapped her arms around her waist and started to laugh almost hysterically.

"I see your quick mind realized some important facts."

Slowly, feeling slightly numb, Lucy nodded her head. Her eyes lifted to meet Andromeda's and found a wealth of emotions and memories in those dark depths.

"My son, Mard Geer, was special from the get-go. Of course, that was like my third rebirth, and I recalled the first two and my origins. Another curse placed upon me for defying Sei-roo," Andromeda stated, her nose scrunching as if she smelt something awful. "My little boy had my magic to bind, but because his father, Viridios was a God of Nature, our magic blended. The man saw me dancing a druidic dance under the full moon and instantly fell in love with me. Or so says my Greenman. And when he approached me, I was leery with good reason. It took him a long, roughly five years before I caved and gave in to his charms and intentions. The amount of love and affection Viridios showered upon me was just so..."

Lucy watched as a brilliant pink blush crested Andromeda's cheeks. There could be no denying the look she was seeing; saw it on a few of her friend's faces. Bisca from her Guild and Cheri Blendi, each with their husband's got that look, as well as a few memories of her mother. It was true love that blossomed from the care and affection they were showered with. Something Lucy hoped to find one day herself.

"But then things went downhill, Sei-roo was still watching over me. Hoping that I would come back to his side. Be a blind, meek, obedient woman. His jealousy didn't have a limit after Mard was born," Andromeda said, her voice went soft and cold. "Viridios knew by this point who I had been, wasn't shocked by it, and accepted me as I was, the woman he loved. Mard, well, he learned during one of the battles in which Sei-roo mobilized his chosen mages. Those who didn't question him and attacked the village. I died, pregnant with my second child... Mard woke to his full magical powers and bound my soul to Limbo with Memento Mori... not the perverted version that Zeref had him used as a Curse."

Lucy felt cold wash through her very being learning this. And a small part of her was thankful for Mard Geer in that moment. Because she knew now what Andromeda meant by Sei-roo taking her keys from her to gift to another Celestial Mage, the only way a contract can be broken was by reneging on a promise or contract, magic canceling cuffs, or death. And being in Limbo meant she was between life and death.

"I am sorry, Lucy," Andromeda said. "My son isn't the bastard that Zeref made, no he was compassionate if not a distant boy, who was obstinate and observant. But if you earned it, he would give you his loyalty to the end."

Unable to help herself, Lucy felt her body start to shake as her eyes burned, as her vision started to blur. With the feel of arms wrapping around her, Lucy allowed them to pull her and hold her. The faith and belief she had in her magic from her mother, the love and trust she had with her spirits. Lucy knew that Sei-roo could be unfair with how she had met Loki and helped him. But to know he would try to kill her because she chose to fix Mard Geer and become his partner, not his owner. Did her loyalty mean nothing? Did the fact she wouldn't ever harm a spirit or the Celestial Realm mean so little? It was further proof that being blessed or favored was a fickle thing.

All eyes were trained on the tiny woman, no Siren, as they processed the information she had just dumped on them. Even going so far as to show a few pages from the book she carried as proof. It had been a revelation for them all to see shock and horror flash across not just Laxus' face but Freed's and Levi's.

"I mean, if you want more details, you can ask the man himself," Sionet said, drawing all their attention back to her. "He has been completely sentient this whole time. Aware of each thing said and done in this room, as it is just his spirit housed in the weapon he is named for."

"Wait; what?"

At this yelp of shocked outrage, everyone turned to look at Natsu, who was staring with mouth agape in disbelief. It was a rather far-fetched concept to them, but then again, with all they had been through over the past few years (not including the seven years of Tenrou incident), it didn't seem completely impossible.

"Yes, would you like to?" Sionet said, her lips pulling into a cute, childish cupid's bow smile that was at odds with the dark gleam in her eyes.

"If that is possible, then yes. I want to know, if possible, how Lucy is doing," Laxus spoke up.

When the Siren looked out at them all, as one, they all nodded their heads in assent. Watching as Sionet just walked up to the thorny coffin, reaching out and beat her fist against it. Not surprised when the vines shifted, wrapping tighter around the glowing, multi-colored bubble that housed their Guild mate.

"Hey, Madee, I know you heard that. Don't be a selfish, small-minded prick," Sionet called out, her voice clearly teasing the spirit.

It was as if each of them were holding their breath, waiting for something to happen. They had, at one point or another, seen the vines attack anyone who bothered Lucy. But when no response came other than the vines settling and the thorns growing just a few inches longer in a warning.

"Alright, you are intentionally being a little bitch," Sionet hissed. The folded wings shifting loudly against her back as they watched her fist her free hand and placed it on her hip. "Let me make this clear; you wanna-be failed intellectual simp. You come and talk to them, or I start reading your life out to them like a messed up fairy tale. And you know I will go into great details about little Mard Geer before and during puberty."

The sheer audacity that the tiny Siren was displaying to them was awe-inspiring. Mostly since they all recalled what Mard Geer had been like when Tartaros had attacked them. He had been ruthless, and his ability to use his Etheranos form was terrifying as Freed's Ecreture form. That while he had seemed put together and polite for the sake of it, he was ruthless and cruel. Their proof was that Lucy sacrificed one of her keys to summon the Celestial King to take care of him. Which from reports, Mard Geer had held his own against a potential god.

"You are an insufferable featherbrain; you know that, Sionet."

The tension in the room seemed to magnify at the familiar voice echoing around the room. Though it did sound a bit different, everyone watched as the air seemed to shimmer above the thorny coffin until a mini-version of Mard Geer, former head of the Tartaros demons, appeared. And there were obvious differences from what they recalled seeing during their battle with Zeref's demons.

Agitation. Frustration. Anger. Exasperation. Helplessness. These were the words that seemed to describe what the spirits felt. There was nothing they could do to help their mistress. Their friend. Their Princess. Their proclaimed family member. And now things were getting progressively worse, having been banned from the viewing pool and talking to Libra, Pisces, and Opichuous.

"Brother?"

Slowly everyone looked to the one Virgo had called out to. Watching as he paced like the lion he represented. They could all feel his magic rolling off him in waves as they waited.

"It is fine, Virgo," he growled, not stopping his pacing. "We can still feel our link to her via our contracts, meaning she is still alive. And we have him to thank for that when this is done. I am just really pissed that this is happening because of the past. Princess doesn't deserve to be brought into our drama and issues."

Silently they all agreed. Most of them, mostly the Zodiacs, had been around six hundred years when Andromeda chose to leave the Celestial Realm to be mortal. Condemned never to come back and how their King had murdered her after finding love and started a family. Though some of them were newer, they had been minor spirits without real power or physical form in the heavens and were still aware of the minor details of the main 88 constellations.

To them, all Lucy, like her mother, had been a blessing to be contracted to. She was kind to them, didn't see them as a tool, servants, or slaves. At one point or another, each of them had horrible Masters that left unseen scars on their corporal bodies. But the fact that they could still feel her, that they knew where she was being kept safe, left them with a small spark of hope in the depths of their hearts.

"Yeah, well, when she comes back. And do not doubt it, because she is a stubborn little brat," Aquarius spoke up. "That things should be put to rights. It was dumb luck and a twisted stroke of fate that she would be the one to stumble upon his prison. Being compassionate enough to fix him and bond with him."

A soft sob followed Aquarius' short speech, making them all look at the mermaid as Scorpio wrapped his arm around her. They knew she was a harsh persona but had a warm, caring, overprotective nature underneath. She, too, like Loki and Virgo, was one of the oldest around. They all wanted Lucy to come out of this and, if fate allowed it, since the Siren was there, to right this wrong injustice. But they also knew that it meant the bigger powers that be had to step in and fix this. Their King was not a true god, just a keeper over them and all the Celestial Magic in Earthland and any other realm that believed in them and their stories.

TBC!

NEXT STORY TO UPDATE is Dial 1