Okay, so, I actually did it, guys—the first chapter on the Friday I said it would go up. Aren't you proud? Anyway, I don't think I have anything else to say right now. I just hope you enjoy the chapter.
Chapter two should go up April 5, 2019, unless something happens.
Also, please pay close attention to the time stamps! This chapter takes place before the Prologue. Unless another timestamp is posted in the text, everything following a timestamp, even if it goes into a different chapter, is set at that point.
Chapter One: A Spring in Her Step
April, X791
Lucy wandered the forest, meandering down the trail that had withstood the trials of time. She looked around, admiring the coming of spring and all the life it was bound to bring with it. The earth was damp and the wildlife just as wet. The setting soothed the celestial spirit mage.
Lucy stopped at the fork in the road, and stared ahead of her. The chirping of the birds echoed as the blonde gazed ahead, looking down both paths. They both seemed bustling with wildlife, exploding with the forthcomings of spring.
The mage stood perplexed, wondering which of the two ways she should traverse. At her current place, she could point out no noticeable difference between the trails. However, she had to consider what would lie further ahead. Of course, the bumbling blonde had no clue where exactly she was; however, she did have an idea of the general area. And, so, seeing as she had no other idea, she pulled out one of her precious keys.
"Open: Gate of the Compass—Pyxis!" The mage called forth, and a large red bird with a compass atop its head appeared.
The girl smiled, and looked at the spirit. "Pyxis, I'm a little lost, so I'm gonna need you help."
The bird made a noise indicating compliance and cheerfulness, and Lucy continued. "Which of these two paths leads towards Magnolia?"
After a moment, the bird's compass spun and the bird itself pointed down the trail to the right.
Ah, so that must be east. Lucy nodded, and then bade the spirit goodbye, not forgetting to thank it for its help, of course.
After sighing, the girl turned away from the trail leading towards Magnolia, heading down the left path. As much as she would love to head back to Magnolia and join her friends, Lucy had to finish what she had started.
And, so, the mage wandered down the trail leading westward, continuing to admire the lush wildlife, as well as attempting to clear her mind from the sadness that was enveloping her. However much she tried, no matter how distracted she was, the Fairy Tail mage's thoughts always seemed to have some level of distress to them. The cause of this distress, of course, being the loss of the past seven years, the loss of new experiences, the loss of hope within the guild, the loss of her father.
Their relationship had been rocky, but it seemed that her father had changed. The last letter he had sent her proved that point, and it was that letter that had pushed Lucy over the edge. The letter had made her realize the gravity, the intensity of the situation. It wasn't time that she had just lost, it was opportunity.
Suddenly the celestial mage was snapped out of her thoughts as she heard fast footsteps and rustling behind the bushes and the trees. She stared into the forest around her, squinting her eyes to better see through all the overgrowth. It took her a little while, but she noticed a figure dashing towards her, showing no intention of stopping.
Unsure of what to do, Lucy just stood there, until the very last second when the figure made it onto the trail and was about to collide with her. She attempted to move, but, seeing as she had delayed moving for so long, she didn't completely evade the incoming person.
Her leg had tripped the man, dragging both of them down to the ground. This, apparently, didn't sit too well with whoever this person was. And Lucy could see why: all of his possessions that he had been carrying had fallen, all sprawled out on the ground around them.
"Watch it, lady." The man huffed, promptly pushing the girl away from him, and not in a generous manner.
"Hey!" She exclaimed. "That wasn't very nice."
"Neither was knocking me down and making me drop everything. I was clearly in a rush." The man grumbled, moving to begin collecting his things.
Lucy, though disgruntled, began to apologize to the man, who had ginger hair and appeared to be very well-built. "Sorry, I didn't mean to, I guess I just froze and…" She trailed off as she began to notice what exactly the man had dropped. She looked around and noticed masses of precious gems sprawled around.
Lucy began putting two and two together, and look at the man as he continued to gather what he had dropped. "Hey, wait a second." She began.
"What?" The burly man growled.
"Is all of this even yours?" The mage, who was sure of the answer, questioned, reaching for her fleuve d'étoiles.
"Look, lady, you keep to yourself and I'll keep to myself." He spat. "Why don't you just go to wherever you were heading off to in the first place?"
"I don't think so. This stuff obviously isn't yours." Lucy began, and pulled out her whip, preparing herself and her stance for the inevitable conflict. "Now, you can tell me where you got all of this from, and leave it with me, or we can do this the hard way."
The man scoffed. "You really should've just left when I told you to. Now," he got up and looked the mage in the eye, "I'm gonna have to teach you a lesson. A shame you're not gonna be able to share it with anyone when I'm done with you."
With a sadistic grin, the man charged at Lucy, a movement that the celestial wizard could barely dodge. However, before she could pull off a move, the man spun around and delivered a heavy blow to her, sending her back some distance and onto her back.
The man charged again, but this time Lucy made use of her whip, lashing out and wrapping the end around the man's ankle. In one swift motion, she vigorously swung her arm to the right, sending the man into a nearby tree.
Lucy got up and dusted some dirt off of her clothes, before looking up at the man. He was fuming, to say the least, and Lucy could tell he was planning out his next move.
In attempts to end this battle quickly and return to her own priorities, the girl reached for her keys, and brought one out.
"Open: Gate of the Golden Bull, Taurus!" In an instant a giant, axe-wielding, perverted bull appeared out of thin air, crossing the boundaries between the stars.
"Mooooo, Miss Lucy! Looking as great as ever, I see." The spirit observed, comical hearts popping out of his eye sockets. "The only thing that would make you look better would be if I w—"
"Taurus!" The exasperated summoner interjected, not wanting to hear the rest of that sentence. Regaining her composure, she pointed to the man in front of them. "Taurus, this man is obviously up to no good; we have got to stop him!"
The bull assumed a fighting stance. "If you say so, Miss Lucy. Afterall, once I finish with him, it'll be just you and me."
The caster shuddered at the thought, but knew that she could always just force Taurus away if he became too much to handle.
Focusing her attention once more at the task at hand, she directed her spirit to go straight for the man while she commanded her whip about the man's surroundings, so as to limit his options of mobility.
As Taurus approached the man, it seemed like the outcome would turn out as expected: a quick and easy defeat of the thief. However, the man did something unexpected as the spirit brought his axe up and began to draw it down: he brought his arm up as if to block the incoming blow with his forearm.
"Attribution: Harden! Metallic form!" As Taurus was about to hit the enemy, the enemy's skin transformed into skin of metallic attribution, gaining an immense increase in withstanding ability.
The axe and the man's forearm collided and a sharp sound resonated through the air, piercing Lucy's ear. The spirit remained immobile, caught off guard by this sudden occurrence. Taking advantage of this moment, the man began to say another quick enchantment.
"Attribution: Strength!"
Lucy watched in shock as the opposing mage quickly brought his other arm up and in contact with her spirit's abdomen, sending him several feet up and back, putting him out of commision.
With a dazed expression, Taurus expressed his dismay and apologized for having let his caster down before returning to the Celestial Spirit World.
The attribution mage smirked. "So, lady, you realize now why you should've let me be, don't you?" He took a step forward, casual in demeanor. "You may have your celestial magic, but it's nothing—it's weak compared to what I can do."
Those words struck a nerve in Lucy, however they also echoed her own thoughts, in a sense, at least. She had set out on this mission because she felt weak, or weaker than what she should have been.
Although she knew nothing could change what had happened to her and to her friends—her family—she felt like, had she been stronger, she could have altered the outcome of the incidence on Tenrou Island. If she had had the strength to defeat Kain herself, perhaps she'd have also had the strength to quicken the final battle against Hades, and facilitate an earlier departure from the island, before that cursed dragon appeared and ruined everything.
Because of those feelings, the stellar mage had decided to embark upon a hopefully quick journey to train a while, in preparation for the upcoming Grand Magic Games and to soothe her thoughts.
Of course, her friends also had plans to train for the Games, yet she knew she needed some training alone. With her friends, she would always remain too much in her comfort zone to try to grow as much as she wanted too.
Besides, more accurate than her needing some training alone was her needing some alone time in general. She needed the break from reality, which explained her reasoning for wandering the forest to locate her desired training ground instead of taking the train as she normally would.
Lucy snapped out of her trance and, with a new determination, grabbed and brought out two of her zodiac keys.
She took a deep breath, and then, summoning all of her possible strength, called out for both the Lion and the Maiden to travel across the celestial plain and cross the boundary of the stars. With bright flashes, Loke and Virgo appeared between Lucy and her opposition.
Virgo spoke first. "Princess, may I inquire as to why you summoned both Leo and myself? Did you require him so that he could administer punishment to me?"
The summoner deadpanned. "No, Virgo." Lucy replied. And then, "I summoned both of you to help me prove a point to this man right here: that you guys are not weak!" She said the last part with determination.
"Well, if that's what you want," Loke began, "Then we're here to help. But," the Zodiac leader continued, "I expect proper compensation in the end." He went to smirk, before he was hit in the head by a very agitated celestial mage.
"This is not the time for that, Loke!" She fumed. Regaining her composure, she directed her spirits to ready for the fight, warning them of their opponent's magic.
The two spirits sprung forward to attack as their summoner worked her whip, while the enemy attributed himself enhanced speed so as to keep up with three simultaneous attacks. That, along with his earlier attribution of strength and a hardened exterior, allowed him to receive minimal damage from his opponents while afflicting more upon them.
With heavy sighs, the three celestial fighters realized that they would have to adopt a new strategy to beat this man. He may have more power in brute strength, but they had more brain power.
"Virgo," Lucy started out, "I need you to find a new way to get close."
Although the statement was very vague, the spirit knew exactly what her summoner wanted. In an instant the Maiden drilled a hole and proceeded to travel beneath the surface.
"That ain't gonna work, lady." The man chided. "Attribution: Sensitivity! Now I'll be able to hear and feel where exactly your little spirit is gonna come from." However, upon casting this enchantment, the thief lost his harden exterior, perhaps due to his new enchantment's contradictory nature in regards to his first enchantment, perhaps due to some other unknown factor.
This gave Lucy an idea.
"Loke," the mage said, ignoring her opponent's snide comments, "I need you to use your brightest move and make it so that he can't open his eyes."
"As you wish."
Lifting his arm, Loke used a Regulus enchantment, bathing the area in a golden ray.
The man shut his eyes, but spoke. "It doesn't matter if I can see, I can still hear and feel where you guys are! What part of that don't you understand?"
Lucy wasn't sure if her plan would work, but this was the last idea she had, an idea that rested on an assumption she had in mind.
She sent forth her whip, and, as the man went to dodge it, she yelled.
"Virgo—now!"
The spirit shot out of the ground and into the thief's path—that is, into where he was moving to dodge Lucy's whip. The Maiden gave him a powered kick, and then the Lion came forth and hit with a Regulus-powered punch. The impact sent the man flying, sending him into a nearby tree.
Soon, a sense of achievement overtook Lucy, who gave out a triumphant cry and a wondrous smile.
"Good job, guys! We did it! Thanks for everything!" And with that, she dismissed her spirits.
Before anything else, the mage took the time to use her whip—her normal, Earthland one, not the fleuve d'étoiles—to tie her incapacitated opponent to the tree which he had hit. Then, she grabbed the bag he had been carrying and filled it with all the jewels that had spread out throughout their battle and from their initial meeting.
With a sigh, Lucy, though exhausted from her battle—the drain of summoning so many Zodiac back to back had begun to hit her—began to try to find clues as to where these jewels came from, though it seemed an impossible task.
After some time, Lucy, exhausted and annoyed, gave up on trying to learn the origins of the jewels, and decided to wait for the thief to wake from his unconsciousness.
The Fairy Tail mage sighed, and, refusing to sleep due to no one else being present to keep watch over the man, sat underneath a tree across from the man, her resolution to stay awake strong yet wavering.
She was just about ready to relax when, all of a sudden, she heard footsteps approaching her from her right.
She turned in that direction and saw a man—young, blond, tall, owner of a shirt that was way too small for him.
Lucy tensed. She was still too exhausted to summon more spirits to fight, yet, if this man came to aid the other, what other choice did she have?
However, when the man began to speak, he surprised Lucy.
"So, you did my work for me." The man said. "Makes my day easier, although it's not like it was going to be much harder had I had to do this." He commented.
"Huh?" The blonde girl questioned. "Who are you?"
At that question, the man seemed taken aback—offended, even—and stared at Lucy in disbelief.
"You're kidding, right?" He interrogated.
"No." She replied. "Should I be?"
"Yes." He stated.
"Well, I'm not. So, are you going to answer the question?" Lucy pressed.
The man smirked and regained his composure. "Sure. Maybe you've just never been able to put a face to the name. I'm Sting Eucliffe, Sabertooth's White Dragon."
Lucy froze.