I'm not gonna go into too much detail with ALL of her training so I'll be skipping ahead to show progress through this chapter and the next one, but hopefully she'll be done training after the next chapter :) (Also I am well aware that the training I gave Lucy is not original, I did take inspiration from other fanfics (if I could remember what they were called I would tell you but I cant :( all I know is that they were great and the authors were very talented).
~Chapter 10~
It had been a few months in the Dragon Realm now and there was already a big change in Lucy, for the better. Everyone could see it and so could Lucy. She had grown accustomed to her packed schedule and even spent her little free time practicing and studying with Crux. She was being taught so much at once that she really needed to use all her time to keep on top of things. Even more so now that her training was more advanced. The more she learnt, the more she needed to expand her magic capacity. She had Gaia's help with that; she helped Lucy tap into her 'internal magic source' (as Gaia called it) and push her limits to grow.
Lucy had opened up more to everyone, forming a bond with everyone. She felt welcome and she knew that people like them weren't going to come by her very often. She grew the closest to Demeter. She felt like a mother to her and she felt a need to know more about her than anyone else, she was the Celestial Dragon after all. She almost wanted to be the strongest in Celestial powers, proving to her ex guild that she could be strong on that alone. While she had trained her mind to forgive everyone from Fairy Tail, she still wanted to make them eat their words.
"C'mon Girlie! You know the drill!" Metalicana was like her own alarm clock now, making a habit of waking her up at 6am sharp and giving her only 40 minutes to get dressed for the day. Every morning he would call her a silly nickname. She didn't like them, but she could tolerate them. She got up out of bed, showered and made her way over to her closet to pick out her clothes for the day.
While Demeter preferred traditional clothing, Lucy soon realised that she would need to wear more flexible clothing. She returned to a more modern style, picking out dark grey sweats and a black tank top with brown combat boots. She put on her eye patch and belt and attached her keys before giving her hair a quick brush. She made her way out of her room and was met with Metalicana leaning against the wall opposite her door. "Good morning." She smiled at him. "Mornin'." He grinned, pushing himself off the wall with his elbows to walk with her.
"How you feelin' today?" He asked, turning his head down to look at her. "I'm good, ready for more training." She smiled back at him. One thing she, and all of her spirits, noticed was that this whole experience helped her regain some of her happiness back. She wasn't back to her overly happy nature and she doubted she could ever go back to that. She had learnt so much about composure and control with the short time she was here. "Good, you're with Venus, Donar and Raghnall today aint ya?" Lucy nodded her head. "Yeah, I'm learning Emotion Magic with Venus, and with Raghnall I'm learning about Runes." Metalicana gave a half smirk. "Sounds good."
The pair were now at the dining room, walking in side by side. "Good morning Lucy!" Venus gave a sweet smile before suffocating the blonde with a tight hug. "Let go of her V, you'll choke her to death." Datura scolded the pink haired woman and made her let go. Lucy still had to get used to her bear hugs. "Good morning Venus." Lucy all but choked out, catching her breath. The second Lucy had opened up, even the slightest, to her new family, Venus took it as a sign that she didn't have to hold back her overwhelming affection anymore.
"Good morning dear, I trust you slept well?" Demeter asked with a soft smile. She had taken up the habit of calling her 'dear' now instead of Lucy. The morning routine continued all the same as before. Everyone ate their breakfast while everyone discussed what duties they had or any stories they wanted to share. Lucy had finished her breakfast and sat waiting until Venus was ready to train. "I'm all done now Lucy, c'mon, let's go." She always spoke with a sweet voice, even when she was angry. That was kinda terrifying. Lucy stood up from her chair and said goodbye to everyone before walking with Venus to the training grounds.
Venus had already taught Lucy the basic Dragon Slayer spells, in fact, all of them had. But there was so much more magic she had to learn from all of them than just Dragon Sayer Magic. Each dragon had a small range of spells and magic, which made them all pretty powerful as they were, and now Lucy had to learn all of it. "As I told you last time, today we'll be introducing Emotion Magic. It sounds simple but it's actually quite difficult. You need to force your emotions, should you use this to battle, and forcing emotions is incredibly difficult." Venus lectured, pacing back and forth as Lucy listened. "How does it work?" Lucy asked. "Well, your attacks and defences are stemmed from your emotions. The stronger your emotion, the stronger your attack or defence will be. Each emotion takes a different form of magic."
"Does it work for all emotions?" Lucy asked another question and Venus answered. "The emotions that are affected by Emotion Magic are Joy, Sorrow, Rage, Love, Excitement and Fear. These are the most common six emotions used with this magic. However, in rare cases, other emotions, if strong enough, can come forth and form its own attack or defence." Lucy nodded, intaking all of the information. "Okay, what does each emotion do?" Venus sucked in a breath before she began her long explanation.
"Joy magic uses Lightning Magic. It can create different objects or even come to life. The lightning created from the emotion is a bright yellow, brighter than regular lightning and is light blue or light orange. Sorrow Magic uses Ice Magic. It can be used at will so it can be unpredictable. Like Joy Magic, Sorrow Magic can be manipulated into many shapes and forms. The ice created is a deep blue, grey, or sometimes black. Rage Magic uses Fire Magic. The fire emits from the user's body but can't be created randomly. The angrier the user is, the hotter the flames will become. Fire created ranges from orange, to deep red, to crimson. This is the most difficult to control out of all the Emotion Magics since anger is an uncontrollable emotion. Love Magic uses Wind magic. The wind generated is pink, and deepens to a red when the user is more in love. Excite Magic uses Light Magic. Excite Magic, much like Rage Magic, is difficult to control because it is hard to calm down once the light has consumed the user. Light is hard to direct, but isn't impossible. Light comes in white and brightens depending on how excited the user is. Fear Magic uses Shadow Magic. In a dangerous situation, Fear Magic is the best defense out of all the emotions. Fear Magic can be randomly formed, making it completely unpredictable. Shadows that form go from light purple, to dark purple, to jet black."
Lucy was fascinated by what she was just told. The idea of generating magic from her emotions amazed her. "Are we going to try out some attacks and defences today?" Lucy asked, hoping she would say yes. "Of course." Venus beamed at Lucy's eagerness. "If you aren't feeling any of these emotions right now, you'll have to draw back on memories to help steer your emotions into whichever direction you want or need." Lucy grinned and took a position a few feet away form Venus, holding a fighting stance. "Which one should we try out first?" Venus asked Lucy.
"I think we should try out Sorrow Magic." Lucy answered, awaiting her instructions. Venus agreed with Lucy's choice and prepared herself for an attack. "Think of memories that make you really sad. Your attack reflects the strength of your emotion." Lucy sucked in a deep breath, thinking back to the moment that she felt was her lowest. Her face changed from relaxed to tense. It was only seconds before Lucy swiped her right arm across her front. "Saturn Ring!" She yelled as she casted a giant ring of solid ice towards Venus. The ring was at least 8 feet wide and spun at a pace so fast it became a blur to the naked eye. Venus combatted the attack with a defence of Love Magic. "Lust Shield!" A dark pink wind shot in front of Venus and took the form of a giant shield. The ice ring shattered upon impact and the wind shield dispersed soon after.
"Not bad." Venus grinned. "Shall we try another attack?" Lucy jumped into another stance with a grin. "I'm ready." Venus smirked at Lucy and copied her stance. "Hit me." Venus teased. "Saturn Blizzard!" "Love's Fury!" Both of them raised their hands to the sky, sparks of blue and pink shot from their hands into the clouds. Lucy's attack made the clouds turn grey and cause a horrendous and thick blizzard of icy shards. Venus's attack made the clouds turn red before sharpened arrows fell from the sky, aimed towards Lucy. "Sky Dragon's Roar!" "Lust Shield!" Lucy and Venus generated their defences at the same time. Lucy's roar caused a hurricane to capture all of the arrows and send them towards Venus instead. Venus's defence prevented any of the attacks from hitting her, though her shield only just survived against Lucy's roar. As the air cleared, Lucy was stood with a grin, Venus was crouched down and holding her arm out in front of herself. "That was a strong attack Lucy, well done, you're getting better." Venus praised her pupil with a sweet smile. "Thanks." Lucy returned the smile. "Let's try another one."
/
Lucy's training with Venus and Donar had finished minutes ago, all of them now sat around the dining table for lunch. "How was your training today Dear?" Demeter asked with a smile. "It was good, Venus taught me Emotion Magic and Donar taught me how to combine the Lightning element with other elements." Demeter nodded, pleased by her response. "Sounds like you've been busy so far. Are you enjoying your lessons?" She wanted to make sure that Lucy at least felt comfortable in the Dragon Realm and hoped she liked it there. "Yeah, everyone's really great to work with." Lucy smiled, tucking into her food.
Before Demeter could continue their conversation, she felt a pain in her chest. She fell forward in her chair, clutching the skin over her heart. "Demeter!" Lucy almost choked on her food as she jumped up to help the woman. "Are you alright?" Lucy's face was stretched with a concerned frown, her hands gently gripping Demeter's arms. "Grandine, can you help her?" Lucy asked as the white haired woman approached them. "Metalicana, take her to the infirmary please." Lucy had to let go of Demeter to let Metalicana scoop her up in his arms and carry her out of the room.
"What's wrong with her?" Lucy questioned Grandine, staring at the open door with worry. Grandine placed a hand on Lucy's shoulder and gave her a smile. "I'm sure it's nothing. Don't worry too much, okay?" Grandine patted Lucy's shoulder before leaving to check on Demeter. After being so distant with everyone and anyone for a few years, it was a bit overwhelming for Lucy to be so worried about Demeter. It was like she had just gotten a new family so shortly after her old one broke her down. "Don't stress Luce. She's gonna be fine." Igneel came across to give Lucy a small hug for reassurance.
/
"I know you're worried about Demeter Lucy, but you need to concentrate. Runes take a lot of focus and skill." Raghnall lectured Lucy as she had another failed attempt at creating a barrier rune. "I'm sorry." Lucy sighed, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. "Try it again." Raghnall instructed. Lucy took a deep breath, trying to focus on the lesson.
There was a book on the floor in front of her and she had to place a rune around it to prevent Raghnall from taking it. She had already attempted a few times to no avail. She couldn't allow herself to pause her studies over simple worries, so she told herself to get it together. She began to draw the letters in the air of the spell she had studied before Raghnall's lesson. It was called Jutsu Shiki and was a magical barrier that prevented anything from entering or exiting the rune. Lucy did all she could to push aside her worries and focus on placing her magic towards the rune's strength.
To her satisfaction, the place where she moved her fingertip began to glow a bright purple and a magical shield was formed around the book. Raghnall smiled at the simple rune spell. "Good. Now, let's see if it works." He bent down and tried to grab the book but as soon as his fingers touched the edge of the shield, his hand was met with a strong invisible force. "Well done Lucy, you try." Lucy smiled at her small achievement and her smile grew even more when her hand was able to pass through the rune and grab the book. She gave the book to Raghnall with a proud smile. "Good work, next lesson we'll be learning about Dark Ecriture. You can go now if you'd like, I know how badly you want to check up on Demeter." He dismissed her with a smile. Lucy thanked him before leaving.
She was confused at herself. She had changed for the worse through the last year she spent in Fairy Tail and now, all of her past ways were starting to come back. She had taught herself not to be too trusting or let her guard down and now, here she was worrying about a woman that had only been in her life just months. Lucy chuckled to herself. I guess some people just don't change.
Laxus groaned, pulling his earphones over his ears. Evergreen was bickering with Bickslow about how crude he was and how he 'shouldn't talk such a way in the presence of a lady'. He was leading his teammates back to the guild from the train station. They had just completed their latest mission, which was a seven month long mission. Before that, they had taken on several month-long missions and spent next to no time in the guild. Even though they had already finished their mission, Makarov had sent them a message to meet at the guild in time for the S-Class Trials.
Laxus despised spending time in the guild; it was so loud and annoying. He hated the many pointless fights that they instigated over the most petty reasons. Everyone was so insecure about themselves that they needed to prove their strength with barfights. Even after spending time on his own before being accepted back into Fairy Tail, he still couldn't help but think the others were beneath him. They just weren't worth his time and effort. The only people that he could stand being around was the Thunder God Tribe and even then, he still needed a break from them occasionally.
"I wonder what damage we'll walk into this time." Evergreen rolled her eyes, her hands on her hips. "Those idiots are always fighting and breaking everything. It's hard to find a chair with four legs in that guild." Freed agreed with her complaints. "Yes, they do seem to lack self control." Evergreen huffed and shook her head. "There's no excuse, they're lunatics!" She yelled, a scowl on her face. Bickslow just shrugged at their comments. "I don't mind it, it's entertaining." He grinned, remembering watching the mages fight from the sidelines.
"It's not entertaining, it's annoying." Evergreen scoffed. Laxus rolled his eyes, bored of the conversation already. "You're all annoying." He gave a look over his shoulder and was met with Evergreen's narrowed glare. "You're no gem yourself." She glared at the back of his head, arms folded over her chest. "We're here now." Laxus ignored Evergreen's insult and walked towards the guild's entrance. He pushed open the doors and was met with a sight he was unfamiliar with.
The guild was quiet.
Everyone was just sat silently. Their heads were all facing the ground or at their drinks. There wasn't a happy face around. "Why's it so quiet?" Bickslow whispered to Laxus, who ignored him and just headed straight up to the master's office. Laxus knocked on the door and heard a muffled 'come in'. He opened the door to see Makarov sat in the same gloomy state as the rest of the guild. "What happened while I was gone?" He was curious to know what had drastically changed the atmosphere of the usually rowdy guild.
"It's a long story." Makarov groaned, rubbing his head in shame. Laxus sat down in the chair in front of him, taking off his signature coat and placing it on the chair arm. "I've got time." He made himself comfortable as Makarov told him all about Lucy's leave. Laxus sat silently as Makarov explained everything. Once he was finished, the blonde sucked on his teeth. "Who's Lucy again?" Makarov rolled his eyes at his ignorant grandson. "The Celestial Mage." Laxus nodded. "Oh. Her." He shrugged his shoulders. "Well I can't say I blame her for leaving. I'd have judged her if she didn't go."
Makarov sighed, feeling heavy with guilt. "I just wish that even I could have snapped out of the trance." Laxus shrugged again. "Well you didn't. What's done is done. Just gotta move on now." Makarov narrowed his eyes at his grandson. "Do you not feel any remorse?" Laxus raised an eyebrow at the old man. "For what? I didn't speak to her anyways and I wasn't even here to ignore her." Makarov sighed. "You're right, you weren't a part of this... You can leave now." Laxus stood up, swinging his coat over his shoulders.
Laxus pushed open the door with one hand and paused. He turned back to face Makarov. "Come to think of it, I regret not getting a chance to try her out before she left." He shut the door, a smug smirk plastered on his face. He made his way down the stairs and over to his team, who were sat in the far corner away from everyone else. "Did you find out what happened?" Freed asked as Laxus approached them. He nodded. "Yeah, that blondie girl got ignored cause of Lisanna and left. Nobody's seen her since."
Evergreen rolled her eyes at his brief explanation. "We need a bit more information than that." Laxus shrugged, a lazy expression on his face. "Ask someone else." Evergreen sighed but got up and walked over to Mirajane to find the answers she was looking for. Freed had managed to piece together the pieces himself and nodded to himself. "I see, so Lisanna made everyone forget Lucy to her breaking point." Laxus hummed to confirm him. "Shame really." Freed turned to the blonde next to him. "She was pretty hot." Freed shook his head.
Minutes passed in silence and Laxus spent them looking around at everyone in the guild. There were different levels of guilt, it was obvious to see. The people that were closest to Lucy had the biggest frowns and looked as though they hadn't slept. 'Probably can't sleep knowing they're hypocrites.' Laxus mused in his head. He both hated and appreciated the strong family views the guild had. While they were annoying to preach about, if it wasn't for their forgiveness, he would still be a rogue mage searching for something that he couldn't find anywhere else.
The ones that looked the worst were Natsu, Happy Gray, Wendy, Erza and Levy. They were pretty much the only ones Laxus could vaguely associate with Lucy. He knew that Lucy and Levy were bookworms together and that she was a part of Team Natsu. As irritating as Laxus found Natsu, it wasn't a good feeling to see him look so defeated. In fact, all of them looked like they were walking dead. It didn't look like they were eating or drinking properly, Laxus remembered them a bit more muscular and toned than slim.
Evergreen made her way over to the Thunder God Tribe with a frown on her face. "Wow, I feel so bad for Lucy. I hope she's okay." Bickslow raised his eyebrow at the brunette. "Since when do you care about anyone other than yourself?" Evergreen huffed at his comment. "I'm a very considerate person, I just don't like you." Bickslow smirked at her response. "Consider me proven wrong." He remarked. Before Evergreen could snap back at him, Makarov came out of his office with a grin on his face.
"Children, gather 'round! Great news!" He gestured for everyone to stand around the bottom of the stairs. "Is it Lucy?!" Happy asked, his eyes wider than his face. Makarov shook his head with a sigh. "No, it's not about Lucy." Everyone groaned in disappointment. "We're having another S-Class Trial!" Makarov threw his hands in the air; to liven the mood. The news seemed to excite the guild members. They started clapping and cheering. "Who's competing this year?!" A voice shouted from the crowd.
Makarov shushed them, smiling at their change of mood. "Settle down and I'll call out the names of the participants." Everyone went silent as they awaited the names. "Natsu Dragneel, Gray Fullbuster, Cana Alberona, Levy McGarden, Elfman Strauss, Juvia Lockser, Freed Justine and Mest Gryder!" Everyone cheered and applauded the participants. Makarov waited for the crowd to die down before announcing the rules. "Each participant may pick a partner to complete the S-Class Trials with, but must be a Fairy Tail Mage and cannot already be a S-Class Mage. You will each have three months to do some extra training before you will all have to meet back here to set off to Tenrou Island, where the S-Class Trials shall be held. I suggest you make every minute count." He warned before hiding away back in his office.
Laxus rolled his eyes as the noise began to gradually get louder as everyone began looking for a partner or asking to be a partner. He just couldn't be bothered with all of their noise and nonsense. The only good thing about the S-class Trials for Laxus was that he got to beat up some hopeful idiots that thought they could get passed him.
Lucy had been ushered out of the infirmary by Grandine, who insisted that Demeter just needed some rest and so did Lucy. While she was disappointed that she couldn't put her mind at ease by making sure Demeter was alright, she trusted Grandine's judgement. "Alright, I'll see you both tomorrow morning right?" Lucy asked before she left. Grandine smiled at the blonde. "Of course Lucy, goodnight dear." Lucy gave a small smile back. "Goodnight Grandine."
Grandine sighed as she watched the blonde walk away. She closed the doors to the infirmary and locked it behind her, making sure that nobody would walk in unexpectedly. "What did you want to tell me?" Grandine made her way over to Demeter's bed, sitting down on the chair next to it. Demeter sighed, frowning deeply. "I'm going to tell you something that you mustn't tell Lucy. She cannot know until she is fully trained and ready." Grandine leaned forward, grabbing Demeter's hand with a concerned smile. "Of course. You have my word." Grandine bowed her head slightly.
Demeter could feel tears prick the corner of her eyes. "I'm dying."