Chapter 3
(two weeks after Laxus leaves)
Lucy is eating her dinner after a hard day of training. Tomorrow will be the last day of her training that the spirits had planned for her, but she did not want to leave yet. Her communication lacrima is next to her. It was check in day. Lucy hated checking in; when she was done training all she wanted was to eat and go to sleep. It did not help that Master had started asking about her future plans. Lucy missed her friends terribly of course but she felt like the forest next to Clover Town was where she needed to be; specifically, the mountain where she hiked per Capricorn's orders. It felt like she was being drawn there. The stronger she got the stronger the need to go to the mountain got.
After she finished eating she decided to get the call to master over with. She picked up the lacrima and send a small pulse of magic through it and thought of Master Makarov. He soon appeared in the surface of the lacrima. "Lucy, my child how is the training going?" Lucy smiled tiredly, "the training is hard work. one of my spirits decided that I should run the mountain tomorrow in less than an hour. I think Aquarius and Virgo have a hand in this new torture." Makarov nodded in agreement, "I wish you luck child. May I ask if you thought of your return yet?" Lucy sighed at her Master's questions, "Master I shall be home in about three weeks. Is there a need for me to come home more quickly? I will if I am needed back." Makarov shook his head, "you have a kind heart Lucy, but no there is no pressing need for your return as of right now. If I see a need for your quick return I would of course call you. I must tell you that some of your closest friends have taken your absence hard though. They miss you and it is getting harder to keep Natsu from seeking you out." Lucy both laughed and cried, "I never meant to upset them Master." Makarov just smiled at Lucy, "My child no one is upset that you are training. They just miss you. Be safe Lucy. We will see you soon." After putting the lacrima away Lucy went to her tent to sleep. It was one of the first nights she didn't dream about neither Gray nor Laxus.
Lucy woke the next morning and started her daily training with her usual run. Her day proceeded like all the others. But after her hand-to-hand combat training with Taurus it was time for her new exercise of running up and down a mountain in an hour. She was standing at the base of the mountain warming up staring up at the peak. The need to be near the mountain was the worst it had ever been.
Virgo appeared next to Lucy as she bowed she asked her usually question. Lucy Shook her head no, "no punishment today Virgo, but do you feel a strange pull to be near the mountain?" Virgo shook her head no. "Princess I feel no need to be near this place except when you need me." Capricorn appears, "It is time to begin you have one hour. If you are late then there will be punishment for you. Please begin." Lucy and Virgo began their run up the mountain. Lucy made good time, but she knew that her strange need to be on the mountain was what was making it possible to run fast enough to make the time limit.
As she was nearing the peak Lucy stopped in her tracks. Lucy seemed to be in a trance of some kind. "Princess we must continue if you wish to succeed…" Virgo was unable to stir Lucy from her trance like state. Suddenly Lucy turned and started walking off the trail. She continued no matter how her spirit tried to get her attention. When she reached a cave Lucy entered without any concern for danger. Virgo could not follow Lucy because of a magic barrier at the mouth of the cave.
Inside the cave Lucy was aware of her actions and her surroundings but she couldn't help but follow the pull. Once at the back of the cave Lucy immediately started digging in the ground. After several minutes Lucy spotted something shiny and white in the ground. She pulled on it till it came free. Once she had it in her hand she left the cave like nothing had ever happened.
Lucy and a concerned Virgo continued their run. Virgo could not get Lucy to talk about her strange behavior. Virgo sent out a telepathic message for Leo to meet them at the base of the mountain. Lucy held the object she found in her hand until they reached the finish point of the run.
Leo was waiting for them as Virgo has asked. "What happened? Why are you so worried Virgo?" "Princess acted strange on our run, she then walked into a cave where I could not follow her. She has not spoken since she returned." Lucy had sat down and stared at the object she found in shock. She had no idea how to voice what she was thinking.
Leo walked over to Lucy and kneeled down next to her. "Are you ok? What happened?" Lucy looked at her spirits with a blank look. "I have been feeling like I was being drawn to the mountain since shortly after we got to Clover Town. Today the pull was strong. When we got up there I felt like I had no choice but to follow the pull. When I went in the cave I dug this up." Lucy showed her spirits what she had found. It was a key made completely of mother-of-pearl.
Leo sat down hard when he saw the key and Virgo lost her stoic attitude for once. "Big brother, she cannot keep it. She may not live through meeting him." Leo shook his head at Virgo, "We get no say only the Celestial King can deny Lucy this meeting. If he objected to the meeting she would have never found this."
"Please explains what this means? I thought the only keys to exist were the zodiac and the silver keys. Any other type of keys are considered to be myths." Leo looked at Lucy with a sad smile. "No, the key you hold is proof enough that they are real. The other spirits are not allowed to speak of the other keys, because a mage that is not deemed worthy or strong enough can never find them. The mystic keys can choose their holders, the only one that may object to a mystic spirits' choice is the king. The fact that you have found any of the other keys is impressive. The mystic spirits are extremely specific over who they let find their keys and the king would not let them show themselves if he thought it would harm you."
Lucy was happy to hear that she was able to find this spirit's key. "I want to summon him now. I have so many questions. Are you sure I am strong enough to summon him now?" Leo smiled at the blonde. "Summoning the mystic spirits take lots of magic and energy. You have already completed a full day of training. It is up to you when you summon him, but I suggest you wait till you are completely recovered from exhausting yourself." Lucy nodded at her lion friend. "I agree I will call him tomorrow just to be careful. Now that I have found a mystic spirit may you tell me more?" Leo shook his head, "I am sorry Princess even though you have found one I am still unable to tell you anything unless the celestial king says otherwise." "I understand Leo. I think it is time for some rest after all the excitement."
Lucy ate her dinner, but she refused let the key go. She still thought somewhere in her mind that if she let it go that it all would turn out to be a dream. She even slept with it in her hand. When she woke in the morning she decided to wait to summon her new friend till after breakfast, because Leo had said calling him would take lots magic and energy. After she ate Leo and Virgo appeared on their own, "Hime may we be here when you call on your new key?" Lucy agreed to their request to stay.
"I am linked to the path to the world of the celestial spirits, now oh spirit answer my call. Pass through the gate. Open gate of the dragon, Draco." When she finished the clearing filled with stars and light like the sun. When the light got to the point of almost blinding it started forming together to make a dragon. When the stars and light had completely formed into a dragon they began to fade leaving a dragon. His scales were purple and black with silver spots.
Lucy felt so drained that she found it hard to stay upright. Draco curled his tail around Lucy to pick her up and bring her closer to his face. "Master I am Draco. Leader of the Mystic keys." "Lucy gave the dragon a welcoming smile, "Draco I am Lucy but I am not your master. If you agree to a contract I prefer to be called by my name or princess if you prefer. I hope we can be friends just like I am friends with my other spirits."
Draco put Lucy down gently and bowed to her, "Princess, I would not have let you find my key if I did not want to contract with you. I use celestial magic, and I am free anytime you may need me. Would you like to know more about the mystic keys now princess?" Lucy nodded excitedly at her new friend, "Oh yes please I have so many questions."
"Princess there are four other Mystic keys beside my own. As you have already found out mystic keys take a great deal of magic and energy to summon, but once here we use mostly our own power in our animal form. All mystic keys have a secondary form that looks human. This second form holds our secondary power. I must warn you in the human form we use solely your magic. To attempt the second form before you are able is fatal. Do you have any other questions princess Lucy?"
Lucy was excited to hear about her new friend, "Yes I have many question. Will you tell me why you showed your key to me? Why I felt drawn to its location? What is your secondary magic? Will the other mystic keys become visible to me as well? Are there other keys besides the mystic keys you can tell me about? How come everyone thinks that the mystic keys are myths?"
Draco laughed at the blonde mages energy and excited behavior. "I showed my key to you Lucy because I felt your drive and success to become stronger and how you wanted to prove your worth. I have heard from the others of your kind heart and bravery on the behalf of not just your keys but all celestial spirits. Also I had to meet the mage that is allowed to call the celestial king stache face. You were drawn to my key's location because I called to you, through my magic. You were the only person that could find it. In my second form I have the power to transport you to other worlds. As for whether the other mystic spirits allow you to find them, I cannot say. It is safe to say that now that you are able to call me the others may also call to you to find them. The celestial king has given me the ability to tell you of another set of keys. The Mystic keys are considered myths because we rarely allow anyone to hold our keys. I have not been out of the celestial realm in 1000 years. That is enough time to be mostly forgotten by humans."
Lucy's smile gets bigger with each new answer that Draco gave, "what other set of keys are you allowed to tell me about?"
"The king has given me permission to teach you about the animal kingdom keys. Now that you are stronger you may feel them much like you felt my key. They are not allowed to choose their key holder like I am, but they cannot be found unless you are strong enough to use them. I cannot tell you the locations that they are hidden at though, that is for you to find on your own. I believe that answers all your questions Princess Lucy."
Draco disappeared back to the spirit world in a shower of stardust, leaving Leo and Virgo in the clearing with Lucy. Lucy started thinking about the two new sets of keys she had just found out about. "Leo, is there anything else you can tell me about these new types of keys?"
Leo shook his head, "No, but if you want advice on how to start looking for them I suggest returning to the guild. Start taking jobs in places where you can hide things that could stay unseen for hundreds of years." Virgo bowed to Lucy, "Princess, big brother is correct but I might suggest looking in unlikely places. Animal spirits get to pick the hiding spots for their keys, maybe their choice reflects the traits of the spirit." After saying these things Leo and Virgo disappeared in a gold light back to their world.
Lucy felt totally drained both in magic and emotionally from everything that happened that day. She decided to head back to the guild on the late train to take the rest of the day to recover her energy. She went to the lake to bathe and relax. She leaned against a rock and closed her eyes.
She was on the beach behind the guild tears rolling down her face. She was wearing all a completely black dress. She was holding a fur lined jacket in her lap. When she turned her head to the left, she saw a grave. She quietly whispered, "I love you Laxus." When she stood up she held onto her large round stomach. "Do not worry little one I will make sure you know who your daddy is. He will always look down and protect us."
Lucy woke up with tears in her eyes. She had never had such an emotional dream about a guy before. She had stopped dreaming about Gray weeks ago, but her dreams of Laxus had only gotten more intense. She got out of the lake and started making some lunch dinner after she dried off. Suddenly the communication lacrima started going off. Lucy rushed over knowing something was wrong. She had just talked to master and he never called her, she always had to contact him.
"What is wrong Master?" It was not master but Mira showed in the lacrima. "Lucy I thought you should know that Gray was badly injured on a mission. Wendy says he will be fine but he will be on bed rest for at least a week. I knew that you would want to know about this." Lucy was already packing her stuff. "I will be on the first train back Mira, but it will be really late when I arrive. Thank you for telling me. Ill will come in first thing in the morning to see him."
Lucy called on Virgo who appeared with a bow to the blonde. "Virgo will you help me pack quick? I need to be home; Gray has been hurt." The maid spirit stood up quickly and got to work, "of course princess. You go ahead to train station I shall finish your packing and transport it all back to your apartment. If you leave now you can make the next train, if you run." Lucy took off like a shot screaming a thank you at her spirit friend behind her.
She made it to the train station with barely enough time to get her ticket and board the train. Even though she had made an earlier train than she thought she still would not get back home till the early hours of the next day. The whole way there she thought of what it would be like to see Gray and the others again.
How did he get hurt? Will it hurt to see him again after what happened? I have stopped thinking of him as anything more than a friend while I was away. Will seeing him make me want him again? Are the others okay?