Lucy=Rebecca; Sting=Weiss


July 21st x777

11:15 AM

Margaret City

After collecting Virgo's key at Everlue's mansion, the duo traveled west of Shirotsume Town to Margaret City, the home of the famous Lamia Scale guild. The city was also known for its revolutionary fashion trends and the river that divided the city in half. The bridges built and the boats were the only way to cross between the sides. According to Crux, Taurus, the Golden Bull, could be found somewhere in the city.

Sting groaned out of pure boredom. Lucy had them walking around the city since the fifteen, and it was more pointless with every passing second in Sting's eyes. "We've been at this for damn near a week, and we're not even close to finding that stupid bull."

"This mission was never supposed to be easy. We got lucky with Virgo and the others, seeing how we were handed three of them right off the bat." Lucy sighed. "I knew how to handle Everlue, so Virgo didn't take that much time. However, we can't expect all of the keys to fall into our laps."

"But, can't Crux be more specific?!"

"Sadly, he can't. Only Loke and the king can reveal a spirit's exact location. Crux doesn't know what city or town Loke might be in, so there's no way of knowing where Loke might be, right now." Lucy glanced through a passing shop window. "Grandpa Crux can tell us the general area."

"Well, what about the king? Where's his key?"

Lucy paused. Was there a way to summon him? She understood that any spirit could be summoned, but Lucy never heard of the Celestial Spirit King being summoned? Aside from the incident with Loke, Lucy never managed to summon that bearded man again. Then, there was the issue of knowing if Lucy could even sustain his gate long enough to learn the other zodiac's locations.

"I'm not entirely sure. I accidentally brought him to our world once in my early days of Fairy Tail when I wanted to overturn Loke's verdict." She tapped her chin while thinking. "I would have to ask Virgo when we get back to the inn."

"Well, you wanna give up for the day and get some grub? I'm starving!" Sting rubbed his stomach for emphasis.

"It's only a little bit before 11:30. Besides, you were eating when I woke up." Lucy folded her arms across her ample chest. "We're not stopping for food."

"Oh god, you're sick!" Sting gripped his chest dramatically. "You want to starve a dragonslayer?! What would Natsu say?"

"He would probably walk into the nearest restaurant," Lucy groaned at the thought of Natsu's bottomless stomach. The black-haired woman raised her head to look at Sting but found him entering a small shop on the corner of the street. She let out a heavy sigh before following her partner into the restaurant. "Mavis, please give me the strength not to strangle this man."

From the inside, the coffee shop was kinda cramped. Aside from the six bar stools against the rectangular bar table, there were only three tables. Each table had two chairs in the aisle and a booth. The booth for the tables ran against the back wall while the gals in between the table left enough space for anyone to slide in the cushioned booth. The table farthest from the entrance and closest to the unisex bathroom had a reservation note placed on it. Lucy slid into the booth of the middle table when she found Sting placing a lengthy order to the only working waitress.

"You and Natsu are too much alike." She rested her head on the table once the waitress left the table.

"Cheer up, it's my treat." He patted Lucy on the shoulder. "After we get a bite, we can go back to our search. Taurus is still in the city, and we'll find him."

That bull might be a pervert, but he's one of my heavy hitters. Taurus can charge through practically anything if he's not distracted by some hot girl. Honesty, he was easier to handle him than that lion of her's at to times. Taurus couldn't open his gate, but Loke leaves the Celestial Spirit World on his own accord more times than Lucy could count. "I guess...I just wanted to get Taurus as soon as possible."

Sting opened his mouth to speak but stayed quiet when the restaurant door swung open. A blond bushy hair young man entered with a silver duffle bag. He wore a light brown jacket with a fuzzy collar and khaki pants. "Huh? They still haven't arrived?!"

"Oh, you mean the people from Lamia University? I think they were apart of some theater program." The male waiter paused to think about the reservation. "We reserved a table as they asked, but no one has arrived."

"Geez, to think they would be late to Yukiko's birthday," The blond man groaned loudly before he sat his duffle bag in the reserved booth. "Well if, they do arrive, please tell them to start without me... My stomach's been killing ever since this morning, so I might be in the bathroom for a while."

"I wonder if he's okay." Lucy murmured the man in question closed the bathroom door.

"He'll be fine. I'm the one you should be worried about." The White Dragonslayer groaned loudly. "I'm starving."

"A dragonslayer's stomach knows no bounds..." Lucy sweatdropped as the cafe's door opened again.

A duo consisting of one young woman and a man who couldn't be older than twenty-one.

The woman was a slim brown haired wearing a slightly faded red A-Line skirt and a matching sleeveless V-neck tank top. She was carrying a small clutch purse in her left hand.

The man to her left was the tallest of the group. He kept his brown hair faded up to his ear and kept the top uniform, except for a single swirl. This young man wore a black short sleeve shirt that was tucked into his dark blue jeans. The tall man carried a laptop bag in his left hand.

"Huh? Where the hell are Heiji and Souchi?" The brown-haired man looked around the cafe and realized his friends had not arrived yet. "Are we the first ones here?"

"Ah-h no, Souchi arrived a few moments ago, but he's in the bathroom at the moment," The female waitress stated warily whilst pointing to the restroom.

"That's right. He did look kind of pale earlier when I came by his apartment," The young lady recalled.

"Well, while the boyfriend is away, I get Yukiko to myself," He wrapped his arm the girl's waist and pulled her close.

"Yusaku, I'm telling you, just in case, that is a secret. I don't want Souchi to find out just yet."

Lucy groaned quietly while Sting wrinkled his nose in discomfort. They knew this wasn't any of their business, but Lucy's heart still went out to this Souchi guy.

"Who knows," Yusaku developed a devilish grin. "Once the rum starts following, I might let it slip."

"Well, too bad for you, this fine restaurant doesn't sell alcohol!" Yukiko exclaimed loudly as she pushed him to the reserved table. The girl slid into the booth and sat close to Souchi's duffle bag. Yusaku sat down across from his friend in the wooden chair. "I wonder where Heiji is though. I thought he would be the first to arrive. He's usually punctual."

"Knowing Heiji, he's trying to make video lacrima for ya...to confess his love to you." Yusaku leaned in with a smirk. "It's pretty obvious that he got a crush on ya."

"He-Heiji? Haha, you can't be serious! Heiji is just protective. Souchi the same way." She waved him off followed by a light chuckle. "They've been like this ever since high school."

Yusaku rested his head on his left hand. "Yuki, you can't be this oblivious. Heiji glares daggers every time I get close to you."

"Th-That's because you're such a tease, and you always try to flirt with me." She stammered out. "Besides, that's just his 'Hey-don't-mess-with-my-female-friend' face. Well, you and I are just childhood friends playing around."

"It's not just, isn't it?" He smirked before stroking his chin. "Well, it will be out soon, anyway."

"What?"

"Nothing, just that my childhood friend Yuki and I are-"

"Are what?" A heavyset male with an ebony black buzzcut approached Yusaku from behind. He glared a fearsome stare at the couple. This young man wore a pair of light brown cargo pants and a black long sleeve shirt. He gripped his carefully wrapped gift in his right hand.

"He-Heiji!" Yukiko exclaimed in shock.

"Yo-You're late." Yusaku stammered out before clearing his throat. "We thought you would be the first arrive. What held ya up?"

"I took a wrong turn. Before I knew it, I was on the other side of the city." Heiji answered with a hint of embarrassment in his voice. "Huh? Where's Souchi? His bag is here, but I don't see him."

Yukiko answered as Heiji sat in the chair next to Yusaku. "Souchi's stomach has been upset since this morning."

"You took the wrong turn? We've been here a million times when we were doing that play last year." Yusaku shook his head in disappointment.

"A play? Wait, you all are in college, right?" Lucy asked.

"That's right. Lamia University allows mages like us to use magic to enhance the production of any performance." Yukiko answered with a small smile. "Are you interested in attending our school?"

"Ah-h no, we're mages, but we are kinda on a journey. I'm Rebecca, and I used Celestial Magic. " Lucy stammered before letting out a small chuckle. She glanced over to Sting who was on his fifth plate. "Er...This is Weiss. He uses Light Magic and a little bit of Werewolf magic, but I guess that's sorta obvious."

"Werewolf magic?" She blinked twice.

"Ye-Yeah, he tried to buy this shady lacrima, so he could um transform into a werewolf." She lied. "Turns out the lacrima was defected and only gave him enhanced senses and an appetite."

Sting gave a brief wave before devouring the baked hen in from of him. "Sup,"

"Shit, he's packing that food away like a champ," Yusaku snickered. "I'm Yusaku Momota. We all use Rune Magic, but I dabble in a bit of Transformation Magic."

"Rune Magic?" Lucy raised an eyebrow. "What are the odds of you all knowing the same magic?"

"Oh no, it's not a coincidence. We have to know how to use rune magic for the majority of our classes." Yukiko corrected her. "I do practice some Celestial Magic, but I only have a couple of Silver keys. How many do you have?"

Lucy recalled before taking a sip of her drink. "So far, I have four Golden keys and one Silver keys,"

"Fo-Four?!" Heiji's eyes widened. "Wow, that's impressive. I'm Heiji, by the way, and I use Chill Magic."

"Wow, your group has a diverse set of magic."

"Yeah, Souchi even as far as learning Requip Magic." Yukiko's eyes sparkled with excitement. "It came in handy when we needed to set up a cafe like this."

"That's right. You all are in theatre. This cafe was the setting for one of your plays?" She asked.

"Oh yeah, we all practically know the layout like the back our hands," Yusaku joked. "That reminds me. I got a video to show ya, Yukiko. Rebecca, you're more than welcome to sneak a peak."

Lucy shook her head as she slid away from the trio. "I'm sorry. I can't look at something that personal."

Yusaku shrugged his shoulders and turned to the waitress, "Do you mind if I plug in my laptop? The battery died right after I finished my project."

"Of course, sir." She smiled before taking the stack of plates from Sting.

"Wai-Wait, shouldn't we wait for Souchi? He's still in the bathroom." Yukiko asked as she glanced at the bathroom.

"It will be fine. I'll replay the video when he comes out," Yusaku reassured his childhood friend before plugging his charger into the socket.

The lights snapped off at that moment and the room became pitch black. Lucy heard two high pitched screams followed by the sound of glass shattering. The Celestial Spirit Mage unhooked a Virgo's key and tried to the summoning light as a makeshift flashlight. She could feel her magic passing through the key, but nothing seemed to happen. She groaned to herself as another person left out a painful scream. Lucy felt a liquid splash onto her face as the scent of iron filled the room.

"Okay, what the fuck is going on?!" Sting snapped as I heard his fist bang against the table. "Why do I smell blood?"

"Bl-Blood?" Yukiko stammered out. "Wh-What happened?"

"Can someone please turn on the lights?!"

"Ri-Right, I know where the breaker is." The waiter said while moving to the breaker. The sound of plates crunching underneath his footsteps. "Please, no one move until the-"

The lights flickered to life and illuminated the scene. Lucy turned to face Sting, who had a splash of blood on his cheek. Yukiko and the waitress screamed again as Heiji pointed to the ground near him. Lucy froze once she realized Yusaku collapsed onto the flood with blood spilling out a hole in his back. Inches from the bleeding man, Lucy noticed the large cutting knife with the bloody tip and the golden key soaking in the pool of blood.

Yukiko rushed to Yusaku's side, but Lucy held her back. "What are you doing? We can't touch him! This is a crime scene!"

"Bu-But Yusaku," She choked on her words as Souchi left the bathroom.

"What's with all the screaming- Holy shit!" Souchi stumbled back into the restroom. "Yusaku!"

"Urgh..." Yusaku groaned softly.

"Looks like attempted murder, at the moment," Sting leaned over the body before picking up the golden key. "Huh? That's a new design. Hey Rebecca,"

"Wiess! What did I just tell Yukiko?!" Lucy snapped at him.

"Yeah, yeah, I know, but isn't this the key for Taurus? Why is it soaking in this dude's blood?"

"I don't know! Call the police!"

Heiji stepped over the broken glass near the body and reached the telephone lacrima. "I'm already ahead of you,"


Keys Obtained: Cancer, Aquarius, Capricorn, Crux, and Virgo

Keys Needed: Leo, Aries, Taurus, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Gemini, Libra, and Pisces

A/N: Can you guess that I'm been binge-watching Detective Conan?