August 14th, x777

The Stratosphere's Presidental Suite

9:15 PM

Lucy was roughly thrown in the presidential suite. The room was lit by the night light that shined through the glass walls. The suite was divided by a long black sheet that occasionally moved with a thud following. Lucy took a mental note of the freshly cleaned white couches and rugs. She glared at the blonde woman in the silk black dress who approached Lucy and the Casino Host.

"Excellent work, my little host." A woman who couldn't be a day passed thirty-five blew the Casino Host a kiss. From her attire and jewelry alone, her upper-class status was clear. She had a certain air to herself that read danger. Lucy glared at the woman with hatred in her eyes. "I can only imagine the damage this rat could've done had we left her to her devices. I commend your work, Shu."

"You won't get away with this. If we don't stop you, then one of the light guilds will." Lucy scowled as she fought against the iron handcuffs. She could break free with the right Star Dress, but this was a perfect chance to uncover the truth. "Everything done in the dark will always come to the light."

"An optimist, I see." The lady smirked as she gripped Lucy by the chin. "But the same can be said about you and Wiess. How is it possible for two people with no records could possibly have any connections to the King? Interestingly enough, when I had my men look into the two of you, almost nothing appeared. Face recognition mages had no information. No birth certificates. No guild record. No school records. The only reasonable conclusion one could reach is that Rebecca and Wiess do not exist. Now, who are you?"

"Why is a casino dabbling in trance magic? I think that's a better question." Lucy shot her a dirty look which earned the Celestial Wizard tighten restrictions.

"Foolish girl, that's not the only thing we're dabbling in." She replied with a devilish smirk before turning to a curtain that hid the other half of the room.

"Miss Kisa, I wo-" The Casino Host was quickly silenced by the horrible sight.

Half a dozen humans were stripped down to their undergarments and hung from the ceiling. Their eyes were dull and void of any signs of life as the blood dripped from the fresh wounds decorating their bodies. Lucy's eye shrunk as her body burned with a hellish fury once she recognized the back of the person harming innocent people. "Sagittarius?!"

"La-Lady Kisa, ple-please return me to the Spirit World." The Archer tearful pleaded as he lowered his bow. "Th-This is torture."

"You will continue until I am satisfied," She snapped. "Unless you wish for me to use force."

"N-No," He flinched before raising his bow and placing a shaking hand onto the arrow.

"You're making Sagittarius do this?! You're sick!" Lucy snarled. Every fiber in her being wanted to smash this lady through the ground and save Sag.

Lady Kisa rolled her eyes. "Oh please, it's a Celestial Being. They don't have feelings or free will. It was made to serve and nothing more."

"You're wrong! Sagittarius and every spirit have their own emotions and identity. This is abuse! Sagittarius is clearly in pain and you're forcing him to continue? This is wrong in every aspect!"

Lucy violently shook as she rose to her feet. She broke through the handcuff as she transformed into Taurus's Star Dress. She wore an outfit consisting of a bra and sleeves with a cow pattern and pants that revealed her entire left leg. Lucy wore a pair of gloves and boots as well as a belt and a bag around their waist.

Lucy stomped her feet as she marched over to the blonde woman. The Celestial Wizard threw a clean right hook at the stunned Kisa which was quickly intercepted by the Casino Host's left arm. The glass windows shattered from the impact made by the two of them. Lucy growled in frustration. "How can you defend someone so horrible?!"

"I must complete this job," He said monotony. His voice was void of compassion. "I will see this to the very end."

"Then, I'll just get through you with brute force," She frowned while calling upon Capricorn. Shining his key in air, Lucy released the Sea-Goat into the world. "Let's go Capricorn, we'll deal with him first then the mistress behind it all!"

"Understood," He pressed his shades upward before sprinting into battle. Lucy swung her leg at Shu's face, but the bulk man caught her with ease. The Casino Host slammed his fist into Lucy's stomach but was too slow to avoid Capricorn's strike to his center torso. The Casino Host loosened his grip on Lucy and stumbled back a little. She nodded to her spirit and began their attack.

Lucy parried Shu's punch to her face with her left arm. She returned with a right hook once an opening appeared. Capricorn followed up with a leg sweep causing the host to fall backward. Kisa's radiating anger sent a shiver down the host's spine and forced him back into his stance. Shu wiped the blood from his nose before charging at Capricorn. The spirit danced around the tanned man's punches.

The sound of arrows piercing human flesh resumed and a high pitch laugh now accompanied it. Lucy gritted her teeth in frustration once she realized Kisa had turned her back the fight. The Celestial Wizard knew a dense magic attack could cave in the floors and endanger the people in the casino, so she had to rely on physical attacks. For now, Capricorn needs help with the Casino Host. Lucy unhooked her whip from her waistband and cracked it lightly against the ground. She wrapped the whip around Shu's waist and used her upper body strength to lift him off the ground. "Take this!"

Lucy swung him around the room, destroying the furniture and glassware in the process and slammed Shu on top of the archer. "Sorry Sagittarius, but that should send you back. Alright, you're next Kisa!"

"Miss, I would approach with caution. Unlike Shu, I sense magic from this woman." Capricorn warned.

"You have quite the eye," Kisa praised the spirit, but her eyes never wandered from the motionless Shu. She took a knee and summoned a small ball of translucent pink water. "But if you want to reach me, you'll have to kill my lovely Casino Host."

"What?! Why would we-" Lucy felt the words get stuck in her throat when she witnessed Shu stagger back to his feet. His eyes were lifeless, and his breathing seemed to be completely hollow. "That's how you did it. You're the one behind trance magic!"

"Learn a bit of water magic on the side as well, and it's easy to mix the two. Slip in a drink or mix it in with a dish, the results are always the same." She shrugged with a devilish smirk. "However, it doesn't matter. You and Weiss will soon be my puppets as well."

"You'll have to beat me first," Lucy snapped her whip at Kisa. She, in turn, motioned Shu to intercept as her human shield.

The buff man didn't flinch as the whip smacked him in the face. Shu rushed the Celestial Wizard as his arms wildly swung around with no real pattern. Lucy threw her arms in a defensive manner as his punches hit various parts of her body. Capricorn tried to intercept and gain Shu's attention, but the tan man was unaffected by the Sea Goat's attacks.

"Let's make the playing field a little less fair," Kisa smirked as she summoned a torrent of pink water into the room. The flood of water swept Capricorn and Shu off their feet while Lucy switched to her Star Dress: Aquaruis Form and surrounded herself with a thin veil of water. Once the sea of trance infected water thinned out, Lucy examined the soaked room. Capricorn and Shu staggered to their feet and turned their heads to her.

"Cap-Capricorn?" Lucy stuttered. Without a verbal response, the two men charged at her with an unparalleled amount of strength. The Celestial Wizard struggled to keep up her shield as the two recklessly attacked her. With one hand up defensively, Lucy pulled out a key from her holder. "I'm sorry! Force Gate Closure!"

The Sea-Goat pounding slowly came to a stop as his physical form disappeared the human world. Much like her fight with Sherry on Galuna Island, a Celestial Spirit can be sent back if she could force their gate close. The difference now is that Lucy had the strength to battle one-on-one. The Fairy Tail mage dispelled the protective bubble and blasted her opponent back. Without missing a beat, Lucy clapped her hands together. She summoned a ball of water that grew in between her hands. In this form, Lucy launched the ball of condensed water into Shu's chest which exploded on impact.

Shu skidded backward until his back hit the far wall. Lucy summoned a thin veil of water on the bottom of her shoes and skated to Kisa. The casino owner threw her arms up and summoned another flood of water. Lucy countered by surrounding her entire body in a mass of water and propelled herself into Kisa's stomach. The Fairy Tail mage found her footing once Kisa slammed into the back wall. In between her heavy breathing, Lucy flinched from exhaustion. "Please...Stay down."

Kisa growled as she glowed with a pink aura surrounding her body. The casino owner snapped her finger and forced Shu back into the fight. His body was already severely wounded, and he probably had several broken bones. Shu was in no condition to continue fighting. Any more damage and Lucy feared this man may die.

"What are you doing? He'll die at this rate! Just stop!" Lucy pleaded as she gripped her arm.

"Guys like him are a dime a dozen. He's replaceable." Kisa sneered. "Now, bring me her head."

"How am I suppose to stop him without killing the poor man?" She gritted her teeth. Urano Metria would do the job, but she couldn't guarantee that the floor would remain stable. Summoning spirit wasn't an option either, Kisa would only turn them against Lucy. "What if..."

Jumping back from Shu's oncoming punch, Lucy pulled another key out. "Open! Gate of the Maiden! Virgo!"

Right on cue, the loyal maiden appeared by her master's side. "How may I be of service?"

"Encase that man in your rocks and get away as fast as you can! Don't close your gate!" Lucy ordered.

With an understanding nod, the pink-haired maiden's eyes shined red. Using the rubble in the room, Virgo surrounding the man in a condensed ball of ruined furniture and stones. Thuds could be heard from inside the rocky ball, but there were no signs of him escaping. Furious, Kisa summoned another flood of water at Lucy and Virgo. The Celestial Being blinked twice before digging a tunnel to avoid the attack. Lucy threw her arms up and shrouded herself in a protective bubble.

Once the attack died down, the elevator door open revealing Taurus holding a tied up man and Sting. The bull seemed indifferent about carrying to men but became very interested in the Star Dress Lucy was wearing. His owner could only sigh at the sight of Taurus perverted notions. "Wiess, please close his gate."

"No problem," Sting jumped off the bull's shoulder and swiped the key in the air. The spirit disappeared and dropped the man onto Sting's shoulder. "Getting up here was a pain. The bull kept complaining about how he wanna hold a hot girl. Next time give me Capricorn or anyone else but him."

"I'm surprised you even use him," She joked. "I thought you're an independent wrecking machine."

"I didn't want motion sickness, so I made him carry me and this sad sack." Sting folded his arms across his chest. "Seriously, I was hoping for more of a fight, but you look like you've been through some shit."

"I have, but I did learn she's the one behind the trance magic. She used water magic and mixed it into the food and drinks." Lucy glared at Kisa. "I managed to subdue the Casino Host so that just leaves her. What about you? Did you find anything?"

"Yeah, they have cages of people hidden away. I'm talking about dozen of rooms filled with people who are out of it." Sting answered as he kicked the groaning man. "He's the co-owner of casino and an amateur at illusionary magic. The dude barely put up a fight. Did you find Sagittarius?"

"...I did. Apparently, this casino doesn't have a prize shop, so Sagittarius was being used for torture." Lucy rubbed her arm. "I managed to send him back to the Celestial World, but Kisa still has his key."

"Well, that makes this easy. Once we beat her ass, then this whole thing is over." Sting lit his fits and grinned at Lucy.

She smiled as relief washed over her. There was a sense of reassurance to having the dragonslayer by here her side. "Yeah, I'll protect you from her magic if you have my back."

"I- No, we won't give her the chance to fight back," Sting smirked at Lucy.

The co-owner of the casino growled in frustration. Kisa threw her arms and summon a crashing wave of tainted water. The rock that contains Shu got caught in the current and slammed against the wall. Lucy crossed her arms in front of her body and created a veil of liquid for protection. Behind the Celestial Wizard, the White Dragonslayer focused a concentration of magic on his fingertips. Strings of white magic dripped from his fingertips.

Lucy motioned her left arm upward while keeping her right hand forward for the water veil. She concentrated the power of Aquarius in the palm of her hand. The calming sound of the crashing waves soothed her as a round ball of purified water. Sting laced his hand with Lucy and mixed their magic together. Their magic aura flared as a new spell came into existence.

Lucy's sphere of purified water combined with Sting's White dragonslayer magic to form a cloudy ball of water. Launching the ball forward, the sphere tore through the waves of Kisa's magic with ease. Strings of dragonslayer magic shot out when the attack impacted the Kisa's stomach and forced a pained scream out of the women. The strings wrapped her body, restricting her movements and magic, and forced her to the ground. Lucy let out a sigh of relief and returned Virgo to the Celestial World. The rock tomb that encased Shu crumbled, leaving the man in a sleeping position.

"That's how we do it," Sting grinned their victory.

His companion smiled at him before picking up Sagittarius's key. The ordeal was over, and they freed the mind of the casino's patrons. Yet, there was one detail that still bothered Lucy.


August 14th, x777

The Greed Casino of the Stratosphere

11:00 PM

The magic council's rune knights quickly arrived once Lucy called to report the crimes committed by the Casino owners. Lucy and Sting helped the official with rescuing the individuals who were still trapped inside the cages and comforting them through the ordeal. Kisa and Hoggs, her partner in crime, were the first to be arrested. The staff members of the casino were called into question, and the rune knights would question each on their knowledge of the crimes committed. One of the first to be questioned was Shu, who played a role that was unique to him alone.

Once the rune knights were done with their first round of basic questions, Lucy approached the tan man while Sting consulted the Division Commander.

"How are you holding up?" Lucy asked with a small smile as she slid into the seat next to him.

"Why do you care? I almost killed you with little remorse." Shu grunted the formalities dropped from his tone. "Just leave me to rot. I'll be doing that soon enough."

"I don't think I will because I still think there's good in you. I know you had your own reasons for working underneath someone like Kisa."

"What do you know?" The muscular man folded his arms as he frowned at Lucy.

"Even though you knew all the horrible stuff they were doing, you stayed by them. You made the choice to stay, why?" Lucy turned to face him. "Kisa didn't use her magic on you until she needed someone to fight. Something else must've been a reason for you to work underneath them."

"...There's no point in hiding it." He let out a frustrated sigh while he rustled his hair. "It's my son, Sho. His mom died during childbirth, so it was just the two of us for the most part. A while back, my home village was raided by these cultists, and they kidnapped the children during the night. I was too weak, so I couldn't protect my son. It wasn't until Kisa approached me and offered to help me find Sho in exchange for being the Casino Host. I endured everything they have thrown my way, and I guess it all for nothing."

Lucy bit her lip as she hesitated at that moment. This was the father of one of Erza's friends from the Tower of Heaven. According to Erza and Milliana, Sho was the little brother Erza always wanted. Would it be wrong to tell this man what will happen to his son? It was clear to Lucy that this man cared deeply for his son. Hell, he signed a contract knowing the illegal activity for the chance to be reunited with Shu.

"Sir...I met your son on my travels, and I can assure you that Shu is will people who will protect him. I'm sorry, but that's all I can tell you." Lucy whispered a small apology. "Just know, he's happy."

"Hehe, you don't have to lie to make me feel better." Shu tilted his head down to hide his gaze.

Lucy opened her mouth to convince the man, but a familiar face approached with Sting in tow. Detective Saisuke motioned for the rune knight to take Shu into custody and left Lucy slightly unsatisfied. "Ahh, Miss. Rebecca, what are the odds of running into each other again? I didn't think you would get involved with another case."

"Detective Saisuke, it's nice to see you again." Lucy smiled. "We were going to spend some downtime here, but we somehow got caught up in this whole mess."

"At this rate, I might as well hire the two of you as mercenaries." The detective laughed to himself. "Seriously, my division has been working overtime trying to understand the missing person reports for the past month."

"I'm glad we could solve a couple of mysteries and help everyone out," She answered as she rose from the bench. "It's a pleasure, but we must be going. There's a tournament in Veilstone City we must attend."

"A tournament? Hmm, what's the prize?" The detective raised an eyebrow in interest.

"There's a couple of Golden Keys up for grabs, and I'm gathering as many as possible," Lucy admitted with a small laugh.

Saisuke smiled to himself as he tipped his fedora down. He shoved his hands into his pockets and began walking away. "Then, you should get a move on. If I hear anything about those Celestial Keys, I'll contact you. I'll be watching."

Unbeknownst to Lucy, Saisuke made a mental note of this incident. The Casino in the Stratosphere was extremely exclusive, so how did two rogue mages manage to gain legal entrance to such a place? After the attempted murder, he did look into Rebecca and Wiess with the intent to give them a proper thank you, but he found no record of either one ever existing. Saisuke found reports of Rebecca and Wiess staying in average hotels across Fiore, but they always made sure to pay in cash.

According to reports in regards to the diner incident, Weiss is said to use Werewolf and Light magic, but Saisuke always felt as if something was wrong with that man. Although the type of magic found across the world was forever growing, Wiess didn't remind him of a werewolf. No, Saisuke couldn't pinpoint it, but his magic reminded him of a far more dangerous and ferocious creature. But what?

Then, there was Rebecca. She had the composure of someone trained to be a lady, yet she chose to be a mage. Rebecca seemed to be focused on collecting those Celestial Keys. During the first case, Saisuke wrote Taurus's key off a gift but was that truly the case? This time around Rebecca found Sagittarius and uncovered Kisa and Hopp's human trafficking ring. To what lengths would she go to obtain all twelve, and what will happen when all twelve are gathered?


Keys Obtained: Cancer, Aquarius, Capricorn, Crux, Virgo, Taurus, Sagittarius

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

A/N: These chapters are getting longer and longer, and I'm not even bothered. Leave your comments in the reviews on where you think Sting and Lucy will go next after the tag team tournament.