Author's Note 1: Last chapter before my original arc starts! Also, expect some deviation from the source material at some places (but then again, that's most fanfiction).
Chapter 17: The Lion Spirit
On the outskirts of Fort Tern, the sounds of battle were coming from a nearby castle. Three explosions blasted apart sections of the castle as the bandits that were held up within launched away.
"Open, Gate of the Golden Bull - Taurus!" Lucy chanted, summoning the axe-wielding spirit. Seeing the oncoming bandits approaching him and his master, Taurus swung his axe downward, knocking them away via a shockwave. The blonde wizard pulled out her whip and swung, knocking two bandits out.
"Lucy, on your six!" Zeke yelled before firing a magic energy arrow, knocking out a bandit that attempted to sneak up on his teammates.
"Thanks." She thanked before turning back to the battle, whip at the ready. She also noticed some bandits with singed clothing running away from the battle. Natsu (with most of his body ablaze) chased after them with a crazed look in his eyes.
"This kid's insane!" One of them yelled.
"He's a monster!" Another one exclaimed.
"Come back and fight me, you cowards!" The dragon-slayer yelled as he gave chase. However, an orange & red blur zoomed ahead and stopped, Alyssa knocking out the bandits with a double clothesline. "Aw, I wanted to fight those guys."
"Sorry, sweetie." The orange-haired amazon said with a giggle. Meanwhile, Zeke noticed that most of the bandits were defeated and dismissed his longbow.
"Is that all of them?" As if an answer to that statement, the last conscious bandit charged at the archer, only to be knocked out by one of Happy's lacrima bombs.
"Yup, that's all of them!" Happy said with a salute.
"You bastards!" One of the downed bandits grunted. "Just wait until Lord Devlin gets here!"
"You mean this gent?" The bandit turned and saw Alexander holding the aforementioned Devlin by collar.
"Unhand you mother..." And the lead bandit was knocked out with the handle Alex's sword.
"Watch your language. There's women present."
"Alright!" Lucy cheered, especially since the only property Morningstar had destroyed was the bandit's headquarters.
"Okay then. Let's go return the treasure." Zeke ordered, the rest of his team nodding in response. Soon, the group was heading back to the town with the stolen treasure in hand (Zeke slinging a bag of gold over his shoulder, Natsu carrying a chest full of jewels, Alyssa pulling a cart full of heirlooms, Lucy & Alexander carrying more bags, and Happy carrying a jewel-covered vase).
"How did these losers manage to steal all this stuff?" Natsu asked.
"Not everyone can spit fire out of their ears." Alexander stated. As the team walked, they were unaware of a certain blue-haired water wizard watching them (or one of them specifically) from a distance. But enough about that, as Happy saw on of his guildmates nearby.
"Hey, isn't that Loki over there?" Happy asked, the group turning and seeing the playboy in the distance, who in turn noticed them and greeted the team.
"What's up guys?" The ring wizard asked.
"Just being awesome." Natsu stated with his usual smirk.
"So same old, same old." Loki replied. However, his composure started to fade as soon as he saw Lucy.
"So, what brings you all the way..."
"Sorry, but I better hit the road! So long!" The orange-haired man quickly cut her off and ran off in the opposite direction.
"What is that guy's problem?" Lucy asked, a bit peeved since this was about the fifth time this month that the playboy ran at the sight of her.
"No idea." Zeke stated as he scratched the top of his head. "Usually he goes after anything in a skirt."
"Maybe he's terrified of blondes." Alexander suggested.
"Nope, I've seen him with at least ten different blondes in the last year." Alyssa responded.
Lucy just sighed and decided to change the topic. "Whatever. Any who, since we finished the job early, why don't we stop somewhere and relax?"
"Sounds great to me." Zeke replied.
"Oh! I know just the place! And it's close!" Alyssa stated in excitement and sped off.
"Alyssa, wait!" Natsu yelled and ran after the speed wizard, the rest of the team hurrying to catch up.
And then...
As Alyssa said before, the nearby town of Hosenka was a great resort town with an oriental flair. And needing to relax from the mission, Team Morningstar checked into a nearby hotel and were already soaking in the hotsprings.
"Ahhhhhh. That hits the spot." Natsu said as he relaxed in the hot water. Alexander, still wearing his eye patch, nodding in agreement.
"Aye." An equally relaxed Happy followed up.
"You said it guys." A smiling Zeke said as he lowered himself into the water. But even as he relaxed, the archer could've sworn he heard a faint feminine squeak. "Anyone else hear that?"
"Hear what?" Alyssa replied from the other side of the bamboo border that separated the men & women's side.
"I don't know. But it sounded like Mirajane when she starts pairing people in her head." The brunette stated before shaking his head, dropping the topic.
"Is that so?" Alexander replied, his thoughts shifting to images of the white-haired barmaid blushing. 'I wonder who she pairs herself with.'
"Hey, Alyssa. You want me to come scrub your back?" Natsu asked.
"Oh ho! That's pretty bold, pinky!" The one-eyed wizard commented.
"DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT, PERVERT!" Lucy shrieked in embarrassment.
"Aw." Both Natsu and Alyssa replied with disappointment while Zeke and Alexander chuckled. After relaxing the spring for a bit, the team had changed into yakutas provided by the hotel. The archer was finishing the blueprints for his new bow, a smug look making way onto his face. Until he was knocked back by a thrown pillow.
"Ha! Got you!" A certain salmon-haired dragon-slayer gloated as he held two pillows under one of his arms. He then noticed the blue prints on the table. "So you're finally finished with that?"
"Yes. And I was basking in my brilliance before you decided throw a pillow at me for no reason." Zeke stated with a glare, making his friend chuckle. However, Natsu noticed a certain smell that seemed out of place. After quickly looking around the room for the source, he then looked out to the opened backdoor and saw someone peaking from behind a large rock.
"Someone's spying us!" Natsu yelled, igniting his fists before leaping at the rock. The figure yelled in fear, jumping out of the way before the dragon-slayer came down and smashed the rock to pieces. He and Zeke looked and saw a familiar face (at least for Zeke).
"Juvia?!" The archer exclaimed. Indeed, the person that was spying at the two was the former Rain Woman of the Element 4 shaking in fear due to almost being smashed & burned.
"What's going on?!" Alyssa asked as she and Lucy (also dressed in yakutas) entered the room and saw the destroyed rock and shivering woman. "Who's blue hair?"
"That's Juvia of the Element 4!" Lucy said with an accusing point. "She's one of Phantom wizards who tried to kidnap me!"
"Oh no!" Happy exclaimed in fear.
"Oh I see. You're trying get payback for your guild! Bring it on!" Natsu yelled as his head erupted in flames.
"Woah, woah, woah, woah! Hold up!" Zeke quickly said as he stepped in between his best friend and the blue-haired woman. "We don't know that. Maybe she's on vacation."
"Oh yeah. That's why she was spying on us." Natsu said with sarcasm.
"N-no. He's right. I'm not here for vengeance." Juvia replied, recomposing herself as she stood up.
"Then why are you here?" Lucy asked, wary of the water wizard. The rain woman looked at Zeke before blushing and looking away, tapping her fingers nervously together. Meanwhile, Alyssa looked back and forth from the blushing water wizard and her teammate. She then thought back to how concerned Zeke was for Juvia during the battle with Jose and how the lunchbox from his admirer came in the from of a jet of water. Connecting the dots, the orange-haired woman smiled and walked towards the water wizard and Zeke.
"Well, if she's not here for revenge, then we got no reason to fight." The amazonian wizard stated. She then saw the confused face of her boyfriend before whispering into his ear. A look of realization made way to Natsu's face before smirking.
"Got ya."
"So...are we good?" Zeke asked, not knowing what his friends were whispering about while Lucy & Happy looked in curiosity.
"Yep. We're good." Natsu replied, which was all Happy needed to calm down. He then turned to the water wizard. "Sorry about almost hitting you. How about we all go to dinner and make up for it?"
"Eh? B-But I-I don't want to intrude." Juvia replied in surprise.
Seeing a chance to bond with the beautiful wizard, Zeke smiled at Juvia. "It's not intruding you're invited."
Seeing her crush's smile calmed her down and she nodded. "Okay then."
"Wait, what just happened?" Lucy asked in confusion as Alexander walked into the room with a bottle.
"You guys would not believe what they charge for good sake." The blue-haired celestial wizard stated before noticing the scene in front of him. "What'd I miss?"
And then...
Morningstar and their guest decided to eat at a restaurant notable for it's great cuisine and the head chef's absurdly large forehead.
(Seriously Mashima, what do you smoke to come up with some of these character designs?)
"Natsu, stop staring." Alyssa whispered.
"I can't." The dragon-slayer stated as he looked at the large headed cook. "How is that even possible?"
"Wait, you see it too?!" Alexander chimed in before looking at the sake bottle. "I just thought I was seeing things."
"Say Juvia..." Zeke started, getting the aforementioned wizard's attention. "I never got to thank you for the lunchbox. It was soooo good!" He said with a smile, remembering the heavenly taste.
The blue-haired woman had a light blush and smiled. "I'm glad you liked it."
Lucy looked at her teammate and the water wizard with caution. That was, until Happy got in between the two wizards and smirked.
"You loooooooove each other!" The cat teased, making the two blush like crazy (and in Juvia's case, steam started flowing off her body).
"Dude, what the hell?!" Zeke yelled in embarrassment. But before he could yell at the cat some more, Alyssa grabbed Happy by his cheeks and gave them a lit pull.
"Happy, what did I say about teasing people?" The orange-haired woman said with a disappointed look on her face. The cat saw this and felt bad.
"Not to do it unless you say it's okay." He responded.
"That's right."
"He shouldn't be teasing anybody at all!" The archer yelled in frustration. 'I swear to Mavis they spoil that cat.'
"So Juvia, what have been up to since the whole Phantom thing?" Natsu asked. The water wizard snapped out of her blushing state and turned to address the dragon-slayer.
"Well...I've been staying at a motel in Magnolia for the last few weeks."
"Seriously? Didn't you have a place in Oak Town?" Alyssa remembering Phantom Lord's hometown.
Juvia sighed. "I did. But I did some calculations and came to a horrible result." She laid her head on the table in defeat. "Even with all of reward money saved up, I wouldn't be able to afford the rent. So I had no choice but stay somewhere else."
"Man, talk about a tough break." Natsu stated, feeling a bit bad for her.
Seeing her so sad caused Zeke's chest to tighten and for once, he blurted out something without a second thought.
"If you need work, why don't join Fairy Tail?"
"EHHHHHHH?!" The other five Fairy Tail wizards and Juvia responded in shock.
The next day...
"Hmmm." Makarov said as he looked over the nervous water wizard. The short man walked behind her and looked at her backside. "Interesting."
"Master, are you done yet?" Zeke said, an anger vein appearing on his forehead.
'Oh, it's no use!' Juvia thought to herself. 'They're not going to forgive me, let alone let me join their guild. I'll just be forced to live off the streets!'
"Okay, you're in." Makarov said nonchalantly, surprising the water wizard and making Zeke smile.
'Yes!' The archer thought to himself.
"R-Really? Even after all that happened between our guilds, you're fine with letting me join?" Juvia asked.
"Well, it wouldn't be right to blame for their crimes. After all, you were probably just following Jose's orders." Makarov stated. "Besides, Zeke's one of our smartest wizards. If he approves of you, then you must be special."
Juvia looked at the archer, who had a light blush on his face and was looking away. Seeing this and hearing the kind words of Makarov, she started to tear. Of course, for a water wizard, tearing up means a waterfall coming from her eyes, freaking out Makarov and a few nearby wizards. "Thank you so much! I promise I won't let you down!"
"Um...no problem." Makarov said with a sweat drop. Meanwhile, the rest of Morningstar was watching from the distance in amusement.
"So you really think Zeke's got a thing for her?" Natsu asked.
"Well, it is kind of obvious." Alyssa replied.
"He looooooves her." Happy said with a smirk.
"They actually do look kind of cute together." Lucy said with a giggle.
And so, the day went on as normal (well as normal as it gets with Fairy Tail). The two things of notice that was Juvia getting a blue guildmark on her left thigh (the sight of which caused Zeke to have a sudden nosebleed) and a few of Loki's girlfriends coming by and crying that he broke up with them. While a few of guildmates found it weird, they just regarded it as part of the ring wizard's antics.
Later that night, Lucy bumped Loki while she was on her way back from the local bathhouse. After releasing he had no reason to be nervous around her, the two shared a drink while looking up at the stars. But when the two saw a falling star, Loki said something that Lucy found to be a bit odd. That once the stars fall from the sky, they could never return to heaven. She figured it was a lame pick up line, making him chuckle before turning away. In a low voice, he said that he knew he could be a real pain, but was glad they could actually have a decent conversation.
But what Lucy found odd was the way he said it. He sounded like it was his last conversation. Curious, she summoned one of spirits, Crux the Southern Cross, to look up which celestial spirits Loki had encountered in the past. While Crux did find the information, he couldn't give any extensive details due the confidentiality between wizards and spirits. However, he was able to tell her that Loki was once connected with the Celestial Wizard Karen Lilica, a now deceased celebrity wizard from Blue Pegasus who had died on a job.
With this new information, Lucy tried to think about what the connection was between the two. She pulled out a few of her old Sorcerer Weekly magazines that featured Karen, including one article that stated her favorite spirits to use were Aries the Ram and Leo the Lion. She then thought about what Loki said about the stars falling from heaven and Karen's death, which was reported to be caused when she attempted to summon a spirit, only for none to appear.
As she started to put the pieces together, Alyssa barged into Lucy's apartment with the news that Loki had quit Fairy Tail and ran away. After she explained that Loki had been acting weird lately, the blonde had a feeling she knew where he was and ran off to look for him.
While the majority of the guild searched the town, the missing wizard was standing in front of gravestone with the Blue Pegasus guild mark. The grave was on a cliff overlooking a waterfall, the ring wizard looking at it with melancholy and guilt.
"There you are." The orange-haired man turned and saw Lucy walking towards him. "The whole guild's looking for you." She then saw what he was looking at. "That's Karen's grave, isn't it?"
Loki was shocked that Lucy knew about this. "She was a great celestial wizard, and she had a contract with you, right? The sprit Loki. Wait, that's not your real name. Your name is Leo. Leo the Lion."
The two looked each for a bit before Leo gave a smile. "Well, I won't deny it. But how did you find out?"
Lucy gave her own smile. "Don't forget, I'm a Celestial wizard. I have contracts with a lot of spirits. It wasn't that hard to dig up the truth." Her smiled faded as she continued the conversation. "Still, you should've come to talk to me or Alexander about this. Normally when a Celestial Wizard dies, their contracts with the spirits are terminated. The spirits then return to their world until someone else finds their gate key and a new contract is formed. Your contract with Karen should've ended when she died, yet you're still here. Even though, your kind can't survive in our world for long."
"You're right." Leo replied, his eyes having a tired look to them as he spook. "It's been about three years now."
"T-Three years?" A shocked Lucy asked. "I didn't even know one was possible."
"Pretty amazing, huh? But I don't have the strength to keep it up anymore."
"Hold on!" The blonde exclaimed. "There's gotta be someway I can help you! Why don't I just open a gate for you? Tell me why you can't go back to the spirit world!"
"You don't need to save me." The lion spirit stated grimly. "There's no way I can go back."
"But why?"
Leo looked at the grave once more before he spoke up. "I broke a fundamental law that applies to both wizard and spirit. As a result, I was banished from the Celestial World for all eternity."
"Loki, just what did you do?" Lucy asked as he turned back to face.
"I can't deny my crime, so I have to face my punishment. I'm traitor to my kind. I was contracted to Karen, but she died...because I killed her."
Hearing this shocked Lucy to her core. The thought of a celestial spirit killing their wizard was almost unthinkable. Seeing as he was going to fade away into nothingness, Leo decided to tell Lucy this tale. Three years ago, Karen Licia was one of the most popular wizards in all of Blue Pegasus. While most of the men adorned her and the women hated her, in secret, her was a sociopath. She was constantly abusive to her spirits, treating them more like property and shields than living beings. In particular, most of her cruelty was directed at Aries, the Ram Spirit. One day, after Master Bob had confronted her about her abuse, she reasoned that Aries went behind her back and told the guild master about her cruelty. As punishment, Karen was planning on keeping the Ram Spirit locked up in the human world for seven days. Fearing for life, Aries seemingly went back through the gate.
But before Karen could resummon her, Leo manifested himself instead, switching places with Aries. While he couldn't attack her due to the contract, he did have an ultimatum for Karen. That was to release him and Aries from their contracts with her or he would stay in human world until then. The longer he would stay, she couldn't summon another spirit. And since he was using his own magic, her depleting reserves wouldn't affect him. Leo decided to wait at the ruins near the town, waiting until Karen made up her mind.
For the next three months, Leo stayed withing the ruins. Karen would continuously come to see him, begging to come back with so she could take jobs. But he was obstinate, not backing down until she released him and Aries from their contracts. During one visit, she said that she would treat Aries better, but he could easily see through her lies. In anger over the fact that she hadn't made any money in over month, Karen took all her anger out on Leo, stomping on him while declaring that once he was dead, she would make Aries work like a dog just to spite him. Even still, Leo refused to obey her and stayed in the human world, determined to let her abuse continue.
But then one day, Master Bob came to visit Leo at the ruins, a grim look on the guild master's face. In an act of desperation, Karen took a job and attempted to summon another spirit. However, doing so drained her of all her magical energy. As such, she died during the mission. Hearing this utterly devastated Leo. While he hated her for all of horrible things she did to the celestial spirits, he never wanted her to die.
"It was my fault." He said with tears in his eyes. "When someone dies, they're gone forever. I wish I could bring her back, but it's just not possible. The only way I could make things right...is if I were to die too."
And indeed, Leo fell over, the last of his lifeforce almost gone. Lucy rushed to his side, even as his body started to fade.
"I guess...this is it. It's time for me to disappear, forever."
"No! You can't just give up!" The blonde yelled.
"Don't be sad, Lucy." The fading spirit said with a fake smile. "I've been waiting for this. I'll finally be free. Free from the guilt of her memory. But before I go, I want to thank you. You've restored my faith in celestial wizards."
"Wait! I can save you!" Lucy cried out. "You can't give up yet!"
"Please...tell everyone in Fairy Tail...I said goodbye."
With her lips quivering, Lucy punched the ground in anger. "It's not fair! I won't let you die! All you have to is go back and your lifeforce will be restored! There's gotta be a way I can send you back!"
'What? Even after hearing what I did, she still wants to help me?' Leo thought to himself as he stared at the wizard. "I'm afraid that's impossible. I broke the law and I'm being punished."
"Even so...this isn't right!" The blonde cried out. "You didn't kill Karen! It was just an accident! It wasn't your fault!" She cried out, placing her arms around the fading spirit.
"Lucy."
"Open, Gate of the Lion! Take Leo back to the celestial world!" She chanted in desperation. "Please! Open!"
"It's won't work! It's okay." Leo replied.
"It's not okay! I can't just sit here while my friend disappears before my eyes!" As she said this, a blue magic circle appeared underneath the two. Something that seemed like a segmented chain appeared from the circle, hovering around the two of them in protective circle. "Open, Gate of the Lion!" Lucy yelled again, her magical energy manifesting around them, the chains seemingly reacting and spinning around them.
"Stop! You're going to use up all of your magic energy like this!" Leo exclaimed.
"Whatever it takes! I'm gonna save you, Loki! I'll open your gate! I won't give up! I promise, I'm going to get you back to the Celestial World!"
"Wait..."
"OPEN, GATE OF THE LION! OPEN!" Lucy yelled once again, the wind started to go crazy around them and the chains spinning even faster.
"It won't open for you!" Leo yelled back. "As far as their concerned, I'm responsible for Karen's death! They won't let me go back!"
Even hearing this, Lucy refused to give up, feeding more of her magic energy as she tried desperately to open the gate, even as her body started to fade.
"Don't do this Lucy! You're starting to assimilate with me! If you don't stop this, you're going to disappear too!"
"I won't give up until the gate's open!" The blonde declared. "I won't let you die! What's the point of having magic powers if you can't even save the people you care about?!"
"Don't do this!" Leo pleaded. "Please don't let me live with the guilt of killing you too!"
"You didn't kill her!" She yelled back. "Whoever decided you were responsible...NEEDS TO KNOW THAT THEY WERE WRONG!"
Suddenly, the magical energy disappeared, the glowing chains stopped spinning, and the two were knocked away, Leo's glasses falling. But before they hit the ground, they were stopped in midair, time freezing around the two. They looked up and saw the stars spinning in the sky and water rising upward. The stars and water coalesced into a large portal.
"W-What's going on?!" Lucy asked in fear.
"Impossible. It's him." Leo said in shock. "The celestial spirit king."
The light faded and revealed an absolute giant of figure. Silver and gold armor covered his thirty story body, a blue cape flowed behind him, a large white moustache was adorned on his face, his skin as blue as the sky, his eyes red, and a horned helmet with red tassels on his head.
"What the hell is he doing here?"
"He's the king?" Lucy asked in astonishment. "Like the ruler of the spirit world?"
"Hello, my old friend." The king greeted with a kind yet commanding voice. "As you well know, both spirits and wizards must obey Celestial Law. And taking the life of a keyholder is forbidden under any circumstance. Though not by your hand, you are still responsible for your keyholder's death, Leo the Lion. Therefore, you have been banished from the Celestial World for eternity."
"Hold on!" Lucy yelled as she stood up. "That doesn't seem fair at all!"
"Lucy, stop!" Leo begged.
"Old friend, human girl. I have made my judgement and it stands. Leo has broken Celestial Law." The King stated. Even so, Leo was still baffled by his appearance.
"Loki's been suffering in the human world for three long years! He didn't kill Karen! But he did stand up to her because someone had to protect Aries!" The blonde stated.
"I must say, I do find it heartbreaking to see my old friend in such condition."
"What is wrong with you?!" Lucy asked, anger clear in her voice. "An old friend is still a friend, right? Well there's one in front of you right now, asking for a second chance! So open your eyes, Stache-face!"
Hearing the insult caused the king to raise an eye. "Stache-face?"
"Um...Lucy?" Leo said in fear of what the king would do.
"Karen died because she took on a job she couldn't handle! He had nothing to do with it!" She continued. "You have to change your verdict because he's innocent! Please sir!"
Lucy's body took on a golden glow and the chains started to spin again. Seeing this, Leo bit his lips and yelled at her to stop it.
"It doesn't matter if the verdict is changed! I'm not looking for forgiveness! I want to disappear and finally be free from this guilt!"
"I won't let you!" Lucy yelled as her magical energy started to fluctuate again. "You disappearing isn't going to bring Karen back to life! All it's going to do is create more sadness! You did nothing wrong, because it can't be a crime to protect the people you care about!"
And much to Leo and the Celestial King's shock, something miraculous happened. From Lucy's magic, all of her Celestial Spirits appeared, standing defiant along with their keyholder.
'She summoned all of those spirits at once?! Not even Karen could do that!' He thought to himself as Lucy looked back at him.
"What about all your friends? Are you just going to leave them? If you were die, you'd leave me and Aries and everyone else behind! Think about us, and how miserable we'd be without you!"
Leo looked at saw his old friends, looking at him with determination. However, they faded away along with Lucy's glow, the blonde falling to her knees. Yet despite that, the chains were still spinning around them.
"Lucy!" He yelled as she fell over. But even with most of her magic drained, she just clenched her fists and got back up.
"All of my friends who just came forward just now. They feel the same way I do."
"You're friends?" Leo asked as she looked back up at the King.
"And you're a Celestial Spirit too. You can simpathize with what Loki and Aries went through."
"Will you stop?!" Leo begged. "If you keep this up, you're going end up like Karen! Don't risk your life to save mine!"
The Celestial King looked at the two for a bit before speaking again. "Hearing you speak so highly of my old friend...has lead me to think that maybe it is not his actions, but the law itself that should be brought into question. Leo was forced to commit his crime to protect Aries and his brethren. And the human girl has risked her life to save Leo. I am so moved by your bonds of loyalty, I shall make an exception in this case. Leo the Lion, you are hear by granted return passage to the Celestial World."
Leo didn't know what to make of this. Just the fact that the King reversed his verdict was unthinkable to him. As he thought of this, Lucy looked up and gave the king a smile and a thumbs up. "You're awesome, Stache-face."
And in response, the King just a big smile of his own before addressing Leo again. "You are exonerated. Be thankful to the guidance of the stars."
Even still, Leo still felt the guilt of what happened. "I have to make it up to her, please sir!"
"Very well then." The Celestial King stated as he started to fade back to his world. "If you insist on atoning for your past actions, then I hear by order you to live life in the service of your friend, the human girl." Hearing this, tears made way onto Leo's face. "You're lucky to have found such a loyal friend. I suggest you protect her with your life, just as she fought to save yours."
And with that, the King disappeared and time started to flow normally again, the sun starting to rise. The two stood up and looked at each other, one smile of relief, and the other smiling with joy.
"Lucy." Leo said as he held out his hand. Lucy took his hand with own and he started to pass through the gate with a peaceful look. "I just wanted to say, thank you."
Finally, Leo passed through the gate, leaving his golden key in Lucy's hand. However, even while she was happy that her friend was going to live, she noticed that the chains were still floating around her.
"What's going on? Shouldn't these have disappeared?" She said, believing that the King had manifested them. However, when she reached out to touch it, the light shattered and revealed that it wasn't a chain, but segmented pieces of a blue & silver blade connected via a silver wire. Soon the pieces came together into a single short sword, a blue & golden handle manifesting. On the handle was two sliding golden pieces that came together to cover a keyhole. As the blade fell and Lucy caught, she came to a realization that excited her. She knew exactly what this was.
This blade was her Celestial Arms.
Later that day...
"Woah, you're a celestial spirit?!" Natsu yelled in shock at Leo.
"No way! Really!" Happy asked, the spirit rubbing the back his head in embarrassment.
"Ya, sorry I never told you."
"Wait, how come you look so...normal?" Alyssa asked, remembering how bizarre some of Lucy's spirits were.
"Virgo has a human form. It's not like we're all animals." He stated.
"He's actually a lion spirit." Lucy chimed.
"No way! A lion's like a grown-up cat, right?" Happy asked before glomping Leo. "You're the coolest spirit ever!"
"You're telling all of that actually happened?!" Alexander asked Lucy. "You meet the Celestial King, summoned all of your spirits at once, and even manifested your celestial arm?"
"I know, I'm still reeling from what happened." Lucy said as she looked at her arm, a sense of pride coming over her. A cloud of sadness appeared over the male celestial wizard as he placed his head on the bar counter.
"I thought I would be the one teaching you. But clearly you should be teaching me."
"Speaking of which, could you show your celestial arm?" Zeke asked, ready to take notes on it. Nodding, Lucy stood up and held out her sword. And with the flick of her wrist, the sword separated into its segmented pieces. "A snake-sword. Nice."
"I know right." Lucy said as she gave it an experimental swing. Unfortunately, she didn't realize what direction it was going it and ended slashing up a nearby table Alzack and Bisca were eating at.
"What the hell, Lucy?!" Bisca yelled.
"Sorry!" Lucy yelled as she quickly drew it back, however she pulled too hard and it went above her, slicing through a part of the bar roof. "Oh come on!"
"Heh. Looks like you do need teaching." Alexander said, feeling a bit better that Lucy wasn't an automatic expert with her weapon. The universe was at least somewhat fair.
"Aw man. That's going come out of pocket." Lucy groaned at the damage she had accidentally caused.
"Hey, I got something that might cheer you up." Leo said, pulling six tickets out of pocket and presenting them to Lucy. "They're tickets to this awesome beach resort. You did so much for me so it's least I can do."
The group was automatically thrilled at the chance to go to such a resort. "I already gave one to Juvia. I hope you guys have fun."
"Wait, why did you give one to Juvia?" Zeke asked.
"Oh don't act like you don't want to see her in a swimsuit." Leo teased, causing the archer to have a fullbody blush while he stuttered.
"All right! I'm ready to go right now!" Natsu cheered. "Bring on the beach!"
"I'll go start packing!" An excited Alyssa exclaimed, rushing quickly to Fairy Hills, passing by a confused Juvia in a blur.
"Ah, the sea! My old friend!" Alexander said with nostalgia as he, Natsu and Happy left to go pack as well, leaving the blushing and stuttering Zeke behind. Meanwhile, Lucy and Leo were talking.
"Lucy, I'm always going to have to live with what happened in the past. But now, I have the courage to start moving forward. Thanks to you, I'm not just another member of Fairy Tail. I'm you're Celestial Spirit." He looked at her with honest determination. "Now that you're my wizard, I promise to always protect you. I'll be there whenever you need me, your valiant knight."
Hearing this brought a smile to Lucy's face. "I'm not just your wizard. I'm one of your friends too."
"Of course." Leo said with own smile as he started to go back through the gate. "I can't wait to work with you. Take care, Lucy."
"Right back at ya." She replied as he fully went through, holding his key in her hand. "It's gonna be awesome, I'm sure." Pocketing the key and placing her celestial arm where her whip used to be, the blonde left to go pack for the trip.
Author's Note 2: And now, I'm proud to introduce the name of my original arc starting next chapter: The Inner Circle Arc!
And yes, Juvia is joining the guild a bit early thanks to Natsu smelling her out, which is something I wondered never happened in the show.
And as for Lucy's Celestial Arm, think Ivy's weapon from the Soul Calibur series with a different color scheme and a more royal look to it. I figured her arm should reflect her first choice of weapon while also building on it.
Also, to the rest of the guild, Makarov is the still the master he and Lyle are waiting until the guild hall is finished to reveal it.
That's it for now! No chibis but I will say this!
Next Time: The Majestic! Be sure to read, favorite, review and support this story by editing the TV Tropes page! See ya later!
