The sky was dark and bleak, smoke billowing upwards in the distance. She fell to her knees as she watched the backs of all her friends, her family disappear into the shadows. They won against Tartaros, but why does she feel like they lost? Lucy Heartfilia watched the last person she ever expected to leave, his head full of salmon colored hair disappear. She stared down at the broken key lying across her palm, tears brimming.
"Please, don't leave." She cried.
Of course, no one answered. No one came back. She was only hoping that she had been wrong- that what she witnessed with her eyes was just a dream, a figment of her imagination. Dawn was trying to peek behind the chaos, a hue of orange and pink arrays in the horizon. The back of her hand slapped her thigh, her thumb holding the key in place. She tilted her head up to stare blankly up into the sky.
Where does she go on from here? She sacrificed Aquarius to save her family- only to turn around and lose them in the end. What kind of thanks was that? She endured more pain than ever imaginable and the people she needed the most…. She laughed. She laughed until it turned into a scream as she wailed in pain. She brought her hands to her chest, heart aching.
A month had passed, and Lucy had left Magnolia in the past. She had decided to be a vagabond until she found a place that struck her fancy. She had done it once before when she left home to search for Fairy Tail, but now- there was no destination in mind. She was currently passing through Hargeon. What memories that had brought out, the nostalgia of where she first met Natsu and Happy. The memory brought a smile to her face, but her eyes couldn't. It was a happy memory, but she was sad.
"Princess." A voice spoke as an amber hue light flashed.
Lucy stopped walking, turning slightly to give her celestial spirit a glance. "Hey Loke." Loke threw an arm around his master's neck. He came out in his leisure clothes rather than his suit for battle.
"How long are you staying here for?" He asked. Lucy shrugged under the weight of his arm.
"Maybe a few days give or take." She answered, reaching the chain hanging around her neck. Her hand grasped the key. Loke nodded to her response.
"Well, how about a bite to eat?" Loke offered as he lifted his arm off her shoulder, crossing his hands behind his head. "I could use some grub."
"Sure." Lucy glanced around. "Why don't we go to 8-Island restaurant?" she suggested.
The small brick building came into sight, the sign swaying in the light breeze coming from the ocean. The ocean is mainly why Lucy wanted to stake out a little longer than normal in Hargeon compared to other places she had camped out at.
"Welcome!" An older man greeted them. Lucy recognized him. He used to be on the magic council and was a friend of Makarov's. Lucy waved in acknowledgement. "Take a seat wherever you're comfortable. I'll be right with you."
"Thank you." Lucy replied as she sat down at a booth table. Lucy sat on one side while Loke occupied the other side. He stretched his legs on either side of hers.
"Can I get you both a Holly Soda to start?" Yajima asked with his hands behind his back.
"Thank you." Loke answered. His attention turned back towards Lucy. "Can we please talk today? It's been a month. You can't just bottle it up inside." He commented.
Lucy tapped her fingers onto the table. "Why do you keep pestering me?" She asked, avoiding his eyes. "What is there to talk about?"
"Lucy…" Loke sighed pushing his glasses up on the bridge of his nose. Yajima appeared with two mugs of holly soda.
"Do you two youngin's know what you want?" He asked. Lucy gave him the best smile she could muster.
"Ruby parfait." She spoke.
"Beast man curry for me." Loke grinned. Yajima nodded taking note of their order and left them be. Lucy knew the man recognized her, but he would know by now about how Fairy Tail disbanded. It was the highlight of every paper, the gossip. There was just no way that the man wasn't aware. "Lucy."
Lucy glanced at Loke. "What?"
"You need to talk about it." Loke mentioned again. "To someone."
"To whom exactly? Huh? Tell me Loke." Lucy said clenching her teeth. "They all left. I know you haven't forgotten." The spirit pursed his lips, crossing his arms before his chest.
"I may be a spirit, but I was your friend first. I am still your friend regardless." Loke spoke quietly. "Everyone has their reason as to why they left. Don't hold it against them."
A tear escaped her eye. "Loke. Why would you let Aquarius do that?" She asked. She rubbed her eyes and sniffled. "Why would you let her risk her key knowing it would shatter?" Loke's shoulders went slack, his arms falling to his side.
"You think that beast would have listened to me? No. Aquarius is a very stubborn mermaid. She would have done it regardless of if it meant saving you." Loke smiled at her.
"I know. Still," Lucy sobbed. Yajima returned placing their food on the table. He gave Lucy a somber look, patting her shoulder before he left them alone. "It just hurts." She commented. She took the handle of the spoon and twisted it in her parfait. Loke blew on his curry as the steam radiated off.
"Look at it this way, now you really get to focus on your magic. Explore. Maybe get that dream job you always wanted. No one said fairy tail would be disbanded forever. I don't feel like this was a goodbye. I feel like it was a more see you later." Loke retorted taking his first bite. The bite was still hot, him trying to blow air in between chews.
Lucy stilled, taking in his words. Maybe he was right. She lifted the spoon out of her yogurt and took a small bite, the cold sweetness taking over her taste buds. She always loved his parfaits.
"You know what, you're right." Lucy said as her demeanor changed. She grinned at Loke raising her spoon. "Maybe I was only being selfish because I felt betrayed."
"I wouldn't say you were being selfish Princess." Loke stated swallowing his bite. "I didn't say you shouldn't hurt, but I also don't think you should give up."
"I wasn't giving up." She mumbled sticking the spoon back into the parfait. "I was grieving."
"You could have fooled me." Loke snorted taking another heaping bite. Lucy rolled her eyes giving the spirit a nice kick to the shin, making him miss his mouth. "Hey!"
Lucy giggled. "Don't be a meanie." She advised with a wink. Loke couldn't help but chuckle, regardless of the wet curry littering his lap.
"I apologize Princess." Loke grinned.
Loke had departed back to the celestial world, Lucy found her way down to the ocean shore. It was late afternoon, boats coming into dock. With the dock busy, Lucy had the beach part mostly to herself. She slipped off her boots and socks as she stepped into the ocean where the water slapped her ankles. She closed her eyes, the breeze swaying her blonde hair. Maybe she'll grow it out. A new look would probably suit her. Her hand reached up to Aquarius's key. There was still no warmth, no pulsation from the spirit. She sighed dropping her hand back to her side.
"Well, I ask myself again. What do I do now?" She asked wiggling her toes in the sand. "Crocus. Maybe that's where my answer lies." She mentioned. Princess Hisui, the grand magic games, and then Jason with the Sorcerer Magazine all resided there. Plus, the population was one of the biggest.
Now she had a goal and a destination.
She would stay her couple days she had told Loke she was going to spend in Hargeon to gather supplies. Not to mention she had already booked two nights at the local Inn. She felt the determination rise in her. She raised her right hand up into the air, the pink fairy tail emblem gleaming down at her. She pointed her finger and stuck her thumb out, like a gun. No words left her mouth, but she smiled. Loke was absolutely right, fairy tail will be one again. It wasn't a goodbye.
She packed the last little bit of her belongings into her bag, zipping it closed. She pulled her hair into one simple ponytail to the side a smidge. She wore a long t-shirt and jean shorts with hiking boots. If anyone she knew saw her, they would probably be doing triple looks at her attire. A new me. She thought. She put the pack over her shoulders. She called forth Plue once she got outside to keep her company for her journey. If she kept a steady pace and stayed on path, she should reach Crocus by evening time. This was one of those moments where she wished she had some sound pods like Laxus did. Her thinking of his name made her stop in her tracks.
"Laxus?" She spoke his name out loud.
She shrugged and began walking again. She actually didn't recall seeing him up in the cube during the fight with Tartaros. Nor his team. Lucy didn't really have much to do with them. Plue kept her entertained for the most part, dancing and telling her jokes about the spirits in the realm. If they only knew half of what Plue had spilt, they would be so pissed. She promised Plue she would keep her lips sealed and threw the key away.
She felt like she had been walking for hours. Horologium said she had only been walking about two hours. She sighed in a pout, slumping her shoulders forward. So much for all the motivation she had been feeling that morning. She was coming up on a bunch of trees, the pathway going through the wooded area.
"Loke." Lucy called forth. The celestial appeared beside her, syncing with her strides.
"Well, hello there, Princess." Loke greeted with a toothy grin. "You're making progress."
Lucy snorted. "Ha. If you say so." The trees started to thin out as they came into a clearing. In the distance, Lucy saw a ran down wooden shack like house coming up on the left. She reached out blindly trying to slap Loke. "Hey look!"
"Huh. That's a strange place for a house to be." Loke answered. Lucy smiled at her spirit mischievously.
"I want to go check it out." Lucy said bravely. Loke arched a brow at his master.
"That's the spirit." Loke cheered as Lucy grabbed his arm and lead them off the path. The grass stood tall as she carefully stepped forward, hoping to not hit a divot. A rolled ankle is all she needed right now.
She found the bottom step leading up to the porch and stepped slowly incase the wood was dry rot. She got onto the porch opening the door that was slightly ajar. Loke stayed outside surveying around.
Lucy ran her fingers across the shelf to her left when she walked in, her eyes scanning the spine of each and every book carefully, dust building up under her fingertips. She scrunched her face up as she wiped them on her pants, a sigh released from her lips as she turned around planting her hands on her hips in thought. The house was small and quaint. She was hoping to find something interesting and useful, but so far, she was turning up empty handed.
She shook her head of the thoughts and turned back towards the bookshelf squatting down, her brown eyes scanning a lower shelf. Her fingers grazed each book lightly when she noticed something sticking out from a rather peculiar looking book.
"Humm." She mumbled carefully pulling the book out when something heavy and made of some type of metal material fell from the book clinking as it hit the floor. "What's this?" She cautiously leaned down as she grasped it into her hand. She examined the jewelry carefully, turning it back and forth in the palm of her hand with mesmerized awe. The metal was a dark smokey color designed like a tribal, warm to the touch with two different types of topazes in the middle. She recognized the smaller topaz to be called mystic and it was said to be the zodiac stone representing Aquarius and Cancer as well as Pisces. A smile stole her lips quite excited on her find even though it had no relevance to the job at hand.
"Princess." A voice said sharply. Lucy jumped as she turned her head to glance over her shoulder. "Where did you find that?" The book fell from her lap as she stood up, still grasping the piece of jewelry in her hand. She noticed the weary look on his face. His hazel eyes lowered as his attention was solely on the precious amulet in her hand.
"I found it in a book as I was searching for something interesting." She commented glancing down at it. "Do you know what it is?" She was curious and she wasn't dumb. From the way that the leader of the zodiacs was acting she knew it was of some importance. The lion spirit outstretched his hand towards Lucy, palm up as he signaled for it. She shrugged placing it in his hand as she sighed once again saddened that her find was confiscated. Loke clutched the amulet with uncertainty. As soon as he felt the presence of the magic literally bleeding from it, he didn't stop to even think. He just needed to get it from the grasp of his master. He knew the amulet wouldn't exactly cause the celestial mage harm, but it was nothing to announce being in possession of.
"Do you mind if I take this back with me? I promise as long as it's allowed, I'll return it to you. But for now, I can't really tell you anything until I'm given permission." He explained as he jingled it his palm. "Let's say this ...it doesn't quite belong in this realm." Lucy blinked confused but nodded. He promised which meant she could take his word for the matter. Promises are a big deal for celestial wizards and spirits after all. Besides, she had all her trust in her loyal spirit.
"Take it. I don't really need it. Keep it if you want." She mumbled looking around as her eyes struggled to adjust to the darkness. Loke chuckled as his fist glowed with white light after realizing her struggle. She smiled at his thoughtful gesture as she gave the shack a last once over. "Let's go. I think I'm done."
Loke helped Lucy out of the house, the house giving her an eerie feeling after she found that amulet. She shivered, the hair on her arm standing up.
"Why does this feel like some sort of a trap?" Lucy asked Loke as they got back onto the path.
"Well, that amulet isn't supposed to be on this planet. So, there's that." Loke mentioned intertwining his fingers behind his head. "I will head back to the realm once we get closer to some civilization."
"Hopefully we don't have too much farther to go." Lucy grumbled. She slipped an arm out of her pack, turning it to the front so she could rummage through it. She found a granola bar she had packed, her eyes twinkling.
"I wouldn't know Princess." Loke admitted. "I'm just here for the ride." He winked. Lucy rolled her eyes taking a bite.
"Don't be a free loader." She kidded. Loke gave her a fake offended look.
"Never I." He spoke. "By the way, the smile suits you." Lucy felt her cheeks go warm at the compliment. She always knew Loke thought she was beautiful, always reminding her, but for some reason this time it made her feel warm. But there was nothing to come of it. Spirits are forbidden to have relationships with their masters. Lucy didn't have feelings like that towards Loke anyways.
"Thank you, Loke." Lucy thanked as she took another bite.
A few hours later, Crocus was finally coming into view. Lucy's legs were screaming for a break, her boots rubbing the side of her feet. Why didn't she just try to find a train station? No, she wanted to be adventurous and walk. She dismissed Loke back to the realm knowing she would be fine for the rest of the walk. Crocus was just as big as she remembered, if not bigger since the grand magic games.
"I can do this." Lucy said slapping a fist into the palm of her hand. First thing first, she needed to find somewhere to grab a bite to eat. She knew eventually she would need to find an Inn as well and go over what she exactly had in mind. She didn't quite have the funds to buy a place yet, so she would need a job first. "Gah." She shook her head. Too many thoughts at one time were plaquing her mind.
The stalls lining around crocus were hopping with customers. She was starting to get excited. A few vendors waved at her as she walked by, recognizing her from the games.
"Hey, you stop!" Someone yelled causing Lucy to turn around. A male plowed right into her knocking her backwards. She hit the ground with a groan.
"Seriously?" She whined. "Virgo." Lucy called forth pushing herself up.
"Hello Princess. Punishment?" Virgo asked. Lucy groaned face palming.
"No, please catch that thief if you could." Lucy asked.
"Alright." Virgo nodded as she disappeared underground. Lucy started running towards the direction the thief was headed in. She saw Virgo come above ground a few hundred before her. The thief dodged Virgo as he twists and turned to run around her.
"What the hell." Lucy said scratching her head. She wasn't expecting an actual fight. "Alright then." Lucy unclipped her whip, cracking it on the ground once. She raced forward trailing behind Virgo and the thief on their chase. Civilians were dodging and screaming as the trio ran through. Lucy tried to apologize as she raced past.
Virgo went underground and popped back up before the thief again, timing it right, Lucy flicked her wrist. She aimed her fall so that the whip would wrap around the man's ankle.
"Gotcha." Lucy said in triumph as she yanked on her whip tripping the man. Lucy ran towards the thief before someone tackled her to the ground.
"Watch out!" Another voice rang as there was an explosion. Lucy felt Virgo's link disappear as her ears rung from the loud noise. She groaned under the body that was still over her protecting her. She started patting the person's side, desperately wanting them to get off her.
"Are you okay?" A familiar voice asked. They lean up revealing who they were. Lucy's eyes widened and her mouth gaped open.
"La-Laxus?" Lucy stuttered before she started coughing from inhaling the dust.
"Lucy, are you okay? What the hell were you even doing?" He asked. Lucy raked a hand through her tangled hair.
"He was a thief. He stole something a way down and pretty much took me out on his way out. So, I went after him." Lucy explained. "I thought I had him once, but he managed to dodge Virgo."
"I see." Laxus said standing up, extending a hand for Lucy to grab. She bit her lip, accepting his help. "I have been trying to catch that moron since yesterday."
"You have?" She asked. She pulled off her bag unzipping it to search for her water flask only to see that her fall must have cracked the cap. "Well damn." She mumbled. She chucked the flask back into her bag along with her whip.
Of all people she could have run into, it was Laxus Dreyar. Well, more like Laxus ran into her. She was quite curious as to why the slayer was in Crocus, but realizing it probably was likely many were here since the guild was broke up. Everyone went separate ways. So, really it was no surprise, but the who was more of the surprise.
"Yeah, Bob asked me to check it out. We've been helping out Blue Pegasus since Gramps seems to be missing." Laxus said quietly. Lucy glanced at the ground.
"Yeah… the guild disbanded after the defeat of Tartaros. I was the only one left." Lucy commented as she picked up her bag, slinging it back onto her shoulders. "Thanks, Laxus." Lucy thanked bowing. She wanted to run away; she felt the tears pricking her eyes threatening to fall.
"Lucy," Laxus said reaching out to grab her arm. "Wait." Lucy froze when she felt his touch. "Where's Natsu? Your team?" She couldn't hold them back anymore.
"I don't know Laxus. I don't know. They left with their backs to me and disappeared. Every single one of them." She hissed. She felt Laxus let go of her arm surprised at her response. She took that as her cue to escape. She rushed past him, tears streaming down her cheeks.
"Lucy!" Laxus called after her. Lucy ignored him but got knocked down by a tower of totems. She landed on her ass in surprise not realizing what had happened.
"Lucy?" Bickslow said as he crotched down beside her. He glanced up as Laxus stood behind Lucy. "Laxus?" Bickslow asked in question. He was confused as to what was going on. Laxus shook his head as he stared at the blonde woman below him.
"Bickslow?" Lucy asked back as she wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. "What is going on?" She asked.
"I want you to come back with me." Laxus said crossing his arms. "I still have to report what happened with that moron. And I think Bob would like to hear it from you on what happened."
"Hey, I would have had him if you hadn't tackled me to the ground." Lucy grumbled. "Regardless of his explosion. Virgo is my earth spirit. We would have figured it out but since you tackled me, she got distracted and you made her get sent back to the celestial realm." Lucy announced with annoyance. Bickslow looked between Lucy and Laxus.
"Thief? Oh, you mean that guy Bob was having you try to capture?" Bickslow asked standing back up.
"Yeah, Lucy was chasing him and fighting with him, but he was setting an explosion. I didn't realize it was Lucy at first until I saw her spirit and whip." Laxus said.
"Where's the others?" Bickslow asked looking around. Laxus shook his head at Bickslow.
"They aren't here." He answered. "Leave it at that." He warned so Bickslow didn't press for questions.
"I'll go with you to meet Bob, but I need to eat first so if you want to let me know where you guys are located, I can meet you there." Lucy said getting off the ground. "I walked here from Hargeon." She mentioned.
"You walked here by yourself from Hargeon?" Laxus asked raising a brow.
"Why does that surprise you? And no, Loke walked with me until I got to Crocus. He had to go back to deliver an amulet I had found." Lucy said as Loke appeared beside her.
"And Loke is back." He said with a smile. "Laxus. Bickslow." Loke acknowledge. "Princess." His tone was low. "We need to talk." He said grabbing her elbow and dragging her backwards with protests from Lucy to knock it off before he tripped her. He pulled her to an alley way away from people.
"Loke." Lucy crossed her arms in frustration. "What the heck?"
"Princess, that amulet." Loke said sternly. "That amulet was placed on Earthland purposely, but we have no idea why."
"Okay? What does that mean?" Lucy asked noticing Laxus and Bickslow coming up from the corner of her eye.
"That amulet could destroy the universe." He announced. "And the fact that someone had their hands on it is astounding." He raked a hand through his auburn mane.
"Why… is there such a thing?" Lucy asked. "And how long do you think it was sitting in that shack before we found it?" Loke shrugged because he really didn't know.
"I don't think I want to know the answer to that." Loke mumbled. "But what we do know it's back in the realm with the Celestial King."
"Okay well then what's the problem?" Lucy asked as Laxus and Bickslow joined them. Loke didn't even care at this point.
"Whoever stole that amulet has the ability to travel between realms." Loke explained. "Which means there are far worse items than that amulet in those other realms." Lucy threw her hands up into the air.
"Mavis." She groaned. "When aren't we asked risk Loke? Look at every single damn situation we have been in. The fact that most of us spent seven years in a time lock on Tenrou. I really don't pass anything off as impossible at this rate."
"She has a point." Bickslow commented as his totems floated around him.
"Laxus, that guy. Why did Bob order you to capture him?" Lucy asked as something struck her. The thief wasn't an amateur. He even managed to evade Virgo's block.
"He stole something valuable from Hisui." Laxus said. "Why?" Lucy turned back towards Loke.
"I wonder if that thief is the same guy Loke. If... maybe, he has something to do with the amulet." Lucy tapped her lips. "Just the look he gave me when he barreled into me. Like he didn't even try to dodge me. He deliberately ran into me." Her eyes widened.
"You've became a target." Loke finished. "He knows."
"What the hell are you two spouting on about? Want to clue us in?" Laxus asked getting annoyed. Whatever happened had the both of them spooked.
"On our walk here, we explored a ran down shack that was out in the field. I found an amulet. Loke recognized it and took it to the realm to verify with stache face. Whatever Loke had a hunch about was correct. So long story short, we have someone dangerous on our hands and the guy you're after may be the same guy who can travel between realms." Lucy explained as her stomach growled. "Okay really, I need to eat." She grumbled.
"I'm not sure what path you took to get here, but if you took the main there is no shack on the way here." Laxus pointed out. Lucy and Loke shared a glance.
"See, I even thought it was odd." Lucy said. "But what can we do now? We already explored it." She mentioned. "Obviously since we're here." Silence fell between the group, Bickslow more so just listening in since he had no idea what was even going on or what they were talking about.
"Lucy, I think you stepped into a trap." Laxus sighed rubbing his face. "You may be in danger."