Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail and/or Akame Ga Kill. They belong to their original owners.

The Assassins of Fairy Tail

Job Twenty Nine: The Dragon's Condition

It's been over a year since Lucy last saw her. She would never forget the moment she would have to sacrifice her no matter how much she didn't want to. A part of her thought she would never see one of her closest friends again until now where Aquarius was holding Lucy close to her. Lucy thought it was almost too good to be true, that it could be a dream but it wasn't. It was real and Aquarius was here with her. "Aquarius…" Even Brandish was stunned to see what had just happened.

Aquarius turned her head to Lucy and smiled at the blonde. "It's been a while, hasn't it Lucy?"

Lucy was overcome with so much joy and happiness within her seeing her friend again. Tears began to come out of her eyes and hugged her spirit while crying. Aquarius would grant her master this since it has been a year since they last saw each other. Lucy let out all of her tears crying into her spirit's shoulder until she calmed down and looked up at Aquarius. "Aquarius…you finally came back to me!"

As much as Aquarius wanted that to be true, that wasn't the case. "Well, not exactly. A year has gone by since that incident with Tartaros and as a result, a new key of the Water Bearer has been born somewhere in this world. It wasn't in celebration or anything like that, but the Spirit King decided to temporarily open the door to this world with his own power. And that's why there's no time. We'll have to cut our reunion short."

Lucy didn't care about that at all. "Even so, the simple fact that we're able to meet again…I'm just so…" She couldn't even finish her sentence as she was still overjoyed seeing her spirit again.

Aquarius looked over at Brandish and smirked at her. "Long time no see to you too, I suppose…Brandish."

Brandish had no reply to the spirit. Lucy was surprised Aquarius knew Brandish in the first place. "You two have met before?"

Her spirit nodded at the question. "The little brat said it herself, didn't she? My key was in her mother's care, for some time. That really takes me back. The two of us used to play all the time, didn't we Brandish?" Brandish still didn't reply and glared at Aquarius. Something she didn't take too kindly. "HEY! WAKE UP YOU DAMN SQUIRT! AFTER ALL THIS TIME, YOU CAN'T EVEN MUSTER A HELLO!?"

And Brandish's expression changed to a feared one. "M-My deepest apologies…master…."

Lucy wasn't sure she heard that right. "Mas-what!?"

Aquarius grabbed Brandish by the cheeks and leered her eyes at the girl. "You sure turned into a rebellious little bitch, didn't you? You'll get a boyfriend with a shitty attitude like that! Got it!?"

Brandish quickly nodded. "Yesh…" Even if Aquarius said that, Brandish was already going out with Dimaria.

The spirit let go of the other girl and thought up of something fun. "That reminds me, I want to see you crawl on all fours like a little puppy like you always used to." Brandish did just that and barked a few times. Aquarius petted the Shield's head. "That's a good girl." Then she slapped her. "Like hell you'll get off that easily!"

Brandish strangely enough looked happy that Aquarius slapped her. "Thank you very much, master!"

While this was going on, Lucy didn't know what to think about the scenario that was happening before her. "What am I supposed to be doing here? I have no idea what's going on."

Brandish was bowing down before Aquarius while the spirit was looking down at her. "My master is Lucy and by proximity, that means she is your master as well. You know full well what that means, don't you, Brandish?"

Of course, Brandish did know that but still refused. "Even though that may be the case, I…I will never be able to forgive Layla for her sin of killing my mother."

"But Lucy's not Layla now, is she? Not to mention that Layla didn't kill Grammi in the first place. She would never have in a million years." A strange light appeared in the room and all three were in it. "Come with me to the other side, and I will tell you the truth about it. No, it would be accurate to say that I'll show you."

In the next second, all of them were in a black space where countless stars were shining but that wasn't what caught the two girls' attention. They both somehow transformed into mermaids. "What is this?! I have a tail!?"

"I'm a mermaid?"

Now Lucy noticed they were in a different place from where they were before. "Never mind that! Where are we!?"

"This is the Memory of the Stars. An archive of memories woven by the Celestial spirits for generations." Aquarius explained. "You could think of it as being inside of a dream if you want. But make no mistake, everything projected to you here is the absolute truth." She began moving away from the two girls. "Follow me." Both of them looked at each other before following Aquarius.

It was strange that they were swimming instead of walking which is a strange experience for the two girls. They soon saw they were approaching something and within it, Lucy saw a distant figure. "There's someone coming into view."

They arrived at the scene before them and saw that figure before them looked similar to Lucy. "The woman you're seeing is none other than Anna Heartfilia. She is Lucy's ancestor but also…quite possibly the greatest Celestial Spirit Wizard to ever live." Aquarius explained yet again. They saw another scene where they saw Anna talking to Zeref which surprised Lucy and Brandish. "It was four hundred years ago. The Black Wizard, the dragons, and the Celestial Spirit wizards collaboratively set up a great plan into motion. It was a plan to send powerful warriors who would one day defeat Acnologia in the future. The Celestial Spirit wizards sent them on their journey to the future using the door of Eclipse. As you know, it is a form of Celestial Spirit magic. Anna opened that door and for generations to come, the Heartfilia family watched over and protected the other door to which it led."

Lucy was a little confused about that. "The other door? What do you mean?"

"By nature, the door of Eclipse requires two Celestial Spirit wizards to attend to its entrance and exit. If it is not operated with the utmost care, an incident such as the one from the Grand Magic Games could occur." Aquarius cleared up. "In this instance, the exit, if you will, was in the future. In other words, after opening the entrance, the Heartfilia patiently waited for hundreds of years. And at long last, the door was opened in Layla's generation. In order to finally open the door, all of the twelve keys of the Zodiac were required." They saw a scene with Grammi and very young Brandish. "In addition to gathering the keys that she herself handed down, Layla contacted all the world's Celestial Spirit wizards so that all of the keys could be assembled. However, there was one problem. She was unable to contact Grammi, who had traveled the world to the continent of Alakitasia. My key alone had yet to be found." They cut to the next scene where they saw Layla opening the doors of the Eclipse Gate. "To compensate, Layla decided to use her own life force to make up for the magic power contained in the missing key."

Lucy couldn't help but feel a little sad while Brandish couldn't believe what lengths Layla had to go through. "She went that far…?"

The next scene they saw was Layla lying in her bed with Grammi kneeling next to the bed. "As a result, although she was successful at opening the door, Layla, who was born with a frail body to begin with, fell ill with Magic Deficiency Disease. It was not until seven days after the fact that the news finally reached Grammi's ears."

They overheard the conversation between the two mothers. They could see the grief in Grammi's eyes. "Miss Layla I…after all the kindness you showed me, I have inflicted such pain upon you. For this, I will never forgive myself."

Layla didn't blame her friend at all. "Do not worry. It is nothing to work yourself over, Grammi."

Grammi held up Aquarius' key with guilt written on her face. "I'm no longer worthy of possessing this key which you so graciously entrusted to me. Please, take it in your hands once more."

Unfortunately, Layla couldn't grant her friend's request. "Alas, in this state, I can no longer wield Celestial Spirit magic."

"Then please, allow me to give Miss Lucy the key. She will surely become a magnificent Celestial Spirit wizard in your place."

That was something Layla can allow her friend to do. "The duty of opening the Door of Eclipse, which had been passed down in the Heartfilia family for hundreds of years, has finally been fulfilled by my generation. For that alone, I am eternally grateful. My only wish was for my beloved daughter to be able to live freely and now it has been granted. Which reminds me, how is Brandish? Full of energy as always?"

Grammi sniffed and wiped her tears away. "Of course. Although, without Aquarius, I'm sure she's feeling a tad lonely."

"She was around the same age as Lucy, was she not?"

"That's right. I'll be sure to bring her along the next time I visit you."

Layla would like that very much. "I do hope that they'll become great friends."

Grammi wished the same and smiled at the other woman. "They will. Of that, I'm certain." Both Lucy and Brandish had a somber look on their faces.

"Just like the two of us, you mean?"

"Friends with the likes of you? Do not be absurd Miss Layla."

"You are the one being absurd. It goes without saying that we've always been friends!"

Grammi just laughed at that. "Miss Layla…" After saying her goodbyes to Layla, Grammi left the Heartfilia estate and was making her way back home. That is until someone snuck up from behind her and stabbed Grammi in the back.

The sight was horrifying to Brandish. "Mother!"

Grammi turned to her head see her attacker was. "Z…Zoldeo…"

Zoldeo had an angry look on his face while tears were coming out of his eyes. "It's your fault. Miss Layla is dying because of you!"

Brandish tried to reach out to her mother to try and save her. "Stop this! Stay away from her!"

"Indeed, you're right about that. It is all my fault. This is…what I deserve…"

"How dare you! How dare you take her from us!"

Grammi didn't have much time left and had a last dying request to make. "I beg of you, Zoldeo. My daughter, Brandish…please, spare her life. In exchange for my own…will you grant me this one final wish?"

Zoldeo was torn apart by Grammi's request while Brandish was feeling the same about seeing her mother's final moments. "MOTHER! DON'T LEAVE ME!"

Lucy quickly hugged Brandish as they returned back to normal and were back in the infirmary. The hug seemed to calm the other girl down just a little. "It may be a little late but…maybe the two of can be best friends from now on…just like our mothers."

Aquarius smiled at the two girls but there was one more thing she had to tell her master. "Lucy, there's one last thing I have to tell you…"

Before she could, the door opened and Happy came in looking very distressed. "HELP! PLEASE, HELP ME!"

Lucy and the other two women didn't expect to see the Exceed. "Happy?"

Happy dragged in Natsu who seemed unconscious. "Natsu just passed out and stopped moving all of a sudden. Someone, anyone, you have to save him!"

Happy's cry for help caught the attention of Cana, Akame, and Porlyusica as the first door of the infirmary was open. "What's going on here?!"

That was a question Porlyusica would like to know as well. "You seem to be in an awful hurry."

Akame looked down and gasped as she saw Natsu lying on the floor. "What happened to Natsu?"

Happy looked down at his friend. "Natsu…he fought with Zeref and…we decided to temporarily retreat. And then, without any warning, he just…" Akame wondered what could've happened to Natsu during his fight against Zeref. Last she remembered, Natsu was confident in his secret weapon in ridding of the Black Wizard. So how was it he came back in this state?

Lucy ran up to Natsu and held him in her arms while looking worried for him. "Natsu! What's the matter?! Get ahold of yourself!"

Cana was the only one who noticed Aquarius was around. "Huh? You're…why are you here?"

Her question wasn't important to the spirit. "There are more pressing matters at hand right now, don't you think?"

Lucy lied her head on Natsu's chest and gasped in fear. "I can't hear his heartbeat."

Happy continued to shake his friend's body. "Natsu! Natsu!"

Lucy herself was finding this hard to believe. "This…This can't be…"

"Out of the way!" Porlyusica kneeled down next to Natsu and examined his body closely. She quickly discovered what was wrong with him and it wasn't good. "This child…he's the one who's always pushing himself beyond his limits and trying to do the impossible, as I recall. This is a direct result of his constant overexertion…his magic power is overheating, and an anti-Ethernano tumor has developed within him."

Happy thought this happened because Natsu used his power against Zeref earlier. Cana was trying to figure out what Porlyusica meant by what she said. "Anti…what the hell is that?"

"A malignant mass has developed inside his body. If it is not removed promptly, he will perish."

"How can something that's inside his body like that be removed?" Happy asked.

The answer was easy to say but nigh difficult to perform. "Surgery is the only option. However, there is no doctor capable of this feat on the continent of Ishgar."

Akame had a suggestion in hopes that it'll help. "Couldn't Wendy or Chelia together use their healing magic on him?"

To her dismay, Porlyusica shook her head. "This is far beyond the scope of even those two."

The situation was only becoming worse for Lucy. "Then what were supposed to do!?"

Porlyusica's answer was closing her eyes. "I'm sorry."

Tears were coming out of Lucy's eyes as she looked down at the fire dragon slayer. "Natsu…this can't be happening…please, answer me. Natsu!"

For some reason, Brandish couldn't take seeing the look Lucy had and raised her cuffs. "These magic seals…could you remove them for me?" Everyone in the room looked over at her direction. "My magic is capable of altering the size of all matter in this world. If we can pinpoint the exact location of that tumor, I can shrink it to the point that it will be relegated to a nonfactor."

Everyone was surprised that their enemy was offering her help. More so with Akame as she had never seen that happen before. Happy thought it was too good to be true. "You can really do that?"

It was good enough for Lucy if it'll mean Natsu will be out of harm's way. "Please! Save Natsu! I'm begging you!"

B

Some time had passed and Natsu was resting in one of the beds in the infirmary. Standing next to him was Porlyusica and Makarov who wasn't all too happy with what happened to him. "Honestly! One moment, he's flying out the door on his own and as if he hadn't given me enough to worry about, he comes back sick?!"

Porlyusica narrowed her eyes at the guild master. "Stop acting so irritable around my patients."

"You're the last person I want to hear that from!" Makarov breathed out momentarily to calm down. "But…we've managed to make it through the most critical parts; you can rest easy. I must say, that child certainly wields impressive magic. Brandish μ, was it? Who would've thought that in our most desperate hour of need, as opposed to having our weaknesses exploited, we would be saved by our enemy."

Porlyusica caught what Makarov said about Brandish. "That child is…an enemy?"

Makarov though it would be a pain to try and explain it all to her. "Until the battle has ended, I will not disclose the details."

He remembered what Brandish said to them before returning to her cell. "I'm a prisoner of war, aren't I? Could you return me to my cell? Ah, but I'd like my jacket if it's not too much trouble…"

Makarov admitted he had her all wrong but that didn't change the fact that she was still Fairy Tail's enemy. "So she said. Quite the confounding young woman, if I do say so myself."

B

Brandish was back in her cell sitting on her bed. Lucy and Happy were beyond grateful for what she had done to help Natsu. "I can't thank you enough for saving Natsu."

"Thank you…thank you so much!"

Brandish didn't reply as she didn't look at their direction. "There was no need for you to go back to your cell on your own accord like that."

The other girl would beg to differ. "We're in the middle of a war and you want to let your prisoner run free? I warned you once about naïve thinking. One day, it just may cost you your life. I have no intention of becoming your friend or confidant, so I'd appreciate if you left me alone."

Lucy felt a little disheartened after hearing Brandish say that to her. She'd hoped that they would become friends just like their mothers before. She then felt a hand on her shoulder and looked back to see Aquarius floating behind her. "Lucy, I need a moment of your time." She looked across the cell at Brandish. "I hope our paths cross again someday, Brandish." The other didn't reply to her. "SPEAK, YOU MUTT!"

"Okay…" Brandish muttered back at the spirit.

The response was good enough for Aquarius and she left with Lucy following her. They arrived at the balcony of the second floor of the guild where they saw the sun setting. "There was something I failed to mention to you earlier."

The blonde did recall something like that back in the infirmary before Natsu came back unconscious. "What was it?"

"I mentioned that my key was reincarnated, didn't I?"

Lucy couldn't forget an important detail like that. "Yeah."

Aquarius smiled at the blonde. "That key is somewhere out there, in this vast world. It could be here in Ishgar. Or it could be in the faraway continent of Alakitasia. It could even be on some other continent. The possibilities are endless. And, just so I make myself crystal clear, you won't be getting any hints from me."

Lucy smiled back at her spirit and nodded. She wouldn't have it any other way. "I understand. I'll find it, no matter what! I won't give you up to anyone else! You're my best friend…so that goes without saying!"

Aquarius was glad that Lucy hadn't changed a bit since they last saw each other. Her body began to glow brightly as she gave her master one last smile for her to remember. "Thanks. I look forward to the day you find me." Aquarius vanished while leaving small glitter of stars in her place.

Lucy remembered what Natsu said before the war started. "Plus, I've got some things to do when all of this is over."

She wiped the tears that were coming out of her eyes and smiled. "I've finally found it too. The thing I want to do. And I won't lose to anyone!"

B

At the battle to liberate Hargeon, Lamia Scale and Mermaid Heel had no choice but to retreat and rest. Lyon slammed his hands on the map at the table while looking frustrated. "Damn it, their manpower is literally overwhelming."

Chelia was also feeling a bit down after their first battle against Alvarez turned out. "We couldn't even get near the city, let alone liberate it."

Over to Kagura, she was sitting Seza style in deep thought while wearing a new kimono. Millianna approached her carefully. "Kagura, are you alright?"

Kagura thought back to her fight against Dimaria. It was embarrassing to her as her previous kimono was fully shredded and was left in her underwear. She had never felt more embarrassed in life. And in battle no less. "I'm alright…is what I'd like to say but…"

Millianna giggled a little and smiled at her. "Yeah, I kinda figured."

B

At the Northern Front of Fiore, Sabertooth and Blue Pegasus also had to retreat due to Bloodman's appearance on the battlefield. It was not the outcome Sting was hoping it would be as he and the other members of Sabertooth were sitting around at a campfire. "We've suffered far too many casualties."

Lector had to agree with him. "No matter how you slice it, there's just too many of them."

"Fro thinks so too!"

Rouge wasn't about to give up, though. "Even so, we have to find a way to keep them in check here."

Yukino was on board with what the shadow dragon slayer said. "Agreed."

B

On the Eastern Front of Fiore…the battle there has already been decided as the four Wizard Saints were lying the ground defeated with injuries all around. God Serena was unimpressed by them. "Hey, please tell me this is some kind of joke. Is this really all you're capable of against lowly 'ole me? And to think, after that pathetic display, you dare don the title of Wizard Saints?"

The four Wizards Saints were helpless against God Serena's power. "God Serena…"

"His power…is this vast?"

"How powerless could I…"

Warren seemed to be the most injured out of them all as he was breathing heavily. "Mavis…I wanted to see your smiling face…just one more time…" God Serena noticed him as Warren recalled the memory where he, Mavis, Yury, and Precht first found Fairy Tail together. "Mavis…Yury…Precht…it looks like it's finally time for me to join you."

The sight of him was pitiful to God Serena and would allow him one last act of mercy. "Just close your eyes Warrod. I'll put you out of your misery. 'God' bye-bye."

From far away, Mavis could sense something was wrong and couldn't help but worry about her old friend. "Warrod…"