Sorry for the late update! I've been gone all weekend at my sister-in-law's graduation. I'm excited about this chapter as it finally shows Lucy's pain, and how she's going to deal with it. I hope you enjoy! Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail.

Chapter 8

They had gotten to the town long after dark a day later and decided to handle everything in the morning. Lucy was especially thankful as she felt dead on her feet. She was also really feeling all of the aches and pains from the past few days. Evergreen had helped treat her as best she could, but seeing as most of it was just bruising there wasn't a lot she could do.

The next day they met with the mayor and after explaining the situation the mayor agreed on two terms. First, that Freed write a rune protecting the livestock in case the wyverns came back. Second, if the wyverns did come back they would come back and handle it free of charge. The team agreed to both as they wouldn't want to leave the job incomplete. As they were finishing up, Lucy who'd been quiet the whole meeting piped up, "You're also the town that sends out the Vulcan hunt request right?" The mayor nodded shocked she knew about that. "I was here a few weeks back with another team."

The mayor's face brightened in understanding and recognition, "Ah yes, with the noisy pink haired fellow correct?"

She nodded to him, "We relocated the wyverns deeper into the Vulcan territory, so you should be free of those pests as well."

The mayor looked slightly shocked, "I'll have to do some scouting, but if what you say is true then you shall also be paid for that mission as well!"

Lucy smiled putting on her best business face, "I'm just glad we were able to help. I hope it truly does stop your Vulcan problem. Please just keep us posted on the status."

He nodded to her as he walked them out, "I'm surprised you went back into Vulcan territory. If memory serves, you came back with your clothes scorched and a nasty gash."

Lucy shrugged, "That's just the life of a mage. Plus, I'm pretty durable." The mayor let out a small chuckle, but Lucy missed the look the Ranjishu had given each other.

Bixlow had sauntered up to her after the mayor had left, "That was pretty thrifty of you, Cosplayer."

She shrugged, "My father taught me how to deal with business, and I really didn't want to pass up on the reward money."

Bix started teasing her about being stingy and greedy to which she responded, "Hey, you try feeding Natsu and Happy all the time and see how your wallet looks. Not to mention all the repair costs after my team fights in my apartment and destroys everything. I need the jewel."

Evergreen cast an annoyed glance at Freed. She was almost to the point of asking Freed to put the runes up without Lucy's permission. Her team's behavior was truly ridiculous.

By midday, Freed was finished with the runes around the livestock, and the group had set out for Crocus. This left them needing to camp one night on their way back. Things were fairly peaceful, and the group went to bed early. Much like the previous nights, Lucy awoke early to do more research. She had just finished her book when Crux had appeared.

She moved away from their campsite not wanting to wake anyone up. "You find anything?" Lucy asked excited.

Crux nodded, "It seems that the key should reappear. What's odd is normally the original pieces fade when used to summon the Spirit King." Lucy looked down and held Aquarius's broken key in her hand.

"You mean, I'll completely lose her?" Lucy asked sinking to her knees. This key, even broken, meant the world to her. It reminded her of her mother being one of the keys she had passed down.

Crux continued on, "Normally, yes. However, your case is different for two reasons. The first, is you still have the key. It should have disappeared immediately. The fact that you still have it makes me believe that it shouldn't disappear. However, there is nothing to back that up. The second, is you can still access Aquarius's star dress form. This is attributed to your bond. Should her key end up with someone else, you would lose this ability."

"So, that means her key hasn't been reformed yet. Or at least, no one has found it."

Crux nodded, "I wish I had more, but for now this is all I have discovered."

Lucy thanked him, and he vanished back into the Celestial world. His talk left her with more questions than answers. Why did she still have they key? And why could she access the star dress? It didn't make sense. He claimed it was her bond, but she felt like it had to be more than that. Perhaps, having the pieces meant she could re-forge the key? She'd have to talk to Gajeel about this. She would definitely need his help if she was going to remake the key. Unfortunately, this did mean she was going to have to tell him what had happened. The thought made her slightly uncomfortable, but at least he wasn't a gossip. He'd protect her privacy. She was going to talk to Levy about all of this eventually anyway, so it really would work out.

She jotted down a few notes and put the books away. She knew now what she wanted to research when she got back to the library. She started her daily routine, and once again she didn't notice her audience. Unfortunately, this time they had heard a lot more than they had intended to. Bixlow and Laxus had both heard her conversation with Crux. They hadn't meant to eavesdrop, but they had gotten nervous when she'd moved away from the group. With this girl's ability to get kidnapped, they really didn't think her wondering around was that good of an idea.

They gave each other a wary glance as everyone stirred. They didn't know how to bring it up to her, and it didn't fully make sense. Something about a broken key and a spirit. How had she even managed to break a key? And what was that about the Spirit King? It was obviously something private, but they could sense her pain and frustration.

They made their way back to Crocus, and to no one's surprise, Lucy took off to the library. The Ranjishu let her be as they went off to dinner. They discussed Lucy joining the team which ended up being a short conversation as they were in unanimous agreement to add her to their ranks. Evergreen was thrilled to be adding another girl to the team. She loved the guys, but Lucy provided some much needed common sense to the boys idiocy.

Bixlow and Laxus also mentioned what they had overheard. Evergreen reprimanded them for eavesdropping, but she was also concerned about Lucy. They agreed for now to just watch over her, and let her work through it on her own. It was obvious she didn't want help, but should she finally request it they would be there.

They ended up staying in Crocus for another three days. They didn't see Lucy much of those three days either. Evergreen even admitted that Lucy was rarely in their room to sleep. On the third day, Yukino had stopped by looking for her. They said that she had been holed up in the library, and decided it was time to drag her out of there.

When they arrived though, they did not expect the scene they walked in on. There were papers everywhere and books stacked all over the room. She had a large map on the wall with various scribblings all over it. She was joined by three of her spirits, Loke, Capricorn, and Crux. They were all helping her search, and the room was filled with a fevered excitement. Lucy almost looked crazed when she turned to her spirits, "So, you think it could work?"

"All keys are formed by these cores. The Zodiac keys need this found in its purest form though," Crux said.

Capricorn nodded, "While it's never been done, if you find a core, combine it with your magic tied to Aquarius, and use the dragon slayers magic to re-forge the key. It is possible." Lucy nodded understanding that the dragon slayers would be a major key for this to work. The ties between Celestial magic and dragon slaying magic ran deep to the formation of the world. If utilized correctly and with the right elements, forming powerful magic items was possible. In her case, she was hoping to remake Aquarius's key.

All four of them thrummed with excitement. Her spirits all knew how much this meant to her, and it meant a great deal to all of them to see their master working so hard to reunite with her spirit. It showed how much she cared for them, and how much each bond truly meant to her. Loke also realized that this was why Aquarius's key was the one she had to use to summon the spirit king. Sure, he was close with Lucy and would serve her in any way she could, but he wasn't so sure that she would still be able to access his star-dress had his place been swapped with Aquarius. It was something he begrudgingly admired Aquarius for and hoped one day to have a bond that strong with her someday too.

"The only problem," Loke finally chimed in, "is finding the core."

Lucy slumped into her chair. "I have some leads." She pointed to the map, "But to check, all of these places could take years."

Loke moved over to the map, "Not to mention, these aren't the safest of places."

"I don't care!" Lucy yelled exasperated tears leaking from her eyes. "I'll do anything for her! It's my fault! I broke it! She can't ever be summoned again because of me!"

With that, Yukino stepped into the room. "What do you mean you broke it?"

Lucy jumped and turned. She was shocked to see everyone there, but even more surprised at the tone of Yukino's voice. Her voice was flat, but when you looked into her eyes you could almost see the rage underneath. Lucy started to stutter, but Yukino cut her off, "What do you mean you broke Aquarius's key?!"

She started to close the gap between them when Loke stepped in front of his master. "You don't understand…"

"Then explain," Yukino stated.

Lucy was sitting there in defeat. "It's alright Loke. I understand her rage. It's my fault the key is broken."

"But princess…" Loke whispered kneeling and holding her hands for comfort.

After a few moments, Lucy looked up eyes still dripping tears. "When we fought Tartarus, everyone was trapped in that spell. I was alone fighting off three of those demons. I summoned three spirits, Loke, Virgo, and finally Aquarius." Yukino sucked in a breath. Summoning three Zodiac keys was almost unheard of. Few celestial mages had ever done it in history. "Even with all three out, we still weren't winning. Aquarius told me how to summon the Spirit King. She helped me do it."

"You summoned the spirit king?!" Yukino yelled making the Thunder Legion jump. Freed was perplexed and in awe. He'd looked into Celestial magic, but had never once heard of the Spirit King being summoned. "How'd you get his key?"

"That's just it. He doesn't have a key…" Lucy mumbled and the tears came down in full. She squeezed Loke's hands, and he held her to him.

Capricorn stepped forward to finish, "To summon the Spirit King, one must have enough magical power to do so. After summoning three Zodiacs, it was clear Lucy does. The second thing needed is a Zodiac key where the bond between spirit and master is absolute. For Lucy, that key is, well was, Aquarius's."

"I'm confused, but how…?" Yukino started to question.

Capricorn cut her off, "The mage must channel all of their magic energy through the golden gate key, and call forth the Spirit King. Doing so, comes at a price. It shatters the key the mage uses do to the amount of magical energy utilized."

Yukino froze finally understanding what had happened.

"For all my talk of loving my spirits, I traded her. I traded her for Fairy Tail." Lucy spoke so vehemently about herself. No one had heard Lucy speak so harshly about anyone, and here she was hating herself. "I don't deserve to call myself a Celestial wizard." At this, her spirits froze and looked at her. "I'm going to reform her key, and then I'm going to give them all away."

It was the first any of them had heard of this, spirits included, but before they could even argue, Yukino had walked the room and smacked her across the face. "How dare you!" Lucy looked at her in shock. The normally happy shy girl was looking down on her with a pained, anger. "You scorn Aquarius sacrifice by saying that! This was only possible because of your bond! Because your spirits love you, and you love them. Now you want to throw it all away. You mock Aquarius, you mock your spirits, and you mock other Celestial wizards! You think your spirits want to be with anyone else! You taught me about that bond, and just the thought of even giving them away! Look at them! Look at them Lucy!"

Lucy pulled her eyes from the floor and met Loke, Capricorn, and Crux's eyes. Loke looked like he was going to cry, Capricorn's hands were fisted to the side, and Crux was wide awake eyes open in shock. With that a new round of tears started, "I don't deserve any of you! I don't know what else to do!"

Yukino walked up to her, returning to her gentle, soothing self, "You fight. You do what she taught you, and you fight. Bring her back and become an even stronger mage, so you never have to do that again." At this moment Yukino vowed, to not let Lucy give up, and she certainly would not accept any of her keys. Yukino owed Lucy a great debt back at the grand magic games when she had tried to quit being a Celestial mage. She was determined to help her friend who was wallowing in the same pain she was once in. She felt her own keys hum in agreement.

"We don't wish to serve anyone but you," Capricorn said coming up to lay a hand on her shoulder.

"This is the best contract I've had in a long time," Crux said. "No other master lets me sleep so much!" Lucy let out an exasperated giggle.

"You saved my life Lucy. I'd be gone if it weren't for you. I wish to serve no one but you," Loke said holding her tight. "So, please, don't give us away. We'll help you do anything, follow you anywhere, but please promise us to not give us away."

She looked them all in the eye, and felt her other keys humming in agreement. She took a deep breath and with all of her being she responded, "I promise."