I tried so hard to write Mimic, but I just couldn't get into it. I'll have to skip its turn – not like many will disappointed, it seems, as many of you are asking for me to update this story. As much as I feel honoured that my story is so popular and many want it to be updated, PLEASE STOP ASKING! I literally have a rotation of my stories upon which I update them one after another – please understand. Yes, I do like updating this story more than my others as it is a lot freer in writing, but I do like to write my other stories – I had a particularly good time in writing Rewind and Fast-forwards perverted and sarcastic humour. So, please, do stop asking for an update. It will be done in due time. Also, I'm a stubborn bitch, so if you continuously ask me for an update, the end result will be me not updating for ages, just to make a point.
Just a warning; I'm a mean, cruel bitch if pushed. So, I'm warning you guys now, I will go Alice on your asses if you don't stop acting like a bunch of whinging five-year olds. Sorry for the rudeness, but I'm afraid that I have a short temper and a select few are pushing my buttons.
On with the story!
Disclaimer: Since this diverts from canon, I'm pretty sure that I don't own FT.
Warning: The usual jazz. This is a tad bit filler, though. Sorry.
Lucy P.O.V.
Kicking my feet absently, I stared out into the dark of the night as I petted Plue's head. The sounds of Erza, Gray and Natsu engaging in a property-damaging pillow fight broke the peaceful silence, but I wasn't too bothered in stopping them; getting sued for it would remind them of their stupidity and hopefully they would learn from it. Which seemed unlikely, as they were Fairy Tail mages; they're all fucking idiots.
Deciding that I had sat here long enough, I picked Plue up and held him tightly. Sliding off the balcony I had been sitting on to stargaze for the past hour, the silk robe I was wearing slipping smoothly off alongside me to curl around my thighs. It was a tad bit more revealing than what I was used to, but I ensured that the robe was tied tight and didn't hint at any cleavage before ambling off to the shadow that had been lurking nearby for most of the night.
Juvia was so deep in her daze – probably about Gray and whatever quality she was fixated on at that very moment – that she didn't notice me approach, nor sit down beside her.
"Hello, Juvia-san," I said quietly, as to not startle the girl.
Not like it worked very well as the girl jumped about a foot in the air and let out a loud squeak. She landed with a thud before looking at me with a bright red face. "J-Juvia did not realise that anyone else was in the gardens!"
I smiled at her, trying to ease her nervousness. "I apologise if I startled you, Juvia-san, but I just wished to say hello and to ask you why you were looking in upon my friends and I." Shifting so that my legs were tucked underneath me, I held Plue close to me as I awaited Juvia's reply. The poor dear didn't know how to respond to being caught stalking someone; blushing deeper and stuttering wasn't the right response. Lack of experience, I guess.
"Why don't you go in and talk to them?" I suggested gently to the girl. "I know that Gray would be happy to see you are alright after the fiasco between Phantom Lord and Fairy Tail."
"You know Gray-sama?" sighed Juvia. "You are so lucky to be in Gray-sama's presence." Her face then took on a darker look as she finally made eye-contact with me, her pretty features made ugly by jealousy. "You are love-rival Lucy! You bask in Gray-sama's presence and keep him all to yourself! You are a wicked girl, love-rival Lucy!"
Barely flinching at the sudden turn in attitude, I offered my hand to Juvia, making sure to keep a trembling Plue close with the other. "It seems like you already know of me, Juvia-san, but I'd like to introduce myself properly. My name is Lucy Heartifilia, and I do not have any sort of interest in Gray Fullbuster either than a purely platonic relationship as nakama."
"You are a liar," shrieked Juvia, the redness in her face now the cause of great anger. "Gray-sama said that he'd protect love-rival Lucy! With his life Love-rival Lucy has obviously bewitched Gray-sama and taken him from Juvia!"
"Juvia," I said softly, turning my offered handshake to a soothing hand on the girl's exposed knee peeking from beneath her own robes. "Gray said that because it is something he'd say for any of his nakama. I am intensely flattered by his words, but it is words of friendship that warm my heart, not of romantic interest. I would lay my life down for any of my nakama, as would anyone in our guild' that is merely how things work."
"But…" muttered Juvia, looking rather lost as she hung her head, "but…"
Tilting my head so that I could catch Juvia's deep eyes from beneath her bangs, I gave her another smile, trying my best to continue the sweet, sappy speech that Fairy Tail mages always seemed to have at the reading going. "Juvia-san, would you like to join Fairy Tail?"
When the girl's head shot up, eyes gleaming in shock and hope, I took that as a yes – not like I didn't already know of her dream to join the same guild as her love interest. "Juvia-san, if you join Fairy Tail you will be welcome with open arms. I can tell you are a kind and sweet girl who belongs at Fairy Tail, and I know that both Gray and I will vie for your acceptance into it. When you join, everyone will adopt the same mentality as Gray has done for me; they will protect you with their very life, as is the Fairy Tail way."
Juvia's mouth gaped, the girl obviously unsure of how to reply to my onslaught of information. But I wasn't done yet.
"Go up there, Juvia-san, and introduce yourself to Natsu and Erza; I know that after they hear your story that they will welcome you to Fairy Tail." I nudged the girl playfully on the shoulder, hoping that I was saying the right things; Natsu was way better at doing the whole motivational speech crap. "Go on."
The blue-haired girl sent an uncertain look over the top of the shrubbery she had chosen to hide behind, obviously drinking in the sight of Erza, Gray and Natsu talking and laughing as they wound down from their pillow fight. Several expressions flitted across her face, like butterfly wings, before it settled into the familiar determined expression that I had always admired on the girl in the series. But rather than heading over to my nakama, the girl turned to me, hand held out in a clear offer.
"Juvia's name is Juvia Lockser. Juvia would like to get acquainted with Lucy-san."
Grinning, I took the soft hand in my own calloused one and pumped it up and down gently. "It's just Lucy; Fairy Tail mage, Juvia-san."
"Just Juvia," the blue-haired girl said in reply with a smile curling her lips. "Aspiring Fairy Tail mage."
"Oh," I said as I stood up, pulling the other girl up with me gently with our clasped hands, "I know you will."
I got a bashful smile in reply and a small blush, which only made my smile widen. "Now, Juvia, head on over to my guildmates and say hello. Just tell them you had a mission in the town and had met me on a starlight walk. I guided you here and told you to say hello before heading off by myself for a stroll – which is the truth. I know you'll be fine, so go have some fun."
"Is Lucy sure that it will be alright for Juvia to barge in?" The ex-Phantom said shyly, peering wistfully through the open balcony to where Erza was reprimanding Gray and Natsu for the damage done to the room – hypocrite.
"Since you're not barging," I said casually as I gently pushed the girl towards them, "I'm sure it'll be fine. But just in case they don't believe that I sent you over, take Plue along with you." All but shoving Plue into Juvia's arms, I gave the girl another encouraging shove as she hesitated some more. "Bye Juvia, I hope to see you later tonight."
Turning on my heel with barely a wave at the girl inching her way towards the balcony, I set off towards the gate that led out of the garden of the hotel we were staying at and into the streets.
Luckily there was plenty of stars out as well as a half-moon to help the sparsely placed lanterns lining the path to shed light on me. This area of the town was rather quiet as it was getting on in the night, so I only had the sound of the wind to accompany me as I walked bare foot down the small path.
The night air was soothing on my skin, blowing gently on the cuts and bruises that I had gathered from our mission earlier on in the day. A few hours in one of the local onsens had done wonders to my aches and pains but I could tell that it would be a day or two before I was back in perfect health.
Just as I finished thinking that I should take Ryos here for a small vacation some time – the boy having opted to go on a small mission with Team Shadow Gear; he loved them so much – I heard far off footsteps echoing towards me from further up the path, coupled with brash, slurred words and laughter.
Tch, drunkards. I always seemed to be dealing with them, but this time it was planned.
Two clearly intoxicated males came stumbling towards me, emerging from the shadows of a nearby tree. Both had rather ugly mugs and I turned my nose up as I caught the sour scent of spoiled alcohol and perfume. Well, well, well, it seemed like there was a red-light district nearby; who'd have guessed in such a nice, tourist-based town. Oh wait, I did. Places like this were full of hidden brothels and questionable dens dealing drugs, and it was obvious these two fellows had just come from a night of drinking and pleasure.
And they wanted more.
"Hey, baaaby," one slurred as he caught sight of me, alcohol-laden eyes brightening up into a lecherous gleam. "What's someone like yooou doin' walking these streets alohhhne?"
"Yeah, you shouldn't be out heeeere alone," the one next to him agreed, swaying on his feet as he shuffled closer to me – close enough so that I could get a whiff of his disgusting breath.
Wrinkling my nose, I leant back from the rather monkey-faced man. "Tequila at this hour, really?"
I got a dopey smile I reply and I couldn't help but roll my eyes. "Honestly, boys, head back to your room before you do something you'll regret."
"Like what?" the first man asked stupidly, bloated face screwed up in thought.
I sensed him before I heard or saw him, and managed to turn in time to see a fist blur past me to go slamming into Mr Chubby-man's face, a lithe body following after, trailing a silken voice. "Like daring to go at a beautiful lady in my presence."
Before the newly appeared Loke could move to attack the other idiot, my leg went out to trip him up before he could run away. I got a glimpse of the man's drunken face screwed up in terror before my own fist landed against his face with a thud, knocking him out instantly.
Relaxing, I stood from where I had put the man out his misery to gently shake my fist out. I took great pleasure in doing this slowly, to raise the tension Loke must have felt in being so close to a Celestial mage after all these years.
Deciding to put the poor man – spirit – out of his misery, I turned to face him, a smile already on my face. "You know that you didn't need to do that, Loke, I had it under control."
The spirit in question chuckled sheepishly as an arm reached back to ruffle his spiky hair. "Well, I couldn't leave a beautiful girl alone with riff raff like that, no matter how strong she is." He sound nervous as he said it, and I couldn't help but laugh softly.
"You know, I like you more when you're like this, Loke, rather than that playboy attitude of yours." Ignoring the spirit's continued nervous laughter, I jerked my head to the side. "C'mon, I'll treat you to a drink and some food for your act of kindness."
"Oh no," Loke said as he waved his hands in protest, "that's quite alright! I mean—"
"Loke," I said, abandoning my smile for a serious glare, "you shall escort me to this bar and we will have a talk."
An almost fearful expression crossed Loke's face, and it almost looked like he would run for a moment. But then he slumped, and all the tension bled from his posture. "Yeah, sure. Whatever you say, Lucy."
Smoothing my expression back over, I offered Loke a smile before turning on my heel and heading down the path to the bar I knew was nearby; the one that Loke and Lucy had visited in the series, actually.
As I walked, I managed to hear Loke's mutters as he fell into step beside me, and couldn't help but grin.
"Crazy madwoman. I wouldn't be surprised if she takes candy from babies."
Unable to resist, I sent a shark-like grin at Loke. "Why would I bother to eat the candy when I can just have the babies?"
Loke could tell that I was joking, but I appreciated it all the same when he put on a theatrical shudder. "What has the beauties of the world come to?"
Oddly enough, I couldn't hold back the blush that crept up my face. When Loke called me beautiful prior it was just an act, but the way he had said it then was so casual; like he's meant it. And although I knew he was complimenting Lucy's face and body, I couldn't help but feel pleased by the compliment. Silly, I know, but I really couldn't help it.
And, unfortunately for me, Loke had managed to catch the pink in my cheeks as he began to laugh. "Who would've thought that the ever poised ice princess could blush? How cute."
"Shut up," I snapped back, punching him in the shoulder as we went down the left part of a fork in the road. "I'm unused to people speaking to me in a way; sue me."
Crossing my arms I tried to ignore the way Loke stiffened beside me, his eyes beneath the usual blue-tinted glasses sliding towards me. "You can't tell me that you've never been called beautiful in your life. That's a lie."
I shrugged, slightly uneasy with the topic. "By perverts and drunkards? Yes. By people who don't mean it? Yes. By people who think that they can flatter me into doing what they want? Yes. But spoken earnestly? Not really…"
"That's impossible," Loke stated firmly, feet following the path's slope to the bar – he obviously knew where I was heading. "A girl like you should be showered in compliments about your beauty, because every word would be true."
Rubbing my arms anxiously, I tried my best not to think about all the times that I had been dolled up as Tia for functions and important dinners for my parent's business prospects. My parents had never really payed much attention to what I was wearing, so busy in revising speeches and going over contracts they wished to offer. Most of the time I go a quick nod of approval from my father or a brief smile from my mother, but both were clinical and brief; they didn't have time for someone who wouldn't get them another connection with China's trading.
"Uh," I mumbled as we approached the brightly lit bar, the door opened invitingly. "I guess I've never really paid much attention."
Both of us knew that I was lying, but Loke was courteous enough to merely smile and usher me into the bar.
It was empty, aside from the bartender. The really, weird octopus-looking bartender with an abnormally large head. However, he wasn't the weirdest thing I had ever seen in this world, so I merely offered him an acknowledging nod as I slipped onto one of the barstools in front of him.
Loke hopped up beside me and signalled for some sake and two of the small shot bowls that was used to drink from.
At the look he gave me, I gently slid the wallet full of money I had been removing from a pocket within my robe back to its hiding place. I didn't feel like fighting against someone as stubborn and chivalrous as Loke tonight.
We both sipped at the warm alcohol after Loke poured it out, trying our best to act casual and natural despite the words hanging between us. The bright lights of the bar did nothing to lighten the veil of words, unable to penetrate the masks that both Loke and I placed so firmly on our faces.
Three shots and a slightly buzzed feeling later I was ready to talk to Loke.
(Un)Fortunately, Loke had beaten me to the punch once again.
"How'd you know?" he asked as he nursed his forth shot, bangs shadowing his naked eyes, the glasses that he wore everywhere discarded on the bar top.
Sighing, I placed my own shot down, folding my hands into each other as to not show my nerves. "It wasn't really that hard, Leo."
A mirthless laugh came from Loke beside me. "And you even know how I really am; I must be the worst secret keeper."
"On the contrary," I replied, "you're quite brilliant at it; no one in Fairy Tail knew that you were a spirit. If I couldn't sense magic as well as I can, I would've been oblivious as well. However, the ring magic you use is fuelled by celestial mage, which is my own."
Loke groaned. "And of course you can sense your own magic. I had my suspicions that you would guess who I was, but when you winked at me after that drinking contest…"
"A stupid thing on my behalf," I said primly, "as it would've scared you, and that was something I didn't wish to happen. If I have caused you any alarm, Leo, than I apologise for it. It was never my intention to get you worked up even more over your entire situation."
There was no reply from my companion. Instead, he opted to lay his head down on the bench, grief written in the curve of his shoulders and the slump of his body. He was a tired and pain-riddled man – which I knew. And it was hard for me to watch such a strong and proud spirit go through such emotional and physical torture.
If I didn't want to free Loke before, out of common courtesy and for Lucy, then damn straight did I want to do it now, to help a suffering soul.
"Leo," I said softly, placing a wary hand on his back. It was warm through his casual shirt and jacket, and I closed my eyes as I leaned into it, to feel the tremors that wracked his body beneath it all. "I know how much pain and suffering you have gone through. It wasn't hard to ask around the Spirit World and learn that the leader of the Zodiac had been missing for nearly three years. It especially wasn't hard to link it up with the death of a Miss Karen, a celestial mage who dies a few days after Leo's disappearance."
Loke's body froze beneath mine, and I would've imagined that he was a statue if it wasn't for the warmth that he excluded.
Very carefully, I began to awkwardly stroke Loke's back, unsure of what to do. I wasn't much of a comforter – much more used to going out to beat the crap out of whoever had hurt a friends' feelings. Most of my experience in comforting was building a pillow fort with my little sister and going to sleep with her curled up in my arms, tuckered out after crying herself hoarse. And the worst part about whenever she cried was that I couldn't go and avenge her; beating up your own parents wasn't something that was smiled upon in society.
So I guess you could say was that I was a novice in comforting people. I seemed to have done a lot more of it since I had joined Fairy Tail – Mirajane over Lisanna, Ryos, Max's mother and sister at his funeral, Happy whenever Natsu was mean to him – but a few weeks wasn't enough to make up for sixteen years of inexperience.
I tried my best to ignore the way that Loke had begun to shake, but when I heard the muffled sobs begin to escape from where his hands were pressed against his face I knew it was time to go.
Tossing some money on the table and adding a generous tip to keep the barkeeper quiet, I gave him a sharp nod that he returned enthusiastically. With that dealt with, I turned to Loke and curled my arms under his shoulders, tugging him up gently.
The spirit was wiping his eyes and quietening his sniffles by the time I got him out of the door, but I wanted a nice quiet place for us to talk and maybe for Loke to rant, so I wasn't interested in sticking around this area.
Extracting one hand from where it was supporting Loke, I pulled my keys from within my robes and selected a silver one. "Andromeda, if you'd please."
Loke stiffened in my grip as a fellow spirit appeared in front of him, eyes wide in terror.
Andromeda was clearly surprised to see the leader of the Zodiac in front of her, but she was always brilliant in strange situations, so she merely gave him a look before turning to me. "I guess it's time, isn't it? Would you like to go there right away?"
I nodded in reply, smiling wryly. "Thank you, Andromeda that would be lovely." Reaching out to my spirit, I grasped her offered hand, making sure to keep a tight grip on Loke as she transported us across Fiore and to a very familiar landscape to Loke.
I had only been to Karen's grave last week with Andromeda so that she knew where to go, so it still took my breath away when I looked upon the magnificent waterfall and the gravestone on the edge of the cliff.
Next to me Loke was just as breathless, but I didn't think his breath was taken away by wonder, more like panic and fear.
"H-How…?" he stuttered out, his wide eyes alighting on me. "How did you…?"
"Know where Karen lay?" I asked him. "I was exploring this area when I stumbled upon it, months ago, and I didn't really understand the importance of the gravestone. It was only when I was working out who you were that I remembered this place and the name carved into the gravestone. After that it was a matter of coming back here with Andromeda, who could transport us here when I called upon her."
A look of understanding crossed Loke's face and he turned to me after wiping his face clean of any emotion. "You planned this all out, didn't you? Us meeting, finding out about Karen…"
Rather than pretending and denying, I gave Loke a pained smile and nodded. "Yeah, I did. I know it wasn't exactly the nicest thing to do, but I couldn't just let you die, could I? You don't have much time, and if you died I couldn't forgive myself."
Loke stumbled back from me, confusion and fear in his eyes. He seemed to choke on whatever he was saying, and I flinched back at the sound.
Taking this as a cue to leave, Andromeda gave me an encouraging smile before disappearing back to her home, leaving only Loke and I, a thunderous waterfall, and secrets and lies to clog the air in between.
"How do you know all of these things?" demanded Loke when he got his voice back. "There's no way you could simply ask people for this information; there's rules in the Spirit World about these kinds of things. Stop lying!" The last part was bellowed out, and my ears rung with his anger as I stared out at the waterfall and the drop to the pools below.
Licking my lips, I decided to not leave anything out; this was no time for manipulation and lies. Here was one of Lucy's greatest and most trusted friends; I couldn't betray her and spit on her name even more if I didn't save him.
"I know these things because…Well, because I've seen it. I've seen it all happen before – and I don't mean in a prophecy kind of way. Where I come from – all sorts of barriers in time and space away – this world is portrayed in ink and words, and later on moving pictures. Where I come from, people like you and Lucy are just characters on a screen or in a book; fictional and amusing. That's where I get all of my knowledge from; parts of your life, including what happened with Karen are shown there."
"That's not possible," Loke stated immediately, but his voice trembled. "I don't understand; you are Lucy. This is all real, not whatever madness you are talking about."
Running my hands through my unbound hair, I supress the urge to scream and cry in frustration; why was this so hard? "I'm not really Lucy Heartifilia, Leo, this is just her body. In my world, I was known as Tiana Laakson. It was only when I died that I woke up in this body and in this world. It was never my intention to come here, but since I learnt of where I was, it has been my intention to set things right; which includes you living."
"I died?" Loke asked in a small voice, and when I looked at him his whole body looked hunched up and folded in a way that made him look diminutive. "So I really did die in the end, huh."
"You didn't die, Loke," I said, making the spirit snap his head up to look at me. "But you just said—"
"I know what I said," I snapped back, rubbing at my temples in hopes that it would soothe the headache that was building there. "I just meant that I don't want you to die at all. Lucy managed to save you, but she cut it very close. After you ditched Fairy Tail she researched just who you were, her suspicions fuelling her. When she found you it was here, with your body failing and disappearing. She nearly didn't save you, but through sheer willpower she managed to get the attention of the Celestial Spirit King, who let you back into the Spirit World."
Shock and wonder was written into Loke's face after hearing that, and a brilliant smile stretched his lips widely. "She sounds like a wonderful girl."
"She was," I agreed sadly. "She was so kind and compassionate; willing to forgive and forget the sins of anyone. She would fight until her last breath for her friends and face down any fears. More than once I've seen her overcome ridiculous odds and come out stronger than ever." A lump in my throat choked up my next words, and I could feel the sting of tears in my eyes. "I couldn't imagine anyone more worthy of living a full life like her and…a-and I took it all away from her. In one moment…I was alive and she was dead. Gone forever."
Silence stretched between Loke and I in that moment, and I tried my best to laugh as I wiped my eyes. "Sorry, that was stupid of me. This is about saving you, not of my own stupid woes."
"Hey," Loke said softly, walking closer to me with hesitant feet, "hey…" When he reached me, I was shocked to see him open his arms out and grab me, wrapping me up in warmth, the musky scent of whatever cologne he was wearing and the familiar hum of his magic. "It's okay…Shh…"
I didn't realise I was crying until Loke was wiping away my tears, his fingers surprisingly soft and tender. I was grateful when he didn't say anything more, simply drawing me closer and hugging me tightly; it was safe and warm. It felt wonderful, and I didn't ever want him to let go.
But between one hiccupping breath and the next, I was stumbling forwards through Loke.
When I whirled around I was met with the terrible sight of Loke's form flickering, his face twisted in shock and pain.
"Leo!" I shouted as he collapse to his knees, body shuddering against the pain of his entire existence being torn apart into specks of magic to be absorbed by the world.
Dashing forwards I slid to a stop beside him, cursing the fact that we were both kneeling in front of Karen's gravestone, just like in the series. Only, this time, I wasn't wasting any time to plead for Loke to hold on and try; he had been doing it for three years, it was time for him to rest.
And time for me to help him.
Slipping my arms beneath Loke's barely substantial back, I cradled him close. "Don't worry, Leo, I can do this. I may not be Lucy, but you'd be damn sure I'm not letting one of her friends die."
"Wait," Loke said, his voice wavering in and out along with his body as he grasped at me. "You can't…"
Ignoring him I drew upon every drop of magic I possessed. It swelled up inside of me, making my ears hum with the pressure of evoking all of my power. I closed my eyes as my body began to glow a blinding golden colour and focused on the connections I had with all of my spirits.
It was almost like having doors in my head, representing the gates belonging to each of my spirits. Most of the time they were closed, and it took surges of magic for me to open each one after another, but I ignored such thoughts.
I had broken so many rules of life and magic before, what was another?
Taking in a deep breath I forced my magic out in a huge pulse, focusing on slamming each of those doors open.
Almost instantly I felt most of my magic flush out of me, making me gasp out the breath I had been holding. It felt like someone had punched me in the gut and was continuing to drill their fist further in to inflict more pain, but it was okay; I could feel all of my spirits presence around me, blanketing Loke and me in.
Opening my eyes, I looked past all of my spirits to the great drop of the waterfall. My body was trembling with the effort of holding so many gates open, but the sensation of Loke literally slipping through my fingers gave me the strength to shout into the void.
"HAS LEO NOT SUFFERED ENOUGH? WOULD YOU DAMN ONE OF YOUR FAITHFUL SPIRITS IN THE NAME OF A LESSON HE LEARNT YEARS AGO? A LESSON HE DIDN'T NEED TO LEARN BECAUSE IT WAS NEVER HIS FAULT! I'M CALLING UPON YOU RIGHT NOW, CELESTIAL SPIRIT KING, TO REVOKE THE BANISHMENT OF LEO THE LION! YOUR JUDGEMENT WAS WRONG AND I WANT YOU TO LET LEO BACK THE SPIRIT WORLD!"
My throat was raw with my screams and I was gasping with effort, but I continued to yell and plead, hoping that my poorly constructed words were enough to portray my feelings to the Celestial Spirit King. I wasn't Lucy, I couldn't cry and spill my heart out and make things better. I just couldn't do it. But this had to suffice. IT HAD TO!
"Please!" I cried out, feeling tears of frustration come to my eyes. "Please let him go back; he'll die otherwise!"
"Stop it," Loke murmured in my arms, his eyes flickering wildly. "It's useless."
Resisting the urge to smack Loke across his face, I glared down at him. "It's not useless. You're not useless." Turning back to the drop at the edge of the cliff, I went back to my angry screams. "WHAT'S USELESS IS YOU, MOUSTACHE MAN! IF YOU DON'T LET LEO GO BACK TO THE SPIRIT WORLD, SO HELP ME! I WILL EXPELL ALL OF MY MAGIC HERE RIGHT NOW AND WRENCH A GATE OPEN! THEN MY DEATH WILL BE ON YOU, ASSHOLE!"
Loke's eyes were wide and panicked in his pale face as he continued to protest against my actions, but the words died in his mouth as the water falling in a curtain nearby slowed to a stop, water droplets hanging in the air by an all-powerful force. The wind that had been swirling around us died away and the sounds of the world around us disappeared, snuffed out completely.
My spirits around me disappeared as I relaxed and let their gates slam shut. But I barely spared them a glance as I was too busy staring up at the stars.
The pinpricks of light were swirling around in a circle, like some sort of god had grabbed the sky and spun it around the Earthland. It was beautiful in a dizzying way, and both Loke and I were completely enraptured by the sight.
Right in the centre of the lightshow a glow slowly broke through the darkness, casting a brilliant light down upon us. It expanded and shone at a brilliance that made me cover my eyes, lest I be blinded.
When I felt it die down and deemed it safe to look again, the Celestial Spirit King was standing in front of me, easily two-storeys above me even though I was on a cliff and his feet were in a pool of water hundreds of metre below.
Although he had seemed almost comical in the series, the Celestial Spirit King excluded a presence that would've brought me to my knees if I weren't already on them. It wasn't a malevolent aura – nothing of the sort – but simply so huge and powerful that it nearly suffocated a weak human being like me.
"No way…" Loke gasped in my lap. "He wouldn't come for something as insignificant as this!"
"Your life isn't insignificant," I managed to hiss at Loke before the Celestial Spirit King's voice was ringing out, even though his mouth didn't move.
"Old friends…"
I had always been confused and mildly irritated by this form of address that the King offered, and I frowned at him as he spoke. "Excuse, m'lord, I don't mean any disrespect, but I am not an old friend. We have never met before, and I think it would be best if I introduced myself—"
"There is no need, old friend," the Celestial Spirit King hummed in answer. "I know you well already, old friend. I helped guide your soul through the dangers of space and time to here, did I not?"
"W-What?" I choked out, shocked by the sudden turn in events. "You mean…You were the one who brought me here? You placed me in this body?"
"Yes and no. It was not my intention to bring you here; that was the wishes of a being much higher than me. But I helped to place your soul in that body of my old friend's, as I was instructed to."
Here was the answer to all the questions that had been gathering in me since my arrival here. This ancient being was the answer to all of my fears and hopes; I couldn't let that go to waste.
"Please," I all but yelled at the Celestial Spirit King, "tell me; who brought me here and why! I need to know!"
My breath caught in my throat when, instead of answering, the Celestial Spirit King gave me a shrug in answer. "I cannot tell you the answer to those questions, old friend, as I do not know them myself. If I could ease your pain, than I would do so willingly."
Even as all of the hope and excitement that I had built up just moments before came crashing down, I managed to shove it to the side to deal with later; Loke needed me now. "If you wish to ease pain, than ease Leo's; Karen's death was not his fault and you know it. I know that you needed a scapegoat to enforce the laws, but it has been long enough; it is time for you to bring Leo home."
When the Celestial Spirit King began to mildly protest against this, I held my hand up in a stop sign. "No. I don't want to hear any of your weak excuses. You will send Leo back home right now. If you do not then you can say goodbye to your 'old friend.' I will revoke all of my powers as a celestial spirit mage. That means that when you have a problem, I will not lift a single finger to help you; that's a promise of a lifetime."
Sure, it was a bit extreme, and it was obvious Loke agreed by his expression, but both the King and I knew that it was only a half-truth and a strong bluff. I would not leave my friends to suffer, but I sure as hell would hold the biggest grudge against the King and do everything in my power to make life harder for him.
Call me a bitch, but it was true.
The Celestial Spirit King seemed to be thinking over my demands, though, so I held my breath that I hadn't been too demanding and rude. A being with as much power as the King could easily smite me with barely any effort.
"You are right, old friend. I have been hasty in my judgement." The Celestial Spirit King said to me. He then turned his attention to Loke, who flinched under his gaze. "I have been too hard on you, old friend. I believe it is time for you to come home."
An almost heartbreakingly hopeful expression came upon Loke's face as he gazed up at his king. "Y-You mean…I can come back to the Spirit World? I can become a spirit again?"
"Yes, old friend. You may come back now if you wish. In return, though, you shall become old friend's spirit and stay with her."
"Yes!" Loke shouted out happily. "I would love to!" I didn't know if he was talking to me or his King, but I smiled all the same.
The spirit struggled to sit upright in my arms so I helped him up gently, a grin covering my face the whole time. Just as Loke was going to get up on his feet a golden glow began to envelop him, lighting his features up.
"I'm going home!" Loke cried out joyfully as he began to disappear back into his world. He managed to turn to me, half of his body already disappeared into a whole other world and gave me an earnest smile. "Thank you so much for what you've done, I won't ever forget it. But as soon as you summon me, we're going to have to work out what I call you." The spirit struck a mocking thinking pose, even with half his arm gone. "I'm thinking something like 'my princess.'"
"Sorry, Leo," I laughed out as I gave him a wave, "but Virgo already calls me that. Bye!"
A hollow 'Noooo!' echoed out from Loke right before he disappeared completely, leaving only some sparkling motes of magic to drift through the night.
When I looked up, the Celestial Spirit King had disappeared as well, and only the stars, the wind and a gravestone remained; my only company.
"Crap," I muttered as I looked around the empty glade, "how am I going to get back? I don't have enough magic to summon Andromeda and no trains are operating at this time of night."
Glancing around the beautiful, quiet glade I figured that there were worse places I could've been stranded up. "Well, it's no too cold, so I guess I'm sleeping here tonight." And looking around at the soft grass, majestic waterfall and glittering stars above there were worst places I could be.
With that thought I rolled over so that I was lying on my back, gazing up at the stars overhead. I stargazed for ages, barely noticing the time slip by until I was suddenly deep in sleep. I didn't walk up until the next day, feeling refreshed and happy.
3rd Person P.O.V.
"MIRA!"
The urgent cry of her name had the barmaid nearly dropping the glass she was currently cleaning, only just managing to catch the handle before it shattered on the bench.
With a pout marring her pretty features she turned to the group who had stormed up to her workspace. "Natsu! I nearly dropped my glass; be a little bit quieter, please."
"That doesn't matter," Natsu said brusquely as he slammed his hands down on the counter. "Lucy's missing!"
Happy nodded beside him, tears pouring down his face. "We can't find Lushy!"
Mirajane covered her mouth as she gasped. "No! Not again! Where did she go missing from?"
She was answered by Erza who was as imposing looking as ever with her stern glare and crossed arms. "According to Juvia she went on a walk. That was around ten at night and she never came back to our housing."
A rather timid looking blue-haired girl who had to be Juvia stepped forwards, eyes shadowed by her long eyelashes. "Lucy's Plue disappeared from Juvia's arm an hour after Juvia last saw Lucy. Plue-san never came back either." The girl wrung her hands, a sign of nervousness. "Juvia swears Juvia didn't mean for Lucy to go missing. Lucy promised Lucy would be back soon after Lucy's walk." Suddenly the girl burst into loud wailing tears that swiftly began flooding the guild. "Juvia didn't mean to let Lucy go missing! Juvia's sorry!"
Hiding her amusement and endearment at Juvia's way of speaking with a motherly frown of concern, Mirajane looked to Gray for more answers. "Was there any ransom note? Was she kidnapped? Did—"
"Holy shit was that a long walk!" a familiar voice rang out through the guild, interrupting Mirajane's questions. "Never again am I doing that barefoot! It sucked royal hippogriff."
Natsu, Gray, Erza, Happy and Juvia spun on their heel to see a familiar red-tipped blonde come stumbling into the guild; barefoot, dressed only in a robe and grass caught in her hair and stuck to her back.
"Lucy!" the collected group called out joyfully before running over to the girl.
"Where have you been?" asked Erza stiffly. "We've been worried sick." The red-head didn't wait for Lucy to reply as she grabbed the girl's head and slammed her into her breastplate in her twisted form of a hug.
"Gah!" Lucy said intelligently. She then collected herself enough to try and wriggle out of Erza's grip, but the red-head didn't release her until she had gotten her fill of comfort.
When Lucy got room to breathe and straighten up, Natsu was suddenly swooping in and picking her up. And not in a hugging kind of way but merely picking her up by putting his hands under her armpits and raising her up so that he could glare eye to eye with her. "Where the hell were you? Who kidnapped you? I'll burn them to a crisp!"
"Natsu!" the blonde squeaked out as the dragon slayer began to shake her back and forth impatiently. "I wasn't kidnapped! Now put me down right now!"
At the growl Lucy's voice took on, Natsu wisely dropped the girl to shuffle back and cower behind a floating Happy.
Dusting herself down, Lucy sent one last distrustful glare at Natsu before she composed herself. "Sorry that I couldn't get back to you guys, but I had used up all my magic so I couldn't summon Andromeda to take me back to the motel."
"Who'd you fight to use up all your magic?" Gray asked carefully.
"Oh no," Lucy said, "I didn't fight anyone. I used all of my magic up in opening all of my spirit's gates."
"Isn't that highly dangerous and impossible?" Mirajane asked thoughtfully.
"Yeah," Lucy agreed with a shrug. "But I had to; it was the only way I could get the attention of the Celestial Spirit King so that he could let Leo back into the Spirit World, lest he die."
"…I feel like there's a story here," Gray deadpanned, "but I can't seem to find it."
Lucy rolled her eyes. "It'd be better if I show you. I think that I might have enough magic to summon him…"
But before Lucy could even grab her newest golden key there was a flash of golden light that signalled that one of her spirit's was coming into their world. When the light died down, the entire guild was shocked to see Loke standing there. Only, he was now wearing a swanky suit and had much longer hair, giving him a sleeker, but manlier rugged look.
"Loke?" Gray asked in disbelief. "Y-You're…?"
Said spirit placed a hand to his heart, the other sweeping his hair back dramatically. "One of Lucy's beloved spirits? I am now. My angel saved me last night and granted me new life. In return, I pledged myself to her as her faithful knight-in-shining-armour."
"But aren't you a Fairy Tail mage?" Natsu asked, confusion written in the lines in his face. "I don't get it."
"He's still a Fairy Tail mage," Lucy answered for Loke. "Unless I say otherwise, Loke will bear the mark of Fairy Tail and answer Master's call. If I wanted to remove him from the guild, I could strip him of his mark. But I would never do that; that would be so cruel!"
At that moment majority of Fairy Tail grasped how much power Lucy held over her spirit's. They had always seemed so free and reckless – always pushing Lucy's buttons and causing unnecessary havoc – but it was only because Lucy's heart was too kind to bind them and reign them in. If she was a bad person, she would've stripped Loke from his guild mark and banned him from ever acknowledging another Fairy Tail mage again.
It was a scary thought; that this pretty blonde girl could ruin someone's life so easily with just a few commands.
"I'm glad that you're still a member of Fairy Tail," Mirajane said with a sweet smile, "but why don't you explain everything from the beginning, ne?"
Before Lucy could speak, Loke was launching into the barest details of his past, sketching out the backstory for the fantastic tale that had been created last night. It involved a lot more splendour and exaggeration than Lucy would've liked – evident by her scowl – but she stayed quiet; she would just have to get used to Loke's quirks.
After some idle small talk afterwards and the integration of Juvia into Fairy Tail – not many protested as both Gray and Lucy vouched for her intensely, and the girl seemed rather sweet and shy – Loke was whipping out some familiar tickets to Lucy and offering them to the collected group.
"I was going to take a bunch of lovely ladies to Akane Resort, but since I'm under my Angel's rule I'm currently indisposed." The flirtatious wink Loke sent at Lucy let them know that he meant absolutely no hard feelings – it also had the added bonus of making Lucy blush. "I insist that you guys take it; have a relaxation period. Go soak up some sun and win yourselves a fortune. Go wild."
Smiling broadly – even though she knew what was going to happen half-way through this little vacation – Lucy reached out for the tickets offered to her. However, the surprising arrival of a messenger bird bearing the council's mark and a large package halted her movements.
Much to the surprise of the gathered populace, Lucy's sun-kissed paled to a sickly white, highlighting the darkness of her eyes as they popped out in shock. And fear.
Ignoring everyone's questions around her, Lucy snatched up the bag from the little bird, barely acknowledging its presence before she was studying the letter that came with it.
The bird took this as its dismissal and chirped lightly before darting out of the guild, happy to be free of the weight of the package and of fear; the council's face had been grave when they had called upon the messenger bird. The fact that the bird also knew that the tag attached to the package – a black in colour – meant that this was a heavily hushed up, S-class mission; very few were gifted with these kinds of missions, as the Magic Council rarely went to such extremes to solve their problems.
The little bird did not envy the blonde who had to complete this mission. No sir.
"What's in the package, Luce?" Natsu shouted out, oblivious to the tension coming off the blonde staring at the parcel in her hands. "Let me see!" His hands reached out for the package but were swiftly batted away by Lucy, who used a lot more force than she normally would, making Natsu's hands sting from the contact.
The blonde's eyes were wide as she looked at Erza, sweat gathering on her brow. "Tell Levy that she'll need to watch over Ryos for a few more days; I don't know when I'll be back from this mission." She then turned to snatch up the tickets Loke still held limply in his hands before shoving them into Gray's hands. "Go to the resort without me and take Juvia instead; I know she'll love it."
It was true – the blue-haired girl was ecstatic to go to a resort with her Gray-sama, where she could show off her bikini to him – but Juvia knew that this wasn't a moment to go off into a blissful tangent; something was very wrong with her new friend. She was unstable and shaken; very far off the utterly composed girl that she had met last night. It was unnerving for Juvia, who had just met the girl, so she couldn't even begin to comprehend how it felt for the others, who were so much closer to her.
"I'll see you guys in a couple of days," Lucy gasped out to her friends, eyes already darting towards the door. "Tell Master that I've got a black tag from the Council, he'll understand."
"But Lucy," Erza started, clearly confused by the entire situation, "What—"
"No time to talk!" the blonde yelped out, tucking her package under her arm and scrambling for the door. "Be safe! Don't follow me or you'll regret it!" She added the last bit when it looked like Natsu would follow with Happy, and the boy wisely stayed put; even though it was clear that he didn't like it.
"C'mon Loke!" Lucy called out to her dumbfounded spirit, who quickly sent a glance at her guildmates before shooting out the door after his summoner; he wanted to know what was going on.
He wouldn't get his answer until Lucy arrived at her apartment, however, and even then the girl was distracted as she darted around the apartment searching for something.
"What exactly do you mean that this is an assassination mission?" Loke asked incredulously from his position on Lucy's lounge, out of the way from her whirlwind activity. "The Council forbids any killing of other mages unless it's an accident or in absolute self-defence; they would never authorise such a mission!"
"That's because they don't really authorise it," Lucy replied as she moved aside a portrait of herself, her mother and her father on one of her walls, revealing a section of wall that was a slightly different colour from the rest. "They don't broadcast these missions; they only tell the mages who they hire to do these jobs."
Loke frowned as he crossed his arms across his chest, eyes still trained on the blonde who had removed the section of wall behind the painting and was drawing a bag from inside it. "And they've decided to hire you for one of these jobs, why?"
"Because I have experience," Lucy replied tersely as she dumped the bag on her bed beside the package that had been delivered to her. "I don't especially like these missions, but I understand the importance of them and complete them better than most of the other mages the Council hires."
Standing up, Loke ran agitated fingers through his hair before stalking over to stand by his summoner. "Do you do it for the money? The Council? C'mon, Lucy, why are you doing these kinds of missions; you're way too young!"
The blonde's hands stilled from where they had been fussing with her bag, but slight tremors in the appendages let Loke know just how wound up she was. "The money? Sure, it pays really good, but it disgusts me to hear that you think that's why I do this, Loke. And I wouldn't do this for the Council ever; I'm not that desperate to be in their good graces. As for being too young for these kinds of things…Well, Loke, you're years too late to tell me that."
Loke recoiled from the dark tone that Lucy had used, guilt and worry chewing away at his stomach. "Then why…? Why would you do this?"
"Because it helps people," came the curt reply, "and that's all I live for."
With that, Lucy zipped open her bag, revealing leathery materials of black and grey. She pulled out a one-piece, skin-tight suit that covered all off her body except her hands, feet and face. It was made of the same material as her usual vest, simply dyed a black.
Next, she pulled out a set of gloves in a softer material andcolour, but still tough enough to endure any hard hits. They went with the short boots that she pulled out, seamless and lace less in their design.
Gathering these objects up, Lucy turned on her heel and headed to the bathroom to get changed, leaving Loke alone with the package that had remained a mystery the whole run here from the guild.
The spirit knew that he was unable to hold back the curiosity that had been eating away at him since the package had arrived, so he decided that he might as well get the big reveal over and done with.
Slashing the bindings open with his magic, Loke barely wasted a second before flipping open the box to reveal its mystery contents.
Glaring at him from the top of the contents was a bunch of photos and information put together in a portfolio kind of way. Only, it was made up of the information and photos of a murderous dark guild called Shattered Bones rather than anything a normal portfolio would hold.
Carefully moving the stack of paper aside – catching a glimpse of the stamp of exterminate that was placed heavily onto the outcome of the mission – Loke stared down into the other objects carefully pack into the box, kept safe by foam and bindings.
A handful of odd black objects, shaped like irregular right angles of different sizes were careful stacked on top of one another. They looked like smaller and much more modified versions of the guns that Bisca and Alzack used, but Loke was hesitant to name them so casually. They just looked so…different.
While he knew how dangerous the guns that Bisca and Alzack wielded could be, it was only because of the reputation his guildmates had. The guns in this box looked deadly without even trying; who knew how much more hazardous they'd be in Lucy's hands.
Picking one up carefully and marvelling at the cold sensation the metal held, Loke fingered the odd tube coming out from the handle of it. Each gun had one implanted into it, and they all lead to a leather bracelet that looked a lot like a modified SE plug.
Did these contraptions run off magic? Lucy's magic?
So deep in thought, Loke was, that he didn't even notice that Lucy had finished changing until she was reaching over him to tug the gun from his hands.
"Modified guns that run on magic," Lucy said to Loke, confirming his thoughts. "I had the Council design them specifically for such missions. They're too dangerous to keep on me, and they react poorly with the Spirit World, so I keep them at the Council. Whenever they send them to me I know that I have another one of these types of missions."
"Ah," Loke said briefly, mind temporarily shorted out by the sight of Lucy in a skin-tight suit.
It hugged to the curves he'd never been able to see under her billowing clothes, and emphasised the bust she tried so desperately to conceal. Partnered with the boots, gloves and belts she was slinging around her waist and back to slide the guns into, she looked like the epitome of a sexy assassin with her hair slicked back impeccably into a high ponytail.
"I won't protest about these missions anymore if you keep wearing that outfit," Loke said truthfully, trying not to drool.
Much to his amusement, Lucy blushed heavily before hurrying to put her sword on her back and swing a long cloak over herself to hide her body. "Stop it, Loke."
Smothering the pout he wore when she covered up with a charming grin, Loke offered his arm to the girl who was gathering up a ready-made bag full of supplies – including food, water and the information on the dark guild she was entrusted to take down. "Shall we go, my Angel?"
"Is that what you've decided to call me?" Lucy said jokingly as she took his arm, still trying to hide her lingering blush.
"Well, it would be hard trying to explain why I call you Tia," Loke said as they headed for the door, "and I like Angel better."
"Whatever you say, Loke."
"I'm just glad you decided to call me Loke again; Leo brings back too many memories."
"Duly noted."
"Off we go to save lives in sexy suits in style?"
"Off we go."
That wasn't very hard to write, which surprised me greatly.
I know it was a fair bit of a filler, but it's fixing up the Loke situation and setting us up for Tower of Heaven. Well, not really, but you'll see.
Anyways, someone asked for the Changling omake, and I'm happy enough to deliver it, even though it hasn't been changed too much. Sorry.
Everyone will be referred to by whoever's body they are in, just to clear up any confusion.
3rd Person P.O.V.
By the time Lucy realised just what was going on, she was too late in stopping Natsu from reading out the strange words he had found on the mission sheet pinned up on the board.
There was a puff of sparkling smoke that managed to cover the group of Happy, Erza, Gray, Natsu, Lucy, Loke and the two spirits she had summoned for that day; Cenas and Vulp.
'Oh Kami,' Lucy thought to herself as she felt a gut-wrenching yank on her soul, 'this better not be what I think it is…'
After the odd tumbling sensation of her soul being tossed around had settled down alongside the smoke that had obscured her vision, Lucy let out a long suffering sigh. Only, it didn't come out in her usual voice.
"Oh for fuck's sake," Gray's voice growled out as he kneaded his forehead. "I can't believe this just happened."
Most of those who had been caught up in the cloud of smoke were still coughing and spluttering, trying to assimilate themselves with the change, but Natsu was busy trying to sneak away out of the guild to escape from Lucy and the spirits she had summoned.
Well, his body anyways.
"Come back here," Gray's-body-who-was-holding-Lucy snapped out right before talking Natsu-who-was-Loke to the ground. "No one's leaving here until we fix this!"
Natsu squeaked pathetically in response, which should've been the guild's first clue as to something was wrong.
Their second was the way that Lucy dropped to her knees screaming bloody murder, clutching at her breasts the entire time. "Oh God! It hurts so bad! I feel like I'm being ripped into two!"
"Quit being melodramatic," Gray snapped, slapping Lucy over the head as he walked by with a terrified Natsu being dragged behind him. "They're just some chest bindings."
Elfman watched with wide eyes as Lucy didn't jump up and hit him back like she normally would, but rather continued to moan and clutch at her chest; just what on Earthland was going on here? Was the whole guild going mad?
Apparently so as he watched Happy stand with new found confidence and sternness as he demanded to know what was going on. Behind him, Erza blushed excitedly as she squeezed at her own breasts, seemingly fascinated with them. "Look! Look! I have boobies!"
Oddly enough, instead of perving at the free show like Macao and Wakaba were, Loke was simply laughing at Erza as he rolled on the floor. "That's hilarious!"
He was quickly shut up, though, by Cenas stumbling back to stand on him with his horse hindquarters, looking confused and unstable. What was worse was that he spoke in a cute, squeaking way, like a teenage girl. "What's going on~? I don't understand! Lucy~! Luuuucy! Help me!"
Nearby, Vulp stood stock still as she took in the entire situation with wary eyes. She looked tense and serious as a warrior assessing potential enemies. That image was quickly broken by her tail swinging madly around to smack her in the face, making her stumble backwards before falling over the heels that she normally walked in with practised ease. "Wah!"
It was a pandemonium of confused screams and awkward flailing, and no knew what to do.
Except, it seemed, Gray – which was ridiculously odd.
Standing in the middle of the chaos caused by the newly insane members – well, more insane than usual – still holding onto Natsu, Gray lifted his fingers to his mouth before blowing out a shrill whistle worthy of a New Yorker.
It effectively stopped all of the panic – and made Natsu nearly cry in surprise and confusion as he clutched at his sensitive ears – and Gray glared at them with one hand on a cocked him in a deceptively feminine way. "You lot; shut it!"
The angry shout silenced the last of the unhappy cries coming from Happy and Cenas's squeals, and everyone turned their utmost attention to the Ice mage.
"Okay, I know you're all confused," Gray drawled, which was an understatement. "But I can fix this stupid mistake that Natsu created." Strangely she glared at Loke as he said this, who had the decency to look bashed for whatever reason.
"Let me just establish who's who," he said to the confusion of most of the guildmembers. The man pointed at Cenas, who held his hands in startled confusion. "You're Vulp, and you've swapped bodies with Cenas. Now move yourself off of Natsu, who has swapped bodies with Loke." When the spirit awkwardly shuffled off of Loke's body, completely unaccustomed to having the hindquarters of a horse, Gray gave a proud nod. "Good, good. Now, Happy, stop touching Erza's boobs; she's obviously unhappy in being in your body so stop tormenting her even more."
"Aye sir," Erza said sadly, the cat in control of her body relinquishing the hold he had on her chest. "That bossy voice could only be meanie Lucy."
Narrowing his eyes at the redhead, Gray nodded sharply. "Yeah, I'm Lucy, and Gray's in my body–Oh quit whining, Gray, chest bindings are nothing. Stop being melodramatic."
Rocking back and forth on the ground, tears pooling in her eyes, Lucy whispered to herself. "I'm never teasing Lucy for being weak ever again; these things feel like I've been stabbed in the chest."
"I'll show you stabbed in the chest," Gray muttered darkly as he surveyed the room. "Where the hell is the paper you read off, Natsu?"
Looking up from where he had been forlornly rubbing his bruised stomach, Loke sent a sheepish grin at Lucy. "Loke's got it in his hands from where I grabbed it, Bast—Lucy!"
The glare Lucy continued to wear on her face as she pried the piece of paper from Natsu's drooped form hanging from her other hand – he was trying to hide his face from Cenas and Vulp, never mind that it wasn't his face anymore – showed how unamused she was by the slip of tongue from Loke.
After recovering the paper and smoothing it out, Gray began to haltingly read the words backwards, which would dispel the effects of the spell Natsu had stupidly read out.
However, Lucy didn't have much knowledge on the language or even how to read it backwards, so in Gray's body she incorrectly read out the words, which had a catastrophic influence on their affected bodies.
When the puff of smoke created by the completion of the spell died down, the guild instantly recoiled at the sight that met them.
"I should've let Levy-chan read this," Lucy deadpanned as she took in the condition of her nakama. "Damn pride…"
"I can never escape!" Gray screamed out as he clutched at the breasts attached to his own manly chest, courtesy of Lucy. "The pain!"
The boy's pain was so great that he didn't notice that he now had long, flowing pink locks to go with his breasts – a mixture of Lucy and Natsu – but Natsu certainly did.
The dragon slayer was roaring with laughter as he rolled about on the floor, unable to get over the image of Gray running around in panic with breasts and girly hair. He was so deep in his mirth that he didn't notice of Happy tottering over to him with one long leg belong to Vulp and the other a horse leg from Cenas.
"Natsu!" the cat wailed as he stumbled over to his closest nakama. "I can't hear anything!"
"That's because your ears are on Natsu's bald head," Erza said absently as she checked out the fluffy fox tail and ears she had been gifted with, uncaring that Happy couldn't even hear her – who cares if she one of her arms was currently sticking out of a significantly scared Cenas's chest, she had foxy appendages!
At seeing Happy's tiny body on long, mismatched legs, Natsu lost it again. He was nearly crying he was laughing so hard.
"I can tell your laughing, meanie!" Happy wailed at Natsu. "If you find it so funny, why don't you go look in a mirror, baldie!"
Those words stopped Natsu's laughter, and his arms shot up to grope at his head.
Sure enough, none of his usual pink locks were there – most of it was now melded with Lucy's on a still screaming Gray's head, but there was some growing grossly out of Cenas's horse half – and he now had two small, catlike ears.
Natsu began to wail in despair alongside Happy as he realised that his scarf was now missing as well – it was currently half melded into Vulp's behind, trailing like a makeshift tail from beneath her usual kimono. It did go with the tiny, white wings grafted onto her back from Happy, though, and the spirit barely noticed the loss of her usual tail and ears as she tried her best to fly with the miniature wings to no avail.
In the corner, Loke was crying over his lost good looks as Cenas's horse tail stuck out of the back of his head like a pony tail, and his hands were now hoofs. Why couldn't he get boobs like Gray, the lucky bastard! Instead, he got horse bits and Gray's necklace embedded into his forehead like a headdress. His life was awful!
Sighing at the sight before her, Lucy handed a dumbfounded Levy the sheet that started all of this to decipher, along with an apology for her pride. Then, she awkwardly slid to the ground as her foot had been replaced with one of Cenas's hooves – making the poor spirit have only three legs whose hooves were replaced with two human hands and one human foot!
What was worse, though, was the fact that one of Erza's swords had now replaced her right arm, which was God knows where! It certainly wasn't on one of her friend's body, that was for sure.
"Bloody budgering fuck," Lucy swore to herself in English as she took in the chaos that was unfolding, never realising that her missing arm was currently sticking out of her back and twitching, much to her guildmates horror – Romeo had to be ushered out of the room by a concerned Mirajane when the little boy looked like her would vomit.
It was only when Andromeda showed up to help decipher Lucy's mistake along with Levy that the day was saved and everyone was turned back to normal.
Only to suffer a severe scolding from Master and Andromeda in the likes that they had never seen.
Natsu swore that his eardrums were still ringing days later, safely tucked underneath his newly recovered hair – although Gray still swore that he found pink strands in his hair for days after.
Tadaa~! Hope you liked this stupid little thing!