Reviews are Nice; The pairings are NOT decided yet. I get people like Vander/Lucy, I like them too, they're adorable when she's sassy and keeps up with him, but...I really don't know if they will get together or if it will be a friendship...or how far this darkness is going to go.
I don't own Fairy Tail. Mashima Does.
I don't own the Pradesh Clan. Desna does (and thank you for them).
I own the Storyline. That's it.
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The team battle was where Kaleb wanted to see his mages shine. Seeing them standing out in the sun and seeing Emerald Eye across from them made it all the more important. He had debated giving them a game plan, but it seemed like his mages slid into positions from their training. With Hestor and Lucy further back towards him, the rest ready to go all out and attack. When the buzzer went off, Kaleb watched and waited, half readying himself as he watched the mages clash and move about.
Vander and Zen moved seamlessly, Vander putting on a bit of a show as he leapt from shadow to shadow, punching and generally just being himself by twisting while Zen was using a sword to block an attack, wings out to swat magic away from him.
Gajeel was grinning as he moved forward, arms transforming and slamming into the floor to make one mage jump back only to have water slice through the air at Juvia's command. They were all working well and he smiled to himself.
Beck had a few large foxes at his side, but he was right in the fray, the beastmaster throwing punches and keeping right up with the others, snorting and calling Van out on his grandstanding.
"Aww, c'mon, Beck," Vander grinned as slid out of the beastmaster's shadow, swinging around him and blocking a punch, "it's fun, right?"
Hestor and Lucy were standing there, both looking relaxed as they each held out a hand, magic swirling as they each pulled a key out of requip space. He could hear a bit of a hush as Leo Minor - Leon, Kaleb reminded himself - stepped out of a door right beside one of the Sisters of Ammit. The larger spirit held a hand to the smaller female one and smiled with a bow of his head and hefted a massive war hammer on his shoulder.
The Ginger laughed when the woman just leapt forward with a laugh into the fight and shook his head with a large grin and followed after her. Kaleb watched as the massive hammer came around and then there was a blanket of magic around it before it impacted into a mage's stomach, sending them back, but there was no crack of ribs, it was as if the magic had simply made it so there would be little damage.
The two Celestial mages stood there and Kaleb could tell they were antsy to be right in there, but they had been chosen as the rear guard, Kaleb's last line of defense. As the battle continued on, he could feel the boredom the two had and then he started when the Chibi-lucy in the blonde's head cackled when Hestor held out a hand to her. Palm out. The mindbender shivered...as a small, maniacal and mirroring Chibi-Hestor appeared in the male's head, the darkness from the little 'thing' almost worrying.
Lucy's lips curled into a smirk and she pressed her own palm to his, magic starting to swirl around them. The entire set of mages in the arena looked at the two as their voices rose and a gold, black and silver magic circle started beneath them.
Survey the Heavens, Open the Heavens...
All the stars, far and wide...
Show me thy appearance…
Orbs started to curl up from the magic circle on the ground, all different colors as magic continued to build around the two. There was a serenity on their features as their voices rang out.
With such shine.
Oh Tetrabiblos...
I am the ruler of the stars...
Aspect become complete...
Open thy malevolent gate.
Oh 88 Stars of the heaven…
Hestor's arm wrapped around Lucy's waist and Lucy's hand rested on his shoulder, their other hands stretched out, palms up, almost as if they were beckoning in a small plea Their voices were strong, gathering power even as the Arena started to darken, both Mages closing their eyes as their faces turned upwards. As people looked up, away from the orbs that were rising out of the magic circle around them, a larger one seemed to appear over the arena, it seemed to part, revealing the night sky.
Shine!
The orbs continued to rise out and then spun up towards the 'darkness' before pulsing brightly. The upturned palms changed as both Celestial Mages arched their arms upwards towards the floating orbs and their eyes opened, magic glowing and swirling, the magic circles not seen from far, but close up, Kaleb could see it as the two looked at each other and then brought their hands down, pointing at the mages across the field from them.
Urano Metria!
Kaleb stood there stoically, but he was in awe as 88 magical attacks all went out as one, slamming into the arena floor at points as mages leapt out off the way. He smirked as he saw a large cluster going for Joren and the man snarled at him.
"What? Have to have them fight your battles, Kaleb?!"
"I trust my mages, Joren…I've learned to trust them as much as they trust me," Kaleb called back, voice calm and then smirking slightly as Lucy and Hestor moved their outstretched hands in unison towards the man. That and he'd seen the sneers the Mages from Emerald Eye had given both Lucy and Hestor, knew this was more about them getting a big of Revenge for the looks.
Lucy's golden eyes, spinning with magic circles locked onto Joren as she spoke over the magical wind caused by the attack, "I also called first dibs on you." her lips curled into a grin as he leapt out of the way.
It took the man a moment to realize that between his mages being worn down by the others, he had no defenses and the fact that the two mages had their hands out in a 'stop' motion and three orbs were floating in the air? Even though he'd managed to actually avoid the last barrage of the magical orbs, he was outnumbered. He noticed the two Celestial mages didn't look in the least bit winded, in fact, if he was honest, it looked like that barely took any magic at all from them.
He held his hands up, showing his defeat and Every White Sea mage knew at that moment, if they met in the final days there would be a much harder fight on their hands. Joren had underestimated the mages that had come out onto the field and that had cost him.
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"The hell was that?" Vander grinned as he swung Lucy up by her waist.
Lucy let out a laugh as she held her hands out towards Zen, wriggling to put her feet on Vander's stomach, "That was a spell?"
"Not to sound...magic...ist, but that was a caster type spell," Gajeel walked along, shaking his head at the antics of the three as Lucy wrapped her arms around Zen's neck, even as Vander kept a good hold on her legs, refusing to let her go.
Hestor snorted softly, "Old spells that...well...you'd need at least two origins open to use to its full potential…"
"...that is a lot of magic," Kaleb frowned as they walked, "are you two winded?"
Hestor shook his head, "no, honestly, we're not, two mages doing it instead of a single one takes the strain off." he rolled his eyes as he heard Lucy squealing as the two men tag teamed the helpless woman to tickle her, "we probably had enough to do it one more time, if needed."
"You should have saved that," Vander snorted a bit, "we had it taken care of…"
Lucy let out a squeal as she wriggled, "we've got more in our bag of tricks, don't worry. That was just for the looks that we got on the way in."
Hestor nodded, "indeed, I don't particularly like to be looked at like I'm a weak link."
Zen snorted softly, "well, the two of you showed that you were not." he looked between the two, "Though...now I'm fairly curious as to what else is in your 'bag of tricks'."
Hestor smirked as they walked, "Spoilers."
Vander watched the man walk off and huffed, "you two really need to stop watching silly shows on the LTVs."
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Lucy looked at her opponent for a long, long moment. "Hello." she waved gently and smiled.
The woman standing there bowed and smiled back, "Hello. You were rather good in that group battle, you'll have to excuse me if I don't want to give you the chance to do that."
Lucy let out a laugh and shrugged, "it's fine, I didn't plan on using it. It's a bit much for a one on one, isn't it?"
The woman's eyes narrowed before the ground rumbled, "i'm debating on if i want to take offense." her hands came up and the ground started shifting. Her hands moving out and spikes flying towards Lucy.
The blonde let out a squeak, rolling to the side and watching the attack barely miss her, "oh, earth mage, neat! It's been awhile!" She let out a sound though as she was hit with one and her body jerked. It felt like every nerve was on fire and her eyes swam for a moment. That...wasn't Earth Magic.
"Lucy. Focus."
"Shut up, legolas." The blonde flicked her wrist, scowling as she dodged another attack. "Open the Gate! Leo Minor, Monoceros." She felt the burn in her veins, which meant some sort of poison. She took a deep breath and smiled to the female spirit as Leon let out a cheer and started going after the woman, keeping her Busy without a single instruction.
There was a screech of shock and lucy blinked, looking down the field and rolling her eyes while looking amused as she saw Virgo. "Stop playing, Vir-" She scowled as a vial was shoved in her mouth and looked at the pale haired spirit.
"I will do more later...go play," Monoceros patted the young woman on the ass before disappearing.
Lucy sighed as she finished the vial and then took off towards the mage that Leon and Virgo were both keeping busy. She hadn't wanted any of the Ecliptic Zodiac to come out, just in case Hisui had been watching, but she also wouldn't deny them. As the ground shuddered, she felt it starting to arch and shift, the blonde launching herself into the air before Virgo was crouching, a dark glint in her eye, even as the ground exploded in a fine mist.
She knew that wasn't something Virgo could do, and given the strawberry taste of what monoceros had given her, she assumed it was some sort of poison-earth mage, which made it a little trickier...and meant she really needed to keep herself calm. She twisted as she got close to the woman, sliding right over Leon's shoulder with a foot out.
"Oh, good, you've gotten in close, that will make this easier, Your little magic show from before won't work now," The woman sneered as she looked at Lucy, then looked confused as Lucy's lips slowly curled into a smile that would put The Grinch to Shame.
Both Spirits were suddenly stepping back, Leon speaking, "you really...should do your homework, aye?"
"Hime?" Virgo tilted her head.
Lucy watched the woman and then there was a shimmer of requip magic, the blonde having her glowing blue and yellow whip in one hand and a black blade in the other that seemed to absorb all the light, "Punishment time, Virgo." the smile never left her lips, sending shivers down the woman's spine...and everyone in the arena...when Virgo's lips slowly curled into a matching smile.
Up in the box where the team was watching, Hestor coughed as the crowd cheered, "...Little Lucy's been let out...hasn't she?"
Vander watched as he leaned forward, grinning, "Little Lucy has been let out." he rubbed his hands together with a look of glee on his face.
Zen shook his head and looked amused, he'd felt the prick of whatever poison the woman had laced the attacks with, but Lucy was smart enough to call Monoceros to stave off the effects and the Immaculate Light in her would help her not succumb too fast, but they'd realized the light had infused her differently than Kaleb; she could still enjoy alcohol and its effects, it just wrapped around her magic and made her spirits stronger, her mind stronger, her body was altered, but she had become a bit of a showwoman and he knew she was playing now.
The whip was snapping through the air, driving the mage to the side, only to have her twist when Virgo was right there, chains flying through the air. Leon, who most would think would be lumbering due to his size, moved with an easily, catlike grace across the field, the large hammer coming down and creating a shockwave that tossed the woman up a bit and made her stumble as she came down.
Kaleb knew that sending anything snort of a tactical fighter against Lucy was a loss, and now, looking across the arena at the red faced Joren? He knew that the other man knew. The fights until now had been fairly evenly matched, even Hestor's fight had been mostly an even match. The Male Celestial mage had many spirits that were utility based, save for the Sisters of Ammit and the few Brothers of Ma'at that he had, but Kaleb realized that as he'd only called out one of them and shadows had swirled around the field, that Hestor was as much of a planner as Lucy. His match had been close and Kaleb knew that if the man was attempting to not use certain spirits as Lucy was, that had been the hubris that had put him on his ass. It had been highly close and thankfully, to Kaleb, it had not been one of the mages from Emerald Eye, but from another of the Guilds so there was honor when the wind mage had slammed him into the wall and waited.
Hestor felt a bit of shame at the loss, but a fifteen minute fight where he was winded the entire time wasn't bad. That last attack had forced the already lightheaded man to almost pass out. No one actually held it against him. He was powerful, but not being able to breathe well was bad for anyone. He'd felt bad about the loss, but at the same time, lasting so long had been good for him, his vision had been swimming after the five minute mark when he realized what the other mage had been doing. Now? Watching Lucy play a huge game of cat and mouse with the Poison-earth mage? He felt a bit more vindicated.
The woman let out a snarl as she let her magic go and lucy was launched into the sky by Leon, her weapons swirling away into requip space and she let out a gleeful little cackle as Virgo was thrown up behind her, the large war hammer in her hands. The two females grabbed the large handle and seemed to spin in the air before they came down, the massive head of the hammer slamming into the ground and throwing the mage off her feet and into the wall.
Lucy panted and grinned as she stood there, waiting and then blinked as the woman fell forward. She didn't register that she was named the winner, the woman panting and putting a hand to her chest. Some days, she wished she had the purifying side of the Light, but she'd deal with it. She smiled warmly at the spirits as they left to 'rest', holding a hand up before she tilted sideways on her feet and crumbled, eyes rolling up in their sockets.
It was a near instant pull on both Vander and Zen, the Archangel shimmering before he appeared by her side and a swirl of shadows at Vander crouching next to him. Both of them cast looks at the woman before Zen was carefully picking Lucy up and striding out to get the blonde looked at.
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"You two did good," Cris said as he checked Lucy over, ignoring the cross looks that he got from Vander and Zen, "I know it's...tempting to go to her in battle."
Vander let out a soft sigh, "Took a lot. They know what's up with us...but…"
Zen crossed his arms on his chest, "She wasn't in enough danger that her magic called to us. She was having fun...enjoying herself…." he watched Lucy, "though…"
Kaleb walked into the infirmary, "Status, Cris?"
Cris smiled softly at Kaleb, "the poison attacked the iron in her blood...she's essentially got one hell of a bout of Anemia, but she'll be fine she just needs some protein…" When Vander snickered, everyone did as well. They knew it was a serious conversation, but Vander was Vander and he looked at his brother, "I know you, too well."
Vander grinned and shrugged, "eh…I won't deny it...so...she good for dinner and fun, Cris?"
Zen snorted in humor as he stood there, putting a hand on Lucy's forehead. He let magic slowly curl into her and smiled softly at the feeling. She was fine, a bit weak, but he understood that. Magically, she was amazing, physically was still where they all knew she needed work. "Let's wait until she wakes up to see if she wants to eat out."
"We can eat her out," Vander grinned as he crossed his arms on his chest and leaned against the bed, using his normal sort of levity to keep spirits higher, which got smirks and eyes rolling in amusement.
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"I can clear poisons out," Zen said, looking at Lucy as she sunk into the water, arms crossed.
Lucy huffed a bit as she sunk down to her nose in the water, features firm. She knew it, they knew she knew it, it was that she was being stubborn at that point. She let out a sound and then groaned as she sensed Vander coming into the large bathroom. Neither of them were 'happy' with her, but she refused to actually admit 'defeat'.
Vander sat on the edge of the tub and sighed as he looked down at her, "you're stubborn, and we love you, Stardust…"
Zen snorted as he stood there, "stop trying to prove you can do it all alone. We're here, our bond makes it so that we can help one another."
Vander flinched at the no-nonsense tone of the other male, he knew they could be firm and blunt with Lucy, they were often, but at the same time, he could feel that she was more and more frustrated at times with what she perceived as being the 'weak link' among the three of them.
Lucy shot up in the water and her hands came down, "how the hell can I show my face as your equals if I'm always needing you to bail me out of shit?!"
Vander let her rage, he knew that he could probably calm her, but this was something that he'd dealt with since they were children. He'd let her blow up, make her laugh and they'd move on. Zen? Oh, no, his brother refused to let it just blow over.
Zen wanted Lucy to face the insecurities, to see the truth, as he and others saw it. He gave Lucy no quarter, verbally or anything else. Yes, he was tender and gentle with her, quite often, but when push came to shove and lucy was drowning in her own insecurities about her magic he was pushing her and working to push back the lies that she believed. "If this had been in an actual battle, you would have died." he crossed his arms on his chest and looked down at her, eyes firm, "don't do that to us…don't rip our hearts out like that."
Lucy let out a strangled sound and threw the wash rag in her hand at Zen before sniffling and rubbing at her face, "I Know! I know, alright!" she huffed as she stood there, wrapping her arms around her chest and mumbling, "I just...don't want to be the weakest."
"You're hardly weak," His voice was firm as he moved to help her out of the tub and carefully started to towel her off. His lips rested on the crown of her head, "your magic is what makes you strong, the fact that it's completely disproportionate to the normal rules of magic...is what makes you special."
Lucy huffed as she stomped a foot, hands fisted at her sides. They could sense that she was trying to be stubborn, but Vander knew this was one of the last barriers that they had to get past with her. This was something deep rooted that they hadn't realized how far exactly it had gone, but...Vander loved her and he knew that Zen did as well. Their own powers were growing and changing and they could sense hers were trying to, but it was almost as if her own issues were holding her back.
Zen waited as he continued to dry her off, "what?"
"I can do that," Lucy said petulantly as she stood there.
"You can, I want to," Zen looked her in the eyes, meeting hers in a blatant challenge. If she grabbed the towel, they could fight over it, but he most likely wouldn't. He stared and then smiled softly when her lips quirked a bit and her head tilted away and back. If he had to be honest, it looked almost like a submissive move that he'd seen Emzadi do when Gajeel had won an argument. He didn't question it as he kissed her neck lightly and then went back to drying her off.
Vander smiled a bit, they worked well sexually, emotionally they were getting there, but Lucy backing down was a rare thing. He stood and then nuzzled her neck gently, grinning as he heard her whine. "Now...will you stop being so damn stubborn?"
"...maybe," Lucy mumbled and sighed as she slumped, "but it's hard with you two."
Zen chuckled softly as he hung the towel up, "you will probably try from now until eternity."
Vander shook his head and grinned, "I think that's just how she is, but...hopefully, you'll come to lean on us a bit more?"
Lucy looked between them, eyes soft and she gave a small smile, "I'll do..my best to try."
Zen grinned, "Good." the three left the bathroom, both men snorted as the blonde took a running jump into bed and bounced a few times before scrambling under the covers. "...was that necessary?"
Vander grinned, "Probably not.." he elbowed Zen lightly, "But it was a wonderful show."
Lucy rolled her eyes as she snuggled into the blankets, voice semi-sarcastic, "yes, that was the reason."
The two men laughed as they climbed into the bed on either side of her relaxing as they turned on their sides, encasing her in a protective 'barrier' against the world.
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"Kick their asses!" Lucy crowed as she leaned against the railing, watching Zen and Vander fight.
Her eyes traced their muscles and bodies as they moved, licking her lips as she paid more attention to that than the actual fight. Her lips were half open as she let out a small sound, shivering as she watched the weapons clashed and purred to herself.
Cris snorted from beside her and looked down, "You've got a little drool there…"
Kaleb smirked as he leaned against the railing, watching the fight, "I'm waiting for enough to form for her to slip and fall."
Lucy's hand went out and she punched Kaleb in the arm as she continued to watch, eyes turning almost hungry with the lust in them. She was still adjusting to everything, but when she saw something glint...well not glint, she would closer say it absorbed the light, her mind clicked into a different mindset and she wanted to be down there as the dagger was slicing through the air. "ZEN!"
The Archangel, despite the roar of the crowd, heard the yell and twisted, hissing at the light graze of the blade and his body seized. Vander let out a snarl as his shadows whipped around sliding around Zen before the marks on both their arms seemed to pulse and Lucy was standing between them. The woman looked confused before a strangled sound from Zen had her moving and supporting him. She couldn't act on her own, she knew the rules set out for them and looked at Vander.
"I need Leon," his lips curled into a sneer, "give me his help."
Lucy nodded, "Open, Gate off the Small Lion-" there were a few snickers before Leon appeared, and lucy didn't bother with the fact that the incantation wasn't finished, "leon! Help Vander." she held Zen as her hand went over the small cut, letting her magic feel through what was going on. She was half panicked as she knelt with Zen.
"And use Scotum!" Vander shot off towards the two, he didn't know what they were doing, but now he'd been made angry, "leon, follow my lead!"
The Spirit nodded as he moved after Vander, already feeling the shield spirit come out and creating a barrier around the two as Lucy continued to panic. Leon knew that even if he could only take orders from Lucy, the woman wouldn't be in the right mind to actually be able to give any commands as she tried to wrap her mind around what was going on. The Spirit actually liked the two, they didn't let his keyholder get away with anything and were working to make her stronger and better at what she did. He knew there was a 'no killing' rule...but that didn't stop broken bones and he could feel the pain through the link he had with Lucy. his lips curled into a feral grin as lightning started to curl around him.
With a roar that belonged to a lion, the spirit was swinging the hammer, the dark grin on his features leveled on the one that had harmed his keyholder's mate, the archangel that had opened up her and much more than any of them realized. The hammer came down on the mages arm, shattering the bone and the Spirit grinned as the mage backpedaled and he took slow, predatory steps towards him.
Vander was playing as much as he could, but his fury was there, he could sense both Lucy's panic and Zen's pain and confusion. He's swords were gone, but he was using shadows and the voids to leap around the other mage, kicking, punching and headbutting the mage that couldn't find him fast enough to retaliate. His lips curled into a sadistic grin as he heard the bones shattering, knowing he'd made a good call. If he could get Lucy to learn to work with this Spirit as well as her others, he'd feel a lot better.
Vander made sure the mage was down with a fist against his solar plexus that made him crumble and he watched as the other was slammed into the wall, leaving an indent. He had come to associate it with the large spirit, though the mage sparking as lightning ran its course was new...and slightly amusing.
He moved back to Lucy and Zen, knocking on the shield and then pursing his lips. He ignored the crowd as it fell, "Fight's over. Do wha-"
The shadowquip blinked as Monoceros was right there, magic flaring brightly before her eyes went to Kaleb. Vander realized that she was specifically reaching out to the mindbender.
Leon eyed the dagger with distaste and picked it up warily in two fingers. It looked like a toothpick in his hands, just because of his size but he let out a low growl as he stood there and walked back. When he saw people moving about, he warily looked at Vander, "This is a dark relic." he glanced towards where Emerald Eye was. This tournament had now become personal as he knew as soon as he went back to the Celestial realm...he was going to blow wide what had happened to those that hadn't been watching the fight.
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A/N:
For those confused about the spell.
Italics is Just Lucy, Underlined Italics is Hestor; and underlined and bolded is both of them.
...and maybe they were grandstanding. just a bit...enough that their apparent Love of Doctor Who (or the Earthland Equivalent) shone through when asked about what they have under their sleeves.