Lucy groaned.
I've been walking fooooooooorever.
The heat of the midday sun beat down on her tired body. She had been walking up this mountain since she came across it, just an hour and a half after she parted ways with Ben and Nathan. She wasn't sure how she knew, she just knew that this was where Acnologia was.
Ugh. I know Acnologia is somewhere in this mountain, but why couldn't he be at the bottom, you know, somewhere easy to find? I wish- wait, what's that?
A beautiful, but not unfamiliar sound reached Lucys ears.
A waterfall!
Lucy started to run towards the sound. Soon enough she came to a huge waterfall, crystal clear water falling from nearly fifty feet into a pool with colorful smooth stones at the bottom. The rocks that surrounded the pool were a shiny blue-gray color. Large flowers bloomed at the edges of the pool; there were more varieties of flowers than in her mother's garden! Lucy quickly ran the edge and scooped some of the water in her mouth.
It's delicious. It's so beautiful here. Like somewhere you'd find a mermaid- wait a mermaid! Aquarius!
Lucy dug through her bag until she found her spirit keys. She had four Keys total- Crux the Southern Cross, Cancer the Crab, Taurus the Bull, and Aquarius the Water Bearer. She swung Aquarius' key in front of her before stick the key in the water and turning it, like she was opening a lock.
"Open, gate of the Water Bearer, Aquarius!" Lucy smiled as the water rose up, before Aquarius sprouted out of it.
"Che. Well at least you learned from where you can summon me. But did you actually have a reason? I have a date with my boyfriend in a couple hours." Lucy looked down before smiling nervously.
"I just wanted to see if you guys were alright. I haven't summoned any of you since I left home."
"You mean ran away?"
"I didn't run away! Mommy told me that Acnologia could teach me could teach me to control my markings. "
"I suppose. "
"Hey Aquarius? "
"Yeah Brat?"
"Can we swim together?" Aquarius glared, before taking in the young girl's ragged looking form, expression softening.
"Alright Brat. But don't make this a habit!"
"Alright Ms. Aquarius! " Lucy smiled and undressed before sliding in the clear water.
"Woah! It's deeper than I thought! "
"Did you even look? Tch. Of course you didn't. Idiot. "
Lucy and Aquarius swam for awhile before Aquarius had to return to the Celestial Spirit World. Lucys' magic could only keep her in the mortal world for so long, after all. Then Lucy dried off and redressed herself. She ate some of the jerky and bread she had gotten from Ben and Nathan before standing up and continuing up the mountain. Suddenly, it began to rain.
Great. Now what. I don't have an umbrella. Then it began to downpour. This is even worse! All of my bread is probably soaked by now, meaning it'll rot. I'm certainly soaked. Wait- up there! By that ledge! There's a cave! I bet I could stay there for a while. But the mountain side is practically completely sheer there though. There is a few ledges... I bet I can do it!
Lucy started up the mountain side, determined to reach the top. She grabbed onto a few little footholds that she could barely grasp. Soon she was just a few feet away from the ledge, with only having a few near-falls. She grasped tightly and pulled herself up.
Whew. Glad that's over. Now to-
"Agggghhhh!" The ground beneath Lucy's feet crumbled. Lucy grabbed onto the now flat edge, terrified for her life. The markings, activated by her fear, began to make themeselves visible. She on tightly, feeling around for a handhold.
I can do this. I can do this. She grabbed a small rock on the clifftop. She pulled with all her might. Crrrrrkk. The small rock broke, and Lucy plummeted to the ground.
Lucy rubbed her bleary eyes and looked to her surroundings. She was in a cave, decorated with a variety of stones and furs.
Ugh. My head is killing me. Where am I? I was climbing up the cliff and then- I fell! But how did I survive? And where am I?"
"You're awake. Good. Now you're going to answer my questions. Who are you, and why are you here?"
Lucy looked up. There was a tall man with wild gray-blue hair, green eyes, tan skin, black cloak and pants, a necklace of teeth, no shoes, and the most distinct feature of all- flame-like blue markings that covered his entire body.
"Acnologia. "