Chapter ONE

Lucy Heartfillia sighted. Yesterday, Natsu had come up to her (again) and asked her if team Natsu could go on a job without her. Since when team Natsu consisted of Lisanna, Lucy did not know.

Since she had paid her rent earlier that week with money she had earned on a job with team Shadow gear, she would be safe for another month or so. No, that was not why she was upset. It was the fact that team Natsu had seen the need to exclude her from their jobs to spend time with Lisanna.

Lucy sighed again. She didn't realize how sad and lonely she must have looked until Mira approached her with a cup of strawberry milkshake in her hand. "

"Are you okay Lucy?" She asked. She placed the cup in front of Lucy. "It's on the house."

"Thanks." Lucy smiled, and took a sip. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just really bored."

Mira smiled back. "Team Natsu left you again?"

Lucy frowned."Yeah." She replied. "Its their fifth job this month." She lay her head onto the table.

Mira looked at her sadly. "Once they get back, I'll have a word with Lisanna." Lucy sat up. "No, its fine." She said, but Mira was already gone.

Lucy sighed, and lowered her head back onto the table.

Lucy sat up with a start. She must have fallen asleep, because when she looked outside, it looked like the sun had set halfway. She stood up and stretched, called out a goodnight, and left the guild.

She summoned Plue, and walked the usual path towards her apartment.

Once she reached her apartment, Lucy called back Plue. She pulled out her keys and unlocked her apartment door. She opened it and was about to step inside when something wet fell onto her cheek.

She looked up, noting that the sky was too clear for it too be raining. Instead, Lucy stared at the bubble of black liquid that slowly floated down towards her. It stopped when it was about a foot above her head. It hovered there for a second before the bubble burst, and a key fell towards her.

Lucy stood there, frozen for a moment, before she quickly shook her head and caught the key.

The key looked like a zodiac key, though this one was jet black. The bow was in the shape of a skull, completed with red eyes. Where the crest of the spirit should have been was a eye, the iris the colour of ice and the pupil similar to those of a snake. She looked at it for a moment, then turned her gaze upwards, trying to find the source of the falling key.

Shrugging, she stepped inside her house, closed the door, and made her way to her bedroom.

A sudden voice made her jump. 'Are you Lucy Heartfillia?'

Lucy quickly sat up and looked around.

'There's no one around. This is all inside your head.'

"Wha-"

'I am Darque di Daemon.'

Lucy looked back at the key, her mouth hanging open. The voice inside her head chuckled.

'You can summon me, you know. I'm not that big, so your room is fine.'

Lucy hesitated. "What am I supposed to say?" She asked, still in a daze because of a certain telepathic key.

'You're supposed to be smart, right? But since I'm feeling nice, I'll tell you. It's similar to summoning any other zodiac key.'

'Repeat after me. I am linked to the path to the world of Celestial Spirits, now! O spirit, answer my call and pass through the gate! Open, the Gate of the Devil, Darque.'

As if under a trance, Lucy stood up. "I am linked to the path to the world of Celestial Spirits, now! O spirit, answer my call and pass through the gate! Open, the Gate of the Devil, Darque!"

The key began to glow, letting out a eerie light. Black mist surrounded the key, before the mist began to form into the outline of a person.

The glow died down to reveal a figure in a black hood. Their height just about reached Lucy's shoulder.

"As you should have already guessed, I am the Devil, Darque di Daemon. You are Lucy Heartfillia, I assume."

Lucy slowly nodded.

The figure nodded. "Would you like to form a contract?"

Again, Lucy nodded, still unable to form words.

"I'm free on any day, unless something very important comes up." The figure continued. It held out its hand Lucy hesitantly shook it.

The figure reached out and lowered its hood, revealing a girl with long jet black hair and ice blue eyes. Lucy instantly recognized the girl's eyes to be the same as the one on the key.

Underneath the hood, the girl was wearing a goth lolita dress, a white laced blouse under a black dress. She had a star tattoo right below her right eye. She was wearing black knee high socks and platform lolita boots.

Lucy coughed, finally able to collect herself. "What type of magic do you use?" She asked.

"I use a type of magic called the Hell magic, which allows me to summon the Hell elements. The hottest fire, the coldest ice, the strongest wind, and many more are under my command."

"Wow." Lucy breathed.

"I'm not sure if you have noticed yet, but I do not cost a lot of magic to summon." The girl, Darque continued.

Lucy slowly raised her hand. "Why did you...um...fall out of the sky?" She sat down onto her bed.

Darque plopped down onto the floor and sat crossed legged. "I am one of the two keys of Afterlife. I am the key of Hell, the Devil, Darque the Devil. The other is Lite di Angelo, the key of Heaven, the Angel."

"Believe it or not, Lite is a really evil dude. I hate him." Darque bluntly stated. "He was always the one trying to achieve the top in everything, trying to make everything his." Darque giggled. "Really, I think I should have been born as the gate of Heaven, and he should have been born as the gate of Hell."

"Anyways, I came because I need your help, but I'll start with a small intro." Darque said. "To us, the keys of Afterlife, powerful mages are split into three categories, the mages of Lite are mages who have magic somewhat related to Light. The mages of Darque are mages who have magic related to Darkness. And there are mages who are somewhat related to both, like you, Yukino and Jellal, called Shades."

"Me, Yukino and Jellal?" Lucy asked.

Darque nodded. "Yup. Things related to stars are considered Shade." The girl stretched. "I'll explain everything in detail later. It's getting late, so I'll be going back now. Feel free to call me anytime, though I can talk to you through your mind."

Darque stood up. "You'll have to forgive me, as I have not set foot on this land for some time." Her body began to dissolve into black mist. "Good night."

"Night." Lucy nodded. The black mist swirled around Lucy's room for a while, before returning to the key.

So, First chapter :P

Tell me what you think in a review!

Story ideas are welcome X3