~LoLu~

Chapter 2

~LoLu~

Blowing her bangs out of her eyes irritably, Lucy stared down the tracks as she waited for her train to reach the station. It was time to see to that personal business she'd mentioned to Mira, though she wasn't really looking forward to it. But there was no choice - she had a meeting with her family's lawyer to attend, though why exactly he was contacting her now she wasn't certain. Since she couldn't get out of meeting with him, she was personally hoping he'd finally found a buyer for the estate. While she herself could never live there again after the mostly terrible childhood she'd survived under its roof, she didn't want to see it simply rot away.

She'd successfully completed the job she'd taken on through the guild's auspices, finding the client's property pretty handily, if she did say so herself. It had taken her about a week and a half to track the item in question through the fairly difficult riddle the thief had left behind and which had led all over the countryside, but she'd done it. And with no Natsu along to make a mess of things, she'd been paid in full and with many smiles and compliments from a very satisfied client. On top of that, she'd made even more money from her capture of the train bandits than she'd been paid on the actual job, so she wouldn't be forced to take on work for rent or any other necessities for months to come if she didn't want to.

Under normal circumstances, the completion of her job and the doubly huge payday due to her capture of the train robbers would have had her in high spirits – but not this time.

There were two different reasons for that. For one, she still had the lawyer to deal with before she could head home, which was always a stressful thing, and for two... well, Loke was the cause of the rest of her sadness, though it wasn't his fault.

The man might be a playboy and an over-the-top flirt, but he was also a lot of other things – intelligent, honorable, sweet, loyal, powerful, and so gentle and affectionate with those he cared for. He was also one of the most handsome men she'd ever seen. Well-built and lithe, with an inhuman grace, gorgeous face and compelling hazel eyes, and a soft, ginger mane of hair that was as untamed as any lion's, Loke was all that any woman could ask for. She was altogether aware by now of exactly why he was so popular with the ladies, and it was getting harder and harder for her to hide from her seemingly ever-growing feelings for the sophisticated and accomplished spirit that just so happened to call her mistress.

Frustrated at her inability to stop thinking about him, she sighed impatiently and propped her head in her hand as she waited for the arrival announcement of her train, wishing she could convince her damned, stubborn heart that loving Loke was a very bad idea. He was used to being surrounded and feted by the most beautiful women, mages and non alike. What could she offer him that he couldn't get from someone better?

Nothing. She was not unattractive and she knew that, but she still wasn't anywhere near as beautiful a woman as he could expect to have, and there was no denying it, no matter how much she might wish otherwise.

Perhaps she just needed to sit down in front of her mirror when she got home and have a very long talk with herself about leagues, and what was out of hers. Namely the spirit of the lion.

The announcement for her train finally came, and Lucy got up and scuttled onto the platform quickly, not really in the mood to be stuck waiting politely at the back for the rest of the passengers to board first. It was all those bandit's faults - she'd been happy enough on the trip out... until they'd attacked the train and Loke had shown up on his own because he'd sensed her disquiet. She'd been mostly out-of-sorts since then. His odd declaration and the strange, unreadable look he'd given her before heading off to help gather the bandits into one place hadn't helped matters any, either. They'd just been the reason she hadn't been able to stop thinking about him since.

Those very depressing thoughts only contributed to a further downturn in her rather uncertain temper, and Lucy headed immediately for her tiny sleeper, not wanting to deal with people of any sort.

Maybe she should just take a sleeping draught and go to bed now. Sleeping through most of the seventeen hours or so until her next stop sounded perfect, and that should keep her from thinking about a certain someone for a while, too.

Just what the doctor ordered.

~LoLu~

A day later found Lucy sitting in the lawyer's office, rubbing a hand over the scowl beginning to form between her brows. She'd been waiting for over an hour already, and she was about ready to just push her way into the inner office. He'd seen several people that had arrived after her, and she'd had an appointment.

Really! I may not be some high-paying client of his anymore, but he contacted me! He's still being paid for his time, and this is just beyond rude. Hmph.

At this rate, by the time she made it home to Magnolia she'd be feeling distinctly homicidal... and Natsu better hope he hadn't found a way to get into her apartment, or he'd end up being her first victim.

And I was in such a good mood when this trip started, too. Ugh. Why do things always have to go downhill?

"Miss Heartfilia, Mr. Nilson will see you now," came the superior voice of the secretary, and she shot her a hard glare out of cold eyes. She may have turned her back on the high-class life she'd been raised in, but that didn't mean she couldn't pull haughty out of her hat if she needed it, and this rather boorish woman was really asking for it.

When the older woman suddenly gulped and her manner became a great deal more submissive, Lucy sniffed and stood up, sweeping past the now-cringing female dismissively. Ha! I still have it... even if I don't use it much. That little silent confrontation had managed to slightly ease the belligerent feeling that had been eating at her since arriving in the office and being forced to wait well-past her appointment time, and she was able to meet Mr. Nilson's beady eyes with a tad more calmness than would otherwise have been possible.

For about five seconds – until the man started talking.

"Heartfilia," he began with a sort of supercilious condescension that drove her ire through the roof, "take a seat and I will get to the point of this visit."

She turned her now-frigid gaze on him unblinkingly, but before she could say anything, a sparkling in the air next to her had her inwardly cringing, because here came Loke – and a Loke who didn't look to be very happy at the current moment.

"Is this... man-" the word was accompanied by obvious sarcasm and a narrow-eyed, disdainful stare, "-upsetting you, Princess?"

Discomfited by the sudden appearance, Mr. Nilson still tried to be intimidating. "I don't know who you are, young man," he blustered, "but this is a private meeting with a client. You need to disappear back to wherever you came from."

Lucy drew herself up angrily. How dare he talk to her lion like that? "This private meeting-" she emphasized the word sharply, "-was requested by you, Mr. Nilson, and yet I've been the one kept waiting. My patience has already been fully tested by your rude behavior towards me, but I will not stand for your treatment of Loke. He has more class and manners in his fingertips than you have in your whole body. Now, if you have some legitimate business to discuss with me, I suggest you get to it, or I will take my leave and charge you a fee for wasting my time."

She could hear the very faint choking sound that came from the stellar lion's throat, and she couldn't quite contain the slightly smug feeling that it brought along with it. She was no pushover to be intimidated by the likes of a petty brown-noser such as Nilson - or anyone else, for that matter. She couldn't help but preen a little, however, when the spirit was unable to completely hide the fact that he was impressed from her. Although the overweight, petty little man behind the desk cringing visibly at her tone might have had something to do with her sense of satisfaction, too. What could she say? Occasionally bullying the bullies back felt pretty good.

"Of... of course, Heartfilia," Mr. Nilson stammered weakly. "I reques-"

"You will address her as Lady Heartfilia," Loke broke in with a dangerously soft voice and icy eyes, "as her station demands, or you will regret it." Don't push me, you rat...

Now it was Lucy's turn to be impressed... though really, his ability to speak in so imperious a manner wasn't all that surprising, now that she thought about it. After all, he was much, much older than any human, and he had rubbed elbows with kings and queens as much as beggars and thieves in his lifetime. Hell, plainly stating the matter, he could be considered a lord in his own right. In the stellar realm, his orders were second only to Seirei-o himself, and he was the leader of the Zodiac, some of the most powerful spirits in the celestial world.

He's of much higher status than that jerk, that's for sure. Loke would never treat someone like the dirt beneath his shoes, though. Well, she was forced to revise her opinion just a little, as the unfriendly glare he was subjecting the now-definitely intimidated, insignificant little worm to sharpened, not unless they really deserved it. I guess he thinks Nilson deserves it.

Unfortunately, she couldn't help the warm feeling his verbal defense of her brought, and she wished again that she could stop herself from loving him. Once he went back through his gate she would only miss him all the more, because no matter how often he came around it was never enough for her, and it never would be. She just craved his presence, even if she knew it was a bad idea.

Damn it, stop! Think about this later, when Loke's not standing right next to you. You've got business to discuss now, anyway.

She forced her mind back to the matter at hand just as Nilson swallowed hard and squeaked, "Lady Heartfilia, yes, yes, my apologies," hurriedly.

The lion's tension eased a little – just a little – at the other man's obedience, and he turned towards her with a charming smile that contained no flirtatiousness whatsoever and assisted her to take a seat like a gentleman would have. Once she was comfortable he took the chair right next to her and inclined his head rather regally at the now-simpering bootlicker.

"Remember your manners when speaking to my Lady," he cautioned in a dire tone before verbally stepping back for Lucy to take over. Or else, you stupid little jackass.

Nilson cringed visibly at the unspoken yet very clear threat, but still glanced at the young celestial mage questioningly.

"You may speak freely," she answered the look with cool hauteur. She was a little confused, though, at the faintly pleased feeling that came from Loke as she said it.

"Your name, sir?" the lawyer murmured meekly enough.

"You may call me Loke Lionheart," the ginger-haired spirit answered carelessly. Although I'd prefer it if you didn't call me anything at all, honestly. What a perfect toad this guy is.

His tone was even now and gave nothing of his thoughts away to the other two in the room, though Lucy could still tell that he was happy about something.

She wasn't given the time to ponder the matter, however.

"Ah, yes, well," Nilson cleared his throat, "the matter in question is in regards the estate, Lady Heartfilia. I have found a prospective buyer, but I need your permission to proceed."

Lucy remained silent for a minute or so as she contemplated that.

"If you would give me the details, then," she finally said, "I will make a decision."

Despite the fact that this was exactly what she'd been hoping for, she couldn't help the pang that went through her. It would be hard in some ways to let her childhood home go, but it was the best decision all around. She couldn't afford to keep it up herself on what she made as a mage, and even if she could, she wouldn't be able to live there and keep working for Fairy Tail, anyway. It just wasn't close enough to Magnolia. Not to mention, this would give her a more than tidy sum to put away in her savings, and that was always a good thing.

And as she'd thought before, in regards her peace of mind she herself would never be able to live there again – there were just too many painful memories for her ever to be happy returning.

She shot her knight-in-a-sleek-suit a grateful glance when he reached out and squeezed her hand, giving her his support.

I know that I'll only feel his absence all the more later, but right now I'm glad he's here. I... need him.

"Thanks, Loke," she murmured, and he gave her a warm smile.

"My pleasure, Princess."

~LoLu~

By the time she was finished finalizing the details with the lawyer it was getting on into evening, and Lucy decided it would just be easier for her to stay at an inn for the night and catch the train the rest of the way home in the morning. Loke accompanied her to make sure she arrived safely and got all checked in without hassle.

It took a little convincing for her to get him to go home afterward, but after she finally managed to she slid a light sweater on and headed out to visit her parent's graves. Though she was grateful for his unswerving support throughout the earlier meeting with Nilson, she was feeling too peckish and sad to want any company in this, even his.

When she reached the estate boundaries she stopped for a little while on a hill and looked out over the vast lands that she'd grown up the heiress to, memories chasing each other like caliginous phantoms behind a veiled gaze. I'm moving completely on into my new life and leaving behind the rest of the old. Feeling nostalgic and sad is normal at a time like this. Even so... it's necessary to let go, despite the fact that it hurts.

The past was gone, and it was finally time to fully close that door.

She brushed a stray lock of blonde hair back behind her ear as the sweetly-scented evening breeze toyed with the silky strands, her eyes straying from the rose gardens where her mother had spent many a day instructing the gardeners, to the huge fountain she'd so enjoyed splashing around in as a child on hot summer days. Then her eyes traced the long drive from the gates to the manor, remembering later years, after her mother's death and before she'd run away, when her father had subjected her to boring balls with mostly horrifying potential suitors. How she'd hated those so-called parties...

Then there were the box hedges, a maze-like garden of them that she'd hidden away in often after her mother's passing. They'd been her only peaceful place to go when she'd wanted to escape the confines of her beautiful prison in the only way she could – through books. Those stories had soared, and her imagination had soared with them even as her body was trapped and burdened by the chains of wealth and expectation.

That was when she'd first begun writing, and though those early attempts hadn't been very good they had served their purpose, which was to breathe life into her dreams by making her want to do better the next one she wrote. And indeed, each time she'd challenged herself by writing just one more story, she'd improved and her dream of being a writer had come that much closer to being possible.

Finally, her gaze landed on another hill in the distance, and her eyes stung a little. With no trees or anything besides grass and a few flowers, it had been a perfect place to stargaze. Every night for as far into the past as she could remember, until the day she'd finally left, she'd laid out on that hill and watched the stars, and wondered if they were watching her back. First with her mother and then later with Aquarius or alone, it hadn't mattered, because she'd never felt alone when she was under the steady gaze of the heavens, and the stars and constellations had nearly been her only company for most of those otherwise lonely and empty years.

Maybe she'd been cursed to fall in love with something as untouchable as the stars for daring to look upon their warmth and beauty and covet it. Oh, but who wouldn't? The plaintive thought ripped a painful-sounding laugh from her, and her eyes were shadowed and remote.

Loke...

He was the most beautiful of them all – and the most untouchable for a plain little mortal girl like her.

Exhaling heavily, Lucy turned from the golden view before her and began making her way to her parent's graves – there wasn't much time left until sunset, and she needed to visit them before it got too late.

She never made it, falling into darkness between one breath and the next.

~LoLu~

In the celestial realm, Loke shivered as an odd, foreboding feeling ran through him. Something was wrong...

But what?

He frowned as that oily, nausea-inducing feeling faded, only to sweep over him again a little stronger. His instincts were absolutely screaming at him, yet despite that, he couldn't actually sense anything wrong. Everything in the celestial realm seemed just as usual.

The celestial realm...

Suddenly his breath choked off in his chest with panic and he disappeared from that place after forcing his gate open. And as soon as he materialized in Earthland, he knew that something was indeed very wrong, because Lucy wasn't Lucy any longer - there was no recognition whatsoever in the empty, soulless gaze she turned on him.

It was like she was nothing but a puppet.

He was so stunned and dismayed that he barely managed to get out of the way as she snapped her whip at him in an immediate attack. Loke danced back on light feet, took a good though quick look around, and then vanished – he was going to need reinforcements, and his fellow Fairy Tail mages were the only ones he'd trust when the chips were down and the stakes so very high.

"You'd better come back to me, no matter what!"

She'd said that to him, once. He'd never forgotten it, and he never would.

Likewise, Lucy. You'd better find your way back to me, no matter what!

As for whoever was responsible for stealing her away in the first place?

Loke was going to disassemble them right down to the ground.

~LoLu~

"I believe what you are describing is a magic called Marionette. It's forbidden by all laws because of its very nature," Master Makarov said, his face and voice grim as he looked around the eerily silent guildhall for a moment before meeting Loke's very unhappy gaze. "Her soul is still there, but the link that normally exists between a person's mind and soul has been severed. She may as well be trapped in permanent darkness with no control of her body at all – and no knowledge of what's even happening to her."

The stellar lion nearly put a fist through the bar in frustration as he remembered his impression of her empty eyes and how she'd seemed a mere puppet. He didn't doubt that Makarov was right. "So how do we get her mind and soul to reconnect?"

Makarov shook his head. "Do you know what the link between a person's mind and their soul even is?" he murmured.

Loke's jaw worked hard for a moment as he tried to keep from snapping at the guild-master. Every minute they sat there Lucy was in a madman's grasp, and he was very near the edge of his control. If something wasn't done soon, he was going to lose his mind.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, I do. A human's mind is connected to their soul through their heart," he finally managed to say fairly evenly, though his thoughts weren't quite so tamed.

I may be a celestial spirit and not human, but I'm also not stupid, and I've been around for a hell of a lot longer than you. Just get on with the explanation – there's no time to waste!

"So what's it matter?" Natsu shouted angrily, slamming a clenched and burning fist into a table and snapping it in half. "Why are we just standin' around here yapping? We should be saving Lucy, not talking about doing it!"

Loke momentarily wished he had the freedom to respond in such a simple manner to the matter as the dragon slayer, but he didn't. He had to keep his head, because in the end it was his responsibility to save her, not anyone else's, and he couldn't afford to go off half-cocked. It was part of his contract with her, a contract that had been signed and sealed by Seirei-o himself, though it wouldn't have mattered to him if it weren't – he would still be the one to rescue her. The truth was, gratitude, duty, and responsibility towards the young woman didn't actually play any part in it for him at all.

They never had.

"Sit down and shut up, flame-brain," Gray snapped at his teammate. "We can't just go in there without knowing what we're facing. How do you think you're gonna save her if you don't even know what will?"

Natsu snarled at the other teen, but yet another voice broke in, and everyone fell silent and listened. When Titania spoke, you did - or you paid the price.

"How is it that 'Marionette' causes what you're describing, Master?"

Makarov sighed, and his face suddenly looked even more lined than usual. "At it's most basic, Marionette is a... hybrid spell, I suppose you could say. It's a possession-type magic mixed with human-manipulation type. It uses darkness-based energy to control her body and keep her consciousness actually asleep rather than just suppressed, as it would be with a simple possession magic. It's very powerful, but it's also complex and it has its weaknesses, one of which is that the mage using it has to stay relatively close to maintain control of the victim, otherwise they will simply collapse to the ground and not move at all."

"While interesting, none of that actually tells us how to cast this magic out," Loke said tensely; the more time they spent sitting around talking about the matter, the edgier he was becoming.

"You can't."

The words fell like shards of glass into the abrupt, echoing silence.

"What do you mean, we can't?" the lion snarled, his voice guttural and thick. He was so infuriated by what had just been said that he didn't even realize he'd dug suddenly razor sharp claws into the wood of the bar - until the sound of him ripping them slowly through it reached his ears.

"Marionette can't be 'cast out' like normal possession magic. You must defeat the mage controlling Lucy, and then somehow dissipate the darkness inside her. After that, the rest is up to her. Only she can find her heart and regain control of herself."

Dissipate the darkness... Loke wondered why that sounded familiar. Dissipate... hmm. He absently flexed his fingers, and the wood beneath his claws shredded more.

"Wait a minute. If we defeat the mage, then any light-based power should be able to chase out the dark magic inside her, right?" Gray questioned.

"Theoretically speaking, yes..." Makarov allowed slowly.

"Well, would Loke's Regulus magic work?"

"Absolutely not!" the ginger-haired man instantly shouted, his eyes flashing as he yanked his claws from the now-ruined wood of the bar and glared at the ice mage. "To subject Lucy to the kind of power it would take would almost certainly kill her!"

The guild erupted in shouts and arguments at that, and Master Makarov was eventually forced to have Erza restore order.

When silence once again fell, he looked at the lion and said, "I understand your reluctance. But there is no choice. She must be stopped, because while she's under Marionette's control, all her magic is at the dark mage's fingertips. Lucy is strong, and thus in this situation she is a danger to all of Fiore. There's no telling what the wizard controlling her will do with all that power, but it won't be anything good."

Loke couldn't help but think of Urano Metria. If the dark mage wielding Marionette against his mistress managed to figure out that she knew such powerful magic, Makarov was right. He or she would be able to wreak havoc across the countryside with it. And if the authorities got involved in the matter they wouldn't hesitate to kill the celestial mage to nullify the threat she posed, whether she herself was innocent or not.

He stood up. There was no more time to spend on talking. They had to stop her now, before this got out of hand. "Anyone that's going with me had better get ready to go, because I'm not waiting for morning."

"There are no trains running now," Erza pointed out. "And walking will take too long."

"I'll arrange for transportation while you guys get ready. Meet me back here in one hour. Whoever isn't here by then will be left behind, because I'm leaving in one hour and ten minutes, and not a moment more," he finished evenly, before striding towards the doors without a further word.

Not one person said a thing when those doors were slammed open much harder than necessary, though a few of them glanced speculatively at his disappearing form and then at each other.

"Erza, I'm counting on you to keep an eye on Loke," Makarov said after a few moments of silence. "He will probably have to be backed into a corner before he'll use any sort of real force against Lucy. Since he's the only one with light-based power, he's the only one who can even possibly chase Marionette's darkness out of her. Do whatever it takes to get him to do what must be done."

The redhead nodded, her expression grim. She didn't like it at all, but she understood what the master was saying. So when Gray and Natsu started to protest, she shot them a forbidding look, and they both fell silent again.

"And Erza?"

"Yes, Master?"

"Bring her back to us safely," the old man said, looking a lot older and more tired than usual in that moment, "and teach the bastard that did this to her why they shouldn't have messed with Fairy Tail."

"That goes without saying," she returned, then headed out as well to gather what she thought she might need, followed by Gray, Natsu, Wendy, Charle, and a very unhappy Happy.