Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail or anything related to it or the crossover characters I'm bringing into the story later on.
Enjoy!
Macao groaned helplessly as he went through the backdated paperwork, the stuff that Makarov really should have completed and turned in to the Magic Council a long time ago.
"What's wrong, Master?" Kinana chirped curiously.
The others in the guild hall looked at the older fire mage in concern.
"The old man wasn't kidding when he said we owed the kingdom a helluva lot of jewels." He said with a sigh, glancing back at the papers. "We don't even have money in our savings account because whatever was in it apparently always went directly towards paying off our fines. If we don't do something real quick, we're going to go bankrupt."
There was a long moment of silence at the troubling (i.e. heartbreaking) declaration.
"So, we need to fundraise?" Lucy checked.
"Seems like it." Macao nodded. "Anyone have any ideas?"
A few people's eyes gleamed at the prospect of a challenge.
Yukino's eyes widened in wonder at the sight in front of her.
The streets of Magnolia were more crowded than she had ever seen them, with stalls and stages placed strategically all over the city.
Food, beer, homemade goods, this place had it all.
There was a stall with face painting and caricatures run by a large shy-looking man with a funny hat, a shooting game run by two teenagers in Western getup, a man at the local park using the sand to create intricate structures for the children to play in (castles, for example), a blonde man with a microphone enthusiastically conducting an auction, dozens of business stalls that were taking the opportunity to show their goods or advertise, and countless other activities going on everywhere.
It was amazing.
Yukino didn't know what to try first!
She ended up going to one of the food stalls, feeling slightly hungry, and was handed a candied apple from a little dark-haired boy who was working there.
'Oh, if only Sorano could be here to enjoy this.' Yukino thought sadly, though she shook her head in an attempt to get rid of those thoughts.
Suddenly, loud cheers caught her attention.
Curious, she got up from the bench that she had been resting on, following the noise to see that a large crowd was surrounding one of the bigger stages.
What she saw took her breath away.
Mages were performing using their magic!
She recognized many of the performers from Sorcerer's Magazine, and she recognized many of the guild marks that they wore.
Lamia Scale, Mermaid Heel, Blue Pegasus, Quatro Cerberus…
And of course, the famous (or would that be infamous?) FAIRY TAIL!
They were the ones sponsoring this carnival in the first place.
She watched as a young blonde-haired boy created amazing snowmen (and women) with his snow magic, using people in the audience as his inspiration.
Yukino tilted her head curiously as she saw another blonde come up onto the stage, this time female. She was very pretty, and a few years older than Yukino was.
"Hello, everybody!" the girl said warmly with a smile that immediately cheered Yukino up, erasing the depressing thoughts of her sister from earlier. "My name is Lucy Heartfilia, with Fairy Tail. I use Celestial Spirit magic."
Yukino's eyes widened in excitement.
Her mother had been a Celestial Spirit mage, and she had inherited her keys: Pisces, Libra, and Ophiuchus. She hadn't been able to summon them yet, but one day (hopefully soon!) she would have enough magic power.
"Celestial Spirit magic is one of the most diverse types of magic in the world." The blonde explained, and she pulled out a ring of keys.
Yukino gaped at the sight. How on earth did she have so many?! And she was so young, too!
Suddenly, the girl started giving off a brilliant light, and ten bright orbs swirled around her and the stage, leaving behind star trails as they moved. A few of them sped off into the crowd to interact with the audience, playfully tugging on a little girl's hair, or gently nudging someone.
As Lucy kept a careful eye on them, she began calling out her other spirits with silver keys.
Yukino grinned widely as she saw the spirits. They all looked so strange to other people, she was sure, but to her they were just amazing.
Horologium the Clock. Crux the Southern Cross. Nicola the Little Dog (why did it look like a snowman?). Lyra the Lyre.
So many spirits!
"There are 12 Zodiac keys in the world, and the other constellations have about 5 keys in the world at any given time." The blonde continued, and the gold orbs (the Zodiacs, Yukino realized in wonder) started flying behind her in a circle, glowing even brighter. "There are 88 different constellations, and each one has one or more spirit representing it. They are each unique individuals, with their own strengths and weaknesses, though some would deny it."
One of the orbs smacked Lucy in the head, causing the crowd to laugh as she pouted.
Most of the crowd couldn't feel it, but Yukino sensed emotions pouring off of the spirits and spirit orbs in waves, all directed towards Lucy.
Warmth, protectiveness, reluctant fondness, concern, and a handful of other emotions.
But above all…
Love.
And Yukino was struck by a realization.
She was so drawn to this girl because, so far, she seemed to be everything that Yukino wanted to be, everything that she wished her mother had been. The person she just knew her sister would have become if she had survived the raid that killed their parents so long ago.
"They're some of the best friends that a person could ever have." Lucy said fondly as the lights faded and the spirits disappeared.
Yukino had tears in her eyes, and she palmed her own keys.
She would become a better master to her spirits than her mother had been. She wouldn't treat them as tools or shields like her mother and so many other Celestial Spirit mages.
She looked at the beautiful blonde girl, eyes determined. 'I will treat my spirits as well as you do, Lucy-sama. That's a promise!'
And as Lucy could attest, a Celestial Spirit mage NEVER broke their promises.
*Later that night*
Lucy sighed in exhaustion, but also in relief.
They weren't out of the woods with their debt yet, but they were getting there.
They had made quite a bit of a profit today, with the added benefit of advertising themselves to anyone interested in joining a magic guild.
They had charged any business interested in participating to have a part in the event, with a lesser fee to local businesses. There was an auction, autograph signings for whoever wanted them (she had found it so incredibly weird that she apparently had legitimate fans, including an adorable, shy little girl with white hair who looked a bit like Lisanna might have when she was younger), and a whole bunch of other fun things to do.
The magic demonstrations had been fun, too, involving all of the guilds that had helped look for the Tenrou group, as well as some others who wanted to do their thing. There were even a few independent mages participating.
And, of course, they made money from their own stalls and activities that they had set up.
Romeo had been extremely proud to work alongside his dad, proudly showing the red guild mark on his shoulder.
Lucy's heart clenched at the reminder of Natsu.
Oh, she missed them all so much…
"Summoning so many spirits took a lot out of you." Ultear observed when she found Lucy more or less collapsed on the bar stool in the guild hall.
Lucy startled, before looking at her sheepishly. "It takes a lot of magic to summon the Zodiacs, especially when they're in this world for so long. And that was only the third time I'd done a partial summoning. I'll get better with practice."
The Arc of Time mage frowned thoughtfully.
"I think I have something that can help with that." She offered, taking a seat herself. "Have you ever heard of the Second Origin?"
Lucy blinked in confusion.
Please review!
Obviously, this part wasn't in the original. kurahieiritr JIO suggested that I add in Macao's realization that they're not doing well financially, which I liked the idea of, and this is what came out.
Yes, partial summoning. Basically a small, glowing gold sphere that can fly and move on its own. Can't do everything that a full summoning can, but it has its own uses. For example, it doesn't take nearly as much magic, but it offers some protection.
Yukino is about ten years old here, give or take. She's not in Sabertooth yet. If I remember correctly, she was fairly new to the guild when she was chosen to participate in the Grand Magic Games. I found it an odd coincidence that both Yukino and (SPOILER ALERT!) Angel/Sorano became Celestial Spirit mages even though they haven't even seen each other since they were little, so I made it a family thing like with Lucy and Layla.
