Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail, or anything related to the crossover characters that I've been bringing into the story.
Note: Yes, I will still be introducing the other new guild members that were in the original story. No one ever said they all had to join immediately, and it's easier for them to be the ages I want them to and be at the point in their lives that I want them to be if they don't.
Warning: hint of past abuse of a spirit
Enjoy!
Lucy sipped at her strawberry milkshake thoughtfully as she glanced around the guild hall.
Jellal, Ultear, Meredy, Ryder, Jack, Kozupii, Cobra, and Raven…
All incredibly strong in their own right.
How could she ever hope to match them?
Lucy grunted in pain as Capricorn landed yet another hit.
"Miss Lucy, if you need a break—" the spirit began.
"No." Lucy interrupted, eyes glinting with determination as she ignored her injuries. "Keep going."
Capricorn sighed, feeling an odd mixture of worry and pride.
Teaching her how to meditate and expand her magic as he was doing was one thing (and she was doing exceptionally well, Miss Layla would be so proud of her), but teaching her how to avoid attacks?
It pained him to cause her injury, but he knew that he was the best option, which was why he offered to help train her when she expressed her desire to become stronger.
Loke looked at Lucy sympathetically as his princess poked at a bruise she'd gotten from training with the goat.
"We can do this tomorrow." The Lion suggested, though he knew that she would refuse.
He also didn't suggest (though he was thinking it) that maybe Capricorn should let up a little. His goal wasn't even for him to hurt Lucy, really, but for her to be able to dodge or block those attacks.
Unfortunately, landing a few hits was a good way to ensure that she wouldn't let her guard down.
Lucy rolled her eyes, going to her battle stance in answer.
This was her physical combat training, no magic allowed. She was only allowed to use her body and her normal whip, and that was it.
Maybe once the Tenrou group came back she would be able to join in on guild brawls without fear of getting hurt.
She smiled a little at the thought, before forcing her body to move even faster as she launched a kick at her trainer.
Aquarius grumbled.
"Again!" Lucy called up to her, and the Water Bearer swung her urn, launching another major attack at the blonde.
"Tch." Aquarius huffed. "Stupid girl. It's no fun if you want me to try to drown you!"
She watched as the girl regained her bearings.
"Again!"
The mermaid groaned.
"Miss Luuuucy!" Taurus mooed. "Be careful! I don't want to harm your beauuuutiful body!"
Lucy sighed in fond exasperation as she dodged a large boulder that Taurus threw, which hit the place that she had just been standing.
She would've responded, but she was also trying to hide so that he wouldn't know where to throw, so answering wouldn't be the best idea.
Lucy took a deep breath, closing her eyes as she prepared to channel her magic.
She could do this without Hibiki or Gemini's help, right?
Survey the Heavens, Open the Heavens...
All the stars, far and wide...
Show me thy appearance...
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...
Shine!
Urano Metria!
She fell to the ground, fatigued, as she completed her most powerful Celestial spell. She watched the brilliant show in front of her, 88 miniature stars all hitting her target, a rather dense boulder. Once the spell had completed, there was nothing left of it but a few dust particles.
Lucy beamed happily at her success, pumping a fist into the air with a cheer.
Her spirits looked at her fondly from the Celestial Spirit World.
Lucy's problem had never been power; it had been confidence. It would appear that the more she trained, the more confidence she had.
Capricorn and Aquarius sighed. They might find the training worrying and irritating respectively, but there was no denying that their efforts were paying off.
Lucy grinned excitedly as she removed her brand new silver key from her pouch, a gift from Kozupii and Romeo after they completed a mission which included a Celestial Spirit key as part of the reward.
She would definitely need to find a way to properly thank them.
The blonde girl took a deep breath, before intoning:
Open: Gate of the Fox!
Vulpecula!
This would be the second time that she had called upon Vulpecula, though the spirit hadn't been able to stay after making their contract.
A small *poof* later and a small, red fox appeared, which moments later transformed into a little girl.
She looked to be about Romeo's age, though considering she was an immortal spirit it was safe to say that she was much older. She had beautiful orange hair, with cute little fox ears showing on top of her head. Her eyes were black and shaped like a fox's, giving her a very sly appearance. She wore shorts, a cute little t-shirt with a cartoon fox on it, and sneakers. Then, of course, there was the slightly bushy tail.
"Lucy-sama!" Vulpecula greeted with a smile, lunging to give her master a hug, which was immediately returned.
"Hi Vulpecula!" Lucy greeted warmly in return, scratching behind the girl's ears.
She had checked beforehand if that was okay.
Vulpecula didn't mind, and quite enjoyed it, a claim supported by the contented purr she released.
The little spirit giggled, loving the attention.
She had a similar history to Aries when it came to past contracts, so she was beyond thrilled to have finally found such a kind and thoughtful master.
Never before had anyone asked her if she minded something, much less a human mage!
Vulpecula thought herself to be very lucky indeed.
Her opinion only solidified as Lucy took her to an ice cream place.
Apparently, the blonde girl was trying to bond with her spirits more in less stressful situations instead of during battle. Besides Leo and Virgo, she hadn't really had the opportunity to do so.
She spent a lot of time with Plue, and she'd recently had a lot of discussions with Horologium and Crux. They told the best stories, and they knew a lot about the history of Fiore, which was really interesting to hear about.
She had taken Gemi and Mini to see a magician show (not real magic, but the slight-of-hand and illusion stuff), and the Twins got a kick out of trying to work out how the tricks were done without resorting to their abilities to do so.
Cancer enjoyed reading poetry with her and to her, and some of those works had aided Lucy in her own writing, which pleased the Sea Goat to no end.
Sagittarius had taken her to an archery range and taught her how to shoot. This doubled as a form of training, but the Archer assured her that he loved sharing his craft with people, and that it was rare to find someone who was interested in it.
She had gone to a concert with Lyra, who was fascinated by the music so different than her own. She had spent some time with Virgo and Aries, with Aries teaching her how to manipulate wool best and Virgo using some of what they produced to make Lucy clothing, explaining the process to Lucy in case she ever needed to know how. She also summoned Cancer to hang out with them, and the delighted Crab had a blast coming up with new hairstyles to go with the outfits the Maiden was creating.
She had tried with Aquarius, but the Water Bearer had claimed that their training sessions, where she was allowed to hit Lucy with everything she had, was more than enough for her.
Scorpio taught her to play card games, especially poker, helping her with her poker face and teaching her all of the tricks he knew. He also talked to her about Aquarius, which Lucy was wary of, but nonetheless she gave him advice when he needed it. So far Aquarius hadn't killed her, so she must not have screwed up with her suggestions too badly.
Of course, this also had the added benefit of helping Lucy become stronger, especially when she had three Zodiac spirits out at once, but the spirits didn't mind.
The little kitsune certainly didn't. Good company and delicious sweets?
Who in their right mind would say no to that?
Please review!
Why doesn't Vulpecula act more like Aries if they have similar pasts? Because while she may be just as old as the other Celestial Spirits, Vulpecula still took the form of a child and is that age mentally and emotionally. I've heard that children tend to trust easier and bounce back easier. Obviously that's not always the case, but you get what I mean.
Is it weird for Lucy to suddenly be able to cast Urano Metria? Hell to the nope. Not only did Ultear unlock her Second Origin, but Lucy is powerful (like her spirits think, it's mostly her lack of confidence in her abilities that holds her back), and Yukino could do it without having to use her Second Origin, even though she's the same age as Lucy.
