Woah.. My longest chapter as of yet! Thank you everyone for all your support! The follows.. Reviews.. Favs.. *tear* I LOVE YOU ALL! And I have a surprise for all of you!
Are you guys ready for this? Drum roll please!
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There are TWO summonings in this chapter! Tadah! :D
Enjoy~
"Rangiku.. I think it's because I have your scarf." Lucy was now looking at said scarf in her hands – washed and ready to be returned to its owner.
"My scarf?! Really?! Awww.. And here I thought we had a deep and meaningful connection.." Rangiku was pouting with a light blush dusting over her cheeks. Oh yeah she's wasted.
"Wait.. Why is she able to crossover? She's clearly here on her own power; my magic hasn't been touched, but.. How?" Lucy was now staring at the pink scarf in her hands. Her Celestial Spirits were able to come on their own power if they were strong enough, like Loke and Virgo; but the same rules shouldn't apply to her other two keys, they were from a different world for crying out loud. "Maybe she'll know.."
"Lucy, is this the spirit who helped you out in Matza Valley?" Erza was now standing next to Lucy, pulling her out of her internal ramblings and cautiously eyeing her spirit. "Yes Erza, she saved us and brought me to the hospital!" Lucy chirped, excited to be introducing her spirit to her teammate. "Rangiku, this is Erza Scarlet, Erza, Rangiku Matsumoto!"
"It's very nice to meet you, and on behalf of my team I'd like to thank you for saving Lucy and everyone else." She had her hand extended to the spirit; which she dove right past and pulled Erza into a face-to-chest hug instead. "Any friend of my Master is a friend of mine!" Natsu and Gray were now approaching, holding back their laughter, Oh Erza, how the tables have turned..
"And I'm Natsu! This is Happy! I'm Lucy's best friend! Thanks for saving her, if there's anything I can ever do for you make sure you let me know!" Natsu had a prideful smile on his face. Rangiku just stared for a little while.. He reminds me of someone..
"I'm Gray, Lucy's better best friend." Gray was snickering.
"Yeah?! You pickin' a fight ya damn Stripper?!" Natsu's forehead was now bunting Gray's, fists in flames.
"What are you gonna do about it Sparky?!" Gray's fists were now shaped into ice spiked balls.
And chaos ensued.. Pulling half the guild into the fray.. In typical Fairy Tail fashion.
I could swear I've seen this somewhere else before.. Rangiku was still watching Gray and Natsu go back and forth with each other.
"Hey Cosplay Chick, why don't you introduce us to your spirit?!" Bixlow had both hands on Lucy's shoulders from behind, slightly bending over with his tongue hanging out. "Spirit! Spirit! Spirit!" Damn creepy little dolls..
"And by 'us' you mean you right?" Lucy was giving him a pointed look. They really need to stop ogling her spirits.. But then again she really couldn't blame them..
"Master, you look uncomfortable with the guy in the helmet hanging over you. Shall I get rid of him like I did the demon?" Her smile was way too sweet and innocent for the words that just leapt out of her mouth.. Bixlow slowly began backing away, hands off Lucy. She couldn't help but laugh.
"No, no Rangiku, Bixlow's a friend.. Though he is pretty weird.." She was now giving him a playful smile. He returned with one of his own and a signature wag of his tongue and laugh.
"And don't call me Master, please call me Lucy." She was now smiling at Rangiku, who responded by jumping on her again.
"Matsumoto-san! I'm so glad you came back! Thank you for everything last time.." Levy was blushing a little, as Lily flew up and landed on her shoulder. "Oh! This is Lily! Lily, this is Rangiku Matsumoto, she saved us!" Levy had just clapped her hands, she was just as enthused as Lucy to have the spirit back around. Right then Gajeel walked up, "Gajeel! This is Ran – oh you already know. Matsumoto-san, this is Gajeel Redfox, he's also a part of our team!" She now had an arm wrapped around his in an extremely friendly manner. Gajeel looked down to their connection and smiled slightly. Rangiku definitely noticed this.
"And you two are dating." She was pointing a finger at Levy and Gajeel, causing Levy to let go of Gajeel's arm to furiously wave her hands, "Oh no, we're only friends. Very good friends.." She was now rubbing her arm and looking down in embarrassment, blushing again. Gajeel was also blushing a little and scratching his temple. Oh how Rangiku loved to spice things up.
"And you're not dating because..?" She now had an eyebrow raised while Lucy had both hands over her mouth, fighting the bouts of laughter wanting to come through. Even Lily was enjoying the extremely awkward moment, and he usually wasn't one for such situations or any gossip for that matter.
"S-so anyways! Ahem, Matsumoto-san! You have to tell us about where you come from! The Gotei 13 right?" Levy had successfully changed the subject. Rangiku gave her a flirty smirk and a raised eyebrow before conceding and allowing the little bluenette to change topics, the way they acted it was only a matter of time before all innocent gestures turned into long nights – especially with the aura the big guy with all the piercings gave off.
"Well I'm actually from a place called Earth, very similar to yours. I'm a spirit in my world, a Shinigami as you already know. I live in Seireitei, which is in the Spirit World within my realm. I don't know if you guys have anything similar like that here." She was now looking to Lucy who was intently listening.
"Well, we do have a Celestial Spirit world, that's where all my other keys live; well except for my Arrancar key, and-"
"Did you say Arrancar key?" Rangiku was now fully facing Lucy, all playfulness gone.
"Yeah.. I have both keys." Lucy was confused; didn't Rangiku know she had both keys? Didn't Ukitake tell her everything?
"I didn't know about an Arrancar key.. Lucy.. Have you called on that key yet?" Her eyes were serious, and full of concern. Why was everyone so worried about her Arrancar key? Both times she used it both spirits were perfectly sweet.. Well.. To her and her friend's at least.
"I've already used it twice.. What's wrong Rangiku? You seem upset.." Lucy was now a little concerned, was there something so wrong with using her white key?
"And they didn't try to hurt you?" Rangiku was boring into Lucy's eyes, much the same way Natsu did when she left the hospital.
"No, they did everything within their power to help me.." Lucy had an eyebrow raised. "I see.. So the Arrancar are under the same rules we are. They can't hurt Lucy; in fact they're obligated to help her. I guess she should be fine." Rangiku was zoning out, lost in thought.
"Rangiku, is there something I need to know?" Lucy had snapped the Shinigami out of her thoughts. "Huh? Oh no! It's nothing! Nothing at all! The Shinigami and Arrancar don't exactly.. Agree.. But as long as they're not trying to hurt you everything's fine!" She was smiling and patting Lucy's head, she didn't want the girl to hate the other key for her reasons; if the Arrancar were protecting Lucy then she should call on them as well – by all means.
"Lucy, is this your spirit – oh hello young lady! How are you this evening! Can I get you a drink?!" Makarov came stumbling down the stairs, face red, eyes sparkling, and steam coming out of his ear. Oh master.. So shameless.. Even Laxus face palmed.
"Uhh.. Master, this is one of my Shinigami spirits, Rangiku Matsumoto, Rangiku this is our Guild Master, Makarov Dreyar. Oh, and the blonde man over there is his grandson Laxus Dreyar; he'll be accompanying me a lot more often now." Lucy gave Laxus a quick smile as he gave Rangiku a head nod in greeting then smiled at Lucy. Rangiku went into naughty mode once again. "And you two are dating?" She was pointing to Lucy and Laxus.
Laxus spat up the beer he was currently drinking and Lucy moaned in horror; what was it with all her girlfriends – and spirit friends – always trying to create a love life for her.. Levy and Gajeel were snickering as Happy's eyes glossed over. "Don't you dare say it fur ball." Cana was cat-calling, screaming something about black and red lace.. Which got Bixlow going.. He probably remembered what Natsu pulled out of her bag on their first mission together.. "God please just strike me where I sit – end it."
Rangiku was mentally patting herself on the back. This world was way too much fun – it was so easy to rile everyone up. Most of her friends back at Seireitei were so serious and only focused on training; well except a few who would drink with her.. But meddling in love lives hadn't been this fun in a long time!
"Eh-em, it's very nice to meet you Miss Matsumoto, and on behalf of Fairy Tail I'd like to thank you for keeping our Lucy safe." He was now patting the Celestial Mages head, bringing her out of her embarrassing thoughts to give the old man a smile. "Miss Matsumoto, is it okay if I ask you a question?" Makarov still had his friendly smile in place, perfectly polite.
"Yeah sure." Rangiku was now pushing herself up to a standing position and helping Lucy up as well. "How is it that those two keys came to be in our hands?" Makarov was looking straight at the spirit, all joking aside – this was business now.
"Honestly Master Makarov, I don't know details. I didn't even know until a few moments ago that Lucy had an Arrancar key.." Rangiku was now glancing at Lucy. "All I know is that somehow our worlds are connected through that key; and that any one of us who are called will be summoned for battle. That going against the key barer is not an option and causing her any harm or allowing harm to come to her is also not an option – and that we'd understand once we were here. Also under no circumstances are those keys to be brought back to our world." She gave Lucy a very serious look. "That's all I know; knowing the higher ups there's a lot of important information we've been left in the dark about. But I actually have a question that Kenpachi and Ukitake were curious about as well." Rangiku was now putting full attention on Lucy.
"Yeah sure, ask away." Lucy was now leaning against one of the tables as both Master and Rangiku took a seat. She was repeating what Rangiku just said about not letting those keys back into their world.. I wonder why..
"Why is it that we're compelled to obey you, and that any harm coming to you is like hurting ourselves?" Rangiku had wondered since she was first called. She knew she was currently in this world on her own reiatsu, and wasn't using any of Lucy's magic, but even now she still felt compelled to obey the little blonde girl.
"Hmm, well it's probably because that's how the rules in this world work. When a Celestial Mage calls on a spirit that spirit has to answer, so long as it's within the specified contract. That spirit is absolutely forbidden to harm and especially kill their master. They have to obey and fight alongside their current key holder." Lucy was pointing her finger under her chin with a thoughtful expression in place. She never realized this situation was odd for her Shinigami spirits, she was just so used to the rules with all her other spirits. "Basically so long as you're passing through a gateway a Celestial Mage has made, you're probably automatically tied down to those rules; at least that's just what I think.."
"No, that actually makes sense. Your world, your rules. I'm not complaining, and I don't think any of the men in the barracks will either.." Rangiku was coyly eyeing Lucy up and down, nodding in approval at her perfect curves, soft hair, and perfect face. Yep, the boys were going to love getting called on by her. Lucy couldn't stop the blush as she subconsciously tried to pull her shirt down more; even though everything was already covered.
"Good, good, this is good. We're already learning much! But let's not make this visit only about business, you've all fought hard these past few days, your drinks are on Laxus tonight!" Makarov threw his hands in the air with his silly face in place – wait for it..
"What the hell old man!?"
There it is. "Oh Laxus come now – your girlfriend and her spirit are thirsty! Go grab those drinks!"
"She's not my girlfriend!" Laxus roared as he stood to grab more drinks. He needed to double fist for the rest of the night after this.. Bixlow was jumping all over him as Freed was desperately trying to defend him. Evergreen was still sitting at her table completely hammered; must be missing a certain Takeover Mage..
"Master.. I really wish you wouldn't say things like that.. You know it's just embarrassing.." Lucy was covering her face with both hands as Rangiku was patting her on the head in a pretending-to-sooth-but-going-to-egg-it-on sort of way.
"Now now Master Lucy.. Sometimes love just needs a little push.." Rangiku and Makarov were sharing a devious glint in their eyes. I'm going to have to visit this world more often.
"Hey Luce! Let's drink!" Natsu came flying over the table, just barely missing Lucy as Gray was now standing in front of both girls. Completely naked.
"Omg Gray! Put your clothes on!" Lucy was desperately trying to cover Rangiku's eyes, but this wasn't the busty Shinigami's first rodeo. "Oh Lucy, you're so busy trying to cover my eyes you've left yours wide open. Oh my, Master.. I didn't know you were like that.." She now had a hand playfully over her mouth in mock surprise.
"Hey Lucy! Can I borrow your underwear?" Gray was standing in front of Lucy, not even trying to cover up. Rangiku's eyebrows went up and eyes wide as she looked to Lucy. "Oh I see, so this is your boyfriend."
"I don't have a boyfriend!" Lucy now had tears streaming down her eyes; she could hear Aquarius laughing from the other side.
"But Luce I thought you were my woman?" Natsu had shoved Gray's face out of the picture and was looking at Lucy with child-like eyes. How could anyone be so damn clueless ALL THE TIME?!
"Natsu you have no idea what you're even saying!" Lucy was shouting now as she Lucy-kicked Natsu back behind the bar; startling Laxus as he was finishing pouring the rest of the drinks, the bar was self-service since Mira was still on her mission.
"Wow! Excellent kick Master!" Rangiku jumped up and admired the distance Natsu flew; she packs quite a punch for such a little thing..
Laxus came back beers in hand. Cana came wobbling back over with Bacchus and both challenged the spirit to a drinking contest. The Raijinshuu – minus Evergreen - were still poking at and/or defending Laxus as Gray was now looking for a pair of pants. Natsu was challenging Rangiku to a fight - so Master Makarov just smashed him into the floor. Everything was back to normal. Almost.
Lucy found herself in the back of the guild; thinking over her conversation with the Master. She had a lot on her mind, and a few more questions she was hoping to ask Rangiku; but it was fairly clear the spirit knew about as much as she did.
"Hey Luce, you alright?" Natsu came walking up, two beers in his hands and sat next to Lucy, handing her one. "Hey Natsu.. I guess I just wanted to get away from all the noise for a little bit and think." She was barely sipping her beer and staring at the floor.
"Is it about your meeting with gramps?" Natsu was now sitting next to her, taking a big drink of his beverage.
"Yeah.. It's just a lot to take in I guess." She was now taking bigger sips.
"Well, just sounds like we're gonna be a hell of a lot busier pretty soon! I can't wait to fight bigger opponents! I'm gettin' fired up just thinkin' about it!" His shoulders were literally on fire.
"Yeah.. I can see that Natsu.." Lucy was rolling her eyes but couldn't help but smile. Natsu was Natsu.. No matter how dense of an idiot he can be he was her best friend, and she wouldn't trade him in for the world.
"Luce.. You know you can count on us, right?" The Dragon Slayer had an expression that was way too serious for his usual mannerisms. Lucy just stared back into comforting onyx eyes as tears slowly began to build up in her own; he didn't realize it but in his own way he was telling her that no matter what everything was going to be okay. She smiled as she realized she had her friends and her guild – no – her family here. She would do anything to protect them and they've proven time and time again that they'd do anything to protect her too. Plus now she had some pretty powerful spirits; and it was comforting to know her Shinigami friends were literally waiting to be called to fight – heck Rangiku said they were making bets! She was a little excited just thinking about all the different characters she was going to meet.
"Lucy my child, is something bothering you?" Makarov had just approached the two sitting on the floor, they looked as though they were hiding from all the commotion coming from the bar.
"No Master." Lucy wiped her unshed tears and then looked to Natsu, a bright smile in place before looking back to Makarov, "Everything's a-okay!" She chirped and bounced, feeling refreshed and relieved all at the same time, thanks Natsu.
She finally stood and perked herself up; she was suddenly eager to get started on some missions. "In fact Master, I'm feeling about ready to get started on one of those requests!" She was looking to Natsu now as he stood with a jump – excitement written all over his face. "Alright! Let's get started Lucy!"
"Yaaaay~ Let's get staaaaaaarted Luccyyyyyy!" A drunken Rangiku came tumbling down face first in front of the three mages. Happy was picking her up off the floor while the rest of the guild howled with laughter. Lucy and Natsu looked back to see Cana curled underneath one of the tables while Bacchus was on top in a downward facing dog position with his pants pulled down – apparently Rangiku won the drinking contest.. She beat Bacchus?!
Lucy sweat dropped and face palmed.. Well, looks like her spirits were unbeatable in any situation.. That's.. Good.. Right?
"Oooooooh Maaaaasteeeeeeer~ whyyyy aren't you dwinking wiff me?!" Rangiku was now slouched over Lucy's shoulder and dropping all her weight. The Celestial Mage was desperately trying to catch herself before falling, Rangiku was heavier than she looked.. Or maybe it was because she was dead weight now..
Lucy couldn't fight the laughter this time as it all came flooding out. She looked to her spirit who was lazily smiling back. "Rangiku, don't you need to go back to your world for anything?" Lucy was wiping a tear from her eye, she definitely liked this spirit.
"Whaaaa?! Noooooo.. who wantz to do paperwoooork.. Stupid shorty.. Captain.." She was jerking her free hand as if she were reprimanding someone. Then accidentally punched Natsu – shooting him out through the roof.
Lucy tensed and started waving her hand frantically as Makarov's eyes were bugging out of his head after seeing the distance Natsu flew, then slowly started backing away..
"Oooookay! I think it's about time you go home Rangiku!" Lucy was sitting her spirit on the floor as Gray, Bixlow, and Laxus began laughing; Erza was trying to determine the distance – that was one hell of a punch, and a sloppy one at that. Made them all wonder what she'd do sober and serious..
"Do I haaaaafto?!" Rangiku was hugging Lucy, thinking about the load of paperwork sitting on her desk she was avoiding.. And hoping her Captain would have just done it not knowing when she'd come back.. Yeah right.. But regardless Rangiku knew she had to go back. Her Reiatsu was starting to run low and she wasn't even sure how much longer she'd be able to stick around, especially drunk – she definitely didn't want to go back completely drained.
Lucy slowly started to wrap Rangiku in her pink scarf as she began petting her head in a soothing manner. Rangiku curled up on Lucy's lap and smiled, "Master.. Pwease call me out sooon. I like it here.." Lucy let out a little laugh as Rangiku slowly began to fade; "I promise Rangiku!" Lucy continued to pat her head until she had completely vanished.
"Alright Master, let's go look at those requests! I'm sure Natsu's fine." Lucy was brushing her hand in a don't-worry-about it fashion as she stood back up and headed towards Makarov's office. To her surprise Laxus had flanked her other side and was apparently joining them, oh yeah he's supposed to keep an eye on me..
"You sure you want to start on a mission already Lucy?" Makarov was giving her a concerned look, she still had a nasty wound healing after all.
"Yes Master, the longer these demons run amuck the more people will be hurt. If they want me to be the one to come after them then I'll come with everything I've got." Her stance was screaming fighting spirit as her eyes sparkled.
The three made their way to Makarov's office to look over the missions the previous teams were unable to finish, he slowly pulled out seven pieces of paper and threw one of them away, Lucy barely noticed it said Gallowstown on it.
"Alright then Lucy, I have six requests still needing to be filled. We'll save this one for last.." He had taken the 10 year mission request and placed it in his desk; she wasn't even able to catch a glimpse of it, and then he sprawled out five pieces of paper before her – three S-Class and two SS-Class.
"Alright then Lucy, if you wanted my input I'd say take the S-Class missions first. Your magic is becoming more and more powerful every time you use those keys, taking on smaller jobs would allow you to build up even more so when you get to these SS-Class's you can easily hold your gates open longer and with less time in between summonings. Working your way up in a sense.." Makarov was rubbing his chin as he watched her eye each mission.
As much as she wanted to get the bigger ones done and over with, she knew he was right. These demons wanted to fight her and she needed to be more prepared to handle SS-class and beyond demons. She slowly pushed the two SS-class missions to the side, which Makarov swiftly grabbed off the table – agreeing with her decision.
She was carefully looking at the three missions placed before her; one took place in some town she'd never even heard of – was it even on the map? Another near Mt. Hakobe and the last was near the Capital: Crocus. The demon's abilities didn't mean much to Lucy, her keys would sort out the specifics when she called on them and would surely handle whatever the demons threw at her. She was looking to Laxus who was eyeing the one near Crocus. She slowly placed her finger on it which caused Laxus to now look up to her, "This one?" Lucy was giving Laxus the option of choosing. He blinked a few times and shrugged – Makarov watched the small interaction and nodded. They'd decided on the mission Bacchus's team returned without much to report. They virtually knew nothing about the demon except the fact that people from Crocus and neighboring towns and villages had reported people were going missing. Makarov knew this request came in as an S-class, but it certainly bordered SS-class in his opinion.
"Alright we head out tomorrow, you still need to rest a bit more and that gives us time to pack. I'm sure you plan on bringing tweedle-dee and tweedle-dumb along with the red head, so go tell them what the plan is." Laxus was already walking out of the office, the demons may be waiting for Lucy but as the S-class mage he still planned on being team leader. Lucy wasn't arguing, she was still getting used to be so dependable, being team leader would have been a bit too much for her at this point. Lucy gave the Master a head nod as she grabbed the flyer and ran down the stairs, shooting past Laxus to look for the rest of her team – she doubted they'd let her do any missions without them.
The next morning Lucy was the first to arrive at the train station followed shortly by another blonde and then Gray, Natsu, and Happy. Erza barely made it before the train arrived; the Raijinshuu popped up but only to plead with Laxus to let them tag along – which he refused.
Lucy gave him a questioning look once they boarded the train, "We don't need that many people, and convincing them to not go is a hell of a lot easier than convincing them." He jerked his head towards the three mages boarding - Erza was giving the boy in charge of excess luggage a lecture about properly placing her items and Gray and Natsu started shoving each other and slamming the others head into anything solid. Yeah.. He had a point..
"Well it's a good thing we stayed quiet about the mission.. Otherwise Levy, Gajeel, and Lily would be here too.." Lucy was scratching the back of her head as she watched Gray and Natsu destroy two train seats.
Laxus had a look of disgust on his face as he watched the two already in destruction mode – and they hadn't even left Magnolia yet..
Once all five mages took their respective seats within their compartment, the train finally took off. Lucy was thinking she should look at the request paper as Natsu was in his traditional position on her lap with Happy curled up on his head. Gray snickering and Erza sitting across with her eyes closed – Laxus was staring out the window trying to look as unaffected by the motion sickness as he could.
Lucy was now pulling the sheet of paper from her pant pocket and looking it over. The reward was nice, 6,000,000 jewels, but there was literally no information on it about the demon. All it said was that people had gone missing and the general location. Actually.. Locations. So was the demon moving from place to place and killing unsuspecting victims? Lucy refolded the paper and looked to her team. Laxus, Natsu, and Happy had fallen asleep as Gray slowly began drifting; Erza still sat with her eyes closed.. Maybe she was sleeping too.
The Celestial Mage laid her head back and followed her team's example – letting sleep take her over.
A few hours later the team arrived at the small town of Corona. It was small like Dawn city but with even fewer people, and the ones that were walking around seemed on edge. The sight of the mages walking through town sent a few villagers back into their homes, shutting and locking windows and doors. Well that was definitely odd.. The team thought they'd be more welcoming to mages coming into town to destroy the demon.
"Don't mind the village people.. A lots gone on these past few days.. You can't really blame them for being suspicious of newcomers walking around." An old man about the height of Makarov was now standing in front of the group of mages. Everyone shared a quick glance and then all attention was back onto the gentleman.
"My name is Lupe; I'm assuming you're here for the job request?" Lucy instantly remembered the name on the flyer; he was the one who sent the guild the request in the first place – the Mayor? Governor? Something like that..
"Yes we are. You sent the request in right?" Lucy stepped up before Laxus could ask him who he was and how any of that was his business – at least he looked like he wanted to say it.
"Yes my dear I am, you must be Lucy? Makarov called ahead and said you'd be coming." The mage was extending his hand out as Lucy took it and nodded at his question. "And this is Laxus, Natsu, Happy, Gray, and Erza; we're here to finally get rid of the demon for you sir." Lucy was politely smiling as Laxus gave her a pointed look and scowled slightly, she was acting as though she were team leader much to the Lightning Dragon Slayer's annoyance.
"Demons." The old man placed both hands behind his back as he gauged their reactions. Lucy flinched while Natsu and Gray got somewhat excited looks in their eyes. Erza remained expressionless and Laxus' scowl deepened.
"What do you mean demons? We were only requested to defeat one S-class demon." Laxus finally stepped forward, he was already annoyed with the situation, but this pushed him over the edge.
"I know.. And for that I must apologize.. But when I sent the request I wasn't sure there was more than one.." The old man was looking down now, a little ashamed and a little scared, Lucy didn't know if the fear was from the demons or if he was scared the mages would simply turn around and hop back on the soonest train home after the confession. Her eyebrows curved up into a saddened expression and she was about to touch the old man's shoulder in reassurance.
"Well sounds like we've got our work cut out for us! We better get started then!" Natsu placed his hand on Lucy's shoulder and stepped between her and Laxus. He'd seen the man's sudden change in disposition and wanted to say something before Laxus could.
"Match head has a point – better get started before it gets too dark." Gray had yet to move from his spot but was donning a cocky smirk as he ripped his shirt off. The old man casted a curious glance at the Ice Mage, "Why is he taking his clothes off..?"
"Gray.." Erza was giving him an icy glare as he quickly picked his shirt up from the floor and put it on backwards. "So what can you tell us about these demons?" Erza had now directed her attention to the old man.
"Well.. They're all different shapes and sizes.. They almost look like shrubbery. They literally grow from the ground.. You just never know where they're going to pop up from or when they'll attack next.." The old man was casting his eyes from side to side, as if he just remembered he needed to be on constant watch.
"Any specific locations they pop out from?" Erza was apparently taking the team leader position now, much to Lucy's relief and Laxus' irritation.
"Well.. They do tend to get bigger and stronger the deeper into the forest you go.. There's a large redwood tree in the center that's over 400 feet tall. The demons seem to be protecting it, not wanting any of the villagers to get near. The people from this town and the towns that surround the forest make a living from the resources there; every time someone goes in they disappear." The old man was now looking to the forest.
"Why wasn't any of this on the flyer? And why didn't you tell the previous team any of this?" Laxus was becoming more and more annoyed for every new piece of information the old man was giving that wasn't on the request.
"Because we can't afford to pay for an SS-class mission.. So we had to be vague on the flyer.. Plus the little demons only briefly attacked your three friends and then disappeared. Your friends wandered the forest but couldn't find anything - as if the demons disappeared." The old man was now looking down and again ashamed, he knew it was underhanded but he just didn't know what else to do. The other mages weren't able to find anything out either, Makarov had said Lucy would handle the situation.
"It's alright Gramps, we're Fairy Tail mages! We won't turn a job down for something as petty as money – don't even worry about paying us! Right Luce?!" Natsu was now looking to Lucy with a huge innocent smile as the Celestial Mage blanched slightly. Actually Natsu.. I have rent I need to make.. She began crying silent tears as Natsu and Happy now had her by the back of her shirt and were dragging her towards the forest. "Let's get started! Ready Happy?!" "Aye sir!"
"Well there you have it; we'll come back as soon as all the demons are dealt with." Erza now had a smile on as she followed after Natsu and Lucy, Gray close behind – shirt gone. Laxus' jaw was hanging slightly – he didn't work for free! He was Laxus Dreyar! He was now looking to the old man and ready to salvage the damage Natsu had just done when the words stopped in his throat. The old man was crying and hugging himself as he watched the mages head into the forest. Laxus suddenly lost the urge to demand his fair share of the reward despite the rest of his team and began working his way towards his group. He gave one last glance back as the old man was still crying and waving at the group with his handkerchief. Damn.. Laxus face palmed as he finally caught up to Erza and Gray.
The team had barely made it into the forest when the first wave of monsters came flooding out. They were simple enough, a little bit of fire.. Some ice.. Lightning here and there and a pinch of sword did the trick. Another wave came out but this time they were aiming for Lucy, she didn't even have to call on her keys, Loke suddenly appeared and handled the fight. "You really should be more vigilant my Princess, I don't know what I would do if anything happened to you." He was now holding her bridal style with an "I Love Lucy" hat on.
"Loke.. Where did you get that hat?" Lucy wasn't even trying to hide the distaste from her expression. "I made it myself Princess.. I hope it's to your liking.. I figured once we were married we could also-"
"Forced Gate Closure." Lucy was rubbing her temple now, refusing to acknowledge the looks of disgust from her team mates. "Yeah, I know, I know.. But he's my spirit, what do you want me to-"
And then a loud shrieking sound resonated throughout the forest. The team all shared a worried glance before huddling closer together.
"I think they were testing us.. Trying to see if the Celestial Mage was here." Erza was now looking to Lucy, "Now that they know she is they're gonna take us seriously." Lucy audibly gulped as she prepared herself for the screeching demon. Within seconds it came smashing through the young trees and instantly charged for battle.
"Ice Make: Shackles!" Gray shot his ice towards the demon's feet - locking it in vice-like restraints; noticing how the demon's body reacted to the freezing temperature. His branch-like legs began cracking as the creature desperately tried to shake the ice off, but the Knight had other plans. Erza lunged forward and snapped the already frail limbs in half with her sword as Natsu finished it off with a fire attack. These demons were weak against the elements - the team had somewhat of an advantage.
"Gray watch it!" Lucy grabbed her whip and pulled Gray away from a now charging boulder demon. A few more came running through the path it had just created and began attacking the now divided group. While Gray was using his ice attacks Lucy was working with her whip - pulling a few to the ground after being frozen over; causing them to crumble under their own weight. The teams had now completely split, Gray and Lucy began fleeing from another group of demons and sprinting in the direction they assumed the large tree to be.
"Erza! Natsu! Laxus! Meet us at the redwood!" Lucy was shouting in no particular direction; she'd lost sight of her teammates. Lucy could feel the static in the air as Laxus came crashing through the thicket, looking the pair over and making sure nobody was injured before walking ahead of the two.
"Laxus! We've split up from Erza and Natsu, lets-"
"I'll go in solo, you and Gray are more than capable of handling these demons. Besides, we need to find that tree, going in at different directions covers more ground." He shrugged and made his way into the forest until he disappeared. A few moments later a course of lightning came raining down and a good portion of the forest was leveled out.
"Well.. Laxus should be fine.. What's the plan Gray?" Lucy was looking to her partner, hoping he'd come up with some type of strategy since his ice seemed to be working the best; aside from Natsu's fire.
"Well, they're mostly elemental – like the trees and grass. Natsu's fire will work well and so will my ice. Erza's blade will take a little more work, I don't know if Laxus should have ran off.." Just then another bout of lightning broke the sky and caused the ground to violently shake as the smell of embers wafted through the air. Gray was sweat dropping as any worry he may have had about Laxus running off on his own was easily dismissed.
The pair made it out to a small clearing, almost meadow-like as Lucy caught a glimpse of the tree Lupe had mentioned earlier. It was absolutely huge – and beautiful. "Gray!" Lucy was pointing at the redwood peeking out from the tops of the trees. "Yeah I see it; at least we know were headed in the right direction." The pair was reaching the center of the meadow when the earth started to shake and split slightly. From every angle demons the size of the one they defeated earlier and even larger were charging them. Gray and Lucy instantly went back to back as they prepared for the fight headed straight towards them.
"Ice Make: Blizzard!" Snow was circling the entire area and freezing the first wave of demons, their tree-like limbs and foliage started to crumble under the temperature.
"Ice Make: Scythe!" Gray was now swinging his excessively large weapon – managing to break the frozen-over demons. It wasn't until then that they noticed the second wave of demons headed their way – some larger ones too. "Lucy! Feel free to jump in anytime!" Gray was starting to sweat at the intimidating sight headed their way.
"I thought you'd never ask! Open! Gate of the Death God!" Lucy had taken a step forward as she thrust her key, and a white light began slimming down into a form.
"Sode no Shirayuki" A rush of cold air immediately circled Lucy, stopping the demons on her side of the clearing in their tracks.
"Next Dance" The spirit was now puncturing the ground four separate times, making a sort of semi-circle directly in front of herself and Lucy. Ice particles were now floating above the small holes and gathering at the tip of her sword.
"Hakuren." Ice shot out in every direction the Shinigami pointed her sword – not only freezing the entire second wave but the forest behind and any straggler demons as well. Gray was swinging his scythe around again and destroying the frozen over demons.
"Wow.. That was amazing.." Lucy was looking to her spirit now. She was very petite, and wore the same traditional black robes as Rangiku. Her hair was also very short and black; it cupped around her face with two bangs hanging over violet eyes. She also noticed the spirit's white sword, it was beautiful..
"So you must be Lucy." She was now looking to the Celestial Mage with a gentle smile. She had a very elegant charm about her – very polite. Lucy only nodded dumbly as she took in her spirits appearance.
"I am Rukia Kuchiki of the 13th Division. I see you need a little help." She was now looking past Lucy as a shirtless Gray was still working on freezing the other half of the field – and managing to destroy the rest of the attacking demons.
"Yes! Please! We need to find a way to get to that tree." Lucy was pointing at the large redwood as Rukia took the entire general direction into view – she was trying to come up with a plan as she was now rubbing her chin - she watched Gray shoot more ice from his hands and instantly got an idea. "Hmmm.. I got it!" Rukia's eyes brightened up as she smashed her right hand which was now fisted into her palm. "Okay, you! The ice user! Come over here!" Rukia was now pointing at Gray as he stumbled a little at her loudness. He turned around expecting a large woman only to be confronted with less than five feet of Shinigami. Mighty Mouse?
"Okay, so this is what we're gonna do." Rukia had now pulled a pad of paper and pen out from the inside of her robes and started writing something. Lucy and Gray shared a quick glance before Lucy just shrugged and leaned over to see what the spirit was writing.
But she wasn't writing.. She was drawing..
Rabbits..
Lucy and Gray sweat dropped.
"Ummmm.. Rukia.. Those are uhh, lovely rabbits but how does that help our situation?" Lucy was scratching the back of her head.
"Hmm? Oh! These are us! I'm going to show you guys my plan." Rukia was now adding small details to each rabbit while sitting on the ground with a smile, kicking her feet like a child. Lucy was now looking at her drawing and assumed the second tallest rabbit with pig tails was her.. Gray and Lucy sweat dropped again. Gray was face palming while Lucy felt she better say something..
"Rukia.. Couldn't you just tell us your plan?" Lucy was still rubbing the back of her head as Gray was rubbing his temples with his fingers – he could feel a headache coming on.
"But this will help explain it! Okay I'm finished!" Rukia jumped back up and had the pad of paper facing the mages, ready for presentation. "Okay, so I'm going to use my Hakuren one more time – creating an ice platform in the direction of the tree." She was pointing at a drawing of a small rabbit pointing a closed umbrella – oh wait was that her sword? Towards the tree in the picture. "But I don't think I'm going to be able to make the distance, so you." She was now pointing at Gray, "You will need to reinforce my ice with your own and continue the path. It'll become thinner and thinner the farther is stretches, so be prepared for that!" He gave her a curt nod as she then took in his whole appearance, "Umm, where did your pants go?" Rukia began fidgeting a little - clearly uncomfortable with the Ice Mage's lack of clothing.. Is this the stripper Rangiku talked about?
Lucy blanched at the sight as Gray was just giving her a questioning look, then looked down at himself - eyes bulging at the realization.
"Damn it Gray!" Lucy was trying to not pull all her hair out in a mix of frustration and embarrassment. Gray was running back and forth looking for his pants. It was Rukia's turn to sweat drop..
"Eh-em.. So back to the plan.." Rukia was giving Gray a wayward look after he finally had his clothes back on, "Once you two are on the platform, I'll fend off any demons back here and make sure nobody sneaks up from behind." She now flipped the page showing a muscular rabbit fending off demons with X's for eyes. Apparently she was the muscular rabbit.. They then noticed the other two rabbits running through what they assumed to be her ice bridge towards the tree.
"Once I sense you've reached the tree I'll then head back to my world so I don't use up all your magic!" Rukia had flipped the page again and showed her flying away in the air as the other two rabbits were now standing next to the tree high-fiving.
Lucy and Gray sweat dropped yet again.. She really should've just explained it.. If anything the drawings make it more confusing..
"Any questions?" Rukia was now putting her pad and pen back in her robe as she drew out her sword again.
Lucy and Gray were just staring. And here Lucy thought she was nobility or something..
"Uh.. Umm.. No.. We're, uhh, ready whenever you are Rukia!" Lucy was giving the girl an exhausted smile as Gray was turned around, ready to start running.
"Alright! Next Dance: Hakuren!" Rukia had put her all into this one blast as she shot her ice out as far as she possibly could, keeping enough control of the ice to maintain a bridge structure - also slightly freezing the area's immediately in contact with her reiatsu. Lucy barely noticed the drop in her magic, it wasn't any worse than having one of her Zodiacs out – actually now that Lucy thought about it she could probably hold all her Zodiacs out at this point..
"Thanks Rukia! Your ice is beautiful!" Lucy was waving back and smiling at the Shinigami as she smiled and waved back in return. "Anytime Lucy! I'm glad you called me! Now I can rub it in Renji's face!" Rukia was now sticking her chest out in a gloating manner as she turned her attentions to another mass of demons.
Who was Renji..? Lucy just shrugged as the two made their way through the ice. Gray was continuously maintaining the floor with his own magic as they were making their way towards the tree. Demons were screaming in anguish as the two mages closed in on the redwood; unable to reach them. The closer they got the more Gray had to reinforce the structure - slowly depleting his Ice Magic as they noticed the demons were becoming larger. What could possibly be at the redwood?
Gray and Lucy finally came to the end of the ice structure and right by the massive tree. Her spirit had really done an amazing job.. And just then Lucy felt the weight on her magic disappear – Rukia had gone back to her world as promised. What a great spirit..
"Uhhh.. Luce.. You might wanna call your Shinigami friend back here.." Gray had now taken a step back as Lucy was turning around, watching him slowly walk backwards. She looked to where his eyes were focused and started shaking as sweat began trailing down her brow.
The giant redwood was definitely in front of them. And it was looking at them. Gray and Lucy both audibly gulped as they shared a frightened glance. "Lucy. Rukia. Now. I need help!" Gray was waving his hands frantically trying to snap Lucy from her fixed stare. The tree was now uprooting itself from the floor as its two large branches resembling limbs came smashing down towards the mages. "Lucy!" Gray was ready to tackle her out of the way when she finally recollected herself and grabbed her keys.
"Right! Uhhh, Open! Gate of the Death God!" Lucy was desperately waving her black key while holding onto Gray as they both fell to the ground, ready for impact - until she vaguely heard something being said. A violent burst of ice shot up from the light; they didn't see it but they could feel the instant chill within the atmosphere.
Lucy and Gray both opened a single eye to see one of the tree limb branches completely frozen over, and then it snapped off from the impact of the ice attack. The tree began screeching as it stumbled backwards.
"Wow Rukia.. That was-" Lucy bit her tongue as she laid her eyes on her spirit.
"..."
"Do I look like Kuchiki to you? I can't believe I got dragged into this.." Gray and Lucy's eyes bugged out of their heads and their mouths fell open.
"..."
"Lucy.. Your spirits keep getting smaller and smaller.." Gray held an incredulous look as he looked at her new spirit - who was giving him a deathly glare back.
I know you can all guess who her new spirit is! Yaaaay! I'd gotten a lot of requests for this one so I wanted to put him in sooner rather than later for all of you! And this is pre-time skip - Rukia is not the Lieutenant of the 13th Division yet, in case any of you were wondering.