Thank you everyone for your patience, loyalty, and overall awesomeness. Your #3 pick from the poll will be kicking ass this time around.

Enjoy~

"M-me?!" Lucy was pointing a finger at herself before looking behind her in both directions. She could feel the pit of her stomach drop when she realized all eyes were on her, and they were still eerily silent.

"Yes. You. The Celestial Wizard with those keys." The village elder was pointing at said keys in the girl's hands – and Lucy knew he had to be referring to her black and white keys.

"Are you able to use them?" The old man took a few steps forward, causing Lucy to start a little at the approach, but as she looked closer she could see there was no reason to be worried. It only took a glance to see the age in the old man.. heck, his wrinkles had wrinkles. He had long white hair that came down and molded into a white beard that traveled far past his chest. He wore grey and red robes with a decorative sash no one else had - he must have been the chief or something. She noticed his simple wooden cane and how heavily he leaned on it to walk at a rather slow and steady pace. She suddenly felt somewhat ashamed for being even slightly skeptical of the frail old man.

"Yes. I can." She gripped onto her keys a little tighter. She could feel a sense of apprehension building in her chest – this man knew something about her keys.. Was she going to get some more answers?

"Do you by any chance know where they come from?" The elder was gripping her hands now and looking into her eyes pleadingly.

Well so much for getting some answers.. She sweat dropped as she managed to smile through her disappointment.

"Sir, the only thing I really know about those keys is that they're not from our world. And for whatever reason they need to stay in our world.." The Celestial Mage sighed in defeat, a mystery until the end she supposed.

"Well, I may not know much about them, but I understand the importance of them. It must be fate that you were sent to us my girl." The old man began patting her hand in reassurance.

"Have you seen these keys before sir?" Lucy was holding her two keys up, she was under the impression only demons had known what they looked like.

"Just descriptions my dear. Long ago, the keys were separated and sent off to different countries for protection – but that's a story for another time." The old man smiled at her knowingly. Lucy wanted to know what the elder meant by "protection," but there were obviously bigger matters at hand at the moment.

"Hold on old man, what do you mean by what you said earlier? You didn't send out a request for Fairy Tail?" Laxus came through the crowd to stand between the old man and the Stellar Mage, "I have it right here." He then pulled a folded piece of paper out of his pocket, unfolded it, then handed it to the old man.

The elder took the sheet slowly and began reading its contents before shaking his head 'no' and handing the Lightning Mage the form back.

"I did not send that, and no one else here did either.." The old man shared a glance with a few of the other village elders standing behind the group as they all shook their heads 'no' and a few shrugged in confusion. Then it dawned on him.

"Did your group by chance come across a barrier at the foot of the mountain?" The old man's expression turned to one of seriousness as he turned back to the Celestial Mage, Lucy could see something must've clicked in the old man's mind.

"Yes.. We did.." Levy stood apart from the group, deciding she should be the one to answer any questions regarding the barrier.

"Was it in tact when you lot came by it?" The old man shifted his gaze to the Script Mage who was beginning to tense up.

"Yes.." She began biting her lip.

"Did you destroy it?" The old man was giving the girl a heavy look.

"…Yes…" Levy flinched at the gasps and murmurs coming from the villagers behind her.

"Levy, didn't you say the magic in the barrier was curse power?" Gray was giving Levy a raised eyebrow, they were positive it was a demon's wall – right?

"No.. I said it was dark magic.. I'm so sorry.. I.. I'm still learning to tell the difference.." Tears began to sting the Script Mage's eyes as Lily leapt to her shoulder to pat her head in a comforting motion.

Erza and Gajeel were at both her sides, offering what little comfort they could as the stares began to get heavier and the whispering became louder. It was more than Levy could bear, and it was more than the Celestial Mage could tolerate to watch any longer.

"It was me. I took down the barrier. With my keys. That was your barrier, wasn't it sir?" Lucy took a protective step in front of the Script Mage, after all, Urahara technically decrypted it and unarmed it; she should be the one to take the blame. Besides, she's had a lot to put up with these last few weeks with her keys, other mages, and countless demons after her head – one village didn't frighten her much at this point.

"Yes. It was. That barrier had been in place for hundreds of years, some speculate nearly a thousand." The village grew quiet, and Lucy audibly gulped. Okay so maybe it was kind of a big deal..

"The barrier has protected this village since its foundation, only village elders such as myself can control who comes in and out of it – as the girl said its dark magic; forbidden in most cities and an art long lost and forgotten. It uses both light and darkness in perfect balance to keep evil at bay, it's impossible for a demon to disarm but not for a particularly clever or powerful mage. I believe a demon sent you that request, in hopes you'd mistake the magic in the barrier for curse power. Perhaps we shouldn't have stayed so elusive these past centuries, stayed so secretive – you couldn't have known." Since the creation of the village the Sacerdos have made it a point to avoid all contact with the outside world. The petty squabbles and disagreements of minute matters only irritated them, and pushed them farther and farther, then higher and higher into the mountains. The founders of the village put all their efforts together to create a wall, a physical separation of the Sacerdos and the rest of man kind - leaving the people to carry on their lives in a way they seemed fit - with no interference from others; but also no contact. It was this segregation that made their village the ideal place for protection. The wall wasn't just built to protect it's people, but of course no one knew that, the only ones outside the mountain who had knowledge of what they guarded died a thousand years ago.

The old man began rubbing the back of his neck as he reevaluated the situation, and then looked to the petite blue-haired girl. Her tears had stopped – that was good.

"So.. You say.. You brought the wall down with your keys girl?" The man's attention was back to the ring in the girl's hand.

"Yes, I summoned a spirit."

"And how long did it take for you to take that wall down?"

"Less than five minutes."

The villagers began mumbling and whispering again and the old man suddenly had a smile tugging at his lips.

"..You're not mad?" Lucy couldn't help but notice the man's small smile as he stroked his beard – he looked to be contemplating something again.

"No." He briskly turned around and began walking back towards the villagers.

"Master Senis! Will you not punish these vagrants for trespassing on our lands? Taking down our ancestral wall of protection and burning the village?! They put everyone's lives in danger Master!" A hefty, tall looking man pushed his way through the crowd as he approached the elder. He had dark, tanned skin with red war paint decorating his face. He wore his long black hair in a low braided pony tail with a bow strapped to his back, a sword attached to his hip, and a knife in his boot. Lucy couldn't help but notice the way his hand hovered over his sword hilt.

"No, Bellator, I will not." The old man continued to walk towards a rather large fallen hut.

"Master! Explain this!" The man's face began visibly heating up.

"Because, my son, these people did nothing wrong." The old man continued on his way.

"Nothing wrong?! Our village is destroyed! People are injured! Our treasure has been stolen! Everything is wrong, and everything is because of these.. These.." He was gesturing wildly to Lucy – who instantly began taking offense, "Vagabonds!"

"Calm yourself Bellator. These people are not our enemy, they are a Godsend in disguise." The old man entered a large hut that had chunks missing out of the roof and hints of blood on the walls. Whatever happened in the village, it looked as though most of the fighting occurred around that particular house.

"Godsend?! You must be joking! This!" Again, the man gestured to Lucy as she felt her temper continue to rise, "This is here to help us? It's her fault the demons attacked! She must be punished for the indecent roughian that she is!"

"Excuse me Tarzan! But I DO have a home thank you very much! Just because we're mages doesn't mean we freely wander from place to place for no rhyme or reason! And I am not a roughian nor am I indecent! If the old man isn't upset then maybe there's a reason for it!" Lucy began heaving her chest in an attempt to regulate her breathing – what a rude.. Arrogant..

The man stood with a twisted expression. How dare she speak to him in such a manner! He took a menacing step forward and gripped the hilt of his sword, he began to draw the blade before he was intervened.

"Take one more step and it'll be your last." Natsu stood directly in front of Lucy, obstructing the man's view of the girl and instead giving him one hell of a glare telling him it wasn't a threat, it was a promise.

"I suggest we all calm down," Erza placed a hand on the man's shoulder, giving a little squeeze that had the man practically bending over, "We wouldn't want anyone getting hurt, now would we?" The man looked to the Knight and received almost the exact same glare as the pink haired boy's.

"After all, we're Fairy Tail mages, we'd really hate to accidently cause harm to any potential employers." Gray had already discarded his shirt as he placed an arm around the Celestial Mage, "But then again.. We are Fairy Tail Mages and well.. Guild mates are family to us and nothing's more important than family, right?" Gray and Natsu were giving the man a serious look as Lucy began to blush.

"And as mission leader I can't exactly stand by as my teammates are threatened, especially when any harm that falls on them is on me." Laxus stood behind the man as he quickly turned his head to be faced with the Lighting Mage's chin, he slowly let his eyes travel upwards until they met dark blue ones that seemed much less forgiving than the Knight's or other two mages.

"Well, I'm glad that's all settled! Wouldn't want any unnecessary fighting.. Or maybe we do.."

"We do!" "We do!' "We do!" Bixlow's dolls started flying around the man's face as Bixlow began patting his head none too gently.

"I think you owe Bunny Girl an apology.. You've insulted her twice now when all she was trying to do was help." Levy and Gajeel stood next to Natsu, the Script Mage with her hands on her hips and the Iron Mage with a lethal looking smile. Lily and Happy stood on their Dragon Slayer's shoulders with their arms folded across their chests as if waiting for something.

"Yes.. Perhaps.. I was a bit rude.." The man was still standing only inches from the Lightning Mage as he turned back around to see the other two Dragon Slayers starring daggers at him. Bixlow started playing with the man's braid as Erza's grip tightened, causing him to wince and sweat a little.

"That's enough, girl, come, I have something to show you." The village elder finally exited the damaged hut and gestured for the girl to follow him, "It's too noisy here, let's move away from the smell of burnt wood and rude village boys." He gave Bellator a disapproving look before walking away from the village. Lucy was quick to follow.

Laxus held his glare for a second longer as Erza finally released his shoulder and gave him a rough pat on the back, practically pushing him into Laxus' unmoving form. Bixlow finished tying his hair in a few knots before following Erza towards the Celestial Mage's direction. Natsu, Happy, and Levy chose to ignore him as Gajeel decided to ruffle the top of his head a little more – deciding Bixlow left a few strands of hair unattended. Lily gave him a look daring him to protest.

Gray gave the man one, final lengthy glare as he and Laxus finally followed the group and left a sweaty, shaky, bruised, and confused warrior left to wonder how he got himself in such a predicament.

"What is your name girl?" The old man looked over his shoulder to be sure the girl was following him, he really shouldn't have been surprised to see her team not far behind.

"Lucy Heartfilia sir." Lucy gave the man a smile.

"I am known as Senis, Master of this village, Elder to the Sacredos, and head Demon Exorcist. We've lived at the top of this mountain long before Zeref and his mischief, but once he created his book everything changed.." The old man found a sort of clearing in the brush, there were stones organized in a circle around a table – it almost made Lucy think of 'Knights of the Roundtable' with an outdoor touch.

"Now, I think this is far enough." The old man slowly approached one of the stones and plopped all his weight onto it, leaning his staff to one side and lifting the length of his robs to situate himself better, Lucy caught a glimpse of the man's right leg.

"Yes.. When you've been exterminating demons as long as I have you're bound to have a few battle scars." The man tapped his wooden leg with his staff, "this was from a demon hell bent on getting past that barrier, he claimed to be the first demon of Zeref's book," He then pulled his sleeve back to his left arm, "this is also from the same demon – I only hope he doesn't come this way looking for the box now with that barrier down." The man gave a slightly frightened glance beyond the trees and past the mountain, as if looking or waiting for something.

"You don't need to worry about him.." Lucy began rubbing her arm and feigning interest in the rock at her feet.

"Oh? What makes you so certain of that?" the man's eyes were back on the girl.

"Well.. He was the demon I got the keys from.."

"He gave them to you?!"

"Err.. No.. Not exactly.."

The man glanced between the girl and her keys for a few seconds, then glanced at her rather rough looking group of friends – he smiled a little as he put two and two together. He slowly began stroking his beard again as he dropped his head as if looking at the ground. Lucy shared a quick glance with Natsu as he came to stand next to her. Her eyes darted back to the old man as his shoulders began to lightly bounce. Lucy shared a panicked look with Levy and Erza as she hesitantly reached her hand out towards the old man, ready to place it on his shoulder for comfort; she was sure the man was crying. That was until an odd, squeaking sound escaped him.

He threw his head back as heavy bouts of laughter echoed through the trees and off the stone furniture, practically amplifying his glee. The group jumped a little at the sudden and unexpected display, and Lucy was more confused than she'd been in a long time. Was he nuts? What was so funny?

"Lucy Heartfilia! Fairy Tail Celestial Mage! Keeper of keys! You are the person I've been waiting for!" He wiped a tear from his eye as he began to catch his breath. Lucy gave Natsu one more curious glance as the boy gave her a lop-sided smile – instantly putting her at ease.

"Now listen to me carefully my dear, I can't pay you for what I'm about to request from you and your friends; but what I must ask you to do will benefit you." The man began to pull a piece of paper out from his robes and the entire group shifted glances at one another, what in the world was he talking about?

He laid the parcel out on the table in front of the group, and on it was a drawing. Of a box. Not an intricate, beautifully crafted box with jewels, designs, and fine metals lining it. Oh no, it was an old, brown box with one little key hole. No words, directions, explanation.. Just the damn box.

Why is there a drawing of a box on a piece of paper? And how was that going to benefit them?

Yep. The old man was definitely crazy.

"Do you see this box Lucy Heartfilia?" The old man was tracing the image with feather light touches from his fingertips. Lucy sweat dropped.

Oh yeah, doesn't get much crazier than that.

"Yes.. I do.." She raised an eyebrow as she waited for Senis to elaborate, which he didn't. Instead he continued to admire the drawing for another minute or two. She began to shift uncomfortably in her chair as the silence became rather awkward. Should they let the old man and the drawing have some privacy? This was getting too weird, even for Bixlow.

Erza cleared her throat, "I see you're fond of the drawing sir, but we still don't understand what you want us to do." She began rubbing her chin as she watched the man continue to admire the drawing as he ignored her question, then she dropped her fist into her palm as though an idea occurred to her. Everyone's attention – minus the old man's – was on her, leave it to Erza to figure it out!

She walked up behind the man and slowly ghosted her fingers over the drawing as well, and began to ogle it the exact same way the old man was. Everyone sweat dropped.

"Err.. Erza.. What are you doing?" Lucy watched the Knight take on the same mystified expression as the old man.

"Admiring the drawing. Perhaps this is what he wanted us to do." She didn't take her eyes off the drawing as she answered the Celestial Mage. Lucy face palmed as Laxus and Bixlow decided to take seats – looked as though this was going to be a long day..

Then the old man shifted his attention back to the Celestial Mage, "This box, Lucy, I need it back." The old man was lifting the page towards Lucy and pointing at the image, "under any means necessary, I have to have it back." The old man gave Lucy a look she couldn't say 'no' to.

"Still don't see how that benefits us." Laxus was giving the old man an annoyed expression as he slouched into his stone chair in a feeble attempt to get comfortable.

"It will. Some day. Have you summoned both keys simultaneously Lucy?" The old man handed her the paper which Erza took, still focused on admiring the drawing. Oh Erza..

"No, I can barely hold one gate open long enough to get anything done. I doubt I'll ever hold both gates open at the same time." Lucy looked to her keys with a slightly saddened expression.

"You don't have much faith in yourself, do you my girl?" The old man raised both eyebrows as Lucy's gaze shot up to meet the old man's eyes.

"There's no room for self-doubt in the burden that's been placed on you. These keys are not your typical keys my dear, they open dangerous gates, gates that only you can open. There's potential for great evil in summoning these spirits Lucy Heartfilia, you must understand that. If the ability to use these keys ever falls in the wrong hands death and destruction would surely ensue. You must be careful, believe in yourself and believe in your friends, I have no doubt you can handle them, but you must believe that as well." Senis began stroking his beard again as Natsu and Gray gave him smiles.

"How do you know so much about these keys Senis?" Lucy gave him a skeptical look.

He lightly chuckled, "I'm an old, old man my dear. I've seen much in my life time."

"What's with the box?" She kept the same skeptical look as the man's smile widened.

"That, my dear, is for another time." He chuckled again as the group once again shared confused looks. Half the stuff the old man said made no sense, and now he wanted them to retrieve a box that they knew nothing about but was somehow supposed to benefit them..?

"Hold up old man, why should we go fetch your box for you? You already said you're not going to pay us, but that the box is supposed to benefit us yet you won't tell us how or what's in it. Give me one good reason why we should chase after a hoard of S-class and above demons for something we know nothing about?" Laxus was leaning forward as he addressed the man.

"Because you destroyed the barrier that was originally keeping the box safe." The old man gave Laxus a raised eyebrow daring him to protest. The Dragon Slayer's expression fell slightly in defeat – damn old man had a point..

"Don't worry gramps! We'll get that box for ya, you can count on us!" Natsu placed his hand on Lucy's shoulder as he gave the old man a toothy smile.

"That's if Dragon Breath doesn't destroy half the mountain in the process." Gray was pointing his thumb towards Natsu as he gave the old man the same grin.

"We promise to get that box back for you sir! We're really sorry for the barrier!" Levy was bowing in apology.

"Well, we ain't gettin' anything done standin' around here. Let's go." Gajeel began walking down the mountain as Lily followed.

Natsu and Laxus' heads snapped up as Gajeel stopped in his tracks.

"Smell that?" Laxus was looking at Natsu as the Fire Dragon Slayer looked to the Iron Mage. Gajeel smiled.

"Looks like we don't need to go too far." Gajeel chuckled as he slowly looked towards the sky, Laxus and Natsu darted their eyes up as the rest of the group simply followed their lead.

A tiny speck barely stood out amongst the clouds and blue sky.

Levy attempted to shade her eye with her hand as she squinted her eyes at the dot in the clouds.

"What is it?" She looked to Lucy and Gray as they both shrugged in confusion, it looked like a small bird to them.

"A demon." Laxus stood from his seat as Lily transformed into warrior mode.

"Ready Happy?" Natsu tightened his scarf around his neck.

"Aye sir!" Happy grabbed onto his vest and was ready for takeoff.

"Hold on Natsu, we don't know what class this demon is or any of his abilities, the last thing any of us needs to do is rush off to battle." Erza grabbed both Happy and Natsu, halting any movement they had planned.

"Besides, you and the storm master over here got the last ones." Gajeel began cracking his knuckles as he gestured towards Laxus.

"It's our turn." Gray stepped in front of Natsu and Erza as he removed his pants.

"Is it just me or is it closer now?" Lucy was standing from her seat as she stood in front of the old man. The object in the sky was no longer just a speck anymore, it was becoming larger and more defined as it closed in. The mages who didn't have heightened vision could finally see the creatures arms and legs and a pair of black feathered wings.

He hovered above the group, silently flapping his wings as he regarded each mage individually. He wore all black with a beak-like mask. The only skin showing was the upper half of his face which showed porcelain skin that only seemed to be intensified by his black eyes and black hair. He remained silent as he continued to float.

"What do you want? Are you the one that took the box?" Levy decided it was about time somebody spoke.

The demon ignored her.

"Can't speak or what? She asked ya a question." Gajeel began to form iron lances from his fists.

The demon stayed silent.

"Silent type eh? Fine by me!" Gajeel threw his lances forward as they smashed into an invisible wall a few feet in front of the demon. He cursed under his breath as he drew his arms back.

"Looks like some type of barrier Levy!" Erza equipped into her Heaven's Wheel Armor as she released Natsu and Happy.

Levy put her glasses on, "Hit it Erza!" Levy jumped onto the table to get a better view of the barrier. Erza shot three swords towards the demon as it collided with it's unmoving target, but it didn't stop, the space directly in front of the demon began to crack, and then it completely shattered like shards of a mirror – pulling the demon, sky, and all the light down into a million broken pieces until the group stood in darkness.

"What the hell is this?!" Laxus darted his head from side to side.

"I can't see anything!" Gray was grabbing onto Lucy's arm, making sure she was still next to him.

"What's going on Levy?!" Lucy was reaching for the girl that was originally standing almost directly in front of her and managing to grip onto her sleeve.

"I.. I don't know.. Why is it so dark?"

"He is a Tengu. A harbinger of war and master of deception. Tread carefully young ones, this one is a very old demon." The old man's voice drifted from behind the group – Lucy could picture him stroking his beard at that moment.

"How do you know how old he is?" Lucy had taken a side step to make sure Natsu was still standing on her other side.

"Because of his wings. Tengu are rare, I haven't seen one in decades; and I've never seen one with a wing span like that."

The group face palmed, this was going to be one hell of a fight.

"What the hell! Stop using tricks! Come out and fight me like a man!" Lucy could feel Natsu running in circles as he bumped into stone after stone and cursed wildly.

"Wait.. Natsu.. Are you on fire?" Lucy was trying to feel for the Fire Mage as she felt Levy begin to sit on the stone table.

"Of course I am!" His voice sounded to be somewhat far off, where in the hell was he running off to?

"Natsu get back here you idiot! You're going to get yourself killed!" You could practically feel the exasperation in Laxus' voice.

"Once a fire brain.. Always a fire brain.." Lucy could feel Gray shaking his head 'no'.

"Hold on guys, if we we're really in darkness, then we should be able to see Natsu's flame." Lucy was darting her eyes in every direction.

"Hey.. She's right.. We should be able to see Natsu running around." Bixlow sounded as though he'd yet to move from his sitting position on one of the stone chairs.

"What are you saying Lu-chan?" Levy was practically whispering.

"I'm saying this all seems kind of weird. First, it looked like there was a barrier, then glass shattered out of nowhere and now it's pitch black; yet Natsu's fire doesn't light anything up."

"I'm still lost.." Gray was poking at her arm now, literally trying to push an answer out of her.

"What I'm saying is it's an illusion. Senis said they were masters of deception, right? So maybe he's messing with our vision somehow."

"So how do we fix it?" Natsu practically shouted from his place some distance away – was he moving farther away?

"Dammit Natsu! Get back here!" Lucy could practically imagine Laxus' hands in the air as he shouted.

"I don't know.. I haven't figured that part out yet.." Lucy released Levy and Gray to cross her arms under her chest in a contemplative stance.

"Think Lu-chan, think!" Levy had assumed the role of Lucy's personal cheerleader.

Then everything went silent. Black. Cold.

Lucy reached for Levy again, but her sensation of touch was gone. She couldn't smell the forest or fire anymore, nor taste the embers wafting through the air from Natsu's uncontrolled flames. She could feel her chest pounding uncontrollably as everything remained blank, dark.. It was literally nothing. She felt like a shell in her own body, trapped in a world of blackness with silence and emptiness as her only companions.

She began to sweat and shake, her anxiety began to get the better of her as she fell. Or at least she thought she fell, she wasn't sure anymore. At this point she wasn't even sure if she was on the ground, in the sky, at the bottom of a pit somewhere, or even upside down for that matter. Everything was off, backwards, upside down. The feeling of her heart pounding in her chest disappeared and she wasn't even sure she was breathing anymore. She didn't even feel as though she were in her body as every sense and feeling she'd ever known was gone.

The only thing she knew was intact was her mind, and she could feel it slowly start to slip. She panicked again, or was she panicking? She was sure she was nauseous, though she couldn't taste the bile she could feel the spinning sensation, then that stopped too. If she were in her body she was sure she'd be hyperventilating and vomiting, or did she even have control of it anymore? Her mind started to become cloudy and hazy as she slowly went into shock – she could feel her sanity slowly start to give way, she was at a breaking point. Seconds began to feel like hours as she slowly started to drift into a realm of insanity; this took isolation to a whole new level. What she wouldn't do for a sound, a smell, hell just to feel something. Pain, she'd take pain, that was fine with her at this point - just as long as she could familiarize herself with sensation again, it didn't matter to her what form it came in.

She didn't know how much more of this she could take.

Then, out of nowhere, the Tengu was standing directly in front of her; "pathetic." He glared down at her from above his mask, "I only took away your senses for 23 seconds, and you've already succumbed to this state. Humans are a disgrace."

She stared at him. She didn't even care what he was saying, he was speaking, and she could hear him, see him, hell she could even smell the scent of pine coming from his being. She took in a deep breath and realized she had been crying, and was certainly in a heap on the floor. She looked down at the ground and realized how shaky she was – she must've looked pathetic.

"To think a creature such as yourself could open dimensions into other worlds is beyond my comprehension. You can barely stand on your own two feet." He didn't move from his spot, he only stared at her.

"What did you do to me?" She finally managed a glare back.

"I merely toyed with your senses. Humans rely so much on what they can see and hear, they don't ever channel anything deeper within themselves. All I did to you was what we Tengu go through as children when we begin training."

Lucy flinched, they actually do this to children?! What monsters!

"What's wrong with you?! You can't do this to a child!"

"Don't compare a demon to a human, the only time a Tengu would deteriorate to your state is if he were in isolation for centuries. Not 23 seconds." His features darkened.

"Where are my friends?" She continued to glare back.

"Standing right next to you. Behind you. In front of you. Except for the fire boy, he's still running in circles."

Oh Natsu..

"Can they see us?"

"No."

"Hear us?"

"No."

"Did you put them in the same state you had me in?"

"No."

"Please don't put them in isolation, or at least that's what I think you called it."

"They're not my concern nor my focus."

"You want the keys."

"Yes."

"I'm not going to hand them over, you know that right?"

"I have no use for them unless I have you too."

"What do you mean?"

"You are a Celestial Mage, it is within your scope of magical ability to open keys, not mine or any other demon. This was one of the only magical traits bestowed onto humans; if we want to use those keys we need your cooperation."

"Then why have you all tried to kill me up until now?"

"Lesser demons don't quite grasp the concept of Celestial Mages; they think a human is a human and easily replaced."

"You do understand that I'd never help you." She finally stood.

"I figured you'd say something like that." And then he disappeared again. Lucy blinked a few times as her vision became blurry, once everything came back into focus she realized she was still standing in the same spot, her friends almost exactly where they were before everything went black.

"Levy?" She reached for the first person in front of her, who was starring off into space, unmoving. Lucy waved her hand in front of her eyes to see if she'd get any sort of reaction. Then she began to shake her shoulders, "Levy! Are you there?!" She released the girl when she realized she wasn't getting a response.

She quickly turned to see Gray now sitting on the ground, eyes closed and eyebrows twitching almost uncontrollably. He smashed his fist into the ground as he began shouting, tears streaming down his face. Lucy instantly grabbed him from behind and tried to hold him, comfort him, but in his fit of rage he threw her off as he continued to strike the ground, causing ice to cover it. "Gray! Stop! You have to wake up!" Lucy tried to reach for him again when another scream caught her attention. She turned to see Erza, curled up on the ground and reaching for her back as though she'd just been struck. She turned to grab for Erza when Laxus' screams reached her. She turned towards him and Bixlow to see the Lightning Mage grabbing his right eye and cupping his scar as he writhed in pain. The Seith Mage was on his knees as he dug his fingers into the ground and convulsed uncontrollably.

Gajeel was on one knee as he pounded furiously into the dirt, causing small craters that continued to go deeper and deeper as his knuckles became bloody. Lucy's heart began to feel heavy.

"Stop it.."

She looked to Natsu to see he was completely consumed by his flames, anger and frustration in his yells for Igneel.

"Stop.."

Happy and Lily were curled into balls as Happy began to shake uncontrollably and Lily fought an imaginary opponent.

"Stop this.."

Levy began to cry and shout in despair.

"Please stop.."

Erza's screams began to drown out Laxus'.

"STOP IT!" Lucy stood and began to search for the Tengu.

"It can stop. As long as you come with me." The Tengu was suddenly in front of Lucy again.

"I can't.." Lucy began to shake her head 'no' as she walked backwards and away from the demon. The Tengu shifted a bored look to the Ice Mage on the ground as the man suddenly shot out another wave of ice, fighting some foe that wasn't there in complete anguish.

"Please stop!" She'd quickly retraced her steps as she attempted to push the Tengu, only to run right through him. She stood stunned and then realized she'd run straight through a mirage. This foe was more than any of them could handle.

"Still relying on your vision. Has my previous lesson taught you nothing?" He was now behind her, she snapped her head around to see dark, cold eyes peering down at her, "perhaps you need another."

And everything went back to nothing. All her senses had once again been taken away. She fell to her knees as desperation began to take root in her again and her anxiety came back. She reached for her keys to feel nothing in her hands, she felt nothing at all. Her breathing began to quicken until she lost the feeling of her chest rising and falling. She felt powerless, helpless, hopeless.. This must be what despair felt like. She shut her eyes – or at least she thought she did – as she let out a yell in frustration. She could hear nothing. Five words sat at the tip of her tongue, though she wasn't even sure she could speak.

Then she realized it wasn't real. None of this was real. Deception. Illusions. It was all an illusion. She was breathing, crying; she had yelled, had reached for her keys, she could speak. Her senses may be gone, but her mind was very much so still there, and her ability to function was still there too. She let the words that had been sitting on the tip of her tongue since she reached for her key ring escape her as she felt her magic drain – it had worked.

In a matter of seconds she went from her black abyss to the world she'd been taken from – light, sound, smell, taste. It all came back, and flooded her. She looked to her friends who were all staring at her concerned, though they shifted their gazes from her to the sky with anticipation.

"Lucy! What happened? Are you alright?!" Erza was lightly shaking her shoulders.

"Lu-chan, you started screaming our names and you collapsed to the floor.. We didn't know what to do.. We couldn't see you but we could hear you.. It was awful.. Are you okay!?" Levy was wiping tears from her eyes as she buried her face in Lucy's chest.

"Wait.. Are you guys okay?!" Lucy placed her hand over Levy's head as she shot her eyes to all of her team mates who had formed a circle around her.

"We're fine Bunny Girl, you hit the ground screaming. Had us scared shitless." Gajeel had his eyes set in the air above the group. Lucy looked to Laxus to see his attention was caught in the exact same spot.

"You sure you're alright Luce?" Natsu was helping the Celestial Mage to a sitting position as he shifted his glance to the sky and back to Lucy.

As she looked to each mage she realized the scene he'd shown her was an illusion, the Tengu had created and taken away images, sounds, smells.. But it had all seemed so real. She was positive her friends were placed in their own personal hells, were being tortured internally.. She couldn't believe how relieved she felt to know her friends hadn't gone through what she had. But that still didn't explain why everyone was suddenly up and about.

"I don't understand, what happened?" She was rubbing her head as she looked to Erza for answers.

"You summoned a spirit, and then everything went back to normal." Erza's gaze shifted to the same place everyone else's had. Lucy followed the Knight's gaze to see two figures in the sky, the Tengu and a spirit.

The spirit stood with his hands in his pockets, a white jacket with coat tails that trailed down the back of his legs and almost covered the back of his white pants. His skin was almost as pale as his white clothing which was only defined even further by his jet black hair. His mask sat over the left side of his head and formed a broken horned helmet. He slowly turned his head to the girl as she then noticed large, beautiful green eyes that seemed somewhat out of place on such a blank expression. He slowly descended from the sky and Lucy felt the urge to stand.

He slowly approached the girl, hands still in his pockets as she began to notice his finer details, a high collar on his jacket, green lines that trailed down his eyes as if mimicking tear trails. His upper lip was black and she barely noticed the small hole in his neck.

"You summoned me, yes?" His voice was low, controlled, and even. Lucy noticed how his expression didn't change.

"Yes, I'm Lucy." She smiled as she took a step forward.

"I know who you are girl." His voice didn't change its tone, and his expression remained even.

"Oh.. I'm sorry.." His level stare was beginning to make her self-conscious, it was as if he was sizing her up and trying to find her worthy.

"You summon the Espada here because you are unable to defeat your own enemies." He looked like a statue as his eyes managed to take on a cold glare. Lucy flinched at his question, unable to find an answer. How was she supposed to respond to a question like that? Especially when he laid her magical abilities out in such a manner, it made her feel rather inadequate. She began to play with the hem of her skirt as sweat trailed down her brow; she shifted her gaze to the ground, unable to look him in the eyes anymore. His gaze was too heavy, and she knew he was observing her – much in the same way Gin and Urahara did, but his was cold and calculated. She could feel his eyes practically penetrating her, it was as if he was looking at her soul and all her worth.

The spirit stood there for a few more seconds. He'd seen all he needed to see.

"Trash."

I know, this chapter kind of leaves a lot of unanswered questions on top of unanswered questions. There will be many summonings in the next few chapters and a lot of questions answered - cross your fingers it's someone from your poll picks :)

Sacerdos - priests

Bellator - warrior

Senis - elder