A/N hello! I am back with another chapter! I would like to thank Zades, Dyeni, Coolanime14, Bentears, and Jennifer for reviewing my last chapter. I hope that everyone enjoys this chapter.

Disclaimer: I do not, nor will I ever, own Fairy Tail!

Chapter Four: Feathers and Scales

In a clear voice that radiated power, Lucy said "I am the person who connects the road to the stellar spirit world. Thou shall respond to the calling and pass through the gate. Open the gate of the phoenix, Phoenix!"

Light pooled around her, and Yukino could feel the amount of magic that opening this gate seemed to soak up. All the younger spirit mage could do was watch in awe. She even mumbled for the ears of the people around her "I don't think I would have enough magical energy to summon that spirit! It seems to need even more magic than a golden key."

The others seemed taken aback by that bit of information. They didn't think that keys existed that needed more magical power than a zodiac keys. It caused them all to watch what transpired even closer. Rufus once again memorizing what was going on.

With a loud caw, a flash of light was seen in the sky. What came out was a bird, but the entire body was covered in flames. Even with that, there was so much detail as it circled the skies above them that they could swear that they could see every feather that was carved out of the fire. It circled down before coming to a landing before the one that held her key.

"Hello Phoenix, I am Lucy Heartfilia, and I would like to form a contract with you." Lucy said with a smile as she looked to the Phoenix. It surprised her that the flames that seemed to be burning brightly were not hot. Even when they were in close proximity to her own skin.

The stellar spirit nodded at her words, accepting the offer of a contract. "I am the spirit of the constellation Phoenix. With my flame I can heal any injury and give antidote to any toxin. I can bring those on the brink of death to full health, but that is also with a large toll on your own magic." It spoke in a deep feminine voice that resonated around the clearing.

"When are you available to be summoned?" Lucy asked. She was thinking about the uses of this spirit. It would help to not have to rely on Wendy for the healing in the group. If the sky dragon slayer was not there, this new spirit would be an excellent way to help both herself and the others.

"I am able to be summoned any time but the second new moon of the year, unless it is an absolute emergency. I also am not a fighting spirit, so do not call me out and expect me to battle." It said smoothly.

Lucy nodded as she produced a pad of paper that she used to record all of her contracts. When she was done scribbling she nodded at the spirit and said with a large smile "Thank you. It is wonderful to add a new friend to the family. Is there anything else that I need to know?"

Though birds cannot smile, Lucy could swear that she saw the smile of the phoenix in the fiery depths of the eyes. "No. I shall return to the spirit world now. I do believe that you have enough energy left to summon up that other key." In another bout of sparkles, the spirit had left.

Jumping up and down in excitement, Lucy quickly put the key onto her key ring before moving onto the next key. Once again glancing to the light and shadow dragon slayers, she smiled at them and winked.

"I don't think I like that look she just gave us!" Sting said nervously.

Orga laughed at him. "Are you kidding me? I can't wait to see what this key is, that last one was off the charts!"

"Yukino, are you alright?" Rogue asked the speechless mage next to him. He even extended his hand out to touch her shoulder.

She looked at him and nodded. She still was unable to speak. She knew that she was close to her spirits, but she had never conducted a contract like that. She had always tried to stay formal with her spirits, but Lucy was different. It was more like she was watching someone make a friend. There was no air of being the master around her. It was like nothing that Yukino had expected. She now understood why Lucy's spirits were so overly devoted to her.

Looking back at Lucy, they all saw that she was once again in her summoning pose.

Again she spoke the formal incantation. But this time it ended in a way that caused all of the Sabertooth mages to stare in unbridled surprise. They couldn't believe their ears.

"Open, gate of the dragon, Draco!" Lucy said, her voice echoing ominously around the training grounds. In the moment before the magic took hold there was absolutely no sound. None of them even dared to breathe.

In a giant flash of silver, and a midnight blue summoning circle, a towering beast came through. It was a dragon that towered above them, even higher than they were used to with the snake charmer spirit of Yukino's.

It was a midnight blue dragon with a silver underbelly and eyes. The horns that winded their way above the head of the dragon also seemed to gleam silver. So did the spikes that lined the back and tail of the beast. It grinned at the mages around it, clearly at ease with being the center of attention. The magic power that radiated off of him and through Lucy was staggering.

The dragon slayers had gauged that his power rivaled the dragons that they had fought during the eclipse incident. They gulped and stepped back, unsure if they could put up a good fight against the dragon. And in that moment they also realized that Lucy was now probably able to defeat them if she really wanted to.

"Master," The deep gravelly voice of the dragon washed over the mages. He bowed his head, extending one of his large forelegs that was outfitted with silver claws that were long and sharp enough to rip a human apart in seconds.

"Please, don't call me master, I would rather we be friends. I'm Lucy Heartfilia, and I was hoping that you would make a contract with me." Lucy said in her same bubbly voice. She was hiding the fact that keeping his gate open was literally eating up her magic. She did not even know how long she could keep it up for or if she could sustain the magic necessary for one of his attacks.

"Very well," the dragon inclined his head, "I am Draco, the dragon of the stars." He formally introduced himself.

Lucy nodded and got ready to write down what she needed to know. "When am I able to call you?" She asked.

"In this form I am only available twice a month. The time in between summons is of no importance to me, and this time will not count seeing as it is to form the contract." The dragon spoke lightly.

"You said this form, my I see the other one and can you tell me the limitations on that one?" Lucy asked the dragon.

With a wicked grin spreading across his muzzle, showing the sharp pearly teeth, he said "I have two other forms." He then changed into a man that stood taller than Laxus, and just as well built if it was possible. "In this form I am the dragon slayer of the stars. You can call this one out only once a month if needed. Each attack will be taken from your magic." Then he began to morph again; this time into a tiny version of the original dragon.

Lucy couldn't help herself. She let out a girly squeal that forced the boys to wince and cover their ears. She couldn't help it. Plus she felt the much smaller drain that this form was taking on her magic. It was about the same as if she was summoning Plue.

Laughing, Draco spoke in the same deep voice "In this form I can do my dragon attacks, but on a smaller level. I do not take up as much energy, unless I attack that is. And you can summon me anytime. I fact, I would like to be able to explore this world for a bit like this. I have not been summoned to this world in nearly a thousand years. I can travel as a companion with very little use of your magic. If you so chose, that is."

Lucy was ecstatic. She clapped her hands in excitement once she was done and said "Wow! That is amazing. I can't wait to work with you, and of course you can travel out like that whenever you want to. In fact, if you feel like it, you can even open your own gate; Loke does it all the time so I wouldn't mind. Just make sure to be mindful of the time and place. He sometimes 'forgets' what is considered okay."

The small dragon chuckled before he bowed once more and shimmered back into the spirit world.

Lucy was just about to jump up and down again when she suddenly felt very dizzy. Those two had to have been two of the most powerful spirits she had made a contract with. It was only her resolve to make sure that she looked strong to the five mages behind her that kept her from passing out right there and then.

"Wow, Lucy you are amazing!" Yukino praised as she walked towards Lucy. The others followed the girl, but didn't agree or disagree. They were very surprised that the Fairy Tail mage could not only summon one spirit that would have been too strong for Yukino, but two of them in a short period of time.

"Not really," Lucy brushed aside the complement. Though, inside she was allowing the other girl's words to stroke her ego a bit. It felt good for someone else to see that she really did have a lot of magic power.

Though, admittedly, she knew that her power had almost doubled because of what the Spirit King had given her. She only wished that she had been given time to warn her friends so that they didn't worry about her. But it was too late now.

While she was caught up in her mind, Lucy also couldn't help but wonder what this meant for her other keys. She knew that as she grew in strength so did they, but she didn't know what those changes might have been. Shrugging her shoulders at herself, she decided that she would ask them later.

"The next train to Magnolia leaves in an hour; I think it best that a few of us escort you back to your guild." Rufus said once they were leaving the training grounds, recalling the train schedule with ease.

"I can go by myself!" The girl all but bit his head off for making such an offer.

"I did not say that you couldn't. But I also think that you are forgetting about what we talked of earlier. I remember clearly hearing Sting say that we were staying with you so as to not earn the wrath of the fairies when you disappear in another pillar of light." Rufus sighed.

"Oh," Lucy said as she nervously laughed.

The Sabertooth mages couldn't help but be a little confused about her sudden mood changes. They had been happening all night, and yet it still confused them when she flipped the switch from angry to happy or the other way around.

"Yukino and Orga will escort you back, and I will not take no for an answer." Sting announced. "And I will also be letting your guild know that you are coming, even if your spirit already did that."

Yukino nodded with excitement while Orga mumbled something about how Sting shouldn't order him around so much. Even if he was the new master, the lightning god slayer knew that he could take him on. Lucy, seeing that she didn't have a choice, reluctantly agreed with him.

Once on the train, it seemed that Orga fell asleep almost instantly. Yukino seemed to be shifting nervously in her seat.

Lucy noticed this, but was trying not to say anything about it. But it finally got to be too much. "Is there something that you want to say?" She asked the other mage.

"I know that you said no last time, but I wanted to offer you my keys again." Yukino said as she fiddled with her hands.

"I can't! I know that you care about your spirits, and I couldn't break those bonds of trust!" Lucy explained.

"But, you are by far the more powerful mage; you should be able to bring the zodiac together. I saw that today. I know that they would be in better hands if they are with you." Yukino argued.

"And what would you do? They are what make you a mage." Lucy asked, trying to get her point across.

Yukino seemed to blush at that. "Well, you see, lately Rogue had been helping me learn new magic. I've gotten fairly good at it too. I wanted to make that my main magic, but in order to do that I have to stop relying on my keys. And that means giving them away. You would still be the best choice." She pushed her case.

With another sigh Lucy sat up straight. "You are still learning that magic though. You might need your keys. As long as your contracts are still there, I will not take them away from you." She said firmly.

Yukino just nodded in defeat. She knew better than to press any further. The decision was made on both ends. But Lucy didn't know the solution that Yukino had planned. Even if she loved her keys, she thought it was clear that Lucy cared for them even more, to the point where she had called them a family.

The rest of the train ride went by in silence. Lucy had been exhausted the entire time, and couldn't fight the sleep any longer. She fell asleep just as Orga had. That left the other celestial spirit mage to watch over the two sleeping mages. Not that she minded. It was relaxing to her.

Yukino was glad that it wasn't Sting or Rogue on the train. Either one would have been reduced to a puddle on the floor. It might have been funny to watch at times, but she really didn't feel like being puked on while getting Lucy back to her home. Though, she wouldn't have minded Rogue. He was always much better than Sting.

Just thinking about the shadow dragon slayer brought a blush to her cheeks. She was finding it harder to deny that he had feelings for him. And with no more distractions available to keep her mind off of him, she couldn't stop thing about it. Yukino let out a sigh; it was going to be a long train ride.

A/N Thank you all for reading! It really means a lot to me! And please review as well! I like to hear what you all thought. And I welcome criticism too!

I also know that I should be working on my two other stories, so just to let those of you out there who were wondering know, I am having a small slump with them and will hopefully post soon!