Lucy was in a near death situation, her body was slowly shutting down from her injuries. Each breath was harder than the last. Her brain was having trouble working, as she slipped in and out of consciousness. With less oxygen getting to her brain, she started to hallucinate; her memories of the past coming back to life.
Lucy was five years old running around the mansion playing a game with some of her toys. She was acting out a story her mother had read to her a few days ago before leaving on a job. "Alright you can be the Star Maiden Michelle. My plushies will be the Celestial Spirits. Here we go. I'm the Legendary Star Maiden. I declare that we will work in harmony with the humans! My dream is that one day that we'll find more friends to play with. Look here's comes one now!"
Lucy walked over her toy horse, a blond colored horse with big blue eyes wearing a purple saddle and bit along with a bright pink bow on her tail. A small yellowish jewel was attached to the saddle with a picture of the horse inside. "Everyone, I like you to meet Jai. Mommy said that she has the power to heal and make you smile! Who will the first to greet her?"
She maneuvered her Aries plushie over to her and she had the two to shake hands. She danced them around each other before having them hug. She giggled as she placed Michelle on top of Jai having them prance around greeting all the spirits. "Today I declare that all spirits make friends with Jai! Yeah now we're all friends!"
Footsteps were heard as she looked up to see her mother observing her game. She clapped her hands. "That was very nice of you to introduce Jai to the group. I'm glad they made friends with one another."
"Mommy! I'm so glad to see you!" Lucy yelled embracing her mother in a tight hug. Layla cuddled her daughter kissing her on the forehead before tickling her nose. "Did you behave for daddy?" Seeing her child frown she shook her head. Looked like she had to have another talk with Jude.
"Come along my dear, we're going to see your father." Walking through the halls she politely talked to the servants greeting them kindly and asking how they were doing. They responded with kindness and love, happy to see that the lady of the house had returned safely.
Knocking on her husband office door, she waited patiently shifting her daughter in her arms. When he didn't answer she rolled her eyes and entered anyways. "Jude, really I understand how important your work is, but can't you spare a few minutes to greet your wife and daughter?"
Jude looked up from his desk, seeing his wife his expression changed from stern to kind and loving. "Layla your home!" he said happily getting up from his desk and hugging his wife and child kissing them both. "I was so worried. I thought that the job might be to exhausting for you. You still haven't completely recovered from your last job."
Layla placed a hand over his mouth to make him be quiet. Glancing around the big office full of books, artifacts, and things related to the company business, she told him, "Well it seems that you might be exhausted as well. Looks like your newest project will be a success." Her eyes narrowed as he put her daughter down on a nearby lounge chair. "However; you can't just forget your daughter. She's as a much a priority as your business, maybe even more."
There was no arguing with his wife who smiled. "As punishment for ignoring Lucy, you have to read her a bed time story. You're in luck, as a reward for completing the job, I was given this," she said pulling a medium size book with a blue cover and gold inlays. The title was written in silver ink, "Star Maidens: Legends or True?"
"Layla, I don't know why insist reading these fairy tales to our daughter. We should be reading her something more important, like how to manage a business. Something that will help her succeed in the future." Jude told his wife looking at the book as if it was junk. Layla shook her head giving him a mischief smile. He knew that look, it's when she was keeping a secret, but refused to tell him what it was.
"Legends ring with truth Jude. These stories may seem silly now, I can tell you they will help our daughter in the future. She'll succeed in something that is far greater than any business venture." She picked up their daughter heading out to the garden. She stopped to turn her head backwards with a troubled look in her eyes. "Jude, if something ever happens to me. Promise me you'll continue to read the stories to Lucy. That you'll never sell the books."
Jude gave her a puzzled look. "Layla, why would you ask me that? Is there something you're not telling me?" His wife interrupted him asking him again and this time he complied.
Time seemed to pass in a blur. The house appeared to be expanding at an alarming rate. Lucy could feel herself getting bigger changing rapidly. She witnessed several events with the family. Most of them appeared to be Layla getting weaker, until she retired. Time would pause for a few moments showing some family moments, eating dinner, strolling through the gardens, even just enjoying the company of one another.
Suddenly the images stopped, it was a single moment it time. Lucy clutched Michelle in her hands, her face streaked with tears. She was peeking through the doors as the doctor did his examination. Layla was very pale, the blond locks limp. Her body was so thin, her skin was wrinkled barely hanging on her. Her father was shouting at the doctor angrily, his expression tight. His clothes were sloppy and he smelled as if he hadn't bathed in days.
"There has to be something you could do? I'll pay you whatever you want! Anything you need will be on me. Please, I can't lose her!"
The doctor shook his head, putting his instruments in his bag, with a heavy heart. Not even looking at the man he replied. "Mr. Heartfillia, there's nothing more to be done. Not even the greatest magical healer could help her at this point. The curse mixed with a deadly sickness, has made it impossible to separate the two. She'll be gone by tomorrow night, the night after at the latest."
Jude looked as if he would punch the man in the face instead he just collapsed in a nearby chair. As the doctor left Lucy slipped inside crying as she clutched her mom's hand. "I don't want you to go Mother. Please, there must be some magic that can help. Maybe Jai…"
"There is no Jai Lucy! None of those wretched story books are true. You need to grow up and face reality!" Jude yelled angrily scaring his daughter who huddled on the floor in fear. He snatched one of the books from his wife's table about to snap it in half when his wife's raspy voice said, "NO JUDE! You…promised…me that… you wouldn't get rid of those books."
Both husband and daughter looked as Layla used her what strength she had to sit up and slowly take the book from his hands. Ignoring the protests she reached inside the shelf in the headboard pulling out all the books on Celestial Spirits, legends and history. Coughing she turned to her family. Her voice was losing strength, but she had to ensure their future safety.
"Jude, these books are part of the secret I kept. I made a promise to the Celestial Spirit King," she said coughing badly, and a little blood trickled out her mouth. Taking his handkerchief she blotted the blood away. When he made to take it back she brought him close and whispered her secret to him. His eyes went wide as the looked back and forth between his wife and daughter.
"Why didn't you… I can't do that Layla. Please ask me anything, but that." He told her as he trembled his face going pale. Layla gave him a pleading look wrapping her hand around his trying to stay strong. Seeing her determination, he finally consented. "I'll keep the books, but they'll be locked away until its time understand?" She nodded and turned to her little girl.
Lucy climbed on the bed holding tightly to her doll. "Mother, I'm afraid. I can't let you go. Please I don't want to live in a world without you. I'm not strong enough."
"My dear lucky girl, you have more strength and power then you could ever dream of," Layla replied brushing the tears away. Coughing and hacking, she got it under control. She needed to deliver this message. "Lucy, I know that you're destined for great things. A good friend of mine said that one day you'll change the world, both worlds, in a way that is only a dream right now. It's scary now, but I'll always be with you."
Lucy hugged her mother whispering in her ears she would become a Celestial Mage, the very best to honor her. Silently she vowed to find a way to break cursed sicknesses so no one would ever suffer as her mother had. Seeing that both her husband and daughter would be okay Layla smiled knowing her mission was complete. She passed away when the clock struck twelve. No one saw as her spirit was taken to the Celestial World to live on as newly born star spirit, watching over her family.
Time seemed to fast forward all around Lucy again. She saw herself searching the mansion for the books never finding them. Her father pushing her away as she become lonelier then every. Tearing apart her silk dresses and abandoning her doll. Without saying goodbye to anyone Lucy left the house on her sixteenth birthday. As she ran away she looked back at the Heartfillia home.
"The only time I'll come back here it is to claim those books. I don't remember very well the stories, but they're the last gift from my mother. No matter what I have to do, I will get them and finally understand my mother's last words." Without a second glance she left heading out to make her own future.
"Jai, storybooks, gift," Lucy whispered as her body continued to shut down. The Zodiac animals looked at one another in fear. They could feel their strength weakening. If they didn't do something soon, no one would be able to help Lucy.
While Lucy was near death and experiencing the past, Hoshi was on the move. After giving an interview to Phoebe she had left, her supplies renewed and her body completely healed. Her next destination was pretty far, but the key she was after would change the game. She needed her own dragon to combat the Dragonslayer and the Dragon Key would give her the power to do that.
She was walking a steady pace admiring the beauty of the world around her. It would take her a little while to get back on the main path to her goal, so for now she was just enjoying being alive. A few minutes later she came upon a hill. Climbing to the top she looked all around her.
In front of her were beautiful trees and frolicking animals. The wind blew gently. There was an explosion of color dotting the mountains in the distance. Nestled under them was another town alive with people going about their day. The sun was warming her skin filling her with energy. Peering up into the sky, naked to eye, the planets, stars, and other objects moved about, their energies altering the Earth in small ways, influencing people. It was the greatest power for inanimate objects to have such control on human life.
If the planets and stars have such power, wouldn't it wonderful to have the Celestial Spirits on Earth? Wouldn't it be great if humans could visit their world without suffering any ill effects? Why do our worlds have to be separated? Hoshi thought to herself.
Since the time she was born her life had been dedicated to finding a way to make her dream come true. The Starwatcher Village citizens had dedicated their lives into protecting the Snake Key and the tomes of the lost space magic. Many girls had trained in the art of Celestial Magic, but only twelve girls were selected to train on the path to becoming a Celestial Spirit Priestess.
The position of being the Celestial Spirit Priestess, was the most convent role in the village. Everyone from the eldest male to the smallest babe, bowed to their spiritual leader. The priestess was very wise and could read the skies to help predict the future. Rumors floated that she could actually enter and exit the Celestial Spirit world whenever she chose. To become her apprentice would be an honor. If you managed to bond with platinum key, meant you were worthy to go on the quest. The chance to earn the title as the True Star Maiden; being blessed by the King and Queen, using the power to change the world.
It's all I dreamed of she thought to herself. I envisioned a world where spirits were no longer under contracts. They would be free to come and go from the world choosing their own mage. Fingering her keys she felt the bond from them strengthen her. She could hear their thoughts, encouraging her to achieve her dream.
Nothing will stop me from achieving my dreams for a better brighter future! No matter what, I won't be held back by the betrayal of my own people. I refuse to believe that Priestess Oba's predication that I would ruin the world, that I was unworthy of this quest, she declared to herself.
Sometime she entered the town of Lovehope. She bustled through the streets looking at the families, especially the ones with parents with a daughter. To see them in loving situations or playing together was melting some of her arroganted and harshness that surrounded her heart. Impulsively she headed into the park to watch the children play. Looking at the gym equipment shaped like different spirits made her feel so young. The urge to try the Pyxis swings was almost too much. She just couldn't resist.
Giving into her impulses she sat down on an open swing. Pumping her legs she sailed into the air. Back and forth the joy she felt as a child came back to her. A little more of the anger, frustration, and bit of evil, left her. This wasn't the Hoshi who would do anything to win the quest, or stole keys and magic. No this was a Hoshi that hadn't been seen since she was twelve years old. It felt so good to reconnect with the part of her she thought was lost forever.
A sudden burst of crying caused her to stop. Looking down she saw a child, who couldn't have been older than five crying. She slowly approached the girl kneeling down next to her. "Hello little one, my name is Hoshi, what's your name? Why are you crying?"
"Ida, I'm crying because I lost the toy key my daddy gave me for my birthday. It was my favorite present. I don't want him to know I lost it," Ida sniffled.
"Don't fret Ida, I'll help you. I know someone who's really good at digging or replacing lost things. Open the Gate of the Reptile: Lacerta!" The little girl watched in awe as medium size three horned frill lizard appeared before her. The lizard flicked her tongue out before smiling. "Hi, my name is Lacerta!"
Ida stopped crying and patted the spirit on the head. "You're nice, your scales are so pretty. Can you help me find my key?" Lacerta nodded burrowing deep into the sand trying to find the toy. After a few minutes she popped up with the toy laying at the girl's feet.
She grabbed it instantly happy to see it, but then frowned. Her key was very dirty, the handle bent, and the special purple ribbon necklace was missing. "It's ruined. I can't show this to my dad."
"Its okay, Lacerta has another trick. Go on," Hoshi said encouragingly. The lizard nodded placing a scaly foot on the key concentrating hard. Her scales started to change colors that soon wrapped themselves around the key. In a few seconds, the key was back to normal thanks to the scales covering the damage, even fixing things. Ida was so happy she hugged them both before running to her mother. Hoshi and Lacerta smiled, it was because of children like Ida she would win this quest.
It had taken two days, but the members of Fairy Tail finally made it back to the crossroads. Some looked better than others. Gray looked as if all the ice in him had melted as he was covered in a sheen of sweat. Parts of Erza's hair had broken off after being frozen so long, leaving her with a messed up hairdo. Natsu appeared to be a blooming bush as he was covered in leaves and few thorns stuck out of his skin. Happy had burrs in his fur. Only Wendy and Carla appeared to be normal.
Wendy's eyes were wide at the sight of her teammates. Carla was trying to hide her laughter and was failing at it miserably. She set the med kit down and then got to work. "Oh my, all of you must have had quite an adventure. Here, let me help," she said. Taking out tweezers, she started to remove the thorns from Natsu's skin.
"Ahh that hurts! Can't you use your magic to fix us up?" Natsu asked angrily. He gritted his teeth as another big thorn on his shoulder was removed. Behind the girl he saw Carla giving a bottle of full of magical water to rehydrate Gray as fast as possible. Erza was looking at everyone before she snatched a can of hair repair.
Wendy shook her head, "I'm trying to conserve my magic. Besides, your injuries are very minor." Brushing off the leaves from his body she disinfected his wounds. Ignoring the boy's protest she started wrapping him up in magical bandages stopping only when she covered up most of his face. She giggled as she recalled other situations when Natsu had gotten in a mess like this. Twisting her head she let out another giggle. Happy had tried to remove his burrs by licking them off and got some stuck to his tongue.
Picking up the Exceed she placed him in her lap as she once again used the tweezers to fix him up. Happy wiggled around like an unhappy kitten even trying to bite her at one point to keep her away from his mouth. Wendy gently bobbed him on the head to make him stop. Once the treatment was done he wiggled out of her lap running to hide behind Natsu.
It was Gray who noticed that someone was missing from their group. His eyes darted to the edges of the different seasons, hoping to see a smiling, but dirty faced blond girl coming out to greet them. As time started to tick by he got a sinking feeling in his gut that Lucy wasn't coming. Starting worry he asked them if each of them had received his message. Erza nodded her head as Wendy explained about the cabin. Natsu said he simply stomped through Spring until he found the team again.
"So the flower didn't work without the map. Do we still have all the other supplies?" Again the team nodded an affirmative. Frowning Gray ran his hand through his hair. "So we all found our way back here except for Lucy, who most likely still has the map."
"If she has the map, then why hasn't she come to this spot? Our icons clearly would indicate that we were here." Erza said as he rested her chin in her hand. Scanning the area, her eyes locked on to a few broken branches about hundred feet away. Darting and jumping about she landed on the tree studying the break in the branch. The others hurried after her standing under the tree's protective shade.
"What is it Erza? Did you find something?" Gray asked. His response was Erza throwing a clump of hair into his mouth. As he tried to spit it out Erza jumped to another tree again checking the break. Her eyes saw the same breaks go on for about two hundred feet then stopped.
"I believe the explosion of magic sent Lucy south. The breaks in the branches were caused by something big smacking into them at high velocity. That clump of hair belongs to Lucy," Erza explained from the tree. She started to climb up to the higher branches keeping a sharp eye out. She spotted a few more damaged trees that appeared to have been split in half by a powerful source. Leaping down and doing a forward flip she landed expertly in front of her friends. "The path of destruction leads on for at least another two hundred and fifty feet. If Lucy flew through all this foliage, I fear she's in terrible shape. Natsu! Wendy! Can you find her?"
Both Dragonslayers started sniffing in the air searching for her scent. At first all they could smell was the scent of trees, the leftover magic along with the mixed scent off Celestial Spirits, but finally Natsu managed to lock on to her scent. "I've got it! She went this way!" he took off running at super speed causing everyone to keep up with him.
Natsu raced ahead sniffing trees and the ground. He looked up listening to his surroundings. He ignored the sounds of birds chirping and water, trying to hone in on any human heartbeats; specifically Lucy. He heard nothing, and her scent was starting to get mixed with everything, scattered by the elements and magic. He pushed himself more trying to keep a lock on the scent. After running a mile and half he stopped in a thicket. Standing there confused for the first time when he couldn't follow a scent. He let out a mighty roar, his fire powers nearly taking out the whole grove.
"Natsu cut it out or you're going to get us all killed!" Gray shouted as he tried to get close enough to freeze him. Happy flew past him landing on Natsu's shoulder actually purring a little before asking him to calm down. Finally the teen calmed down. He looked dejected and very unhappy.
"I don't get it, I've never not been able to follow a scent. This time I can't for some reason. Lucy's scent is all over the place, but it's weak and strong all around me, I can't find the right scent to follow," He exclaimed throwing his hands in the air as he stomped his feet in anger.
Seeing his distress Wendy stood next to him sniffing deeply and closed her eyes. She could feel the wind currents all around her, crossing one another mixing the scent all up. She could scent the faint smell of blood, but couldn't tell if it was human or animal. Taking a few steps forward she tried once again placing a single hand on a tree feeling the bark. At last she opened her eyes. Talking over her shoulder she address the gang. "Natsu right, for some reason her scent is mixed, mostly like the two magic's colliding with one another caused a disturbance. That storm in Summer yesterday made everything worse."
"Hmm," Carla stated. She was deeply thinking of something that might help them. They had all the supplies except the one they needed to find her. If the Dragonslayers couldn't find her they were in a difficult situation. No one in the guild, aside from Cana, could help, but only if Lucy was carrying her card which she wasn't. Looking at Happy she saw the guide book in his backpack. Perhaps that could help. "Happy, can we take a look at the book?"
"Of course Carla, but how can it help? It won't tell us about where Lucy is, only about her," he muttered.
"True, but it might tell us the location of the Horse Key, the one that we were looking for. No matter what happened; Lucy would head for the key, knowing we'd catch up to her." Skimming the pages she finally found the page with the Horse Key info. Reading up on the key's power they were able to find the location, though not an exact route. According to the book, the key was housed in a hidden pantheon dedicated to the Animal Zodiac and the Celestial Spirit Queen. It was some distance away, but that didn't matter. They were going to find their friend and help her no matter what.
Miles away on the riverbank, three Celestial Spirits were having a discussion, about what to do next. Glancing at Lucy, her breathing was even shallower then before. Her color had turned to gray. The wounds were still oozing a bit of blood and with their advance hearing/smell they could tell that her internal injuries were getting worse. At best she had two hours top before she passed away.
Yue pounded her paw in frustration. "We need to do something! If we don't get help for her, she'll die." Making a few noises she fluffed out her fur in anger. "I would go for her friends, but my top speeds only last a mile and half. Besides even if I avoided getting eaten, I couldn't bring them back in time."
Cheng, tail twitched as he gnawed on a bitter piece of bark. Ignoring the looks from everyone else he spoke his voice a little muffled because of the bark. "Even if I animated something, say a tree or rock, I don't know how long my magic would last. Neither of you can tell me you aren't starting to feel the fatigue from staying here so long. It's not our year, its Quing's, meaning she's getting all the extra energy while we get leftovers."
Hu moved around restlessly trying to think of a solution. His power wouldn't help their mistress right now. His fellow companions were right, there was no way to get her friends to her or get her to a hospital right now. She was just too fragile. The only thing that would work was is if they could get her to Jai's key. Her power was so great it could save someone who was on the edge of death; as long as their injuries wasn't caused by a curse, then she would have trouble.
Sitting on his haunches he looked at his friends knowing they could read his thoughts. Jai's key was only a mile and half from where they were now. Getting the key was the logical option, but only Lucy could claim it by solving the final test. In her condition it would be nearly suicide if they attempted to move her by themselves without exasperating her injuries. They needed help, unfortunately they were limited to only one option.
Before he could speak Cheng interrupted the conversation. "You can't be thinking what I think you thinking. Not only does it break the quest rules, how can Lucy support that many in her condition? She be dead instantly aside from the fact she's too weak to even to do it in the first place!" The rat was furiously grooming himself, his teeth gnashing even more. He turned to Yue hoping she back him up on this.
Yue tilted her head, taking a look at the quest rules again. "Technically, only Lucy can't summon them until the final battle, not us. If we use our own power to hold them here, until they switch to their own magic, then it wouldn't drain her," the little rabbit stated a little uncertainly. "This is Lucy's only chance. If you can think of another way to get her to Jai, then I'm all for it."
Cheng protested about to remind them of how bad their last interaction was before Hu squished him under his paw. The little rat looked up into those jaws and immediately complied. He mumbled he wanted it on record that he thought this was a idea. Hu nodded his head gently removing the key ring from Lucy's hand. Fumbling a bit he took the five of the gold keys and gave the other five to Yue, lastly Cheng took the silver keys. Taking a deep breath they let their magic flow into the keys before calling out "We open the Gates of the Celestial Spirits: Come forth everyone!"
Plumes of smoke-filled the area. There were shouts of disbelief and confusion. When it all cleared all of Lucy's Celestial Spirits were standing their looking surprised. Loke was the first to notice Lucy on the ground dying. "LUCY! What happened to her? Why did she summon us here?!" He knelt next to her pleading for her to wake up.
Hu was trembling, his whole body was struggling as he and his friends tried to support that many spirits. "If you would all kindly switch to using your own magic to stay here, then we can explain what is going on," he roared a bit. Startled everyone quickly switched to their own magic as Loki gently placed Lucy's head and shoulder in his arms. "Thank you. Now for an explanation."
Yue hopped on a rock clearing her throat. Sitting upright and her ears perked. "I'm sure you all felt it when Lucy got blown away by the clash of magic. She got hurt a lot by being thrown through trees, falling off a cliff, nearly turned into bird food and almost drowned in the river rescuing our keys." Gesturing to the girl, they could all see the wounds, the broken bones and feel her life slipping away. Yue continued telling them about how Jai Horse was only a mile and half away, they all recalled her magical healing abilities. "I know it's a lot to ask considering our past, but if we all work together, then we can save Lucy."
Capricorn nodded, "What do you need us to do?" he asked as the others all nodded waiting for orders. For Lucy's sake, they would set aside their differences.
Cheng scurried up Capricorn's clothes until he was sitting on top of the goat's shoulder. "First we need to make a moving liter to carry her. Taurus and Cancer it will be your job to do that. Aries and Virgo, you're in charge of taking care of Lucy injuries; afterwards Horologium you'll need to keep her inside you for a while to protect her. I'll be using my powers to help move the liter. Crux, look up any medical information you can and related to the girls. Hu, you and Gemini will have to work together. Get Lucy Ashley out and twins can transform into her while restoring Lucy's magic."
Yue took over from there. "Lyra, play your song as loud as you can, hopefully it will guide Fairy Tail towards us. Plue, keep close to Lucy, she can use all the comfort she can get. Pyxis, you and I will work together to find the safest way through the jungle to our target while Aquarius protects us. Leo, you along with Capricorn, Sagittarius, and Scorpio will protect the liter. Once we get to the parathion, one or two of you will need to support Lucy so she can solve the final test."
"Are you certain we can last this long on Earthland? It takes so much power," Aries pointed out softly. Could they really hold out that long?
Loki stood up gently cradling Lucy in his arms as he waited for his fellow spirits to return with the liter. He gave his friend a reassuring smile. "You'll find the strength to stay if you look deep inside. For a friend's sake you would do just about everything to help them. I know you can do it, we all can."
All the Zodiacs nodded and set to work on their tasks. In no time they were ready to go. Yue and Pyxis made their way forward on land and sky while Aquarius swam alongside them in the water. The others followed in procession doing what they could to help their friend as Lucy consciousness was slowly returning.
The small procession made its way through the jungle, struggling against the extreme heat and the thick vegetation. As the recon group made their way through the jungle, it was Cancer and Taurus's job to help clear the path so the liter could pass through. Loki and Capricorn took front point while Sagittarius and Scorpio covered the back. In the air above Lyra was singing her song as loud as possible praying the winds would carry her song to the other guild members.
Walking alongside the liter was Hu, riding on his back was Lucy Ashley, once more being summoned from Edoloas. She appeared to be anxious about riding the tiger, but considering her version of Natsu was a speed demon, it wasn't too bad. Patting Hu on the head she looked skeptically at the two little twins dancing in front of her. "Are sure this will work? I mean you said they could copy magic, not restore it? Besides, I don't have any magical power to begin with."
"Fear not child, you absorbed the magic of your whip because of the continuous use of it. The twins have been practicing a lost form of copy magic, imprinting so to speak. They'll turn into you, gathering the absorbed magic, before proceeding to restoring Lucy's magical cores," Hu informed her, before letting loose a growl. He flicked his tail forward revealing a small non-venomous snake biting it. Looking at the offender he flicked it off with a snap of his tail sending it flying through the jungle. "If we're all done with that, twins you're up."
"Oh goody goody! I can't wait to see what it's like to turn into a non-spell, ready Gemi?" Mini asked. Her partner agreed. Touching the girl's skin they started to transform. In seconds they looked like Lucy Ashely, right down to her boots. Flexing their fingers small sparks of magic appeared. "Hu was right, you did absorb the magic, but with no core you couldn't use it."
Lucy Ashley muttered something under her breath before shoving them over to her counterpart. "You've got five minutes tops, get to work while you can!" she threatened them. Smacking her fists together with an evil grin was enough motivation to get to work as soon as possible.
Cheng, who was in his human form, stopped the liter holding it in place. Virgo and Aries, who had been following Crux's advice on how to create medicine from the local plant life, paused in their work. Horologium, flipped his door opened revealing Lucy, who did look better thanks to the treatment. Plue had positioned himself near Lucy's head cuddling her.
"I hope this works, the princess isn't doing well," Virgo mentioned squeezing her "princesses" hand. Aries had used her wool as bandages to wrap the wounds and keep the medicine inside her. "We can treat the outside injuries, but the internal ones are beyond our reach."
The twins nodded placing their hands on the fragile teen's chest. A silver glow covered their hands as they drained the magic into her body. As they watched Lucy's color pinked up a bit, they could sense her magic returning. As she relaxed a bit Aries smiled. "She appears to be getting better though I'm not sure how long this will hold up. We can only hope it works." The twins nodded as they went back and forth a few times until they had used all the magic stored in Lucy Ashley's body. Thanking her for helping, Hu sent her back.
While the procession continued on their slower pace, the recon group was at least half a mile head. So far, they hadn't run into any trouble. Pyxis kept glancing at the map and checking his compass to see if they were going in the right direction. He squawked out a warning to his friends to be careful. According to the map they were about cross into the territory of the Bestiary of Fantastic Animals. Nervously he flew over the territory, keeping a sharp lookout for danger. Gazing around the surroundings, he saw a small clearing up ahead, most likely formed harvesting ants. He spotted some at the edge of the clearing, it appeared to be a rock pathway. It had to lead to the parathion!
His cheers of delight were drowned out by a loud screech. As a shadow descended upon him, Pyxis managed to flank left then do a roll over as his attacker plunged down past him. As it managed to right itself and come shooting back up he knew what it was. Shrieking loudly Lyra heard his call. Leaning in the direction of the scream letting out a gasp! "Pyxis is in trouble! He's being attacked by a harpy!" she yelled at her friends.
Loud crashes and battle cries were heard. Scorpio gasped when he recognized his girlfriend's yell. "Aquarius! What's going on ahh!" he screamed as something burst through the ground cutting him, Sagittarius and Hu from the others. The creature looked like a giant tannish squishy worm, with a jaw full of sharp and glowing red eyes. The eyes shout out laser beams. "Get down," Hu shouted transforming into his human form, shoving the spirits to the ground.
"What in Earthland is that?!" Scorpio demanded angrily! He wasn't use to being out done in his element. He shoved Hu off so the human/tiger helped Sagittarius to his feet. "It's called Mongolian Death worm," the archer replied. The three friends jumped backwards as the worm dove at them, with whirling teeth.
Hu frowned. Hear the creature had an advantage, being able to burrow through the ground easily popping up out of nowhere. Those laser beams were a problem as well. "We need to work together!" I'll distract it, you two take out its teeth and eyes. That means shoot the eyes out archer!"
"Understood!" he replied with a salute. As the worm popped out of the ground, Hu was climbing trees, sliding across the moss and leaping through the air, to land on the worm's body trying tear into it. The other two Zodiacs started attacking together hoping the others were okay.
Everyone was in the middle of a battle, separated by the different creatures. Yue was running through the jungle at top speed to avoid being hunted down. The legendary Python of Delphi was slithering through the undergrowth hot on her heels. No matter how much she dodged she couldn't get away. "Don't you ever give up? I can't keep this up, I need some help!" she called out.
Not looking where she was going she slipped on a patch of weeds taking a tumble down a hill getting tangled in some undergrowth. Struggling she tried to get out, but only got more stuck. As the Python slithered up eying her she let another scream too frightened to return home.
Just before she was eaten she heard a familiar laughter. The Python was being attacked by the hovering little twins as they mocked the snake turning into Cheng before attacking the creature with his magic, turning the tree into a walking wild monster. Freeing herself Yue hopped over to the twins. "How are you here? What did you do to Cheng?" she questioned just as her friend crawled off the twins.
"Relax that surprise attack sent us all in different directions. We got flung here and saw you in trouble, so we decided to help you. Aquarius is in the river up ahead fighting kelpies with Taurus and Cancer's help." Taking a look at the sky he pointed at the shadows of Crux and Lyra appeared above to help out Pyxis.
"What about the others? Who's protecting Lucy?" the fluffed out rabbit hissed. She opened her mouth ready to use them of Cheng when Mini replied. Leo and Capricorn, were ironically, facing a chimera, leaving Virgo and Aries to watch over Lucy. Horologium still had Lucy inside him while Plue protected him. They were dealing with a manticore.
"We've got to get back there and help them right now! The Parathion is less than half a mile away. If these creatures haven't destroyed the entrance, we might still have a chance!" the little rabbit said. The others nodded heading back to help their friends.
In the river a short distance away Aquarius was letting her temper get to her once more as she created a whirlpool sucking in both friend and enemy in the swirling water. "Get off me you mangy water horse, I'm going to destroy you!" she screamed letting loose her urn again. The water pushed the water horses back a few feet, but they pushed themselves through the waves with their hoofs ducking underwater. They went after her tail trying to bite it off.
Aquarius dove underwater smacking the ugly beasts with her urn, but there were just too many. Her mouth open in an underwater scream as one of the beast managed to dig its teeth deep into her side. A gold liquid started seep out of her body as she felt her magic drain away. Normally she would just return home, but she had a promise and was determined to keep. Thrashing around she managed to get the beast off her. As the kelpies surrounded her she got ready for the final battle.
"Mooooooove over you ponies!" Taurus yelled as he came up from underneath swinging his weapon around. He drove the bladed edge into his the side of one kelpie causing it to bleed. He used his horns to gut the next one and with strong kick from his legs managed to knock out two other kelpies. As more started to appear something else dove in from the land.
Cancer was using is little crab legs to power him through the water. Flashing his scissors he started to cut off the manes of the kelpie leaving them helpless to catch more victims. It was the magic in their mane that allowed them to shape shift and glamor their telltale wet manes that warned their prey. Smiling he gave his trademark word as she swam to join his friends. "Kelpies are relentless, they're not going to stop until we get rid of them all."
"Then let's give them a taste of the Celestial Spirit magic. Join hands with me, let's nail them with our own unison raid!" Aquarius barked at them. They did was she commanded joining hands as their items started to glow, the axe merged with the urn as scissors attached to the blade. There was burst as attack missile shot through the water aiming for the remaining kelpies. The herd saw it coming and tried to get out of the way, but it was too late. They took the hit full force falling down to bottom of the river. Only then did the three of them surfaced.
"MOOOOOOOOO! We did it, those mangy horses won't be coming back after us!"
"Have to admit, grooming kind of fun, but I wish the water didn't wrinkle my outfit so much," Cancer muttered as they all got to the shore. They felt three shadows descending upon. They all turned around ready for another fight, only to let out a sigh of relief. Floating down to them were Pyxis, Lyra, and Crux. All three of them had battle scar; a few missing feathers, a partly destroyed harp, and Crux had a dent in his head. Taking one look at the trio and Aquarius asked what had happen to them.
"It was nothing really, I just taught that harpy a music lesson. Oh a Crux might have head butted her, but we're fine really," Lyra sang. Pyxis squawked an informant landing on top of Crux. Instead of being annoyed that he was perch the elderly spirit spoke. "Scorpios group has successfully managed to defeat the Death worm. Yue's group is safe, but Leo and Capricorn are still under attack and I fear the same with Lucy's group."
Before he was finished the Zodiacs took off in the direction of where they last left Lucy. They prayed they get there in time. At the moment Loki and Capricorn were doing a frantic dance dodging in the different directions as the chimera spat fire from both heads. The snake tail snapped smacking Loki away before he could use his Regulus magic. Slamming into the ground he rolled away springing back up charging back at the creature only for Capricorn to tackle him in mid-air. "We need to be careful! The only way to defeat a chimera is to make it eat hot lead."
"Great," Loki whined, "You happen to have any lead on you?" he asked sarcastically. Seeing his partner glaring at him holding a lead rod he had tucked under his outfit, he got sheepish. "Why do you even have a, you know what, I don't care just use it!" I don't know long Aries and Virgo can hold off the manticore. Horologium and Plue won't be able to keep them from getting Lucy."
"You need more faith in your friends," Capricorn retorted pulling him off the ground. The two partners nodded as they went after their beast once more. They shouldn't have been worried about the others. The female spirits were holding their own in the fight against the manticore. Aries was using her wool bombs to cover the stingers so they couldn't attack with them. Virgo would dig pits under them having the creatures fall into them. Even Plue was in the fight punching the beast in the eyes as Horologium used his thin arms to defend against the pincers. By working together they got rid of the problem. As soon as the creatures were all defeated they not only found themselves reunited, they were at the Parthian and confused how they got there.
It was a beautiful structure that appeared to be made out of pink coral with Corinthians columns. Statues of the twelve animals with tablets naming their influence, powers, and knowledge based on each one. At the far end sitting on glittering throne was a beautiful statue of the Celestial Queen. It was humbling to be here for most of the spirits.
Wondering what they would do next they were surprised as some started to appear sitting on the lap of the queen. As they watched a middle age woman with a slightly dark skin tone wearing a red and white outfit with a star pendent on her chest appeared. In her hand was a platinum key. "Well this is a sight to behold. Silver, Gold, and Platinum spirits working together to help their friend. The dedication it takes to use all your own magic to stay here, even pushing past your limits, show me that your bonds with Ms. Heartfillia are strong and true. Perhaps she is the true Star Maiden."
"Thank you for the kind words Ms.?" Loki asked, when she interrupted saying her name was Star Maiden Zornista, protector of this sacred place. "Yes, we need your help. If Lucy can't get that key, she'll die." Horoligerm opened his door as Loki scooped up his friend holding her bridal style in front of the Maiden. "Please give us the Horse Key."
Zornista looked at him with a grim look. "Because your actions I've decided to forgo any other traps, but Lucy must answer the final test. She can stay in your arms, but needs to speak for herself."
Loki nodded as he tried to get Lucy up. Her consciousness had nearly returned, but was still refusing to come completely to the surface. It was Lyra's song and Yue wiggling her tail across the girl's nose that she finally woke up so to speak.
Lucy's eyesight was blurry and she hurt all over. Her insides were in the final state of dying and she felt so cold. Pressing against the person who held her she felt a familiar warmth. "Loki? What's going on? How are you here?" she whispered.
"Lucy we don't have time to explain, you need to answer the final test and get Jai's key to save your life." She looked at him puzzled, her fractured mind having difficulty focusing, but she did recall her mother telling her about Jai. Half a nod he gently guided her head as the Star Maiden appeared in front of her.
"Poor child, you have suffered greatly on this quest. I hope you have the strength to pass this test of morals. As your mother told you Jai's healing powers are great, but she can't cure curses. Well technically she could break a curse, but someone would have to sacrifice their magic, to save them person. However the cost of losing one's magic leads to great sorrow and pain for the giver." Zornista told her. Looking at the impatient Celestial Spirits she asked if she did have Jai's key when her mother was dying, would she sacrifice her own magic to save her mother's life.
Lucy, still out of it, thought about the question. If sacrificing her magic would have helped her mother then she would have done in a heartbeat. She wanted to say that then stopped. Even as her own life was draining she knew that her mother would never forgive, herself or Lucy, should take that path. The sorrow of losing part of herself and the pain of never getting over the emptiness inside would break her eventually, driving her mad to reclaim what she had lost. Her mother had taught her many things, including to accept the things she couldn't change.
"No, I wouldn't. Even if it cost was my mother living again, the consequences would be too great. Everyone's time comes and when it does, we need to let go," she whispered before her head fell back going limp. Loki and the others all called out for, pleading for her to stay. As they surrounded her the Key appeared hovering just over her. Turning their heads they saw Zornista disappearing, "She answered correctly. Use your powers to summon Jai telling her appear in human form. That's the only way to save her."
Capricorn snatched the Key pouring his magic into it. "Open the Gate of the Equestrian: Horse in human form!" A beautiful girl with long blond hair in a braid, with big green eyes and beautiful purple dress with sparkling flower designs on the hem appeared. Seeing the trouble she sprinted over to the patient.
"No time for a contract, undo my braid and wrap her up in my hair except her face. Yes that's right," Jai said hurriedly as the task was done. Without looking up she asked her fellow spirits to lend her a tiny fraction of power, which they did increasing her power. Hoping she wasn't too late she started to sing.
"Flower gleam and glow. Let your power shine. Make the clock reverse, bring back what was once mine. Heal what has been hurt, change the fates design. Save what has been lost, bring back what was once mine. What was once mine" They all watched as the glowing hair shone brightly. They watched and listened as her entire body was healed of injuries. When the hair was unraveled they could see a perfectly healthy being. They all cheered, which woke her up. When she realized what all her spirits did she cried in gratitude promising to never forget their bravery. As the all started to return, Jai promised that would be available any time for Lucy needed. With that she disappeared leaving the girl alone with her map smiling in joy at being alive.