A.N.: If you think the spirits are too OC, please remember that their thoughts and emotions have been twisted by the villains. Anyway, thank you to everyone who took the time to read the first chapter. Thank you to those who faved, reviewed, and put this on alert. You guys rock! XD

Here's the next installment. Hope all the talking don't bore you to death. I swear, Sagittarius is seriously chatty when his mind's messed up. Chatty, and full of angst.

TWO: What Are You Aiming For?

It would have been one of the easiest requests they could have ever gotten: Take two young mages back to the guild to discuss a possible membership. Lucy, ever worried about paying her rent, decided that fetching two teenagers was an easy way to make some money. Seeing as Erza and Natsu were away on a mission of their own, Gray willingly offered to accompany her.

They didn't talk much on the train. It never occurred to them how awkward the atmosphere could get without the uproarious Dragon Slayer to distract them. A couple of attempts were made to start a conversation, but it always ended with both of them looking out the window to contemplate on how much of a failure those attempts were.

And when they finally arrived at their destination, located the house specified on the job post, and met the two hyperactive mages, it should have been a smooth sail back to their guild. Yes, it would have been one of the easiest requests they could have ever gotten, but then…

"Hello there. I say, aren't you even going to try to run away?" the archer asked, scratching at his horse head in confusion as he materialized before them.

"I won't get far in this condition. Besides, who'd run away from a weirdo like you?" Gray answered.

Sagittarius snorted, then grinned. "What's this?" he asked, extending his right hand into view. "Empty right? But what's this? Oh, it's an arrow! Hello there!" The motion was so fast it was a blur. An arrow was already halfway between them when Gray realized what happened. Barely able to react, the best he could do was block it with his bare arms.

"Dammit, you horse freak!" Gray blurted out as the projectile pierced deep into his flesh. "Is it just me or have you gotten faster?"

"Hello there! Here's more!" The stellar spirit proceeded to send a salvo of arrows at him. One by one, they impaled him, and his body was dyed crimson with his own blood. When he finally fell down onto his knees, Sagittarius ceased the onslaught. "Hello there, still alive? Seriously though, aren't you even going to dodge some of them?"

"If I dodge them, Lucy would be left defenseless. So, no, I'm not going to dodge them, bastard!"

"Why are you so desperately trying to protect her?"

"Because she's my friend! Friends look out for each other; that's one of the most basic unwritten rules of friendship. You understand that, don't you? You're her spirit, after all."

"That girl…" A hint of resentment adorned the spirit's voice as he spoke. "That girl was never my friend."

"Never?"

"Let me tell you something about Lucy and the other spirits." The archer's voice had completely lost its carefree tone. It had become serious, even sad. " Aquarius, Cancer, and Taurus have been with her the longest, even before she became a part of Fairy Tail. Having previously belonged to her mother, they share more history with Lucy than any of us. She met Virgo in Everlue's mansion, and received her key after the Daybreak incident. Since then, the Maiden has always looked after the Princess. She saved Leo from his exile and his untimely death. Now, that guy's eyes turn into hearts at the mere mention of her name. Aries, Gemini, and Scorpio chose Lucy to be their master after she freed them from Angel. If you ask them, they'd say it was Lucy's kindness and genuine love for all spirits that won them over. Finally, there's Capricorn. She may not have directly saved him from his possessed state, but it was her that gave Leo the motivation he needed to win. Besides, Capricorn was supposed to have been hers when her mother died."

"Where are you getting at?" Gray wondered.

"There's a reason why the others fell into Lucy's possession, and that reason is usually what makes their relationship with her deep."

"So?"

"Don't you see!" the spirit snapped. "I was merely a reward, a hand-me-down, given in exchange for saving a couple of worthless demons from the 'Curse of the Moon'. I have nothing that makes me special, nothing that attaches me to her in any way. I am just a weirdo wearing a horse costume who shoots metal toothpicks at my master's enemies. I can't call myself her friend; I'm just…"

"Pathetic," Gray said, cutting him off. "That's what you are, pathetic."

"Don't talk like you know how I feel!" He sent an arrow plunging into the mage's leg. He shot another but purposely allowed it to only graze the side of Gray's head.

"I still think you're pathetic," the mage remarked, flashing a wide grin. "Know why? 'Cause you're so jealous of the others sharing those kinds of moments with Lucy that you don't even realize one of the most important things about friendship."

"And what would that be?"

"You don't need any drama to call yourself someone's friend. So what if Lucy only got you as a prize? It doesn't make you less important than a spirit that's been passed down to her. Come on, you're just being an idiot. Lucy treats all her spirits equally. You should know that more than me, but here I am lecturing you. Geez, you really are an idiot!"

"Shut up! I…"

"What the hell? This is boring!" the voice of a woman suddenly said. Both men quickly shifted their attention to the blonde who was kneeling beside the unconscious stellar spirit mage.

"Wait a minute! Lucy?" Gray's eyes widened in shock when he saw another Lucy poking the unconscious one's cheek.

"Eh, this is boring," she repeated. "I thought Sagi would be able to finish you off already, but he's too busy being a drama queen." An aura of hatred and despair emanated from the Lucy standing before them. Her lips curled into a frown as her eyes fell upon the archer.

"What are you doing here?" Sagittarius asked. "I thought we agreed that it was one at a time, no getting in each other's way?"

"I got bored," the sombre blonde replied. "Now, let me play with him, Sagi."

"Beat it, you copycat! This is…" His words became muffled when the Lucy look-alike wrapped her whip around his mouth in one swift motion. She reached for one of the arrows embedded in Gray's body and roughly pulled it out, eliciting a pained bellow from the mage. Before Sagittarius could finish freeing his tangled jaw, she hurled the arrow with such force that it effortlessly pierced the archer's chest

"You can disappear now. Bye, bye, Sagi." the other Lucy said in an eerily monotonous voice. Sagittarius started to disintegrate, and the blonde imitation turned her attention to the blood-drenched ice mage. "Now you play with me, Gray…"

TO BE CONTINUED