AN: It's coming along.

Purification happened like this: Aquarius's star dress was amazing.

"I apologize for distracting you Princess. Please punish me."

Lucy ignored the celestial maid trailing after her as she made her way to the training ground where she was late to meeting Capricorn.

The two of them had spent most of the last two hours wandering around a series of alleyways about three blocks from the café as Lucy showed off her purification magic. She'd gotten really good if she said so herself. It was always hard to tell with her blank expression, but Lucy hoped Virgo was impressed.

If nothing else, she felt the maid spirit's offer to bring her clothes more suited to the work she was doing indicated some interest. Although she wasn't quite sure what that meant or if she should be worried…

When Lucy had felt Capricorn return to the celestial realm she had abruptly remembered that she was supposed to be training with him, and had dashed for the training ground where they had worked on purification magic those first few days. There was still time and Lucy still had magic in her.

Virgo had followed.

"I haven't had a chance to see your star dresses yet Princess. I only have Loke's bragging to go on."

…Fair enough. More showing off then.

With a bit more of a flourish than was strictly necessary, Lucy donned the Aquarius star dress. She tried very hard not to be self-conscious as Virgo circled her, taking in every angle.

She then called forth Capricorn, ready to apologize for her lateness.

Loke came through on his own power.

"I'm so sorry for forgetting our training!" Lucy was contrite.

"It is fine. You were distracted. We are happy you are having fun and would never wish to prevent you from doing so." Capricorn reassured. "The important thing is, you are here now. I take it you are ready to begin?"

Lucy nodded vigorously.

And couldn't help but look at her spirits in confusion as they had the strangest conversation. Beginning with Virgo.

"It figures. And it fits. Automatic?"

"Some leeway. Not sure how much input Aquarius had. Might explain her attitude recently." Loke responded.

"Some cosmetic. Ability seems more natural. We haven't had time to experiment." Capricorn added.

Virgo nodded thoughtfully.

Lucy perked up at the mention of Aquarius but remained lost otherwise. She could tell from the way they all avoided her gaze that she wasn't going to get an explanation so she turned to the goat spirit and somewhat petulantly asked to get on with it.

"Of course Miss Lucy. This shouldn't be too complicated. Simply gather some water, as you did when we trained with this power before, and then try to cast the purification simultaneously. Our goal is to meld the two together, and the nature of water means it should accept the purification fairly easily."

Lucy did as she was told, still amazed at how simple solutions were these days.

Air and earth went dry as local moisture was pulled into a sphere between her hands. She spent a moment admiring it, relishing in Aquarius's power in a way she hadn't been able to several weeks ago when the grief was still too fresh.

Her friends looked on, perhaps guessing the direction of her thoughts, but saying nothing as they waited.

Finally, Lucy shook herself free of the memory of the early days of star dress training and transferred the water ball to one hand as she focused on casting purification with the other. She immediately lost the water as her concentration split too far.

Wearing a mild blush at her failure she regathered the liquid from the ground and tried again. And failed again.

Either the water would fall, or the sparks would fail to appear. It took far longer than Lucy cared for before she managed to hold both spells at once, and it only happened at all after Capricorn had made her sit and meditate for half an hour.

"I should have had you begin with this. There are so many emotions tied to this star dress, I should have known you would need to clear some of them before attempting something so heavy in concentration." Capricorn had tried to assuage her annoyance as she finally caved in and did as he suggested.

She was still a bit frustrated when she rose to try again, but from that point on her efforts were more successful.

When she managed it at long last she proudly held up the ball of water in one hand and a handful of glitter in the other. With glee and a sense of the dramatic Lucy held both magics above her head, as if showing them off to a far larger audience, before ceremoniously smushing them together. The magic melded at once, the water filling with glitter that hung suspended in the liquid as Lucy moved it in a stream around herself like a giant watery serpent. After snaking the glittering water around herself one last time Lucy decided she was ready to try it out on some curse zone.

Loke had already picked a spot.

It did not take long to understand the benefits of water.

Lucy swirled it over the tainted ground and was swiftly rewarded with clean earth. And she still had a good amount of the spell suspended in water, ready to use again. Yes. This would be so much more efficient once she got the hang of controlling water and casting purification at the same time.

She smiled giddily at her spirits, emotional from success. This week had been the best in a long time. She learned a new spell and was able to use it to genuinely improve life for herself and others. She was gradually mastering star dresses. She was truly happy, even while wearing a magical reminder of a loss that had nearly broken her.

Even without the guild she was surrounded by love and support, and nothing could stop her now!

Lucy came home to an eviction notice.

"I forgot about rent!" She shrieked in horror.

When had it been due?! How far behind was she!? What was the current date even!? She hadn't been paying attention! Had her late hours and odd muttering over maps and grids pissed off her Landlady?! Or maybe the strange lights?! Or-!

As Lucy continued to have her meltdown, Loke, who had decided to walk her home like the gentleman he was (and make sure she didn't get sidetracked from a good night's sleep by trying out her new trick until she passed out from exhaustion), had his own reaction to this development.

Are you fucking kidding?

At first he was as shocked as his master, but the feeling quickly turned to anger as he processed the situation.

Did this Landlady not notice what Lucy did all day? How hard she worked or how much she'd done already? Why she might lose track of time? Did she have no sense of mercy? That she wouldn't even take the time to post a warning on the door before moving to eviction, even if she couldn't quite catch Lucy in person…

Loke suddenly winced. Oh, right.

With how well Princess had been recovering, he sometimes forgot the curse was still affecting everyone else. Mercy, or the good sense to hang on to a reliable tenant, might very well be beyond the old woman at the moment.

Either way, Loke was ready for Princess to be done with this place and this landlady.

"Princess, I know you love this apartment-," as did everyone else who'd ever spent time in it "but I think we should just move on this time, rather than try to reason with the landlady again. I have no idea if she knows what caused you to miss rent, and it's debatable if she would even care right now. I'm sure you can find another good place to stay, even if only temporarily, that will be less stressful." And have fewer memories attached he didn't say.

It hadn't escaped the lion's notice that Lucy's attempts to run from her pain often overlapped with avoiding going home for extended periods.

"And!" He brightened while shaking depressing thoughts away, "We can go somewhere we can train more conveniently! You can work on your other star dresses, learn to combine the Leo dress with purification -yes, I want to try that at some point-, and we won't have to worry about noise complaints. It'll be great!" Loke was really warming up to the idea of his master moving the more he considered it. In fact… now that he thought about it, property values would be rock bottom right now, due to recent events. This would be a great time for Princess to buy herself a home and never need to pay rent again. He was certain her presence (and excellent taste) was key to the comfort level of he- the apartment. Any space she claimed for herself would more than likely become just as comfortable and welcoming.

She definitely had the money for it after their previous jobs binge.

"Of course the best part is we can now officially move in togethmph?!" Lucy automatically covered his mouth at that, as she finally snapped out of her horrified shock and began processing what the spirit had been saying to her.

He had a point.

As sad as it made her to let go, it was time to say goodbye to this apartment. The last remnant of her life before Tartaros.

Well, not quite the last thing. She ran the hand with her guildmark gently over her keys.

Still reeling from the unpleasant surprise, but somewhat capable of functioning again, she summoned Taurus and Virgo to help her pack.

Lucy had an idea.

She was fairly certain it wasn't a good idea, but damnit! She needed a place to stay and no time to find someplace different. And it's not as if the owner would care anyway.

"Are you absolutely sure about this Princess? There are so many better options. This place is a wreck, AND a sty, AND it's not even in town-"

"YES Loke, I'm sure. And being outside of town is ideal for training, yeah? Especially once I have time to develop more star dresses. Isn't that one of the top reasons you gave me to move? The rest I can fix."

Lucy ignored Loke's grumbling and proceeded with moving her things into Natsu's house.

Lucy got on with life after that.

She smiled back at people and sometimes stopped to talk while on her purification rounds. She thought about writing. She started taking jobs again.

Lots of jobs.

All the jobs.

As promised Loke did his best, but there were still so many jobs. Thankfully few of them required her to leave Magnolia for more than a day.

Purification held priority.

And, gradually, the people of Magnolia were taking note of her activities.

There were the numerous pedestrians she had sprinkled with her magic as she passed by and couldn't resist the slow moving targets, slowly coming to notice they felt better after the encounter and wondering what had happened.

There were the laborers she herself had worked beside not long ago, unknowingly feeling the brunt of the curse as they marched into the most damaged parts of the town and worked long hours to fix them. They greeted her with confusion as she blazed through their worksites flinging glitter and bringing the first sense of happiness any of them had experienced in months. (Boss in particular got two whole handfuls of sparks thrown on him and was left watching in bemusement as gold and silver and rare, lovely white clung and glimmered across the expanse of his dusty clothing and weathered skin.)

There were children, still possessing energy despite the miasma, fixating on the bright starlights falling from her hands and mixed into long swathes of water floating behind her like scarves, reaching out to touch, and reacting with wonder as she let whole handfuls fall on them. They would follow her sometimes. Other times they would quickly run away, only to return with friends or family.

There were parents, initially annoyed at the detour but too tired to argue or too relieved at the smiles of their children to deny them when they wanted to introduce the celestial mage who had chosen to stay and fight with hands full of warm light and a smile. They looked on in wonder as she sent a cascade of star filled water down the streets or waves slicing along the canal, washing away magical filth until the very air was clean of a stench they hadn't even noticed until it was gone.

Many townspeople were grateful, for whatever it was she was doing that made their pain fade and lessen at long last. Others sneered and said it was the least she could do after the failure of mages to save so many. Loke made sure these people never went near his Princess with the enthusiastic help of the grateful. Lucy barely paid attention to either group in favor of pushing forward with her self-appointed mission.

Sometimes the townspeople would give her small gifts and snacks as she went about her business, whether it was purification, a job that couldn't wait anymore, or simply buying groceries. These always made her happy and became further fuel for her spell. (Happiness might not be the only positive emotion, but it was a very powerful and effective one for purification magic).

Most still didn't understand the exact nature of what she was doing, but they would still frequently stop in their tracks and watch the celestial mage work with ever larger amounts of floating, glittering water as she washed all of Magnolia clean. They never questioned the all too appropriate sparkly star and maid themed outfit she always started out in before magically switching to a bathing suit, nor did they think to wonder about the handsome playboy and pink haired maid that tended to watch her with pleased expressions during these transformation sequences. (There are some things one stops questioning after living in the same town as Erza for years). Whatever she was doing, they trusted it was helping. And frankly, they couldn't help but appreciate the show.

Lucy took in the gratitude like a breath of fresh air.

Nine weeks since the attack. Four since purification had begun. Capricorn had been right on the money about the efficiency of using Aquarius's star dress for the bulk of the labor. And the outfit Virgo gave her for when she worked on people (who she politely didn't soak unless they asked) actually boosted the spell a bit.

The town was finally starting to feel like before (with the exception of…you know). The curse zone was weakening by the day. Lucy had cleaned and purified and repaired everything she could, and she was sure it was paying off.

Perhaps most notably, the destruction had been fully repaired at last. The sole exception was the ruin of the guildhall, which for unknown legal and magical reasons could not be touched by town officials. It was still an eyesore, but a manageable one most could ignore as they got on with life.

The day came when Lucy surveyed her maps and figures and nodded decisively. Just one last thing to do.

That evening Lucy donned her special 'purification uniform' from Virgo. It was a dress in a style similar to Virgo's own maid uniform, but with far more ruffles and decoration. Colored a deep twilight blue with gold and silver sequins and matching shoes and stockings, it was what Virgo (with complete agreement from Loke) called a perfect outfit for her occupation. Lucy thought it was a bit over the top, but celestial clothes were always so pretty and comfy she couldn't bring herself to argue.

Now she wore it easily, appreciating looking fine for her grand finale.

It was time to purify the guildhall.

She arrived at the ruin of her former home and place of employment as the evening set in. The final rays of the sun lit up her sequins, making her stand out to curious passersby. As the last bit of sun disappeared behind the buildings Lucy took out three keys. Three new forms were soon standing nearby, with a fourth one stepping up beside her to look upon what remained of Fairy Tail.

There was a moment of silence as both remembered all the guild had once done for them.

"Guess I should get going then." Lucy stepped forward.

Aquarius's star dress snapped into place around her when she called for it, like second nature these days. She reached out with magic to gather water from suddenly parched air and stagnant puddles formed in untouched wreckage. Another twist of will and the water began to fill with familiar sparks of gold and silver and newer, rarer white.

She floated the water around herself, filling it with yet more light and putting on a show for the audience gathering in the deepening twilight, Loke, Capricorn, Virgo, and Taurus among them. She swept it out and through the shattered guildhall, jumping down into the crater as she continued the final leg of her rounds.

It was like entering another world.

Darkness pressed like a smothering blanket, the remaining brightness of the sky doing nothing. The sparks of her spell were her only light in this place. Calls of encouragement from her friends and spectators became weirdly muffled, as if coming from far away. She felt suddenly alone. And the smell. She couldn't quite describe the smell, not for all the vocabulary in Levy's book collection.

Shaking slightly the celestial mage began to pick her way around piles of rubble, purifying water both clearing and lighting the way.

Around and around the water flowed, sparks of purification magic snuffing out near instantly from the intensity of the curse. She replaced them just as quickly and forced more power into it. More force of will as she recalled her hope that this was the final gasp of the curse plaguing her home.

Lucy could feel the evil in the air, the soul crushing darkness that almost destroyed her in the wake of her world falling apart. It fought and resisted like the weaker areas never did, even when she was tired. The curse in the guildhall bordered on being a living thing, rubbing filthy sandpaper tongues against her mind and crooning it's gentle song of despair. What are you, what can you do? Try to escape, you can't, can you? Don't stop moving now, not even to rest. And you'll see that it's actually for the best. Focus on me, don't look away. Stay right here, under my sway. Fight like a fairy, until nothing is left. Of you, or them, or- or… drat, she'd written herself into a corner.

The best way to combat a curse outside of destroying it was through redirection. Lucy didn't usually go in for poetry (bad poetry, chimed a voice in her head that sounded suspiciously like Lyra), but it took up less mental energy than sorting potential plot points for her novel. Words had always been allies to Lucy. A way to process and quantify her feelings and experiences. To put into words the poison dripping into her heart was to bind it and name it and keep it from seeping into the cracks of her mind to fester unnoticed. I'm watching you too, you stupid curse. Now, if only she could find a rhyme for left that fit… Theft? Cleft?

Lucy was distracted from her musings as her audience broke into sudden applause. She had moved back into full view after several moments lost behind rubble. No one clapped louder than Taurus, who was seeing her at work for the first time.

"GO MOOOOOCY! You can DOOOOO it!"

Lucy wondered if all of her spirit friends would end up wanting to spectate. She would welcome it. It might've been embarrassing as hell to have Taurus creating such a scene, but the cheering strengthened her resolve, reminding her she wasn't alone.

She listened to the cheers and encouragement of the townspeople as she summoned yet more water and continued soaking the area. Up and down and all around she went repeatedly. This was where the curse was worst. This was the epicenter. This had been Tartaros's true target, and with this final push Lucy considered their defeat complete despite the reality of the ruin she stood in.

She remembered all the good times she had in this building (and never again), all the growth she experienced (ha! What growth is that, weakling!), all the happiness she felt (….not anymore), all the lessons learned from friends and spirits and fairy queens and word wizards, ice mages, old masters, talking cats with wings, dragons…(demons).

No.

The dark on the inside went silent, even as it continued to press and grate.

Lucy reached out, and found more water. Filled the water with light (when had it gone out?). Swept it out and around and into every nook and cranny liquid could seep into, carrying her love and determination with it to root out the magical filth that she had left to fester in this place for too long.

One more step. One more casting. One more push. One more. And one more. I'm not alone. I've never been alone.

I'm going to defeat you. For Fairy Tail!

The pressure lifted. The sound of shouted encouragement got louder. The smell was now identifiable as rotting wood mixed with stagnant water. For just an instant there was light, and a young blonde girl smiled at her before fading away like she had never been.

Lucy breathed deep, suddenly tired.

She was done.

Her audience was still cheering, spirits (aka Taurus) loudest of all. A note of worry had begun to slip into their voices and it occurred to Lucy that she hadn't moved in several minutes. Since glimpsing- no. Best not think about it now. Now it was time to celebrate, to express the euphoria beginning to bubble up through her tiredness.

She reached out and gathered, once again, any drop of water that might have escaped during her…battle? Every last bit of spare magic was then infused into the massive ball floating in front of her, lighting it up into a starry globe. With a touch she sent it skyward, and stood drinking in the confused noises of the crowd as they wondered what she was doing. Their awe at the beauty of her magic and appreciation of the show she had provided. And, eventually, their screams and laughter as the ball burst and sent glittering rain down on the scene.

Feeling very cheerful about her accomplishments, Lucy continued listening and did a little victory dance in the dark. She almost fell over and found herself in Loke's arms. He'd come down to meet her, the others having gone home with her finale. She was too high on success to care if he'd seen her act like a dork and trip on her own feet. She was done! She said as much to her lion.

"Congratulations Princess." He smiled at her indulgently. "Let's get you back."

Magnolia felt so much better. Life and energy had returned. More mages were moving back every day as friends and neighbors sent word of the vast improvement. Flowers bloomed across the town.

Lucy couldn't enjoy any of it.

Even after the night at the guildhall the curse hadn't fully gone away. It was, admittedly, almost gone. She doubted anyone besides herself, hypersensitive to curse energy at this point, would even notice. It was an untraceable whiff of badness, not tied to any particular place or person she could find and dump purification sparkles on. There was hope that now the worst was taken care of, any little bit that lingered would be worn away by the hustle and bustle of people living their lives, but it still gnawed at her like an itch she couldn't reach. Could anything originating from Tartaros be trusted to act as it was supposed to?

None of her friends had anything useful to add, floating suggestions ranging from "wait it out" to "go on a series of dates to likely locations". So, after smacking Loke, she went to find Boss.

"I don't know what to do Boss. I've circled this town three more times since I finished at the guildhall and I can't find a source. It's like a little bit sank into the foundations, too deep for me to reach." She'd sought this man's input during the creation of her priority maps and heeded his warnings about specific people who needed attention. Aside from her spirits, Boss was the only one who had been able to help her in her efforts, and she looked to him now in her disappointment that it wasn't over after all.

He seemed to chew on that for a moment before crossing his arms and taking what she thought of as the 'older man about to impart wisdom on the young'uns' pose. "You might be onto something with it getting to the foundations. There are plenty of ways it could'a made it's way down." He caught sight of her crestfallen look. "Ah, don't worry about it. You can use the same ways to get down there and finish the job. See, remember the mage kid from my story? Well, he went on to be a great mage and kind of a fixture 'round here. Pretty sure you know who."

Nodding in agreement, she thought it was hard not to recognize Gildarts in any story about a man who absently walked through walls. And then she suddenly understood the abrupt change in subject.

"Oh! That- that thing the buildings do, where they all move! Is that what-?"

"I expect so. Way that curse shit got everywhere else, be stupid to think it wouldn't find it's way into that too. I'm sure the rest of the town'll cooperate with opening it up just to check, but you might wanna give me and your prettyboy friend a few days to warn people. Gildarts is…he's a good guy, but for most around here we're just as happy not seeing him in person."

"Ahhh..." Lucy didn't quite know how to respond to that, but she did remember the sense of general panic from the first time she ever met the Crash Wizard so she couldn't really argue. "Well, okay. I think we're expecting rain in three days? Let's aim to have everyone prepared by then if that's enough time."

And Boss smiled, remembering dancing light and water.

Magnolia was preparing to use the Gildarts Emergency System for something besides mitigating Gildarts's presence, and the Mayor of Magnolia wasn't happy about it.

He'd largely been ok with Fairy Tail and their chaos all these years. They cleaned up after themselves (mostly), brought pride to his beautiful town with their status as a top guild, had some of the loveliest ladies in the region, and Makarov was a good sort. Further, they were An Institution that had shaped Magnolia for generations.

He could respect that.

He was rather less able to respect one little girl armed with glitter who thought she was important enough to ask his already suffering town to cease all activity and initiate the system meant for Gildarts visits. But in the end it wasn't his decision to make and he was ultimately forced to stand by and listen to his secretary gush something about curses and the girl's glitter getting rid of them. Hmmm…

Word spread. Not everyone knew or understood what Lucy had been doing recently (see: the Mayor), Magnolia was a large and populous town, even after hemorrhaging residents for the better part of a month. But enough do get it to spread excitement at the thought of another light show. That last display at the ex-guildhall had been something else, everyone agreed.

Just like last time, Loke, Capricorn, and Virgo came to watch. This time, so did Scorpio.

"It's not everyday we get to see you shine like this Princess. Even if it seems like a finishing touch to you, the completion of a job like this, seeing you be recognized the way you deserve, is something we don't want to miss. And most of us haven't gotten the chance to watch you do this" Scorpio looked a bit reproachfully at the others as he said it and Lucy couldn't help a pleased blush at the scorpion's words.

"Besides, Aquarius really wants a report. Says you better be using her power with some competence and wants me to make sure of it. Don't worry, I'll give you a good review." With that Scorpio wandered off to get in line at one of the food carts currently doing brisk business with the gathering crowd.

The other three spirits approached, looking mildly sheepish. "Princess. It was I who informed Aquarius of how critical her star dress has been. For my indiscretion you may-" Before Virgo could ruin the moment with her sass Capricorn broke in with some last minute advice.

"This will not be easy even with the curse energy so light. You have much ground to cover and limited time to cover it."

That had worried Lucy too. Thankfully she had an answer.

"Should I summon Gemini?"

"That might be for the best."

More than a month ago, when she had first started out, she hadn't been able to handle the strain of Gemini on top of everything else. The purification spell was draining after consecutive hours of use, the curse zone left her less powerful than she should have been (though it was hard to quantify by how much), she needed Capricorn out for help, and Virgo had become a fixture once Lucy decided to get her life outside of work back together (Loke didn't count, he summoned himself more often than not). By the time she had the strength and skill to have Gemini helping she was making enough headway to decide she was better off saving that extra bit of magic for herself.

Here and now, with so much ground to cover and Scorpio's reminder that all her spirits wanted to see her work, would be the perfect time to bring them out.

"Open the Gate of the Twins: Gemini!"

"Lucy!" "Lucy!"

"Hey! I'm so sorry I haven't summoned you recently. Will you help me finish this purification?"

Their response was to take her form.

"All right, let's GO!" they shouted in tandem.

The sky missed it's cue and stubbornly waited another 15 minutes to drop rain.

When the rain began to fall, the Aquarian Lucy's took it as their staring signal. They gathered water in one hand as the other filled with lights. Gold and silver and white swirled in suspended liquid, large and bright and edging into rainbow. Lucy had come to this thing well rested and filled with determination.

And they were off, tearing along the cleared path through the heart of Magnolia, sending purifying water in every direction.

Gemini showed Lucy a new trick with water. Soon they were both speeding along on waves of their own making, trailing purification magic behind them. They raced. They played. They competed to see who could make the biggest wave or send it farthest (Gemini won that one). They formed balls of water and threw them back and forth, adding more magic until they were more sparkle than water. They competed to see how far they could fling them. They soaked the cheering crowds and laughed.

Even when taking the time to scrub down minute details and mechanisms, Lucy thinks she had more fun in the three hours it took to sweep through town to her satisfaction than she's had since the Grand Magic Games.

And then it was over and she was panting with physical exertion and magic exhaustion. She was done. For real this time.

A beaming Gemini gave her a last hug as themselves before poofing back to the Celestial Realm. Capricorn clapped a hand on her shoulder with a "Well done," before following. Scorpio gave her a rather harder clap on the back and a last reassurance that Aquarius would only hear good things about Lucy's use of her power before returning home.

Loke and Virgo remained, determined to return her to her current abode and get her into something dry before she passed out. A serious concern it turned out, as the adrenaline began to wear off and her knees buckled.

As Lucy rode on Loke's back to the edge of town they all heard the rumble of the buildings moving back into position.

"Princess, that was magnificent." Virgo said it in her usual blank voice but the small smile on her face conveyed the truth of the sentiment.

"It felt magnificent. What a way to end things. Mmmm. Maybe it won't be so bad to stay here a little longer, just until I know what I'm going to do now. After this I'll finally have time to think about the future and make a plan, and-" Lucy looks at Virgo shyly "I would like to work on a star dress with you soon, if you're willing to lend me your power."

"I would love to Princess. And if I fail you will punish me properly"

"Err…"

Loke interrupted with "We're here! Let me help you out of these wet clothes and then we can cuddle on the couch until you're warm, unless you think a nice warm shower is bett-" Lucy was too tired to smack Loke so Virgo intervened and saved her from embarrassment.

"Take your shower Princess. And then I'll have some old clothes of Natsu-san's ready for pajamas, and I will tuck you safely into Natsu-san's hammock." Or not. Lucy's face burned as she stumbled toward the shower.