The Regal Key
Chapter 1
Another Black Serpent
"We have to prepare carefully," Lucy stated slowly. "If what you have told me is true, then there's no point in even starting unless I am ready to wield his power."
"But why do I have to do it too?" Levy whined, thinking of the books to be read while she was here. They were in Magnolia's park sitting under the great tree. Lucy was wanting to train to increase her magical power, just as she'd done on the beach.
"Because I'm lonely and this is all your fault!" Lucy sniped, pulling Levy down into a cross-legged sitting position. "I need to increase my magical power more."
"It wasn't my fault!" Levy huffed, blowing out her cheeks. "I just translated the book! And I've only done the first chapter! You know that I have to do the rest!"
"There isn't a hurry to start!"
"You slept with Natsu within twenty four hours of dating him and now you're holding back!?"
"That is different!" Lucy responded, blanching. "We love each other and that means that we were ready!"
"I've been with Gajeel for almost a month and we haven't done it yet!" Levy protested.
"Why?"
"I don't know!" The blunette wailed. "Can we just stop having this conversation already? Let's just do this damn exercise which is meaningless for me."
"You need to increase your magical power too," Lucy stated.
"I've tried, Lu-chan! But I'm not like you! My magic doesn't flow like a tide, it is small and crafted. I have to knead the magic into the shapes of letters." She sighed deeply. It was a flawed argument to a degree – Gray's magic was similar and he could exude enormous amounts of magical power and then shape it. Levy's power was simply tiny in comparison. She never credited herself with the prodigious skill that she possessed in magic shaping that allowed her to overcome her physical limitations.
Lucy began without her and as she focussed, closing her eyes, a golden aura began to form and flow around her. She needed to hold it for as long as possible, to exert herself to the extreme. She could hold two gates open at the same time, but she wanted to exceed that. Surely if she could hold three open at once she could summon the king!
The Celestial King. Was that a real goal, an achievable dream? As the first owner of all thirteen zodiac keys in centuries, she had been granted the chance to obtain the king's power. The power of a spirit that may even eclipse that of a dragon.
The book that Levy had been translating was divided into fifteen chapters. The first, the only that Levy had deciphered, described that the key was split into thirteen shards dotted around Fiore. Each of the remaining chapters described the method of locating and obtaining each shard, each belonging to a spirit. The final chapter described how to fuse the shards into the whole key and summon him.
It was thrilling! To have that level of power, to be level with the likes of Natsu or Gajeel…maybe even Erza! Her aura grew and shone with power as she became excited. Levy gawked, her own concentration spoilt. She couldn't make anything but the most hazy of auras. How on Earthland did Lucy consider herself weak?
Levy blinked as shapes began to emerge in the aura. What was that? Hazy forms of the celestial spirits. She saw a flash of Loke, the briefest annoyance of Aquarius and the serpent Ophiuchus coiling around her. Lucy collapsed, panting with exertion. Even without her keys, her power was reaching her spirits. She was really amazing, Levy thought fondly. I have to work hard and translate the book for her! I can't be the one to hold her back!
===][===
Gajeel sat back, panting with exhaustion. He leaned against his bed, studying the creation before him. It was without a doubt the most delicate thing he'd ever crafted with his iron. Generally speaking, his metal-smithing was most simple and brutal.
He held up the glasses case and examined it. It was incredibly slim and lightweight, tailor-made to be just a bit bigger than the glasses it held. In the previous battle with Alexander he'd sacrificed a ten thousand jewel set of glasses to carelessness. He was damn sure that Shrimp was going to keep the current pair safe.
He was eating from a pile of ten different metals, forging the most powerful compound that he knew how to make, resulting in a shiny silver metal. It was pretty in a utilitarian way, unadorned, but well crafted. Light and delicate enough for a certain Shrimp, resilient enough to take a few knocks, even from a Slayer. If he were a more thoughtful man, he might have appreciated how appropriate it was.
He frowned, slightly frustrated with his own actions. He wasn't used to going so far out of his way for other people. And to make matters worse, he was doing it of his own volition! It was his own idea, and hadn't been asked of him. Was this…'whipped'? He thought of the smile that she would give him in return for this present. It was all warm and fuzzy, full of sunshine. He grunted in annoyance. He was the Kurogane! Dragon Slayer and powerhouse! Unthinking brute!
But he really wanted that smile.
"Gah! Just don't go soft in public, Gajeel. Remember, one face for her, Kurogane Gajeel for the rest of the world. Jeez, if Salamander thinks you're going soft, you're done for!"
===][===
"You're going soft, Natsu!" Happy sang, flying in circles above the slayer's head. Natsu reached up to swat the blue exceed away. They were standing outside a florist's, trying to pick a bunch of flowers for Lucy. Well, Natsu was…Happy was just enjoying himself.
"This is just what boys do for their girls!" He retorted angrily. "Lucy would like a bunch of flowers, right?"
"I don't think that Lucy is the sort," Happy replied. Natsu frowned, thinking that maybe he was right. What would be a good gift for Lucy? Is there someone that he should ask? Maybe one of the girls. Erza? Hell no! Lisanna? Maybe that'd be awkward. Juvia. Ehh…the taste is different. Wendy? Too young. Evergreen? Too adult. Levy? No, she'd tell Gajeel!
"Gah! What is a good present for Lucy? She likes to read. Would a book be a good idea?"
"You couldn't buy a book," Happy replied, imagining the chaos of Natsu in a bookstore. "You'd need someone to pick one out for you."
"I can't ask Levy," Natsu mused, thinking on his earlier thoughts. "Fried?"
"Pffffft, can't you even figure this out by yourself?"
"Shoes then!"
"Not small enough to be a gift."
"But she really likes 'em! And those glasses cost Gajeel much more! Twice!"
"Try harder, Natsu!"
"Dinner! I'll buy her dinner at a restaurant!" Natsu snapped.
"She does like to eat," Happy conceded. "But maybe you shouldn't take her to a curry house. You like hot food, maybe not her."
"We've been teammates for two years; you think I don't know what food Lucy likes?" Natsu asked reproachfully, shrugging in a smug manner. Suddenly he became shifty, his eyes flickering as he thought. "I don't have a clue! Is being a boyfriend this hard?"
"Only if you're a moron!" Happy laughed, rolling around in the sky with mirth. Natsu shouted angrily and chased after him, if only for it allowed his thoughts to be simple and fun rather than all of this stressing.
===][===
Levy was in her apartment at night. The lights were on, but she was not. She lay slumped on her desk, the book beneath her. She'd been working for seven hours straight before sleep finally claimed her. She spent a lot of nights like this, waking up at some point to slope to bed.
Granules of sand began to pour through her window, forcing through minutes cracks and gaps in the woodwork. On the other side they began to reform and work together, becoming the shape of a man. Tall and slender, with odd, serpentine features.
Raven Tail's Kurohebi.
Creeping quietly into Levy's main room, he observed the small girl with disinterest. What a boring person. She was neither strong nor sexy, the only two attributes he cared about in a human being. Then again, 'fun to torture' was an attribute he also believed in.
As his hand reached to grab her, his eyes suddenly alighted on her translated scribbling and interest flared. If this was all true, Master Ivan would clearly find it valuable information. She could tell him herself. In a sudden movement, his hands went to clamp around her mouth to stifle any screaming.
Then the entire fucking wall caved in.
Levy was as startled as Kurohebi as she roused from her slumber, a hundred swords piercing through her room like leaves in a hurricane as Erza the Titania roared in. The entire house was magically warded, linking to an alarm in her room. No one harmed a hair on the head of Erza's cherished nakama.
Still, Kurohebi was unharmed, swords passing through his sand-like body. Without a moment's hesitation, he fled, turning into amorphous streamers of sand to escape Erza's physical blows. It was all over so quickly. One moment Levy had been asleep, the next she was goggling at the ruin of her room, bookshelves toppled and their contents shredded.
"My books!" She cried, confused and panicky.
"That snake," Erza hissed, resplendent in her Heavenly Armour. "What was he up to?"
===][===
In the darkness of Ivan's chambers, he listened dispassionately to Kurohebi's report through his shikigami magic. The little doll spoke with his vassal's voice, informing him on the failed capture, but also of the impending quest that lay before them. He terminated the link and brooded.
The Celestial King? That was something worth exploring, power unbridled. Since the games, his guild had come under extreme scrutiny from the Magical Council. Their only 'crime' was to cheat in a tournament. Not a banning offence, but they were so shady that he didn't expect – or care – for it to last. It only mattered what use he could get out of legal status before it was removed.
His guild had taken losses in the forms of Flare and Obra. Heaven knew what goal that black demon pursued, but apparently it was done with him. He needed to replace his strongest members, and he'd hit on two raids of criminals due for imprisonment.
The first had netted him four reasonably powerful mages. Lyria, a woman similar to Flare Corona. A beast summoner, Rakarth. A null mage and powerful combatant, Melk. And most rare of all, a dragon slayer. Erutan, the earth dragon seemed grateful for rescue, but less willing than the others. Ivan would have to manipulate him carefully to keep him on side.
The second had given him only non-mages. Fairly worthless except for one. Interesting, but irrelevant. Until now. He called Narpudding to invite him to his chambers. After a few minutes the man entered, striding brazenly over to Ivan's desk.
Alexander, the Edolas form of Igneel.
"Greetings, Alex-chan," Ivan said in his sickly tones. "Allow me to be brief. There are a lot of vengeances that I wish to enact in short order. Perhaps I could simply lump them into 'Fairy Tail', but I do prefer the personal touch. Earlier today, one of my men came into valuable information about the Celestial King. I believe that you are an expert on the celestial spirits."
"I am," Alexander replied with a curt nod. "And if this has anything to do with crushing Fairy Tail, then I'm in. I'll grant you all of the information that I can."
"Wonderful. On my list are my stupid father and son, but first, the traitor Gajeel. My man was supposed to capture his sweetheart, but failed. This affair with the king opens up many possibilities though. However, we will also need to defeat the Salamander."
"You'll have problems there," Alexander said with a sickly expression. "I hate to say it, but he is truly strong."
"Indeed." Ivan stood and strode over to a desk to unlock a plain obsidian box. From it, he withdrew a red orb.
"What the hell is that?"
"Are you familiar with my son?" Ivan asked.
"Um…Laxus Dreyar? Yes, I heard that he was a weakling until he…was…implanted…holy fuck!"
Ivan chuckled at the profanity. "Quite. It has taken me almost two decades to find a second dragon slaying lacryma. This one, quite appropriately, is a fire slayer lacryma. I have been waiting to find the right vessel for it. Someone with a powerful body, but weak magic, someone who hated Fairy Tail and would delight in their downfall."
"Are you saying…?" Alexander asked, trailing off with cautious pessimism.
"I am saying, how would you like the power to destroy Natsu Dragneel? The power of Igneel himself!"
So, I decided to attach this story to the Thirteenth Key. It also follows from my tale, 'Complicated Emotions', so you may wish to read that for reference's sake.
FYI, I got rid of Obra because he is clearly plot important (at least the little black thingy, anyway). But by adding Melk in, I still have a magic nullifier.