Author's Note: Yuuki~desu! Hey! I bet you thought I was dead :D Jk. Okay, to tell you the truth, I had the most peculiar, selective reader's block. Ideas for my other story were just pouring down onto the paper, practically writing themselves, while this story got stuck. I'm relieved my Fairy Tail fanfic inspiration got back... Now enjoy and don't forget to... REVIEW!

Chapter 18: The Rampaging Heart

I turned around abruptly, not wanting to see the painting that brought back such a painful memory.

It was easier to look at the picture 25 years ago, probably because I accepted the betrayal and moved on. But after being part of Fairy Tail, I learned to hope in the hopeless and to never give up. I knew that that kind of thinking will only break me more, but I couldn't just push it aside.

After all those years of hardening my resolution to kill my twin, I was again hoping for his return and remorse.

I cringed and teleported out of the cave. I wasn't sure which world I entered and I didn't care.

I unleashed my boiling emotions, letting them wreak havoc on this piece of foreign land.

"Your Highness! There is someone destroying the gardens of Libra's house!" Loki almost made the door tear off its hinges when he burst into the Throne Room.

"Leo." said the man occupying the throne. His subordinate's panic have not affected his calm posture, but his mind was alert. "Is Aquarius having one of her fits again?"

"No, sir. It is not one of us." The leader of Zodiacs paused, hesitating with his next words. "It's... a dragon."

"What?!" Power of the King's voice made the walls in the throne room shake.

Immediately, he stood up, not waiting for the man before him to get up from his kneeling position and ran through the maze of corridors, heading for the Libra's house.

Sounds of explosions and cracking earth greeted him even before he got to the intersection between the Zodiac houses. The ancient leader took up his pace, not wanting to waste any time.

He stormed through the hallways of another one of his subordinate's home with urgency no one has ever seen him show before.

The sight that greeted him was one of his darkest nightmares.

A white dragon with violet markings was destroying everything in its vicinity, not caring what it was. The destruction it was leaving behind was one of the worst the old King has ever witnessed.

The ground was cracked in several places, somewhere chunks of it were missing. Grass, flowers and trees alike were on fire, smoke filling the gardens with its poison. Few trees were frozen, the ice not melting even when surrounded by flames. The fountain water was floating in the air, slicing through the ornate statues of various spirits. Then, a tornado appeared out of nowhere, changing the marble fences into sand piles.

And amidst all of it, stood the dragon, roaring, howling and clawing at nothing in particular.

My old friend, what has happened to make you suffer this much?

"Leo. Tell everyone to stand back. There is no way to stop the dragon now."

Loki, who just has arrived, nodded breathlessly and ran to the direction of a small pagoda, where his companions were waiting for him.

A particularly high-pitched and sorrowful roar caught their attention, making them prepare their attacks.

"Say," started Aries, "doesn't it sound like the dragon is crying?"

"Yeah," confirmed Aquarius, making them all look at her. She sounded almost sympathetic.

"I feel like one of the bad guys, trying to stop it, ebi."

Not even Libra, who was fussing about the state of her gardens could disagree with that.

Loki, out of breath, broke the solemn silence sitting upon them. "Guys. We are pulling back."

"Why?" asked Gemi and Mini simultaneously.

"King's orders. We are retreating. Now."

And so the spirits had no other choice than to join their King on the edge of the gardens, helplessly watching the progressing destruction accompanied by heartbreaking howls and roars from the snow-white dragon.

When the fierce creature started breathing cold mist that turned everything it touched into ice, Loki, without turning to the person, asked : "You know that dragon, do you not, Your Majesty?"

If the Spirit King were any other person with his standing, he would be offended by the question, but he and his spirits were family and they had the right to know.

"I do."

"Who is it?" Leo's unwavering gaze now focused on the old man's face, searching it for any kind of emotion. There was none.

"One of my closest friends. The one who enabled the creation of Spirit-human contracts."

Aquarius, who was standing close enough to hear the conversation, tried to remove any sign of astonishment from her face. She had not known that the contracts were created with help of someone else. She always thought the King's power did that.

"Why is he doing this?" Loki's expression was unreadable as he turned back to watch the apocalyptic scene before him.

"She," corrected the stoic man, with his arms crossed on his chest.

Nodding, the leader of Zodiac spirits repeated his question.

"What do you know about dragons, Leo?" countered the King.

The ex-Fairy Tail mage smirked, remembering his very unreliable source of information about this kind.

"Only what I heard from one of the dragon slayers. They are wise, prone to showing infinite kindness to others, so not talk..." He shook his head in exasperation. Saying 'they are cool' like Natsu described them, wasn't really a description.

"I see. Let me tell you what I know about them. Dragons are the most magnificent, wise and powerful creatures I've ever met. And they are by far, the weakest."

"Weakest, Milord?" Loki was sincerely confused. How could they be the most powerful and weakest at the same time?

"That's right. The weakest. While their magical powers and wisdom cannot be matched by anyone in this, or the human world we so often visit, in one aspect, they are weaker than humans."

The Lion Spirit held his breath in anticipation.

"Emotions, Leo. They make us stronger, and the dragons weaker. Any kind of withheld emotion will eat them away from the inside, pushing them to the edge and eventually, making them insane. That's the price they pay for their wisdom and immortality."

Silence stretched, uninterrupted for seconds.

"Has she gone insane?" whispered Aquarius almost inaudibly.

"No." shook his head the Spirit King. "She's venting out her emotions, trying to prevent the complete breakdown."

"Wi- will she make it?" stuttered Aries, who happened to listen in on their conversation once she noticed the serious atmosphere.

"She has to." The words alone spoke of uncertainty and fear, and adding it to the stern expression the ruler of the Celestial spirit world only made them more so.

It was only now that the Spirits realized just how much the King cared for the rampant dragoness.

I woke up, exhausted. Which struck as odd, since the last time I remembered, I was full of magic power. I blinked a few times, thanking the Great Will it was night.

What I saw startled me so much, my head shot up to see more.

I was lying at the centre of enormous crater. Its edges were either blackened and still smoking, or frozen.

I tried to remember what I had done, but my memories were a jumbled mess, flashes of unfamiliar scenes rising at the back of my mind.

I brought my left paw up to my face, to hide my eyes in shame and then I let my head fall down on the ground, hard.

What have I done this time?

A rustling sound brought my attention to my right. I sniffed at the air and familiar scents filled my nose. I grunted indignantly when I realized who it was.

"Please tell me I'm not in the Celestial Spirit World..."

"I'm not going to lie to you, Luciana." answered a deep and unreadable voice.

"Have I..." I gulped, trying to get my shaking voice under control. "Have I killed someone?"

"No."

Oh, thank you Great Will. I don't think I'd have the strength to go on living if I had killed one of the Celestial Spirits.

"But you effectively turned Libra's gardens into a miraculous display of different climate changes and natural catastrophes."

"How much pissed off is she?"

"She fainted."

I sighed, knowing I would pay for this later.

"Luciana."

Serious tone of his voice made me remove my paw and look up at him. He looked every bit the Spirit King he was – regal, proud and calculating.

"When you were on rampage, your... Your eyes were red." Caught up in assessing his looks, meaning of his words escaped me for a while.

"Even... Even the whites?"

He nodded and my breath hitched. It's close.

"I need to get back, Solaris. I gave my word."

"I still have the link with that chair I gave you. I can transport you there."

"I would appreciate that."

"Just change into your human form."

"Right." And so I did as I was told.

The Spirit King was indeed powerful, but transporting a dragon through dimensions is not as easy as it sounds. Not to mention transport through space is not his forte.

I curled into a ball as soon as the transformation was over. I tried to cover certain parts of my naked body, fighting the self-conscious blush that threatened to spill over my cheeks.

Realizing my problem, the King swiftly removed his cloak and draped it over me. Refusing to look at him, or the other spectators, I mumbled a soft 'thank you' and stood up, holding the cloth closely to my body.

He came closer to me, patted my shoulder reassuringly and raised his voice so that everyone could hear him. "Aries, I want you to go with her and make sure she's tucked safely into her bed."

"H-Hai." said the petite pink-haired girl as she smiled at me.

"Leo. You take Libra back to her house and stay with her until she wakes up. Try to calm her down as much as possible."

The Spirit in question studied me for a while and then he bowed to the King. "Milord."

"The others, please leave. I shall speak with you later."

I hung my head low, but even so I could feel their worried gazes on me as they started to leave. Whether they were worried about me, or scared of me, I had no idea.

Everything after that happened in matter of minutes.

The moustached spirit opened up a portal and we stepped through it. Luckily, I remembered to use the last remaining bits of my magic power to disable the barrier around my lair before we go to it.

The first one to land was Aries, who ended up elegantly perched on the ancient armchair, with me landing on top of her, not so elegantly.

I curtly apologized and made my way back into my bedroom, where I plopped myself on the bed, not caring I was naked and covered only by the Spirit King's cloak.

Softly, Aries pulled the blanket from under me and then up to my neck, smiling cutely.

By that time, the land of dreams was already taking over me, making my thoughts foggy.

If it were not for that, I might have noticed her surprised gasp as her eyes landed on the golden keys lying on my bedside table.