Hey everyone! Oh, where do I even begin?

A big thank you to all the support I received from the last chapter! I'm so happy that the fanbase for this story is still here and that you all have actually stuck to this story and have left such positive feedback. I promise, each and every review that has been left has made me smile from ear to ear. And, it's brought a lot of love back to me from this story. I do enjoy writing it.

Sorry, I'm a week behind! Last week, I was so busy with work I didn't get time to update. But, here I am! I will try to update weekly as best as I can but 2 weeks is like a maximum amount of time with updating at the moment. Oh, and although, I don't celebrate it here in the UK that much...How was Thanksgiving for all you people? Did you have fun? Let me know!

Anyway, enough with my ramble, on with the show!


Blue breathed in a ragged amount of air, lungs burning and heart on fire. In all the years he could remember, he had never felt himself in such a helpless situation. This was the least scenario that he imagined to play out for this battle.

In a instant, Blue was forced out of his reeling mind by, the looming Shadow Blue that appeared in front of him seemingly out of thin air. A faceless entirety, one Blue was despising with all his might, raised it's bladed arm. Blue had no time to think, no time to register a single second in his mind, and could only let his instincts take the lead. He lunged to the side, collapsing onto the floor in the process, and watched as the bladed arm sliced through the area he had been. The sound whistled through his ear and caused his throat to clench in slight fear.

Numerous cuts, ranging from gaping to tiny, littered his body. Blood oozed out of the wounds continuously. The markings were strategically place in body parts that handled mobility. His legs and arms had taken the brunt force, particular his right arm where a nasty gash travelled from the top of his shoulder right down to his wrist. The consequence of moving too slow away from one of Shadows Blue's overwhelming attacks. His immaculate suit was ruined with tares and his tie had been lost somewhere in battle. This caused fury to flow deeply within Blue's veins for having such a beautiful garment devastated.

Blue glanced to his side, and was just in time to, see Slave get knocked down by multiple slices of water shot out from Juvia's hands. Once she had figured out the weakness of his magic, the blue-haired mage had gained superioty of the battle. Slave relied heavily on his magic and now that his sticky substance had been rendered ineffective, his defeat was imminent. At the moment, he was nothing but a ragged doll that Juvia was taking her time to play with.

Suddenly, Blue was drawn out of looking into their battle, once the shadow being had appeared into his vision once more. This time, Blue wasn't so lucky in his dodge. The bladed arm glided across the span of his stomach easily.

Fatal.

Blue let out a choked scream and stumbled back, hand's clasping his leaking wound. No, no, no. He should not have been distracted by Slave's battle. Why had he even looked at them in the first place? Coughs started sputtering out of his mouth and his eyes widened in despair. He had not felt such a agonising pain since his life as a slave, or rather a beating bag to be more precise.

Blue's eyes snapped behind the shadow version of himself. He glared, teeth gritted painfully tight, at the two boys behind the creature. Gray stood triumphally in front of the black-haired boy, hands at the ready, body firm and protective. Kuro looked to be half-dead, skin as white and chalk and his lips held a little tint of blue, but this did nothing to hinder the blazing fury behind those dark eyes.

Kuro, the shadow mage, was powerful. Gray, the ice mage, was impenetrable. Juvia, the water mage, was unwavering.

Blue knew he had no chance of winning this match.

However, he refused to give in a single inch.

A fight must not be given. A fight must be taken.

Wise word's from his monstrous master from once upon a time. A simple motto that Blue never failed to forget for a individual who he wished he could have erased from existence.

Blue let out a defiant roar, tone raw and a complete opposite to how the reserved man had spoken and acted before. The shadow being was standing emotionlessly in front of him and not too far away from it were Kuro and Gray.

The purpled haired man charged forward like a raging bull who only saw red in it's vision. One final push. One final attack. One final chance. The shadow version of himself raised one of it's bladed arms when it thought Blue was close enough to attack.

The arm came crashing down towards Blue however the man had anticipated it. He ducked low and managed to slide under the attack. Once he had passed the shadow being, Blue wasted not a second. He scrambled to his feet and rushed towards the two boys.

Feet pounded against the marble floor. Blue's heart raced heavily behind his caged ribs and the sound filtered through his ears leaving only echoes in it's place. For some reason, time started to slow and he was acutely aware of the cold air washing against his skin as he moved in a unnatural speed. His wounds screamed out in agony yet Blue firmly ignored the sensations.

So close. He was so close.

He was only a small span away from Kuro and Gray. Blue let out a brunt of laughter, voice high pitched and full of madness, as he raised his left arm. The last water that he managed to steal from Juvia flooded to the palm of his hand.

Gray stiffened his back and spread his feet apart a little further to get balance. Wisps of smoke started to appear around his arms as he got into his ice making position.

"I told you...I won't let you touch Kuro. I'm going to protect him!"

With that being said, Gray let out the name of his attack. Shards of crystal clear ice flew from his hands, speeding towards Blue to pierce his weakened body apart. Blue let out a large smile at the sight.

Fool.

He raised up his right arm so he could absorbed the energy. Blue couldn't believe his luck. With more energy to absorb, he would gain more power. Maybe, just maybe, this battle would play in the palm of his hand. Yes! There was a chance indeed. He would not lose here. Not to these people.

But before he could absorb the energy, searing pain ripped through his back. Blue's eyes widened in shock as the feeling took over all his emotions. His body spasmed and twitched as he faltered in his stride. His head snapped round trying to find the source of what had caused him such a affliction.

His shadow.

Realisation dawned on him. No...he had been the fool. He had been faced with a certainty of failure and loss that he had taken careless steps. He had left himself open to attacks all because his pride had been torn down by two boys and one girl. He should have kept a closer attention on his shadow self instead of wanting to attack Gray and Kuro. He had been so frustrated and revengeful that let his carefulness quality slipped away. Blue knew very well about what had caused him to lose however he knew knowing this would lead to nothing. The moment Kuro had used this power, brought his shadow to life, the battle was never his to win in the first place. Blue didn't have the pleasure to dwell on the reasons of his downfall for too long though.

Ice pierced his skin.

After, Blue only saw blackness. It was a strange and surreal event. Everything blurring out of vision and only the dark colour of nothingness replaced his field of vision. His thoughts went silent and body went still. At that moment, Blue simply thought of nothing.

It only lasted for a few seconds.

His vision began to clear and he was stating to make out the ceiling of the hallway. Blue's body felt like it was on fire and that he just fallen in the Antarctic ocean at the same time. The two feelings battelled against each other deep within his bruised body and he wondered if he was truly losing his mind. The only comforting factor was the solid ground beneath his back where he must have collapsed onto after the final blow from Gray.

"You can leave now." he heard a voice spoke, muffled and drowned out by a constant ringing screech in his ears.

"The Shadow Blue is gone now." another voice spoke back.

"Yeah, I took it back. It doesn't look like Blue can continue to fight any longer."

"Hey, don't try to get up. Take it easy. You look like your a walking corpse right now."

"Ha, ha, very funny Gray...Woah-Ah, nearly fell then. Thank you for the save..."

"Ahh!" a sudden voice, pitch high yelled "Gray-Sama has his arms around Kuro...No, how can my love rival be winning? Gray-Sama! Juvia is hurt a lot as well. Please hold her!"

"Hey, Juvia, don't jump on me!"

"Gray, your arms are getting bit tight around me. Seriously, don't-Not there!"

Another shrill scream, "Ah, love rival Kuro, How could you!? Get out of the arms of Juvia's Gray-Sama this instant!"

Blue let out a small, breathless laughter. This was so strange...They were still in the presence of their enemy. There was always a chance that he could get back into action and plan a surprise ambush on the three of them. Yet, despite this, the mages that had beaten him were acting so carefree and childish even in front of their enemy. Was this what it means to be light-hearted and holding no worries in ones heart? Was this what it meant to be...happy?

"Hey, what's so funny?" Blue heard Gray's voice ask, voice sounding annoyed.

"Nothing..." Blue managed to say back, voice strained.

Silence. Blue tried to move his head around to inspect his surroundings a little. He didn't achieve his goal at all. Sighing in defeat, Blue was left with the ceiling as his view. He wanted to see how Slave was doing but since he hadn't heard a peep from the aggravating man, he could only imagine him being in the same position and unconscious.

"Mr Yami..." Blue said abruptly.

"Huh?" came the shocked voice and Blue suspected that all three of them thought that he wouldn't actually say another word to them.

"I have a question for you..."

There was no answer immediately. Blue had no energy in his body to lean his head up so he could see the black-haired mage. He instead tried to imagine the look on his face. The slight draw of his eyebrows in confusion or the bite of his lips as he questioned Blue's actions.

"...What?" came the abrupt response.

"The girl you were speaking to me about before...May I ask for the name of the girl?"

More silence. Perhaps now was actually the time that Kuro would speak no further. It was only natural. They were enemies, after all. Kuro had no obligation to tell him anything.

"Nyx. Her name is Nyx Chikara."

"Ah I see," Blue spoke dully, and a lifeless chuckle escaped his lips soon after "It does not ring a single bell..."


One.

The feeling was indescribable. Emotions raced thick through her veins and her body felt lighter than air. To be missing a part of you for so long, to have been longing and praying to be whole one more, and finally having the wish granted was something she couldn't quite comprehend.

Lucy felt like she was humming bird, mind ablaze with single strands of thoughts that filtered in and out like waves crashing into it's sandy partner. This was not the moment she had imagined when she wanted to be reunited with her keys, however, she knew she wouldn't exchange this moment for even her wildest dreams. Everything felt like a haze like she was stuck in a washed up dream.

The coldness of the metal against her sensitive skin. The slight tinkling as her keys tapped against each other. The presence of Zolo and Keahi who were watching her every reaction with intent gazes. These were things that were keeping her grounded. These were factors that stopped her from breaking down in tears and letting her feelings take full control.

Lucy shook as she brought the key's up so she could press them against the temple of her head. She let out a choked gasp of air and her eyes slid closed with ease. Her comfort, her lifeline...her everything was finally in her grasp. Her eyes burned and she wondered if she really could keep herself from becoming a blubbering mess.

"Princess."

Lucy's eyes snapped open at once at the voice. She knew instantly that it belonged to neither Zolo or Keahi. Her mouth popped open at the sight that lay before her.

All of her celestial spirits, with faces shining brightly with smiles, surrounding her every side. They each glowed a light hue and sparkled like bright stars in a midnight sky. They didn't seem to be here in physical form, almost like they were a hologram, but they each radiated with warmth and the feelings of home.

They were here. Loke, Virgo, Aquarius, Gemini…all of them were here.

"You all..." Lucy trailed off, voice choking.

Keahi stared at all the celestial spirits in unfiltered awe. He knew that Loke said that once the key's were returned that they would go to Lucy at once but he didn't expect it to be this quick and in this way. Loke, who was in front and centre, looked around and once he saw Keahi he shot him a large, appreciative smile. Keahi returned it and then examined his surrounding for the only other celestial spirit that he had met.

His eyes clashed against Virgo's who stood not too far from Loke. Once she realised that they had caught each others attention, the corners of her lips moved up ever so slightly. Keahi let out another gigantic smile and nodded his head at her. She may be seem emotionless but in that moment he understood what she was saying to him.

A simple, silent thank you that Keahi accepted with all his might.

"My beloved princess," Loke started bringing all attention on him "I know there is a lot to say...We...I can't put it into words how much we've missed you. Lucy, we're so happy to be with you again. These last few months have been horrible and I'm so sorry we weren't here to protect you, my Lucy. I...I'm sorry!"

"I missed you all so much!" Lucy gasped out, no longer being able to control herself any longer. Tears slid down her face and she gripped her keys tighter in the palm of her hands in desperation "Don't say sorry! It was my fault. I wasn't strong enough. I wasn't strong enough to keep you safe and with me and I wasn't strong enough to protect what was most important to me. I ...I have so much to tell you all. I've met new people now and I want you to meet them too and I just...I want us all to be together from now on!"

Mummers sprung out around her from her celestial spirits. For some reason, they glowed even brighter now and each of them seemed to be in peace and content. Many of the spirits had tears leaking from their eyes, matching Lucy's actions.

"I know...My princess...I know," Loke spoke, voice strained and no one could miss the droplets falling off his cheeks "We don't have much time. I know you still have a big battle ahead. So...I'm going to make this once promise to you,"

Lucy took a deep breath and tried to focus on Loke from watered, stinging eyes.

"I promise we will never leave your side! From now on, no matter what, we will never, ever be apart. All of your celestial spirits will be with you forever. This is a promise between a celestial spirit and their master...no their friend. We won't ever leave you again, my princess."

"Loke..." Lucy said and she wanted to say so much more in return however a humongous crash cut her in the process.

All eyes snapped towards the sound and latched on to the gaping hole in the wall. At once, Lucy remembered exactly where she was. Ren and Natsu had gone through that hole with Lord. She had almost forgotten the tense situation she was in since she had her celestial spirits returned to her. They must be fighting at the Lord. With how powerful and merciless he had already showcased himself to be, she wondered if Ren and Natsu could actually be enough to take him down.

Lucy turned back to her celestial spirits but before she could even speak a word, Loke started first,

"We know you have to go my Lucy. And, we will have a proper reunion for later. We cannot wait to hear all the adventures and new friends you have made. But, for now you need to fight. You need to protect what's important to you. But, know, that we will be fighting alongside you! We're here to stay!"

"Of course..." Lucy said, with a shaking breath "We're doing this together!"

The celestial spirits burst out into cheers and laughter. All of them looked so pleased and like they wanted to stay a lot longer. But, alas, time was up. The grim truth was that celestial spirits couldn't stay in the mages world. They had all breeched a barrier for visiting Lucy as once and they were sure that there would be some consequences to face once they went back to their realm. However, all of them knew that they were fine with any punishment they would receive since they got to see Lucy again. It was worth it. To them, anything was worth seeing Lucy's smiling face again.

Lucy watched as her celestial spirits started to phase out of existence. The unnatural glows that each of them held started to fade out along with the projections of their physical forms. It pained her heart seeing them go as soon as they had arrived but each one of them were fading out with large smiles in display. If they could leave with splitting smiles, with tears hidden, then Lucy should only do the same.

The smile did not waver from Lucy's lips.

Finally, all the celestial spirits vanished at once leaving Keahi, Zolo and Lucy alone once again. Keahi grinned at the scene he had just witnessed and even Zolo had a slight smirk displayed on his face. Lucy brought up a hand and roughly wiped off any tears that stained her cheeks.

She could cry all she wanted to later on. However, right now, she need to fight. Fight for Fairy Tail. Fight for Scarlet Destiny. But, most importantly, fight for her friends.

"Let's go!"

Neither Keahi, Zolo or Lucy wasted any time as they rushed their way towards the hole. Since Zolo was still heavily wounded, he was leaning against Keahi as support. Despite this, they managed to close the distance and pass through the hole against the wall towards the other side of the room where Ren, Natsu and the infamous Lord were fighting.

Once Lucy had passed through the threshold was when shock riddled her mind.

There were so many factors, so many things to take into account all at once, about this new room that Lucy's brain couldn't quite comprehend it all once. She felt like she had been zapped directly with multiple charges of electricity and her mind had fizzled out. The first thing Lucy could register was smell rather strangely. It stank horribly in the room. It was like someone had left out hundreds of banana's in direct heat to rot or if she was in a alleyway behind a popular bar. The stench was horrendous.

The room was humongous, even bigger than the size of the banquet halls from parties she used to go to back in her past life. The walls and floor were made of oak-coloured marble and were so clean that Lucy could see her reflection back in it perfectly. There were no furniture or objects in the room which just made it seem even bigger.

There were gigantic pillars, spanning from the ceiling to the floor, layer across the room. Seeing these pillars, confirmed in Lucy's mind that they were indeed at the centre of the mansion. She could only determine that the pillars must be the backbone of the building and helping keep the whole thing standing.

There was one thing in the room, however, Lucy had no idea what to make of it.

It was right at the back, so directly opposite from the hole entrance that Lucy, Zolo and Keahi had just entered from. It was massive, reaching from the ceiling to the floor, just as the pillars in the room. It spanned the width of the back wall, almost taking it up entirely. It was a semi-circle object producing out the wall with strange symbols splattered across it. It was a multitude of colours ranging from blue, purple, red and green. Almost like a child that had been let run wild with paint, their was no distinctive pattern to make out on this object.

It reminded Lucy of a...gate.

That didn't make sense to her though. Was it gate? It definitely resembled one. But, what would a gate be doing here? What was it for? Why was it even created? Who by? What was it? Questions Lucy knew their were no answers too splashed through her mind.

Instead, Lucy decided to focus on the people in the room instead of the blaring object becoming all her attention.

Lucy's eyes widened at what she saw. Natsu was the first. He was slouched down, breathing heavily. His hair was a mess and his clothes in tatters. He didn't seem to be fairing well at all since Natsu was always a bundle of high-strung nerves and emotions. Ren was next in line for Lucy's attention. He was standing next to Natsu and was actually down of one leg. He had wounds across his body that caused worry to speed up in Lucy's heart.

Lucy thought he seemed even worse than the fire dragon slayer.

Lucy didn't even need to be told why both of the boys seemed to be in such dire states. The sight before her spoke thousands of words.

People.

In front of Natsu and Ren, were a hoard of people. They were of different attributes; tall, short, thin, fat, young and old. There were a wide variety of people and Lucy guessed there were about 20 of them at a glance. While they all seemed to be different, there was something in particular about them all. They each had a glazed look on their faces, eyes seeming to be abstract and not concentrating on anything. Their skins were far too pale then Lucy thought possible and for some...the skin was hanging off! It was unbelievable. Some of them had skin so rotting that it was discoloured black or yellow and some just had their skin peeled back to reveal stark, white bones.

"Why are there so many people here? Why do they look like that?" Lucy asked in a whisper.

But, then the minute her gaze landed on the Lord himself, the questions she had in her mind evaporated.

My god.

Lucy had never lay eyes upon someone...so disfigured. His face was shrivelled up so bad that Lucy couldn't really make out any facial features. Half of his right ear was missing and the other side was in tatters. It was almost like someone had threw acid and the man's face and it had the time to dissolve most of it. The Lord didn't have a full set of hair, only patches covering his scalp. His eyes were probably the only thing Lucy could make it which was a bright, beautiful golden colour. It was a huge contrast to how the rest of his face looked.

"Their all dead."

Lucy's head snapped away from the Lord's visage to see Zolo staring at the crowd with a small tick going off in his jaw.

"...What?" she asked in a small voice.

"The people," Zolo said swiftly, with a jerk of his head towards them "Their all dead. I can't read any of their minds."

"If there dead, then how...?" Lucy couldn't help but her sentence trailing off.

"He's controlling their minds. He's making them move and act."

"But," Keahi started, voice holding a hint of panic "You said they were dead. Can you control the mind of a dead person? I mean...Aren't they gone?"

"You can't," Zolo said bluntly "At least, I was sure you couldn't...However, if this Lord guy is managing to do it..." Their was a moment where even Zolo trailed off in his sentence. His lips straightened into a thin line and his eyes went a shade colder "It means his mind magic is stronger than mine."

Before anyone could reply back to Zolo, a maniac laugh broke through the area, bouncing off the walls. The sound made a shiver travel the length of Lucy's body and she really hated how it echoed in her ear.

"So...many people...seeing me..." Lord rasped, voice on the edge "How...I hate it. How I despite it. I want to kill you all at once. For even laying a single eye on me. But, that just won't do. I want to make you all suffer first though. Yes, suffer, break and die. For this reason, I will allow you to look at me. Look at me! Feast your eyes on me! For I will make sure, you will never leave this room with a beating heart."

Lucy gulped harshly, feeling her body trembled a little. Their was a underlying hint of madness from the way Lord spoke and she really disliked how piercing his golden eyes was. Just, who was this man?

"Hey, calm down," Zolo spoke gruffly "He's just trying to get to you. Don't let this bastard have the upper hand."

At once, a high pitched shriek rang through the area almost like a hyena yipping at a pray. Lord had tipped his head all the way back as he started to scream out with more unbridled laughter.

"Oh...how perfect this is...Please, keep trying to support each other. It will only make tearing you to pieces all so more enjoyable. Every one of you will be at my mercy, begging for what pitiful life you want to keep alive. Of course, I will not allow such thing. But, seeing you all beg would be such a pleasing site, one I will always keep in my memory." Lord said, voice sounding rabid.

"Shut up!" Natsu yelled out "I've had enough! I'm going to break through this stupid army of yours and beat you up!"

"Yeah, Pinky's actually got it right for once. You are going down." Ren announced straight after.

There was a moment of silence, a sicking moment of noiselessness that caused Goosebumps to break out on Lucy's skin. She didn't like this, not at all. Lord straightened his head and looked up so he could keep his gaze on Ren.

"You know, I was lying before," Lord suddenly said out of the blue.

"What?!" Natsu yipped, having no idea where this was coming from.

"Yes, I was lying," Lord repeated, paying no heed to Natsu's outburst "I won't be killing you all. I'm going to keep one alive. Just one. I need them alive."

Without another word, the Lord brought his gaze down and looked straight at Lucy. The blonde-haired girl felt her blood freeze in her veins and arteries. She, nor no one else in the room, needed verbal confirmation on what the Lord was hinting at. His actions spoke it all.

"What are you talking about?" Ren said slowly, anger drenching his tone "Why are you staring at Lucy like that? What do you mean?"

Abrupt laughter was his answer. The Lord simple let out a continuous amount of chuckles. It lasted for a few seconds, the only sounds to echo throughout the room, before they stopped suddenly as soon as they had started. His eyes went back to Ren and focused solely on him.

"I had a lot of time to think," Lord started to speak again, voice eerily calm from his previous bursts of insanity "Yes, I had a lot of time to think about why this has happened. My plan was flawless, you see. All I had to do was separate her from everyone. I had to separate her and then take her as one of our own. It was so simple. So...perfect...until you came along."

Lucy didn't know what to make of this. And, she wasn't the only one. Natsu looked beyond confused, Keahi eyes kept bouncing between each person in the room, Zolo was gritting his teeth so tightly that Lucy was amazed he hadn't broken them yet from the sheer pressure he was forcing on them. Ren was the one who looked the most shocked though as he was at the brunt of Lord's rant. He couldn't make heads or tails of what he was talking about.

"It's all your fault," Lord said stiffly, voice cold as steel as he stared Ren straight in his eyes "if you had not been there, if you had not met Lucy in those woods when she was kicked out of Fairy Tail then I would have gained what I have wanted three months back. This gate, you see behind me, would have already been opened! I would have had it all! But, no, you had to come in the way! It's all your fault. You had to take her away. And for that, I will make you pay the most."

Everyone was stunned into shock. What he was saying made no sense to anyone at all. Lucy open the gate? How? Why? And, Ren had came in the way? What did it even mean?

"Yes, your fault, your fault. All your fault." Lord repeated like a parrot "But, it will work out in the end. Lucy will open this gate. I will make sure of it. However, for now, I will make you bleed for coming in my way water dragon slayer. Destroy him."

At once, the multitude of dead people, raced towards Ren with snarls stretched across their chalked faces.


And done!

As you can tell, I'm finishing up the story. I believe I have another 5/6 chapters and I'm done. So, this chapter has Kuro's team fight against Blue finished up. What did you guys think of that? Also, Lucy's reunion and Lord's plan's are coming to fruition now.

I wanted to let you guys know that this was aimed to have a sequel that I planned so many years back! So, the way I planned to end this story was the set up for a sequel. I still want to end the story this way and was actually wondering...even though so many years have passed...would any of you guys read a sequel to this story? If so, let me know!

Um, next chapter will be really major as a majority of Lord's plot will be revealed! So, look out for it! All the answers and hints I have been given will finally be shown.

Until next time...See yh!