"Naughty lion," the possessed Alice taunted him, wiggling her finger at him, "Seems you won't be allowed to come out and play anymore."
"How many people have you already killed?" Leo demanded, "How many, huh? Hundreds? Thousands even?"
"They all deserved it," Alice shrugged, as if she didn't even care.
"I didn't even want to do this," Alice remarked, "But you leave me no choice."
"Wai-" he protested.
"Goodbye Leo," she whispered.
Then she snapped his key.
"Loke!" Alice yelled.
She slammed her hands against the pitch black walls of the room that caged her, a sob ripping through her throat as tears spilled down her cheeks.
No… Loke… No…
Her legs gave out on her, and she fell to the floor with a heavy thud, weeping as sobs shook through her frame.
Loke… Her spirit… Her best friend… Her love…
It had killed him.
A burst of darkness.
Death magic.
Erza falling.
Natsu screaming.
Gray yelling.
Bodies… So many bodies.
They littered the preciously jolly market place in Magnolia.
So still…
So pale…
There she stood, strong and twisted and dark.
Surrounded by the bodies of her family.
With a shriek, Alice blinked.
The images…
That was… her…
How could that be?
She looked around.
Oh yeah… She remembered where she was.
Zeref stood in front of her, his eyes imploring, wide as they seemed to see something that she could not.
"How…" he murmured under his breath, and he looked to her, his eyes now filled with terror and fear, "Time was changed."
"What does that mean?" Alice questioned, "Those… Those pictures, you saw them too?"
"What did you see?" Zeref demanded moving closer to her, his hands grabbing her shoulders roughly as he seemed to physically have to stop himself from shaking her.
"I don't think that's any of your business," Alice managed to choke out, and Zeref's hands fell from her shoulders in a blink.
"Oh no…" he mumbled, "If she… It if… No… I couldn't… I thought…"
"What is it?" Alice asked, "What was that? What do you mean, 'time was changed'?"
"Do you know any mages with superior magic?" he fired another question at her as he ignored hers, his eyes ravenous as he ran a hand through is messy black hair, his features looking aged and fearful, the only sign of the hundreds of years he had lived.
"Um… Dragon Slayers?" Alice responded, his desperate tone making her want to help him against his inner turmoil, but he shook his head, so she thought of others, "God Slayer? Meredy has… What's it called… Maguilty Sense? Jellal's got Heavenly body magic? Ultear has Arc of Time-"
"This Ultear… Does she know a spell called Last Ages?" Zeref continued his demands.
"The one that's supposed to bring back lost happiness?" Alice clarified, to which Zeref gave a sharp nod of his head, "Yeah, she told me about it. She knows it."
"It seems your friend has done the world a great service," Zeref commented in a low voice.
"Are you going to explain anything you've said?" Alice hissed in annoyance.
"Your friend Ultear has sacrificed herself to save the world," Zeref stated.
"F-From what?" Alice chocked out.
"From you," Zeref told her.
Alice let out a sound something between a sob and a cough; she could tell from the tone of his voice, the utter earnest notes that rung true through his features. Ultear… Ever since she had found her, those many years ago, the girl who had been wandering around with her pink haired little sister, the two who so desperately wanted to repay for their sins… It had been Alice who had suggested they start their own independent guild, to defeat Zeref. They had both agreed to the idea, and Alice gave them some money, although they were adamant about accepting her million jewels, she gave them no choice, and just asked they kept in contact with her. Alice had broken Jellal out of prison, in disguise of course, partly for her red headed nakama but also for Meredy and Ultear, because they needed him, almost as much as he needed them.
Ultear had sacrificed herself to save her.
"W-What did I do?" Alice whispered, barely holding back her sobs.
"I would explain it all to you," Zeref answered, his dark eyes meeting her blue ones, "But you already know."
At the back of Alice's mind, it was like a sense of déjà vu; she already knew what he was going to say, even before he said it. He was going to tell her he was possessed by a Spirit, a dark, evil spirit, and that he wanted her to take the spirit, in hopes that she could control it, so that he could die.
It was then that it hit her.
It time had turned back… Then…
She must have agreed.
She must have taken the Spirit.
She must have been too weak.
What had she done?
It must have been bad…
If it had been so bad for Ultear to sacrifice her own life to save her…
Images pummelled her mind, and she tried to block them out, but they were an oncoming storm and she could do nothing to resist them.
Erza.
Natsu.
Gray.
Laxus.
Master Makarov.
Fairy Tail.
Slaughtered.
Children.
Screaming.
Old woman.
Dying.
Screams, shouts, yells, they ripped through her body in terror that make her shiver down to her bones.
Oh God…
She had become a monster.
A ruthless, killing monster.
Suddenly, she couldn't breathe. She couldn't see. She blinked desperately, trying to make out the darkness around her, but her mind was foggy, the screaming ringing out in her ears as she heard people pleading, begging her not to kill them, their children, their parents, their families.
She needed Loke.
Then an image, something that seemed to rip her in two, filled her mind.
Loke, trying to stop her.
Loke, shouting at the Spirit to let her be free.
Loke, screaming as he was sent back.
Loke, yelling at her as he disappeared…
Her…
She had…
No…
She had snapped his key…
She was horrified.
Loke was…
He was everything to her.
He couldn't be gone.
Without even consciously thinking about it, she pictured her key ring, where the keys of her precious family and spirits were held. Her reequip magic worked on the mere visualisation because they appeared in a split second. Her hand bolted out o grab them, and she looked threw them, desperately searching for his key.
There it was.
She had never been so grateful to see the golden key than now.
She just had to think it, their bond was that strong.
In a shimmer of golden sparkles, there he was.
He looked terrible, not his usual sleek smart appearance. His hair was messy and sticking up in random places, as if he had run his hands through it repeatedly, and his suit was not crisp and clean, it was like he had fallen asleep in it, crumpled and creased. His face was a mixture, partly utterly confused, and the other part showing bewildered amazement.
"Loke…" Alice breathed out, throwing her arms around his neck as her body collided against hers. After a moment of hesitation, where he didn't know if he was even in reality, he moved his arms to wrap around her waist.
She turned her head, not hiding it on his shoulder but instead burying her face in the crook of his neck. She felt him shiver as their skin met, and she couldn't hold back her own shudder of delight at the feeling of his warm, soft skin meeting with her face as she nuzzled into his neck. His hands were loose around her, as if hesitant and unsure of what to do. But she heard him let out a shaky breath as her hand wander round to the nape of his neck. She shut her eyes, feeling so light in her pure bliss that she, for a moment, forgot exactly where she was and what had happened.
When she recalled that, it was like a slap in the face.
She recoiled instantly, moving a good metre away from him even as his arms, against his own will, reached to to hold her against him again, not wanting to be so far away from her.
"I'm so sorry," Alice whispered, her bottom lip trembling as she fought back tears, her voice coming out alike to a sob, "I'm so, so sorry Loke..."
Loke's features twisted in pain as he reached forward for her, but she looked away as tears started to trail down her cheeks.
"I don't understand," Loke whispered, his voice hoarse and choked, "You… It broke my key. How can I be here?"
"Time has changed," Zeref stated, and Loke spun around to see that they were not alone. He instinctively crouched down into a possessive stance, pushing Alice behind him.
"Stay away from her," he growled.
"Don't you see, Leo the Lion?" Zeref questioned, "Time has changed."
It seemed that this time Loke actually processed the dark wizard's words.
"Wait…" Loke mumbled, looking to Zeref in shock, "You mean… This is… The past? Before it controls her?"
"Yes," Zeref confirmed.
"How?" Loke demanded.
"Ultear," Alice sniffled, her voice trembling, "She… She sacrificed herself to turn back time."
"So we can change the future?" Loke demanded, after being silent for a moment, looking to Zeref.
"Yes," Zeref acknowledged.
"So you can keep that Spirit out of her," Loke snarled.
"Loke," Alice murmured, her hand reached out to rest of his forearm, but he didn't look back.
"I'm sure you can guess what it made her do," Loke hissed.
"I was very bad for the first couple of years," Zeref remarked casually.
"It made her slaughter her family!" Loke snapped, "Her friends! It turned her into a monster!"
Behind him, Alice flinched, shuddering as she heard the words leave his mouth, but Zeref was unchanged.
"I thought she was strong enough," Zeref looked dismayed, "But if she isn't… Oh no… How can I…. What will…"
"You will stay away from her," Loke growled, "You keep that Spirit away from her."
"I can't control all my actions," Zeref argued, "I've spent hundreds of years learning how to regain control over my mouth; I haven't managed a whole body control."
"Stay away from her!" Loke yelled.
"Loke!" Alice called his name, and he turned to her in question, "I have to do this."
"Wha…" Loke let out some unintelligible sound as he spun around to stare blankly at his owner.
"You still will do it?" Zeref questioned her in a hoarse, quiet voice, "Even if you cannot control it."
"You've seen what it makes you do," Loke whispered, "It kills children, mothers, families. God Alice… It destroys Fairy Tail! Murders Erza! Natsu! Gray! Everyone one of them! And you want that to happen?!"
"No!" Alice shrieked, letting out a heavy sigh, "But I know a way I can resist the Spirit."
"You can't," Loke denied, "You tried fighting it before, and you couldn't."
"Loke… I…" Alice's voice was quieter, and she looked down, away from Loke.
The Spirit of the Lion fought the urge to pull her into a hug, because she was fighting for a ridiculous idea that wasn't even possible. But when he felt her small, delicate hand reached for his larger one, he let her. His skin burned as she held his hand, slowly entwining their fingers. She looked up at him, hitting him with the bright blue eyes he had come to love.
"Loke…" she repeated, moving closer to him so she was just a few centimetres away from him, "I can do anything if I'm with you."
Loke's heart skipped a beat at that.
But she continued, her hand, that wasn't entwined with his, moved to his chest, feeling his pounding celestial heart under his suit. Her eyes, that startling bright blue that always seemed to always catch him off guard, stared up into his hazel ones.
"Were you by my side… last time?" Alice whispered her question.
"No…" Loke murmured, unable to stop staring into her blue orbs, "I didn't want you to come, I was going to stop you, so you didn't summon me…"
"So stay with me," Alice ordered in a voice no louder than a whisper, before she turned around to Zeref, "You can… do it while I'm with Loke, can't you?"
"Yes," Zeref accepted, preparing himself.
"Alice-" Loke tried to protest, but Alice shushed him.
Her hands moved forwards, taking his larger ones in her own. He couldn't control the way his skin burned as it came into contact with hers, and he could only watch in awe as she slowly wrapped his arms around her waist. She leaned into him, her head leaning on his chest, she was a head shorter than him, and her hands were just below her golden hair. She breathed in his scent, his familiar, sweet scent before she spoke again.
"Please," she begged in a whisper, turning her head to the side so her ear was right against his thumping heart.
As if he could deny her anything.
"Do it," he instructed Zeref in a voice showing no emotion.
Zeref's face changed, his features lightening into an expression of pure peace.
Alice clamped her eyes shut, bracing herself for the pain.
She focused, honing her senses onto Loke. She focused on the feeling of his muscular body under her hands, of his scent that filled her nostrils, of the sound of his heart pounding in his chest.
Then suddenly, it was as if her body erupted into fiery flames that engulfed her hole. She bit deeply into her lip, her blood seeping down her mouth, but at least it contain the scream that ripped through her throat. She heard Loke's voice, faintly in the distance as he shouted, but she just tightened her already clenched fists that held desperately onto, what was now stained in her blood, his clean white shirt.
He was shouting, and his warm hands moving from her waist.
No, she wanted to shout her plea at him, but she didn't dare to open her mouth for fear he would hear her scream. The last thing she wanted to do was hurt him, especially after everything she had done to him before… Or maybe it was what she was yet to do.
The physical pain, the burning that seeped through her veins, suddenly didn't seem so bad as the next stage started.
Suddenly, she felt as if her soul was being ripped from her.
She couldn't hold back the tears that streamed down hr cheeks then, and the hoarse scream that ripped through her throat and escaped her mouth.
She could feel it, the Spirit, as it tried to claim her, to control her.
But she fought back.
It was snarling, hissing and spitting as it fought with her.
She desperately grasped at her will, at her determination.
It was ripping through her, tearing her soul as it raged on.
It would not win.
Alice thought back, embracing her memories, for once in her life, as pictures flooded her mind.
Her and Loke, laughing, her shoulders shaking in mirth as his face seemed to glow.
Her and Aquarius chatting about fashion over lunch.
Her with Aries, Cancer, Capricorn, Scorpio, Sagittarius, all of her spirits bonding.
Her and Jenny at a photo shoot.
Her and Hibiki, Ren, Eve and Ichiya, out on a mission.
Levy complimenting her on her book.
Erza giving her a loving smile.
Gray smirking at her with brotherly affection.
Natsu gulping down a plate of food on fire.
Happy begging her for fish and tips on how to impress Carla.
She had so much to fight for.
But there was one thing with her right then.
Loke.
She would not let him down.
Not like she had before.
She took in a strangled breath of air as she pushed the Spirit away from her, away from her mind, stopping it from controlling her.
She stood still; it was reeling in shock, as she gaped, staring ahead.
"Lucy…?" Loke begged, his eyes were red and his voice seemed like a sob.
"I-I-I'm okay…" she whispered.
Loke, who already had her in his arms, gripped her tighter. His head moved forwards, his lips brushing against her temple to give her a brief kiss, her skin burned from his affection. She let out a shaky breath, which she tried to pass off as an after effect of the possession.
"You're okay?" he checked in a soft voice.
"I'm okay," Alice repeated, moving her arms to snake around his waist, as she fit her head just his, burying it in his chest.
They fit together perfectly.
For a while, the stood like that, in each other's arms.
Until, another thought occurred to Alice.
"Zeref!" she exclaimed, spinning around out of his arms to look.
Where the dark mage had stood, there was now a pile of ashes.
She just stared at it for a moment, before moving forward to walk towards them, Loke just a centimetre away from her.
"He had a smile on his face," Loke murmured, brushing another kiss on her hair.
"He wasn't evil," Alice stated, and she bent down.
Her bond with her spirits, that was so much stronger than any other celestial mage's, made them almost telepathic. She only had to consider the idea, and then Virgo was there, an ornate golden vase in her hands.
"Thanks," Alice told her spirit earnestly, taking the vase from her arms.
She slowly moved all of Zeref's ashes into the vase, taking her time to pick up every last grain. When she was done, she handed the vase back to Virgo.
"Put him somewhere safe," she instructed the spirit, who bowed before disappearing in a shimmer of golden sparkles.
-X-x-X-
When Alice returned to her apartment, she found that her spirit, her ever faithful family, had Ultear's body already secured in the Celestial World, having found it in Magnolia. Alice didn't think she could bear to see it.
Once she had assured Master Bob that she was fine, he had seen his guild in ruins and her nowhere to be found, she had contacted Fairy Tail, and also reassured Master Makarov that the problem was under control.
Before, when she had been Lucy of Fairy Tail, she always had the problem of her magic power running low so she couldn't keep Loke out for long. But now, with her magic at its highest peak, she could have him by her side all the time, if he was agreeable. Which of course, he always was, but she refused to make him spend all of his time with her so sent him back to the Celestial Spirit World on occasion.
There seemed to be no word that amply described Loke, to her.
He was more than her friend, much more.
And yet there was still a line that they hadn't quite crossed.
She hadn't even needed to tell him that she couldn't let him go right now, he just knew it. So after she had reequipped into some night clothes, she curled up into bed and felt Loke's arms wrap around her.
Normally, that meant a peaceful sleep.
But not tonight.
-X-x-X-
She couldn't describe it as waking up, because that required her eyes to open and her chest to rise and fall. Her body didn't move, didn't awaken from its slumber.
But her mind did.
It wasn't that her eyes opened, it was just that she only then realised they were open. And her body, it seemed like it was always there, but it was only now that she inhabited it.
It made no sense.
And yet, total sense.
She looked around, seeing herself trapped in an endless white room, there were no walls in sight, only the cold white fall beneath her feet.
"Where am I?" she murmured to herself, looking out into the murky distance and seeing nothing.
"Exactly where you were," a cold voice responded.
Alice spun around.
There was a woman, around her own physical age, or maybe younger, fifteen or something. Her skin was snow pale, contrasting with her raven black hair, that was neatly chopped off straight under her chin. Her strapless dress was short, only reaching her mid-thigh, and the same pitch black in colour. Thick, dirty metallic chains snaked around her arms, sprouting from a thick chain around her neck, with large heavy looking cuffs circling her wrists. Another wider chain was around her waist, and a pair of fishnet tights covered her legs. Her feet were in a pair of leather ankle boots, laced up and tied in a messy bow.
"How are you?" Alice demanded, looking into the deep, soulless eyes of the newcomer.
"Wouldn't you like to know," the woman mocked.
"Answer the question," Alice insisted.
"I believe you call me the Spirit," the woman smirked as she spoke, while Alice's eyes widened.
"You're the monster that has killed thousands of people," Alice accused.
"True," the woman accepted, "But it was all for a good cause."
"A good cause?" Alice snarled, "You've slaughtered children!"
"It was fun," the woman shrugged, a humorous glint in her eye.
It took all of Alice's self-restraint to stop herself from lunging at her then and there.
"What do you want?" Alice snarled.
"It's not optional to be here," the woman chuckled, moving further towards Alice, who stayed on her guard, "Currently, your body has two occupants. Have you ever heard that the mind doesn't sleep? Well, it doesn't. So for every night in the rest of your pathetic little life, I'll give you nightmares."
"You don't control me," Alice hissed.
"I may not control your body," the woman stated with a roll of her dark eyes, and learned forward, whispering into Alice's ear, "But that doesn't mean I can't hurt you."
"Wha-" Alice started to protest.
But suddenly the woman wasn't there.
Screaming.
Shouting
Crying.
Yelling.
It flooded over her, like some barrier was released and it crashed down to engulf her.
The voices, some she recognised, some she didn't. Her family, her friends. Men, women, children, babies. They voices rang out in her head, the insanity filling her mind and turning it into a dark haze.
Soon enough, her voice joined the others.
Sobbing.
Weeping.
Shrieking.
Begging.
-X-x-X-
One benefit of being a celestial spirit was that you didn't sleep. This gave Loke ample opportunity to watch Lucy, her golden locks cascading across her pillow as her peaceful expression was buried in the white. Her chest rose and fell smoothly; her soft breathes the only sound in the room. He was lying next to her, his hand inching forward, against his better judgement, to trace patterns on her upper arm, he could not resist the temptation.
But, of course, a frown creased across his mouth as her breath escalated, and her hands, that had being previously lying on the white pillow, clenched it tightly.
"Lucy?" he called to her, unsure whether or not he should wake her from her nightmare.
He watched, seeing how her mouth moved slightly, as if she were speaking.
Then she started screaming.
The sound ripped out of her throat, her mouth tearing open in a split second, her hands raking across her pillow, shredding the thing material and releasing the white feathers. Tears were streaming down her cheeks, her eyes still clamped shut.
"LUCY!" Loke yelled, his hands darting out to grab her shoulders, and her eyes burst open.
She stared at him for a moment.
Before breaking down into a sobbing mess.
Loke pulled her into his chest, trying to ignore how his celestial heart pounded whenever she was this close to him. One of his hands stroked her hair, running itself through her golden locks, while the other held her in place on her back. She was shaking, her hands clamped around his shirt, crumpling it but he could not care less. Her harsh pants ran across the sensitive skin on his neck, causing the lion to shudder.
The connection they shared, so much deeper that spirit and master, meant that Loke didn't need to say anything to comfort her.
After a couple of moments, Lucy's sobs died down, and a few seconds after that she released Loke from her tight grip.
"Sorry," she whispered, and Loke pulled her slower, if that we even possible, into his chest.
"It's okay," he assured her, after a brief pause, "What happened?"
"I-I need Crux," was what she said in response, and Loke let her go as the elder spirit appeared in a shimmer of golden sparkles on the sofa of the apartment. The bond with her spirits was so strong, due to their friendship and love, that Crux immediately started his search. Loke searched within his master, but because the instruction was not for him he drew a blank.
"Lucy-" he went to argue with her for withholding information, but Crux cut him off with a shout, before speaking in his normal voice.
"Information withheld," he stated.
"W-What does that mean?" Lucy questioned, moving to sit up, not straying completely out of Loke's arms.
"Information withheld by the Celestial Spirit King," Crux answered.
Lucy looked to Loke in confusion.
"Please tell me Lucy," Loke murmured.
"There was this… woman," Lucy explained in a quiet voice, "She… She said she was the spirit, that possessed Zeref. But Crux… Do you know? I mean, do you know who she is?"
"Information withheld by the Celestial Spirit King," Crux repeated.
"Can I arrange a meeting with moustache man?" Lucy requested.
-X-x-X-
A/N HEY GUYS! Sorry if I haven't responded to anyone's review yet, I'll get right on that! And yeah… I couldn't really decide where to bring it back to, and I hope you're all okay with me making the Spirit become an actual being, they're not going to become a major character or anything, I don't think… But yeah! Hope you don't mind!
THANKS EVERYONE!
Becney :P