The doors swung open, the hinges snapping from the sheer force of the action. Through the bright sunlight Alice could only make out a number of silhouettes. The figures moved forwards. Loke tensed from his position next to her, and Master Bob phased through the bar, walking out to meet the strangers as they walked into the guild. Alice moved over to flank her Guild Master, Loke doing the same as the rest of the guild began to understand these intruders weren't friendly.

"What business do you have here?" Master Bob questioned evenly, his voice void of his usual warmth, and Alice's body tensed, prepared for the fight that she knew was about to come.

"This is Blue Pegasus, correct?" the leader, who stepped forward so he was a mere metre away from Master Bob, clarified.

"Yes," Master Bob confirmed, "And I ask again, what is your business here?"

"You have been chosen," the man answered.

"Chosen for what?" Master Bob asked.

The man stared at Master Bob for a moment, moving forward so he was mere centimetres from the Guild Master.

"Hm…" the man mused, "Are you going to try and stop us, Bob?"

"If you plan on attacking this guild, you'll have a lot more than Master Bob to get through," Alice commented, moving forwards to support her master.

The man's gaze moved from the Guild Master to their strongest mage. Alice stared him down, and she felt Loke move ever so slightly closer to her at the preserved threat, ready to defend his master in the blink of an eye.

"You must be Alice," the man stated.

"Sorry, but I don't have a clue who you are," Alice shrugged.

"You can be first," the man offered.

"First for what exactly?" Alice queried.

"Salvation," the man's eerie smile would have made a lesser mage shiver, but Alice just stared back at him.

"Boss," one of the other people, a male from the tone of his voice, called to his leader, "It's ready."

"Good," the man accepted, briefly glancing to his allies, "I would hate to waste such important people's time."

"Then stop wasting my time and tell me what the heck you want from us," Alice hissed.

The man only laughed, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a vial, containing some sort of swirling black mist. Alice stared at it, trying to place it, to work out what exactly it was and how dangerous it was. She couldn't let them hurt Blue Pegasus, not after everything the guild had done for her, she owed this to them.

She rose her hand, about to cast some spell, she wasn't too sure which one exactly, but she was slow, too darn slow.

Because he opened the vial.

It had looked small, only a few centimetres tall and very thin, yet the gas that came spilling out of it was a mass of darkness, engulfing the members of Blue Pegasus that stood before it. Master Bob tried to move forward, to shield his children from it, but it was too fast, it swallowed him whole before he could so much as blink. Loke disappeared in a pained yell, his eyes wide as he desperately reached for his master, as if in some way he could help her, even though they both knew there was nothing they could do.

To Alice, it was hell.

As soon as the gas touched her skin, it burnt her flesh, sending shooting, pulsing pains through her thin frame that made her collapse. Had she been anyone else, she was sure she would have fainted right off the bat from that single attack, but she had been through worse than some poisonous gas. Still, that didn't make the pain any more bearable.

At first, it was just that fire burning her skin, marring her flesh.

And then it was that Alice released it was something more.

She really should have worked it out sooner, it was rather stupid of her really, did she think Loke just closed his gate of his own free will? He wouldn't, she knew he would rather die than leave her alone in such a dangerous situation. If she had just thought, just remembered, that Loke was there on her energy, then she might have worked out what exactly that gas was.

As it hit her body, sending her to her knees, only then did she figure out what weapon was being used against them.

She heard her guild mates scream, their cries of pain, of terror, of fear, as the pain erupted all over their bodies, but she merely looked ahead, making out, through the thick density of the fog, that the figures were shielded from it, a thick see-through wall protecting them from their poison.

The gas was taking her magic.

For any ordinary mage, it would be painful, but they would survive, they would make it out alive, hopefully.

But not for Alice.

She had escaped death many times, all due to her secret little magic trick, one that would, this time, get her killed.

She was half Celestial Spirit.

She was half magic.

A scream tore from her throat as she felt her body, the pieces that made up her form, rip apart with a sickening snap. She wasn't just dying from this fog, every death she had escaped, every injury that had healed inhumanly fast, was catching up with her. She was drowning, and burning, and bleeding.

It hurt, it hurt so badly.

With a scream, a high pitched, sickening scream, Alice died.

For the last and final time.

-X-x-X-

When Levy woke up she found her head resting on Gajeel's shoulder. A blush burned on her cheeks, and she slowly pushed herself off his side, hoping not to wake him. She looked around the guild, seeing the rest of her guild mates were somewhere around the room, it had been quite a party the night before, although Levy couldn't remember what it had been for. Mainly, when there was a party, she could be found huddled in a corner, Gajeel often by her side, her nose buried in her book. Her copy, the only print, of 'A Tale of Fairies', had slowly become her more prized possession, but no matter how Gajeel pressured her to tell her about it, she didn't reveal Lucy's secret.

Levy stood up, being careful not to jog Gajeel, and stepping over the sleeping forms of her friends as she made her way over to the bar, where the visual lacrima was, hoping to see what the time was. She couldn't hold back her giggle when she saw that Gray and Juvia were curled up together on a bench, Juvia's head resting on his shoulder whilst his arm was wrapped securely around her waist. They hadn't officially gotten together, but everyone knew something had changed between them, they were rather shocked when Juvia stopped obsessing with the Ice Mage and started to branch out, speaking to more people.

Levy was caught up in her thoughts and accidently stepped on someone's hand, but thankfully it was Natsu, who was well known for being a deep sleeper, and he just muttered something and rolled over in his sleep.

Once Levy was finally at the bar, she hopped onto one of the bar stools, and was searching for the lacrima when Master Makarov walked down the stairs from the second floor.

"Hello Master," she greeted him, and received a low groan in response from the hungover mage, "Do you know where the visual lacrima is?"

"To the left," he muttered as he took the bar stool next to her and lowered his head onto the table, "I don't know how Macao can get drunk one night and then be as right as rain the next morning. I certainly won't be able to do anything serious today."

"That's the best excuse you've come up with to date as to why Fairy Tail can't pay off its debts yet," Levy giggled, "Not that we really have that many debts to pay off after her got our split of the Grand Magic Games winnings."

"Team Natsu really do like to make a mess," Makarov grunted.

"Yes!" Levy cried as she spotted the lacrima.

She stretched forwards and grabbed it, before settling back down in her seat and placing the device in front of her. She adjusted the volume, not wanting to wake up her sleeping comrades, before turning it on.

The screen flared up, showing the news reporter, a brown haired woman with rather fake looking silver eyes, standing in front of the ruins of a building.

"-unknown number of assailants attacked the building leaving the guild in ruins," the woman said, and Levy sat up a little straighter in her chair, "None of the survivors have been able to identify their attacks, but they have described their leader as a tall man with dark hair. The Magic Council warns that this may just be the first of many attacks, and that these assailants may already be looking for their next victims."

Levy's eyes widened as she tried to work out what exactly had happened, trying to make out the guild hall that had crumbled into ruin.

"Every member of the guild, including their Guild Master, Master Bob, have been sent immediately to hospital after being on the receiving end of an unknown spell that has caused a number of causalities."

A gasp fell from Levy's lips, and she heard as Master Makarov let out a curse word under his breath.

"So far there have only been four members of the mighty Blue Pegasus to have been confirmed deceased," the reporter continued, and three images appeared on the screen beside her, "Adam Johnson, Diego Winters and Isabelle Moran were all part of Team Attraction, a small team including only one other member, Victoria Woodman, who is currently in a critical condition."

Levy stared at the images of the three people, who all looked so happy in their chosen representations, and she could only wonder how their families were coping, how sad they must be at the loss of their precious people.

The three pictures disappeared, being replaced by a single image that made Levy's heart stop dead cold.

"S-Class Mage, Alice, also known as Alice in Wonderland, has also been confirmed deceased," the reporter stated.

Levy screamed.

-X-x-X-

Erza would have been bright red if she had woken up in Jellal's arm in any other situation, but having bolted up, woken up from her dreams, by the sound of a high pitched shriek, made Erza sort out her priorities.

She was on her feet in a matter of second, and at the source of the scream in a flash.

"Levy?!" she yelled, holding the younger girl by the shoulders as she stared into her eyes.

All the other members of the guild were awake now, staring at Master Makarov, who was frozen in shock, and Levy, who was sobbing into Erza's chest. The only sound came from the visual lacrima as the reporter spoke.

"It is believed that the spell cast proved fatal to the S-Class Mage because she wasn't fully human, a part of her being Celestial Spirit," the reporter carried on, unknowing of the effect her words would be having on a certain guild, "One guild member, Hibiki Lates, revealed this information once he was released from critical care."

The screen moved from the reporter to footage of a hospital, showing Hibiki, his skin as pale as a sheet, propped up in a bed in the hospital. A reporter had her microphone in his face, and his eyes were focused somewhere in the distance as he began to speak.

"She told me, you know, that she was part Celestial Spirit, about how it was her way to survive," Hibiki whispered, not looking from his spot in the distance, "I never thought… This time, it didn't save her, it killed her."

It then moved to another guild member, one Erza didn't recognise.

"She was in the front, full on glaring at the man, and I thought she was going to kill him there and then, I think she was going to do something anyway, but he was too quick," the man said.

The screen moved back to the reporter.

"A public funeral is planned for tomorrow to mark the passing of such a powerful mage," the reporter told them, "While the Blue Pegasus Guild Hall lays in the ruins, it is uncertain if the guild will ever rebuild and return to its former glory after this tragic incident. Back to you, Marty, in the studio."

Fairy Tail hadn't been so quiet in a long time.

-X-x-X-

"No!" Loke screamed, throwing himself against the wall, "No! Let me go! LUCY!"

He could feel it, the fizzing deep in his gut, as the link between spirit and master dissolved. He had felt it so many times before, but it had never hurt so badly. Tears were streaming down his cheeks, but they were the least of his concerns.

Aquarius stumbled in them, clutching her stomach, and when she saw him, she looked him straight in the eye.

"No…" she whispered, "No, she's not… She's not…"

Loke snarled at his fellow Zodiac, turning back to the wall and continuing to batter it with punches and kicks, his desperation taking hold of him.

"Leo," the echoing voice of the Celestial Spirit King called to him, but Loke didn't stop, continuing his assault as he threw his whole body into the attacks.

Aquarius had fallen onto her knees, her eyes unfocused as she tried desperately to grasp the strong bond she shared with her master, but coming up empty.

"Leo!" the King yelled, "Stop!"

"No!" Loke roared, "I'm not just going to let her die!"

"She's already dead," the King stated, "You destroying a wall won't help."

"Let me go back!" Loke pleaded, "Let me go and save her, please, you have to-"

"You know that you would be able to go back if she were alive," the King responded, "You have to let her go."

"You can give up on her but I won't!" he shouted, but his whole body was shaking from holding back his grief.

"Stop this Leo, or I will make you," threatened the King, and Loke let out a dry laugh.

"You can't stop me," he chuckled dryly.

"I am your King, I will do as I please," the King snapped.

"Wait!" Aquarius cried, "She's one of us! She's part Spirit! She could be in our world!"

"Then where is she?" the King asked, "If she were alive, wouldn't she be in our faces asking for our help?"

"She might not be strong enough!" Aquarius argued, "She could be-"

"I will not play by these fantasies," the King hissed, "You will be given the standard mourning time and then you will move on, just how you have for centuries."

"Lucy wasn't any ordinary master," Aquarius whispered.

The Celestial Spirit King looked stricken for a moment, before he let out a sigh, hanging his head for a moment before he nodded his head in a agreement.

"No, she was not," he agreed, pausing before he continued, "She was a friend of mine, an example to all Mages of what a Celestial Wizards should be. I will miss her, and I will mourn her, but I will not continue these fantasies in an attempt to bring her back."

The King then turned on his heel and walked from the room.

-X-x-X-

Most of Blue Pegasus weren't there, stuck in critical care in the hospital, but those of them who were awake and conscious had argued their way into wheelchairs and sat to the sides of the street, watching as the coffin made its way through the crowd. Every guild was present, Lamia Scale bowing their heads in respect as the coffin passed where they stood, even Sabertooth shutting their eyes as they honoured the mage. While what remained of Blue Pegasus were right at the front of the group, Fairy Tail were not far behind.

Erza was side by side with Jellal, who was in the disguise of Mystogan, and Meredy trailed along behind them, her head bowed as she walked hand in hand with Ultear. Natsu was walking numbly along the street, Lisanna looked at him every couple of second to check that he was alright, or just still walking. Gray and Juvia had their fingers entwined as they walked holding hands, both of them staring blankly ahead.

Ordinary people, the public, lined the streets, crying and mourning the deceased mage. Some threw flowers onto her coffin, or used them to line the pavement in front of the hovering coffin, it had been enchanted to make it hover without assistance.

They arrived to the gravesite, and the public dispersed, understanding this was something Blue Pegasus and Fairy Tail had to on their own.

One by one, people went up to pay their respects.

And when it came to Erza… She moved out from Jellal's embrace, walking up to the gravestone of the woman who was like a little sister to her.

"Alice was a… a dear friend of mine," Erza whispered, then she cleared her throat, speaking again in a louder, clearer tone, "But she was more than that. She was my best friend. She was the little sister I never had."

Erza couldn't think of what else to say, she didn't want to just renew the sentiments of others.

There really was only one thing to say.

Only one thing that would make people truly understand what a great loss this was.

"I've known Alice for years," Erza continued, "I knew her before I left, and when I came back she was completely different. I guess that… Deep down, I was scared at how much she had changed, at how powerful she had become and how different she was to the girl I knew. But now… The only thing I feel for her is… Is pride. I'm so proud of you, Lucy. I just wish… I just wish I could have been there for you… When you needed me."

Everyone was stunned into silence as Erza moved down from her poium and back to Jellal's side, and even the blue haired mage beside her was frozen in shock and surprise.

Lucy Heartfilia was Alice.

And now the whole world knew.

And deep down, Erza knew that Lucy would have wanted them to know.

There, Erza was at peace.

-X-x-X-

To describe it as an out of body experience would be ironic.

Her whole body, if she could even call it that, was burning, screaming pain as it desperately gripped onto reality, or it's celestial form. Her breath was coming out in heavy pants as she fell to the ground, hoping against hope that there was someone there, that someone could hear her.

It was foolish, she knew that, but that didn't stop her.

She opened her mouth, to try and make some sort of plea for help from her inanimate surroundings, but all that came out was a groan. Her hand raked through the dirt on the ground as she tried to claw her way forwards, but it was ineffective.

A choked breath passed her lips, and she saw as the tips of her fingers started to glow.

She wasn't a fully solid being right now, only a whisper of the mage she had been, she was a light footprint on a beach as the tide came in, a whisper of an echo in a deep, dark cave.

"Hello?" she heard a voice call out.

Hope flared out inside of her, and she tried to form words, but her eyes were transfixed, watching as her fingertips starts to crumble into golden dust that merely faded away.

All she managed was a low groan.

But that was all she needed.

A shocked gasp sounded from above her, but it didn't matter. Her eyelids fluttered shut, and she knew that it was coming. She was slowly going to disintegrate, it was too late.

"Alice!" the voice was vaguely familiar as it called out her name, "They said you were dead! Oh no… You're fading! We need help!"

It clicked then, who exactly had come to her aid.

Columba.

Alice forced her eyes open, and saw than kneeling by her side was the young girl, dressed in that same feathered dress she had been when Alice had summoned her for Laxus. In her eyes shone all the innocent and kindness that Alice had once hoped she had shown.

Alice opened her mouth to say something, maybe it was a request that she didn't trouble herself, that she just stayed with her as she passed, but all she managed was a weak moan.

"I-I'll go get help!" Columba declared, pushing herself off her knees, giving Alice a feeble glance, "I'll be back."

Columba then sped off.

-X-x-X-

Columba was sprinting, darting through the streets of her world as she tried to find Loke, or Aquarius, or anyone really. Someone who would know what to do. Alice may not be her owner, but she had been the first person to summon her in centuries, and there was a certain bond that went alone with that. And she was a well-known celestial mage who was renowned for the kindness she showed her spirits.

Just then, Columba hit gold.

Aquarius walking down the street, her shoulders shaking as she cried, but not a sob escaping her lips. Behind her, Scorpio was struggling to keep a hold of Loke, who was thrashing about in his friend's arms.

"Hey!" Columba yelled, blushing slightly at her bold behaviour but Alice's life was at stake, but none of them looed in her direction, "Hello! Aquarius!"

The spirit of the Water bearer looked up, and seeing it was only Columba, returned her sorrowful gaze to the ground.

"Columba, please, not right now I-" Aquarius started, but Columba cut her off.

"I've found Alice's celestial form!" Columba burst out, "But she's fading!"

That stopped all three of them in their tracks.

For a moment, they were all frozen, staring at her, something new in their eyes, and Columba realised it was hope, the burning fire of possibly that was heating up their pupils.

"Where?" Loke demanded, immediately stopping his struggle against Scorpio and running to stand right in front of Columba.

"Follow me," she answered, turning on her heel and sprinting.

They followed.

Columba had the route memorised, and they were there in a matter of minutes.

But that wasn't quick enough.

By the time Columba was back, Alice's body had already started to fade. Gone were her fingers, and the majority of her hands, her wrists were left. Her feet looked to have gone too, only her ankles remaining.

Loke bolted forwards, grabbing her around the waist and pulling her into his embrace, lifting her up and spinning around.

"Let's go," he stated.

-X-x-X-

When they got to the Celestial King's palace, Alice had lost her arms up to her elbows and her legs up to her calves. Columba had come with them, her concern for the celestial mage overriding her shy nature as she sprinted along behind Aquarius and Scorpio.

Loke burst into the King's private chamber, and the massive form of the King turned around to punish him, but then his eyes caught sight of the body in his arms.

"Save her," Loke ordered.

The King moved over, his eyes scanning Alice's body, or what remained of it, and then back into Loke's eyes.

"There is only one thing I can do," he told the spirit of the Lion, "But you have to be sure it is what she would want. You have to be sure, because there is no going back from it. And even then, there is no assurance it will work."

Loke was silent for a moment, really thinking, considering what Alice would think then she woke up, what she would want…

"Do it," Loke instructed.

-X-x-X-

When Alice next opened her eyes, she felt different. Not a bad different, not necessarily, but just different. She was used to feeling warm, just a gentle whisper of heat from her skin, which she knew came from being part spirit. But when she woke up, she wasn't just warm, she was toasty. Her whole body was humming with heat, not burning, but just warmly simmering. It was kind of strange, but it wasn't too strange.

As she pushed herself up, she looked down to see she wasn't wearing her own clothes. Instead of her usual outfit, her Alice in Wonderland dress, striped tights and pumps, she wore a different outfit. She swung her legs off the bed, looking at the heeled boots on her feet, they stretched up her claves and stopped just above her thighs. On her body was a playsuit, sleeveless as it covered her to the tops of her thighs in the silky navy blue material. Another layer was placed on top, this one a baby blue, over her shoulders and down her body, the front stopping around her belly button but the back flowing down to her knees. The fabric was embroidered with gold, Alice's fingers couldn't resist trailing along the intricate sewing. At her shoulders was a thin material, sheer and silky at it acted as sleeves. A brown leather belt was at her waist, and her hair was free to cascade down her shoulders.

Standing up, she surveyed her surroundings, and caught sight of a mirror to her right. She glanced into it, and a startled gasp left her mouth as she saw her reflection.

Her eyes.

There was a spell she used to change her eye colour from her usual warm brown to that sky blue she used for Alice. But never had her eyes been this shade.

Gold.

Sparkling, glimmering gold.

Her hand rose to her eyes, as if checking they were in fact hers.

Just then, the door to the room opened, and in walked the one person she wanted to see.

Loke.

She threw herself into his arms, and he caught her, just like he always would. His arms were around her wiast, holding her right up against his body, and her arms were wrapped around his neck, her head in the crook of his neck as she breathed in his intoxicating scent. She let out a shuddering breath before pulling back.

"Loke, what's going on?" she asked, "I… Loke, I died. I properly actually died."

"I know," Loke whispered, and the grin that had been playing on his lips thinned, "Lucy… There was… There was no other way for you to survive… And I… I can't live without you… You have to know that…"

She tried to hide the way her heart skipped a beat when he said those words, but still, there was something he wasn't saying. She moved forward, her hand going to his upper arm.

"What is it?" she questioned softly.

"I had to…" Loke tried, "Lucy… You're… You're a celestial spirit."

-X-x-X-

A/N Hey guys… Sorry, I killed Lucy again. But I didn't actually plan that, it just came to me and I went with it. I'm going to respond to all of your lovely reviews after this! I've just totally worn my head out writing this chapter, so I hope you can forgive me! And it just occurred to me that I had just left Columba, used her for a chapter and then never seen her again, so I fixed that. Anyway, I'm sorry to say this, but this story is nearing its finale. Don't worry, I'm not going to give away any spoilers, but I just wondered if anyone had any specific people or couples they'd like me to focus on. Just if you want to. Feel free to ignore this, I just wondered.

Guest: I'm sorry that I was on hiatus in the first place, I never planned to, but then I just couldn't get back into the story, my stupid head. Thank you. Haha! That is so stupid of me. Thank you for taking the time to look for through the chapter for mistakes, I seriously should have a beta-reader to look over this, I think I still haven't converted three chapters to third person… I really should get onto that. I'm glad I have your support! I really wanted to have a powerful Lucy who wasn't amazing at everything, because when Lucy's Alice she isn't too good at her friendships with her old team, something that she really needs.

Guest394: Thank you for reading this story, if it hadn't been for you and people like you I wouldn't have the will power to continue this! And I am really determined to finish this, and I'm glad I have your support.

Thanks everyone for your continued support! Hopefully I won't be too long with the next update!

Becney :P