AN: So I know I said that the other potential match would appear in this chapter but I lied. I was reading my notes that I had made a while ago and realized it no longer matches up with my current outline of the story. I have to say that this story has changed A LOT from what I had originally envisioned but I like it better. But I have to rewrite and change a lot of things - like the time line- so be patient with me.
Next time I hint at something happening in the next chapter I will make sure it happens!
The chapter is early because I am going out of town for the weekend to visit a friend and may not get to it when I get back on Sunday. So don't kill me if there are mistakes, I didn't look it over nearly as well as the others. If you see any mistakes or think I need a beta because there are a ton of mistakes let me know and I'll work on finding one.
Rogue's POV
I couldn't understand why she wouldn't want to go back to her own guild but I didn't really care about her reasoning. She can join our guild if she doesn't want to go back.
When Loke stopped yelling and the room got quiet I realized that I had spoken aloud. Glancing at Sting I heard him growl as he began glaring at me. Glaring back I shrugged and turned towards Lucy to gauge her reaction.
I couldn't tell what she was thinking, she looked a little shocked but that's it. However she was having a difficult time restraining Loke from attacking me. His fist was lit up ready to punch me. "They're our family, of course she is going back. She is just disorientated from being in a coma for the past week. Thank you for all of your help in taking care of her but your no longer needed, we will be leaving as soon as possible."
"Loke! You need to be nice to them, they didn't have to take care of me; they could have left me outside. You should be thanking them not yelling at them." I was shocked that she would defend me but didn't comment. "Rogue do you think it would be possible for me to talk to Loke alone? I'm sorry to kick you out of your own infirmary but I need to talk to him about a personal matter."
Nodding I quickly helped Minerva stand up and walked out of the room, dragging Sting along. Waiting for our exceeds to exit before closing the door.
"'She can join our guild', really Rogue? We don't know the first thing about her or her powers. You're thinking with the wrong head. She probably isn't strong enough for us anyway. There is a reason we are the number one guild in Fiore. We can't just let anybody join." Minerva ranted but I wasn't worried about her attacking me like she had Sting, because of how unsteady she was walking away from us. She could still be heard ranting and raving in her office; threatening bodily harm to anyone who disturbed her.
As soon as we were sure that she wouldn't be coming out for a while Sting and I tried to listen in on our guests through the door. We caught a couple of words here and there but the majority of their conversation was muffed by crying and by the noises of our guild in the background.
Lucy's POV
"I- I learned something while I was merged with the clock Loke. That clock showed me something regarding my family; mom, dad and even Michelle. I didn't just relive my own memories but some of theirs too.
"It was like the clock answered the one question I had about each of them. Why mom got sick, why dad acted the way he did and how Michelle must have felt when I abandoned her.
"Michelle – God how could I have done that to her, she felt exactly like I had when dad turned me away, time and time again; unloved and completely alone. No wonder she believed Midnight when he came to her. Any chance of being with me again, being loved, she grabbed. I owe her so much.
"…she saved me you know, while I was in the clock. I was completely lost, not knowing where I was or who I was; it was like the clock stole everything that made me, me. She appeared out of nowhere, reminding me of the first time we met – that birthday was the last one I had with my family; it was absolutely perfect. Her voice guided me out of the dark, enough so I could hear Happy and CoCo calling out to me and so I could hear Natsu, Romeo and Elfman fighting. She saved us all. Without her I wouldn't have been able to take control of the castle and get Natsu out of Midnight's dark void." Stopping my story I let Loke take it in, seeing the confusion on his face; I knew he was wondering what this had to do with me not returning to the guild but I had to get this out.
"As for dad he was grieving for mom and unknowingly for me. He had too much pressure on him and he snapped. He knew what had happened to mom, why she got sick and he knew I could follow in his footsteps; and he couldn't allow that. He was devastated that carrying Celestial Magic killed his wife, and when I showed signs of the same magic he refused to lose me the same way he had lost mom. All that time I thought he was working, and scheming to marry me off for riches, I was wrong. He was researching like mad, trying to find a way to prevent history from repeating itself. He found a way but knew I wouldn't like it. He found a family, one that had an anti-magic aura; that was the family he tried to force me to marry into. If I had married their son and spent enough time with them then my magic would have disappeared and I would be safe. That's why he hired Phantom Lord; he just wanted to save me - Although his intentions were good, it doesn't excuse the destruction and injuries to our guild.
"When that plan failed, he fell into despair, using the last of our fortune in an attempt to find another solution, but he couldn't. He spent the rest of his life, the seven years we were gone, rebuilding his fortune to begin his search again. Somehow he knew, knew I wasn't dead and he never gave up on me.
"Michelle told me that his research notes were stored away at his guild, Love and Lucky. I need to go get it soon. Maybe I could fill in the blanks the Infinity Clock left me with." I muttered as my mind wandered off topic. Thinking of the last time I had spoken to my father, all he had been dealing with and how I would never see him again, had me crying uncontrollably. Loke tried to get me to calm down but wasn't able to, so he just held me letting me get it all out.
After several minutes I was finally able to gain some semblance of control over my emotions and finally glanced up at Loke. I could see how concerned he was; when he opened his mouth to try to comfort me some more I shook my head, signaling him to not speak. It was hard enough telling him this, I didn't need him opening his mouth making me break down again. Wiping away my tears I hardened myself and prepared for the worst part. "Loke, I need you to not say anything, no matter what. I won't be able to get through it all if you do." Waiting for him to promise, I leaned on him once again.
"I promise" he said solemnly, wrapping me in his arms tighter.
"Mom, she wasn't sick like they had told me. It was a magical sickness not a natural one; she was leaking magic, unable to contain it in her body anymore. Someone or something was absorbing all of her magic at a rate her body couldn't keep up with.
"You know that she was a Celestial Spirit Mage and held 3 of the 12 Zodiac keys. Back then that was rare and the fact that she was able to summon all three at the same time made her one of the strongest Celestial Mages of her time and even now. During her memory I heard someone speaking to mom telling her that she was the strongest Celestial Mage and the only one capable of strengthening a seal. It was supposed to be cut and dry, real easy, but something went wrong. Instead of providing the seal with a little bit of her magic, it almost sucked it all up, causing her to get 'sick'. She went into a deep sleep, regaining as much of her magic as she could. However when she woke up her magic began leaving her again. It was a slow decline that gave her 3 months left to live. Those 3 months were spent teaching me about our magic. When she didn't have the energy to get out of bed anymore she turned my training over to Cancer and Aquarius.
"As you can imagine Aquarius wasn't very patient with me and left me with Cancer most of the time. That's how we became so close, Cancer and I would get off topic a lot and would up goofing off, doing my hair and playing dress up.
"All of that stopped when mom got worse, she couldn't get out of bed, even with help. She could barely stay awake for more than a couple of hours a day. I stayed with her when she slept, holding her hand and laying down in bed with her; crying my eyes out. Right before she passed she told me she loved me and to 'watch out for Polaris' and that is when the Infinity Clock stopped." I froze when I felt Loke flinch at 'Polaris'. Slowly pulling away from him I looked at his face and I knew he knew the person or thing my mother had been talking about.
"You know what or who Polaris is, don't you Loke? You know who killed my mom!" I ended in a shout. Jumping off of the bed I stood in front of him waiting for him to tell me all he knew about it, but he didn't say a word. Whispering his name when he remained silent "Loke? Tell me please, I need to know what really happened to mom."
Loke's POV
"Where did your mom learn of Polaris? What did the clock show you?" I said, refusing to meet her inquiring eyes.
"I don't know, as I said earlier all I heard was someone asking her for help, I don't know who it was or what the seal was for. I think the clock only showed me the bare minimum because I didn't know enough to ask the right question. All I wanted to know is why mom got sick and Polaris is that reason. The Infinity Clock did answer my question I guess, but it left me with more questions than it had answered."
"DAMNIT!" I thundered as I threw myself from the bed.
She was supposed to be gone for good. How could he not tell me, the leader of the Zodiacs that her seal was weakening?!if that was when Layla died, that means that the seal has been weakened even more since then. This is not good, if Layla died trying to strengthen the seal then that means Lu- Lucy. I stopped my train of thought turning to face the first human I had truly cared about in hundreds of years.
"Lucy, I'm so sorry about your mom. You know I would help you if I could, but I can't." Holding up my hand up when she looked like she was going to speak. "I can't, but I can talk to the one who can, but it's going to take some time. I have to go to the Spirit World to talk to him. I'll be back as soon as I learn something." Not giving her the time to respond I quickly hugged her and left.
Although I had left I could still hear her shouting at me. "Loke! Loke you get your ass back here and tell me who Polaris is! Loke please!" She cried as she crumbled to the ground, unable to hold her emotions back anymore. I'm really sorry Lucy.
"Please watch out for her Virgo, I won't be back for a couple of months at the very least." I can't let her die like Layla did.
"As you wish brother." Virgo said bowing her head before she disappeared to be with Lucy.
AN: Again sorry if the chapter isn't as well written as the last three. Let me know what you think. :)
Thanks to everyone who followed, favorited and reviewed Key to the Starry Sky! I appreciate all of you and all of the support and encouragement I have received! It all means a great deal to me!
Wingchan7: Haha I know I don't like cliff hangers when I read other fics but that's only because I don't want the chapter to end. Lol. I'm glad you love it! Even though I'm the one writing it, I can't wait to find out in the next chapter either, since things are ever changing. Does that make sense?
DeadendAngel4: They are not meant to be broken. : P You're not a downer, and thank you for the encouragement.
TChacha: RoLu love may or may not be in the air, the stars have not decided yet, but it sure looks that way. Although you say no pressure I know you're sending RoLu thoughts my way, I can feel them. Lol. I have decided not to hold back anymore, I am writing this for me, as an experiment to see how it goes and how I feel about writing. So far I love it. I eat, sleep and breathe this story, it never leaves me for a second and it's scary, yet nice.
Dragon'sHost: I think a lot of people are hoping for RoLu, I even find myself leaning towards it but there is one of my favorite Lucy pairings visible in this story for me so it's difficult.
FairyTail555: Domo arigato!