Signing contracts with Celestial Spirits was usually a boring, albeit important task. After Loke had left, Lucy had summoned Pisces into her bedroom. Pisces was similar to Gemini in that the Spirit was two beings, a mother and son; together, they made up a single Celestial Spirit. Pisces was a strong fighter and whenever the Spirit touched water, the mother and son transformed into two giant fish. Lucy was already planning combination attacks with Aquarius. They ironed out the details of their contract in about two hours.
Next was Libra, the Celestial Spirit of the Heavenly scales. Libra could distort her opponent's weight, making it difficult for them to move. She also preferred to not be summoned on Tuesdays and Thursdays because she taught belly dancing lessons.
Lucy took copious notes. She tried her best to keep track of her Spirit's preferences and included addendums to the contracts so everybody felt a fair deal had been made. When she had finished writing the contract, she handed it tentatively to Libra.
"Here you go," said Lucy. "Look it over and let me know if you have any comments or questions."
Libra's eyes scanned the pages. "I have to say, I've been waiting a long time to work with the great Lucy Heartfilla. You've been holding onto my key and Pisces's for over a year now.
Lucy blushed at the compliment. "I know. I wanted to be respectful of Yukino's death. I'm sorry for your loss." She touched Libra's arm.
Libra smiled. "Thank you. Pisces and I do miss her." She signed her name to the contract and handed it back to Lucy. "You're signature is all that is needed now. You're about to find out what happens when a single mage acquires all twelve Celestial Zodiac Keys."
"Should I be scared?"
"Nah." She stepped back. "I haven't seen this happen in over 500 years though. It's kind of exciting."
Lucy looked down at the contract in her hand and read the last line.
I promise to keep to the terms written in this document to the best of my ability.
With a trembling hand, Lucy signed the document.
As soon has her hand finished the last loop in her signature, a large circle of light appeared by her side. It was similar to the ones that appeared when she summoned spirits but this one didn't immediately vanish.
She looked down and saw that the keys tied to her belt were being pulled towards the circle.
"Do I put my keys in the circle of light?" she asked Libra.
Libra chuckled. "Yes. Isn't it obvious?"
Lucy unfastened her keys and held them up to the light. It was good that Libra was there and seemed confident about the situation because she was nervous as hell.
When the keys touched the center of the circle, they were instantly pulled from her hand. The circle flew above her and then surrounded her. The key ring broke and the twelve keys each took a place in the circle. Suddenly, everything was bathed in light and had to shield her eyes.
Just as quickly as the light had appeared, it disappeared.
Hesitantly, Lucy dropped one arm, and then the other. The twelve keys were still floating in a circle around her. Above her, another glowing sphere of light had appeared. It seemed to gently pulse.
She stood up and peered into the orb. A key encrusted with jewels was floating there.
With great care, Lucy reached into the sphere and took the key. The light immediately disappeared and she was left holding the talisman.
It was heavy in her hand and covered with precious stones of every color. She would need to find a safe way to carry it so that it wouldn't attract thieves—perhaps a long necklace that she could hide beneath a shirt.
She turned her attention back to her twelve Zodiac keys floating around her. The crests on each key were glowing with white light. She walked to the Gate of the Water Bearer and took the key. The light continued to glow.
My keys have changed somehow.
She looked over at Libra who was smiling. She didn't look any different.
"The keys are glowing," said Lucy.
"Yes." Her grin widened.
"Are you—different now?"
Libra stood up straight. With a flick of her wrist, one of the cobblestones from the wall broke free, flew out the window and disappeared into the forest outside the castle's walls. A moment later and line of trees came crashing down.
"All twelve of your Celestial Spirits just got a major upgrade."
Lucy smiled. "Awesome. I love upgrades." She held Eclipse in her hand. "How does this work?"
"It's similar to your other keys. Just hold the key and use your magical power to summon the Gate—it often helps to focus your energy to use a phrase but it isn't necessary. Once you do that, a door will appear. You will need to say the location, date and time you wish to travel to and then put the key in the lock. Once you walk through, you will be transported back in time."
"Sounds easy enough. How do I get back?"
"Simply walk back through the door—it will be invisible except to those who walked through it and it will stay open until they return or die."
Lucy raised an eyebrow at her. "Die?"
"Well, I'm sure that won't happen," added Libra.
Lucy thanked Libra and bid her farewell. The spirit made an elegant twirl and disappeared back to the Spirit world.
As Lucy collected the last of her keys from the circle, there was a knock at the door.
"Come in."
The door opened and Zeref entered. "I saw a beam of light. I take it you obtained Eclipse?"
The keys were behind Lucy's back. She had instinctively hidden them when the door opened.
"Yes."
He watched her for a moment and Lucy silently prayed that he wouldn't force her to give up her keys again.
"Very well," he said. "We will open the Gate first thing tomorrow morning."
"So soon?"
"Yes. You want to have this issue resolved before you friends come storming my castle, don't you?"
"Yeah, I suppose it would be good to avoid that situation."
"Then we are in agreement." He flashed her a smile that made her cringe. "Since we are getting along so splendidly, I'd like to invite you to join me for dinner tonight. We can go over some of the finer details of our plan."
"Okay… What time?"
"Seven." He turned and began walking away. "Don't be late."