Chapter 22: When has it ever been a crime to love somebody?!
It was a quite Sunday afternoon in the almost empty guild when Lucy ordered her favorite drink.
"Ahh! That was such a fun mission" Lucy said, while drinking a strawberry milkshake, sitting at a table in the guildhall.
Erza shook her head in agreement. "I would have to say it was a marvelous first foray into acting."
"You were amazing Luce!" Natsu said in between scarfing down his food like an animal.
"What Natsu said!" Happy exclaimed while munching on a fish.
Gray suddenly smirked. "Yeah, I think the audience liked a bit more than your performance though."
Lucy cocked her head to the side in confusion as she stared at her raven-haired friend. "What do you mean Gray? I only performed what was required of me."
"I mean when you lost-" Gray sighed at the clueless expression on the blonde's face. "Whatever, it doesn't matter."
The blonde looked around the guildhall while sipping on her drink, trying to spot the little old man who usually sat on the bar top. "Hey Mira?"
Mirajane turned around from restocking the alcohol on the shelf behind her. "Yes, Lucy?"
"Where is Master Makarov? He is not at his usual spot upon the bar top." Lucy said, pointing towards the bar.
"Oh! He's at a conference at the magic council with other guild masters regarding corrupt guild masters." Mirajane explained.
"Oh I see." Lucy said.
It was in that moment when the guild doors opened and staggered in a sickly looking Loke. Lucy watched as he walks over to Mirajane at the bar, talking about something she could not quite hear. His movements where sluggish and it looked like he was in pain.
After a few minutes of chatting with the silver haired bartender Loke walked over to Gray, and that was when he collapsed, crumpling to the floor with a pained yell.
"Oi! Keep it together, man!" Gray shouted, with anxiety lacing his voice, racing towards his friend.
"Not here… I have to… make it to…" Loke murmured, and then, he became transparent.
Everyone could see straight through his face, as if he was no more than a ghost.
Lucy grasped onto the key of the water bearer in her shock. In the instant when Lucy's fingers met Aquarius's key, like she had done many times before in stressful situations, the mermaid summoned herself into the human world.
Aquarius was about to speak but her voice died in her throat when she saw Loke sitting on the ground in pain.
"Leo?!" She let go of Lucy and floated over to her old friend. "Leo? Why are you in the human world?"
"Human world?" Erza questioned.
"Huh? What does she mean, Loke." Gray said, holding onto his friend's shoulder, afraid he might disappear any second.
Loke laughed bitterly. "I guess the cat's out of the bag."
"This is no time to be joking!" The furious mermaid slapped the injured lion.
Gray instantly shot up, glaring at the blue haired mermaid. "Oi! What the hell was that for?!"
"Aquarius…" Lucy murmured, unsure of what to do in the situation.
"You're dying and you think this is the time to joke?!" Aquarius yelled, tears pricking the back of her eyes.
"What!?" A chorus of yells was heard through the guild hall.
As everyone was panicking, trying to figure out what to do, Lucy sensed it. His magic was the same as Aquarius's. There was no mistaking it, Loke was really…
"Leo the Lion, the leader of the twelve zodiacs. That's you, are you not?" Lucy asked, kneeling next to the dying spirit.
Loke's eyes widened in shock and his reaction was all Lucy needed to confirm her theory.
"How, why is this happening to you?" Lucy asked the dying spirit.
"I…" Loke coughed up fluids in his weakened state. "I cannot go back…I committed a crime that went against everything celestial law stood for." Loke muttered.
Lucy flinched back In shock. "But I do not understand, how is that related to this current situation?"
"I killed her, Lucy. I murdered her in cold blood, and that's why I deserve to die." Loke murmured.
Loke heard footsteps coming closer and closer until Gray was standing in front of him with a look of anger on his face. "That's bullshit!"
"Gray!" Lucy shouted in frustration.
The ice wizard ignored the blond, he bent down and picked up Loke by the front of his shirt. "Cut the crap! Even if you really killed her, you have no right to go and die! You have to for your sins!"
Natsu watched on, not ready to interfere in the argument. This wasn't some monster or bad guy he could just simply punch his way through.
Gray threw Loke back to the ground in a fit of rage and Aquarius was ready to defend her fellow zodiac until Lucy grabbed her arm and shook her head.
Loke watched on with slight amusement on his face as he whispered out; "Since when did you start letting keyholders start bossing you around."
Aquarius smiled softly. "A lot has changed Loke."
"So it has…" Loke murmured out before collapsing.
"I won't let you die, Loke." Lucy said as she moved over and placed both her hands on his shoulders.
Loke suddenly felt a massive influx of magic power enter his body, stabilizing him for the moment. He looked down at his hands and saw they no longer were translucent.
'This is wrong, if she keeps pushing magic power in me at this rate then…'
"Lucy! What are you doing?!" Loke snapped.
"Trying to open your gate!" Lucy said as she put more magic power into opening the gate of the lion palace.
Natsu, Gray, Erza and Mirajane watched on in shock and awe as Lucy's magic power manifested itself as a powerful golden wind. Gray took a step back from his dying best friend as the wind got stronger.
"Lucy!" Erza shouted, trying to get her blonde friend's attention to no avail.
Lucy could feel her magic power being pushed against what she envisioned as the golden gate of the lion palace, yet no matter how much she pushed it would never budge. It was as if someone had sealed it shut.
She could feel the strain beginning on her body, her breathing became labored and sweat was dripping from her brow. "Can't give up, almost there!"
Just as she thought she opened the door a crack, it was slammed shut in her face and she fell back, her magic power cutting out.
Natsu ran over to Lucy's side, both confused and impressed about her magic power. "Oi Luce! You okay?"
Lucy was slowly catching her breath. "Yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry about me."
Tears were streaming down Loke's cheeks now. "…Please! Let me be! Why are you going so far to help me? You barely know me?!"
"That doesn't matter! I won't stand back as another person dies!" Lucy yelled.
Gray shook Loke out of his stupor. "Just what are you saying? Why can't you go back? You're a spirit, aren't you?!"
Loke momentarily looked away. He never wanted to involve Gray, or anyone from the guild in his situation. But it seemed as if they went to the trouble of involving themselves anyway. "I can't...'
"And the punishment is death?!" Gray exclaimed. "I won't let you die!" Gray placed his hand on Loke's arm and supplied magic power into his friend.
"That's right, Loke! We're family! And family never abandons someone." Lucy said with a radiant yet exhausted smile.
Lucy put her hands back on the dying spirit's shoulders and sent another pulse of magic power through the gate.
"Damnit! Open you stupid gate! I can't keep this up forever!" Lucy shouted.
"Oi! I won't be outdone by Popsicle!" Natsu shouted.
"I'll help Lucy too!" Mirajane said.
"Me too!" Happy yelled.
"We'll save you, Loke!" Erza yelled.
Loke found so many conflicting emotions wash over him as he saw his friends in the guild channel their magic power to Lucy to help her open his gate.
"Everyone!" Loke wailed.
Lucy gasped in shock when she could feel the gate open, more then the slight crack she did alone. With everyone's help she was finally forcing the gate open. "Just a little more!"
"The gate is almost open!" Lucy shouted in joy. The gate of the lion palace was now half way open, and she was determined to save her friend…
That was until the gate was suddenly shut in her face, and the impact of all that magic power being thrown back at them threw everyone off their feet.
Just as Lucy was about to try again, the outside world suddenly froze. The birds flying past the guild windows where frozen in time. She looked around and saw her friends frozen as well. Just before she was about question why, the guild's newly built roof burst open, exposing a giant floating in midair.
"Y-you all s-summoned the king…" Loke said in shock.
Aquarius floated in shock as she looked up at the face of her king. "How did Lucy do that? That should be impossible."
"Are you the one?" Lucy stood up straight and faced the king. She heard Loke and Aquarius mutter something about a king. She didn't care about kings or Queens. "Are you the one who hurt Loke?"
"Thy king did not hurt Leo, if that is what you are referring to, child of the stars." The spirit king said.
Lucy's blood was boiling with anger, he knew what she was talking about and yet he chose to ignore the question. "Answer the question..."
Meanwhile Gray looked up at the massive floating king with contempt. He clenched his fists in anger and frustration. 'Haven't I lost enough already?'
Gray was just about fed up; in fact he was fed up just as soon as he saw the giant bastard. He would have punched if he could.
"Stache Face!" Both mages yelled in unison.
"Lucy! Gray! Are you two insane?!" Loke said, freaking out that they had the nerve to insult the spirit king of all people.
Meanwhile, Aquarius snorted, trying to hide in her laughter. She would never have expected in her long lifetime to see someone insult their leader.
The spirit king looked on at the humans with annoyance in his eyes. 'Who are these humans to insult and berate thy' he thought.
"Leo the Lion knew the consequences of his actions if thy where to go against celestial law."
"But he would have had a good reason for it." Lucy pleaded.
"Exactly! Loke is my friend and I have known him for the past three years, and there's no way he would kill someone unless it was self-defense!" Gray yelled out.
The spirit king looked on at the humans with a small amusement. Who where these mere humans to go against him?
"Thy laws were created for thy benefit of man and spirit." The spirit king boomed out.
"How is this any benefit to him? He will just die! We don't even know what he did wrong!" Lucy yelled.
"If you're going to sentence our friend to death at least let us know what happened!" Gray yelled back.
The spirit king looked at the two humans with interest. "Very well then, thy shall know thy actions taken by the gate of thy Lion Palace."
Lucy and Gray gasped in shock as they were suddenly bombarded with information. It was if they were recalling a memories.
The bombardment stopped and Lucy fell to her knees in exhaustion. Tears were running down her cheeks as she took in everything Loke endured.
Lucy couldn't comprehend what she saw. Someone was talking to a figure shrouded in darkness, then the spirits where bowing down in a field of flowers, muttering something she couldn't understand. Then she saw a woman giving birth with a man beside her, then nothing.
Gray stumbled back with a hand held to his head as he tried processing such information.
Aquarius looked on in shock at just what the spirit king did. She was having trouble understanding why the king decided to go so far to make two humans understand his actions. Perhaps it was Lucy who had proven herself to the king already, but why would he show them that?
Lucy shot up from the ground, staring at the spirit king questioningly. "D-did Loke help someone… give birth?"
"But who was that person talking to? Who were they? We don't understand what you showed us, it was just all flashes." Gray shouted.
"Leo thy Lion knew the consequences of thy actions taken." The spirit king replied.
Lucy was starting to get frustrated. "Why was Loke marked for death if all he did was help someone? This does not make any sense."
The spirit king twitched his mustache in frustration. "Spirit and Man where never supposed to get so close. What thy subject did broke every law of thy celestial realm. That is why thee is marked for death, celestial spirit mage."
Gray glared up at the celestial spirit king. "If all Loke did was help someone then why does he need to die?!"
"Please! Just help him! Save him!" Lucy yelled. Gray watched on as golden waves of magic started to flow around Lucy like smoke. Lucy stomped her foot in frustration and anger. "Loke deserves to live! Everyone deserves a second chance!" As Lucy continued to yell her plea, spirits started to appear, being summoned by her will alone.
Aquarius watched on in shock as she saw her fellow spirits being summoned one by one. Taurus, Cancer, Sagittarius, Plue. Everyone was there. Aquarius felt the courage in her chest rise and she, for once in her long life, felt the need to speak back to her king.
"Leo was complicit in thy crime." The spirit king said.
"We were all complicit! Leo just piled the blame on himself. If you are going to punish Leo, then punish us all!" Aquarius yelled, being backed up by all the other spirits Lucy owned.
Aquarius could not hear the humans and her fellow spirits yelling over the blood rushing in her ears. She was terrified. She had just stood up to the king, the man who could end her existence with a flick of her finger. And yet, despite the danger, she felt truly free.
"Leo helped bring a life into this world that should not exist." The spirit king boomed.
"How is that a crime?!" Lucy yelled. "When has it ever been a crime to love somebody?!"
The spirit king turned his attention towards Lucy with a look of sympathy on his face. "Thy actions taken towards Leo are interwoven with thy pact made eons ago, child of the stars."
Lucy's face fell in despair and she collapsed to the ground as the last of her magic energy disappeared.
"Lucy!" Both Gray and Loke yelled and they ran over to the blonde.
"Lucy! Lucy! Speak to me! Are you okay?" Loke frantically yelled out as Gray held her, momentarily forgetting the predicament he found himself in.
Lucy opened her eyes and smiled. "I guess...I went and... used a bit too much magic."
"Of course you did." Gray mumbled with a sigh.
Lucy looked at the spirit king and was confused when he started to smile, showing off large, white teeth.
"What are you looking at, Lucy?" Loke said, before he and Gray followed her line of sight and saw the smiling spirit king.
"In recent light of thy actions taken by mankind in defense of thy innocence, I declare Leo of thy Lion Palace to be innocent!"
Loke heard ringing in his ears and felt like he was about to faint from hearing that.
Lucy and Gray hugged each other in celebration. "Yay!" "We did it."
Loke looked up at the king's smiling face. "But…But I committed a crime, the worst crime possible. H…How can I possibly live after that?"
The spirit king stopped smiling and he was serious one more. "If Thy feel so strongly about thy crime, then thou punishment shall be to serve thy celestial mage whom saved thy life.
The king then dissolved into particles of light and time started to move again. Lucy looked up at the ceiling of the guildhall and saw it was completely normal, not at all destroyed.
Loke walked over to Lucy, exhausted from everything that had just transpired and took Lucy's hand and placed something in it before he too started to dissolve into particles of light.
Loke just smiled. Smiled at his new keyholder, the one who so bravely risked her own life multiple times to save his. And his best friend, Gray, who stood up for him in his time of need and supported him.
He couldn't have asked for better friends.
It has been a little over more than a year since i last updated, wow. I want to thank everyone for staying with me and reading this story and waiting for a new chapter. While i cannot say when the next chapter will arrive, i can guarantee it will. I have been so much more busy with my full time job than i expected. Until next time, Thanks!