Chapter 36 - Another Eclipse
Fairy Tail Guild Building
On a seemingly more peaceful day, the wizards that weren't on missions or participating in some fight were enjoying themselves. For Makarov decided to order a few Pool tables and other fun games on one of the guild's floors. Possible to either add fun at home or to distract his surrogate children form literally tearing the place apart. It looked like it was working for the most part.
Unfortunately, games that involve balls with sticks seem to give certain people the wrong impression. Namely Natsu and Happy who were quick to think Pool was a weird version of baseball. Luckily Erza was quick to arrive before they could further destroy the guild and actually hurt someone.
And Erza made it clear that Pool table balls were very painful.
"Natsu! Happy! This is not that type of game!" Erza yelled before disciplining them.
Which involved quite a bit of pain to inflict. At least now with recent years, Natsu was starting to learn more quickly. As for Happy, no amount of damage could harm him the same way Charle chose to harm him.
"I should feel disappointed with how much you have grown, Happy. I suppose it was easy for you to revert back to your foolish side." Charle said.
Even if it was a bit wordy, Happy responded to Charle's words by face faulting and feeling depressed. Then he quickly raised his head up and showed a face filled with determination.
"I'm going to earn your respect again, Charle my love! I'm going to become the Pool champion!" Happy declared.
"Wow, the Pool champion!?" Wendy asked excitedly.
"That's not a thing nor would I care if he was such a champion." Charle said.
"I'll earn your love again!" Happy said before picking Natsu's injured body up.
"We were never lovers." Charle said before sighing heavily.
Wendy went to help Natsu after Erza hit him a bit too hard. Only to watch as Nightingale gently brushed her aside and started working. Using methods that made it look like she was punching Natsu with the intent to break his ribcage.
"His breathing is steady but there are multiple fractures. Luckily they are all minor." Nightingale said as she kept working.
Causing Natsu to regain consciousness and panic.
"Help! Get this big boobed psycho off of me!" Natsu yelled as he felt more pain with the treatment.
Erza scoffed on the side, "Natsu, it seems that you never learn. Destroying a nice pool table is one thing but discriminating big breasted women is a whole other offense." she said.
Erza chose not to hurt him further as she didn't want to annoy Nightingale. That and the treatment already hurt the younger boy already. So Erza decided to reorganize the Pool table and try her hand at it with a pool cue.
"Do you know how to play pool, Erza?" Shirou asked.
"Of course I do. If you want, auntie can teach you." Erza said, referring to herself as his aunt.
Shirou nodded and Wendy approached Erza as well as she also got curious. Erza went over some basic positions and techniques she uses. Along with explaining the rules and what to look out for. As Erza explained this, she felt a sense of nostalgia from about eight or nine years ago. Which involved an incident with a Pool hall where she caused a mess.
Long story short, Erza showed a rare moment of stupidity and accidentally destroyed a few Pool tables. Only because she didn't know how to play at the time and tried to earn herself a special deluxe dessert. Only to learn that she went to the wrong place and that the dessert was at the shop next to the Pool hall. She felt stupid and it led to an altercation with a woman claiming to be a Fairy Tail wizard. With Erza ending that day by not getting her dessert, but managing to get a new member of the guild.
'I wonder how she is.' Erza wondered before finishing a set.
"You're great at this, Erza." Wendy complimented.
Erza chuckled at the kids before hearing a new voice.
"Do we have new pool tables?" the new voice asked.
Erza turned and saw Fairy Tail's only nuclear family, The Connells.
"Yes we do, would you like to play a quick round with me Bisca?" Erza asked.
"I wouldn't mind." Bisca said.
Before she grabbed herself a pool cue. The green haired woman felt something was off. So she took off her cowboy hat and pulled out a very large rodent that looked a bit overweight.
"Sunny, you're awake." Bisca said, sounding slightly surprised.
"That is a big fat rat!" Shirou exclaimed with surprise.
"Not a rat! Sunny is a mouse and he's family." Asuka spoke up.
Bisca chuckled before handing the rodent to Alzack who struggled given Sunny's weight.
"Sunny is looking a bit bigger lately." Erza said.
"Was he always a member of this guild?" Shirou asked, not once remembering Sunny's existence.
Then again, him and the rest of Team Natsu hardly ever interacted with Bisca despite the years she had Sunny with her. Which was way before Lucy joined the guild but its not like anyone has seen Sunny run around. Unlike Happy who made his presence known whenever he's in the guild like everyone else.
"Of course he is. Shirou, have you never met Sunny?" Erza asked, sounding confused.
Shirou shook his head as even Wendy and Charle looked confused by the presence of the large rodent. Who just silently stared at them from the palms of Alzack.
"Honey, I think it's time we put Sunny on a diet." Alzack said, earning a grunt from Sunny as a reply.
"He's fine Al. Sunny won't grow any more." Bisca said.
As the ladies played Pool with each other. They heard a loud thumping heading towards their direction. Erza turned and saw a large familiar looking egg bouncing into the Pool room. She didn't understand it at first and watched as it landed on another pool table where Gray was playing.
"What the? Oh, this must be a new cue ball." Gray said, having already destroying the original cue ball.
Like the egg, Gray was about to smash it recklessly without thinking. Only to miss as the egg bounced again and landed on his head. The egg bashed itself against Gray's head again, knocking the ice wizard onto the floor. Before hitting him in the face and bouncing away.
"Gray-sama! My beloved, you're injured!" Juvia cried out.
Just as Juvia tried to fetch an emergency medical kit. Nightingale suddenly shoved her away and began working healing and bandaging Gray's face. Along with dropping some iodine onto his face which made Gray scream in pain.
"What are you doing!?" Juvia asked.
"The impact scraped his cheek. I need to disinfect." Nightingale said before dropping more.
As Gray cried out in pain from the procedure, Natsu raised his head and saw the egg. Only for it to smash against his face and knock him back down. The impact also slightly scraped his forehead and barely looked noticeable. Except to Nightingale who pinned him down and got to work again.
"A medic's duty is never finished!" Nightingale said as she poured the iodine on the small cut.
"AHHHH! Are you pouring acid on my face!?" Natsu asked.
Nightingale ignored him as Lucy and Lisanna arrived and chased after the egg. Just as the egg bounced towards the ledge and almost fell onto the first floor. Lisanna turned into a bird and caught it before floating towards Lucy.
"I got it Lucy." Lisanna said.
"Oh thank goodness, I don't want Tiamat getting mad." Lucy said as she caught her breath.
That's when Erza realized where the egg came from and why it was familiar. It belonged to Tiamat, the eggs were always fairly large and sometimes had odd markings. Some even looked bigger than the egg where Happy was born from.
"Did the eggs get loose?" Erza asked as she approached them.
Lisanna laughed nervously, "I accidentally left the door open, but it's not my fault. This one is already ready to wake up." she said.
That's when the egg began to violently shake as if it were about to explode. Lisanna and Lucy held it in place as the egg began to crack from the top. Erza marvelled at the miracle at birth as the egg continued to shake before the top was smashed open and a reptilian creature came out. The little dragon was blinded by the yolk within the egg and struggled to shake it off.
Lucy saw this and grabbed a cloth to wipe its face away. Before the dragon adjusted its vision, Lucy pulled out a photograph of Tiamat and presented it in front of the dragon once their vision adjusted. As to avoid it from imprinting on another individual.
The dragon tilted its head in confusion before trying to nudge its nose at the photo.
"That's right, this is mama." Lucy said as the dragon crawled out of the egg.
Erza and Lisanna smiled at the sight of the dragon as it waddled out. The little reptile slowly adjusted itself to moving before trying to extend its wings. When Natsu got in the way and looked it in the eye.
"This little guy was trapped in there? It looks pretty shrimpy for a dragon." Natsu said.
"Natsu, its a baby. Even Happy was a lot smaller when he was born." Lisanna pointed out.
"It still looks kind of wimpy." Natsu replied.
"Yeah, he's barely smaller than Zirconis after he shrunk." Happy added.
The infant dragon stared at Natsu and smelled the scent of a dragon and despite its small brain. He looked at Natsu as if he were a weird animal despite having never seen any creatures to reference him to. Before the dragon moved on, it started to cough loudly before breathing fire onto Natsu and Happy.
"That was rude." Natsu said as he was covered in ash and had an afro.
Happy also appeared in the same state and had a big afro too. Although he lost consciousness due to the impact of the fire.
"I think I need to take this one back to the nursery before his mother wakes up." Lucy said.
"Careful Lucy, put a blanket over him. Otherwise Tiamat might get confused if he smells like humans." Lisanna warned.
Being able to turn into animals, Lisanna had a good knowledge on various creatures. Maybe not dragons, but she thought their acute sense of smell let them recognize their children if they shared the same scent. It was a typical method used by wolves and other motherly animals.
So with that, Lucy gently wrapped a blanket around the baby dragon. Where she struggled to pick him up for a moment.
"Okay, you're a bit heavy." Lucy said.
"Aw, he's so cute." Wendy said.
"We should name him." Shirou suggested.
"His mother will name him. There's no need for that." Charle said.
Lucy raised a brow, "Technically, Tiamat isn't the type to name her kids. Half of the time, she lets them figure it out once they are the stage where they don't eat everything in front of them." she said.
"AH! LET GO!" Natsu yelled as the dragon bit his arm.
"No, bad boy. You need nutrition and Natsu is just going to make you violent." Lucy said as she pried the dragon away.
Natsu grumbled under his breath as he rubbed his wound. Lucy sighed at Natsu before giving the dragon to Lisanna who turned into a kangaroo. Where she then carried the dragon back to the nursery where Tiamat and her other eggs are.
"Mama, does this mean we're getting lots of dragons now?" Asuka asked.
Bisca looked unsure of what to say as she realized that so many unborn dragons lived under the guild. Even Alzack looked a bit scared as handling his wife's pet mouse was already tricky. Now a lot of dragons are just waiting to be born under there. At least now, no one could argue that dragons are fictional creatures anymore now that a primordial goddess left her children in their guild.
"By this point, we're just going to have rename ourselves "Dragon Tail"." Gray said as he struggled to stand up.
"Careful Gray-sama, you're still injured." Juvia said, now wearing a nurse outfit.
"I'm fine, that nurse lady went overboard." Gray said.
Then Nightingale gave him a slip of paper.
"What's this?" Gray asked.
"A diet plan. You have ragged breathing among other issues." the medic answered.
Gray looked dumbstruck and was about to argue when Juvia took it to study. Likely to plan out healthy dinners much to his dismay.
"That is only a recommendation, I suggest speaking to a nutritionist or your local physician." Nightingale said.
As great of a medic is, disregarding how intense Nightingale is, she's not the best person to talk to about certain medical needs. A family doctor is the individual who recognizes the patient the longest and understands their health. Unfortunately for Gray, that person would be Porlyusica who isn't a nutritionist. At best, she would probably yell at Gray and beat him with a broom by telling him to eat healthy and stop bothering her.
That and if she had the patience, Porlyusica would probably tell Gray that he's Juvia's problem now.
"I don't a diet." Gray said.
That's when Miyu came and started squeezing the side of Gray's gut. Gray yipped before pulling his daughter's hand away.
"Hey, didn't your mother teach you to not touch people?" Gray asked.
"I think you're eating too many eclairs." Miyu commented.
"They're not eclairs, they're…"
"Beloved, you need to listen to the doctor's orders." Juvia interrupted, frustrating Gray in the process.
A while later
Lisanna gently put down the baby dragon and let him walk on his own. Where he sniffed the air and looked around before noticing Tiamat sleeping on a bed. The dragon wagged his tail before dragging a pillow and sheet towards his mother and fell asleep next to her.
Once that was done and Lisanna turned into a small bunny to quietly hop away. Only to hear a loud creaking noise that made her cringe. She looked at Lucy who tried to help her out quickly, thinking they were waking up Tiamat. Only to hear several cracks and loud thumps. Causing the girls to turn and see Tiamat stir in her bed as the eggs were beginning to crack.
"Oh no." Lucy said.
That's when the entire floor was filled with dozens of baby dragons that were confused and wondering around. With multiple dragons sneezing various elements and almost wrecking the entire floor. Luckily, they all stopped once Tiamat woke up and realized the new generation of children had been born.
But she noticed another problem and wanted Lucy to help fix it.
A few minutes later
Lucy set up a small lab in one of the empty rooms that Makarov didn't find any use for. Where she summoned Asclepius and Paracelsus von Hohenheim to get started on some samples she took from the dragons.
"So what's the issue now?" Gray asked.
"Apparently the dragons are sick. I don't if someone messed with the thermostat or something, but a bunch of them have nasty colds." Lucy explained.
"The symptoms fit the description of the flu." Asclepius spoke up.
"Okay, the flu, they have the flu apparently." Lucy said.
"So, what do you need us for?" Natsu asked.
"Obviously, traditional medicine won't work on dragons and most forms of magic won't do any good." Lucy explained.
"So, we're all going on an adventure to find the ingredients for a vaccine or some kind of cure." Lisanna said.
"Then we have a duty to help our tenants." Erza said, wanting to save the dragons that she saw as children.
"Yeah, we have to help the poor babies." Wendy said in agreement.
"So what? We gotta kill a massive monster and take out its venom?" Gajeel asked.
After a minute, Hohenheim presented a list with a couple of notes based on what he and Asclepius figured out from the sickness. Despite being an alchemist and a doctor for humans, the pair seemingly figured out how to treat the dragons.
"Well, here's the list of what we need." Lucy said.
Levy was the first to recognize some of the ingredients.
"Oh, some of these are pretty far or hard to get." Levy said as she cringed.
"I'll take the hard ones!" Natsu volunteered, thinking he might fight a monster.
"I can handle a challenge. How bad can it be?" Gajeel asked.
Lucy and a couple of others started organizing a few maps and listing out the ingredients. She also presented a few tools that would be needed to extract the materials required for the medication they needed to make. When it was set and done, Lucy created two divisions with this new mission.
Team A, they would be in charge of travelling to the distant locations and handling whatever dangers get in the way. They would be composed of Natsu, Gray, Gajeel, Shirou, Arthur, Ventus, Erza, Cana and Elfman along with a couple of servants. They would have to pack and be ready within a couple of hours.
Team B, they would stay behind to help treat the baby dragons as well as keep them in one place as to not burn down the guild or the town itself. This team would be led by Lucy and a few others like Mirajane, Lisanna and most of the girls in Fairy Tail.
"Alright, is everyone ready?" Lucy asked.
"Yeah, we'll be ready." Natsu said as he and the boys went to go pack.
"Maybe I oughta go with them too." Alzack said.
"That's fine." Lucy said.
"Be careful Al." Bisca said as she kissed her husband's cheek.
"Daddy, be hurry back. Mommy and I are gonna help take care of the baby dragons while you're gone." Asuka said as she hugged her father's legs.
Alzack chuckled as he hugged his daughter back, "Okay then, remember to wash your hands afterwards and listen to your mother too." he said.
Asuka nodded and everyone took their positions.
An hour later, at the port
Lucy gave Erza a command seal that contracted her with Francis Drake whom would sail everyone to their locations. Despite the pirate being greedy and hedonistic, she does have a basic level of honor. Meaning she's not a coward or someone who would backstab her master. At least it would be hard for Drake to ignore Erza's command given the authoritative behavior she has.
"Erza, you obviously know you're in charge. Given how you're one of the few smart people on the ship." Lucy said.
Erza nodded, "You can count of me Lucy. Just focus on the infant dragons while I'm gone. I'll be sure to keep everyone in line as we travel." she said.
"Good luck out there. We'll be waiting for you." Lucy said.
Erza nodded again before turning around and using her Requip. Where she exchanged her skirt and armor for a pirate outfit that came with a tricorn hat with Fairy Tail's sigil on it.
"Alright you filthy bilge rats, Captain Scarlet has arrived and I don't want to see anyone lying around on the poop deck!" Erza said, getting into character.
Lucy sweat dropped, "Well, she's at least motivated." she said.
Lucy was about to walk away before she felt Shirou hugging her waist.
"Bye mama." Shirou said.
Lucy smiled and hugged him back, "Bye Shirou, remember to listen to your aunt Erza. Arthur, keep an eye on him and help Erza keep everyone in line." she said.
Arthur nodded, "Of course, I know the drill already." he said.
Lucy broke the hug with Shirou who ran up to the ship before hugging Arthur as well. Once the boys were onboard, Lucy had saw Ventus run past her to join the rest of the expedition crew. Once Francis Drake took the helm of the ship, the voyage began and Lucy took that a signal to leave and begin her part of the mission.
Later that day, with Team A
Luckily for the team, Erza recognized where to get the first set of ingredients. One of which involved the mucus of a slug for some reason. As grossed out as some of them were, Erza didn't care and pointed Francis Drake in the right direction.
"I remember there are some massive slugs around this area." Erza said as they stopped near a beach.
As a couple of the men got out to look for slugs. Erza was about to mention some important advice when Drake spoke up.
"If it weren't for my mana and skills. We wouldn't have moved at all." the pirate said.
"What are you talking about?" Erza asked.
"I thought maybe I was seeing things or lost my touch, but I noticed how little wind there was. So I had to move the whole ship and considered making it fly just to get moving." Drake explained.
Erza was no sailor and while she has forced pirates to take her to Galuna island to retrieve Natsu in the past. She only knew the basics of sailing, which included needing wind in order for sails to move. Barring Drake being a servant, the ship was not like more modernized ships which can use coal and move on their own or other technologies to help move at a faster pace.
"Maybe it's the season. Could that affect our sailing?" Erza asked.
"I doubt it. You could blow air from your lips and it would be stronger than the air around us." Drake answered.
As they spoke, the team continued to look around for slugs. When they heard a loud rumbling coming from the ocean. Everyone stopped in place and saw a massive slug come out and chase them across the beach.
"Erza, there's a giant slug!" Gray yelled.
Erza looked at Gray from her position and didn't see any issue.
"That's right, the slugs around here are quite big. It's much easier to collect their mucus this way." Erza said.
Gray looked gobsmacked, "Why didn't you tell us!?" he asked.
"How does Titania even know about slugs being this big?" Gajeel asked.
"I took many missions around this area. It's not uncommon for one of these sea monsters to come out." Erza said.
Erza and a couple others were about to argue about Erza not saying anything. When Natsu decided it would be fun to beat up the slug. So he jumped high into the air and aimed for the slug.
"Fire Dragon Iron Fist!" Natsu shouted.
The slug cried out in pain before spilling mucus all over the team. Natsu continued to beat the slug until it squeezed out enough mucus to flood the beach.
"Salamander, cut that out!" Gajeel angrily demanded as he was covered in mucus.
"Not yet, we need lots of mucus!" Natsu replied.
"This is already enough, idiot!" Gray shouted.
"This is so disgusting!" Arthur said as he immediately ran towards the water.
As Lucy's older son started to wash off his armor. He felt a familiar presence walking towards him and looked up to see something a bit creepy. He saw Virgo standing over him in a skin tight black outfit with a whip on hand and a smirk on her face.
"Virgo? What are you doing here and wearing that outfit?" Arthur asked, feeling a bit nervous.
Virgo grinned before raising her whip. Just as she was about to say something which likely would have made Arthur want to shower. The celestial spirit was interrupted by a ton of mucus hitting her from behind. Virgo slowly turned her head to see Natsu finally done with beating up the slug.
"This is… disgusting!" Virgo yelled.
Arthur knew it was disgusting, but he almost imagined Virgo would be asking if this was a new method of punishment. Now the masochistic celestial spirit was acting like she was just violated.
"Are you feeling okay?" Arthur asked.
Virgo glared at him, "No, because I was supposed to deal the punishments here!" she yelled.
Arthur raised his sword and blocked Virgo's whip strikes. That is until Virgo wrapped her whip around Arthur's sword. She tried to disarm her boyfriend before feeling Shirou kick her in the back. Causing Virgo to crash into the water.
"What is wrong with her? Did mom send her?" Arthur asked.
"She could never summon spirits of any kind from so far away." Shirou answered.
They both watched as Virgo slowly stood up and spat out the sea water. Before giving them a deranged grin and chasing them around with her whip.
As sons of Lucy fought the rogue celestial spirit. Gajeel was finishing up with filling a large jar with slug mucus. When he was the first to notice the fighting and thought it was some horseplay on the boys' parts.
"Hey Salamander, your kid and the other kid are messing around with the Nun's celestial spirit." Gajeel called out.
"Huh?" Natsu asked before looking at the scene. "Shirou! Now's not a good time to be playing! You want your aunt Erza to get mad at you too?" He asked.
"Dad, Virgo's gone crazy!" Shirou yelled.
"What? Did she turn into a gorilla again?" Natsu asked as he walked towards the scene.
Natsu arrived and saw Virgo in a new outfit and whip. He didn't really bother to get to know all of Lucy's celestial spirits and their personalities. So all he knew was that Aquarius had a nasty attitude, Virgo was like Erza (a closet pervert) and Leo/Loki is an arrogant ladies man. All the dragon slayer could guess was that Virgo was doing something perverted involving a whip.
Eventually, Natsu decided that they had enough fun "playing" so he got in the way and raised in arm. Which resulted in Virgo crashing face first into his arm and hitting the sand.
"Haha, so that's how Erza feels. I get why she likes doing that." Natsu said.
He was referring to the time Erza knocked him out with this method. It was simple, but by raising an arm at a certain position and time. Someone who isn't in the mood to fight can knock out an impatient idiot that's looking to fight. Which Erza often does to Natsu and several others. However, Virgo appeared to still be conscious as she wrapped her whip around Natsu's neck.
"Oh, so you wanna fight then?" Natsu asked.
Virgo only grinned in response as she pulled him onto the sand. Where she then started repeatedly whipping his body.
"Virgo, what are you doing!?" Arthur asked.
"Isn't it obvious!? I'm inflicting pain!" Virgo answered.
"That much is obvious, but why?" Arthur asked.
"Because I want to be free. All of us do, we're tired of that girl you call a mother shackling us." Virgo said.
Arthur sweat dropped, "But you have lots of freedom. In fact, you and several others always come out whenever you feel like it." he said.
Virgo scoffed as she wrapped her whip around Arthur's torso. Where she proceeded to slam him into the sand. She then stepped onto his back and rubbed her heel.
"Don't toy with me. I can't remember anything, but I know you well." Virgo said. "All those days, you hurt me and made me your play thing. Tying me up so I couldn't run loose. Forcing me to endure again and again, forcing me to love it and beg for more!" she said.
Arthur blushed at the accusation as Virgo always asked him to find ways to punish her. She even had a weird thing for bondage for some reason. Which Virgo enjoyed because it gave her a sense of helplessness when she expected to be punished. Before Arthur could find the words to properly argue. The ground shook and out came another familiar pink haired individual.
Only they weren't the same comrade that everyone knew.
"Aries?" Shirou asked.
"That's right, don't wear my name out. Its not cool." Aries said, sounding rude.
For some reason, Aries also looked a lot different as her skin was tanned, her hair and horns were grown out, her outfit was changed with chains hanging around her body and she had a pair of red sunglasses which added to the smug look she had.
"I see you're still rocking the tan Lucy gave you a while back." Natsu said.
Aries scoffed, "She didn't give me nothing, but that doesn't mean I don't like a bit of sunlight on my skin." she said.
"Okay, you're sounding a lot like a jerk." Natsu said.
"Damn it Salamander, what are you doing? Also, why are the Nun's celestial spirits here?" Gajeel asked.
"They're popping out by themselves and are asking for a butt kicking." Natsu said.
"They also claim that they broke mom's contract with them." Shirou said.
"Okay, I have no idea what's going on but if a beating is required. Then I'm the guy to deliver that kind of order." Gajeel said.
"And I'll notarize it!" Natsu said.
"That doesn't make any sense, but whatever." Gajeel said as they charged at the girls.
Arthur recovered once he saw Gajeel hit Virgo with an iron pillar to the gut. He slowly stood up and tried to stop the fight despite how aggressive Virgo and Aries were behaving.
"Stop! You can't hurt them!" Arthur pleaded.
"Just watch!" Gajeel said, challenging his statement.
"I know they're your girlfriends, but calm down. They just need to be taught a lesson." Natsu said as his coated his fists in fire.
Aries glared as she started launching her horns at Natsu like projectiles. Natsu avoided them and saw them explode right behind them. Before avoiding a whole wave of them as Aries continuously grew back her horns before getting punched in the chin.
Aries cried out as she crashed into the water. Soon enough, Virgo landed on top of her once Gajeel hit her hard enough.
"Get off me, you skimpy sadist!" Aries yelled as she shoved Virgo off of her.
Virgo glared at Aries, "You want to hurt you next?" she asked.
"Just touching you alone gives me a rash! You better apologize!" Aries yelled.
"I'll make you beg for forgiveness!" Virgo yelled as she extended her whip.
Whatever was causing the two celestial spirits to turn aggressive, seemed to work against them. As the two girls started turning on each other and fighting. Which probably looked hot to some more perverse men.
"Ah geez, I don't know what's going on but I don't wanna sleep on the couch tonight." Alzack said, thinking the fight looked too sexual.
Which it kind of did as the two spirits resorted to wrestling and fighting to stay on top of each other. Funny enough, Elfman was egging them on for the wrong reasons.
"That's right! Fight like a real man!" Elfman yelled.
"We're not men!" Virgo and Aries yelled at the same time.
Erza saw this mess and jumped down into the water. Where she quickly head butted Aries, knocking her back into the water. Erza then turned to Virgo who wrapped her whip around her arm.
"What's your pain tolerance, Titania?" Virgo asked, looking excited.
"Much higher than my patience." Erza said before pulling on the whip.
With her superior strength, Erza pulled Virgo closer towards her. Before the sadist could react, Erza kneed her in the gut before slamming her back onto the sand. Virgo slowly sat up only for Erza to drop her boot onto her gut.
"I don't know why Lucy sent the both of you here, but you are members of this guild by extension. Thereby, your punishment falls under me." Erza said as Virgo lost consciousness.
As Erza prepared to restrain Virgo. She felt a hand on her ankle and turned to see Aries had grabbed her while on the ground.
"You better apologize." Aries said.
Erza gave Aries a serious but silent expression for a whole minute. When she decided to shake off Aries' hand and kick her away.
"I'm sorry that Lucy hasn't disciplined you enough!" Erza yelled as Aries skidded away.
"Aren't you taking this a bit too far." Arthur said.
Erza scoffed, "Arthur, relationships are a compromise. They can be complicated too, they can be fun and loving but also painful and stressful. It's this balance and series of hurdles. But at the end, you have to assert yourself." she explained.
"Wow Titania, I didn't expect you to be so wise on that." Gajeel said.
"I am quite experienced." Erza said proudly.
"Really? No offense, but since when did you have a boyfriend?" Gajeel curiously asked.
Erza went wide eyed as she realized that she had no answer. She never had a real relationship and it was difficult to find someone nice. Aside from a few dates, Erza could not validate her wisdom. Natsu didn't help add to Erza's embarrassment.
"You stupid metal head! Erza isn't 'traditional'." Natsu said, trying to sound sensitive.
"Traditional? What the hell does that… oh." Gajeel said.
Suddenly, all the men including Cana raised a brow at Erza who blushed.
"I guess that's why she always fought with Mira back in the day." Cana said.
"She's more curious about Lucy's underwear than me." Natsu said.
Erza suddenly felt a tick mark and quickly picked up Virgo and Aries.
"That's enough! I am not well versed in romance, but I am still your captain!" Erza yelled.
Everyone stiffened and picked themselves up.
"Now everyone go back to the ship while I throw these two in the brig!" Erza commanded.
"Aye sir!" most of the crew yelled as they packed up and left.
Meanwhile, at the guild
Lucy was organizing the girls to help treat the baby dragons as well as keep them groomed and cleaned for Tiamat. She smiled as she saw Miyu and Ilya working together for once. Where they worked on drying every dragon that received a sponge bath from Juvia and Bisca. Meanwhile, Asuka was helping feed the baby dragons with the help of the Strauss sisters.
"Careful Asuka-chan, don't feed them too much and watch out with your fingers." Mirajane said.
"Yeah, otherwise the dragons might gobble them up." Lisanna said playfully.
Asuka gasped and cradled her hands anxiously. Causing Mira to slap her little sister upside the head.
"Why did you say that?" Mira asked.
"It was just a joke." Lisanna said.
Luckily, the feeding system wasn't too difficult or dangerous for Asuka. They just had to pour little bits of food into small pens where the baby dragons would wander in and eat from troughs.
"Don't listen to my dumb sister. The dragons can't hurt you, Asuka-chan." Mira said, trying to comfort the girl.
After a couple of minutes, Asuka lost her fear and started working on pushing food onto the little shovels. As the process continued, the dragons seemed to be tiring themselves out after their baths and dinner. Once that began, Lucy started to better organize the room so the dragons can have their spots to sleep in.
As she finished up and waited for everyone to finish up their duties. The door the main floor opened up and revealed Yukino.
"Lucy, are you down here?" Yukino asked, sounding concerned.
"Yeah, is something the matter?" Lucy asked as she started moving towards the stairs.
"Can we talk in private? It's very important." Yukino said.
She was tempted to say more and speak down here. However, she noticed Tiamat and remembered her rant when Zirconis and the other dragons were rampaging. With the woman proving what the power of a primordial goddess had in comparison to the ancient beasts that once ruled the world. Along with the fact that there were likely a hundred or more dragons in this room. Yukino didn't want to take the risk and stir up some trouble to share the news that would involve her freaking out and disturbing everyone.
Once Lucy reached the main floor, Yukino took a deep breath and composed herself. Her fear and anxieties being easy to sense and letting Lucy know that a problem was coming. Which likely had nothing to do with whatever drama was possibly going on in Sabertooth even now as Yukino was allowed back in.
"Is something wrong Yukino?" Lucy asked.
"Lucy, have you tried summoning your celestial spirits lately?" Yukino asked.
"No, not since that thing we did a couple of days ago. Then again, Scorpio and Loke might be mad that I let Penthesilea beat them up." Lucy said, wondering if those two still feel sour.
To be fair, even with Loke/Leo regaining his confidence after being allowed to return to the celestial spirit realm all those years ago. He proved why he represented the constellation symbolizing the lion. With his pride being out there and allowing him to continue to court women. It didn't help that he got beat up by an angry Amazon Queen who hated anyone that reminded him of Achilles.
Although, Loke/Leo might have been in worse pain had Penthesilea been in her true form. Achilles mentioned that Penthesilea was a true beauty and she still hates him for calling her that.
"No, I'm afraid it's much worse than feeling a tad sour." Yukino said.
Lucy reached for her keys and tried to scan them.
"Did something happen in the celestial spirit realm?" Lucy asked, waiting for any bad news to come out.
"The zodiac keys have rebelled and are breaking their contracts." Yukino said.
Lucy raised a brow, "What do you mean? Are they on strike or did some dispute happen?" she asked.
"I'm not entirely sure, but when I tried to summon my spirits. They claim to not remember me and refuse to let me summon them." Yukino said.
"Really? Let me see." Lucy said.
Yukino stood by and watched as Lucy went outside to try and summon a zodiac spirit. If something did happen, Yukino knew that Lucy could defend herself and the guild was filled with capable wizards and a few loose servants who would attack anything that threatened her.
"Open! Gate of the Golden Bull: Taurus!" Lucy called out.
As she raised her hand, Lucy expected Taurus to burst from the ground and get flirty as usual. Instead, it was silent and nothing happened. Lucy then waved her key around a few times but nothing happened. She was sure the magic was going through properly but nothing changed.
"Let me try another key just in case." Lucy said as Yukino nodded.
Lucy then tried several more keys but with the same result. Capricorn, Sagittarius, Cancer and even Aquarius all blatantly ignored her calls. So the Holy Maiden decided to try something else. She pulled out a silver key.
"Open! Gate of Canis Minor: Nikora!" Lucy called out.
Moments later, Plue came out but he wasn't his usual cute and frail self. Instead, Plue was sitting on the ground with bandages all over his head and looking like he was about to cry.
"P-P-Plue!" Plue cried out as he reached out to Lucy.
Lucy covered her mouth in shock before picking up Plue in her arms. Where she felt Plue hold onto her tightly before crying.
"Plue, who did this to you?" Lucy asked as she gently patted his back.
"P-Plue! P-P-Plue!" Plue cried out as he sobbed on Lucy's shoulder.
Lucy gritted her teeth despite not understanding everything he said. It was one of those rare times where Lucy felt real anger towards someone without letting her darker half take over. The girl didn't even feel this angry when Angel used her celestial spirits as human shields and fodder. Yet, seeing a frail spirit like Plue just really set her off.
"Yukino, tell me, did something happen in the celestial spirit world that caused Plue to get injured?" Lucy asked.
Yukino winced as she could tell that Lucy was angry. She knew that Nikora were typically just pets rather than fighters like the zodiacs or some of the other silver keys. So it made sense that Lucy would be angry to see a child like creature to get hurt. So she told the truth.
"I believe it did. The celestial spirits connected to silver keys can still come out but the zodiacs are..."
Before Yukino could finish, a large fishing line could be seen tied around Plue. Plue held onto Lucy for dear life before the girl ripped off the fishing line with her magic. Lucy then glared at the owner of the line as she saw a teenage boy with the appearance of a fish with dreadlocks nearby.
"Hey! You can't destroy another guy's property!" the boy yelled.
Somehow, Lucy instantly knew that boy was a celestial spirit. Before she could retort, Yukino spoke up.
"Pisces! Please, you have to stop behaving like this!" Yukino pleaded.
"Pisces?" Lucy asked.
"Yes, as I was saying, the spirits are rebelling. They developed new personalities and are behaving aggressively." Yukino explained.
As Yukino finished, a large floating shark with lipstick suddenly appeared behind Pisces and glared at the two girls.
"How dare you break my son's fishing line!?" the shark woman angrily asked.
"And who's that?" Lucy asked.
"The other portion of Pisces, remember? Pisces could turn into a mother and son." Yukino said, reminding Lucy.
"Oh right, but why are they so hostile?" Lucy asked.
"I don't know, but the same has been happening with Ophiuchus and Libra." Yukino said.
Lucy was surprised and imagined this meant that the same thing was going on with her own zodiac spirits. However, she also remembered that Plue was hurt and crying. So she looked back at the mother and son and saw them rushing towards her.
"We're gonna teach you and that dog a lesson!" the son exclaimed.
Lucy raised her palm and summoned Lancelot Beserker. The Knight of Fairies growled as he lunged himself at the son and almost knocked him off of his mother's back.
"My baby boy! You're going pay for that!" the mother yelled.
Lancelot growled as he dug his fingers into the shark's strong flesh. Where he began to try and corrupt her, but struggled as the shark tried to throw him off. It didn't help that the son came back and tried to hold him in a headlock.
"Unhand me you brute!" the mother yelled.
"Yeah, stop touching my mom you creep!" the son yelled.
Lancelot growled as he rodeoed the mother and son a few meters outside of the guild. However, they weren't the only ones that were here. For soon enough, Lucy was surprised by the new appearances of her celestial spirits. Including Leo/Loke who looked a lot more animalistic with his long hair and armor.
"We meet again, jailor." Leo said.
"Loke! You... look like really weird. Are you in some kind of Dungeons and Dragons group?" Lucy asked.
Somehow how the girl thought Leo was one of the weirder looking ones. Which is saying something as some of the zodiacs looked more strange than before. Such as Gemini who turned into a pair of humanoid kids, Cancer who had an afro and crab claws and Taurus who looked like he was trying to copy Capricorn but decided to put on a metal mask.
"They look like dorks." Buddha said, surprising Lucy with his appearance.
"How long have you been there?" Lucy asked.
"I foresaw some weird stuff, but I thought it was from a weird dream I got after eating a bit too much." Buddha said, revealing that he predicted today's events. "I had no idea what I saw and I have no idea what to make of this except that some of these guys look like dorks now." he said.
Leo glared at Buddha, "How dare you mock us? This is what we are truly meant to be! For we shattered the shackles that bind us to this human! No longer will we be bound to this woman like slaves!" she yelled.
"Dude, I'm not trying to downplay how you're like a servant too. Except you guys got lots of freedom. It just sounds like you're throwing a temper tantrum." Buddha said, not caring for what Leo is trying to say.
Lucy was about to try and reason with Leo and the others. However, her motherly senses decided to speak up first.
"Did one of you hurt Plue? Are you all so angry that you decided to take it out on this poor fella?" Lucy asked.
Leo scoffed, "The Nikora are just peons. Worthless creatures who cannot even think." he said.
Buddha tilted his head, "So you hate humans now and want to be free?" he asked.
"That much should have been obvious." Taurus spoke up, sounding more gentlemen like.
Buddha unwrapped a lollipop and put it into his mouth as he took a step forward.
"Then let me tell you the obvious." he said. "It sounds like you're a bunch of bigots who hurt people to get what you want." he said.
"Sacrifices are an unfortunate cost for one's liberty." Sagittarius said, sounding a lot more serious.
Buddha sighed, "Nope, it just sounds like you're all thinking about yourselves. Since you're all the strongest, it makes sense you all have to work together." he said before taking out his candy. "Trust me, I'm all about freedom to do whatever and keep the balance." he said.
"Then you know the importance of the balance we want to maintain." Libra said, looking like some kind of female gimp.
"Nope, your balance is a whole other thing. It's a spiral and it's bouncing out of control. You guys are just mad because you don't feel like you got enough power. You want more and that makes more stress." Buddha said before pulling out a bowl. "See this? What you want is a full bowl. But you want more and more and don't care if it spills but when it does... you made a mess." he said.
Somehow, that weird analogy got some of the spirits thinking but snapped out of it. Some such as Leo, chose to ignore what Buddha was saying. Not realizing he was not telling them to listen to Lucy. Rather, he was telling them that they're only hurting themselves by becoming control freaks under the guise of being independent.
"I heard enough! If you wish to stand in our way! So be it!" Leo yelled as he charged his fists in dark magic.
Buddha waited for the perfect moment and avoided Leo's attack. Just at the celestial spirit prepared to attack again. Buddha smacked him across the face with his staff, sending Leo crashing against the ground. Buddha scoffed as he looked at Leo and the rest of the spirits.
"Seriously, is this what it's come down to? You guys used to be cool." Buddha said.
Yukino suddenly felt nervous as she sensed a deadly aura coming from Leo and the rest of the spirits. She wasn't sure what to do despite having learned some basic hand to hand fighting. It didn't help that she sensed a scary aura coming from Lucy as well.
"Yukino, please take care of Plue for me." Lucy said as she gently handed her Plue.
"O-Ok, but what will you..." Yukino tried to say before feeling Lucy's dark aura.
What only made things worse was the fact that Lucy skipped her initial dark transformation. Instead of the typical sadist, Lucy entered her second stage which was emotionless and cold. The personality that Yukino tried to invoke when she initially fought Kagura.
'I couldn't even hold a candle to that.' Yukino thought as she took cover.
It seemed like the only person not fazed by the heavy aura that would have killed normal people is Buddha. Instead, the first man in history who had achieved enlightenment just look slightly annoyed.
"It seems like everyone here has a reason to get mad." Buddha said as he unwrapped another lolipop. "I get it, all of you feel like you lost control over your own life. It's not my fault it happened, but if I gotta. I'll be the one putting you all on the right path." he said as he put the candy in his mouth.
"Wow, that girl over there is scary. Did we really work under her?" Aquarius asked, now sounding childish to match her appearance.
"Indeed, but personally, I cannot remember or fathom it." Taurus said.
"It doesn't matter, let's serve these jokers!" Cancer said as he was ready to dance.
Just as they took their first steps, Aquarius was the first one to immediately feel terrified as she saw Dark Lucy give her a scary look. Which made Aquarius back up in fear and look away. It was an ironic situation and kind of hilarious to think about.
"Uh... maybe Leo should take her." Aquarius suggested.
Taurus prepared to step forward but quickly stumbled backwards next to Aquarius.
"I will wait for my turn." Taurus said.
The spirits then turned to Sagittarius as the centaur stepped forward with a spear in his hands.
"I will be the one to face our supposed slave owner." Sagittarius said, not feeling any fear.
"Yup, you got this!" Cancer said, also afraid.
"We will fight the monk while you do." Capricorn said.
Sagittarius nodded and charged at Lucy at full speed. He intended to pierce her with his spear. Buddha raised his staff to defend Lucy but saw her raise her arm to stop him. Lucy then stood silently as Sagittarius came close only to stab a pink ethereal wall.
"What? A barrier? How cowardly!" Sagittarius exclaimed as he tried to break it. "How dare you exert your power to scare us and then hide behind a wall?" he asked, sounding angry.
"How dare you strike an innocent Nikora?" Lucy asked.
Before Sagittarius could respond, he realized he was trapped inside of a Perfect Cube. Where he witnessed multiple golden lights from within the prison. The centaur prepared to combat them only to watch as they flashed more brightly.
"Ark: Flashing Maiden." Lucy whispered.
In mere moments, Sagittarius was barraged with multiple Arks and repeatedly hit everywhere to the point that his body bounced around the barrier until Lucy finally stopped. She then removed the barrier and Sagittarius collapsed while holding his wounds.
"Damn Lucy, remind me to not annoy your scary side." Buddha said as he cringed.
As Lucy dealt with whoever was brave enough to face her in such a state. Buddha looked up and saw Libra tried to kick him. Buddha raised up his staff and blocked the attack and stood his ground despite the heavy impact that Libra's oddly shaped boots caused.
"Second Realm: Animal Realm, Horse-Faced Kannon - Nirvana." Buddha said as the staff turned into a two sided spiked club.
Buddha swung at Libra and sent her flying directly at the guild. The impact caused the building to shake. Causing a couple of the guild wizards and a few servants came out to see the messy fight.
"Hey, what are you guys doing?" Lisanna asked.
"The celestial spirits, they're rebelling and becoming aggressive!" Yukino said from her hiding spot.
"What?" Lisanna asked.
Lisanna and the rest of the guild couldn't get a proper explanation as the fight became more intense. Along with the fact that Taurus was screaming like someone was violating his personal space. Although the reason for his shrieks of terror was because of the fact that Buddha predicted his germaphobia and decided to spit in his face.
"Disgusting! Such childish behavior!" Taurus cried out.
Buddha grinned before scooping up dirt from the ground with his staff and threw it at Taurus who freaked out even more.
"AHHH! Do you not know how difficult it is to clean stains on this suit! It cannot be merely washed!" Taurus complained.
Then he felt some soft hands around him and looked to see Kama leaning closer to him.
"Hello Taurus, did you miss me?" She asked seductively.
"Personal space!" Taurus yelled.
"Should we step in?" Lisanna asked.
"I think we should." Mirajane said.
The wizards and servants ran in and collided with the celestial spirits.
Anastasia used her ice magic to freeze Aquarius' water jug. Preventing any water from getting through.
"Hey! You can't do that! How am I supposed to play!?" Aquarius asked as tears fell down her cheeks.
"Learn to play games that don't hurt people. Like Pryatki (Russian hide and seek) or Lapta (Russian Baseball/Cricket)." Anastasia replied.
Aquarius threw down her frozen water jug, "I don't know what that is! You're mean! I'm gonna tell on you!" she said before running away with tears in her eyes.
At the same time, Gemini (now known as Gemi and Mini) were running away in terror. Apparently, they had the power to turn people into "cute" animals. Which they used on a group of Berserkers. Now Frankenstein, Kiyohime, Asterios and Heracles all looked like cute puppies. Unfortunately, the transformation only reduced their height and did nothing to strip them of their powers.
"Piri-piri!" the spirits cried out.
"GRAH!" Heracles yelled as he tackled Gemi down.
"Help! Bad doggy!" Gemi yelled.
"I'll come back with help!" Mini yelled.
Only for Frankenstein to smash her Bridal Chest onto the ground. Causing a streak of lightning to hit Mini and electrocute her to the point that her hair became frizzy.
At the same time, Capricorn was cornered by Jet and Droy. The celestial spirit looked stoic as ever and just adjusted his glasses.
"Oh dear, we are in a pickle." Capricorn said.
"You're going down! Goat boy!" Droy said.
"Yeah, even if you're Lucy's friend. We're gonna beat some sense into you." Jet said.
Capricorn nodded, "Very well then, I will defeat you both… in a quiz contest." he said.
The boys sweat dropped and did something immature. However, no one including Levy would blame them for what they did next. Jet and Droy proceeded to throw Capricorn on the ground and proceeded to kick him while he was down.
In hindsight, despite the fact that several celestial spirits were stronger in their more hostile states. It appeared that a few such as Capricorn only became weaker.
"Kick him in the junk! Kick him in the junk!" Jet yelled.
"I am kicking him in the junk!" Droy yelled back.
Capricorn held onto a box that was literally filled with junk.
(A/N: For none American readers, "Junk" is also a slang term for crotch. Yes, this is a Regular Show joke.)
As everyone fought, Yukino saw that Lancelot came back while still riding Pisces around like a bull. Seeing how everyone was doing her part, the young woman decided to put in her part and fight too.
"Open! Gate of the Swan: Deneb!" she called out.
Moments later, an emo looking man in a purple jacket with black feathers on the sleeves appeared.
"I know, you all want to make fun of me. I'm the swan but I'm all dark." Deneb said.
"Deneb, we need your help!" Yukino pleaded.
"Hi Deneb, how are you doing Deneb? I'm fine, thanks for asking." Deneb said, mocking Yukino for not greeting him.
Before Yukino could try to motivate him, Buddha appeared. Using his clairvoyance to predict Deneb's arrival and the personality he has. As well as what would motivate him.
"Hey, you must be Deneb. Welcome to the party, how are ya? You want a snack?" Buddha asked as he offered him food from a bowl.
Deneb gently brushed the bowl aside, "Not now stranger, I gotta fight these jerks. They're too loud and it ruins my mood." he said.
Deneb suddenly flew into the air and intercepted the mother while Lancelot was still beating up the son.
"Summer Triangle!" Deneb called out as he formed a triangle of lightning around the shark.
The mother cried out in pain as she was suddenly electrocuted by the triangle. Resulting in her falling back down to the earth while Lancelot grabbed onto the son.
"That was lame." Deneb said as he flew back down.
Meanwhile, outside of Magnolia
Like most of the guild as of a few days ago, Romeo was taking on quests and in order to go alone without worrying his father. He formed a pact with Iskander as the King of Conquerors was always motivated to fight. That and he respected Romeo's desire to be strong and would let him do whatever he could without help to let him grow.
However, when the mission ended successfully, the pair were surprised to run into the princess of Fiore. Who she herself was actually requesting to visit Fairy Tail with Arcadios by her side.
"I'm glad we ran by you, young man." Hisui said gratefully.
Romeo blushed at the praise from the beautiful princess.
"Yeah, it's uh… nice to see you too, princess." Romeo said nervously.
Iskander chuckled at how flustered his temporary master was. He patted the boy and tried to help him keep a cool head. At the same time, he noticed Arcadios was looking curious.
"Does something bother you, Sir Arcadios?" Iskander asked.
"That barrier over Magnolia, what is it?" Arcadios asked as he pointed at Magnolia as they approached it.
"Oh that, with the permission of the mayor, Lucy set up a barrier to block out the rain. The rain has too been too heavy lately and even Archimedes has been confused about the changes." Iskander explained.
"Archimedes? Wasn't he a philosopher?" Arcadios asked.
"No, he was an inventor and a mathematician. He also studied the stars in his day." Iskander answered. "I think he also invented the idea of a lever." he added.
As Iskander flew his chariot into the barrier. He immediately saw the fighting near Fairy Tail. He began to lower his chariot as the group saw everyone fighting.
With Arcadios grabbing Hisui and shielding her with his cape as Mirajane, in Satan Soul form, came smashing through a building with Libra in her arms. Everyone watched as Mira slammed Libra into the ground and started punching her.
"I've had enough of your balance talk! "Balance" that! "Balance" this! "Balance" here! It gives me a damn headache!" Mira yelled before slamming Libra's head onto the ground.
Once Mira finished, she noticed Romeo had returned then quickly reverted to her normal form.
"Oh Romeo, you're back and with guests." Mira said sweetly, scaring Hisui with how quick she was to be sweet.
Then Mira went wide eyed as to why Hisui was in Magnolia.
"Uh… Romeo why did you bring…?" Mira tried to asked.
"I'm sorry, but I need to speak Lucy right away! The celestial spirits are out of control and it's my fault!" Hisui interrupted.
"Eh? How this your fault?" Mira asked as she pointed to the injured Libra.
"I'll explain when I see her. For now, we need to return that spirit. Arcadios, if you will." Hisui said.
Arcadios nodded and pulled out a suitcase. Where he revealed several black keys. He took one out and placed it over Libra's head, returning her back to the celestial spirit realm.
"Okay, I have no idea how you did that or how you're going to talk to Lucy in the state she's in." Mira said, confusing them.
Given Lucy's past the point of using her darker self's sadistic personality. It may be difficult to speak to her while she's pissed.
TO BE CONTINUED…