Chapter 37 - Quelled

Underneath Fairy Tail's guild hall

After Asuka and the girls left, one of Lucy's triggered magic seals triggered and summoned Elizabeth Bathory. Who quickly posed like a cute idol only to see where she was and remembered why was summoned. Luckily the seal also put everyone to sleep minus Tiamat who was already resting.

Elizabeth Bathory groaned in both stress and fear in her position. For whatever reason, Lucy forced her to be the last line of defense for Tiamat and her babies. Either take care of them should Tiamat or her children wake up.

Elizabeth couldn't remember because she was terrified of Tiamat. If an angry mother, a primordial goddess to make things worse, is awake. Then there's to protect Elizabeth from armageddon. Sure, she was a heroic spirit and could respawn so long as Lucy is alive and has mana in her. However, death was still painful and she would rather avoid death.

'Why me? I don't even like kids! These dumb lizards aren't even smart enough to enjoy my music!' Elizabeth mentally whined.

To make things a lot worse, there was a war going on outside. Elizabeth would squeak whenever the building began to shake.

'What is even going on? Are they having a corn on the cob eating contest or something? What are those idiots doing to cause this much shaking?' Elizabeth wondered.

Elizabeth was not fully aware of the fight between the guild and heroic spirits against the celestial spirits that were corrupted by the Eclipse Gate. She could only assume that the guild was up to more noises and Lucy left her on standby to be summoned in case she got distracted with an emergency.

Suddenly, the shaking from the battle on the surface became so intense. Some of the baby dragons began to wake up.

"No, no, no! Sleepy time! Sleepy time!" Elizabeth said as she opened up a vial.

She then spread the vial and started releasing a gas that started putting the dragons to sleep. At the same time, Elizabeth pinched her nose to avoid falling asleep as well.

"Hurry Lucy! I hate being a babysitter!" Elizabeth said.

When suddenly, Elizabeth felt immense pain and bit her tongue to avoid screaming. She tapped the floor with her boot as she turned to see a baby dragon biting down on her wing. She saw the dragon nibbling and saw a sharp fang had developed a bit too quickly.

Elizabeth continued to tap the floor as she struggled to fight back against the pain. She then started to try and pry off of the dragon.

"Let go. Let go! Stop eating me you dumb lizard!" Elizabeth said, borderline screaming.

The stubborn baby dragon continued to bite as the fighting continued. With the room continuing to shake with more dragons beginning to wake up again.

'I hate babysitting duty!' Elizabeth angrily thought.

Meanwhile with Erza's Group

Erza was standing on the deck as she looked out into the horizon with her telescope extended. She wasn't looking for anything specific but was wondering if anything worthwhile could be spotted from her position as they sailed to the next location. Something about the voyage motivated her inner sailor.

"Soon, the great treasure will be ours." Erza said as she closed her eyes.

"What treasure? I want treasure. I need something to pay off my debts." Cana said.

"We will all have treasure, Cana. The treasure of the adventure as defined in my favorite romantic novels." Erza said.

"…you read romance novels?" Cana asked with wide eyes.

"I meant romance as in romanticism. Like great adventures filled with emotions and all that." Erza said, confusing Cana.

"Yeah, you're better off talking to Levy about that kind of stuff." Cana said as she went to grab a pint.

Meanwhile, Natsu was lying against a barrel that he clenched tightly as if his life depended on it. The Dragon Slayer struggled to stay calm as he looked like he was about to vomit. Gajeel had the same problem as he looked like he was about to die on the deck.

Erza sighed as Requipped into her nurse outfit. She then grabbed Natsu and Gajeel and dragged them across the deck.

"Hold on you two, Nurse Erza will make you feel better." Erza said.

"NO! Let me go!" Natsu pleaded.

"I don't need help, Titania. I need a real doctor." Gajeel said.

"I am a doctor… in a way." Erza said.

"Actually, I'm just on break. I'm free to work again." Natsu lied, trying to escape Erza's grip.

Unlike most of the men, Natsu was not attracted to Erza while in her nurse uniform. In fact, he didn't find her attractive at all because she was terrifying to him. Gajeel didn't find her attractive either, but not for the same reasons. He didn't really have a type and he was very distrustful of her medical knowledge.

Both dragon slayers really wished that Wendy joined them on the trip so she could use her healing magic on them.

"Gray, while I'm healing these two. I need you to feed the prisoners in the brig." Erza said.

Gray sighed, "Yes captain." He said lazily.

The ice mage then dug through a barrel that Natsu and Gajeel didn't use to vomit inside of. He then grabbed a large platter and started putting sausages and bread onto the plate and went to locate the brig.

Once there, he saw Virgo and Aries were chained up in a cell. With the two actively trying to escape the chains. Gray opened the cell and put down the platter at their feet.

"Here's dinner." He said.

"How are we supposed to eat? The chains are too small, idiot!" Aries said.

Gray rolled his eyes before avoiding a swift kick from Virgo. He glared at the sadistic dominatrix who was trying to hit him.

"Come here so I can punish you!" Virgo commanded.

"I liked it better when you were only hurting yourself." Gray said as he kept avoiding kicks.

Gray then quickly ran out and locked up the cell. All the while ignoring the threats and getting away before he got a headache.

"I don't know how Arthur puts up with them." Gray said.

"Land ho!" Someone shouted.

"Finally, we can end this stupid mission. Lucy better compensate us for this." Gray said.

"We are paid in adventure!" Erza said, suddenly appearing behind him.

"AH! Erza, do you have to do that?" Gray asked.

"How else will you listen to me?" Erza asked, looking at him threateningly.

"Okay, I understand." Gray said, not liking it when Erza threatens him.

At least they were closer to finishing the mission as Bart started to land the ship.

Back at Fairy Tail

The fairies and servants were still fighting the eclipse spirits and it was looking ugly. Mostly for the eclipse spirits as most of them were pretty weak to begin with. With some having to rely on strange methods to battle the fairies.

Such as Capricorn who forced Thomas Edison into a quiz show. With the loser being dropped into a giant pit of spikes. Which he was able to do once Edison decided to take him up on the challenge. Which was almost interrupted again by Jet and Droy kicking him in the "junk" again.

"You are quite knowledgeable, Mr. Edison. I could have easily won by challenging someone who uses their fists and not their head." Capricorn said.

"But then there would be no challenge." Edison pointed out.

"Exactly, now for the next question." Capricorn said as he adjusted his sunglasses.

The two turned and saw a monitor give them the next question.

"Question #9: Who does Levy McGarden have romantic feelings for?"

Edison scratched his chin, "This one is quite tricky. There are obvious options but they are wrong." He said.

"Yes, but the most simple answers sometimes sound crazy." Capricorn said.

"It's me! It's been obvious!" Jet shouted.

"Edison is a genius, not an idiot. Why would it be you?" Droy angrily asked.

The two growled at each other. Meanwhile Levy looked ready to cry if her crush was exposed. It's not like Edison would be permanently hurt and almost considered accepting the idea of him losing the quiz. She then realized that Edison hit the buzzer and prepared to give his answer.

"I'll put my reputation on the line and give my answer!" Edison declared.

"Then tell me your answer." Capricorn said calmly.

"It is me! My rule is so great, that even the most intelligent member of this guild has love for me!" Gilgamesh interrupted.

Levy just looked disgusted while Edison shook his head.

"The answer lacks reason in my personal opinion. However, the logic is there, for Levy's heart beats for her polar opposite. Who is…"

Edison's answer was obscured by the sound of Leo being thrown onto the ground by Heracles. The eclipse spirit tried to fight back but Heracles grabbed him by the legs and repeatedly slammed him back and forth from different parts of the ground. Where he eventually slipped free and delivered a kick to his jaw that sent him staggering.

"GRAH!" Heracles screamed.

Leo growled back before lunging at Heracles and repeatedly hitting him. Which further obscured Edison's voice as he had gone into a long explanation behind his answer.

"Despite the lecture not being necessary, you only further proved your answer to be correct!" Capricorn exclaimed as he fell into the pit of spikes.

Only to bounce into the air as the spikes were actually made of rubber. Capricorn eventually stopped bouncing. Where he was then grabbed by Jet and Droy who once again kicked him on the ground.

"Which one of us does Levy have a crush on!?" Droy asked him.

"Neither of you! You're both buffoons that she sees as friends!" Capricorn asked.

"Kick him in the junk again!" Jet yelled.

"NO!" Capricorn yelled.

A few seconds later, Princess Hisui arrived with Arcadios following right behind her. Her presence surprised everyone and even made Jet and Droy stop at the sight of her.

"The princess!? Why is she here!?" Droy asked.

"Shut up and act cool!" Jet said.

Hisui ignored them both and used her black key to close Capricorn's gate and return him to the Celestial Spirit realm.

"Thank you both for holding him off. I know it must be difficult to rely on such barbaric tactics." Hisui said gratefully.

"It was nothing, Princess." Jet said.

"Yeah, me and my sidekick handle punks ten times his size." Droy said.

"Who said I'm your sidekick!?" Jet angrily asked as the two glared at each other.

"Compose yourself, you two! You are wizards of this kingdom and standing before royalty if I might add!" Arcadios yelled, making the two go stiff.

"Aye sir!" They said.

"Oh great, now they turned into Happy." Levy said dryly.

Once Hisui turned away from Jet and Droy who were still making fools of themselves. She looked around for Lucy and saw the back of her head. However, just as she went to approach her, Arcadios suddenly grabbed her by the waist and pulled her back.

"Stand back Princess! I sense a deadly aura coming that way!" Arcadios exclaimed.

"But it's just Lucy." Hisui said.

"Actually, you might not want to talk to Lucy right now. She turns super evil when she's angry." Levy said.

"Oh, is she in her Dark Maiden form?" Hisui asked.

"Yea-, you gave it a name?" Levy asked, sounding surprised.

"Yes, she's known as the Holy Maiden and yet, her dark side was revealed to the world. So many wizards started calling her the "Dark Maiden" when in that form." Hisui explained.

"I see." Levy said with a sigh. "Anyways, I don't recommend speaking to her. Lucy is in a stage of apathy which makes her dark form more dangerous." she explained.

"But what could have brought this on?" Hisui asked, sounding concerned.

She remembered hearing about Natsu being an idiot and how Lucy threatened to feed him to wild dogs. However, Lucy was described as being sadistic rather than apathetic.

"You see, Lucy has a contract with a cute celestial spirit that looks like a snowman." Levy explained.

"You mean a Nikora?" Hisui asked.

"Yeah, that one. Lucy summoned it and found it covered in bruises and crying." Levy finished.

Hisui suddenly looked angry as she immediately understood how Lucy felt. Given how she's secretly a celestial spirit mage as well. A Nikora was one of the first keys she got and frequently spent time with one. They were so small and adorable and it just angered her to see such a delicate creature being abused.

"Princess?" Arcadios asked, noticing her anger.

"Such abuse is punishable by death!" Hisui exclaimed.

"D-Death? Princess, are you feeling okay?" Arcadios asked, having never seen Hisui so mad.

It would take a minute before Arcadios snapped Hisui out of her anger. Meanwhile most of the eclipse spirits were being defeated quickly thanks to the combined might of the guild and heroic spirits.

"My freedom is worth anything, even if it costs me my very own existence!" Sagittarius exclaimed as he ran across the street.

He was chased by both Chiron and Achilles who dodged and blocked his arrows.

"My friend, what has gotten into you? Just a while ago, we were having a friendly competition." Chiron said, trying to reason with Sagittarius.

"I do not recall any "competition" you speak of. If you wish for a duel of arrows, then you will have it." Sagittarius said before releasing a barrage of flaming arrows towards them.

Achilles raised his shield to block them before lunging towards Sagittarius and shoving him into the ground.

"Listen pal, I'm going to be nice to you since you're Lucy's friend and because you're a centaur like my teacher." Achilles said.

Sagittarius neighed before kicking the back of Achilles' heel, knocking him onto the ground. He then tried stomping on Achilles while he was down only for the hero to roll away. Once up, Achilles raised his shield as rapid arrows came flying directly towards him.

"Knock it off! I will kick your ass if I need to!" Achilles yelled.

"I will fight back with all my strength." Sagittarius said, determined to gain his alleged freedom.

Just as he fried the last barrage of arrows, they were all blocked by Chiron's own arrows. Chiron then hopped over Achilles and fired more arrows at Sagittarius who tried to dodge them. Only to be cornered with each shot fired. Once Sagitarrius tried to fight back, Chiron fired an arrow at his hands and scraped them, causing the spirit to drop his bow.

"Surrender or must we continue this through fisticuffs?" Chiron asked.

Sagittarius' silence was an answer on its own and Chiron started blocking heavy and quick blows. Luckily for him, they were quick but lacked real skill. Whereas Chiron himself had many more years of experience teaching great heroes and disciplining them to grow and learn from their mistakes. Even if some like Achilles didn't learn any better.

Speaking of Achilles, he kept his spear up and stood back. He was then joined by Atalanta and Jason but stopped them.

"No, this is our teacher's battle." Achilles said.

Atalanta nodded in silence out of respect for Chiron while Jason just scoffed. The latter being an idiot who is ignorant about these types of things.

Luckily the fight didn't last long and after a few punches and strange forms of movement with their lower halves. Sagittarius took a blow to the side of the head and then a punch to the chin which started to make him feel dizzy. With Chiron ending the battle by turning around and delivering a backwards kick to send the eclipse spirit across the street.

Which ended with Sagittarius landing on the gemini twins.

"Peri-peri!" They said painfully.

The Greek heroes walked over to the crushed eclipse spirits. Chiron shook his head as he saw the twins struggling to break free. Soon enough, he saw the Berserkers returning to normal and cracking their knuckles.

"Hold on now, you don't need to stoop down to their levels." Chiron warned.

"Spirits or not, they are just children." Atalanta added as the Berserkers growled.

Asterios picked up Sagittarius while Frankenstein grabbed the twins and held them in a firm grip.

"Now, maybe Lucy can restrain them or something." Achilles said.

Just as they prepared to wait for Lucy to calm down. They saw something weird coming in their way. The weird thing being Nab jogging across the street in a tracksuit and looking pretty tired and sweaty.

"What is that?" Jason asked, sounding disgusted.

"I think it's that guy who doesn't go on jobs, Nab." Achilles said.

Nab continued to run, seemingly unaware of what was going on. Despite being aware of a fight and noticing all the destruction going on around him. Nab's first thought was that someone started a fight that started going outside. He didn't worry about it as was too exhausted.

He wasn't aware that Erza and multiple others were gone either as he wasn't in the guild yesterday either. Nab was too focused on preparing for a new goal regarding losing weight.

'Whatever, this hurts so much but so much less than putting up with another barfight.' Nab thought.

Suddenly, Nab bumped into Taurus who ran into him. The two hit the ground and just as Nab recovered. Taurus started to cry and scream as he desperately wiped his face with a hanky.

"Disgusting! Of all the things! Why did I run into an overweight man deciding today was a good day to exercise!?" Taurus asked in a way that really offended Nab.

"Hey! I was minding my own business when you ran into me! You should apologize!" Nab exclaimed.

Taurus gagged, "Apologize for what? Your horrid body odor? You have no one to blame but yourself." He said.

Nab stood up and got angry before he grabbed Taurus by the collar of his suit. Taurus tried to push him away but Nab started punching him in the face (technically helmet). As the beating took place, Wendy appeared with Charle.

"That's right Nab! You got this!" Wendy cheered.

"I got what?" Nab asked, stopping his attack.

Taurus let out a pain filled groan as he tried to raise a finger. Only for his head to fall back. That was when he noticed his fellow wizards were not the only ones fighting outside.

"Hey, are we under attack or something?" Nab asked.

"You mean you didn't know!?" Charle asked.

Before Nab could ask what was going on. Arcadios appeared before Nab and touched Taurus with a black key. Where Taurus had then disappeared upon having his gate closed.

"Thank you for your service, strange fitness man. You are a hero to your people." Arcadios said before helping Hisui close Gemini and Sagittarius' gates.

Nab just felt confused, "I'm so lost. Today was a bad time to start my workout." He said.

"You have so much to catch up on." Charle said with a sigh.

Elsewhere, Yukino was putting her skills in hand to hand combat to use while facing Libra. Luckily for her, Li Schuwen was also there to help her.

Yukino put up quite the struggle as she lacked physical strength and speed. Only having enough to block and avoid most of Libra's attacks. With the eclipse spirit being too quick and capable of breaking her bones if she lands a good kick.

"You lack balance and because of that, you will be destroyed." Libra said before kicking Yukino who raised her guard.

Yukino ended up almost crashing into a wall had Li not caught her. Li gently put her down and looked towards Libra who jumped high into the air. The eclipse spirit then tried to deliver a heavy heel kick which Li blocked.

"Ke ke ke, you spout on about balance and you cannot break my guard." Li said.

Libra struggled and tried to apply more pressure but Li just shoved her foot away. Libra quickly recovered and tried to deliver quick kicks that Li parried and blocked with his wrists. He then found an opening and palmed her chin, causing her to reel back. Li capitalized on her vulnerability and delivered several palm thrusts and kicks that made Libra hit the ground.

"This imbalance is…"

Libra was caught off by a stomp to her stomach. She looked at Li and gritted her teeth and kicked her with enough force to make her fly into the air. Where he quickly delivered a quick series of punches that sent her crashing into a nearby light pole.

"Enlighten me, what is this balance you speak of? You preach it and I can't understand." Li said.

Libra would have said something but started having a coughing fit which took her a minute to recover from.

At the same time, Yukino was panting as she tried to recover from her beating from Libra.

"I can't do it, where are Sting and Rogue when you need them?" Yukino asked.

Lucy suddenly appeared behind Yukino and her dark presence made Yukino scream. Before Yukino asked where Lucy had come from. Lucy placed a finger on her forehead.

"Invigorate." Lucy said.

Yukino suddenly felt like she could breathe properly for the first time in a year. What helped is the spell also helped heal her from the hits she took.

"Thank you Lucy." Yukino said.

Suddenly, Lucy gripped Yukino's hands and channeled magic onto them.

"Ark." Lucy said.

"What are you…?"

Yukino's answer to her unfinished question came in the form of her hands being surrounded by light. The light then shaped themselves into looking like small gloves.

"Consider this an enhancement." Lucy said before disappearing into the fight.

"Okay…" Yukino said before deciding to try them out.

She ran towards Libra who was still trading blows with Li. Just as Libra delivered a lucky blow that made Li stumbled back. She felt Yukino tapping her shoulder. Just as Libra turned and prepared another kick.

Yukino delivered a quick jab to Libra's face that made her feel unsteady. Yukino then delivered a couple more punches that made her stumble back. Yukino then ducked under a roundhouse kick and delivered a heavy uppercut that peeled the blindfold around her eyes.

Libra then gave Yukino some crazy eyes and delivered a heavy kick. Yukino was able to withstand the attack thanks to Lucy's enhancements. However, it did very little to help numb the pain and Yukino suddenly felt stiff with the impact of that last attack.

'I'm alive, but my hands feel numb!' Yukino thought as Libra prepared to attack again.

Luckily, Li recovered and appeared in front of Libra. He caught Libra's leg and pushed her away, making her stumble before bashing her in the face with his elbow.

"Ke, you should have focused on strengthening your body rather than your clothes." Li said before delivering a palm to Libra's chest.

Libra gasped as she struggled to maintain her balance which felt really ironic.

"My style reflects the importance of balance." Libra said with a glare.

"Then you should have balanced fighting and style." Li said before dodging under a set of quick kicks.

Where Li then quickly caught Libra's leg and delivered a heavy elbow strike to the knee. Libra cried out in pain as she stumbled backwards.

"If you will dress like a crazy person. Make your clothing practical to your style." Li said before tapping his fist against her abdomen.

Libra looked confused for a second before glaring at Li. Right as she was about to deliver a kick to his head. She suddenly gasped as she collapsed onto her back.

Once Yukino got the feeling back in her body. She ran up to see Libra having a coughing fit and acting as if she was punched too hard in the abdomen.

"What was that?" Yukino asked, wondering what Li Schuwen did.

"It was a special technique. One that my elder counterpart has fully mastered." Li answered.

Libra reeled back in pain and held her belly as she lay down. She tried to fight back against the pain. All the while Yukino was trying to speak to her and remind her corrupted celestial spirit about their partnership and bond.

"Libra, you have to control yourself. This isn't you. You would never aimlessly hurt anyone." Yukino said, trying to appeal to her empathy.

"You do not know me as I do not know you." Libra said, denying any prior friendship with Yukino.

Before Sabertooth's celestial spirit mage could try to talk more sense into the eclipse spirit. Hisui suddenly appeared and jabbed Libra on the forehead with the black key. Causing Libra's gate to close and send her back with the rest of her compatriots.

"There, that's the end of another rampage." Hisui said.

"P-Princess!?" Yukino asked.

Hisui just smiled and waved, "It is nice to see you again, Yukino, but now isn't a good time to socialize again. I need your assistance as well as Lucy's." she said.

"I think it might be a while before Lucy snaps out of her daze." Yukino said.

The girls looked around and saw the fights were coming to a close. With the next eclipse spirit to fall being Scorpio who became a nerd who wears a lame Japanese robe. His opponent was actually someone who was as big of an otaku as he is.

"No! That's not how you play!" Scorpio complained.

"It's how I play!" Blackbeard replied.

"No! You're doing it wrong! That's not how the rules of the game are!" Scorpio said, continuing to whine.

"You said you were the rules, so I obliged." Blackbeard said as he rolled his eyes.

The two were playing some weird game of cards where monsters would be summoned and the ones with more points would destroy the weaker monsters. Then attack the opposing player directly until they run out of points.

"You're turning this game into solitaire!" Scorpio yelled like an angry child.

"I am not! Because of that outburst, I get to play Jar of Avarice, which allows me to pick any five cards from my graveyard and shuffle them into my deck. Then I get to draw one card." Blackbeard said as he went through that process.

All the while Scorpio looked angry and impatient at how many cards Blackbeard was playing.

"Would you look at that? I play the card I drew, Pot of Greed, which allows me to draw two more cards. Where I will then play another card I drew and I play another Pot of Greed." Blackbeard said as he continued to draw an absurd amount of cards.

"END YOUR TURN ALREADY!" Scorpio screamed indignantly.

Blackbeard then took out five of his cards and presented them to Scorpio who immediately stomped around like a child.

"Exodia! Obliterate!" Blackbeard commanded as Scorpio lost all of his monsters and life points.

At the loss, Scorpio's body began to shake with great intensity. He could not fathom any words to describe his frustration as he stared at Blackbeard like a madman. With the pirate just crossing his arms and laughing at the sore loser.

"You…!" Scorpio tried to say before feeling someone tug on his robe.

Scorpio turned and saw little Asuka staring at him with her toy revolver. Where she proceeded to shoot him three times in the head with corks. Scorpio stumbled backwards before bumping into Bisca who turned him around and punched him in the face.

"Asuka and I got another varmint!" Bisca announced before Hisui ran to close Scorpio's gate.

Asuka squealed with excitement as she ran up to Hisui.

"Mama look! It's the princess!" Asuka said.

"That's nice dear, now… it is the princess!?What's she doing here in this violent shindig!?" Bisca said as she saw Hisui gently rub Asuka's head.

Hisui would soon explain her appearance and involvement with the celestial spirits in no time at all. As the remaining Eclipse spirits were practically defeated by this point.

With Lucy

The Dark Maiden stood before Juvia and Gray as they saw Lucy had trapped Aquarius inside of a floating Perfect Cube. With the formerly irritable celestial spirit being trapped in the form of a little girl who was begging to be let go.

"Let me out! I don't like it in here!" Aquarius demanded as her eyes welled up.

"Tch." Lucy replied as she gave an uncaring look.

Aquarius couldn't remember her times when she mistreated Lucy with a few of them being for a right reason. However, she did feel some sense of irony in Lucy giving her a mean glare and uncaring attitude. Once Aquarius was silenced, Lucy looked over at Cancer who was dancing like a party animal then back to Gray and Juvia.

"Gray, consider this a practice session for your marriage reception." Lucy said.

"Practice!? Lucy, of all the weird things for you to say, that's what you're telling me right now!?" Gray asked.

Lucy's cold stare made Gray shiver. Creating another ironic feeling as Gray more or less became immune to severely cold climates given how he was taught under Ur. As for Juvia, she just held onto Gray for dear life.

"The two of you can only defeat Cancer through dance. So I will provide you both with these." Lucy said as she presented some fancy clothes.

Seconds later, Lucy casted an Ark onto the clothes and made them radiate with energy. The clothes suddenly appeared on Gray and Juvia. With Gray wearing a periwinkle dress shirt and black dress pants with dance shoes while Juvia wore a periwinkle dress with black heels.

"Oh my, this is what Lucy meant by a dance! This means we must destroy Cancer with our passion, my love!" Juvia exclaimed.

"We don't need to destroy him and… ah! I don't have time for this! Let's just get this dance over with!" Gray said, feeling super frustrated again.

Lucy then turned to Miyu who started to play tango music. Where Cancer just watched as Gray and Juvia suddenly tangoed like masters. Dancing, twirling and lifting as if they had invented the dance and were trying to make Cancer feel like an amateur.

"Ah heck no! I ain't into no couples dancing but these fools are dissing my style!" Cancer exclaimed before watching Gray twirl Juvia super quickly.

Cancer gasped at the energy, synchronicity and trust the two had for each other. It looked like the two had practice for years despite this being their first time.

"H-Hey! Move over, I-I'm gonna school you two next with solo freestyle moves!" Cancer said, sounding a bit intimidated.

At one point, Cancer tried dancing in a way that looked like a subtle way of attacking. Despite nearly cutting Gray's head off and nearly ripping Juvia's head off. Cancer was starting to grow tired.

"I-I-I… ooh! You two are too much! Ebi!" Cancer said.

"And now we can finish him off!" Gray said before tossing Juvia into the air.

Juvia then began to twirl into the air and shined in the night sky. Where she then came back down where a gray caught her and dipped her gracefully. Which wanted the praise of many townsfolk who were taking cover from the fighting. Along with a few who threw roses.

"Beloved, you are an amazing dancer." Juvia praised.

"I guess I am. This is so embarrassing." Gray said.

"Nonsense, this proves my future husband is…"

Juvia was caught off by Lucy throwing a trophy at Gray's head. Gray then dropped Juvia and held the side of his head as it began to bleed.

"Ow! Is this real gold!?" Gray asked as he felt like his skull had cracked.

Lucy then turned to Cancer who was crying and trying to calm himself down.

"I lost, but in reality, I won. Why, you ask? Because I brought the love of dance, ebi!" Cancer exclaimed as he did a pose.

"Here's your prize." Lucy said as she pulled out a burlap sack and threw it.

"What's this? A second place ribbon?" Cancer asked.

Suddenly, Cancer was attacked by a pack of wild hellhounds that came out of the bag. Cancer screamed in pain as they bit on his shoulder and pincers. With one more chewing on his Afro and pulling off bits of it.

"Not the Afro! Anything but Afro!" Cancer begged.

At that moment, Lucy noticed Hisui cautiously approached Cancer out of fear of the dogs. Feeling impatient in her current state, Lucy yanked the black key out the princess's hands and jabbed Cancer with it. Once Cancer's gate had closed, the hellhounds returned to their burlap sack.

"Hello Princess, I didn't notice you." Lucy said.

"Yes, a fine evening Lucy. I came by because of the celestial spirits." Hisui said, trying to stay composed.

"How did you know about their condition?" Lucy asked.

"I'll go into detail very shortly, if that's okay." Hisui said, mentally pleading for Lucy to agree.

"Very well. I see this key closed the gates. Do you have more?" Lucy asked.

"I do, just two more." Hisui said, gesturing to her case.

Lucy then noticed that the eclipse spirits were practically all gone. Except for Leo who was struggling against Heracles and everyone else along with Aquarius who was pleading to be free from her prison.

"Let me out!" Aquarius screamed

Lucy removed the Perfect Cube and then shoved Aquarius in front of Hisui. The princess quickly jabbed Aquarius in the forehead with a black key and sent her back to the celestial world.

"That's good, only one left!" Hisui said before looking for Leo.

Leo already looked like he was on his last legs as he was surrounded. He also noticed his fellow spirits were gone and sent back to the celestial spirit realm by Hisui. In his anger, Leo felt his pride shatter as he needed to escape.

"I will not be denied the freedom I deserve!" Leo yelled.

"Surrender Leo and your painful punishment will only be shorter." Lucy said as the heroic spirits let her walk to the front.

Leo snarled, "I will not be enslaved by you again!" He yelled. "Hammer of Darkness!" He yelled as he lunged at Lucy.

"Sanctuary." Lucy said, surrounding herself in a crystal barrier.

The attack caused the crystal to crack and shake but did nothing to harm the dark maiden. Leo repeatedly attacked the barrier with his hand surrounded by black magic. Only to be interrupted by Heracles who smashed his club over Leo's head.

Then by Frankenstein who smashed her Bridal Chest against Leo's chest. Jack the Ripper then slashed up his face and chest before kicking him in the abdomen. Then Achilles delivered a quick kick to Leo's chin that made him stumble back. Finally, Leo was hit by multiple waves of arrows that hit him.

Even Mirajane came crashing down from the sky just to bash him in the head. Ending with her shoving Leo's face against the road and keeping him there.

"Had enough?" Lucy said as she commanded Lobo to appear beside her.

Leo snarled as his pride wasn't broken enough for him to heel just yet. So he released all the power he could muster against the crowd of servants.

"Roar of Darkness!" Leo shouted as he threw Mirajane off of his back.

Similar to Natsu's Dragon's Roar, Leo summoned a powerful stream of dark flames. They were powerful enough to force the servants back and injure a couple of them. Once done, the servants tried to fight back against the remaining flames while Leo ran away.

"Lobo, go after him." Lucy commanded.

Hessian Lobo let out a nasty snarl as Lucy enhanced him with a command seal. The frenzied wolf then chased after Leo with the desire to rip him apart. Once he was gone, Lucy turned to the rest of the heroic spirits and guild members who looked a bit unnerved.

Only for Nightingale to appear with Plue in her hands. The little Nikora was covered in a few bandages but looked healthy enough to eat the large lollipop that Nightingale had given her.

"Plue. Plue." Plue said.

Lucy smiled and rubbed Plue's head before reverting to her normal form. Where she would have collapsed had she not been caught by Wendy.

"Careful Lucy.." Wendy said.

Lucy groaned as she felt a migraine forming. That's when she noticed Arcadios and Hisui were there with the case holding the black keys.

"What the? Why are the princess and her knight here?" Lucy asked.

"You mean you don't remember!?" Mira asked as she reverted to human form.

"I think I was so stressed seeing Plue being injured that I snapped." Lucy said.

Suddenly, Nab decided to speak up, "I have no idea what's going on either. I thought this was just a random fight." he said.

"If you are all done, we still have a situation." Yukino said.

"Yes, that's true. The celestial spirits are rebelling but to make matters worse. By excluding Leo, we are still missing two spirits." Hisui explained.

"Two? Who are we missing?" Mirajane asked.

Lucy held her head as she stumbled around. Prompting someone to grab her a chair from inside.

"I'm sorry, I'm too dazed from using my dark form. I need everyone to figure that much out." Lucy said as Nightingale started treating her.

Everyone began to deliberate and tried to identify and recognize who they fought and who Hisui had banished back to the celestial spirit world. After a couple of minutes, Levy wrote down a list of Lucy's spirits plus the ones that Yukino had a contract with.

"Okay, excluding Loke, we are missing Virgo and Aries." Levy announced.

"That can't be that bad. Aries is soft hearted and Virgo-." Wendy tried to say.

"You forget this Wendy. All the celestial spirits have opposite behaviors. Meaning Aries is likely rude and hostile while Virgo has…" Charle stopped and shivered.

"Has what?" Wendy asked.

"Has become a sadist." Charle said, feeling disgusted.

Wendy had no idea what her exceed meant but most of the guild did. Those that knew Virgo had recognized her as a loyal and tough maid. However, she had this masochistic desire to either be restrained to hit. Which just leaves some feeling terrified as they imagined how sadistic Virgo became.

"Yeah, I'm not looking for her." Jet said.

"Me neither." Droy said.

"Did they escape during the fight?" Lucy asked.

"I didn't see them anywhere. I only counted ten spirits during the battle." Arcadios answered.

"Then I'm afraid we can't waste time waiting for them to appear. There's some important information I must disclose in private." Hisui said.

Everyone nodded and made way Hisui inside and started working on making a space for her to have a meeting with Lucy, Yukino and anyone else that needed to hear what she had to say.

Back with the crew

While Erza's team was working on gathering the final ingredients. Aries and Virgo were actively trying to break free of the chains that held them. Which frustrated Virgo the most as her new dominatrix styled personality made her feel annoyed.

"Hey slut, you're a master of torture. How come you haven't broken us out yet?" Aries asked, sounding annoyed.

"I would if you kept your mouth shut. Maybe I should just leave you there once I'm out." Virgo replied.

"Oh you little…" Aries tried to say before hearing laughter. "What was that?" she asked.

"Probably someone here to mock us." Virgo said.

Moments later, a familiar nun with golden eyes came up to the cell.

"Girls, do you wish to be free of your shackles of bondage?" the nun asked.

"Yeah, isn't that obvious enough?" Aries asked. "But let me guess, you don't think these chains are holding us. You think we're being held down by sin or some religious crap." she said.

Virgo scoffed, as neither Aries recognized Kiara Sessyoin. Otherwise even in Virgo's normal form, she would feel very scared right now. Especially as Kiara just shook her head and opened the cell door. Not intending to free them with some religious words in hopes of turning them into pure people who donate money every weekend.

"No ladies, I will free you from your pent up inhibitions." Kiara said as she walked up to them and clasped her hands over their chins.

"Hey, get your dirty fingers off me!" Aries yelled.

Kiara just grinned as she began to work her machinations. The nun who embodies lust was going to calm the girls with her desire to make them want to feel love rather than violence.

"Now, now, let Sister Kiara teach you how to release those desires." Kiara said.

Aries was the first one to realize what was going on and screamed in terror.

"Help! We're going to be turned into…!"

"That's enough!" Kiara said as she silenced Aries.

About a half hour later, Elfman came into the brig while grumbling about him doing the menial task of feeding the prisoners. He didn't have the guts to say anything to Erza but still didn't like it.

"I'm a real man, not a waiter. I came to help some poor dragons, not to serve food. A real man cooks food and eats food!" Elfman exclaimed.

As Elfman came closer, he saw something which was considered too lewd to describe. Something that even Erza's perverted mind would struggle to handle. Elfman couldn't even blush or anything as what he saw made his brain begin to melt.

"Oh, if it isn't the younger Strauss. Are you here to join me in this lecture of love?" Kiara asked.

Elfman began to have breathing problems before dropping the food and screaming. His memories of Tenrou Island and Mira losing to this woman came flooding back into his mind. So while the manly part of him told him to fight Kiara and restore order while simultaneously avenging Mira. He was too wimpy at the moment to try anything.

"Erza help! The crazy nun is back and she's doing inappropriate things to the prisoners!" Elfman yelled as he ran out of the brig.

"Aw, it appears that the young boy is not mature enough to realize his desires." Kiara said in a sad tone.

"Unhand me! I bow to no one!" Virgo yelled.

"Dear, it doesn't matter who dominates or submits. So long as we all share in the love." Kiara said as Virgo screamed.

Kiara licked her lips and continued her strange lewd torture session. At least until she heard the door being kicked open and in came Erza who was wearing a rubber suit that covered everything but her face. She also seemed to be armed with a pair of shock prods.

"Hm? What is this?" Kiara asked.

Erza kept a straight face and did an amazing series of acrobatics with her shock sticks before charging at Kiara who looked excited.

"Take this fowl beast, I always come prepared for such a moment!" Erza yelled.

"Do you?" Kiara asked.

"Yes, I even brought the butter." Erza said as the eclipse spirits suddenly screamed in horror.

There were also some sounds of Kiara laughing with delight. Which became the primary reason that the other wizards and Bart refused to follow after Erza despite how bad the odds were for her.

"Barricade the door!" Natsu shouted.

"Aunt Erza!" Shirou shouted.

"It's fine Shirou, don't cry. We'll leave a slice of cake at her grave." Natsu said.

"We need to help her!" Shirou exclaimed and Natsu did not like that.

"…how do you feel about calling Juvia your auntie?" He asked.

"No." Shirou said sternly.

"What about Cana?" Natsu asked as the screams and laughter became louder.

"She smells weird." Shirou said, offending Cana.

"Hey!" Cana yelled angrily.

"How about Lisanna?"

"No."

"Charle?"

"She's mean."

"Mirajane?"

"I like Aunt Erza better."

Natsu groaned and tried to find more options before hearing the door being kicked open. Erza came out wearing nothing but her undergarments while carrying a trash bag holding her rubber suit and a giant suitcase that was chained up. Listening closely, everyone could hear Kiara giggling while also making noises that prompted Cana to cover Shirou's ears.

"I don't even want to know what you did down there." Cana said.

"Some missions are so dangerous that they can never be spoken out loud or recorded." Erza said before Requipping into her pirate clothes again.

Erza then started demanding everyone to pack up the cargo while going over the list of items she needed to treat Tiamat's offsprings.

"I think that's it. Captain Roberts, you may return us back to Magnolia!" Erza said.

Bart nodded and turned the ship back to Fiore where they would likely arrive by dawn at the earliest. Leaving most of the present wizards to rest up and prepare for the journey back home. Only to find the crisis that everyone back home stumbled onto.

Back with Lucy's Group

Unfortunately for Lucy and several others, there would be no time to sleep and hope things look better tomorrow. With what Hisui revealed, they had to stop Leo's plans to be "free" or else he would be killed along with Virgo and Aries. Even though Leo will accept death just knowing he would be free from being bound to humans.

There was more information that no one in the party had realized yet.

Now, with the help of a few Riders, Lucy and a few others were making their way to the Astral Spirytus. The area where the eclipse spirits were meant to meet at in order to begin their ritual.

"And this is where the meeting place is?" Lucy asked.

"Yes, the Astral Spirytus is not too far away." Hisui said.

As they continued to move, Yukino had a random thought that she believed was worth voicing.

"Lucy, don't you think it's weird that all of the corrupted celestial spirits attacked us together in one place?" Yukino asked.

"I guess, but why do you ask? Do you think there's more to it?" Lucy asked, wondering if Yukino had a theory.

"No, I'm just wondering since I didn't expect there to be a way to stop them. It was a good thing that the princess arrived because we were able to stop most of them." Yukino explained.

"Oh, I see what you're getting at. I think they just wanted to destroy us at the same time. Probably to stop us from finding a way to keep them from "controlling" them again." Lucy replied.

"I guess that makes sense." Yukino said.

With how hostile the spirits were. It didn't go past Yukino to think they would try and kill her and Lucy as part of their rebellion. However, she was probably just wondering about the irony that Hisui had arrived in time and had the one set of weapons needed to stop the eclipse spirits.

Honestly it could have been worse. Leo could have forced the eclipse spirits to stand perfectly still while going on a long speech. Like a supervillain who thinks they can get more done by talking and being vulnerable to attack rather than to just destroy your enemy and be done with it.

"You know, Loke has always been too proud and tended to act like a flirt. Thinking about it, he reminds me of Ichiya's Trimens." Lucy said, briefly remembering that Loke/Leo belonged to a Blue Pegasus wizard at one point before he was banished from the celestial spirit realm.

Considering that Loke was considered an ordinary human wizard a couple years before Lucy arrived. She wondered if Loke ever worked with Ichiya or knew him through Karen. Aside from Karen's abuse likely being hard to ignore, Lucy can imagine a Casanova would likely get along with a group of male hosts.

Well that was something Lucy could ask Loke once she beat the stupidity out of him.

"It's here! This is the ritual ground!" Hisui exclaimed.

"Then we can beat Leo early!" Lucy replied.

With Leo

A short distance away, Leo stood in the ritual room feeling annoyed. The day was turning for the worse and not only had he been forced to run away. He also spent a long time trying to fend off Hessian Lobo who had been determined to chase him to the ends of the earth.

So when that was done, Leo realized his fellow celestial spirits were locked in the celestial spirit realm. Leaving him alone and it didn't help that Virgo and Aries had not returned either.

"Those fools, they just had to go after that woman's supposed son!" Leo said angrily.

He hoped that with the combined might of everyone. They could eliminate Lucy and Yukino as well as anyone else who could potentially get in the way. Only to see how much worse things have gotten thanks to Hisui's sudden interference. He didn't expect the princess to suddenly appear and have the tools to defeat everyone.

"This plan has become a mess. If only there was a way to undo all of it." Leo said as he growled in frustration.

"Oh don't worry now, we can recover from this." Said a voice.

Leo growled as he saw a blond haired nurse suddenly appear before him.

"What do you want, Ophiuchus?" Leo asked.

"Just wanted to check in you but I can see your reckless attack went nowhere." Ophiuchus said, looking amused.

"You dare mock me? I dare keep you grounded in reality." Ophiuchus said as she walked around him. "But as I said, there may be a way to remedy this plan. So long as you are patient enough to postpone freedom for another day." She said.

"I will do anything for freedom but do not test my patience." Leo said.

"Of course, I will not test you, king of the jungle." Ophiuchus said.

Leo growled at her, thinking he was being mocked by her smug look. However, despite being powerful and more animalistic. Leo's eclipse form had a severe increase in arrogance and it reduced his intelligence in a way. While freedom wasn't too far away, he was not going to get it even if he had succeeded.

'Idiotic fool, the only one receiving freedom is my king.' Ophiuchus thought.

Then suddenly, she was startled by the wall behind her collapsing. She then watched as a pterodactyls came crashing in with Quetzalcoatl, Wendy and a couple of others jumping down.

"How did they find this place!?" Leo angrily asked.

"Fool! Fairy Tail is unpredictable and if that wasn't the case. They probably followed you here." Ophiuchus said, chalking it off to Leo being chased by Hessian Lobo.

"Sky Dragon's Roar!" Wendy shouted as she unleashed a massive gust of wind at the two eclipse spirits.

Ophiuchus and Leo moved out of the way in time. Only to then be barraged by multiple attacks that attacked them at once.

"Water Slicer!"

"Fairy Machine Gun: Leprechaun!"

"Solid Script: Fire!"

"Ark!"

The two remaining spirits dodged the wild wave of attacks before going their separate ways. With Ophiuchus deciding to run and complete her part of the plan while Leo stayed behind and tried to fight them again. However, it didn't go as well as he wanted it.

"Dark Regulus!" Leo shouted, ready to hit the first person he saw.

Instead, he was suddenly pelted with multiple waves of sound or air that felt like arrows. Leo stumbled back and saw Tristan in the distance and tugging on his bow. Which in itself, looked more like a lira and was played as such.

While Leo was distracted, it left him open for attack by Quetzalcoatl's bat. The impact slammed him straight into a wall. Leo growled as he ducked under the next hit and punched Quetzalcoatl with another Dark Regulus infused punch and sent her skidding back.

"Purge of Darkness!" Leo shouted.

Achilles jumped into the center and blocked the massive wave of dark flames with his shield. He slowly started pushing the flames back and began to approach Leo. As Leo continued to press his attack, he was smacked across the face with Juvia's Water Whip which he ignored.

"I'll deal with all of you by myself if I have to!" Leo yelled as his firepower became more intense.

Lucy then looked towards Tristan before giving him a command that empowered him.

"I see, you wish to hear a tune of my sorrow." Tristan said as he began to play on his bow. "Song of my pain and sound of my sorrow. Failnaught… this is my arrow." He said.

As Leo continued to try and tank the attacks. He was suddenly hit by multiple vacuums of spaces that felt like arrows. He was subsequently hit in multiple directions that made it harder for Leo to maintain his attack. Soon enough, he stumbled back and was stabbed by Achilles' spear.

Leo cried out in pain as some dark magic began to leak out his side. Leaving him vulnerable to being hit over the head with Quetzalcoatl's bat. Sending him crashing face first into the floor that shattered on impact. She also placed her foot on his back to keep him there.

"Lock him away already, this pendejo has given me a headache." The Aztec Goddess said.

Leo snarled as he tried to stand up.

"I will not be enslaved any longer! I would rather be eradicated from existence than to be that woman's thrall for another…"

*STOMP*

The room became silent as Lucy reverted back to her dark form. Where she proceeded to stomp her foot onto Leo's face.

"I will not…"

*STOMP*

"I refuse…"

*STOMP*

"I deny…"

*STOMP*

After a few more stomps, Dark Lucy bent down and lifted Leo by his hair and made her look into his eyes. He still dared to look at her with a hateful look but was lost in her golden eyes. It wasn't to say his old self was coming back and admired Lucy's beauty.

Rather… Leo started to find himself being trapped in a void that felt like it was the real oblivion.

"I… I… uh…"

"I think Lucy just killed his bravado." Achilles said, making everyone shiver in fear.

"Princess HIsui, could you please just close Leo's gate? This feels uncomfortable to watch." Levy said.

Hisui gulped as she slowly walked towards Leo and closed his gate with a black key. She slowly backed away from Lucy who reverted to her regular form and almost fell had Tristan not caught her.

"Okay, I really need to work out those issues." Lucy said as everyone sighed in relief.

"I liked it better when Lucy's darker half was just a sadist that scared people." Charle muttered.

Lucy took a moment to compass herself and recalled Quetzalcoatl. She then summoned Nightingale and had her help with her nausea.

"Lucy, do you need a minute to recover?" Levy asked.

"No, we have to stop that one remaining celestial spirit we saw." Lucy said.

Hisui then grabbed Lucy's shoulder and spoke to her piece.

"Lucy, as this whole crisis is my own fault. It is my duty as both the next monarch of Fiore and the one responsible to stop this. If you need to, please stay behind as you have done so much already." Hisui said, trying to push the weight of responsibility onto herself.

Lucy sighed, "Princess, I know you feel guilty but its all hands on deck." she said.

"Personally, I recommend a moment to recover from your episode." Nightingale said.

"You recommend a lot of things." Lucy said with a sigh.

"The Princess is right Lucy, you never acted sick whenever your dark side came out." Wendy said.

Lucy just sighed as she thought she could keep going. Although she is feeling surprised about how much of a toll her transformations took on her body. At best, she always felt slightly dizzy but reverting from her darker self's second stage was more intense. Like she was thrown into a tidal wave and then thrown out a long while afterwards.

So Lucy had decided to make a compromise as Hisui was the most knowledgeable one and had most of the answers. So she gently took Hisui's hand and focused her magic.

"If you want me to stay behind, then I will but only temporarily." Lucy said.

Hisui suddenly saw a red marking appear on the back of her hand as it took the shape of the royal emblem.

"What is this?" Hisui asked.

"A command seal, by doing this, you now have a pact with Tristan to watch over you and follow your commands." Lucy explained.

Hisui turned to Tristan who took a knee and bowed his head.

"My loyalty and bow are to you, Princess." Tristan said.

Hisui nodded and then nodded at Lucy, "Thank you Lucy." she said.

Lucy then clasped Wendy's hands together and gave her a command seal in the shape of Fairy Tail's guild symbol.

"Wendy, I'll give you Nightingale. She will watch over you and act as a second healer." Lucy said.

"Right, thanks Lucy." Wendy said.

"Levy, you can have Achilles." Lucy said.

"Right." Levy said before giving Lucy her hand.

Seconds later, her own command seal appeared and her pact with Achilles was formed.

"Come on, Bookworm." Achilles said, making Levy sigh at the nickname.

At least it was a better name than shrimp. Still, Achilles wouldn't tease or mock her the whole way.

"We'll be back for you Lucy!" Levy shouted as everyone followed Oppouchius's trail.

Lucy nodded and sighed as she sat back. Where she did feel some of her muscles cramp up. She would have to make a note to visit Kotomine and see if he had any way to help her since he indirectly made Lucy's dark half. Maybe the whole thing had to deal with stress as Lucy kept transforming without even feeling angry for more than a split second.

That or she could visit a hot spring with a reliable masseuse.

Lucy then rested for a while and after a half hour. Lucy sighed and stood up again, contemplating if she was good enough to move. Then again, there's the chance that she might snap and transform again. Before Lucy could further debate with herself, she found herself extending her wings and flying backwards.

As the rest of the ritual room collapsed as the Royal Fortune came crashing in. With Erza standing at the nose and looking serious as ever in her pirate costume.

"ERZA!?" Lucy asked.

"Lucy!" Erza said as she jumped down to meet her. "We returned early but were told about the attack. How can we help?" she asked.

Lucy couldn't believe how quickly Erza returned with everyone else.

"Okay, basically we the celestial spirits have been corrupted but luckily. We already banished ten of them and we're just missing two spirits." Lucy explained.

"Good, because we were hoping to ask you about the prisoners." Erza responded.

Before Lucy could question her, Erza snapped her fingers loudly. Where Natsu and Gray came out of the ship and dropped the chained up bodies of Virgo and Aries.

"Those two look different and… why do they look traumatized?" Lucy asked.

"Kiara." Erza answered.

"What? What does… never mind. Now we just need to get to Princess Hisui who has the keys." Lucy said.

Erza nodded and began to drag the two chained up eclipse spirits. She was soon joined by Natsu, Gray and most of the group she took with her on the mission. But then a thought crossed Lucy's mind.

'Wait, if this is Virgo and Aries. Then who was that other woman that was with Loke?' Lucy wondered.

With the mystery woman

Despite trying to chase after Ophiuchus, the group ended up getting separated after finding multiple corridors along the way. Seeing as how they didn't have time to waste. Everyone split up into mini groups and tried to find Ophiuchus first.

Fortunately or unfortunately, Wendy was the one who found Ophiuchus and she turned out to be a sadist as well. Where she proceeded to tie her up with bandages along with Charle and Nightingale.

"Now, are you ready for a yearly checkup?" Ophiuchus asked as she raised a giant needle over her head.

Wendy screamed in fright while Nightingale glared at Ophiuchus with great scorn.

"How dare you utilize medical equipment in such a fashion? You are a healer, not a torturer!" Nightingale exclaimed as she tried to break free of the bandages.

"My own medical knowledge outweighs all else." Ophiuchus said, ignoring Nightingale's rant.

Nightingale struggled to break free of the bandages as Ophiuchus began to crush her with them. With no other choice, Wendy tapped into her command seal.

"Nightingale, break free and don't let this lady hurt me or Charle with those tools!" she cried out.

Nightingale gritted her teeth as the command enhanced her and forced her to break free of the bandages. She then rushed towards Ophiuchus who tried to restrain her again only for the Angel of Crimea to keep breaking through them. Ophiuchus then tried to stab her with the giant needle only for Nightingale to pull out an IV pole out of nowhere and smack it out of her hands.

Nightingale then used the pole and started beating Ophiuchus with it as if it were a bo staff. Where Wendyw was then subjected to the strangest crossover of medicine and martial arts. Which ended with Ophiuchus crashing into a wall. Before the eclipse spirit could recover, Nightingale hogtied her with medical tape and placed two large bandages on Ophiuchus mouth in the shape of a cross to silence her.

Once secured and sure that Ophiuchus could not escape and do more sadistic things with medical instruments. Nightingale threw the eclipse spirit over her shoulder and turned to Wendy and Charle.

"Now then, let us find the exit so the Princess can close this spirit's gate." Nightingale said.

Wendy struggled for a moment and it prompted Nightingale to cut the girl and the Exceed loose with an army knife. Once done, Nightingale then instructed the two girls to pick up the bandages that restrained them.

"Grab as much as you can. We should not waste medical equipment." Nightingale said.

At the end of the hall

Hisui, Arcadios and Tristan were the first to reach the end of the tunnels. They looked around and saw a floating object in the sky that was filled with energy.

"Princess, it's the…" Arcadios tried to say before hearing a loud scraping sound.

Hisui covered her ears while Tristan placed a hand on one of his ears. The latter thought they were in danger but then watched as something came out of one of the tunnels.

"What on Earthland is that?" Arcadios asked.

"I believe they are reinforcements." Tristan answered.

Moments later, the scraping sound became louder and they watched as a ship squeezed itself through the tunnel. With none other than Erza standing at the front again.

"You're good. You're good. You're good." Erza told Bart.

"Erza, you're supposed to say that only if he can avoid any scrapes or crashes." Lucy said, making Erza's eyes widen.

"How foolish! Captain Bartholomew! Please strike me for my idiocy!" Erza said.

"There's no point in worrying about my ship. Just direct me to the exit." Bart said.

Erza nodded, "Very well, just follow the path and prepare for a slight right curve." She said.

Hisui and her bodyguards watched as the ship continued to tear itself apart trying to reach them.

"You're good. You're good. You're good." Erza repeatedly said.

"I'm assuming Titania is not typically allowed to navigate?" Arcadios asked.

"Had it been anyone else, the vessel would have been reduced to ash by this point." Tristan replied before the ship arrived.

Which crashed onto its side just as everyone else including Wendy's team had arrived.

"Oh, I see Natsu is here." Levy said.

"Try again, Bookworm. That thing is mostly in one piece." Achilles corrected.

"Erza then." Levy said as Erza eagerly jumped out of the ship.

Moments later, Virgo and Aries were dropped with as little care as possible. With the impact startling a few of the mages who were near the damaged ship.

"Hey, Heat Lamp! You're not supposed to drop them like a sack of potatoes!" Gray yelled.

"Shut up you stupid popsicle! First, I would never throw food like that! Second, it's called efficiency! You wouldn't understand it because you're stupid!" Natsu ranted.

"Then maybe that's why you keep making a mess when we're forced to team up!" Gray argued.

Erza sighed as she proceeded to summon a slipper and threw it like a boomerang. Seconds later, Natsu and Gray were hit on the head and fell onto the ground. With the slipper coming back to Erza's hand like a boomerang.

"Now then, we have Aries and Virgo. Now, how do we deal with their conditions?" Erza asked.

"I have the tools to alleviate their conditions." Hisui spoke up.

Erza turned to Hisui, feeling mild surprise by her appearance, and nodded. She then watched as Hisui took out the two remaining black keys and locked Aries and Virgo's gates. All the while the princess secretly wondered why the two looked traumatized, not that she needed to know about Kiara's involvement.

"And that makes all 12. Our mission here is complete." Arcadios said, sighing in relief.

Before anyone else said anything, Wendy had to bring up a big concern.

"Wait, if those two made twelve. Then what about this one?" Wendy asked as Nightingale lifted Ophiuchus for everyone to see.

The Eclipse spirit squirmed and struggled in Nightingale's strong grip. Leaving Hisui and Arcadios confused as they only had 12 keys and could not use one of them again. That's when Yukino, who had also arrived, realized something.

"Ophiuchus!" she said.

"What was that?" Hisui asked.

"My last key, it isn't a traditional golden key but Ophiuchus is considered to be the 13th gate!" Yukino explained.

As everyone pondered on this, they didn't notice Ophiuchus stopped squirming and started smirking before her gag of bandages. Ophiuchus then closed her eyes as she was suddenly surrounded with dark energy that began to expand and sent both Wendy and Nightingale flying.

Nightingale grabbed onto Wendy and turned her back to the ground where she skidded across the ground to protect the young girl. Once safe, Nightingale and Wendy watched as a giant black serpent with a red underbelly. With only Ophiuchus's upper torso remaining present.

Once her arms were free, Ophiuchius removed the bandages that silenced her. She grinned as she looked down at everyone who was frightened by her monstrous form.

"You have all done me a great favor. Albeit it cost me more time by having to obtain the Liberium myself while Leo and everyone else recklessly attacked you all." Ophiuchus said.

"What the heck is that snake lady talking about?" Natsu asked before Ophiuchus elaborated.

"Leo and the others were so adamant about freedom. Crying like abused animals and claiming they would accept death just for temporary liberty. When in truth, they were nothing more than fuel for my master." Ophiuchus explained.

"Master? There's someone else behind this?" Lucy asked.

"The rebellion was merely a distraction." Yukino said, realizing what Ophiuchus meant.

"Yes, but I am more grateful towards your princess. Not only did her actions cause this, but she helped you lock away my fellow spirits. For now their life force will be able to grant my king the power he needs." Ophiuchus finished.

"Wait a minute, where is the Celestial Spirit King this whole time?" Lucy asked.

The Celestial Spirit King is law and order itself in the Celestial Spirit World. Certain faults aside, he's usually aware of what goes on between his spirits and would step in if he really needed to. Lucy could not contemplate the idea that was corrupted by the eclipse as well as seeing how Plue and Yukino's silver keys were able to respond to their call.

Ophiuchus grinned at Lucy, confirming the truth.

"The Celestial Spirit King that you know is no more!" she exclaimed as the whole place began to shake.

Soon enough, a small portion of Ophiuchus' titanic body wrapped around the ground and lifted it into the air. Soon followed by the Celestial Globe as it began to float into the sky.

"Now, to destroy you and begin the ritual which will only strengthen my master!" Ophiuchus said as the whole ground began to shake.

Had this been any other group, they would either run around in circles or give into despair. However, Fairy Tail was filled with stubborn people who would punch the apocalypse in the face if it had one.

"How about I beat you up and then your beat up master?" Natsu asked before charging himself up. "Fire Dragon Wing Attack!" he shouted.

"Sky Dragon's Roar!"

"Iron Dragon's Roar"

"Ice Make: Cannon!"

"Random Ball!"

As the wave of attacks flew directly towards Ophiuchus' human body. The eclipse spirit merely pulled out an ocarina and began to play a small tune. Which resulted in the soundwaves sending the attacks right back at their casters.

"Crap!" Natsu cursed.

"Requip! Adamantine Armor!" Erza shouted.

She stood in everyone's way and blocked the incoming attacks with minor difficulty. Before Erza could confirm if everyone was safe. She suddenly blocked a heavy blast of energy coming from the serpent's mouth.

"Hang on Erza!" Lucy shouted.

Lucy turned to her servants and nodded. Achilles quickly flew directly towards Ophiuchus and prepared to pierce her. While Tristan started to fire his arrows as well. Meanwhile, Nightingale stayed put and made sure to tend to anyone that might get wounded.

However, Ophiuchus used her ocarina again but instead of sending Tristan's projectiles flying back at him. She used them to slam into Achilles who started to lose his balance on his way towards her. As that wasn't enough, Ophiuchus commanded the head of her serpent's body to blast Achilles who began to fall back down.

Only for Erza to catch him after Requipping to her Black Wing Armor.

"Thanks Erza." Achilles said before coughing.

Erza nodded before looking towards Bart and using the command seal given to her.

"Captain Roberts, with a command seal. I want you to unleash your full power." Erza commanded.

Bart nodded as he felt the increase of magical energy from Erza. Moments later, Ophiuchus found her lower body surrounded by an ocean of water. Where she was surrounded by a massive fleet of ships.

"This will not be enough." Ophiuchus said arrogantly.

"In case you haven't noticed. You're heavily surrounded." Bart spoke up.

Ophiuchus scoffed at him as she raised up her ocarina. Preparing for the massive attack about to hit her.

"All cannons, fire! Black Dirty Barti Howling!" Bart shouted.

Seconds later, everyone was nearly deafened by the sounds of dozens of pirate ships firing simultaneously. A few did get lucky and hit Ophiuchus body but did no more than give minor scratches. Soon enough, Ophiuchus' musical playing forced everyone to rethink their tactics as the ocarina caused the cannon balls to fly back to their ships and destroy them. WIth the last remaining few being destroyed by her serpent head's lasers.

"Damn it! How are we supposed to hit something that hits us back!?" Gray asked, sounding very frustrated.

"We have to think of a new solution. We have to create a new tactic to defeat Ophiuchus before we see what the Celestial Spirit King has become." Yukino said, knowing her rogue spirit wasn't the worst threat.

There was no telling how dangerous and powerful the Celestial Spirit King may become in his eclipse form. Possibly being a threat that was greater than Future Rogue himself.

TO BE CONTINUED…