Happy New Year, Everyone!
I'm starting off the New Year with a New Chapter of Both The Prophecy In The Stars and Because Of A Dream.
Now, I will warn you, if you are a Yukino Fan, I would want to skip this Chapter if I were you.
If you still decide to read it, please don't attack me!
I personally like Yukino too, but it's the only way to go to keep the story going.
So, I'm sorry in advance!
Now, On With the Show!
Lucy had to admit cleaning her apartment didn't take as long as she thought not with Levy and Wendy there to help. Lucy had to stop a few times to rest because of cramping pain in her stomach. Wendy had checked her over and told her it was from her injury, and that it would stop eventually. Wendy did offer to do another round of healing for her but she waved her off. The pain was dull enough not to bother her enough to warrant Wendy to use her magic on her again.
That was three days ago. Master Makarov ordered Lucy to take a break and rest for the next two weeks but Lucy knew she couldn't do that. She had rent to pay and she knew her landlady wasn't going to let her pay it late. She thought she could find a simple one that didn't involve fighting or anything but with the jobs that normally came into Fairy Tail, she doubted that.
Lucy had just gotten out of the shower and was about to grab her clothes from her closet when something flew out of it and landed on the floor by her desk. She stared at it in confusion before shaking her head and going to pick it up but before she could it flew over to her bed.
"What the-" Lucy muttered until she heard a giggle. A familiar giggle. She narrowed her eyes at the piece of clothing. "I swear to god if it's one of those menaces, I'm going to strangle Bickslow with my bare hands." She ground out between clenched teeth.
Lucy stomped over to the piece of clothing about to pick it up when it flew into the air. She was so focused on the piece of clothing she didn't see the blanket on her bed fly toward her until the last second. She lunged to the side as the blanket went to cover her head. She gripped the towel tighter so it wouldn't fall as she stood up and glared at the now-flying shirt and blanket.
"So, all of you are here it seems," Lucy grumbled, pinching the bridge of her nose. "I'm so going to kill him." She sighed before shrieking and lunging to the side again as the blanket came at her again. "I swear to god, if you guys don't stop right now I will run you through a wood chipper." She threatened before scrambling toward the closet. "That's it! You asked for it!" She yelled before closing herself in the closet.
While in the closet Lucy grabbed clothes and got dressed. She definitely wasn't going to try to catch those damn things in a towel. Once dressed in the first thing she could grab in the dark she opened the door slowly and peeked out. What she saw made her want to murder Bickslow all the more. Various objects flew around her apartment with giggles coming from the objects.
Lucy silently snuck over to her bed and grabbed her pillow before pulling the pillowcase off of it. She threw the pillow at the flying mixing bowl causing the bowl to spin across the room and slam into the wall. She jumped up and ran over to it before it could become airborne again. She reached under the bowl and snatched out a wooden totem. She held it to look into her eyes and glared at it.
"Either you all come quietly or I swear I will smash all of you before returning you to Bickslow," Lucy growled through gritted teeth. The totem only giggled as the others flew around the room faster while giggling. "Okay, the hard way it is then. You asked for it," she said before standing and throwing the totem into the pillowcase before holding it closed. "All right, who's next?" she taunted holding up the captured totem in the pillowcase.
All the objects containing a totem stopped and turned toward her before the panic broke out. The objects started flying toward the open window that she was just noticing. The objects all fell to the ground revealing the totems underneath.
"Oh, no you don't." She ground out before lunging for the totems holding the pillowcase open and swinging down over the totems. She closed it quickly realizing she only missed one. She watched the totem panic trying to find another way out as she reached back and closed the window. "You've got nowhere to go, Peppe. Come quietly or you'll regret it." She trying reasoning.
However, Peppe's eyes weren't their normal green, they were orange. Something about them wasn't right but she couldn't worry about that now. She had to catch it before it caused more trouble. She narrowed her eyes as she watched it fly in a pacing matter and when it turned she pounced swinging the bag down over it trapping it in the pillowcase with the others.
Lucy breathed out a breath of relief. She tied the pillowcase close before putting it down and grabbing her boots. She knew the Master was going to be mad that she showed up at the guild but she had a Seith Mage to give a piece of her mind to.
Grabbing the bag Lucy stomped out of her apartment and down the sidewalk toward the guild hall. She was done with Bickslow's totem's mischief. She was going to make sure Bickslow got a better hand on his totems or she would definitely be throwing them in a wood chipper. She didn't even notice everyone who she passed moved out of her way. She was on a war path and one mage in her crosshairs.
Lucy saw the doors of the guild hall up ahead. She didn't stop not even when someone would call her name. Once she got to the doors, she didn't care, she threw them open so hard the bang echoed through the main hall alerting the guild to her arrival.
Mira saw Lucy and smiled "Good morning, Lu-" She started until she detected the murderous aura coming from everyone's favorite Celestial mage. "Oh, my." She muttered as she watched Lucy stomp toward the table where the Thunder Legion sat. "Oh no." Her eyes widened when Lucy stopped behind Freed.
Laxus was leaning back in his seat with his arms crossed over his chest and his eyes closed. He was aggravated because for the past few days, he's been hunting that scent but the scent just went in circles. It circled Magnolia and led straight to Lucy's apartment. To say he was annoyed was an understatement.
It was fairly quiet in the guild which Laxus was thankful for. Well, that was until the sound of the guild doors being thrown open startled him causing him to almost lose his balance for a second. He opened his eyes annoyed at the disruption but his eyes widened as he watched a very angry Lucy walking toward his table. He looked over his table to see everyone was there. He turned his head and narrowed his eyes on the bag that Lucy was carrying. His gaze snapped back to Bickslow and noticed no totems were flying around his head. How did he not notice this before?
The stomping got closer and closer until Lucy stopped behind Freed who was most unfortunate to be sitting across from Bickslow. The murderous aura made everyone at the table freeze. Laxus bet that they all thought it would be Mira. That was until Bickslow looked up and the part of his face you could see went pale.
Bickslow gasped and shrunk into his seat as Freed and Evergreen slowly turned their heads to see who it was emitting the demonic aura. Expecting to see Mira they all paled when they noticed it was Lucy and not the demon barmaid.
"Bickslow!" Lucy ground out from behind Freed as she lifted the bag into view. She slammed the bag on the table between Freed and Bickslow making the group jump. "Get control of these things because next time they decide to break into my apartment and cause trouble I'll be running them through a wood chipper and not care one bit!" She hissed before turning on her heel and heading back toward the doors fuming the whole way.
Laxus looked over at Bickslow who was slowly raising his head to look at the bag. Bickslow looked puzzled as he cautiously opened the bag to peek inside. An orange glow came from inside confusing the people at the table until Bickslow snapped the bag closed and growled under his breath. Laxus raised an eyebrow at his friend.
"I'll be back after I take care of this. Someone somehow is overriding my control and using them for themselves." Bickslow ground out between gritted teeth before standing and walking away dragging the bag behind him.
Evergreen looked over following Bickslow's movements until he disappeared through the door. She sighed before she looked at the other two at the table and saw they too were watching as Bickslow left. Laxus sighed dragging a hand down his face. He really didn't need this on top of everything else that was going on.
"So, which one of you is on guard duty tonight?" Freed asked breaking the uncomfortable silence.
Laxus blinked at his friend. Were they being that obvious? He thought they were keeping it on the down low because they didn't want it getting back to Lucy that they were taking shifts of watching her and her apartment. Then he thought about it, of course, his friends would catch on since he turned down going on a few jobs already.
Laxus sighed crossing his arms over his chest. "It's Gajeel's turn tonight. Levy and Wendy are having a sleepover with her while he watches the outside." He muttered under his breath so only they would hear.
Freed nodded. "So, you're free tonight then?" He asked. Laxus raised an eyebrow in question but nodded nonetheless. "Good. You're coming with us for a quick job. You should be back by tomorrow for your shift." He said before getting up and walking away.
Laxus blinked after his friend as Freed walked over to Mira, placing a kiss on her cheek and smiling at her. The sight made him want to cringe. However, he just turned away from the sight. He couldn't stand the sight of what people called PDA. He definitely wasn't one for it and he doubted he ever would be. He fought the urge to shiver at the thought. He heard a giggle across from him making him snap his head up. He saw Evergreen with half her face covered by her fan but you could tell by the crinkle near her eyes she was amused by something.
"What?" Laxus growled narrowing his eyes at her.
Evergreen snapped her fan close before clearing her throat. "Nothing." She said waving his question away with the fan in her hand.
Evergreen stood and started walking away ignoring Laxus' glare in the back of her head. She knew he would just laugh at the idea so she kept her mouth shut. He would never admit that he felt jealous of all the couples in the guild.
Laxus watched as Evergreen walked away toward the guild doors. He wanted her to tell him what she was thinking but then again, did he really want to know what she was thinking? He wasn't sure. As she reached the door he noticed Elfman get up and follow her out the door. He raised his eyebrows in surprise because honestly, he didn't see that one coming. How did they hide that for so long?
Laxus sighed dragging his hand down his face again. He supposed that it was time to go see what this job Freed was insisting that he go with them on. Not that he really wanted to go. He just wanted a night where he could relax for once. Not that he probably would anyway. He'd find himself on a rooftop somewhere close to Lucy's apartment away from Gajeel's post to keep an eye on the other side of the apartment.
Standing and walking toward the bar, Laxus noted one of the newer members sitting at a table with the other three new members they had recently joined after the games. They were a strange bunch. Friendly enough, especially the female. She seemed to have one personality, flirty. He'd seen her trying to charm everyone in the guild practically begging them to take her home. He would know, he was one of them. To say he wasn't interested was an understatement. The woman gave him a bad feeling. The group looked to be in a deep quiet conversation.
It seemed like Zane, the one new member no one knew much about, was berating the other three. He wasn't happy from the way his face screwed up and his teeth ground together. Laxus looked over the group again. It seemed one was missing. There normally were five of them together. He had the urge to tune into the conversation because something didn't feel or look right about the situation but he shrugged it off and continued to the bar where Freed was talking with Mira. He figured it was none of his business.
Freed and Mira turned their heads toward Laxus as he approached. They were making dinner plans for the following night. Laxus go the tail end of the conversation as he reached them. He tried his best to keep his dragon hearing under control. He didn't think he needed to know everyone's business but sometimes it couldn't be helped. When he wasn't paying attention his ears would tune into whatever conversation was going on. It drove him nuts sometimes but he dealt with it.
"So, what's this job you want me to go on so bad with you?" Laxus asked as he took a seat on the stool next to Freed.
Mira put a mug in front of Laxus reading his mind. He was about to order one but Mira knew how everyone was better than anyone else in the guild so he wasn't surprised when she just did it. She's done it plenty of times before. He nodded his thanks and turned his attention back to Freed.
"It's nothing big. However, the client is requesting an S-class mage and a team. Since we're really the only team here with an S-class mage it's on us." Freed explained. Laxus was about to point out Team Natsu with having Erza who was an S-Class mage too but Freed beat him to it. "Erza isn't here. Master sent her on a different mission yesterday." He explained.
Laxus nodded not happy about it. "Fine." He sighed. "Now, you're sure we'll be back before tomorrow night?" He asked narrowing his eyes at his friend.
Mira shook her head before Freed could answer. "No. It'll take a few days at least. Master just left the details for me to give to you. He said that he thought it would only be a day at most but after talking to the client he estimates a few days at the least." She explained handing the paper over.
Laxus sighed. "Then I can't. I have other obligations I can't just up and leave for a few days." He said before downing the contents on the mug.
Freed's shoulders slumped. "But Master said-" He started but Laxus shook his head.
"You know why I can't be gone for days," Laxus said putting the mug down and standing. He threw a few jewels on the counter. "Sorry, Freed, I just can't." He said before walking away.
Laxus felt bad turning his friend down but he already committed to something else. He couldn't take off for a few days. Gajeel would probably let him but then it would be all on Gajeel for guard duty. Natsu had taken another job with Lisanna after he made sure he and Gajeel could handle the rotation without him. That's how it had to be. Two Dragon Slayers had to be in Magnolia at all times. Granted Wendy was there and could easily make an excuse to stay with Lucy but there always had to be one other slayer available to watch the outside. That was what they agreed to. He couldn't drop this on Gajeel now.
Laxus headed toward the door when a voice almost stopped him. "You walking by Lucy's?" He heard Gajeel say from somewhere in the guild.
Laxus nodded slightly as he kept walking. "Yup. Then I'm heading home for a shower and I'll swing by later." He said as he reached the door.
"Good." Laxus heard Gajeel grunt.
Laxus walked out and headed toward Lucy's place when he saw Wendy with Carla walking up the steps to Lucy's apartment. He wanted to chuckle but kept walking.
"You're here early," Laxus said quietly as he got closer.
Wendy got to the front doors before slightly turning her head. "Yeah. Levy will be here shortly too. Don't worry we got her." She said before stepping through the door.
"Who said I was worried," Laxus grumbled under his breath as he made his way to his house.
Laxus needed a shower to clear his head and maybe a nap.
Yeah, definitely a nap.
Zane glared at the other three at the table. There should be four others but it seemed that one of them was in the custody of the council. He could have strangled the group in front of him. They had one simple job and failed.
"How could you let him get taken?" Zane hissed trying to keep their conversation quiet since there were too many dragon slayers in the building.
Zane didn't like having meetings at the guild hall, there were too many ears around but they had to make an appearance and make it seem like they were looking for a job.
"We didn't mean to. They just got to him before we could. He was being cuffed as we showed up." The only female in their group, Yuna.
Yuna was a small girl, but older than she looked. She looked to be twelve but was really in her twenties. She had short dark purple hair with the tips being red that went just below her ears. Her eyes were a deep ocean green, a complete contrast to her pale skin. She wore a black tank top with thin straps and a fishnet long-sleeve crop top over it. Her legs were clad in fish nets under her red and black plaid skirt. She wore black combat boots with black gloves that covered her poisoned nails. She was deadly in his opinion. Innocent looking but deadly nonetheless.
"Don't get your panties in a bunch. He'll be free soon enough. They'll make sure of it. Now, chill before you call too much attention to us." The one to the right of Yuna said, Clarke.
Zane gritted his teeth and nodded. He didn't like it but he knew they were right. He needed to calm down before he drew too much attention to them. That was the last thing they needed.
Zane sighed. "Did you at least manage to get the book?" He asked the one on the left of Yuna, Magnus.
Clarke and Magnas, much to their distaste, were twins. The only difference between the two was their hair color. Clarke had jet-black hair with lime green bangs while his twin had purple bangs. Other than that they were the same. They were both dressed in black cargo pants and dark blue tank tops.
Magnus shook his head. "When I went to get it it was gone." He replied lowly.
Zane ran a hand through his dark blue hair. They needed that book and if it was gone, they failed. They needed to figure out where the book went, they needed that book.
"Yukino Agria, you have failed the final judgment. You are to terminate the contracts with your Zodiac keys, including Ophiuchus, immediately."
Yukino went pale as the keys floated in front of her. "But-" She tried to argue but knew it was useless. She closed her eyes "I, Yukino Agria, release you Libra, Pisces, and Ophiuchus from your contracts." She said her voice breaking as the keys glowed and flew into the hand of the man who spoke.
"Now, return to your world." Yukino went to speak but she disappeared in a flash of light. "Now, onto the next. Leo, it's time to retrieve your charge, Lucy Heartfilia."
Leo knelt with his head bowed. "Yes, My king."
There is that Chapter!
I hope you enjoyed this chapter, I enjoyed writing it, especially the beginning!
Again, please don't be mad at me for Yukino!
I'm sorry!
Happy New Year!
As always, thank you all for your support!