Hello there!

I'm back for another chapter!

It has come to my ears that the chapters are being 'tOo sHoRt' and 'i cAnT eVeN pRoPeRlY lIvE tHe sToRy' and 'wHeN i sTaRt dIvInG iN, tHe cHaPtEr eNdS' Yes I'm talking to you, future husband. Please, to your duly service as my king and my lover, ENJOY THIS ONE!

Giggly, mine too!

Dommie, have it. Yes I'm still mad.

I hope you like it :)

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Fairy Tail. I do, however, own the rights to this story and OC characters that might appear in the future.

Chapter XXIII: The Magic Keys

X—X

"Thank you all so much for doing this for me." Ivy smiled, taking Erza's hand. "You have no idea how much it means."

"I might have a clue." Erza nodded. "And you don't need to thank us, Ivy. You may not be Fairy Tail, but you are our nakama."

"Thank you Erza. I will find a way to reward you for all your hard work." Ivy bowed.

"There is no need, but I will look forward to it nevertheless."

She watched as the mages, bellies full and bodies tired, said goodbye to everyone and waved at Ivy, who stood at the front door. The drivers of the trucks were ready to go, and Yukino, Rogue, and Frosch hitched a ride with one of them while everyone else moved to the train station. The redhead stayed at the door until everyone was just a spot down the hill. Then, she smiled, closing the door behind her.

"Why did you ask us to stay behind?"

Ivy smiled at Lucy, Levy, Natsu, Gajeel, Happy, and Lily. "I still need your help."

"With what, Ivy?"

"If you'd follow me, please?"

The group walked behind her, frowning as Ivy led them back to the library. She pushed the door open and winked at Sting, who played around with one of the tree's green fruits, and Lector tried to snatch it before the dragon slayer caught it. He looked up when the group entered and smirked.

"Hey."

"So... what are we doing here?" Natsu asked.

"Do you think you have enough strength to help me pack the last few books?"

Lucy raised an eyebrow, looking around at the massive library, now completely devoid of books. Ivy giggled and shook her head, motioning them to follow. Lector stayed behind with the two Exceeds after Ivy gave them permission to eat however many fruits from the tree they wanted. Obviously, the three took that as a challenge and dove right in.

Ivy took them to the large mirror and stood in front of it, watching the two mages carefully. Sting took the hint and pulled back a bit, motioning the two fellow dragon slayers to do the same. Lucy cocked her head and Levy raised an eyebrow. Ivy took a deep breath and sighed.

"My grandfather was an avid researcher of magic. All the books here, though protected and risky to be owned, are not illegal." she began. "While in his prime, he sought to collect artifacts and books of the most dangerous characters to study them. Those of which he was hired to get, he delivered them to his employer. Those of which he sought for personal enrichment, he stored them all in a secret room."

"Your grandfather sounds dope." Natsu let out.

"He was the best man I have ever known." she smiled. "When my magic became prominent, he took me to his secret room, and let me discover and learn the secrets in them."

"That sounds wonderful." Levy swooned.

"It was. The reason why the Magic Council allowed itself to be roped into Uncle's whims was for the opportunity to get to his secret room. Though I've tried, I never could enter the room myself alone. I'd like to ask you for help with the assurance that you will be rewarded for it."

"Of course, Ivy." the blue-haired mage nodded.

"Why me?" Lucy frowned. "Why not Fried?"

"Grandfather always admired all sorts of magic. But he had a special fascination with one in particular."

"Which?"

"Celestial Magic."

"What?"

"You don't know the limits of your own magic, do you?" Ivy frowned. "Celestial magic is one of the most powerful magics of all time. Unlike all Spatial Magics, Celestial Magic does not depend on space or capacity, but rather on the strength of the caster. Curses and locks fall apart easily at the touch of Celestial Magic. Why do you think you picked up the spell I taught you faster than anyone else?"

"Why? Why do they fall apart easily?"

"Because the self-protection base of all curses and locks is earthly-known attacks. Celestial Magic is not from this world."

"You would be a hell of a curse-breaker, Lucy," Levy commented.

She sniffled and nodded. "What do you need?"

Ivy raised her hands and showed them the motions of the spell while making sure they had the pronunciation of the dead language correct. Then, she turned to face the mirror and nodded. The three mages raised their hands and three magic circles sprouted to life. The frame of the mirror began to glow. She took both Lucy and Levy's hands and pulled them inside the mirror.

Lucy gasped. The room was small, the walls made bookshelves, and it had a large comfortable armchair and a small bean bag next to it. Ivy turned on the lamp on the small table and smiled. The corner of the room had a small version of the large tree in the main library, and Ivy picked the fruits of it except one. She placed them in a basket and turned back to the girls.

"Are you ready?"

Two hours went by, and the room was bare. The dragon slayers took the filled boxes with books and glass cases securing artifacts to the last truck and waited for the girls outside. Ivy turned to them and smiled brightly.

"Thank you so much. Really." she took their hands. "Your presence and help mean to me more than you could ever imagine."

"You're our friend, Ivy, our nakama." Levy nodded. "Of course, we would help you."

"I promised you a gift each." she grabbed the last book from the shelf. "Levy."

"Yes?"

"This is for you."

The young woman took the book with care, running her fingers over the worn brown cover. Etched in golden letters, she read the title. "Runic Alphabets Throughout Times."

"This is the book that taught me all I know about runes. You don't have to stick to one alphabet now." Ivy smiled. "I find that different alphabets have different effects in the same runes. I personally find the Celtic runes to be easier to draw, but the most powerful ones have to be draconian runes."

"What else?"

"Blood Runes are messy, Germanic are a mess to understand at first, but once you get the hang of it, you're fine. I do ask you to be careful learning the forbidden Arabian alphabet... it's forbidden for a reason." she grinned.

"Ivy, this is..." Levy looked up to her with tears in her eyes. "I have no words."

"Then promise me you'll learn all that you can... and share that knowledge with whom you deem worthy. As I have."

"Thank you!" Levy pulled her into a tight hug. "Thank you so much."

"Of course." They pulled away and she smiled at Lucy. "Your turn."

"You don't need to give me anything."

"Although I love Yukino dearly, and I would die for her if asked to, she is not as powerful as you are." she grabbed the last thing from the shelf, a small wooden box with a silver 'x' on top. "These are for you."

"What are they?"

"Keys. Grandfather found them one day. He consulted with many Celestial Spirit mages but they were either unable to open their gates or just... flat out refused to touch them. They're powerful Keys, Lucy, dangerous ones. Yet I find no one else better fitted than you."

"Thank you so much, Ivy." she took the box with shaky hands.

"Have one of these as well." she gave them each two fruits. "Share it with your partner."

"And you?" she looked at the single fruit in the basket.

"This one is Sting's." she pointed back to the last fruit in the tree. "That one is mine. Breakfast is served at 9 am tomorrow if you want to join us."

"Will you destroy this room?" Levy frowned.

"No. I will close it."

She took the last fruit from the tree. They left the room and Ivy took a deep breath before turning around to face the mirror, letting out a high-pitched whistle. The frame cracked at the very top of it, and she smiled.

"See you tomorrow girls."

X—X

Lucy took a deep breath as she opened the wooden box. There, resting in midnight blue velvet were two Silver Keys. One of them had a diamond box and a red fox profile. The other looked exactly like Plue's key, but the image was facing the other direction, and the box was square-shaped. Natsu rested his chin on her shoulder and frowned.

"What is it?" He asked.

"I have never seen these keys before." She frowned. "This one looks like Plue's but the other… it's a Silver Key, yes, but I have never heard of it."

"Kinda looks like a fox." He mused.

"Yeah, it does."

"Are you nervous?" Natsu rubbed the tip of his nose against her neck. "Relax, Luce. I won't let anything hurt you."

"I know that." She smiled softly. "I just have a feeling about these keys."

"A bad one?"

"I don't know." She grabbed the fox key and placed the box on the bed, standing up. "Let's do this."

She walked to the middle of the room and took a deep breath, winking at Natsu. He grinned at her, and Lucy raised her head. She emitted confidence just by standing and Natsu was sure she could do it. He had seen her open gates for the first time before, and it had been quite a sight.

"Open Gate!"

An orange Magic circle appeared from the tip of the key, and it exploded into golden and fire streams of light. Natsu flinched, and his nose twitched when a flurry of magic flew past him, only to stand in front of Lucy. Once the light faded, and the figure revealed itself, Lucy gasped and Natsu jumped to his feet.

A tall, curvy woman stood in front of her. She twirled her long black staff to disperse the remainder of the lights and stood tall. Her skin was tanned, her hair white and long, up in a high ponytail. She had a black cloth over her eyes, full round lips with a fang poking out on the right side, and wore an orange bodysuit with thigh-high brown boots. The staff, which she now held behind her, was made of black wood, but the nooks and crannies were lined in gold.

"Vulpecula…" Lucy whispered. "The Fox."

"Yosh, that is so cool!"

She bowed her head. "Master."

"Oh, Lucy is fine."

"Master Lucy." She nodded, her voice smooth and warm like a blanket. "It is an honor to finally meet a Celestial Spirit Mage. And a powerful one at that."

"Finally? Is this your first time being summoned?"

"Many have tried to open my gate before. I let none succeed."

"Well… it is an honor to be your first Master. Do you have a preferred name?"

"Renna."

"Renna." Lucy smiled. "Shall we discuss your contract?"

"Yes, Master Lucy."

"When can I summon you?"

"You may summon me to whichever battles you desire. Especially if they require…tricks."

"You're a trickster?"

She smirked. "I enjoy an occasional deceit."

"Very well." She grabbed a piece of paper and began writing it down. "How many times can I summon you?"

"Don't push it."

"That's fair." she giggled "Is there ever a time when I can never summon you?"

"Do not call for me during the full moon."

"Noted." Lucy took a deep breath.

"Master, may I be allowed a question?"

"Of course, Renna."

"He who stands behind you…" She cocked her head to the side. "You share a bond with him of magic seldom seen. Powerful too. Do you know that?"

"Huh?" Natsu let out.

"She means the mating bond, Natsu." Lucy smiled. "And yes, Renna. I know of the bond we share."

"I see. My luck to have such a wise Master." Renna crossed one arm over her chest. "I will be at your disposal, Master Lucy."

"Do you always appear in this form?"

"This is my battle form, Master. My… normal form is a more… amicable one, which I only show to a few chosen people."

"Could I please see it?"

Renna pondered for a moment before nodding. She puffed in a cloud, a disappeared for a second. Standing in her place was a little human, a head taller than Happy, wearing a closed orange cloak with a large hood that covered half her face, showing only the button nose and a chibi mouth with the telltale fang poking out. The hood had a pair of black round teary eyes stitched to it over where her eye would be, and a pair of large, fluffy fox ears. A fluffy orange tail swayed behind her, and the brown boots disappeared under the cloak.

Lucy gushed, Natsu pouted and Renna smirked. "Does it please you, Master?

"You are so cute, Renna!"

She made a strawberry bubble tea appear in her hand and began slurping on it. "I look forward to seeing you again, Master Lucy."

And she puffed out of existence in a cloud of smoke. Lucy turned back to Natsu with a beaming grin on her face and threw herself into his open arms. She shrieked and hugged him tightly, and the dragon slayer spun her around. Once he settled her down, he brought her Silver Keys up and Lucy carefully looped the key in.

"One more to go." He raised an eyebrow.

"One more to go."

She detangled herself from Natsu's arms and grabbed the last key, walking to the middle of the room. She took a deep breath and frowned. The weird feeling was back. She had grown accustomed to knowing how a Key felt: while with most of them, she felt power, she rarely felt its pressure. No matter how powerful the Spirit was, she never felt it by just holding the Key.

But this Spirit… it was almost as if it was exerting its power over its Gate Key to keep anyone from even picking it up. Almost as if trying to cause fear by displaying their power like an aura around the Key. Ivy had warned her that the Keys were powerful but downright forceful? But Lucy was no coward, and she knew how to handle a misbehaving Spirit. So she raised her head, clenched her jaw, and grabbed the Key hard.

"Open, Gate!"

A blue and yellow Magic Circle sprouted from the tip of the Key, unleashing streams of white and blue light all around. Lucy saw Natsu stand up from the corner of her eye but relaxed her own shoulders so that he could relax his. But then, a pitch-black stream came out from the circle. The blues and the yellows faded into nonexistence and all that was left was the pitch-black shadow.

It morphed into a massive dog with hunched shoulders, glowing red eyes and lips curled back, its sharp teeth soiled with something dark. Lucy gulped but stayed strong, as she suddenly felt Natsu's heat right behind her. She grabbed his wrist and shook her head, holding the Spirit's Key to the side. She hated, absolutely hated having to threaten her Spirit like that, but if that was what it took for it to calm down, then raise the Key she would.

Suddenly, a blue light sprouted from the Keys on the bed, and Plue appeared in front of the couple, facing the Spirit. Plue stretched his arms to the side, back to Lucy, and began chatting away. What made the situation even more strange was the fact that Plue wasn't even shaking, he seemed genuinely happy to see the large, black, scary dog.

The Spirit cocked its head to the side and blinked slowly. The threatening growl ceased, the glare disappeared and the Celestial Spirit Mage relaxed her shoulders. Then, it was enveloped in blue light and morphed. Lucy gasped.

Standing in front of them was a grown version of Plue. Two heads taller, a bit chubbier, and with heavy-lashed golden eyes. Her tail – it was safe to say it was a female Spirit – was longer and fluffier than Plue's, and her mouth curled into a soft smile. Plue ran into the Spirit's arms, and she hugged him to her chest gently. All the while never stopping chatting.

"Ah." Natsu let out. "Mother."

"What?"

"That's what Plue keeps saying, over and over again." He explained. "Mother."

"Oh, no wonder her Gate was too dangerous to be opened!" Lucy exclaimed. "No one else had Plue's key!"

"Which is this Spirit then?"

"Canis Major," She smiled.

The two Spirits turned to face Lucy, who smiled and kneeled down, quickly making up a contract with her, who she quickly named Meilu. Her contract was pretty much the same as Plue's, with the little dog doing all the talking since apparently, Meilu didn't speak. The only exception was that, unlike Plue, Meilu was fit for battle. And if she was ever called for battle, she asked Lucy not to fear, because, in those instances, she would appear in her blackhound form. Once the contract was finished, Meilu bowed her head at Lucy and grabbed her hand, squeezing it lightly before mother and son went back to the Spirit world.

"That was amazing." Lucy declared, placing Meilu's key next to Plue's. "These were… amazing gifts."

"How are you feeling?" Natsu asked, wrapping his arms around her from behind.

"Tired." She frowned. "Renna is powerful, Natsu."

"I thought Silver Keys were weaker than Golden ones."

"They're not weaker, they are more common. There are only 12 Golden Keys. There are a lot more Silver Keys." Lucy explained. "But that was the first time Renna's Gate was opened by someone other than herself. Her Key was brand new. Not only that, you felt her, Natsu. She's…"

"Strong." He nodded. "I know."

"But I'm happy."

"I'm glad." He smirked. "Can we have some fun before bed?"

"Natsu! Happy is right there!"

"If he slept through two Gates openings and two contracts, he can sleep through you." He licked his lips "And then again…"

"Pervert!"

A/N: Hope you like it!

I'll get to shit soon, I pinky promise.

Let me know your thoughts on this new story!

Lots of love from this weirdo,

LoneeWolf :)