#ft celestial spirits

[fairy-tail-trash]

My first art post in a while!

I redesigned Aquarius!

So here she is, I changed quite a bit

I made her more mermaidy and more royal

[blushingdread]

Lucy's telepathic connection with her spirits is so underused, especially because it would let her grow her bond with her spirits without having to summon them

My girlfriend is a DID system, so all my thoughts about this are DID adjacent lmao

Just living life:

Lucy wakes up and has a debate with Cancer about which outfit she wears. This is daily and nonnegotiable

Levy spots her best friend when she comes into the guild and excitedly walks up and greets her, only for Lucy to not respond at all. She tries a couple of times, seeing that Lucy is clearly spacing out, only for Lucy to jump when she sees Levy. Apologizing because she was talking to Aries and forgot the outside world existed for a few seconds there.

Lucy is walking with her team. Natsu and Gray are arguing, Erza is teaching Wendy how to read maps or something (and also contemplating murdering the two behind her), and Lucy, who was lagging in the back, randomly burts out laughing bc Gemini told her a joke

Lucy and Loke are sitting pretty far away from each other at the guild, and both of them stand up to start shouting at each other because they absolutely got into an argument (some massively stupid shit, probably like which outfit Mirajane modeled in this week's edition of sorcerer's magazine was the best stupid shit) and they accidently scare the shit out of everyone around them

Lucy dances around on the river bank edge, scaring the poor guys that always warn her not to fall because Lyra is playing music for her in her head

She is literally never late to anything. Never over sleeps. Never. This is 100% because of Horologium and Capricorn and 100% agaisnt her will, but it does give her an impeccable reputation so she's not too mad

If you think Aquarius, Loke, Virgo, and Gemini wouldn't pop in to randomly give commentary on her life, you'd he so wrong. Their all nosey ass bitches and the celestial spirit world is boring, they need their drama somehow

Aquarius will randomly pop up when Lucy talks to a cute boy to ask her why she isn't shooting shot, much to Lucy's loathing. It gets worse when Loke starts doing the same thing but for women. Why are you bi yourself Lucy??? She hates them both

Gemini will show up, say the most impulsive terrible idea ever, and then immediately leave, just letting Lucy sit with that. Have a nice rest of your day. That or they say some gruesome shit while she's in the middle of a fight. Kids, please lighten up

Lucy knows in her heart that when she asks a rhetorical question and Virgo answers that Virgo is actively trying to scare her. She fucking has Virgo's number. She can pretend to be emotionless outside of being a masochist, but Lucy knows she's a little fucking shit

While on jobs:

Lucy is fighting a mage with her whip, trying to figure out what kind of magic they're using so she can properly pick a spirit to counter them and Virgo just pops in like "It's wax magic, princess", scaring the living shit out of Lucy but also helping her in the battle

Lucy is wandering around during a job, sees some big footsteps, and Sagittarius is like, "Those are Tarasque tracks." Unprompted and Lucy starts bemoaning her stupid baka life where she has to fight shit like Tarasques

She could set up some truly bullshit turnarounds with Loke's ability to summon himself. No!! Bad guy!!! I'm running to this dead end all alone :( and my hands are nowhere near my keys :( I'm so scared. Pov: Loke appears right the fuck behind them

Not to mention Loke's ability to switch out with other spirits and have other spirits switch out with him??? If other people couldn't hear them talk, they could do all sorts of insane shit. It would be so much fun. That time Loke blinded Bixslow, and she got his ass except more and funnier bc they know it's coming even less

Also, the spirits' ability to shapeshift is underused. Lucy summons Taurus during a guild brawl. Everyone is expecting a bull man, and no one expects a literal giant bull. She wins that fight, thank you

She takes a job in the desert, and Scorpio is like??? Insanely knowledgeable about how to survive, which shouldn't be surprising now that Lucy is looking back on it, but man, is she happy to have someone who knows exactly what their doing

This isn't always helpful. A village describes a problem to her, and all her spirits end up in a round table discussion about what creature or magic is most likely to actually cause this problem, giving her a massive headache. Guys please shut the fuck up and have this conversation literally anywhere else, thank you

[heartfilia-source]

New Lucy illustration by Mashima given after purchasing Chapter 158 of Fairy Tail 100 YQ on the K MANGA app. — available 'til 5/14

❇️ other giveaway art below ❇️

Natsu's art available with the purchase of Chapter 157 'til 4/30 12 JST

Gray's art available with the purchase of Chapter 159 'til 5/28 12 JST

Erza's art available with the purchase of Chapter 160 'til 6/11 12 JST

Wendy's art available with the purchase of Chapter 161 'til 6/25 12 JST

[floertoer]

[shinpikurage]

I feel like I would love Fairy Tail even more if it focused more on the celestial spirits and heavenly body magic

We focus a lot on all aspects about dragons and dragon slayers, but the stars are constantly important to the plot and the answer to many things. Being a celestial spirit is also really OP cause you can't die, not even if your key is broken, only if you turn human by breaking the laws

There's so much more I want to see, more stardresses in action, the silver keys, acquiring more silver keys, learn more about the spirits and what their previous life with other masters were like,their customs and dynamics, and more of all the lost magics of celestial users (because urano metria can't be the only one)

Honestly, if Fairy Tail started focusing more about Celestial Magic I would love it, and i know a lot of watchers would too

[galacticcoconut459]

Fairy Tail Nation how we handling this one?

I need to see Lucy sobbing into her arms next episode or I'm rioting period.

I've missed her so much UGH

WELCOME BACK MOTHER AQUARIUS

[bumblebeehug]

Happy and or one of the celestial spirits babysitting Nasha while natsu and Lucy are out on a job

Urgh I had written the longest answer to this with this huge scenario of every spirit coming to help Happy in his baby-sitting job, but ofc Tumblr deleted it mid sentence🙄 it went something like this:

Natsu Happy and Lucy go on a mission, plans to have Gemini-Lucy be the babysitter. Lucy gets mom-nerves last minute and makes sure that Happy stays behind (he still gets his share of the reward + he thinks it’ll be an easy job taking care of Nasha, so he gladly oblige)

Gemini and Happy are hopeless. Nasha won’t stop crying: H convinces G to switch places with Aries I’m hope that she’ll calm Nasha down. It only works for like 20 minutes, then her throat opens wide in cries again. Aries switches places with Loke who manages to figure out that they should change diapers on Nasha — yay! She’s still not happy though, Loke switches back to G (he wants to be on call for Lucy too).

Then Nasha starts rummaging around the apartment. It’s supposed to be child safe, but it’s more Natsu-safe. Nasha figures out the child locks, and in panic G calls for backup. First Lyra (she doesn’t get that they’re trying to calm Nasha down, so she plays an upbeat melody — no help), then Capricorn (he gets So Awkward with children that Happy has to face palm). Scorpio gives it a try — he just scares Nasha. Cancer enters but leaves as fast as he came (scissors and kids don’t work well together). Taurus comes in a clutch and gives Nasha a warm cup of milk (except she won’t take it from Taurus bc he’s scary — the milk helps calm her nerves though). Pyxis and Plue tries their best to entertain her, but quickly give up since she’s too shy to show appreciation. Meanwhile Virgo and Leo come in and do the occasional diaper change, but staying as much as the celestial world as possible so they can be by Lucy’s side when she needs them.

Happy and Gemini are sweating. Crux has been doing research about kids in the celestial world, but fell asleep before figuring anything out.

Happy calls out for Horologium in desperation. Turns out Nasha loves Horologium to death and sleeps her very best inside of him. Peace, finally. Happy goes to wash his face in the sink — in enters Aquarius, finally! Except she’s seething in anger about the spirits’ reckless treatment of Nasha. Why are they letting a child sleep in a clock? Insanity, she mutters.

Aquarius is GOOD at keeping an eye on kids. She managed Lucy, and she’ll manage Nasha too. Nasha absolutely adores Aquarius — like mother like daughter after all. One day, Nasha will get to summon Aquarius herself, and Aquarius will feel honoured to be in the hands of another kid with the Heartfilia bloodline.

[zqttixx]

gajevy yuri + lyra (I miss her come back😞)

[patentedsun]

I want more interactions between Lucy's spirits and Natsu (and Happy) ifl there's some good potential there. Like, I'm convinced Natsu and Virgo are kind of besties already (shout-out to my queen for giving nalu matching fits she's a real one). I see him getting along really well with Aries too (does anyone remember the filler ep where Aries wanted a tan and Natsu gives her one????). And the Tartaros Hades fight where Natsu couldn't punch Aries but had no qualms going ham on Taurus LMAOOOO I know he hates that bull 🙏. And pre GMG where they go to the celestial spirit realm and Natsu is horrified ab the food (see attached)(you can see him and Aries having fun here too)(Does anyone see my vision)

[lisannastraussisanangel]

Loke Headcanons:

-Loke summons himself all the time. On Lucy's days off, he's often seen hanging around the guild too. Fairy Tail is his family too after all

-Cana refers to him as a Cat Boy and often groups him with the exeeds when talking. She does it just to piss him off

-Loke does in fact purr. It's very rare but one time Gray scratched his head as a joke and Loke subconsciously started purring.

-Him and Hibiki have drinks every couple months. It started off as Loke wanting to apologize for Karen's death, but the two hit it off and have become good friends.

-No one is safe from his flirting. Everyone in the guild is fair game, including the men

-The first time he entered the spirit world after Lucy saved him, he just stood there and sobbed. The other spirits ran to greet him, making him cry even more.

[kiliinstinct]

A Celestial Promise: For The Lucy Heartfilia Zine

I Can Finally Post the Piece I Wrote For @lucyheartfiliazine . Leftover Sales Released January 22nd - so pop on over if you'd like to snag one for yourself! This One-Shot Was Written as a Partner Piece to @phoenix-before-the-flame art submission for the Very Same Zine. I'll link to it here once I know it's been posted, so be on the look out for that! [Partner Piece]

The tick of the clock was louder than the sounds on the streets of Crocus. Lucy Heartfilia moved with the time, fingers tapping to a frustrated, staccato beat against the grain of her desk. The thud of her heel striking the floor soon joined in for an orchestra of thinly veiled desperation. The paper before her was a stark contrast from the dark wood, its white pages littered in red corrections. All things that were meant to clarify her errors, but only mocked Lucy as she struggled to understand her blunders. Jason, as goofy as most would think him to be while interviewing the many Guilds in Fiore, was a strict teacher. 

Too Vague. He said on one line. Too descriptive on another. Too opinionated, not subjective? Without the guild to call her home, Lucy thought she could finally, finally, make one in Sorcerer Weekly, writing their articles and bettering her craft. But this made the fifth rejected article since she began her apprenticeship under Jason and a strange, empty hopelessness began to seep into her limbs. 

“What am I doing wrong?” Downcast eyes tore themselves away from the offending parchment to meet the worried, small pupils of her current companion: Plue, her little Nikola. He sat on the edge of her desk, a half-eaten sucker dripped from his mouth as he tilted his large, bulbous head to blink curiously at her.  “You wouldn’t happen to know, would you?”

Lacking an answer beyond the little dog Spirit’s general babble of ‘puhn, puhn!’, Lucy turned her gaze towards the large wall by her bedside. In time, it will be covered in papers and documents listing all the locations and going ons of all her friends, but now, it was half what it would be, with a few papers pinned against it. Not all of her previous family, her friends, her Guild, have been located, but the few that were held empty smiles along the vast amount of saved photographs. 

None of them gave an answer either. What else was I expecting? 

“Pu-puhn!” Plue, ever the optimist on a bad day, regained Lucy’s attention. His gentle, tiny paws patted her arm and directed her back to the papers before her. The sucker, left behind to stick to the wood grain, was a minor concern Lucy would clean later. 

Plue was still directing her. Patting his soft head, Lucy thanked him and retrieved a fresh, clean sheet of parchment.  

“You’re right. I can do this. Thanks Plue.”

Nothing was ever gained by wallowing, was it?

Rejected. Again. And Again. How many times now? The scrunched papers of her previous work littered the floor and Lucy sighed, biting back bitter, frustrated tears. How many days, weeks even, would she have to go through? “Am I just not cut out for this?”

Listless. Directionless. The night Plue had directed her was a moment of respite, but days later, Lucy found the thought of summoning the spirit a worthless pursuit. He would want to help, of course he would. The cuddles of a little dog spirit were nice, but she didn’t have the time to cuddle. How many more rejections until Jason gave up on her? Until she was pushed back to modeling in a line of work that didn’t interest her? 

Was she… not good enough? 

“Can I really do this?” She whispered, not for the last time, her gaze tilted to the wall again, eyeing the ever constant growing images of all her friends. They were moving on. They were making more of themselves than the life they previously had. A recent news clipping of Levy being accepted into the counsel burned into Lucy’s retinas. She remembered seeing Gajeel’s own acceptance in those clippings, and the hints of her previous family joining other guilds. They were moving forward.

The one blank space saved for her previous team stabbed Lucy’s heart and she struggled to breathe. There was no Wendy, no Gray, no Erza to calm her down; to chase her horrid thoughts away. And no Natsu to cheer her on and tell her she was over thinking. 

“I was a low-grade wizard in a world full of superstars, and I’m silly enough to think I can write?” The laugh that escaped was a hollow, empty thing and Lucy wondered when her light had faded to a dull shine. Rather than a pen clinging to her hand, urging her to continue her pointless endeavor, Lucy looked to the keys on her hip, fingers gently brushing along the sleek metal. Her grip tightened on the jagged, broken reminder beside them.

Aquarius would have scolded me, Lucy reminisced, barely recognizing her own tears. She would have scolded and insulted me for sitting here, until I was so mad I’d finish an entire chapter out of spite, but she’s-

The water spirit wasn’t there. She wouldn’t be there. Never again. In the moments of her drowning emotions, Lucy buried her face into her arms, a sob wracking her shoulders against the desk. 

Lucy truly was alone.

The clock ticking echoed with a steady, loud rhythm that slowed Lucy’s cries, lulling her to sleep. Her blonde hair cascaded down her shoulders and off the table like a curtain. Lucy’s revised article for Jason would have to wait as Lucy succumbed to a sleep that muffled the sorrow chaining her.  

The keys on her belt began to hum as a gentle glow surrounded them and one, silver key illuminated in light as a tiny little dog spirit opened his gate and joined the world. His gentle paws were unseen and unfelt, but the light of the keys grew stronger as Plue nuzzled his face into the depths of Lucy’s hair. 

Lucy was floating in a blank space. Barely conscious of a soft weight against her head, but aware of the weightless air surrounding her. Her feet struck what felt like polished marble and a great staircase unfolded before her: ascending up and up into the clouds. She couldn’t see how far it rose, but with wide eyes, she began her ascent with soft, bare footsteps that echoed through the void.  

She didn’t know how she arrived or where she was going, but with each step Lucy became aware of something new. Her clothes no longer constricted her body, but flowed into an inky blue. Her hair flowed gently behind like water and somewhere above, beyond the steps Lucy couldn’t see, a set of voices called her name. 

“I’m,” She struggled to make a sound, mouth feeling like cotton as she croaked to the constant calling, “I’m coming!”

It takes a few moments, a few seconds of eternity, for Lucy to become rushed as recognition glints in her eyes. She knows these voices. She recognized the booming echoes that reverberated through the starry sky. These are her friends. Her dearest ones: Her spirits. The whisper of their voices become louder, beckoning her with the belief she can make it despite the climb. They coax her forward until the blistering pain in her lungs is forgotten. Lucy feels a burst of energy, gathering the dress in her hands to finish bounding up the last flight.

One voice, louder than the rest, represented a key that lay broken beside the others, called out, “Can you be any slower? Tch, hurry up already!”

Lucy knew her voice like it were a recording she listened to daily: Aquarius. 

“I’m here!” She gasped, stumbling to the highest platform where she crumpled into a heap as she dragged air into her lungs with every gasp. 

She made it; Floating just beyond her reach was the giant hand of the Celestial Spirit King hovering before her. His giant grin and mustache melded with the very sky as he watched from high above. His hand was huge, holding aloft the many faces of those she called friends. Those who had called for her.

“You made it.” Loke, her dearest friend and Guild Mate, called out from the tip of the King’s fingers, his own arm outstretched as he looked upon her with fond, endearing eyes. Beside him, the ever stoic Capricorn, nodded his head with pride.  Virgo waved while Scorpio clung to the Celestial King’s Pinkie, dangling excitedly as Aries sat upon his rigid tail. They called to her, the twins of Gemini bouncing along in their excitement. And among the cacophony of their voices, Lucy met the eyes of the one she had missed the most in the passing months.

Aquarius lay against the King’s palm, propped by her own arm as she looked upon Lucy with a stern, warm gaze. It was familiar and cementing. Lucy knew it for what it was. She was there for a reason and ready to scold her if it were necessary. Lucy stopped breathing as she reached towards them all as if they could breach the distance with their arms alone.

“You made it up all those stairs? Excellent!” Scorpio exclaimed.

“S-sorry for the trouble.” Aries called, timidly.

“Piri Piri!” 

“Miss Lucy, have you forgotten?” Capricorn interrupted, his gaze meeting Aquarius' for a moment as a silent understanding passed between them.

Lucy’s head tilted, blinking back the touched tears that threatened to spill down her cheeks. “Forgot what?”

They looked upon each other in silence, eyebrows raised and shook their heads. “That we’re right here, of course.”

It was Aquarius who spoke next, voice the sharpest among them, “That we’re always here, dummy.”

“Yes,” Loke cut in, his concern obvious as he looked upon Lucy through the tops of his sunglasses, “You’re not alone, Lucy. We’re right beside you: just call us.”

There was no stopping the tears. They flowed down like rain as Lucy’s shoulders shook, only now registering Plue taking his place beside her with a paw against her legs. His small shudders grounded her.  When she glanced back, her friends' faces were solemn, serious, but brimming with a hope that left her lungs feeling too full, set to burst with emotion.

Loke leaned forward as the King’s hand shifted just enough to bring them closer, “You don’t have to cry alone. Every one of us is here for you.”

With heart wrenching sobs, Lucy nodded, smiling through the tears, despite the teardrops that landed on her hands, her dress. Each second she cried, the pain and loneliness that sought to drown her in her waking hours, slipped off her shoulders like melted ice. The burden weighing so heavily grew lighter and lighter. With a small apology, her hands met Loke's, grasping them tight enough to feel the gap between her and her dear spirits disappear.

“Thank you!” She sobbed, “All of you.”

When Lucy woke, she was startled to see the view of her apartment and not the stars above. Dizzy and thrown off, but safe and warm in the bed she doesn’t recall laying down in, but Plue’s paw grasped her hand hanging off the bed.  He squeaked lightly when their eyes met and  slowly faded back to his own realm. Lucy doesn’t know what his puhn’s often mean, but she can feel the relief they both shared and watched as he set her keys against the bedside table before his visage completely disappeared.

Perhaps… It was more than just a dream. And far more important at that. It took Lucy no time at all to dive towards her desk, fingers already grasping her quill to start writing her article once again. 

“They’re right.” She said, eyes blazing, determined. “I’m not alone. I’m never alone. And I CAN do this.”

As the quick jots run across the parchment, Lucy thinks she heard Aquarius one last time, snorting derisively. ‘About time you realized that.’

For the first time in months, Lucy smiled. 

[gruviaa]

[blushingdread]

I have many thoughts about how celestial spirit magic works

[i-love-a-lot-of-things-a-bunch]

Some old powerful characters!🌌💪🏻🔲🛡🌎

[juvian]

Not a lot of FT fandom members follows me, but I’m thinking about doing pokemon team for the characters again (did it once but more gen came out and never post it anyway) but i hesitating on going the vibe route (like anything I think they would like) or going by matching their types with their magic

[justminawrites]

Where The Stars Collide - Chapter 1: Loke

AO3

Summary: Loke has a dream. tw: mentions of abuse.

prologue | 1 | 2 | TBC

The first thing Loke the Celestial Spirit noticed was that his pants were missing.

Now, this on its own wasn’t too alarming. In fact, he’d go so far as to say that it was a common occurrence early in his playboy-days, where he habitually drowned his guilt in women and liquor– but rarely did he stir from such a night with a hospital gown in its place. 

He woke exactly like he’d collapsed; violently and without warning, his eyes flying open the same time as his lungs heaved for air. 

“AQUA– HAH–– HAH–– AQUARIUS–“ he gasped out, bolting upright in the infirmary bed much to his nurse’s horror; cat-like pupils dilating under the fluorescent lighting.

“Shh, it’s okay, Loke. Loke, look at me.”

The second thing he noticed was that his nurse looked a lot like the love of his life: renowned celestial mage and once-heir to a multimillion-jewel corporation, Lucy Heartfilia. 

“Lucy?” He wheezed.

“Mhm,” the nurse’s blurry face swam across his vision but he’d recognise that sunshine-blonde hair anywhere. 

“Don’t over-exert yourself okay? Master Makarov said it would take you a few minutes to adjust to Porlyusica’s healing elixir since you’re part celestial spirit and all.” 

As Lucy gently took his his face in her hands Loke felt his breathing regulate and panic recede, gasps giving way to steady respiration as she eased him back against the wooden bed-frame. 

By the time she’d replaced the cold towel on his forehead, Loke had recovered most of his eyesight and found himself clearly staring into two large, worried brown eyes.

He bit the inside of his cheek to not let something embarrassing (like I love you) slip out; Lucy didn’t really respond well to advances, his or others, and the last thing he wanted to do was make her uncomfortable. Especially on top of everything else he had to tell her.

“You look.. Wow..”

Real smooth.  

Lucy to her credit, looked more sheepish than anything at the mention of her appearance. She was still in her travelling gear, face and hair streaked with grime and dirt; it had only been a few hours since they’d returned from Edolas for her, after all. 

“Oh, I know. I’m a real mess,” She huffed, “Didn’t have time to change out of anything but at least Natsu’s cloak keeps me from catching anything serious– Loke!“

Loke had opened his mouth to disagree, she looked beautiful to him either way, but choked at the mention of the pink-haired dragon-slayer. The tiny hiccup of jealousy turned into a full blown cough and suddenly he was keeled over hacking into his gown as she rushed to pour him some water.

“Natsu’s.. cloak..?” He tried to croak out once he’d set down the glass, but Lucy waved it away.

“It doesn’t matter. Now, what’s wrong with Aquarius?”

“It’s a long story,” he sighed, “but the crux of it is that she’s missing.”

“Missing?” Lucy looked horrified, “You mean, I left her key behind in Edolas?”

“No,” Loke shook his head, “Even if that were the case she’d simply reappear back in the Spirit Realm– but she never did.

“My working theory is that the anima must have interfered with her travel between worlds somehow. I wanted to see if you could summon her from your side, but it seems like whatever blocked her return, destroyed her celestial contract as a result.”

“What are you saying?” Lucy’s voice became very small and her eyes began to well up. 

“You can’t mean.. you don’t think..”

Watching the colour rapidly drain from her face Loke grabbed her arm quickly to keep her from assuming the worst possible outcome.

His time as a spirit had not only desensitised him to the whiplash of emotions that came with being a human, but also how hasty they were in considering their own death. Celestial Spirits almost never died before their time (though they were by no means eternal), but she had no way of knowing that.

“Don’t worry, Lucy,” He shook his head again, “Celestial Spirits aren’t bound by the same rules humans are. If their key is broken it just means that the spirit has accidentally ended up in a closed-pocket realm and involuntarily broken their contract.”

This momentarily put a stop to the tears.  

“A closed what?”

“It’s like an Edolas, but for spirits,” Loke frowned aloud, absentmindedly still holding her arm, “Essentially a realm that nullifies their magic.”

“In the rare occasion that this happens, it’s usually the Celestial Spirit King’s responsibility to find them and bring them back, but since there are an endless number of pocket dimensions they could’ve fallen into, it takes a while to locate them.”

“But aren’t Celestial Spirits made of magic?” Lucy asked, squeezing his hand back in concern.

“Not anymore than you or anyone else from Fairy Tail. Our magic can be shut down under the right circumstances.”

“So Aquarius is––“

“Out of commission, yes. But only briefly,” Loke added reassuringly, “Once I return, I’ll make sure we find her and reinstate her contract right away.”

“I see,” Lucy nodded, brows furrowing. She then dropped his hand in favour of standing up to pace the length of the room.

Watching her walk back and forth and back forth, pondering the temporary absence of her oldest spirit companion, Loke tried not to wince in pain as a dull throbbing began at the base of his skull; the cause of which could’ve been his depletion of magic energy, or just plain guilt. 

He hadn’t lied to Lucy exactly– he’d just omitted to tell her certain crucial details that might alarm her; like, for example, that the search for Aquarius was already underway, or how he hadn’t slept in over a month (in celestial days) and used up the final dregs of his power to transport himself here in the hopes that she could summon her friend herself. 

The truth was that no matter how lost Aquarius might’ve gotten in the Spirit Realm, her key wasn’t supposed to go missing. The contract with her Celestial Wizard should’ve remained unaffected regardless of the location of the spirit, since the key was made with the sole intention of being an anchor, in both their worlds.

Loke wasn’t sure he could tell her the whole truth until he got some answers himself; as the Leader of the Twelve Zodiac Houses, Aquarius’ disappearance weighed hard on him more-so than normal. He’d only just been back in the Spirit Realm for a few months now but the backlog of centuries’ worth of responsibilities had nearly run him into the ground, so much so that he’d underperformed each time Lucy had needed him in the past month. 

As if the humiliation at the hands of the Oración Seis wasn’t enough (he hadn’t expected to see Aries on the battlefield so soon), Loke cringed to think how he’d been so overworked he’d blatantly flirted with and subsequently gotten rejected by Lucy’s Edolas counterpart, mere hours ago.

“Loke? Hello? Earth to Leo?” He snapped back to reality.

Lucy had stopped pacing and had returned to hover over him, hands on her waist, shrewdly giving him a once-over. Loke held his breath, wondering if she could tell that he was hiding something; Lucy was smarter than people gave her credit for.

“Sorry milady,” he faked an easy grin, leaning in closer to distract her, “I got lost in your beautiful eyes for a second there.” 

Lucy blinked once, twice then rolled those same eyes in disbelief, breaking the spell.

“Someone’s confident today,” she huffed, resuming her seat, “How’d your little date go, by the way? Virgo told me all about it.”

Loke made a mental note to never joke with Virgo about dating his workload ever again.

“Terribly,” he pretended to pout, wondering if Lucy would take the bait.

“And why’s that?” She did.

“Well, to start with, she wasn’t you,” He said, reaching over to tuck a strand of blonde hair behind her ear, sure the classic Loke move would leave her in pieces. It was a little cheesy but it worked in a pinch. 

Lucy only smacked his hand away, her exasperation bleeding into irritation.

“Loke, you can’t keep doing this,” She said, crossing her arms, “What’s going on with you?”

“You were exhausted even before the Edolas fight.. when was the last time you slept?”

Loke blinked in surprise. Much smarter than people gave her credit for.

“Not for a while,” He admitted, shoulders slumping and leaning back into the pillows, “Not since the run in with Aries.”

“Loke!” Lucy’s worried gasp had him ducking his head with something like shame, “That was weeks ago!”

Between the overwhelming amount of paperwork on his table, attending every Spirit World event he’d been absent for, and now Aquarius’ disappearance, Loke counted himself lucky that he didn’t have silly human needs to tend to anymore like eating or sleeping, but his body seemed to think otherwise. The Celestial Spirit King had warned him that readjusting would take some time, of course, but Loke hadn’t listened; he couldn’t just throw away the second (and last) chance he’d been given at the expense of Lucy’s dignity–  he’d break his own key before letting her suffer for him again.

“Celestial spirits don’t need all that y’know–“ He said, trying his best to sound nonchalant about it, but she quickly cut him off.

“But you haven’t been a spirit for that long!” Lucy scolded, “Remember what the Spirit King said about–“

“I know, Lucy,” He sighed, unable to meet her eyes, “I just.. didn’t want to let yo- uh everybody down.”

“Oh..”

“You know,” He added, only half joking, “-can’t have people saying I wasn’t worth all the trouble, after all you did for me.”

At this, Lucy reached out and grabbed his hand, forcing him to look up at her.

“Loke, you’re my friend,” She said sternly, “I would do it again in a heartbeat.”

Loke wondered how she could look at him like that, like she would defend him to the ends of the Earthland, and expect him not to fall in love with her.

“Ah,” He put his other hand on his heart in mock despair, lightening the mood instantly, “You shouldn’t get my hopes up like that, Lucy.”

“W-What?”

“Just friends?” He pulled her hand to his chest then, “I thought we had something special, milady.”

“Yeah right,” Lucy smiled, relaxing a little, “Me and every girl within a five-mile radius." 

“Don’t you think for a minute that I’ve forgotten what happened with my Edolas doppelgänger, you flirt!” 

“I see, does that mean you only want me to flirt with you, Lucy?” He teased, leaning in to see the sudden influx of colour that rushed to Lucy’s face.

“I- I never-“ He tried not to enjoy it too much as she floundered around for a comeback and settled for pulling her hands away in protest.

Although Loke did his best to keep his foot out of his mouth, he constantly found himself toeing the line between cheeky and tongue-in-cheek with his flirting, mostly because he had no idea how to talk to Lucy otherwise. 

Addressing her formally (like he’d been accustomed to with Karen), felt foreign and ill-fitting and it definitely didn’t help that Lucy herself often blurred the line between spirit and friend herself– insisting everyone call her by her first name, and being determined to fight on equal footing as though they were partners. But even he knew better than to delude himself into hoping that anything might come of it.

Before Lucy could reply, however, they were interrupted by a sharp, sarcastic rap on the door. 

“Break it up ya lovebirds, the Master wants to see ‘er.”

“Gajeel!”

Loke tensed up. 

Though it had been well over four months since the iron dragon-slayer had joined the guild, along with Juvia Lockser, his popularity (unlike Juvia’s) hadn’t skyrocketed in the least. While this had, in some part, to do with Gajeel’s prickly personality, the greater blame lay in his mistreatment of the Fairy Tail members during the guild war with Phantom Lord, and, among the casualties, a certain celestial mage with sunshine blonde hair.

Loke glowered at the red-eyed wizard, still bedridden but now imperceptibly shifting his torso to shield Lucy from whatever would come next.

Gajeel only snorted, no doubt considering the implications of starting a fight with a guy in a hospital gown, and pointed over Loke’s shoulder instead.

“Just ya, Blondie,” He crossed his arms, “Somethin’ about losin' his keys or whatever.”

“Oh,” Lucy got up to leave but Loke involuntarily grabbed her hand and shook his head. Gajeel threw them another withering look.

“Look, I don’t wanna be here either, alright? Got better things to do than run around playing errand boy to that old man. I’ve got an exceed to feed y’know.”

It was only then that they noticed the animal on his shoulder. Bearing a striking resemblance to Happy and Carla, this one was covered in black fur, with stark white wings and a scar running across one eye. 

Both Lucy and Loke jumped a little when the exceed opened it’s mouth to say “Hello, I’m Panther Lily,” with the voice of a fifty-year-old war veteran.

“It’s nice to meet you.”

“Hello,” Lucy replied bravely, not to be deterred, “I’m Lucy Heartf- uh just Lucy! Welcome to Fairy Tail!”

Loke tried not to look up at her then; he knew how self conscious Lucy had become after her run in with her father, especially about her name. The other guild members had teased her about her ‘princessy’ demeanour for months on end, and though she’d laughed it off in good faith, Loke had heard from Virgo that she’d marched down to the Magic Council to have Heartfilia removed from all her legal documents.

“Loke,” he grunted reluctantly when the exceed turned to him. He didn’t want to tell Gajeel’s pet anything but his rudeness wouldn’t reflect well on Lucy.

“You’re a Celestial spirit,” The Exceed noted, fixing him with a strange look. 

“Is that a problem?” Loke raised an eyebrow.

“But not a full one. Interesting..”

Loke’s hackles raised, and he opened his mouth to ask just what exactly the little bear-cat-like creature meant before he felt the squeeze on his arm and realised Lucy was looking at him.

“I’ll be right back,” She’d already dropped his hand before he could voice his objection, so instead he watched her leave, deliberately narrowing his eyes as Gajeel made to close the door.

“If you touch one hair on her head..” He gritted his teeth.

“Yeah, yeah,” Gajeel said carelessly, scratching at his jaw, “Word of advice? Get it together before ya go off makin’ threats loverboy.”

The door slammed shut with a THUD!

Loke released a breath into the air and pressed his hand to his temples. What was he doing? 

Gajeel was right, he wasn’t in any place to sit around and growl at people like Lucy’s lapdog. Karen had loved seeing him do it, almost as much as she’d loved to torment Aries to get a rise out of him.

“Aren’t I lucky,” The green-haired, green-eyed (in more ways than one) Karen Lilica had crowed, brandishing her chain-whip, “I have both the strongest and the weakest spirits of all the Zodiac.”

Before he could realise what was happening, Loke had already slipped into the dream. 

The familiar periwinkle and gold interior of the Blue Pegasus guild hall rose up to swallow him and suddenly Loke wasn’t Loke anymore. Now he was Leo, confident and glowing as he reached out to shake the hand of the sweet, green-haired girl who’d summoned him.

“Oh wow!” She gasped, shaking his hand with both of her own, “I’m so honoured to meet a member of the Zodiac! I’m Karen by the way!”

The ground fell away under him and suddenly Loke was crouched at the foot of a plush red sofa as an older Karen lovingly stroked his head; teary mascara streaking down her face. Gone was the youthful girlishness, now replaced by a garish lipsticked smile.

“You know I didn’t mean it right, Leo? I just got so angry– I don’t know what came over me.”

He looked on dumbly as Karen cooed and fussed over the large gash above his right eyelid.

If only he had known sooner. If only he had seen it coming. If only, if only, if only.

The roar of a waterfall cascaded from somewhere inside him and Loke looked around, confused, before the ceiling opened up and released a flood of water down on him, drowning, drowning, drowning and then.. not.

Now Loke was kneeling on a rocky outcropping overlooking a great waterfall, in front of Karen’s grave, but the grave was empty and Karen was standing next to him, all pretense of love leaving her eyes as she dug the sharp tip of her heel into his shoulder.

“Why won’t you just leave me alone? Go. Back. Go back, go back, go back!” She shrieked, shoving him backward. Loke caught his balance before he tumbled into the hole and finally found the words to defend himself.

“What.. happened to you?” He choked out as Karen proceeded to loop her chain-whip around his neck and pull.

She laughed as he fought for air, grasping at the rusted metal in vain.

“What’re you on about?” She taunted, leaning in to press a kiss right above his eye, “You turned me into this, Leo.”

Her kisses felt like acid.

“It’s all your fault,” She whispered as his face began to burn and his vision began to darken, “And now you’ve gone and dragged that poor girl into it too.”

Loke turned around in horror to see Lucy now lying inside Karen’s empty grave, eyes closed, clutching his key to her chest like a lifeline. 

“Gate.. of the lion.. close.. gate..”

“Lucy! LUCY!”

Loke reached out to grab her, but it was too late. The ground closed over the hole, as he started to disappear, grass and flowers sprouting beneath the gravestone and sealing Lucy away forever - his name the last words on her lips.

“Leo.”

Another fainter voice overlapped with hers, originating from somewhere at the back of his skull; a voice that sounded suspiciously like Aquarius’. 

“Leo,” Lucy-Aquarius repeated, quiet and urgent, like she didn’t have much time, “You need to be careful.”

“The Eclipse is coming.”

Loke woke for the second time that day to a pair of worried brown eyes.

This time, however, they belonged to his long-time friend and confidante, Aries. As though dreaming about their former master had summoned her to his side, the pink-haired, Ram Spirit hovered over him anxiously, mumbling something to herself.

“Leo!” She repeated, relieved as he sat up a little straighter.

“Aries..” He replied, not fully able to process what was happening, “Did Lucy summon you? What’re you doing here?”

“Mhm,” She shook her head, “I came on my own. I learned how to after.. well..”

Loke winced as he recalled the phantom abuse in his dream, involuntarily feeling his throat to check for burn marks.

“The Celestial Spirit King wanted to know if Lucy-san still had the Aquarius key?” Aries asked hopefully.

The disappearance had left everyone in the Spirit World on edge, their monarch included. Loke had a feeling it was because it had been millennia since they were forced to confront their potential demise. That and because Scorpio kept giving everyone hell for losing Aquarius; Loke had to physically restrain his friend to keep him from ambushing Lucy on his own. 

“No,” Aries’ face fell as he continued, “For some reason, the key’s gone too. We don’t have any hint for where we should begin searching, and the closed-pocket realms are endless.”

“We can only hope she hasn’t fallen into any of the Disgraced dimensions.”

Aries’ eyes got wide at the mention of the Red-Key Spirits, former inhabitants of the Celestial Spirit Realm, exiled for breaking the code of conduct that all spirits were required to abide under. No decent spirit would be caught whispering about The Disgraced Ones within the earshot of Loke– after all, if Karen had been any less of a villain, he would’ve shared their fate. 

It was another thing he’d carefully kept from Lucy. His banishment to the human world was an act of mercy, only granted to him for his eons of unwavering loyalty to the Celestial Spirit King, and when it came down to it, Loke would pick dying in the human world over the twisted solitude of the Disgraced dimensions. At least he would die as himself.

“Do you suppose it was taken?” Aries said finally, her usual jumpiness replaced by uncharacteristic conviction, “Maybe someone stole it off Lucy-san when she wasn’t looking?”

“Maybe,” Loke shrugged, unconvinced, “But it’s unlikely. From what Lucy told me, they just returned from Edolas a few hours ago.”

“If anyone wanted to steal the key, it’d have to be from within Fairy Tail.”

“But–“

“No, Aries,” She looked hurt when he cut her off, “The people here aren’t like that. You should just go home– I’ll handle it.”

Loke tried to feign indifference as her big doll eyes began to well up with tears. He hated doing it but drawing boundaries between himself and the rest of the Zodiac had become a necessity when he returned. Aries, who’d arguably been the happiest of them all, quickly came to the realisation that her friend had become a completely different person in all their time apart.

Time worked differently in the Celestial Spirit Realm; sometimes it would go faster, sometimes slower, and there were even periods where it simply wouldn’t move at all. For the three years Loke had been in Earthland, time had spun like a roulette table and separated him from his friends by a whopping three hundred years, suddenly making him the youngest of his former team-mates. 

He lost the respect and acclaim that came with being the Leader of the Zodiac, the title going to Aquarius in his absence; no longer the notorious lion spirit, now just a cub with claws too big and too sharp for his feet. 

“I wish you would let me help,” Aries’ lip wobbled, still she rubbed at her eyes defiantly, “We used to do everything together, Leo.”

Loke clutched his hospital gown tightly, his mouth set in a thin, hard line.

After a few seconds of strained silence, where he pretended he didn’t see her shoulders quietly shaking, Aries said,

“I know you blame me for Karen’s death.”

He glanced up, surprised.

“I thought about it for years,” She frowned, not meeting his eyes, “‘Leo must hate me’. After all, you were only trying to protect me.”

“If I had just been better at standing up for myself, you wouldn’t have been punished so severely!”

“I don’t blame you,” He said gently, her tears had gotten to him, “But this is my job Aries, I can’t drag you into it.”

“But Karen–“ 

“Karen was a monster,” Loke bared his teeth, not an ounce of regret in his voice, “–and she got what she deserved.”

“She was so kind when we first met her,” Aries insisted weakly, “I can’t help but wonder if we had helped her more maybe–“

“Maybe she would’ve turned on us faster,” He snapped, “Maybe she would’ve done worse! You didn’t see her those last few weeks, Aries, I did.”

“She was unhinged– the girl I made a contract with died a long time ago.”

Loke refrained himself from adding ‘And it was all my fault.’ to the end of that sentence, because he knew Aries would never understand. She would want to share the blame for their former master’s descent into madness, but the cruel truth was that despite what Aries said, she simply couldn’t handle the pain that came with that realisation. Karen knew it too, its why she saved all the especially harrowing punishments for him. It was much more fun for her to watch him slowly begin to resent the friend he’d tried so desperately to save. 

“I don’t blame you,” Loke repeated, almost as though he was trying to convince himself, “And besides, getting banished was the best thing that ever happened to me. I wouldn’t have met Lucy, otherwise.”

“Then let me help you,” Aries refuted stubbornly, “Aquarius is my friend too!”

“And my responsibility,” He countered, “–as the Leader of the Zodiac–“

“If what happens to Aquarius starts spreading, there won’t be a Zodiac left to lead, Leo!”

Loke started at her tone. He didn’t think he’d ever heard Aries’ voice rise higher than 40 decibels.

“You’re not the only one suffering here! Remember how bad it was when we lost Capricorn– you wouldn’t even let us help you then! You had to ‘do it yourself’, well a whole lot of good that did you!”

“So just stop being so– so– pig-headed!” Even Aries looked surprised by her sudden burst of rebelliousness, and clamped both her hands over her mouth in horror.

The sight was so odd and unexpected that, try as he might, Loke couldn’t hold back the snort that spilled out from somewhere deep inside him. 

He was in tears within seconds, clutching the sides of his stomach as he keeled over with laughter, and, after a few seconds, Aries joined him; the two of them snickering like middle-schoolers over a dumb joke.

“Pig-headed?” He wheezed.

Stars, it had been a while since they’d laughed together. Truth be told, Loke wasn’t sure they’d even be able to talk normally again without the ghost of Karen hovering between them, but here they were. Stranger things had happened.

“I’m glad,” Aries said finally, as she paused to catch their breath, “I haven’t seen you smile once since you came home.”

Loke opened his mouth to protest but she held up a finger to stop him, “No, talking about Lucy-san doesn’t count.”

“Killjoy.” He huffed. Aries giggled.

“How is she taking the news, by the way?”

“Better than I expected,” He admitted, “She’s tougher than she looks, m–“

Loke caught himself just in time. 

He didn’t know what would be worse, actually slipping up and saying the words “my Lucy”, or watching his friend’s face scrunch up with pity as she hears it. Even Aries (the most optimistic of all the spirits) would click her tongue in disbelief if she found out just how deep his loyalties lay. 

Celestial Spirits don’t fall in love with humans. Capricorn had drilled it into his head since he was a boy. Especially not their bright-eyed, lavender-shampooed, beautiful, beautiful masters. 

“That’s good,” Aries affirmed, blissfully oblivious to his mental gymnastics as she rose from her seat, “I’d better head off then.”

“Is there anything you wanted me to look into while you’re.. taking your mandatory rest?”

Loke was about to shake his head and send her on her way, but a tiny voice in the back of his head made him pause, the lightness in his chest temporarily soaking in an inexplicable sense of dread.

“Actually,” he began, “There is one thing.”

She blinked expectantly.

“What can you tell me about the Eclipse?”

Next Chapter ->