Bleach and Fairy Tail are owned by Tite Kubo and Hiro Mashima and unfortunately not by me.

Previously in Key of the Slaying Moon…

Lucy Heartfilia and Ichigo Kurosaki parted ways in Crocus to achieve their goals of finding 'Salamander' and 'Hat and Clogs.' Lucy finally became a member of Fairy Tail and is currently fighting against Erigor and his men in order to stop the dark guild Eisenwald from using Lullaby, a magical flute that has the power to kill all who hears its deadly tune. Ichigo, on the other hand, found the real 'Hat and Clogs,' who turns out to be a man named Kisuke Urahara, and is currently fighting his inner hollow to determine who can ultimately take over Ichigo's body...

Ichigo

This sword is different from my usual one, it's so hard to fight with it...Before I could even swing my sword, I was flying through a building. Damn, he's strong…The inverted me was floating in the air. How is he doing that?

"I actually hoped to get more fun from you, King, and to think that I was your horse."

"Shut up." I grinned as I got out of the rubble. "I haven't even warmed up yet."

A feral grin matched mine. "Now we're talking!" Inverted me started swinging his sword by the hilt bandages.

I haven't used my sword like that before, it could be a great way to fight long distan- My inverted sword was sailing towards my head, and I immediately dodged a second later.

"Damn. I missed…" The sword was pulled out and inverted me started to swing it around again. "You have a bad-ass sword like this, and you don't even know the full power of it!" Another thrust and the sword was sailing towards my head again.

I dodged it but only narrowly. A second later and I could've died! I looked at my attacker again, the feral grin never leaving his face...in fact, it seems to only get bigger each time he threw his sword at me. I looked at him and noticed a red aura that covers his entire half of the building. How am I going to beat that?! I look down at my hands and noticed I'm not holding my zanpakuto, but a regular sword. I need to get my zanpakuto back…

"Give me my zanpakuto back!"

The feral grin faded into a scowl. "Can you be best friends with someone who hasn't told you their name?"

"What the hell are you talking about?"

He growled. "That'swhat you've been doing! Swinging the sword around like you know it as well as your soul...Hell, you don't even know what a soul is. You don't even talk to the sword or treat it like it's a human being! You don't even know it's fucking NAMEand this still isn't enough for you to realize your ignorance.

I stared in shock. I can't believe I've mistreated something so poorly. The way my hollow is speaking...why does it sound almost human? Why is this affecting him as much as it is?

"You wanna know why you have those headaches? It's because of this sword crying out in agony of not being able to help you to its fullest. It keeps trying to tell you what to do, what's its name, but you Just. Don't. LISTEN!"

As much as I hate to say it, what he's saying is true. I don't even know it's-

I quickly side-stepped the flying sword again.

I've got to make this right...Zanpakuto's aren't tools, they are living beings with names!

"Look, I'm sorry. I'll treat my zanpakuto right, I promise."

"Apologizing won't help you now! You'll have to pry the sword from my hands before I listen to anything that comes out of your mouth!

The Hollow threw the sword straight for my head. I grit my teeth as I tried to parry the flying sword. The moment I touch the sword with my own, I felt a shockwave of power so immense I flew up into the air and landed on my back 10 feet away. My body is screaming at me to rest, but I still get up, using my sword as a crutch. Damn, he's so powerful...I need to finish this...

Now.

Determination filled my body, my bones strengthened with my new resolution to beat my hollow. I felt myself stand taller than I ever have. The hollow's feral grin widened. "Now then, let's end this…"

I tilted my head down and closed my eyes. I focused on my breath. On my desire to win. I faintly sensed the hollow run and jump towards me. I tightened the grip on my sword. Everything fell into slow motion. I imagined my zanpakuto spirit. Tell me, old man. Anything about you. Tell me about my strength...no...OUR strength...My hollow was right on me. I started to swing my sword.

"Ichigo…"

Old man! Show me your ways. Let me fight for you. I opened my eyes and screamed,

"LET ME FIGHT WITH YOU!"

Our swords clashed.

Only, something was different. I felt a new, but familiar weight in my hands. Our swords switched! I have my zanpakuto back!

My hollow's grin fell completely. Light started to envelop him as he muttered, "No way…" before he slowly faded away.

The old man appeared in front of me. "Ichigo…"

My lips pulled up into a grin. I couldn't hide the elation in my voice. "You gave me another chance?" I gave a short nod. "Old man...Thank you."

"Hopefully, Ichigo, you have learned a very important lesson today."

I gave him a deep bow of respect. "Thank you for believing in me."

The faintest hint of a smile showed on the old man's lips. "I am your zanpakuto, Ichigo. I will always be with you. As long as you have faith in me, I'll have faith in you. Farewell Ichigo, may we meet again under different circumstances."

The world started to fade, as I felt myself pulled into the real world. "Wait! I still don't know your nam-"

I was pulled from my inner world.

Kisuke

He really pulled it close. I was almost worried that I had to kill him. Oh well, another day, another time…Ichigo jumped out of the hole and I started clapping. "Congratulations, Ichigo, I didn't have to kill you this time!"

"Thank-wait...this time?"

"Yes, because the next step is for you to knock off my hat with your sword within the day."

He scoffed. "Knock off your hat...within a whole day?" He crossed his arms looking smug, "Please, I could do that in five minutes."

I smirked. "Fine, five minutes." I pulled Benihime out of my cane, "...Only this time, I am going to try and kill you."

Ichigo's eyes widened as I rushed towards him. "Wait, wh-?!" In a blur, Ichigo quickly pulled out his sword. Good reflexes...Our swords clashed.

The battle has begun.

Ichigo

I immediately found myself on the defense as I tried to evade Kisuke's attacks. This was a mistake... I was holding my old rectangular zanpakuto again. The first time I blocked an attack his sword cut mine As I evaded, Kisuke's attacks missed me, but instead, hit a rock so hard that it was decimated in an instant. Damn, He really wants to kill me! "That's a lot of power for a skinny sword!"

"Thanks for the compliment, but I'm still not going to let up!"

As I kept dodging I started to think, The only thing that can harm soul reapers and hollows are zanpakuto's. Since Kisuke isn't a soul reaper, he can't cut- I felt warm blood going down my cheek.

Kisuke shook his head. "You let your guard down. I bet you were thinking: 'Kisuke's not a soul reaper so he doesn't have a zanpakuto and his sword can't hurt me.' huh?" Kisuke shook his head. "You are so naïve…

Awake, Benihime!"

My face was frozen in shock. Kisuke smirked as he held out Benihime. "Fun fact Ichigo, each and every Zanpakuto has a name." Kisuke moved to an attack stance, "Let's go, Benihime!"

Kisuke moved with more ferocity and speed. I tried to directly block an attack from Kisuke, but Benihime cut through my sword like butter! Damn it! What do I do!

"Just because your sword is big doesn't mean anything! It's only a shell with no spirit energy stuffed in it! It looks like a sword, but in reality, it's just a big fluffy object. That's why my sword can cut through yours…" Kisuke cut the rest of my sword off. The only thing left in my hand is the hilt. "Now you have no sword. Do you still want to come at me with that? You're only knocking off my hat, It's not impossible even with just a hilt."

"But If you decide to come at me with that hilt…" A powerful red glow enveloped Kisuke.

"...I will kill you."

I tried to run away but Kisuke caught up with me.

Why am I running away?

He slashed at me. I was able to dodge, but I still got a cut above my head.

Is this what my resolve is?

A hand grabbed the back of my shihakusho and dragged me to the ground.

This is pathetic!

Kisuke brought a sword toward my chest and I screamed in terror.

Pathetic!

I rolled in the nick of time and kept running.

I grit my teeth. I'm a coward!

"Ichigo…"

"Old man? Is that you?"

"Say my name Ichigo, it will give you power…"

"What is your name?"

"Face forward, you should be able to hear it now...Your ears have been blocked by fear. Your enemy is one, and you are one…

What is there to fear?"

He's right...I stopped. The footsteps behind me stopped as well. "Cast off your fear…"

"Look forward!"

I brought my hilt close to my hip like it was sheathed.

"Go forward!"

I poured my energy into the hilt. I was filling up my sword with my spiritual pressure.

"Never stand still!"

Sand was swirling around my feet in a 10-foot diameter.

"Retreat and you will age. Hesitate and you will die! Now shout my name!

My name is…"

I 'unsheathed' my sword. "ZANGETSU!" A blue pillar of light surrounded me. The sheer force of it pushed me down to my knees. The dirt started to clear, but I kept my head down to keep dirt from my eyes and tightened my grip on Zangetsu. I couldn't help but smirk. I must look so bad-ass right now! I stood up and scowled at Kisuke. I realized that Zangetsu moved differently. I took a look and realized that he was in the large Khyber knife form again. The difference is that this time, I feel a lot more power surging through the blade.

"Well, Well…Now that your Zanpakuto is out, let's actually start this lesson!"

Fuck that…"I'm sorry, Urahara. Please be sure to move..."

Kisuke showed a moment of confusion. "What?"

"I don't think I'll be able to hold back...besides," I raised my arms above my head. "You tried to kill me, now I get to kill you." As I swung down, Kisuke put his Benihime in front of him. I sent my usual arc of spiritual pressure towards Kisuke, but this time, I poured everything I could into it.

The world faded to black

Kisuke

Everything happened in a flash. Benihime was sizzling from absorbing Ichigo's attack. "If I didn't have my blood mist shield, you would've taken at least an arm," I said while grabbing my bucket hat from the ground. I noticed a chunk of it was missing. "Damn, my hat's ruined." I still placed the hat on my head. "I didn't expect that much from one swing." I turned around and found Ichigo sleeping. "Ichigo Kurosaki, you are one frightening child." I turned my head and saw a quarter-mile long crack on the training ground. It was so powerful that it cut the mountain in half. "Man, I can't wait to clean this up." I scratched my head. "Tessai, are you here?"

Tessai popped out of a mound of dirt, "Yes, sir."

"Can you clean this up for me please?"

"I'd be happy to sir!" Tessai immediately pulled out a shovel and started to dig down a hill so he could patch the crack with dirt.

Glad that's taken care of…But now I have to give Ichigo the proper medical attention he deserves…

Lucy

As I was running down a hallway, I vaguely heard Erza's voice. "If you value your lives leave this place at once! This station has been taken over by evil wizards! They intend to use a spell to kill everyone here! Run as far away as you can!"

At least Erza's keeping people away from the battle...I snapped out of my thoughts when I heard someone panting very loudly. I slowed down and quietly walked to the noise. My hand was over my keys; so I was ready for anything that could happen. I edged along the wall and peeked into where the breathing was coming from. It was one of the guys Erigor sent to finish off me and Erza. I was about to confront him when he started talking into a device.

"...Yeah, none of our men were able to stop the girls...but we kept them occupied long enough for Erigor to set off his windshield thing...yeah, nobody's going in or out of this place until Lullaby has been released…"

Are they not releasing Lullaby here? I need to find the others! Before I could go anywhere else, the man kept talking. "Yeah, Erigor should have plenty of time to go to Clover station now. The Guild Masters are going to get what was coming for them…"

Where have I heard Clover station before...That's where Makarov and the other Guild Masters are meeting! I need to find Natsu and th-

"Hey! What are you doing over here!"

Shit. I was so lost in thought I wasn't paying attention to the henchman! I popped out of my hiding spot. "It doesn't matter now that I know what you guys are planning!"

"Well, it's too late for you to do anything about it now, sweetheart!" Before I could summon a spirit, black shadows slid around my legs and held me upside down. I tried to hold my skirt up so my underwear couldn't show, but more shadows slid along my arms. "There's no need for you to be shy my dear. I think you look quite lovely like this. The cables moved my hands behind my back, forcing my chest to stick out more than it should. "Man, your boobs look even better when they are upside down…" The man leaned in to get a better view of my body, "Your top doesn't even cover the bottom of your boobs they're so big..." The man snickered. "Love the striped undies. I bet they look even better when they are on the floor."

I rolled my eyes. Not this again… "Lucy Headbutt!" I slammed my head into this man's stomach. He doubled over and lost his grip on me. I got to my feet and grabbed Taurus's Key,

"Gate of the Golden Bull, I open thee! Taurus!"

A flash of golden light appears and Taurus was flexing as he shouted, "Moooo! Lucy, your body is gorgeous as usual!"

I facepalmed. Why must he always be a pervert? "Taurus, attack this man!"

"Mooo, anything for your precious body, Lucy!" I felt a sweatdrop as Taurus began to attack. Taurus bull charged towards the mage then jumped up into the air. His arms tensed as he pulled his Labrys overhead. The opposing mage combined his shadows together to form a shield. Taurus swung Labrys down with Tension Max and cut through the shadows. The mage fell down to the ground unconscious.

I stuck a thumb up. "Good job, Taurus! Can you pick him up, and bring him with us?"

Taurus oogled my body for a second. "Of course! Your breasts look much perkier today, by the way!"

I sweat-dropped. "Uh, thanks. Follow me, we need to find Erza again." Taurus picked up the goon and we ran out of the room to find the others.

Taurus and I ran back to the station's main lobby, and we found Erza tying up a bunch of Erigor's knocked out goons. "Erza!"

Erza looked up and saw Taurus. She looked really shocked. Taurus and I stopped running and stared at Erza, waiting for her next move. In a flash, Erza hid behind a corner, her head peeking out from the corner. "Lucy...Who's the cow man behind you?"

I smiled. "It's my Golden Bull Spirit, Taurus!"

Taurus spoke up dejectedly. "I'm a Minotaur, not a cow man…"

I spoke up again. "He's not going to hurt you...He'll just make some pervy comments at you now and again." Erza nodded her head and walked out of the corner. I felt a small sweat drop on the back of my head.

"What was that about?"

"Beats me…"

"ERZA!" All eyes looked at the second floor when Gray appeared from a corridor.

"Gray?" Erza said, "I thought you were with Natsu?"

"We had to split up, but never mind that for now! Eisenwald's real target is the town up ahead!"

Erza put a hand on her chin. "But why would Erigor want to go to Clover?"

I chimed in. "That's where all of the guild masters are meeting!" I motioned over towards the moaning goon that Taurus is holding, "I overheard him saying something about Clover and some sort of wind wall."

The goon started to laugh as Taurus put him down against a wall. "It's too late now, Clover station is across a gorge that you can only get to through the train...Unless if you can fly like master Erigor!"

Behind me, I heard a sword unsheath. I turned to see Erza jump into the air and head straight for the goon. She slammed her sword next to the man's face. A deadly aura emanated from Erza's body as she said, "Dispel the magic wind wall, and don't give us any trouble!"

There were tears of fear in this guy's eyes now. He nodded and was going to drop the wall until a blade tore through his chest. The goon dropped dead and the man who killed him was partly phased through the wall. He was a fat man wearing a red jacket and had green hair. His hands were shaking as he realized what he'd done. Natsu burst through a wall screaming, "Where are you?" He noticed us and the now dead goon. His face paled at the sight. Quietly he asked, "What happened?"

"This man was going to let us out of this place," said Erza with the dead man in her lap, "but the green haired man stabbed him." She motioned to the fat man still in the wall.

"Wasn't he...your ally?" The man stayed quiet. "Answer me, dammit! Wasn't he an ally in the same guild as you?!" Flames were forming around Natsu, his anger making up a large part of the flames. The man said nothing in fear as he disappeared into the wall. "YOU BASTARD!" Natsu punched the wall the man receded into, "So that's what your guild is like?!" The green haired man flew into a wall unconscious.

"Now what do we do?" said Gray, "We bandaged up Kageyama as much as we could and we can't get through the wind wall with our magic or with force."

"Oh I know!" said Happy as he brought out a gold key, "We can use Everlue's key!"

I felt my spirits lift when I saw the gold key with the crest of the Maiden, a symbol reminiscent to the letters M and J combined together, stamped on its bow. "THAT'S VIRGO'S KEY!"

"She said that she wanted a contract with you!" Happy exclaimed, "Don't forget that she can dig holes, which can go underneath the wind barrier!"

I hugged Happy, "Great idea! Give me the key and we can get out of here." I felt the cool golden key in my hand and I smiled before I went into my spirit summoning stance. "I am linked to the path of the Celestial Spirits!" A magic circle formed at my feet and gold light poured out of it, "Now! Oh Spirit, answer my call and pass through the Gate! Gate of the Maiden, I open thee! Virgo!"

She had the same pink hair and blue eyes like the last time Virgo appeared. This time, her body changed to a petite, but busty form with shackles on her wrists. "You called, Master?"

I was confused. This spirit was nothing like Everlue's. "Uh...Who are you?"

"I'm a Celestial Spirit that is faithful to her master. I perform my duties in the appearance my master wishes."

I nodded. "Okay, can we postpone the contract till later?"

"Yes, master."

"Stop calling me master."

"Then shall I call you Queen?"

"Nope."

"Then, Princess?"

I felt myself blush a little, "That sounds nice…"

"Then I'll dig a hole for you all." A magic circle appeared under Virgo as she dropped into the ground, clearing out all of the rubble.

"Alright, everyone!" I said, "Get into that hole!"

Natsu

Happy and I were the first ones out. "Happy, let's go!"

"Aye!" Happy grabbed onto my back and shouted "MAX SPEED"

We blasted off in the direction of Clover Station. We must beat Erigor before he kills gramps!" Within the minute, we reached Erigor and I blasted him out of the air. We fell onto the train tracks below. Happy passed out from the energy drain. I smiled at Happy, "Thanks to you, I was able to catch up with him."

"Why are you here?" growled Erigor. "You're from Fairy Tail, why aren't you at Oshibana Station?"

Flames formed at my fists, "I came here to defeat you, Blowhard!"

"You broke out from the magic wind wall? What pests you flies are. Let me go." Erigor sent his magic at me. I jumped out of the way with my flame propelled jump. The flames on my fist punching into his scythe and pushing him into the air. "I never thought a wizard could punch like that!"

I can't reach him from down here… "Get down you bastard! Stop fluttering around up there and fight my down here!"

"Don't get cocky, fly!"

I hate that nickname...Erigor sent more magic my way. "Storm Bringer!"

The winds were too strong. They pushed me off the tracks into the gorge below. I vaguely heard Happy screaming my name. "Crap! What should I do?" Nothing came to mind as I hit multiple big rocks. Big and sturdy rocks. I'm not sure if it was from the rocks, but I found myself thinking back to when Macao told me something about his Purple Flare years ago.

"Take a good look." I couldn't believe my eyes, Macao's flames were holding a cup of beer. "It's called Purple Flare. It can do lots of things other than just burning stuff."

"All mine does is burn things…"

"You can change the properties of the fire. If you wish it from your heart, the fire will respond naturally to your will. If you do that, then fire won't lose to water or wind."

I frowned. "I don't get it."

That's it! I just need to use my heart and not my strength! I smiled. "I'm fired up!" I willed for a pillar of fire to surround me. I formed it so that it will act as a hand and bring me up towards the railway again.

"NATSU!" Happy had tears in his eyes when we locked eyes. He was probably worried that something happened to me.

Erigor was shocked as I smirked, "You must be cold, being naked like that. Let me warm you up."

"Roar of the Fire Dragon!"

Erigor blocked my breath attack. "Storm Wall!" An explosion appeared but Erigor was unharmed. "It seems I underestimated your power a bit. How about we get serious now?"

I grinned. "I'm all fired up!"

Erigor sent the first attack, "Storm Mail!" He twisted his scythe until wind covered his entire body like armor. "Here I come!" Erigor launched his fist forward. I jumped up for a flame punch, but the winds pushed me back. He laughed, "What's the matter? Is that all you got?"

"Why you have to go any make things complicated for me? Oh well, I'll still tear it to shreds...

Iron Fist of The Fire Dragon!"

Kageyama

I slowly moved back into consciousness. The first thing I noticed was the blazing pain coming from my back. "Damn, that hurts."

"Are you awake, Kageyama?" a familiar voice said.

Faires…"Why did you bring me with you?"

"You obviously need medical attention and the nearest doctor is in Clover since everyone fled Oshibana." said the busty blonde who I fought earlier.

"But I don't understand, why are you helping me? We're enemies." The blonde said nothing then it clicked. "Oh, you're probably going to use me as a bargaining chip so Erigor will hand over lullaby in exchange for me. Well let me tell you, that isn't going to work. Erigor's as cold-blooded as it gets."

"If you wanna die, we can make that happen." said a dark haired mage wearing a white cloak, "There's more to the world than life and death you know. Try and look for the positive. Think about your future. You and the rest of your guild."

I didn't say anything. There's more than life and death? It's always been about life and death at Eisenwald. How can we find the positive if there are so many negative clouds our sight? What do these flies know about anything other than life or death? It doesn't matter. We must continue with our plans. We've gotten too far for us to back down now. Erigor...I hope you win the battle with the fire mage.

If you don't, I promise to finish the job for you.

Natsu

I slammed my fist at Erigor fueled with my flames. I hit an invisible wall and all of my flames disappeared. What happened? My flame disappeared!

Erigor laughed again, "Just as I thought, without wrapping yourself in your flames, you don't have any destructive powers. I guess it's no longer effective!" He cackled as the winds from his Storm Mail pushed me back further. "Storm Mail's winds constantly blow outward. Get it? Flames can stand up to a headwind! Flames can't defeat the wind!"

I scowled. The winds are too strong! "You son of a bitch!"

"Storm Shred!" Sharpened wind slices were flying down towards me. I was able to dodge all of them while flying towards Erigor. If only I could breakthrough! I threw another flame punch only to be thrown away. Not only do my flames not work, but I can't get near him! "This is all very upsetting, I thought you could do better than this. Then again flies can't do much in general. It doesn't matter anyway. I'm going to end this now! This magic cuts through everything in its path!

Emera Baram!"

Magic circles formed in front of Erigor and then they spun in circles. Something tells me that I'm going to get shred to pieces if I let this hit me. "Scatter in the wind you fly!" A large gust of wind hit me square in the chest. My body went flying back behind Happy. The wind knocked out of me and I couldn't move my body. "First you, then the old geezers will fall by Lullaby."

I put a hand under me and pushed myself up. "Shut up about Lullaby already! If you're gonna fight the masters, then fight them fair and square! If you're that scared to fight them, leave them alone!" I jumped up and prepared to throw another flame punch at Erigor. Only to be pushed back yet again. My flames aren't working, why can't I do anything about it? I grabbed a piece of the rail and used my flames to melt it off the railroad track in anger. Why can't I get close to him? I just don't understand! I can feel my anger filling up, fueling me. That son of a bitch! My flames that were around me exploded in an uncontrollable rage when I ripped the rail apart. I felt my rage growing bigger with my flames. Before I knew it, Erigor's winds were going in my direction, feeding my flames. That's it! I need to get more angry. I need more power.

"Natsu!" I looked towards Happy. "Give up, you need to let Gray settle the matter."

I just stopped everything. The stripper?! There's no way in Hell I'll let that happen! My flames grew ten times bigger at the thought of Gray beating Erigor for me. "Gray will NEVER beat MEEEEEEEEEEEE!" I launched into Erigor with more strength and determination than I've had before. I felt my fist connect to his stomach, and I used my flame propelled punch to keep pushing him back.

"Fire Dragon's Sword Horn!"

Erigor flew back and went head first into the railroad track unconscious. I smirked at my victory. "How about that Happy?"

"That's Natsu 'The Salamander' alright!"

Erza pulled up in the magic four wheeler, being helped out of the driver's seat by Lucy. "Did you have trouble with this guy?" asked Gray, who surprise surprise, doesn't have a shirt on. Then again, I shouldn't be saying anything. I looked down to my bare chest with multiple scrapes on it.

I put my arms behind my head, "Trouble? It was easy!"

"The way you wear a scarf while you're half naked makes you look like a pervert."

I felt a tick under my eye. "I don't want to hear that from you."

"Anyways, good job Natsu. Now we've protected the Guild Masters," said Erza, Lucy nodded her head in agreement. "Let's report back to the Masters' meeting and let them dispose of the flute."

We all turned to where the flute should be but it was gone. The magic four-wheeler turned on and we all saw Kageyama blasting off with lullaby in one of his shadows. "Idiot flies, you left your guard down!" He flew away with our only method of transportation.

We all watched in shock as he went away. My anger brought me out of my shock. At the top of my lungs, I screamed. "GODDAMMIT!"

Kageyama

"Haha! Idiot flies. They let their guard down when an enemy was right next to Lullaby!" I cackled to myself. Soon our plan will come to fruition.

It was getting dark by the time I reached the meeting place. I found a hill that overlooked the place. Lullaby should reach them from here.

Finally.

Finally, the time has come…

A loud noise startled me out of my thoughts. "These girls are real eye-catchers! Young mages of today have really leveled upon both skill and looks!" I turn around and see a small old man who was wearing an orange and blue striped jester outfit. Is that the guild master for the flies? "Photo spreads are really the best~" The guild master, Makarov, I think turned around and immediately tried to explain himself. "It's not what it looks like! These are a part of my guild master studies!"

Liar. I scratched my head. "You don't have to explain…"

He noticed my bandages. "You're hurt...What the Hell are you doing out here?"

I tried to come up with a lie. "Um...Well, I would like for you to listen to me play. We aren't allowed to bring instruments to hospitals. So before I go back, I want someone to listen to me play." I mentally patted myself on the back for coming up with a lie on the spot.

"That's a creepy flute you have there…" Makarov asked wearily.

"It might look funny, but it sounds wonderful!"

He pondered for a minute. "I'm in a hurry, but one song would be fine."

"Of course!" Victory is mine! I put the flute to my mouth, but before I played it. I thought about all of the things that were said to me but my guildmates.

"Legal guilds are a bunch of flashy guys!" / "They're untalented but are still proud of themselves." / "This is our revenge against the Magic World who locked us in darkness and stole our lives!"

I was about to do it. I was going to play. But then, I thought about the...fairies.

"You won't get your rights back by doing something like this!" / "Think about your future. All of you." / "Wasn't he a friend from the same guild as you?!"

What do I do? Do I follow Eisenwald or Fairy Tail? They both have their merits, but what do I do?

"What's wrong? Hurry up and play!"

I don't think I can do it...Everything that we've been doing in Eisenwald...I don't think I want this anymore...

"Well?"

Blow! Hurry up and blow this thing! Once you do that...everything will change!

"Nothing will change." said Makarov, "Humans that are weak will always be weak, no matter how much time goes by. Weakness isn't always a bad thing, though. Humans are weak by nature after all. Nothing's easy by ourselves, so that's why we make guilds. Why we have friends and allies. To flourish, we need to work together and always progress. The clumsy ones might hit a few walls and take the longer way around. But as long as we believe in tomorrow and put one foot before the other, we'll be able to find our strength. If you lead a strong life, you will be able to smile...Without having to be dependent on something like that flute."

He's right. We can't move forward by looking at the negative, we have friends that help us through the negative to get to the positive...Without thinking, I threw down Lullaby and got to my knees. "I surrender!"

Four hours later...

Lucy

I sighed as I opened the door to my apartment, exhausted from everything that happened in the last 24 hours. After we defeated Eisenwald, Fairy Tail threw a mini party to celebrate everything we've accomplished today...or was it yesterday? I got back pretty late, so who knows? Who even cares? My vision was getting blurred from the lack of sleep. I fell on my bed and instantly fell asleep. My eyes opened to a familiar black void. Where have I seen this before?

A particularly bitchy voice echoed around me. "This is your inner mind where I live."

"Who are you?"

"I've already explained that I'm a part of you given by Layla and that I couldn't say anything and blah blah blah. Do you not remember this? Come on! It was right after I saved your sorry ass at that bar in Crocus!"

I remembered talking to her about this! "Oh yeah...Last time we spoke you talked about some old bird? And that you couldn't explain anything until 'the time is right.'"

"Finally, you remembered. The old bird said that you were smart, but now I'm starting to doubt it…"

That's Rude. "Anyway, is the time right for you to tell me about the voices in my head and what happened at Crocus?"

"Nope. Still, can't tell you. But I'm here to help you get stronger in hand to hand combat and your Celestial Spirit magic."

"When can I learn about you?"

"Damn girl, one thing at a time! A little sign of gratitude wouldn't hurt either…"

Where were my manners? "I'm sorry you are right...Thank you for helping me get stronger." I still don't know this person's name. "What's your name?"

More silence. "I don't have one."

"How about you show me yourself and I can help you pick a name?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"You wouldn't understand what you were looking at…"

"What does that mean?"

"I'm afraid that you will reject me when you see my appearance."

When I see her appearance? "Don't worry about that. I'm probably the least judgemental person you will ever meet."

A small chuckle came from the voice. "You are probably right…I've just been so afraid to be cast out again. I've been judged before and locked away in this void. Nobody to hear my calling. Nobody to be there for me...Now that I have the chance to be accepted. I'm afraid that I will lose it again and be cast out unto the darkness once more. Alone and forgotten..."

That's awful…"Who would do that to you?"

Silence. "...Your mother, Layla."

"WHAAT!? My mom? No way, she's the nicest person ever."

"I agree. She is a nice person, but the way I became a part of her….was not very common."

"How did it happen?"

"I can't say. It's too early and we're getting off track. Do you want to learn hand to hand combat and improve your Celestial Spirit magic use, Lucy?"

"Yes."

"Okay then. I guess I'll come out now..."

The space in front of me started to shimmer. The void was slowly bringing a person into my view. It wasn't just any person though

...It was me.

But my...her skin was different. It was a very pale white. Her eyes were pitch black with yellow irises. Other than those things, she looked exactly like me. What the Hell is going on?

I didn't realize that I was silent for that long until my doppelganger said, "Well? Any thoughts?"

"You just look so much like me...It's like looking in a mirror."

"I knew this would happen. Are you scared of me?"

"What? Why would I be scared of you?"

"Because I'm...," Inverted me paused before she sighed and said, "nevermind. Let's get to the training."

She's definitely hiding something, but I let it go. I could see that it was bothering her too much. "Before we do that…" I smiled. "Don't you want a name?"

A beaming smile radiated off her face. This must be what it feels like to be on the other side of my smile. "Yes please."

"Well, I was thinking...Ashley, because I always thought that if my name wasn't Lucy, it would be Ashley!"

"Ashley…" She was testing the name on her tongue then smiled. "I love it."

"Now then Ashley," I got into a fighting stance. "Would you like to get this training started?"

Ashley got into her own fighting stance and gave a wild psychotic grin.

"Let's do it."

And...DONE! I know it took forever and a half but the next chapter is up! I realize that the updates are few and far inbetween and that I've probably lost a lot of readers for being so late. I just wanna say I'm sorry, but I've been busy with college stuff: picking a college, filling out college apps, apply for scholarships...It's a whole ordeal that some of y'all will understand. For the readers who aren't doing college stuff yet...DO IT ALL IN THE SUMMER! I had a friend who did that and they are just coasting through their Senior year while the rest of the class was freaking out over deadline. All I have to do now is sit and wait. While I'm waiting, I'll try to crank out more chapters so they aren't like 4 months apart. So I'll try to write multiple chapters so y'all won't have to wait as long.

Enough about me, onto manga. BLEACH ENDED! I'm both happy and bawling my eyes out. The Thousand Year Blood War Arc was so damn long that I was happy that it ended. But now...it ended...what am I going to watch/read now? If anyone has good anime they'd like to recommend PM me and give me a heads up! And as for the war between the IchiRuki and IchiHime, without spoiling, I FUCKING KNEW IT!

In Fairy Tail, things are finally heating up and I'm so excited! I have a feeling that this arc is the last, but you never know. To the readers who have been following up on my updates thank you! I also want to thank everyone who favorited/followed/reviewed this story. It helps me get off my butt and write for you guys more. Thanks for sticking with me so far!

~Titania