Hi everyone. This first chapter has been sitting in my drafts folder since 2016 so I thought it was about time I revamped it and turned it into an actual story. Lucy's Magic in this diverges from Canon, I used to RP in the Fairy Tail community and before Star Dress was a thing I had created my own version of her Magic. It's probably been done before, but this is what my version of Lucy has been using since 2014, I prefer it more since it's a struggle.

Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or its characters, my interpretation of those characters, the plot and OCs are all my own, though n_n

Prophecy

Lovers broken, rivers bleed.

When the stars fall a Goddess will rise.

Goddess of Darkness, unleash your reign of death.

Decimate all in your path.

For your beginning shall be your end.

"Lucy, move—Ice make: Prison!"

The Celestial Mage yelled as she dived out of the way, at the same time Gray's ice formed where she had stood trapping a group of Dark Mages. Ignoring the pain shooting up her side she ran to where Gray stood, her back pressing against his as they were surrounded. Gray had managed to cage off ten with that last attack but there were still at least twenty left. They both snarled, attacking anyone who attempted to push forward.

"Why on earth did that moron leave us to deal with this!?"

"Fucked if I know." Gray's ice sword was held up, deflecting an attack, "we gotta finish this now. You needa do it."

Lucy paled slightly as she flicked her whip, the assailant she'd hit in the eye wailed in pain.

"I'm not ready, it's too new!"

She had trained all year with Loke and both he and Capricorn had deemed her fit to use the new method of her Magic. Despite what they said, though, she knew better. Sure, she had mastered the techniques, but her control over it could be sketchy at times. Gray growled at her.

"Lucy, he was my partner for years. If you ain't gonna fight, call him out!"

That was all it took. She ignored her training, ignored the voice in her head that said she needed to remain calm and let Loke's Magic flow through her. It burned, her fingers tip tingling from the power her faithful Lion possessed. Her hands began to glow with a familiar light. Aquarius' Magic had worn off almost instantly after she'd used it in battle but that gift to her hadn't been a permanent one and it wasn't the only way she could harness her Spirits Magic.

After losing her oldest friend, Lucy had searched far and wide for as many books on Celestial Magic, to find any way at all she'd be able to fight alongside her Spirits properly. A way to protect them. It took two months of watching her work herself to death in pursuit of an answer before Loke approached the Celestial Spirit King, he'd pleaded on her behalf for assistance.

The King had denied him at first but Loke had returned over and over until finally, he relented. This was a lost art, a use of Celestial Magic that had been outlawed for thousands of years because it had been abused. Lucy was under strict orders to tell no one of the process, she could tell people that she had a new way of using her Spirits Magic but that was it. No details on how it could be achieved could be spoken and should anyone find out, she'd be stripped of her keys immediately. She understood why. Celestial Spirits weren't allowed to kill their masters and the method could put you near death if your bond wasn't strong. With that in mind, she had started with Loke because they were the closest.

It had taken six months for the process to be complete. Loke had appeared at random over that period. Each time he had attacked her, and she had been forced to let him repeatedly hit her body with his Magic over and over. It had been slow torture but slowly and surely her body began to adapt to it, it soon learnt to draw the Magic inside rather than reject it. At first, she'd simply held the Magic inside her, it had temporarily allowed her to use it, but over time she had gained the ability to call it to her body at will without her Spirit needing to be present.

Loke had been the only one to do it because he could feel her emotions the strongest, he was the most aware of how close she'd get to death. All it would have taken was one too many hits and she'd have been a goner but he hadn't let her down. As with all Magic though, it came with a price, her body may be accepting of the Power, of the borrowed Magic that flowed through her like a life source but it was unstable when she was. If she attempted to use the Magic without harnessing full control over it, then the Magic could falter and attack her instead. Her focus needed to be fully on her task at hand, driven by the resolve of her emotions, if she wasn't she risked it controlling her instead.

"Right, let's do it!"

Lucy's words came out a growl as she let the Magic take over more. Her hair changed, two small ears forming out the blonde locks similar to Millianna's. Her canines elongated and her eyes began to flicker like fire, the glowing Amber colour of them daring anyone to try something as she smashed her fists together. Gray shifted behind her, smirking as he felt the Magic overflowing from her, his body readying for battle. The dark mages looked taken aback for a moment before they controlled themselves, attempting to appear unbothered.

"Ice-Make: Geyser!"

"Regulus blast!"

They timed their attacks perfectly.

Ice shot up from the ground beneath the Dark Guild that stood before them, Loke's Regulus blast was then aimed directly at it. The ice shattered under the force of the hit and Mages fell unconscious to the ground one after the other. They weren't done though. Some had been smart enough to move or were simply out of their reach, ten was still better than twenty though. Advancing on the Mages they made quick work of them, most had already been pretty weak from the fighting earlier.

When one split from the group Lucy chased after him. She was faster now and her body caught up to his easily. The blonde pulled out her whip, flicking her wrist so that it wrapped around his feet and tripped him. He hit the ground hard and she rushed over to subdue him when he reached out, grabbing her wrist so hard she was sure something snapped. He whip fell to the ground and he pulled her down, a sick smile on his face.

"You stupid bitch, we're gonna have some fun now!"

His hand began to glow green, it looked like acid was coating it but her mind had gone still as he spoke. She didn't cry, please or scream like he had hoped because the man on the ground was no longer the Mage she had been chasing. It was Jackal. He'd said those worse to her before but this time she wasn't helpless. This time she wouldn't have to sacrifice her friend to defeat him. Her fists began to glow, the light was so bright it filled the area of trees around them, and she brought them down again and again against the enemy. It didn't matter that she was probably hurting her wrist more, she couldn't even feel it. All that mattered was the bloody demon beneath her was laughing at her, the same laugh that had her screaming awake most nights. He was going to die, nothing and no one was going to stop her.

He'd been so focused on taking out the rest of his half of the Mages he'd barely registered Lucy running off after one of them. She'd moved faster than he'd seen from her before, she had been a blur since he had been moving so fast himself. She had told him not long after the whole Avatar incident about her new Magic, he'd seen it before that when she'd been trying to save him but he hadn't a clue what it was at the time. Aware he had no idea what the limits of her Power were now, he didn't react when he saw a blinding golden light shine out of the forest. At least he knew she was okay. As the last of his fighting died down, though, he looked around and couldn't see her.

His heart stuttered for a moment and panic set in before he pushed it down out of habit. He had lost so many people it was a natural reaction but Lucy wouldn't get hurt; she was stronger than she'd ever been, more now than ever she could take care of herself. The feeling surged again, though, and this time he chose not to ignore it. Instead, he chose to listen, had his new heightened senses heard something he hadn't immediately identified? It was hard; he heard so much now that it was overwhelming. Sometimes he had to channel all of his focus just to listen to what someone was saying without getting distracted by all the background noise.

It was the repetitive noise that drew him in, the sound of fists hitting flesh. It was a familiar sound with how many brawls he'd been in but it was the grunts that worried him, after every punch. Was some sick fuck beating Lucy? He looked back at the fallen Mages and put cages around them all before running in the direction he could smell her. The scent of tears hit him and the blood, some of it was Lucy's but most of it… He ran towards the blonde, she sat atop a nearly unconscious Mage, her fists glowing as they punched him again and again. The darker part that lived in him, that had only grown since the Demon Slaying Magic had shoved into his body, wanted to stand there and watch.

He felt no sympathy for the man, he'd killed too many, hurt too many innocents. He deserved death. It was who was doing the beating that concerned him. Tears fell from her eyes as she brought her fists down, something crunched on the male and he winced. He couldn't let her continue, Lucy was all things good and pure, killing someone would stain her soul. It would eat away at her until she walked around in a constant state of guilt.

That decided it.

Gray walked over and grabbed her wrist when she brought it up again. Her head snapped around to stare at him but she didn't really see him, her stare was too blank for it to be Lucy looking back at him. A growl crawled up his throat, and he pulled her off their enemy, his arms wrapping protectively around her.

"It's okay, Lucy…"

Her tiny body struggled against his hold, her fists glowing again but she couldn't get them up high enough to hit him. She could barely move with how hard he was squeezing her.

"I'm going to kill you, you stupid fucking demon!"

His body tensed for a moment, he hadn't told a soul about what had happened. Juvia had figured it out but he didn't talk about it and for once she had respected his privacy. There was no way Lucy could've guessed that he had the blood of a Demon running through him. Who did she think he was then? She began to struggle more, twisting and turning in ways that looked like she'd hurt herself.

"Lucy, stop it, it's Gray."

"Liar!"

She snarled at him and he was so shocked by it he loosened his grip, her fist instantly connected with his stomach. It hurt like a bitch but he quickly recaptured her.

"I ain't fuckin' lying, snap out of it would ya?"

"Nice try. I'm gonna put all of you demon bastards six feet under!"

His mind reeled at the venom in her voice, this wasn't his Lucy. The sweet girl who he'd flirted with all those years ago on Galuna Island. Sure, she was a psycho and could be Erza level scary at times, but she was never so vicious, never so bloodthirsty. If the guy she'd been beating wasn't near death, he'd think he was possessing her. An odd keening scream sounded from her, she sounded like a wild animal, and slammed her head into the bridge of his nose. He swore, instantly releasing her as he brought his hands up to his nose.

"Survey the Heavens, Open the Heavens... All the stars, far and wide..."

His eyes widened as her body began to float, a golden glow surrounding her. She wouldn't.

"Son of a bitch…" He winced at what he was about to do, "Sorry Lulu."

He brought his hands together, silently apologising to her again as he channelled his Magic to his hands.

"Ice-Make: Hammer."

His voice was a whisper as he watched his ice slam one of his best friends into the ground, she was out cold. Her body lay unmoving on the ground and he ran a shaky hand through his hair. It felt so unnatural to see her laying there like that, so lifeless. Guilt overflowed inside him for doing that to her but he needed to be able to work. Natsu had already run off and if something was wrong with her then he couldn't pass out and let her deal with it alone. Sighing, he moved to pick her up, looking back at the Dark Mage with distaste as he made yet another ice prison. He didn't know if Loke would be able to sense him but he reached for Lucy's keys, finding Loke's and flowing Magic into it. It wouldn't open his gate, he couldn't do that, but hopefully, his friend recognised his Magic.

A moment later the leader of the Zodiac appeared before him, growling menacingly until he realised it was Gray. So his Magic had changed so much Loke had confused him for someone else? He gave his friend a small smile, more of a greeting than anything, but Loke's eyes were on Lucy's still form.

"What happened?"

"Not a fuckin' clue. We were kickin' ass one minute, next thing I know she runs off after this moron and when I came to check if she was okay, she was beating him half to death."

Loke paled as he listened, turning to take in the Dark Mage, he reached through the ice bars and checked his pulse. Only when he felt the stutter of life did he relax and pull his hand back, he looked over at Lucy again with a frown. If that was the state the Mage was in, why was she unconscious?

"What else?"

Gray shifted nervously, his grip only Lucy tightening for a moment as he held her closer. He could hide behind her to stop Loke from asking questions but he did kinda owe him, and Lucy, for doing what he'd done.

"I pulled her off since she'd feel guilty n'shit for killing him but she came at me. Calling me a demon and trying to hit me, pretty sure she broke my nose." As if remembering it was all that was needed, a burst of pain ran up the nerves from his nose. He hissed but kept talking.

"I let her go since it hurt like a bitch and she tried to cast her spell, if it had knocked me out she woulda been alone out here so… I had to hit her with my Magic."

Loke growled again. Up until that point he had done a good job keeping his impulses in check but even though he knew Loke adored Lucy, his Magic flared up anyway. He snarled, pulling Lucy closer to him as his eyes glowed a pale blue for an instant. He saw Loke step back and he shook his head, trying to clear it. The Lion eyed him curiously, concern written clearly on his features but he wouldn't talk about this. He wasn't worried about himself; he was worried about Lucy. She seemed so tiny now that she wasn't moving around, bursting with energy.

"Well, she'll be out for a while so what did you need?" He didn't look pleased but at least he hadn't tried to take Lucy from him.

"Uh, if I release the prison, I need ya to help me round all the fuckers up. Natsu ran off like a goddamned idiot again, went after the master, so it's just me to deal with 'em and I wanna make sure Lucy's not hurt."

Loke sighed, adjusting his glasses with a nod before moving to grab the Mage once Gray let his Magic fade. He was going to kill Natsu when this was over if the idiot had just listened to a plan for once they might not be in this mess.

Twenty minutes later Natsu came running back. Loke was gone, he had asked Virgo to come out on her Magic as well to help him take the Mages to the nearest jail. Gray felt like an ass for not helping but he just couldn't find it in himself to let Lucy go. Loke had tried to come over to help her and he'd snarled at him again, even though he knew Loke wouldn't hurt her his stupid Demon instincts wouldn't fucking listen. It had been the same when Virgo had tried to get close. In the end, Virgo had asked him to turn her so she could just visually look her over, no touching. He'd felt like a petulant four-year-old unwilling to relinquish his favourite toy. Neither Spirit had said anything about his behaviour, Virgo had just retrieved some first aid supplies and told him what to do.

The Dragon Slayer skidded to a stop as he saw Lucy lying so still in Gray's arms. He'd set and bandaged her injured wrist, then cleaned all of the surface cuts he could find.

"Luce! What the hell, Gray? You were 'sposed to look out for her!"

Gray glared at Natsu, growling like a feral wolf. He was beating himself up enough as it was; he didn't need some stupid asshole yelling at him when he'd left them behind. Lucy could look after herself, she hadn't had any problems fighting them all off. Whatever had happened had been in her own mind.

"N'you were supposed to not be a fuckin' moron and leave us alone with a whole fucking dark guild! Ain't no one to blame but yourself."

"You wanna go, stripper?"

Natsu's hands flamed up, clearly not liking the fact that for once his reckless nature hadn't randomly worked itself out. Oh, he'd go alright. He'd pummel the fucker into the ground before he could so much as blink. Instead of acting on it, he clenched his jaw and looked away. He could hear Ur's voice in his head, telling him to reel it in. He hadn't been like this before. Natsu could say whatever he wanted and he'd respond but he'd never felt so much anger towards the other slayer in his life. Stupid fucking Demon instincts.

Lucy stirred in his arms at the noise and his attention was drawn to her, Natsu could've kicked him in the head and he would've ignored it to check on her. It was his fault she was like this. She whimpered in pain before her eyes snapped open, at least she seemed to recognise him this time.

"Gray?"