Chapter 5

"This is all your fault, you know," Capricorn loomed.

"How is it my fault?" asked Leo, eyes narrowing and temper rising. Here he is, doing everything he can to safeguard their Master, and pacify the tense atmosphere for his brethren; and this is the thanks he will get?

"I am merely stating facts. You are the leader of the Zodiacs, and yet you act as though Lady Lucy is your equal. You, above all else, should know your place," Capricorn fixed his glasses before facing him. "Have you forgotten your...No…" The Goat looked at everyone around them. "Have ALL of you forgotten your sworn oath to always, always protect her?!" He explained.

"You…" Leo took a menacing step forward. Who does this goat think he is, spouting bullshit when it was he that was possessed by a homicidal mage for almost twenty years and almost killed Lucy!

"As the leader, the responsibility of disciplining your subordinates rests on your shoulders. Taurus harbors perverted thoughts towards Lady Lucy, distracting him from doing his job properly. Everytime…everytime that he's been summoned to help, he asks for perverse compensations!" Capricorn's voice raised higher.

"Mooo…" The Goat heard Taurus.

"Virgo gets distracted easily too. Her masochism takes control when she should focus on her opponents. Sagittarius does not even know how to defend himself. One small attack to a barely vulnerable part of his body, and out he goes. Cancer lacks awareness of his surroundings. He's summoned to fight, and he asks if Lady Lucy needs a haircut. A haircut! In the middle of a fight! Scorpio…Scorpio puts his own personal life above his master's!"

"Tch," Leo cursed, fist tightening. He gritted his teeth. "And what about you, huh?!" he snapped. "You were the one who got Taken Over, and almost killed her!"

"I was controlled!" Capricorn spat.

Leo laughed darkly. "And that's your excuse, you hypocritical goat?!"

Capricorn also cursed under his breath. "You want real talk? Fine! If it wasn't for your lack of mental fortitude and responsibility, Lady Lucy would not lose Aquarius. And she would not have to be in that state of misery. Just look at her!"

"And how is that my fault? You're just finding a way to project your own insecurities and weakness on me!" Leo argued. "Fairy Tail left her! It was her own team that caused this. It wasn't mine!"

"Is it, now? Lady Lucy can handle the loneliness of being left behind by those fools. What put her in that state of depression was you, who failed in protecting her! And it was your failure that she had to break Lady Layla's one and only memento!"

Leo stilled, unable to form a coherent argument. Capricorn was right. Aquarius was Lucy's very first Spirit, and the only thing to remember her late mother by. "We did our best," he insisted.

"And look where that got us. Our master had to step up and save you and Virgo. Oh, my God!" Capricorn humorlessly laughed at the incredulity of such a thing. "The master saving a servant. How preposterous!" The Goat ceased his laugh and went back to his previous tone. "We are the ones supposed to protect her, not the other way around. Or is this going to be one of your thing, you killing your master just like what you did last time."

Leo snapped and lunged with a Regulus-empowered punch.

"ENOUGH! Both of you!" shouted Old Man Crux. His eyes were uncharacteristically wide open. It came as a shock to them, since the ancient Spirit rarely lets out emotions, much less anger. That alone made them stop in their places, leaving them gaping like fishes. "Is that anyway that a Celestial Spirit should act?!"

Leo's fist uncurled and fell down his sides. He recomposed himself, as did Capricorn. Both Spirits straightened out their respective coats and readjusted their glasses.

"I'm sorry I lost my cool," Leo held out his right hand for a handshake. Capricorn did have a point. Though his pride had been hurt, he was actually relieved that The Goat for saying those words heavily weighing in his mind, since Aquarius' key broke. Truth be told, he was blaming himself for what happened. He guessed he needed that to clear his conscience, since no one – not even Aquarius – blamed him. "Thanks," he smiled.

"My apologies too. What I said was beyond unprofessional," smiled Capricorn as he took and shook the outstretched hand of their leader.

"Everyone!" Old Man Crux spoke louder. "Let this be a learning experience for all of us. True, it is the prerogative of Lady Lucy to treat us as her friends, as her comrades, as an equal; but we should never forget that we are mere objects. We are her weapons. We are lucky enough for our keys to be held my a mage who treats us with even an ounce of humanity, but to be wielded as a partner and not as a shield should be more than enough to lay down our lives for their sake! Above everything else, how many Spirits out there can claim that they are contracted to someone from the great and legendary Heartfilia bloodline?" he asked rhetorically. "None! So get your acts together and don't ever fail the last of the Heartfilias!"

That proclamation reverberated throughout the gathered crowd, sending them into cheering frenzy. It was like being reinvigorated with new motivation. Capricorn stepped forward to face the crowd. "We live for Lady Lucy's sake, and we die for her sake. If not, we might as well fade into nothingness!"

Those words served only to encourage louder cries, and Leo felt the euphoric sensation of inspiration. "Prepare yourselves, everyone! I could feel it now. For the days to come, Lucy will once again call upon us to lend her our strength."

Before the audience could erupt, they heard a thundering sound, followed by heavy, slow and echoing…

CLAP.

CLAP.

CLAP.

All of them slowly craned their necks towards the source of the ominous sound, and found the Celestial Spirit King standing in his glorious human form behind them. Leo felt his throat running dry. He'd seen the King's human form before – hell, he just saw it hours ago – but it never fails to leave him breathless. He gulped and struggled to glance at his brethren. They stood still, gawking in astonishment. No doubt, they felt the same way as he.

"Now," his voice rumbled. "That's the spirit, old friends," the Celestial Spirit King paused from clapping and smirked, his crimson-colored eyes glinting in barely concealed amusement. He snapped his fingers and grimoire – a Magic book – appeared floating beside him. "Deliver this to her, the moment she summons you."

The grimoire zeroed towards Capricorn.

"That means, she's ready."

"R-Ready for w-what," Taurus stammered, unable to avert his eyes from the King.

The King smiled wider. "You'll see."

"What?!" Laxus exclaimed. What the hell kind of non-sense is this old bat into? "The fuck are you talking about?"

Porlyusica cleared her throat, unamused with the Dragon Slayer's apparent unawareness regarding his long list of conquest. "As I was saying, this is probably bad karma, for all those women you…"

"I'll have you know that I'm not…" Laxus cut her off, before she could speak any further. This made him aware that he was not the only one in the room. "I'm not man-whoring myself like those so-called men in Blue Pegasus."

"Well, damn. There goes the illusion of you as one of the most desirable and eligible bachelor," Evergreen snickered. Apparently, she found it amusing that he is seen as a fuck twat by almost all of Fiore.

The Lightning Dragon Slayer truly did not know where that rumor came from. He had suspected that it was that drunkard Cana or that she-demon Mira to be the mastermind. However, as of this moment, he had a sneaking suspicion that the culprit might be closer to home than what he originally expected.

"Oh, how would the fangirls live now?" she exhaled dramatically. Laxus rolled his eyes.

"Well, I honestly thought that Laxus is just going senile," Bickslow laughed.

"Senile! Senile!" repeated the Seith Mage's so-called babies.

Laxus' left eye twitched and his right-hand fingers itched to fry Bickslow and his babies with a thousand volt of lightning.

"Enough with the smart comments," Freed interrupted the teasing duo, and sighed before turning back towards the Lacrima. "You were saying?"

"First, let me retract my previous assessment, in which I said that Laxus' condition is not biological or magical in nature. The truth is, it is both biological and magical. And though I say it's a condition, it's not an illness per se. It's called Chromnemosia. It's a form of psychological defense mechanism imposed by the mind in order to sort out the irregularities in the memories brought forth by time travel-related magic spells. As you may know, time must always move forward. Yes, it can be stopped, but it is inevitable that the only path it will take is a straight line – past to present to future. Memories should stay as an aspect of the past, continuously created in the present and to be remembered in the future."

"I don't get it. I'm in the present. I don't even know how to time travel. On missions, rarely do we encounter a mage with Time Magic. The ones we know, we barely even see, much less encounter," Laxus clarified. "The only one that I can think of is that incident after the Grand Magic Games. The dragons we fought then were the time travelers."

"But you remembered?" Porlyusica asked. Laxus nodded affirmatively. "Your fool of a grandfather informed me that the Eclipse Gate was destroyed, causing a ripple in time that sent the dragons back into their own timeline. Anyways, it's been ruled out as Chromnemosia."

"But we remembered," Evergreen insisted.

"Since when did I mention that Chromnemosia is about forgetting? I think I haven't," Porlyusica quipped. "I said that it sorts out the irregularities in the memories brought forth by time travel-related magic spells. You remembered because that's how it should be sorted."

Laxus could feel that another senile joke would come out of Bickslow's loud mouth, so he spoke, "What can I do?"

"Nothing," the medic replied nonchalantly.

"What do you mean nothing?" Laxus exclaimed, his temper rising. So, he just wasted his time for nothing?!

Porlyusica sighed and relented. "You humans and your incessant need to do things the hard way. As I said, you can do nothing since it's the body's natural response to help itself prevent a nervous breakdown due to confusion."

Laxus grunted, his patience thinning.

Porlyusica sighed and continued. "The other option is to go directly to the source. That means, find this time traveler...travelers...whatever. Anyways, based from what you told me, only certain parts of your memory is missing. So, it's safe to assume that there's only one time traveler, and that you must have encountered him or her throughout the years. That would explain why you're missing only certain parts and not big chunks because you're only losing memories related to this time traveler."

"How can we find this time traveler?" Freed stepped forward.

"Ask Laxus questions he should know the answers to. If a blank came up, that's a clue. Piece those information together to find similar people involved.."

"That's it? Then what?" Bickslow asked.

"You said that Laxus only has to meet this person. That seems like an easy thing to do," Evergreen followed.

Porlyusica sighed. Suddenly she's exasperated and tired. She faced Laxus again. "I told you so, but you still insist on taking the hard way. Meeting the time traveler is a stimulus, and it would activate certain schemas in your brain. These schemas are the memories related to this person. In short, meeting the cause of this annoyance would basically reorganize your memories in a linear manner," she paused. "Word of advice, kid. Don't try. It's a waste of time."

And then the crystal blinked off.

Lucy stared at the ceiling of the clinic where Leo and Virgo accompanied her to, when she remembered June Third of Year X784.

It has been roughly eleven months since she ran away from home. And Lucky Lucy of the Heartfilias was running low of jewels. Guess she wasn't so lucky anymore. She's been travelling across Fiore in hopes of joining that guild. Fairy Tail.

Ah, she could still remember the day when she was rescued by some stranger when the horses of her carriage have gone bananas. She saw the pink mark of her rescuer's hands. And she decided, then and there, when she overlooked their building on that rocky cliff, in the arms of the worried-sick Mrs. Spetto, that she will join and have her membership stamp the exact same way as the person who took the risk to save her almost sorry ass.

Anyways, coming back to the present, she had lost all hope that her father would actually decide to grow a heart and ask for her to return to the comforts of luxury. And then what? Grovel on the ground and kiss her feet that she may never leave and as a bonus, will allow her to choose when and who the damn she's going to marry?

'Dream on, Lucy, dream on. Some of us were not just that, I don't know—lucky?'

'I had to run away,' she mused as she scanned her surroundings. She's been walking like forever and she still could not find that store that sells the oh-so-delectable, peerless Caramel Mousse. And just when hope finally ran out, she spotted it. Fruits Park. It was, well, for a lack of better word, homey. With its bright colors and cute appeal, it was a stark contrast to the building sitting beside it, the Pool Hall. The interior was quite impressive with its decoration being able to complement each other despite the pastel-colored curtains, the chess board, black and white tiles and lush seats. Lucy sat and not a second later…

"Who the hell could possibly stomach this sugar-riddled bullshit?" Lucy took a glance and for the nth time she left her residence, she was again faced with another trouble. A cowgirl with short green hair rudely protested. Her appearance was roguish.

"T-This is a dessert shop…" The waitress stuttered.

"Shut it! I despise sweet food!" The cowgirl shouted. Lucy gulped. There's trouble brewing again. "Oi, are you disrespecting the customer, bitch?"

"No, not at all…" The waitress squirmed in place as another waitress—this one with red hair tied in twin tails—approached the commotion.

"So you're Moulin Rouge." The redhead spoke, a hint of threat in her voice. Lucy gulped. This was not good, if the chilling in her spine was a good indication. And something was vaguely familiar about that red-haired waitress. She just couldn't pinpoint what was but Lucy was sure as hell that she knew her from somewhere.

"Eh, the fuck you want?" The ever so rude green-haired woman didn't even stand. She was lounging like she owned the place and brushed off the seemingly angry woman in maid uniform.

"Looks like you're a Fairy Tail wizard." The redhead growled under her breathe.

"Yeah. Who the hell are you? Ahaha. Don't tell me you tryna pick a fight with Fairy Tail?" The cowgirl did not even flinch nor bat an eyelash.

"You took the words right out of my mouth." As soon as the redhead spoke those words, light formed in her hands and there appeared…wait, was that a large sword. "IT"S GONNA SAY THAT YOU PICKED A FIGHT WITH FAIRY TAIL…ON YOUR GRAVESTONE."

And that was when all hell broke loose. A chill ran down Lucy's spine at the thought that the green-haired woman was impaled by the sword in her legs. She stood up and ran towards the door. This might turn ugly and she doesn't want to get caught in it.

'I need to run away…' she panicked. Why didn't she just sucked up her stupid upbringing and marry some goddamn perverted businessman whose only intention was to make her some breeding animal? Oh, yeah, that was because she didn't want to be a breeding animal and because she's independent like her late mother.

She was running a good distance away from the two building when it suddenly collapsed. She craned her neck to see the ruined building. Dust where everywhere and people were running for their dear lives. Then she bumped into someone, and graciously so landed on her butt with a squeak. How unbecoming of such a dignified young woman. "Hey!" Without further ado, without even looking to whoever bumped into her, she fired her mouth.

"Oh, it's just you." It was a nonchalant, manly man voice, the kind of voice that only belongs to an alpha male. She looked up to see a freaking towering shadow—yeah, maybe if she's not sitting her sorry butt on the ground, she could see who on Earthland managed to push her with an accidental nudge—and that was where she finally decided to recomposed her lovely lady self. She shut her gaping mouth.

"Me?" She stood up and observed the man before her. True enough, he was an alpha male but not the alpha wolf kind of way. He was an alpha…bear? He towered over her even though she just stood. She guessed that her height was only up to his chest, so therefore, being the smart woman she was, no antagonizing should be used when dealing with this guy.

She squinted her eyes to combat the sunlight's effects and there, she finally saw his overall features. He had a lightning bolt scar in his right eye but it actually made him more, for a lack of better term, handsome. He has this straight nose, strong jaw line, blue eyes and complimenting it was his built body.

"Oh, I thought it was Titania. Sorry, weakling." Then he walked past her in a way that described him the arrogant bastard he was, his furry, black jacket billowing in the wind.

Weakling…

Lucy fumed. And she stomped her way towards the opposite direction. Karma will always find a way to repay his oh-so oozing kindness.

And then, she was back in the present. She had sent Virgo a while ago, leaving her alone in the clinic.

But…

She realized, with utmost certainty, she lived without them. She had been in worse times and places in her life. One year…No, sixteen years, she survived on her own, with limited Magic, with less contracted Spirits, with minimal combat training, with no one to rescue her.

With no nakama.

She did it before.

She can do it again. Team Natsu does not need her.

And she does not need them.

"Capricorn," she whispered as a soft golden light briefly illuminated the room.

Author's Notes:

So, I had this idea waayyy before, that Lucy's Spirits really do need I wake up call. I'm glad that I was able to include that scene here.

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