This chapter is two combined into one. Sort of my apology for not posting in December. I'm trying to maintain the timeline as much as possible. If anyone notices a discrepancy, please pm me and let me know. Thank you.

I don't own Fairy Tail or any of the characters. I don't own the Pradesh Family characters or the idea of Bosco or White Sea, those are Desna's brilliant brain children. I do, however, own Mia and Thoma.

Seeking Sunrise

Chapter Five: Spirits

Lucy, Thoma and Mia made their way into Oshibana. "What time did Levy say she would arrive?" Mia asked. Neither Lucy nor Thoma answered. Mia looked over to them and noticed they both had their faces in looks of concentration.

"I don't think that she did," Lucy said slowly. "Do you remember if she did, Thoma?"

"Not at all," Thoma shook his head. "I honestly don't think she did."

"Then we should first head to the train station," Mia suggested.

"What for?" Thoma asked.

"To check the schedule," Lucy grinned. "There should be a list telling what times to expect trains to arrive and from where. It should give us an idea of when to expect Team Shadow Gear."

"Guess there's no other choice," Thoma shrugged. "Especially since we didn't even work out a meeting place between us."

"How can you not think of something so basic?" Mia asked.

"I was a bit excited," Lucy admitted. "I'll be getting a new friend."

"I've never really thought about having to set up meeting places," Thoma added. "It's not really something that's important to me." Once the three looked at the train schedule they started to head back towards the town square. "So, we have a few hours to kill," Thoma pointed out. "What should we do while we wait?"

"What can we do?" Lucy asked. "It's not like we have extra jewel to spend on anything." The three lapsed into silence as they thought.

"This is a hot spring resort," Mia noted.

"We knew that," Thoma rolled his eyes. "It's hard not to notice all the bath houses lining nearly every corner."

"Thanks for that smart ass," Mia snipped. "What I mean is: aren't towns like this always looking for extra help? We could each get some simple jobs and earn some traveling money. Job hunting will be a good way to kill some time. If we stay here for a little while then we can build up a good chunk of traveling change."

"But where would we stay?" Lucy asked.

"We'll just camp out," Thoma suggested. "We've got enough camping equipment to stay comfortable, plus, with the help from your maid then it should be easy to rough it a few days or weeks."

"How is having a maid while camping 'roughing it'?" Mia asked.

"Not to mention that I couldn't possibly ask Virgo to do something like that," Lucy objected. "She's my friend, not a slave."

"I never meant to imply that," Thoma said. "I merely meant that she could help us set up so we're cozy and have a decent means to freshen up so that we don't go to any potential new jobs stinking like we've slept on the ground a few days."

"We have slept on the ground a few days," Mia smirked.

"Now who's the smart ass?" Thoma grinned.

After a full afternoon of looking for work, the three had no luck in finding any jobs in Oshibana. "Well this sucks," Mia sighed.

Lucy slumped tiredly onto a bench at the train station. Thoma dropping into the seat next to her. Mia looked at the two in exasperation. "I can't believe that you two are that tired," she said. "All we really did was walk around and talk to the managers of places."

"That's exactly it," Thoma pointed out. "Talking to people and trying to be respectful when they haven't done anything for me is hard work."

"Yes, it must be extremely hard to not be an ass," Mia shook her head.

"He's kind of right," Lucy sighed. "It's exhausting to try and hide how you really feel to people that are disgusting pigs. I wanted nothing more than to kick that restaurant manager through the wall. I only restrained myself because you were kind of in the way."

"Kinda wish you did," Mia teased. "After all that leering he did you still didn't get that job. A job in a restaurant would have given you a decent number of tips and then you would be able to afford a room with a full-on spa treatment."

"That would be nice," Lucy sighed.

"What will be nice?" The three turned to see that team Shadow Gear had arrived.

Lucy bolted to her feet and rushed around the bench to greet Levy. "You made it," she greeted.

"Of course we did," Levy grinned. "I promised that we would bring you a new key."

"It's still great to see you," Lucy and Levy clasped hands together. "It's such a relief to have a kindred book lover as a friend."

"I know!" The two continued to gush and catch up as if they hadn't seen each other in months when it actually had only been a few weeks at most.

"Why are you two here?" Thoma looked to Jet and Droy. "It's a simple drop off and return to Magnolia. You're not really needed to go with Levy everywhere." The two looked stricken at the mere suggestion of leaving Levy alone.

Ignoring what was going on with the others, Levy fished through her purse. "Here you go Lu," she announced. With a flourish she produced a golden key in the shape of an arrow. "The Archer's gate key."

"Are you sure you don't want anything for it?" Lucy asked hesitantly. She slowly reached a hand out to grasp the key.

"I'm sure," Levy agreed. "Erza said it was a reward and didn't ask for a jewel. Besides, after you three left I did a little research on Celestial Mages. I didn't really like what I found."

"What was that?" Mia asked.

"Most well-known Celestial Mages mistreat their spirits," Levy announced. "Everything from using them as shields, distractions and even as slaves. The most well-known was Karen Lilica from Blue Pegasus. The article I dug up reported that she would use her spirits for the escort style guild. Some witnesses saw that at least one of the spirits she used begged her not to, but she still forced them. On top of that, she hid behind her spirits like shields. She died under mysterious circumstances and all of her keys vanished without a trace."

Lucy's mood plummeted at the turn of conversation. "I know it's a problem," she said softly. "It's something that my mother had described before. That's why she taught me that spirits are our friends and not just magic tools. They have feelings and can hurt just the same as we do. Just because they're immortal doesn't mean that we should discard their feelings. Still, I can't help wondering what happened to Karen's spirits. From hearing about how she treated them, they deserve to be with a mage that will treat them well." Her strong feelings about it caused everyone to remain quiet.

"What are you three going to do now?" Mia cut through the tension. "Are you going to stay at one of the resorts or something?"

"Unfortunately, we can't stay," Levy said sadly. "We have a mission that we need to get ready for. It will take a little while so we need to head back and make sure we're ready for it."

"Which means that you have to turn around and leave again?" Lucy sounded disappointed.

"Yes, unfortunately," Levy sighed. "The train leaves in a few minutes. Which means that we're going to have to say 'good-bye' again. But what are you three going to do now?"

"We were hoping to get jobs to build up some traveling money," Thoma explained. "We walked all day and no one is hiring."

"You should try Hosenka," Levy suggested. "It's just on the other side of the forest. This area is a huge well spring of… hot springs."

"Not funny," Mia rolled her eyes.

"Even if you don't find jobs, I hear they regularly post bounties on pick pockets and such. With so many tourists in the area it's almost like a thieves guild."

"Is there one here in Oshibana?"

"Unfortunately, not," Levy shook her head. "They have a police force here with such a heavy presence that most thieves don't even dare try." The whistle of the train drew their attention. "That's our cue," Levy turned back to the train. Almost as fast as the greetings were exchanged, farewells were exchanged as well. Team Shadow Gear was on the train and they left back for Magnolia.

"I guess that's it," Thoma shrugged. He turned to look at Lucy. "Are you going to summon your new friend now?"

"It's kind of an intimate thing," Lucy said. "Making a contract with a spirit is really personal. I don't mind summoning in front of the two of you, but this is still a very public place. Anyone could see us and it's important that it stays private. You see, when a Celestial Mage makes a contract when there are others present it shows the spirit that the mage trusts them completely."

"You really have no problem with Thoma and I being there for that?" Mia asked.

"It might seem a little strange," Lucy admitted. "We really haven't all known each other for very long. But we've all been looking out for one another. Making a contract, it's not something I would do in front of my own father. He treated me horribly, so I didn't trust him anymore. The two of you are different. We've been through a lot already and I know you two won't let me down."

"I'm think I'm going to cry," Thoma faked a sniff.

Mia rolled her eyes at his theatrics. "You're such a drama queen."

Thoma smirked at her and winked. "Why thank you."

"Come on you two," Lucy smiled at them. "Let's start for Hosenka and then we can find a place to camp for the night." The three friends started for the woods. It took them three hours to get through the woods. At a clearing near Hosenka they set up the camp, Virgo came out and helped to make the camp almost as comfortable as a regular house would be. The three had their own sleeping area that allowed for privacy, a 'wash room' for lack of a better term and a cooking/communal area.

Lucy ended up summoning Sagittarius the next afternoon after another day of looking for work. At the sight of a man that appeared to be wearing a horse costume Mia covered Thoma's mouth when he started snickering. She didn't want him to inadvertently insult Lucy's new friend. It was obvious that Sagittarius had quite the personality. When he addressed you, he didn't even look in your direction. "Is he really an archer?" Thoma quietly asked Mia. The two of them ended up tilting their heads as they studied the spirit. Once the contract was finished and the spirit returned to his world dinner was started and the three turned in for the night.

Thankfully this day had proven to be more profitable than the last. Lucy did manage to get a job as a hostess for a restaurant. Mia and Thoma found work in a hotel. Thoma was now a bell boy, carrying luggage for arriving and departing guests. Mia worked in the laundry room because she refused to wear short sleeved uniforms. It was the only place she could still wear her normal attire.

The next day at work Mia was in the laundry room, trying not to think if the brown stain on some sheets was chocolate or something else entirely, when Lucy barged into the room in tears. She was receiving looks from all of the staff she passed as she made a beeline for Mia. Mia barely had time to drop what she was working on and catch Lucy as she flew into her. "IT'S HORRIBLE!" Lucy wailed.

Mia put her arms around Lucy's shoulders and led her away from the curious coworkers. "Let's go somewhere more private and you can tell me all about it," Mia soothed. She escorted Lucy to the nearest break room and locked the door behind them for privacy. After getting her a glass of water, Mia sat next to Lucy. "What's going on?"

"It's Fairy Tail," Lucy sniffed. She produced a Sorcerer's Weekly magazine. "They just finished having a guild war with Phantom Lord."

"I take it that's not something that happens often," Mia commented.

"It's illegal," Lucy exclaimed. "Both guilds could lose their official sanctions and be forced to either disband or be treated as a dark guild."

"So pretty bad," Mia agreed. "But if it's that bad, why would they do it to begin with?"

"It's because of me," Lucy whimpered. She pointed to a position on the article for Mia to look at, too emotional to explain further.

Mia scanned the page and started reading out loud. "'A client of Phantom Lord claimed that the Fairy Tail guild was holding his daughter captive against her will. It was assumed they were holding her for ransom due to an upcoming arranged marriage and were using the opportunity to extort as much money from them as possible.' Are you upset that it could be true?"

"It's absolutely not true," Lucy snapped. "That client is my father, I just know it!" Mia blinked at the way Lucy was so sure of her assumptions. "But it's so far away right now. I can't just drop everything and go deal with this."

Mia glanced back to the article. A list of recorded injuries caught her attention. "Team Shadow Gear was hurt!?"

Lucy sadly nodded her head. "Almost as soon as they arrived on the train from giving me the key."

"You mean that as soon as they got back to Magnolia they were attacked?" Mia blinked at Lucy nodding. "Then they never were able to go on that job they were planning on."

"I don't think they did," Lucy sighed. "I just don't know what to do right now. I don't know what the best course of action would be."

"Don't think about what would be best," Mia said. "What do you want to do right now? What's the one thought first and foremost going through your head?"

"My first thought is that my dad has gone too far," Lucy snapped. "He can't get away with something like this."

"What will you do about it?"

"Do you have your comm lacrima on you?" Mia produced the magic item with a flourish. "I'm going to let him know exactly how I feel about the whole thing." Lucy looked Mia in the eye. "Could I ask for some privacy? It's going to get a little dicey while I talk to him." Mia smiled sadly and stood to leave. She patted Lucy on the shoulder in a show of encouragement and stepped out.

Lucy looked back to the lacrima. It started to glow as she pushed magic into it and thought about connecting to the lacrima that her father kept on his desk for business. "What is it?" a stern male voice answered.

"Father, it's me, Lucy." She watched as he went from nearly ignoring the lacrima to glaring at it.

"You ran away from home without telling me and now you dare call me on a line restricted for business? How could you?"

Lucy bowed slightly under the pressure. "I'm sorry," she managed to say. "I shouldn't have left without speaking to you first, it was a poor decision on my part. One that I now deeply regret. You should know that I've already left Fairy Tail."

"I'm glad that you've finally came to your senses and left that guild. A lady of your standing shouldn't be affiliated with those ruffians. I certainly wasn't looking forward to wasting more of my money having it eradicated. You forced me to go to extremes Lucy. If you hadn't acted so selfishly, I wouldn't have had to lash out at your guild. You're the one that brought trouble upon your friends. It's better that you don't associate with them anyway. You're a member of the Heartfilia family, you have nothing in common with those peasants. You come from a completely different world than they do. Which brings me to the reason I want you home in the first place, dear. It's about our family. I have arranged for you to marry Duke Swarr, the Jenel heir."

"I suspected that might be the case," Lucy answered.

"Try to think of it as an investment to your future," Jude went on as if Lucy hadn't spoken. "Once you're married, we'll have access to the Jenel family's vast lands to the south, which will allow us to expand the Heartfilia railway and bring in millions."

"I see," Lucy's tone of voice was gaining anger to it.

Jude continued, not paying attention to the warning Lucy's voice held. "And I expect you to give birth to a baby boy. We need a Heartfilia heir. That is all for now. When you return to the Konzern the staff will see to it you have everything needed to prepare for the wedding."

"I'm sorry father," Lucy's voice hissed. "But that's not going to happen. I didn't call you to make amends, I called to say my final 'good-byes'. I realize it was wrong of me to just leave without saying anything, it's a decision I've regretted every single day. So, I've called to tell you exactly how I feel before I break contact with you for good."

Jude's eyes widened at her statement. "Lucy," he warned.

"ALL THE MONEY IN THE WORLD CAN'T BUY YOU HAPPINESS!" Lucy snapped. "I figured that much out when I was a child. Finally, I'm truly happy and I'm not going to let you ruin it for me you hear? I'm warning you, you better not mess with Fairy Tail ever again. I haven't even been there for longer than a day. I've made some wonderful friends that have been traveling with and supporting me this entire time. It doesn't matter that you're my father, if you threaten us, we will crush you just like any other enemy we've faced." Jude was staring at Lucy in disbelief.

"It didn't have to be this way," Lucy said sadly. "You and I could have sat down and talked things out, but now I can't trust you. You've hurt innocent people and also some that I care about. I don't need a fancy house, dresses or lots of money to be happy. I just need to be accepted for who I am. I'm not Lucky Lucy Heartfilia anymore. I'm Lucy of the Freelance Trio. My friends treat me like family, something that you never did. It was hard for me to leave the house, but only because I had so many fond memories of being with Mom. I care so much for the people that took care of and raised me after she left, but it's time for me to move on. I'm sure that if Mom was still alive, she'd tell me to always be true to myself and do whatever makes me happy. So, this is 'good-bye daddy'." Lucy hung up the lacrima without waiting for a response from Jude.

Mia stood on the other side of the door, glaring down at the floor. A few times she had to stop herself from going into the room and giving that man a piece of her mind. It wasn't her place to get in between family matters. In fact, if she was in Lucy's position, she'd want to handle the situation herself as well. It ended well for Lucy, telling her father off. She just did it a lot more politely than Mia would have. A smirk spread across her features, she figured that went for Thoma as well. It was a good thing he wasn't here to witness this. There would have been no stopping him from butting in. As much as he stands against bullies, a parent treating a child like a commodity would have definitely set him off. Mia stepped away from the door as she heard the handle turn.

Lucy opened the door and held out the lacrima to return to her. "Thanks for letting me use this," she said. Tears were still streaming down her face.

"Are you okay?" Mia asked. "Do you need me to walk you to camp or make sure your boss knows you won't be in for the rest of the day?"

"I'll be fine," Lucy dismissed. "I'm just going to wash my face before returning to work." Neither woman told Thoma about the exchange that took place. He didn't even notice the article of the guild war that started the whole affair.

After dinner, Thoma left to wash the dishes, Mia handed her lacrima back to Lucy. "What's this for?" Lucy asked.

"You want to ask about how Levy is, right?" Lucy took the lacrima with a grateful smile. Instead of asking for privacy, she scooted closer to Mia so they both could find out how their friends were.

Mirajane's face appeared a few moments later. "I'm sorry, but we're not taking any job re… Hello girls, it's a been a little while, how are you?"

"We're fine Mira," Lucy said. "We're calling about the article."

"What article?"

"The one about what happened between Fairy Tail and Phantom Lord," Mia explained.

"They printed about that?" Mira looked horrified.

"The people needed to know what was going on," Mia shrugged.

"We were wondering about Levy and the others," Lucy cut in. "How are they doing?"

"There's still some healing that needs to be done," Mira sighed. "But things are looking good for them and they're on the mend."

"We're glad to hear it," Mia smiled.

"They wouldn't be available to talk, would they?" Lucy asked hopefully.

Mira shook her head sadly. "There's no one at the guild," she said. "We're going to start rebuilding it tomorrow, but the master wanted me to keep the guild's lacrima with me and apologize to potential clients for the inconvenience of being unable to answer new requests."

"You need to rebuild it? How much damage was there?" Mia asked.

"It was pretty bad," Mira sighed. "Metal poles were struck through every wall, sometimes several in one wall. The structure is in a questionable condition at this point. It's too dangerous to hold business there. We need to tear down what's left and start over."

"That's horrible," Lucy whimpered. She bowed her head to Mira. "I'm so, so sorry."

"What for?" Mira was confused.

"My dad thought that I had joined your guild," Lucy explained. "He was the one that hired Phantom Lord to attack you."

"So that means, you're the heiress they were looking for? The one they thought we were holding for ransom?"

"Yes," Lucy was nearly starting to cry again.

"Then I'm glad we were able to protect you."

Lucy's head snapped up to look at Mira. "What?"

"I don't know your circumstances," Mira started. "I can only assume that you ran away because of how you were being treated. With how your father acted, lashing out instead of contacting us directly, I can imagine the kind of life you had. Even if we did it without realizing, I'm glad that we were able to protect you from having to go back to that man."

"Thank you," Lucy whimpered. Mia put an arm around Lucy's shoulders for comfort. "You have no idea what it means to me." Mira just smiled sweetly at the two. Lucy wiped her tears and squared her shoulders. "You should know, I contacted my father when I read about what happened. He won't be bothering your guild anymore."

"Are you sure that's safe?" Mira looked worried. "If he comes after you…"

"I honestly hope he tries," Mia's eyes narrowed dangerously. "He's got some nerve trying to force Lucy to go home when she clearly doesn't want to. Thoma and I are constantly nearby so she's got the protection needed in case he figures out where she is."

"Are you still traveling to Bosco?"

"Yes," Lucy answered. "We're just working on getting some travel money for the moment."

"You should hurry," Mira suggested. "If he does still look for you, he can't do anything when you enter Bosco. He'll have to go through legal channels and give a really good reason why you should be sent back to him. Bosco is about free-will, they'll never make you return to Fiore unless you're a dangerous criminal."

"That's not a bad suggestion," Mia said. "We'll work extra hard to make that happen as quickly as possible."

"Good luck you two," Mira waved. "Say 'hi' to Thoma for me."

"We will," Lucy said. "Thanks for the advice Mira."

"Anytime." The lacrima went dark as they finished talking.

"It wasn't your fault," Mia said right away. Lucy looked at her in confusion. "What your father did, having one guild attack another. I can't help but think there's something more. Every guild knows not to attack each other. You've said that they'll lose their sanctions. Why would Phantom Lord take such a risk and attack anyway? I think they were looking for an excuse."

"Well, if a guild was holding a civilian prisoner it would be one way to get approval," Lucy explained.

"But they didn't verify the accusation," Mia pointed out. "On top of that, from the way everything sounds, they didn't bother to ask for permission. I'm pretty sure someone was chomping at the bit."

"What does that mean?"

"Chomping at the bit?"

"Yes."

"It's a phrase we use," Mia shrugged. "On the farm, willful horses like to grab the bit between their teeth to keep the bridle from pulling and telling them which direction to go. In this way, they can go their own direction and do what they want. A rider that keeps them in check will make sure they can't get a good grip on the bit, but it won't stop them from chomping at it."

"You're pretty knowledgeable about it."

"I come from a farm," Mia shrugged. "I grew up around this stuff." The conversation faded and Thoma made his appearance. Light talk about work and things that Thoma had seen the Tourists doing was the focus of conversation for the rest of the night. Lucy ranted about how perverted the men that came to the restaurant were. Thoma only wore a knowing smile as she went into expletives on what she would like to do to them.

The following day, Lucy was forced to work a double shift. The night hostess had called in. When Thoma stopped by to see what was taking her so long on Mia's insistence. Once Lucy told him, he left only to come back with something for Lucy to eat from the dinner Mia had prepared. He then left her alone to finish the shift. It was late by the time that Lucy managed to leave. She was forced to wait for the customers to leave and help clean up afterwards. Lucy summoned Plue to keep her company. She was so tired that she didn't pay attention to her surroundings. She stopped when she noticed her path was blocked.

Two men stood in Lucy's way, leering at her. One was constantly shaking his head and the other wore a beany. "What do you want?" she demanded. She was definitely not in the mood to deal with perverts.

"We just wanted to invite you to have a drink with us, yo?" one said.

"Not interested," Lucy went to go around them. "What?" Her body jerked as she tried to force it into motion. "What's going on?"

"You didn't think we'd let you go that easy, did you? Yo!"

"Mages," Lucy realized.

The two started to approach her slowly. The sound of pounding feet drew their attention. A red-head wearing glasses and a green fur lined coat got between them. The rings on his fingers glowed as he started punching the two mages that had Lucy trapped. When the fight was over and the two were down for the count Lucy found she could move once again. "Thank you so much," she gushed.

"It's not a problem," her rescuer said. He suddenly hid behind a patch of bamboo shoots. "I've been looking for these two anyway. There's a job request for their capture. They've been causing a lot of trouble with the tourists."

"Still," Lucy said. "Let me repay you for saving me. Are you hungry?"

The guy hesitantly agreed, trying to keep Lucy from getting too close. Once he turned in the two he captured to the rune knights, the two were heading towards the only restaurant that was still open. The only one still working was a chef with a really, really large forehead. "I think I've seen you before," Lucy commented. "Aren't you a member of Fairy Tail? You're one of the most eligible bachelors printed on a special article from Sorcerer's Weekly. Loke, wasn't it?"

"That's right," Loke kept his head down.

"You know, you don't have to sit so far away." Lucy's eye twitched when she pointed out he had taken the seat furthest away from her.

"Oh, sorry." Loke reluctantly sat down next to her.

"Go ahead and order what you want," Lucy said. "It's my treat for helping back there."

"It was really no big deal."

"It was to me," Lucy argued. "I never repay kindness back with just a simple thanks. Especially something like what just happened. Besides, I thought that Fairy Tail wasn't taking requests right now?"

"How did you know that?" Loke looked shocked. "Well, it doesn't matter. I was actually after the bounty that those two had on them. I wanted to use the jewel to help the guild."

"It makes sense," Lucy agreed. "They'll need the extra jewel while rebuilding takes place."

"How did you.."

"Mia and I talked to Mira yesterday. Well, two days ago by now. She told us about what happened." Lucy stared at Loke as he seemed to try to avoid eye contact. "You're nothing like the magazine says," she finally decided.

"What do you mean?" Loke asked.

"They call you the 'ladies man' of Fairy Tail," Lucy explained. "Yet, here you are, all shy and not willing to open up and talk to me."

"Yeah, sorry," Loke sighed. "It's nothing personal, really. It's just, well…" He glanced towards Lucy's key rings then back forward.

"Are you trying to avoid me because I'm a celestial wizard?" Lucy asked sadly. Loke grunted, realizing that he gave too much away. Lucy narrowed her eyes at him then faced forward as well. "If you don't want to talk to me about it then I can respect that," she said. "But I don't think it's fair for you to judge me just because of my magic."

"You're right about that," Loke said. "I'm sorry, honestly. I wasn't trying to hurt your feelings." His eyes shifted to have a sparkle around them. "I'm no good for you, so just forget about me."

Lucy looked at him in confusion. "Um, why are you giving me some lame break up line?"

"That came out funny, didn't it?" Loke pushed his glasses up as Lucy rolled her eyes. "I didn't mean it that way."

"You weren't serious, were you?"

"No, I was just thinking about something that happened a while back."

"I'm willing to listen if you want to talk about it." Loke remained silent as Lucy waited for a response. When it was clear that he wouldn't say anything, she let it go. "Well, whatever. I figured that it couldn't hurt to offer." Lucy cleared the bill with the chef then stood. "Thanks again for saving me back there," she smiled at Loke. "I guess I can see why you would be popular with the ladies. This was nice, but I better get going."

As Lucy started to walk away Loke reached out and grabbed her wrist. "Wait," he said tiredly. He stood up, making Lucy shift nervously. Out of nowhere he reached around and hugged Lucy. "Lucy."

"Um, yeah? What is it?" Lucy asked nervously.

Loke squeezed her tighter in an effort to ease her worries. "The truth is I don't have long to live." Lucy stared at the side of his head with wide eyes.

"What?" Loke stepped away from Lucy when she timidly spoke. "What's that supposed to mean?" Loke was looking down as he grit his teeth. He closed his eyes and looked to the side. After another moment of silence he started laughing. Lucy looked confused and concerned, the laugh sounded forced. Or maybe, not really a laugh, but a way to disguise something else.

Once he got his laughter under control, Loke winked at Lucy. "I sure fooled you," he said. "It makes for a pretty good pick-up line though, doesn't it? Pulls at the heartstrings every time. You should have seen your face. Classic." Lucy rushed forward and slapped him.

"You jerk," Lucy accused. She then stormed out of the building. As she stormed out, she picked Plue up from where he had been eating his own meal. He looked back towards Loke sadly.

Loke steeled himself and the rushed out the door. "Lucy, wait up!" He caught up to Lucy, but she was inclined to ignore him. "I want to say that I'm really sorry," Loke started. "I didn't mean to make you upset."

"That's not really the point," Lucy finally spoke. "I can overlook something like that, but what if you pull that line on another girl? You have no idea what a statement like that could do to a person that thinks they're in love with you."

"You're right," he said. "Again, I'm sorry about that. I promise not to use that line again."

"You promise?" Lucy glanced at him.

"I do."

"Do you have any idea what a promise means to a celestial wizard?"

"I'm probably one of the few that do and knowing that, I still promise not to tell a girl that I'm dying as a pick-up line ever again."

Lucy stopped and looked Loke in the eye. She sighed as she accepted his promise. "Okay, in that case I forgive you."

"Do you mind if I walk you back to where you're going?"

"Maybe just to the edge of town," Lucy agreed nervously.

"That's too dangerous," Loke went to argue.

"I'm not helpless," Lucy argued. "If worse comes to it I'll kick my enemy."

"Must be some kick," Loke teased.

Lucy ignored him and looked up to the sky. "It's so beautiful," she commented. Loke voiced his agreement as a shooting star raced across the sky. "You know, I've always wondered what happens to shooting stars."

"I feel sorry for them," Loke admitted. Lucy glanced at him as he continued to stare up. "Just think," he looked down. "Once they fall from the sky they can never return to heaven. Doesn't that seem sad?" He now looked to Lucy.

Lucy stared at him in silence for a second. She seemed to snap out of it with a glare. "That's another of your sappy pick-up lines again, isn't it? I can't believe that you almost fooled me twice."

Loke let out a breath of air that was a cross with a laugh. "Saw right through me," he looked down.

"Can't you go five minutes without trying to pick-up a girl?" The two of them were now at the edge of town.

"I know I can be a real pain," Loke stopped at the edge. "But I'm glad that we got the chance to talk and I could apologize. Good-bye." He turned around and started back towards the hotel area. Lucy stared after him in shocked silence.

Lucy rushed to camp so she could have some privacy. After checking to make sure that Mia and Thoma were fast asleep she pulled out a silver key. "Open, gate of the Southern Cross, Crux!" A silver and gold cross with a face and a white cross-shaped moustache appeared with a hoarse laugh. "Grandpa Crux, I need you to look something up for me please," Lucy said. "Can you use your powers to find out which Celestial Wizards Loke has met in the past?" Crux was silent for a few minutes, it also appeared that he was snoring. His eyes snapped open with a shout. "So, did you find any info?"

"Indeed," Crux bowed to her shortly. "Unfortunately, I can't provide any extensive details as personal privacy laws do apply to the spirit world. However, I can tell you that Loke was once connected to a Celestial Wizard named Karen Lilica."

"That's a familiar name," Thoma's voice came. He startled Lucy that she snapped around and covered herself in defense. "Chill out there Lucy," he laughed. "I'm not going to eat you."

"Besides, this is interesting." Mia poked her head into the communal area. "Levy just told us how Karen was abusive to her spirits a few days ago. It's a huge coincidence that her name would come up again."

"What are you two doing up?" Lucy asked.

"You can't expect your spirit to shout in victory and not wake up your partners when the walls between us are really just sticks," Thoma said exasperatedly.

"Sorry about that," Lucy looked sheepish. She turned back to Grandpa Crux. "What was the relationship between Karen and Loke?"

"Sorry, but I'm afraid I've said all I can on the matter," Crux apologized. Lucy let out a frustrated shout as Crux tilted and started snoring even louder.

"And now he's asleep," Lucy sighed.

"Seems a bit odd for you to be asking about people you've barely met," Mia pointed out.

"He saved me earlier tonight," Lucy spoke absently. She was thinking over everything that had just happened in the last few hours.

"I knew I should have stayed to walk you back," Thoma growled.

"Yet you knew she would have thrown you out with a growl to rival a lion if you did that," Mia teased.

"HOLD ON!" Lucy suddenly snapped. "What did you say?"

"You're like a lion?"

"A fallen star? It can't be," Lucy muttered to herself. "I have to go check something."

"Now!?" Thoma looked surprised. "You just got back from a double shift? Shouldn't you be heading off to bed? You have work in the morning."

"Actually, I don't," Lucy rushed trying to gather things. "The boss figured out the night hostess was just playing hooky. He told her she had to work mine and her shift tomorrow, well today, to make up for it."

"That still doesn't explain where we're going?" Mia put in.

"I'm sorry, but I have to do this alone," Lucy stopped to look at her friends. "If I'm right then it's not something that you can help with."

"Doesn't mean that we can't support you," Thoma argued.

"And I appreciate that," Lucy smiled. "But you two have work to go to, even if I don't. I can't have you two missing that for me. I don't know how long this is going to take. Just knowing that you two are supporting me is enough. I promise that I won't get into a situation that I can't get out of."

Thoma looked like he was going to argue, but Mia stopped him. "I don't like it," Mia snapped. "But I won't stop you. As long as you promise to be careful."

"I will," Lucy nodded and then ran into the woods. She checked the article she had kept saved on Karen. As she ran, she muttered, "That must be the real reason he's in Hosenka. Her grave is in the mountain west of the forest." (I couldn't actually find information on where Karen's grave was, so I just made that part up.)

Lucy ran for two hours, it was hard trying to do so up hill. The sound of a waterfall caused her to push herself faster. When she finally broke through the trees, she let out a sigh of relief. Loke was standing in front of Karen's grave marker. Lucy took a minute to catch her breath. Once she had calmed down, she started approaching. "There you are," she called.

Loke turned to look at her. "Lucy," he greeted sadly.

Lucy's eyes shifted to the carved stone behind him. "That's Karen's grave, isn't it?" Loke looked startled at Lucy's question. "She was a celestial wizard and she had a contract with you, right, the spirit Loke? Wait," Lucy looked down as she thought. "That's not really your name." She looked back up to him. "Your name is Leo, Leo the Lion."

Loke stared in silence for a bit before letting go of a sad smile. "Well, I won't deny it," he said. "But how did you find out?"

Lucy looked at him knowingly. "Don't forget that I'm a Celestial Wizard too and I have contracts with a lot of spirits. It wasn't too hard to dig up the truth. Still, you should have come to talk to me about this. Normally when a holder of a gate key dies their contract with the spirit is terminated. The spirit waits in the spirit world for a new wizard and contract. Your contract with Karen should have ended on the day she died. I don't understand why you're still here, I've never heard of that before. That's not how it's supposed to work. I know your kind can't survive in the human world for long, just like humans can't survive in your world. It will slowly eat away your life until there's nothing left."

"That's right," Loke sighed. "And it's been three years now and I no longer have the strength to keep it up."

"I didn't think even one was possible," Lucy was shocked. "Hold on, there's got to be some way I can save you. I can open your gate, or something. Why can't you just go back to the spirit world?"

"I broke a fundamental law that applies to both wizard and spirit," Loke replied. "I can't go back as punishment for a crime I can't deny committing. Karen died, because I killed her." He then proceeded to tell Lucy the events that led up to his actions and the cause of Karen's death. He described the horrible way that Karen would treat Aries. "I tried everything I could to stop her," Loke said. "But I couldn't do much because we were still contracted to her. Because I stayed out, she wasn't able to summon another spirit, but she took a job after three months anyway. She died because of me." Loke then collapsed as he started to fade away.

Lucy rushed to Loke's side. She kneeled next to him, tears running down her cheeks. "Wait, there must be something I can do to save you. You can't give up yet!"

"Please tell everyone in Fairy Tail I said 'good-bye'. I know you can get in contact with them."

Lucy slammed a fist on the ground. "I won't do it!" she yelled. "I won't let you die. All you have to do is go back to the spirit world and your life force will be restored, right? There's got to be a way I can send you back."

"I broke the law and am being punished," Loke spoke softly.

"Still," Lucy breathe. "THIS ISN'T RIGHT! You didn't kill her, it was just an accident. It wasn't your fault." Lucy leapt forward and wrapped Loke in her arms. She started to pour magic into Loke. "Open Gate of the Lion! Take Leo back to the Celestial World! Please! OPEN!"

"Calm down," Loke soothed. "It's okay." He moved Lucy away and put his hands on her shoulders.

"It's not okay," Lucy yelled at him. She grabbed his arms tightly in return. "I can't just sit here while my friend disappears right before my eyes." Lucy let out a shout and her magic filled the immediate area with a golden light. "OPEN! GATE OF THE LION!"

"Stop it!" Loke started yelling at Lucy. "You're going to use up all of your magic energy like this."

"I don't care!" Lucy yelled back. "Whatever it takes to save you, Loke! I won't give up, I promise I'm going to get you to the Celestial World!"

"STOP IT LUCY! If you keep going, you'll disappear too!"

"What good is magic if you can't use it to save the people you care about!?"

"Don't make me live with the guilt of killing you too!"

"You didn't kill Karen! Whoever decided that needs to know they were wrong!" Suddenly, as if a cable that was stretched too far snapped, the magic and time stopped. Lucy and Loke fell away from each other. Lucy closed her eyes as she braced herself. Loke started to look up in fear. He took hold of Lucy and the two of them watched as the stars started to spiral.

The water from the falls reversed then shot straight into the air. It formed a tunnel where the inside shimmered like the stars. A golden light started to shine in the center. "What's going on?" Lucy asked.

"Impossible," Loke muttered in awe and fear. "It's him, the Celestial Spirit King." From the light emerged an ethereal being as tall as a small mountain. "What in the world is he doing here?"

"He's the king?" Lucy asked hesitantly. "Like the ruler of the Spirit World?"

"Hello old friend," a deep voice resonated. Lucy squinted her eyes, but the being's lips never moved as it spoke. "As you well know, all beings must obey Celestial Law and taking the life of a key holder is forbidden." As he spoke, Lucy stood in defiance. "Under any circumstance. Though not by your hand, you were still responsible for your key holders' death. Thus, you were banished for eternity."

That statement caused Lucy to snap. "THAT DOESN'T SEEM FAIR AT ALL!" she yelled.

Loke reached out to her. "Lucy, stop," he pleaded.

"My judgement of Leo the Lion breaking Celestial Law still stands," the king stated.

"Loke has already been suffering long enough," Lucy argued. "He didn't kill Karen, he stood up to her because somebody had to protect Aries." The way she yelled, it sounded like she was accusing the Spirit King of not protecting those under his charge."

"It is heartbreaking to see my old friend in such a fragile condition," the king stated.

"WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU!?" Lucy stepped forward. "Even an old friend is still a friend. There's one in front of you right now asking for a second chance, so open your eyes Stache Face." The Spirit King looked startled at the name Lucy had given him.

Loke held out a hand. "Uh, Lucy…" he felt the need to stop this before it escalated further. He was interrupted by Lucy continuing her rant.

"Karen died because she took on a job she couldn't handle," she seethed. "He had nothing to do with it. You have to change your verdict, cause he's innocent. Please, sir." Lucy was now crying as her magic picked up once again.

"Just drop it already," Loke snapped. "It doesn't matter if he changes the verdict. I'm not looking for forgiveness, I want to disappear and finally be free from this guilt."

Lucy's anger sky rocketed and her magic responded in kind. "You disappearing isn't going to bring Karen back," she yelled. "You did nothing wrong because it can't be a crime to protect the people you care about." Every spirit that Lucy had a contract with appeared around her. First, they stared at the Spirit Key and then turned their disapproving looks to Loke. Lucy then turned her accusatory gaze to Loke. "What about your friends?" she demanded. "Are you just going to leave them? Think about us and how miserable we would be without you!" Lucy's spirits and magic faded as she finally ran out of power. Loke went to her, calling out for her.

Lucy struggled to pick herself up. "All of my friends that came just now," she explained. "They feel the same way I do."

"Your friends?" Loke asked in disbelief. The only ones he had seen were the spirits contracted with Lucy. It was then he realized that Lucy truly didn't treat her spirits as contracts, they were her friends just as much as the two she traveled with or those she had made with Fairy Tail.

Lucy turned to look at the Spirit King. "If you're a Celestial Spirit too, you can sympathize with what Aries and Loke went through," she said.

Lucy started to fall back to the ground when Loke caught her. "Would you stop?" he demanded harshly. "You're going to end up like Karen if you keep this up. Don't risk your life to save mine!"

Through this whole exchange the Celestial Spirit King looked down and watched them calmly. At last he spoke, "Hearing you speak so highly of my old friend, has led me to think that maybe it is not his actions, but the law itself that should be in question." Both Loke and Lucy stared up at him with jaws open. "Leo was forced to commit his crime to protect Aries, his brethren. And the human girl is willing to risk her life to save Leo. Witnessing your bonds of friendship and loyalty I shall make an exception in this case. Leo the Lion, you are hereby granted return passage to the Celestial World."

Lucy gave a thumbs up as Loke stood there in shook. "You're awesome," Lucy complimented. "Thanks a lot, Stache Face." The Celestial King grinned and chuckled down at them.

The Spirit King spoke as he started to fade from view. "You are exonerated, be grateful to the guidance of the stars." In a sparkle of white light, he finally faded from view with only a shining light remaining.

Loke was once again on his hands and knees. "I have to make it up to her," he started to cry. "Please sir," he looked to where the light still shone.

"Very well then," the King allowed. "If you insist on atoning for your actions, then I hereby order you to live your life in service to your friend, the human girl. You are lucky to have found such a loyal friend. I suggest you protect her with your life, just as she fought to save yours." The light faded and time resumed, the water all rushing back down the falls.

Lucy and Loke stood up just as the sun started to peak over the falls. "Hey Lucy," Loke called. She gave a noise to let him know she was listening. Loke took her hand into his. "I just wanted to say," Loke started to fade to the Spirit World, "thank you." Lucy was left standing alone at the falls.

Lucy looked down to her hand and noticed the Lion's Gate Key clutched in her grip. She slowly made her way back to camp with a smile on her face. It was a long night, but saving the life of a friend was worth it all. By the time she made it to camp Mia and Thoma had already left for work. She crashed on her sleeping bag and was out like a light.

Lucy didn't wake up again until Mia shook her awake for dinner. As the three ate they discussed what happened. "So Loke was really a Spirit?" Thoma asked.

"I'm a little surprised," Mia admitted. "I don't think that a spirit hiding in a magic guild is a common occurrence."

"It's never happened before," Lucy added. "At least, not on any official records of Earthland. There might be several situations where a spirit had to be banished like that in the past. Spirits are immortal unless forced to remain in the human world. That's a lot of years for anyone. There had to have been a few that also broke the law."

"Aren't you curious to find out which ones?" Thoma asked.

"Not at all," Lucy shook her head. "That's delving a little too deep into Spirit affairs. I've already had my fair share of Spirit World Politics last night, thank you very much."

"Wasn't Loke a mage from Fairy Tail?" Mia asked. "Shouldn't they be told about what happened?"

"If you want to start calling them, I'll check if Loke wants to talk to them." Lucy did exactly that as Mia made the call.

As usual, Mirajane answered. "I'm sorry Mia," Mira apologized. "I don't really have time to talk right now. One of our friends is missing."

"Would it happen to be me?" Loke stepped into view.

"YOU'RE ALRIGHT!" Mira's shout drew the attention of others. "Loke, where are you? What happened? You resigned from the guild and disappeared so suddenly."

"Sorry about that," Loke smiled sheepishly. "I was hoping that no one would worry about me."

"Of course we were worried about you!" A young man with messy black hair pushed past Mira. "What kind of friends do you take us for? Now, where are you man? Do you need any help?"

"I'm near Hosenka," Loke answered. He held up a hand as he noticed a few of them getting ready to head out. "I need to explain a few things to all of you. First of all, I was extremely serious about leaving the guild. In truth, I'm not in a position to stay. You see, I'm actually a Celestial Spirit." He then explained to Fairy Tail how he had been banished from the Spirit World and that Lucy was the one that saved his life. "I'm contracted to her now," Loke finished. "By order of the Spirit King I'm not to leave her side."

"We'll miss you man," a boy with pink air said. A flying cat in the back was heard cheering, "Aye, sir."

"I'll make sure that he visits you guys," Lucy smiled at them.

"We will hold you to that," a red-haired woman nodded. "I look forward to seeing you in person again, Loke."

"Same here Erza," Loke grinned. After a few more gave their farewells the lacrima turned off. He handed some tickets to Mia. "Could you make sure that Erza, Natsu, Gray and Happy from Fairy Tail get these?" He smiled when she nodded in agreement. Loke then turned to Lucy. "I'm planning on getting you some tickets as well. I just happened to have been holding onto those for a while now. They were meant to go to the four of them."

"It's not necessary Loke," Lucy waved it off. "I helped you because I wanted to."

"How about, instead, I treat all of you to a night in one of the hotels here in Hosenka with a day of spa treatment? I won't take 'no' for an answer."

"Sounds good," Thoma answered. "But I'll skip on the spa and just spend the day in a hot spring."

"I hear ya, man," Loke grinned at him. He indicated that he would make the reservations, whether Lucy agreed or not. He then turned a serious look to Lucy. "You and I have some things to discuss." Lucy tilted her head in confusion. It turned to shock when Loke picked her up bridal style and started walking off with her.

"Where are you taking Lucy?" Thoma demanded.

"We need to talk about our future together," was the only answer Loke gave.

Lucy convinced him that it wasn't necessary so they stayed and continued to talk with Mia and Thoma. "So now that the whirlwind has died down," Mia started. She turned her attention to look straight at Lucy. "With the threat of you being forced back home taken care of, will you want to join a magic guild?"

"When did this happen?" Thoma asked.

"Details," Mia pushed him away from her.

"They're kind of important at times," Thoma argued. He pushed Mia right back.

Mia looked like she was giving it some serious thought. Finally, she shook her head and said, "nah."

"I have actually thought about it," Lucy admitted. "But with the quest that we're on, it's not really possible unless they give us a lot of leeway. We need to travel to get to these ruins. When the next set reveals another location to us, we'll have to go there. Then the next and to the next until we find all the clues that we need."

"What kind of ruins?" Loke asked.

"They describe a spell called 'Stars Guidance'," Lucy explained. Loke's face lit up with joy when Lucy told him what it was that they were after.