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Wheels of Fire	By : Rhov Category: +. to F > Fairy Tail Views: 22712 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 2
Disclaimer: Fairy Tail is the property of Hiro Mashima. I make no money, I just do this for my own pleasure.

Chapter List
- 27
- 28
- 29
A/N: A huge thanks to Mary Allen for her assistance in planning the following battle scenes.
Chapter 28
A Part of Two Worlds
Dawn was just peeking over the tips of the mountains, setting the white snow ablaze in pink that reminded Lucy of a certain Dragon Slayer. She could not think about him at this time, though, although he was often in her thoughts, more often than she liked to admit. For now, time was critical and focus was needed. If she let herself slip away into worries of her missing fire-breathing friend, she might not live long enough to welcome him back.
They were on the crest of a cliff looking down at the narrow mountain pathway. From here, they had a good view down the path, but the approaching army would be blinded both by the steep terrain and a hairpin curve in the road. On the other side of the path was another cliff, leading to a ten-meter drop. Maybe someone could survive a fall of that distance, but Lucy did not want to be responsible for so many deaths. She had two keys in her hands.
"Open the Gate of the Ram! Aries! Open the Gate of the Twins! Gemini!"
Two at once was still a huge drain, one she was not fully used to. The pink lamb and the round-headed alien creatures poofed out and greeted her with a mix of "I'm sorry" and "Piri-piri."
"Aries, your wool cushion can last beyond your leaving, right?" Lucy asked, just to be sure.
"It will degrade with time, I'm sorry," she explained nervously, "but yes, it can last up to an hour after I'm sent back. I can make more wool if you call me out."
"Thank you. Gray, how close are they?"
Gray used a small mirror of ice to reflect a coded signal further down the mountain, where Loke was already out on his own magic and acting as a lookout. Seven small but faintly visible bursts of starlight shined down the way.
"Seven minutes," Gray told her.
"Aries, go to the base of the cliff and create wool all along the edge so we don't kill the soldier. Gray, ready?"
He had been saving up his energy in meditation. "Not yet. I shouldn't do it until they are right below us. Element of surprise."
"But you said this will drain you."
"It did last time I tried the spell. That was before Ultear gave us that power-up."
"I'll leave it to you, then. Gemini."
The twins swirled together, and in a poof they became Lucy.
"I … wait … Why are you dressed like that?" Gemini was wearing a tiny tank top shirt and Kawaii Kitty panties, nothing else.
"Last time we touched you, this is what you were wearing, so of course this is how we will look, piri-piri."
"Change now!" she demanded. They touched her, and instead the Twins formed into an exact replica, wearing brown shorts and a green blouse. "Better."
"Who first, master?" the Lucy-lookalike asked.
"There is a stream just down that path. Call out Aquarius using the water and bring her here."
"You know she hates to travel away from water," Gemini warned worriedly.
"Which is why after Aries is done, I'm calling out Scorpio. That should make her obedient."
Gemini tittered that Lucy had figured out Aquarius' one weakness. "Shall we call a second Celestial Spirit?"
"Yes. Sagittarius. Can you manage two?"
"I have the same strength as you. If you can manage two, so can I. However, my magic is limited to your magic. If you get hit or grow weak, I can disappear."
"I understand."
Gray spoke up, "Which is why you need to stay down and keep safe, Lucy."
They had already argued about this many times while planning this battle. "I don't cower while my Spirits fight."
"As admirable as that is, if you're hurt, I'm screwed. I need you to stay safe so the others can fight alongside me. If you get knocked out, then we'll have no wool to save the soldier, no Scorpio to fight, and no Gemini, so that means no Aquarius or Sagittarius. If we lose you, we lose three of our five fighters."
As much as Lucy knew he was right, she still hated the idea of hiding and protecting herself while others fought.
Gray laughed and rumpled her hair, much to Lucy's annoyance. "It's fine. Your fight is to keep enough energy and protect me in case any soldiers sneak around the back and find us up here. Leave the mountain pass to me and your Spirits. Trust in us."
Gemini yanked Lucy into a hug. "Yes, trust the strength of your Celestial Spirits, piri-piri."
Lucy smiled awkwardly at both of them. "Hearing myself saying piri-piri is really weird."
Aries made her way to the bottom of the cliff, formed a massive cushion of pink wool, and then vanished. As soon as Lucy sensed she had gone, she called out Scorpio, who was laughing already, eager to fight. Gemini left to the stream and came back with an irately peeved Aquarius. The mermaid had fire in her eyes, ready to murder someone, until she saw Scorpio. Suddenly, the flames became hearts. The two snuggled together as Gemini also called out Sagittarius, and then the Twins sat beside Lucy behind a rock, out of the way of any arrows that could threaten them.
They heard the army coming. Loke had scouted ahead and found three hundred marching up the mountain. However, there was no sign of the baron leading this force. He was probably still in his castle, not bothering to fight and do the dirty work of conquering such a small village. That meant Loke would have to wait until the army passed, sneak around behind them, make his way into the castle, and attack the baron in his own fortress. It was no easy task, but for Lucy, he was willing to fight half an army.
He shot up a signal from his ring as he saw the troops making the final curve before reaching the path where Gray and Lucy laid in wait. Then Loke took off, loping down the mountain through the woods, an animal out on the hunt. He had to trust Gray and the others to protect his precious Lucy.
Gray peered over the edge of the cliff, waiting for the perfect moment to start the attack. They heard the marching boots, the rattle of weapons, and the mutters of the troops complaining about the long march up the mountain so early in the morning. Right as the front guard came directly under Gray's perch, he clapped his hands together.
"Ice-Make: Rampart!"
A massive wall of ice shot up, thick enough to withstand a battering ram, high enough to reach his perch on top of the cliff. The soldiers came to a sharp halt, and calls echoed back through the ranks to stop. Then behind the army, another wall of ice crackled up high, blocking their retreat. They were trapped between the two ramparts, but because they were on a bend, the front could not see what was happening in the back, and the back did not understand why the front had stopped. Confusion and tempers instantly flared amongst the troops. Right under the Fairy Tail wizards, the front leader walked cautiously up to the ice and knocked on it.
"Magic?" he wondered aloud, and his eyes widened. "Crap!"
Before he could shout that it was an ambush, Gray hollered:
"NOW!"
A massive waterfall flowed over the edge of the cliff, sweeping away dozens in the first blast. Any Aquarius missed, Scorpio shot off with his sand. Within the army, panic set in. They realized they had come under attack, and archers prepared their bows. Before they could nock an arrow, Sagittarius pegged them off.
Gray had to rest. Rampart used up a lot of magic, but after just a couple minutes, he rolled over to the edge of the cliff with a bow of ice and joined in with the Archer. The frozen arrows blasted into the soldiers, instantly encasing them in ice, and they fell over the cliff with a look of shock on their frozen faces.
The road right under them was wet, sandy, and devoid of soldiers. Down below, the army landed on the wool, either unconscious from the attack or eased into a stupor from the fluffiness of the pink cushion they found themselves on.
"Second wave: incoming!" Gray shouted.
The army was on a curve. Those behind could not see what awaited them around the bend, and so they rushed forward, thinking it was a head-on battle. Instead, they were stunned to see their path blocked with ice and walked right into the ambush. Dozens more were swept away with water, sand, and arrows.
In under twenty minutes the army had been defeated. Lucy and Gemini hugged one another, Sagittarius neighed, Aquarius and Scorpio gave each other a kiss, but Gray looked worried.
"That was too easy."
Lucy swished her keys and sent her Celestial Spirits home. "It was only easy because we planned this really well."
"No, I mean … this guy has a massive army. Why send only three hundred?"
"It's a small village," she reasoned. "Come on, Gray. We're strong! Admit it." She laughed and punched him in the shoulder playfully.
He laughed with awkwardness. "Maybe so. Perhaps we're too strong. Enemies aren't any fun anymore."
"You're sounding like Natsu."
The Ice-Make wizard's eyes went sad. "Natsu … I wonder how he would have fought this."
"Head on, recklessly, probably destroy half the mountain."
Gray laughed as he realized she was right. Still, he missed that sort of wild battle. This was so well executed, it left him feeling like something was wrong.
"We should head over to Loke," Lucy suggested. "He could probably use help with that army around the castle."
"That's true." Gray undid the Rampart spell.
That was when they saw, those three hundred were nothing more than a vanguard. Lucy gasped as she saw a massive army filling the road all the way down the mountain, thousands of troops.
"Oh … shit," Gray muttered.
Lucy looked over to him in a panic. There was no way they could defeat something that huge.
"Block them again, Gray."
"Rampart takes a lot of magic. If I do it again, I can't fight."
"We can't let them pass through. They'll destroy the village."
"Dammit." He gritted his teeth and dug deep inside to pull out enough magic. His hair fluttered as a frosty aura surrounded him. "Ice-Make: Rampart!"
It was only one wall, but it blocked the mountain pass. The army raised weapons, and blasts of green magic fired up at them. Gray was hit in the shoulder and stomach, burning holes through his coat and shirt. He immediately fell to his knees in pain and threw off the clothes. His skin had been burned by the blasts, but he was not bleeding.
"Gray!" Lucy cried out, kneeling beside him.
"I'm fine," he hissed, putting a little ice over the burn blasts. "I've been scorched worse by Natsu."
Lucy realized that Gray looked like he was in a lot more pain than he was letting on. Maybe the shots did not pierce, and the burns did not bleed, yet she realized that he was unable to move his right arm just below the hit. Was it a paralyzing magic? She looked over the edge, but more green blasts shot up at them. She screamed and pulled back.
"The Rampart will hold until it melts," Gray said, holding his injured stomach. "I made it so it won't shatter even if I go unconscious. We need to get out of here, Lucy."
She heard someone from the army shout, "Up that side path. They're above. Kill them!"
"They're coming," she said in dread. She pulled out another Gold Key. "Open the Gate of the Golden Bull! Taurus!"
The Bull poofed in front of her. "Mooo! What can I do for your boobs, Lucy?"
She pointed to where they heard marching boots clattering. "There's a path leading up here. Block it, Taurus. Block them for as long as you can. We need to figure out how to escape."
"I'll protect your nice body," he declared, and the Bull charged with his battle ax raised, swinging at the soldiers making their way up the winding path to their lookout perch.
"What do we do?" she asked frantically.
"They can't make it by this route. They'd have to go back and find an alternate road. Our best bet is to rejoin with Loke. If we can end the baron, the army would have no reason the attack the village."
"But how do we get down the mountain if you're injured?"
Gray cursed and forced himself to stand. "We make it anyway we can! I won't let that village fall."
Just then, they heard the roar of an engine. A car bounced over the rocky terrain and came to a skidding stop beside them. The door swung open, and Fireball Natsu grinned deviously at them.
"Need a ride?"
Gray sighed in relief. "For once, I'm glad to see that pink hair."
Lucy helped Gray into the car. She closed Taurus' gate, and the vehicle drove off under a rain of magic blasts, swerving recklessly down a rough path.
"I spent the morning checking alternate hiker paths, exploring the terrain, and I found something that will almost fit the car," Fireball explained as he focused on driving.
"Almost fit?" Lucy asked, not liking the idea.
"I need to ask a favor." He looked over to Lucy. "Can your bull with that big ax chop down two trees? If I can squeeze past that part, I can make it all the way down the mountain without using the main road."
"Got it!" she said with a stern nod.
Loke had expected to see the castle with an army around it. When he had scouted ahead, he saw the three hundred soldiers leaving. However, when he arrived now, the thousands he had expect were not there. He heard the rumble of an army up the mountain and cursed that he had not thought that the baron might send only a vanguard, and then the whole army.
He had half a mind to rush back to Lucy and Gray, but there was no time. He was about to send up a flare, hoping direly that it would warn them, but he realized he was too far away. Likely, Gray and Lucy were fighting by now. They would never see the flare, and it might give away Loke's location. In the end, he could do nothing but continue on, hoping to put an end to this battle by defeating the main bad guy.
Thanks to the absence of the army, his fight was easier. There were only the usually palace guards, most of them fat and lazy. Loke fought swiftly through outer guards, made it inside the palace, and took out a few surprised soldiers. Luckily, the palace had mostly maids…
Too many maids. Extremely sexy maids. What a perverted baron!
Loke half expected these maids to be battle-trained, but to his luck, every one of them screamed at the fighting and ran away, or stood to the side trembling and begging not to be hurt. Loke grinned suavely to each one, making them melt and sink to the floor weakly, overwhelmed by the Lion's charms.
Weak palace guards, flighty maids: seriously, this baron was way too over-confident.
And that worried Loke. Powerful men were often haughty for a reason.
He reached out to one exquisitely divine maid, a woman who could have rivaled Mira for bodily perfection, and took her trembling hand, kissing it gallantly. "My dear, where can I find your boss?"
Smitten into silence, she pointed down the hall, toward double doors. Loke smiled his most charming grin.
"I owe you a date. Come to Magnolia some day, ask for me at Fairy Tail … and I'll show you heaven!"
She gasped and fainted with a smile on her face.
Loke stalked over to the double doors, prepared for battle. This man was a baron. The royal family of Fiore tended to have affiliations with Celestial Spirit magic. If he left his palace this undefended, Loke assumed he must have some power to him, enough to make him confident. His shaded eyes turned serious as he prepared for a fight.
He kicked open the doors and saw a massive dining hall, big enough to host elaborate parties. Inside was merely one table, although dozens could have fit. It was long, narrow, with only one setting on the far end. A man sat there, much younger than Loke had figured. He was expecting some old, greedy geezer. Instead, the man was in his prime, dark hair, eyes like black flames, a chiseled face with a goatee only showing a few silver hairs.
He paused in his meal, being served by a woman who made the one Loke had just flirted with look completely ordinary. This woman was an angel, no question. She was busty, blond, golden waves of thick hair draping to her hips, a flawless face with large, crystal blue eyes with emerald rims. There was no way she could be human, not with features that perfect.
"Are you the one causing a ruckus?" the baron asked in a low, smooth voice.
Loke placed his focus back on the nobleman. "You're trying to destroy a village my master cares for."
"Your master?" the man mused, dabbing his mouth with a napkin.
The maid spoke, and her voice was like music. "He is Leo the Lion, my lord."
"Leo? I see. Greetings, Leader of the Zodiac Spirits. I am Baron Aiteal Fiore, cousin of King Toma Fiore and master of this castle."
"Show respect," the maid said venomously to Loke.
The ginger glanced at her again, and his eyes narrowed. "You're … Andromeda! I barely recognize you in that outfit. I must say, Andy," he chuckled, "a maid uniform suits you much better than your usual topless costumes."
"You're only saying that because you were always looking at my breasts and never at my face," Andromeda chided with a hint of spite. "You're a beast, Leo. Some women don't like to be ogled."
"Says the lady who walks around the Spirit World half nude," he muttered.
"What I wear or don't wear should not influence how people treat me. It's only pigs like you that make such a big deal about it, forcing women to always be covered up or else it's somehow our fault that you're aroused at the sight of flesh. If you're too distracted by breasts that it took you this long to even recognize my face, then perhaps it is you who has a problem, not me and my choice in attire."
"Or lack of it," he shot back. "So why are you wearing a blouse now?"
"My master is a man of propriety and honor. He insists that I dress according to the customs of the noble Fiore family. I obey my master … explicitly!" she said sharply. Then to the baron, she asked, "Shall I see him out, my lord?"
"I don't think he'll leave without a fight. Can you win, Andromeda?"
"Likely not. Leo is the most powerful in terms of physical agility and magical strength."
"I see," Baron Aiteal said solemnly. "Then this is a battle of strategy versus physical prowess." He pulled out a key, swished it, and Andromeda vanished. "I will warn you, Lion: my battle strategy is second only to the king's top general. That's how I've managed to create my own little empire right under the nose of my dear cousin the king."
"Your strategy has one glaring flaw," said Loke. "My master is busy defeating your army."
"Do you mean the three hundred I sent to fool whoever that rich village idiot might hire to protect his fortune?" Aiteal simpered softly. "I assume since it's you, your master is Lucy Heartfilia. Oh yes," he said when Loke's eyes narrowed, "I watched the Grand Magic Games. I know her power. The daughter of my old friend Layla Heartfilia should be powerful enough to wield a wily one such as you."
Loke jolted. "You knew Lucy's mother?"
Aiteal shrugged lightly. "I'm a baron. Of course I knew a family as powerful as the Heartfilias. I even met Lucy herself a few times, although I seriously doubt she remembers me. One more face in a sea of aristocrats. Her father approached me a few times about a potential marriage, but I thought I should focus on my military goals and not let a silly thing like family responsibility get in the way. If I can secure this mine, perhaps I'll seek out the orphaned Heartfilia girl and offer her the honor of bearing me children."
Loke growled at him. "Like hell!" He grabbed his wrist and powered up. "Regulus Beam!"
Baron Aiteal swished a key. "Perseus, deal with this."
A young soldier appeared in a puff of smoke and instantly held up a reflective shield. The light of Regulus bounced off it and went right back to Loke. It hit him square in the chest and slammed him against the wall. Before Loke could shake out the pain, Perseus had a sword drawn and was charging at him. Loke ducked, just barely missing a swing right at his neck.
"Strategy, Mister Lion," Baron Aiteal said listlessly as the fight began. "Know the fighting style of your enemy. Anticipate it. Prepare ahead of time for it. My spies told me that foolish Provost Bluebell had asked for help. It wasn't that hard to find out who agreed to the mission: two wizards of Fairy Tail. A spy in the village told me their descriptions. It's easy enough to figure it out when they describe a black-haired man walking around shirtless and a busty blonde."
Loke swung a punch at Perseus, but the agile man leaped back. When Loke thrust another burst of light, Perseus deflected it with the mirror shield. This time, Loke ducked, and the beam of light blasted the wall behind him.
"I knew that if Lucy Heartfilia wanted to fight my vanguard, she would call upon her strongest weapon to go after me. That, of course, is you, Leo the Lion. I figured she would keep you nearby. I fitted the front rank of the main army with weapons that would have utterly immobilized a Celestial Spirit like you, and partially paralyzed any humans in case she brought along her friends. However, I realized there was a slim chance she would be stupid enough to completely underestimate my military genius and send you ahead to fight me on your own. I prepared for that contingency, as well."
Loke aimed a few more blows to Perseus, but he knew from sparring with this Celestial Spirit back home, he was a skilled fighter. Truly, with that mirror shield, Perseus was one of the worst Celestial Spirits for Loke to be pitted against. It was the perfect defense against Loke's light magic.
"I purchased Perseus' key yesterday at a hefty price. See, I came to this fight prepared, Leo the Lion."
Loke barely managed to block Perseus' sword by using his own Regulus ring. Although that particular ring was indestructible, just a fraction off and his hand would have been sliced in half by the weighty blade. The ring took the blow and flashed golden with magic. Perseus was flung backwards, and since his shield was not up, the golden light blinded him. That gave Loke enough time to get in a few well-placed kicks.
"You will fall," the baron predicted. "By now, your master is either captured or running for her life. My army will reach Bluebell Village before nightfall, and by tomorrow the entire region will be under my control. Once I have that mine, I can easily purchase enough mercenaries to contend with my foolish cousin."
"Are you saying your goal isn't mere wealth, but the kingship itself?" Loke asked while delivering another blow to Perseus.
"Oh, I wouldn't be so bold as to usurp our beloved idiot king," Baron Aiteal chuckled, taking a sip from his wine goblet. "His privilege is that his father happened to be older than my father. People love him; his family cherishes him. It's not easy to plot against a person like that. What is best for a man like me is acknowledgment, maybe a bit of autonomy."
"You plan to threaten King Toma into doing this!" Loke shouted.
"I plan to show him that defying me would not be in the best interest of this kingdom."
Loke's fist lit up golden. "O Regulus, grant me your strength," he prayed. Perseus raised his shield, expecting another light attack. Instead, just as it seemed like Loke would use Regulus Beam again, his left fist went flying forward, smashing into the mirror shield and shattering it. Perseus watched in shocked horror as his mirror broke into pieces.
"Seven years bad luck," the baron muttered.
"That's a mere month in the Spirit World," Loke said as he sadly watched Perseus fading away now that he had lost his main source of celestial power. "A month I would gladly sacrifice to protect my master." He turned to Baron Aiteal. "Personally, I don't really care about human politics. Who rules Fiore is of very little consequence to a Celestial Spirit. However, King Toma happens to have one hot babe of a daughter, whereas I heard that you want to marry some child. That's just sick, man!"
"Do you mean Provost Bluebell's heiress?" Aiteal waved the idea aside. "I thought it would be an easier way to win over the Bluebell family. I really don't care for that sort of girl. I would have married her and sent her away to live in some summer cottage down south for the next five years. I don't have much use for a wife who can't even carry on the Fiore legacy until she matures."
"Another reason to stop you right here. You see women as tools." Loke's eyes narrowed. "I know far too well what it feels like to have someone see you as nothing more than a tool. It's a horrible feeling. Celestial Spirits are not tools to be used and abused; and women are not tools for men like you to use at your leisure. The way you just bought Perseus purely as a tool: that's sick! The way you would marry some terrified child just to secure a fortune: sick!"
"Family ties and loyalty to friends are all a weakness to those in power."
"Wrong! A true gentleman honors the lives of others, be they men, women, Spirits, all living things!" Loke's fists lit up in cold anger. "A true leader should know such a basic rule. You call yourself a baron, but perhaps you need a lesson in nobility from the King of Beasts and Leader of the Ecliptic Zodiacs. Regulus," he smirked, lifting his fist and letting the power build under his feet, sending his suit coat fluttering, "let's teach this man what the Star King is like. Regulus Supernova!"
A massive golden blast built up and roared from Loke's ring. Just as the attack went hurtling through the dining hall aimed right at Aiteal, there was a puff of smoke. Andromeda suddenly appeared right in front of the baron, arms spread to protect her master.
"No!" Loke screamed in horror. "Andy, move!"
She closed her eyes tightly as the attack struck her dead on. Loke looked in horror as it tore apart her body. Silver particles floated into the air as she began to fade. However, she managed to look around to Aiteal.
"Are you safe, master?" she rasped out.
"You did well, Andromeda," he said with a smile. "Rest for now."
"Thank … you … my lord." She cringed as she faded away.
Loke still looked horrified that he had hurt her so badly. "Andy," he whispered.
Aiteal dabbed his lips with a napkin. "Don't blame yourself, Leo."
Loke snapped out of his guilt and sneered at the baron.
"And don't you dare accuse me of using her as a shield," he added in, staring straight at the Lion. "As you can see, I did not summon her. Andromeda did it out of her own volition. That is what Celestial Spirits were created to do: protect and fight for their master, at the cost of their own physical discomfort. Whether if you like your master or not, is it not true that you must fight for that person? If you sensed Lucy Heartfilia was about to die, you also would break through your own gate and rescue her, would you not? Andromeda is just doing what is natural for Celestial Spirits. You exist to be tools for humans. You have no autonomy when it comes to your masters. You protect them. You serve them. You shield them. You fight for them. It's in your very nature."
"That's not true. I follow Lucy because I respect her. She's loyal, powerful, gentle, and she loves her Spirits. She treats us like close friends."
"So protective over the ones you love," Aiteal chuckled. "It's almost admirable. It's also a weakness. That's what once nearly led to your demise." Aiteal smiled slyly. "Karen Lilica."
Loke froze at the name. Her face returned to his mind, and with it the feeling of intense guilt. His stubbornness had resulted in her death.
"Even if you personally dislike the one with your key, you have no choice but to obey them."
"No. We have our honor and pride. We may choose to fight on our honor as a Celestial Spirit. However, that is our decision. We can also defy our orders," Loke whispered, remembering how he had defied Karen Lilica, and the horrible outcome of that choice. "We can decide to disobey. We can decide on the nature of our contracts. We follow the contract we have, just like how humans follow the rules of a country. However, we do that out of a sense of honor, the same honor a Celestial Spirit wizard has in the bond of their contracts with their Spirits. Andy … Andromeda … she's a strong woman, independent, annoyingly so sometimes. She chose to protect you, not because she has no choice, but precisely because she does have a choice. She is a Silver Key spirit, yet she broke through her own gate. Not even many Gold Key spirits can do that. Do you know what gave her that burst of power?"
The baron silently stared at him.
"Love!" Loke shouted in rage. "She did that much, breaking through her own gate, shielding you with her own body, taking a shot from me that she knew she could not endure, out of love. Love makes a Celestial Spirit stronger, and the ability to open our own gate to come to the rescue of our master is the ultimate proof of our love. She loves you, bastard. She took that shot out of love. And you dare," he screamed, "call her a tool! You dare say she had no choice! If she did not love you so deeply, she never would have been able to come to your aid without being summoned. She wouldn't have been strong enough. Her love for you gave her that strength, and you waved it off as if it's expected, something she can't control, natural that we would risk pain and suffering for a human. We do it out of honor and love, not obligation and servitude." His fists lit up. "We … are not … tools!"
Baron Aiteal picked up another silver key. "I'll show you how wrong you are. My sources say you dislike fighting other Celestial Spirits. As their leader, you feel responsible for their safety. This is one you should know well, one who would normally never fight you. However, she'll fight if I tell her to. She has no choice. Open the Gate of the Lynx!"
"Oh no," Loke whispered. "Anyone but her."
In a poof, there was a tiny cat-girl, slanted eyes with narrow vertical pupils, silver hair with black tuffed ears on the top of her hair, and wearing an orange dress with polka dots. She immediately struck a pose with two fingers raised in a peace sign.
"Hiya, big brother, nyan!" she greeted in a high, chirpy voice.
"Lynx," Loke sighed in anguish. "Dear stars, you're the last person I want to fight."
She put her hand on her hip and stuck her bottom lip out. "What? Afraid you'll lose, nyan?"
"Lynx, don't," Loke warned. "This is serious. Go back home."
She pouted. "I can't. I've been summoned. I can't leave unless he closes my gate. You forget how weak we Silver Keys are."
Loke shook his head. "No. We don't have to fight."
"Of course we do," she said simply. "I have a contract with my owner. I must fight for him, nyan."
The baron smirked in triumph. "Lynx once told me about her close relationship with you, Leo. Innocent bragging for the most part, letting me know she personally knows one of the most famous Celestial Spirits."
Lynx giggled and put a cute finger to her lips. "Tee-hee! Maybe I bragged about big brother just a teeny, tiny, little bit, nyan."
"I didn't call her out earlier because I figured she was weaker than the rest of my Spirits."
"Hey!" She pouted stubbornly. "Lynx can be strong when Lynx wants to be strong."
"Now I realize," Baron Aiteal went on, "your relationship could be the greatest advantage I have over you. That's how strategy works, Leo. Find a weakness and exploit it."
Loke sighed and shook his head. "This is too much like back then with Aries." He cringed, but he lit up his hands. "Lynx, I'm really sorry, but I must fight. My pride demands it."
"Ooh, always about pride," she mocked. "Well, a lynx has pride too, you know, nyan."
"I'll try not to hurt you too much."
Her cat-like eyes gleamed, and she warned in a low voice, "It's a bad idea to underestimate me, big brother."
"Regulus Slap." He swung his hand forward, and an arc of golden light flew out.
Lynx held up her fist, and within her grip was a pantera claw. The weapon sliced even through Loke's light.
"Armalcolite claws," she said, holding up the shiny black spikes fitted to her knuckles. "It slices pretty much anything, including all forms of magic, even light magic. You never asked to fight me back home, so…" She grinned mischievously. "…you don't know what I can do."
With a meow, she pounced forward, slicing through the air with her claws and spinning gracefully. Loke was pushed back at first. She was incredibly fast, and his light magic was completely useless as those claws sliced through it as if it was mere sunlight.
"Dammit," he sneered. He really had not wanted to hurt her. She was like a little sister, always tailing him, often mimicking him, annoying him daily, popping up at the worst possible moments, usually just as he began making moves on one of the female Spirits. She thought the world of Leo the Lion, and he hated that now they had to fight.
Still, her agility was not something to take lightly. She was tiny and fast. He had to be rough.
Loke swung a hard punch, and it hit Lynx right in the jaw. She was flung aside and collapsed to the ground.
"Oww! Ow ow owwww!" she howled in pain. "In the face! You … you hit a little girl in the face."
"Lynx," Loke whispered in anguish, taking an urgent step toward her. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean…"
"Tee-hee!"
Before Loke knew it, there was agonizing pain in his legs. Her claw had swung out and caught him in the shins. Loke stumbled back, but his legs burned with pain. In an instant, Lynx pounced up to her feet and leaped straight on top of a china cabinet, where she perched crouched down.
"I knew big brother would fall for that, nyan. Big brother is so easy to toy with."
"You trickster!" he growled.
She jumped forward, aiming at him, and started slashing him with her claws. He had not expected her vicious side, and his legs still hurt. Loke started to flail his shining arms fending off her blows, taking a defensive stance, but her speed and agility allowed her to dodge everything he tried. She landed a few hits, shredding his suit coat, caught his tie and sliced it in half, and when he ducked one slash of her pantera claws, bits of orange hair were cut off.
Baron Aiteal sat to the side, watching the fight with amusement. Loke caught a glimpse of him, so smug it was annoying. Especially since he looked happy that he had proved his point.
No! Celestial Spirits were not tools! Loke knew, painfully well, that they could gain autonomy. They could make up their own contracts, and end those contracts. They could limit their actions.
But the baron had a point. Lucy wanted Loke to fight, and his pride demanded that he must. Lynx was called out to fight, and her contract demanded that she had to.
They were bound by honor to their agreements.
"Obeying our masters … is our … choice!" he sneered.
Lynx thought she had the almighty Lion in defense, and she cackled with excitement. She jumped at Loke again, aiming her claws for a final strike. Loke realized he had a perfect moment, now that she was in midair. He leaped forward to race her with his fist tightened and a pain of regret roaring from his mouth. Lynx realized almost too late. She flexed her spine, unable to miss the whole hit, but she twisted in just the right angle so the punch was weaker when it struck her. She was thrown through the air and crashed into the china cabinet. Plates and cups shattered all around her.
"Big brother … really is … strong," she panted in pain. "Lynx is no match, nyan. Still…" She tried to get up, but she collapsed back into the pile of broken china.
"That's enough, Lynx," Loke said tenderly. "We can fade back home when we're this injured."
"No!" she said stubbornly. "I wanna show I'm not weak. I wanna prove myself to my master, and to big brother."
Loke smiled at her with brotherly love. "You fought well, little sister."
Her eyes watered over. "Big brother," she whimpered. Then her eyes shifted behind him and widened in surprise. "Watch out!"
Something stabbed Loke in the back. Baron Aiteal had sneaked up behind him and rammed a scepter into him. It did not pierce, but Loke felt his magic and his essence being drained.
"Strategy, Sir Lion," he whispered into Loke's ear. "The right tool for the right job. This," and he twisted the scepter into Loke's back, "drains magic energy and gives it to the wielder. You'll drain and vanish soon."
"Big brother!" Lynx screamed.
Despite the pain, Loke swirled around, swinging a fist. Aiteal easily backed away. Loke partially collapsed into the dining table, panting to stay up.
"You think … something like that … can drain me?" Loke gave a weak laugh, but suddenly his eyes narrowed dangerously. "I lasted three years in this world under my own magic. I have way more magic than that little stick can drain out. Do not underestimate the power of Leo! Regulus is called the Star King for a reason. A king trumps a baron." His fists lit up brightly. "Plus all this talk about tools is really pissing me off!" Loke began to stomp forward.
"No! You should be drained," Aiteal yelled. "This tool is perfect."
"You rely on tools too much. A tool can be no stronger than how it was forged, but Celestial Spirits … love makes us stronger. That is why … we are not tools!" he roared.
Power built up around Loke, and Baron Aiteal's eyes narrowed, feeling panicked. He dropped the scepter and clapped his hands together. "Mud Phase: Floor!"
The ground under Loke's feet went soft, and suddenly he slipped straight through the mud-like flood. With him, Lynx fell as well, screaming as both she and Loke plummeted into the room directly underneath.
Loke prepared himself for a hard fall, but instead of slamming into the ground, he splashed into a pool of water. He did not particularly like water, and this water was hot. He swam to the surface and slicked his lanky orange hair back. The pool was now muddy, and there was a hole in the ceiling directly above him.
"An indoors onsen?" Loke asked, looking around at the massive soaking pool. It was not very deep, his feet reached the bottom and his shoulders were above the water. "Lucky stars I landed in this."
"Raaaaaaaaaaaaaaah! Nyaaaaaaaaaaaan!"
Suddenly, Lynx came sputtering up from the water, splashing around in a panic. Loke forgot, she was terrified of water. Feeling sorry for her, he waded over and held out his hand. Maybe they were enemies in this world, where they had to fight for their respective masters, but she was still his little sister.
Lynx grabbed his hand and yanked herself toward Loke with terror on her face. He was ready to just hold her and carry her to the edge of the pool, but she began to clamber, trying to climb up him and clawing up his clothes in the process.
"Water, water, noooooo hate water!" she screeched.
"Lynx," he shouted. Her arms were around his head, covering his eyes, and she was trying to perch on top of his shoulders. "I … I can't even see."
"Waaaaaah, why water? Why? Aiteal-nyan! Lynx hates water. You know that! Lynx … hates … water!" In anger, she swiped a claw at the ceiling in his direction.
"Lynx, no!" Loke screamed. "We can't attack our owners." Fear filled him again, as well as the face of Karen Lilica.
The swipe shot out silvery slashes of light that took out part of the ceiling. Aiteal leaped away from the destruction, but then accidentally jumped into his own mud hole, fell through, and splashed down into pool head first. His head hit the bottom of the pool, and he floated up to the top unconscious.
"Crap!" Loke yelled. If Lynx had accidentally killed him … even if not directly…
He grabbed the baron and yanked both him and Lynx to the edge of the pool. Lynx gladly scrambled off and grabbed a towel to get the water off of her.
"Is … is he dead?" she asked meekly as she began to calm down.
Loke pulled the baron up and inspected him. "He's breathing. He probably just has a concussion." Then he glared at the little catgirl. "That was stupid, Lynx! He could have snapped his neck. You know the punishment." Loke cringed as his own torment returned to his mind. "You know … what happens to us."
"I know, big brother," she whispered sadly. "I wasn't thinking. Lynx was scared. Lynx was mad."
"Even when we're mad, we must respect the contract we have with our owners." He walked over to her and gave her a hug. "Even when we don't like our owner, even when they do things that hurt us, or scare us, or make us angry, we have to respect the contract and respect how brief human life is. We don't die easily. They do."
"Yes, big brother, nyan."
"Go home now. He's been defeated. I'll be delivering him to the royal army. You and Andy may have to testify that his goals were to threaten King Toma."
"Human politics is stupid!" She grinned up at him. "We've got it easy. Old Mustache is the king, and you're leader of the Zodiacs. Easy-peasy!
He ruffled up her hair. "And you're a little queen of mischief," he teased. "Now, go home and dry off." With his hand on her head, Loke helped her to close her own gate without needing Aiteal to do it. Then he turned around at the unconscious baron. "In the end, the girl you thought was a tool turned against you. Tools obey without thought. Celestial Spirits will never be tools."
When Edo-Natsu drove up to the baron's palace, they saw Loke sitting on the sprawling entryway staircase with the nobleman tied up. He spun a keyring around on his finger, and Lucy's eyes lit up immediately.
"Is that … what I think they are?"
She jumped out of the car and ran up to Loke. He rose, bowed genteelly to her, and handed her the ring of silver keys.
"A present to the victor." Loke grinned as Lucy took the precious Celestial Spirit keys. "I've already been in contact with the royal army and explained everything. King Toma is not happy with his wayward cousin. A dispatch was sent to Bluebell Village to protect them against the invaders, and we're to meet them there with this chump," he said, thumbing back to the peeved baron.
Lucy eyed the nobleman warily. "You … look familiar," she whispered. "Ah! You're one of the jerks my father was trying to get me to marry. You were the one who actually turned him down."
Edo-Natsu's eyes narrowed. "Your dad wanted you to marry an old guy like this?"
"You'll regret this, Leo the Lion," Aiteal sneered.
"Oh, I'm sure I will," Loke chuckled. "Andy has quite a crush on you, from what I saw. She'll give me hell when I go back home. But as for you…" Loke held the scepter and poked it into the baron's chest. The nobleman immediately fell unconscious again as his magic was drained. "I don't think you're much of a threat. Oh hey, Edolas kid," Loke called over. "A present. It's a tool that uses magic, like what you guys used back in your home world. Might come in handy. Don't poke anyone with it. It's quite potent in draining magical energy."
"Wow, thanks," Edo-Natsu grinned as he carefully handled the scepter.
They loaded the unconscious baron into the backseat, squished between Loke and Gray, and took a side route to Bluebell Village. When they got there, they saw that the royal army had already arrived, and at the sight of their employer being taken under heavy guard, the mercenaries surrendered. Their employer paid Gray and Lucy their money, plus a bonus for getting the threat of Baron Aiteal completely removed.
As they were riding back home, Lucy was raving about her newly acquired keys. Although they were Silver Keys, she knew Perseus was rare and expensive, and she could hardly wait to meet Lynx.
"This was a great mission," she exclaimed. "Best of all, we didn't have to pay for any repairs."
"It still might have gone smoother with that flame-brain helping out," Gray muttered, remembering that the purpose of this mission was to show Lucy that their team really did need Natsu Dragneel back.
"Smoother, maybe, but more destructive. Ugh! It's so nice to head home with all of our money." She wrapped an arm around Edo-Natsu as he drove. "We really couldn't have done it without you, Fireball."
"Thanks," he muttered, more focused on the road.
"The way you drove up right when we got surrounded, that was so cool."
Gray again mentioned, "We wouldn't have gotten into that mess if we had more fighting power."
Lucy ignored him. "And then you made it down the mountain on a hiking trail! That takes some serious skill. Even if you don't have magic, your driving abilities could really be handy for Fairy Tail. Maybe we should ask Makarov if we could make you an honorary member. I mean, you're technically a member of Fairy Tail already."
Gray finally blew up. "No! He isn't part of Fairy Tail, not our Fairy Tail. Our Fairy Tail isn't a dark guild, for one. We don't do illegal things. Besides, his Fairy Tail probably misses him."
"I wonder about that," Edo-Natsu mumbled, his eyes focused on the highway. "Without magic, without fuel for my car, there really isn't anything in that world for me anymore. Even if you guys can get Dragneel back, I want to stay in Earthland if I can."
"Of course," Lucy immediately agreed.
Loke's brow tensed up. "A person can't be part of two worlds at the same time," he warned. "I'm not just saying that to be mean. As a Celestial Spirit, I know what I'm talking about." Memories of Karen Lilica were still on his mind thanks to that fight with the baron. "Natsu Dragion is part of Edolas," he explained, looking at the pink-haired double. "It'll always be his home. Even if he likes Earthland, even if he makes friends here … even if he falls in love," Loke added quietly, glancing longingly to Lucy, "sometimes it's best for a person to return to the home where they are meant to live."
Lucy turned around in her seat and shouted angrily, "You're only saying that because you're jealous."
Loke stared back at her seriously. "As a Celestial Spirit, I think I'm the only person in this car who fully understands this issue of dual citizenship between dimensions."
"Your situation was different. You were dying."
"And Natsu Dragneel very well might be dying over there," Loke shouted. "Or did you forget when everyone warned you about that? He'd be facing the exact same issue I did when I was exiled to Earthland. I was running out of spirit energy and fading away. He's running out of magic energy every day and … well, we have no clue what might happen to him. If he stays over there too long, he'll most likely die. Do you think that's fair to him?"
"Dammit, who said we'd leave Natsu over in Edolas?" Lucy shouted back. "Of course we're gonna get him back, but we don't know if that necessarily means that Fireball has to leave."
"There's still a high possibility," Loke warned her.
"And if he does have to leave," said Gray, "what are you going to do? You rushed into this without thinking clearly."
"That's not true," she yelled, and her face cringed. "I did think about it. A lot."
"Not enough to save you from a heartbreak," Gray said worriedly. "I'll tell you right now, as much as I hate that flame-brain and like this wheel-brain, leaving Natsu to die in Edolas is not an option. I would rather chuck Dragion through a portal than have one of my guild mates die a slow death."
"We don't know yet," Lucy screamed. "Why are you making a big deal about it and picking on the two of us?"
Loke looked sad. "Because we love you, Lucy."
"We're worried about you," Gray agreed.
"Then focus on me and stop harassing Fireball."
The driver suddenly slammed on his breaks, sending everyone lurching forward. A cloud of dust blew around them along with the stench of break fluid.
Narrow green eyes flashed at them. "Shut up, all of you, or I'm dumping all three of you out of my car."
Lucy looked over in shock. "Fireball?"
"Stop defending me, Lucy. I can do that myself, you know. I was just keeping quiet because Loke has a point. I'm not from this world. I want to stay here, but I don't know how practical that is yet. Maybe I'll always second-guess myself. I don't know!" he yelled in frustration. "It's true that we sped into a relationship, but…" He glared around at the two men in the backseat. "Don't you think we both knew the risks? Don't you think we spent weeks tearing ourselves apart, worrying about the repercussions, about what might happen if I do have to leave? I went through a mental hell before deciding to hit the gas pedal. Maybe I'm driving toward a cliff, but I don't need a damn backseat driver to tell me when to apply the breaks. Tell that to whoever set you up to do this, because this reeks of a conspiracy. Tell them to stop treating us like we need fucking training wheels." Edo-Natsu glared at the two men. "Now, are we done with all the goddamn drama bullshit?" He faced front with his teeth in a snarl. "Dammit, I forgot how much I hate passengers," he growled.
Loke folded his arms. "Looks like the Fireball finally flared up."
Edo-Natsu swung around and glared hard. "You shut up. Especially you! I really hated the version of you in my world, ya know. If he wasn't already dead, I'd kill him in an instant. Now, here's his face, right in front of me."
Lucy gasped at the indirect threat to one of her Celestial Spirits.
"You wanna challenge me?" Loke said, goading him on. "Come at me, kid. You don't even have magic."
"I have a magical car."
"All that's good for against a Lion is to run away like a coward."
Edo-Natsu's sage-green eyes narrowed. "I also now have this." He held up the scepter. "I bet you got hit with it once already, considering you knew its effects. Do you think you'd last a second hit?"
"Fireball!" Lucy cried out in outrage.
"I also used to be pretty damn good with a sword," Edo-Natsu said, smirking viciously. "I have one under the car seat, just in case. Do you have any clue how much restraint it's taking me not to kill you right here, in my own car?"
Lucy suddenly slapped Edo-Natsu across the cheek.
Gray gasped at the strike. "Lucy?"
She felt tears burning her eyes, but she stubbornly refused to show them here. "No one threatens one of my Celestial Spirits, not even someone I care for. You need to calm down, Fireball." She opened her side door, jumped out of the car, and slammed the door behind her. "Come on, Loke!"
The Lion scrambled out of the car and after her. "Where are you going?"
"A train station. I'll go home the usual way."
Gray shook his head as he eyed the Edolas lookalike. "For a while, I thought this transportation-enhanced version of you was just like that idiot flame-brain. Obviously, you're not the same, even this way. Our Natsu would never threaten a friend."
"Loke is not my friend," Edo-Natsu sneered.
"He's Lucy's Celestial Spirit and a member of Fairy Tail. If you really do want to stay in this universe, then either change your opinion of him or fix that attitude of yours. Maybe your Loke was an asshole, but here in Earthland, he's a cool guy. He even gave you a weapon. Would an enemy do that?"
Edo-Natsu growled softly and faced the road ahead of him.
"One more thing," Gray added. "Fairy Tail is very good at forgiving people, even former enemies. If you can't learn to do that, you don't deserve to be part of our guild." Then Gray climbed out of the car and jogged to catch up with Lucy.
Edo-Natsu simmered in anger and frustration. Whenever he saw Loke about to touch Lucy's shoulder, he could not help but think of the Loke back in Edolas, the man who tried to murder Lucy Ashley numerous times, and who was eventually killed by Lucy herself. This smiling, flirting fool was so different from the man he knew. Gray, too. He had left his shirt behind in the car. Gray Surge would never take off clothes, and certainly not all the way to a bare torso.
Edo-Natsu clenched his fingers around the steering wheel and gritted his teeth. He thought he had sorted all of this out in his head. This was not his guild, not the people he knew. Princess, naked ice mage, playboy spirit … none of these were like the people back home.
So why was he treating them the same? He had kicked people out of his car many times in Edolas. He didn't like passengers! He was acting the same way again. Only this time, he chased away the girl he loved.
"Shit!" he sneered, and he slammed on the gas pedal, squealing his wheels as he raced away in tumultuous emotions.
End of Chapter 28
A/N: Baron Aiteal's name comes from the Irish name for juniper. I figured it went along with Fairy Tail's flower-based naming scheme (Fiore, Crocus, Magnolia).
Lynx is a silver key Celestial Spirit who I mentioned in "Ephemeral Sakura, Eternal Love," and she reappears here almost the same as in that story. Her pantera claws are made from armalcolite, a mineral that was discovered on the Moon.
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Wheels of Fire