Fallen Star

Our story begins west of Magnolia at the fort term, where bandits have made their hideout. Taurus punches, knocking him out, leaving a massive bump on his head. Lucy shouted with glee, giving Taurus a high five.

"Look at you go." Lucy called.

"Moo, you got some moves of your own." Taurus replied.

**[##invoke magic##]**

Natsu slammed one of the members into a wall and let out a sigh.

"Man, these chumps aren't putting up a good fight." He said as he crushed the poor man's skull into the wall early, trying at this point. "I could probably do this blindfolded."

"Who'd you losers steal from anyway?" Gray asked as he kicked another one down.

"Old ladies and children?" Gray asked as he stepped on someone's face. Tears ran down his eyes as Gray continued to do this.

"Don't act so smug; you'll be sorry. Just wait."

"Yeah, when lord Devon finds out, you'll pay."

"We beat up that jerk a long time ago." Happy informed the two as a group of men fell down the stair due to Erza.

"I'm finished up here." Erza reported as Lucy gave her a thumbs up; a man broke away and tried to run, only for Erza to knock him down and step on his butt crushed under the weight of her foot.

"Unfortunately, it seems you still haven't learned your lesson." Erza said.

Taurus grew hearts in his eyes.

"I've been bad too, mistress Erza." the muscular cow shouted as Lucy closed his gate, sending him away.

"And away you go." She said before Taurus got her into trouble.

Outside. Erza let out a sigh.

"I'm sorry, I thought this job would be a bit more challenging." She admitted.

"It's all right." Natsu said.

"Besides, we got take any job we can get." Erza nodded as she looked at the smoldering ruins. "Still, I wish it were more of a challenge." Behind them, Juvia could be seen hiding in the bushes. Natsu sniffed the air but passed it off as being a worrywart.

"Yeah, me too." Gray admitted.

"Look at this awesome gem I found." Happy said.

"Stealing from thieves is still stealing!" Lucy informed Slash and shouted at the cat.

Happy ignored her and looked around. "Hey, isn't that Loke." The group looked to see Loke standing in the same path Gray and Natsu went to greet the man, who smirked.

"Hey guys, what's up?" Loke asked.

"Kicking butt and taking names." Natsu told him, smiling.

"As always." Loke laughed until he saw Loke panic; he backed up.

"I'm glad we ran into you." Lucy said, waving to him. "I wanted to thank you for finding my Keys."

'N-N-No problem." Loke sputtered before he turned and ran away. "But I gotta go now. Bye." he shouted, leaving Lucy and the others confused and flabbergasted.

"Damn Lucy." Gray said. "What you do to him?" He asked the blond. "Man avoids you like the plague."

"I don't know!" Lucy shouted. "It's not my fault he's crazy."

Miles away, Loke had stopped running. He took a seat and let out a breath of fresh air. He picked up a flower before it withered away and died. A frown formed on his face as he looked away.

**Fallen Star**

the group started at the cult's former headquarters and sighed.

"Guess we should head home." Gray admitted.

"Actually." Lucy spoke.

"What do say we take it easy?" Lucy suggested as Natsu looked at her.

"Well. We've been fighting and working our tails off for the past week. Maybe we need a break," Lucy told him.

"Now, Lucy." Lucy swallowed a lump in her throat as she turned to face Erza. "that's a wonderful idea." The whole group sighed in relief. "We can go to this resort on the way back to town."

The group had stopped at the spa town Hosenka, a popular resort in Magnolia; this shady, if not dodgy, tourist attraction was designed by a duke and his fascination with the Orient and its architecture. Lucy sat in hot water, her hair down; she stared at the wall.

"Why is Loke so afraid of me." She wondered aloud.

"This is so relaxing." Erza called, pulling Lucy out of her thought. Lucy turned to find Erza still had her armor, shocking her.

"You still have your armor on?" Lucy asked as Erza nodded. "I'm more relaxed with it on."

"But doesn't it feel clunky?" Lucy asked.

"I guess." Erza pondered. "Maybe I need to redefine my terms of relaxing." Erza changed out and took off her armor, getting a reaction from Lucy.

"Wow." Lucy muttered. "You look great."

"Really." Erza said, a grin forming on her face. "Maybe I should walk around like this from now on." Lucy looked at Erza, her eyes nearly bulging out of her head.

"That was a joke." Erza told her, causing the blond to sigh in relief.

"Not funny, Erza." Lucy stated.

Later Natsu was in the room they stayed in with an extreme look of excitement on his face.

"Let's party!" He shouted.

"Party?" Gray asked, sitting up. "I'm trying to sleep, so take your party outside."

"come on," Natsu moaned.

"You need to bust out your pillow, fu." he said, smiling. "Unless you're scared." Natsu said.

"Humph." Erza said, walking in with Lucy. "My arsenal is equipped with the most powerful pillows." Erza told him.

**[##Lucy Ganbaru ost.##]**

"Most powerful." Lucy said, trying to imagine that as Natsu got ready, he threw a pillow at Erza, who jumped out and hit Gray square in the face.

"All right then." He looked to his side and smiled. Somehow, he had extra pillows. "Look at all these pillows."

Outside, Juvia stood in a bush, a light blush appearing on her face. "Don't worry, my prince." She thought. "Juvia is here for you."

Gray threw a pillow at Natsu, knocking him down; he turned to Erza, and a smirk grew.

"You're next, Erza!" He shouted, throwing a pillow. She quickly caught it before Gray could grab another pillow; Lucy hit him in the face.

"I'm winning this thing, sorry." Lucy said before Erza knocked her down with another pillow. "I'm all fired up!" Natsu shouted as the group began what will forever be known as the pillow war. Later that night, Lucy stirred from her sleep, her head hurting; she rubbed her eyes, looking around. The place was a mess; pillows were everywhere. Lucy laughed at her friends' antics though she couldn't sleep; her mind was still on Loke getting up and summoning Plue, so she decided to walk. Lucy sighed as she walked out of the room, pulling out the golden gate key and looking over it again—the gold key with a white center bearing the crest of the goat. The blade is sculpted to appear like a goat's head, with horns sprouting from each side and curling towards the center. Rubbing her finger over it.

"Come on, open gate." She whispered the words but not a spark of magic came from it.

"Damn it." She shouted, leaning back as Plue approached her.

*'I just don't get it.'* Lucy whispered.

*'Maybe I need to clear my head.'* She looked away.

*'Loke.'* She whispered.

"I just don't get it." Lucy said.

"Why is Loke so scared of me." Lucy wondered.

"Does it have to do with my celestial magic." Lucy wondered.

"Who knows." Plue said.

"Right." Lucy admitted until she looked down.

"What!" Lucy asked in pure shock.

"You can talk?" Lucy asked.

"Aye." Plue said as Lucy looked down, a look of anger forming on her face.

In the bushes, Happy was trying his best not to laugh as Lucy looked around.

"All right, you little blue fur-ball, get out." Lucy told him.

"Aw," Happy said, coming out of the bushes.

"I thought I could keep it up for at least a week, seeing you're so dumb." Happy said, getting a groan from Lucy. The blue cat came out of the bushes and smiled.

"Why are you out here, Lucy?" Happy asked.

"Couldn't sleep," Lucy admitted, "A lot has been on my mind."

"OH." Happy said as he looked at the key in her hands.

"What's that?" Happy asked.

"Oh, it's." Lucy looked at the key.

"Nothing, don't worry about it, it's an old gate key. It doesn't work anymore." She said. "Sometimes I like to check, ya know to cause, well, you never know." Lucy said.

"Lucy, are you okay?" Happy asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Lucy smiled as she stood up. "Come on, let's keep walking."

"Well, aren't you cute." a voice called out. The trio turned to see a pair of odd-looking individuals; one seemed to have a second head, and the other was doing weird poses. "What do you say? We have a good time, yo."

"Um." Lucy said, scooting back.

"Sorry, I'm here with my friends." She said, gesturing to Plue and Happy.

"You're hanging out with a cat and a-" He looked at Plue and wondered what the hell was.

"Well, that's okay, yo." He said. "They can hang too."

"I'm not sure." Lucy said as she tried to move, but they grabbed her. *'Why can't I move.'*

"We were going to have a good time."

"Yeah, yo, we are."

Before it could escalate any further, Loke appeared and knocked the two down. Lucy opened her eyes to see Loke standing over the two men h looked back and jumped into the bamboo shoot. "Sorry," he said, getting a confused look from Lucy. He came out and looked down.

"There was a bounty on these two men." Loke told her.

"They've been targeting cute girls who were alone." Loke said as he picked them up.

"You helped me out, thanks." He said.

"Wait." Lucy said. "Thanks for saving me and getting my keys."

"No, prob." Loke told her as he started to walk away. Lucy stopped him again.

"Hey, why don't we go and grab a bite to eat?" Lucy asked, causing Loke to blush at her statement,

"Ooh." Happy said. "Things are heating up."

Later the group was seen at the resort's most popular dinner through the head of the silent chef caught much attention; it was known for its cuisine.

"You know." Lucy said as Loke looked towards her.

"You don't have to sit over there." She called.

"Right." Loke admitted as he slowly inched closer to Lucy.

As Lucy sipped her drink.

"I've meant to ask." Lucy said. "Is it true you have bad luck with celestial wizards?" Lucy asked. Loke looked away as Lucy grimaced at him. "Well, I just wanted to know. I feel bad that your judging is based on my magic."

"Sorry." Loke said weakly. "I didn't mean to offend you."

"So, want to talk about it?" Lucy asked as the chief put music in her face; he then gestured to the music player. Lucy shook her head as the chief deflated. Lucy looked back to Happy and Plue, who were sharing a drink. Letting a sigh, she turned back to Loke.

"Look, you're too good for me." Loke said, trying to play it off.

"Stop with the old break-up line."

"So." Lucy said, "Want to talk about it" Loke didn't reply.

"Sorry, I just." Lucy sighed before standing up.

"Look, things were awkward between us." Lucy said, walking away.

"Thanks for saving me." She said before Loke grabbed her hand.

"Lucy." He said before pulling her into a hug, "I'm sorry, but I don't have that long to live."

"What." Lucy said, stepping back. "Loke, what do you mean?" She stopped when Loke started laughing.

"Man, you should see your face." He said before Lucy slapped him so hard that a mark was left on her face; he looked shocked as Lucy had tears welling in her eyes.

"I can't believe you." She said before running off. Loke was about to go after her but stopped. *'What am I doing.'* he thought as he picked up his glasses. *'It's too late for me anyway.'*

The next day Lucy sat on the stool, a dark aura coming from her Natsu, and Mira looked at her worriedly.

"What do you think happened." Mira whispered.

"Well, Happy told me she was with Loke last night." Natsu told her. "Other than that, I don't know."

"Really." Mira said, stars shining in her eyes before Natsu stopped her.

"Don't even think about it Mira." Natsu told her.

"But." Mira was about to talk when a group of girls approached her; she looked confused as Natsu moved away. "You handle this, Mira." Natsu said as he walked up to Lucy. "You okay."

"Peachy." Lucy told him.

"Wanna talk about it?" Natsu asked again.

"Aye." Happy said, walking up to her. "You can always talk to us."

Lucy let out a small laugh. "I'll pass you guys."

Loke watched them from afar.

*'This is my fault.'* Loke said to himself; he looked at his arm as it started to phase out again. *'It looks like my time is almost up.'*

Back at the bar. Mira was trying to calm all the girls down.

"Where is Loke."

"What are you doing here."

"Is he all right; last night, he said he was breaking up with me."

"What's that about?" Lucy wondered.

"They're girls from around town." Natsu told her.

"From the looks of it, they think they're Loke's girlfriend." Happy said.

"Well, um." Mira said as the girls swarmed around her. Usually, she was all about romance, but she made it her mission to stay out of Loke's business when it came to girls, and this was the reason why she couldn't handle all the questions.

"Is he married?" Someone asked.

"Well no." Mira said trying to calm them down. "Um."

"Who is it."

"Lucy, save me!" Mira shouted, causing Lucy to panic as the girls swarmed her.

"Is this the girl?"

"She dresses like a tramp."

"Loke's marrying her."

Lucy ran off, leaving behind a very confused Natsu who was slowly walking away from all the girl troubles, not his forte anymore; besides, he was still hung up on other things and had more important things to worry about, like finding dinner.

Later that night, Lucy came out of the Magnolia-only public bathhouse; additionally, t restoring fatigue restored a wizard's magic energy.

Elfman also walked out.

"Bathhouses are manly." He said as Lucy sweat dropped.

Loke came out from behind her. Lucy looked at him and gave him a weak smile.

"Here, try this." He said, "it's great after a fresh bath."

Lucy took the drink and smiled.

"Thanks." She said as they stood in awkward silence. Lucy looked up and noticed the sky shone with stars.

"Wow." Lucy said. "The stars are so pretty."

Loke looked up and gave a weak smile.

"You know." He said.

"I feel bad for them." He said. "Once they fall, they can never return to heaven. Isn't that sad?"

Lucy looked at Loke until something clicked in her brain.

"Was that one of your lame pick-up lines?" Lucy told him. "Can't you go a day without trying to pick up a girl."

Loke smiled.

"I know I'm a pain." He said. "But I'm glad I got to talk to you again. Goodbye." Loke then left, leaving a confused Lucy behind.

Later, at Lucy's hotel, she decides to find answers. **"Open Gate of the Southern Cross: Crux."** Lucy shouts as an old-timey-looking spirit appears.

"Who's this?" Happy asked.

"I call him grandpa crux." Lucy told her feline friend. "He can tell anything you want to know about celestial spirits, even those who used them in the past." Lucy informed Happy, who nodded. "I need to know something; what celestial wizard was involved with Loke in the past."

Crux grunted as he started searching. His head fell over as a bubble appeared from his nose. "I don't think he heard you Lucy." Happy admitted.

"Oh, he heard me. He's searching." Lucy told him.

"Huh."

Crux then let out a scream as Happy jumped back.

"I have found what you are looking for. However, personal privacy law applies even in the spirit world." Crux said as Lucy nodded. "Loke was involved with the celestial wizard Karen Lilica."

"Really?" Lucy asked.

"Who's that?" Happy asked.

"She was a viral wizard a few years back." Lucy told him.

"I have the article of Sorcerer Weekly that she was featured in." Lucy said. "She was in the Blue Pegasus guild."

"So she was in a guild." Happy said.

"What was their relationship?" Lucy asked.

"Unfortunately, that's all I can say on the matter." Crux said.

"Aw, come on." Lucy moaned as Crux titled again. Happy said. "I think he's searching for ya, Lucy."

"No, he's asleep this time." Lucy informed Happy. As she thought about them, something hit her. *'The truth is I don't have that long a time left to live.'* She remembered Loke saying. *'Once they fall, they can never return.'*

"No." Lucy muttered. "It can't be."

Suddenly Gray barged into her house.

"Lucy, we've got a problem." He said, breathless.

"It's Loke. He said he was leaving town." Gray said. "And Natsu and Mira need help finding him."

"Wait, why." Lucy said.

"Something's up." Gray explained.

"Both Natsu and Mira feel it." He told her, a look of shock appeared on her face.

"Maybe I'm right." Lucy said as she exited her bed and ran off.

"Wait, Lucy!" Gray shouted.

Natsu looked around for Loke as Mira ran through the streets.

"Loke!" They both shouted as the pair looked around.

Miles away, Loke was in a small forest. He walked up to a grave and gave a small sigh.

"I'm sorry." He muttered.

"Loke." A voice called; he turned to see Lucy walking up from behind him. "Everyone is looking for you."

"I should have known." He said, looking back at the grave, "How'd you find out."

"You forgot I'm a celestial wizard." Lucy told him, placing a hand on her hips. "I have contracts with a ton of spirits; it wasn't too hard to dig up the truth." She looked at him again.

"The spirit Loke." Lucy said. "No, that's not your name. It's Leo, the lion."

**[##fairy tail main them slow ver, ost##]**

Loke laughed.

"I guess there is no denying it." He said, looking at Lucy.

"Why didn't you talk to me about this?" Lucy asked.

"Normally, once a spirit key holder dies, they're forced back into the spirit world." Lucy said.

"After Karen died, you should be there instead of here." Lucy said. "Being in the human world is dangerous for spirits."

"I know." Loke said.

"It's been three years." He said, having Lucy walk back shocked.

"I didn't think one was possible." Lucy said.

"Why haven't you gone back?" Lucy asked. "There has to be a way for me to save you."

Loke laughed.

"You don't need to save me." Loke told her.

"I broke a fundamental law of the spirit world." Loke told her. "One that binds humans and spirits."

"What did you do?" Lucy asked.

"I can't deny my crime." Loke admitted.

"I'm a traitor to my kind." Loke told Lucy. "I was contracted to Karen, but I killed her."