//------------------------------// // Another Zodiac Ambush // Story: Spike the Fairy // by PonyJoel //------------------------------// It's been a long walk for Natsu, Levy, Yukino, and Lucy while Happy flies next to them. Spike is waking up in Lucy's arms. "Ooooooh, what happened?" Spike yawns a bit. "We had the Celestial Globe, and Virgo took you out," Lucy replies. She puts Spike on the ground for him to walk. "Man, this sucks! What are we supposed to do now?" Natsu angrily asks. "I know what we can do," Happy's belly starts rumbling. "We'll eat later! We have a serious situation in our hands," Lucy scares Happy a bit when she glares at him. "Sorry!" Happy apologizes to Lucy for thinking about food. The gang enters town and sees many food concession stands. It triggers Natsu's and Happy's bellies to growl louder. Popcorn stands, hotdog vendors, ice cream shops, Natsu, and Happy mouths start to water. A few minutes later, Natsu picks up a familiar scent. He, Lucy, Levy, Spike, and Yukino see two people wearing Mato Pumpkin Heads. "Hey, Princess Hisui," Spike recognize the green hair from the Pumpkin Head. Princess Hisui turns around and smiles. "Hey, Fairy Dragon. Hey, you guys." "Fairy Dragon, it's nice to see you again," Arcadios grew his hair back. The last time Arcadios saw Spike, he scolded him for not wearing clothes and made him agitated. "Likewise," Spike reads Arcadios' body language. He can tell that Arcadios do have some fear of provoking him by mentioning the party or clothes. "So, why are you here?" Yukino asks. "We were on our way to the Fairy Tail Guild," Arcadios answers. "So, what brings you out this far? Some kind of guild business?" Princess Hisui asks. "Honestly, it's a longer story than we have time to tell," Natsu said. "Actually, I like your take on this," Lucy explains to Princess Hisui and Arcadios all that has happened when her Zodiac Gate Keys stopped working and her Zodiac Spirits voiding their contracts. They changed and had no memories of all we've been through together. Lucy then explains the Liberum ritual that the Zodiac Spirits want to perform in the Astral Spirytus. The ritual will grant freedom for twelves days then they'll cease to exist. "So, that's why we're out here," Levy said. "We failed to stop them from getting the Celestial Globe. Now they're one step away from activating the ritual," Spike says. "According to our research, the Astral Spirytus should be in the south of Magnolia. We just don't know where exactly it's located," Yukino explains. "How tragic. We were aware of the changes in the Celestial Spirit World from our research. To think that the spirits took action so soon..," Arcadios looks down a bit. "The truth is..," Princess Hisui feels sad. "These major changes and your spirits' personalities, they are a result of my mistakes..." "No way, this isn't your fault," Lucy says. She, like her friends, is confused by Princess Hisui's accusation. "The Eclipse Project. That's what warped your spirits' minds," Arcadios speaks for Hisui. "How can that be?" Yukino doesn't understand. "The Eclipse Gate needed twelve Zodiac Keys to unlock. Perhaps by unlocking the Eclipse Gate, the energy is tethered to the Zodiacs and had a delayed reaction when the Eclipse Gate got destroyed. Perhaps the Eclipse Gate is the reason behind the weather phenomenon as well." Princess Hisui and Arcardios are stunned and silenced when they heard Fairy Rage spoke. He's on point about the Eclipse Gate. Natsu, Lucy, Happy, and Yukino now know what Fairy Rage said about the Eclipse Gate is true. "Wow," Princess Hisui says in shock. "Fairy Dragon is correct about the Eclipse Gate. When the Eclipse Gate got activated, it caused the scenery of weather phenomenons throughout Earth Land." "The Eclipse Project pushed the world to the brink of destruction, and I was the one who opened the gate. That alone is completely unforgivable," Princess Hisui sadly says. "Now, I harmed the Celestial World too. Because of me, your spirits can die..," Princess Hisui sheds some tears. "You were tricked by Future Rogue, who tried to take over the world. You were manipulated into doing what was right. You can't blame yourself for believing what was right at heart," Spike said. "Yea, there's no crime in making an honest mistake. Stop feeling guilty and lighten up," Natsu encouragingly says. "Yea, nobody's mad at you. It was an accident," Happy says. "Thanks," Princess Hisui feels better. "After the games, I was sad. Depressed rather with the weight of the responsibilities for all the pain I caused was too much to take. There is something that Natsu said that kept me going." "You sure it was me?" Natsu is confused. He doesn't remember what he said that inspired Princess Hisui. "I'm going to keep fighting to live today. Those were your words during the war with dragons, Natsu," Princess Hisui remembers like it was yesterday. "Oh, that's right. I defeated Future Rogue and threw a dragon to destroy the Eclipse Gate," Natsu remembers Future Rogue that night. "What you said kept me strong, Natsu. Thank you. What's more, they refreshen my mind when I learned about the Celestial World has been harmed as well. With that in mind, I made special keys to fight for today." "What keys?" Natsu asks Princess Hisui. "I can assume the keys are for the Zodiacs," Spike said. "Indeed," Princess Hisui nods. Arcadios opens a box that reveals twelve special keys that forcibly closes a Zodiac's Gate. Lucy is happy to know that she and her friends can use these keys without causing harm to any of her friends, thus canceling out any means of them performing Liberum. "Something is bothering me. How can you make these specially designed Celestial Spirits Keys? This is highly advanced magic. How can a non-wizard make those keys?" Yukino asks. "Yea, fair question. Forcing a gate to close is pretty difficult in itself. Making keys do it for you is another level," Lucy said. "Uh, not to be rude, but it's obvious. Princess Hisui is a Celestial Wizard," Spike said. "What!? No way!" Natsu said in shock. "How can you be certain?" Happy asks Spike. "How else would she be able to use the Zodiac Keys to open the Eclipse Gate?" Spike asks his friends. "Uuuuuuuuuuh," Natsu and Happy say in unison. Lucy and Yukino turn to Princess Hisui. She nods, confirming Spike's claim. "I'm good with putting pieces together like a puzzle, Princess Hisui." "He is," Lucy said. "Spike has solved a lot of questions, riddles, and puzzles with the info he receives." "Wow," Arcadios now knows how Spike utilizes the information given to him to solve the equation. He's impressed with Spike's intellect. "I'm amazed, Spike. Perhaps you can be a general for the Royal Army someday," Princess Hisui says in shock. "Nah, I'll stick with being a Fairy Tail Wizard, if you don't mind," Spike chuckles a bit. "Not at all," Princess Hisui doesn't mind. "However, there is one thing that prevents us from using the keys just yet. First, we'll have too-" Princess Hisui is interrupted by black winds. The box of the specialized keys goes into the hands of a humanize fish. "You're too kind. We only just met, and you're giving me presents," He says. He appears as a humanoid fish with blue skin, webbed fingers, and fins protruding from the sides of his head and his arms. "Hey, give that back you little weirdo," Natsu demands, looking up at the guy. "Very well done, my boy," She says, engulfing Princess Hisui, Arcardios, Spike, Happy, Natsu, Lucy, Levy, and Yukino in a water tower explosion. She appears as a giant shark. Happy sees the floating sharking hovering in the air. "It's a fishy!" Happy does a doubletake and turns to his friends. "Is it something I can eat?" "Look at its teeth, and you tell me," Lucy said, hoping that Happy wakes up from his stupidity. "Who the heck are they?" Natsu gets up. "You're as nimble as ever, my sweet baby boy," The Shark said. "Stop talking to me; you gross out hag!" "Gross old hag?" The Shark feels sadden by the words coming out of her son's mouth. "How can you be so cruel?" The two start bickering while Yukino explains that those Zodiacs are Pisces. Yukino knows it in her heart that the mother-son duo is Pisces. Despite their appearance, she knows it deep down. Everyone sees how their relationship looks, awkward and embarrassing. "Pisces, please. Give us back those keys," Yukino asks, wanting to save her Zodiac spirits. "Say what?" The son of Pisces looks down at Yukino. "Who are you?" The mother of Pisces looks at Yukino. "Pisces, listen. I know you forgot me, but I'm your Celestial Wizard, and I need those keys to help you." "We might have to do what you told us once but don't anymore," The Son of Pisces responds, turning his back on Yukino. "You ain't got a contract." "You might as well get this through your head, we're done with you!" The mother of Pisces decrees. "Do you really mean that?" Yukino said in shock. "Don't listen to them. They are not themselves. They are an alternate personality, Yukino." "We have what we came for, sweetpea. There's no reason for us to hang here anymore." "But, I haven't gotten to play with them yet. I feel like fighting," The son of Pisces turns around and challenges Natsu to a fight. "I'm going to take back our keys and pound your face so hard it'll look exactly the way it used to. Let's go, Happy!" Natsu starts sprinting. "Aye, Sir!" Happy grabs Natsu and flies after the son of Pisces. "Hah! Catch me if you can," The son of Pisces starts running away from his mother. "We need to help him out," Lucy said. "You should let Spike and I handle that. Why don't you and Levy help back and protect the Princess," Yukino takes out her Silver Gate key. "Are you sure?" Lucy turns to Yukino and Spike. "We got this, Sis. No worries," Spike starts flying after the son of Pisces. Yukino follows Spike when the Shark hovers down, blocking the pathway. "Sorry, but I can't have you interrupt my sweetpea's playtime. If you want to help your friend, then first beat me and not that you can," The mother of Pisces says confidently. "Open Gate of the Little Bear! Polaris!" Yukino summons a gigantic pink mechanized bear standing on its two hind legs. His eyes are blue, and he wears a yellow handkerchief around his neck. "Roooar," Polaris shouts after being summoned into the battlefield. Polaris matches the size of the Shark. "Cool!" Spike has never seen Yukino's Silver Gate Keys before. He wonders if Lucy should try finding a mechanized bear for herself. "You don't look very appetizing but, you never know. Maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised after all," The mother of Pisces tries to devour Polaris. Polaris grabs her jaw then gets whacked by the tailfin of the Shark. Yukino commands Polaris to power up. Polaris' stomach opens up, revealing a honey mixture oil for him to drink. After he drinks his juice, Polaris powers up. That's when the mother of Pisces convinces him to take a nap after mealtime and compliments him that he's a good teddy bear. After the compliment, Polaris falls asleep. "Watching him eat is making me hungry!" The mother of Pisces goes after Yukino and Spike. "Spike wants!" Spike increases his size. "Yes! More protein for my.., belly..," The mother of Pisces stops her pursuit when she sees Spike, the quarter size of a dragon. Spike punches the Shark to the ground. "Hey! You aren't supposed to hit a lady!" "Gender equality exists, stupid," Spike grabs the tailfin of the Shark and slams her around repeatedly. "Ever in doubt, Spike is the dragon to call for defeating behemoths," Lucy said. "Please, don't kill Pisces," Yukino asks Spike from damaging her Zodiac. "Don't worry, I'll keep it up until she's knocked out," Spike continues to slam the Shark on the ground a bit more. "It's still mind-boggling of Fairy Dragon's capabilities," Arcadios said in awe. "The Grand Magic Games were a sight to behold for Spike the Fairy," Princess Hisui said. "Hey, quick question. Does the Fairy Tail Guild have a Spike the Fairy dragon plush?" "Yea, the gift shop has plenty of them. It's Fairy Tail's best seller," Levy answers. Spike finishes slamming the mother of Pisces and tosses her away. She passed out due to the pain and beating she received. "Stay down if you know what's good for you," Spike reverts to normal size. "Well done, Spike," Yukino said. "Thanks. I will say, she's weaker thank King Shark." "Man, I can only imagine the strength of King Shark," Lucy imagines the strength of his abilities. "Hey, guys! We're back," Natsu and Happy return with the keys. They were successful with their fight against the Son of Pisces. "Now that we have the keys back, you can show us how to use them on Pisces, right?" Lucy turns to Princess Hisui. "Yes, but to activate a Celestial Spirit Closure Key, we must ensure the spirit absorbs the magic from its Celestial Wizard. Also, the spirit also has to lose the will to continue fighting." "D'oh!" Spike facepalms himself. "I wished I knew that sooner. I basically tossed the mother away." "Sorry, Spike the Fairy," Princess Hisui apologizes for her mistake. "We have fishies inbound!" Happy sees Pisces coming back for retribution. "Gee, you think they learned their lesson," Natsu powers up. "This time, I'll slam the both of them," Spike powers up. "Fire Dragon!" Natsu conjures his fire breath attack. "Fairy Dragon!" Spike conjures his breath attack. "Roooooooooar!" Spike and Natsu unleash their fire breath attack in a unison raid. The mother of Pisces unleashes her breath attack with black winds. The mother of Pisces disperses the unison raid attack. "What!?" Spike said in shock. "Oh, come on!" Natsu didn't know that the mother can use the same magic as the son. The mother of Pisces increases her size. Spike didn't anticipate that power up as he's unable to counter in time. She slams on the ground, causing everyone to take cover. The impact of the slam causes Princess Hisui to loosen her grip on the keys, allowing the son of Pisces to nab them and go away with his mother. "Can I roast them and eat them the next time we see them, Yukino?" Spike asks Yukino. He's angry at the fact that the Zodiac Spirits got him again. "No," Yukino answers. She sadly sighs and sits on the ground, thinking about her Zodiac Spirits. "I'm sorry, Princess," Lucy said. "It's fine. I won't let this stop us," Princess Hisui replies. "I made those keys once before; the second time should be easy." "I admire your spirit, Princess. However, that won't be necessary," Arcadios said. "Why is that?" Princess Hisui wants to know what Arcadios said that. "I owe you a sincere apology," Arcadios reveals a box filled with the Celestial Spirit Closure Keys. "I switched out your keys and implanted decoys in the other box. Just in case we were to run into trouble." "Huh?" Princess Hisui is in shock. Levy, Lucy, and Yukino gasps. "No way!" Natsu, Happy, and Spike shout in unison. They are in shock. "That is brilliant!" "Wow, they didn't swipe the real keys after all," Happy said happily. "So, we performed a ruse into thinking they defeated us," Spike couldn't help but chuckle at Arcadrios brilliancy. Arcadios nods. "Indeed, Fairy Dragon." "Now that we got the gate keys, all we got to do is go to the Astral Spirytus," Lucy said. "We can stop the Liberum ritual before it begins!" Yukino said in gladness. "Speaking of Astral Spirytus, Arcadios and I know where is," Princess Hisui said. "For real? That makes things easy for us, huh?" Lucy smiles, knowing that she's one step closer to saving the Zodiac Spirits. "Yes," Princess Hisui nods. "Let's move! The Spirits ain't going to beat themselves up! Natsu declares. "Aye, Sir!" Happy cheers. "Hop on my back! Spike wants!" Spike increases his size into a full dragon. He's on all fours. "Are we seriously riding on you, Fairy Dragon?" Princess Hisui gets excited. "Yea! You'll have to navigate me to the Astral Spirytus. From there, we'll walk." "Ah, yeah!" Natsu jumps on Spike's back. Lucy, Yukino, Levy does the same. Happy flies up and rests on Natsu's head. "Comfy, buddy?" "Aye," Happy smiles. Arcadios jumps onto Spike's back. "Princess, grab my hand." Princess Hisui grabs Arcadios' hand. He pulls her up. "Thanks, Arcadios." Spike flaps his wings and takes off. He soars in the skies. Princess Hisui, Levy, and Arcadios take the beauty of the skies and the towns below while riding on Spike's back. For Princess Hisui, it feels like a dream come true for riding on a dragon's back.