Lucy's P.O.V.

"Aaaaah!" Damn it, that hurt! I crash into a tree after being sent flying by the damn lightning wizard!

"Lucy!" Natsu cries.

I get up unsteadily, holding my throbbing head.

"I'm alright... but that really hurt." I whine.

"Get outta here! I'll take care of this guy!" he shouts.

"But-!"

"Just go!"

I gasp a bit, holding in my breath. He's never yelled at me like that, he must be really worried. I start shaking a bit. I can't leave him behind...

"Natsu..."

"Just ruuun!!!"

This time he really got me. Without my permission, my legs turn me around and start sprinting the opposite way. No! Go back! I can't leave him behind! Why aren't you listening?! Go the other way!!!

I keep running until I can't even here the sound of small explosions or electricity anymore. Why did I leave him behind? Why did I do that? I know he was strong and all, but I could've helped! ... Or could I? Am I really that useless? Just a weak, pathetic girl? No... I'm not. Everyone in Fairy Tail's taught me that I'm not weak, that I am strong. But if that's true, why did I run away? Why am I being so useless?! I can't help anyone if I just run away!

"Ahg! Haaaa!" I suddenly feel an immence pain surging through my body, as if it were a big burst of energy stabbing at all of my cells. "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!"

"Well how do you like that, girly?!" th-that's-!

The pain abruptly stops, but all my limbs and muscles feel so tired and numb. My knees double up under me as I fall to the ground, just barely supporting myself.

"Marvelo." I grunt through my clenched teeth. I glare at the purple-haired lightning wizard who's smirking down at me, "What did you do to Natsu?"

"Heh! There's no need to worry about him just yet, I have my lightning fake fighting him now. But in just a matter of minutes, he'll be dead and gone!"

So this whole time, he was just fighting a fake?

"How can I be sure your not the fake then?" I question.

"Oh, I'm real all right. I put my fake just as a distraction so I could get to my real target." he walks up to me and kneels down, pulling up my chin between his thumb and index finger, "You, miss Lucy Heartfilia." he smirks arrogantly.

"And just what do you want with me?" I ask through clenched teeth.

"Hmph! I want your precious celestial gate keys."

My gate keys? Why does he want them?

"You see, having all twelve Zodiac keys would prove a great authority to my side, after I get your ten keys, I'm gonna take miss Agria's keys and then that'll complete the set."

"Heh." I smirk, "And what are you going to do with them? It's not like your a Celestial wizard, you can't open a gate, any of them."

"Oh, but who says I'm going to open a gate to the celestial world?"

"H-huh?" If he doesn't want the keys for the spirits, what does he want them for?

"Hmph... so you haven't heard the legend, huh?" he says arrogantly.

"What legend?"

He gets up and starts walking around me, as if he were my superior or something.

"Centuries ago, there was a war between the dragons, the ones that wanted to make peace with humans, and the ones that didn't. I'm sure you already knew this much, right?"

I don't respond. It's true. I know all about that. I learned after the Grand Magic Games about that. What's he leading up to?

"Well, there was one dragon in particular that wasn't on any sides. One of the most powerful."

He's not talking about Acnologia, is he? Wait, no, it couldn't be! Acnologia is definitely against humans! There's no way he'd not pick a side!

"That dragon was Ourana, the celestial dragon."

"There's a celestial dragon?!" I screech. I've never heard of a celestial dragon before. Wait, if it does exist, wouldn't it be on the humans' side?

"That's right. And she was one of the most powerful dragons of all! On par with Igneel and Acnologia!"

You've gotta be kidding me!

"However, just like a celestial spirit, she refused to act until she had a master, so until then, she kept quiet in her den. The dragons would fight to have her contract, but non of them ever prevailed since they kept killing each other off. Finally, Gradeeney, the sky dragon, decided that she was too dangerous to have at all as a supporter. Dragons were killing each other just trying to get her, she didn't even want to imagine what would happen if one side had her. So she gathered all twelve Zodiac keys and created an indestructible gate that could only be opened and closed with those keys."

I stare at him wide eyed. I can feel the fear spreading through my body. Is Ourana really that powerful? Now that I think about it, I've never heard of a Celestial Dragon Slayer. Her captivity must be the reason why.

"However, the rumor is that, whoever opens the gate will be automatically contracted to this dragon and will be able to control her however they please. If I can get that dragon out of her hiding spot, I'll be able to control her and I'll have enough power to rule the world! My name will strike fear into people's hearts! They'll all tremble before me and obey to my every wish! Ahahahahaha!"

Is something like that really possible? If that's true, then there's no way for the world to survive! I can't let him do that!

"But first..." he turns to look at me, "I have to get those keys. And the only way to get them... is by KILLING THEIR MASTER!!!!"

What is this? There's a huge amount of magic energy. It's terrifying how much there is. I almost feel like I'm sufficating... Is it from him? He raises his hands over his head as a brilliant light shines between them. With that much magic energy, he could easily kill me! I can't even get up, my legs are too weak.

"Get ready for your end, LUCY HEARTFILIA!!!!"

I'm really gonna die. I close my eyes and turn my head, waiting for the blow. Even with my eyes closed, I can see how bright the light is, all white and pure. This is it.

...

"You all right there beautiful? You look pale." I shoot my eyes open immediately and land my gaze upward where the voice came from, tears welling up in my eyes.

"L-Loke..."

"That's right!" he says confidently, "What would be a knight if he couldn't even save his princess?"

The water droplets start to trail down my cheek as I grab his shirt and cry in his chest. Still carrying me bridal style, he just barely jumps out of the way from another attack from Marvelo.

"There's no time to be crying now, we have to take care of this guy."

I look up at him and nod, smiling as I do so. He saved my life... again. I'm so happy... I have such a loyal spirit. I knew he'd never let me down. Actually, that's an over-statement, he has sent Virgo in his place once, but that's it, thank god!

He puts me down gently and then steps in front of me.

"Stay back, I'll take care of him."

"No, I ca-"

"You're gonna have to. This guy's trouble, I won't let him hurt you." he says.

"But-!"

"Just stay back! If I need backup, then call someone else too, got it?" he half shouts, but he still has his smile on his lips.

I just stare at him shaking. I can't do this a second time today. I already left Natsu, I can't leave him too. My cheeks become even more wet, but my joyful tears are replaced with tears of sadness. Am I really that useless?

"Hmph. So you were saved by the famous Leo the Lion, leader of the twelve Zodiac. I was actually unaware that celestial spirits could pass through their own gate without being summoned. This is very intersting." Marvelo indicates

"Spirits aren't just puppets you can control with strings, we have emotions and our own sense of self. And just like humans, our feelings make us who we are." he then jumps up and tries to land a punch to Marvelo with his magic, but just misses because a dodge, "And my love for Lucy is what made me stronger!"

I suddenly feel my face heating up and my heart pounding a bit faster. He sounded so serious there. There was one other time when he sounded that serious, but I thought he was just kidding. But now, I know him enough to know that that's no joke.

They both jump back, scratching the ground with their shoes as they let the friction stop them.

"Ha! A spirit in love with his own master?! That's just pathetic! Fine, show me what you've got, loverboy!" Marvelo taunts.

From that, they engage in a full on battle, light flying in every directions, either from lightning or Regulus. They attack each other with all their strength and magic, fists punching here, feet kicking there, heads slamming into their objective. It looks really tough. It's one of the worst battles I've ever seen.

Instantly, Loke jumps back and sends a Regulus Impact shot at Marvelo, who blocks it with a light shield. He then sends an attack of his own which catches Loke off guard and sends him flying into a tree, crying in pain.

"Loke!"

He gets up weakly, that must've been a pretty powerful blow. He's barely able to stand, but he's still getting ready to attack, although his gaze is towards the ground, his bangs hiding his eyes. He shoots himself towards the enemy at high speed and punches him straight under then chin, sending him up a bit. While coming back down, Loke knees him right in the stomach and then does one last kick, spining his leg around him and allowing his shin to give enough force to send him crashing into a rock. Even though he hit him hard, I'm getting a strange chill down my spine.

Loke turns his head to look at me and smiles. He's all beat up, but it doesn't matter. Somehow, his handsome face stays handsome anyways. Instantaneously, his expression changes into shock and so does mine. A lightning bolt strikes him right through his center, making him scream in agony and falling down to the ground.

"LOKEEEEEE!!!!" I cry.

He stables himself to a half lying position with his arms, still in pain from the unexpected attack.

"Hahahaha! Wahahahahaha! AHAHAHAHAHA!!! Is that the best you can do, little lion?! AHAHAHA! I never would've thought that the leader of the Zodiac was this weak! Not so confident now, huh?!"

"Shut UUUUUUPPPP!!!" my mouth is working on its own now! First my legs, now this! Why can't I get my body to listen to me?!

They both turn their gazes towards me, Marvelo's bored and Loke's afraid.

"What are you doing?" he cries.

I breath heavely for a while, anger boiling through my vains, spreading across my body, telling my fists to clench themselves hard.

"I will not allow you to insult one of my spirits like that in my presence!" I shout.

"Oh? So the little princess wants to join? And what exactly are you going to do?"

What am I going to do? There's nothing I can think of. Which spirit would be good in this situation? No. I can't call on anymore. I have to take care of this myself. I know I'm not useless, meaning there's only one thing for me to do. I take out my whip and start waving it around me until it hits the ground hard right under Marvelo's feet. Damn! I meant to hit him! How does he dodge so quickly? He lands back down next to the spot I hit.

"Is that the best you can do?"

I take another whip at 'im, but he dodges again with ease. As he lands, he immediately sends a bolt of lightning straight for my hand, knocking the whip out and making my palm burn like crazy.

"A celestial spirit opening his own gate and a wizard rushing in to save her spirit? This is a day full of surprises." he implies.

I start crying again, being the pathetic girl I am. I really can't do anything. But I can't stand here and watch my spirit in battle, being put through pain. Then, I see a bright light appearing in front of me. He's attacking me again! I don't have time to get out of the way! All of a sudden, I feel a pressure pushing me to the ground, falling on top of me, but not weighing its weight on me. I breath heavely at the same time as the other party. Looking up at him, I blush a bit.

"Why are you being so reckless?" he asks hoarsly.

"Sorry. I just... I couldn't watch on the sidelines anymore." I whimper.

"Oh, how touching, you saved her once again even though you were barely able to stand. It seems you really are a loyal spirit."

He gets up and stands in front of me as I stand up behind him. I attempt to go next to him, but he pushes me back and keeps his hand there so that I don't move.

"Loke-"

"I told you to stay back."

I look up at him. He looks so serious... dead serious. It almost frightens me. But, even so, he keeps looking at Marvelo. So I don't know whether he's mad at me or just glaring at him.

They jump back into another fight, just as powerful as last time, except now, it seems like Marvelo's got the upper hand. I've gotta do something, but what?

Hold on! There is one thing I can do! I pull out my keys and take out one in particular that would help me the most now.

"Open, Gate of the Twins! Gemini!"

Two little blue figures appear flotting in the air. They read my mind and copy immediately what I ask them to do. They turn into me and then take my hand as we stand next to each other.

"Oh stars far and wide that embody the heavens,

May thy radiance reveal thy form to me.

I employ you, oh Tetrabiblos, Ruler of the stars,

Let your unrestrained rage flow.

Of the 88 heavenly bodies...

Shining!"

Our eyes shoot open, one of them with the gold design of a star.

"Urano Metria!!!"

With our combined magic power, Gemini and I cast the spell on the lightning wizard, knocking him out in a state where he probably won't wake up for a while. Gemini disapear as I collapse to the ground, but someone catches me before I land. The person pulls me back up into an embrace.

"You've grown strong." he says.

I hug him back, wrapping my arms around his neck.

"Thank you for saving me." he says.

"I should be saying that to you!" I respond playfully.

Loke looks down at me with a warm smile. He leans in and kisses me gently on the forehead, making my face turn three shades of red.

"I'll be there whenever you need me." then he disappears back into the spirit world.

"And so will I." I whisper, holding his key close to my chest.

"Hey Lucy!"

I turn to look at the new voice. It's Natsu! He's okay!

"Whoa! What happened here?" he asks, looking at the unconscious body of the wizard, "Did you beat this guy by yourself?" he asks.

"I'm never alone Natsu. There's always someone looking after me."

He just gives me a confused stare like what-does-that-mean?

"I'll explain everything on the way back to the guild, now come on!"

Lucy lived her life in Fairy Tail, no longer afraid that she was a burden. She was taught an important lesson that day that she was never ever going to forget. Lucy figured out she was allowed to have help, but she knew, she could help others too.

LoLu one-shot