Lucy was alone.

She had figured this out through the coincidental defense her spirit, Horologium, protected her as a reaction to the horrifying phenomena that was the Alegria Curse of Plutogrim, the moving fortress. Looking out the window she looked on with shock as the Kardia Cathedral was obliterated by the monolithic entity ramming through it, sending many people fleeing in a panic. The animated construct let out a horrifying wail, reducing her to crawl up into a ball and placing her hands over her ears. She cried at the state her friends were in but she wasn't allowed to stay for too long.

The King of Hades declared open season on the only human alive and free from Alegria.

The halls were flooded by a murky, gritty water that sent her flailing with a state of comical alarm. Finding a piece of debris that had flowed by she steadied herself onto it and was greeted by Tartaros Guilds men, using Holder Items to fire destructive bolts at her. Quickly she had grappled the roofing with her hands and flipped to acrobatically Lucy Kick the guards, pulling one of their weapons to bear on the remaining assailants. Then the Demons came and everything fell apart.

She had summoned Virgo to deal with a Slippery Curse Demon, Lamy, and then Loke to fight Torafuzar the aquatic Demon of formidable strength. They held them off as she began to recover from the close calls till Jackal appeared. Using her Fleuve d'étoiles attach to the Demon she had intended to send him flying. But the mere contact of his Explosive Curse obliterated the magical tether and blew up in her face. Suffering burns and blunt trauma she knew that at this rate she would be killed at the hands of the malicious madman. Thinking of nothing but her family, the Guild that was imprisoned by these horrible people, she summoned her most reliable spirit.

"Gate Of The Water Bearer, I Open Thee!" She cried out with a shout, her extended Celestial Spirit Key glowing a bright golden light as the water rose up all around her. The fatigue was instant as was the result of what erupted behind her. Before she fell back into the cool, murky depths the bosom and one-armed embrace of someone familiar that bore a scowl towards the host of Demons.

"What the-?! Who's this Bitch?!" Jackal swore aloud at the third Spirit that was summoned by the persistent target of his.

"You're a dumbass," Aquarius growled with bared teeth, raising her water basin with both hands. "How many times do I have to bail your ass out? You need to grow up, boyfriend-less bimbo."

"Yeah..." Lucy weakly agreed with a nod, smiling as tears of relief washed down her face. "I know.. Thank you for coming..."

"SAVE IT!" She let out a roar, letting forth a spiraling tidal wave to emerge from the basin, pushing forth the rest of the murky water with clear crystal blue liquid. Frothing forth it struck all three Demons and the Celestial Spirits simultaneously, washing away those who couldn't handle the tides immediately. The mermaid spirit continued to push her water through the crude canal, intending on flushing out all the occupants out of the floating fortress.

That was, until Torafuzar emerged menacingly in front of Aquarius, startling Lucy and her Celestial Spirit as he swung an elbow attached blade to cut her shoulder with ease.

"There's no water, however strong, that I cannot pass through," He boasted as Aquarius screamed, her hand clenching her shoulder as she lost control of the torrential tides flowing forth. As she fell, Lucy felt the unnatural water also dip as the level of moisture was drained from an unknown force. She couldn't even muster a scream as she saw her two distant spirits, Loke and Virgo, get obliterated in a vengeful retaliation by Jackal himself.

"I failed," She thought as she was presented before the terrifying three; exaggeration of terrifying on the cackling childish Lamy of course. Jackal fired a blast on her leg, splitting open the flesh while scalding it instantly. Holding her mouth with both hands she screamed at the ungodly pain that throbbed from her wounded appendage.

"That's good woman! Why don't you scream some more for me?!" He asked aloud as he observed maliciously his disabled prey.

"You disgust me," Torafuzar muttered, walking away as he waved back at the confused Jackal. "I came to do battle, not mindless torture. You do what you want while I relieve myself of this barbarism."

"Tch, whatever," The Tartaros Etherious dismissively waved, turning to look at Lamy whom now held Lucy upright under her arms.

"Let's blow her boobs off! That'll be fun! Nyahahahahahaha!" The obnoxious Demon suggested much to the girl's downtrodden dismay.

"Sure," Jackal agreed, his hand reaching out, causing Lucy's eyes to close. When the palm swept over the close-eyed girl with a dumb grin, he let loose a brief spark that detonated the skull. Blood sprouted with ash that rained over Lucy, her fallen frame shuddering as she witnessed the horrible act of cruelty and senseless slaughter. Raising up a hand he giggled at Lucy's expression. "What's the matter? She wanted to tear off those jugs you call a chest. You should be grateful I found it more amusing to blow her fucking head off!"

"But...she was your...friend," She muttered out weakly, tears drying up to form red marks on her cheeks as she struggled to look up. "Why...?"

"Bah! We may work for a common goal but don't lump me with your human idea of companionship!" He disregarded with a sneer. "I am strong on my own! I don't need anyone else!"

"Hehehe...hehehe," Lucy giggled with a painful hiccup.

"What's funny? Are you losing it already?" He inquired with an upraised brow.

"Then...how come a mere human like Natsu...and a brave Exceed like Happy...was able to beat you?" She asked with a wry grin, one eye closed at the continual pain and the other barely holding a stare with the infuriated Etherious.

"You...YOU...YOU FUCKING BITCH!" Jackal snarled, his body ejecting an aura that smelt of sulfur and ozone while bearing a resemblance of an orange flame. Raising a glowing hand towards her, he growled pointedly at the young woman. "I'M GOING TO FUCKING VAPORIZE YOU FOR THAT!"

Closing her eyes, she knew that the end was upon her. She begged everyone's forgiveness as a warm light surrounded her and she knew it was soon to be her oblivion. A sliver of hope that she was rescued was subdued by the realization no one was left. No Fairy Tail Wizard, no Celestial Spirit and no friends. They were gone.

And she was all alone again.

"Wait, what are you-YAAAAAAAAAAAH!?" Jackal suddenly cried out in surprise, a loud rushing torrent of water flowing forth as a comforting arm wrapped possessively around Lucy's middle. The drained aquaducts of hidden moisture drew back to her beck and call, flowing forth to push back the now aggravated Tarataros Etherious. Even as he thrust explosive waves into the moisture, more rushed back to push him down the long corridor.

"A-Aquarius," Lucy stifled a sob, feeling utterly relieved to see her come back.

"Quit the crying and listen," The older woman rebuked, her forehead tense with concentration as herh and was jutted forward. Blood seeped from the glowing wound on her shoulder. It took all of her will just to maintain her physical state and fight but she knew her obligation. And what must be done for the Celestial Mage's sake. "None of the Zodiac Spirits are strong enough to fight these Demons. You'll need our strongest Spirit to contend with the likes of them: The Celestial Spirit King!"

Her eyes widened at remembrance of the mustache bearing giant, a colossal being of epic proportions who lorded over the many spirits in the Spirit World. The idea of summoning him sounded insane, yet she did remember him entering the human world when Loke's existence was at risk. But to do it now when she had little to no Ethernano left...

"In order to do it," Aquarius continued after loosening her hold on Lucy, allowing her to float beside her as she used both hands to jet more water at the distantly exploding Demon. Howls of fury and bitterness were heard as unintelligible swearing echoed the hall. Wincing, her body glowed a faint yellow, dictating she didn't have long left to keep fighting with the injury she sustained. "You must sacrifice one of the 12 Zodiac Keys."

"W-What?" Lucy squeaked out, looking over with fear at what her friend was insinuating. "What do you mean? I...can't do that!"

"And it can't simply be any ordinary spirit," She added with a grim smile. "You have to have a strong connection to it. For that to work you must have known and worked with the spirit in particular for a long time. In this given instance I seem to be one of those select few who fits the bill perfectly."

Raising up her hands to shakily cup her ears, she wanted to block out what was told to her. It couldn't be true! She shook her blonde wet bangs back and forth with eyes dilating to the size of pins. Her mouth quaked out as she tried to deny what was being told to her, "No-No-No-No! I can't! I can't sacrifice a friend! I can't give you up!"

"You're a bratty girl, nothing like my Master Layla was," Aquarius remarked, smiling wryly in remembrance. "She was tempered, well disciplined and patient. You've always cried for attention and pitied yourself so much that it made me sick. Spoiled for everything but company you kept dragging me into puddles and baths, trying to cope with your own problems by using me so pettily. It'd be a good riddance I say."

"STOP SAYING THAT!" Lucy exclaimed, splashing the coursing water she was suspended in, looking on as hot tears slid down her face. "I...I know you've been hard, mean and spiteful since we first met. But...you were always looking out for me. You helped me be a stronger person. I cherish our time so much, even now when I've made so many friends on my own that I haven't needed to depend on you for my solitude! But anything, anything but sacrificing our friendship!"

"I won't die," The Zodiac Spirit reminded her with a serious glare ahead, not turning for an instant to look at her. "But once you sacrifice a key to summon the King, it won't be reforged. I'll be sealed permanently from entering the human world and remain in the realm of spirits. Guess that'd mean I get more time to hang with my boyfri-"

"Shut up!" Lucy cried out, face down clenching her face as tears poured relentless down her face. She felt her skin burn with how much it slid down her cheeks. Her trembling was only reinforced when the distant Etherious began to become more audible in his death threats.

"Cut that out, bitch!" Jackal snarled out, swinging his arms like swords to cut swathes through the jetting water, making more headway than before if not by a smaller margin. "I'm getting real pissed off here! Don't make me blow you apart one limb at a time cause that's sounding real fun right about now!"

"Lucy!" Aquarius authoritatively snapped, causing Lucy's cries to dim to sniffles. "I don't have much time left! If you don't use my key now, you will die! Summon the Spirit King now!"

"No!" Lucy she cried back.

"You have to do it! There's no other way!" She angrily spat as she shot more water at the approaching Etherious. "I can't hold him back much longer! Listen to what I say this once!"

"I won't lose you!" The Heartfilia heiress screamed back.

"LUCY!" Aquarius yelled out, her body now almost a pale gold with how much energy she was consuming to continue her fight. "DO IT!"

With a trembling shriek, Lucy's tearing face closed her eyes as she pulled out Aquarius' key. Pushing it outward while bracing her arm with another hand, she concentrated all of the magic she had left into the construct. It glowed a bright majestic light, spraying rays that danced all across the dark water filled corridor. The key began to crack as the pressure built in, the energy flowing out was bursting from the seams of the Holder Item.

"What is this feeling in my chest?" Aquarius asked, clenching at her middle as her eyes closed. For the next few seconds time seemed to slow. Her mind flashed to the moments she spent with Lucy. Both the good and the bad.

"You brat! What were you thinking of summoning me in a bathtub?"

"Play with me, Miss Aquarius!"

"Stop splashing me! Why aren't you playing with girls your age?"

"But...I don't have any friends..."

"Tch, you're so annoying!"

The loneliness was so apparent that it hurt Aquarius remembering the times she was so hard on her when she desperately yearned for friendship. In the time after her mother's death she could tell Jude hadn't even deemed it appropriate to elect anyone to support her emotional condition. Despite all of it, she wanted her to grow up strong and she never once deigned it right to give in to her desire of friendship.

It still didn't make the pain lessen as the light swam around her.

"You know I got a boyfriend recently?"

"Ah! Why are you telling me that?!"

"Hehe, you're jealous right?"

"N-No! I'm not jealous!"

"You should totally find someone who can appreciate you. I'm sure someone will pity a bratty bimbo like you...someday."

"A-AQUARIUS!"

A pulse emanated within the air, a deep thrumming that she knew her time was drawing to a close.

"Finally, you found friends on your own. I'm so relieved..."

"I know, it was thanks to you and the others that I could make friends."

"Hmmm, you think too highly of me, you little brat."

"I love you, Aquarius. Thank you for being my friend."

"Whatever you say, Lucy."

"Gate of the Spirit King," A loud gong filled the chamber, flowing through Plutogrim till it echoed the heavens and shook the earth. A mighty torrent of air parted the water and cracked the ground, walls and ceiling. A hesitant push upward and Lucy's levitating frame struck the space above her head, crying out loud one last time. "I Open Thee!"

"Lucy," Aquarius thought as her dissipating frame began to evaporate into a field of golden sparks. Her saddened face became happy once more, as a single tear slid down her cheeks. "I love you too. Goodbye, my friend."

The bells that had dictated his summoning came within a span of time that the Etherious couldn't predict. Breaking the sound barrier an enormous silhouette swung a sword through Plutogrim, crashing through to land on the ground far below in the blink of an eye. The dying roar of the bestial construct as it began to shatter and fall to the ground was heard for miles, digging into the soil below with a dramatic crash. Among the ruins. Standing tall, one frame that stood completely unaffected by the impact tread to look up at the immense being.

"Mard Geer hasn't seen that face in a long time," The King of Demons looked up with a calm smile, holding the Book of END under one arm as he grinned at the sight. "Celestial Spirit King. It's been decades hasn't it?"

"WAS IT YOU WHO BROUGHT TEARS TO MY OLD FRIEND?" The Celestial Spirit King asked, his words louder than any mortal or Demon's.

"Indirectly," The Etherious replied with a smile.

"WAS IT YOU WHO BROUGHT MY OLD FRIEND SUCH SORROW AND PAIN?" The King of Spirits asked once more, his body almost hinting of a tremble of subdued anger.

"Mard Geer sees no reason behind such inane questions," The Demon replied with a wave of his hand. "And if Mard Geer is?"

"THEN I AM AFRAID I AM LEFT WITH NO CHOICE," The Celestial Spirit King announced, taking both hands to grip his immensely proportionate sword. All at once a vast amount of magic sprung forth, like shooting stars among a dazzling field of celestial rays. The earth shattered and blew back, sending a hurricane of wind to quake the land with incredible tremors. A loud shout like thunder came from his mouth as red eyes fixated on an unaffected foe standing brazenly before him. "I SHALL DELIVER FORTH A RECKONING YOU SHALL NOT FORGET, UNDER WORLD KING!"

"Mard Geer accepts the challenge," Etherious declared with a one-handed beckoning gesture. "Come and do warm Mard Geer up, yes?"

One swing of a starry colored sword the size of a tall building and a pair of digits that was minuscule in comparison. A sprouting geyser of light meeting foul tendrils numbering in the hundreds crashed, creating a shockwave that blistered between the smaller being and the giant warrior. Wind buckled between the hair and mustache, the cloak and cape, all the while the ground split between their clash to produce a quarter mile tear in the land between them.

A Battle of Kings had just begun.

Lucy was alone, once again. She somehow had survived the fall as Plutogrim had crashed into the earth in the wayside away from populated areas. Among the debris ridden rubble she clenched the key of Aquarius in her hands. Knelt before it her teary eyes couldn't bear to look at what it had become: broken and unable to be mended. It felt like someone had stabbed her heart and twisted the knife. A dear friend of hers was gone and never able to be replaced by what occurred.

"It hurts...it hurts so much," She whimpered as her head shook, her hands bringing the key to place close to her barely covered chest. She didn't even recognize the burnt leg that had received harm or the other lacerations and burns in the fight she had. All that tore her up was the pain filling her heart of a void that had become so despairingly realized. Her friend Aquarius was finally gone forever and no one could ever bring her back.

"The fuck...happened?!" Jackal emerged with a loud shout, heard by Lucy's ears but not even acknowledged. The canine eared Etherious turned to see in the distance a titan of grand proportions clashing with what he could assume was their master, Under World King or otherwise known as Mard Geer. The shockwaves shook the ground even from here and the flashes of light offset by Mard Geer's Curse was something that scared him. If there was an enemy strong enough to fight even their leader, then was the girl responsible?

"What the Hell did you do?!" He demanded, swinging an arm around as he interrogated her from afar.

"Aquarius," She whispered, still crying at the loss of her friend.

"Answer me, bitch!" Jackal snarled, his body once again igniting his hand to point at her. With a thrust in the air, the Curse propelled itself across the wind to sweep over the ground she was kneeling over. A flash of orange-gold later and an explosion consumed her location, erupting flames that swept smoke up into the air. He had no way of knowing if it'd kill her, but he was too angry to care at this point. Whether she'd answer her question or not was completely irrelevant to the situation at hand.

What was, however, the sight of her body completely unscathed along with a good chunk of the ground he had shot the Curse with.

"My Curse...did...nothing?" He gaped, completely taken aback by what transpired. "Impossible! It had to have hit something! What did it explode against?!"

"What?" Lucy raised her head up, dimly remembering a flash of light about to eradicate her body. It was muffled but she heard an explosion. A sight of shimmering water had flowed upward, briefly forming a bubble around her and the ground she knelt upon. A lurch in her throat was felt as she pushed up to look around. "Aquarius?!"

It was strange. She didn't see her friend but she knew it was a Water Barrier. If it wasn't that or any of her friends, who was responsible?

"You...just...DIE!" Jackal exclaimed, launching out another throttling blast of explosive Curse at her. Unable to look away at the crossing surge of light that detonated seconds later, a bubble of water once again cocooned around Lucy's proximity and negated the blast entirely. The sight took the bomber completely by surprise as did the words that Lucy heard in her head.

"LUCY! MY OLD FRIEND!" The Celestial Spirit King's voice thuum within Lucy's head. "I CANNOT RETURN AQUARIUS TO YOU, FOR WHAT WAS BROKEN CANNOT BE MENDED! HOWEVER! I SHALL MAKE A ONCE IN A LIFETIME EXCEPTION AND DO THE UNTHINKABLE: GIFT YOU WITH ZODIAC SEAL IN YOUR BODY!"

It happened all at once. A surging golden warmth flowed up from within her core that bubbled up from her abdomen all the way to her crown and down to her toes. As she knelt down a mark was borne on her collarbone from the sternum at its center, crafting the dark lines that were once upon what she remembered was Aquarius. Her disheveled hair elongated into a longer mane of golden tresses, her ears and forehead bearing the jewelry effects that once belonged to her beloved friend. Even her cobalt colored top replaced the meager leaflet covering, a skirt of cyan and a long frilled dress of blue scales over her two legs. What's more, her eyes shined twelve elliptical streaks of stars over her golden colored irises that overlapped her pupils entirely.

"This is...Aquarius' Power?" Lucy questioned, feeling an indescribable feeling as the wounds she had suffered were entirely ignored; a side effect of the healing properties of the transferal. But as she clenched her hands she felt a weightlessness she hadn't felt before as if the world itself could be compared to the ocean. Standing to her feet her body bristled with an indigo gleam of Ethernano that felt indescribable to her person. "I had no idea she was...this strong. All this time and I had limited her to what she could do. If only-"

"THERE IS NO TIME TO BE IDLE, MY OLD FRIEND!" The Celestial Spirit King declared in a booming voice within her head. "BALANCE IS NOW MAINTAINED WITHOUT A TWELFTH KEY BUT YOU MUST MAKE HASTE! THESE DEMONS ARE RELENTLESS! USE YOUR NEW GIFT TO SAVE YOUR FRIENDS! SAVE THEM WITH YOUR OWN STRENGTH!"

"T-Thank you, Mr. Mustache! Thank you so much!" She called out to the heavens.

"What the Hell happened to you?!" Jackal swore aloud, taking a fearful step back. "Just...what are you?!"

Wiping her tears, Lucy began to walk forward, a renewed stare of determination etched onto her face, "I am Lucy Heartfilia, daughter of Jude and Layla Heartfilia. I am a Fairy Tail Wizard, and my Guild is my family. You're keeping my family prisoner and you love nothing but hurting others. I'll use my friend's power to free them...and defeat you!"

"Like HELL you will!" Jackal retorted with a thrust of his arm, sending explosive wave of firepower at her. One loud detonation followed another, his hands a blur as he kept spamming the same attacks over and over in hopes of overwhelming her. "You can't beat me! You're a lowly human! No one can surpass the might of a Demon!"

"Wrong," Lucy replied, her body wiping away the smoke with a single swipe of her arm, moisture filling the air. "I am also the bearer of my friend's power, Aquarius' Magic! I am the first Celestial Spirit Mage to ever have that power. With it, I'll defeat you and help free my family!"

"You insufferable little shit," The Etherious snarled, his body already contorting to odd angles, spreading a mane of fur all across his body. The transformation happened in seconds and his were wolf form was dawned once more out of pure rage. Baring fangs he readied his hands on either flank before throttling forth with a powerful swipe of his hands. "DON'T UNDERESTIMATE DEMONS!"

Just as his claws touched the ground, Lucy seemed to evaporate into mist before his eyes. The explosion as a result of his Curse jettisoned across the debris, carving a wafting blast across the remains of Plutogrim. What he didn't see was the spiraling water circling around Lucy's waist to form a faux mermaid tail, propelling her through the air to engage in a super speed of flight. Chopping her hand along his back, water geysered from her pores, crashing against him with a hydrogen blast that sent him blowing back wide against a standing wall that exploded against him.

"Fucking dammit!" Jackal howled with anger as he righted himself, turning just in time to see a spiraling torrent of water throttle straight into his face. Crashing with extreme prejudice he spat out blood from the blunt trauma his skull received while being swept away by the instantly manifested tides. Reeling head over canine heels, he skidded to a halt just before a geyser of water erupted from the ground sending him flying up into the air flailing helplessly. "FUCKING FUCK! WHERE ARE YA PIECE OF SHIT?!"

"Right here!" Lucy announced over his head, causing the Etherious to bead bullets of sweat. Her legs were raised up, and with it raised a torrent of rising water that not only swam up from the remains of Plutogrim but from the earth below and the sky itself. A colossal body of water equaling that to a tall tower was forged, glistening with a bright majestic color of cyan, turquoise, indigo and cobalt. The hues of the sea enraptured what looked like a large fishtail, all extending as rotating water from Lucy's thighs up her raised feet.

"N-No way!" Jackal thought as her leg began to pull down as well as the large mermaid fin of rotating immensely scaled water. "This isn't real! This can't be...happening!"

"Lucy Kick," She declared, her heels colliding onto Jackal's head in an ax kick to make his eyes bulge as the large body of water tail slapped him following her limbs' pendulum gesture. In her mind's eye, she could feel Aquarius moving with her, as if they were now one. As she cried out she could imagine it was her tail fin smacking the horrid demon right in front of her eyes, together with her own leg. "Aquarius Tidal Fin Combo!"

A flash of light followed by a collapse of the air surrounding the two and Jackal was sent spiraling down with the force of a meteorite. A large upheaval of the debris was seen along with a pillar of smoke, webbed cracks split around the Plutogrim remains that spread for a great measured distance. Within a deep crater the already mangled, deformed body of the Etherious was reverting back to his normal state just before it glowed and transformed into a crumpled book. Doused with the water that struck him physically, the parchment and binding soon deteriorated in the Water Magic that filled the hole along with the cracked grounds of Plutogrim's remains.

"I...did it," Lucy panted with relief, her body feeling a bit winded from the exertion she put on her last spell. She could almost hear Aquarius rebuke in such a tasteless choice of attack names but she couldn't but help smile as tears welled in her eyes. Wiping them away she descended downward, her lower dress covered legs once again transformed into a mermaid tail as she went to find her friends. "Thank you, Aquarius. I'll never forget you, nor feel lonely again. Not with you by my side, helping me every step of the way."

A/N: Another One-Shot that you could say is a sequel based around the One-Shot I did with Jackal vs Natsu where "spoilers" Happy dies! This is another instance where I think a huge opportunity was missed by the author to evolve Lucy's character. Given she was the crux of this subplot of the entire Guild being held captive except for her...with no explained reason why (Hiro, couldn't you have used that BS Defense Magic that the Clock Man uses all the time? It wouldn't have been worse than simply SOMEHOW isn't absorbed by the Alegria Curse, but meh.) I wanted her to have a legitimate reason for her to be endowed with Aquarius powers if only because the Key was broken and will NOT be mended later (I'm looking at you, Hiro).

What are your thoughts? If you got any feedback about this story, please leave a comment in a Review below. Until then, I'll see you guys again later ^^