Quest for the Eighty-Eight Keys

Chapter Four: The Capture of Celestial Wizards

We are now getting into the story, so you can begin voting from this point on.

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Freed x Lucy

Rufus x Lucy

Midnight x Lucy

All (poly)

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WARNING: SELF-HARM!

I hope you enjoy the story!

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Lucy sighed as she stared blankly at her ceiling, her limbs sprawled across her messy bed. She didn't know how long she had been laying there, just that she didn't have the will to move. Her rent was due soon, which meant that she had to go on a job soon. She hated going to the guild. She always had to plaster a smile on her face and maintain her reputation as "Fairy Tail's Light," keeping up this facade that she didn't ask for, but felt like she had to continue. If she stopped this act, then her guildmates would get worried about her. She couldn't allow that because then, she would have to tell them about Aquarius.

She heaved a sigh once again. She was devoid of energy. She wasn't sad, but she wasn't happy either. She didn't feel anything. The blonde brought a hand to the broken golden key that she kept on a necklace around her neck. She closed her hand around it, gripping it so tightly that she felt the jagged edges jab into her palm's soft skin. It stung and undoubtedly drew blood. However, she couldn't bring herself to care. She couldn't bring herself to care about much of anything since she lost Aquarius.

She felt her spirits pull on her magic, calling through their gates with the use of their bond with her. They encouraged her to go to the guild and confide in her teammates about what she was going through. Surely, they would understand and be able to help, the blonde's spirits reasoned. However, Lucy would use her magic to block any of them from summoning themselves.

The celestial wizard grunted as she eventually dragged herself out of bed. She sluggishly made her way over to her bathroom and leaned forward in front of the mirror, her hands on the rim of the sink. She grimaced at the sight of her face. She looked horrible. She had bags under her eyes from lack of sleep and she was pale, sickly-looking. She turned her head to look at the cabinet next to her bathtub, biting her lip to the point of almost drawing blood.

She knew that she shouldn't, but she had to feel something. She had to punish herself for what she did to Aquarius. Lucy walked over to the cabinet and opened it before she reached inside to take out the wooden box from inside. She sat on the edge of her bathtub and stared down at the box. She both wanted to do it and did not. With trembling hands, she unlatched it and opened the lid. After she revealed the contents to herself for the umpteenth time, she gingerly picked up the razor blade.

The blonde pressed the sharpened metal against the already scarred skin of her left wrist. Taking a deep breath and releasing it, she dragged the razer across the formerly flawless skin. She watched as beads of blood rose from the new cut and slowly ran down her arm. A stinging pain shot through her limb and she gave a small smile. She liked the pain. It made her feel something physical and served as punishment for breaking Aquarius' key.

She placed the razor blade against her scarred skin again and made another cut. She continued to do this until six new, slowly bleeding cuts marred her left wrist. She placed the razor blade back in the box, latched it, and returned the box to the cabinet. She continued to sit on the edge of her bathtub, soaking in the freedom from the numbness that the pain provided for her.

When the stinging pain subsided and the bleeding came to a stop, Lucy wrapped bandages around her wrist and began getting dressed, wanting to find a job and get rent money as soon as possible so she could continue laying around and feeling miserable. She took off her necklace and dressed in a black miniskirt and blue tank top with black, fingerless gloves that reached her elbows. They had been a birthday gift from Natsu, so it made sense that she would wear them all the time. It was an excuse that she was grateful for. After getting dressed, she used makeup to make herself look more alive than she felt and grabbed her brown belt and Fleuve d'etoiles, buckling her belt around her hips and hooking the whip onto it, before she reluctantly left her apartment, heading toward the guild. She hadn't needed to worry about her keys for a year now since Erza had taught her how to use requip magic. She didn't need to worry about losing her keys because now she can simply requip them.