A Snowball's Chance

Chapter 9

Lucy's jaw dropped,"She's a what?"
Gray nodded,"Celestial spirit mage. I didn't catch her name but she seemed pretty intent on beating me up. She would have herself, had it not been for her spirits."
"I don't understand... The most powerful spirits are tied to the zodiac keys, so what kinds of keys did she have?"
He frowned at this, "How should I know?"
"Ah, right..uh... Sorry,"
"GRAY!" The door burst open. Juvia blew past Lucy and wrapped Gray in a tight embrace. "Is Gray feeling better? Can Juvia help?"
"Hmphnmphgmph."
Lucy grinned, " I think he needs to be able to breathe in order for him to answer."
Juvia gave her a hard look,"You cannot have him he is my love, mine!"
" For the last time, Juvia, I DON'T LOVE HIM! Maybe if you give him enough space to breathe, both physically and emotionally, he'd find that he loves the way you look at him and treat him, leading up to his falling in love with you."
Juvia raised a finger in protest but decided to go with it anyway, besides Gray doesn't love her, right? Of course not!
Juvia proceeded to get off his chest, after which, he gasped for air.
"Juvia if you want to prove your love to me don't suffocate me."
"Whatever you say, my love!"
He shifted and looked out the window, "Juvia I need to talk to Lucy for a minute okay? Alone. Can you do that for me?"
Disappointment slid across her features but she agreed anyway,     "You're not in love with her are you?"
Gray brushed his hair back from his forehead, "I love both of you, equally, as friends."
All she heard was "I love you" and danced out of the room with a big grin on her face.
"You were saying?" Lucy asked.
"Right, I don't know what keys she had but they weren't gold or silver... I think they were... Black? Have you ever heard of such a thing?"
Lucy shook her head," No, I'll have to call one of my spirits and ask. If all else fails though we still have the library."
"Library... That sounds nice," he mumbled o himself.
"Hmm?"
"Oh it's just, I like uh, books, you know? The library has always been a nice place."
"I usually go for inspiration for my book," She admitted.
"Can I read it yet?"
Lucy shot him a look, "Only after Levy...maybe..."
"Well I liked what I read a few years ago."
She blushed,"Oh uh... Thanks."
"No problem."
Lucy suddenly found herself wondering if he was shirtless when he last went to the library and decided it was a nice picture.
A knock on the door tore her from her thoughts. It was Porlyusica, "He won't be going anywhere until he's completely healed!"
"I'm fine. I'll do whatever I want."
"Fine. But if you die it's not on me."
She slammed the door behind her. Gray reminded Lucy to call one of her spirits.
"Right. Open! Gate of the lion, Leo!"
With a brilliant flash of light, Leo appeared before them,"What can I do for the love of my life?"
Gray raised an eyebrow, "Looks like you and I have Juvias of our own, huh, Lucy?
"Loke, please stop doing that. Oh and uh, shut up Gray."
"You sound like Natsu,"
Lucy rolled her eyes at Gray and returned her attention to Loke, "So I need you to tell me anything you can about black keys? Gray said when he was attacked the mage had black keys."
"Geay was attacked!? Black keys?"
"Yeah," Gray confirmed," I've never seen Lucy call on anything like them before."
"Like you paid attention?" She smirked.
"So what if I do?"
"Focus, guys," Loke commanded," I don't think I've ever heard of black keys, but I have heard of crystal keys that, when infused with certain elements, can give the holder the powers if those elements. "
"Whoa," they chimed in unison.
"But what could be infused with a key that would make it turn black?" Gray wondered aloud.
"That's a good question," was all Loke replied.
"Coal?" Lucy guessed.
"I doubt it," Gray added,"What kind of power could someone get from coal?"
"It wouldn't be possible anyway, Lucy," Loke pointed out.
"What do you mean?" Her eyes widened.
"I mean there are only five elements that can be used for the infusion. Earth, fire, air, water, and spirit. While coal could be tied into earth or fire, it wouldn't be just coal alone."
"Why didn't you mention this sooner?" Gray demanded,"Do you have any idea how many times Lucy could have saved herself a lot of trouble if she'd had these keys?"
"Gray!" Lucy exclaimed.
"No, it's fine, I get it," Loke corrected," I just learned about these keys recently, say, a few Earth Land weeks ago. Lucy hadn't called on me and they're so rare, I figured it wasn't relevant."
Gray looked at Loke flatly and Lucy's eyes were even bigger than before.
"So... If I can find one of these keys, does that mean my powers could increase?"
"If all were to go as according to plan, yes."
"What do you mean?" She asked.
"In order to actually achieve a single key, you have to find the elemental monarchs. You'd have to beg an audience with them and get them to like you, which can sometimes include favors."
"Like running errands?" Gray asked.
"Sometimes. It truly depends on the monarchs. It could also be of sexual nature. Not to them, but if they have a son or daughter..."
"Wait what?!" Lucy shouted," No way am I sleeping with someone just for magic powers!"
Loke put his hands up in defense," I didn't say you had to."
"Well.... Good! Because I wouldn't!"
"Don't be so quick to say never, Lucy, you might find the lover they pick for you quite charming." With that, he saluted a goodbye and winked back into the Celestial World.