After consulting with Mirajane, who squealed with joy at hearing they were finally going on a date and proceed to drill Erza for all the details about Lucy's confession, and various magazines for good first date activities, Erza settled for a dinner at a restaurant and then a visit to her favorite bakery in Magnolia.

It gave them ample time to talk and learn new things about each other. Plus, there were cakes, too. Erza was kind of nervous at the beginning until Lucy took hold of her hand and reassured the redhead that she was doing fine. And that the blonde found her behaviors entirely endearing, which almost made Erza trip on thin air and fall flat on her face.

Lucy kissed her on the cheek when the Requip mage took her back to her apartment at the end of the date, and Erza could feel the heat linger there all the way back to her own place, burning up to the tips of her ears.

Their next few weeks were swarmed with work. Due to the strange weather lately, almost everyone in the guild was out on various missions from nearby villages and towns. Mira received a request for a Celestial mage which she kept specifically for Lucy, and Natsu wanted to tag along with the blonde. Erza took another mission at a reconstruction site in the next town over, helping villagers rebuild their houses after a disastrous earthquake.

It was a relatively easy mission, simply requiring a decent amount of physical strength which Erza had in spades. When she got back to the guild three days later, Lucy and Natsu hadn't gotten back from their job yet.

Erza frowned, wondering what exactly was prolonging their mission since their normal ones usually only last for two days at most. Mirajane pulled up their record of official missions and informed the redhead about Lucy's job, which was to research the causes behind the unusual weather at a seaside village named Seabellus.

Erza was troubled at hearing this, because she was sure there was no village with that name in the region. She had done many jobs in that area, and there was no village there, only giant sea slugs. Gray suggested they went after them in case the job request was actually a trap and Lucy's group might be in danger, and Erza was inclined to agree with him.

However, right when Erza, Gray, Wendy, and Carla were ready to go, Yukino suddenly appeared at Fairy Tail, out of breath from basically running all the way here and immediately asked to see Lucy. The young mage explained the situation with her own Celestial keys, saying that both Libra and Pisces had stopped answering her summons.

Celestial Spirits are supposed to obey the Celestial mages they had contracts with, so it should be impossible for them to ignore her calls. Yukino had researched into the cause of this behavior but had come up empty. And now, she was worried that Lucy's keys no longer work, too.

Erza's bad feelings got worse with this new development. If that was the case, Lucy couldn't use her magic during their mission, which put them in a vulnerable position against any attack that might come their way.

Lucy and Natsu chose that moment to burst through the door, soaked to their bones from the heavy rain outside. Mirajane gave Erza a clean towel which the redhead used to wrap around Lucy and quickly dry out her hair, all the while listening intensely as the blonde explained their encounter with her Spirits.

That job request was a fake one, a trap the Celestial Spirits set to lure Lucy to their position. What the Celestial Spirits were searching for was something called Complete Freedom. Leo, who was the leader of the Twelve Zodiac Spirits, claimed that their contracts with the Celestial mages were now void and there was nothing the blonde could do to reverse that, not until they knew the reason behind their actions.

Gray had to punch Natsu to shut up his rambling about the Celestial Spirits' aggression towards them, completely ignorant of Lucy's disheartened expression just a few feet away from him. Erza gave the towel back to Mira after she was done and put a reassuring hand on the Lucy's shoulder, silently conveying her strength and sympathy at the situation.

But Lucy's defeated posture did not stay for too long, the blonde was determined to find out the causes behind this phenomenon, refusing to believe her dear Celestial friends would attempt a revolt out of nowhere like that. Lucy summoned Crux, one of her silver keys which were not affected by the strange event, to gather more information about the Celestial world during all this.

The old spirit explained that the Celestial Spirit King had suddenly gone missing, and the Zodiac Spirits had been running rampage ever since, destroying the Celestial world and forcing all the other spirits into hiding. Crux was not sure what caused the contracts between the Zodiac Spirits and their owners to become invalid, but he remembered something called Liberam that was related to the Complete Freedom Leo spoke of.

Incidentally, Yukino had also come across this word during her previous research into the Spirits' unusual behaviors. Liberam was a Celestial Spirit ritual that needed to be performed in order for the Spirits to achieve their "complete freedom", but it required a Celestial globe to free the Spirits from their chains.

No one knew the destination of the Celestial globe mentioned but they assumed the Zodiac Spirits had not gained possession of it yet. If they had, they wouldn't bother showing themselves to Lucy like that and just start the ritual already. They needed more information about the globe's whereabouts and found it before the Zodiac Spirits could get their hands on it.

Their team, along with Levy and Yukino, decided to head to the Sorcery Library to do more research into the matter. But the nuisance that was Natsu went ahead and hitched a ride with Horogium and Crux to go into the Celestial Spirit world in hope of fighting with Leo and beating him to his senses. Without her or Lucy's permission.

At this point, Erza had started to give up on all hope of Natsu ever behaving like a regular person with a fully functioning brain. That was the most troublesome but endearing trait about him, after all, and the Salamander would undoubtedly come back when they needed him to.

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Their group arrived at the library and started the research process immediately. There were a lot of books to read through so everyone found a comfortable position on the floor, prepared to spend a few hours in the quietness of the library.

Wendy was sitting in a corner, Carla and Happy curled up on either side of the small girl. Erza and Gray were a few feet away from them, the redhead leaned against a bookcase while Gray simply lay down on his side with an opened book on the floor. And the main brain of the operation, which consisted of Lucy, Levy, and Yukino, was clustered at the center of the room across from them, surrounded by piles upon piles of books.

After a while, Levy was the one who broke the silence with a deep sigh, Erza could hear the small bluenette from her place just a short distance away from them. "There is nothing in this one either. I think I need a break, we have been reading for two hours already."

Lucy nodded, closing the book in her hands and rubbing her stiff neck, "Yeah, my eyes are starting to hurt a little too."

"So, Lu-chan." Levy started in a mischievous voice and nudged the blonde's shoulder, "How is it going with that secret crush of yours?"

That instantly captured Erza's interest, and her ears perked up at the question. Yukino's too, apparently.

"Lucy-san has a crush on someone?" The white-haired girl tilted her head in perplexity.

"No! I mean, yes! But no!" Erza could practically feel the panicked look Lucy was shooting her way, just for a brief second. "No, we are not talking about it now!" So Levy didn't know who the blonde liked, huh.

"Come on, Lu-chan, we are on a break. You haven't told me anything about your crush for a few weeks now, and I'm starting to miss all your rambling and dreamy sighs. Is the person you like Natsu?"

"Lucy-san has a crush on Natsu-san?" Yukino's head tilted the other way at that.

Gray snorted loudly at the name from his place beside Erza, also eavesdropping on them apparently, and the redhead kicked him in the shin to shut him up, but that could not stop his shoulders from shaking with poorly concealed laughter.

"No! I don't have a crush on Natsu! Yukino, don't let it get inside your head. And Levy, why in the world do you even think the one I like is Natsu?"

Levy's teasing smile remained on her face, probably thinking Lucy was just embarrassed at having her crush exposed, "Well, you two always go on missions and do everything together. Natsu gets angry whenever something happens to you, Lu. You usually take care of him after he gets injured from the jobs you guys go on, don't you? And do you notice your guild mark is the same color as his hair, too? Maybe that is fate's way of telling you you and Natsu belong together! Which is so romantic!"

Erza frowned. Is that what people thought about Lucy and Natsu, together?

Gray had to kick her a few times to break the redhead out of her train of thought. The Ice-Make wizard shook his head and mouthed 'Don't be stupid' when he saw her frowning.

"That's just a coincidence." Lucy fiercely denied, "There is nothing going on between me and Natsu. He gets angry whenever any of our friends gets hurt, and I take care of all our friends with Wendy when we get out of battle."

"That's true." Wendy happily chimed in, having moved closer with Happy and Carla during the argument, and Lucy groaned at having more people joining in this mess, though she still gave Wendy a grateful smile for defending her, "Lucy-san usually takes care of small cuts or bruises so I won't deplete my magic trying to heal everyone. Isn't that right, Carla?"

The white cat simply nodded, "From my observation, yes. Although I don't understand why you guys are debating about it. Natsu is not the one Lucy likes."

"Eh, how do you know that, Carla?" The small Dragon Slayer turned towards her companion. Lucy, Levy, and Yukino followed suit.

"I saw her in one of my visions." The cat shrugged, "She was confessing her feelings for another person, but I can't tell you who it is. That's not really my place to do so." Carla smiled at Lucy, and the Celestial mage beamed right back.

"Thank you, Carla. That settles it, guys. I don't like Natsu that way. Can we stop talking about this now please? I will tell you about it when we are ready." Lucy huffed, so ready to move on from this matter, ignoring Levy's pout.

Wendy gave her a toothy smile, "I'm sure whoever it is would feel very lucky that you like them, Lucy-san!" The blonde only shook her head fondly and patted the girl on her head.

Gray's loud laughter at Erza's red face broke everyone from their conversation, and the Requip mage could feel six pairs of eyes turn her way curiously, making her blush intensify even more. Erza wanted to hit him for that, but Gray had taken advantage of the few seconds in between to roll away on the floor far from her reach, still snickering under his breaths.

Erza stood up, an excuse already formed on her lips, "My body is getting stiff from sitting too long on the floor. I'm going to take a walk around to stretch my legs." Before swiftly moving away to the other side of the library.

Lucy didn't take too long to find her among the bookcases, and the redhead briefly wondered whether Levy would take notice of that.

"I don't like Natsu like that." The blonde quickly explained as soon as Erza heard her footsteps getting closer. "About my guild mark. I just like the color pink, it has nothing to do with Natsu's hair. I didn't even know him that well back then. He is just my friend, I promise."

Erza smiled. She already knew that, but it was nice to hear Lucy say it out loud. Reassuring, in a way. That Lucy wanted this just as much as she did, too.

"I know, Lucy. I know the person you like, remember?" The redhead let Lucy take her hand and intertwine their fingers in a firm touch.

The Celestial mage frowned, "I just don't want you to get the wrong idea. I'm only interested in you, Erza."

"And I'm only interested in you too, Lucy." The Requip mage moved closer, placing her hands on the bookcase on either side next to the blonde's waist.

Lucy reached up and curled her hand at the place on Erza's neck below her jawline, where the redhead's armor didn't cover the skin beneath her hand. The soft caress made Erza's heart flutter, and a pleasant tingle ran along her spine at the butterfly touch.

"Can I tell Levy about us, Erza? She has been asking about my 'crush' for weeks now, and I'm dying to tell her, to be honest." Lucy murmured, always so considerate with everything about Erza, so gentle with everything that could even remotely make her uncomfortable.

Erza only smiled. She found out she smiled a lot more whenever she was with Lucy, "I don't see why not. Also, just a head up, Mira and Gray already know. I didn't tell them, they guessed."

The smile she got from Lucy was both sheepish and embarrassed at the same time, "I'm not surprised that Mira knows. The number of times I ask her about you is starting to get suspicious, even to me. But Gray, too?"

"He said we were both too obvious, at least to him. He laughed at me because of that, but I made sure to pay him back by bringing up the mess between him, Juvia, and Lyon."

"Yeah, I don't understand that either." Lucy nodded along, "But that's what they have to settle by themselves, I guess. I have already given up on trying to convince Juvia to her senses."

They stayed in silence for a while after that. Lucy had switched to playing with the baby hair on her nape while Erza attempted to count the freckles of gold in the blonde's beautiful eyes.

The redhead reluctantly pulled away, their mission still foremost on her mind, "Come on. Break time is over. We need to go back to find out the causes for your Spirits' actions if we hope to get them back in time."

Lucy sighed deeply, the heavy weight settling back on her shoulders as reality crashed onto them, and Erza chanced a kiss on her forehead. Just a gentle reminder that she was here with her, too. The blonde wouldn't have to go through this alone, Erza would be with her every step of the way.

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Their group learned that Liberam could only be performed in a specific location known as the Astral Spiritus. Levy was making headways into finding out the exact location of the Celestial globe when the ground beneath them shook and various holes suddenly appeared out of nowhere, effectively destroying the floor where they stood.

It was Virgo. The Maiden spirit looked different from the last time Erza saw her, even her attitude was the complete opposite of what it was before. Erza, Gray, and Wendy quickly shifted into battle formation to stop Virgo from going after Lucy, allowing the rest of their group to keep up their research.

Erza had never fought with Virgo before, and neither had Gray and Wendy. So they did not anticipate her method of transporting between different places by opening up holes from everywhere on the ground connecting to her destination. By the time they caught up with Virgo, the pink-haired Spirit had already snatched the Celestial globe from Levy's hand and disappeared with it.

Natsu was flung back into their world right after that, but they paid the idiot no mind. Not when Levy was telling them about a warning she found in one of the books. The Celestial Spirits could use the Liberam ritual to gain freedom, but in return, their lives would only last twelve days after that.

Erza watched as shock and horror appeared on Lucy's face at hearing her friends would have to die in exchange for their freedom. It was a frightening thought, to lose so many friends at once for such an unjust cause, especially when those friends had been with the blonde for a long time now. They had been through so much together, and the Celestial Spirits were now a part of Lucy's family too. They had never been just servants or tools to the blonde, and it devastated Lucy to know they would have to give both her and their relationships with each other up like that.

With the Celestial globe gone, their only lead right now was the Astral Spiritus which was believed to be in southern Magnolia. So that was where their group went, and came across Princess Hisui on her way to Fairy Tail.

The Princess and Arcadios were aware of the Celestial world's unusual activities from their own investigation, since the Princess was a Celestial mage herself. Princess Hisui explained their theory of the situation at hand, starting with the Eclipse Project a month ago. The tremendous power that the Eclipse Gate released when it was destroyed during the fight with the dragons was the reason behind the current natural disasters around Fiore and caused those unusual weather phenomena.

Moreover, its enormous power also reached across dimensions to affect the Celestial world as well. That was why the Celestial Spirits changed, from an aftershock magic wave emitted from the Eclipse Gate. The Princess wanted to help them with their mission, feeling it was her fault that the Eclipse Gate was even constructed in the first place.

Princess Hisui provided them with a set of keys, which she had created with her own magic, that can forcibly close the Zodiac Spirits' gates. But they could only be activated after they had absorbed the Celestial mages' magic and the targeted Spirits had lost the will to fight back. Erza made sure to memorize all of this, just in case it would become relevant later.

What was more, Princess Hisui knew the exact location of Astral Spiritus from her research into this matter, and their group made haste in hope of stopping the ritual before it happened.

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Needless to say, the Zodiac Spirits were not happy to have their Liberam ritual interrupted by mages of Fairy Tail.

Lucy and Yukino tried to persuade the Spirits with their pleas, saying there was no such thing as "Complete Freedom", the Liberam ritual would only give them twelve days of existence in the world after it was completed. But Leo rudely cut in, with an acknowledgment that they already knew about it and that it was a price they were willing to pay.

In the Lion spirit's eyes, Celestial Spirits were preordained to serve as slaves for the humans, despite the fact that they were far more powerful than their masters. What they were searching for was a way to surmount that fate. And for that, they didn't care about what would happen to their lives.

That was so incredibly short-sighted. No one should throw away their lives like that, no matter the reason. The Spirits had Lucy and Yukino believing in them, and by extension, Fairy Tail too. Lucy and Yukino had never thought of them as slaves, as anything less than their friends. The Spirits had friends and family here, that should be the reason they would want to cling to their lives as fiercely as possible.

Erza could see there was no reasoning with these Spirits anymore. It might take brute force to open up their eyes, so they needed to defeat them and forcibly close their gates then.

Right when they were ready to take on the Spirits by themselves, other members of Fairy Tail appeared too, which evened out the number mismatch between their forces. Mirajane, Elfman, Juvia, Gajeel, Lily, and Cana. Mira explained that they used Warren's telepathy to find and follow them to the mountain, which Erza was grateful for. It might seem dull sometimes, but telepathy certainly came in handy at the most crucial moments possible.

The Celestial Spirits each disappeared into their separate dimension, along with a challenge for Fairy Tail to follow them if they wished to stop the Spirits. Princess Hisui distributed the keys for closing their gates to each of them, and Fairy Tail split up to pursue their Spirit of choice.

Natsu already claimed Loke for himself, and Lucy went after Virgo. Erza let everyone else choose first, the last one would then be hers. Since they did not know about the specifics of these Eclipse Spirits' power, every single one of them was fair game at this point.

Erza got Sagittarius, the Gate of the Archer. The normal version of Sagittarius was an excellent master of archery techniques, as she had had the chance to witness him a few times, and the redhead was curious as to how his power would differ now compared to what she was used to.

The Horseman proposed a three-part competition, whoever won two out of three would be the ultimate winner between them. It was a much more civilized form of battling against each other, and any kind of competition was basically in Erza's wheelhouse, so she agreed to his terms and conditions with ease.

But first, "Sagittarius, I have a question before we start. Even if you guys succeed in performing the Liberam ritual and gaining freedom, you'll only be granted a mere twelve days. After that, you'll perish. You still wish for your freedom in spite of that?" She wanted to hear from at least one of the Zodiac Spirits aside from Leo, to determine whether it was actually their collective desire or the Lion spirit was manipulating the rest of them in some way.

Sagittarius nodded solemnly, "Even if it's only for twelve days, we'll regret nothing. If it means being released from our human contracts and obtaining freedom of our own."

Erza frowned, "Before you changed, you Spirits had formed a bond of friendship with Lucy. A bond that transcended contracts. Have you no qualms with what you're doing? Even now, Lucy still wishes to save you from your fate."

The Horseman denied having any recollection of the past they shared with Lucy, and claimed nothing could be said to stop them on their paths now. He was steadfast in his reasons and if she wanted to save them, Erza would need to defeat him in this battle.

Horseback archery. Horse racing. Combat match over a minefield. Sagittarius was a formidable foe, Erza felt fortunate to have met such a capable rival, allowing her to showcase her skills and push herself to the limits. After the result of the competition was clear, the Archer spirit admitted his defeat gracefully and let her close his gate without any protest.

Erza was sure they would face off again, someday. And she hoped he would be his normal self when that time came.

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The involvement of Ophiuchus complicated the situation. Through the Snake Chamber's explanation, these events weren't precipitated by the Zodiac's wishes, but rather the Celestial Spirit King's. And with the Twelve Zodiac Spirits sealed again in the Spirit world, the King gained enormous magic from their constellations and became much more powerful. The Zodiac was fearful of his power and attempted to flee from the Spirit world at first, only to have Fairy Tail forcibly close their gates and returned them to the amok King again.

If the Celestial Spirit King continued to gather power and rampage widely, the Celestial Spirit world would eventually be destroyed and disappear. So that was where Fairy Tail set out to go, into the Spirit world in hope of stopping the King in time and restoring everything to its previous balance.

Horologium helped them get into the Spirit world after they had changed into their special garments. Destruction was spreading everywhere when they stepped foot into the Spirits' home.

There was no time to be crestfallen at the sight, they needed to defeat the Spirit King before he could gain more power and obliterate this entire world. But the deformed King proved to be a tough challenge to overcome, none of their well-timed attacks could have any impact on him.

Then Natsu, the hotheaded dumbass, had the bright idea of flying straight into the King's mouth and destroying him from the inside out. Erza could only yell out "Be careful, Natsu!" before his silhouette disappeared into the torrent of concentrated power shooting out of the King's mouth.

Attacking from the inside was actually not a bad idea, but only if they were sure that the condition inside his body was not too deadly for the Salamander. They were in another world, entirely different from their own and there were too many unknown variables to be certain. And so, Erza worried. Natsu was an idiot, but he was her annoying little brother. The redhead did not like that he was now out of her sight, charging headfirst into unknown danger, despite the fact that it was what he always did.

But the only thing they could do now to support him was to attack from the outside, breaking down the King's defense bit by bit to weaken his power, allowing Natsu to tear up everything in his path from the inside.

Erza could hear the Fire Dragon Slayer's roaring sound signaling his final attack, blowing up the King's warped body into million pieces in a colossal explosion that painted the world around them in a bright white light, before the remaining mountain of debris collapsed on the ground.

Natsu was nowhere in sight, and Erza's feet moved before she could even think about it. Amidst the pile of rocks and dust, the redhead caught sight of that familiar white scarf the idiot always wore around his stupid neck.

Dumbass. Dumbass. Dumbass. Please be alright.

Erza growled and pushed the rocks away, gritting her teeth and reaching inside to pull his still body out from under the stones that were caging him in. The moron even had the audacity to beam at her, "Erza!", as if he was happy the first thing he saw upon getting out was her face.

The redhead aggressively pinched his ear for his recklessness, ignoring Natsu's repeated yells of surrender, needing the physical confirmation that he was at least coherent and strong enough to struggle in her grasp.

With the Celestial Spirit King defeated, everything in the Celestial Spirit world returned to its previous state, including both the Zodiac Spirits and the King himself. The King and the Spirits apologized for being such a disgrace to everyone and putting Fairy Tail in danger. But they were under the residual effects from the Eclipse Gate's destruction a while ago, and thanks to Fairy Tail they were now no longer bound by darkness.

They were all prisoners to the frailty of their own hearts. They cared, and that was what made them vulnerable to the darkness's manipulation without the light from the stars guiding them through this catastrophic chain of events. Nobody should be faulted for the genuity of their hearts and desire.

But the Eclipse Gate's magic did nullify the Celestial mages' contracts with all of their Spirits, and the Twelve Zodiac keys were not bound to Lucy and Yukino anymore. Erza watched as Virgo stepped up to offer her key to Lucy once more, followed by the rest of her Spirits, all wishing to be in her care again for as long as the blonde would have them. Which would be forever.

Lucy's tears were happy ones, this time. And Erza thought the blonde looked just as beautiful when she cried as with any of her smiles.

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When they returned to Magnolia, they found that the strange phenomena happening all over the continent had stopped. Because the Celestial Spirit world was in a state of despair, the time flow there was distorted and they actually returned to their world within just a single day from their departure. Thanks to that, everyone was able to return to where they belonged and regular life continued as usual.

Erza walked with Lucy back to her apartment, the day their group returned from their fight in the Spirit world. The blonde happily bounced in her steps on the side of the river bank, and Erza was constantly prepared to reach out and catch the girl in case Lucy missed a step and stumbled into the river.

"Sagittarius told me you are remarkably good at archery too, do you know that, Erza?" Lucy turned around and grinned at her, and Erza found herself smiling back in response.

"Do I know I am good at archery, or do I know Sagittarius told you that? The former, yes. But the latter, no." The Requip mage had to squint her eyes so she wouldn't turn blind from the halo basking over Lucy under the bright sunlight of the day.

"Uh huh, he said you are the most formidable opponent he has ever come across in at least a decade. A decade, Erza!"

The redhead chuckled at the exaggerated praise, "He flatters me. Sagittarius is very impressive himself. I actually thought I was gonna lose for a moment then."

Lucy's smile got softer at that, "He is, isn't he? Fighting is not the only thing he is impressive at, though. He is a master at survival skills too. Sagittarius was the one who taught me how to make fire from scratch in case I ever get lost in the wilderness alone."

Erza was surprised to hear that, "Really?"

"Yes. He was really patient with me. So if we somehow get lost in a desert or a jungle, at least you can count on me to provide us with fire!" The blonde nodded decisively.

"Is that so?" Erza smiled at the excitement in Lucy's voice, "That's reassuring to know. Tell me more about your Spirits, please?"

The Celestial mage's face lighted up like the Sun, before taking the hand Erza offered and jumped down from her place on the river bank to walk with the redhead, side by side, "Aquarius can be mean to me sometimes, but she is really dependable, which you already know. Among all of them, Cancer is usually the designated chef whenever there is a gathering or a party going on. He often cooked for me and my Mom when I was little, too. And Taurus..."

Erza shuffled closer to the girl next to her, lured in by the delight in her eyes and the passion radiating from Lucy's entire body, taking pleasure in the soft light of dust framing them in a tangled shadow casting over the gravel ground beneath their feet, never separated all the long way to the blonde's apartment.

Lucy swung their joined hand back and forth as she talked, and Erza let her.

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A/N: Votes and comments are welcome!