Chapter Text
Lucy tried her hardest to keep herself warm as the entirety of the house that she had grown up in continued to be covered in ice. It helped that she was running alongside her household servants. The adrenaline that was coursing through her veins made the chilling temperature slightly less noticeable. However, the dress her father had forced her to wear that day didn’t help at all. The lack of sleeves left a larger amount of skin exposed while the length of the dress and the accompanying heels made it excessively difficult for her to run. As she inhaled and exhaled, she was able to see more and more of her breath.
“Lucy! Please, hide in here! Surely Hailstorm could never find you in here!” One of her servants told her as she was practically thrust into a random room.
As her teeth chattered against each other, Lucy hated the situation she was in. Of course, it was awful to have a villain attack your home. Though her father had created a wide array of enemies over the years, none had seemed to be supervillains. Even more to Lucy’s surprise, none of these enemies had ever hired a villain to attack their mansion. Well, none had tried before today. However, somehow Hailstorm, the infamous ice villain, had made enemies with the one and only Jude Heartfilia. That wasn’t even what made Lucy hate her situation most.
She felt absolutely useless in this particular situation. All she felt like she could do was chatter her teeth and remain hidden in the room her servants forced her into. Lucy felt the need to do something. Lucy felt the need to defend her friends and her home. No one deserved to pay for her father’s actions, especially those who had helped to raise her after her mother’s tragic death.
“Please, take this,” one of her servants offered her a blanket.
Lucy shook her head and pushed the blanket over toward the person who’d offered it to her, “No, you should have it. You’ve already done so much for me. I want all of you to stay warm.
Another servant in the room spoke up, “But Lucy, your father-”
“He’s not here right now, is he?” Lucy interrupted, “Besides, he’s the reason we’re all here right now. Please, I want you all to take care of yourselves.”
Before another servant could get a word out, eagles made entirely of ice knocked the entrance to the room down before they dissipated into thin air. A man with a long white cape behind him and a metal helmet with horns in an effort to conceal his identity strolled into the room. Most of the servants cowered in fear as they hid themselves to escape Hailstorm’s wrath. However, Lucy didn’t budge. In fact, she stood tall and proud to face Hailstorm. She glared at the man as he entered the room.
“You’re not the Heartfilia I’m after,” he grumbled as he made his way closer to the blond woman in the dress, “Where is your father?”
“As if I’d ever tell you,” Lucy spat at him.
Lucy couldn’t tell, but the man’s eye’s furrowed before he spoke again, “Where is your father? I will not ask you a third time.”
“I hope you enjoy being disappointed. You’re never going to get an answer from me,” Lucy stood her ground.
“Very well, then,” Hailstorm made a motion with his hands as another ice creature formed beside him.
As the ape fully materialized to the side of him, Lucy’s instincts took over. She barely missed running into Hailstorm by the tiniest margin as she was able to escape out of the door she’s entered through. Seconds later, she could hear the newly formed creature as it broke through the door and wall before it paced after her. Lucy knew she couldn’t outspeed it for very long. She had to think- and fast.
The moment she noticed the stairwell that the ape wouldn’t fit through, Lucy seized the opportunity and began running up them. Though the ape had broken the wall beforehand, she’d hoped the creature would have a much harder time consistently breaking walls as it made its way up to Lucy. Sure enough, the ape had failed where Lucy had expected it to. She continued to make her way up the stairwell as new footsteps followed behind her.
“There’s absolutely no way a non-powered human could escape someone with the powers that I possess, Heartfilia. You may as well give up now,” Hailstorm called out after her.
Lucy wanted to retort with a quick-minded comeback. However, all she could focus on was her breathing as it increasingly got more and more difficult to run up the stairs of the mansion she’d grown up in. She’d gotten so accustomed to the elevators her father had installed that she had simply forgotten just how tall their house was. Her legs began to fail her as they slowed down with every step she made.
Lucy then approached a door. The stairs had run out, and the door to her left was her only place to go. Hastily, she opened it as fast as she could before she shut the door. While she should have been moving furniture or something in front of the door to prevent Hailstorm from entering, all Lucy could manage to do was attempt to catch her breath. Running up a large number of stairs had felt like absolute torture, and all she really wanted was a large glass of water.
As Lucy caught her breath, she peered around the room she had entered. It seemed to be roughly the size of a large closet and the only light coming into the room came from a small window near the door. Everything in the room seemed to be covered in dust, but Lucy slowly recognized a few of the objects as she stood there- they were all her mother’s things.
The first thing Lucy recognized was a ribbon her mother always wore around her neck. Lucy took the small amount of time she had to smile at the piece of fabric. She was shocked that her mother hadn’t been buried with the ribbon. It felt like a completely separate lifetime ago that her mother had passed away, and Lucy’s chest ached at the thought. On the side of the necklaces were some gloves her mother had worn from time to time. She seemed to only wear them for very special occasions from what Lucy had remembered. As Lucy continued to hear the footsteps of Hailstorm get closer to the entrance of the room she resided in, Lucy thought that maybe being with her mother wouldn’t be so bad…
However, that was when Lucy noticed something completely unfamiliar to her. It seemed to be one giant golden circle with ten very large golden keys attached to it. Something about the ring and keys drew Lucy to it, though she couldn’t recollect what. Slowly, her hand reached out to the ring and keys until she touched them.
Suddenly, Lucy was no longer in the poorly lit storage closet. In fact, Lucy was in a place that was entirely unrecognizable to her. A variety of colors and planets appeared all around her. All Lucy was able to do was stand in awe. Lights twinkled all around her as the vast and open space that surrounded her made her feel warm and comforted. Was this what death felt like…? Was this heaven…? Had Hailstorm gotten to Lucy before she was able to do anything?
“Layla?” an unfamiliar voice called out to her.
Lucy turned around noticed roughly ten… figures? She had assumed that the voice had come from the blue-haired mermaid who stood in front. Alongside her stood a man in a tuxedo with rowdy orange hair. Behind the two of them stood eight (or nine?) more figures. One seemed to be an anthropomorphic mixture between a cow and a bull, another was a man with crab-like features, and another seemed to be a woman in a maid costume. Alongside those three stood a man in a horse costume with arrows, a set of twin dolls (Lucy presumed) floating in the air, a girl with tiny horns on top of her head, a man with a giant stinging tail, and an anthropomorphic goat. If this wasn’t the afterlife, Lucy was sure that she had to be daydreaming… or crazy, even.
“No, Layla was my mother. I’m Lucy,” Lucy responded.
“It seems that what we suspected was true, Aquarius,” the redhead murmured to himself.
The group grew sullen faces at the sentence the man had spoken. A few even went to hug one another as the mermaid- coined as Aquarius by the redhead- whispered something into his ear. The man closed his eyes for a moment before he approached Lucy and took both of her hands.
“Lucy, was it?” he asked her.
Lucy nodded, unsure of whether or not she should even speak.
“My name is Leo, but please call me Loke. I am the leader of the Twelve Zodiac Keys,” he slowly began to explain.
“Twelve Zodiac… wait, there are definitely less than twelve of you here. Are we… inside of those keys I just touched? Have I shrunk down or something?” Lucy began to berate the man in front of her with a million questions.
“Pisces and Libra are safe with another guardian. You’re not inside the keys, rather you’re in our world. Only those who are able to become guardians of the zodiac keys can freely enter this world,” Loke told her.
“Layla made things a lot easier to explain,” Aquarius complained.
Loke sent a glare in Aquarius’s direction, “She was just as confused as Lucy is and you know it.”
Aquarius scoffed as Loke turned his attention back onto Lucy.
Before Loke could say another word, Lucy had another question, “What in the world is a guardian?”
“I’m glad you asked,” Loke gave Lucy a warm smile, “A guardian not only protects the twelve zodiac keys from breaking or becoming destroyed but also protects mankind with the powers offered by each zodiac summoned. Your mother Layla was our last guardian. She fiercely protected all of mankind with her entire heart.”
“My mom… my mom was a hero?” Lucy’s jaw could have fallen to the ground.
Loke nodded, “Oh yes, you humans are much more open about your deeds nowadays, aren’t you? I do believe that your mother was the first guardian to ever take up a hero mantra. I believe she went by…”
“Celestine,” the pieces all fit together in Lucy’s head.
Roughly around the time that her mother had passed away, Lucy’s favorite hero Celestine had disappeared. Maybe it was because she was in this world that everything had made sense, or maybe it was the fact that Lucy couldn’t fathom her own mother being anyone but Layla Heartfilia. Why had she hidden her identity from her own daughter? Did her father know…?
Before Lucy could even imagine all of the questions she wanted to be answered in her head, Loke spoke once more, “Lucy, we know this is a lot to ask of you, especially because we’ve only just met. However, I believe that we can all form incredible bonds with you over time. Through these bonds, your power as a guardian will only continue to increase. Would you please become the newest zodiac guardian?”
Lucy hesitated only for a moment. If she had powers like Celestine, she could defeat Hailstorm. If she could defeat Hailstorm, she could protect everyone. She could create the justice that her own father had squandered.
“I’ll do it,” the words left Lucy’s mouth, “But I have a few questions first… How do I even use whatever powers these are? You said something about summoning?”
Loke nodded, “You’ll hold out the key of whatever zodiac you’d like to summon. For example, if you’d like to summon Gemini-”
Loke was slightly interrupted by the cheers from the doll-like creatures before he continued, “You’d say, ‘Open Gate of the Twins, Gemini’. Afterward, you place the key onto your own body and your outfit will transform, not only to hide your true identity but to also to give you powers that enhance you-”
“To enhance my own skills and give myself a fighting chance,” Lucy finished the sentence for him.
Loke and a few other spirits gave Lucy wide eyes of impression. It was safe to say that no one had expected her to know that statement.
“Celestine was my favorite hero. That was one of her catchphrases… I still can’t believe she was my mother… My mother’s stuff! I- I- I have to get back! I have to defeat Hailstorm before he finds my father!” Lucy cried out.
“Are you sure you want to leave so soon? We can show you more before you go-”
Lucy didn’t even let Loke finish his statement, “No. I need to make sure he’s taken down.”
As everything surrounding Lucy grew brighter and brighter, she eventually was only able to see Loke’s face as he spoke a few simple words, “I like your determination.”
Lucy was then back in the storage closet as she still heard the stomps of Hailstorm coming for her. This time she held the keys firmly in her hands. Quickly, Lucy found the key with the symbol of the lion. She whispered the words that the redhead had told her only a few seconds prior.
“Open, Gate of the Lion, Leo!” she prayed that Hailstorm didn’t hear her voice.
Per Loke’s instruction, Lucy then placed the key onto her own body. She felt as though the wind had encapsulated the entirety of her body before she was clothed once more. Lucy looked down at herself. The dress she had on previously was now entirely gone. In its place was now an elegant black and gold super suit as she felt a mask come over her eyes. The keys she’s just found were now safe in a compartment at her side.
Lucy finally saw Loke who she had just introduced herself to on her left side and she smiled. Surely all that had happened truly wasn’t just a dream. Whoever this… spirit was, he was on her side.
Hailstorm kicked the door down and stared at both Loke and Lucy before he grumbled, “Where is the Heartfilia girl?”
“Safe in another location,” Loke lied, “You seem to be giving humanity quite a bit of trouble. Aren’t you, Hailstorm?”
Without a verbal response, Hailstorm sent another horde of eagles flying toward Lucy and Loke. Both of them were able to narrowly avoid the attack as they leaped in opposite directions. Hailstorm cursed himself and redirected his attack to the roof of the building.
Hailstorm sent a wave of cold air at both Lucy and Loke as each of them stood their ground. Loke looked toward Lucy and he gave her a large smile.
“I think it’s our turn to attack now, isn’t it, Guardian?” Loke encouraged.
Lucy placed her own fist in front of her, “I think it is.”
Before they each attacked, Loke cried out, “Regulus Impact!”
Each of them jumped as they went for a quick and direct punch as each of their hands began to glow a bright yellow light with lots of power. Not only had Hailstorm been brought onto the ground, but Lucy and Loke were now standing in Lucy’s front yard. Several meters now separated the opposing sides. Snow covered the ground in an unnatural way for the middle of summer.
Somehow, the punches that came from both Lucy and Loke weren’t enough to take Hailstorm down. He quickly made not just one, but two panthers out of ice as they each make their way over to trample Loke and Lucy. The animals came at them so fast that they didn’t have time to move. Instead, each of them held their arms up defensively in order to brace themselves for the impact. However, it never came.
Instead, all they heard was the sound of ice hitting ice. Lucy moved her arms down to see what was going on, as she recognized the hero in front of her immediately. His jet black hair along with his white and grey super suit made it a dead giveaway as to who had joined the battle. Indeed, it was Hailstorm’s worst enemy: the hero that went by the name of Silver. He had just put up a gigantic ice shield that protected them all from the panthers. As soon as it had served its purpose, the ice shield disappeared.
“The Heartfilia Mansion? What were you planning on doing? Robbing the place, Lyo-”
Silver was interrupted by his nemesis who was regaining balance, “Shut up! I never use your secret identity in battle so why are you so dead-set on exposing mine! Have some respect!”
As Lucy and Loke came to stand next to Silver, he seemed to wipe something from his forehead, “I have no respect for Hailstorm. I only have respect for the man I was raised with.”
“He’s long dead!” Hailstorm cried out as he sent out a giant dragon made entirely out of ice- his last resort.
Silver quickly whispered to the two beside him as he hoped he could trust the strangers fighting against his old friend, “As long as you two can take out the wings, I can decimate the rest of it.”
“You’ve got it,” Lucy nodded as she turned to Loke.
Loke cracked his knuckles and smirked, “This should be a piece of cake.”
Loke repeated the same words he’d spoken before, "Regulus Impact!"
He and Lucy each jumped and attacked a wing that the dragon had. Though the creature wasn’t truly alive, it still yelped out in pain. Silver created a large hammer as he also leaped up and smashed the head of the dragon. The creature became nothing but flakes of ice afterward as all of it collapsed onto the ground. The pressure from the collision caused Hailstorm to lay silently in defeat, the only part of his body that moved were his hands clenching in anger.
Silver knelt down next to the defeated man as a small and newfound crack in the helmet he once wore revealed his eye and a bit of his almost white hair.
Silver knelt down next to Hailstorm and sighed, “Ur would be so disappointed to see what you’ve done.”
“Ur’s not here anymore, Gray,” Hailstorm spat back in a whisper, “We should be fighting to avenge her! Fighting to bring her back!”
“No, Lyon,” Silver whispered back to Hailstorm, “She would have wanted us to do good. Revenge was never in her plan…”
A small silence fell between the two boys until Silver spoke up again, “What happened to us was a tragedy. We should have never been given these powers, but that’s not an excuse to release chaos onto the world.”
Sirens could be heard as Silver held onto Hailstorm’s hands in an effort to ensure that he couldn’t really escape. Police officers placed specialized handcuffs onto Hailstorm so that he could no longer use his powers. The two men were finally able to stand and face one another. Silver could see Hailstorm glare at him through his mask.
“If they offer you to go through Redemption, you should take it. I think you’d make a great hero,” Silver gave advice to his old friend.
In response, all Hailstorm gave back was a grumble. Gray truly hoped that Lyon would take his small piece of advice.
As police gathered information from civilians, Silver turned around to meet the two new heroes who had helped him take down Hailstorm once and for all. However, when he turned around he only noticed the woman in the black hero costumer.
“Where did the tuxedo guy go?” he asked the stranger as he approached her.
“His name is Loke. He’s one of my… uhm… zodiac spirits? I think that’s what they’re called,” the woman tried to recall information she had been given not so long ago, “He’ll be back when I call on him next. Now, he needs to rest.”
“So you’re a really new hero,” Silver caught on, “You did pretty well for a newbie.”
“Newer than you know,” she gave a small laugh, “Thank you.”
“No problem. I should be the one thanking you. This is the first time Hailstorm has gotten arrested. And it's all because I had Loke and… What’s your hero name?” Silver questioned Lucy.
She knew she had to think fast. With all of the craziness that had happened, she hadn’t really thought of a hero name. In fact, it hadn’t crossed her mind until this moment. However, only one specific thing had come to mind.
“Celestia,” Lucy told Silver, “Call me Celestia.”
“Like Celestine? I like it. It’s a wonderful homage to an older hero,” Silver gave Celestia a very small smile, “I hope we can work together in the future, but I’ve gotta run. Hero work never ends.”
With that, Silver ran off and Lucy let out a sigh of relief. She went to go and look for something to hide behind so that she could touch Loke’s key to her shoulder- the ritual he’d told her to get her “costume” off. However, before she could even find a place, a hand was placed on her shoulder.
A whisper was placed into her ear, “No daughter of mine will be a hero. Not after what happened to Celestine.”
Lucy knew where the voice had come from, and she shoved her father off immediately and faced him. From that sentence, she was able to determine a few things. First, her father knew who her mother was. Second, he took part in hiding who her mother was from her. And third, he’d never spoken a word to her about it as he left all of the spirits without a guardian.
Lucy turned to face her father, and spoke words that she’d never expected that she’d have the courage to say, “Then I guess you no longer have a daughter.”