Fairy Tail: Celestial Rebellion - Chapter 1

Lucy Heartfilia walked down the streets of Magnolia. It had been several days since her last mission, so she was getting excited to go out again. “My rent’s going to be due soon, so it’d be great if I could get the money before it’s even due.”

She then walked toward her apartment and prepared to walk in the door. However, she heard some rustling inside. “A robbery? There’s never been that kind of problem before. Well, Virgo should be able to…wait…what the…” Lucy touched the keys fastened to her belt, but did not feel any magic from her Gold Keys. “Virgo…Aquarius…not even Loke…what happened? At least there’s still my silver keys, but I’m not sure…”

The rustling intensified, making Lucy nervous. “No, I don’t have any time to waste!” She then threw the door open and shouted, “Whoever you are, don’t think you’re…you…what’s going on here?”

(20 minutes later)

“I’m thankful to have run into you, Sir Natsu,” Hisui E. Fiore said to Natsu Dragneel as they, Happy and Arcadios walked toward Lucy’s apartment. “I’m not sure what we would’ve done without your assistance.”

“Ah, don’t sweat it, Princess; it’s no big deal!” Natsu said with a grin on his face.

“Please treat the Princess with respect,” Arcadios retorted, clearly annoyed by Natsu’s laid-back attitude.

“Now, now, Arcadios; we’re here to seek help, so it would be improper to get mad at tiny details,” Hisui calmly chided.

When Arcadios silently bowed, Happy flew up to Hisui and asked, “So, what’s this about?”

“I’d rather not say until we speak to Lucy,” Hisui said, adopting a more serious tone to her voice.

“But why Lucy? There are stronger wizards at our guild that would love to help out the Princess of the Kingdom.”

“Don’t question it, Happy,” Natsu said as he prepared to open Lucy’s door. “If she wants Lucy, she’ll get Lucy.” He then opened the door and shouted, “Lucy, you’ve got a client here to…” Natsu suddenly got quiet as he observed the sight in front of him. Happy, Hisui and Arcadios walked in and saw the same thing.

Lucy was standing in front of Erza Scarlet, only Erza was wearing a maid uniform. Not only that, her arms were bound behind her back and she was kneeling on top of a platform with triangular ridges on the top. Three cement blocks were also on her legs, driving the ridges deeper into her legs. What surprised Natsu most of all was that Erza was blushing, as if she was enjoying the situation.

Erza then looked over and gasped out, “We…Welcome, Master Natsu! Fo…forgive me…I was be…being punished by…by Princess….”

Lucy then looked over and said, “Wait! Before you say anything…”

“OH NO! LUCY BROKE ERZA!!!” Natsu shouted, suddenly in a panic.

“I knew it! It was only a matter of time before her true, cruel colors were revealed; and now she’s going to make everyone around her slaves to her whim!” Happy ranted.

“Oh, my!” was all Hisui was capable of saying at the sight, while Arcadios said to himself, “Even we don’t have tortures like that in our dungeons.”

“No, wait! You’ve got it all wrong!” Lucy said, trying to calm everyone down. “Listen, let me…”

“Please be merciful to us, Princess!” Natsu and Happy said as they prostrated themselves before her.

“OH, GROW UP YOU TWO!”

Before another word could be said, two green scaly arms burst through the window and headed toward Hisui and Lucy. Reacting quickly, Natsu punched at one arm with a fire-coated fist while Arcadios used his shield to block the other arm.

The arms retracted as a figure pulled itself through the window. It was a lean man with green scales all over his body, a baldhead and thin reptilian eyes. He wore a simple white tank top and brown cargo pants, while black boots covered his feet. Natsu could also make out a small blue-gray orb hanging around his neck. When he opened his mouth, he revealed sharp teeth and a forked tongue, like a snake’s tongue.

“Well, well, what have we here?” The man said in a slithery voice. “Not only can I take the Princcccesssss, but alssssso kill another CCCCCelesssstial wizard? Thissss mussst be my lucky day!”

“Hands off them, creep!” Natsu shouted as he launched himself at the strange man, only to be knocked back by a kick to the gut.

“SSSSSStay out of my way and you won’t get hurt,” the man responded before making his way toward the two women.

Before he could make a move, however, he was taken aback when Erza released herself from her bindings and stepped in his way. “I will not let you hurt my Princess, Serpens!”

“Serpens? You mean you’ve met this guy?” Natsu asked.

“Wait; isn’t that name…” Lucy started to ask, only to be silenced by Erza’s remark of, “I’ll explain later. Right now, get to safety!”

With a nod, Lucy grabbed Hisui and ran out of the apartment, Arcadios not far behind. When they got outside, however, they were met by the barrel of a gun, which fired as soon as they crossed the threshold of the building.

Acting quickly, Arcadios jumped in front of it, taking the hit for both Hisui and Lucy. Falling to the ground, Arcadios weakly asked, “Are you alright, Princess?”

“Yes, but are you?” Hisui asked in return.

“Doubtful,” a bored-sounding voice said. “That bullet was filled with a very powerful tranquilizer. I’d be surprised if he could move a muscle right now.”

Looking up, Hisui and Lucy saw a man with shaggy gray hair and a stubbled chin. He had a bored expression on his face and was smoking a cigarette. He wore a brown trench coat, fedora hat, a red shirt and blue pants, while black shoes covered his feet.

The man took another drag of his cigarette before saying, “Look, I don’t really like to use violence, so why don’t you just come along quietly? It’d be better for all of us.”

“As if we’d just up and go along with you!” Lucy said as she grabbed a key. “Open, Gate of the Golden Bull, Taurus!”

After a few seconds, nothing happened, shocking Lucy. “Wha…what’s going on? This hasn’t happened since…”

The disheveled man just sighed and said, “Fine, then. If you intend to resist, I’ll just have to force you to go with me.” He then pulled out a pistol and aimed it at Lucy.

Before he pulled the trigger, though, he was stabbed in the back by a curved blade. Looking behind him, he saw a muscular man with graying brown hair wearing a tunic and sandals. “Like I’d ever make it that easy for you, Hydra!”

“Orion!” Lucy shouted as the man pulled his blade out of the assailant. However, before the body hit the ground, it burst into a puff of smoke.

“Just as I thought, you coward,” Orion mumbled. He then looked to Lucy and Hisui and asked, “Are you two alright?”

“Yes, we’re just fine. But Natsu might be in…” Hisui started to say. Before she could finish, the window broke, sending the green man to the ground. Natsu and Erza followed close behind, landing on their feet as the man picked himself up.

“What the hell kind of power isssss that?” he asked.

“None of your concern, Serpens!” Erza shouted, taking a battle stance as if to fight him in hand-to-hand combat.

“Why don’t you just stand back, Erza? I’ve got this!” Natsu said as he pounded his fists together.

“DAMN YOU BRATSSSSS!!” Serpens shouted as he threw his fists toward Natsu. His arms started to grow longer, surprising Lucy. Before the fists connected, however, Natsu jumped out of the way and ran toward Serpens.

“That arm-stretching thing is pretty cool, but you’re making yourself a sitting target every time you use it!” Natsu said as he threw a punch in Serpens’s face, knocking him back. Before he hit the ground, though, Erza shot out of it, surprising everyone.

Serpens flew in the air for a long while, the orb flying off his neck. Serpens hit the ground hard, almost knocking him out. When he opened his eyes, he saw standing over him growling, “Start talking, snake guy; what do you want with Lucy and the Princess?”

Feeling around his neck, he suddenly got panicked and said, “Whe…where isssss it?”

“Where’s what?”

“My talisssssman! Where isssss it?” Serpens said as he crawled along the ground feeling around for it.

“Don’t try to change the subject. Tell me what you want with Lucy and Hisui!”

“All in due time,” a bored voice said as Natsu was kicked aside. When he looked over, Natsu saw a disheveled-looking man.

“What? I though Orion killed you!” Lucy said.

“No; just a copy of him. That’s Hydra’s power,” Orion responded.

Serpens collapsed on the ground panting, suddenly getting paler and more transparent. “Oh, no; I’m fading out. Hydra please; help me!!”

“You know our Queen’s stance on failure. This was your second chance and you blew it. Farewell, Serpens.” With that, Hydra blew into a puff of smoke and seemed to disappear.

“No, no! I don’t want to go back!!” Serpens shouted before he completely faded out of existence.

“Okay, what’s going on here?” Natsu shouted before seeing Erza approach Lucy and asking, “Did I perform admirably, Princess, or do I need to be punished?”

“No, no; you did great, Virgo.”

“Virgo? You mean that’s not Erza?” Natsu and Happy asked at once.

Orion stood in the center of the group and said, “That’s right, and there’s more you need to know.”