A/N: I got a request a little while ago for a certain ship and I'm finally getting around to it!
This day's contestants slowly made their way down to the arena.
They each looked at the others before letting out a sigh.
Most of those that had been picked were... let's say rather worried about their powers when it came to raw strength.
The announcer started to speak and all the competitors frowned.
"Deep within their kingdom, lies a treasure deep. To get the treasure from its case, you must crack this case. All you need this time is within this rhyme." He said.
Lucy instantly started to try and decipher it.
After a moment, the poem appeared on the score board above the arena.
Lucy reread it to herself.
What could their kingdom mean? She thought.
Just as she thought of that, the arena changed around her, molding.
She and the other representatives of the guilds were in the middle of five different biomes.
There was a classical rainforest to the right (Lucy could practically hear the usual rainforest sounds one would image, the creaking frogs and uproarious rain).
Beside that was a jungle, a river going through the center of the small biome. A jungle...
Beside that was a desert, several dozens of sand dunes littered the landscape.
The next was a large open ocean with nothing else in sight.
The final one was a savanna. Lucy could almost see the lions prowling in the distance... but of course that was her imagination... right? She hoped so.
The six looked at each other for a moment before taking off into different biomes.
Lucy was the only one not to run off, just thinking.
Lucy caught sight of Toby and Eve. They were already fighting in the desert biome.
Dang it why did I have to pick the first challenge where I have to fight?!
Lucy heard obnoxious cheering and she looked up at where it had come from.
It had come from the Fairy Tail members.
In the center of them she caught sight of Erza standing there.
'You can do it.' She mouthed.
Lucy nodded and squared her shoulders.
As soon as Lucy had done that, the cheering stopped.
They'd been cheering... to get her attention.
That made her smile.
Fairy Tail really was a family.
Lucy looked around and found nobody still in sight...
Well, that's not quite true.
She could see Toby... he was lying on the ground in the sand dunes.
Eve must have taken him out.
Lucy pulled out a notepad and copied down the poem from the top of the arena.
Lucy frowned at the 'kingdom'.
She separated the syllables.
'King' and 'dom'.
She heard crunching under boots and jumped like a rabbit that had heard a wolf in the bushes.
She scurried to the top of a tree.
She saw Orga tromping towards her.
Lucy fumbled with her keys.
She summoned Virgo.
The pink-haired girl looked around for a moment.
"Princess, what do you require of me?" She asked.
She pointed at Orga, who going to the desert biome.
"Alright... let's make the fast." She said.
Lucy frowned and looked at her Celestial Spirit.
"Were you busy?" She asked, confused.
Virgo looked back at her and shook her head.
"Me? Busy? Of course not."
Lucy frowned.
She had intended to keep Virgo with her for the rest of the competition for defense.
Lucy suddenly found whatever was distracting Virgo very interesting.
"Tell me what's going on." The blonde said.
Virgo looked back at her.
"Nothing's going on." She said in her normal, calm voice, but her eyes looked a bit worried.
Lucy crawled down out of the tree and Virgo followed after her.
"Are you... alright with helping me?" Lucy asked, confused.
Virgo nodded her head instantly.
"Of course!" She said, responding far too quickly.
Lucy raised an eyebrow, but she wasn't going to complain when she was getting the help she obviously needed.
•••
Lucy was still in the middle circle between biomes when he reappeared.
Orga prepared to fight, but Virgo was there first, digging and going underground.
She popped up under his feet.
"Princess, I could use some assistance."
Lucy frowned.
Wasn't she already kicking butt?
Orga didn't seem to stand a chance.
Virgo slouched in her fighting for a moment and Lucy sighed, fumbling with her keys until she found one.
"Loke?" Lucy asked.
Virgo popped her head up.
"No!"
Lucy frowned in confusion.
"How about... I don't know... Aries?" She suggested, clearly trying to sound casual.
Lucy frowned and gave her Celestial Spirit a long look.
"Please, Princess!" She cried as Orga threw a punch at her.
Lucy raised an unamused eyebrow before summoning the other Spirit.
"Oh, Mistress, I hope I'll be able to help." The small Spirit said worriedly.
"Of course you will," Virgo said, giving Aries a smile.
The slightly shorter Celestial Spirit turned pink for a moment and Lucy frowned, watching the two.
What the heck is going on?! Lucy thought.
Aries finally snapped out of whatever had held her captive and moved towards Orga and Virgo.
When they had finished, they both stood for a second, just looking at the other.
"Ummmmm..." Lucy looked away from the pair and instead focused on the poem she'd written down.
Kingdom.....
The answer is in the poem.....
She glanced up and caught sight of lions to the side in the savanna...
She thought there was something there...
She felt like she knew what is was for a moment...
Then she looked back and saw Virgo and Aries.
Virgo was acting weird.
She was leaning against a tree and actually smiling.
Lucy had never seen her act so relaxed...
Aries started giggling at something Virgo had said and Lucy shook her head.
What's going on?! Has the world gone insane?! Virgo is smiling, Aries is relaxed, Natsu is probably reading a book, Gray's wearing winter clothing! The end of time has truly come! Everyone run! Lucy shook her head at the thoughts.
She was being dramatic...
But the two Spirits were acting really weird...
<><><>
Freed looked around and frowned, running a hand through his hair.
Kingdom.....
He looked over to the savanna and caught sight of a few lions...
Those weren't real... why were they there...?
He hadn't seen another animal in here...
<><><>
Lucy felt there was something special about the savanna biome... so she made her way towards it.
She glanced behind her and saw the two Celestial Spirits still talking.
My gosh!
"Virgo! Aries! Are you guys coming?" She called.
The two jumped and looked over at Lucy.
They'd clearly forgotten they weren't alone.
They ran after Lucy and the blonde shook her head.
"Watch out!" Virgo suddenly said.
Lucy froze and looked around.
She saw Virgo grabbing onto Aries, stopping her from walking into a hole.
Aries was blushing and Lucy frowned deeper.
What the heck was happening?!
"How'd you know it was there?" Aries asked quietly.
"I pay attention to things, and people, I care about."
Lucy stumbled as she heard the words.
Aries blushed and Virgo was already smirking.
Lucy shivered.
Was... was Virgo...
Flirting?!
Lucy wished she'd summoned Loke now...but that would cost more of her energy than just keeping the two of them.
Lucy shivered as she heard Aries trying to stutter out a response.
"Th-Thanks..." Aries said, turning pink.
Lucy looked over at her Celestial Spirits.
She tried to ignore the two that were following after her.
Lucy tried to focus on the lions she saw in the distance.
They seemed so out of place out there...
Why were they there?
She pulled out the notepad she had written the poem in.
Kingdom...
Lucy found herself making her way to the lions...
It was as if there was something special with them.
She got closer to the lions and looked at them.
It was a weird formation... as if the lions were in a circle and looking at something in the middle of all of them...
Lucy made her way toward it, but she heard other footsteps again.
She looked up and caught sight of Freed.
The green-haired Mage looked at her before starting to mutter under his breath and wave his hand.
It was the moves he made when he was making one of his rune spells...
Lucy turned to her Spirits.
"Can I get some help here?!" She cried.
Virgo and Aries both jumped again as they looked back at Lucy.
"HELP ME!" She cried as she saw a rune appearing.
She ran away from it, barely dodging it.
"Oh! I'm coming, Mistress! Oh, what should I do..." Aries looked worried.
"You can do it, Aries," Virgo responded.
The shorter Celestial Spirit blushed before summoning up a bit of her foam and shooting it at Freed.
The green-haired Mage cursed as it surrounded him.
Virgo came after him next, throwing him out of the biome with an insane amount of strength showcased.
Virgo and Aries shared a long look.
"That was impressive..." Aries said softly, face still a bright red from earlier.
Virgo smiled, looking just a bit embarrassed.
"Thanks... your foam was pretty good..."
Lucy let out a loud sigh and turned to the lions.
She idly wondered who was still in the competition.
She glanced at the board and was shocked to see only three names still there.
Eve, Risley, and Lucy.
That meant she must have eliminated Freed with her Spirits...
She really couldn't find it within her to be upset, even if he was a Fairy Tail member.
They were competing, after all.
Lucy looked back at the lions.
Kingdom...
Lions were the kings of the jungle... could that be it?
Their kingdom... as if meaning multiple...
She neared the lions and saw a small crown atop one of their heads.
She gasped and ran towards it.
The code is in the poem...
She slid to a stop as she got to the the center of the circle of lions.
Whatever this 'case' was had to be here, right?
She hoped so.
Lucy saw a small 'x' on the ground.
It would have been invisible from anywhere more than three feet away...
Just like the crown on the lion's head.
She looked for Virgo to have her dig, but of course she was talking to Aries.
Lucy sighed and waved her hands to try and get the Maiden's attention.
The Celestial Spirit looked up for a moment and caught sight of Lucy.
She looked back at Aries and excused herself a bit formally.
Lucy rolled her eyes as the Maiden appeared beside her.
"Would you mind?" She asked... perhaps it was a bit curt, but she had a reason! She was trying to win this and all the two Celestial Spirits could do was... flirt!
Aries appeared a moment later, watching as Virgo dug into the ground.
Lucy let out a sigh and Aries glanced at her.
"Is something wrong, Mistress?" She asked.
Lucy looked at her.
She wanted to comment on the two's flirting... but she realized it would probably just make Aries blush a bright pink color and be unable to speak intelligently.
So she just shook her head.
She was distracted as Virgo suddenly threw something up at her.
Lucy scrambled to the side to avoid getting hit by the treasure chest.
Lucy practically leaped onto the box to look at the lock.
It was a four digit code.
"Allow me, Princess," Virgo said formally.
She attacked the box, but a rune spell blocked her from doing any damage.
Virgo let out a soft curse, cradling her arm for a moment.
"Virgo! Let me look at that..." Aries grabbed onto her fellow Celestial Spirit's arm and held it up gently.
"Here..." she summoned up a bit of foam and wrapped it around Virgo's injury.
"That... actually helps," Virgo said.
Aries beamed at her and they had a long moment before Lucy's groan interrupted them.
What could this mean?! In the poem?! What the heck does that even mean?!
Lucy looked at the four digit lock and let out a loud sigh.
What was she going to do?
A/N: Anyone think they know what the code is?! If so, comment!