The Dark in the Light
Mavis's arms were screaming, as she dragged Zeira away from the fires of Red Lizard, but she didn't care.
"I don't want to leave!" Zeira cried, "My papa, my guild, all my pretty clothes, they're all there!"
"It doesn't matter where you go!" Mavis answered, "All those things, you can keep in your heart!" Zeira stopped crying, as she looked at Mavis.
"My mommy and daddy, my cute outfits, even all the fairies!" Mavis said, "Those are all in my heart! So let's live on, Zeira!" The girl just looked on at the blonde, before smiling slightly.
"I'm sorry for all the mean things I said to you," Zeira said sadly.
"It's okay!" Mavis answered, "I don't really mind any of that anyway!"
"You know… I think we could've been… friends," Zeira said softly. Those words echoed through Mavis' mind, as she smiled softly at that thought, tearing up. Friends? she thought.
"Yeah!" Mavis said, "That sounds…" However, when she turned around, she saw Zeira collapsed on the ground, not moving.
"Zeira?" Mavis said, "Zeira? Are you okay?" She nudged the black-haired girl slightly, but got no response. A feeling of dread came over Mavis.
"Come on, Zeira," she said, "We've got to go! We can't stay here!" However, for all her nudging, Zeira wouldn't move.
"Please…," Mavis sniffed, "I…" Tears began to build in Mavis' eyes further.
"I don't want to be alone!" she cried. She struggled not to break down sobbing, because she knew if she did, she wouldn't be able to meet fairies.
But, despite all her efforts, despite all her strength, she burst out crying, as the ashes of what was once her home, floated around her.
(seven years later)
"So this is Sirius Island?" a man with a long head and black hair said, "Seems pretty nice here."
"We're not tourists, Warrod," a guy with slicked back, silver hair commented.
"Come on, a man can dream, can't he Precht?" Warrod answered.
"But we're here too…," a third man was abruptly silenced as he tripped while coming out of the boat.
"Damn it Yury," Precht said, "Quit screwing around?"
"Who's screwing?" Yury answered, as the blonde came out of the water, "We're here aren't we? And you all know what that means, right?" He then grinned, as he clenched his fist in anticipation.
"The Sirius Jade is within our grasp!" he said excitedly.
As the trio walked up the beach, they didn't notice the bird perched on the tree, that was watching them. It then fluttered away.
(deeper into the island)
Further into the island, were ruins of the town. The bird fluttered down into one of the buildings, which was some kind of library, and perched on one of the desks. The library was primarily in darkness, save for a candle. Sitting in the light, was a young girl, reading a book.
"So we've got trespassers," the girl said, as she snapped her book shut, "I guess it was inevitable." She then stood up, stepping fully into the light. She wore a white, flowing dress, and had wavy blonde hair that almost reached the ground.
The 13 year old Mavis Vermillion took a breath as she set her book on the table, and held out her hand. The flame of the candle disconnected from the wick, and went into her palm. Mavis then waved her hand, sending the flame floating around the room, lighting other candles, and a chandelier, eventually lighting up the whole room.
"I guess I should greet them," she said, as she heard the footsteps coming down the stairs. Eventually, Yury entered into the room.
"The hell's with the light here?" he mumbled, "What is this some kind of…" He was silenced as he turned, and looked over at Mavis.
"Holy crap! There're people here!" he yelped. He looked down at the girl, who was staring him down darkly. Despite himself, Yury couldn't help but feel slightly intimidated.
"Are you going to stare, are you going to explain what you're doing here?" Mavis inquired. Yury quickly regained his composure, and smiled.
"I'm a biologist," Yury answered, "This island has a unique ecosystem that should be studied." Mavis overlooked him for a time.
"If you're going to lie, at least try a little harder," she said.
"Wha…," but Yury didn't get to finish.
"You are correct in that this island's ecosystem is unique, and as such, you have no way to know what it will be like. It could be potentially dangerous," Mavis said, "But you are dressed lightly, and you are not armed in anyway. You are also not carrying any means of observing or properly studying any kind of animal or plant life. Now I'll give you a second chance, what are you doing here?"
There was a period of silence, as Yury just stared at Mavis. She saw right through his lie, just by looking at him. For a time, he couldn't say anything, as he was just so awestruck by Mavis' deduction.
"I am willing to wait," Mavis said bluntly. That snapped Yury out of it, as he tried to smile again.
"Alright, you got me, I'm a…," he began.
"You're a treasure hunter," Mavis said. Yury was gong to say something, but he figured Mavis would explain promptly, so he decided to spare the effort.
"You're dressed very lightly, and you're not carrying many traveling items, meaning that you left your items on the beach or your boat, and are therefore not intent on traveling the island. So you're not a explorer, and you're here on some kind of expedition. You could be a sailor, but you are still slightly wet, a decent sailor should be skilled enough to get out of a boat," Mavis explained, "By process of elimination, as you are not an ecologist, a sailor, or an explorer, you are a treasure hunter."
"That was.. actually kind of scary," Yury said, "What next, you're going to tell me how many girlfriends I had?" He snickered at that, but Mavis' stare didn't even twitch.
"Do I look amused?" she asked.
"I guess not," Yury answered, as he cringed slightly. What's with this girl? he thought.
"How is that you know all this?" he asked, "How can you tell everything about me just by taking a glance."
"Its called reading," Mavis answered, "I've been here my whole life, and spent a sizable majority of it reading books. I know exactly what to look for in order to indicate what a person."
"Where are you're peers?" Mavis asked.
"How could you possible know that?" Yury said.
"A little bird told me," Mavis answered.
"No seriously."
"Did my tone sound sarcastic?" Mavis responded, "I'm able to communicate with the animals on this island. No one can enter this island without my knowledge." Is this girl a mage? Yury thought.
"Well, I guess lying to you obviously won't get anyone anywhere," he said, "Alright, so I'm here with my friends, looking for treasure. More specifically, the Sirius Jade."
"The Sirius Jade?" Mavis said, "Oh yes, I know about it."
"Terrific!" Yury said, "Now if you could just point me…"
"I'm not giving it to you," Mavis said, "Its sacred to the island. Why would I give it to some random stranger?"
"Look kid," Yury said, "We're getting the jewel, one way or another, and we could very easily take it by force. But I don't like stealing from little girls. So why don't you just tell me where the jade is, and we can all go our separate ways?" The girl didn't even flinch.
"Do you think I'm afraid of you?" Mavis said. Yury looked her over.
"I guess not, so how about we make things a tad fairer, and we play a game?" he said, "If I win, you gotta show us the jade. And if you win…"
"You and your lackeys have to take me off this island, without question," Mavis interjected. There was more than just a beat.
"Say what?" Yury said.
"You heard me." Yury let out a cackle.
"Look kid, we don't take orders from anyone," he said, "And if you think we're going to start doing it with a little girl, you're much more stupid than you appear."
"Then you need only win against me," Mavis said, "You said yourself, I'm a little girl. What do you have to fear? Chances are you're going to win, and you'll find the Sirius Jade, and as an extra measure, I'll give you all the treasure maps I have here." To illustrate her point, she pointed at one of the walls, and Yury saw a framed map. The treasure hunter couldn't help but grin at the sight.
"Alright," he said, "Now the rules…"
"My home, my game, my rules," Mavis countered.
"You really need to work on your interruptions," Yury said.
"So I should let a person continue talking when they're incorrect?" Mavis said, "But it doesn't matter. We need to ensure that this game continues, so with that." She then reached into her pocket, and pulled out a glass sphere, with a green orb in the center. She then threw it up, and it glowed, forming a shield around the two.
"An insurance policy?" Yury asked.
"Neither of us can leave this area until the game is over," Mavis explained, "I can't let you walkout on me, can I?"
"I guess not," Yury said with a shrug, "Alright, let's here it."
"My game is as follows. We each take one strike at each other," Mavis said, "The person who is knocked down the most, wins." Yury balked at that. This kid was essentially just demanding that he strike her.
"You go first," Mavis said, as she looked at Yury, "I'm waiting." Yury knew that he was in a conundrum here. He had standards, and among those standards was hitting little kids. The girl probably knew it, and thus knew that Yury probably wouldn't have the guts to knock her down that far. He couldn't just shove her either, since that wasn't the same as a "strike". All in all, one way or another, Yury's chances were minimal.
"Damn," he muttered, "Warrod and Precht are going to kick my ass for this." His ethics getting the better of him, he just reached down and flicked Mavis' forehead. She barely even flinched.
"I thought as much," Mavis said, as she held up her hand.
"If you're going to nail me in the crotch, at least get it over with quickly," Yury said, as he braced himself.
"I'm not that immature," Mavis answered, "I have a much more efficient means of bringing you to your knees." With that, she waved her finger. With that, there was a sudden blast of energy under Yury's knee, causing him to let out a cry of pain, and he fell to one knee almost immediately.
"You're a mage?!" he demanded.
"Looks like I win," Mavis said plainly.
"But…"
"I did not specify that either of us weren't allowed to use magic," the girl said, "Alright, a deals a deal so…"
"You're one crafty little brat," Yury muttered, "I'd be impressed, if I weren't so pissed off. How'd you even do that?"
"Precision trumps power," Mavis explained, "One well placed small strike, can easily defeat a strong force. You lost, so you need to take me off th…"
"The hell are you doing, Yury?" Precht demanded, as he and Warrod entered the room.
"Ah, these must be you're accomplices," Mavis said, looking over at them.
"Who's this girl?" Warrod asked.
"This island's sole remaining resident," Mavis said, "Meaning that the Sirius Jade belongs to me."
"Sirius Jade, wh…," Warrod began.
"Don't bother lying," Yury said, as he got back up, "This girl knew everything about me the moment I walked in."
"Care to tell us why you're on the ground?" Precht inquired. Yury wasn't going to let them know that a little girl had just gotten the better of him.
"Care to tell me why you're both here, instead of looking for the jewel?" he asked. Precht opted not to press further. Chances are something embarrassing happened to Yury, and he and Warrod probably weren't ever going to hear it.
"We found where it was located, but it isn't there," he explained. Mavis suddenly looked straight at him.
"What?" she said.
"I said the Sirius Jade isn't there," Precht said. Mavis immediately rushed past the men, and hurried to the location in question, with the others behind her.
"It really is gone," she muttered to herself.
"That's the thing about looking for treasure," Warrod said, "If you get there a minute late, you lose it."
"Well this treasure is far to good to give up on," Yury said.
"Let's head back to the mainland," Precht said, "We can rethink our strategy."
"You won't need to," Mavis said, "I know who took the Jade."
"You do?" Precht asked.
"Seven years ago, this island was attacked by a magic guild called Blue Skull," Mavis explained, "Without a doubt they stole it."
"A magic guild?" Precht asked.
"This is going to be difficult, without a doubt," Warrod said, "But I guess there's nothing else we can do."
"Take me with you!" Mavis instructed. The trio looked down at the girl.
"I've spent those seven years studying everything from human anatomy, to the art of war, to telekinesis," Mavis said, "Without a doubt I can be an asset. Not to mention you still owe me after I beat you." Yury averted his eyes in embarrassment.
"The Sirius Jade is the symbol of this island, the symbol of my home," Mavis said firmly, "And I will not let a group like Blue Skull take it from here."
"You know we're going to take that one we get out hands on it," Yury said, "Its what we do."
"I beat you in our challenge," Mavis said, "And assuming that you don't honor that, which I'm pretty confident you won't, I'll beat you again. But until then, we have a common goal, and I figure we should both honor it.
(later)
"We're really letting her come with us, aren't we?" Precht said.
"Well that girl really is smart," Warrod said, "If anyone can give us a hand, its her. Her name's Mavis, right?"
"Something like that," Precht answered, "But we still don't know the first thing about her. Hell, she lives on the island completely alone, how do we know she's not crazy?"
(in Mavis' "house")
"Why do you want to Sirius Jade so much? Its just a jewel," Yury said.
"First question, why are you watching me while I pack?" Mavis said, "Or maybe a better question would be why am I letting you watch me?"
"Uh… well…," Yury stuttered. He didn't really have a good reason, he was just curious.
"I know you're not a pervert," Mavis said, "You don't…"
"I'll take your word for it," Yury said, "I don't need you to explain how you found out by looking at the dirt on my shoes."
"The dirt on yours shoes told me that you are from an urban environment," Mavis said, "Among other things. And to get onto my second question, why do you want the Sirius Jade in the first place?" Yury paused, before shrugging.
"I guess we would sell it," Yury admitted.
"You know that's not incentive for me to let you take it," Mavis said, "But I assume you now know its impossible to lie to me, so hence you didn't bother to."
"Look, what's done with the Jade doesn't matter unless we can find it, and you said you know where it is, right?"
"Incorrect," Mavis responded, "I said I know who took it. I said it was a mage guild called Blue Skull, but I didn't say I knew where they were. That's something that we'll have to find out upon getting to the mainland." She then picked up her suitcase, and started to walk away. Yury took a breath, as he followed her.
Finally, a chance to get out of here Mavis thought, a she approached the trio's boat.
Note: I'm sorry, but I couldn't resist, I just liked this idea so much. I don't know how long I'm going to make this, or how frequently I'm going to update, since there will be MAJOR departures from canon in this. I'm readily taking suggestions on how to handle this story. Take note, this will be NaLu. Initially I wanted this backstory to only be one chapter, but obviously I'm doing most of Fairy Tail Zero (read it if you haven't already), so it was probably too ambitious. Hopefully it won't exceed three, since I want to get into the meat of the story.
One character I'm a big fan of, is Mavis. I just love the way she's so smart and brilliant. I'd seriously argue she could challenge (and potentially defeat) Lelouch vi Britannia in a game of chess. I decided that it would cool for her to do sort of the Sherlock Holmes analysis of Yury and his comrades. Something to bear in mind, is that I never said Mavis would be "dark". I described her as "more ruthless and cold". That's exactly what it means; it means that Mavis is much more serious than she is in canon. She's got no interest in fairies, or anything of the like.
Something I found out, is that "Tenrou" means "heavenly wolf", which is a reference to the Sirius star, so hence, "Sirius" more or less equates to "Tenrou". And "Emperor of Sirius" I think sounded better than "Emperor of Tenrou".