A thirteen year old boy was walking down the street with a helmet-like visor to keep himself from taking control over anyone, passing by a store front with dolls. What interested the boy however were the five totem-like dolls that floated on their own with no strings attached. His magic is what made him see what was happening, there were five souls present, one soul per doll attached to each other.
"Hello, is anyone here?" the boy, Bickslow, asked.
"In a minute," a girl said, when she came out she was at least five years old, her only visible eye was her right eye, a cerulean blue color while the other eye was covered by her ebony black hair that seemed to reach her shoulder blades, "how may I help you?"
"I was wondering about the totem dolls," Bickslow said.
"You're planning to get all five of them right?" the girl asked in concern, "they're a complete, original set, I hand carved them all a year ago and they keep me company. If I were to sell one of them, I'm selling all five of them."
"That was my plan," Bickslow said, "How much are they?"
"One Thousand Jewel each," the girl stated firmly, "That is the lowest price I will negotiate at."
"Okay then, five thousand Jewels for the dolls and some help," Bickslow said.
"What do you need help with?" the girl asked as each doll landed on her hands one by one.
"Could you tell me where the closest guild is?" Bickslow asked.
"Oh, you're a mage? What kind?" the girl asked.
"I'd rather not tell, you might think I'm insane," Bickslow said.
"Well the closest one I know of is Fairy Tail, and some of the mages there can be a little insane at times but then again, you might fit in," the girl said.
"Well what about you?" Bickslow asked.
"I'm a mage, but I haven't joined any guilds yet nor have I planned to," the girl said, "Thank you for the business."
"No problem, don't worry about them, I'll take good care of them," Bickslow said.
As he left he could barely hear the girl whisper, "I'm sorry," what he couldn't understand was why.
He found the guild in Magnolia with the help of the residents of the city; he couldn't hold back his excitement at the moment.
"How are you five doing?" Bickslow asked the dolls.
"He knows about us?" one asked.
"He's like her," another said.
"A mage," a third said.
"Of course I saw your souls," Bickslow said laughing a bit as the dolls began to float around his head, "how are you though?"
"We're fine," a fourth said.
"Super excited," a fifth said.
"Can't wait for adventures," the second said.
"Fun! Fun!" they all said in unison.
"How about we join Fairy Tail then?" Bickslow asked and in response for a chorus of yeses and other agreements.
"You want it where?" the bartender asked with the guild stamp in his hands as his shocked expressions was almost too easy to laugh at.
"Right here?" Bickslow said pointing at his tongue, "What's wrong with that?"
"It's nothing child," the guild master, Makarov said, "It's just a little unsanitary."
"I brushed my teeth before coming here," Bickslow said.
"Are you absolutely certain?" the bartender asked.
"Of course I am, where else would I want it?" Bickslow asked.
In the end, Bickslow finally had his black Fairy Tail guild mark on his tongue.
"What about us?" the third doll asked.
"Yeah us?" the first said.
Once both Makarov and the bartender recovered from the slight shock, Bickslow finally admitted to the guild master that he was a Seith Mage while Makarov made it somewhat clear that the dolls wouldn't get their own guild marks.
"Unfair," the second and fourth said.
"Completely unfair," the first and fifth said.
"You'll be okay right?"Bickslow asked.
"Maybe not," the fourth said.
"Unfair beyond reason," the third said.
"How about this, I could give you all names, and they can be your guild marks," Bickslow said.
They agreed on it easily, the first one was named Pappa, the second was Peppe, the third was Pippi, the fourth was Poppo and the fifth one was Puppu.
The years passed by so quickly and easily, in the duration of time however, Bickslow has gotten better at being a Seith Mage, including mastering Figure Eyes. With the original dolls he had gotten, he joined the Thunder Legion, a trio of mages that included himself, Evergreen the Fairy Mage and their leader, Freed the Script Mage. All three who have helped Laxus Dreyar the Lightning Mage from time to time.
"What's wrong?" Peppe asked.
"He's fine," Puppu said.
"Maybe he's forgotten something," Pippi said.
"I'm fine guys," Bickslow said.
"Is it about her?" Poppo said.
"Is it? Is it?" Pappa and Pippi asked at the same time as Puppu chimed in for the second time.
"I guess, after all, she wouldn't entrust me with just one of you guys," Bickslow said, "do you know why."
"Yes," Poppo said.
"Can't tell," Peppe said.
"It's a secret," Pappa said.
"Swore not to say it to anyone," Puppu said.
"Did she curse you with something?" Bickslow asked.
"Can't tell, can't tell," all five chanted.
"Great I might be stuck with cursed dolls now," Bickslow said.
"Can't you just return them or something?" Evergreen asked, "Or just ask the girl who sold them to you what's so special about them?"
"How would I be able to find her then? I was a kid when I bought them," Bickslow said, "She could be dead for all I know."
"She can't be," Peppe said.
"Why would she be dead?" Pippi said.
"It seems your dolls disagree with you," Freed said, "If you remember the town you found them then we'll head out as soon as possible and find the girl and interrogate her thoroughly."
"Try to find her, try to find her," all five dolls said in unison.
"Alright then," Bicklsow said looking at his dolls, "let's find your maker."
"Find her, find her," the five dolls said in unison.
A month later, they found the town where Bickslow founded his dolls, however, when he asked about the doll store he came upon, nothing good was found. Apparently two years ago, the owner couldn't find any way to make ends meet while carving her dolls. In the end, she sold it and left the town and no one has heard from her since then.
When the S-Class trials came Bickslow agreed with helping Freed pass it if possible. As the trial progressed, none of the members of Fairy Tail would have believed of any war coming to them from the Dark Guild, Grimoire Hearts or of finding the Dark Wizard Zeref on Tenrou Island. As the events unfurled out of control, one thing led to another and the group of Fairy Tail wizards on Tenrou Island were suspended in time for the seven years that passed.
Alma Rei was searching for her five friends. She knew she didn't want to let them leave her years ago, but she was feeling guilty on what she did to them and keeping them inside when they would rather be outside doing something while she stayed inside, occupied with her hobby. Yet though, with her magical abilities she trained and honed for the years that had passed by could have made her able to have joined almost any guild she could choose yet she didn't. She remembered the vow she made all those years ago to her five friends, to remain free from the guilds and any other magical disputes until she could reunite with them, and eventually, join them. She had already cursed herself when she did it in the first place; she had to see it to the end, no matter what.
Looking down at her hand, she saw the faint flicker of her soul wanting to break free, to join the others in their somewhat eternal fate. As soon as the flickering stopped, mint green cursive runes danced along her arteries and veins on the arm to her hand to where her soul flickered ending at her fingertips.
"I'm almost out of time," Alma said as the runes faded, "I have to find him; I have to find my friends."
Days later, Alma arrived at Magnolia and almost instantly sensed her friends' trapped souls, following them to Fairy Tail. So the boy Alma met that day did take her advice.
"Hello there miss, are you here to join Fairy Tail?" a short elderly man, the same man Alma recognized as the guild's 3rd and apparently 6th master, Makarov asked.
"I'm uncertain about it," Alma said without thinking of how to word it without sounding like she was going to say no, especially hearing about what Makarov was capable of, "I am a mage of course, but I wasn't completely certain if joining a guild would be the best option for me at the moment."
"Would you like to come inside to see what it's like in Fairy Tail?" Makarov asked, "Just to see how guild life can be like."
"O-okay," Alma said shocked at how welcoming Makarov was.
Despite the relocation of the guild and how many guild members had left, it was still the lively if not hectic guild as it was before certain events she heard about happened. She knew her friends were here somewhere; she still barely had enough time to reunite them. Maybe joining the guild wouldn't be so bad.
After faintly hearing the Fairy Tail Master repeat his question to her about joining the guild she looked at him and finally had her answer.
"ATTENTION!" Makarov said getting everyone in the guild's attention, "Today we have a new member, Alma Rei."
The guild was surprised to see the new member, Alma Rei was almost short yet however, wasn't the same height as Lucy Heartfillia. Her ebony black hair cascaded down to her almost reaching her hips while she had a short bang that reached to her chin that covered left eye, leaving her cerulean blue right eye out for anyone to see. She wore a jacket that could almost loosely resemble a kimono with a skirt to match it that ended above her knees that were both a midnight blue with silver stars and crescent moons woven into the fabric. Underneath was a simple white cotton tee-shirt and white tights that disappeared into her black boots. Strapped to a silver colored belt was a sheathed katana. On the opposite side of her katana was a trunk-like messenger bag.
"Fight me Alma!" Natsu said, wanting to be the first one to fight her and try to beat her as well which was stopped by a giant fist from the Fairy Tail Master.
After being crowded around by other guild members, and attempting to answer as many questions as possible while technically lying that her magic involved her katana when in reality was only a fraction of what she was capable of, she finally sat down at the bar drinking a vanilla smoothie that apparently had a hint of mint in it.
"So what brings you to Fairy Tail," the bartender, Mirajane, asked.
"I'm looking for answers and my friends," Alma said, her voice was soft and quiet, barely audible in the noisy guildhall to a lot of people who either weren't close enough or weren't dragon slayers.
"What happened to your friends?" Mirajane asked, attempting to know something about the new member.
"There was an incident a while time ago," Alma said, "I just want to find them again, that's all."
"Where do you think they are now?" Mirajane asked however not getting any response as she finished her milkshake and paid for it as she left for the mission board to find something she could do.
Most of the missions didn't have a good pay to most mages' standards, but to Alma, almost all of them had nothing that interested her.
"Looking for something Alma?" another mage asked as tiny voices around him repeated her name in an excited tone, voices she remembered.
"I can't decide which mission is good enough to go on," Alma said turning around facing the mage she met years ago when he was just a boy.
"How about defeating a wyvern for a few scales for 150,000 Jewels then?" the Seith Mage asked as Alma had deduced.
"Why not," she responded as the Seith Mage went to report that he was going on the mission with her as his totem dolls stayed behind, appearing to look at her for some odd reason. She had a faint smile on her face, she found them.
"Ready to go?" the Seith Mage said as he returned.
"Huh?" she asked, trying to see his eyes.
"You're new of course; I'd thought I accompany you on your first mission before Natsu tries to do anything idiotic," the Mage said as the totems, her friends, repeated 'idiotic', "I'm Bickslow by the way."
"It's nice to meet you," Alma said while silently adding 'again'.
They found the wyvern on Mount Hakobe, she watched as her friends fought alongside Bickslow before she saw the wyvern's claws in front of her before unsheathing her katana, letting some of her soul envelop the blade, causing the blade to look sharper as she drove it into the neck first before striking it at its chest.
"Whoa, didn't know you had it in you," Bickslow said before noticing her kneeling in the snow, "Are you okay?"
"I shouldn't have fought with my soul," Alma said.
"You're a Seith mage?" Bickslow asked before she collapsed.
After reporting back to the guild and receiving the reward, Bickslow carried Alma back to his house so she could sleep in the guest room, placing her katana and trunk on the table in the room. A week later, she woke up again; surprised by the dolls as they said good morning to her and that breakfast was ready.
"You didn't have to do this for me," Alma said as she and Bickslow had breakfast.
"I know, but I had to do something at least," Bickslow said as his tongue was out of his mouth once again, "Besides you never answered my question."
"Yes, I'm a Seith Mage, at first I specialized in controlling the souls of others until I decided to fight by using my own soul," Alma said.
"But that could kill you faster," Bickslow said in concern.
"I know," Alma said, "but after what happened when I was a child, I didn't want to use other's souls."
"What do you mean?" Bickslow asked.
"It's her! It's her!" all five of the totem dolls said as the circled her.
"What do you mean?" Bickslow asked.
"It's nice to see you again," Alma said looking at him, "I remember when we were younger, you came into my shop because of these five; I'm assuming you already knew that they had souls in them."
"He did!" Poppo said,
"He took good care of us," Pippi said.
"That's nice to hear," Alma said.
"That was you?" Bickslow said.
"Yes," Alma said, "Six months before you came to my shop, my friends got into an accident, I was too little to understand that they wouldn't survive. So I used my magic and transferred their souls from their dying bodies into the five dolls you bought from me and cared for."
"I…I didn't know," Bickslow said.
"I made them promise not to tell anyone or anything about what I did," Alma said, "I brought them with me when they were proclaimed dead, they said it was interesting attending their own funeral."
"What are their real names?" Bickslow said, "I've been calling them Pappa, Peppe, Poppo, Pippi and Puppu."
The five dolls each responded when they heard their placeholder names.
"Pappa is Andrew," Alma said, "Peppe is Elena, Poppo is Oliver, Pippi is Isaac and Puppu is Uliana."
"You found us! You found us!" all five of the dolls, her friends said.
"Did anything else happen? Are your friends cursed?" Bickslow asked.
"They're not completely cursed, the curse wasn't directed to them," Alma said, "the curse was directed to me."
"What is the curse?" Bickslow asked, concerned about the other Seith Mage.
The mint green runes began to glow, pulsing faintly as they started at around where her heart was leading to the tips of her fingers, the ends of her toes and curled around her cheeks, around the back of her ears ending at her forehead.
"What is that?" Bickslow asked.
"The curse that is bound to me by my soul," Alma said, "transferring a dying soul to something inanimate to just keep the soul alive but not the body, it leaves the body as an empty vessel for another soul to possess. However doing it successfully, while not mastering Seith Magic causes the curse to be inflicted on the caster. My soul is attempting to break out of my own body and these runes are there to keep my soul bound to my body until the runes effects fade away and my soul will inhabit a vessel similar to the ones that my friends now possess."
"When will that be then?" Bickslow asked.
"The next eclipse or maybe before or after then," Alma said, "That's when my soul will break away and join my friends' souls in a doll. That's what's in the trunk I carry around nonstop."
Alma's friends left momentarily, coming back carrying Alma's briefcase delicately as if it were a snowflake or glass. Alma placed the trunk to be ready to open the trunk up before looking at Bickslow.
"What's wrong?" Bickslow asked.
"The last six dolls I carved are in here, the ones to hold my friends' souls and my own. Can I trust you to keep this secret and protect my soul?" Alma asked, "You won't have to worry about us when you die, our souls will follow you."
"Then I'll protect you with my life," Bickslow said.
"Thank you Bickslow," Alma said as she opened the briefcase. Five of the dolls were almost identical to the ones her friends' souls already inhabited but better detailed. The sixth had a small smile with downcast eyes that appeared to have a tiny amount of an eye shadow-like mask that was a mix between mint green and light blue.
"You kept them the same?" Bickslow asked.
"Not entirely, I had someone enchant them so they won't chip or break and if you do transfer the souls into something else, the souls have a way of finding their way back. After you die, these dolls will turn to ash," Alma said, "I always enjoyed making dolls and my friends knew that as well. After the accident, I knew this was the last thing I wanted to make."
"Are you scared?" Bickslow asked.
"The months before you came into the store, yes, but now I have to accept it," Alma said, "I already told Master Makarov that I might disappear one day and not return, but I doubt it would ever matter."
"I could probably take a mission that is close to the ocean and tell Mirajane that you'd be accompanying me and when I return, I'll say you drowned and drifted to the ocean floor by the time I found out about it," Bickslow said.
"That would be an interesting story," Alma said as she closed the trunk, "Is there anything else you want to know?"
"Two things actually," Bickslow said, "What your left eye looks like as well as your guild mark."
In response, she moved her bangs away from her face, revealing her left eye, an enchanting emerald green. After showing Bickslow her left eye, Alma let her hair freely drape in front of her place again as she began to hold her long hair as she moved it to show her guild mark, a mint green Fairy Tail guild mark was on the nape of her neck.
"Anything else?" Alma asked as she let go of her hair.
"Not really," Bickslow said.
By the time Romeo began talking about the Grand Magic Games, everyone soon was eager to reclaim being number one of all the guilds. Since then, Alma accompanied the Thunder Legion, getting to know them a little more; even training with them during the three months before the Grand Magic Games began, improving a bit with how she used her own soul in battle even if it wouldn't matter in the end.
When the day the Grand Magic Games loomed over the Fairy Tail guild, Alma was almost mute, which was not as unusual as Gray taking off his clothes at random times; usually, Alma would only speak softly or whisper, just enough for whoever she was talking to and any dragon slayers close by to hear. The only other apparent times she raised her voice was when she was at the house she shared with Bickslow, it became a home to her.
"You okay Alma?" Bickslow asked as they were walking in the streets of Crocus to the hotel that Fairy Tail was staying in.
"I'm just tired that's all," Alma said, "why?"
"It seems like something's bugging you," Bickslow said as her friend's were sitting on any place on Alma, meaning her head and shoulders.
"I'm fine," Alma said, "Don't worry about it, and if you want, I'll find my notebook which has the list of signs that indicates my time is up."
The games went on as it was supposed to have gone, with Raven Tail cheating and the whole Eclipse thing with wizards versus Dragons and the future version of a Dragon Slayer from Sabertooth. Afterwards we were at a party hosted by the King of Fiore himself. Alma was dragged by Evergreen beforehand and now as in an almost low-cut, light green gown with emeralds glistening around her chest and waist as well as the hem of the skirts which easily brushed the floor.
"Are you sure this is really necessary Evergreen?" Alma asked as she walked out of the dressing room shaking a bit, "Can I not wear the high heels?"
"But you look adorable right now," Evergreen said as she helped Alma to a chair in front of a mirror, "Besides; at least you won't be that short."
"Is this even necessary?" Alma asked, not getting an answer as Evergreen began to tie the hair that framed Alma's face into a ponytail at the back of her hair before braiding the bangs and bringing them back to the ponytail. Once Alma noticed the silence, she asked, "Is something wrong?"
"No, nothing's wrong," Evergreen said, "It's just your eyes are beautiful, how could you stand hiding them?"
"Because I hated how I looked with mismatched eyes when I was a kid," Alma said remembering how her emerald green left eye was once the same cerulean blue as the right eye before she accidentally cursed herself when she was a kid, "I'm just use to it."
"You could probably enchant someone with your eyes," Evergreen said as she finished working on Alma's hair.
"I'm fine how I am, and that includes covering up my left eye," Alma said, almost threatening Evergreen by undoing the work she did, it was an empty threat however as Alma almost always had the bangs pinned back by her doll friends' request.
What surprised Alma however was how Evergreen wrapped her arms around her from the back and hugging her before softly whispering to her, "Thank you."
"For what?" Alma asked as Evergreen slowly took the braided bangs out and undoing them before reaching for a curling iron to slightly curl the ends a bit before doing it to the ponytail itself.
"If you hadn't joined Fairy Tail, Bickslow would most likely still be question if you really existed or not," Evergreen said, "Even if you haven't known him long enough, but sometimes, he can get a little…"
"Out of hand?" Alma offered.
"In a way," Evergreen said.
"Hey, if something happens to me, and I won't be around anymore, what do you think will happen?" Alma said, turning her head to quickly the curling iron missed burning the nape of her neck and her Fairy Tail Guild Mark.
"Are you okay Alma?" Evergreen asked, fear was present in the question.
"Well I wasn't burned by a curling iron, but in other ways," Alma said looking at her hand, "I'm almost shattered beyond repair."
"Is there something you're not telling anyone?" Evergreen asked.
"I told Bickslow already," Alma said looking at Evergreen and smiling as her emerald green eye was barely hidden by the now curled bangs, "If you want to know you could ask him, I wouldn't mind."
"Sometimes I'm not sure if someone is going to pinch your cheeks or give you a suffocating hug just because of how you are," Evergreen said as the two left the changing room to go find the rest of their team.
"Is that what is going through Laxus's mind whenever his eyes look blank and in thought while shocked?" Alma asked.
"Maybe," Evergreen said as they both left to join the party.
Even though the party was slightly crowded, Alma was hiding herself and keeping people from looking at her, mainly her face and emerald green eye. Evergreen already seemed to notice the issue and began dragging the Seith Mage towards where the rest of the Thunder Legion was. While avoiding Evergreen's evading hand to show the rest of the team Alma's emerald green eye.
"Please stop it Evergreen," Alma said as she continued avoiding Evergreen's hand.
"At least show them, at least then not everyone in Fairy Tail would know," Evergreen said.
With that Alma stopped and moved her bangs to the side showing the rest of the team her alternately colored eye.
"Well that is interesting," Laxus said.
"My left eye use to be the same color as my right eye," Alma said.
"What happened that caused it to change color?" Freed asked.
"I don't want to talk about it," Alma said as she hid her left eye.
"How about when we get home, would you want to talk about it then?" Bickslow asked as her doll friends repeated 'then'.
"Sure, at least then there will be less people eavesdropping," Alma said.
The days after the Grand Magic Games were eventful with Fairy Tail getting their guildhall back. However once they got back to Magnolia, all Alma was planning to do was relax in her own comfy bed and not the one that she had to sleep in during the Grand Magic Games. The Thunder Legion however was already dragging her to the dining table before she could even think of her bed.
"All right, where do you want me to start?" Alma asked, wanting to get this over as soon as possible.
"How about from the beginning?" Laxus asked.
Sighing, she began, "I lived most of my life alone. I don't remember having any parents, only a mentor who taught me how wood carving. Eventually, my mentor found out about my magic and wanted me to learn from someone and sent me to a magic school. That was how I became friends with Andrew, Elena, Oliver, Isaac and Uliana. They each had their own type of magic they were learning and they were the only ones who didn't call me a freak. But I made a terrible mistake later on."
"What kind of mistake?" Freed asked.
"An accident occurred while we were learning…they kept me safe while in the end, they were close to dying," Alma said.
"What happened exactly?" Bickslow asked.
"They were practicing their magic. Andrew was practicing barrier type magic, Elena was practicing ice and water magic, Oliver was practicing fire and lightning type magic, Isaac was practicing wind type magic and Uliana was practicing script based magic. One of the older students were mocking me, saying I had no magic talent whatsoever because I wasn't practicing at all and was carving dolls instead," Alma said, "I tried to ignore him, but in the end, something snapped inside me, I had full control over his soul at that moment, but not his friends' souls. They attacked, my friends protected me as I released my grip on him and somehow the magic backfired and my friends were their close to death."
"Was that when you transferred their souls into the dolls?" Bickslow asked.
"Yeah, I didn't accept the nature of life and I hadn't mastered Seith magic at the time," Alma said, "so I was cursed to have their fate as well, except there were only five dolls at the time. My instructor for Seith magic found me and had a Rune mage write the runes on me."
"What were the runes for Alma?" Evergreen asked.
Hesitantly, before she continued, she allowed the mint-green runes to appear, "The runes are meant to keep my soul in my body until I had six new dolls made for the souls to have a permanent place to reside in as my instructor told me. The runes won't last forever though, only until the curse can't be held back or until they fade away altogether and I had to find my friends before then."
"If that was your reason for coming to Fairy Tail then you could have also have Freed write new runes for you," Laxus said.
"It's a nice offer, but I have to turn it down," Alma said as the runes went away again and her doll friends rested themselves on her, "I broke a taboo all because I moved my friends' souls from their dying bodies into the dolls before mastering my magic. I have to accept my punishment sooner or later and I rather accept it sooner. Besides these runes' effects are already wearing off."
At that moment, what appeared to be her soul flickered on the back of her hand as the runes that were on her hands and surrounding area appeared to hold back her soul for the moment. Alma held her breath, the six dolls were underneath the table already so why not now? Nothing happened in the end.
"What was that?" Laxus asked.
"A sign that the runes are losing their purpose," Alma said.
"When your soul is given its fate to remain in the doll, what will happen to your body?" Freed asked.
"My instructor said it varies, some cases the body was impaled and encased in a Lacrima crystal, others where they turn to stone and many more like dark mermaid fairytales where the body turns to foam," Alma said, "many other things could happen, I could turn to ash, be torn to pieces as my soul is transferred or even become limp like a dead body ."
"If that happens then we'll ask the master to give you a proper funeral," Bickslow said.
"That would be nice, even if I'm in a doll," Alma said then looking at Andrew, Isaac and Uliana whom were perched on her head before looking at her shoulders where Elena and Oliver were, "now I'll know what it was like for you guys."
"It was funny," Uliana said.
"They put me in a weird suit I didn't like," Oliver said.
"I wanted to be buried without clothes when I died, but I didn't get my wish," Isaac said.
At that statement Freed, Evergreen and Laxus were shocked while Bickslow was laughing at the statement.
"Why?" Laxus asked.
"I thought it would be funny and more people would come to see the funeral if I didn't have clothes on," Isaac said.
"You were also the one who wanted to see a real dragon and wanted a Vulcan for a pet," Alma said, "Who would want a Vulcan for a pet?"
"I did," Isaac said.
"What is wrong with that one?" Evergreen asked.
"He's unique and amusing," Alma said.
"His usual schemes got us out of trouble more than what our instructors thought," Andrew said.
"Yeah, like that one time we broke into the kitchen and baked a huge cake for everyone," Uliana said, "It was Isaac's idea to use his wind magic to get into the vents."
"Did that really happen Alma?" Evergreen asked.
"Yeah it did," Alma said sheepishly, "The instructors were more than happy that they didn't have to go out to buy half a dozen cakes for everyone."
"We saved them around 500 Jewels for cake but lost at least 750 Jewels for replacing all the broken bowls, measuring cups, an oven and half a dozen eggs," Alma said.
"Alma you weren't suppose to tell them about the oven," Isaac said.
"The oven?" Bickslow asked.
"Isaac somehow blew up the oven and Oliver had to use his fire magic to bake the cake while Andrew used his barrier magic to keep Isaac in one place," Elena said.
"Just be glad I didn't use my magic to hold him in place," Alma said before she had a coughing fit.
"Are you okay?" Freed asked as Alma reached under the table for her trunk.
"It's all in here," Alma said as she took out a notebook that had its own rough experiences, "about my curse and what signs to expect. The coughing fit was one of them."
Freed read through the notebook carefully noting everything as Bickslow read over his shoulder.
"I cannot believe this has to happen to you," Evergreen said.
"I didn't at first either," Alma said taking out the doll that will eventually hold her soul, "but technically, with this doll, I'll still be around. It's just I wouldn't be considered a human anymore, or alive for that matter."
"How many know of your fate Alma?" Laxus asked.
"Other than the Thunder Legion," Alma said, "Makarov does, so did my mentor and his coworkers but most of them already passed away. Other than that, no one else does."
"You may only have little to weeks left and a month at best," Freed said as he passed the notebook to Laxus and Evergreen, "will you be okay."
"You already know I sold my store and whatever Jewels I got for that has already been spent for expenses just to get to Magnolia. In the end, half of whatever Jewels I have left will be left for the Thunder Legion and the other will go to the guild," Alma said before looking at Freed, "and Freed, I've been wondering if you wouldn't mind holding onto my katana."
"You wouldn't have to worry about it," Freed said.
"But what about Bickslow?" Evergreen asked, "You two have seemed to have become pretty close."
"When my soul escapes my body," Alma said as she placed the doll back, "it will enter the doll I made to hold it and my friends' souls will enter the other dolls and their new homes. Bickslow will be looking after us from then on."
"And I wouldn't have to worry about them when I die," Bickslow said.
"They have been enchanted I presume," Freed asked.
"Yes, the dolls will turn to ash and our souls will finally be free," Alma said as her friends repeated 'free'.
"You're not worried?" Laxus asked.
"No I'm not," Alma said as she had another coughing fit.
At that moment the mint green runes returned only to crack slowly as they began to shatter. The dolls that her friends' souls were currently inhabiting were glowing the same mint green. The coughing only got worse as the runes disappeared for the last time and Alma passed out. The Thunder Legion was shocked, they didn't know it would happen this soon, Freed said that she may had a few weeks but it was weeks she didn't have. Soon the dolls stopped glowing and the fell to the ground, cracked and broken to pieces. Bickslow didn't look at the fallen dolls but rather, the ones in the case that were faintly glowing mint green.
The first to start moving again as Bickslow noted was Elena, followed by Uliana, Isaac, Andrew and Oliver.
"Alma?" Bickslow asked to the last doll in the trunk that stopped glowing.
"How do I even move?" the doll/Alma asked.
"You'll get used to it," Elena said, floating down with Uliana to help Alma.
"Eventually, eventually," Isaac said.
"How do you feel Alma?" Bickslow asked.
"Fine actually," Alma said as she began to float weakly around until Bickslow caught her, "and my body's still around so then I guess I'll get a Fairy Tail funeral."
Over the course of the next few weeks, Fairy Tail was preparing for Alma's "funeral". Her body was already sent to a morgue to prepare while the coffin was already delivered, a mahogany casket that had Fairy Tail's emblem on the lid while the inside was lines with emerald green satin and cerulean blue velvet. Once the body was in the coffin, it was lined with a multitude of Alma's favorite flowers while the fragments of the original dolls were hidden underneath to be buried with her. The headstone was already made with a rough estimate of her birthdate since even she didn't know when she was born.
The entire Thunder Legion was there the entire time, and seemed the most impacted especially when she "died" right in front of their eyes. Bickslow even brought the dolls with him to the funeral, each sitting on one of the members but only the "new" sixth doll was sitting on top of Bickslow's head. In the coffin, Alma's body was in the same dress she wore at the party in Crocus. Eventually the funeral was over and the coffin was buried. It only took a day or two and guild brawl to get the Fairy Tail Spirit back.
"Hey Bickslow," Natsu asked one day, "Is that doll new?"
"Yes," Bickslow asked, "I decided to name it Alma."
That was when Bickslow left and joined the Thunder Legion on a mission to somewhere.
"You okay Alma?" Bickslow asked.
"Yes, I'm used to living like this now," Alma said, "And they were right, going to my own funeral is weird. Although I wish they didn't put me in that gown, someone else could have worn it."
"Don't worry about much now Alma," Bickslow said as the Thunder Legion got onto the train, "you're still a part of Fairy Tail and the Thunder Legion."
At the moment the train left the station heading off to whatever town the Thunder Legion was heading to. Alma sat down on the windowsill, looking out as the window faintly reflected her doll vessel as her friends surrounded her as if it were a hug. Anyone could see it as just the dolls grouped together, but Bickslow saw their souls, Alma's soul's age was reverted back to when she was cursed to this fate but she still retained her memories and self when she joined Fairy Tail. When Bickslow looked at their souls to check on them, he saw a group of six kids, crying together as they were in a group hug, happy to be reunited.