Hello! Here's a new Fairy Tail story, Damaged.

Title: Damaged

Rating: M

Genre: Angst, Horror

Summary: I know I am a sinner. I am known as a killer and a deranged lunatic who would unleash the flames of hell upon the world if given the chance. I only needed a reason—something that I could base my rambling lies off of. I formed Crime Sorciere to atone for my sins, but I know they cannot be repaired. I am nothing but an empty shell these days. I am broken beyond repair.

Characters: Jellal Fernandes, Meredy, others

Warnings: Disturbing Themes, Heavy to Explicit Gore, Mental Breakdown, Descriptions of Illness

Author Notes: I take a darker approach to Crime Sorciere and what they do behind the scenes. You all have been warned.

They were all dead.

Dead.

Dead.

The world was gone. It had crumbled right before me, shaking and screaming beneath my feet as I continued to watch.

I watched, helpless, as their bodies were torn to pieces and crushed with terrifying brute force.

It was all my fault.

I had brought the end of the world.

A hoarse laugh escaped my throat, and I swayed on my feet as I ran my hands through my hair over and over—my fingers pulling and twisting at once vibrant blue strands, ripping and tearing and yanking, piece after piece.

"Jellal, we should get going."

Meredy appeared beside me, sweat making her skin shine in the roar of the growing fire behind us. The heat was slowly spreading over the land, but it would never compare to the heat I had felt all those years ago when I had fought Natsu.

"You're not going anywhere!"

We turned to look towards the source of the voice. A group of survivors was heading towards us, weapons ranging from daggers to maces to swords held tightly in their sweat-slicked hands. A man with a large sword stood at the head, leading them towards us as his village family followed close behind.

"I told you before." I stepped forward, blocking their view of Meredy with my larger body, and stared coldly at them. "We warned you. You decided to revolt and this is what happened." I turned away and took Meredy's hand, leading her out of the village. "Your choice caused this. You could have given us what we wanted."

"It's all your fault!"

I whipped around and brought up an arm, the man's sword connecting with a screech against my armor. His eyes were wild, filled with grief and pain and rage, and he only clenched his teeth and pressed his weight deeper.

With a sigh, I narrowed my eyes and spread my stance. Meredy noticed and stepped back, her crimson eyes bright in some emotion I couldn't quite place.

The man bared his teeth, tears and sweat and grime covering his skin as he attempted to advance on me. I stood my ground, digging my heels into the charred earth beneath me. He barely had enough strength to match up against me, but I decided to indulge him by making it seem as though he were pushing me back.

I felt my face fall into a cold and blank expression, and I began to breathe deeply. The man looked confused, but there was no more time.

With a heavy sigh, I brought my free arm back and let my fist connect with the exposed flesh of his torso. He gasped and staggered back, and I took the opportunity to kick his feet out from beneath him and pin him to the ground with my weight centered on his chest. My knee pressed into his ribs, and he flinched and cried out in pain.

I pressed my arm against his throat, my golden eyes narrowed in irritation. "Stop fighting. You are to blame for this." I turned my head and glared at the remaining townspeople, waving my free arm in a wide arc and in a horrid manner of displaying what they had caused. "You are all to blame for this! We tried to warn you, and yet you did not listen!"

With one last glance down at the trembling man beneath me, I rose to my feet and headed back over to Meredy. She was looking at me strangely, but I did not care at the moment. Her concerns would hit me full force when we left this town anyway, so there was no point in worrying now.

"Bastard!"

I turned, but not fast enough. Something exploded in my face, sending a wave of green powder towards me. I put a hand over my nose and mouth, narrowing my eyes to slits.

The heat was beginning to overwhelm me. I groaned and clenched my other hand into a fist, feeling the bloodthirsty urges rising deep within.

"That's enough, Jellal." Meredy placed a hand on my arm. "We're leaving."

Meredy glanced over to the dozing man, a frown on her face.

Jellal had been in a sour mood on their way back to their camp, disregarding her questions and concerns with an irritation that was uncommon in him.

The man let out a heavy breath, turning to lay on his other side. He was frowning, his pale face drawn up tight in something like discomfort and irritation.

She decided to let her thoughts wander. When Jellal was asleep, nothing could wake him up, and based on how exhausted he had been on the way back from the village fight, he would not wake up anytime soon.

Her mind could not help but recall that the man that had come to his comrade's rescue. She had sensed no magic power from him before, but as he had attempted to attack Jellal, there had been a surge—however small—of magic that exploded as he threw the bomb into the Heavenly Body wizard's face.

That bomb hadn't been normal. And whatever it did, she just hoped it wasn't fatal. Something had happened when it had exploded, and she knew that it had affected her teammate, for better or for worse.

Jellal moaned softly, shining in agitation. His chest rose and fell with deep, heavy breaths as he trembled visibly. Meredy frowned and crawled over to the former Wizard Saint.

"Jellal?"

He did not respond, only twitching slightly as his breathing became deeper.

The pinkette reached out a hand, shaking the other wizard's arm. "Jellal, wake up."

One golden eye shot open, and the telepath sat up abruptly, bending over in some sort of pain or discomfort as he breathed heavily.

Meredy placed her hands over his trembling fists, keeping him from hurting himself. "Are you okay?"

He shuddered and grimaced, forcing himself to nod. "I will be."

The pinkette pressed her lips together, her brow wrinkling in worry. "Are you—?"

"I just need sleep." The powerful wizard closed his eyes and turned away. "Don't wake me again."

We were moving once again. Our mission had been partially successful, but we still needed to find the rest of the lacrima that the dark guild —a group of wizards who called themselves the Sickly Nightmares —was attempting to use to power some ancient magic weapon they had supposedly found.

Currently, Meredy and I were taking a break, sharing a canister of water and thinking in silence.

My head was pounding harshly, and my throat and mouth were dry despite the water. I had been feeling strange ever since the village massacre, but I said nothing about it to prevent Meredy from worrying about me.

A pang of nausea passed through me, and I flinched and placed a hand on my stomach, hiding my groan with a cough.

I stood slowly, wrapping my cloak tighter around my shoulders. There was a forest behind us—we were sitting on a cliff edge with our feet dangling over the side—and I would be able to collect myself there without rousing suspicion from my comrade.

"Jellal?" Meredy glanced over, brushing a few strands of hair from her face. "Where are you going?"

"Just on a walk." I wrapped an arm around my stomach as it protested again. "I will return shortly."

"Oh. Okay." She turned back to the setting sun and closed her eyes, smiling happily.

I loped off into the cover of the trees. The warm air swirled around me, stirring my azure hair and momentarily obscuring my vision. Birds chirped and sung, hidden in the thick cover of the leaves and bushes. Animals scurried around the ground, concealed in their camouflage coats of fur as they ran beneath the buses and tree roots.

The sound of running water reached me, and I forced myself to move faster. I could collect myself there. It was out of reach of Meredy's range of sight and hearing.

I knelt beside the river, cupping the cool water in my hands and splashing it on my overheated skin. I sighed softly in satisfaction, reveling in the way the water felt against my skin.

The pain screamed suddenly, and I bit back a pained cry. My magic power surged and roared, and in a flash of light the forest area around me was burned and clinging on to life.

I grimaced and forced myself to stand, leaning heavily against a tree. Using the thick trunks as support, I made my way back to the cliff edge.

Just as I caught the first glimpse of Meredy's vibrant pink hair, the agony returned and I failed to restrain a deep groan. This feeling was familiar, but I couldn't quite place where I remembered it from.

"Jellal? Jellal, what's wrong?" Meredy had rushed over and placed her hands on mine, her fingers digging into my skin.

Before I could answer, the pain made me speechless. I moaned as I fell to my knees. My chest tightened and I coughed heavily, a violent splatter of crimson fluid against the charred brown-green of the ground. My head was pounding, a relentless and thudding ache that showed no sign of giving up.

"Jellal?"

A groan escaped my throat, and I clenched my eyes shut.

Retribution. Punishment. Payment.

Final...

"Jellal?!"

I gasped and jerked in an agonized shock. The world spun violently around me, and I trembled all over as I struggled to breathe correctly

Two small but strong hands steadied me as I wavered, yanking me harshly over jagged rock and wood to keep me from falling over the cliff edge.

Well-deserved death...

Meredy loomed over me, her bright pink eyes bright with concern and fear. Her fingers were digging painfully into the flesh of my shoulders, but I only shuddered longingly at the pain. I deserved it.

"Jellal, are you okay? Answer me!"

Something snapped deep within me, and I frowned and placed a heavy hand on her arm. "You can let me go, Meredy."

The pinkette frowned deeply and shook her head. "You didn't answer me."

I sighed and looked away, my gaze locked onto the beauty of the setting sun. "It's just a headache. I will be fine." I shifted beneath her weight, biting back another cough. "You can get off of me now."

She glared at me but did as told, crossing her arms over her chest. It was quiet until she spoke again.

"You look terrible."

I sighed, rubbing my fingertips into my temples in an attempt to ease the pounding in my head. "I am well aware."

"Go back to sleep." Meredy was frowning at me, her bright red eyes wide in a mixture of anger, disbelief, and exhaustion. "You need it. I'll wake you up at dawn so we can keep moving."

I sighed and turned away, laying back down on my side.

I was asleep before I realized it.

"Hey! That's mine, popsicle!" Natsu snapped, fire erupting from his mouth in short explosions as he glared at the rival wizard before him.

"Not anymore, flame-brain!" Gray growled, the temperature of the room dropping to skin-numbing levels. Natsu narrowed his eyes as he felt the coldness and his own heat flared out, forcing it away.

"Will you two keep it down? Some of us are trying to relax!" Cana slurred, slamming her barrel of booze against the counter with a dull thud.

Natsu whirled around, green eyes wide as he glared at the Card wizard. "Stay out of this!"

Erza appeared out of nowhere, her arms crossed over her chest. "What did I tell you two about fighting inside?"

The Dragon Slayer growled, heat flaring out around his body. "I have crap to handle with Gray, Erza!"

"And what did he do exactly, Natsu?" the redhead demanded, narrowing her eyes.

"He—" Natsu cut off suddenly, his eyes wide and muscles tense.

"Hey, we haven't finished yet, slanty eyes!" Gray snapped, beginning to form an ice weapon in his hands.

"This scent ain't right." Gajeel spoke from his seat at the bar table, shoving a handful of metal scraps in his mouth. "Salamander, you feel that?"

"Yeah." Natsu nodded and turned to look at the Requip wizard. "It's for you."

"What?" Erza turned to face the door, narrowing her eyes in suspicion and caution.

At that moment, the door to the guild slammed open, and two figures entered. When they stepped further into the light, Erza's eyes widened and an eerie silence overcame the guild hall.

Meredy stumbled in, sweat staining her fair skin as she breathed heavily. Her pink hair spilled in limp tangles over her cloth-covered shoulders, and her bright crimson eyes were wild, filled with fear and anger and worry.

Resting heavily against her narrow shoulder was a tall, pale-faced, and blue-haired man. He was panting heavily, in seemingly painful and agonizing breaths. Sweat dripped from his sickly pale skin, and waves of dark magical power swirled around him.

The Maguilty Sense wizard looked up hopelessly at Erza, who had moved to approach the two powerful wizards. Her worry was clear and overpowering, like a knife cutting through a piece of paper.

"Help him. Please."