Chapter One: Things Fall Apart
A crowd had gathered outside the door of the master's office, all patiently awaiting his verdict and hoping it wasn't as harsh as they expected. Just beyond the door, Jose loomed over a smaller blue haired woman.
Ocean, the woman in question, was being accused of the crime deemed most heinous to the master of Phantom Lord; weakness. The sea dragon slayer had found herself in a brawl with a member from the guild's bitter rival; Fairy Tail, and lost. When word of the defeat got back to the guild, Jose was less than enthused.
"A Fairy." The master's voice sounded in an angry growl. "You lost a fight to a Fairy! How does that happen? Are you not supposedly one of this guild's S-Class mages? One of the strongest here?"
Ocean knew better than to respond. She stayed silent, eyes glued to the floor beneath her feet that felt as if it may fall away at any minute now.
"Get out." This grabbed her attention. She raised her head to look at him, clearly panicked. "Pack your things and don't ever let me see your pathetic self here ever again!"
She trembled. "But..." Being the only word she was able to vocalize. She wanted to cry, to beg him to change his mind, but quickly came to the realization that any attempt to do so would only be in vain. Ocean nodded and left the office, pushing past the crowd that called questions after her. They already knew the answer.
It was over. The walls began to crumble around her. She started to jog, then sprint, desperately trying to outrun the burning grief rising through her chest and into her throat and threatening to sound out in a scream. It was happening all over again. Losing her home, losing what little dysfunctional bit of family she had. Where were the girls? She had to get them out, had to save them again.
"No." The word slapped her in the face, bringing her partially back to the present. She hadn't even realized she'd made it all the way back to her apartment already.
"What?" She asked, needing to be caught up in the conversation.
"No." The word was repeated. Ocean blinked, looking down at the girl speaking. Gabby. The youngest daughter of the Stine family, the ones that took her in after Rayne disappeared, the girl rendered blind after the attack on the village that left both parents dead and an older brother still missing, one of the two girls Ocean had sworn to always be there for and protect, spoke again. "We aren't going with you."
The other girl in the room, Ellie, stepped forward and placed a hand on her younger twin's shoulder. "This is our home. For years now. We can't just leave."
"Oh." Ocean responded, taken aback. The smell of smoke disappeared from her mind and she became fully aware of where she was again. There was no fire. Just the cold acceptance of her fate. She nodded.
It didn't take long for Ocean to pack her few belongings she owned. She walked past the twins in silence. No exchange in goodbyes, no hugs, no tears. Nothing.
By the door, the master and several guild mates had gathered. Some shouted protests, quickly silenced by Jose's cold glare, others silently watched as the girl that had acted as an older sister, a friend, or a mother to them set off on a new journey alone.
Three faces stood at the front and caught Ocean's attention. The first was Gajeel; he'd been Ocean's closest friend since she and the girls has met him in the woods before they all joined the guild together. It was only natural when the two decided to take the next step and become more than that when with were seventeen. This day meant the end of that.
"You could come me with me." She said to him, an almost silent plea. "We could make it somewhere new, together." This was responded to by him looking away from her, shunning her. Ocean smiled to force back her tears. "Keep them safe for me."
The second face belonged to Lydia; a girl just a few months younger than Ocean but had seen her as the closest thing to a mother she had. After the tragic deaths of her family, which she chose not to talk about, Lydia considered Ocean to be the only family she had; other than the demons she tamed. She had a bag on her shoulder and a smile on her face. Ocean smiled back. At least neither of them would be alone now.
Finally, standing silent and still, was Morganna. As children the two girls had been part of the same team, along with Lydia, Gajeel and a few others. Morganna had made a promise to the two girls to always watch their backs, and this was one promise she intended to keep. Preferring not to keep too many things anyway, she was empty handed.
The three of them waved to their former guild mates and headed off together in search of a new place to call home. After not too long of searching; they ended up in the place they least expected, Fairy Tail.
