Chapter Two: On the Move

:DDDDDD

-FAIRY TAIL-

The mighty Titania, in little other than a robe, walked into the kitchen area, where she prepared for herself a bowl of cereal. The dull rattle of dry cereal was followed up by the splash of cold milk. A clank of dishes rattling about landed Erza with a nice, clean-ish spoon. She sat down at the table, still a little bleary-eyed. A few bites through her cereal, she looked up to see Mirajane, Levy, Charle, and Wendy. The young girl was happily eating away at her plate of eggs and bacon, Charle's head barely visible (as the cat was apparently napping on Wendy's lap). Mirajane and Levy, their plates clean, seemed to be trying to occupy themselves.

"Good morning," Erza said.

They returned the greeting and looked at one another, nervously. Erza didn't quite catch the glance, as she had returned to her cereal.

"Erza?" Mirajane asked.

"Hm?"

"We... being myself, Mirajane, Juvia, Cana, and a few of the others," Levy began, "decided it would be best if you and Lucy were to take Wendy shopping."

"Shopping?" Erza asked, curiously.

"I need new clothes," Wendy said, smiling.

"Ah," Erza said, a spoonful of cereal inches from her mouth, "Well, Lucy shall love today."

"That's good," Mirajane said, smiling.

Erza took a bite, chewed for a moment, gulped it down, and looked at the others, a slow frown developing. The spoon pointed at Mirajane, almost accusatively.

"Mirajane?"

"Yes?"

"Since when did a group not involving the matron of the dorm make a decision regarding delegating duties?" Erza deadpanned.

Mirajane, sweating furiously, chuckled, "Ummm... we..."

"Well, it was mostly decided on the basis of "not it"," Levy said.

"...Beg pardon?" Erza asked.

"Oh, it is a way that Cana introduced to us all. She noted that, since you and Lucy weren't present, you weren't able to declare yourselves... not it...," Mirajane trailed off.

Erza and Mirajane stared, the first's expression slowly becoming more aggravated, while the second's became more frightened, sweating bullets. Mirajane erupted in a fit of laughter.

"Oh, it's rather silly, I know!" Mirajane said.

Levy leaned forward, "What's equally silly is when silly dorm matrons do silly things in the bathing area. Silly. Huh?"

Erza bit her lip, her eyes narrowing to the side, now sweating bullets herself, Mirajane and Levy glaring.

"What's so silly?" Wendy asked.

"Oh, nothing to worry yourself about," Mirajane said, gently patting the girl on the head.

Erza finished her bowl of cereal in silence, then left the kitchen area, hurriedly. Her prediction was correct. Lucy was quite happy with the idea of shopping, even if supposedly just for the little one...

-FAIRY TAIRU-

"Erza, do I look good in this?"

"Marvelous."

A few moments later.

"How about this?"

"Wonderful."

A few more moments later, amidst Erza's foot-tapping and Charle sighing.

"Does this look good?"

"Yes. Now, then, can we please start shopping for Wendy, like we're supposed to be doing?"

Lucy sighed, "Oh, alright..."

Wendy giggled, "Lucy, you're silly."

Erza visibly tensed up, much to Lucy's confusion. The moment passed, Lucy changed back, and they resumed shopping, this time in the Little Girl's section of the store.

-FAIRY TAIL-

"Can I go try on something?" Lucy asked, gently pulling on Erza's sleeve.

"Oh, alright," Erza said, "I'll have to stay here with Wendy, though."

Lucy grinned, "Of course. I'll try to make it fast, but I dunno if I'll find something I really like."

"Conserve your money, Lucy," Erza warned, lightly, before turning back towards Wendy.

Lucy rushed off, perhaps just as giddy as Wendy, who was just discovering the wonders a clothing store held for those of the female persuasion...

-FAIRY TAIL-

Lucy sat in the changing room, sliding into a skirt. With a little struggle and much grunting, she managed to get it past her rump and around her waist. A few seconds later, the door opened. Lucy nearly screamed, but it caught in her throat.

"Y-you... I th-thought...."

"That I was dead...?" Venny said, lowly, holding up a key, "No, no.... In fact, we're stronger than before."

Lucy tried to scream, but found her mind blocking her. Venny grinned, slowly sliding her tongue across her lips.

"Mmmm... I can smell your fear..."

Lucy shivered, holding her hands over her mouth, her eyes wide in fear.

"Hm? What's this?" Venny said, looking at her skirt, "What? Found that your ass is too big, you stupid cow?"

She stared at Lucy, who almost looked infuriated. A brow quirked, she smirked, before a disgusted look came to her face.

"Really? Slut. Fucking in the public bathroom. I'm not sure if you wanted to get caught or if you were just stupid," Venny said, waving her finger "no" at Lucy.

Lucy blushed furiously, narrowing her eyes at Venny, who just looked back at her, smugly.

"Given how much of a stupid cow you are, either one is possible enough," Venny half-sneered.

The Stellar Spirit Mage reached down for her Keys, only to find that they were on the skirt on the floor... which was now beneath Venny's foot. She looked up at Venny, fear in her eyes. Malice danced in Venny's eyes.

"I could kill you, right now," Venny hissed.

Her hand became a blur. Five daggers sprouted in the wall around Lucy's head. She would've screamed again, had it not been for that... mental block... what magic was this...?! Lucy clutched at her throat, starting to cry.

"Oh, does the little baby miss her whore-mother?" Venny snapped.

Finally, the girl attempted to stand, before Venny kicked her square in the chest. Lucy, unable to make even a sound, fell back against the wall, her face screwing up in the pain of it all...

"Mmmm... I do so love pain. Inducing it, getting it. I'm not too picky," she whispered, with all the delicacy of a snake wooing its victim before it struck.

She pulled out one of the knives and slid it lightly across Lucy's skin, drawing a very small line of blood, "Being defeated... especially by some big-chested, know-it-all, bimbo? That humiliates me... makes me out to be some kind of fool..."

Venny pulled back the dagger, twirled it around, and slammed the hilt into Lucy's gut, prompting a massive gasp of pain, as more tears welled up.

"I am not a fool."

Lucy bent over, gasping for air... She sat up, blinking away tears, to see... nothing... The daggers were gone. The Keys were still there... The door was shut, even locked... She looked around, confused, scratching her head.

"What... what happened...?" she whispered.

The images of Venny flashed through her head, but they were fuzzy, almost incapable of really recollecting... Lucy held herself, shivering, feeling so horrified. Those words reverberated back through her head.

"I. AM. NOT. A. FOOL."

For a minute, Lucy sat there, trying not to cry, but failing...

-FAIRY TAIL-

Wendy opened the door, shyly. She crossed her arms, trying not to appear shy, but she was clearly unsuccessful, which Erza picked up on.

"You don't have to wear it if you don't want to," Erza said, smiling lightly.

Wendy gave a slight smile, showing off the fancy-looking dress. Bright-yellow in color with white patterns, it was decked out in several dozen frills, around the shoulders, wrists, legs, ankles, edge of the skirt, waist, etc...

"I... I kind of like it... but it's..."

"It's perfect," Charle said.

"But isn't it... I dunno..."

"Frilly?" Erza asked.

"And scratchy," Wendy muttered.

"Well, it's something you'll deal with on... special occasions," Charle said, her arms crossed.

Wendy sighed, "I guess..."

Charle nodded, her whiskers twitching. Erza sighed, rolling her eyes. Lucy would've enjoyed this at least a bit more... Erza looked back, spotting movement, and there was her blonde-haired lover, steadily approaching them, something in her eye... Something like... fear. Erza's blood ran cold, and she immediately rushed over to her beloved.

"What's wrong?" Erza demanded, adrenaline rushing.

"She's back," Lucy whispered.

Erza blinked, looking down at Lucy, "Who's back?"

"Venny."

Erza snorted, "We'll beat her, Lucy. Why? What happened?"

Lucy buried her head in Erza's chest, "I don't want to... talk about it..."

Erza gently patted her younger lover, "It's okay... you don't have to... we'll get out of here, quickly..."

She turned to Wendy, "You've selected about six pairs of clothes, correct?"

"Yes, miss Erza, why? Is Lucy getting sick?"

"Something like that," Erza said under her breath, then, "Let's grab the clothes, pay for them, and get out of here. Quickly."

-FAIRY TAIL-

...the previous night...

The hooded thug coughed and sputtered, trying to suck in a deep enough gasp of air to satisfy his body, but there was too much pressure on his throat... This man, who came out of nowhere... Why was he so strong!?

"Why do you do this?" Enka hissed, pulling the man back then slamming him against the wall again, before dropping him.

"Wh... why...?"

Enka's foot found a firm place in the man's gut. The man wheezed in shock and pain. Enka snarled, glaring down at the man.

"Why, damn you!? Why... would you take pleasure in this? Almost killing a girl so much weaker than you after debasing her in such ways?! WHY?!"

The thug gurgled, his eyes rolling. Enka dropped him again, and watched him for a minute. The thug looked down, incapable of speech. Rage burning in Enka's eyes, the spear-wielder slashed out with his trusted weapon. It was not a quick slash. The thug felt the pain of so many barbs digging into his throat for a full minute, before the spear finally rended his head from his shoulders, and all was nothing...

Enka glanced over to the alley entrance to see the fleeing form of the girl. Hmph. Whatever.

These humans... they derived so much joy, so much pleasure, from one set course in life, no matter how destructive to oneself or others the course was. Well, theirs was a course of violence, sex, and greed. Enka's course... was just the violence.

"Life, to me, will be one big fight."

He looked up, his spear in the shape of a crescent moon, energy crackling about it.

"My first round? Definitely... Natsu."

-FAIRY TAIL-

"After I worked my magic on one of the shop floozies to get the key, I broke into Lucy's dressing room, and would you please stop that?"

"What?" Diez demanded, with a shrug, "You're saying all the best lines from my favorite movies!"

"I did not have sex with the shop girls, nor did I even consider Lucy in a sexual way."

"Not in my mind," Diez said, a glazed look in his eye.

A dagger sprouted in the ground between Diez's feet. He glanced down, with a sigh.

"Must you?" Diez asked.

Venny sighed, "Now that I've told you how my part of the plan, thus far, has gone, it's time for you to get prepared. There's fun to be had, especially for me..."

Diez gave Venny a slightly creeped-out look, before the pair of them rushed out.

-FAIRY TAIL-

Erza, Lucy, Charle, and Wendy arrived at the guild hall to see a huge mass of people, gathered in a somewhat circular formation. Lucy arched a brow, while Erza sighed and Wendy jumped up and down, trying to see what the excitement was about.

"Lucy, take Wendy and Charle to the dorm. I have a bad feeling about who is in the circle...," Erza said.

Lucy nodded, giving a light smile to Erza, who returned it quickly. The three rushed over to the girl's dorm, while Erza stalked over to the gathering.

"FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!" the various guild members chanted.

Erza quickly made it to the inside of the ring, where she saw Natsu and Gajeel standing, ready to launch a deadly series of blows, their element "flaring" about them, as it were. Gajeel grinned, his iron melding, until it finally solidified into an enormous, incredibly dangerous looking club. Natsu's fire faded for a moment. He almost looked confused. Then with an almost "gotcha" grin, the fire roared from his elbows, sending him (specifically his fist) straight into Gajeel's face. The Iron Dragon Slayer reeled back, then delivered a crushing blow to Natsu's side, sending him spiralling to the side.

Down into the middle of the fight crashed Gray, ice magic whirling about him.

"Knock it off, now," he said, his eyes alight with magic.

Natsu and Gajeel stood up, glaring.

"What?" Gajeel asked.

"You kidding?" Natsu asked.

"Did your brain freeze over?" Gajeel continued.

"Shut up, both of you," Erza snapped, "Gray, what's the problem?"

"There's been an attack in the city," Gray said, his voice dead, "Makarov wants the entire guild inside. Now."

-FAIRY TAIL-

Makarov stood in the middle of the guild hall, in his full-on Giant form. The guild members filed in, quickly, each one seeming as scared as the last.

"There is... something deeply disturbing to happen, as of late," Makarov said, "An entire family was murdered, in our city, without our knowledge until well after it occurred."

"How did this happen?" Erza demanded, her voice ringing through the hall.

"It is unknown. The victims...," even in his shadowy giant form, the way he cringed gave away his feelings, "Their minds were entirely gone."

"Dissection?" Reedus asked.

"No, different. The actual energies of the mind, the magical signature which gives life to the brain... was completely gone. It shouldn't be possible."

"It would require incredibly strong mind-related magic," Mirajane said.

"Not to mention a twisted mind," Elfman added, with a snort.

Erza stood there, completely stunned, before whispering, "Lucy... was right..."

She stood there, for a moment more, before taking a step back and looking up at the mighty Makarov, terrified, "It's Venny!"

"Venny?" Makarov asked.

"One of the three mysterious figures who were working with Doctor Terasu," Erza said, "Lucy swears she saw Venny today. The girl is obviously deranged and possesses magic that was capable of reading my mind last time we met. I am unaware of how much her magic has been amplified since then."

"...This girl killed an entire family," Makarov said.

"I believe she is capable of such an act," Erza said, recalling the horrifying killing intent in the girl's eyes.

"Not only this, but she forced the father to kill the mother, then his own children. Afterwards, it's apparent that she made him commit suicide. The only reason we knew it wasn't what it looked like... was the magical readings being so high and the signature. Whatever this girl is...," Makarov started.

"She's a monster," Erza said, shaking.

-FAIRY TAIL-

"Oh, the things that man called me as I forced him to stab his wife," Venny said, sighing in ecstasy.

"You're sick," Diez replied.

"Oh, you like it. I can tell. You're attracted to us, because we're the only family you know," Venny said, slyly.

She wrinkled her nose a moment later.

"What? Saw all the 'incestual thoughts', as it were?" Diez asked.

"...You're disgusting."

"Good, we agree on having a negative opinion on one another. Why do we hang out?"

"Because I soothe your loneliness and your power is suitable to my needs."

"Ouch."

"Yes, yes, now go. You have a job to do."

-FAIRY TAIL-

The entire guild spread out across the town, appearing to simply be roaming about, until one caught the paranoid glint in their eye, or the slight catch in their voice. Until evening hit, all the guild searched for hints. The evening wore on, and eventually the guild went to sleep, until only a tiny handful of the members were stalking the city.

Erza was one of the later ones to give up, but she did not find her partner fast asleep. Instead, Lucy sat on their bed, wearing nothing. Erza, usually turned on by the sight of Lucy in any state of undress, felt no excitement of any kind at the sight of Lucy, hunched on the side of the bed, shivering ever so slightly. Erza exquipped out of her clothes and sat beside Lucy, quickly wrapping her arms around her.

"Lucy... are you alright...? You're shivering? Are you cold?"

"No... not cold..."

"Then what is it?"

"She could've killed me. She could've done anything she wanted. She had me... but all she said was 'I'm not a fool'... and the words won't go away."

Erza lifted Lucy, carefully, into her lap. They rocked gently, slowly, back and forth, as Lucy curled up, pressing herself against Erza. Eventually, her shivering quieted down, but Erza kept her there, kissing her cheek quietly.

She looked up to see a sight quite familiar and infuriating. There, just outside the window, stood Diez on a tree branch, one hand over his nose, the other giving a thumbs up. A moment later, he waved a single finger, and the window flew up; he jumped through, rolling to reduce impact.

"Hey, ladies," he said.

"What are you doing here?" Erza hissed, setting Lucy beside her, before standing up.

"Look, look, you can trust me," Diez said, "Look. I'll even show you my new magic."

Erza clutched her head as a sudden tingle shot through it. It wasn't painful in any sense, but it was decidedly... unpleasant. Erza looked back up, blinking.

"What'd you... do to me?" Erza asked.

"I've still got my old magic, but it mutated, making a new magic. Mirror. I can reverse almost anything. Haven't tried it on reversing gender. Sounds... icky. What I did to you was reverse your personality."

"My p-p-personality?!" Erza asked, almost shrieking.

"Well, yeah," Diez said, "That was about all I really wanted to reverse. It's the least damaging, and it'll go away after a little bit."

"Why are you here?" Lucy demanded.

"Well, I'm here to warn you two about Venny."

Erza dove under the covers, shivering, "We kn-know about h-h-her!"

"...I take it you're typically incredible brave, then. Interesting. Well, little lovely... or, well, big lovelies, Venny's got a plan that you two big-titted babes need to know about."

"B-big...!" Lucy said, indignant.

Erza blushed, but surprised Lucy by not saying anything about the impropriety.

"Yeah, she's wanting to free the doc," Diez said, a grin on his face as he looked at the two.

Lucy squealed and snatched the blanket away from Erza, pulling it around herself. No longer remembering the scare, Erza sat up, once again not worrying about being proper.

"Terasu?" Erza asked.

"That's the one," Diez said, "He's getting transported, soon. With minimal guards and no real walls to speak of, he'll be easiest, then."

"Why do you care?" Lucy asked, from beneath the covers, "He's your creator, isn't he?"

"Yes, he did, but that doesn't mean we all like him. Just Venny. What the idiot girl doesn't understand is..."

Diez trailed off for a moment, before shaking his head, his hair shaking about, "That man... will destroy everything. He's insane. Help me, please."

"Help you?" Erza asked, meekly.

"AFTER YOU BROKE INTO OUR ROOM!?" Lucy shrieked.

"...Is that a no? Or is that an invitation to a threesome? I can never tell which is which."

-FAIRY TAIL-

Diez sat amidst a smoldering crater, coughing up smoke, with blood running down the side of his head.

"Well... I guess the reversal on Erza didn't last as long as I expected."

He looked up to the dorm and saw a few curtains shifting about in several different windows, then grinned.

"Those sexy babes don't even know why I was there, do they?" he said, with a chuckle, "...Bonus. I can piss off Venny."

-FAIRY TAIL-

"What was up with him?" Lucy wondered.

"He reversed my personality!?" Erza demanded, startled.

Lucy nodded, "Yeah. You were kind of cute."

She giggled for a moment, while Erza crossed her arms, glaring. Lucy noticed the glare and trembled, falling back.

"So... scary..."

Erza stepped forward, then noticed how cold the room was... She looked down; oh, never mind, she just didn't have any clothing on... Wait.

"He saw us naked!"

"...Unfortunately."

"Why didn't I cover myself!?"

"Your personality was reversed? You were comfortable with your body around men?"

"...Odd."

"Well, love," Lucy said, slyly, "Since you're back to normal, what would you like to do?"

Erza tapped her chin for a moment, pretending to think, before climbing into bed...

-FAIRY TAIL-

Diez prowled through the forest, thinking thoughts of Lucy and Erza, his mind running with the images from before and taking them down ever more pornographic streets. Sighing, he pondered stopping for a few minutes, when...

"Moron, I don't want to be around such disgusting things," Venny snapped.

"You'd like it, you know it," Diez called back, before stepping into the clearing.

In the middle of the clearing stood Venny, her arms crossed. A few feet away from her sat Enka, who was toying with his spear-head.

"Good news. He's in."

Diez rolled his eyes, "Excellent. When do we bust out Terasu?"

"Tomorrow night," Venny said, with a sly grin.

Gently, she slid the dagger-tip across her arm, drawing a line of blood similar to the one she brought up on Lucy's. Diez stared.

"You're sick."

Venny licked a bit of the blood, "Perhaps."

"I wonder how the doctor is doing. As good of a fighter as he is, I'm sure he's being abused in prison," Enka said.

"Likely," Venny said, "Thus the need to break him out swiftly."

"Heh. I wonder how the little guy's doing. Hope he's making lots of friends."

-FAIRY TAIL-

"Hey, boy, give me yer dessert...," a large, burly man growled, tapping on the shoulder of a much thinner, shorter man.

"I have a name."

"Pfft. Give me the dessert, boy. Quickly, before I lose my temper."

"And I am not a boy. I am a woman. Ah. I mean man."

"Look, I don't care who or what you are, just give-"

The thinner man stood up, out of his chair, and whirled around.

"I AM TERASU. DO YOU KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS!?"

The large, burlier man paled, "You...! You're the guy who's hording all the dud Lachryma! The freak!"

"TERASU MEANS ILLUMINATE, TRANSLATED FROM HIRAGANA IN JAPANESE!"

"...So?"

"I AM TERASU, AND I AM GOING TO ILLUMINATE THE INSIDE OF YOUR ASS WITH MY BOOT!"

"...that doesn't make any sense"

Terasu stomped the floor with his right foot, and a light poured off of it.

"Dud Lachryma in small amounts is good for something in large amounts," Terasu said with a grin, "Now get over here!"

"I WAS HAPPIER WHEN IT DIDN'T MAKE SENSE!"

The guards stood there, watching, not understanding. Terasu and the man seemed perfectly fine. Nothing out of the ordinary. Just having a friendly chat. Their eyes glazed over, they never noticed when Terasu glanced their way, clenching his fist, a small burst of magic escaping. The cuffs weren't fully functional after just a bit of tinkering. The illusion magic he wielded was back in action, and the guards were among the first he made sure it worked on, by a subtle tap.

So, as the burly prisoner screamed, all they saw or heard of it was an annoyed chat between two annoying inmates. No need to worry... The other prisoners made to move to help their comrade. Each one looked at Terasu, each seeing their worst nightmare.

Evening came swiftly. Terasu grumbled, knowing it meant going back to his temporary cell. He would be moved shortly, and so would that other fellow... Weird guy... Didn't talk much...

Whatever. Terasu was fairly certain he would be out of there, soon. Tomorrow was moving day, for himself. Hoped that other fellow managed to get free. He seemed alright.

Ah, well, Terasu thought. His supposedly dud Lachryma, which the other prisoners simply used to project a small image of their homes, their families, or something unscrupulous, were gathered together quite nicely. The guards never noticed the gathering or disappearance of any of his Lachryma. The other fellow? He was quite interested. Or at least, he appeared so. Terasu didn't really know.

His mind twinged for a moment. The sweet voice of his most loyal creation ran through his head.

'Are you alright?'

"Yes, yes, I'm fine."

'Ready to break free?'

"No. Ah. I mean, yes."

'Anyone bothering you?'

"Not particularly. I have good enough company in my cell. The others, my magic takes care of."

'Good. I'll... gah. Diez is being disgusting again. The strain is also getting powerful. We'll free you, tomorrow, father.'

"Good to hear. I'll see you, all, tomorrow evening, then."

He looked over at his cellmate, who quirked a brow at him.

"You didn't hear that. Ah. I mean, did."

"Yes. Interesting conversation. Who was on the other line?"

"...You saw through the illusion. You're not a normal prisoner, are you... Gerald?"

"Neither are you, Tiramisu."

"Terasu."

"Gerard."

Terasu nodded, "Ah."

"Getting out, tomorrow?"

"Yes. Some friends are coming to make bail."