Chapter 7: The Inevitable
A/N: Sorry guys for the late arrival of this chapter! As you know it is finals(mid-term) season so I've been swamped with work and projects. The life of a student, huh? But other than that whole thing, let's get on with this chapter! I hope you enjoy~!
After Lora and Erza arrived to the guild whereabouts, there was a silent ride back to the guild. It was eating away at Lora but she knew to stay quiet and believe in what Erza had said before. 'They will forgive you Lora, just explain everything to them. They are kind people.' she chanted to herself, keeping her eyes ahead. She, along with her sister were sitting in a carriage next to Lucy. Poor Gray had to sit next to a motion sick Natsu, who held his stomach in pain. Everyone else were split in groups as well.
"Why didn't we let Wendy tag along?" He whined, breaking the silence. He resisted the urge to vomit as the cart's wheel had hit rock in the road, causing the whole carriage to sway.
"It'll be okay Natsu, besides Wendy needed a rest as well. She put up a pretty good fight in your stead for a while." Lucy said as she patted the boy's knee. Natsu groaned in discontent.
"Yeah, She has gotten strong huh?" Gray replied as he remembered how Wendy was toe to toe with Marius for a while. Erza had smiled in pride for her younger nakama, remembering just how far she has come since she had joined.
Lora had looked at the friends her sister had made wistfully. She was so proud of her sister's nakama, but she couldn't help but feel a bit disconnected from it all. She had just came back into Erza's life and had already put her guild and Erza herself in danger.
To top it off, she was now a murderer. Over 4,000 innocent lives were taken by her. Just thinking about it made her sick to her stomach. She knew that she couldn't bring them back. Lora closed her eyes and inhaled. After a while, she forgot to exhale as she became enveloped in her thoughts. Suddenly the body of a dead little girl flashed in her mind, causing her to quickly exhale and open her eyes; a frantic look etched itself on her face.
"Are you okay Lora-chan?" Lucy asked in concern, placing her hand on the manipulation mage's shoulder. Erza and the others looked on in concern as well. Even Natsu forgot about his motion sickness at the moment.
Lora nodded slowly as she leaned deeper into the cushion of the cart, she felt completely drained and sore. Yet, she would not let it on.
"I'm fine thank you," She lied, "Natsu, how are your wounds?"
Natsu looked down as his abdomen, "I'm okay, he just caught me by surprise. I guess I was a bit out of it. while I was concerned about Erza, he was able to land some good hits on me. But I was able to drain some of his magic power though!" He ended triumphantly, making a fist with his hand.
Lora chuckled a little as she looked to Lucy and Erza, both of them smiled and rolled their eyes. Gray had a smirk on his face as he nudged his pink haired friend. Leave it to Natsu to lighten the mood.
Lora concentrated her magic power a bit.
"I will be able to heal you all." Lora stated as she sat up from her laid back position.
Natsu, at this moment, had completely forgot about his motion sickness and looked to the older woman with hope gleaming in his eyes. Lora nodded in reply as she began to channel into her magic energy. Her hands began to glow a bright blue as she allowed it to reach out and engulf the whole carriage. Everyone's eyes widened, they immediately felt relief as all their bruises and scratches from battle disappeared. Natsu was the first to verbally express his gratitude.
"Woah! Thanks Lora!" He exclaimed as he finally was able to enjoy the ride back home. Lucy and the rest of them examined their skin in awe. Every wound they had was completely gone and they felt as though all their magic energy was restored.
"How were you able to return our magic power and heal our wounds Lora-chan?" Lucy questioned as she admired her fully healed wounds. Natsu and Gray leaned in closer to hear her answer.
"It is ancient healing spell; Tactus sanifer. The caster sacrifices the equivalent of their magic energy to restore another's and heal them; so the more people you cast it on, the more magic energy you must use." Lora explained.
"Wait, by doing that wouldn't you have-!" Lucy began in a panic but was cut off by Lora's calm response.
"Yes, I used up the rest of my magic energy to cast the spell on you," Lora admitted with a weak smile causing everyone to gasp in shock, "But I regret nothing, knowing that all of you are okay now! I just wish I was able to heal the rest of the guild as well..."
The gang had only looked toward the lamenting girl in concern. They knew she was still blaming herself for everything that went on. However, she still hadn't told them what had happened so they still were left in the dark. Erza had broke the tension by leaning over to hug her sister.
"Thank you Lora and don't worry about it I'm sure that Wendy is on the job," She consoled as she sent a smile her sister's way. Lucy had nodded in agreement, placing a comforting hand on Lora's shoulder. Lora had eased into the hug. She was able to keep the sob that was threatening to come up down for a minute; but once her throat had clenched up, she finally gave in. She silently sobbed into her sister's white blouse. The images of the dead bodies flashing in her vision.
Gray had felt compelled to try and console her as well but left it to the two girls who whispered soothing words into her ears. All he and Natsu could do now was send empathetic looks her way. Though Natsu was beginning to feel unnerved.
Finally he had enough; he could no longer witness his comrade in such a state.
"Lora," Natsu called, his eyebrows were furrowed as his obsidian eyes stared her down. Lora looked up to the boy, wiping her tears away.
"Don't beat yourself up about what happened. We may not know what caused everything to go down but we still have faith in you. You are our nakama and we know you wouldn't have done anything to hurt us. So just put a smile on your face because we will get through this together!" Natsu declared, by the end of his speech he had his trademark smile adorning his face.
Lora's dark brown eyes widened in disbelief as she looked around at everyone in the cart; at all the warm smiles sent her way. It was so foreign to her. But she could feel the need to only smile back at them in content. The sun shone through the red curtains of the carriage, a new beginning await the gang.
However, Lora could only feel a bit sad as she thought of her new beginning; crossing her legs and turned her head to look out the window at the beautiful cloudless sky.
'I know they're coming for me. I can feel it...'
And then...!
Aiden paced around his office room. The air was thick with tension. Roy stood in the middle of the room awaiting an answer from his guild master.
"So Marius is in the infirmary and Lora escaped?" Aiden asked.
Roy nodded curtly, not daring to say a word. The crazed look in Aiden's eyes was enough to signal him to stay sharp. Suddenly, Aiden sent a blast of wind toward his bookcase, causing it to sway and fall to the ground with a loud bang. Roy flinched as he witnessed the seen before him. Aiden was far past upset. He was in a blind rage over the events that Roy had informed him about.
"Do you know where she could've possibly gone?" Aiden asked once again having already sat in his huge office chair, that resembled more of a throne. Roy had almost lost all recollection of how to speak but quickly replied:
"Marius said that a guild of the name, Fairy Tail, had gotten involved with the goddess' plans."
"Fairy Tail, huh?" Aiden said as he recalled meeting the master of the guild.
"Makarov's guild, that nosy little bastard." Aiden seethed, "We need to lay low for a while then. I know that once that girl croaks any word about me he will contact the magic council. The last thing we need is the magic council getting involved."
Roy nodded once again.
"Make sure that once Marius is awake you tell him the plan." Aiden ordered, picking up assassination request from his pile.
As Roy was about to leave he heard something that he hadn't heard in a while.
"I am counting on you Roy."
"Yes Master Aiden, I won't let you down." Roy promised as he walked out the door, his pride trailing along beside him. 'I'll make sure she doesn't ruin our plan!' he thought to himself as he made his way to the infirmary, his cerulean eyes shining with determination.
Everyone was currently back at the guild. Like the carriage ride here, it was horribly quiet. No one made an attempt to say anything; not even Natsu. And Lora knew what she had to do to put an end to it all.
"Everyone, I have an announcement to make." She declared as she took her place in the front of the guild. By now, she had gotten the attention of everyone in the room. She couldn't help but feel a bit anxious. She knew she had to tell them what had happened but it just seemed that the words had gotten caught in her throat. Sighing, she was able to work up the courage to speak again.
"I know that you all want to know what happened," Lora said, "And I will tell you everything; the whole ugly truth."
Lora had to use every ounce of her self-confidence to look everyone in the eyes. Her past and her future would collide as soon as she told them the truth. But she was willing to do this for her new family. They had took her in even without knowing how unlucky she was. The least she could do was do this for them.
"It all began once I was born."
A young woman cradled a small pink bundle in her arms. Her face was covered in a light sweat from labor but she was still able to show a fond smile.
"Hello sweetheart," She cooed to the baby girl as she used her pointer finger to caress the child's rosy cheeks.
The child only gurgled and giggled at her mother's loving touch. A young chestnut haired man had leaned over the bed as he looked at the little girl with pure love.
"Our little Lora." He said as he leaned his head against his girlfriend. Suddenly, his face turned serious as he looked into his love's dark brown eyes.
"But what about Enyo? She will try to control Lora like she tried to do with you, Clara. What if Lora isn't able to build a relationship with her like you did? What if-" He rambled but was soothed by the brunette herself.
"Don't worry Ron, we will have faith in her. I know that she will be safe as long as she is with us and away from any negative influences like my father." Clara reassured him, ending it with a short but passionate kiss.
"Yeah, she will be fine..." Ron said as he took his daughter into his arms finally letting his love rest.
"My parents had assumed the best in everything for me. They assumed that Enyo would be contained. Enyo being my other half."
Everyone was puzzled. Other half? What could she possibly mean by that?
"Enyo was an ancient goddess of war and destruction. She uses embodiment and sealing magic to stay alive for so long, and for some reason she attached herself to the Velandia family. She binds herself to her host like that of a virus so if I die, she dies with me. She passes onto her next vessel by the generation and so when I was born she left my mother's body and came to me. What you had just witnessed earlier was her embodiment magic. But in order for her to use it she needed to use my magic power. However with the help of Aiden, she was able to get the magic power through a magic filled lacrima." Lora explained.
"Once she obtained the magic from the lacrima she was able to control my body and my own magic. The only way I was able to help Erza defeat her was to drain a majority of my magic energy to rip her lacrima power supply out myself after my thought projection plan didn't work. Enyo is now recovering along with me. I don't know how long it will take for me to build a relationship like my mother did. The only time I had every gotten to see her was a few times during my time with Aiden and due to her immense power I could only control her for so long before I would faint. I just apologize for not telling you this sooner. If I did this wouldn't have never happened. But I promise you that I will get stronger on your behalf to ensure that this never happens again!"
The whole guild were taking in the time to process the information given. So they were right about Lora not being herself. Makarov was the first to speak up.
"Lora, we are glad to know that you are alright now. We will do whatever we can to help you in controlling Enyo for you are a Fairy Tail wizard now; our family. I hope that you never feel disconnected from us, for you are always wanted here at home." Makarov stated, placing a comforting hand on Lora's knee.
The rest of the guild had broken out into cheers as they smiled at Lora. They all gave out their own versions of happiness that she was back. Even Team Natsu were shouting along with everyone else.
Lora had gave everyone a smile. She cried tears of happiness for the second time in her life.
"You all are too kind to someone like me..." She whispered, wiping away a few tears that spilled out.
"You are our family Lora!"
"We love you just the way you are!"
Hiccuping softly, Lora took a seat at the bar as she watched the guild party on. Gray and Natsu were fighting as usual while Erza was talking to Wendy and Lucy. Mirajane had sent a genuine smile Lora's way while she shined a wine glass.
"I'm so glad you're back Lora," She said, placing the wine glass down to grasp Lora's hand in her own.
"Us older sisters have to stick together!" She joked, letting out a little giggle. Lora could only giggle back at the white haired girl.
"I am glad to be able to see you again too Mira. You are the first person I talked to here," Lora admitted, taking a sip of the glass of water Mirajane had brought her.
"But there is something I want to tell you." Lora declared, her voice holding a certain urgency. Mirajane had immediately given her full attention to the older mage beckoning her to continue.
"I know that the Magic Council is looking for me. I can feel it. I just wanted to tell you first because I need advice on how to tell Erza. I know that she will be devastated. She has been through so much already and I just don't want her or any of you to feel anymore pain." Lora croaked, a few tears welled up in her eyes yet she refused to let them fall. She promised Erza and Fairy Tail that she would be strong.
Mirajane's eyes widened at what she had just heard. Lora was going to be taken from them again? It only reminded her of Lisanna's death. She was too caught up in her memories to realize that a few tears had fell from her eyes, those tears being noticed by none other than Natsu and Gray.
"What's wrong Mira?" Natsu asked in concern. He had stopped his fight with Gray as he looked at the white haired mage.
"Yeah Mira, are you okay?" Gray asked as well, dusting the dirt on his white and black coat-jacket.
"I-I'm fine..." She lied, as she tried to wave their concern away. This only made them more worried about her.
Lora let out a sigh that turned everyone's attention towards her. 'So much for getting that advice...' she thought.
"I am going to be arrested soon." Lora stated rather bluntly.
Erza's stomach dropped. Jellal's arrest flashed in her mind. She felt so broken. Her throat clenched as she tried to go to her sister but was frozen in place. Noticing Erza's hesitation, Natsu flew to his girlfriend's side and pulled her close.
"H-how do you know?" Lucy stuttered, looking to the tall brunette, "Maybe they will just-"
"I know that they won't let someone who has killed over 4,000 innocent lives free. If anything I will have life in jail." Lora said, walking over to Lucy and Erza to take their hands in her own. Mirajane was currently being comforted by Elfman.
"We won't let them take you Lora!" Natsu yelled as he placed his hands on the brunette's shoulders.
"We just got you back!" Gray added from his spot next to Lucy. He was comforting the poor blonde who, like the rest of the guild, was trying to wrap the news around her head.
"I am sorry everybody but once I get my intuition, it usually comes true." Lora replied sadly, "Before they come, I just want you all to know that I am thankful for being able to be here. You all have made my life so much brighter. Being able to be friends with you and a family is all I've ever really wanted. Especially being able to see my little sister again was a huge bonus." She let off a bright smile.
Suddenly, the doors of the guild opened as the light of the sun flooded in. A figure slowly marched out from the light and into the guild. Once he was in, his features became visible. Here before the entire guild stood a black haired man of average height. His hair was tied up in a clipped pony tail. His lavender eyes looked at Makarov sharply.
"I am Lahar, Head Captain of the Custody Enforcement Unit and I am here to take Lora Velandia in custody for the murder of 4,500 innocent citizens!" He announced as he scoped the entire guild for Lora, "Show yourself!"
Lora had moved from behind Natsu and Gray, who had moved in front of her after Lahar's arrival. She sent a sad smile toward the guild after Lahar placed the magic canceling cuffs on her wrists.
Before she was urged to move forward she turned her head and mouthed, 'Thank you.'
The guild doors closed, leaving the entire guild to grieve in silence.
Lora was currently sitting in the dark jail cell below the magic council. She placed her head in her knees as she remembered her sentence.
"Life in prison, Erza Scarlet's older sister is sentenced to life in prison. Some role model I am." She joked dryly as she stared into the dull gray bricks of the cell.
Footsteps sounded through the halls. Looking up, Lora saw that she was being looked down upon by Lahar. 'That's funny, I'm used to looking down at people.' She thought trying to make light of her situation.
"Lora Velandia?" Lahar sounded, looking into Lora's dark brown eyes.
"Just Lora is fine and yes?" Lora corrected as she gave the man her undivided attention. She had no choice anyway since it was just her in this cell.
"The Magic Council has talked it over with Makarov and have came up with a proposition," Lahar began; once Lora nodded he continued.
"If you tell us who was involved in Enyo's take over your sentence will be cut to only thirty years. They will not go any lower for you are still responsible for the casualties."
Lora nodded sharply, but she couldn't help her conflicted feelings. If she was to tell them that Aiden was the one who had done this then it is possible that Marius would be taken as well. However, she couldn't let anyone else be in danger so she decided what would be right.
"Aiden, Aiden Clemton the master of Sin's Elite. His guild is located in Oleander Town." She told, a weight lifting off her shoulders.
Lahar let off a small smile, "Thank you for your cooperation, Lora."
Lora could only smile back softly. She would finally be able to rest easy knowing that she had justice. Lahar had left soon after to tell the Magic Council the information she gave him. Even if she had to be here for thirty years, at least she knew that she would have some chance of seeing her sister. Sighing, Lora adjusted herself on the floor as sleep enveloped her.
…
"Aiden Clemton, you're under arrest for conspiring against the Magic Council!" Lahar shouted as he placed a barrier up using his Jutsu Shiki magic to make sure he couldn't escape. Aiden cussed, looking into the young man's eyes with pure hatred. 'That damned girl!' He thought as he was cuffed and placed in a truck. Before he was placed in he nodded to Roy, who hid in a corner, signaling him to commence the plan they discussed earlier.
"This isn't the end of it Lora!" Aiden laughed hysterically, "This is only the beginning!"
A/N: So how was it you guys? I tried to be able to type this up before but stuff happens. And I am sorry to burst y'all bubble about Aiden and Sin's Elite disbandment. But the bastard is locked up now! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Review, Fav,& Follow! I'll see you all in Chapter 8: The Truth!
~Lazy
