Jellal was treading water on tired muscles. Water stretched out around him for miles, he'd die of exhaustion before he'd make it anywhere. He tried to cast meteor, but his magic didn't come. He tried again, but it refused. Panic bubbled up inside him as another wave knocked him under.
When he resurfaced the Tower of Heaven loomed above him, dark and foreboding against a perfectly blue sky, but something was at the top, large, black, and winged.
Acnologia.
There was a flash of red.
Erza.
The Dragon of the Apocalypse spun around, his tail whipping into Erza and sending her flying into the ocean.
No!
Jellal screamed her name and started swimming wildly towards her. She was floating on her stomach. When he reached her, all it took was lifting her head from the water and she breathed again. She clung to him, the only thing keeping her afloat in this whole ocean was him. Jellal didn't care. She was alive, she was safe for the moment.
Something caught his ankle and pulled him down. He shouted for Erza. Salt water filled his lungs, but he did not drown. That would have been too merciful.
Down.
Down.
There was nothing but darkness and gravity at this depth. He recognized this place.
Altairis.
Jellal felt the chains from the tower close around his wrists, his ankles. Simon's face appeared in front of him, the face of Avatar's commander too. Dragonoids from the invasion of Crocus growled from the shadows. Everyone and everything he had ever killed with that spell was here. Ready for him.
Simon came forward to exact his revenge first, raising a katana that looked like Erza's over his heart, "Wake-up, boss."
Jellal opened his eyes. His real eyes. He closed them again almost immediately at all the light, color, and movement in front of him. He slowly opened his eyes again and chose to stare at his lap instead of the chaos around him. He felt dizzy. He felt sick.
What the hell happened to me?
"Acute Magic Deficiency." Erik's voice came from above, a cup of ice chips was shoved into Jellal's hands. "Eat this. It's Mt. Hokabe ice. Erza had it stockpiled before the war broke-out."
At the mention of Erza Jellal looked up at Erik. He didn't need to ask. Erik already knew.
"She's safe don't worry. Now eat-up before you get sick all over me."
Jellal did as he was told. The cold temperature felt good on his oddly raw throat. Had he been screaming a lot today? He couldn't think of anything past the memory of him swimming somewhere.
Erik had worry written all over his face. "That dream did a real number on you."
Dreams, or hallucinations more like, were common with AMD, Jellal recalled that much. He finished his ice and no longer felt too dizzy to look around. They were in Fairy Tail guildhall if he wasn't mistaken. A few feet away were a few Blue Pegasus wizards in a similar state as his being nursed by the woman named Anna. There were lots of people laid out on the floor around the hall. At least, wherever there weren't giant holes in the flooring.
"Where are the others?" Jellal asked.
"Around, helpin' where they can. We only found you and Pegasus guys a little while ago."
Jellal remembered being on an islet somewhere with Ichiya and Anna, Meredy's maguilty band wrapping around his wrist…
As if she knew he was thinking about her, Meredy came out of nowhere and threw herself at him. Jellal was knocked back; his head thudding against the wood floor. Meredy either didn't notice or didn't care as she started reprimanding him.
"You tried to take on Acnologia?! You're not even a dragon slayer! And that's after you nearly drowned after killing that Nienhart, guy! Then as if that's not nearly enough you give all your magic power away! If Erik hadn't found you…" Meredy smacked him weakly, tears gathering in her eyes. "What is wrong with you? Don't you know you have a guild that depends on you?"
Jellal hugged her, and made quiet assurances that he was alright, that she wasn't going to lose him like she had lost Ultear. While he said these things to her, he wondered to himself how she knew all of this. Now that he'd been reminded, he remembered that she hadn't been present for most of it.
Not that it really mattered. His mind was still reeling from fighting a war and the AMD. And while Erik had told him that everyone was alright, Jellal wanted to put his own eyes on them. With Meredy on one side and Erik on the other, he managed to stand upright and as a trio they walked through the ruins of the guildhall.
Jellal rubbed at his eyes when they found Sorano, for he believed he was seeing double. Beside her stood a woman who could have been her twin. Sorano squeezed this mystery woman's shoulder before she came to greet them.
"Who's that?" He asked.
"My younger sister. Yukino"
Jellal's head hurt. "You have a sister?"
"And three brothers." Sorano told him matter-of-factly.
"What?"
Sorano's laugh was both welcomed and hated, "I'm just teasing you, darling. You're awfully grumpy considering that Zeref is dead."
Jellal swiveled his head towards Erik and levied him a fierce glare, "What?"
"Hey, you didn't know your own damn name ten minutes ago." Erik glared back without apology, "I was goin' tell you once we found everyone."
"Jellal," Meredy's voice was significantly softer to his left, "Zeref's gone. For good this time."
His three guildmates looked at him expectantly. They were waiting for his response, for his instructions now that half of their objective had been reached. Jellal trembled a little and was glad to have the AMD as an excuse. Because he honestly didn't know.
"Let's gather everyone." He said once his mind settled a little at the news. "Even with Zeref dead we're still wanted men and we'll have to leave sooner rather than later."
Sorano looked back over her shoulder at Yukino.
"We'll circle back for you."
With a thankful glance she trotted back over to her sister. Jellal went with Erik and Meredy to find the rest. Which they did in quick order. Richard had been helping Porlyusica with those still too injured to move. Macbeth and Sawyer worked as their assistants. Jellal didn't dare interrupt their work. Instead he, Meredy, and Erik stepped to the side and kept an eye on all their members.
Erik dropped Jellal's arm like a sack of potatoes. Jellal scrambled to catch his balance even with Meredy's help. Exasperated, Jellal searched for Erik.
"At least she's pretty." Meredy muttered, irritated and stooping slightly under Jellal's extra weight.
The woman Erik was with was indeed pretty, but that wasn't what was interesting about her. It was the fact that she was gesturing as if she were in the midst of a conversation, but she didn't speak at all. When Erik did the same, Jellal realized that she could hear Erik's thoughts. Their dynamic, though silent and subtle was that of a couple. They stood close together with her hand on Erik's arm. There was a soft longing to his expression and Jellal felt a pang of empathy. Just how many times had he looked at Erza that way?
Unfortunately, their reunion, if that's what it was, came to an abrupt halt as they both tensed and looked towards the door. Erik turned back to him, his one eye wide with alarm. That meant only one thing.
"Everyone!" Jellal called, "We're leaving!"
Sorano came running as did the others. Jellal scanned their surroundings for an exit but didn't know the layout of this place he also couldn't judge without Erik's hearing where the Rune Knights were approaching and Erik was too distracted, waving his arms at the woman in front of him. Were they arguing? Right now?
The woman turned her green eyes onto Jellal. Her voice was quiet, but firm. "Follow me."
Not having any better options he did follow her. With her at the head none of the wandering Fairy Tail wizards tried to stop them. She must have been one of their number.
She took them back through the demolished pool yard at the back of the guild. Then she walked them along Lake Magnolia's shoreline and carefully guided them over the rubble of a destroyed bridge. It wasn't until they reached the cliffside lighthouse that they stopped to rest. Jellal regretted looking down at the view of the city.
It was pitted with destruction. Entire blocks had been reduced to dust. Even Kardia Cathedral had lost two of it's magnificent spirals. His stomach clenched when he saw just how many Rune Knights were now patrolling the city.
"Thank you…" Jellal trailed off, not sure what her name was.
"Kinana," She supplied with a smile.
"Thank you, Kinana. It's dangerous to help us."
"It was dangerous for you all to come and fight today." She replied with a shrug, "Thank you for protecting my home."
Erik moved and put his hand on her shoulder. Kinana looked to him and then held out her hand. It glowed purple before some foul-smelling nearly black liquid pooled in her palm. Kinana offered it to him and as Erik bent his head to drink it, Jellal turned away. It was too intimate a thing for him to witness.
"I'll be going now." Kinana told the group. "Keep Erik safe for me, okay?"
"Of course." "Absolutely." "Yeah, sure."
Jellal couldn't help finding some amusement in the way Erik had scoffed and watched until Kinana left their sight.
"So," Sawyer spoke first. "That was Cubellios, right?"
"Her name is Kinana." Erik corrected him.
Jellal decided it was time they kept moving. If not for the sake of avoiding arrest, then for the sake of letting Erik have his feelings in peace. Everyone was entitled to that. As they moved and as Erik and the others wrangled with their own thoughts and feelings from the day's events, Jellal struggled on what their next step should be.
They found an outcropping large enough for them to take shelter under. That night they all huddled together for warmth and for comfort. Jellal, despite his exhaustion couldn't sleep; his mind still working overtime to both process and plan. He distracted himself by taking a headcount.
Meredy was curled-up with Sorano. Sorano's three Nikola tucked around them. Evidently the spirits had come through their gates on their own power, concerned for their key-bearer. Sawyer dozed with Richard, who had his usual dirt blanket to keep him warm while Sawyer had taken Richard's and Jellal's cloak for his own blanket. Macbeth was sandwiched between the rocky wall and Jellal's side, which was where he placed himself. He could barely see Erik's outline as the dragon slayer stood as sentry a few feet away.
Gently, Jellal shifted away from Macbeth and walked over to Erik.
"I'm sorry. I didn't realize I was keeping you awake." Jellal told him in a near whisper, hoping that his voice wouldn't echo and wake the others. He knew that Erik never really slept until everyone else did.
"It ain't you keepin' me up." Erik replied, his eyes set on some point in the distance.
Jellal nodded, but didn't return to his spot. His thoughts began to spiral uselessly around his dilemma. If Zeref was dead. Soon, once news of his death circulated and the remaining dark guilds would find a new dark idol to worship, or turn Zeref into a martyr for their own purposes. There was still much work to be done until the Magic Council and the army reorganized from the war. Part of him relished the idea that Crime Sorciere still had a purpose going forward that aligned with their original goals. The other part agreed with Meredy that their original goals were shitty things that never could be completed.
Selfishly, he thought of Erza. He regretted that he hadn't been able to see her before they were forced to leave Magnolia. His heart leapt into his throat at the memory of her bloody and beaten in Hargeon. He had committed murder in his rage, but the sense of guilt had yet to find him. It was a sin he could not, would not repent.
"You know." Erik's voice drew Jellal out of his head. "I used think I understood I knew what it was like for you to walk away from Erza or let her walk away from you. I could hear how much pain the two of you were in, but now…"
"It's so much worse?"
Erik turned to him. "How the hell do you do it?"
Jellal smirked. Erik already knew how Jellal stayed sane in those moments. He thought of Erza's smile or her strength. It was probably little comfort to Erik, who hadn't had nearly the same amount of time with Kinana.
"Meredy's right. Our goals are shit." Erik changed the subject.
"In that case, I suppose we'll just have to find new goals."
"I know mine." Erik crossed his arms. "I want to go back to her. But I don't want to go back unless I'm a free man. Free of the law, free of the guilt. I can't go back if I can't stay."
Jellal decided that he and Erik had very similar goals. Glancing back at the rest of his guild he realized a few of them had someone to go to once they were truly free. That left Meredy, Sawyer, and Macbeth without something to definitively work towards, but he could help them figure that out.
He clapped Erik on the shoulder. "Let's sleep. We can start fresh tomorrow."