A/N: Fairy Tail does not belong to me. I merely claim the characters that I create.
When she awoke hours later, a familiar black form was seated next to her side. She couldn't help the tears that sprouted to her eyes and she couldn't help the strangled sob that burst from her lips. "H-hyou!" And the Exceed was curled into her arms as she jolted upright, ignoring the tightening in her chest and how her lungs tried to take in oxygen. She didn't care—all that mattered was the little Exceed in her arms.
He was safe. He was alive. Everything was alright.
"I-I-I'm so sor-sorry! I never should have come to S-Sabertooth and put you t-wo in such a place! An-an-and you were so brave, b-b-b-buying me time!" she sobbed, squeezing the cat tightly, her eyes screwed shut as she wailed. She heard the door open, but paid it no mind. Nothing was more important in this moment. "I-I'll never let you get hur-hurt again! I promise!"
"The hell you doin' to my cat?" a voice grumbled and she looked through her tears at a man she had never seen before. Long, black hair spilled down his back, a sneer adorned his lips, and red eyes glowered at her. She would have mistaken him for Rogue, but the Shadow Dragon Slayer would never dress like that. And his hair wasn't that long. And the silver studs adorning his face and arms…
"W-what? Your cat?" A paw patted against her arm and she looked down.
Amber eyes looked up at her and the scar over his eye was an old one. "My name is Pantherlily," the deep voice rumbled. She immediately let go, throwing herself back down onto the bed, shoving her face into the pillow and screaming.
They didn't expect that reaction, nor did the other Slayers, considering how they were all up there in a second, eyes taking in the room as Wendy rushed to the grief-stricken young woman, attempting to console her. Lily looked so very confused while Gajeel was offended. "The hell, woman?! First you cry all over my cat, then ya start wailing?!" Wendy shot him a look and he raised his lip in a snarl.
"Gajeel-san, please be more sensitive! She's had a rough couple of days… There, there, Zella-san…" The woman was still sobbing when Frosch hopped into the room, a smile adorning her lips.
"Zella~!" The green Exceed sang, crawling up onto the bed and settling next to her. Gajeel snorted.
"She yours then, brat?" He quirked an amused brow at Rogue, obviously finding the man's assumed choice in significant other hilarious. Rogue rolled his eyes, the one visible shooting over to where Sting hovered just inside.
The woman was now on her side, facing away from all their eyes. Wendy rose and scurried around the bed. "Zella-san, I really should check it…" the woman said nothing and gave neither acceptance nor denial. Wendy undid the first few buttons of her shirt, pulling it aside to where a square of gauze stood stark against her skin. Red stained it. Wendy hummed, undoing it and peeling it away from the woman's skin. There was no sound to show she even felt it. "T-this isn't good, Zella-san… You really have to be more careful," she scolded gently. The early scabbing had broken and some of the stitches had torn in her brief joy. "I'll have to…r-re-stitch it…" Wendy was, understandably, hesitant. She didn't like wounds she couldn't help with her magic. Where motion sickness was the others' weakness, such things made her queasy.
"Don't bother," was the quiet reply.
"B-but, Zella-san, I can't just—" The woman rolled onto her back, staring up at the ceiling. Wendy bit back a cry as the skin pulled and the woman's breathing tightened.
"Where's Pepper?" She didn't direct it at anyone in particular, but it was Sting who answered, "With Lector." She closed her eyes, letting out a slow breath before reopening them. The green orbs found the newest Exceed.
"Panther…lily, correct?" The black feline nodded. "I see. A celebration with family then, was it…?" Lily looked to Wendy for clarification, but the youngest Slayer blinked openly at her charge. "The card of family, and that of a white Lily… Double meanings," Wendy was beginning to get concerned, what with the woman's ramblings. She swallowed, looking over at the other people in the room.
"I-I think it's time to leave… So Zella-san can rest…" she breathed.
"Do you remember, Eucliffe-san? The fortune I read for Hyou?" Sting nodded when the woman's eyes found him. A soft smile lit her lips and now Wendy was beginning to panic. "And unknown past, soon to be revealed. A celebration with family. And pain. It seems then," her eyes returned to the black Exceed, "That two of three have come to pass. And the third soon to be. Pray tell, Pantherlily, where do Exceeds come from?"
The former soldier looked to the Sabertooth members for guidance, as Gajeel and Wendy would be no help in this situation. "Zella's expertise lies in prediction," was all Rogue gave. A short nod and he faced the woman once more. She laid waiting.
"We come from another world, a parallel of Earthland, called Edolas. There, we inhabited a country called Extalia. Years ago, when the magic of Edolas was fading, Fairy Tail—ah, well, a few of them anyway—along with the Prince sent what remained of the magic to Earthland. That included us, as we were the only creatures to possess magic within our bodies. Prior to that, our Queen, an Exceed gifted with prediction as you are, saw Extalia's ruin and gathered 100 eggs, the children yet to be born to our world, and sent them through a portal to Earthland. There, they met humans and became companions, as Lector and Frosch are, as well as Carla," he gestured to the white cat seated on a chair. Zella offered her a smile. "And, I take it, as Pepper is."
"Zella has two Exceeds~!" Fro offered on the woman's other side. Tears gathered in her eyes once more, but she stubbornly held them in.
"I see. So, the third has come to pass, has it?" She swallowed, but nodded. She raised her hand up, mist swirling around it. Lily and Fro watched on curiously while the other members stiffened. Within the haze, it shifted to form shapes, one of a familiar foul-tempered female and then, an almost exact replica of Lily. The older Exceed choked while Wendy blushed and Gajeel stiffened.
"O-Oi, the hell, Lil?! You have a kitten somewhere I don't know 'bout?!"
"Ga-gajeel!"
"Most definitely not!" Lily was blushing, flailing his little paws and disturbing the mist. Zella couldn't help but smile. "My parents were too old to have had more children! Reckless elderly, not thinking their actions through!"
"Oho, so that's what you're goin' with, Lily?!"
"It's the truth!" Wendy pressed her hands against her cheeks, not sure if they really should be discussing such a thing when the woman's hand twitched again, the cards on the table beside her coming to life and spreading themselves out before her. Lily leaped back and Fro reached for one showing a pretty mountain scene. "Is this your magic?"
One card slipped itself free, dropping to her lap as the others returned to the stack on the table. She picked it up, looking up at it curiously. "W-well? What does it say?"
"You sound nervous, Lil!" Gajeel laughed, just waiting to be proven right.
"Hardly!" Fro crawled forward, snuggling close to the woman and looking up at the card above her head.
"Brothers," the woman smiled. Gajeel huffed and Lily heaved out a breath of relief. "Pepper will be pleased."
"She'll be back later! She went with Lector and Hyou to get ice cream!"
For a terrible moment, her breathing stopped and Wendy swore her heart did as well.
"Lector said Hyou could have anything he wanted, his treat! And Hyou wanted ice cream so Pepper went with them!" the frog costumed Exceed pouted. "But Lector said Fro couldn't go…" The cat snuggled closer, wanting to be consoled.
"He… He's alive?" her voice was a rasp and beside her, Wendy patted her hand.
"Hyou-kun's injury wasn't as deep as yours is. He was awake within a few hours and he's been recovering ever since. It's been healing nicely and some exercise would do him good now. I'm sorry, we were going to wait and have him surprise you," she sent the little Exceed a disapproving look, but Fro didn't notice as Zella's hand had come up to rub her back. Her other hand covered her eyes as she tried to hide the tears coursing down her cheeks, biting her lip tightly to keep in her sobs. Wendy gave her hand one more pat, then rose, pushing the other Slayers out of the room, leaving the woman and the little green Exceed by themselves.
Much to Rogue's protest.
Pepper was smiling, a lot more than usual. Hyou took careful licks of his ice cream, sitting up straight in the chair to avoid agitating the still healing wound. His vest did much in hiding the bandages wrapped around his torso, but she knew they were still there. Would be, for a few more days, then a scar to show how brave he had been. "Hey," she looked over at Lector, the red cat holding onto the small cone. Strawberry, like she had wanted.
"Oh, thank you, Lector," and she took it, licking around the edge as it began to drip. Hyou smiled at them, seated on the other side of the table. Lector settled in the chair, holding the vanilla cone.
"You should have let Fro come," the black Exceed mused. Lector huffed, taking a bite off the top of his ice cream.
"She can never decide and once she does, then she says she wants a different flavor!" Pepper had to smile. She was becoming fond of them, these Sabertooth Exceeds. While Fro kept Yukino and Rogue company, spending hour after hour coloring in Zella's room whilst waiting for her to wake up, always keeping watch, Lector took it upon himself to distract her and Hyou. "And Sting-kun only gave me so much! I couldn't go through that!"
"Yeah, but she's probably upset still…" The green Exceed had sniffled as they left and it was only Rogue's promise of the two of them going later that cheered her up.
"She's probably asleep," Lector countered. Hyou had to nod after a moment. Yes, the frog costumed cat did seem to take a fair amount of naps… In her defense, though, she had been spending a lot of time with Zella and Fro had been there when she first woke up yesterday. "When we get back though, Gajeel and Lily should be there. You should meet with them," he continued. Hyou blinked and Pepper raised a brow.
"Why?"
But Lector merely smiled, waving a paw and returning to his ice cream. Pepper rolled her eyes. "If you're trying to build suspense, kindly stop." He pouted but she said nothing else on the matter. "Perhaps she'll finally wake up for good."
Hyou dropped his eyes, letting the mint chip treat he asked for go neglected for a few moments. "She was hurt badly…" he whimpered. Lector immediately jumped in.
"Wendy's the best! And you heard her, she's fine, just needed some stitches! She's just been asleep so long because of her magic!" And then he paused, furrowing his brows and pursing his lips. "Didn't she say her magic wasn't offensive though? Looked pretty powerful to me." Pepper shrugged when his eyes landed on her.
"It's her mother's magic. She'd rather pretend it doesn't exist, to be honest. Using it merely reminds her… of the day they died," she stated, her voice losing volume as she continued. "It hurts her, remembering. Because it was our fault. If we hadn't…" her paws had shifted into fists and her bottom lip trembled. Hyou ducked his head further. "It's a surprise she didn't kick us out after everything was said and done, for what we did."
Lector frowned, then scooted his chair closer, taking hold of one of her paws and squeezing. She blinked at the gesture in surprise and Hyou couldn't help the grin that came over him. "It's not your fault. A trap was set up anyway. If you hadn't gone ahead, they all would have been captured and executed. Instead, they gave their lives to protect their daughter, Zella, and you two." He let go then, crossing his arms and giving her a smug look. "Really, you need to stop living in the past." She scowled at him and his smirk grew.
"Don't act so cocky; it makes you look bad," she hissed, but Hyou knew she was taking what he said to heart. And finally beginning to let go of the guilt that had plagued her after all this time. Plagued the both of them. "But yes, her magic is powerful. Not that it matters: she'll never join a Guild, even if your Blond Idiot revokes the ruling." Lector glared at her, about to defend his great Master when she continued, "Even if she's accepted it extraordinarily well, she'll still feel responsible and to repent for it, she'll abide by that rule. She can't be forced into joining, after all. And after using it for the first time in so long…" she trailed off, trying to gather her thoughts.
"But she used too much of it after such a long time," Hyou piped up then. "And she used Retribution and that takes a lot of magic to begin with."
"Yes, well, she would have done more damage to that—that ruffian if he hadn't stabbed her! He wouldn't have just gotten off with a few good cuts and a hole in his shoulder that needed stitches!" Fury blazed in her red eyes and Lector quickly returned his chair to the proper distance from her. "Why, if Eucliffe doesn't expel him, I'll make sure he wishes he did!"
And Hyou remembered why he was so scared of this purple female he'd grown up with.
Ahahaha~! So we've got some PepperXLector going on here! I actually really like the two of them together, to be honest~!
But yes! Hyou survived! I mean, yeah, it was a pretty bad wound, since it'll scar and all, but it didn't go in deep and it's on the lower portion of his torso(i.e. stomach) and not upper. And Gajeel and Lily are here~! I'll discuss that more next chapter!
I've come to the conclusion that I rather like updating this with my other story, "Cinderella's Twist" and I think I'll continue to do so. Which means even if I finish the next chapter of this, I won't post until I've finished the next chapter of that.
All I ask, is two reviews before I post the next chapter.
Well, until the next time, ciao~!
