Hello all! This chapter was exciting to write, although it took a while to word things perfectly. I think you'll enjoy this one. Now, I can't say too much right now for fear of spoilers, so I will just leave it at that. I hope you all enjoy it as much as I did writing it!


Chapter 8: Lost Magic

When I opened my eyes again, I was once more alone in the dreamscape, stuck in the column of darkness that seemed to just shiver with every laugh. Maybe it was the bombshell I had dropped on me by my actual brother or maybe I was just exhausted, either way I was beyond enraged at being back in the nightmare again. I rushed the wall again, punching it as hard as I could again as my knuckles split open. I barely even felt it as I screamed, punching the wall even harder when I felt a bone crunch. I was extremely surprised when my fist broke through the wall and stayed there, making it ripple like water and I heard a deep growl close by, almost as if it was right there in front of me.

This isn't supposed to make you stronger. This is supposed to make you weaker so that I can crush you. So it looks like I'm going to have to increase the torture.

I stood there, my fist stuck in the wall, when I heard it. It was a bout of familiar laughter and shouts that had me shivering, making me crouch down and look up. I saw dark figures with red eyes, but I recognized them as the men that attacked me that day, back when I had lost my memory to them. I covered my head with my one free arm as the beating began, whimpering like the child I was in the past. I felt the leader's spear stab down into my back and puncture a lung, blood flowing in and inhibiting my breathing. I gagged and coughed heavily, the blood spattering onto the wall and being absorbed by it as fists and sharp objects pierced my skin. I couldn't hold it back anymore, it was getting to be too much for me to handle. I let out an ear piercing scream that made the walls shudder and the men only snickered evilly.

"It's good to know that we get to finish the job we started all those years ago," the leader hissed next to my ear when he crouched down beside me. "We finally get to kill the demon girl."

I hated how weak I felt and wailed again as the tears fell heavily. I even heard one of their number protest just like before and the leader killed him. It felt like it was taking forever until I realized that it was on purpose. The one behind the wall was dragging it out on purpose.

I've found your weakness, girl. It won't be long now before you bow before me. I have something in store for you for your waking hours as well.

"No…" I said before vomiting blood, shaking so badly it was becoming painful as I leaned my head against the wall. The beating carried on and I stopped feeling altogether, the laughing of the men mixing with the one behind the wall. I passed out from the nightmare world and I slipped into a peaceful coma like state.


I woke with a start, panting heavily and then whimpering as I remembered the dream. I opened my eyes to see Tyger standing in front of me with a look of concern. I must have startled her by crying out in my sleep and I felt awful for worrying her so. She gave me a tired smile and I couldn't see the cave mouth anymore so it must have been nighttime.

"Can we leave the cave now, Mara?" she asked me.

"You didn't have to stay with me, Ty," I told her, refusing to move. "You could still go back to the building at Sabertooth."

"I don't want to leave you. I love you and you're sad. I want to stay with you until you feel better."

We could hear faint noises on the horizon and I listened in with my enhanced hearing. It seemed to just echo off the cave walls. I could hear people calling both of our names in an attempt to find us. I saw as Tyger's ears pricked up at some sound she recognized and then a glimmer of hope shone in her eyes as she ran off towards the exit. I figured she must have wanted to leave badly after all and I closed my eyes from fatigue.

I heard running and opened my eyes to see two figures with two flying cats approaching, one of the cats carrying a kitten sized object so there was only one explanation. Tyger went and got help for me even though I felt as if I didn't need it. I looked up as one of them picked me up in their arms, turning my head to see that it was Natsu. I lay my head on his shoulder and then looked over to see that the other figure was Rogue, who had a lovely set of bruises along his jaw.

"You punched my brother," I whispered, closing my eyes again as they both started walking back to the cave entrance.

"I told him not to hurt you," he growled.

"He didn't hurt me. He just told me about my past that I had forgotten."

"I know, he told me," Natsu said, shooting a glare at the other Shadow Dragon Slayer. "But he hurt you with his knowledge and sent you running to hide for 12 hours. He deserved what he got."

"It's been 12 hours?" I asked, too tired to move anymore.

"Ty said that you passed out soon after making it to the cave. Were you having a nightmare that entire time?"

"It knows my weakness now," I hissed as I slumped in his arms. Not being able to sleep peacefully was beginning to get to me and it was irritating. "It said it was going to start tormenting me during the day next."

He carried me out of the cave as Rogue walked ahead of us, leading the way out into the night. Rogue yelled that they'd found me and there were answering calls back. I watched as a certain blonde haired Dragon Slayer ran in our direction with Lector flying behind him. I felt Natsu tense up as Sting came over, talking with Rogue for a few seconds before coming closer to us.

"Are you alright, Timara?" Sting asked me with a smile, reaching over and stroking my hair.

Before I could say a word, Natsu growled at him and took a step to the side to keep me out of his reach. "Don't touch her. She's mine. If you do it again, I'll punch you harder than I did with her brother."

"I'd like to see you try," Sting said, dropping his cheerful façade and glaring fiercely at Natsu. He took a few steps towards us when Rogue grabbed his arm and pulled him back. He turned his head back to Rogue and snarled, "If he keeps this up, he's gone from here. He can't keep threatening or hitting the people of my guild."

"Don't do that," Rogue told him. "If he has to leave, so will Timara and I can't let that happen just yet. I still have things to talk to her about."

"You're not telling her anything else right now," Natsu said as he walked away with me in his arms. "It can wait until she's not as traumatized."

We were out of earshot when I finally said, "Natsu, I can handle it. You don't need to protect me."

"If you could handle it, you wouldn't have run off like that," he said, a little calmer now. "Once you get a few nights rest without the nightmares, you can talk to him again. It can wait for a while."

Happy flew in front of us to set Tyger down on my stomach and then landed beside Natsu to walk with him. She looked just as tired as I felt and sat down to watch as we slowly approached the building we were staying in. Not once did Tyger curl up to fall asleep and I knew she was going to wait until I slept as well. I reached over to pet her, scratching behind her ears and making her close her eyes happily. I saw the rest of our group from Fairy Tail waiting outside the building and Natsu carried me inside. After forcing me to eat some food, he picked me up again and carried both Ty and me down a hallway and into a room. He set me down on the bed and then lay down next to me. He wrapped an arm around my waist, careful not to make me feel claustrophobic. I heard Happy lay at our feet and both he and Ty fell asleep instantly.

I turned my head back to look at Natsu, who happened to be playing with my hair at that time, and said, "You have to be crazy if you think I'm going to fall asleep again. Not after what happened in the last nightmare."

"It had men attack you again, didn't it?" When the only response he got from me was a nod, he continued on. "Last time we did this, you didn't have a nightmare at all and if you do this time, I will protect you. I won't let it happen to you again."

I nodded again and closed my eyes, feeling myself drift to sleep when I heard a strange noise. I opened my eyes again and listened, finally noticing that it was him humming something. "What are you doing?" I whispered.

"Back when I was a child, someone would always sing me this lullaby whenever I had a nightmare to help me go back to sleep," Natsu whispered back.

"Who…?" I asked, but I didn't hear a word he said next because I fell asleep too fast.

When I woke back up, it was midday and my limbs felt extremely heavy, so I just laid there with Ty curled up against my neck and purring in her sleep. I heard a grumbling noise from Natsu and he pulled me closer, mumbling something sleepily. He pressed his lips to the nape of my neck and I jumped in surprise, making him wake up instantly in a daze.

"Wha…?" he mumbled, looking around blearily.

"Sorry, I was a bit startled because of something," I laughed.

I turned over to look at him and smiled. He lightly brushed the backs of his fingers against my cheek before bringing his lips to meet mine. I wrapped my arms around his neck as he tangled his fingers in my hair. He pulled away a bit to rest his forehead against mine and I sighed, smiling again as I closed my eyes. He still had his hand in my hair as he ran his fingers through the strands.

"I always wanted to do this," he said and I could hear the grin in his voice.

"And you couldn't do it while it was braided, right?" I asked, chuckling a little.

"More importantly, I'm the only person who gets to."

We got out of bed and I went to change into a white tank top that was low in the back to show off the mark of Fairy Tail and had black straps and then black shorts. I tied up the top half of my hair and let the rest hang down from my shoulders, leaving some of my hair to frame my face. Still keeping the boots, I walked back out as Tyger and Happy woke up, Ty walking over to the foot of the bed with a smile.

"Mara, check my wing! It feels better!" she told me happily.

She turned around and I gently felt the bones of her wing, noticing with surprise that she was right. Her wing had finally healed completely, none of the bones healing in places they shouldn't. "It's surprising that it healed so fast," I said to myself as I snapped my fingers, making the splint disappear. With a yowl of joy, she took off like a shot, flying around the room as fast as a bullet.

"She's an Exceed," Happy explained to me. "We have wings of magic. The only reason it took so long to heal in the first place is because she's just a kitten who doesn't have a lot of magic yet."

Ty flew back to me and hovered in front of me for a few seconds before making her wings disappear, forcing me to catch her before she fell to the ground. I hugged her tightly and then placed her on my shoulder before walking out of the room with Natsu and Happy. We didn't make it far down the hall when my brother stepped out from the shadows that he was camouflaged in.

"Look, I know it's probably too soon," he said mostly to Natsu, "but this is really important."

"What is it, Rogue?" I asked as Ty hissed when she saw Frosch appear next to him.

"There's something I think you need to see, something I need to see as well," he told me. "But we need to leave right now to get there."

"She's not going anywhere with you," Natsu told him with a glare. "Last time she went with you, she ended up going into hiding for 12 hours!"

"Natsu, it's fine," I said calmly before looking at Rogue sternly. "What is it that you want me to see?"

He paused, seeming uncertain about if he should say it before making up his mind. "I wanted to show you our old home."

I tensed up in shock, my eyes widening as I gaped at him. Our old home? I may not have any memories of that place, but there was a sense of security tied to it and I all of a sudden wanted more than anything to go back. I dearly hoped that maybe I could somehow recover the memories of them that I had lost. I wanted to remember my parents, even though it would also mean remembering their deaths.

"Take me there," was all I said, determination coursing through me as I walked towards him.

"Wait a minute!" I heard Natsu say just before he grabbed my wrist to stop me. "I'm going to come with you, you know, whether you like it or not."

I turned my head a bit in his direction and gave him a small smile. "I wouldn't have it any other way."

Before we left, I pulled Zeref away from the others to ask him if he'd be ok while I was gone. "I know what to do in case my Death Magic gets out of control again. I will head for the cave you were hiding in when I feel it getting to be too much. Oh, and will you please get Natsu to stop glaring at me?"

I whipped around to see him immediately turn away, acting innocent as he started talking with Happy. I hugged Zeref quickly before heading back to my brother and Natsu. We walked outside and I grew my wings from the shadows as their cats grabbed hold of the backs of their shirts, all of us taking off in a flash as we headed north. Over the rushing wind, Rogue said that it would only take about an hour's flight to get to the house at our current pace. I let Tyger fly for as long as she wanted until she got tired, not letting her push herself too far when she had just had her splint taken off not that long ago. I guess I hadn't noticed much but she had grown again, now about half of Happy's height and that was bigger than where she was before. She was still the happy-go-lucky cat that I had grown to love since I found her.

Because of her silly antics, the flight to the house felt as if it were over in minutes. I saw a lake about three miles away from a village and a large house just outside the village itself to the south. Rogue motioned for us that it was time to land, heading down to that house and I suddenly felt nervous. I couldn't explain why I felt this way, but I kept my pace with Rogue and Natsu before we finally landed a few feet away from the porch.

"Are you ready?" Rogue asked me.

I nodded before turning to Natsu and Happy. "You guys don't need to go inside. You can wait out here if you want."

"No, we'll go," Natsu said to me.

We walked up to the porch and Rogue opened the door, which creaked from never being used in years. I heard the floorboards creak and a light glowed in the hallway next to the stairs. I saw a Lacrima crystal in the ceiling as a hologram filtered down from it, forming two people in its light. I saw the golden eyes of the woman with blue black hair and the familiar red eyes of the snowy haired man, all of a sudden a spike of what felt like lightning tore through my mind. I hunched over with my head in my hands, hissing in pain as my brain burned with the sight of them. I could feel that a part of me wanted to remember but the other part just wanted to protect me from the pain. Blinking through the tears that were caused by another spike of pain, I forced myself to straighten up as Natsu walked over to place a hand on my shoulder. I saw the woman smile before she began to speak.

"If you're both watching this now, then that means your father and I are both dead," she said with a sad smile. "If I'm right, then you are both old enough to hear the truth, even though neither of you will like it."

She sighed before turning to our father, who kissed her forehead and started to speak. "The truth is that your mother and I used to be in a Dark Guild when we were younger." Rogue and I gasped in shock as he continued on. "We were the research crew that helped them on their search for a wizard named Zeref. Not only that, but we were also on the hunt for a dragon."

"We thought that maybe the dragon would know about Zeref and where he could be," our mother said. "This dragon that we looked for was named Acnologia and he is known as the Dragon King. We didn't know, however, that our search for him should have been turned inward rather than around the world. We discovered soon that the dragon was giving orders to our leader to search for Zeref to create a world where he ruled over everyone. We decided then and there to leave and take up lives in the light. Years after leaving, we had both of you and we could never be happier. It wasn't until we got word from a friend that our old Dark Guild was coming after us that we knew it was the end of us. So we took you to the lake where the village couldn't be destroyed and took a stand. I'm sorry that we didn't live long enough to see you all grow up."

I watched as our father threw something red at me and I caught it in surprise. "That is a necklace with a ruby pendant. It's also known as the Blood Diamond. I have a feeling that it will help one day."

If the hologram said anything else, I didn't hear it. My heart thumped in my chest painfully as my mind was blasted with flames and my legs gave out. Natsu made a noise of shock and caught me, but my vision darkened for a few seconds before it came back, only this time I was remembering. I could see myself running around with Rogue as a child, not a care in the world as we played. At night, our mother would sing us a lullaby that would always help us sleep. I could remember a time when a storm scared me and our father said that it was just a dragon playing in the sky. I could even remember the loving looks our parents had for us.

But the memory that burned the most as they came back was the last moments I had with my family. I was about to go swimming with Rogue when our mother told him to take me and run. He didn't want to at first as the group of wizards approached with evil smiles. They dressed in gray and had a sinister looking sun insignia that was black and a lot of them carried weapons. Finally our mother urged Rogue to take me away before they started fighting and we ran. We made it to the hill, only to watch them be slaughtered gruesomely. I couldn't take it anymore and I ran, not once looking back until I found myself at another village.

I had been there for about six months, avoiding the glares of the people and stealing what food I needed. I played with the shadows when I felt lonely or bored and a group of men took notice. One day, they chased me after me, their leader carrying a crude spear while the others went without weapons. I made it as far as my little legs could carry me before I tripped and hit my head on a rock, passing out immediately as the blood trickled down onto the earth. That was when I lost my memory.

I blinked and saw that I was now lying on the ground, both Dragon Slayers sitting around me and giving me looks of concern. I grabbed Ty and got up before they could stop me, running out of the house entirely and ignoring their calls to get me to stop. I was only ten feet away from the porch when I saw it. There was a large group of people that gave off a bad vibe approaching the house and I froze.

"Tyger, I need you to get into my shadow right now and stay there for as long as you possibly can," I said quietly and as calmly as I could.

"But why?" she asked me, freezing up just like I was.

"Just do it. We don't have much time."

As I could hear Natsu and Rogue approach with their cats, Tyger did as I said and jumped down from my shoulder and into my shadow, making it shiver as she settled herself within it. I saw a strange green light come from one of them as they got closer and heard everyone one that came with me collapse. When I looked back at them, they were all asleep and I growled when I turned back to the group approaching. I saw that they had gray clothes and then a jolt passed through me when I saw the black sun insignia on the front. Their leader took a few steps forward while the rest stopped.

"Ah, Lady Akari's daughter," he said, his voice sounding sickly sweet and making me want to cringe. "You look just like her."

"So I've been told," I said as I glared at him. "What do you want and why did you knock out my friends?"

"We came here for you and we'd rather not have other interfering with our work," he said to me with a wild grin. "We are the Dark Guild known as Black Eclipse. We have orders to take you in."

"You're going to have to kill me first because I won't go with you willingly alive," I growled, the shadows behind me churning as a horde of demons was pulled through. They hissed and growled, running toward the Dark Guild when I signaled them.

The leader grinned. "I'm glad you're fighting. I wouldn't have it any other way."

With a strange wave of his hand, I saw a wizard step out from the group with a hand outstretched. Before I could stop it, there was a brilliant flash of light and I screamed as the light burned away at my magic, making it ineffective and burning me with every blast. Another flash had the demons disappearing and yet another flash forced me to my knees. I bared my fangs at them and heard Natsu groan as he came to for a few seconds. There was yet another flash and I shrieked, forced down onto my stomach and hurting like in my nightmares. I knew that shadows were weak to light but I never had it proved to me like this before. Natsu yelled my name as a few of Black Eclipse came over and threw my arms over their shoulders so they could carry me just as I saw a green flash of light that forced me unconscious.

When I woke up, I was dangling from a hook in the ceiling, kept there by my bound wrists. I thrashed wildly to no avail when I saw that there were circles of light magic all throughout the room, not burning me this time but keeping my Shadow Dragon Slayer Magic at bay and far from reach. I couldn't even see my own shadow, so I hoped dearly that Tyger was ok and hadn't been taken captive by these fools. I felt something hanging around my neck and looked down a little to see the necklace. I didn't know whether or not one of my friends had done it or these guys, but either way I was happy to have it.

"Ah, I see that you're awake," a voice said. I looked around the room for it, but couldn't find the source. After a while, I realized that the disembodied voice was coming from a small communications Lacrima.

"I suggest that you let me go right now," I said, sounding calmer than I actually felt. In reality, I wanted to tear the man's throat out with my fangs. "You don't completely comprehend the situation you are now in. My friends will come after me."

"I highly doubt that," the man said arrogantly. "Now, tell me where Zeref is."

"I don't think so," I said, lifting my chin a little in defiance.

The Light Magic flared up and blasted me, making me scream as I thrashed on the hook. I hated that magic so much right then that it wasn't even funny. When they finally made it stop, I hissed in rage as the man's laughter could be heard through the Lacrima. So glad I could be a form of entertainment for him.

"Let's try this again," the man said, "tell me where Zeref is."

This vicious circle went on for hours, neither one of us wanting to back down. He knew for a fact that I wasn't going to talk and found it funny when he had to blast me with magic. It wasn't until he laughed and the Light Magic never hurt me that he stopped laughing. I heard an alarm wail throughout the compound and there were screams out in the hallway beyond the door. The door flew off its hinges and I had to dodge it by swinging myself upwards on the hook. I gasped when I saw an adult sized tiger walk into the room and I hung onto the hook for a few seconds until I noticed something important. In between its shoulder blades was a royal blue mark of Fairy Tail. The tiger looked up at me with blood red eyes and bared its teeth in a smile.

"Ty, is that you?" I asked hesitantly. It nodded and I let myself hang down normally, Ty rubbing up against my legs and seeming happy to see me. "Alright, I need you to get me free from these binds. My magic is ineffective in this room."

She coughed for a few seconds and then looked up at me again. "I'm sorry, Mara, I didn't know I could talk in this form. I didn't even know I had this form at all!" She stood up on her hind legs and placed her front paws on my shoulders. "The hallways outside are lined with Light Magic in case of a breakout."

She lifted one of her paws and extended lethal looking claws, hooking onto the binds and tearing through them easily. I fell to my feet and hugged Ty, who laughed happily and hugged me back the best she could. We walked out of the room and heard shouts, so we ran for it instead rather than take our chances while I couldn't use my magic. There was a loud explosion that shook the whole building we were in and everyone hit the ground hard. The alarm wailed frantically as Ty and I got to our feet as fast as we could and ran again. We rounded a corner only to find that our options were blocked by the members of Black Eclipse. I knew we were in for trouble because Ty couldn't take on everyone by herself. I was desperate and hissed in frustration, wishing I could just use my magic when the pendant around my neck lit up. In my mind, I heard a voice that was warm and kind, realizing that it was my father speaking and I closed my eyes.

Timara, my dear, I believe it is time, he said and I could heard his smile in his voice. When your mother and I had you and your brother, we knew that our abilities would be spread to our children. What we didn't know is if either of you would inherit my Lost Magic. It wasn't until one day when you were playing that you exhibited the telltale signs of being able to wield it one day. You managed to stop the bleeding on a bad cut instantly. Now, it is time for that ability to save you in your time of need. Go forth, my child, and use your Blood Magic now!

I felt deep within me a burning in my blood, one that made me feel alive and strong. A place in my mind that was already cracked and broken tore open again and the memory of how to use it flooded back in scalding hot waves. I opened my eyes quickly and glared at the others from Black Eclipse, making them flinch and take a few steps back. I heard Tyger make a noise of surprise and I looked down at her.

"Mara, your eyes are red like mine," she told me, but she didn't seem afraid.

I knew what to do next. I brought my hand up to my mouth and sank my fangs deep into my hand. After a few seconds, I released my grip with my teeth and let my hand fall down by my sides, the blood dripping down my fingers and stopping as if time froze as my Blood Diamond pendant shone even brighter. Glaring again at them, I gave them a bloody smile as a few of their number ran in fear. This was going to be fun after the torture they put me through.