Retribution

Chapter 9

"Now," Erza said slowly as she stood in the clearing, feeling rather accomplished for some reason. Which was just silly. Those men were hardly worth her time. Or Jellal's for that matter. Combined they didn't even match up to one tenth of either of their power. But they had, apparently, harmed Ravan and, while that seemed like an enjoyable thing for all parties involved, Erza didn't rather like using violence against children. "Are you going to tell us what exactly it is that you did to make them so upset with you?"

At the moment, Jellal was standing with his arms crossed, looking over the men that littered the clearing, the ones that weren't knocked out, moaning heavily. It seemed no matter where he took her, Erza always managed to make a scene.

Ravan was just standing there though, face still bloodied and bruised, staring in shock at the woman. At the sound of her speaking to him though, he looked off and reached up with one hand to rub at his face, dirtying his hoodie even further.

"Aren't you going to kill them?" was all he asked, voice rough.

"I've told you before, Fairy Tail does not bring death. We bring peace."

"Yeah. Shadebay is so peaceful now. Thanks oh great Fairy Tail. You-"

Jellal was tired of listening to the boy and just took to sighing. "Tell me; do you never grow bored with our own words? Or have you built up an immunity?"

"Jellal," Erza sighed as he only continued to glare the boy down. With a shake of her head, she said, "If you stole something from these men, Ravan, give it back. Now."

"I didn't."

"Oh and I'm just to believe that they bothered you for no reason?"

"You're not the boss of me!"

"If you do not give them back-"

"I didn't get it, okay? I tried to take one of their wallets, but… It's your stupid fault. You have me all messed up." He crossed his arms then, looking up at the still dark sky. "I can take care of myself, you know. I didn't seek you out. I never once asked for your help. So don't expect me to-"

"Now that our tranquility is gone," Jellal said, speaking right over the child. "Do you suppose we should go ahead and move on, Erza? I was not going to get much rest anyhow."

"If you wish." She glanced at Ravan once more, but he only glared when he felt her eyes.

"I'm not going back with you," he growled. "I-"

"Do you not know what starts at the sunrise?" She was still just staring at him. "It's the seventh day, Ravan, since I made that deal with you."

"No way."

"Yes. It very much so is."

"But when you made the deal, it was during the middle of the day, so I have until the middle of the day after to-"

"I can understand why you need to be that technical," Jellal said as Erza glanced at him. "I mean, after all, you clearly can't accomplish the task and need more time. Not surprising at all."

That made Ravan growl, if only slightly. He didn't want to disturb any of those guys and have them regain consciousness. Especially not if Erza and Jellal were leaving…

"I can." He rubbed at his face one last time before heading off in a different direction than they would be leaving in. "And I'm going to. By midnight, you'll be dead Erza Scarlet. So spend the rest of your day in whatever way you want. You know, like my parents didn't get to?"

Neither Jellal nor Erza followed after him. The man though did roll his eyes.

"He's wasting his time with magic."

"Oh?"

Nodding, the man said, "He should be a politician. Talks enough. And most of it's hot air anyhow."

She just took one more look at all of the men still lying around the clearing before setting off. "The quicker we get back to Magnolia, the sooner this day can end. Then I can get rid of those boys and you in one swoop."

"I'll remember this," he warned. "When I do not return for over a year, you'll know why."

"All these foolhardy threats, why, you almost sound like Ravan."

"Ha ha." He wasn't laughing though. "I will say this; the boy is committed. To the wrong ideal, but committed."

"Even better a comparison then."

He didn't even spare her a glare for that. Just said, "Something tells me though, Erza, that the coming day won't end anything. Not unless you give it a push."

"You should be more concerned with yourself. He can turn you in at any time. That is not part of any deal. You-"

"I will worry about myself after I am sure that you are safe."

"You sound so valiant now," she remarked. "But I'm sure when they are breaking down my door to get you, you'll run with your tail between your legs."

He only grinned. "I wonder at times if you talk me down merely to make yourself feel better."

"Oh? And what has me feeling so down?"

"Only that I am undoubtedly the stronger of the two of us."

"You're entitled to your own opinion."

"I am also entitled to be right."

Their walk to Magnolia seemed shorter than it had before. To Erza at least. Of course, that might have had to do with her desire to get home and get everything finished with. The sun was just peeking over the horizon when they arrived and the first place they went was the guildhall.

The Master was less than happy to see them.

"You know what I have at my house right now, Erza?" was what he asked when she walked through the front doors. "Do you?"

She really wasn't in the mood, but he was still her master and, honestly, there was just no avoiding him. He appeared to be the only one in the hall other than Kinana, who was apparently filling in for Mirajane that morning. She was over by the request board, posting a couple new ones, and was very careful to not glance back at them for even a second. If anything keep her on Laxus' good side, it was that she was the least likely of all the women to cause him trouble.

"No," Erza said slowly, heading over to him. "Should I?"

"I have a little boy that I swear I recalled telling multiple times that he wasn't allowed anywhere near my kids sleeping over on my couch. Can you tell me why? Or-"

"I cannot control what Mirajane does or forces you to do."

"The demon doesn't force me to do shit. I make the decisions. I-"

"Not to mention," Erza went on. "Those boys are no more my responsibility than they are yours. Just because I was kind enough to house them for a few days means nothing. In fact, today is the last chance for that older one to take an attempt on my life without repercussions. By tomorrow, they should be out of town. Surely you were able to deal with one night."

Laxus just narrowed his eyes at her before going back to the paperwork in front of him. "Buzz off. I got shit to do."

Not bringing up the fact that he was actually the one that called her over in the first place, Erza took Jellal to go sit by themselves and decompress for a bit. She had a feeling that Ravan would be popping back up soon enough. Honestly, she probably needed rest if she was going to deal with him for the next few hours, but she didn't feel like going home. Not really. She just had to get through the final push, after all.

At the same time, someone else was enjoying their final day too.

"Wow," Ravan's younger brother said as he sat at the kitchen of the Dreyar house, watching as Mirajane made breakfast. "This place is even nicer than Erza's."

"The kitchen?" the woman asked through a yawn.

"Well, yeah, but the whole house too," he said, still looking around with a grin. When he'd woken up, he'd found that neither of the girls were up, but Mira was in the shower. And when she finished, she took him to the kitchen to make him some food. He was finding that, though Erza was still awesome, that Mirajane was pretty cool too. "A lot bigger than my home."

"Aw."

"Is the Master here?" He didn't sound so excited by that question. He wasn't the most perceptive child in the world, but he'd heard Mirajane and Laxus arguing in their bedroom the night before about whether or not he could stay the night. It had gotten a tad heated.

"Nope," Mirajane told him, her tone losing some of its pep at the mention of her husband. "He's not."

"Is he at the guild?"

"Mmmhmm."

"You think that Ravan went there to look for me?"

"Maybe," she said. "After you eat your breakfast, you can go down there and check, okay?"

"Can Marin come?"

"If she wants."

"Me and her are real good friends," he said through a yawn. He was still kinda sleepy. "But I don't know about the other one. She's kinda mean. Marin thinks so too. And hey, you said that Lisanna's your sister, huh?"

"Mmmhmm."

"She was real nice yesterday," he said. "And Bickslow. I really like him. Did I already tell you that?"

"You've mentioned it."

"He tells really good jokes. And he has those cool doll thingies," the boy went on. "Then he bought us toys. You have a real nice family."

"Mmmhmm."

"Elf is your brother, right?"

"Yep."

"I like him too. He's really loud and noisy." He giggled just from the memory. "But that woman that walked us home with him, I don't know if I really like her."

"Don't worry," Mira sighed. "No one does."

"I like you," he told her then. "And… And Marin said that I can come live with you, after Ravan kills Erza. Or if he doesn't kill her. But I dunno. I kinda wanna go home. If I'm allowed, I mean."

"I'm sure that your village misses you very much," the woman told him.

"I am the best fisherman to ever live," he said with a nod. "But… Ravan was bad. He disobeyed Leader. I don't think that they'll want us back after that."

"Any village that would disown one of their own isn't really a village worth being from to begin with."

Giggling, he said, "I like Magnolia. A lot. It's really big."

"It is, huh?"

"Mmmhmm."

"I thought so too," she said as she finished with the eggs and moved to scrap him some off on a plate. "When I first got here."

"You mean you ain't always lived here?"

"Nope." When she came to bring him his plate, she also came with a glass of orange juice. "I didn't."

"Ain't you gonna eat?"

"I'm not too hungry."

"Oh." He was still grinning though. "How long have you lived in Magnolia then?"

"A long, long time," she told him with a sigh. "I came here when I was really young."

"Why?"

"Mmmm," she hummed, thinking for a moment before saying, "I wasn't welcome where I lived anymore."

"What? How come?" He frowned then, glancing up at her. "You're super nice."

"Thank you."

"Who wouldn't want you?"

"Well-"

"You could come visit my village any time, if I go back," he offered. "You can make me food there too. And I'll catch you tons of fish. And you can bring Marin! And Locke. And the pink haired one. And her dad. And Erza. And Robbie, of course."

"Of course."

"By then, I'll have probably gotten some new nets," he went on. "And be big enough to go out all by myself to get fish. No help at all!" Then, after thinking for a moment, he told her, "And if I don't leave and stay here with you, I'll still catch you fish. If you want. You can cook 'em every night. Then the Master won't yell so much, huh? If I bring home dinner?"

Mira frowned, staring across the table at him. "What do you mean?"

"Master was real mad at me, huh?" He was back to eating his food then, but did glance up at her once more. "I heard him last night. He was yellin' and you were yellin' and I would have just left, but your couch is real comfy. And I promised Marin that we could play when she woke up this morning, so-"

"Laxus is just a little…temperamental," the woman said slowly. "And you have to understand that you and your brother haven't exactly been the most gracious guests."

"What do you mean?"

"You came here boasting about how you were going to kill one of the most liked members of Fairy Tail. Ever. You have to understand how that might ruffle a few feathers."

The boy's eyes widened. 'You mean the Master has feathers too? Like wings?"

"No," Mira sighed, smiling once more. "That's not what I mean at all."

"Oh."

"But imagine if I went to your village," she said. "And threatened one of your friends. You wouldn't like me then, would you?"

"Of course I would! You're awesome."

She just cocked her head then. "I don't know if you're purposely being silly or you just don't understand things."

She never got to learn though which it was as it was then that they were joined in the kitchen.

"Did you make him food? Why would you make him food and not wake us up? What sense does that make?"

"Haven," Mirajane sighed as she joined them. "There's plenty left for the two of you."

"Hi," Marin called out to her friend as he only waved. "I was scared you'd left."

"Nope," he said as the girl's mother got up to get the other two children a plate as well. "I stayed so that we could play. I told you I would."

Haven, however, wasn't feeling the love. At all.

"You're in my seat," she growled, coming over to glare at the little boy. "And you better get out of it. Now."

"No, Haven." Marin frowned at her sister as she went to take her usual chair at the table. "He's a guest. And that means you can't be mean. Right, Mommy?"

"Right."

"You've been like this since he showed up." Haven wasn't having it. It was one thing when Locke and Navi acted like those filthy boys were worth their time, but her own sister? Standing up to her over them? No way. No freaking way. "You're acting like you're in charge of something, Marin. And you're not."

Maybe not. But last night, she had been the one that got to choose the bedtime story and been the one that Daddy kissed first before he left the room. She'd not given Haven any of the toys that Aunt Lissy bought her and wouldn't let the other girl turnout her nightlight when she tried.

She was an all new girl.

…For the moment anyhow.

"Haven," Mira called over to them. "Behave."

"No! She's acting all tough because she's got a friend here, but guess what, Marin?" Sneering at her then, the blonde said, "He won't be here forever."

"You're mean," the little boy said as Marin just frowned. "And when Ravan comes back, I'mma tell him and he's gone be mean back to you. Marin's nice. Your mom's nice. The Master is nice. So what happened to you?"

"Haven!" Mira rushed over to grab her arm when it looked like the girl was going to shoot lightning at the boy. "Come here. You can eat later. Go take a shower. Now."

"No."

But her mother was dragging her off then and, unlike Laxus, she wouldn't fight the woman. It was weird. She definitely favored Laxus, but she for sure respected her mother more.

"I still don't like her," the boy told Marin when it was just them. And since she was too short to see over the counter, he jumped up to finish getting her a plate of food. She didn't look too appreciative when he brought it to her.

"What's wrong?"

"Haven's mad at me."

"Good. We're mad at her."

Marin just laid her head down on the table, next to her plate, as he got back to eating his own food.

"You wouldn't like it if Ravan was mad at you," she pointed out.

"That's because Ravan's nice."

"To you."

"And you too," he reasoned. "He helped you down from the tree, huh? And if he was here to see her be so mean, he would have said something. He's a good big brother. Your sister's a bad big sister. See?"

Mirajane was coming back then though, a little frazzled by that point. The last thing she wanted was for Haven to hurt one of those boys. Or at least the little one. She was finding him to be great. And…if Laxus wouldn't give her a new baby…well…

"Do you got work today?" Marin asked her after she got them some more juice. "Mommy?"

"Soon," she said. "I just needed to be here when you guys woke up, since your dad went down to the guildhall."

"I hope Ravan's there," the boy sighed. Marin just reached over to pat him on the shoulder. "And Erza. And Robbie. And Bickslow."

"Bickslow?" Mirajane smiled then. "You really like him, huh?"

"Mmmhmm. He's great!"

"Considering so few people think that, I'm sure that will boost his spirits."

"I like Bickslow," Marin offered up.

"I know, sweetie."

Mirajane stayed with them for awhile, but eventually she disappeared to go get ready. And, finished with their food, the kids set out to go find something fun to do.

"Maybe," Marin said when they made it to her bedroom. "After you start living here, Haven can go sleep on the couch and you can have her bed."

"Wow. My own bed?" He grinned happily. "It'd be great!

"You're weird," Marin giggled, not knowing he was being serious. Going over to one of her backpacks, she unzipped it to see what toys were in there. "Help me pick what to take over to Elf and Aunt Ever's."

"Huh? You're not coming up to the guild?"

"Not today," she said with a shrug. "Today is Aunt Ever and Elf day. Just like yesterday was Bickslow and Aunt Lissy day."

"Oh."

"You can come," she offered. "Or-"

"No," he groaned, going to look through her toys for the coolest ones. "I gotta go find Ravan."

"Where are you gonna do it at?"

"I guess sit up at the guild and wait for him or Erza," he said with a shrug. "I don't feel like getting lost again."

"Maybe I can skip Aunt Ever and Elf day," she said slowly, glancing at him. "And we can play up at the guild."

"You don't gotta." He shrugged slightly. "I can wait on my own."

"I want to." She smiled at him. "And maybe we can talk to Daddy about you coming to stay here."

Shaking his head, he said, "The Master don't seem too happy with me right now."

"But he's always happy with me."

She made very valid points. And, later, when they set off to the guildhall, they were both excited by the thought of it all. They'd stay up all night, playing with their toys, ad then, every morning, Mirajane would make them breakfast, then they'd play again and, maybe, if she learned her magic, he offered to watch her practice it. Then eventually they could take jobs and just be awesome. Ravan could go too.

"I don't like jobs though," Marin giggled as they followed her mother and sister down the road.

"How could you not?" In his few days of being there, he'd seen everyone get all pumped when they returned from them and, well, they made them look pretty stellar. "Everyone else loves them."

"Then I gotta go and leave Mommy and Daddy." The thought alone scared her. "Daddy says that I don't ever have to leave. I can just stay here forever."

"You have a nice daddy. I wanna gonna stay with my Papa forever and we were gonna be the best fishermen ever."

Marin felt funny then, just from the way he said that, and took to staring at the ground. Slowly, she got out, "I thought that you hated guilds? Remember? You said-"

"Ravan told me that they were bad, but… You all seem really nice. And he said to hate Fairy Tail, but I can't. You guys seem really…good. And Erza seems great. And the Master is kinda gruff, but your mommy says that he's nice and you love him, so… I dunno."

"Mom," Haven hissed from where she was walking ahead of them with the woman. "You're going to let them stand back there and…talk? Laxus says-"

"Laxus isn't here, Haven. And he's only concerned about keeping the two of you safe. You, on the other hand, don't want Marin having another friend because you're scared that you're going to lose control of her then."

"I do not! I-"

"Haven, please. Just…leave your sister alone, okay? When we get down to the hall, find Locke or Navi or someone to train with. She never gets to play without you and, if she wants to be this boy's friend, then I'm not going to let you interfere with that."

She didn't want to. Really, she didn't. Marin was such a little brat. What part of the boy being the enemy didn't she get? Huh? Did everyone else just miss the part where he was trying to kill Erza?

At the hall, she was happy to find Locke was there and immediately went to go complain to him. And, since he was just so happy to see that she'd actually been feeling well enough to leave the house, he let her, smiling the whole while. Until he remembered what a jerk she'd been the day before at which point listening lost its fun.

Marin and the boy though marched right over to Laxus' table and took a seat.

He had a problem then, Laxus did. He wanted to growl at them, because of the boy being there, but at the same time, his little baby was sitting next to him looking all excited and happy and…

He settled with just staring at them until they spoke.

"Can he come live with us?" Marin opened up, staring at her father with her most innocent of eyes. "His mommy and daddy are dead and he doesn't have anywhere to go."

"Ravan too," the boy added. "We're a packaged meal."

"Deal," Laxus grumbled. "You're a packaged deal."

"Alright!" The boy cheered loudly then, turning to high-five Marin. She did so with a giggle. "Hear that? He said that we can."

"I did not. I was correcting you."

"No. You said that we're a packaged deal. The two of us. Me and Marin, yeah? And you want her to live with you, so that means that-"

"No." He glanced around for his wife, knowing that she had to have put the two of them up to the whole thing. "You are not staying with us. And Marin, aren't you supposed to be somewhere else today? A guild isn't just for hanging out. It-"

"Isn't that what you do all day?" she asked. "Just hang out?"

"No," he said, trying to keep the gruffness out of his tone. "It's not."

"Are you sure?" The boy was skeptical too. "Seems like everyone just hangs around and does nothing."

"Get out of here, boy," he said, frowning then. "Now. And Marin, go find someone to take you to Elfman and Ever's place."

"Daddy-"

"No. You're-"

"Laxus, are you behaving?" Mirajane appeared then, bringing him a fresh beer as well as making a quick escape for the kids. Laxus saw them run off towards Erza's table though and moved to follow. "Sit."

Mirajane put a hand on his shoulder and gave him a strong look. He had just as ferocious one for her.

"Demon-"

"No, Laxus. She has a friend for once that none of us picked out for her."

"I don't pick out her friends," he grumbled.

"Really?"

"I just take notice of kids around the neighborhood who won't hurt her feelings and then suggest to her that she spends time with them. That's all."

"Laxus."

"She's just a baby, Mira. You can't let her hangout with…these boys. They're bad. They do bad things."

"So are you. Aren't you, dragon?"

"Mirajane," he growled as she patted him on the head, no doubt trying to distract him. "You're not-"

"You're such a fearsome little dragon, aren't you? Huh?"

"I hate you."

With one last pat to the head, she said, "Marin has a friend who's not bullying her for once. Let that sink in, huh?"

He didn't want to. Marin was much better off with Haven, Locke, and Navi. While mean, they protected her. Sure, sometimes they turned into the ones that made her cry, but that was a loving cry. And Laxus knew if they went too far, he could kill their fathers. Or punish Haven. But this boy? What were his consequences, huh?

"Hi, Erza," the kids greeted as they came over to her and Jellal.

"Good morning," she greeted, nodding at both of them in turn. Jellal just stared. "I assume that you found somewhere to stay last night…boy?"

"Yep. With Marin. I'm her brother now and am gonna go live with her and her family, so I'm related to the Master now. Aren't you happy for me?"

"I would be," Jellal told him slowly, "if I thought that was even remotely true."

"Mira fed me breakfast," he told them then as he just moved to sit at the table, next to Jellal. Marin sat beside Erza. "So you don't have to worry about it."

"I assure you," Erza said with a frown. "We were not."

"Have you seen his brother?" Marin asked the woman. "Ravan?"

"Yes, we have," she told them both. "We rescued him, in fact."

"Rescued Ravan?" The boy shook his head. "No. He's, like, the best ever, so-"

"Yet another thing that's not even formed in the basis of truth."

"I like you guys," the boy said with a giggle after what Jellal said. "I'm sorry that I'm going to live with the Master. Will you miss me?"

"Again, I doubt that you are," the man kept up as he stared down at the boy. "And after tomorrow, I'm leaving anyhow."

"Today," Erza reminded. "After today."

"We'll see."

"Oh, yes, Jellal, we will."

Marin stared across the table at her friend, but he just snickered some more. He'd missed Robbie and Erza. Even if it had only been for a few hours.

It was a little while later, when Erza was getting ready to take off and go on her afternoon training session (and, honestly, look around for Ravan some), that she ran into Natus and Lucy as they entered. Navi was with them, but she immediately headed over to Locke and Haven, Happy following her.

For a moment anyways. When he heard what Erza said to Lucy, he had to hold back some.

"I am very sorry," was what the swordswoman said as she stopped to speak to her friends. "I have heard of your illness. If there is anything-"

"Happy," Lucy hissed as he slowly came flying back over to them. "Did you tell Erza-"

"It is alright," the woman said, bowing her head. "I am glad to know, honestly."

"Actually," Happy said, going to land on Natsu's head for protection. "Lucy's not sick."

"What?"

"I might have been a little imaginative," the Exceed told the woman.

"You told the entire guildhall though," Erza said. "And you never thought to fact check this first?"

Lucy was glaring then, up at the cat, but he just grinned.

"One day," he said, "we'll look back on this and laugh."

"But today," Lucy replied, "you're going to go around to everyone and explain what an idiot you've been."

"That's not fair. Natsu-"

"I gotta go with Lucy on this one, buddy," he said with a shrug. "You were wrong."

"This isn't fair! You're only agreeing with her because-"

"Happy," Lucy warned.

"What?" Erza frowned, glancing between the three of them, narrowing her eyes, she said, "What are you hiding?"

"Noth-"

"Lucy's pregnant," Happy said, jumping off Natsu's head as the woman in question reached up to either attack him or grab him. "Not dying. But still horrible to deal with."

"You stupid cat!"

Erza's eyes widened then as Happy made his escape. This was due in part to Natsu, who, grinning widely, moved to throw an arm around Lucy, keeping her from going to strangle Happy.

"Honestly?" Titania asked in shock.

With a groan, Lucy said, "Yes. But I wasn't going to tell anyone until-"

The guildhall doors behind them opened with a bang. Only, the person who opened then was only about half the height of most the other people around. It was Ravan, of course, who was still sporting his battle wounds from the night before.

"Hey," Natsu greeted, grinning over his shoulder at the boy. "It's, uh…you're… This is why I need Navi."

"It's Ravan," Erza said with a frown. "And it's honestly sad that she has a better memory than you."

"Not sad," Lucy corrected. "More pathetic."

"Ravan!" The younger boy was running over to them then, Marin with him, so that he could throw his arms around his older brother. And though the other boy didn't hug him back, he didn't shove him away either. "I found us a home. With the Master! And…well… Can you beat up Marin's sister for us?"

Marin nodded. "If it's not too much to ask."

"Would you two knock it off?" Ravan finally pushed his brother away so that he could go glare at Erza. "If it's our last day, fine. Surprise attacks won't work. I get that. So tonight, at your house, we're going to battle. Really battle. And either you're going to live or I'm going to. It's up to you."

Erza only blinked. Before she could say anything though, the older boy's stomach growled, making the younger one giggle.

"Are you hungry?" Marin asked, still staring at the older boy with a tad amount of fear in her eyes. Her friend kept insisting to her that he was alright, but she wasn't so sure. He still seemed mighty dangerous. "Since you're my brother now, it's okay if you eat food here, huh? It's not a charity then, right?"

She was wincing already in anticipation of him saying something mean to her or, worse, hitting her. Instead though, he just stared at her.

"I'm not your brother."

"But you could be," his actual brother insisted. "I'm pretty set on being her brother already. You should see some of her toys. And get this; she and her sister both have their own beds. All to themselves. And their house is huge. And, Ravan, it's the Master. Of this whole place. And all I have to do is catch fish for Marin's mom every couple of days. I bet that they'll even buy me new nets! This is-"

"You're stupid." Still though, his brother sent Erza one last glare before walking off, towards the bar. To Marin, he said, "But I do hate your sister. So if you really want me to beat her up, I can."

"Mmmm… I dunno." She followed along behind him. "I don't want you to hurt her. Just make her stop being so mean."

"Ravan can do that," the other boy assured her. "Ravan can do anything."

When they got over to Haven though, they found that her and Locke were already in an argument about something. They weren't hitting one another for once though, instead just standing there, yelling. Navi was watching with a frown, but didn't try to intervene. And before Ravan could, there was a shrill shriek that came from over by the bar and made them all glance over along with everyone else in the bar.

"What?" Laxus asked his wife, who looked overly thrilled by something. Given the noise she had made, he thought something was wrong. "That stupid cat do something to you?"

Happy was over by her and snickering heavily as Mirajane just quickly crossed the bar, still giggling and sounding widely younger than she was at that point.

"You're pregnant?" she asked Lucy as the woman looked about ready to murder Happy. If Mira knew, everyone would know. And she'd said it loud enough that everyone in the hall overheard it. "Why didn't you say something?"

And then Mira was hugging her and Happy knew he was safe because if everyone knew, then Lucy would be too busy accepting congratulations to kill him.

"Your mom's pregnant?" Locke looked to Navi then as Marin and the younger of the boys took a seat at a nearby table to wait for Mirajane to be finished with Lucy. "Navi?"

"Uh-huh," she said, nodding her head. "They told me yesterday. It was supposed to be a secret, but I guess Happy-"

Locke started snickering then, loudly, and it made all the other kids frown at him.

"What?" Haven asked as Ravan, who was less than interested in Lucy and Natsu's life, looked on, awaiting a chance to fight the girl again. "What's funny?"

Locke just grinned at all of them, as if he knew something that they didn't.

"Why's he laughing?" the little boy asked Marin as he laid his head down on the table, watching the other kids.

"I dunno," she said with a shrug. "Babies aren't that funny, are they?"

"Don't you know," Locke giggled as Ravan rolled his eyes, "where babies come from?"

"From…girls," Navi said slowly. Locke kept snickering.

"What?" Haven didn't like him knowing more than her. "What is-"

He just came closer to her and whispered something in her ear. Haven made a face and shoved him away.

"Na-ah!"

"What?" Navi was growing annoyed to. "I wanna know! I-"

"Locke!" Levy yelled from over where she was at a table with her husband and Lily not too far away. Close enough to overhear anyhow. "Come here. Now!"

That brought an end to his giggles.

"What did he tell you?" Navi asked he other girl as Locke headed off, head down, and frowning, knowing that he was about to get in trouble. "Haven?"

Ravan didn't care though and didn't wait for her to tell them all. He immediately moved to attack the other girl, dissolving any thoughts about that from their minds. If there was anything that could make Haven forget about silly things, it was fighting.

"Your sister's real strong," the little boy offered as he and Marin sat and watched. "But Ravan's stronger."

"If you say so," she said slowly. "Now that we found Ravan though, what are we going to do?"

"I dunno. Ravan said that tonight him and Erza are gonna battle, so I guess you can come with me to watch that."

She was quick to shake her head. "No. I don't wanna watch that."

"You don't? How come?"

"Because I like Erza," she told him. "And Ravan's your brother."

"Our brother."

"Yeah. So I don't wanna see either of them get hurt."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"Hmmm. Well, when we're all done with that, I'll talk to Ravan and see if we can really stay here," he told her. "If he kills Erza or not, he might not wanna go back home. Or he might. I dunno. And I gotta go where Ravan goes."

"But you'd still come visit, right? If you left?"

"Always," he said. "And you can come see me too. I really wanna show you how good of a fisherman I am. And if you're a water Dragon Slayer then, you'll have a lot of fun out there with me, huh?"

"I guess so." She still wasn't so sure about all that, but he sounded certain and, well, it was hard to argue with confidence. "I'm real glad that we're friends."

"Yeah," he said, smiling at her. "I am too."

Haven and Ravan were still going at it though and, from the looks of it, she wasn't holding back on her lightning. Ravan though had summoned and a weapon, which obviously gave him some form of advantage, but it was a short blade. And after a small struggle, they both scrambled away from one another. The problem for Ravan was that he had to get close to Haven to use his weapon while she had an upper hand in the fact that her attacks could be from long range. But those took more magical power and she refused to run out before even lunch.

They were at a stalemate.

"Coward," Haven hissed as he kept his distance, both breathing heavily and looking worse than when they'd come into the hall. And considering she still had those awful bruises while he'd been sporting the brunt of those older men attacking him, that was saying something. All they'd really done was reopen a few of his wounds and given her a couple more bruises. "Why don't you come over here, huh?"

"Me?" He held his blade out in one hand, as if as a warning. "You're the one that won't come near me. Don't pretend. You're scared of getting cut."

"I am not!"

"You're the coward."

"Shut up!"

"Besides," he said, slowly lowering his blade. "I have to conserve magic power. To beat Erza. I can't waste it on someone stupid like you."

"What? Scared?"

"Hardly."

"Maybe," Navi said slowly, glancing between them. "We could just not fight and go swim in the pool instead? Or something?"

But neither child wanted to listen to her. They were much too busy trying to judge the other one's movements. Laxus glanced over a few times, mostly to be sure that the boy didn't pull too big a weapon on his daughter, but also because, as much as he hated it, she was growing up. And the boy was good experience for her. Not everyone cares about your wellbeing during a fight. She had to learn that.

Also though, he frequently glanced over at Mirajane, who was shirking her duties to talk to Lucy and Natsu, clearly pumped about the pregnancy. Which he knew would be trouble for him at some point. She'd become jealous and try again to get another baby out of him.

Sigh. He was going to need more beer.

In all of the commotion though, Erza made her escape, Jellal following, neither of the homeless boys noticing their absence. They were both rather busy, after all.

"Training was your original objective," Jellal said as they left. "Should we forgo that now?"

"And why would we do that?"

"So that you can spend some time looking over your battle plan, of course."

She just gave him a look. "You know, the amount of enjoyment that you've had over this entire thing is a tad disheartening."

Shaking his head slightly, he said, "I truly am interested in what you plan to do. Clearly, he will be pulling out all the stops."

"I will defend myself and that is all."

"He clearly wishes for a fight to the death."

That got a harsher look. "Tell me that you are not honestly suggesting that I-"

"Of course not, Erza." He was slightly annoyed by the insinuation. "I was only concerned with how you will handle the situation. That is all."

"I will defend against him until he is out of magic power. He will no doubt exert himself to that point," she told him. "Then, once he is out, I will tend to his wounds, allow him and his brother to stay then night, and have them sent on their way the next morning. I will even pay for their train tickets to as close to Shadebay as I can get. I think Gray would be willing to take them, if I ask."

"Unless they move in with Master Laxus."

"Something tells me that there is next to no chance of that ever happening."

Still, glancing at her, he asked, "Are you ready then? For it all to be over with?"

Erza took a breath before nodding slightly. It had been the longest week of her life and, honestly, putting it to bed was what she'd been waiting for the entire time.

"More than you could possibly know."

"Considering you've made it clear that you want me gone the second it's all over," he said slowly. "I think I understand just how much you want this finished."

"Careful, Jellal," she warned with a slight smile. "It is not only little boys that can give up your location and ruin your life."

With a grin himself then, he said, "For some reason, I like hearing your threats more than I do that little punk."

"Some reason? Or a very obvious one?"

Still, as they walked along, he couldn't shake the feeling in the pit of his stomach. If the finale was upon them, then so was the end of his little retreat (if one could call it that) with Erza. Though they'd both had enough of one another for the time being, he felt much the same as he always did when he was left counting down the hours until they parted and then the ones until they would be reunited. Sad. Hopeful. But mostly just remorseful that that was how their lives had panned out. With little chance of it ever changing much, all he could ever look forward to was his short breaks with her. And what kinda of life was that?

Not that Erza was feeling much better. Though she was thinking more of those boys, honestly, than herself or her relationship. She surely wasn't attached to them, at all, (it's hard to find any redeeming qualities in one's assassin), but the thought of them going back to their home, only to be rejected by their people wasn't a pleasant one. She didn't see that as something likely to happen, but even if it wasn't, it was clear that their village as well as the surrounding areas were in a massive rebuilding trial at the moment and two orphaned boys would be easy to have fall through the cracks.

Sigh.

"Maybe," she told Jellal after a moment or two of reflection. "Mirajane will convince Laxus to take them in. The younger one seemed really taken o the idea and Mira's always wanted little boys to care for as well."

"Nothing's impossible," he told her with a shrug, not knowing for certain why they were even pretending that to be the case, "but this just might be that nothing."

Erza nodded slightly because, of course, he was right. And it didn't matter to her, right? They weren't her problem. It was the denouement. The final act. And yet she still didn't even know how she wanted it to end.


Extremely late, I know, but I've had a hard time writing recently. One more chapter though and I hope to have it out faster than this one.