Hey guys, Digidestined Boy 15 here. First off, I'd just like to say how sorry I am that I haven't updated this story for so long, but I couldn't think of anything after the last battle with Laxus. But I got my inspiration back! And I'm happy to announce that there will be Jerza in the later chapters as well as NaLi, LoLu and GrayStarr. I hope you all enjoy!
-x~X~x-
After Starr and the others had reunited with Lisanna, the group headed back to Magnolia. Not wanting to leave the place unattended, Lisanna handed over ownership of the Adoption Center to one of her most trusted workers, not even hesitating, eager to return to her true home. She stayed in town overnight, along with the others, to say goodbye to her current friends, packed her things in record time, and the next morning, all of the Fairy Tail wizards were on a train, bound for Magnolia.
The entire train ride back, Lisanna sat between Elfman and Natsu, with Mirajane right across from her, the three often rotating in taking turns sitting next to her. While Lisanna explained about what she'd been doing for the last two years, away from Fairy Tail, she also spent some times bonding with Lucy. The two became fast friends, finding that talking about how big of a goofball Natsu was, and still is, and finding it hilarious… not so much for Natsu, though. Mirajane and Starr stated that Lisanna always had that effect on people: that everyone wanted to be her friend.
The second Lisanna stepped into the guild, there wasn't a dry eye in any corner of the building. Everyone rushed up to her and took turns crying and laughing over Lisanna's return, each receiving a warm hug from the white-haired wizard herself.
Lucy even summoned Loke from the spirit world to join in on the reunion, and said lion spirit greeted Lisanna the same way he greeted any girl… by flirting with her like the ladies' man he was. And Natsu had responded in a mature and rational way, like any good boyfriend would… by slugging Loke across the face with one of his Fire Dragon Iron Fists. At that point, with the giant Loke-sized hole in the wall that Starr was going to have to repair later, Lucy took him back to her and Starr's house.
The rest of the day was spent re-welcoming Lisanna back into Fairy Tail. Master Makarov even started a party in the guild hall in celebration of her return, which all of the wizards agreed to instantly.
The music was blaring, the lights were flashing, and everyone was dancing. Natsu, Mirajane and Elfman, of course, all took turns dancing with Lisanna, and Starr and Gray were dancing side-by-side with each other. Erza on the other hand, she just sat in the corner of the guild hall with a saddened look on her face. She had dispelled her armor, so she was just sitting in her normal white blouse, blue skirt and boots.
It became clear to her that she didn't have anyone to dance with. All of her friends were already dancing with someone else. A few of the other guys had asked to dance, even some of the girls, but she declined them all. There was only one person that she wanted to dance with, someone she wasn't sure was even alive or not, a boy who she'd grown fond of in her childhood, despite his horrific actions only a few months ago…
…Jellal.
It was no secret to anyone in Fiore that Jellal had nearly resurrected the dark wizard, Zeref, and that he tried to use Erza as a sacrifice. Had it not been for Natsu, he would have succeeded, and brought back to life the person who could easily destroy Fiore and all of its inhabitants, single-handedly. Even through all of this, Erza couldn't help but care so deeply for this man. After all, it wasn't really his fault. Jellal was being controlled by the spirit of Zeref, even since he was a kid, so it was no wonder he wanted to resurrect the mad-man.
Even so, Jellal is still on the top of a very long list of wizards on Fiore's most-wanted criminals for his actions. So even if he was alive, he'd still be arrested the minute the Rune Knights found out where he was, and he'd likely be locked up in jail forever, if not, executed.
Erza sighed. She remembered when she used to see him smiling everyday as a kid, and not maniacally like he did several months ago. The way he smiled just gave her so much strength and confidence. It was the only thing that got her through working on the Tower of Heaven with him and her other friends.
The requip mage reached into her blouse and pulled out a ring on a silver chain. The ring was a simple piece of iron, and much too small for her hands now, but it had a small ruby attached to it. She smiled in the memory of the day Jellal had given it to her.
It was back in the Tower of Heaven, while the two of them were still slaves to the followers of Zeref. The two of them had just finished their shifts, working on the tower's completion, and Erza and Jellal were all alone in their holding cell, lying up against the wall. Sho and the others had gone to get dinner, promising to bring some back for them.
"Hey, Erza…" Jellal spoke.
Erza tiredly gave him a weak smile. "Yeah? What is it Jellal?" she asked.
"Do you know what today is?"
Erza thought for a moment, but then shook her head. "Nope, what's today?"
Jellal grinned. "It's been exactly 1 year, today since we first met here."
Erza's eyes widened slightly and she sat upright. "You really kept track of all those days since we met?"
Jellal laughed. "Nope, but I needed an excuse so I could give you this." The blue-haired boy reached into his pocket and pulled out a poorly made iron ring with a small ruby attached to it. He gave Erza a warm smile and held the ring out to her. "I found this ruby a few days ago and it reminded me of you, 'cause of your hair, so I made a ring out of some iron and put the ruby on it. Go ahead, take it."
Erza didn't know what to do or say. Jellal had made her a ring, out of materials that the followers of Zeref had told everyone to deliver right to them if they were found, or face severe punishment. He risked his own safety just to make that ring for her. "Jellal… it's beautiful…" Erza said, a small blush painted on her cheeks.
"Well, a beautiful girl deserves a beautiful ring, and this is about as good as it gets around these parts."
Erza's blush grew stronger, but she smiled. She was going to treasure that ring forever. "That's so sweet, Jellal, can you put it on me?" Erza raised her left hand up to Jellal. He nodded and slid the ring onto her ring finger, a little disappointed that it was slightly too big, but happy that Erza enjoyed it so much. Just as Erza was about to pull her hand back, Jellal took the opportunity to take hold of it and plant a gentle kiss on the back of it. Erza's blush intensified greatly. She was greatly embarrassed, but at the same time ecstatic. She pulled her hand back, and held it close to her, admiring the ring on her finger, and the fact that Jellal had just kissed it.
That's when Grandpa Rob and the others returned with food for them to eat. They asked if anything interesting had happened between the two while they were gone. Simon seemed particularly interested in the question Erza looked at Jellal, who only smiled back at her. The two of them said, at the same time, "Nothing!"
After that, Erza did everything she could to make sure that the followers of Zeref never saw her ring, for they would surely take it if they found out. Fortunately for her, they never found out, and she'd managed to keep it all these years. After she was freed from the Tower of Heaven and joined Fairy Tail, she bought a chain and hung the ring around her neck.
Erza smiled at the memories. Even though her childhood was a living hell, she still had some wonderful memories of her time in the Tower of Heaven. However, she was still upset that she may never see Jellal again, and she let a few stray tears escape her eye lids.
"Erza, are you ok?" a familiar voice asked.
Erza looked up to see that it was Starr that spoke to her, and Natsu, Happy, Lisanna, Mirajane, Elfman, and Gray were with him. She quickly wiped away the tears in her eyes and faked a smile at them. "Oh, yeah, I'm fine everyone…" she lied.
"Erza, you've been staring at that ring for the past ten minutes, and you were crying over it," Natsu pointed out. "Where did you get that anyway?"
Erza looked away. "…I got it from Jellal…" she said quietly.
That was when everyone, other than Lisanna and Starr, knew that they should back away and leave Erza alone. The latter two were dragged away from Erza before they could question as to who Jellal was, or what connection he had to her.
When they were a safe enough distance away from Erza that she couldn't hear them, Starr and Lisanna asked about Jellal, and the others told them about their past childhood and about what happened a few months ago with him. Needless to say, they were shocked. They'd never known Erza to be so fragile and caring about anyone, a known criminal like Jellal especially, so when they found out they remained silent.
"…Wow…" Was all Lisanna could muster up.
"I-I never knew Erza… had it so tough as a kid…" Starr said, looking down in despair.
Natsu nodded. "Yep, out of all of us Fairy Tail wizards, she had the worst childhood," he said. "She worked as a slave for a good part of it, and, when they tried to rebel, she had to watch her friends get hurt…"
"Not to mention that Jellal, her best friend as a kid, was turned into a crazy psychopath by the spirit of Zeref and nearly made her into a living sacrifice," Gray explained further. "If it weren't for Natsu, Erza wouldn't even be alive now…"
"And now, we don't even know where Jellal is to question him, or if he's even alive. I'm almost positive that, even after all of the things he's done, nearly killing her and her friends, she still loves the kind boy that she knew as a child…"
Much like with Natsu and Lisanna, it was no secret to anyone in Fairy Tail that Erza deeply loved Jellal, despite his crimes. There were often days when Erza would unconsciously mutter Jellal's name. Other times she'd be looking at the ring around her neck. No one knew the story behind it, but they knew from the look in her eye that Erza held that ring more precious to her than anything else in the world.
Starr wanted to help his friends. He did it for almost everyone now. He'd been helping Lucy pay rent since he arrived in Magnolia. He helped Natsu and Lisanna find each other and get together. He'd helped Happy find a place Natsu didn't know about that was filled with delicious fish. He'd even helped Mirajane with customers on busy days when she needed it. Starr loved to help the people close to him, it made him feel good, and that's exactly what he planned to do with Erza…
The Star Dragon Slayer turned around and walked back to the table where Erza was still seated, ignoring Gray and the others' warnings. He looked Erza directly in the eye with a look of confidence. "Erza, I think I can help you find Jellal," he said, free of hesitation.
Everyone gasped, Erza included. No one ever thought that, since the Tower of Heaven, anyone other than Erza could mention Jellal's name and not have their head cut off in an instant. But no, Starr's head was still attached to his body, even after almost a full minute of silence from everyone.
Erza's voice was the first to break the silence. "You… You're serious?" she asked, eyes wide as plates, looking like they were about to burst into tears.
Starr nodded. "I think so," he replied. "One of the types of magic I know is called 'Locator Magic,' which can be used to track someone down, no matter where they are. I only need something with the DNA of the person I'm looking for… and if you're ring was made by Jellal, than it might still have some of-" Starr was cut off when Erza practically ripped the ring off the chain and shoved it into his palm.
"I don't care what you have to do, just find him!" Erza said assertively, trying not to cry anymore than she already had. "Please… please find him, Starr… please…"
Starr nodded, and held the ring in between both of his hands. Everyone surrounded the boy and watched closely as he began to concentrate his magical energy into his hands. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes to further this power. A bright, orange light began to shine in the form of a sphere around Starr's hands, then flowing like a stream into Starr's head.
A minute later, Starr opened his eyes, giving everyone around a confident smile. "Found him. It's feint, but I'm still getting a signal, which means he's alive."
Everyone gasped once again.
"Well don't just stand there, man, tell us where he is!" Natsu exclaimed.
"He's in a place called… The Valley of Lightning."
Suddenly, Erza's excitement turned to fear, as did everyone else's.
The Valley of Lightning was located far outside Clover Town, through a harsh desert. Further ahead, there is a wide, open valley with a small temple in the center, where thunder clouds were always dropping lightning down, giving it the name "The Valley of Lightning." These aren't the only reasons why The Valley of Lightning is so feared, it's also because it is where Laxus, as well as the Thunder Legion, can often be found while they train.
Erza clenched her fists with anguish. "Of all the places in Fiore, why did it have to be The Valley of Lightning?" she muttered bitterly.
Gray scowled. "I'll bet that Laxus' been there this whole time… and you know how much Laxus enjoys toying with people… literally…" he stated, refraining from punching a wall in anger at the very mention of Laxus' name.
Starr's eyes widened. He knew first-hand what Laxus was capable of if no one stopped him. He nearly lost his innocence that night, and had it not been for Lucy and Cana, it would have been long gone. And with Jellal, probably still weakened from his battle with Natsu, he would make easy prey for someone as sick as Laxus. He'll either rape him or just beat him to a bloody pulp, probably both.
He'd love to rescue Jellal for Erza, but if Laxus was involved, then it would be a lot more difficult than he would prefer. Last time, they had Mirajane to help beat Laxus, but something told him that Erza had to do this on her own, and even she barely stood half a chance against him. If only there was a way to avoid Laxus altogether…
Suddenly, Starr had an idea. "I'll be right back, guys…" he said, before running in the direction of the bar, where Master Makarov was.
A minute or two later, Starr returned, holding something in the palm of his hand, and everyone was curious about what it was.
"Whatcha got there, Starr?" Natsu asked, eyeing the boy's closed hand with curiosity.
Starr smiled and opened his palm, revealing to everyone a silver ring with the insignia of a lightning bolt engraved into it. "I got this ring from the Master, he said that Laxus used to wear it," he replied.
After he and Makarov battled after he got thrown out of Fairy Tail, Laxus threw the ring at him before leaving. The ring was originally given to him as a birthday present by his Grandfather, sometime in his childhood, and he gave it back as a way of destroying his ties with Fairy Tail and his Grandfather, once and for all.
Gray grinned. "I get it. Since it's Laxus' ring, you can use the DNA left on it to track him down, and make sure he's nowhere near The Valley of Lightning, am I right?" he asked.
Starr giggled and grinned back. "Exactly right, Gray-chan!" he said, still happy as ever to call him as such. The Star Dragon Slayer closed his hand again and placed his other hand over it. He repeated the same process he did before – closing his eyes and pouring magic into the ring – and then, when he finished, he sighed in relief. "Good, Laxus is somewhere in a remote area of Fiore that's nowhere near The Valley of Lightning. He's probably still recovering from his battle with Mirajane, he did take quite a beating after all."
Everyone matched Starr's sighs with their own.
Natsu punched his fists excitedly. "Alright then, I say we go rescue Jellal from The Valley of Lightning and bring him back here!" he shouted.
Erza shook her head. "No, Natsu, only Starr and I are going, the rest of you are staying here," she ordered.
Gray flinched. "No way, Erza! Let us help you!" he yelled. "You can't go to The Valley of Thunder alone! Even if Laxus isn't there, The Thunder Legion might be, and we don't have any way of knowing! And Laxus might recover fast enough that he'll just zap himself over there in an instant."
"Then I'll beat them all myself if I have to! Laxus included!" the red-head screamed, startling everyone within hearing distance. Everyone could see that Erza was still on the verge of tears, which only shocked them more, and quieted down. "Starr and I are going to The Valley of Thunder and the rest of you are to stay behind and watch over the guild. That's an order!"
Reluctantly, the group of wizards nodded. Everyone knew better than to try and fight Erza – in any sense of the word – for it would be a battle that would be surely lost, and anyone foolish to try would regret it immensely.
"Alright, if you're going, at least stay in Magnolia for the night," Gray suggested. "That way you can get a good night's sleep before you head out, same for Starr. Enjoy the party and then head out in the morning."
Erza relaxed her muscles and nodded reluctantly. The redhead was perfectly fine to go, but she could tell that Gray was saying this more for Starr's sake, and less for hers. He'd become really protective of Starr since he was more-or-less forced to admit his feelings for the Ice Mage, and she could respect that.
"Fine, we'll set off for The Valley of Thunder tomorrow morning. In the meantime, I'm going to go home and pack, you guys enjoy the party…" Erza took back her ring from Starr and ran out of the guild hall, her eyes finally giving way and streaming tears of joy as she left.
Starr decided to leave shortly after Erza left, so that he could pack for the trip as well and get some much needed rest. The Valley of Thunder was quite a ways away from Magnolia, and even by train it would still take at least a day or two to get there. Not to mention that there might be Laxus or The Thunder Legion to deal with, and Starr wanted to be ready for it.
He opened the door to the house and walked in, slipped his shoes off and walked upstairs to his room. He packed his bag with enough supplied for the trip and then left his bag outside his room so he wouldn't forget it.
Just as he was about to collapse on his bed, he thought it would be a good idea to let Lucy know about his trip with Erza, and that he was leaving in the morning. So he walked out of his room and opened the door to Lucy's room.
"Lucy, I need to talk to y-AHHH!" he screamed out of shock.
He was surprised to see Lucy, lying under Loke, both topless and making out with each other. The way they were doing it so expertly, it let Starr know that they had done this often before… it suddenly explained why Starr often heard creaks coming from Lucy's room in the middle of the night, he just assumed that Lucy was a restless sleeper.
After a minute of Starr gawking at Loke and Lucy, they noticed the shocked, blonde boy standing in the door frame and jumped off of each other. Lucy was red in the face and trying to cover her exposed breasts, while Loke just sat there with a goofy grin on his face.
"Guess our secret's out, huh?" Loke said, letting out an embarrassed laugh.
Suddenly, the spirit and mage duo heard the sound of something heavy hitting the floor – hard – and saw that Starr had passed out from shock, and even had a trickle of blood running from his nose down his cheek from seeing someone as hot and well-built as Loke shirtless.
Lucy gave her lover a stern glare, still hugging her breasts shyly. "You see, this is exactly why I told you we should keep 'us' a secret…" she said with an exasperated tone. "What do you think he'll say when he wakes up?"
Loke smirked confidently. "Judging from that nosebleed, something along the lines of 'Oh Loke, you're the hottest spirit I've ever seen!' He wouldn't be wrong of course, I mean, look at these…" he then proceeded to flex his muscles arrogantly.
Lucy gave the lion spirit an annoyed glare and reached for Loke's key on her night stand. "Goodnight, Loke. Forced Gate Closure!" she muttered, swinging the key.
Loke let out a short pout before he disappeared back to the Spirit world, leaving Lucy to deal with the boy passed out on her floor.
