~Av's Intro~

'My past isn't something I'm proud of.

Every time I look at the mirror, I'm always

constantly reminded of the things I've done.

But I won't let that get to me! I need to- No...

I want to protect the ones I loved! Especially

him...'

~Chapter 9 - Little Red and Her Beast~

-Me-

+11 years ago+

Trying my best to stand at the edge of the cliff without flying away, I tried to use as much of my magic to create a small storm of my own to push away the huge one in front of us. "Don't fight off the storm Avery! Try to become one with it and avert it away from where you stand!" Reisswind instructs me from behind, standing firmly in place while I struggle to stand my ground. The storm was too big for me to control. Even if I could avert the storm away like Reisswind wants me to, just by looking at how dark the skies are and the number of lighting that continues to strike the earth below made me hesitate more and more.

'There's no way I can move this storm!' I thought in fear as I slowly started to lose focus on what I was doing. A sudden lightning bolt strikes the ground to my right, almost catching me off guard and made me lose focus on what I was doing in that moment. "Avery!" Reisswind yelps behind my back. I immediately sensed something and quickly dodged as the tall tree beside me suddenly falls to the ground a blazed. "Eek!" I bit my lip, enough to make it bleed, as I tried to regain control over the storm. It seemed to calm down for one moment then started sending strong hail all around the land.

Reisswind shields me with her wing so I won't get hit by the numerous lumps of ice. I felt a sweat drop form on the side of my head when I saw the changes I had on the storm. "Oops... my bad..." I mutter out loud. Instead of stopping a thunderstorm, I accidentally changed it into a hail storm after nearly getting crushed by that burning tree. When Reisswind brings her head under her wing to look at me directly, I almost thought she was going to scowl me again only to feel her lightly nuzzle her snout against my cheek.

She reassures me with warm and loving eyes, "Don't worry Avery, you're just getting the hang of it. Soon you'll not be able to master control over storms, but use it in combat to protect yourself and the ones you love."

+Present+
||Runes||

It's been hours since we first came down here. Thankfully, no one has decided to come down here just yet. I want everyone to cool their minds a bit before facing the people who are trying to release Deloria, especially after what happened earlier. I couldn't help but look around to see how they were holding up. Lucy was hugging herself in fear while trying to hold a conversation with Happy and Azul. Gray still sat by the frozen Deliora, just so he could try and figure out why someone would want to free the demon at the same time keep a better eye on the demon.

Hearing the familiar loud snore below me, I warmly smile down at Natsu as he continues to snooze on my lap. Reaching down for his hair, I played around the end on one of the spikes with my fingers. 'Except for Natsu, everyone's on edge right now. I thought this was a simple mere S-Class mission but,' I glanced over at the ice wizard with sad eyes, 'this is more like a road to redemption for some of us. I was hoping Deliora would be one of the few demons I'd have to come face to face with when I collected the rest. Lullaby was nothing. This one is on a whole other level...' "So bored... Oh I know!" I was a little bit surprised when Lucy suddenly gets up on her feet.

She brings out a silver key and chants, "Open! Gate of the harp! Lyra!" Accompanied with the sound of a doorbell, I smile in glee to see that not only was Lucy summoning any another spirit, but another that I know very well. In a puff of smoke was Lyra, waving her hand happily as she greets her contractor, "Yo1 It's been a while Lucy!" "Lyra!" I squeal, completely forgetting the boy in my lap and quickly got up to the spirit. Lyra tilts her head in confusion then instantly recognizes me. "Avery! It's been sooooo long!" We both held hands and tearfully pull each other in a tight hug the next moment, causing everyone to stare at us with wide eyes.

"What the heck Av-! Wha?" Natsu sits up and starts to complain only to jaw drop at the brightness that surrounds us two girls. I pull away and ask the young girl, still holding both her hands in mine, "You're under contract with Lucy! That's so cool! How come you never told me about it?" "You were a little kid the last time I saw you remember?" Lyra reminds me. "Besides she never summons me! I want to be more useful to her! Lucy, you're such a meanie!" she complains, pouting in the direction of the blonde behind us. I turn around to follow her complain only to burst out laughing at the look Lucy, Happy, and Natsu were giving us.

"What the- How the- Since when have-" I interrupt Lucy to save her from losing her mind at the situation, "Lyra and me have been good friends for a long time! We've known each other since I was little. But man it's been forever since we last saw each other! You should have told me Lucy you had Lyra with you as one of your tomodachi!" "Ne? She's such meanie!" Lyra floats closer to the girl and eyes her. "What do you mean a meanie? I can only summon you three times a month.," Lucy reminds her, making Lyra freeze as the realization dawns on her.

Lyra mutters in shock, "Eh..!? Really!?" "Another weird one," Happy comments. Azul nods as she adds, "At least he's better that that crabby hair dresser..." "Never mind that! How is it you know Lyra, Avery? You can't be a spirit mage too..." crossing her arms and eyes us, Lucy raises an eyebrow in confusion. "Ah! You see..." I back away a bit as I raise my hands up in the air, trying to figure out the proper way to explain myself without getting caught. Lyra nervously changes the subject, "How about I do what you summoned me for Lucy? I don't want to waste any precious time while I'm still time!"

"O-okay..." Lucy was still lost as to what happened. Lyra turns and gives me a thumbs up. "Ne! What song would you like me to sing today?" Lyra asks, excited to play her harp for us. "Anything is fine. It's your decision," Lucy says. Happy makes a typical request, "I want a song about fish!" "And love!" blurts out Azul as she hugs the blue cats arm, hearts once again flying out of her. Lyra gives us a thumbs up and exclaims in a hyper manner, "Then I'll just sing whatever I want! Yay!" "Lyra is a amazing singer!" comments the girls while plopping herself beside me.

I smile and rest my chin in my hands, saying, "She's really good at making up songs on the spot." Happy makes a comment again, "Mira is good too. And she sings me songs about fish!" I sweat drop and said, "That's the only thing you ever request from anyone Happy..." "Aye sir!" he answers me, beaming with pride. Once the harp started to play, we all started to quiet down and listen to her

Umareru kotoba
Kieyuku kotoba
Anata no naka ni
Ikitsuzukeru kotoba

I flinch at the start of the lyrics, putting a hand close to my chest as I gaze down at the floor with sad eyes. Something inside me told me to look in Gray's direction, who seemed to be conflicted as Lyra continues to sing her melody to us.

::Memory::

Holding my hands up in the air, I close my eyes as felt the wind around me pick us as a small ball of dark winds began to form above me. One small snap behind my back made me lose concentration and made the storm ball explode in a large blast that was enough to cause most of the tree's around me to be pushed down to the ground. I was thrown back only for Reisswind to catch me. Nervous, I look up expecting her to be mad at the mess I made only for her to nuzzle her snout against my cheek, earning a small giggle from me and a big hug on her face. She stands up straight as I continued to hug her face.

Tachidomari sono toki
Yuuki he to kawaru
Saa arukidasou
Ano toki yori
Anata wa
Tsuyoku natteiru kara

::Next Memory::

I sat in the guild in my usual spot, tugging my bangs to hide my face whenever any human passes by me and gains the nerve to glance over at me. Whenever one does, I would either send them flying or send a piece of object flying at them. I felt a finger tap my shoulder. I took a deep long breath once I caught the scent of the OTHER dragon slayer behind me, slowly turning with an annoyed look in my eyes when I face the boy. Natsu simply grins at me and held his hand out at me. I glare down at his hand then look over his shoulder to see the other kids watching from a fair distance away, some hiding in fear of what I'll do.

Seeing him smile like that almost made me snap. I huff, cross my arms and turn away from the boy. Instead of leaving like I expected him to, I was surprised to hear the sound of a moving chair behind me. I quickly turn only to have Natsu's face inches from mine. I back away in shock at his sudden appearance, putting a hand against my beating chest as he continues to grin at me.

Mou mayowanaide
Ano toki no kotoba wo
Shinjite

::Final Memory::

As I was carried away from the blazing scene, I reach out for Reisswind as she lets out a large roar. I helplessly watch as she falls down slowly falls down on her side, completely disappearing from sight. I hit my fist against the large red scaly foot, trying to free myself to help save Reisswind. But it was no use. The sound of human voices were heard while Reisswinds' final cry echo and mix in the distance the farther we flew away. Even though she sometimes refuse to let me call her that, I called out to her in tears, "Mom!"

::End of Memory::

I put a hand to my face and gritted my teeth, tears starting to escape my eyes. "Tch!" I was surprised when we heard Gray all of a sudden. "H-Hey, Gray!" Lucy gasps as everyone snaps their heads in his direction. "Huh? What is it?" Gray asks us while trying to hold back more his tears from coming out. "He's crying," Happy says, concerned to see the two of us crying all of a sudden. Lucy puts a hand close to her mouth as she silently said to us, "Lyra does have the power to sing songs that reflect what's in people hearts, but..." "Gray is crying," Happy says out loud again.

"No, I'm not!"
"Sing something more cheerful, Lyra!"
"Eh? You should have told me before."

I tried to wipe my tears away only for Azul to catch me, "Avery! You okay?" I successfully wipe them all away and smile down at Azul as she flies into my arms, reassuring her, "I'm fine... It's nothing..." Natsu must have heard this with the way he suddenly shot up and quickly rushed over to me. "Av what is it!? Did Azul say something stupid to you again?" he questions me. "Why me!?" Azul yells. Lyra instantly apologizes, "Wah goman Avery! I didn't mean to make you cry!" "I think I got a hanky here!" Lucy frantically searches in her pocket so I could wipe my tears away.

Happy floats over and asks me with worried eyes, "Avery? Are you crying too?" "I'm fine guys! I-" I caught Gray's stares over Natsu's shoulder, gazing at me with wide eyes only for him to turn away. "Don't hide anything from me Av..." I was surprised when the dragon slayer leans in closer to me. "You know I can tell when you're hiding something from me." I shake my head, "No it's nothing I just- remembered a few things that I didn't want to remember..." Feeling slightly tired from crying so much, I lean my head against Natsu's chest and secretly inhale his scent without letting anyone notice this.

Every time I smelt his ash fire scent, I've always felt at ease whenever I smell his scent. I never told anyone- especially Natsu- about this or they would start to get the wrong idea. Azul knows but I made sure that she wouldn't tell a single soul, even to Happy. Sensing someone was staring at me at the side, I turn my head only to see Azul, grinning at me as her eyes twinkled in amusement and tries to hold back from snickering. My face immediately lights up hot pink in embarrassment. I brought Natsu closer to me so I could bury my head in his chest to hide my reaction, tightly gripping onto his waistcoat.

'Damn you Azul...! You're enjoying this!' my thoughts scream while I restrain myself from saying anything else.

+Later+

Things seems to quite down a bit. Almost everyone was fast asleep after getting tired from waiting, Natsu and Azul were on my lap so I couldn't sleep even if I wanted to. I couldn't help myself from taking a short glance at Deliora. (Me: I keep calling him Deloria! XD Damn it!) It brought so many dark memories just looking at the thing, and after hearing what happened to Gray, it makes me almost indirectly responsible for all that's happened. I brought my hand over to my right arm and clutched it, thinking negatively, 'If I had the strength back then to kill it... none of this would have happened... Gray lost everything because of Deliora. Now that it's here, not only him but everyone else is in danger thanks to me.'

Natsu twist and turns as he mumbles in his sleep, "Give me that back Happy... I promised Av I wouldn't... *snore*" I giggle at this and adjust myself so my forehead could rest against Natsu's, smiling as I listened to his snores. Others may find it annoying but I don't really mind it though, he's always snuck into my bed so I actually find it soothing in a way. That also would explain why I always felt calm whenever I smell his scent. "Av... sorry... I was the one who burnt that dress you were making..." "Eh?" I pull away and stare down at him in bewilderment.

"I burnt it... and ate its fire..." I slowly held my fist up as I felt anger start to boil up inside me, my eyes blazing with fire to show how upset and betrayed to learn the truth this way. "Why you... Natsu!" My first was almost about to reach his face when the ground and the ceiling shaking all around us. "What is-" I gap as a purple magic array forms right above where the imprisoned Deloria stood. Lucy sits up and rubs her eyes, asking, "What is that sound?" Natsu instantly sat up screaming in surprise, "Is it night!?"

I put a hand to my chest and said, "Light coming from the ceiling..." Gray stands up and watches as the light glows brighter. "Violet light... It's the moonlight!" Azul wakes up as Happy flies over to where Gray is, shaking the sleep off and stands beside Happy. "What's that!? What the hell is going in!" Happy frantically dodges as a piece of rock falls down and nearly hits him. Azul nervously gulps, "Is this what moon drip looks like..?" Once Natsu gets off my lap, I moved to stand up until I felt my heart painfully beat hard against my chest.

It almost felt like my own heart was right next to both my ears. "Nee-san..." Half of a girls face appears at the back of my mind, accompanied with the loud sound of church bells deafening my surroundings. I reach up to where my heart is with shaky hands and tightly held the cloth of my black top. 'This feeling... where did I feel it before?' The voice spoke again, except it sounded much closer than before.

-Normal-

As the everyone rushes to the up the stairwell towards the top of the ruins, Natsu comes to a complete stop and sniffs the air. "Av...?" Happy and Azul stop as well and look back at Natsu in confusion. He looks over his shoulder to find that the girl was no where in sight. "Av!" Right as he was about to move to go back down for Avery, the ceiling above him suddenly cracks then starts to collapse right above his head. "Natsu look out!" Happy cries out as he tries to grab his friend. Azul beats him by zooming past him and then Natsu, pushing the boy back far enough so that the rubble would fall between them.

"Azul..? Hey you alright!" Natsu calls out. She answers back as loud as she could from the other side, "I'm alright guys!" "Hold on! Natsu and I will-" Azul interrupts Happy, "Don't worry about me! Just go after the others and stop whoever is doing this! This is what Avery would want!" "But-" Happy puts his paw on Natsu's shoulder. He looks down at the blue paw then up at his partner who was fighting back tears, trying his best to act strong. Natsu sighs in defeat, "Got it... We'll go Azul! Make sure to take care of Av for me then! I'm counting on you!"

Once Azul heard their running footsteps fade away, she turns around and hurries back down to Avery. 'Avery... you've been acting weird since we got on this island... what's going on!?' her thoughts scream as she descends further down into the depth's of the lower ruins.

-Back to Me-

"Nee-san... asobou yo..." I shut my eyes, hoping for the voice to go away. 'Stop it...' A flash "Avery!" I snapped back to reality and looked up in surprise to see Azul hovering directly in front of my face. "Where did the others go?" I ask, noticing how we were the only ones here. Azul gazes off at the direction where they went and says, "The others ran off after the moons light started to shine down on Deliora. Natsu was the first to notice you weren't with us and was about to go after you, but I pushed him away with in started to cave in a bit from the shaking earlier."

I couldn't help but feel anxious when I heard that last part. I got up on my feet with wobbily legs and said, "We should get going Azul. I have a bad feeling about this, and it's not just Deliora and Moon Drip. These guess are a part of a dark guild, so it's a little bit impossible a small group of wizards could bring ugly all the way out here." "And you're absolutely right." My instincts quickly kicked in. I swirled around and grabbed Azul in time before a giant large hairy hand could hit her. "Furyu no Boreasu!" I watch as the tiny ball hits the large creature, sending it flying mid air then watch as a giant whirlwind appears in the explosion.

"You held back..." Azul mutters as I let her go. "If I used the same amount as I usually give on my enemies then this whole place might collapse," I explained to her. She sighs and shakes her head, muttering out loud, "But you still hold back even dark guild wizards..." I didn't answer.

-Azul-

This is the side of Avery only I get to see. She may be playful, cheerful, innocent sometimes, and can be a bit childish, but during the classified S-Class missions Avery is very serious and doesn't take anything lightly. There's this dark emotionless mask that she wears outside the guild and home. Only when talking to me, Natsu and the others when using the communicator lacrima she gave one of them, and to people in the various towns and villages we pass by would Avery have a smile on her face. From the pictures Reedus showed me about how Avery was like before I was born, it almost scared me to see that same emotionless mask on Avery at the time.

That is why sometimes I wonder, which is the real Avery. Happy told me once that Avery did act like that once during a mission with only Natsu as her partner. It did explain a bit why Natsu got even more protective of her after they got back. Avery lifts her head up, glaring at the ceiling for a bit then yells, "Get out of the way!" I didn't react fast enough in time. I tried to fly out of the way, but it all happened so fast. A long chain suddenly appeared out of nowhere and pierced one of my wings, causing my aera magic to instantly dispel. "Agh!" I could barely keep myself from rolling on the ground when I tried to hold onto something to stop me.

"Azul!" Avery jumps in front of me just as multiple chains suddenly came right at us in one straight line, pushing hard against Avery. She had both arms raised in an X and tries to create a storm barrier. "Hold onto something Azul!" she orders me.

-Back to Me-

I split the barrier fast enough so I could force the long pillar of chains to split apart, sending them in different directions. "Looks like the runaway has learned some new tricks," a voice spoke up from the darkness. My head snapped in the direction of where the voice was coming from. A large black magic seal appeared in the ceiling above where we stood, few sparks came out of it as something started to emerge from it. I got ready for what's coming as I protectively stepped back to get closer to Azul, who was frozen in fear and watched with me as a cloaked figure quickly drops down to the ground.

Floating midway, the cloaked opens up a bit for me to see the person was wearing heels. 'A woman?' That all didn't matter to me anymore once I saw the mark on the bottom of her red cloak. With the snap of her fingers, the thing that attacked us earlier suddenly sprung to life from out of the rubble, jumping out and landing beside her. I covered my mouth in disgust at the side of the monster. It was a giant wolf-like creature; purple eyes filled with the look of hunger in them, sharp fangs covered in blood, fur on every in of its body, and the stench coming from it smelled like a rotten corpse.

"Recognize him? You should recognize me too," I felt my dragon instincts kicking in when she reaches up for her hood. Sliding it off, she frees her hair which bounces above her shoulders and opens her eyes to reveal a sickly red color. The chestnut haired girl smiles at me in triumph over my sudden change of attitude. "Get out of here Azul! This isn't the place for you to be! Azul?" I quickly threw my head over my shoulder, having no patience to have to warn her twice and felt my blood run cold. This whole time I thought Azul was frozen in fear but in reality, she literally was frozen.

Her eyes were clouded over as her entire body went stiff, exactly the way a statue is like. 'Time magic? No,' I shook my head and turned to glare at the duo, 'it's a taboo to freeze time. Even turning the clock backwards costs a certain price on the users own time.' Smiling at my confusion, she points up in the air. Reluctant at first, my eyes followed where she's pointing at all the way up at the ceiling above us. Then I saw it. A small puppet floated above us with a clock in it's hands, it's body twitching with every second that goes by. Just looking at the puppet brought back so many memories.

Light blue yarn for hair, red beads for eyes, body painted to resemble pale skin, and a white sleeveless dress. "Do you know what it is?" she asks me, clearly knowing what the answer is. I bow my head in shame and answered, "Puppet clock... the strings of time come to a heart on a certain amount of time depending on the level of magic it's user has." "Correct! Our guild master thought we had no use to borrow a little of her assistance... but-" I quickly dodged to the right as a sudden scythe appears out of nowhere and attempts to strike the top of my head. "-we wouldn't want your companions be a part of this now do we?"

I don't care if this place collapses, I need to go all out if I want to prevent these guys from getting near my friends and Deliora. "I guess introductions are in place," with a hand on her chest and eyes filled with excitement, "my name is Red! I am a part of the Fantasy division of Black Rose! You may already known that with the way you've been staring at our guild's mark." I didn't answer this time. Slightly upset at the way I wasn't reacting at all, Red (A/N: Not the one from Pokemon ok!) pouts and asks me, "You don't remember us, do you?"

"Sorry... but I don't know anyone by the name of a color and a giant hairy beast."

The wolf growls in response and takes a step forward, but its companion extends her hand in front of it to stop.

"That's too bad. I was hoping we'd have a little catching up after all these years. You were such a tiny thing."
"Speak for yourself! You're not even here, are you? I may not know who you are, but I can tell the difference between an actual human from an illusion."
"Hehehe! So you've seen through me? I just wanted to see you before my friend finishes you off. It would mean so much if you just let my friend here escort you up to Reitei, we wouldn't want anyone getting hurt now do we?"

With one step forward, I quickly flew up in the air after than the eyes could see and already had spiraling storm clouds wrapped around both of my arms and extended far behind my back. Whipping both of my arms in the direction of the two, the beast dodges to the right while Red stands her ground. "No one threatens my nakama!" I used Ranryū no tsubasa (Storm dragon's wings) on her. I slid to a stop a few feet away from where she stood and waited when the body bursts into a million pieces. As I turned, I watched as the fallen pieces of vines fall to the ground.

I knew it was pointless to waste my energy on it, but- "Now it's just you and me big guy," I said, flipping my goggles on and began to slowly float off the ground. The beast snap its mouth, his once red eyes turning into a sharp yellow tone. I sniff the air a bit and thought, 'He smells human, but mostly something more on the lines of an animal. Is it the same magic Elfman and Mirajane use? No, the magic I feel coming off of him is different. It's like he is the monster!' I yelp in surprise when the ground below me suddenly started to lift up and hit the bottom of my feet.

"Tch!" It pulls the ground below me even higher and throws it up in the air, forcing me to go with it. As I crash into the ceiling, I took this chance to hide behind a large bolder from the falling rubble and held onto it. The beast readies its fist and starts to punch all of the falling rubble at lightening speed, faster than Jet when running. Right as he was about to punch the one I was behind, I beat him to it by punching through the bolder (using furyu no ranken/storm dragon's turbulent fist) and dove straight at him. I thought I had the upper hand when my face sunk into his face, but he was faster than he looks.

He disappears and appears right behind me. "Hayai! But then... I have friends that are faster! Ranryū no Hōkō!" As his body was pushed far enough from where I was, I took this chance to catch a small glimpse of the Puppet Clock. "Two minutes!? It's not enough... but it will have to do!" He tries to punch me again but the only thing he punched was air. I appeared behind his back and whispers into the beasts' ear, "You're too exposed..." I kicked him multiple time on his furry back as he continuously howls in pain. With only a few seconds left, I sent one finally blow and forced him down to the ground.

Just one impact caused a large crater to form on the ground. "Fūryū no ranken!" Punching him in the gut with all my might, I painfully watched as he silently screams with his mouth gapping with open. Going limp, he slowly turns his head to the side and lays there with his eyes glazed over as he fights to stay awake. I float down then land on top of his chest. I shook my head, saying, "I know that it's painful. But you need to understand... She's forcing all of us to do this." As if he was finally able to regain his senses and understand what I was saying, the beast finally shuts his eyes completely and waits for me to end his life.

With shaky hands, I raise one hand up in the air and watch the being below me. "Good bye... Ranryu no-!" A sharp pain struck me in the back of my neck. Bit by bit, my vision slowly started to go dark and all feeling in my body began to fade away. As I struggled to stand up, I lost my balance and tripped to the side, falling off the beast and land almost exactly where the frozen Azul was.

-Normal-

Avery twitches in place as she continues to struggle to get back up. Two hooded figures soon began to step from out of the shadows; one was shorter than the average teenage height as the other seemed to be about Avery's height. "See? I told you we would need you master! Its been seven years since the last time we saw her!" the short one, talking in the voice of Red, complains. "Shut it," her guild master orders. Red quickly shuts her mouth and complies, "Yes master..." She looks over to see Avery and Azul on the ground.

"Is that her?"
"Yes..."
"Hmph... it seems she has grown in a way. But I can still see that frail little girl that was tormented by humans for so long."
"The resemblance is uncanny..."
"... Tie them up and bring them to Reitei Lyon."

"Hai!" Red hurries to the two as the guild master walks up to the fallen beast. She extends her hand, dark brown threads coming out from underneath her long white sleeve and under the cloth of her red cloak. "Your time isn't up yet Beast... You are still tied to this world with your remaining uncut threads..."

To Be Continued

Oh god I made it! Two hours before new years! Anyway, thank you all for following Winds of Hope up to this point and for staying patient! Once again, we won't be having our usual ending talk but I'll be extending this chapter and continuing it very soon! Happy new year everyone!