Hey everyone! How have you been? I've been well, College is starting for me soon. So that along with work is going to mean that there might be some delays between updates. So, I apologize in advance for any disappointment.

Anyways, I have a couple of announcements! I'm planning a sequel to the Demon Erza one-shot I have up. So, when I'm done writing that, I'll post it for you all. Also, as a call to my fellow writers, I'm going to go ahead and write the self-insert. Mainly as a Collab so don't hesitate to let me know if you want to be a part of it! I'd love to get it started as soon as I'm able to.

Disclaimer: We don't own Fairy Tail, we only own OUR OCs.

Enjoy chapter 10!

(Magnolia)

Natsu's question had caught Erza off guard, as she had not expected to have this Crystron run into her like it did.

However, she had to formulate an answer and fast. The members of the guild had their eyes on the Titania, many hoping she would have an answer to Natsu's question.

She didn't want to answer, nor did she want to leave everyone in the dark. They were her family, right? Didn't they deserve to know what happened to her? All of those years ago?

Despite her internal debate on what to do, one series of thoughts were persistent, one thing that would not leave her mind. She had to tell them all about Eren, about why she was so dedicated to her journey of finding him. At least then, she could put the worries of them not understanding her search to rest.

With a sigh, she began to recount her tale, or at least, the parts she was willing to tell them about. The rest was still far too haunting. "You all know of my search, correct?" Her pause was only meant to gauge the guilds' response, most nodded in the affirmative. "Well, I'm doing this because I'm not an only child... I… I have a twin brother... His name is Eren." Everyone's eyes widened in collective shock.

Erza Scarlet had a twin brother?

"For certain circumstances," she continued. "out of my control, he was forced to be separated from me." She didn't want to look at her guild right now, memories of the past coming back to her in suffocating, crippling force.

"Before our separation, we did everything together." She shut her eyes tightly. "We went to the beach, to the mountains. We would play from dawn all the way until dusk. Both of us completely and childishly happy, since all we had was each other. Our caretaker only provided us with basic necessities, where we grew up. So Eren and I had to fend mostly for ourselves throughout our lives together." The memories kept returning, they were happy ones.

Or, so she thought. Happy until the fateful night-the night where their entire world changed in an instant. "All we had to rely on was each other, so we made a promise. A promise I have been trying to fulfill ever since I joined Fairy Tail." She finally looked toward her family. "We promised to always be there for each other, to be there when the other simply needed a shoulder to cry on, or just wanted to talk about nothing in particular."

She tried to imagine what he would look like now. Had those freckles he hated so much finally disappear, or had they darkened and spread? What about his personality? Did he finally attain the courage she knew he had all along?

So many questions about him assaulted her mind, but she did not fight them, instead, she embraced them, trying to imagine what became of him. She missed him so much.

In all of her musings, however, one word would never escape her. One word that would give her both nightmares and hope. Scarlet.

Hearing the conversation, the Crystron that had been on Erza's shoulder scurried down her body and onto the cold floor until it crawled up the leg of a wooden table.

Makarov noticed this. Earlier, when he first saw the creature, there was a magic not too unlike Erza's surrounding it. But now that he had time to thoroughly look at and sense the Crystron, he became aware of something far more sinister. He sensed a permanent transformation spell on the body of the poor creature. Something that he knew he was able to fix, assuming he had its permission, of course. But how to get it while no one was watching was the biggest question.

"Erza," Lucy breathed out. Most of Erza's team stood there in silent shock, none of them having known much about her past. Mainly because she usually would keep that part of herself away from everyone, locked in an invisible chest, key long forgotten in her dark, swimming thoughts. "Why did you keep this from us?"

The S-Class Mage let out a heavy sigh, thick with the emotional exhaustion of keeping it locked away for eight long years. "I kept it because I was scared that none of you would bother yourselves with this. Plus, this is my burden, a burden I don't want to share with anyone."

For some reason, she felt relieved, like a heavy weight was lifted off of her shoulders. She could smile freely now, knowing that at least her guild knew why she did what she did. But still, what she saw at the library haunted her.

Scarlet's piercing, soulless blue eyes. Erza never wanted to see them again, but she could feel herself being drawn to them. This scared her, more than she was willing to admit.

"But why, Erza?" Natsu asked, taking a step forward. "Aren't we family? Family supports each other!" Being the heart of the guild, he had never been one to back down. To him, Erza needed help in this endeavor.

With his mind made up, he tried to rally the guild in offering any and all aide they could to their Titania.

(Fairy Tail Basement)

"Now, then little one, I'm going to see if I can undo the spell on you," Makarov said, cracking his knuckles in preparation.

Being as gentle as humanly possible, Makarov snuck the little Crystron away from the crowd. That way, he could have some privacy as he worked to help the little creature out.

Despite being scared of the situation, the Crystron felt quite at ease. Perhaps it was due to the aura the old man before her was emitting? Either way, she let the old man go to work.

"Hmm," the guild master hummed. His magical power flared a little as he started to undo the curse. "Strange. There's a bit of Zeref's magic present."

Instantly, he set about undoing the curse, using every tool available to him. Makarov was sure that, given enough time, he would be able to undo whatever magic affected this young girl and finally give her the life she desired, and he was positive, deserved.

(Magnolia)

"I believe I speak for everyone when I say that we've had enough drama this week!" Lucy ranted.

A little upset of getting cut off last time she tried to pose the suggestion, the blonde was sure that this would the chance she was looking for. "How about the four of us go to Akane Resort for a week?" She gestured to her loyal team, waving around a few tickets held in between her fingers. "Loke was nice enough to provide tickets."

This suggestion instantly got the attention of Team Natsu, as everyone had been desperate for some time to relax. Just something to loosen the suffocating tension they all felt pulling at their bones and muscles. Especially after the recent debacle with Phantom Lord and the subsequent rebuilding of their Guildhall, not to mention the curious developments involving Erza's past.

"That sounds great, Lucy!" Natsu laughed, Happy joining in, the two of them sounding like a joyous, off-tune choir. "I think this vacation might just be what we all needed. Don't you think so, Erza?"

Erza was hesitant at first. Did she really want this proposed vacation? Especially when she had a substantial lead to go off of in her search for Eren?

Then again, she didn't do anything but search for him for the past eight years straight. Perhaps she deserves some time off. The thought was certainly tempting.

Yes… A vacation with her family might just be what she needed. Some time away from everything, just to clear her mind and reset her emotional clock. Perhaps the. she might be able to look at things with a clear enough head.

She smiled at her small group. "I think that sounds like a wonderful idea." The other grinned at her cheerfully. "We leave tomorrow!"

(Akane Resort)

The trip was everything Erza thought it would be, and more.

Despite Gray's embarrassing venture of being buried in sand, and even to the subsequent removal of his swimwear. Erza had a lot of fun and was smiling ear-to-ear, which was more than she ever had up until that point. She felt like her cheeks were pulling up so intensely that her eyes might shrink into crescents, and she knew that her jaw would hurt after she had slept for the night.

Being honest with herself, she didn't want to sleep. Sleep meant the start of a new day, but all she wanted was for this day to never end. Closing her eyes meant losing this beautiful view, and her burgeoning euphoria, because when you sleep… You feel nothing. That's something she had learned a long time ago, back when her grief over Eren was fresh and painful. But one of the most beautiful things about her vacation with her dear friends was that she hardly thought of her quest to find her brother at all. All she could think about was the prospect of adventure, and curiosity, and just fun.

She hadn't had fun in an incredibly long time, and she felt a sort of tingly, addictive buzz in her stomach and brain that she desperately wanted to keep. Or at the very least, achieve again. She felt that with her Fairy Tail family, she definitely could.

Everything was going exactly how she wanted it to. She had no responsibilities, no heavy thoughts, no incredible burdens, and no painful scars.

Erza felt on top of the world, just like she used to as a child. So… At peace.

She let her mind wander as she looked out at the peaceful ocean, glimmering in a storybook sunset. She went back to times when she had Eren with her. The times when she couldn't have been happier.

'I really had a great time today,' she thought to herself, her lips curling upwards gently. Slightly exhausted from the day's fun, she let her eyes close, eyelashes tickling against her porcelain cheeks.

(Flashback)

The twins smiled at each other at full blast.

The sun had two red-headed competitors, and if they kept going at this level, it might be out of the job.

"Hey, Ezzie! I think I got a bite!" Eren laughed, pulling on his wooden pole with a small grunt.

The two had been fishing for a couple of hours and already had a sizable haul of various kinds of fish. With the sun beating down on the two of them, the twins had agreed to take a short break and look at their catch. Or at least that was the case until Eren got an unexpected bite.

"Come on! Let's reel it in together!" Erza beamed. Instantly, she was by her brother's side, both of them trying desperately to pull in the last fish for the day.

What a simple, yet beautiful memory… A beautiful memory of a much happier time. That's not to say that she didn't have happy memories after that, but that was one that would always be close to her heart.

It felt like a book that she never got to finish, the last few pages having been torn out, leaving it a terrifying, shredded ghost of what it once was.

(Another Flashback)

A fleet of ships could be seen floating towards an island, each one carrying a fresh shipment of slaves for the building currently under construction.

The building was said to be capable of reviving the Dark Wizard, Zeref himself. It was a building known simply to everyone there as: 'the R-System'. The tower was foreboding and dark, giving off an eerie vibe of no return.

Inside one particular slave ship laid a pair of twins, desperately holding on to each other, as if their very lives depended upon it.

Neither of them wanted to accept their current situation, and both wanted to wake up from this horrible, sickening nightmare. Their shoulders trembled, and their eyes were filled with salty, burning unshed tears.

"Erza, I'm scared…" Eren's timid voice could be heard, just above a whisper, any and all sense of who he used to be, vanished when he was kidnapped. What used to be a child, energetic and hopeful for the future, now lay a scared and timid shell, too afraid to even poke his head out of the window.

The younger Erza couldn't respond to her brother, too frightened by recent events to even attempt to formulate a sentence. She settled on just hugging him tighter, desperately trying to calm him down and give him some semblance of peace. Maybe then, she could regain some herself, as well.

She gripped onto his shirt with incredible force, a few of her fingernails bending backward, but she didn't even care anymore. "Hey, it'll be okay," she whispered, her voice shaking. "We're gonna be okay."

As soon as the floating prisons arrived at the base of the R-System, Eren was pulled from Erza's grasp.

Both of them screamed for each other in vain, tears streaming from their eyes and down their faces. Neither of them wanted to leave the other all alone.

"Eren! Eren, don't leave me!" Erza screamed, her voice painfully desperate. "Please don't go away!"

Eren looked the same, just as desperate to hold on to the sister who meant the world to him. "Erza! Don't let them take me! Erza!"

The slavers ignored their cries and pleas, they didn't care what happened to their newly found property. The only thing that mattered to them was that each slave was willing to work to the death for Lord Zeref.

This was the world that Erza was forced into… A world without Eren by her side to support her. This was the world she would have to survive in, without her closet companion.

The cultists had permanently scarred her, their frightening appearance burned into her mind like a painful, festering wound that would never heal, left in a permanent cycle of discomfort. The symbol on their masks had found a home inside her head, never leaving her for the rest of her life, a constant haunting in the deepest corner of her heart and mind.

As her chained form was forced to begin working, she couldn't believe what had happened. She wanted to believe that she was only having a nightmare.

She wanted to believe that she would wake up back in Rosemary village with her twin right beside her, perhaps they would laugh and joke about the shared nightmare. Go fishing, or go to the beach. Climb a tree, read a book, anything.

She pinched herself in vain, leaving red marks on her arm, repeating the mantra over and over again, "Wake up, wake up. Wake up!"

This despicable tower… It was her hell.

(Flashback end)

She did wake up, eventually, back in Akane resort.

It was nothing more than a dream. A dream of a bygone and distressing age. Mentally assuring herself that she was no longer a slave, no longer in pain, she shuffled herself to the mirror in her room. Looking at her form, she took in all of her features.

Had she paid attention more closely, she would have seen the small garden of freckles growing on her stomach. The same freckles that Eren hated so much. But this gaze was short lived as she soon requipped into her typical Heart Kreuz armor.

"For some reason, I always feel more at ease in armor," she began quietly to herself. "Then again, I suppose that it isn't the most feminine of looks." Looking at herself once more, she took note of the small scratches she would need to buff out when she had the time to. She'd like to think of herself as pretty, but she felt that security was more important than outward appearances.

'Eren, if you could see me now, what would you think?' A smile graced her lips. Thinking of him always seemed to make her happy, for some reason. Perhaps it was the experiences they shared together? Knowing that, somewhere in the world, he shared so many of the memories that she had? Whatever it was, she wanted more of it. More of those happy experiences.

It wasn't long before Lucy knocked on her door, inviting her down to the casino for some more fun and games.

The two snazzily dressed young women had been happily playing cards when they heard a few loud explosions.
On instinct, they both whipped around. "What's all that commotion?" Erza asked.
A strangely dressed older man point outside. "Ooh, look! It seems like the parade has started!"
Lucy shrugged. "Makes sense."
Erza wasn't fully convinced. "Yeah..." Despite her suspicions, she kept playing.
"Oh, wow!" the blonde gushed. "You totally got a straight!"
The S-Class Mage felt rather proud of herself. "Well, it seems like today is my lucky day." A crowd had legitimately gathered around to watch her play, and Erza had to admit, she enjoyed the attention. The attention was put on her strength in battle, just her level of skill in a silly card game. It felt meaningless, yet that was what made it so much. It didn't matter.
It didn't have the fate of a guild, or a town, or the world. It was just enjoyable.
A blonde man with spiky hair and dark skin walked up behind the current dealer. "Change," he said flatly.
The current deal with an unfortunate bowl-cut yelped and bowed to the new arrival. "Yes, of course." He quickly moved out of the way, scurrying off to another location.
Erza didn't notice the new man, too caught up in her foreignly excited emotions. "I have a feeling this little hot streak is just getting started," she said.
Lucy winked at her playfully. "Oh, yeah?"
The dealer cut into the conversation, skillfully shuffling the deck of card in his hand. "In that case," he said, laying out the cards. "I have a special game for you folks tonight."
Erza stared at the cards before her. Her chocolatey eyes widened. The cards had letters on them, and there were five cards laid out.
D-E-A-T-H
"And while we're at it," the man continued with a smirk. "Why don't we raise the stakes a little higher, sister?"
Erza finally looked up at the man with a gasp. "It can't be... Sho." The name came out as a breath. "Is that you?"
His voice dropped an octave. "So, you do remember me."
Lucy saw Erza shaking. "You know him?" she whispered.
"You're alive...?" That was the only thing Erza could manage.
His smirk grew wider, simply cheshire in its own right. "Alive?" he sang.
Erza stuttered out incoherent things, trying to formulate a sentence.
"Are you okay?" Lucy asked, getting genuinely worried for her friend. Suddenly, all the lights shut off, leaving them in pitch blackness. In addition to that, there was a loud crash in the distance. The blonde covered her ears. "A gunshot?"
Erza was snapped out of her shocked state, suddenly on high alert. "What's going on?" she roared into the darkness.
The lights flickered back on, but the casino looked virtually deserted, the crowd that had been watching them completely disappeared, and Sho himself vanished from sight.
"Where'd he go?" Erza gasped.
They heard a menacing chuckled. "I'm right here, sister," Sho said.
The two young women gasped and whipped themselves around to face him. He stood there with a chilling expression, playing cards fluttering out of his sleeves and onto the floor. It was only then that they noticed the screams and calls for help.
Each any every card... It had a person trapped inside. A few familiar faces from the crowd begged for their help from their magical prison.
"Oh, no!" Erza wanted to cover her eyes, she felt sick.
Lucy looked just as shocked. "He trapped them inside the cards?"
Sho held up a random card, the person inside yelling for someone to save them. "Cool, huh?"
Erza clenched her fists. "You're using magic."
"That's right. You're not the only one with powers anymore."
She was so confused and angry. "But who taught you that?" she cried out.
They heard an echoey, cat-like 'meow'. Suddenly, Lucy was wrapped up in some kind of strange rope.
"Let her go!" Erza yelled.
She saw a girl with sandy brown hair sitting on the game counter, heavily patterned face makeup on, and cat ears poking out from her head. "Well, aren't you rosy," the girl said.
She recognized the young girl. "Miliana...? You can use magic, too?"
"It's been awhile, Erzy-Werzy."
Erza eyed Lucy, struggling against her restraints. "Please, you have to let her go! She's okay, she's a friend of mine!"
Liliana mewled. "A friend, huh?"
"We used to be friends of yours too, remember?" Sho said. "Good friends."
Erza shifted nervously under his gaze. "I-I do."
"We were very close." He glared at her. "At least we were, until you decided to betray us."
She looking away from him, shaking and gritting her teeth hard. She had already persecuted herself enough for that...
"Why don't you cut the dame a little slack, pal?" a voice rang out. In an instant, a man with very boxy features, as well as sunglasses and an old-timey hat, materialized before their eyes. He put his arm around Sho's shoulders. "Keep control of your emotions, and everything will be real dandy."
Lucy's jaw dropped. "What a blockhead!"
"Very nice," the square man continued, ignoring Lucy. "Life on the outside's been good to ya, huh, doll?"
Erza looked confused. "W-wait a minute..." She searched her memories desperately. "Wally?"
The man, now known as Wally, adjusted his hat. "I've gone through a lot of changes. The Maddog Wally that you knew has changed a lot since the old days. You see, I'm much smoother now."
Erza held her ground. "You practice magic as well?"
"Why are you so surprised?" a voice echoed in the halls. Erza's eyes widened, feeling a presence behind her. "It's not that hard, once you get the hang of it. Of course, you already knew that. Didn't you?"
Erza turned around, coming face-to-face with a tall, muscular man with wrappings around his head and an eyepatch. "Simon!" she gasped.
Liliana pushed Lucy over, making her fall onto her side.
Lucy was in incredible pain, the restrains tightening around her. "Erza!" she yelled, tears brimming her eyes. "Who are these people? Why are they calling you 'sister'? Is he Eren? The blonde one?"
Erza couldn't meet her gaze. "No... He's not really my brother. But, we all grew up together."
"What do you mean?" Lucy's voice cracked. "I thought you said you joined Fairy Tail when you were just a little girl."
Erza was disgusted with her past. "This was before I joined the guild." She turned to face the group behind her. "Why did you find me? What do you want?"
"Really wanna know?" Miliana sang.
Wally finished for her. "We're here to take you back with us."
"I'm begging you!" Erza took a step forward. "Please release Lucy!"
Sho rolled his eyes. "Who cares about her? We want you, sister." His long, silver earring glinted in the light.
"Listen, doll," Wally said, transforming his arm into a rifle of some kind. "Don't make this get ugly." He pointed it straight at Lucy, a red, glowing dot showing up on her forehead, marking her as a target.
"No!" Erza yelled. "Don't hurt her!" The man did something else with his gun, Erza took that as a sign that he was going to fire. "No! Please, Wally!" He did shoot, just not where she thought. A rifle showed up behind her, a powerful magical blast hitting her directly in the back.
"Erza!" Lucy screamed as her friend collapsed to the ground. "Somebody! Help!" Nobody came... The group from Erza's past had already taken care of everyone that could come to their aide.
Simon picked up Erza's unconscious body in his strong arms. "We got what we came for, let's go home."
"Sure she's okay?" Sho asked, seeming genuinely worried for her well-being.
Wally nodded. "She's just takin' a nap."
"Just hold it!" Lucy called desperately. "Just where do you jerks think you're taking her?! I hope you know you're not gonna get away with this! Natsu and Grey are gonna find you, and when they do, they're gonna make you pay!" she screamed, shutting her eyes tightly.
"Sorry, lady, but those geeks are gonna be lickin' pavement for a while, you get me?" Wally said casually.
She opened her eyes. "What...?"
"Those two were nothing but talk," Simon said.
Lucy couldn't believe what she was hearing. "But... That's impossible! You mean, they're-"
"Yeah, sleepin' the big sleep," Wally said.
Miliana let out a meow and pointed a finger at her, a small magical symbol showing up at the tip of her long fingernail. Lucy screamed as the ropes pulled more taught, forcing her arms to meet that pads of her feet, her back arched uncomfortably.
The catish girl laughed fiendishly. "In about another five minutes, you'll be all twisted up like a yummy little pretzel."
Wally walked up to her. "Hey, Miliana. I scored a little something for ya." She looked up at him excitedly. In a flash, he produced a sleeping Happy in his arms.
Miliana immediately scooped him up, gushing over how cute he was.
Lucy called out for her friend, but he was out cold.
"That's enough," Simon sighed. "Stop that, and tie Erza up."
A tear of happiness rolled down Sho's tattoo-covered cheek, ignoring the ruckus going on around him. He looked at Erza, green eyes filled to the brim with affection. "My dear sister... I can't believe that you're finally coming home. Home, to the Tower of Heaven!"

So, we're ten chapters into the story. What do you all think of it so far?

Hope you have a wonderful morning/afternoon/evening everyone and we'll see you next time!