Crimzon: I'm loving all the favorites and reviews I'm getting from you guys and it just makes my day. I'm glad the story is doing well enough to catch your attention and I just want to say thank you! So as promised, here's the next chapter. Enjoy and I OWN NOTHING!

"Heed my warning, Natsu," Lucy spoke before taking a step into the portal that spontaneously formed behind her, "Take your friends and leave. Go back to your home."

Natsu noticed the desperation in her words and wondered, why is she trying so hard to get them to leave? If anything, it would make more sense for her to just kill any who get in the way. Natsu could tell that this spirit seemed to be, in a way, worried.

"We ain't gonna leave, not without our friends," Natsu kept his tone calm.

"If you don't leave, I'll have to make you," she narrowed her eyes.

"Natsu-san, what's going on?" Wendy's question went unanswered as Natsu asked his own.

"I don't get it. Why do you keep warning us? Telling us to leave? Why not just do what any bad guy would do and kill us?" All was silent; Lucy's eyes were shadowed by her hair. After the short moment of silence, Lucy looked up and the look in her eyes sent chills through Natsu, Wendy and the Exceeds.

"If it comes to it, I will kill you and any who get in my way." A strong, malevolent energy emanated from her, emphasizing the threatening words. "Do you still wish to stay?"

Natsu remained quiet, letting his eyes do all the talking. The spirit within Lucy closed her eyes and smiled softly, "I see," she turned her back and walked through the portal, muttering one last thing before it closed, "Have you really such confidence in your strength?"

The portal closed, leaving the group in the deafening silence. Natsu had all but one thought: he couldn't help but feel that he had lost this fight.

Lucy walked down an illuminated path, attempting to ignore the cold temperature within the void. The spirit had forgotten just how cold the void could get. Her younger sister's ability was never something she liked, but it got them to where they needed to go. She breathed out, taking notice of the small mist that formed.

"Inanis should learn to control the temperature in here," she brought her arms around herself, trying to rub away the goose bumps.

Further ahead, she saw a light forming a door and quickly dropped her arms, composing herself. Only moments after, she walked through the light and automatically felt warmth.

"I see you've returned, Scintilla," Father's voice rang in her ears and a small smile formed.

"Yes Father," she walked through into the room and sat down in a metal stool. The room was large, with multiple machines with unknown purpose collecting dust. The one she called Father walked in. He looked young, probably mid-twenties. His hair was white and layered, causing it to look thicker than it was. His white lab coat had the occasional oil stain; both pockets are filled with wires and incomplete gadgets. Underneath his coat, he wore a plain white button up shirt and black pants with white stripes. As he walked towards Scintilla, he rolled up the sleeves of his coat, revealing his pale arms, one of which was replaced with a rusted prosthetic.

"I see our plan was a success," he smiled sweetly, brushing away his messy bangs, revealing multiple stitches on his left cheek which held down a patch of discolored skin. He walked closer to his 'daughter' and with dim yellow eyes, closely inspected her new body. "This is indeed the perfect vessel for you."

"Yes. It is similar to what my previous body was, when I was alive," she responded, ignoring his poking and prodding. Scintilla never understood the man's personality, even though she was by his side for many years. He was curious, but sometimes she wondered if he were too curious. Although she thought about it an awful lot, she never questioned him.

"Has she tried to take control?" he asked her while feeling the steady pulse in her wrist.

"No. She's been quiet," she answered. "I did feel an occasional itch, as if she was fighting to wake up, but it never caused a problem."

"I see," he answered. He took a step back, his robotic hand placed under his chin. He often did this when he was deep in thought. His thought process didn't last long considering he looked up and searched the area behind the girl. Scintilla turned in her seat and saw two portals open and in walked her younger sisters: Inanis and Libitina.

"Damn Inanis, change the temperature with your void magic, would ya? It's bloody freezing in there!" The spirit inhabiting the Script Mage practically stomped into the room, shaking slightly. Her name is Libitina, the youngest of the three, but she had the biggest mouth.

"Would you prefer it to be hot? Like the fires of purgatory?" Inanis snapped back, which caused another shudder to break through Libitina. She hit a sore spot with her retort. Not just for her, but for the three spirits.

The man called Father walked passed Scintilla to examine the two.

"Well Inanis? How is the water user," he walked a circle around her, taking note of every detail of her vessel. "It seems my worries were unnecessary."

"Yes, her water attribute compliments my void magic well."

"And, has she caused any difficulties?"

"She was rather difficult to break through," she sighed and sat down in the empty stool by her elder sister. "Her love for her friends, especially that ice-mage, was a greater nuisance than I expected," she smiled as she finished, "But using her fears against her was more than helpful."

"Ah, perfect my dear!" he clapped both hands together then turned to the youngest: Libitina.

There was a scowl on her face as she continued to rub her arms, muttering something about how cold the void was.

"Libitina, did you have any problems?" he questioned.

"I can give you a list! Are you absolutely sure there wasn't another vessel for me, Scintilla?!" she pointed an accusing finger at her.

"What? I chose our vessels based on the compatibility they had with our magic and past appearance. That one," she gestured at Levy's body, "Was the only one that would be compatible without it burning out."

Should the body not match well with the soul, it would quickly reject and possibly cause major harm to both the vessel and the soul. Worst case scenario, both the body and soul would die.

"Please, tell me what happened, my dear," Father asked, concern in his tone.

"First, trying to get through this body was a pain and I wasted more effort than necessary. Had it not been for her meddling friends and their stupid cat, I would have gotten in a lot quicker."

"Do you ever stop complaining?" Inanis sighed.

"Shut-up, Inanis. You'd complain too if your vessel was less than ideal! I look like a child, for fuck's sake!" she motioned frantically with her arms. "I mean sure, I have a nice ass now, but I'm flat as a bloody board!"

"All I hear from you is blah, blah, blah, complain, blah, blah," retorted Inanis. Scintilla brought a hand to her head, feeling a headache begin to form. The two younger sisters were constantly butting heads.

"Besides, from what you told us, you weren't any bigger in that area when you were alive," added the older sibling.

"Not this flat," she mumbled through a pout as she looked down at herself.

"You do have nice legs, though," added Father, attempting to cheer up the disgruntled spirit. The pout remained on her face, although it did soften a bit. "Now tell me, dear," he continued as he felt at the pulse in her wrist. "What else happened?"

"The brat woke up at one point," she stated. The three gaped at the younger spirit, shocked at her words. "And boy, it was difficult to take back control."

"How was that possible?" Father's voice practically shook.

"Hell if I know, just that one moment, she's crying and screaming and next thing I know she breaks through the chains and took control." She looked up at the others and her smile could only belong to that of a sadist, "I was wrong to underestimate this girl."

There was a short moment of silence before Father began clapping his hands together, gaining the attention of the three spirits.

"Now, now, you're all in control now," he stopped clapping then shoved his hands into his pockets. "Besides, you won't have to worry about them for much longer. I'm close to completing my machine in order to extract them and then, those bodies will forever be yours."

"It's about damn time," Libitina sighed, with an innocent smile spreading on her features. With a nod in response from their 'father,' Libitina and Inanis walked out of the room and down the hall. Scintilla remained, almost forgetting to mention one more thing.

"Yes, my dear?"

"These girls didn't come alone like I requested. They brought their friends," she explained.

"Yes, I gathered. I've done my research on that guild and had a feeling that they wouldn't send three of their precious members on a mission like this on their own." He smiled once more before turning away from the girl and beginning his walk down a different hallway, "Their concept of family is something that always eluded me, but then again . . . it always had. Perhaps, in a way, I envy 'family' in general." He stopped talking then as he continued down the hall, the only thing she could hear was the echo of his boots connecting with the cement floor.

Scintilla remained in her seat for a moment longer, the events from the evening running through her mind. She would never admit to her 'sisters' or 'father' just how exhausted she felt.

"Why did you lie?"

A soft voice echoed within her mind.

"Lie?" she responded out loud, not worried if someone happened to hear her. She was alone, there was no danger.

"You lied about me being awake," Lucy replied.

"I said I felt an itch, which is what I would describe the sensation of you talking."

"I feel like I should be insulted."

"You should."

The two were quiet for a few seconds before Lucy's voice rang out once more.

"What are you planning, Scintilla? You're not like your sisters."

"I'll explain my reasoning, but for now you must rest. You're wasting precious energy speaking with me."

"You asked me for your help and I agreed, as much as it killed me to witness the pain my friends went through, but something told me that you are different . . . don't make me regret it."

"Is that a threat?"

". . . Yes."

Scintilla chuckled as she hopped down from her seat and walked down the hall her sisters had taken.

"What on earth happened here?" Erza questioned. The group of mages has long since gathered together inside one of the huts in the village, one of the few that didn't have a leaky roof. Gray sat by the fireplace, staring into the flickering flames. Jet and Droy sat by the warmth as well, but their attention was elsewhere. Wendy had been healing everyone's wounds, and was currently healing Pantherlily's. His seemed to be the worst, but that is only because Gray and Gajeel happen to be more durable.

"It was a trap," Gray practically spat out. Erza looked down at the Ice mage. She had witnessed it herself; the murderous look in Juvia's eyes.

"We weren't prepared for what happened," Lily added with a slight grunt of pain when Wendy was finishing bandaging his wounded paw. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the brooding shadow sitting at the table in the corner. A few of his ribs were broken, but aside from that all he had were minor cuts and bruises.

"We should have been able to prevent it. Makarov sent us with them for a reason!" Gray snapped.

"Whatever the hell they are, they were persistant," Gajeel spoke, his voice low and raspy from being quiet for so long. "Clearly they didn't expect us to come here, but that didn't stop them . . ." Lily took note of the frustration forming in his expression. He was about to say something when he saw Jet get up from his place by the fireplace and made a beeline towards Gajeel. Without warning, he grabbed the Dragon Slayer by his shirt and pulled him up from his seat.

"We left her to you, Gajeel! You had one job, and that was to protect Levy!" he shouted, strengthening his grip to the point Gajeel was feeling the strain in the bandages around his torso.

"Jet . . ." Droy called out to his friend. He was just as upset about the situation as Jet, but he knew better than to place the blame on Gajeel.

Gajeel lifted his hand and wrapped it around Jet's wrist, prying him off his shirt.

"You think I don't know that?" He snapped, but before he was able to say another word, Erza stepped in between the two before a fight broke out.

"Enough, both of you," There was a cold silence in the room just from her tone and the two walked to their respective corners.

A short time passed while they sat by the fire, explaining to Erza and the others what had happened, although they didn't know much that would help.

"How did you guys know to come though?" asked Lily.

"We got an emergency call to the guild from Lydia-san," answered Wendy.

"Lydia?" Gray muttered. "But how did she know we needed . . ."

"She said that the weather around the village was stranger than usual and she couldn't help but feel something was wrong," replied Erza. "She also said that Levy had left a letter with her that she was supposed to send to the guild should anything go wrong."

"Levy did?" Lily spoke.

"Yeah, she clearly was prepared for the worst and left an S.O.S. for Lydia to send to us should something happen. When we got the message, I had just arrived from a job so Master sent Wendy and I here," she took a quick glance at Jet and Droy then added, "And these two tagged along as well." She hadn't meant an insult in the way she phrased her words, but the two were clearly insulted. Natsu crossed his arms as he was still deep in thought. He looked over to the blue exceed sitting next to him when a thought occurred.

"Come to think of it, Happy?" The blue cat looked up at the Dragon Slayer, "What happened to you?"

"Eh?" The others had their attention on the two, wondering what they were talking about. "Oh right! Somehow, I ended up back at Lydia's Inn!"

"What? How'd you end up all the way over there? What's going on here?" questioned Gray.

"Earlier, when we all split up, I went with Lucy . . . but she wasn't Lucy. Next thing I knew I see this bright light and then I land back at the Inn. Gave Lydia quite a surprise too," Happy practically chuckled when he remember the terrified expression on the Inn keeper's face when he materialized out of nowhere.

"Well that explains why when we arrived, it was just you at the Inn," Charla spoke up.

"Aye, Not Lucy sent me there."

"Not Lucy?" mumbled Droy.

"Aye. It was Lucy, but Not Lucy."

"You mean the evil Spirit, right?" asked Erza. Happy nodded his head.

"I thought she was going to . . . but she didn't. Instead sent me to the Inn," Happy was confused to the events that happened to him. This intrigues both Gajeel and Gray. Natsu continued thinking.

He couldn't understand it. He could clearly sense the murderous intent from Juvia, but never from Lucy. Judging from how Gajeel and Lily looked, Levy must have put them through the ringer. Those two spirits were clearly sure of their purpose and what they were doing, but the one in Lucy was different.

"I don't get it," Natsu mumbled out loud.

"What is it, Natsu-san?" asked Wendy.

"What these spirits are planning," Natsu shrugged his shoulders and breathed a frustrated sigh. This much thinking was not his thing.

"I think I understand," Lily spoke. The others turned their attention to him, "It was clear to me that the spirit in Lucy was in charge of the other two, but she seemed different. Like she—"

"Didn't want to hurt any of us," Natsu added. This made sense. The fact that instead of hurting, or even killing Happy, like she had hinted of doing during her confrontation with Natsu, she had sent him to what is probably the safest place to be: away from the village.

"Natsu, you probably took one too many blows to the head. Just look at the shape we're in from her sisters," Gray motioned at himself and Gajeel.

"Well that's the thing, just look at Natsu. There isn't a scratch on him," added Lily.

"When I fought Not Lucy, she was clearly holding back. She clearly had the strength to do more damage if she wanted, but she didn't."

The room was quiet while they group attempted to think through the events. It's then that a thought occurred to Lily and he spoke.

"Gajeel, remember what Levy said to us before . . ." Lily couldn't find the words to continue that statement, "well, she wrote out the word Journal."

"Yeah, what about—" The Dragon Slayer came to the realization before finishing his question.

"The journal we found," Lily stood and walked to the table where Levy's bag was. When Jet and Droy had found them earlier, Droy had her bag hanging from his shoulder. Said that they found it on the way.

The Exceed rummaged through the bag and pulled out the small, dirty book. "Gajeel, Levy and I found this in a cave . . . along with the body of the real Violet."

"So there really was a girl named Violet."

Erza and the others were already caught up with the mystery surrounding the village and the girl named Violet when they met Lydia.

"From the looks of her remains, she's probably been dead for a few months now," added Gajeel. "Lydia probably doesn't even know."

Lily read through the entries while the others talked, thinking up strategies. It was clear that they would come back, but the question was when. They needed to have a plan set for when that time came.

So far, most of the entries were of the girl's daily activities.

"The rain has stopped again. This gave me the chance to make a quick trip into town and visit Lydia. I needed supplies too. I was running short on food again."

Most of the sentences were choppy, as if she just wanted to make her point and continue. She didn't write much about how she felt.

"In a few short hours, I arrived in town. The pull of the curse was already felt within my bones. I already felt myself feeling ill, but I brushed it away. The townspeople were the same as always as I walked by the shops for fruit and vegetables. Few would look me in the eye, but those that did merely spat at me, telling me to go away. I was lucky to get any food from the various merchants I visited. Luckily, few were sympathetic and agreed to sell me some things, so long as I didn't hang around for too long. Not good for business I guess."

The townspeople mistreated this poor girl. She was clearly in need of help and they would only turn their backs. Lily fisted his good paw and continued reading.

"I always make a stop at Lydia's Inn before I go home. She always greets me with a smile and I consider her to be a precious friend. Though, I do feel guilty. I think my presence here is the cause of her having little to no clientele. It didn't help that her Inn was towards the end of town, so having someone like me visiting on a regular basis was not making it any better.

"I said goodbye to Lydia and began my journey home. The rains were going to start again so I hurried, but the ailments started and I could feel the cold grasp of the symptoms. I knew I needed to hurry home, but the then the coughing fit started and I was practically wheezing. I remember seeing an odd looking shadow from the corner of my eyes and what frightened me was the monsters that like to hide out in this area. Although they usually don't make themselves known unless it's raining, I still felt scared."

Lily turned the page in the journal and noticed that he was nearing the end. There was only a little over a page left.

"I was attacked. These dog like shadows chased me down into the dirt, clawing away at my clothing. I thought I was done for when the shadow I saw from the corner of my eyes made its appearance again and fought off the monsters. I lost consciousness after that.

"I woke shortly after and I found myself within a cave. I sat beside this massive boulder so I couldn't see the mouth of the cave. But I didn't need to see to know that it was raining again.

"I always have my journal with me because I never know what my end would near. I always have this fear that I wouldn't be able to get my final thoughts down on paper. Why did I bring up such a dismal topic? Because I can feel the cold presence of Death rounding the corner. I was already having a hard time breathing, the village's curse obviously being the cause.

"I was at the point where I couldn't see the journal, so I wrote from memory."

This must have been why the last few pages were so messy. She was writing in the dark.

"In my short time in the cave, I talked with the person who saved me. I couldn't see her face, but I could see the glow of her red eyes. I would have been scared, but the soothing sound of her kind voice was relief enough. She continued to apologize for bringing me to the cave instead of the village. She said she had forgotten about the curse still being in place and that because I was technically still outside the village, I was slowly dying. She offered to take me home, but doubted we'd make it in time, especially since there were still monsters circling the area of the cave. She kept apologizing after that, but I could only smile and say, 'it's ok, I've made my peace.'

"The truth is, I was scared, but that's a given. But there was something more than fear I felt, and that was exhaustion. I was tired. I knew I wouldn't outlive this curse and I've already come to terms with that."

Lily could feel the sorrow within the words. He turned to the final page.

"My limbs were feeling numb and I could barely keep a grip on my pen. I had long since lost my sight. I could no longer see the glow of the stranger's eyes, but I knew she was still there. Through strangled coughs, I asked her name. She was quiet after I asked my question and thought that maybe she did leave. I was wrong because I soon felt something cold hold my hand. It felt like metal.

'My name is Scintilla.'

"I smiled at the sound of her name and managed to find the strength to give her mine. Now here I am, waiting. I just felt sorry that I wasn't able to bid a proper goodbye to Lydia. She was the only one besides this stranger who wasn't afraid of me.

"My hand is starting to cramp up. I don't think I can write for much longer. So this is where I end my entry. My final request to whoever happens upon this journal. Please give it to Lydia. Our fondest memories are written here. I want her to know how thankful . . . I am . . . for her . . . friendship."

Tears had formed in Lily's eyes as he strained to read the messy words. The last few had big gaps in between and were borderline scribbles, but he was able to understand their meaning. These truly were her last words.

The stranger she spoke about, this was but a guess, but Lily had a hunch as to who it must have been.

"Scintilla . . ." he muttered allowed.

"Ya get something, Lily?" asked Gajeel.

"Yeah, I think so. Listen closely everyone, I may have an idea." The group gathered around the Exceed, eager for whatever plan he had because the group had absolutely nothing helpful.

"As much as I liked that Dragon slayer's coat, I'm much happier wearing something more my style." Libitina twirled around in her new clothes. They consisted of a pair of black shorts and long boots reaching past her knees. Her strapless shirt was black as well with laces keeping it tied together at her side. Over that, she had a big black cloak tied loosely around her neck. She proceeded to pull her arms through the long, wide sleeves and then pull on her hood. "I didn't think Father would be able to find anything that resembled my old clothes."

"I don't know what I find more annoying. Listening to you when you're happy or when you're complaining," Inanis walked into the big room in her new clothes as well. Although hers were more simple. A plain off the shoulder dress with a long slit down the side which revealed her leg, similar to the water mage's clothes from before. There was a thin rope hanging around her waist, like a belt. She brushed out her hair so it appeared to be longer, although it was still wavy. In her arms, she carried a similar cloak to Libitina except that it was shorter and looked more like a poncho.

Scintilla had already been in the sitting room, waiting for her two sisters. She wore a strapless black shirt that revealed her stomach and a pair of black jeans with boots. Over it was a long-sleeved coat. One thing her sisters and father haven't noticed was the fact that she still had Lucy's celestial keys strapped to her hip. They were out of sight because of the coat. The keys were less than useless to her, so if they saw her with them, they were sure to ask questions.

"So, do you know why Father asked us to meet here?" Libitina questioned as she hopped onto the arm of the couch and sat cross-legged.

"I asked you three here for a simple request." Speak of the Devil. Father walked into the room, his usual smile all but gone from his features. This was not a side of him the three saw often.

"Father? You requested that we rest, so we are a little confused with the sudden meeting," spoke the void mage.

"Yes, but I am nearing completion of the machine," he started.

"Why do you make it sound like it's a bad thing?" Libitina asked.

"Because those Fairies are still in the village. I fear they may interfere with its completion, and I know how the three of you have unfinished business." His smile returned in that instant. Scintilla snuck a look at her sisters and saw that evil smile mirrored in their faces, especially Libitina. "So why not go and have some fun while I finish up here?"

Libitina all but jumped in her seat, ready to head out. It was clear she was itching to fight. Inanis didn't care on whether we went or not, but it seemed she wanted to finish her fight with the Ice Mage. Without another word, she opened a portal big enough for the three of them to fit through. They waited by the portal, looking to their older sister who remained seated.

"Are you sure this is alright, Father?" she asked. He smiled and kneeled down before her and placed his robot hand on her cheek.

"Worry not, my dear. Go have fun with your sisters, but this time," his voice grew colder with each word, "Make sure to destroy those Fairy brats. No more hesitation from you."

He knew about my hesitation . . . but how?

Scintilla quickly gained her composure and stood, walking towards her waiting sisters. Libitina looked up at the older spirit.

"What's he talking about? You hesitated?"

"It's none of your concern." Scintilla walked through the portal, her two sisters following close behind.

"Damn-it! Inanis, what did I say about the cold in here!" shouted the shorter of the three. All that was heard was a loud smack from when Scintilla hit the girl over the head, shutting her up. It was clear to the younger sisters that Scintilla was now in a foul mood.

Crimzon: Broke 5,000 words. There. The longest chapter yet. This is a thank you to all the favorites, follows, and reviews. Thank You all! Now, for an extra treat, I'll give you the meaning to the names.

Scintilla (sheen-tea-ya): means Spark in Latin.

Inanis (Ee-na-niece): means Void in Latin.

Libitina (Lee-bee-tea-na): Latin for Death.

Sorry if I'm not helpful with how they're pronounced. Google it if you want. Also their names have a lot of meaning because it hints to their abilities, personality, or past life. I won't confirm nor deny anything yet until I've stated in the fic what they represent. I think Inanis is pretty clear after this chapter but her's was simple to begin with. So please Review and I'll try to have another chapter ready for next week.

In other news, who here is emotionally wrecked after that early release of this week's Fairy Tail chapter? Cuz I'm a mess and desperately need a hug.