Chapter 10: Forgiveness

A/N: Thank you everyone for the comments, follows, and favorites! I appreciate your support! Now here is Chapter 10~

Mirajane cleared the booths of the guild. It was early in the morning, no one was there except her and the master. She hummed a little tune to make her work a bit enjoyable. She would visit Lora later in the afternoon so she had something else to look forward to.

Looking over at Makarov she smiled. The old man was snoozing, she giggled to herself.

"Silly master," She cooed as she continued her work, walking behind the counter once she finished clearing the booths of the trash and other things lying about.

"I wonder what Lora-chan is up too..." She hummed, her blue eyes shining in curiosity.

…

Lora sat up in her jail cell, her legs were crossed and her eyes closed. She decided that she would meditate. Inhaling the air around her, she felt the stress she had built up leave her in her exhale. Channeling her magic energy into her core, she exhaled once more.

"Enyo, I know you can here me in there,' Lora stated calmly.

No response.

"I know you don't like me but we are in this together. We are both responsible for the tragedy in Crocus and-" Lora began but was interrupted by a random laugh.

"You honestly consider that a tragedy? I think that it was another masterpiece of mine. However, there could've been more bloodshed in my opinion." A woman's voice sounded.

Lora's eyes shot open as she analyzed her surroundings. She came up with nothing, no one was in the room with her. Scrambling from her seated position, Lora looked through the bars hoping to find the person who just said that.

"You can't see me you fool! I am in your mind right now...If only I could've embodied that sister of yours, ugh." The voice said in disgust.

Lora gasped in realization, "E-Enyo?!"

Enyo sighed in annoyance, "Yes you idiot, now what do you want?"

Lora's face suddenly went from shock to a serious one. She had so many questions to ask her. Why did she do this? What did she believe she could gain from killing all those people? Why did she stay within the Velandia family when she could have went somewhere else?

"I don't have all day girl. This is actually hurting me." Enyo admitted, scoffing at Lora's concerned look.

"H-how exactly?" Lora stammered, not quite trusting herself to say anything more.

"I am still healing. You may feel fine, but I feel like utter shit right now. If only that stupid man had done that spell right..." Enyo groaned.

This made Lora confused. What did Aiden do wrong?

"He didn't cast the spell right. Instead of using the four needed elements, he only used three." Enyo informed, causing Lora to tilt her head in confusion.

"Four elements? Like Fire, Air, Water, and Earth?" Lora asked for clarification.

"Exactly that, however he was too impatient to get the final element, water. He used his son's earth god slayer magic, his own air magic and Hiro's fire to fuel the lacrima instead. He could've used his Hurricane spell to provide some water to the lacrima, yet he was too eager to summon me to complete what needed to be done."

Lora nodded in understanding. So that's why I was able to overpower her? To think I thought that I had gotten stronger...It was because she was at her weakest. But if she could kill over 4,000 people at her weakest then...

What can she do at her strongest?

Mirajane had finally took a break from her job and allowed her younger sister, Lisanna to take her shift. Watching over the guild, she noticed that Team Natsu was nowhere to be seen. Looking to her left, she saw Makarov gulping down some spirits, his face flushed with pink; obviously drunk.

"Master, where did Natsu and his team go?" She asked, her eyes aligned with his wandering ones.

"They went on a mission not too long ago. It was a request to exterminate a problem occurring in a rich man's estate. The employer is paying them pretty well though, 500,000 jewel." Makarov replied, he seemed to have sobered up a bit. He then jumped down from his place on the bar table.

"Even though this is a normal ranked mission, I honestly didn't want to send them on it." He admitted, causing Mira to shift in shock.

"W-what do you mean by that Master?" She stammered, worried for her friends safety.

Makarov sighed, taking another sip of his drink.

"I'm concerned about how vague the request was. Usually, a request should have crucial information when it's a normal rank. For it to be so general, I am concerned if it will shift to something more." Makarov stated, placing a hand under his chin as he thought through possibilities.

Mirajane took a deep breath, "Well, I know that they are strong. Especially with Erza by their side, they can handle anything that comes their way!"

Makarov chuckled lightly at her enthusiasm. It was enough to ease some of the tension in his mind, but it didn't completely remove the nagging feeling in his stomach.

'You better come back alive brats...' He thought before asking Lisanna to get him more spirits.

"Wahhh, you're insane if you think you could do that Natsu!" Lucy exclaimed, punching Natsu in the arm.

Unfazed by it, Natsu only laughed at his blonde-haired friend.

"Come on Lucy! Live a little!" He chuckled, slapping Lucy on the back, making the blonde stumble forward from the sudden force.

"OW! Erza!" Lucy screamed, she knew that calling the girlfriend of the hothead would surely set him back on track.

Erza turned from her conversation with Wendy to see why her friend yelled. Looking at Lucy's distressed face made her glare at her boyfriend knowingly.

"Natsu..." She warned, her voice low and grave.

The boy in question broke out into a cold sweat, "Y-y-yes E-Erza-c-chan?"

"Chan? That's new." Gray said, raising an eyebrow at the honorific.

"Stop what you're doing or I'll..." Erza stopped to think about what punishment she could use on him. He would expect a usual beating from her, so she decided it would be good to change things up a bit.

Suddenly, she smirked causing Natsu to panic inwardly. Lucy snickered in the background along with Gray and Happy. Wendy looked on in worry for Natsu's safety while Carla only shook her head in irritation, knowing already that whatever Erza would say next would break Natsu.

"I'll never let you..." Erza finished the rest of her threat in his ear. Natsu's face reflected pure horror, immediately going to Lucy and began to bow profusely.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" He chanted, comical tears spilling from his eyes as he looked up at Lucy.

Lucy, already uncomfortable with the situation, only waved his apologies off.

"I...It's okay Natsu," Lucy drawled out, inching away from the broken man.

Natsu's head swung to turn to face Erza, "S-See Erza-chan? She forgives me so you don't h-have to do...that."

Erza nodded approvingly, "Alright, now let's continue our journey. The request says that it is located on the outside of Magnolia, in a town called Relia."

"Yosh!" Natsu yelled, speeding in the direction of the mission.

"Natsu! Wait for us!" Lucy and Wendy exclaimed, chasing after the energetic mage.

Erza sighed but continued her trek along with the rest of the group.

"He sure is a handful..." Erza said, her lips turning up into a small grin.

'But I can't help but love him...my idiot.' She thought, letting out a small laugh.

Further ahead...

Natsu sneezed loudly causing Lucy and Wendy to stop in their tracks.

"Are you okay Natsu-san?" Wendy asked in concern, laying a hand on Natsu's back.

"Yeah, it feels like someone complimented and insulted me at the same time." He explained, shivering slightly.

A sweatdrop appeared on the two girl's heads as they watched Natsu turn back to normal and run down the hill.

"Hopeless..." Lucy said, bowing her head down in shame.

Wendy nodded her head in agreement.

Lora laid on the floor of the gloomy jail cell. Her legs and arms were splayed across the floor. Enyo had completely shut her out after an hour of talking. Now all she had to do was just wait for time to pass by. She turned around from her spot and decided to watch a moth flutter through the hall. Its dusty and poofy gray body fluttered through the bars of her cell and near her finger.

She looked at it in longing, "You just want to find the light huh?"

The moth's wings twitched a bit but it didn't move. It was stuck in a trance. Lora sighed, brushing her finger along its fuzzy body. Then she moved her finger slightly, making the moth fly off her finger and down the hall. She watched it flee from her, she felt calm. It seemed nice to be able to fly away from a place like this. The cold, unwelcoming atmosphere here made her want to go insane. It reminded her too much of the Velandia estate. No love or happiness flowed in that house after her mother died. She knew that once her mother had passed, she took all of it with her.

Lora lifted her hand to touch her face. It was wet; she was crying.

'How pathe-' She thought, but a voice cut her off.

"Pathetic." A deep voice rang, making Lora back up against the brick wall in shock.

"So you are the woman."

"Who are you and why are you here?" Lora asked, her voice unwavering, though on the inside she was trembling.

She had to keep her guard up even if she was in this cell.

An eerie laugh erupted out the man's mouth, scaring Lora a bit. She knew that she had to be cautious around him. Perspiration dripped down her forehead as she stared at the black cloaked male. The hood of his cloak hiding everything but his mouth, which twitched into an unsettling smirk.

"I'm the man who will kill you and everything you hold dear, Goddess of War." He claimed, the smirk he held growing wider until by the end, his lips stretched to look like that of a Cheshire cat's.

….

Natsu's eyes widened as he looked up at the huge temple. It had took up almost the whole area, standing tall and proud. It was beautiful; dark blue tile roofs, white walls and red pillars. He let out a gasp while observing the lake it was surrounded by and the lush mountains that served as its backdrop.

"Wendy, Lucy, look at how awesome this place is!" He said, beckoning the two girls to see their client's temple. He stood underneath a cherry blossom tree, waving to the rest of the gang.

"Uwahh! It's so pretty!" Lucy gasped, staring at the temple in amazement. Wendy nodded in agreement and looked along with her blonde friend, while walking onto the steps with Carla.

Even Erza and Gray were stunned by its beauty.

"Why thank you! I built this temple along with my father, it brings me much happiness hearing you say that." A man's voice sounded, causing the gang to look up at the big red doors of the temple.

There stood a tall man in his twenties, wearing a dark blue and white kimono along with a black hakama, a warm smile decorated his face. His soft green eyes seemed soothing and his head was covered in messy dark brown locks, but it added to his handsome face. Lucy and Wendy blushed at him, bowing to show respect.

"H-Hello! We are here for your request!" Wendy stammered, not leaving her bowed position.

The man smiled at the blushing bluenette kindly, "Yes, thank you for accepting my request. I am sorry that it was so vague, but it is very hard to describe the problem I am having." His voice apologetic and sincere, making poor Wendy and Lucy blush harder.

Gray was a bit ticked off at this and moved closer to Lucy, causing the girl to look to him in confusion. Natsu stared at Erza, who didn't seem at all fazed by their client's charm. He took an exhale of relief at this, taking Erza's hand in his own larger one. Erza only smiled at her love's actions and intertwined her fingers with his.

"It is alright, we are here to get rid of it so you don't have to worry about anything." She stated, her voice strong and authoritative, making the client's smile widen.

"Thank you so much, oh I completely forgot!" He began, shaking his head at his stupidity, "My name is Haru Kurou by the way. Come on in."

The gang piled into the home and was not disappointed in its interior. Polished wood floors, porcelain walls, it was the whole package.

The whole room was enveloped in silence, the gang except for Carla and Erza, admired every piece of the house. Erza felt uneasy about the temple and when she looked toward her exceed friend, she knew Carla felt the same.

Carla held her head in pain as she felt a vision coming on, her eyes clenched shut. Her eyes slowly widened from the images she just saw.

"Everyone wait!" She exclaimed, trying to fly to her friends who were following Haru down the vast corridor. Erza's head whipped around as she went to grab at her friends before they fell into the hole that appeared in the ground underneath them. She was able to grab Natsu and Gray. Assuming that Lucy and Wendy were following her, she ran down an opposite corridor, dragging the two boys with her.

"Help!" Lucy screamed while holding onto Wendy with her left hand, the other holding desperately onto the ledge. Tears prickled in her eyes once she realized that her fingers were slipping. She looked toward Haru for he was the only one closest to her. What she witnessed next made her eyes widen in horror.

"Haru no!" She tried to reason with the man, who was placing pressure on her fingers with his black sandals.

"No can do blondie," He shrugged, his face holding a twisted pleasure to her pain, "Once I get rid of you two, I can get to the rest of them. But I'll let you in on a secret, since you'll be dead soon. After I kill you all, I'll be taking your precious friend, Erza and torture her in front of her beloved sister!"

Lucy looked on in horror, biting her lip as she felt his sandals grind against her knuckles. Even though it was pure agony for her, she still held onto the ledge and gripped tighter on her unconscious friend.

"Why are you doing this?!" She cried, "What have we done to you?!"

Haru laughed at her and slammed his foot onto her knuckles, making her cry out in pain.

"Because your stupid friend, Lora, killed my family. Each and everyone of them. So I am going to avenge them by torturing those precious to her; being you guys, and enable my family to rest peacefully." He stated calmly, but Lucy could see moisture settling in the corner of his eyes.

Haru suddenly yawned, "Well, I'm bored now"

"W-What?" Lucy stuttered, staring up at the brunette's wicked smile.

Haru then slammed his sandal clad foot on Lucy's face, knocking her back.

"Bye blondie!" He laughed cruelly, waving to Lucy's unconscious, falling body.

"Now for the others..." He said maliciously, turning his heel and walked away.

…

A young red haired girl walked through the forests, examining her surroundings. She felt her heart slowly breaking as she walked away from her mother's body. She had watched her mother whither away from the wound she received back in Crocus.

She didn't know what to feel. She felt numb, like her world was crumbling around her. Leaving her in the debris of what could have been a bright future. She was lost, emotionally and physically. Her legs gave out underneath her. She curled up on the dirt path, inhaling the scent of the earth below her. She placed a hand over her heart, observing how it beats slowly even though she ached all over. Tears poured from her light gray eyes and sobs erupted from her lips.

How life can be so cruel...

A/N: And cliffhanger! So how was it? I've been having serious writer block lately. I had wanted to update through my spring break which started last Friday but writer's block was like: Nope! So yeah...Stay tuned for Part 2!

Thanks for reading,

LazyMorning