A/N- Sorry, this was supposed to be out yesterday… -_-"
Anyway, this is the very last actual 'plot necessary' chapter before our lovely three-year time skip. JUST A REMINDER, THE TENROU ISLAND ARC NEVER HAPPENED IN THIS FIC! Anyway, the next chapter will be a montage of little moments in Mai's life that cover the next three years, and then we get to the REAL plot. That's right. The real plot. BAM.
Yeah…. Sorry for the ramble…
Disclaimer- I don't own Fairy Tail or any of its characters. I only own Mai.
Mai and Erza walked quietly through the woods, heading towards Porlyusica's home. They had sent word to her the day they'd arrived in Magnolia that they'd be coming to see her in three days. They had left very early this morning to be on time, since Porlyusica had told them to be there at seven o' clock a.m.
Finally, the two redheads arrived at Porlyusica's home, and Erza carefully knocked.
Moments later, Porlyusica answered, "Good, you're here. Come inside."
Mai and Erza walked inside and Porlyusica shut the door behind them. She turned to them and gestured to the two chairs in the room, "Sit down, I guess." Porlyusica herself sat down on the bed.
After the two girls had sat down, Porlyusica bluntly asked, "So, why are you two here?"
Erza and Mai exchanged glances, and Erza spoke, "This is my younger sister Mai. When I was taken to the Tower of Heaven, she was taken too, but as a magical sacrifice instead of slave labor."
"I don't sense any magic power from the girl, though," Porlyusica said.
"That's why we're here," Mai said quietly, "Wendy says that it's like a wall has been built in my channel, but she's not sure why."
Porlyusica gestured impatiently to Mai, "Come here, child. I can't examine you if you are all the way over there."
Mai crossed over and sat on the bed next to the healer.
Porlyusica gently placed her hands around Mai's head like a crown. They rested there for a split second before Porlyusica tore her hands away, "It's a good thing you came to see me, young lady. The wall in your channel is what we healers refer to as EMB, or Extreme Magical Blockage. It occurs when the mage is exposed to Scurge metal for a very long time. How long were you exposed?"
"The past ten years, Miss Porlyusica," Erza said quietly, worry on her face.
Porlyusica sighed, "Then you're lucky to be alive, young lady. EMB has no cure other then time. We will have to wait and hope that your magic power is strong enough to wear away the blockage in your channel before you die."
"Die?!" Mai and Erza exclaimed.
"Yes," Porlyusica said, "EMB is like a dam in your channel. Since Scurge metal leaches the magic out of whatever is inside of it, EMB develops to prevent the metal from taking enough to kill the mage. But once the subject leaves the area with the Scurge metal, their magic is no longer going to maintain the barrier, and in your case, keep you from starving. So your magic power just keeps building up behind your barrier. Now, in about half of the known cases of EMB, the magic power of the subject wore down the barrier and the subject was perfectly fine afterwards, even if they had an abnormal fear of Scurge metal afterwards."
"What happened to the other half of the subjects?" Mai asked, almost scared to hear the answer.
Porlyusica sighed, obviously wishing Mai hadn't asked that, "Too much magic power built up within them, and it exploded outward, tearing them from the inside, causing a death of pure agony."
Mai sat in shock as Erza's tearful voice said, "So my little sister has a fifty percent chance of dying in a magical explosion?"
Porlyusica nodded, "Exactly."
"Will... Will it hurt the people around me?" Mai asked.
"Most likely," Porlyusica said calmly.
Slowly, tears leaked out of Mai's clenched eyes.
She felt a hand land on her shoulder, and heard Porlyusica say, "You're a Fairy Tail wizard. You'll fight this. If it means anything to you, I think that you will be part of the fifty percent that lives."
Mai smiled up at her, "Thank you."
Suddenly, Porlyusica tore herself away from Mai and yelled, "Now both of you get out! That's enough!"
Erza quickly dragged Mai out of Porlyusica's house. They were about fifteen feet away from her home when Porlyusica screamed out, "I expect to see you back here once a month at the same time!"
"Yes, Porlyusica," Erza screamed back.
"Oh, and Mai!?" Porlyusica yelled.
Mai turned back and looked at Porlyusica.
"No one who ever got EMB ever survived longer then three years if their magic didn't break the barrier!"
Mai nodded and both girls walked to the guild. Mai was in shock.
~Three... Three years.~
When they got to the guild, Mai sat down, and Erza went and talked privately with the Master.
Mai wrapped her arms around herself, ~I might die in less then three years...?~
"Hey," Gray said, sitting down next to her, "You okay? You seem frightened. Did everything go okay with Porlyusica?"
Mai looked at him. She desperately wanted to tell him the truth, but she didn't want to worry him, "Yeah. Porlyusica couldn't do anything, but she said the cure was time."
~I'm not lying, technically,~ Mai thought, ~I'm just not telling the whole truth...~
Gray nodded, "That's good. So what are you going to do in the meantime?"
"She'll be my assistant," Makarov said, appearing at their table with Erza, "I could use some help with all the paperwork I get from the council because of you brats. You'll be getting the same salary as Mira, 100,000 jewels a month."
"But, Master, I'd do it for free. You guys are my family," Mai said honestly.
Erza spoke, "Mai, that's just enough for a room at the dorm. What he's really saying is that you live at Fairy Hills. Your 'salary' is where you'll live. You'll be relying on me for everything else."
"I'd still do it for free," Mai mumbled.
Makarov smiled, "I know."
Eventually, Erza, the Master, and Gray all left the table, and Mai snuck outside. She left the Fairy Tail building, and went to the edge of the forest, where she could be alone.
Finally, Mai let the smile she had forced onto her face when Gray had come over and talked to her drop. The tears streamed down her face, and she collapsed to her knees, clutching her sides.
Erza, Porlyusica, the Master... all of them had hope that Mai could beat this. They all believed that Mai could break the barrier.
But Mai... She didn't. She knew herself, and she knew she wasn't strong. She was frightened.
As Mai's body shook with tears, one thought kept running through her head, over and over and over and over, stuck on a loop, ~I've got three years or less to live...~