Kyandi: Hello my lovely Kyandiacs!

Rette: We're back.

Kyandi: Sorry it's taking so long. I'm in the process of moving.

Rette: And fixing up the house.

Kyandi: That too. It's a major pain in my back side.

Rette: I imagine so.

Kyandi: ...*mumbles to self*...

Rette: Since we made you wait so long, we'll get right to the chapter.

Kyandi: Right. So everyone please enjoy and review.

Rette: Kyandi-sama does not own Fairy Tail.

Chapter 21 Foreboding

Quiet.

The whole village was awfully quiet. And cold...so cold.

Rette shook her head to clear the thoughts out of it before the string of thought could bring flashbacks of her childhood to mind. Wandering through the village, she studied each giant, pausing now and then to touch one and stretch out her senses. She had noticed, at one point, that every giant she passed, was facing the same direction, away from the center of the village where a large mountain rose. Rette stopped and turned to look towards the mountain.

Perhaps that mountain was where the eternal flame was and the giants had been defending it against something when they had been frozen. Erza had been heading that way when they split up and knowing Erza like she did, she had probably caught on to the same thing Rette had. That meant she would be checking out the mountain. When Rette stretched out her senses, she could feel Erza quickly heading in the direction of the mountain. Leaving that to Erza, Rette continued to search the village, trying to figure out what could have caused the ice that now covered the village.

Pausing next to a spike of ice junting out of the ground, Rette reached out to touch it. She ran her fingers over the cold surface, her skin not even really registering the cold thanks to her Ice Dragon Slayer abilities. Crouching down next to it, she peered at the ice.

"You most certainly are not natural. Who, or what, caused you?" Rette asked, speaking to herself.

Humming lowly in thought, Rette leaned forward, opening her mouth to sink her teeth into the ice. Her dragon-like teeth managed, barely, to cut through the ice and Rette swallowed, rolling the taste over her tongue. A moment passed, then another before Rette gagged as a horrible taste settled over her tongue. Her stomach rolled, revolting against the ice she had just devoured. Whatever had created the ice, the magic in the ice didn't sit right with her dragon-like stomach.

"Alright, so that wasn't such a good idea." Rette remarked, pulling a water bottle out of her bag to try to wash the taste away from her tongue.

Worse yet, it made her seal around her neck, as well as a spot just above her navel, throb. Rette feared, for a moment, that she would have another fit, but just as quick as the single throb came, it was gone. No pain, no shortness of breath, nothing. Rette heave a sigh of relief. It seemed that Mavis' solution to her fits, really did worked.

For that, Rette was grateful.

It was when she turned to look at the ice, that she noticed something on her stomach. Leaning back, Rette looked down at the shining design that had appeared just above her navel. To Rette, it looked like the wing adornments that Mavis wore in her hair just over her ears. The design consisted of those sweeping outward away from an elegantly carved "M". Rette had no doubt in her mind that this was the cause of the burn she felt when Mavis' magic in her stopped the fit. As she watched, the mark glowed a bright gold and faded from her skin, leaving no trace of it behind.

It was strange, and Rette didn't know what to make of it. It was probably just a mark to show that the magic was working. As long as no one else caught sight of it, Rette didn't really mind. Besides, she had other things to think about at the moment.

Rette kicked back into motion, continuing to search the village. Stopping by a giant, she laid a hand on it. As she stared at the ice, something else caught her attention. Right before her eyes...her hand was shrinking. Not just her hand...Rette looked down to find her whole body aging backwards. She had to grab her shorts to keep them from hitting the ground as she reverted back to what she could only assume was somewhere around the age six to nine. She knew that had to be the age range, because her hair began to grow in length until it pooled on the ground around her feet.

Back at the ages six to nine, Rette's hair had been so long, it trailed behind her as she walked, up until she was ten and she cut it for the first time in her life. Rette quickly tied one side of her shorts into a knot to keep them in place. Thankfully, she was wearing a halter top and it stayed in place. Turning towards the reflective surface of the ice, Rette peered at her reflection, her eyes wide in shock and disbelief. Staring back at her, with wide doe-eyed eyes the same color as Rette's, was Rette's younger self, with her massive length of silver hair and far too tiny and thin frame.

She was her child self again. Backing away from the ice, Rette tripped over her too large boots and fell on her butt. Even sitting on the ice, she scrambled back away from the reflection until her back hit a wall. Shaking was starting to over take her body as she raised her hands to stare at the tiny things barely remaining covered by her gloves. It couldn't be, it just couldn't! Rette's hand flew to the front of her shirt, gripping as she started hyperventalating.

Images, horrible images of her childhood, came flying back to her. They were so vivid, so real, it felt like they had happened just yesterday. Rette couldn't think straight, she couldn't rationalize the situation, couldn't tell herself that this wasn't her childhood. Her head whipped side to side, trying to find somewhere to hide. Her eyes landed on a small crack in a wall. Scrambling across the ground, her limbs not wanting to work like they should, she darted into the crack, huddling herself up. She drew her knees to her chest, her hands diving into her hair as she gripped her head, trying to process all the memories flashing by in her head.

"...help...please...someone...I-I can't..."

Rette's voice choked off with a sob. She couldn't make her brain function. She found herself calling for help, just as she had done as a small child, even knowing that no one would come to help her. Fighting these memories, the swarm of feelings and thoughts, made her feel like she was drowning. She found herself cast back into the feelings she had felt swarm her everyday of her life before she ran away from her father and all she could do was the one thing she had done everyday.

"...Help..."

-0-0-0-0-

"That voice...who is it!? And when the hell am I gonna go back to my normal size!?"

Natsu was getting frustrated as he ran through the village. He was still stuck in his child size. He was trying to follow a voice he had heard from beneath the ice when the Moon Drip the treasure hunters had, had shattered and melted a small patch of ice. He was running down a road when he heard a tiny voice calling for help. He paused for a moment, turning to look around him. The voice was almost familiar to him. He turned a corner, something catching his eye. Something was laying on the ground ahead of him. Natsu approached it and knew what it was instantly. He bent to pick up the belt, recognizing the sword attached as well as the pouches.

Laying on the ground with it, was a familiar travel bag and a pair of boots laying on their side. Natsu looked them over. He was sure...these were Rette's. Future Rogue's warning suddenly flew through his head and Natsu started looking around in a panic.

"Rette!? Rette, where are you!?" he yelled.

There was no answer. Natsu was about to take off running, when he heard something, low and soft. He drew still, listening. Sure enough, there it was again. Soft sniffles and low sobs, like the crying of a child. Natsu followed it towards a building. There, deep in a crack in the wall, he found a small child with a massive amount of hair. It took Natsu a moment to realize...the child was Rette.

"Rette!?"

Rette didn't answer him. She had her knees drawn up tight to her chest, her hands pressed tightly to her head as she rocked back and forth, low sniffles and sobs leaving her. Now that he was close, he could tell it was less sobs and more gasps for air. She was hyperventilating. She was also muttering to herself. Natsu reached out, to shake her and snap her out of whatever she was in, but the moment his finger tip touched her, Rette jolted backward, plastering herself to the very back wall of the little space she was hiding in.

He could see her eyes now and they were wide with horror and fear, as well as glazed over, as if she was stuck in a vision of the past and couldn't escape it.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Please...Father, I'm sorry!" she half screeched, huddling further in on herself.

Natsu froze. Something about the magic that returned them to their child forms, must have cast Rette deep into her memories of her childhood. She was now stuck there, unable to see that it was a friend before her, not her father. He had to snap her out of it. Reaching out, Natsu grabbed her by the shoulders. Rette instantly started fighting, but she was so thin in this form. Had she really been like this as a child!? Natsu looked her over.

Her hair was impossibly long. It would trail a good foot behind her on the ground when she stood and her frame was thin, pretty much just skin and bones. If they really reverted back to the form they had had in their childhood...Rette must have lived her life always being half starved.

Natsu gave her a firm shake, making her draw still.

"Rette! It's Natsu! Snap out of it! You're not with your dad!" Natsu snapped at her as he shook her.

It took a moment but her eyes started to clear until she was blinking up at him in a daze. The way her mouth twisted, Natsu was sure she was about to cry. Just as he had done for Lucy in the past, he hugged her, feeling as the tension in her small body, slowly leaked away.

"N...Natsu...?"

"Yeah. You're fine." he told her.

Rette pressed a hand to her face, letting him hug her as she tried to calm down. Now that he had snapped her out of it, she could see just how irrational she had been. She had let the memories sweep her away, back to the dark place she had been stuck in for so long. As she calmed down, she frowned.

"Natsu...let go...I...I'm going to be sick."

Natsu released Rette, letting her scramble past him. She made it as far from him as she could, leaning over a chunk of ice, before her stomach revolted against her. For the most part, it was dry heaving, but she did lose most of her breakfast. Natsu watched her from a distance.

"The memories are that bad?" he asked.

"You have...no idea." Rette said between heaves.

When she was sure she could heave no more, Rette plopped back on her butt. Natsu joined her, crouching next to her. It was then that Rette got a good look at him.

"So you got turned into a kid too." she remarked.

"Yeah. Some big guy did it. Said it lowers our abilities." Natsu told her.

"Sounds about right. Though, truthfully...I've always had a larger than normal amount of magical energy. The only thing that's going to be lowered...is my control over it." Rette remarked, heaving a sigh before turning to Natsu. "What are you doing here? I thought you were with Lucy and Wendy."

"I heard a voice and I'm trying to find who it belongs to." Natsu told her.

"A voice?"

"Yeah. The Moon Drip those treasure hunter guys had, dropped and melted away a small patch of the ice. I could hear a voice calling out through that hole." Natsu explained.

"Any idea where it's coming from?" Rette asked.

She wasn't going to question him about the voice. If Natsu swore he heard something then, most of the time, he heard something.

"Yeah. I'm pretty sure it's coming from that mountain there." Natsu said, pointing off towards the mountain at the heart of the village.

Rette pushed herself to her feet, finding it a little strange since she was no longer use to a body as small as the one she currently had. She also realized just how much lighter her chest felt without the added weight of her breasts. Going back to that was probably going to be the only thing she would dislike.

"Well, then let's go check it out. I need to do something." Rette said.

Natsu popped to his feet and nodded. Rette collected her bag, shoving her boots inside, and grabbed her belt. They took off, Natsu leading. A couple of times, Rette tripped and fell forward after stepping on her hair. Natsu turned to look at her after the fifth time.

"You alright?" he asked.

"Yeah. I always had hair like this when I was little. Now, I can't remember how the hell I dealt with it back then." Rette said, getting to her feet.

She reached back, scooping up her hair and tied it into a knot just so it wouldn't keep getting under her feet. With a nod, they set off again. They hadn't been running for more than maybe five minutes when suddenly Rette lost her balance as her chest began to swell and her limbs began to grow. They were on an incline, heading down, so she tumbled forward, crashing into Natsu, sending them both tumbling down to the bottom.

"Ow! Sorry, Natsu." Rette said, untangling herself from him.

"It's fine. Our bodies just went back to normal." Natsu remarked, looking down at himself.

Rette looked down at herself. The knot she had tied one side of her shorts in, had come undone so that her shorts fit perfectly now. Her chest once again filled out her top and her hair was back to it's short length. Though, Rette was sure it was a few inches longer than it had been before she had reverted back to her child form. The ends of her hair now curled around her face at a little above chin length. Rette's hands settled on her breasts and she heaved a sigh.

"I did not miss these." she muttered. "I wonder what happened."

"No idea. But let's not sit around and find out." Natsu said, getting to his feet.

"Good idea."

The two dusted themselves off and started off again. They didn't get far before they crashed into each other again as they were reverted back to their child forms. Rette laid on the ground, her expression blank aside from one small annoyed tick mark in her left temple, Natsu draped over her back.

"This is getting rather annoying." Rette remarked.

"Got that right!" Natsu retorted.

"Natsu."

"Yeah?"

"...Get the hell off me."

Natsu quickly scrambled off Rette, letting her sit up. Rette dusted herself off. Natsu looked at her, noting the annoyed tick in her temple.

"Well you did say you wouldn't miss your grown chest." he remarked.

Rette picked up a rock and threw it at Natsu. The rock hit him square in the middle of the forehead, knocking him back. Natsu, now angry, scrambled up to his feet, both hands pressed to his forehead where the rock had hit.

"What's your problem!?" he snapped.

Rette jumped to her feet, her hands holding her shorts up and faced him. She didn't even have to change her expression for Natsu to take one look at her expression and back down, his anger washing away.

"I can say it. You can't repeat it." Rette told him.

Then Rette's eyes traveled down his form and Rette heaved a sigh, turning her back on him.

"Natsu...pull your pants up."

Natsu looked down, noticing that when his body had shrank again, his pants had fallen down. He quickly yanked them up while Rette tied another knot in her shorts. Once they were sure their clothes would stay up, they headed off again. Rette cursed darkly under her breath when, just a few minutes later, she was sent stumbling over her own feet as she was returned to her normal form. Natsu shared her annoyance as he righted his pants and scarf.

"Makin' us big, makin' us small...we really should've beaten the crap out of 'em when we had the chance." Natsu muttered.

"Agreed." Rette replied, fixing her shorts and wrapping her belt back around her waste.

She couldn't feel the cold on her feet, so she didn't bother with her boots. Who knew if they would be changed again.

"Natsu! Rette!"

Natsu and Rette turned when they heard Lucy's voice calling their names. Coming their way was Lucy and Wendy with Flare from the former Raven Tail guild just behind them. Natsu freaked at the sight of Flare and Rette had to grab him by the back of his scarf to keep him in place.

"It's okay, she isn't our enemy. Flare is actually from the village." Lucy explained.

"Uh, so are you suppose to be a giant too?" Natsu asked as Rette released him.

"Nope." Flare replied.

"She was raised here by the giants." Wendy told him.

Natsu walked up to Flare, leaning forward to look her in the face. Flare leaned back, a little nervous after he had reacted badly to the sight of her.

"Wh-what?" she asked.

"So then, the whole village situation...must be pretty tough for you. Fairy Tail's reputation is at stake...so we'll definitely get things back to normal around here." Natsu promised.

"He might be thoughtless at times, but he's good to his word." Rette assured Flare.

"Rette, are you feeling alright? You're really pale." Wendy said in concern as she looked up at Rette.

"She's right. You're not feeling sick again are you?" Lucy asked, pressing a hand to Rette's forehead.

"Not for the reason you're thinking. There was some magic earlier that kept switching Natsu and I between our current bodies and those of our childhood selves. When it happened the first time, I had a lot of really strong and vivid flashbacks to my childhood. It's made me feel a little sick, but I'll be fine." Rette assured them.

"So we weren't the only ones." Lucy said.

"Is your hair longer, Rette?" Wendy asked.

Rette reached up. It seemed that when she had last switched back, her hair hadn't been returned to the super short style she had had it in. It now reached to her chin.

"Yeah. When I was little my hair use to be so long, it would trail on the ground behind me as I walked. Apparently that was too much hair to keep switching back and forth between. It's fine." Rette said. "More importantly, we need to think of how to return the village to normal."

"The eternal flame might be able to get the village back to normal." Wendy said.

"So Flare is going to guide us to it." Lucy added.

"I see...I could've sworn I heard a voice coming from this mountain though." Natsu said, turning to look up at the mountain.

With all the changing back and forth, Rette hadn't noticed that they had arrived at the base of the mountain. She looked up at it.

"That's not a mountain." Flare said. "That's the village's guardian...the eternal flame."

Rette let out a whistle as she leaned back to look at the very top. What they had thought was a mountain, was really the frozen form of the flame itself. That was a lot of fire.

"How's that not a mountain!?" Natsu asked.

"That giant flame is frozen solid...that's why it looks like a mountain." Lucy remarked. "We placed our hopes on the eternal flame returning the village to normal but if even the flame itself is frozen, then-"

"Guys, look out!"

Everyone turned when Gray's voice sounded cutting Lucy off. They turned to find Gray running their way, Happy, Carla, and Thyme behind him. Behind them...came some kind of huge, one eyed bird that looked like it was hungry.

"What is that!?" Lucy yelled.

"I don't know, but it definitely wants to eat us!" Happy cried.

"Gray! Knock it out or something!" Natsu yelled.

"I can't use magic power I don't have." Gray retorted. "But...perhaps I could melt the ice around here..."

Gray...could melt the ice?

"Really?" Flare asked.

"That's awesome! You can actually melt this crap!?" Natsu asked.

"Not entirely sure...but I'll sure as hell try!" Gray told him.

"Cool! Me and Rette will take care of this friggin' bird then!" Natsu said.

"Leave it to us." Rette agreed. "The mountain is the flame."

"What?!" Gray yelled, looking up at the mountain.

"Can you do it?" Natsu asked.

"Hell yeah!" Gray replied.

"Then let's take care of our business." Rette said.

Gray held up his hands, Rette and Natsu slapping his hands with their own as if they were tagging into a fight. Rette and Natsu shared a look before, with a kick off, the two launched themselves into the air, both landing a solid kick to the bird's single eye. The combined force sent the bird rocketing backwards, but with a simple flare of its wings, the bird came back at them, catching the two of them in its talons. It swung its foot up, sending Rette and Natsu flying into the air.

"Natsu! Rette!" Lucy cried in concern.

"We're good! The ice...the eternal flame has to be restored!" Natsu replied.

"Natsu!"

Natsu turned to Rette as she held her hands out. The two linked their hands, and with as much force as they could muster, they hit the bird with linked fists. The bird went flying toward the ground. Rette conjured her wings of light and caught Natsu to keep him from following the bird down.

Down below, Gray focused on melting the ice. By channeling the magic of the ice through his body, he was able to melt the ice...only for there to be no flame. It was gone, leaving only bare ground behind. They all stared in horror.

"The flame is...gone..." Lucy gasped.

"There's still residual magic! I can feel it...there's still a flame there!" Rette called below.

"She's right! It's not gone! There's still some strong residual thought! It's proof that it's still alive!" Wendy said.

"'Alive'? What is?" Carla asked.

"There...look!" Lucy called, pointing.

In the center of where the flame should have been, rested an altar. In the center of the altar, was a small flame, still burning brightly despite its small size.

"Natsu can...Natsu can definitely restore that flame!" Wendy called.

Lucy whipped around, looking upward where Rette and Natsu were still fighting with the bird. She called out his name.

"Hell yeah! I got it!" Natsu yelled before turning to Rette who was currently on the bird's back. "Rette!"

"Got it!"

Rette used her conjured wings to upset the bird, spinning it in mid air. She then shot free of the bird. Natsu latched onto it's tail and with a swing, sent it flying down towards the ground. It was then that they learned about a special little ability of the bird. It's one eye lit up, trapping Natsu in a laser of some sort. With that, it was able to swing Natsu down, dragging him across the ground towards a giant. At the last moment, Natsu let loose an explosion that blew him away from the giants.

"Natsu!" Rette called.

Natsu turned as Rette flew into his flight path and offered him her feet to use as a spring board. His feet meet hers and with a kick off from them both, Natsu rocketed back towards the bird, hitting it hard. His next attack sent the bird, alight with fire, crashing into the fire altar below. Rette landed on the ground along side the others as Natsu let loose one fire burst after another, hitting what was left of the eternal flame with as much fire power as possible.

He was probably over doing it if the trembling of the ground was any indication of that. Rette raised her arms, shielding her face from flying bits of rock and the smoke his attacks raised. With one finally blast, the fire roared to life. What came out of the flames, had a small smile curling the ends of her mouth. Now she knew what felt so familiar.

"It's him...Atlas Flame." Rette said, looking up at the fire dragon that appeared in the depths of the fire.

"That's..."

"One of the dragons that came out from the Eclipse Gate." Wendy said, finishing the sentence for Gray.

"So it should have gone back four hundred years." Carla remarked.

"Four hundred years...yes...for four hundred years I have continued to burn strong." Atlas Flame said.

"So you're still alive, uncle." Natsu said.

"Alive? No...that isn't entirely correct." Atlas Flame corrected.

"What we're seeing is a form I brought forth with my Milky Way spell." Wendy explained.

"That means..."

"I am no longer of this world. But that is something from the distant past." Atlas Flame said, confirming what Carla had been about to say.

"I don't think he's firing on all cylinders." Gray remarked.

"My awareness...or rather, memory, it's all a bit...jumbled...hmm...this...I..."

Atlas Flame couldn't seem to get his mind all together. Rette knew the feeling, really she did.

"Pull yourself together, Uncle." Natsu told him.

"I remember...Igneel's son." Atlas Flame said finally.

"What do you mean? Zirconis' memory was much more lucid!" Carla said.

"It's probably because of the ice. Right, Wendy?" Rette remarked.

"Yes. At its core, residual thought may be based on strong will but it's still a very fragile magic. By being frozen from the ice magic for so long, part of his memories have clearly been damaged." Wendy agreed.

"Ice...yes, ice. The world was covered in ice." Atlas Flame remarked.

"Uncle, are you talking about the village?" Natsu asked.

"What happened, please tell us." Flare pleaded.

"Hmm...that guy, I...mistook him for something else." Atlas Flame told them.

"That guy?" Lucy asked.

"Yes...a single human changed the world to ice." Atlas Flame answered.

"One mage did all that to the village?" Lucy asked.

"Wh-why would he?" Flare demanded.

"That man thought...he thought I was a demon. He froze the entire village to eradicate me. An exorcist mage...a Devil Slayer."

With these words from Atlas Flame, Rette's hand flew up to her throat, as if she was taken off guard by the idea. Her fingers twitched as they touched the choker around her neck. A Devil Slayer? She had never heard of such a thing. There was magic to defeat dragons, magic to defeat gods...and now magic to defeat demons.

"Hmm...it's all a bit...foggy...I am...what was I..." Atlas Flame mumbled.

"You are the guardian of this village! The flame of the giants!" Flare told him, dropping to her knees to bow to him. "Somehow, I beg of you! Shine your light upon this village once more! Please save this village!"

For a moment Atlas Flame only stared down at her. Then he spoke.

"I am...yes. My name is Atlas Flame. I created this village. My village's misfortune is my pain...my village's sorrows are my tears. I...hold the lingering scent of my final spirit along with the fire of Igneel's son. I shall set this village free. I am the fire dragon Atlas Flame. The guardian dragon of this village!" Atlas Flame roared.

With his roar, a wave of heat burst outward. Rette grit her teeth as the heat hit her, almost knocking her off her feet.

"Igneel...dragon king...Acnologia...Zeref...the second Dragon Queen...I remember...I remember it all. The most vile dark magic from the Book of Zeref...E.N.D. Four hundred years ago...Igneel was unable to destroy E.N.D. The second Dragon Queen...there are many who would wish for her end. It can't be allowed. She will save the dragons that follow her." Atlas Flame said as a final parting.

All over the village, the ice melted, freeing the inhabitants of the village from their frozen prison. And with this final act, Atlas Flame's spirit passed on.

"Atlas Flame's residual memories have completely vanished." Wendy said.

"To think he'd be able to muster up that much power with what little spirit he had left." Lucy remarked.

"Be they human or dragons...everyone can muster up more power than you think to save those they love. Even if that means using the last of their own life to do so. To protect what's dearest to them...even I would be willing to give up my life to protect those I love." Rette remarked as she watched the flames burn.

Those words, the way she phrased it, had her friends turning to stare at her. "Give up my life to protect those I love", she said. The words had a really bad feeling settling in the pit of Natsu's stomach.

Hopefully it didn't come to that.

-0-0-0-0-

After everything was said and done, the giants invited them to join them for a celebration. It was during this celebration when Rette and her teammates agreed that the one responsible for the ice, had to be from Tartarus, the last remaining, major dark guild. Flare was reunited with her adoptive family, the giants welcoming her back as if she had never left.

The smile Flare had sported, was one of the brightest Rette had ever seen.

While the other had fun with the giants, laughing and joking until the first rays of dawn, Rette couldn't forget the ominous words foretelling of Tartarus' coming appearance. Something about the dark guild, just hearing it's name, made Rette's skin crawl. She didn't know why, and truth be told...she didn't want to. The guild was a problem that didn't, yet, involve her. She would only worry about it if, and when, it involved her in some way.

The next day, they returned to Warrod's, where they told him of their success with the village. Warrod was over joyed.

"I knew sending you guys was the right decision. How nice, how nice!" Warrod cheered.

"It was a piece of cake." Natsu said.

"I'm just relieved that we finished Warrod's request without further incident." Erza said.

"Personally, I don't know how we accomplish things like this sometimes. It completely blows me away how we manage to get in and out of these kinds of situations." Rette remarked. "And after seven years of not having to handle situations like this, I'm out of practice. It makes me feel old."

On the first half, Rette had a point. They did manage to find themselves in some of the craziest, most absurd situations at times, and yet, they always came out of it in one piece. On the second half...they could only grin and hide laughs.

"It really caught us off guard when we found out that Tartarus was involved though." Wendy remarked.

"Hm...I wouldn't worry too much about them...let the senate handle the investigations regarding that." Warrod told them. "More importantly, there's still the matter of your payment."

They watched as Warrod turned and dug through something, turning back around with a potato in his hand. He claimed that was their payment only to turn around and say it was a joke. After everything in the village and the bad jokes, Rette felt like she could use a nice long soak in a hot bath. Thankfully, Warrod told them of a nearby, natural hot spring. The girls decided to take the chance to take a soak. The view, when they reached it, was breath taking.

"As expected of Warrod, to know of a secret hot spring like this." Erza remarked, dipping a hand into the water.

"Look Wendy! It says this place is not only good for your health but works wonders on your physical beauty as well." Carla pointed out.

"Some of us don't need that." Rette remarked, glancing in Erza's direction.

Rette sat her towel down on the side of the spring where it could remain dry, and slipped into the water, the others joining her. Rette sank down in the water with a sigh.

"There's nothing like taking a dip after an assignment." Lucy remarked.

"On that, I have to agree." Rette said.

"It helps rejuvenate a tired body and soul, allowing us to face our future trials refreshed." Erza agreed.

"I can't help but feel bad for Natsu and Gray." Wendy said.

"They'll be fine. I doubt they have any interest in a hot spring anyways." Carla told her.

"I don't know about that. It might not be the hot spring so much that would interest them." Rette remarked.

She had been so relaxed in the hot water that she hadn't bothered to keep tabs on the magical energies around her. So when the next voice spoke, she jolted to alertness.

"Shows how much you know." came Natsu's voice.

"We can enjoy stuff like this from time to time as well." Gray's voice joined in.

All of the girls turned to the far end of the spring where Natsu, Gray, and Happy sat. With a scream, Wendy turned her back to the boys, ducking down while Lucy threw things at the two. Rette snatched her towel and plastered it to the front of her body, not caring that it got wet.

"Why the hell are you in the female baths!?" Lucy demanded.

"We were here first." Natsu said idly.

"You guys were the ones that came in after us!" Gray added.

"A true gentleman would have left the moment he saw women arrive, not just sit there as if nothing were wrong." Rette retorted.

"Oh? I did tell you it was unisex hot spring, didn't I?"

The new voice had them whipping around to where Warrod was getting into the spring. Rette pressed the towel more firmly to her body. She was usually very comfortable in her own skin. Her lack of proper clothes was enough to show that. But she was completely naked at the moment. The difference was that, even with so little covering, her clothes hid what needed to be hidden.

"Guys, just...get out for a bit." Lucy said, hugging Wendy to her.

"That's right! It's embarrassing!" Wendy agreed.

"We've seen your naked bodies lots of times already though." Natsu said.

"Honestly, the novelty of it wore off a while ago." Gray added.

"You've never seen me naked." Rette snapped.

"Yeah, but you lose your tops all the time." Natsu remarked. "All we haven't seen is the lower half."

With this, Natsu idly reached out, pulling back the bottom corner of Rette's towel, like he was trying to sneak a peek. Rette hit him across the head as hard as she could before dunking his head under the water and holding it there for a moment, making Natsu flail his arms about.

"Just because you haven't seen it doesn't give you the right to try to look!" Rette told him when she finally let him come up for air. "Only a woman's lover should see such things."

"Ah well, it's nothing to lose your composure over. We are all comrades here, a little skinship is normal." Erza remarked.

"You are far too casual for this." Rette told her.

Erza stood up, baring herself in all her glory as she walked towards the boys.

"I used to get into the baths with Natsu and Gray all the time." Erza said.

From the looks on the two boys' faces...it wasn't a memory that they liked. Natsu and Gray tried to get away from Erza as she tried to get them to let her wash their backs.

"Hahaha, aren't comrades the best?" Warrod asked.

"This has nothing to do with you!" Lucy snapped.

"You don't know, Lucy?" Rette asked.

Lucy turned to look at Rette, a questioning look on her face. Warrod grinned.

"Now that you mention it...I haven't told you guys yet." Warrod said, lifting his left arm up out of the water.

There, stamped on his skin...was the Fairy Tail emblem. All of Rette's friends stared in shock as they saw the stamp.

"He's one of the founding members of the guild along with Master Mavis. I read it in one of the books in the guild's archives." Rette remarked.

"You knew this whole time and didn't say anything!?" Gray asked.

"I thought you all knew. All of you, save Wendy and Carla, had joined the guild long before I ever did." Rette replied. "But think about it...it explains why Master was so anxious for us to do a good job on this request."

Now that Rette pointed it out, it did make sense. Warrod agreed with her that it was all true.

"It is safe to assume that is the reason why you requested Natsu, Gray, and Rette?" Erza asked from where she was scrubbing Natsu's back.

"Hmm...pretty much. When you entered my home, I caught a nostalgic whiff of the guild's wooden smell...just kidding. To have met you young fairies, really made my heart skip a beat. The peace that Mavis sings about...Fairy Tail, a guild with bonds between the souls of mages which are even thicker than blood. That spirit carries on even now, and you have all succeed that. That very spirit will become the key to your successes and triumphs, I felt that, in the moment I met you all. Mavis once said, comrade isn't simply a word. Comrades are about heart. It's the unconditional trust in your partners. Please, feel free to lean on me and I, too, will lean on you as well." Warrod told them.

It sounded like something that Mavis would say.

"The words that created Fairy Tail...it really hits you deep...brings a tear to your eye." Lucy remarked.

"Though, in truth, there was another reason I requested one of you." Warrod said.

"Another reason for one of us? Who?" Rette asked.

"You."

Warrod turned and looked directly at Rette, surprising her and making her plaster her towel more firmly against herself.

"Me? Why?" Rette asked.

"I was curious when I heard of the type of magic you use, but I was more so when I heard about your eyes." Warrod told her.

"My eyes?"

Rette never had a good feeling in her stomach when someone wanted to see her because of her eyes. They were, after all, one of the few physical traits she had from her father. Warrod locked his eyes on hers.

"They're a pretty color, not one naturally found on this continent. You aren't from Ishgal, are you, Rette?" he asked.

Rette jolted a little as attention was brought completely to her. Her shoulders hunched slightly and her expression completely went blank before their eyes. It was a defensive reaction, her friend knew that.

"My mother was...but no, I'm not. I don't really know where I was from. I only remember crossing a great stretch of sea before I came to this continent." Rette admitted.

"I see. Though it is still rare, there is a small island nation a great distance from this continent in which there have been people known for the magenta color of their eyes. Those rare individuals, as legends and myths say, are suppose to have a more vast store of magic and are suppose to be able to use grand and great magic beyond our imaginations. Which was why I was curious when I heard of the nature your magic takes. I have seen one or two people like you in my life, but I have never seen any with lavender mixed in." Warrod said. "I assume that was from your mother?"

"So I'm told. She died when I was only a few days old." Rette replied.

"I'm sorry to hear that." Warrod told her.

"Yeah...so was I." Rette admitted.

"And I assume you would prefer not to talk about the marks of the Banesbloud clan on the backs of your hands?"

When Warrod said this, Rette looked down, forgetting that she wasn't wearing her gloves. She twisted her hand up in the towel as best as she could while still covering herself.

"You would be right." Rette said lowly.

"There is no reason for you to be so defensive. If there was one thing I learned in my time in Fairy Tail, it was that everyone who comes to Fairy Tail has something in their past that they aren't proud of or would rather forget. It is why no one in Fairy Tail will ever judge another for what they have been through." Warrod told Rette.

"So you say, but there are some sins, some stains, that can never fully be washed away or accepted." Rette muttered lowly.

"Rette?" Lucy asked, turning to look at her.

"It's nothing. Just muttering to myself." Rette said, sinking into the water until she was sitting, the water up to her nose.

The look on her face said, plain as day, that she didn't want to talk anymore. The others accepted that and the conversation moved away from Rette. It was then that something finally caught Natsu's attention.

"Wait, so that means..you're even older than Gramps!?" Natsu asked, turning to look at Warrod.

"That's rude, Natsu." Erza told him.

"That means...if he's been around that long...he might know about E.N.D and the demons." Natsu told her.

"E.N.D? Demise?" Warrod asked.

"Apparently it's got something to do with Zeref's book of demons." Natsu told him. "My dad, the dragon, tried to defeat it or something."

"The Book of Zeref...another unsettling word." Warrod remarked.

"If I know what E.N.D is then I might be able to figure out where Igneel is...I think, anyway." Natsu said.

"That's what Atlas Flame told us." Wendy added in.

"My apologies, but I have no idea. But when you told me about Tartarus this afternoon, I remembered something. We know next to nothing about the true form of their guild. Not of their base of operations, their members, or even their actual numbers. But from various people who claim to have witnessed their meetings...they all say...those gatherings are a worshipping for demons." Warrod said.

Rette wanted to call a big, fat "nope" right then and there.

Nope, nope, nopity-nope-nope!

She did not mess with demon worshippers. That was a bunch of people that it was just insane to mess with them. There was no telling what they might do and Rette had enough crap in her life.

"This is a prophecy from the Four Heavenly Kings of Ishgal, so take it for what it's worth. It's possible they have the Book of Zeref in their possession." Warrod added.

Rette shivered despite the warm water all around her. Whenever Zeref came up in a conversation, her first instinct was to back out and run. She didn't want to be caught up in something involving the dark mage. And to hear that a guild might be in possession of the Book of Zeref...Rette could already feel the goosebumps spreading over her skin.

"So you don't know jack shit about where it is! Damn it!" Natsu yelled, pounding his fist against the nearest surface. "When I find them, I'll make them spit it all out! I'll give 'em some of this! And some of that!"

Everyone, by now, was focused on Natsu, most of them watching with horrified looks on their faces. Natsu didn't even realize what he was doing, which made it so much worse.

"Oi...Natsu..." Gray called.

"What?" Natsu asked.

Rette pointed downward, making Natsu look down...to where Erza lay on the ground, bruises already rising on her skin from where he had beat his fists against her without noticing it.

It was in that moment that Natsu knew...he had fucked up.

END

Kyandi: Another chapter. I'm sad though. And frustrated.

Rette: Because of the final chapter of Fairy Tail?

Kyandi: YES!

Rette: Kyandi-sama is sad because of the way the story ended.

Kyandi: They way they ended it left so many questions! It was just like a freaking cliff hanger!

Rette: How about we wrap up the chapter and then you can go rant...again.

Kyandi: Right! Everyone, please enjoy and review. You're all going to love the next chapter.

Rette: We'll return as soon as possible.

Kyandi: Bye-bye!