Hey everyone! Man I'm having fun writing this story. So many ways to go with it. Here's a new chapter! Enjoy!

The Dark Fairy

Chapter 36

Joshua awoke to a red sky with black clouds swirling above him. Dark lightning crackled overhead in the scarlet sky. All around him was a shadowed out world made of jagged red and rust colored rocks. Joshua knew this world well. He had seen it several times already. He didn't know the name of this place. But he knew where this vision would eventually take him. Joshua rose to his feet and found out a surprising fact. He could move on his own in this vision. It was allowing him to. Normally, when he visited this world he was whisked from place to place by force. But now, he had control. Joshua glanced around and stared into the deep shadows around him. He didn't sense anything out of the ordinary.

"This way…" he heard a deep voice down a dark trail to his left.

Joshua frowned. He didn't like it, being ordered around in his own mind like that. But at the same time, he wasn't going to get any answers without following the strange disembodied voice. Joshua turned and walked down the dark trail until he came face to face with a very familiar cave. The cave still set him on edge. He could feel his skin forming goosebumps as he got closer to it's mouth. Joshua looked to his right and left and saw two pale women dressed in skin tight, red robes and veils moving towards him. They quickly barred his entrance with two nasty looking blades. They were swords unlike any Joshua had ever seen. He could feel the power in the blades as well, as if the force itself was being used in them. Joshua frowned and looked back and forth from the two guards.

"No one enters the coven unless called up by the Mother." hissed one of the pale women.

Joshua frown deepend, Coven? So these are witches of some sort. He eyed the two women carefully. They obviously meant business. There was no hesitation being betrayed in their steely gazes.

"I wish to speak with Talzin." Joshua replied, remembering that Maul had referred to the horrifying woman by the term Mother.

The two guards blinked as if shocked by what he was asking.

"Mother Talzin has no visitors." Snarled the woman on the right.

Joshua stared hard at her, "You obviously don't know who you are speaking to."

He decided to ham it up now. He had learned some of Erza's patented glares after all. And he could use them just as effectively. Add on his new Sith apprentice pedigree, and you had a character he could play that no one would dare mess with.

"I am the apprentice of Darth Tyrannus." Joshua growled as he glared at the two guards.

The guards audibly gulped at the mention of that name.

"Dooku is dead." snapped the one on the right. "And you can't claim to be his apprentice. Only Ventress was ever his apprentice."

"They had a falling out." He snarled back, "And he wished for me to speak with your Mother. Do you want me to return to him with news that you barred my entry. Because I can inform you, that will severely displease him. He may be dead but his spirit live on as well as his temper." He could see the fear slightly glinting in the eyes of these pale women, "And I'm sure you know how my Master can get when he is displeased."

"We will not-"

"My dear sisters," Joshua stiffened as he heard the low growling voice. It was younger and less weathered than he remembered. But it was him nonetheless. Joshua stared stunned as a Zabrak with red skin and black tattoos strode out of the shadows of the cave, "Let the young one through. We wouldn't want to displease a Sith lord now would we?"

It can't be! Joshua shook with fear as he saw Maul fully emerge from the shadows.

"Brother Maul, Mother ordered-"

"Mother will be intrigued by this particular visit." Maul interupted, "Now, step aside, before I force you to."

The two pale woman glanced at each then back to Maul before reluctantly opening the way forward for Joshua.

"That wasn't so hard was it?" Maul chuckled before waving Joshua to follow him into the cave.

Joshua visibly hesitated. He then gulped back his fear. It was just a vision. Maul was dead, he couldn't do anything to hurt him. And this was obviously the past as well. Joshua shoved his fear into the far corners of his mind and strode forward after Maul. As they entered the cave, the shroud of darkness enveloped them. Only the dull glow of green lanterns along the jagged walls of the cave illuminated the darkness, but it only made it that much more creepy.

"Tell me young one, how goes your training under me?" Maul asked with a grin.

Joshua glared hard at the dead Zabrak, "You don't train me."

"Oh?"

"You're dead."

The Zabrak paused and turned to look at Joshua, "Am I?" He shook his head, "That's… rather unfortunate to hear. How did it happen?"

Joshua snorted, "You'd like to know wouldn't you?"

"I guess that's your equivalent of telling me to shove off?"

"Wow, the Zabrak is learning." Joshua remarked snidely.

Maul growled and continued to guide him through the labyrinth of caves.

"Do you know why you always end up in this cave, boy?" Maul asked after several moments of silence.

Joshua shrugged, "I always thought it was just your way of torturing me further."

Maul chuckled, "I wish it was that simple. Visions are a complex thing. Visions of the past only reveal a little. Visions of the present reveal a possibility. And Visions of the future reveal one possibly of many."

"And this is the past I assume?"

Maul nodded in front of him as he walked powerfully forward.

"So how little information am I getting this time?" Joshua pressed as he cautiously followed the younger version of Darth Maul.

"Depends on the will of the force, boy." Maul replied, "I can't give you a total explanation."

The tunnels opened into a large cavern with a single, round oculus in the roof of the cave. Somehow, light was streaming into the lit cavern. Joshua was about to walk forwards when he felt Maul's powerful arm hold him back.

"Don't, the ritual is about to begin."

Joshua followed Maul's gaze and saw six pale women in blood red robes moving towards the center of the cave. He could see that the ground was perfectly smooth, not a single pebble on the cave floor. In the arms of one of the robed women was a small child, not even a few years old. The baby was crying in the woman's arms then continued to wail on the ground as it was placed on the cold stone in the center of the light, directly below the oculus. Joshua gulped as he watched the baby.

"Is that… me?"

He saw Maul nod to his side, "It would appear so."

Green smoke began to billow into the cave and out of the ground a sinister witch appeared and joined the circle of scarlet clad women. She wore blood colored robes as well, and her face was painted black and white, as if to resemble a skull. She wore an elaborate pointed crown on top of her head as he glided along the floor towards the circle around the small baby.

"What are they doing?" whispered Joshua.

"What do you think?" Maul replied back in a hushed tone, "This is how you gained your powers."

Joshua's eyes widened as he stared on. The women began to chant in a strange language that Joshua could not understand. But he did see Maul twitch ever so slightly at some words. He could only assume that this was the language of Dathomir. And it was having an unsettling effect on the Zabrak that stood quietly to his right. The shadows deepened around them and more green mist filled the air. Joshua saw the little boy being covered by the green mist. The chanting continued and the pace of the woman's chanting grew in intensity. The light was soon blocked out from the Oculus. Joshua looked up and his eyes widened. Descending down from the hole in the cave ceiling was a shadowed out figure with black mist hiding it's features. He glanced over at Maul and saw genuine terror on his face.

"They didn't say anything about placing him inside of you." Maul gasped as he stared wide eyed at the descending menace.

"Who?" Joshua asked.

The dark spectre hovered over the child and seemed to peer down at him through a deep hood. Not a single feature was visible. It was as if darkness itself was descending down onto his small form.

"I met him once. When my Master first began training me." Maul shook with fright, "Even in the presence of my former Master, this being overshadowed him in the Dark Side."

"WHO?" Joshua barked at the Zabrak trying to snap him out of his terrified stupor.

"He is a plague on the galaxy. Is Mother insane!?" Maul muttered as if he was completely oblivious to Joshua.

"Hey! Maul! Answer me!"

The sounds of blaster fire behind them drew Joshua's attention. Maul's head whipped around as red blaster bolts arced around the cave. Then Joshua saw a familiar red glow entering the cave. Joshua stared in silent awe as a black armored figure stalked slowly into the cave. He glanced back at the witches. The shadowy wraith was gone and now Talzin was shouting orders and trying to weave several spells at once. Blaster fire ricocheted into the cavern and Joshua heard the gutteral screams of several pale women as they were gunned down by the foreign weapons. He then looked back at the armored giant of a human storming towards Maul. The Zabrak grit his teeth and stepped forward.

"Better end your vision now kid." Maul snarled, "Before he discovers you."

Joshua felt a rush of power and a green explosion erupted behind him. Joshua wheeled around and saw his small, infant body being sucked into a green spiral. Talzin was muttering words at an incredible pace. But in mid sentence a red saber sliced through her body. Joshua saw Maul's horrified gaze jump from the black armored man to the saber that now twirled back to the outstretched gloved hand of the armored monster. The green swirl became unstable and strange magic began to leap out from it. With a final blast of green energy the spiral disappeared and so did the small boy.

That is… that is how I ended up in Earthland!

Joshua heard Maul activate his own lightsaber.

"RUN NOW! Before you are found!" Maul barked before charging at the menacing man with the labored mechanical breathing.

The vision then chose to begin to fade and soon blackness engulfed Joshua's vision once again.

….

The city of Magnolia was buzzing with activity once again. The city streets were filled with vendors as they hawked their goods. Summer was fast approaching, which meant big festivals were about to occur. The little blue haired girl sighed as she walked along the canals. Too bad her guild was not gonna be taking part in the summer festival.

"Why so glum child?" asked a white cat that wore a green dress and walked on two legs beside her.

"Seems like Magnolia just completely moved on." the blue haired girl replied as she shifted the bag on her left shoulder so that it was more comfortable.

"Times change Wendy," The cat replied, "And they often change more quickly than we can anticipate."

"I didn't think they'd completely forget about Fairy Tail in just a few months." Wendy replied sadly.

"I'm sure they haven't forgotten." the white haired cat replied reassuringly, "They just have more important things on their minds than us."

"Maybe."

Wendy and her best friend Carla exited the town through the main gate and walked quickly towards the forests that surrounded the town. It was a pleasant walk. The birds chirped happily around them and the warm summer breeze made the day that much more bright as they passed through the thick greenery around them. Wendy then found the small trail she was looking for in the forest. The pair quickly walked up the dirt trail until they saw a farm with a large building dominating a hilltop. On top of the large building, was a beat up, run down windmill. Pigs oinked and snorted in a small pen near the tiny shed that was to the left of the main building and several chickens raced about. Wendy smiled, it wasn't the guild hall she wanted, but it was still a peaceful place. Her smile widened as she pushed open the rickety doors that led to the inside of Fairy Tail's guild hall.

"Hey everyone!" she cheered and waved as she entered.

"Wendy!" greeted Nab, Vejeeter, and Warren.

"Hey Wendy! Carla! How was the last job?" Laki asked from a picnic table near the doorway.

"It went well." Wendy smiled back, "Got the full reward and no destruction added."

"That's a relief." Said an exhausted voice near the bar. Wendy looked over and smiled at the familiar face of Macao Conbolt.

"Hi, Macao how are you?"

"How many times must I tell people to call me Master?" he groaned as Kinana filled his beer mug once again.

"Sorry," Wendy smiled sheepishly, "Master Macao."

"That's better." Macao glanced over at Wakaba, "See how it's done Wakaba?"

"Eh." The cigarette smoking wizard dismissed as he read a newspaper, "I didn't hear anything, Macao."

Macao grumbled under his breath before turning in his bar stool to look at the young dragon slayer.

"How much was the reward?" he asked.

"Ten thousand jewel." smiled Wendy.

Macao sighed relieved, "That's good to hear. We don't get many jobs like that anymore."

Wendy observed the haggard looking man. He looked thinner than he did a few weeks ago when she left on the job. And was it just her imagination or was his hair beginning to gray rapidly. Wendy frowned.

"You need to rest up Macao, you look stressed."

Macao grunted and placed the beer mug to his lips, "Tell me something I don't know."

Wendy pulled a wooden barstool out from under the small bar counter and jumped up to sit next to the fourth guild master. Her short legs swung in the air slightly. As soon as she sat down, the purple haired bar maid Kinana set down a small glass of juice for her.

"Thanks Kinana." Wendy said before sipping on her juice.

The barmaid then place a steaming cup of tea in front of Carla. The white cat nodded her thanks before greedily sipping on the steaming white cup. Wendy exhaled as she finished off the last of her juice. She then glanced around the guild hall.

So many people had left. They were down to just a handful of members compared to what they had just a few months ago. They all began to leave as the requests board began to dry up. She shot a glance over at the small bulletin board in the corner. Only four or five request were on there. And none of them payed very well. She sighed.

"Looks like it'll be a bit of a wait before another good job comes along."

"Hopefully not too long of wait." Macao replied.

Kinana then snapped her fingers, "That's right! I just remembered." She pulled a drawer behind the counter open and grabbed a rolled up scrap of paper. "Wendy, a job request came in for you. Asked for you specifically."

Wendy grabbed the paper from Kinana and read the job request over.

"Help! Need to clear snow from fields in order to plant food. Request Wendy Marvell. Please do not send the annoying cat." Carla frowned at the paper, "Reward… twenty thousand jewel!"

"Whoa!" Macao exclaimed.

"Signed, a friend."

"I don't like that request Wendy." Carla said as he glared at the sentence that said do not send the annoying cat.

"But Carla, twenty thousand jewel." Wendy whined.

"You can't go on a job all by yourself like that." Carla replied stiffly.

"Oh c'mon Carla," Macao replied, "Wendy is probably our most powerful wizard right now. Hell, if I could, I'd name her our ace. She can handle a simple farming job on her own."

"It's all the way in the northern mountains of Fiore!" Carla snapped back.

"Carla, this money will help out a lot." Wendy replied, "I'm going to do it."

"Wendy!"

"Carla, the guild needs this." Wendy replied. The cat opened her mouth to reply back but saw the determined look in Wendy's eyes.

"I swear if anything happens to you I will make sure you won't hear the end of it." Carla grumbled.

Wendy grinned and grabbed the request note as well as her bag before bolting towards the door.

"Hey Wendy! Aren't you going to rest for a bit?"

Wendy shook her head as she ran out the doors. This was too good of a job to miss. It was far away for sure. At least two days by train then another several days walking. But it was well worth it. Wendy ran towards the train station and reached it just in time for the last northward bound train. After quickly purchasing a ticket she climbed aboard the train just as it began to steam off down the tracks. Wendy quickly took a seat in the passenger compartment. She stared out the window as Magnolia flew past her and the open countryside filled the view. She smiled, this was a great job. Twenty thousand jewel would pay off a lot of the guild's debts that they had. She glanced down at the job request. She was curious as to why this farmer specifically asked for her. Did she previously do a job for them. And who signs a request, A Friend. Wendy stared down at the writing.

"Don't send the annoying cat." She mumbled, "Signed a friend."

"I'll find a way for you to see me, I promise."

Wendy blinked. Was it really possible!? Her hands crumpled the edges of the paper as she tightly gripped it. Her eyes welled up a little. Only one person had the courage to call Carla an annoying cat. Wendy felt a small smile grace her lips. It took him forever, she was beginning to think he had forgotten. But he hadn't. He had kept his promise.

….

Joshua wiped some sweat from his forehead before gripping the axe handle once again. He bent to his right and grabbed a hunk of wood with his robotic hand. He then carefully placed it on the stump. Joshua grunted as he struggled to bring the heavy axe over his head. He carefully aimed and let the axe come thundering down. The satisfying sound of wood snapping and the addicting feeling of the axe cleaving the hunk of wood in two made a smile form on the boy's lips. This was fun. Hard work, but fun.

"You seem to enjoy working yourself to the bone." he heard a woman's voice from the woods around him. Joshua stopped what he was doing and let the axe drop to the ground. He turned around and looked over at a hooded, pale woman striding towards him from the woods that led to the valley.

"Hey Ventress, long time no see." he smiled at her.

"Quit smiling. It's annoying." she hissed.

"What? I can't be having a good day with you around." He laughed before rubbing his sleeve along his head again, "What are you doing outside of the valley anyways?"

Ventress stared the boy down, "It's been a month since you left the ship to get a crystal. Dooku wants to know what is taking so long?"

Joshua nodded his head and then sat down on the stump, "Lacrima's vary in price. I believe that I'm going to need a very strong one to use for a lightsaber crystal, not just some run of the mill lacrima that you can use to power a light or a stove. No, it'll have to be powerful and very sophisticated. And those kind of lacrima do not come cheap."

Ventress frowned, "A month-"

"Being an independent wizard doesn't allow jobs to flow very freely Ventress. I've mostly been doing favors for the farmers in the hills nearby. Clearing the melting snow so they can plant sooner. I'm getting paid, just not enough."

Ventress sighed, "Just steal a crystal already."

Joshua shook his head, "Stealing a lacrima of the caliber I'll need will attract the wrong kind of attention. Trust me, the lacrima I have in mind would have guilds up our asses if they found out I stole it."

Ventress frowned. The kid had a valid point.

"Besides, a Sith hides in plain sight. What better way to hide in plain sight than to follow the law?" Joshua smiled at the former Night Sister.

"Very well. But the Count is starting to get impatient."

"Tell him to do what he always tells me."

"That being?"

"Be patient brat." Joshua grinned as he did his best Dooku impression.

Ventress's eye twitched a little before she sighed and quietly left the clearing that housed Joshua's small cabin. Joshua breathed a relieved sigh as well. Ventress was a pill. She didn't seem to have a single funny bone in her. A stark contrast compared to Erza. She had Erza's temper and then some. But she didn't have that warm side to her at all. It was just a cold, heartlessness that filled Ventress. Joshua had no doubts that the only reason she was even agreed to basically babysit him was because she feared whoever ordered her to do it. That didn't stop him from trying to get her to lighten up a little. But so far, all of his attempts had failed miserably. She wasn't the playful type.

"And she always seems to have a stick up her ass." Joshua grumbled before he began to sense a familiar power approaching.

Joshua's heart skipped a beat as the power got closer. Soon he saw a blue haired girl wearing a green and yellow dress come out from the trees. Joshua grinned widely at here.

"Hey! You got here quick!" He smiled at her.

Wendy furrowed her eyes at him and Joshua gulped as she stomped towards him.

"Wendy what's-"

*SMACK*

Wendy's hand slapped across his right cheek.

"Five months!" Wendy snapped at Joshua, "Five months! I had no idea if you were alive or dead or hurt or anything! And all you can say is hey!"

Joshua blinked. Damn, I did something wrong again didn't I?

Wendy huffed then sat down next to the sweating ten year old. She glanced over at him. He hadn't changed too much. Same messy, spiky hair. Same stupid smile. He still fidgeted with his hands when he was nervous. Wendy blinked. She looked and saw that he had two hands. But how was that possible? Last she saw him, he didn't have a left arm.

"Joshua?"

"Yeah?"

"You're arm." Wendy pointed at his left hand.

"Hm? Oh this." Joshua pulled off the black leather glove he had over his mechanical arm. Wendy stared wide eyed at the copper colored device. It looked fragile but also very strong. "Pretty cool huh?" Joshua smiled as he wiggled the copper fingers in front of her face.

"How?"

Joshua blinked. He hadn't thought this one through. He couldn't just tell her how he got the arm. That would lead her to the Supremacy. And that would in turn make her run into Ventress, which was the last thing he wanted to have happen. He thought quickly.

"I made it." he lied.

Wendy's eyes ballooned, "You made that?"

Joshua was shocked that his lie worked, "Uh… yup. I made it. Pretty neat huh. Just like an actual arm."

"That's amazing!" Wendy gasped.

"I know, I'm pretty amazing."

"Don't get too big headed." Wendy deadpanned.

"Aw c'mon. Give me a little credit." Joshua complained.

Wendy laughed a little and the two sat quietly for a moment.

"So why all the way out here?" Wendy asked.

"Why here?" Joshua looked back at her and shrugged, "Dunno. Nice and peaceful. Good place to think." He lied once again. No one could know about the Supremacy.

Wendy nodded, "Makes sense. You like your peace and quiet after all."

Joshua nodded back, "So how's the guild."

Wendy's smile faded a little. Joshua frowned.

"What's wrong?" He asked the girl.

"The guild is barely holding together."

Joshua widened his eyes, "What?"

"We couldn't afford to stay in the original guild hall. So we had to leave it. That, and we got into debt with some people and they aren't exactly nice about payments." Wendy said to him, "Macao is barely keeping it all together right now."

Joshua grimaced, "I'm sorry. Is there anything I can do to help?"

"You could come back."

Joshua closed his eyes. He wished he could. But he wasn't strong enough yet. He wouldn't be able to protect jack squat now.

"Anything else I could do?"

Wendy frowned at him, "Why don't you want to come back."

Joshua closed his eyes and stared at his hands, "You know full well why."

"Master Makarov isn't around anymore."

"That's not the point Wendy." Joshua replied calmly, "The point is, no one trusts me at Fairy Tail. Not even Makarov did. He trusted some Phantom Lord converts before me."

"Joshua!" Wendy snapped at him as her mind reeled at the accusation. Did he really hold that against Juvia and Gajeel all this time?

"What? It's true." Joshua replied

"No it's not. Not even in the slightest." She shook her head, "But you can't seem to accept that."

"Wendy…" Joshua took a deep breath, "I will be back eventually. But not for a while. I-I need to get stronger first."

Wendy stared back at him. "The truth at last." she muttered to him, "But you can get stronger with us."

Joshua shook his head, "No I can't."

"Why not?" Wendy asked nicely. She wasn't mad at him. She was just looking for answers.

"My magic is," Joshua tried to find the right words, "Unique. No one at the guild would be able to help me train with it."

"And being alone in the mountains helps?" Wendy asked, "Why are you all the way out here to train?"

Joshua sighed, "I can't tell you."

That irked the dragon slayer, "Why not?"

Joshua shrugged, "I just can't."

"That's not an answer."

Joshua glared at her, "It's for your own safety." He finally admitted which surprised Wendy. "If you knew what I was doing up here, your safety would be at risk. And I will not allow that to happen. Not again."

He's still blaming himself for what happened on Tenrou Island. Wendy observed as his face fell.

They sat quietly once again, just listening to the peaceful silence around them.

"You hungry?" Joshua asked, "I can get some stew made."

Wendy nodded, "Sounds good. Then I better get home."

Joshua nodded in understanding, "Don't worry, I've got your twenty thousand jewel as well." He walked with her over to his small cabin behind the tree stump.

"Don't worry about that."

"Wendy, I don't want the rest of the guild knowing I'm here. We've got to make this look convincing. And that means." he opened the rickety wooden door, "You leave with twenty thousand jewel."

Wendy smiled at him and entered his small cabin and he quickly followed and shut the door.

Far above, quietly observing from a nearby hilltop was Ventress in her dark cape and hood, binoculars pressed to her eyes.

"Well well…" She mumbled, "We are having visitors now?"

Ventress noted it in her mind. The blue haired girl, she'd have to ask him about her. Dooku specifically told her not to do anything that would provoke the boy to leave. And she knew that if she attacked this girl that would cause the boy to leave. Her hands were tied for now. But she would find a way. She always did.

And chapter! A little bit of a slow chapter. Although it did reveal how Joshua ended up in Earthland in the first place as well as peeled a layer back on who this other being is inside of him. Let me know what you guys think. As always, I hope you all enjoyed. Have a nice day!