Kyandi: Hey there everyone. I hope no one is still mad at me.
Thyme: ...
Kyandi: Well, I see at least one person is still mad.
Thyme: ...
Kyandi: Anyway...To answer the question being asked...yes, Rette is really dead. As for rather she will stay that way...well, you just have to read. So, before anyone takes the chance to try to take their frustration out on me, let's move on. Everyone, enjoy and review. I do not own Fairy Tail.
Chapter 54 Back Again
"Rette? Rette!?"
Abandoning their fights, Natsu, Gray, Sting and Rogue, ran to Rette, Sting getting there first. He fell to his knees beside her prone body, not even noticing the blood pooling on the ground, shining ruby red in the sunlight. He scooped up Rette's body, pulling her into his arms as the other three crowded around him.
"Rette? Come on, Rette, speak to me!" Sting pleaded.
With his free hand, he smacked her cheek lightly, but she didn't stir. Already, the warmth of her body was fading, her skin growing cold as the color quickly drained away with her blood. There was no breath coming from her lips, no beat of her destroyed heart. If the gaping hole in her chest where her heart was suppose to be, wasn't evidence enough, they no longer had any doubt in their minds.
Rette was dead.
It was a fact that soon reached everyone of her friends who could no longer sense her magical energy. Several cried out, others fought tears as they balled up their fists, and some stared at the ground in horror and disbelief. None of them had ever expected Rette to actually die, despite the warning from the future. She had always gotten hurt, sometimes more than everyone else, sometimes less, but she had always bounced back, as if nothing had every happened. Even when she didn't have enough magical energy to fight with, they could still sense her presence.
But now...none of them could sense even a speck of her energy left.
Sting couldn't believe it. Rette, the usually vibrant, vital girl he knew, lay dead in his arms, her body limp and lifeless. He couldn't force himself to release her, even knowing he still had a fight that needed to be fought. He gripped her tightly in his arms. It was then that he noticed something laying forgotten on the ground, not a foot from Rette. There, the strap broken, was the choker Rette always wore. Sting reached out, snatching it off the ground.
The charm was unharmed, the fire trapped inside, flickering as he looked at it. Gripping it tightly in his hand, he buried his nose in Rette's hair, holding her tight to his chest. He had just found her, had just found a girl that made his heart skip a beat every time he saw her. Had just found a girl who the very thought of her brightened his whole day. Hell, there were even days that all he could think about was Rette.
And now...now she was gone.
Right before his eyes.
They now understood Rette's words, understood what it was that she had come to understand about the warning. Rogue silently bowed his head, laying a hand on his partner's shoulder. Gray cursed and punched the ground, while Natsu continued to stare at Rette's ghost white face.
Mard Geer, held out a hand when Jiemma started towards the four mourning mages. Jiemma stopped though he wasn't too happy about it.
"That is enough, Lachlan." Mard Geer called.
All four mages froze when a twisted sort of laughter suddenly filled the air.
"Heh...who would have thought. Amoreta had always been more of a self centered person." All four turned looks of mixed shock and anger on Lachlan as the man got to his feet, laughing to himself as he stood, one hand pressed to the slowly healing hole in his chest. "She only ever cared about her own survival. Didn't cross my mind once, even with all her talk, that she would give her life to protect someone else."
"How!?" Natsu snapped. "How are you still alive!?"
"Why are you still here when Rette..." Sting couldn't finish that sentence.
Lachlan only laughed harder. He was finally back on his feet, running a hand through his hair as he glanced at his daughter.
"I'll give her one thing...she's become stronger, but I'm a demon. It might have been a righteous act she preformed, but her aim was off and she missed a vital hit." Lachlan said, spreading his arms. "Amoreta, no matter how hard she tried, was, and will always be, nothing more than a colossal failure. Even in death, she couldn't do anything! It was her own stupidity that killed her. Had she ran away and forsaken you, which is about all she's good for, then she might have lived a little longer. Amoreta-"
"Rette! Her name is Rette!"
This dark snap came from Sting. Lachlan snickered at the dark look on Sting's face. His cold magenta eyes flashed with a sense of ruthlessness and cold insanity as he grinned. It hurt them to see him look at them with that kind of look in eyes almost exactly like Rette's.
"Ah, yes. That ridiculous nickname her mother gave her. Turned out that they were more alike than I thought. Same stubbornness, same refusal to obey, and the same asinine sense of devotion to humans. Neither could just do as they were told. Lord Zeref blessed her with the name Amoreta, the day she was born and her idiotic mother insisted on calling her Rette. Oh, what was her name again...? Ah! Irini Starrilia. Took on her mother's name in the end, it seems." Lachlan remarked.
Irini Starrilia.
Rette had once said that her full name was Rette Irini Starrilia. Now they knew it was just a mix of her mother's name and the nickname her mother had given her. Even not knowing her mother, Rette had tried to honor her.
"Irini didn't like the name Amoreta. She wanted to call the girl Rette. I knew the moment she first held the girl that Irini had become emotionally attached. Did you know that Irini died with Amoreta in her arms? She tried to steal Amoreta from me. The foolish woman! Died in vain and in the most pain I could give her. I made sure Amoreta knew the story growing up, too. Thought it might deter her from repeating her mother's mistake, but no. She, too, defied me and died for some ridiculous notion of love."
Lachlan gave a demented laugh, laughing at all the plight his daughter had faced in life. Sting's grip on Rette's body grew tighter. This man, the man that was suppose to be her greatest protector, the one who was suppose to love her unconditionally, had been her biggest tormentor. He had made her life a living hell, casting her into nightmares and darkness from the day she was born. That Rette had managed to have any conpacity to love at all, was amazing in and of itself.
But love she had.
She had loved her friends, her guild, her family, enough that she had given everything for them. Had given everything to save them from the very man who had haunted her very steps her whole life. Right to the very end, she had loved them enough that she hadn't thought twice about which was more important, her life or their's.
Sting would kill this man for what he had done to Rette. She had deserved so much more than this man had ever given her. So much more than life had given her at birth. She had deserved a life of love and laughter and had gotten a life plagued with nightmares and constant fear and darkness. The mere thought brought more tears to his eyes.
If only they could have her back.
They would never let her be alone in her secrets, ever again.
-0-0-0-0-
So many tears...
Viewing the world from above, invisible to the eyes of her guild mates, Rette watched her friends cry. She watched Sting hug her lifeless body as he, Rogue, Natsu, and Gray mourned her. She watched as Thyme cried her heart out, letting Lily hug her as the other exceeds, Mira, and Erza cried silently. She even watched as Makarov, detached from the battle in order to prep Lumen Histoire, shed tears for her.
She watched as the people who had become all the family she had in the world, cried out in heartache.
It broke the last, tattered remains of her heart. She had thought that, yes, they would cry, but at least they would be alive and safe. But this? She had never expected to find someone in the life given to her, that would cry so earnestly for her. Even as nothing more than a spirit floating above the world, Rette felt like someone was stepping on her chest. It hurt so much, knowing that she was the one that had made her friends cry so.
She hadn't wanted this.
She didn't want to leave them too heartbroken to defend themselves. She didn't want them to blame themselves, or mourn her. Rette was sure she wasn't worth it. Yet, cry they did. And there was no going back. Her choice had been made and there was no changing it now.
"Such wonderful friends you have."
Rette, out of surprise, turned. In the course of the turn, the world around her turned from the battlefield her friends still fought on, to a field of wildflowers where the sun shine so lovely over the world. Rette looked around her, surprised and in awe of the simple beauty of the field.
"Beautiful, isn't it?"
Rette's head turned to the side as a young woman stepped up beside her. For a moment, she thought she was looking into a mirror. The woman smiling gently back at her, looked exactly like her, except for two things. Where Rette's hair was chopped off just above shoulder length, the woman's silver hair fell clear down her waist. But that wasn't all. Staring back at Rette wasn't a pair of magenta eyes edged in lavender. These eyes were a pure, beautiful, lavender.
Rette knew who she was instantly.
"Mother?"
The woman smiled brightly, turning to fully face Rette. Reaching out, she took Rette's hands in hers. Rette was surprised to feel warmth surround her cold fingers.
"Look at you...so grown up, so beautiful. I knew from the very first moment I held you in my arms, that you would be so pretty." she told Rette.
Rette couldn't believe it. Standing before her was Irini Starrilia, the very woman who had given birth to her. She had thought she would never get a chance to see Irini for herself. Of course, it took dying for her finally get to see her.
"You...You're really my mother?" Rette asked.
"Yes, I am." Irini laughed softly at the look on Rette's face, reaching up to press one hand to Rette's cheek. "Why are you so surprised? I have always been there with you, my dear daughter, watching you as you fought to make a place in the world. I never left you for even a second."
"You didn't? Why not?" Rette asked.
"Such a silly question. You, my dear Rette, are my precious daughter."
"But, I...I thought..."
"You thought I would hate you, did you not?" Irini asked.
Rette nodded silently, unable to speak the words she had thought for as long as she could remember. After all, Lachlan had killed Irini because of her, he had forced Irini to have her.
"I suppose Lachlan told you that." When Rette nodded again, Irini shook her head. "Oh, your father really just...he was so charming when I first met him, had me completely fooled. But I am digressing."
Irini let go of Rette's hand, placing both of her hands on Rette's cheeks. She leaned forward, placing her forehead on Rette's. The smile on her face was so sweet, so kind that Rette couldn't deny it was genuine.
"Rette, no matter what Lachlan did or has said, from the very first time I felt you kick in my belly, I have loved you more fiercely than life."
She...loved her.
Rette could have cried in that moment. The one thing she had sought from Lachlan her whole childhood, she now found so easily in the very woman who should of had a reason to hate her, who should have rejected her. Irini laughed softly, her thumb rubbing at Rette's cheeks.
"It is not something to get teary eyed about. I am your mother. Lachlan might have tricked me, but I chose to keep you, to carry you and bring you into this world, all with the hopes of getting you away from the world Lachlan had trapped the both of us in. I am sorry that I failed at keeping you safe, as a mother should." Irini told her.
Rette latched onto Irini's wrist then, shaking her head fiercely.
"It's not your fault." Rette said firmly.
"And nor is it your's. Rette, as your parents, we should have protected you. I had no way of knowing what Lachlan was before he revealed himself and when I tried to take you away...well, I just was not fast enough. I am so sorry you had to live the life you did, but look at you!" Irini said, stepping back to look down at Rette with a smile. "I could not be any prouder of the strong, kind, and hopeful woman you have grown into."
It was everything Rette had always wanted to hear, just once. To know that at least one of her parents had loved her and was proud of her...Rette felt like several weights had been taken off her shoulders.
"Only one thing has ever upset me when I watched you." Irini said.
"What?"
Irini studied Rette's face, one hand sweeping her hair out of her eyes.
"You have tried to close yourself off from others and the world. You have let fear of losing another, fear of them knowing what you are, and the fear of rejection keep you from realizing that there are so many people around you, that love you for exactly who you are. You have kept them all at a distance and all that is doing, is hurting you. My dear, beloved daughter, you are so much more than you believe yourself to be. You just need to open your eyes and see it for yourself." Irini told her.
"It doesn't matter now. I'm dead."
Irini's smile, this time, was slow with a hint of mischievous to it. Leaning back on her heels, she gave her daughter a wink.
"You just leave that to me. You did not get your inclination towards Light of Creation magic from your father and there are several of those spells that you do not know yet."
With that, Irini vanished. Rette turned on the spot, looking around her, trying to locate the woman.
"Mother!? Mother, where did you go?" Rette called.
Laughter drifted to her on the wind that suddenly breezed through the flowery field. Rette had to pin her hair against her head to keep it out of her eyes.
"Just wait there, my dear. I will be back."
The wind died out, leaving Rette alone in the field. Rette heaved a sigh and dropped to sit among the flowers. Staring up at the blue sky above, Rette could only think one thing.
"Who knew I had such a playful mother?"
-0-0-0-0-
"What are we going to do?"
Rogue asked the question that his current comrades didn't want to answer. They all four knew there was still a fight to fight, but they couldn't just leave Rette like that. Even if she was gone already. A light, airy laugh reached their ears then, playing on the wind as it blew across the area. Everyone, even Lachlan, Jiemma, and Mard Geer, look up at as it played like bells. It even carried to the other members of Fairy Tail.
"Don't worry, young ones."
Natsu, Gray, Rogue, and Sting's eyes widened as the voice sounded. It was similar to Rette's, though more mature and far more cheerful than Rette's had ever been. They looked around, but there was no one there and they knew it hadn't been Rette. Sting's hand growing warm, had his raising it to peer at Rette's choker clasped there. The charm was glowing, the internal flame shimmering and flickering brighter.
"Was that...the charm?" Rogue asked.
"That is right, young one! Do not cry, do not worry. Any of you. Have faith and you will be rewarded."
The voice played across the battle field, reaching each and every one of Rette's friends. With it, came a relaxing presence that soothed all tears from her friends' eyes. Even Thyme's cries tapered off as she looked around trying to locate the speaker.
"Who are you?" Natsu asked.
Another laugh rang in the air, soft and sweet.
"Just someone who has loved Rette from the very first kick in the womb." replied the woman.
"You mean..." Across the battle field, Lucy trailed off.
"You're her mother." Makarov finished from his spot away from the battle.
"That is right. Thank you so much for the love and devotion you have showed my daughter, all of you. How much you care is not lost on her, or me."
Suddenly, to their surprise, images begun to play in all of their heads as feelings that wasn't their's, washed over them all. Closing their eyes, they could all see events from the time Rette joined Fairy Tail, play behind their eye lids. All of it played out from Rette's point of view, her feelings filling them as keenly as if they were their own.
From the confusion and awkwardness when she first woke up in the infirmary of the Fairy Tail guild hall, to the slowly developing feelings of friendship, affection, and love she felt increase with each battle she fought with her friends. Even a brief flashing of the events with Weiss, playing, letting them feel the intense and almost instant love she had felt for the child...and the increasing love she felt for Sting.
Individual moments with different people, flashed in their minds. A dinner with Mira, Lisanna, and Elfman that left them feeling the deep sibling love Rette had fostered for them, a moment in the guild hall, sitting around a table with her female friends, and the affection she held so dearly for each of them. A memory of Rette sitting at the bar and listening to one of Makarov's stories that had them feeling the strong father/daughter bond she had developed for the old man. Even a memory of Rette breaking up a fight between Natsu and Gray that had them feeling Rette's sisterly frustration at having to break up yet another fight between two guys who had become like brothers to her.
Seeing and feeling how she had saw and felt about each of them, brought more tears to her friends' eyes. Despite her inability to express her feelings, Rette had cared just as deeply as the rest of them. There were even feelings and thoughts that Rette had managed to keep from Thyme. The next memory to play, was that of Rette sitting on the cliff side her house was perched on, watching the guild hall below by herself. In the memory, she was talking, as if she was talking her mother's spirit. Kind of like Lucy did with her letters to her mother.
"It surprises me, Mother. They're a funny bunch. Weirder than any I've ever met and that's coming from someone raised in the Compound and by dragons. But...it's not a bad thing. I like them, honestly. Even broken as I am, even unable to express myself, to be honest with them, they've accepted me. Even with Thyme with me, with all the people in the world around me, I've always felt like I've been alone from the start, but here...I almost feel like I can forget the past and just belong."
In the memory, Rette heaved a sigh, her eyes closing for a moment as an image of Lachlan, minus the scars, flashed through her mind. They could almost feel the shiver that had run down her spine in the memory.
"You know Father, though. He might be leaving me to my own devices for now, but he won't leave me alone forever. One day, he'll come back for me and I'll have to pay for what I've done. It'll be better for all if they don't know the real me, if they don't get too far in. At least then, when I have to leave, they won't dwell. This won't last forever, but even then...I can't regret a single day in this guild, Mother. When I'm forced to go, I'll miss them more than anything else in this life. They are probably the only piece of heaven I'll ever see. They have made this nightmare of a life, worth living. For them, there really is nothing I wouldn't do."
They could feel the truth behind Rette's words as she spoke, spilling her honest thoughts to the air. Through her eyes, they could see as she scanned the guild hall, watching as people left for the night, talking and laughing.
"I honestly love them all and despite me not being a perfect person, or even a half way decent one, they love me.. My point in telling you this, Mother, is because I just wanted to let you know that I've found a reason for me try to live this life to the fullest, a reason to smile and laugh, a reason to continue hoping for a better tomorrow. I've found a reason to exist and that reason is them. I won't let Father hurt them like he has so many before. I would rather die then allow such a thing because they deserve so much better than a person like me could ever give them and my life is the least I could give them." Rette gave a curt laugh. "If these fits keep increasing, giving my life won't be so far off. They're slowly killing me. Perhaps that would be a good thing. End things before they get too deep. But still...it hurts to think of leaving them, Mother. Maybe one day, just maybe, I'll be able to tell them how much they mean to me. Maybe."
The memory faded, leaving Rette's friends lost for words. Rette, long before the warning from Future Rogue, had planned to trade her life to save them all from her father. She had deemed her life so insignificant when compared to that of her friends. All the while, she had been hiding that slowly and surely, she was dying.
And none of them had even guessed.
"My daughter never was one to make others worry for her. She has been bound to this life by what her father has done to her and she refused to let any of you be effected by it. There is no doubt in my mind that she loves you all just as dearly as I love her. Because of all of you, she does not have to face this life alone and for that, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. You are her family and you love her like such. For that, I will do the only thing left that I can. I will return my daughter to you all." Surprise spread through them all, but so did joy. Joy at the thought of having Rette back, safe and alive. The voice sounded louder in Sting's head this time. "Place the charm in her choker, on her chest and I will handle the rest."
Sting turned his eyes to the charm. He cast a glance to Rogue, Natsu, and Gray, who nodded. The voice, Rette's mother, had told them to have faith and they would be rewarded. Anything for Rette. He laid Rette flat on the ground, placing the choker on her chest as requested.
"Very good. Do me a favor...do not let her be so reckless anymore." Irini said, before her attention shifted to Makarov, her voice sounding louder in his ears, though it still reached all of the others. "Please, I just beg one thing of you...give her the love I could not."
Across the battle field, Natsu, Sting, Gray, and Rogue, shielded their eyes as the stone in Rette's choker, shined brighter, the light growing brighter and brighter until it was blinding to all near it. It pulsed before the flames inside the stone seeped into Rette's chest. Light spilled through Rette's veins as the stone went dark and dull. It filled Rette from head to toe, making her skin glow. Before their eyes, the hole in her chest closed and vanished, but it didn't stop there. As they watched, the scar on her stomach faded and vanished, the brands on her hands and the scar around one ankle, doing the same.
Only when it was all gone, her skin as unmarked as the day she was born, did the light fade away. They waited with baited breath, the seconds ticking away. And then...
Rette gasped, sucking in a breath, her eyes flying open. She jolted up, coughing as her lungs fought to pull in air. Sting caught her in his arms and her arms instantly wrapped around him as she gasped in more and more air.
She was alive!
Rette was alive!
Her four friends cried in joy as she clung to Sting, trying to calm her breathing. Her eyes were wide open, surprise and disbelief coloring them. Even Lachlan was shocked speechless, Mard Geer silently surprised. She had been dead and now, not only was she alive, but ever scar Lachlan had managed to leave on her, was gone.
"You're alive!" Sting exclaimed.
"Yeah...I'm never doing that again." Rette declared, sinking against Sting's chest in relief.
"You better not!" Natsu snapped at her.
Rette gave him a look of warning about yelling in her ear and Natsu backed up.
"But what happened? Was that really your mother we heard?" Gray asked.
Rette opened her mouth to answer but was cut off.
"The one and the only."
All five of them whipped around, finding a ghostly figure standing there in a gown made of light. All four of Rette's friends, couldn't keep their mouths from dropping open as they looked from Rette to the ghostly figure. The two looked so much alike.
"Mother." Rette said softly.
"Rette, my dear daughter, you are where you belong. It was not time for you to come to me. Not yet." Irini told her daughter.
Rette nodded, not trusting her voice. For some reason, her emotions seemed stronger now and it was all she could do to keep her voice level and calm.
"Irini." The growl came from Lachlan, making Irini, Rette, and her friends, look at him. "I should have known that even death wouldn't keep you from interfering."
"Of course not. She is my daughter, Lachlan. You do not deserve her." Irini replied.
Turning, Irini dropped to her knees in front of Rette and Sting. Reaching out, she cupped Rette's face and leaned forward, whispering in her daughter's ear. Her voice was pitched so lowly that even Sting couldn't hear what she had said. When she pulled back, she smiled at Rette.
"You show Lachlan what Starrilia women are capable of and know that no matter where you go and no matter what you, I am always there and I am always proud." Irini told Rette. "Now...take care of your friends. Do not leave them again."
Irini leaned in, one last time, whispering, "I love you, my daughter", before giving her a kiss on the forehead. With that, Irini vanished. For a moment, all they could do was stare at the spot where she had been. Rette couldn't help the sinking, but happy feeling that settled in her chest. While she wouldn't be able to see her mother again while living, she now knew that her mother loved her. That was enough for her.
Rette was just glad to be back with her friends. Now they could stop crying. She had realized something in her few minutes of out-of-body experience...she never wanted to be the cause of her friends' sadness again. Never again. She would have to apologize to all of them.
"So...are you going to let go anytime soon?" Sting asked, a grin on his face as he looked down at her.
"If I could have my way...no. I would never let go." Rette retorted.
While the comment had Sting's cheeks turning a little red, it had her other three friends chuckling. Sting would have loved to let her stay there...at any other time. Right now, they still had a fight to finish. Clapping reached their ears then, making them all turn to look at Lachlan. While there was a grin twisting his lips, his eyes were hard and cold. Sting felt Rette stiffen in his arms.
"Bravo, what a show. To think Irini had such a trick up her sleeve. That woman always did drive me up the wall." Lachlan drawled darkly, his anger showing despite his grin. "And you have grown up to be the same way."
Sting tightened his arms around Rette before slipped an arm under her knees and raising to his feet. He held her close to his chest, settling her in his arms.
"I'm going to get Rette away from here." Sting told the others.
"No, Sting. Set me down. I'll fight."
Her friends looked down at Rette as she spoke firmly. Despite the cold sweat that had broken out on her body, her eyes were set in determination as she looked at Lachlan.
"Are you sure?" Gray asked.
"This is my fight, he started it with me, so I'll end it. I'm not going to let any of you get hurt fighting my fight for me." Rette replied.
Sting looked at the others, silently questioning what they thought. Natsu and Gray grinned. Rette was a fairy through and through, alright. She wouldn't give up, even when it scared her to death. Sting knew that, too. Though he really didn't want to, though he really wanted to put her somewhere safe and leave her there, he sat her on her feet.
"You better not die again." he told her.
Rette press a hand to his chest, turning her head to look up into his eyes. She gave him a smile then. Not one of the half smiles she had always given him. This was a full blown smile, given easily.
"I won't make my friends cry again." she promised.
Turning, she locked her eyes on Lachlan. She was done and tired of pretenses and hiding and holding onto things that only seemed to drag her down. So, while she might never know why they left, she was more than ready to move past the grudge she had held on her dragons. If she was going to beat Lachlan, she needed every spell and trick in her arsenal.
That included her trump card.
"The four of you might want to take a step back." she advised.
Without questioning her, the four took three giant steps away from Rette. They didn't know what she was up to, but they had a feeling that doing what she said was probably in their best interest. Drawing in a deep breath, Rette reached deep, diving into her Second Origin.
She would show her father what the child of dragons could do.
The burst of power that exploded out from Rette, swept over her friends, fierce and strong. Crystals begun to sprout from the ground around her feet, ice coating them in a layer of frost. Before their eyes, Rette under went a transformation they had thought her incapable of making, but the moment they saw the scales spreading over her skin, they knew what it was.
Dragon Force.
Scale of a shining silver spread up over Rette's cheeks and down her arms and legs. Claws, like those of a dragon, took place of her hands and feet, small wings coated equally in ice and crystal, sprouting from her back. Even a dragon-like tail sprouted from the base of her spine as her incisors sharpened into visible fangs.
Rette's Dragon Force had her looking more like a dragon than any of them. Perhaps that was because of the fact that she had had two dragons and had the magic of them both, so the magic effected her more than it did them.
"You can use Dragon Force!?" Natsu gasped.
"Of course I can. I am a Dragon Slayer." Rette replied. "Just because I never used it before, doesn't mean I can't."
"But it's so much more..." Rogue trailed off.
"Dragon-like? Yeah, I noticed that. It's probably due to having two types of Dragon Slayer magics. I never got the chance to ask Tundron and Chrysalis." Rette said.
Now that they knew, the other Dragon Slayers present couldn't help but wonder how Rette handled it. Demon and dragon, all wrapped up in one. Then again, it was Rette who had a knack for balancing and combining magics of all sorts.
"But it's not important." Rette said. "Let's finish what we started."
With that, Rette dropped to her knees, her eyes going to the skies above. She could still sense Igneel and Acnologia somewhere above her head. As long as Acnologia was there, she might as well make use of him and help out her comrade Dragon Slayers and dragon. She dug her clawed fingers into the ground.
"Twin Dragon Slayer Secret Arts...Territory of the Twin Dragons!"
A large magic circle that was a swirl of ice blue and purple in color, appeared in the sky over them, spreading to cover the area. Crystal and ice shot from the ground forming four pillars at the edges of the circle, making Lachlan, Mard Geer, and Jiemma look around. A top of the pillars sat statues of dragons. The pillars marked four, evenly spaced points at the edges of the wide magic circle and once they were fully formed, their eyes glowed the same color as Rette's eyes, Rette eyes flashing the same way, showing that the pillars were connected to her.
Taking a deep breath, Rette leaned her head back, opened her mouth, and let out the loudest, most dragon-like cry. The cry even reached Igneel and Acnologia above, the two dragons pausing as they heard it. Igneel looked towards the ground, a break in the clouds, showing them Rette below.
"A Queen's Cry. She truly is all Chrysalis and Tundron said her to be." Igneel remarked, amused.
Acnologia, on the other hand, was not so amused. Already, he could feel his energy, his magic, draining, transferring to Rette, who then sent it out to each of the Dragons Slayers on the battle field and Igneel.
Below, Natsu, Sting, and Rogue felt an increase in their magic, their energy returning to drive away their fatigue. Rette slowly rose to her feet, glancing over her shoulder at her friends.
"Sorry I can't restore your magic too, Gray." she told him.
"Don't worry about me. I'm good enough." he assured her.
Rette nodded and turned back to look towards her father. No, towards Lachlan. He wasn't her father, no matter the blood ties and now...now she was going to prove that he had no more hold on her life. It was time to end this and return to her family. Her real family.
"Let's go." she declared.
With renewed vigor, the five of them charged into the fight once more. All over the battle field, the return of Rette's magic energy, sparked a new burst of energy in all of her friends. Just as Rette went into her fight with firm resolve, her friends did too. Rette hit Lachlan hard, her dragon claws slashing across his chest with an amount of force that surprised him. With a grunt, he jumped back, five deep gashes opened across his chest.
Rette refused to let up, just continued her attacks. Her friends did the same, continuing their own fights. With their energy returned and a firm resolve in their hearts to take Minerva back home and see Rette and her guild whole and together again, Sting and Rogue quickly put an end to their fight, finishing Jiemma, even though it wiped them of what energy Rette had been able to restore to them. Collapsing to the ground, they left the rest to Rette, Natsu, and Gray.
While Rette clashed with her father, Gray and Natsu were busy, having their heads dragged along the ground by Mard Geer. They quickly turned the tide, attacking Mard Geer as a team. Mard Geer took the damage, but bounced back, launching a counter attack. Back and forth they went, trading off blows and destroying the general area. Mard Geer declared himself thoroughly entertained.
"A long time ago," Mard Geer said, staring at Gray and Natsu. "magic was born as one. Eventually, it developed into many different kinds of magic. Historically, END created a new possibility for magic. Curses. The source of their power are actual "curses". Hatred...envy...grudges. Or in the case of Lachlan's daughter...tribulation. All negative feelings make them stronger. They are based on the nature of life. Even Lachlan's daughter can't escape that."
"Who cares! Then magic will create the future!" Natsu declared.
"Magic has no future. Curses are superior in all aspects." Mard Geer insisted.
With that declaration, Mard Geer used his ultimate curse, The Memory of Death, to try to completely destroy Natsu and Gray. The sheer feeling of the curse, made the hair on the back of Rette's neck stand on end, but she knew, before they revealed themselves, that Natsu and Gray were just fine. Thinking that he had destroyed them for good, Mard Geer returned to his human form. To his rude awakening, Natsu and Gray burst free of the ground, for the most part unharmed thanks to Gray's new magic.
This, however, took the last of Gray's magic, leaving the fight to Natsu. Angry at the fall of his comrade, Natsu hit Mard Geer with all he had and when it looked like he was out of juice and Mard Geer would win, he revealed that Gray wasn't done for just yet. He had set Mard Geer up, giving Gray the opening he needed. One hit was all it took to bring Mard Geer down for good, leaving him laying on the ground, unable to move.
All that was left, was Rette's fight.
Rette had her father pinned, landing one hit after another, driving him back. Just when she was sure she might be able to land a final blow, she suddenly felt the magic in the air around her began to thin. Gritting her teeth, Rette staggered back, her Dragon Force form faltering before vanishing, leaving her in her human form. Only her demon half kept her standing while all the other mages began to weaken. Rette instant backed off from her father, retreating to Gray and Natsu. Lachlan followed, standing off to the side to watch with a grin on his face.
Rette knew what was going on without being told.
"This is only the beginning. The disappearance of magic will eventually become "emptiness" and END shall resurrect, feeding off of that energy." Mard Geer said from where he lay. "And when the strongest Etherious rises, you humans will no longer have the defense you call magic."
"This is your last chance, Amoreta. Join me, or die with these humans." Lachlan called.
Rette's eyes flickered upwards for a moment before returning to her father.
"Shove it where the sun don't shine." she told him.
Lachlan growled before taking a single step forward. A grin spread across Rette's face, just before both Igneel and Acnologia fell from the sky, landing where Lachlan had been standing. Rette cursed when it was revealed that Lachlan had escaped being crushed.
"Damn. I was hoping they would crush him." Rette muttered.
Igneel, with Acnologia pinned under his clawed feet, rose his head, rising his voice.
"Don't give up, humans!"
A cry from the sky, had all of them looking up. A magic so familiar to Rette as her own, settled over Rette's sense, making her eyes widened. It couldn't be...it just couldn't.
"Tundron...Chrysalis..."
The names left Rette in a whisper. Part of her screamed that it couldn't be possible, but she knew the magic that washed over her, she knew it was them. It made her heart pound faster in her chest at the thought of getting to see them again.
"The dragons that you've freed are dancing in the skies of Ishgar." Igneel declared.
Bit by bit, Rette could fell the vanishing of the negating effect of Face, her magic returning. With it's return, she could feel her dragons' magic more clearly, as well as that of four other dragons she was sure she had never sensed before, despite their magic ringing a familiar bell in her.
"We've stopped END's resurrection." Igneel declared.
"Weisslogia's still alive?" Sting asked in shock.
"So is Skiadrum, Tundron, Chrysalis, Metalicana, and Grandeeney. We've all been inside you Dragon Slayers. Or more like, we've been asleep inside you due to a sealing spell." Igneel explained.
"And...the trigger was that throbbing we felt just now?" Rogue asked.
Rette felt her knees wobble before they gave, causing her to sink to the ground. She couldn't believe it. Tundron and Chrysalis were alive and had been hiding inside her for all this time.
"Oh yeah! I didn't hear about that, y'know! Why the hell were you in me! I don't remember eating you!" Natsu yelled.
"There were reasons for that. The first would be so that we could stop you Dragon Slayers from transforming into dragons like Acnologia. And the second-"
Igneel was cut off as Acnologia suddenly surged up, knocking Igneel off. Igneel promised that they would talk after he dealt with Acnologia and took off into the skies, yelling for Natsu to get the book of END. Rette still had her own fight to fight. Her attention was split though, was Natsu and Gray started fighting over the book. Gray wanted to destroy it, right then and there, while Natsu had promised to take it back to Igneel. Sting and Rogue tried to get them to cut it out, but before Rette could add her two jewel worth, the book vanished.
A new, but familiar magic suddenly washed over Rette, making her whip around as a voice spoke.
"This book belongs to me." All of them turned, Lachlan turning with a big grin on his face. "So I'm taking it back. It's really important, you know."
There, standing before them with the book in his hand, was Zeref. Lachlan greeted Zeref cheerfully and brightly. Zeref nodded to his faithful follower, his eyes scanning the others while a small smile fell on his face.
"Zeref..." Rette whispered as the man came towards them.
"Mard Geer, you did well. You were just about to revive END. You can sleep now." Zeref told the defeated demon.
Mard Geer, just as well as Lachlan and Rette did, knew exactly what Zeref meant. He tried to insist that he could fulfill Zeref's wish, but with a simple, "You can't." Zeref returned Mard Geer to his book and set the book on fire, destroying it and the demon, himself.
"You...! You created that demon!" Gray snapped.
"Yes. But I don't need it anymore." Zeref replied.
Gray took a step forward, but Rette caught his pants leg, pulling him to a stop. When Gray looked back at her wide eyed expression, she shook her head.
"Don't. You don't know him. Once he makes up his mind, there's no changing it." Rette warned him.
"It's been a long time, Amoreta. I'm glad to see you still remember me so clearly."
Rette's eyes went to Zeref as he spoke. He was smiling at her, but she had no doubt in her mind that he was not pleased with her. Lachlan looked from her to Zeref.
"I was just about to finish things with her, Lord Zeref." Lachlan said.
"No. Just leave her be for now, Lachlan." Zeref ordered.
If it had been anyone else other than Zeref, Lachlan would have argued, but all he did was cast one more look at Rette before nodding. Zeref turned his attention to Natsu then.
"I wanted to finish my fight against you today. However, Acnologia got in our way. Will he end history once again? Or will a miracle happen? I'm not sure." Zeref remarked.
"What are you saying?" Natsu asked.
"If you can survive this desperate situation...I will give you more despair." Zeref promised, turning to leave. Before he did, his eyes focused on Rette. "Amoreta...I look forward to our next meeting. We have a lot to catch up on."
With that, he turned, calling for Lachlan to come. Lachlan gave Rette a grin before turning to join his lord. In the blink of an eye, the two vanished. Only when Rette could no longer feel their energies, did she begin to relax, the long fight finally catching up with her.
"That bastard...he took the book with him." Gray growled.
Natsu took off then, going to help Igneel in his fight against Acnologia. Rette would have gone with him, but the trauma of her death, the exhaustion of the long fight, all of it finally caught up to her, making her body feel like jelly. She did feel, however, when Igneel's magic energy vanished, signalling his death at the claws of Acnologia.
With Igneel's death, Acnologia left. Rette, Gray, Sting and Rogue relocated to where all of their friends were. There they found their dragons waiting. Rette couldn't help but stare as the looked over the familiar, elegant, crystal covered form of Chrysalis and the craggy, muscled, icy form of Tundron with the spikes on his back that she remembered being hung from more times than she could count. Both gave her their dragon version of smiles when they saw her.
"Igneel, together with the bravery of all of you, has driven away Acnologia." Grandeeney said. "You did well trying to destroy Face, Wendy."
"It's because Carla was with me." Wendy replied, wiping tears from her eyes.
"As always, you've got that vile look in your eyes." Metalicana told Gajeel.
"Shut it!" Gajeel snapped back.
"I'm pretty sure I killed you." Sting told his dragon.
"I also am quite certain I saw you die, Skiadrum." Rogue added.
"We can alter human memories essentially at will." Weisslogia replied.
"Igneel was against use doing so, though. Ultimately, what we intended to do was grant you Dragon Slayers both the memory of killing us and the results you would achieve had you actually done so." Skiadrum added.
"Even so...to call us "dead" would only be half incorrect." Weisslogia said.
"What do you mean?" Rette asked, stepping up to join the other Dragon Slayers.
"Rette, my dear," Chrysalis said, her voice soft. "...we are already dead."
"Really?" Wendy asked.
"A very long time ago, our souls were extracted from us by Acnologia's Dragon Slayer magic." Grandeeney said. "That is why, in addition to the two objectives of stopping your dragonification and defeating Acnologia, the reason we remained inside your bodies was to prolong our own lives."
"Once we leave your bodies, we are unable to return to them. The strength we displayed today we did so for both the first and last time. This is yet another reason we did not show ourselves till now." Skiadrum added.
" Even Igneel was unable to defeat Acnologia. Then again, Igneel only had what little strength he managed to retain in his half-dead state. O humans, please, permit not Igneel's name to suffer blemish." Metalicana asked.
"There was never a dragon as gallant, nor any as human-loving as Igneel." Tundron agreed.
"We have not had the chance to tell you everything but, alas, the time has come. The time for us to part." Grandeeney said.
"No..." Wendy cried.
"There will be many hardships in the future to come, but I am confident you all will overcome them." Grandeeney told Wendy.
"No, don't go...don't go, Grandeeney." Wendy pleaded.
Gajeel laid a hand on her head then, patting her head.
"Let's send them off with our head held high." Gajeel told her.
Tundron and Chrysalis focused in on their adopted daughter then. Rette was staring at the ground, unable to raise her head and meet their eyes.
"Raise your head, child, and speak to us. Just one last time." Chrysalis asked.
Rette raised her head, her eyes landing on them as she swallowed hard.
"Tundron...Chrysalis...I..." Rette cut off, as she looked at her dragons watching her fondly. It had been so long sine she had seen them. She had been afraid she would forget what they looked like before she would ever see them again and now she found out...they had been with her the whole time. She had been so wrong about them. "I...I thought..."
"We know what you thought, little one." Chrysalis said softly.
"We have been with you through these long years, watching the world through your eyes. We know every time you cursed us for abandoning you and every time you cursed this world around you." Tundron added.
Rette's eyes instantly fell to the ground, humiliation and shame burning through her as she realized that, while she had been cursing them for breaking their promise to her, they had been keeping it, staying with her through thick and thin without her even knowing it. She felt like a fool for having ever doubted them. Knowing their human child as they did, Chrysalis and Tundron shared a look before Chrysalis reached out one claw, gently tilting Rette's face up.
"Look at us, child." she told her.
"I'm sorry. I...I doubted your promise." Rette said lowly.
"We knew, from the moment we first laid eyes on your eyes, what we were getting ourselves into. Such a dead gaze you had, unable to see anything to live for, yet such a fierce hope that everything would turn out alright anyway. We knew, the moment we vanished, that you would doubt us, curse us, even hate us. That was what you had come to expect of the world and all who dwell in it." Tundron told her.
"But we did it for your future, for you. Rette, child, you needed so much more than we could give. You have been unable to see anything but the ground in this world that has left you cold inside, for far too long. You've been beaten, bruised, and broken, have felt pain instead of the love you deserved and had come to expect nothing else from the world. You are so much more than your human father has made you. You just hadn't been able to realize it." Chrysalis told her.
"You gave us life and meaning. More importantly...you gave us hope. If someone as beaten as you, someone who came to us as a shell of a person, can still have so much hope for the world, then there had to be hope for the human race yet." Tundron added.
"We love you so much, Rette, that we knew you needed to learn to trust humans again. And look at you now. So loved, and loved so dearly. It seems like, in a blink of an eye, you've grown up into a respected, beautiful young woman." Chrysalis remarked, one claw rubbing gently against Rette's cheek.
"We hated to leave you and we hate to leave again, but you're grown now and so strong. You don't need us to shelter you anymore." Tundron insisted.
Rette bit her bottom lip, her eyes burning with tears she had not been able to shed in a long time. To her surprise, she felt something warm slide down her cheek, her vision blurring. With a rumble of a chuckle, Tundron reached out, wiping one large knuckle across her face.
"I though you said you had no more tears to shed." Tundron teased.
Rette tried hard to fight back the flow of tears down her face, having not shed any since she was small, but ended up gasping in a sob instead. She couldn't get them to stop.
"Shut up. It's your fault." she insisted, leaning into Tundron's and Chrysalis' clawed paws.
"We know and we're sorry. The last thing we ever wanted to do was make you shed tears again." Chrysalis admitted, Tundron nodding in agreement.
"We might leave, Rette, but you know that nothing can stay the same. Everything changes. We need you to stay strong, hold your chin high." Tundron said, tilting Rette's chin up. "Be proud of your bruises and scars, child, and never feel like you need to hide anything. It's all a part of who you are and who you are is a brilliant young woman."
"No matter what, we will never really leave you. We will always be right here." Chrysalis said, tapping one claw tip to Rette's chest. "This is not the end of us, for we will always be a part of you. Even if we are worlds apart, we will always love you for you are our greatest achievement. Besides...it seems you have done a splendid job of finding where you belong. You have a magnificent family."
Chrysalis and Tundron's eyes rose to take in all of the mages standing off to the side. Rette sniffled, reaching up to wipe her eyes clear. When she looked back up at her dragon parents, she gave them a smile.
"Yes, I do. The best family. They are my piece of heaven." Rette admitted.
"Good, that's very good. Don't ever let got of that." Chrysalis told her. "We love you."
"And I you." Rette replied.
Chrysalis and Tundron gave her smiles before Tundron looked at Grandeeney, nodding. Pulling their claws away from Rette, the dragons spread their wings, taking to the air.
"O humans, the days we fought one another...the days we hated one another, those are all in the past. Today...we were able to join hands together in peace. The age of us dragons has, in one sense, come to an end." Weisslogia called out.
"The future from here on out shall be forged by the power of humanity." Skiadrum added.
"In accordance with the covenant made four hundred years ago between dragon and man, the Magna Carta, we dragons shall continued to watch over and protect mankind. For all eternity." Grandeeney called.
With that, the dragons' forms began to glow, their bodies slowly fading from existence. Each dragon called their farewell to their human child. Rette stared up at her dragons, tears in her eyes.
"Don't cry, little one. We will always love you and we will always be proud of you." Chrysalis called down to her.
"Hold your head high and remember...pain is just an anchor. You can't let it have control." Tundron added. "Protect what's your's and never let another take it."
"I promise. No one will take what's mine, ever again!" Rette called back, putting smiles on her dragons' faces.
"That's our girl."
With the final parting, the dragons vanished. Rette sucked in a deep breath, refusing to cry anymore. As they said, it wasn't goodbye, they would always be with her. It still was sad, though. She had been all wrong about them and, while she could have held on to her good memories, she had held on to her feeling of betrayal. So much time wasted.
"Rette."
And now it was time to face her friends.
Turning, Rette met Makarov's eyes as he came towards her, Erza and Mira just behind him. Judging from the look on his face, he had been filled in on everything about her and all that had gone down with Lachlan. For a moment, all he could do was stare at her. When he didn't say anything, Mira spoke up.
"Why, Rette? Why didn't you tell us? All this time, we didn't know what you were going through. We didn't know what was killing you inside." Mira said.
Rette's eyes feel to her hands. She felt so tired, so weak, that her hands, just like her knees, were shaking. Why had she hide everything? Why has she never said a word? The honest truth...
"I didn't want to make any of you hate me. I didn't want to disappoint any of you because I'm not quite human. But now the truth is out. This..this thing has been tearing me apart for years." Rette admitted, curling her hands. "I didn't want to drag anyone else down with me and, yet, I did anyway. I brought Lachlan to Fairy's Tail's front door and it's because of me that you now have a target on your back. It's partly my fault, and I'm so sorry for it. I understand if you want me to leave and not come bac-"
Rette cut off as she was suddenly yanked around, arms wrapping around her tightly and hugging her to a soft, warm chest. Rette was surprised as she listened to the frantic beating of the heart just under her ear. Mira's scent reached her nose a second later.
"Don't you dare! Don't you dare go anywhere! You've already left us once today. Don't do it again." Mira pleaded. "I can't lose another sister again."
Rette didn't know if it was the cleansing her body had under gone when her mother had brought her back, or if it was just her being open and honest for once, but Mira's words hit her hard in the heart, bringing more tears to her face.
"We don't care about your past, Rette, or what you are, or what that man made you into. All we care about is you, who you are now. You are our friend, our family. We would never send you away." Erza added.
"You are now, and forever, a fairy of Fairy Tail, Rette. One of my children. We will always love you." Makarov assured her.
Rette fought hard to hold back her tears. She couldn't believe just how wonderful they were to her. They had taken everything about her, and had accepted it as if it was nothing. She would never be able to put into words just how much she loved them.
"Enough holding back, Rette. If you want to laugh, then laugh. If you want to scream or cry, then do it. We'll be right here for you." Mira told her.
And they would. Rette knew that. With that knowledge, she could no longer hold back her tears. Burying her face in Mira's chest, she left the sobs and wails leave her, the tears streaming down her face. When was the last time she had let herself cry? She couldn't even say.
All she could say was that she really loved her family.
-0-0-0-0-
That night, with the guild hall and half of Magnolia destroyed, most of the members of the guild, camped out in tents on the site where the guild hall had once stood. Even Rette's house, on the cliff over looking the guild hall, had been nearly completely demolished. With the events of the day catching up with Rette, Mira had taken over taking care of her, setting up a couple of connected tents for her, Rette, and a few others of the girls.
It was there that Sting found Mira, setting up a dinner on a folding table for Lucy, Wendy, Lisanna and herself. When the tent flap opened, the four girls looked up at a bandage Sting who was sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck, as if he didn't know what to say. Mira had a good idea on what he wanted.
"She's sleeping, through there." Mira told him, pointing to a flap across the tent.
Sting gave her a grateful nod and headed across the tent. Opening the flap, he found the space beyond, dark except for a small light lit on a crate beside the roll-away bed. It was on that bed that he found Rette. He let the flap close and approached the bed. After everything that had happened that day, he had to see her again, had to reassure himself that she was alive and well. Dropping, he crouched next to the bed, peering at Rette's face.
In the light of the lamp, she still looked like she hadn't regained her full coloring yet. But at least she alive and breathing, and safe with her guild mates.
Just then, Rette's eyes opened.
"Can't sleep?" she asked.
Sting jolted, embarrassed to be caught staring at her like some kind of creeper. He rubbed the back of his neck, looking away from her.
"Not really. I was worried that..." Sting trailed off, unable to finish.
"Worried I'd be gone?" Rette asked.
"Yeah. Sorry for creeping in here like that."
"Don't worry about it. I can't sleep anyway. Every time I close my eyes, all I can think about it Lachlan. I know that if I fall asleep, I'll have a nightmare." Rette admitted.
Sting looked at her face as she rubbed at it with her hands. It was obvious that she was tired and wanted nothing more than to sleep, but knowing that she would have a nightmare, made sleep hard for her. For a moment, he tried to think of some way to help her. In the end, only one idea came to mind. Standing, he nudged her arm.
"Scoot over." he told her.
Though she gave him a questioning look, Rette scooted over to the far side of the bed. Sting climbed into the bed, settling beside her.
"Here. Maybe you won't have nightmares if you know there's someone else here." he told her.
While it was embarrassing to offer to sleep with her, he honestly just wanted to help her. Rette was so tired, and so grateful, that she didn't care. Moving, she curled into his side, laying her head on his chest and heaving a sigh of relief as his scent filled her nose.
"Thanks, Sting."
"No problem."
When Mira checked in on them twenty minutes later, she found the two sound asleep, Sting holding Rette firmly to his side. Smiling, she eased the flap closed once again. Trouble had passed, for now and Rette deserved the rest.
Tomorrow would bring new challenges.
END
Kyandi: I think Sting was absolutely adorable.
Rette: It was embarrassing...but sweet.
Kyandi: Look who is finally able to admit her feelings.
Rette: Leave me alone.
Kyandi: Oh fine. Anyway, I have a lot to do, so everyone, enjoy and review.
Rette: We'll return as soon as possible.
Kyandi: Bye-bye!
