Leo was stood in shock. He didn't know what to say. Mortis was absolutely terrified of his reaction. Was he going to call her a liar and attack her? Will he let her save him? Or will he tell the whole of Fairytail and they'll get rid of her?
"You… you come from a different universe?" he asked. "Yes, I do" she answered, sweating for the first time since her dragon slayer training. "So… how do you know the future?' he asked, not blinking. Mortis took a few hasty breathes, terrified. "I… I come from a universe… where Fairytail is a story. I… I was a fan and I watched it back to back. I know pretty much… everything about everyone here and the people who are yet to come" she explained.
Leo stared at her as he asked "so, we're just a story in your universe. For entertainment?"
Mortis shook her head as she explained "for some. But not for me and so many other people in my universe. We all feel a place of Fairytail in our hearts. You all teach us how to work together and the meaning of family, even if you all don't have one. Me and everyone who think the same want to be in this universe and I'm so lucky to be here, Leo. You have no idea how thankful I am, that every single I wake up here and not back in my universe."
Leo stared at her. "Do you have magic where you're from?" he asked.
"No. We work and slave ourselves to death for nothing. I may have only been a kid back then, but… my mother…" She started to tear up, thinking about her for the first time in three to four years. "She struggled with me and my siblings. To keep us happy. My dad…" "Mortis stop" Leo begged, seeing how upset she had become. "If this is all true, what happened to Karen?" he asked. He badly wanted to believe her, but something was stopping him.
"Karen would use her spirits in a way that showed she saw you all as objects, rather than real living creatures, with feeling and emotion. Used saved Aries and stayed in the human world. You gave her an ultimatum, give up yours and Aries contract, or you'd stay in the human world, forcing her not to go on any jobs."
Leo started to go pale. "You stayed by an abandoned church. She came to see you many times, pleading and begging. Sometimes promising to treat you all better. When you rejected, she would beat you. With you still in the human world, she couldn't take the higher paying jobs. After a while, you decided to go to her and threaten her, that if she mistreated you and your kind again, you do it all over again. But just as you were about to leave, the master of Blue Pegasus came and told you, that Karen had taken a job and was killed."
Leo fell to his knees. Hearing everything from someone else, he couldn't cope. "I killed her!" he screamed, crying. "No, you didn't!" Mortis snapped. "You were protecting your friend. It was her decision to go on that job, when she knew full well, she wasn't strong enough to complete it!"
"I never meant to kill her Mortis!" he screamed. "I had to stay and stop her form bringing Aries back. She didn't deserve her treatment." "None of you did!" Mortis explained. "If you knew she would go on a job, would you have gone back to the spirit world?" "Of course I would!" he snapped. "You didn't know what she was going to do, you thought she would be stuck and unable to work, until she agreed to your demands, but she was too proud to think a spirit could outsmart her and order her around. She refused to believe Celestial spirits have the same rights as humans!"
"Why did you tell me?" he asked. "Leo I've been wanting to tell someone for years and knowing what could happen next, I had to tell you. I trust you to keep my secret and hope and pray that I know what will happen" she explained.
Leo started to hold his stomach as he glitched. "Leo" Mortis shouted, running and holding him as he collapsed. "No, let me go. It's my time!" he begged. "I will not let this happen" she screamed.
"Gate of the lion, I open thee!" she screamed. Leo started to fade. "Please I've accepted my fate. Let me fade away" he begged. "I won't! Your one of us Leo and it wouldn't be the same if your gone, not flirting with all the girls!" she screamed. Mortis screamed "Open gate of the lion!" "Please let go, I can't be responsible for your death too!" he pleaded. Mortis summoned all of her magic energy and she tried one last time. "Ah! Open gate of the lion!"
Mortis was glowing, fire and ice surrounded the pair. Mortis felt her energy being drained. "Please" she begged, quietly. Suddenly and a bright light shone down and the celestial sprit king looked down at them.
Mortis fell to her hands and knees, as Leo looked up, astonished. "Leo the lion, it's been a long time, old friend" he said. "Listen!" Mortis snapped, standing up. "Mortis" Leo snapped, worried she had offended the king. "You have no right to banish him from the spirit world. He never laid a finger on Karen."
"The rules state that if a spirit kills a human, then they can never return to the spirit world. That what must be done" the king looked sympathetic at Leo. "But he didn't kill her. Sorano of the Oración Seis did!" she screamed, furious. Fire uncontrollable raged out of her body, while ice coated the floor around her.
Leo stood up, hearing what she said. "Sorano?" he asked. Mortis looked back and stared at him sad. She nodded slowly. The king looked at her and asked "how does a child have knowledge as you do?" "That's for me to know and you to find out. Leo was protecting Aries. His friend. Doesn't he have a right as a living thing to stand up against his master, when they are being mistreated? A celestial wizard should cherish the friendships that a formed!"
The king stood silently as the fire died and ice disappeared. Mortis glared at him, trying to read his face.
"Leo the lion. You will be granted back into the spirit world, under our wrong judgement" he announced. "Yes" Mortis jumped up and pushed her fist in the air. "under one condition!" he shouted. Mortis stopped jumping and looked around to see what he had to say. "You will be under a new contract with this girl. Protect her and do as she says. Are we understood?" he asked.
Leo shook his head and said "but the only way to pay for what I did is to die!" The king shook his head. "No. you can pay for what you did by serving under…" he looked at Mortis for her name. "Mortis Draglilth" she smiled, saluting him. he smiled as he said "Mortis Draglilth. Are you happy to oblige Mortis?" She smiled as she said "you got it moustache face!"
The king started to vanish as he laughed. Leo stood amazed. "You saved my life" he said. She smiled. "Is it true?" he asked. Mortis stopped smiling and stared at him. She gulped and replied "yes Leo. Sarona killed her. I can't remember everything of the top of my head, but we will be meeting her."
He grew angry. "Is there anything else I should know?" he asked. Mortis ran up and hugged him. It took him by surprise and took him a while to hug back. "I'll treat you much better than Karen did." Leo started to fade away, as he said "thank you for everything." Mortis let him as he vanished completely. She saw his key in her hand as he said "I'll keep your secret." She clutched it. Leo the lion. Her first spirit. "My only spirit" she promised. She fell to her knees as her gamble had finally paid off. Leo knew the truth. He would keep it a secret. She breathed a heaving relief.
She looked up to see morning had arrived. "The guild" she remembered. They were probably still looking for him. She ran back to the construction of the new guild. The master was holding a meeting to figure out a new tactic for finding Leo. "Master!" she called. "Ah Mortis, come quickly we have a new plan" he panicked, clearly worried. "Master I found him!" she announced. Everyone stared at her and she revealed the key. "Open, gate of the lion, Leo!" she shouted, as she sliced the key through the air in front of her and Leo appeared.
Everyone stood shocked. "Hey guys" he smiled, scratching the back of his head, nervously. "Loke!" Happy cried, flying into him. "We thought you had run away!" Everyone gathered around, glad to see him. "Well that's our plan out the window" the master said, partly disappointed.
Later on, Mortis was at the bar, drinking, when she heard Natsu shouted "so you're a celestial spirit?! No wonder you smelled weird!" she turned to see him stalking around Leo, examining him. "Yep, I'm sorry I didn't tell you guys" he said. "Hey, no worries, we all have stuff we don't need to know right?" Gray asked. Mortis walked over and smiled. "I thought you'd gone back to the spirit world by now?" she asked. "I'm using my own energy to be here" he reassured. "I don't care if it was mine, it's great to have everyone back for a while." "By the way, I got this for you" he said, giving her a ticket to the beach resort. "I have Erza hers earlier."
"I've never been anywhere like that before" Gray shouted, excitedly. "This is gunna be awesome!" Natsu shouted, with Happy screaming for joy. "Thanks Leo" she smiled. "I should be thanking you" he said. "Thanks to you I've got the strength to move on from the past and let it go. You've given me a second chance. And I'll use this chance to always be there to protect you when you need it. I'm your celestial wizard Mortis."
"No, you not" she said. "You my friend Leo. That's who I'll always see you as." He smiled and said "enjoy the resort. I look forward to seeing that slim body of yours soon." He vanished. Mortis cringed. "why does he ruin a good moment?" she asked herself. Gray laughed as he said "it would be him if he didn't."
"Are you all ready?" they all turned to see Erza all over packed, as usual, and ready to go. "I'll buy stuff while I'm down there" she smiled. She still had lots of many leftover from her theatre job. She stared at Erza and noticed her smile. She seemed excited. Mortis's heart sank. She knew what was next. So soon? She watched the three of them. Natsu and Gray arguing over taking, or not taking the train and Erza separating them. She wanted to take it in while she could. She didn't know if she had the strength yet, for the tower of heaven. She barely survived Phantom.
Gray turned and smiled at her, gesturing her to join them as they left. She put on a small smiled as she walked over and they both put their arms around their backs as they left Fairytail. "I promise" Mortis thought. "I will put my life first before any of theirs."