Announcement 7/7: It's been brought to my attention that there are multiple stories written by different authors on this platform about an OC named Riku with a similar backstory as the Riku in this fanfiction. I was not aware of this when I accepted the request for the story by sketchywolf back in december of 2019. I didn't steal any ideas from other people. I didn't know I was writing a fanfiction about another fanfiction. This makes me sad and disappointed, because this is not what I want to write. I have decided to continue this story regardless, because I've spent too much time on it already and I refuse to let that go to waste (even more than it already has after this discovery) and there are people who enjoy reading this story. I am not sure how long I can keep working on it after this, but I will try my best. So please keep reading.

Other than that: enjoy this extra chapter, in remembrance of the seventh of July, 777 (7-7-777), in the Fairy Tail timeline known as the day the dragons "disappeared" ;)

Chapter 18: Revival

It's near morning when I cross the sky above Magnolia. I resist the urge to lower altitude and leave the protection of the clouds. Now is not the time.

I can't remember what Laxus smells like, I have to rely on my ears and eyes. Magnolia becomes smaller, the next town, Onibus, is already in sight. My anger keeps me awake and I try imagining what Laxus is thinking. He betrayed his guild, his grandfather, his home. Where does someone like that go?

There are train tracks below me. If Laxus had any sense of self awareness left, he wouldn't go by public transport. If he felt any guilt, he'd want to disappear.

I cross over Kumugi and Oshibana and then make a sharp turn to the East, towards Mount Hakobe and the surrounding chain of snowy peaks. This was the place I tried to freeze myself. My head is already in a negative space and if I go down that path farther the flames might grab their chance, so I force the memory away.

I have to fly lower in order to cross over Mount Hakobe, and end up looking over a deep dale, with a frozen lake and a large group of pines. There is smoke rising above the trees. I enhance my eyesight, and then I see him, sitting on a log, warming his hands above a small fire.

Without giving it much thought, I let my wings disappear and I start falling. Branches break and snowy birds flutter away as I make my way down through the pine trees. I'm pretty sure the headphones Laxus wears don't work, but he doesn't look up as if he hears me coming. That should've told me enough, but I was too stubborn to listen.

I continue falling, my feet first. The heels of my bare soles land on the back of his head and I push his face into the snow. There's only a loud thud and a crack when his nose breaks, he doesn't say a thing.

Before he can push himself up to take a breath, I grab the collar of his coat. I lift him off the ground and throw him towards the nearest tree. He hits his back hard against the stem, it pushes all the air out of his lungs. His feet slip from underneath him and he slides down till he sits on the ground. And he coughs, but still doesn't say a thing. His nose is crooked and bleeding.

My anger prevents me from thinking straight. I shoot forward, grab Laxus by the throat and lift him above me. Considering my build I shouldn't be able to do this, I got weak arms, but adrenaline solves a lot of things. In the back of my mind, I hear the golden magic yelping, which is a first. My mother doesn't agree with me doing this.

'Shut up,' I mumble. I squeeze Laxus throat harder between my fingers. He's biting his teeth down hard, but other than that he doesn't seem all that affected. It's almost like he doesn't care.

I blink a few times and notice that he actually looks terrible. His coat is not zipped up and I can see his entire upper body is covered bandages. His head is plastered as well and the broken nose I gave him makes him look more pathetic.

I'm strangling a man who's already lost everything. So I let go.

He falls on his knees and coughs. For about a minute that is all there is, and a minute is long. I just stand there, looking at him. There is not a trace of the smug face that used to tease me. The one that was so far up his own ass about being an S-class wizard he spend every day when he wasn't out on a job on the second floor of the guild, to literally look down on everyone else. Erza only went up there to get jobs, never to gloat. Laxus was just a piece of shit.

And he still is when I'm looking at him coughing his lungs out, but he seems a little less arrogant. Before, his carelessness was part of his arrogance, now it seems to say "do what you want".

When he's managed to control his breathing, he looks up and says: 'Yeah. I deserved that.' He carefully wipes the back of his hand across his broken nose, looks at the blood and lifts one eyebrow. He seems genuinely impressed. 'You're the first to actually break something of mine.'

I'm still furious. I could beat him senseless to make him understand how I feel, I'm pretty sure Laxus would just let me do that, but it's not fair to kick him while he's down. Truly, I wanted to break his face some more, but I had to give in to the magic of my mother. Well, to a certain extent, that is, because she wants to go as far as to heal Laxus, but I don't agree. He needs this pain, otherwise the bastard won't learn.

I'm not helping him stand up either. Instead, I walk over to his pathetic little fire and stir it up some more. Now that my anger dies down a little, I realize how cold it is here. Your flames don't do shit to keep me warm and I'm still wearing shredded clothes, so I sit close to the campfire.

Laxus eventually gathers the strength to stand and limps back to the log he sat on earlier. He pulls his coat tighter around himself and shivers. He frowns, probably because it now hurts when air leaves his nose. His lower lip is also swelling up, but it doesn't bother him when he speaks. 'If this is about your girlfriend, I didn't-'

'Oh, I'm sure she's fine,' I interrupt snappingly, 'she doesn't need a silly battle game to prove she's the strongest in the guild.'

Laxus breathes out again. 'Right.'

And she's not my girlfriend, I should've added, but I was still too angry to correct him. And it wouldn't matter anyway. Laxus was the only one that actually paid attention to the kind of friendship Erza and I had, other members of the guild were either too scared to ask Erza about it or too weirded out by me. I mean, the only one I hung out with was Mystogan.

'If you wanna beat me up, that's fine,' Laxus continues, 'but you should know the old man already expelled me.'

'So?' I say, still snapping. This is the first time I'm not intimidated by him, I just get annoyed every time he breathes.

He looks at his hands, wrapped in bandages, and thinks. 'As a member of Fairy Tail, you have every right to be furious with me. But it seems a little out of character for you. If it's not because of Erza, then why are you here?'

OK, so Laxus is a piece of crap, but he's not stupid.

'You're right,' I say through my teeth, 'I wouldn't be here if it was just about the guild. You've done something far worse and you don't even know it.'

He freezes and I see genuine confusion on his face. He's thinking hard. Perhaps it would've been better to leave then, and to let him question himself.

He looks at me, as if he can read the answer off of me. I'm not saying shit, I've finally calmed down and I just might kill him if I try to explain everything myself.

Finally, something clicks. 'Mystogan.'

I nod and we both stay quiet for a while. I don't think I have to explain why this is horrible. The Magical Council collapsed, the Tower of Heaven is a black page in the history of the Government and Jellal Fernandez is a sought after criminal. Mystogan has been with the guild for three years or so, and though he's always been clouded in mysteries any idiot can tell he wasn't involved with any of those things. Well, I hope they can.

'You knew?' asks Laxus then and I just nod again. 'So are they like brothers, or…?'

I don't feel like explaining about Mystogan's kingdom and other worlds, all Laxus needs to know is that he ruined everything Mystogan had in this one.

'Something like that,' I answer, 'but he's innocent. All he ever wanted was a home.' And a way to save his kingdom, but I think it's best to leave that out for now.

I watch Laxus' face closely as realization kicks in. 'So he had nothing to do with the Council?'

'Nope. Tower of Heaven also wasn't him.'

His eyes widen and his mouth falls open a little. To the outside world, everything that has happened at the Tower of Heaven is reduced to "strange activities by a cult leader named Jellal Fernandez". There's not a word about slavery in there, or Zeref, or anything about dark magic, so Laxus doesn't know this either.

'But I have known that Jellal personally,' I tell him, 'as children, we were enslaved. As was Erza. Jellal got….corrupted, and turned into the new slaver.' I pause to let this sink in. 'Mystogan wears the same face. I've known for years, but Erza didn't. To her, that face means-'

'Slavery,' Laxus finishes the sentence. And I think that's about enough. He might've thought it was funny to show Erza that Mystogan had the same face as someone on the Magic Council, someone who judged her when she was arrested for damages caused by Fairy Tail.

Laxus himself has known hurt, no doubt, but none of it comes close to what Erza went through, or to what Mystogan went through. He hurt my two best friends and I want him to know that. If I let anger decide my actions, I would be punching him into the ground until I was certain he was able to feel the same pain.

'I...I didn't know,' he stutters. 'Did...did Mystogan...?'

'I told him of the Jellal I knew,' I answer, 'he knows how much hurt that face has caused, but like I said: he's innocent. He wanted a chance at a somewhat normal life, not bearing the sins of someone else.'

Laxus lets his head sink into his hands, his breathing fastens. 'And I…'

Yes, he took that away.

He's basically crying and I just kinda sit there and look at him. Behind the log he's sitting on his travel bag lays. Together with the clothes that he's wearing it is all he has. He's lost everything. The master spit him out. He hurt a place that would welcome any silly straggler, such as myself, with open arms.

The last of my anger fades and I hate myself for it. And I also hate myself for judging Laxus. I would never purposely do anything to hurt Fairy Tail, I know that much, but I've made mistakes. Hell, Simon died because of me. Who am I to tell Laxus he's a screw up of a person?

Let's be clear: I'm as friendly with Laxus as I am with, for example, Natsu at this point in time, and we'll never be friends, but I felt a little sorry for him. Yes, he deserved a beat down and he deserves to know what he did to Mystogan. He deserved to be pushed into the ground till he couldn't breathe anymore, but he also deserved the chance to get back up again.

And as I am looking at him now, I realize he's sitting the exact same way as Mystogan when he told me what had happened.

I think I've done enough, but I can't leave just yet. 'How did you find out?'

Laxus doesn't look up when he answers. 'The Thunder God Tribe has a thing for eyes. Evergreen had been screwing around with some device, and I borrowed it once, and saw through his mask.'

'Evergreen doesn't know?'

'I don't think so.'

'And you didn't tell anyone else?'

'No.' He lifts his head. 'And I won't.'

'Good.' He could be lying, of course, but if he feels as terrible as he looks I think it's alright. He hides his face again and I sit there for a while. This all turned out differently than I thought it would, which is probably thanks to the golden magic.

If your dark flames are the bad side, and the golden magic is the good, then I don't agree with either of them. I'm not healing Laxus, but I'm also not killing him. I'm letting him suffer while hoping he'll become a better person.

If he's anything like me, the guilt he's feeling now will try to convince him to end it all. What's left now, huh? it will try to tell him. I don't know how I would feel if he actually went through with that. I doubt I'd feel guilty, because it would be his choice, even if I played a role leading up to it. But I also know it would be the right thing to make sure he wouldn't go through with it. The right thing meaning the opposite of you.

Normally I have these kind of insights on my own problems and it feels alien to have someone sitting opposite of me who's going through something similar as myself. When it's just me, it takes a whole lot of effort to find the core of the problem, but now it's all crystal clear. Seeing the same thing outside of myself makes things way easier.

Laxus screwed up, as I have many times. I always think of disappearing, never facing the problem head on and I think of continuing to pretend everything's alright. When I see Laxus, I think of revival.

Everyone has their own journey, their own experiences. I can't expect Laxus to act the same as myself in a similar situation. He copes with it differently, but it still surprises me when he lifts his head to look me straight in the eyes. Tears, snot and blood are all smeared over his face, but he looks clear of mind.

'Riku.' His voice is calm and determined. 'I don't know you all that well, and I now know that I really didn't know many people in our guild. It's too late to repair those relationships, or to even start them, but...just know that I'm sorry. I truly am.'

And I can tell he is. Like I said: we'll never be friends, but I can hate him less now. 'Just be better.'

Laxus manages to smile a little. 'I will. And I'm sorry for teasing you.'

'Alright, that's enough.' I stand up, pat the snow of my raggedy pants and shiver because I'm now not close to the fire anymore. 'Where are you going?'

Laxus wipes his index finger underneath his eyes and looks at it. Blood and snot. 'First I'll need to clean my face.'

It's a simple answer and it tells me he has no idea what to do next. Camping out in the dale behind Mount Hakobe was a strange choice anyway (a choice I made myself when I wanted to disappear) and on the other side of these mountains there's only forest and the sea. Back in the South East there's a small town called Shirotsume, and the first train station is in Clover Town, which is miles and miles to the West. Laxus has no direction whatsoever.

He's staring at me while I think about this and his smile from earlier grows into a grin. 'You're not worried about me, are you?'

'Not really,' I say, again with a snappish tone. I can't help hit, I still don't like him. 'But I know some other people who are lost. They really suck at travelling, so they'll need all the help they can get.' I pause and think this over. Is this really the best idea? 'They're family of mine. And Erza's. If you feel like paying for what you've done, you could start by looking out for them.'

Both the flames and the golden magic are confused by this, which means I'm thinking for myself.

But Laxus shakes his head. 'I appreciate it, but I think I need some time alone.'

I might just be trying too hard to help him, because if he can be helped, so can I, but we're too similar in this stage: we both think it's better if the world forgets about us. I still think Laxus is a piece of shit, and I think the same about myself. And now I've been way too nice to the guy that ruined Mystogan's life at Fairy Tail.

'Fine,' I say, 'suit yourself.'

I turn away from the fire and my mind is already occupied with finding a spot to fly from, when Laxus starts talking. And I just sigh. 'What?'

'I said thank you,' he says, 'for telling me all this.'

I didn't do it for you, I should've said, but I swallow that down. Instead I say nothing, and just walk away from the campsite.

It's late in the afternoon when I return to the island. Shô, Milliana and Wally have already left, Mystogan is still sitting where I left him. He's not holding his head in his hands anymore, thank the heavens. He managed to make himself some tea, and if he can do that it means he's probably better than before.

'I didn't go to Fairy Tail,' I say, without any other introduction. I can read from his unmasked face that he already knew.

I feel my stomach rumble. I haven't eaten in a day, again, and I'm already guessing what I will look like the next time I glance into a mirror. Mystogan throws me something wrapped in cloths. I smell bread.

'They left that for you,' he says calmly. He places his tea cup down and reaches his arm back to grab something else, 'along with this.'

I'm barely over the fact that they thought of food for me. There's no space in my head to fathom that Mystogan is holding my sword. The sword Erza gave me.

The last time I had it was when I attacked the ship Shô and the others transported Erza with to the Tower of Heaven. I hadn't thought about this weapon in nearly ten days.

I swing it around and it takes a few seconds for muscle memory to kick in. Especially with my weak arms, but my body remembers the agility, the balance and the bond I had with this weapon. I don't think I told Shô about how I got it, he was probably just kind enough to think for himself that I wanted it back.

I don't have any holster to put it in, normally I would carry it on my back. Now that I don't have any other choice, I use the one requip spell I know. The weapon disappears into the magical inventory.

I sit down to eat the bread. It's a little doughy, but I've had worse. Mystogan sips tea in silence. His gaze is often far away and he seems lost in thought. Sadness echoes through every breath he takes. Just finding him a new identity and a new mask won't solve this.

When I've eaten the last of the bread, I say: 'What do you want to do?'

Mystogan's eyes shift a little, he's waking up from his thoughts. 'I...don't know. But you have to go back to Fairy Tail.'

'I know,' I say, 'and I will. And I'll talk to Erza. She's the only one who saw you, right? If I can convince her-'

'Don't put her through that,' Mystogan interrupts, 'you can't do that to her. She….I've never seen someone look so full of pain. Jellal has damaged her, not even you can fix that.'

I think back to a moment in the Tower of Heaven, when Erza didn't know who I was, and I introduced myself, and I told her I hated Jellal "too". She had frowned and me, and simply said: 'I don't hate Jellal.'

And she still doesn't.

'Shit,' I say, 'you're right. But...you're part of the guild. You can't just leave.'

Mystogan looks at his teacup, it has somehow filled itself again. Though the afternoon is already turning into night, there's enough sunlight left for him to see his own reflection looking back at him. 'I know, and I won't. I have to stick around anyway. Anima is closer to Magnolia every day.'

Anima being the magic he's searching for, just so you know.

'But I can't enter the guild hall. Ever.'

Considering the fact Mystogan always kept his identity a secret when in the guild, you'd think he didn't like coming there. Now that he's actually said out loud that he can't anymore, he sounds melancholic. Fairy Tail is...insane, to say the least, but it's a home to him.

I stand up. 'If we leave now, we can reach Magnolia before ten. I can pick up some late dinner, we could hang in my apartment.'

Mystogan has the same look on his face as Laxus, the one that tells me he needs to be alone. And that annoys the hell out of me. I suddenly understand why Erza got mad at me for not accepting help, because it is very irritating when someone is so deep inside their own negativity they won't listen to anything you say. It's like talking to a wall.

'Alright,' I say, as normal as possible, 'just let me know when you're in town.'

'Riku,' he says, before I can turn around, 'thank you. For everything.'

And all of a sudden, I feel my throat swell up. Today has been exhausting. I was furious, then annoyed, furious again, annoyed and now just really, really sad. The way Mystogan says it makes this feel like a farewell, as if we're never going to see each other again. And I'm not ready for that.

So I turn away from him. When Mystogan talks again, I hear he's tearing up as well. 'You're hard on yourself and others, but you have kindness in you.'

I can't listen anymore. I call forth my wings and get the hell away from that island, leaving my best friend in this world alone.

For the third time in twenty four hours I fly over Magnolia, and this time I actually land there. It's just before midnight, I had to fly a little slower because….well, I was bawling my eyes out the entire time.

I land at the edge of town. On this exact spot I stood with Erza many years ago, and with Mystogan a few years later. Now I'm alone.

I open my nose and let the scents of Magnolia overwhelm me. At the end of the day all the smells of the people that passed through are still hanging around, waiting to be washed away by rain or the cold of night.

I open my ears and hear the murmuring of people in the streets, some on an evening stroll, others just done with work and on their way home. When I concentrate a little more, I can hear chattering and laughing from the guild hall. I haven't seen the new building yet and I am curious, but I'm too tired to take a look now.

I've lost the keys to my apartment somewhere during this shitty adventure, so I have to enter through the window. I'm emotionally and physically drained.

The inside of my apartment is dark and I don't feel like blinding myself by turning the lights on. I head straight for the bathroom, pull the shredded clothes off my body, throw them in a ball in the corner and step into the shower. I could describe what I smelled like, but that would be a waste of time. Let's leave it at 'nasty'.

When I step out again and dry off, I glance in the mirror above the sink. And I look as terrible as I imagined: hollow cheeks, spiky ribs, dark circles around the eyes. I'm also paler than last time I saw myself. I could be dead.

I walk out of the bathroom, pull a clean smelling shirt over my head and put some pants on. Next I want to go to bed, but I then see there's someone laying in there. I was so lost in thought when I entered my apartment that I hadn't noticed Erza sleeping in my bed.

For about half a minute I just stare at her. The moon shines in through the window (a different one than the one I entered through) and reflects on her red hair, which smells amazing. She's softly snoring, and her face looks peaceful.

My bed isn't all that broad, and even if it was I wouldn't just go lay down next to her. It's my bed, but it just feels wrong. In the dark, I find my way back to my closet, where I stuffed some extra blankets when I moved in. I try to be as quiet as possible, but when I open the closet door a bunch of stuff falls out and lands with loud thuds and bangs on the floor.

'Damn,' I whisper. I glance over my shoulder, but Erza hasn't moved.

I search with my hands across the floor for the blankets and I grab a pillow from a chair. There's a soft carpet on the floor before my bed. I've slept on worse surfaces, so this should do nicely.

I place the pillow and I'm about to lay down when Erza suddenly asks: 'What are you doing?'

I'm glad I put on some pants before, but I still feel a little embarrassed. 'Sorry, did I wake you?'

She sits up. Her hair falls over her shoulders and though she's sitting with her back against the light of the moon and her face is hidden in shadows, I know she's smiling at me. Even if it's only slightly.

She shoves a little further back, towards the window, and pulls the blanket away. 'Just come here.'

For your information: she was in fact wearing pajamas.

I still hesitate. I slowly grab the pillow off the floor and place it next to the one she's using. Then I sit down on the edge of the bed, my back turned towards her. The mattress is warm and soft. I feel a lot and nothing at the same time.

I hear Erza sigh and next she has an arm around my neck. She pulls me down, so I'm laying next to her. I still have my back turned towards her.

She pulls the blanket over me, basically tucking me in, and now we both lay underneath it. Next she wraps her arms around my waist and she presses her nose between my shoulders.

At first I don't respond. I feel her warmth and all the tension of the past twenty four hours flows out of me. The flames still warn me the nightmare will come, no matter what, but I don't let that ruin this moment.

I carefully place my own hands over Erza's, and I squeeze a little. We say nothing, and eventually both fall asleep.

The next morning she's gone and for a second I think it was all a dream. That my bed was empty all along.

But then I notice a small piece of parchment on the cupboard next to the bed. 'Meet me at the guild - E'.

My entire apartment still smells like her and that makes it easier to get up. I put on some clean clothes and search for a new holster for my sword, so I can wear it on my back like I do normally. I'm thinking Erza wants to have breakfast together, maybe go for a walk and talk about everything that's happened. I'm nervous, but I think we'll be alright. She knows who I am and she's made me feel welcome.

But I do enjoy having the option to go on a job afterwards, to get away from it all. And I need money as well.

I head for the guild and if it weren't for the words above the gate and the flag with the symbol I would've thought the hall was some private mansion. This version has four stories, a bell tower and two watchtowers next to the gate. An iron fence surrounds it, but the front doors are still the same size.

I feel very small standing in front of it and though I'm still a bit weird about being a part of this guild, I can't help but to feel a little proud. How can you not be, seeing this building?

When I open the door, the inside is even more impressive. The ceiling is crazy high, and apparently they've gotten rid of the floor meant for S-class wizards. They've kept the long tables and the bar also looks identical to the previous one, but what's new is the stage area. Fairy Tail consists mainly of extroverts, so I imagine nights of terrible singing and dancing and everyone just having a good time.

I am too in awe about the new hall that I notice too late someone's running towards me. Before I can do anything, Natsu has hooked his arm in mine and is dragging me out the guild.

'He's here!' he shouts, and I can't see to who. 'Time to go!'

'Go…?' I repeat. Happy appears above my head and next thing I know we're out in the streets.

'Aye sir!'

My feet are just dangling above the cobblestones, the guild hall becomes smaller and smaller. I'm faced opposite of the direction Natsu is running into, so I have no idea where he's taking me. 'What...is going on? Where's Erza?'

Natsu giggles. 'We'll tell you later.'

I don't know how to feel about this. I'm guessing it means Erza's involved. She said to meet her at the guild, and as soon as I got there Natsu said it was time to go. Something fishy is going on here, but I don't mind staying confused a little longer. But not for too long. 'Fine, but can you at least let me walk by myself?'

'This way's faster,' Natsu simply answers, and I can only sigh. He drags me to the outskirts of Magnolia, past the train station, towards the forest and almost to the road leading to Onibus. There he finally stops, and drops me on my feet.

I've spent about half an hour looking backwards and I would've been surprised when looking the other way no matter what, but this is truly a shocker. Erza, Gray and Lucy stand on the side of the road, all carrying backpacks and wearing travel clothes.

Natsu giggles again and this time it really makes me uncomfortable. 'What's all this?'

Erza then throws me my own travel bag, I'm so confused I'm barely able to catch it. It's fully packed with clothes and other supplies. She must've packed it while I was still asleep this morning. 'We're going on a quest.'

I look at the other people, her friends. All of them have determined looks in their eyes and I don't like it. These people are way too interested in what the hell is wrong with me and I'm not looking forward to spending time with them. The Tower of Heaven was bad enough already.

But this isn't even the worst part, because I start to really panic after my next question is answered: 'What kind of quest?'

Gray is the one who says it and it makes sense, considering what he told me in the Tower of Heaven. He was concerned about me, and had said that he would've helped me if he'd know what I was dealing with. And that is now coming back to haunt me: 'To get rid of what you were forced to guard.'

He means the flames, meaning you.

I just stare at him for a moment and feel the flames grow. It's been a while since I was scared. It's their favorite version of me, it's the one that's easiest to persuade. I haven't had the time to really get the hang of my mother's magic, but in this moment I try calling for it. It doesn't answer.

So instead, I take deep breaths, like I used to do as a kid. I send all the energy towards my nose, enhance my sense of smell in order to regain control. It must look strange to the outside, because Lucy asks: 'Are you alright?'

'He's OK,' Erza answers for me. She knows what it is I'm doing. There's kindness in her eyes, but also that annoying determination that everyone in Fairy Tail has. I have nowhere to run.

'I've done some research,' she says, 'and there's a place we have to check out.'

I continue to take deep breaths. I can smell the dirt road, the sweat of Natsu, Erza's shampoo, Lucy's perfume, Gray's feet, Happy's little backpack stuffed to the brim with fish. The freshness of trees, the mess of surrounding towns.

'A place?' I manage to say.

'Yeah!' says Natsu, as if this is the greatest thing in the world. 'And we're all coming along!'

'How wonderful,' I whisper. By "a place we have to check out", I assume it's a place of dark magic, or something else dangerous. I'm at a loss for words. These people, including Erza, don't have clue about the dangers. My parents were murdered because they meddled with your business.

'You are all….' I start, and I have to pause. Idiots? Jerks? I'm not sure what they are. I know they're just trying to be nice, but they shouldn't. No one, except for Erza, has any reason to do this. They're just here to be nice and I absolutely despise them.

'Riku,' says Erza then, 'just let us help you.

There's still so much that needs to be said about Simon, Mystogan and Jellal. I was prepared to talk about it this morning, not to go on some mission where I have to pretend to be a normal mage again.

Finally, I feel my mother's magic. It's weak, but it helps me calm down a little. I close my eyes and enhance my ears. I hear the heartbeats of everyone here, the singing of birds, rustling of leafs. I have nowhere to run.

'One condition,' I say, and I open my eyes again, 'if I say it's getting too dangerous-'

'We'll turn back,' Erza interrupts, 'but I doubt it will. These are Fairy Tail's finest.'

Natsu and Gray both blush a little, while Lucy scratches the back of her head. Happy seems beyond excited, even though I'm pretty sure Erza wasn't necessarily talking about him.

The flames have been subdued and my panic is gone. I nod.

Erza gives me a smile and I wish I could smile back, but I'm just annoyed that she did this behind my back.

All of a sudden Gray throws an arm around my shoulder, as if we're the best of friends. 'Alright! The old gang is back together!'

'Old gang?' asks Lucy.

'The three of us,' says Erza, 'we used to go out on jobs all the time as kids.'

'Well, not all the time,' I mutter, but no one hears me. Gray has started walking and is pulling me along, almost holding me in a headlock. After a few minutes he notices his shirt is gone.

I just sigh and know this will be a long and tiring adventure.