*August's POV*

The moment I opened the door I started looking for him. Even in the chaotic guild hall, Laxus wasn't hard to miss. I noticed belatedly that he was perched in the same spot at the bar that I usually sulked in, the master hovering near him, talking quietly even though his eyes were on me. Was that an invitation to come closer, or a request that I stay away?

A glance at Violet told me that I wasn't the only one who was distracted. Her eyes shifted around the room, as though she could see something there that I couldn't. I guessed her magic made that partly true.

I looked back toward the master. He was still staring at me.

"Do you think-"

"The master wants to talk to you."

We spoke at the same time, then smiled sheepishly.

"It's like you read my mind." I said.

"Must be magic."

Her voice was quieter than it should have been. I realized she had been quiet all morning. Well...quieter than usual anyway. "I can-"

"Go." she said. "I'll be fine."

I wasn't sure if that was really the truth. But I knew that arguing would only be embarrassing for both of us, not to mention making her clamp down harder.

"Alright," I said, "but come get me if you need anything okay."

"Okay."

I knew she was unlikely that she would actually interrupt us, but I felt better having put the option out there. I could only hope that she would come to me with any problems as I turned in the direction of the bar.

As they had the day before, the master and Laxus stopped talking when I approached, but this time they were smiling.

"Morning," Laxus said, with a grin so wide it sent a silver up my spine. I had to remind myself that we were allies now. No. Not allies, friends.

"Morning." I said carefully.

"Laxus was just telling me about your conversation late night," the master said with a dry smile.

"Oh," my eyes flicked up to Laxus, but he wasn't looking at me. I wondered if he had included the heavy language he'd used with me. Did the master swear?

"Uh...what do you think?"

"I think we have much to talk about."

*Violet's POV*

I lingered in the entry way for a moment after August left, trying to think if there was any way that I could get close enough to listen in without being noticed.

I knew it was unfair that I even wanted to eavesdrop in the first place, August would tell me everything in time. He would tell me everything now if pressed, but I couldn't bring myself to ask. Not yet anyway.

I was still confused about how they treated him compared to how they treated me. I was given nods of encouragement and fluffy stays in Lucy's apartment. He was given private time with the guilds strongest members, not to mention the master. From what little information I had gathered about it, their talks almost resembled councils of war.

Why was I the one that had to swallow my pride in their charity, when August got a place at the master's right hand? I knew that I couldn't blame him for it. And I wasn't jealous exactly either. Every time the master so much as looked at me I felt like I was caving in on myself.

Was that the difference? They treated August almost the same as Laxus or Gajeel, some war hardened mastermind who was only the begrudging victim of circumstance. They treated me like I was made of glass. But then again...weren't they right?

I could still feel cold shivers tracing up and down my spine as I looked around the guild hall. Remnants of memories from the most previous nightmares.

They're not real.

It might have been true. But my heart said it wasn't, that the empty guild hall from my dreams might have been a reality.

But not anymore.

Maybe not. Not by my hand. Not directly.

I felt a change in August ahead of me, thought I hadn't been paying enough attention to know what had caused it.

He looked to the master and nodded, and the two of them wrapped around the counter, heading for his office. A familiar sight. But to both of our surprises, Laxus didn't go with them. A quick read told me he had better things to do, and as soon as the others disappeared behind the bar, he turned away, as if to head for the exit.

"Violet!"

The call shocked me out of my reading, and I blinked dumbly, turning to see Happy gesturing to me form a table several yards away. With him were the usual suspects, Lucy, Erza, Grey, and inevitably...Natsu.

With August having another little pow-wow with the master, I had no reason to decline. I took a deep breath, and approached them.

As I got closer the smell of booze seemed to intensify, making me slightly sick. My memory supplied me with what I had been trying to suppress, repealing the bustling tables with empty space, followed by twitching corpses. The lights fell too bright, the sound somehow muddled and too loud at the same time. My heart beat faster than necessary, and every deep breath I took to calm it only seemed to suffocate me more.

The others were smiling up at me. They were happy that I was joining them. Happy that everything was okay. But it wasn't true. Justice Valkyrie was still out there. Takashi was still out there, at least Natsu had to know that. It had been pure luck, and my failure that saved them last time.

What would happen when someone more competent came along?

I suddenly felt sick. And it must have shown to, as I felt the fairies' auras before me turned from a neutral happiness to a smothering concern.

"Are you feeling alright?" Natsu asked.

His very words seemed dipped in his damn compassion.

"I need the bathroom," I blurted, feeling a twinge of relief when I turned away from them.

I walked quickly, only paying enough attention to not trip over my own feet on the way to my refuge. As thought from a distance I noticed Laxus half way between the bar and where I had been standing only moments before. Belatedly I realized that he might have been coming to talk to me.

But the thought of facing him only drove my feet to move faster, to get farther and farther away from him, from all of them, with every step, as though I could walk out of the guild hall like that. As thought I would walk out of their memory, and remove them from mine.

Laxus stopped to watch as I power walked past him, his gaze joining the others' on the back of my head, burning into my skull until I slipped into the bathroom and locked the door behind me.