Deep in a forest only depicted on most maps as a vast dark green landscape, no one had bothered to name this particular corner of the world. It had taken the group of four wizards a very long time to catch up with the creature they had been chasing since the inception of their guild. But the leader of their group knew this was it, the magic last of its kind had made its home in the depths of these woods and they had come to claim it for themselves.
"Are you sure it's here?" Adelram asked, not at all convinced that their tenuous search was over.
"It's here, I'm sure of it," Blagden replied with an assured sense of confidence.
"Alright then, let's go phoenix hunting!" Cica hollered wildly.
He was definitely the most lively out of the entire guild. It often got him into trouble with the guild master who never took lightly to his orders being ignored or disobeyed. But Crimson Blade's guild master was not here for this very important task. In his stead as the next generation was his nephew and three other much more qualified wizards than Cica.
The four dark mages entered silently, despite Cica's energy, into the ancient foliage to claim their prey.
XXX
Deep in one of the forests on the outskirts of the Fiore kingdom, a father was out teaching his daughter how to read and write.
"Is this right, dad?" the young girl asked when she finished writing in the dirt with her pointed stick.
The large crimson bird moved to read behind his daughter's shoulder.
"Almost, but moon does not have an 'e' on the end when spelling out moon goddess," her father replied.
The little human girl's face scrunched up before she erased her entire work and set out to do it again without any mistakes. The sight of a mythical creature raising a human child was a rare sight in itself which kept the little family living far away from other humans. However, there were far more sinister reasons Xavierus chose to raise his daughter in this deep degree of isolation.
Xavierus was a phoenix with exceptional magical capabilities. He didn't have any other family to speak of except for the little girl he found abandoned eight years ago in a forest similar to this one. Against his better judgement at the time, Xavierus took in the little girl and decided to raise her as his own. Despite being human, Xavierus was able to teach the child to become a phoenix slayer. Since he was the last of his kind that he knew of in this world, it was the closest way he could pass down his magic onto another generation, if only to have it die out a generation later. He loved his daughter with all his heart, and let this new lifestyle take him away from a previously dangerous existence of purging this world of darkness. Because of his hiatus however, he knew that one day the darkness would finally come for him.
As Xavierus watched his daughter work with a determined expression on her face, his ears perked up suspiciously. He could hear several sets of footsteps moving as if they were tracking some sort of prey. It was nothing he hadn't heard before, but he was shocked when his sight took over. The clearing around him vanished for a moment and was replaced by a glimpse into the immediate future.
"Osiris, I need you to listen very carefully," Xavierus said to his daughter once his normal sight returned.
"What is it, daddy?" the little girl answered, copper hair bouncing off her shoulders as she looked up at her father.
"You know that I have taught you all of the phoenix secret arts and that I have prepared you to be able to be able to slay one down?" the large majestic bird looked soulfully at the young human he had raised since infancy.
"Of course, father, you raised me to be the daughter of a phoenix. I would never let you down," the nine-year-old answered, feeling the brevity of her father's words.
For the last eight years she had followed the careful instructions of her adopted father to be able to inherit the full powers of a phoenix. She could manipulate flames that were as hot and bright as the sun. These flames were thought to have been blessed onto her father's ancestors from the sun goddess and that they were eternal. She had also learned how to absorb most attacks into her own vibrant wings which were a part of her soul take-over form. Only those who have been raised by phoenixes are able to perform a phoenix take-over making Osiris rare in her own right.
"You know that I am the last of my kind, my sweet Iris," I heard my father say in a troubling voice.
"Yes father, that's why you've taught me everything about being a phoenix and their true powers," I said, reciting almost verbatim what my father had repeated to me all my life.
My powers didn't let me completely turn into a mythical creature but instead gave me a red plumed mask which formed as a protection piece over my face while my wings become weapons for defense and destruction. The rest of my body remains human for the take-over. I am also not immortal, and neither is my father, but he alone has the ability to regenerate himself. I only have the exceptional ability of absorbing most attacks, but I am not impervious to death like my father has been in his past. Since he adopted me though, Xavierus has not performed in any battles where his life force could be taken. He never wanted to risk abandoning me, since he only has a limited amount of regenerations. Although he is aware of this fact, he still does not know how many regenerations he has been bestowed or when they will run out.
"And you remember when I said that we live in constant danger of human greed because I am the last of my kind?" Xavierus continued, keeping the sadness from his voice.
"I'll protect you, father! I'm strong enough!" I screeched, feeling my powers surge from inside me.
I could already feel the red feathers sprouting from my spine and those starting to cover my face.
"No, my child. The foe who seeks us has been tracking me for years. Longer than your life I have tried to escape them. Now, I only see you being put in danger, my dear child," Xavierus explained hoarsely.
"But dad, you're the strongest person I know. You can face any dark wizards or anything that tries to attack!" I responded stubbornly.
I could feel the tears staining my feathers, not understanding why my father was giving up before these supposed foes even arrived.
Xavierus sighed. Unbeknownst to his daughter, phoenixes had the rare power of seeing into the immediate future if it meant there was an imminent threat. Sort of like an internal security measure to foresee foreboding forces and unavoidable tragedy. It is the only thing he kept from his daughter's teachings since he didn't want to frighten her. Plus, it was his burden to bear alone.
All he could see now though was himself holding his beloved daughter's broken body in his arms while he wept over her. It didn't matter whether he defeated this dark guild once and for all, if it meant his daughter's blood being spilt.
"I am going to give you the greatest gift I could ever give you, my dear. I have trained you to keep you safe, and this way I can protect you once I am gone from this world," Xavierus explained gently.
"What are you talking about Xavierus?!" I shouted, using his name to show how serious and scared I was.
"They cannot harm you with the soul of a phoenix," my father explained despite my fears of what his words truly meant.
"No! I don't want you to leave!" I started to panic.
My father wasn't making any sense and I could now see the sadness in his eyes.
"I will always be with you, my sweet Osiris. The name I gave you means one who is born from a phoenix. Quite literal I know, but now I will give you that true gift. My daughter, you are the most precious gift I was ever given from the gods above and I do not intend to let harm befall you," he said, tears now flowing freely down his face.
"Daddy! I love you!" I screamed, throwing myself into his embrace as he folded his own magnificent wings around me.
He started to chant in whispers above me.
"Like Icarus, I fall from the fiery skies.
Take my soul so I shall die.
I leave this realm humbled by love.
So, I shall wake in the lands above.
I hold close who is worthy to survive.
They will now hold my heavenly power to revive.
Protect them from this ill fate.
Take me instead, my time is late."
The poem was soothing as I heard the love my father had for me in his voice. He never unraveled his beautiful plumage from around me, but instead it slowly turned to ash. By the time I lifted myself from his body, most of his feathers had disappeared in smoke.
"Wake up, daddy! Wake up!" I pleaded with tears streaming down my face.
My father had told me when I was old enough to understand that if he ever fell asleep, he would always come back to me, that I should not be afraid. But now his body was disappearing altogether like a dampening flame.
"Adelram, take her out!" I heard someone call out from behind me.
In all my sorrow I had not heard the team of mages come up from behind me.
I could now sense their darkness, but I couldn't move my arms away from the last remnants of my father. How could he leave me?
The next thing I knew I felt the crushing force of a large rock crumbling over my head, causing me to fall unconscious in the remains of my father's wings.
Ten Years Later:
"Erza, I have a special assignment I need you to look into," Master Makarov called out as the requip mage and the rest of Team Natsu entered the guild.
"Yes, Master?" Erza asked, walking towards the bar where the master was seated.
"There's been some rumours about a hunter's guild looking for dark artifacts," Makarov started before hearing Lucy gasp from beside the redheaded mage.
He didn't blame the girl's fear, hunter's guilds were vicious, vile organizations that haunted even the most trained wizard's nightmares. There was a horror to behold someone who killed for sport without any remorse.
"What's a hunter's guild?" Wendy asked, never hearing of such a thing before. She looked nervously between her teammates who all wore concerning expressions, even Natsu who was quick to anger.
Makarov's frown deepened. He had previously been conflicted whether to even send little Wendy on this mission, but the fact that she was a dragon slayer made her vital to the mission. He only wished Laxus or Gajeel had been available instead.
"It's a type of dark guild, but there aren't too many left in existence since the council cracked down on them a few years ago. The ones I've heard mentioned are all independent. I guess you could compare them to Eisenwald since they were all death gods, but hunters are different. They usually only act on their own interests and slaughter villages instead of just killing a few individuals at a time. And they do it for sport. If one of them is on the move they must be stopped at once," Erza explained severely.
Despite the girls' fear, the small dragon slayer stood determinedly at Erza's sides, ready to hear the mission from their master. The others behind were less clued into the situation as usual, but no less prepared to go to battle.
"Hm. I need you to go to Destrian Forest. There's been a surge of magical energy there and we suspect one of the hunter guilds, Crimson Blade, has come out of hiding to investigate it," Master continued with concern.
Crimson Blade was known as a ruthless dark guild that mostly operated out of the shadows. They only came out of hiding when it best suited them, and they were known for wiping villages off the map in just a night. Rumour had it that they might also have their own dragon slayer on the team, but no one had ever been able to confirm these suspicions. Besides, Natsu, Gajeel and Wendy had never heard of there being such a thing.
"Of course sir, we'll set off right away," Erza agreed without hesitation, despite what she knew the master was asking of them. The redhead found it an honour to be asked this responsibility instead of the risk someone else outside of Fairy Tail may see it as.
"What!? We just got here," Natsu complained, still feeling woozy from the previous train ride back to Magnolia.
"Natsu!" Lucy chastised. "What would happen if this Crimson Blade got a hold of the artefact first? I mean I haven't even heard of this dark guild before."
Gray frowned, being a little more familiar with hunter guilds through word of mouth. "Yea, they really don't come out into the public very often. I would argue that they're just as powerful as Grimoire Heart was before it disbanded."
"Really?" Wendy asked nervously.
The incident on Tenrou Island was never far from their minds, especially since right after their battle with Grimoire Heart they lost seven years of their lives. It was also surprising that such a small team would go out on such a mission considering it had taken most of the entire guild to take down Grimoire Heart. And when they had gone against the Oracion Seis, they had teamed up with other guilds.
"Your task is to retrieve the artefact first; I hope that you will arrive first and be able to bring it back for the Magic Council before Crimson Blade even gets to the forest. This is to be a retrieval mission, not one to take down a hunter's guild," Makarov's order was strict and left no room for argument, even for Gray and Natsu who looked annoyed to be going on what they would deem a boring mission.
"Of course, Master. But do you think the rumours are true? Erza inquired further.
Makarov grunted knowingly. None of the other's knew what Erza was talking about.
"It still hasn't been confirmed, but I have faith since you'll have Natsu and Wendy with you. I would have sent Gajeel as well but he and Lily took a job yesterday and aren't back yet. Laxus is also out with the Thunder Legion on an S-class mission and I fear this is time sensitive. I don't want you to wait until they return to head out," the master replied seriously.
"Right," Erza nodded with finality before turning to head back out with her ridiculous cart in tow.
Some of the others however were not as accepting of this simple explanation.
"Wait, why would we need the metal and lightening idiots to come with us?" Natsu asked, feeling annoyed he wouldn't be able to defeat anything this dark guild threw at him.
"Because this is the dark guild that is rumoured to have a dragon slayer on their team," Master replied gravely.
Natsu growled while Wendy gasped. They both remembered the master asking them about other dragon slayers before, but they hadn't any knowledge of a dark dragon slayer being in existence aside from Cobra.
"Well, I'm fired up now!" Natsu announced with a grin, punching his fist into his other hand for posterity.
"We better head out. We can catch the next train and arrive by morning," Erza said and this tine the others nodded in quick agreement.
Team Natsu then turned around and headed back out the door they had just entered moments earlier.
"Be safe, my children," Makarov whispered after them.
"Do you really think there's another dragon slayer out there?" Mirajane asked from behind the counter, breaking her silence after hearing the entire briefing.
The master turned around and sighed, feeling a moment of doubt that he couldn't shake.
"I really can't say. We already have four of those dragon brats in Fairy Tail, but I fear that this may be something different altogether. Something we have never seen before," Master replied uneasily.
Mira frowned and looked up to where Team Natsu had already left. She was worried and said a silent prayer in her head. She would keep her faith in her friends to make sure they all returned safely.
"Put your head out the window!" Lucy shouted at Natsu who was about to hurl.
They had all slept on the train since Destrian Forest was a day out from Magnolia. They were used to travelling like this, despite Natsu's constant objections. But this time there was a nervousness between them that they decided to remain unspoken.
"So, do you really think it's another dragon slayer?" Wendy asked curiously instead.
"I have no idea, but I find it hard to believe since we already know of five including Cobra from Oracion Seis. And we know it can't be him since he's been locked up by the Magic Council," Erza replied earnestly.
Erza agreed with Master though; this didn't sit right. Plus, there were really only whispers of Crimson Blade. They were very secretive and allegedly even rejected the Balam Alliance from their invitation. The only thing Erza knew for sure was that they called themselves hunters, meaning they never left any survivors to tell of their existence.
"We must all keep our guards up and retrieve the artefact, whatever it may be, before Crimson Blade finds it. If we can avoid a fight I would like to try. They aren't known for having mercy on their enemies," Erza explained grimly.
Wendy and Lucy both flinched. They had been up against dark guilds before but seeing Erza this concerned was unsettling.
"So, what are we going to do anyways if they have a dragon slayer?" Gray asked.
It seemed to him that most dragon slayers eventually made their way to Fairy Tail despite their previous allegiances. Cobra was the exception but Wendy and Gajeel had found their home there.
"We'll fight for our lives," Erza replied earnestly.
When they all arrived at Destrian Forest, they immediately set out into its depths. It wasn't any different than any other ancient forest they had ventured into for a job. The fresh air was supposed to be refreshing and the foliage provided shade from the sun, but nothing about this journey felt relaxing. But instead of showing fear, Team Natsu set out with determination and a silent hope that they could avoid this fight, since not even Erza was confident they would make it out if they ran into the dark guild.
"I can feel it, the magic energy," Gray said feeling unsettled.
It felt like a Jupiter cannon was hidden within the depths of the old forest.
"Let's keep moving. Natsu, can you smell anything?" Erza asked after several hours of trekking.
"They're here," Natsu said seriously, keeping his guard up. "But I don't smell any dragons."
Erza nodded as they proceeded onward. Lucy gripped her keys in her fist. Erza silently requipped into a heavier armour than her usual apparel. Gray lost his shirt somewhere at the beginning of the journey but for once no one commented. Instead they proceeded in a tight knit group and followed Natsu who led them into the depths of the woods.
Suddenly, Natsu stopped. He put up his fist to tell the others to pause as he sniffed the air.
"What's that?" Wendy pointed to what looked like a floating lacrima in the air.
"It must be the artefact," Erza replied eagerly.
No one knew how it was there or why it was now exposed, but they needed to work quickly if Natsu already sensed the dark guild's presence.
"Look out!" Natsu yelled suddenly, throwing Lucy to the ground as he dodged a surprise attack.
"My, my, what do we have here? Filthy guild wizards who are about to die," one of the ominously assembled men announced with malice dripping from his voice.
There were four of them standing before the wizards from Fairy Tail.
They stood on a natural incline, looking down at the members of Fairy Tail from their rocky perch. Each of them stood in a row, the one on far left being a tall, muscular man with dark hair. He was the brute force type, older than any of Fairy Tail's members and stood taller than the rest of his team. The next was a petite woman about Lucy's age but had a much smaller figure. Her blonde hair was cropped short and she grinned like she was hungry for a fight. But that didn't compare to the lanky man crouching beside her who looked like he was suffering from bloodlust. This guy obviously lived to fight and win. The last was a domineering sort of man who held his authority in the manner in which he stood. It was obvious already that this guy called the shots.
"You think you can defeat us?" the wild-eyed male taunted down at Natsu and the others.
It wasn't certain from the other three whether they were going to say anything at all or just cut down Fairy Tail where they stood, but this guy looked ready to pounce and was obviously more one to gloat than the others. He also wore a wicked grin.
"Cocky bastard," Natsu thought to himself.
But even Natsu couldn't deny the amount of magic power coming from these guys.
"Th—their magic energy—it's so powerful," Wendy whimpered from her place in between Gray and Erza.
"You can't defeat Crimson Blade, because we don't play by the Magic Council's precious rules," the female stepped forward with a smirk of her own, obviously trying to bait them as well.
Maybe these guys did like to play with their food a little before they ate.
These guys gave Lucy the creeps. Besides their intense power she could also feel the evil coming from them and that they took pride in taking the lives of their foes. Fairy Tail really couldn't afford to lose.
"Leave them to me," the muscular one announced and finally stepped forward to initiate the inevitable fight.
Lucy and the others all braced themselves to see how he would attack. It wasn't usually Team Natsu's style to gauge their opponent like this without going in head first with their own fighting, but their Master's warning still rang through their heads as the dire warning it was meant to be.
"Kinetic magic: crush!" the man yelled, lifting his hand, and pointing to the rocks behind them.
It struck Fairy Tail as odd since nothing immediately happened, and he wasn't emitting any magical attack from his body. However, Fairy Tail turned at the sound of the rocks crumbling from behind them. A huge chunk broke off from a cliff face and lifted up into the air rather impressively.
"Requip!" Erza shouted, instantly changing into one of her armours.
The rest all mobilized by running out of the way of this guy's telekinetic range.
"Go Duana, bring it to me!" their leader ordered.
"Yes, sir," the woman replied before disappearing into the trees around them.
"I can smell her, but she's camouflaged," Natsu shouted, gazing rapidly around the dense forest.
"Ow!" Lucy whined, causing all of them to look back at her.
Lucy was holding up her arm where a line of blood was flowing out from a small cut.
"You bastard!" Natsu roared angrily.
The girl had been too quick and had also taken advantage of Lucy's given distraction. Natsu's hand now had a prick of its own. She must be crazy fast to cut him without Natsu catching it.
"Way to let your guard down, dumbass," Gray chastised Natsu for being an idiot.
Gray reactively formed ice over his own arms as protection.
Why did they want their blood?
"That will do, Duana," the man stated, causing their attention to revert back to where the now three dark wizards were standing while the fourth still facing off against Erza. "Now go take out the little girl."
"Yes, sir," she obeyed again with her own look of bloodlust.
"Sky dragon: claw attack!" Wendy shouted, trying for surprise as her advantage since she was suddenly being singled out from the group.
Wendy managed to send the girl named Duana off her feet, but the other girl picked herself up immediately like the attack hadn't even touched her. She then took out a key that looked a lot like Lucy's, but it was black instead of gold and silver.
"Open: cage of the vulcan!" she shouted with an eager smile.
"Huh?" Wendy stood there watching as a vulcan suddenly appeared out of thin air, much like Lucy's spirits usually did.
"I'm a beast tamer!" the girl announced triumphantly to Wendy.
"Wendy look out!" Carla warned, flying over to pick up the sky dragon slayer and take her out of the direct path of the creature.
The vulcan obligingly chased after Wendy as the tamer followed at a distance.
This left Gray, Natsu and Lucy to stand off against the remaining others.
"Blood magic: attack!" their leader said in a commanding voice.
"Blood magic? What the hell?" Gray asked in disgust.
Such a thing was a truly horrible form of dark magic. It let you control your opponents if you managed to get a sample of their blood which answered their previous question of why the hunters had needed their blood in the first place.
"NATSU!" Lucy shrieked in terror as she watched Natsu engulf his hands in flames.
"Get out of the way, Lucy! I can't control it," Natsu shouted in frustration, bringing his hands up into an offensive position against his own autonomy.
"I can't move my legs!" Lucy cried, panicking from the fact that she was about to be hit by Natsu's attack.
"I got you, Lucy!" Happy called out, flying over to lift her up and out of the way. "Wow, you're even heavier than usual. I can't lift you!" Happy complained.
"Shut up, cat! It's the blood magic!" Lucy chastised despite her dire predicament.
"Lucy!" Gray called out, moving to go assist her before Natsu burned her to a crisp.
"Where do you think you're going?" the cocky looking wizard sidetracked Gray in his task as he descended from his previous perch on the adjacent rocks.
He was now blocking Gray's path to help Lucy.
"Mind magic: obey!" he shouted aggressively with his smile growing even wider now that he was a part of the fight.
Gray instantly felt his brain growing foggy and was getting a pounding headache.
"Hey man, get out of my head!" Gray yelled back.
Gray felt annoyed at how this guy was throwing off his focus, but Gray had enough discipline that the bastard couldn't control him so easily.
"Obey me!" the dark wizard shouted louder.
Gray tried fighting against it again but felt as his thoughts finally gave way to the commanding voice.
"Be a good boy and stand there no matter what," Gray heard the cocky voice command in his head.
Gray felt like his feet began melting into the ground even though he was just standing there normally. However, he knew that his feet wouldn't move no matter how much his brain told them to.
"Duana!" Gray heard the same voice from his head call out loud.
Since the command had only been for his feet Gray could still move his head to look around at the others. This meant he saw when the petite wizard emerged back from the forest moments later to stand beside the crazed looking man who had Gray under his control.
"Won't you be a dear and unleash her on these lowly mages," he said with something else terrifying in his eyes.
Gray took another moment to see that Lucy was now scorched and looking as if she was only barely hanging on to consciousness. Natsu looked angrier than Gray had ever seen him since Lucy was ultimately like this by his hand. Happy was now trying to pull Natsu out of place, but he wouldn't budge either.
The clanging of armour also announced a floating Erza who was up in the air against her will.
"What the hell?" Gray exclaimed out loud, surprised to see their heavy hitter so out of control of her magic.
How was this guy using telekinetic power against Erza herself? It was as if she wasn't in control of her actions, just like Gray, Natsu and Lucy. These hunters were truly terrifying since Fairy Tail was already under their mercy with Wendy still running from a vulcan that had appeared out of thin air. Gray shook his head in frustration at the thought that they were being beaten so easily.
"Open: Cage of the phoenix!" Duana shouted lifting what looked top be a copper key into the air.
Immediately, there was a sudden blaze in the sky that caused Gray to shield his eyes. When it died out a moment later Gray looked up to see some sort of large bird was floating in the air. But it wasn't a bird, not really. It was a girl with large red feathers growing out of her skin.
"You summoned me?" the bird girl asked.
"What is that?" Gray heard Natsu ask, seething in his own anger.
"Eliminate them!" the mind controller shouted without any further explanation.
"Phoenix slayer: Solar flames!" the girl called out, raising her brightly coloured wings before bringing her attack down onto all six of them, including Happy and Carla.
Thankfully, Erza still had some control over her body unlike Gray, Lucy and Natsu. Erza was therefore able to block the bright attack of white flames, but only barely as she spun her body and deflected it with her sword. The rest of them weren't so lucky as Gray and the others felt the concentrated flames engulf their bodies. Gray tried to use his ice magic against the intense heat but it melted instantly. He hoped that Natsu would be smart enough to eat the flames but it seemed even the fire breather was unable to eat this particular fire brand as he crumpled down and grimaced in pain like the others. When the flames stopped after what felt like an eternity later Gray heard Natsu call out furiously.
"Lucy!"
Gray managed to look over towards the fire dragon slayer to see that he was finally able to pry his feet from the ground. This was infuriating since Gray's were still firmly planted but he watched as Natsu ran over to try and collect the now faint celestial wizard. Her feet were also free, but she had since collapsed to the ground.
"Phoenix slayer: Wing attack," the bird girl called out her second attack, sending it towards Natsu to inhibit him from reaching Lucy.
"Wrong move, little birdy," Natsu retorted as his evidently anger washed over him.
"I've got her, Natsu!" Happy cried out, somehow flying over to Lucy to try to wake her up despite his largely singed fur.
"Flame attack, that's useless against a fire dragon slayer!" Natsu called out boastfully even though her first attack had landed on him.
Gray figured Natsu could adapt this time but watched as the flames hit Natsu again and somehow still burned his body. It left more gashes on his arms but only caused Natsu to get even angrier.
"What is this?!" he seethed.
"My flames are from the sun. Hotter than anything a dragon can produce," she replied simply.
Unlike her other teammates though, it didn't seem like she was gloating. This girl was really just answering Natsu's question. This baffled Gray but he as too frustrated and exhausted to decide what it meant or who this girl was.
"You hurt Lucy!" Natsu screamed, aligning his arms for his next attack.
"Phoenix slayer: Shrieking cry!" she replied, not letting Natsu collect himself enough to form his offensive attack.
Gray covered his ears and fell to the ground as his entire being was rattled by her war cry. Unlike his former opponent, this was like the sound was breaking his brain instead of trying to manipulate his actions through thought.
Natsu's acute senses took him even longer to recover as he was crumpled on the ground in agony with his hands covering his ears.
Before any of them could really recover the ground began to shake.
The lacrima they had come here to collect was elevated even higher and was now looking fairly unstable. Whatever type of magic had been protecting it was now unleashing its defense mechanism. The members of Crimson Blade reacted by surprisingly slinking back into the shadows of the forest while the girl with wings landed onto the ground looking up at it with a saddened expression.
"Go," the leader ordered before he too fell back into the dense treeline.
Gray watched as the girl walked off towards the now unstable lacrima instead of fighting them any longer. They had wasted too much time fighting these hunters and now it looked like their objective was unraveling out of control.
"What do you think you're doing?!" Gray shouted, watching the mysterious girl as she headed towards the lacrima, her skin further transforming into red and golden feathers.
She paused in hesitation before turning around to meet Gray's eyes with a haunted look.
"I know that look," Gray thought to himself worriedly.
He had seen it on his master's face when Ur faced Deliora.
It also reminded him of the way he had felt when he faced Deliora with his teammates years later.
"You can't sacrifice yourself!" Gray shouted knowingly.
"That's my job," the feathered girl replied simply.
"No person has the job to die!" Gray shouted again.
Despite the fact that this girl had just taken out almost all of his teammates he seethed in anger that she seemed to be readying herself for death. He watched as the resigned expression remained on the girl's face before she turned back around and proceeded to walk further away from him.
"What's wrong, Gray? Who is she?" Erza asked as she came to stand over him.
When Erza brought her hand down to help him up he finally realised that he could move his feet again. The mind controller's spell had finally lifted. Gray still felt savagely beaten from the flame attack he endured but he pushed himself to be steady on his feet.
"She's going to sacrifice herself," Gray explained, feeling the turmoil rise up in him.
Erza gasped. "She can't!"
Gray didn't hesitate any longer after that and chased after the girl, ignoring his own pain and exhaustion. She wasn't walking very fast but he could still see the determination in her steps. Gray caught up and reached out to grab her wrist.
She stopped. Gray could tell she was surprised.
"I can save everyone, let me go," she said, trying to pull her hand back.
"I won't let you go and die! We will get this thing without you risking your life," Gray stated with conviction.
Gray could hear several other sets of footsteps behind them. He had trained enough with all of them to know it was Erza, Natsu, Lucy and Wendy. Happy and Carla were probably floating nearby. Wendy must have used her healing magic on Lucy to get her to stand.
"Is it true, Gray? Is this girl going to sacrifice herself?" Natsu asked in his edgy tone.
It was the same voice Natsu had used when he forbade Gray all those years ago from sacrificing his own life to Deliora.
"Why do you care? You all came to defeat my guild anyway," the mystery girl asked in defiance.
But Gray could hear the confusion in her voice. She was starting to waver in her conviction.
"Being a wizard means standing up for what you believe in. It doesn't just mean protecting your friends but living for them as well," Gray explained, trying to do as Natsu did for him years before.
Gray knew that she was a part of a dark guild. But that still didn't mean she should die. Plus, looking at her separate from her guildmates, Gray could tell there was something different about her. She was afraid.
But then it was like a mask covered her face as feathers grew into a beautiful frame around her eyes.
Gray could no longer tell her emotions. He could see her fear was only pushed down deeper and that this was the mask she used to show the world. And it wasn't just the feathers. Gray was only too familiar with hiding how he truly felt in general.
She easily managed to free herself from his grasp before unfurling her wings again without another word. Gray noticed up close that her wings were a mixture of red, orange and gold that were quite beautiful. It was almost as if she was ablaze with Natsu's flames, but instead it was the sunlight reflecting off of them.
She then took off, much like an exceed, and Gray was still shocked that this small mage had turned into some sort of majestic bird. They all watched as she flew at full speed towards the target and wrapped her whole body and wings around it. The brilliant light coming from the lacrima now grew brighter as it seeped out from the girl's feathers.
"We have to help her!" Natsu screamed, readying himself to run at it.
But Erza grabbed the scruff of his shirt to stop him. It wasn't a moment too soon before the lacrima shone even brighter and exploded from going unstable.
But the explosion that should have at the very least gravely injured all of them was contained by the girl's body. After the explosion Gray looked up to watch as she fell from the skies. Her once beautiful feathers were singed and blackened. Her body was exposed, and she was crashing downward. Her wings were no longer intact and it looked as if she was unconscious.
Without thinking Gray bolted towards her falling form. He lifted his arms in front of himself and jumped into the air to catch her into his arms.
He didn't even know her name but he still couldn't help the tears of frustration escaping his eyes. He hadn't been able to talk her down and now he was holding her corpse in his arms.
"I can't hear her heartbeat!" Wendy shrieked.
Gray realized that everyone else had run over to him and the sky dragon slayer had her healing magic running over the girl's body.
"That was an explosion like a Jupiter cannon. It would be unimaginable for someone as small as her to be able to survive that without any armour," Erza said in sorrow.
Despite the terrifying battle or the crimes this girl had no doubt committed, Fairy Tail couldn't sanction that her guild had made it her responsibility to willingly die. Lucy cried beside Natsu who clenched his fists in righteous anger.
Then the girl's body let out a soft whimper.
Gray looked down quickly to see the girl starting to move in his arms.
"You did it, Wendy!" Natsu exclaimed proudly.
Gray looked over to see the younger girl shake her head.
"That wasn't me. I can't bring people back from the dead," Wendy replied in a quivering voice.
"We must bring her back with the artefact," Erza declared at once, grabbing the lacrima from the girl's reforming grip and replaced it with a pair of magic-cancelling handcuffs.
Gray looked down in awe as the ashy feathers floated away and her body glowing in a golden light that faded as quickly as it started.
"We can put her in the cart," Erza suggested but Gray shook his head and kept the girl in his arms.
She laid across them like a bride but Gray felt a sudden duty to keep her safe, whatever this girl was and however she had survived.
Erza accepted this with a single nod, wanting to lead them out of the forest before Crimson Blade regrouped and came back for their treasure and guildmate. Their master's warning was still fresh in their mind and Erza was not wanting to face the hunter's guild for a rematch like this.
The rest quickly followed. Wendy stayed by Gray's side to make sure the girl was alright, but from what Wendy could tell the girl was regenerating at an unnerving speed and was just resting.
Gray couldn't help but glance down from time to time. The girl seemed much smaller, a testament to her true size while she was like this as opposed to how she had first appeared out of that girl's key.
Lucy was fretting over the girl as well. She couldn't sense her as being a celestial spirit or anything else from a different world, but that didn't deny her incredible transformative abilities. Natsu hadn't decided yet if he trusted her, still too angry from the fight where he had been unwillingly pitted against Lucy. So instead Natsu kept a close eye on the celestial wizard who kept at Gray's other side.
By the time the group resurfaced from the forest, the sun was setting in the afternoon sky. As soon as the sun hit the girl's soft features, she stirred in Gray's arms and looked up into his eyes.
"What are you?" Gray couldn't help his immediate question, looking into her now lively eyes.
"I'm a phoenix," she replied simply, as if that easily explained the situation and that she wasn't necessarily fazed by her current predicament of being in a strange man's arms.
"That can't be," Erza gasped in awe and disbelief, appearing in front of Gray now that the girl was awake and lucid.
"So, you're some kind of bird?" Natsu added with no sense of tact.
"Natsu, shut up!" Lucy chastised him.
Despite the gravity of the situation and the fact that they had not yet secured their travel back to Magnolia, Fairy Tail didn't miss the opportunity to break out into their typical squabbling banter. The girl who was restrained and still being held was at a loss for words so instead looked up at the boy in question quizzically.
"You know, you can let go now," the mysterious girl said.
Gray hadn't realised he was still holding her in his arms through his curiosity and disbelief that this girl was really alive and well.
"Right," he replied awkwardly.
He felt uncomfortable now that this girl was back to normal. His duty to protect her was over so instead Gray helped her to stand as she gracefully stepped down onto the ground with soundless effort. This girl appeared as if nothing had happened. As if she hadn't just been torn to pieces in the sky.
"Are you saying that you perform phoenix magic?" Erza asked as the girl brushed herself off and looked around as if to walk away.
The fact that she was wearing anti-magic cancelling handcuffs didn't seem to sway against her decision.
"Yup. I'm a phoenix slayer," she replied with a hint of pride in her voice.
But she continued to look around as if looking for her guildmates or a way out.
"A phoenix slayer?" Lucy continued quizzically.
Gray thought it was a safe bet to assume Erza was the only one there who had ever heard of such magic.
"Were you raised by a phoenix?" Wendy asked with piquing curiosity.
It seemed like maybe the others didn't realise that this girl was looking to make a run for it. But Wendy's comment seemed to stop her in her plan as Gray watched the girl's eyes fall.
"Yes," she replied with a deep sorrow before it was entirely erased from her face.
Again, the others seemed to miss the subtle cues that this girl was deeply conflicted or hurt over something.
"That's so cool!" Natsu replied instead with his typical excitable voice.
"Really?" she asked, and now Gray could hear her scepticism.
It was strange though. It felt as if this girl was having some sort of internal battle with herself.
"Well, yeah! Natsu and I were raised by dragons. We're both slayers, too!" Wendy added with her own excitement.
"I've never heard of such a thing. I always thought I was the only one who had ever been raised by something other than humans," she said as if this new knowledge had a lot of weight behind it.
"So, I just have one question," Erza cut in, her steely voice returning.
"Hmm?" the phoenix slayer asked, closing herself off again, preparing for whatever justice Erza would bring down.
But Gray and the others knew Erza better than that. Of course they were going to have to bring her back for the Magic Council to decide, but it wasn't their place to judge this girl even though she had tried to take out Fairy Tail. It wasn't like they didn't have members from their own guild who had strayed from the light before and Gray had a feeling about this girl that was different from anyone else he had ever met.
"You mentioned it was your job to sacrifice yourself. Was that an order from your guild?" Erza asked severely.
"Erm—yea. But, it's okay. I have a phoenix soul. I can just regenerate myself," she explained like it was no big deal.
But Gray could still see the fear in her eyes.
"That is no excuse!" Gray exclaimed angrily before he could stop himself.
She whipped her head back around to look at the dark-haired boy again with a torn expression. If Gray didn't know any better, he would have thought that this girl just fell in with the wrong crowd. It seemed that maybe she had been raised much like Natsu and the other dragon slayers. So what had happened for her to become a member of Crimson Blade?
"Guilds are family. Like I said before, we all live for each other. Of course, we are all willing to protect each other to the end but we would never let anyone lay down their lives while we stood idly by," Gray stated, feeling his anger return.
Dark guild or not, how evil could one be to send a guildmate to their slaughter?
"That's not how my guild operates," she replied evenly.
A silence fell between them, creating a pause for Erza to go and retrieve the train tickets while they waited on the platform. The girl stood in the middle of the group, gazing down at the handcuffs with interest now instead of annoyance or anger. Gray wondered if she viewed them as a sort of freedom, a plausible excuse to leave the dark guild behind.
"What's your name?" Gray finally asked, realising they still had not properly introduced themselves but had proceeded right on to taking the girl into custody instead; maybe not the first expression Gray himself wanted to make.
"My name is Osiris Larkin, but I go by Iris," she finally answered after staring at each one of them intently.
Gray also thought to himself. "Man does she ever remind me of me when I found Fairy Tail."
But he guessed all of the others had joined in a similar boat. Natsu and Wendy had lost their parents, Erza had escaped from being a child slave and Lucy had also lost her mother and was estranged from her father when she joined. If this girl was a phoenix slayer, there was a good chance the phoenix who raised her was gone too.
"So, what do I call you all?" she asked after a short pause.
Lucy, always being the friendly face of the team, stepped forward and introduced herself first. Gray figured this was still a leap of faith on Lucy's part since Lucy was the most beaten down out of all of them. "I'm Lucy Heartfilia. This nitwit over here is Natsu Dragneel."
"Hey!" Natsu protested hotly but the others stepped forward before he could complain any further.
"I'm Wendy Marvell, and this is Carla and Happy!" the sky dragon slayer announced and timidly grinned despite the wary expression from Iris.
"Yes, we will have to see what the Magic Council decides for you," Carla rebuked, causing Wendy to gasp and look embarrassed.
But in return Iris nodded and remained silent, it being clear that she still held her strong reservations against the group.
"I'm Erza Scarlett," the requip mage also introduced herself in her usual formal tone once she returned promptly to the group.
"And what do I call you?" Iris asked, turning her attention to stare down Gray who had asked for her name in the first place.
"Gray. Gray Fullbuster," he replied with his typical defensiveness masking his voice from his unexpected interest.
Erza rounded them up a moment later to lead them to a train that was stationed and getting ready to head back to Magnolia. Thankfully, they were able to make a prompt exit from Destrian Forest without being immediately pursued by Crimson Blade. With both Iris and the artefact in their custody, the hunter's guild would no doubt already be tracking them.
Erza entered the train first, stopping to make sure everyone else followed. Unsurprisingly, Natsu was hesitant and had to be dragged to their seats by Lucy. Gray came up behind Iris, watching for her to make a move but she never did. He was wholly surprised she hadn't made her move yet when she so obviously looked as if she was only humouring them as playing captive. Gray had no doubt this girl didn't need magic to effectively get away.
"So, do you just trust that your enemy who single-handedly incapacitated your entire group doesn't turn on you?" Iris asked like she was judging their tenuous decision to bring her back to Magnolia like this, obviously baiting the group in whatever she was scheming.
"Well, are you going to attack us?" Gray turned the question back onto her bluntly. He wanted to play her game, but on his terms instead
He didn't know why he was so drawn to this girl, other than the fact that she had come back to life in his arms.
Gray watched as she surprisingly smirked and shook her head. "No."
They settled into their seats then, both Gray and Iris sitting opposite each other by the window. Lucy sat beside Iris with Erza at the end of their bench. Natsu unfortunately deposited himself beside Gray and already crumpled into his lap, much to the embarrassment and annoyance of Gray.
The train started a moment later and of course Natsu turned into a puddle of motion sickness with Wendy on his other side stating that she could not cast the Troia spell on him this time.
"Does he always do that?" Iris asked when the train pulled out of the station, looking almost revolted by Natsu's level of incapacitation.
"Ha-ha, yea," Gray replied, finding it amusing at how Iris was looking at Natsu like he was being ridiculous; a sentiment Gray wholly agreed with.
"He shouldn't display his weakness so blatantly," Iris commented.
"You hear that, I'm not the only one who thinks you losing it on moving vehicles is nonsense," Gray exclaimed but Natsu ignored him.
"I don't think Natsu can really help it," Lucy came to his aid but Iris continued to stare at Natsu with judgement.
"Anyone can hide their weakness, he just doesn't have the will to work on it," Iris shrugged indifferently.
"Iris seems kind of harsh, don't you think?" Wendy whispered into Lucy's ear, trying to be tactful in her assessment.
"I don't mean to be insulting, I'm just stating what I know to be true. If Natsu's enemies find out about this weakness then they will use it against him. Also, if you want to state your opinion about me without me hearing it you should be at least thirty feet away from me," Iris stated plainly.
Everyone else blanched while Wendy blushed profusely.
"Your powers are quite impressive, Iris," Erza stated, somehow realising that Iris wasn't meaning to make everyone feel wholly uncomfortable.
"It's all because my father taught me so well," Iris replied.
Gray realised that Iris sounded softer when she brought up her father. He guessed he and the others were similar about those who had raised them as well. Gray knew he had a soft spot in his heart for Ur who admittedly raised him after his parents were killed.
"So Iris, have you ever been to Magnolia?" Lucy asked, sounding as chipper as always and trying to change the subject into more neutral territory.
Gray smiled, feeling grateful for how forgiving Fairy Tail always was to those who sought after a second chance.
"Is it still standing?" Iris asked bluntly.
"Erm—yes," Lucy answered feeling off-guard again by Iris's cryptic answer.
"Then no, I haven't been there before," Iris replied evenly.
To most people Iris's blunt nature must be off-putting, especially when she implied about her gruesome past. But Gray found it reassuring for her level of honesty. It seemed that she maybe hadn't had the chance to talk to people other than those who took advantage of her rare ability to regenerate.
"What was your father like?" Wendy asked, still blushing from being previously overheard but trying to change the conversation yet again since Iris seemed to have a knack for turning the conversation dark.
More surprising was how Iris' defenses cracked again when she offered another honest answer, but this time with a more positive response. "He was incredible. He changed his entire life just to take me in. We lived deep in a forest where he taught me how to read and write and perform magic. He would tell me stories and we trained hard every day. I was raised to be the proud daughter of a phoenix."
"That sounds amazing! My mother's name was Grandeeney and she raised me from infancy as well. I miss her a lot," Wendy responded more boldly than Gray or the others had been expecting.
Gray could tell Iris was intrigued to hear about Wendy's dragon mother as the two talked more for the rest of the trip under the watchful gaze of Erza before Wendy dozed off. Gray nodded off himself before being awoken sometime later by a bump in the tracks. He looked around and noticed his teammates were all sleeping since it was dark outside and Iris was now tied to Erza by some sort of rope no doubt Erza had stashed away in her parallel storage unit. However, Iris was sitting looking out the window as if she wasn't even tired. Gray figured she must be exhausted though after the day's events, even if she weren't necessarily human.
"You're not sleeping?" Gray asked.
He had expected Iris to startle at the sudden sound of his voice but she only turned like she already knew he was awake. He realised she must have been able to hear him with his movements like she was able to hear Wendy's soft whispers from before.
"You all let your guard down very easily," Iris replied in a condescending statement.
"We're on a train that Erza already cleared and we would wake up before anything happened to us if trouble did start up," Gray reasoned defensively.
Gray ended up being surprised again when Iris broke her neutral expression and smirked back at him.
"Not if it was me attacking."
"You already told me you wouldn't attack," Gray reacted easily, somehow already leaning towards trusting this practical stranger.
"What if I lied?" she looked at him deadpan.
"But you didn't" he said resolutely.
She continued to stare at him before she let a small grin spread across her face.
"You can sleep. I'll keep watch for now," Gray offered.
"And how do I know you won't take advantage of me with my guard down?" Iris asked.
"I'm not that type of guy! If I'm going to fight you then it'll be a fair fight. And I'm not a fucking pervert," Gray shouted defensively, but at a muted volume since he didn't want to wake the others.
Iris smirked again and Gray realised she was baiting him to try and rile him up.
"Don't fall asleep," Iris warned before she closed her eyes. "I'll know if you did."
Gray nodded even though she couldn't see him and continued to stare at the new girl with interest. He had never met anyone who seemed to be as guarded as he was and met him straight on with his own direct comments. He thought of all the other girls he knew and how they were different from him, and how he always reacted accordingly to social dictation. Wendy was like his little sister who he tried to protect while Lucy was the loud worrying type. Gray knew how to reassure Lucy so that she remained cheerful while Erza was another personality altogether where Gray put all his energy into staying on her good side. Then there was Juvia, who was also direct but in a completely different way. She was always confessing her love and following him around to an annoying degree. For his own personal space he tried his damnedest to keep as much physical space as possible between him and the water maiden.
He cared for all the girls in the guild, but he had an automated setting for how to communicate with each of them. It was his way of putting up a barrier between himself and everyone else. But Iris seemed to cut through all of it which made him feel uneasy. How should he react to this girl if she wasn't going to let him put up a barrier between them?
True to his word he stayed awake and watched the first peak of sunlight come up over the horizon two hours later. The first light also awoke Iris and Gray frowned that she hadn't gotten more sleep than that.
"I get energy from the sun, so I hardly ever sleep during the day," she replied like he had asked his question out loud. "You can catch some more sleep if you want."
Gray stared at her before nodding, feeling that he was still tired from waking up so early.
"Thanks," Gray reopened his eyes after closing them at the unexpected sound of Iris's voice. Gray met her gaze and saw that she was being sincere.
"Anytime. I'll watch your back from now on," Gray stated before closing his eyes again.
He missed the shocked expression on Iris's face before she quickly neutralised it and peered back out the window until she saw buildings indicating the outskirts of Magnolia. Iris stood up which woke up most of the others while Natsu still remained passed out across Lucy's lap. Erza gently shook Wendy to stir her while Lucy heaved Natsu's limp body off of her once the train started to slow.
Shaking her head in mild disgust, Iris stepped forward and easily lifted Natsu by the arm before she wrapped it over her shoulder and dragged him out like he weighed hardly anything. Erza had removed the rope but kept on the magic cancelling cuffs. It seemed though that Iris had enough strength to easily pull Natsu off of the train while the rest stared after her before following a moment later.
"Iris is so strong!" Wendy sounded awestruck.
"I'm supposed to have your back now, right? It's nothing really to carry Natsu while he is so weak," Iris replied to the rest of them over her shoulder.
Erza startled at this and turned to look at Gray who was beside her. She had known the ice-maker mage had talked to their captive in the middle of the night but hadn't expected him to get through to the phoenix slayer so easily. Despite her still being their prisoner, Iris seemed willing enough to go along with their plan and even oblige them by helping them out. The requip mage held off on her judgement of the girl for the time being but felt that maybe Fairy Tail could offer her a second chance if the Magic Council decided to give her leniency.
Lucy and Wendy followed Iris looking wholly impressed that she wasn't breaking a sweat lugging Natsu through the train car. Happy looked relieved as well at not having to carry Natsu for once while Carla looked unimpressed as always. This left Gray feeling unsettled that Iris had turned his words back onto Gray and his team.
"Natsu, get a hold of yourself you idiot! Don't make Iris carry you all the way back to the guildhall!" Gray reprimanded him once Iris had him out on the platform.
"Five more minutes… smells so good," Natsu mumbled as if he was still dreaming.
Iris kept his arm around her shoulder but Gray was thoroughly annoyed by this point so he pulled at Natsu until he was extracted from Iris's hold. Gray then shoved him to the ground which jolted Natsu awake.
"Hey, what'd you do that for? I was dreaming!" Natsu complained.
"Natsu, it's not Iris's job to carry you while you keep sleeping," Erza reprimanded him more gently than Gray's wake-up call.
"Wait—Iris was carrying me?" Natsu asked while he pieced together what had just happened.
Gray watched Natsu don a rare blush which only infuriated him even more. In response, Gray charged further to attack Natsu before Iris spoke first.
"It's not a big deal," she shrugged, turning to let Wendy and Lucy lead her towards the guild.
"Knock that stupid look off of your face, you pervert," Gray snarled at Natsu as the two boys fell into step behind the group.
"What are you talking about, I'm not a pervert. And what do you care ice princess, I was still dreaming while Iris was carrying me," Natsu explained.
"Yea, well you shouldn't be making girls carry you," Gray replied evenly.
Natsu snarled indignantly back but didn't retort another point. Instead both boys brooded down the familiar streets back to their guildhall. It was mid-morning by this point and they figured most people would be in the guildhall by this time.
xx
"Is that it?" I asked, finally noticing the shabby looking windmill ahead of us.
Wendy smiled back at me before taking my hand to pull me at a running pace towards it. Feeling her holding my hand and giggling down the street made me feel strange, especially when I hadn't gotten the feeling that the young girl had gotten over her initial fear of me. I couldn't understand why any of these wizards were leading me straight to their guild even if I knew a conviction awaited me. The penalty for leaving Crimson Blade was certain death, most likely at the hands of the guild master, Raiden, which was no clean or dignified way to die. So even though I had been Crimson Blade's trump card for the past ten years this was a mercy I didn't understand or think I deserved.
"Who's your new friend, Wendy?" one man smoking a cigar asked us once we entered as he and his friend eyed me with interest.
The magic cancelling cuffs weren't immediately noticeable despite their lingering gazes and no one else acted appropriately towards me either. I couldn't help thinking that if I had my magic and Raiden's orders whispering in my ears that Fairy Tail would already be a crumbling heap of ashes.
"This is Iris!" Wendy replied easily before leading me further into the guild.
"We're home!" Natsu shouted behind us, causing me to turn around and watch him and the others be greeted by their guildmates.
"Home?" I whispered out loud to myself, not being able to stifle my awe.
"Well hello there, and who might you be?" the woman from behind the bar asked with a sweet and welcoming smile.
I felt uncomfortable that everyone was still looking at me and treating me as if I wasn't a hunter. Everyone I had met in the past decade had all been terrified for their lives when they looked upon me, and they had every right to be.
"I'm a member of Crimson Blade," I replied honestly, since it was still the truth despite the fact that I had recently betrayed them by being captured. I also just wanted to get it over with instead of having to try and figure out this new social situation. I mean how on Earthland was a murderer supposed to talk with the heroes as if they were on equal footing?
Unsurprisingly, this had the typical effect and the entire guildhall fell silent. The barkeep who had asked me who I was now had her hands in front of her mouth in shock. Her eyes also glanced down and were now fixated on my left thigh. Just under the hem of my skirt you could see the blood red emblem of a knife through a bloodied heart, the marking of Crimson Blade. I could feel everyone else's eyes on me with fear and scrutiny before I heard the charged silence broken by someone's questioning grunt.
"Erza?" a booming voice from behind me called out before they descended the stairs into the room.
I was surprised when I turned around to find out that such a presence was commanded by a such a small man.
"Yes, Master?" Erza replied respectfully.
So this was the renowned Master Makarov of the Fairy Tail guild? Even us forest dwellers had heard of such a man, and again his image didn't match up to what I had expected upon seeing him.
"Did you find the artefact?" he asked, not paying me any mind despite everyone else's stares and the fact that I had been brought here as a prisoner.
"Yes, Iris retrieved it for us," Erza replied before turning her attention towards me.
"Am I to assume you are Crimson Blade's dragon slayer then?" the master asked me, finally acknowledging my presence in his guildhall.
"Erm—no sir. Crimson Blades doesn't have a dragon slayer," I answered, somewhat surprised that this was his first question.
"Hm," was his only response.
"Go on, Iris, don't be modest!" Natsu said excitedly which did not at all match the tone of the rest of the guild.
Again, were these people insane? Was it already forgotten how I single-handedly tried to take out this group before I was called away to sacrifice myself for my guild— my old guild? What did it matter what magic I had when I had used it to slaughter so many people over the last decade. What did it matter when the proud phoenix slayer had used her given powers for evil and hadn't even tried to escape?
"She's a phoenix slayer, Gramps," Gray responded for me but matched his tone so it more appropriately reflected the overall mood.
"Oh?" the master replied with more interest in his continued one syllabic answers and a surprising grin spread across his face.
"Iris, was it? May I have a word in my office?" the master asked.
I nodded, knowing I didn't have much of a choice being their prisoner before I followed him up the stairs while everyone else continued to watch. I couldn't help comparing this guildhall to the one tucked into the mountains where Crimson Blade evaded all Council justice. Where I had once slept on a mat in a stone-cased room no bigger than a 'birdcage' as Duana had loved to call it, I had still gotten one of the only rooms with a window since it allowed me to restore my powers from the sun. Raiden liked to make sure I was always energised to go make the world burn.
Fairy Tail however was one big mess-hall, one that invited everyone to eat, drink and socialise with each other. Sunlight rained in from several large windows and it was obvious the guild met here daily unless they were away on business. The only socialisation I had experienced in Crimson Blade was training and the constant provoking from Duana and Cica since boredom was a constant ailment inside the silent stone walls we lived in.
Once I was seated across from Master Makarov in his homely office he stared at me as if surmising his own judgement. I knew in any eyes of the law I was guilty so I couldn't get a read for the hesitation on his face other than it was misplaced.
I continued watching until the master finally broke his scrutinising silence. "We forgive each other of our trespasses child, and we are made stronger for it."
I looked up at him in shock, not coming up with an immediate response for him.
"Who is Master Raiden to you?" Makarov continued, drawing out uncomfortable thoughts I had never allowed myself to contemplate before.
It was several silent minutes before I came to my most honest answer.
"The man who kidnapped me."
Makarov's frown deepened again and I was left to drown in my shock of being treated as a human and not some deadly beast. It was a shocking revelation to make in the silence of a cozy looking bureau that something I had really been missing for all these years was humanity.
"I am sorry to hear that child. No one should be forcibly taken from their family, especially to then be put into a dark guild."
It wasn't until he offered me a tissue that I realised silent tears had started to fall down my face. Sadness was not something I had afforded myself to feel ever since Raiden started using me as his sacrificial lamb. Now it was kindness that called forth an overwhelming sadness that I wouldn't allow to completely show since I felt wholly unnatural and threatened in such a friendly place.
"I will tell you that I have dispatched the Magic Council since Crimson Blade continues to be a top priority of theirs. There is a life sentence attached with any of their members—" I nodded, not expecting his pause to mean anything other than the end to his sentence. "But since Erza sent a letter ahead informing me that they were bringing a prisoner from Crimson Blade, I was informed by her to consider advocating for your pardon and to extend an invitation for your admittance into my guild."
I steeled my expression, halting the tears as if they had never appeared in the first place. I was an expert at neutral expressions, knowing surprise was a weakness I could never afford to show.
"Fairy Tail has no use for such a person," I replied again.
"I am afraid I was not informed of your powers specifically, only that you have enough of it to take out my strongest team and that you call yourself a phoenix slayer. I have many slayers in my guild but none of them have replicated powers so I can only assume yours are unique to your own talent," Makarov answered, sounding as if he commanded the same level of respect as Raiden but by entirely different means.
Whereas Raiden was aggressive, cunning, and deadly, Makarov appeared as understanding, patient, and generous.
I couldn't help but giving him my full honest response. "My father died the day I was taken by Raiden's men but not before my father gave me his soul so that I can regenerate myself from death. That's why I am— was prized by my guild. But I can also use solar magic and other phoenix powers. My cries are loud enough to disorient my enemies and my wings can absorb most magical attacks."
I watched the master nod along, taking in the information without giving away his entire reaction. He was skilled like me, hiding his reactions behind a neutral expression.
"I thank-you for retrieving the artefact from Destrian Forest but hate to think of what it cost you to get here. Here at Fairy Tail we never ask for others to lay down their lives for us. Instead we fight proudly alongside one another to give each other the strength to live. I am confident that you will find a place here once the Council comes to their decision since I cannot ignore a child who still has fight against the darkness. I also have my own selfish reasons, especially since your type of rare power will be a great asset to Fairy Tail for becoming the number one guild in Fiore!" Makarov boasted at that last bit before standing to come around his desk.
I didn't miss the specific use of words he chose that gave his confidence level to how he thought I would be exonerated. But I knew there would still be a steep price for that level of freedom.
"What will I have to do to be exonerated?" I asked, earning a knowing smirk from the guild master.
"You're a sharp one, more than I can say for half of my children downstairs," he rolled his eyes but I steeled myself at his use of the word children.
Raiden didn't even consider Cica like a child, barely acknowledging their familial ties at all.
"I am afraid that the Magic Council will not accept anything less than every detail you have about Crimson Blade and the assurance that the Council can come up with a plan to defeat them," Makarov turned serious, gauging for my reaction hidden behind the numbness I used to hide behind.
It wasn't a surprising answer. It made a lit of sense in the world of good and justice for my life to possibly be weighed against those of the five other main members of my old guild plus all their dispensable lackies.
I nodded, more in understanding than acceptance, before Makarov left me sitting in the chair I had taken the moment I entered his office. He announced that I could stay there for privacy reasons while he went to wait for the Council delegate downstairs.
I was so lost in thought while I waited, paying no attention to the shouts I could hear from down in the main hall and what sounded an awful lot like Natsu and Gray arguing against their master and Erza that I was being held as an informal prisoner for the time being.