Beginning of the first angst arc! We're getting two angst arcs back to back. While this first one, (the Oracion Seis one) shouldn't be too bad, the next one is probably going to be on a different level.

Chapter Seventy Six - Oracion Seis, Part One

We snuck in through the air vents, and for once I was glad for my smaller size. Laxus wouldn't have been able to do this.

I felt naked again, not wearing my inhibiting bracelets, but I couldn't let what happened last time happen again.

"There," Orga whispered, coming to a stop. "It's a dead end, we can't get any farther. I think we're near a storage room."

I nodded, though he couldn't see it, as he was in front of me. "Can you get down there yourself?"

"Uh…"

"Is someone in the room?" I asked.

"No," he said. "I'm just not sure I can get the vent open."

I stopped to think. We needed the air vents to get in, but not necessarily to get out.

"Cubellios," I turned to the tiny snake that was slithering beside me. It's hard to believe she was ever this small, as she was only around three feet at most. "Can you wind around my arm?"

She slithered up and circled around, and I felt a little nervous.

She was, after all, venomous.

And I have never exactly held a snake before; the scales were cool to touch, and while they weren't the type of snuggle buddies I usually love, I realized that I actually kinda like snakes.

Except maybe I should start with constrictors; venomous snakes might still be too much for me.

Calm down, it's only Kinana, I chanted to myself.

She still bit Erza! Another part of me shrieked.

I sighed. I really hate my mind, sometimes.

I moved as far as I could to the side of the vent, and gestured for Orga to come closer. He did, confused.

"Hold on tight," I told them, as I wrapped his arms around me and gripped his arms. "I haven't done this before."

"Haven't done what?" he asked.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. "Pluto's Body."

We phased through the vent and fell to the floor.

"Fuck!"

"Ow…" Orga said, even though he had mostly fallen on me.

Cubellios slithered off of my arm, completely unharmed, and I could have sworn she was laughing at me.

"Alright, kiddo, come on," I grunted. "We can't snooze on the job."

Orga slipped off of me, and I sat up.

Now that I had used Pluto again, after using Haumea, I could feel the difference between that and the other planets. For one, they felt a lot less powerful, and I suddenly realized that the problems I have had with Pluto weren't because I had difficulties with the elements, but because the dwarf planets had a limited capacity.

But despite that, using the dwarf planets just felt a bit…weird.

A shiver ran down my spine, and I promised myself that I wouldn't use Pluto or Ceres unless Erik or Rogue really needed to eat.

Or it was an emergency. I'd already used Pluto twice today, and it was making me feel…weird.

Speaking of which, I should probably start calling Rogue 'Ryos', because that's his real name.

"Are you okay?" Orga asked.

"Yeah," I said a bit uneasily. "I just... don't like using that element that much. Come on."

We were in what looked like a storage lab, and as my gaze swept through the shelves I noticed something immediately, my mouth droppping in shock.

It's a good thing that Brain is such a stickler for organization.

"What are you doing?" Orga asked, as I headed for the cabinet labeled 'Lacrimas'.

Toma was right about how requip worked; If no one could get the Dragon Cry, that also meant that they wouldn't be able to get anything else in my requip space.

Reaching for the cabinet, I pulled open the top drawer, my eyes widening, before switching to the other two drawers, each labeled by a different type.

I was amazed that there were so many of them.

My fists tightened. Just what the hell were the dark guilds here going to pull?

"Elle?" Orga asked.

"I'm fine," I said, grabbing the cabinet and requipping all of it. "I'm not going to let these assholes hurt more people."

Still…all of those Slayer lacrimas…I wonder what happened to them last time around.

"Let's go," I said, and the three of us turned through the door, which Cubellios slithered up to.

We went closer to the door, and I turned to Orga. "Listen, all Slayers have advanced senses. So I want you to close your eyes, and focus on the sound. What do you hear?"

Orga closed his eyes, thinking. "I hear…your breathing…and your heartbeat. I can tell where you and Cubellios are…"

"Is anyone else near us?" I asked.

He shook his head without opening his eyes, still concentrating on the surroundings.

"Good," I said. "Let's go."

He opened his eyes and I opened the door, the three of us sneaking out.

I followed Cubellios, who was easily heading the same place Orga was.

"Were you guys all kept together?" I asked him.

He nodded. "Not in the same room, but we had our own section. What did Brain call it again…?"

"A wing?" I guessed.

He nodded.

We continued, keeping a lookout for any guards or dark mages, when we finally came to a stop.

"This is it," Orga said.

Despite not wanting to use it again, I knew that I didn't want to open the door; there was probably an alarm system connected to it.

"Cubellios, we're going to phase through, okay?" I told her, pulling Orga to me.

She nodded, and slithered through a small hole in the door, one obviously made for her.

"Pluto's Body," I said, stepping forward with Orga.

It was worse this time, because I kept it suspended for a longer period of time. When I fell from the vents, I just needed to phase through the vent, and gravity would take care of the rest. Since I had to actively move now, it was a lot more difficult.

I used Pluto three times today, and I thought I could hear some whisperings in the back of my mind.

We passed through the door and I collapsed on the ground, breathing heavily, feeling on odd urge to shower and scrub my skin raw. There was a sound of something clattering to the floor, and my attention was drawn to the five kids that were eating together, all a bit frozen in shock.

"Orga!" Sorano yelled, unfreezing first, running over and hugging him, and I realized that Orga was easily the youngest of the bunch.

"Who's this?" Sawyer asked testily.

"She's a friend."

This wasn't said by Orga, but rather, Erik, who was looking at me like he saw an angel.

"What's she thinking?" Macbeth asked.

Erik shook his head. "I can't read her thoughts, but I can feel her feelings. She's here to save us."

I softly smiled at him, and stood up as my strength returned. "I'm getting all of you out of here. If you want to keep anything with you, take it."

"But Father-" Macbeth started, but I cut him off.

"He's not your father!" He was silent, and I came up to him, kneeling at his side and putting a hand on his shoulders – even though he was older than me. "A friend of mine, his biological father hurt him. Actively. He wouldn't let him have any fun, there was abuse – both verbal and physical. And if someone; if your family does that to you – they don't deserve to call themselves family."

He closed his mouth at that, and stayed still, deep in thought.

"You can come back here if you wish – I'll show you how – but I'd like for you to at least try joining my family."

"Okay," Erik said, simply. Cubellios hissed happily and curled up around him.

"I'm going!" Orga said happily.

Sorano ruffled his hair, and she smiled, too. "So will I…"

"I'll go too," Richard said.

"I don't want to stay here any longer than I have to," Sawyer muttered.

I looked back to Macbeth, the only one left. "Macbeth? We're waiting on you. Will you come with us?"

He waited, and slowly took my outstretched hand. "Yeah."

I smiled. "Great. Does everyone have what they need?"

They all nodded, and I gathered them around. "Hold hands, and hold tight."

They encircled hands, and I looked around the room as I closed my eyes and concentrated. "Eris's Trick."

Another one of the dwarf planets, but since I haven't mastered this element yet, it shouldn't affect me.

The world around us shimmered, flickering a few times (since I wasn't used to the spell), until I pumped more magic in it and five copies of the Oracion Seis appeared in the room.

"Why isn't there one for me?" Orga asked.

"We're not taking these with us," I said. "These are just illusions. Brain won't be happy when he learns that you guys are gone, and this should at least stall him long enough for us to get to Fairy Tail."

"Illusions, you said?" Macbeth asked, eyeing his copy. "Hmm… I've been wondering about possibly learning Illusion Magic…"

"You should," I said, nodding. "It goes well with your Reflector Magic."

He looked wary at me when he realized I knew that, but he nodded anyway.

"Are you guys all ready?" I asked.

They nodded, and tightened their hands on each other. I closed my eyes, teleporting us outside the facility.

"Alright," I said, turning to point at the building they were in. "This is where you guys were in. So you know how to return here if you want to. Magnolia isn't actually too far from here, so we'll just walk."

"How long will it be?" Sawyer asked.

I shrugged. "A few hours, at most."

I started leading the way, and the six of them tagged behind me.

If any of my readers are Veterans, thank you very much for your service to this country. I hope you're able to spend a nice evening with your family. :)