Uzu: You ask and I provide
Fireshifter: Hey! I thought I'd reply to your reviews, not just your PM's. I'm glad you're enjoying the story so much, especially how Aki interacted with Mira. I'm trying to have him have an active role in helping the kids grow. And as for what Zeref has to gain from this… you'll just have to wait and see.
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"Natsu, I've always known that you would become stronger than me one day, and you did that a long time ago. You used that strength to beat anyone and anything in your path, no matter how big or strong they may be. It worked because I was able to protect Fairy Tail while you fought our enemies. But now that I'm gone, it's up to you to protect the guild. It'll be hard at first, with everyone looking up to you and expecting you to have all of the answers, but I know that you can do it."
"Erza... Erza!"
"She's gone Natsu."
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Natsu, no, Aki, slowly opened his eyes, the phantoms from his nightmares dancing across his vision until he blinked them away. He stayed where he was for a moment, simply looking up at what he knew as the Tower of Heaven.
It had been a few days since he had sent the Strauss siblings on their way. It had been nice to see them again, and Gray as well. Unfortunately he couldn't tell them who he really was, not with his present self showing up soon.
Because of that he had been forced to disguise himself, though it wasn't that hard to do, all he had to do was hide his shocking pink hair. Thankfully he had remembered that dye lacrimas were a thing. It was a simple yet clever device, just run the lacrima across your hair and it dyed it the color of the lacrima.
Of course he hadn't had any money when he had crossed over, mainly because there had been no use of it in his time. Luckily though, some bandits had thought that he would be an easy score. After knocking them out, he had picked their pockets, leaving him with enough money to buy the lacrima and some meals for the next week.
Afterwards he had head out, first going to Gray and then making his way across Fiore towards the Tower of Heaven. It had been another stroke of luck that he had run into the Strauss siblings. He knew the village that they used to live in, he just hadn't been sure of the exact location.
After saving them, he had meant to take them to Magnolia and leave them at the edge so they could make their way to Fairy Tail. He wasn't quite ready to see his guild again, not when some of his family weren't there.
Unfortunately his plans had been derailed when the Red Lotus guild had attacked. He had been forced to wait almost an entire day for the rune knights to show up, constantly knocking out the dark mages when they woke up.
Once the knights had finally shown up, he had accepted their thanks, answered their questions, and then left. Afterwards he had been forced to double his speed to make up for lost time. Reaching the coast had been easy enough, it had been finding the tower again that been the difficulty.
He had been able to find it the first time by following Erza's scent, but he didn't want to draw attention to himself by going to the resort. So instead he had been forced to circle around the coast and estimate where the tower was. Afterwards it was just a matter of leaving his pack and notebook behind and just start swimming.
It seemed that like his memory was better than he gave it credit for, because after a few hours of swimming he came across the tower.
It was a dark and foreboding place, a half built monstrosity on top of a rocky and secluded island. Inside was an army of cultists, keeping an even larger army of slaves, who were forced to work to the death on the cultist's special project, the R-System.
It had been easy to sneak onto the island, because he encountered no one during his trek. It seemed that they weren't too worried about someone trying to break in.
'That's because they're making sure that no one breaks out.' He thought, his anger billowing to the surface like an oncoming storm. He had heard from Erza what it was like to be a slave there, to be worked to the bone with little to no food, to be beaten within an inch of your life if you didn't comply, and what happened to those who tried to escape.
He let out a silent growl as the memories drifted to the surface. He didn't realize what was happening until he felt his gloved hand suddenly jerk. Looking down, he saw his flame prosthetic twisting and writhing in it's sleeve, begging to escape it's confines.
Forcing his temper down, he reached for his glove. He jerked it off in one smooth motion, but instead of the burning hand that was usually there, there was only a wisp of fire, quickly dying out. His entire arm seemed to deflate as he killed the magic, leaving his sleeve flapping in the wind.
While his arm wasn't part of the conditions that he told Ur about, since it was so easy to maintain, it could still rage out of control if he didn't keep a grip on his emotions. He had started to lose control when the villagers had called Mira a demon, but he had managed to calm himself down.
Now though, there was no way that he was going to stay calm once he got inside the Tower, and he didn't want to risk hurting the slaves. Thankfully, even if his emotions were in utter turmoil, as long as he didn't use his magic, the chances of him losing control of his powers were slim to none.
That didn't mean that the cultists would escape with their lives. Grinning savagely, he let his nails turn razor sharp, perfect for ripping someone's throat out.
The cultists made this place a living hell? He would show them what it was like when a demon came to visit.
-Inside the Tower-
"You're lucky that your friend was willing to take your place," A cultist said as he threw Erza into a cell. Within a second her friends were by her side, helping her to her feet.
"What are you going to do with him?!" She demanded. The man shrugged in indifference.
"Who knows, but he's never coming back, that's for sure," He said with a cruel smile.
"Give him back!" Millianna exclaimed, rushing the cultist. Thankfully Rob managed to stop her before she could go through with it.
Erza's clenched her hands into fists. If only she could do something, if only she was strong enough to fight back. Her eyes lit upon a shovel nearby. If she could get her hands on it…
Before she could muster up the courage to act, there was a sudden boom, and the entire tower seemed to shake. There were shouts of alarm as the cultists below rushed to thr source of the noise.
The shouts quickly dissolved into blasts of magic, cries of pain, and worst of all, screams of terror. It sent shivers down her spine. It sounded like a monster was tearing it's way through the tower, killing anyone in it's way.
Suddenly everything went quiet, the screams, the fighting, everything suddenly went silent.
'What happened to the cultists?' Erza asked herself. She had an idea, but she didn't want to think about it.
Suddenly the building was filled with the sound of screeching metal, as if it was being torn apart, followed by the sound of something large crashing against the ground. There was another pause, and all of a sudden the sound of cheering echoed throughout the tower. Rob was the first one to realize what was happening.
"The slaves are being freed," He said breathlessly. The children stared at him in shock, but the shouting and cheering that were only growing louder proved him right.
"Impossible!" The cultist exclaimed, backing away from the entrance, as if afraid of the monster below. Erza pulled her eyes from the entrance to look at the shovel from earlier.
Without thinking, she grabbed it and swung it at the cultist's head as hard as she could. Surprisingly it worked. The blow slammed into his head, sending to the ground, unconscious.
Erza turned to the others, who were staring at her in shock.
"Come on! This may be our only chance to escape!" She told them.
"She's right children, let's go," Rob urged them. The others snapped out of their daze, quickly following behind him.
They ran out of the cell, out onto a walkway that overlooked the floor of the tower. Down below, they could see the other slaves fighting the cultists, using shovels, pickaxes, and even pieces of wood. She couldn't see much from this distance, but she could see the bodies of both slaves and cultists, though there were more cultists on the ground than prisoners. And there, tearing through the cultists like they were nothing, was a red-haired figure.
'The monster.' Erza realized. His hair was just as red as hers, matching the red splotches dotting the ground, pooling from the bodies of the cultists. Blood, she realized numbly.
"All of you, back in your cell!" Someone suddenly shouted. Erza turned to see a group of cultists coming towards them. Erza tightened her grip on her shovel, she wouldn't go back in there, never again.
With a cry, she charged the guards. Luckily the guards were surprised to have a child attack them, so she was able to hit one in the knee before they could react. She followed up with a blow to his chin, knocking him out.
Before she could do anything else, one of the cultists slammed her with his staff. She fell to the ground with a cry, dropping her shovel in the process. Her vision spun as she tried to stand up, only to fall back down again.
"You dare attack on of us?!" The cultist demanded. "You'll wish you were dead once we finish with you!" He aimed his staff at her, preparing to blast her with his magic. Erza was still too dazed to do anything but look at the impending attack.
'At least I died fighting for my freedom.' She thought sadly. Suddenly a figure jumped forward, standing between her and the cultist.
"Rob!" She cried.
"Run children! Get to the others and escape!" He ordered, spreading out his arms to protect them from the cultists.
"Foolish old man, die!" The guard exclaimed, blasting a ball of magic at the other man.
"No!" Erza shouted.
There was a massive explosion, hiding Rob and the cultists in a cloud of smoke. The redhead covered her mouth with her hands, tears trailing down her cheeks. First Jellal was captured, and now Rob was dead!
"Erza, look!" Simon exclaimed, pointing at the smoke. The girl's head shot up to see the cloud slowly dissipating, revealing the man completely unharmed. Standing between Rob and the cultists was the red-haired man, his back to the cultists as he had one arm spread out.
'The monster, he protected Rob!' Erza realized in shock. The arm that was outstretched was bare, with blood dripping off his claw like nails, while his sleeved arm hung limp at his side.
"H-how did he get up here so fast?" Sho stuttered. "It's five stories high!"
The monster must of heard him because his eyes shot to the boy, making him squeak in fear. The redhead looked at him for a moment before flicking over to look at Erza.
She gulped as he looked at her, his gaze was cold and harsh, like a winter wind. At the same time though, she saw a burning fury, a rage that was barely kept at bay.
The monster looked at her for another few seconds until the cultists grew impatient.
"You're the one that's setting all the slaves free, you'll pay for that!" One of them shouted, rushing him. As he brought his staff down, the redhead struck.
Spinning, he batted the staff to the side before slamming his hand into the cultists throat. As he kneeled forward, choking, the monster wrapped an arm around his neck. Without even looking, the redhead broke his neck with a loud snap.
The other children gasped in a mix of shock and horror, but all Erza could do was stare as the man glanced at her again. The anger was still there, but it had changed, it was… warmer.
'He's angry for us.' She realized in shock. This man wasn't killing because he could, or because he found enjoyment in it, he was killing them for their sakes.
The man must have seen what he wanted to, because he focused back on the cultists. They had been just as startled as the children had been, but they recovered much quicker.
"Kill him!" One of the guards shouted. The group didn't hesitate, firing all of their staffs at him. Erza thought that the monster would dodge them, or fight them with his own magic, if he had one, but he didn't. He just walked towards the cultists, shrugging off the attacks like they were nothing.
Then he was upon them, a red flash of death. A quick swipe across the first man's neck, and the redhead was already moving on. The cultist slowly crumpled to the ground, gurgling, as four parallel lines across his neck slowly turned red.
The monster rushed the second one, crouching low. The cultist tried to blast him, but it was pointless. Reaching him, the redhead thrust his palm up and into the other man's chin. The guard's head shot up, breaking his neck instantly.
The last two cultists stepped back in fear, their earlier bravado gone in the wake of their comrade's deaths. Mustering up their courage, they charged the redhead. The monster met them halfway, grabbing one by the face and slamming him into the wall so hard that the cultist was stuck in the wall.
The second one tried to attack him from behind, but before he could, Erza picked up her shovel and hit him from behind. As the man hit the ground, the monster spun around, ready for an attack.
His eyes locked with Erza's, his gaze searching. His eyes flickered to the unconscious cultist before looking back at her. Suddenly he smiled, he smiled, at her. It was like he was proud that she had decided to fight, and for some reason she smiled back at him.
"E-Erza-nee?" Millianna called, her voice shaking. The older girl turned to her, looking at her friend. It took the redhead a moment to realize that the younger girl wasn't looking at her, but at the man next to her.
'She's scared of him.' Erza realized in surprise. They had seen people die before, other slaves died every day, the only difference here was that the cultists were the ones that had died, and that they had been killed in a fight.
"It's okay, he's here to help!" She told Millianna and the others. Next to her the monster, no, he was just a man now, nodded in agreement. The other children didn't seem to believe him, but Rob walked up to the other man.
"Thank you for saving the children and I," He said, offering his hand, making sure to offer his left one. The redheaded man shook it, nodding his head in response. Rob hesitated for a moment before continuing.
"If I may ask, how did you find out about this place?" He asked. Instead of replying, the stranger gave a rueful smile, tapping his throat.
"Ah, I see." The older man said understandingly. "We can talk later then. Are you going to free the other slaves?"
The redhead nodded seriously, kneeling down and searching one of the guards. Pulling out a ring of keys, he tossed them to Rob, who caught them with a confused expression. The stranger pointed to the other man and pointed down before pointed to himself and then up.
"We can probably unlock all of the cells down there, but what about you? You can't possibly expect to fight all of the guards waiting for you upstairs." Rob protested. The redhead simply gave an excited grin, grabbing himself his own ring of keys before he turned to go.
"Wait!" Erza exclaimed. He paused, turning to look at her with a curious look. "Jellal, they took him to the top of the tower. Please, save him!"
He looked at her for another moment before nodding. He turned to go again, before blinking, as if remembering something. He pointed to the cuffs around Rob's wrists, before gesturing upward. Confused, the older man did what the redhead asked.
Grabbing the one of the cuffs in his claws, he crushed it in his grasp, before proceeding to do the same thing with the other one. Rob stared at the destroyed cuffs in shock before looking up at the man.
"Thank you, we may just be able to win now." He said. The stranger gave a knowing smirk before running off.
"Come children, the others need us," Rob told them, herding them down. As Erza started unlocking the other cells, she could only think about the red-haired man and what he had done, and what he was doing now.
'Whoever you are, please save Jellal.'
-With Aki-
It took him awhile, but he finally reached the top of the tower. He had stopped every level to unlock a cell, giving the keys to one of the slaves to unlock the rest of them. Thankfully the cultists kept trying to attack them, so there was no shortage of keys. Not that he needed keys, after he had massacred all of the cultists when he first arrived, he had simply walked over and ripped the first cell door off of it's hinges.
It had taken a little while for the slaves to realize that he was here to help, but when they did, they immediately started picking up weapons and fighting their oppressors. He had been on the front lines, protecting the prisoners as best he could while also killing every cultist he could get his hands on, when he had heard Erza.
Erza… he would admit that he had somewhat lost control when he had heard her cry out. Running up the walkways would have taken too long, so he had jumped from floor to floor, using the railings as footholds. Once he reached her, he had proceeded to take the cultists apart. Maybe slamming that one into the wall was overkill, but it helped Aki's pent up aggression.
Seeing Erza knock out the last cultist had put a smile on his face, it was hard not to see the strong woman she would become one day. She was still hesitant sometimes, but she would grow out of that pretty quickly.
There was only one room at the top of the tower, and it was guarded by a large pair of doors. Opening them, Aki walked in to see two men and a small boy.
The two men were different from the regular cultists, one tall and the other fat, so they were probably the leaders. Between them was an unconscious blue haired boy, the only thing keeping him standing was the chains that bound him to a pole.
"So, you're the one that's caused this rebellion!" The fat one exclaimed, pointing at him accusingly.
"You may think that you're a hero, but you're nothing but a man with a death wish," The other one scoffed.
Aki ignored them, looking around the rest of the room. There weren't anymore cultists in the room, they were probably all downstairs trying to stop the uprising, but there was a familiar scent.
Ah, there she was, hiding in the corner of the room. She thought she was hidden, and while she was out of sight, she couldn't hide her scent. He let her be for now, while he would have liked to talk to her, there was nothing he could do for her right now.
What he could do right now is free Jellal. With that in mind, Aki started making his way over to the blue haired boy.
"Hey, don't ignore us!" The tall one shouted, firing a blast of magic at him. The redhead leaned to the side, letting the attack sail past him as he continued forward. He could sense their anger, anger at what he had done and how dismissive he was of them. But at the same time, he could sense their fear, the memory of what he had done to their men fresh in their minds. Finally the cultist that had attacked him had had enough.
"Die!" He shouted, rushing the dragon slayer.
Aki could have just killed them like he had the others, swift and efficiently, if slightly brutally.
These two didn't deserve that mercy.
When the cultist was close enough, the redhead struck. Crouching low, Aki swept the man's legs out from under him, sending him to the floor. Before the cultist could even begin to recover, the dragon slayer was on him, wrapping his legs around the man's arm. He waited long enough for the cultist to look him in the eye before he broke the appendage with a quick twist.
Aki felt a sense of vindication at the man's screams. It was only a fraction of the pain of what Erza had been through, but he would get what he could.
Untangling himself from the cultist's arm, he grabbed the man by the head, slamming him into the floor once, twice, three times. Blood trickled under the man's mask, but Aki could tell he was still awake from his groans of pain.
Aki slowly pulled the cultist's mask off, watching the man's terrified expression. The cultist opened his mouth to plead for mercy, but the dragon slayer wouldn't let him get that chance. His claws were like daggers, stabbing into the man's throat and wrapping around his jugular, just enough that he didn't slice it open. The man choked, trying to escape, but Aki pinned him to ground with his knee.
Aki leaned in close, grinning savagely as he saw the cultist grew increasingly more frenzied as he realized the truth, that he was going to die. The dragon slayer waited one more, agonizing, second, and then he yanked.
The man's eyes widened as his throat was cut, his blood gushing out. Aki ignored how it spilled onto him, staining his black shirt crimson. It wasn't the first time he had gotten blood on himself, nor who it be the last, he would make sure of that.
Leaving the man to bleed to death, Aki stood up and turned to the other cultist. The fat man was frozen in shock, too scared to try and save his partner while the dragon slayer was taking him apart.
As the redhead took a step towards him, the cultist snapped out of his stupor.
"No, stay away from me!" The fat man exclaimed, stumbling back. Aki slowly, almost leisurely, stalked towards his prey. There was no where for the cultist to run, he doomed.
Suddenly a blast of magic slammed into the fat man, throwing him into a wall and killing him instantly.
Aki scowled, turning to the assailant. Jellal had broken out of his chains, hand outstretched towards the body of the cultist, a wicked gleam in his eye.
'If he's using magic than she's already gotten to him.' Aki thought, cursing. He had been hoping to save Jellal before she had turned him, but now that he was corrupted it would be almost impossible to reach him.
"Hahahaha! This power, this is the power of the Dark Lord Zeref!" The blue haired boy exclaimed, laughing cruelly. He looked over at the body of the other cultist, who had finally bled to death, before looking at Aki. "Are you one of Zeref's followers as well, here to punish these fools who think that they are worth his time?"
The dragon slayer shook his head, looking at Jellal sadly. He no longer felt the burning rage from earlier, and since the boy would hurt Erza in the future, one of the conditions had been met
That wasn't Zeref that you spoke to you, only someone pretending to be him. He explained, using his fire to spell out his message. Like he expected, the boy didn't believe him, glaring at the man with a mask of fury.
"You lie! Zeref will be the one who will help us rise above the rest! Those who don't believe in his dream should die!" Jellal shouted. He charged at Aki, engulfed in his meteor magic.
The dragon slayer sighed as he stepped to the side, letting the blue haired boy breeze past him. As an adult, Jellal's meteor magic was powerful enough that the dragon slayer would have had to of taken the fight seriously, but as a child it was nothing but a joke.
"Fight me!" The boy screamed as he rocketed at the man again. Aki sighed again as he once more dodged the attack. He came back to protect his family, and here he was, dealing with a brain controlled child throwing a temper tantrum.
As Jellal passed by again, Aki grabbed him by his shirt and threw him into a wall, hard. The boy gasped as he slammed into the wall, the air leaving his body. Before he could recover, the dragon slayer was suddenly in front of him, his eyes flashing with power.
Aki wrapped his hand around Jellal's throat, slowly applying pressure. The blue haired boy choked, his hands scrambling at the dragon slayer's own, but it was no use. After a few moments, Jellal's eyes rolled up into his head as he fell unconscious.
The dragon slayer let him drop to the floor, simply looking at the boy. Aki didn't need to check the child's pulse, he could hear his heart continuing to beat. No, he was trying to decide what to do with Jellal.
He could just leave the boy there, for her to pick up and make him her puppet. It would save Erza the pain of seeing what her friend had become.
Unfortunately he knew that she would be in even more pain if she later found out that Jellal had been alive all along.
The problem with the last option was that he didn't know how to fix Jellal. Porcelina might be able to do it but he didn't know, and if she couldn't then Jellal might be stuck like that, and Erza would be in even more pain.
The idea of Erza never forgiving him for leaving Jellal behind finally made up his mind. Grabbing the boy, Aki unceremoniously threw Jellal over his shoulder. He started making his way to the exit, but paused.
Though she hadn't made a sound the entire time, he could hear her heart beating a mile a minute. He had heard it before, when he had been tearing armies apart, it was the sound of fear. The fear of watching people being torn apart in front of you, and the terror of wondering if you're next.
Aki felt a pang of pity for her. Honestly he wanted to help her. He wanted to tell her that she was being used, that her mother hadn't abandoned her, and she still loved her with all her heart. He wanted to take her to Fairy Tail, to remind her what a real family looked like.
But he knew she wouldn't listen to him, she was too far gone for him to reach her right now. And with Ur alive now…
He could do many things, but right now saving Ultear wasn't one of them.
-With Erza-
They had finally won. The fight had gone on for what seemed like hours, both sides never giving up.
Rob was one of their strongest fighters. Surprising everyone with his magic, he took out groups of cultists all on his own. Erza helped out where she could, unlocking cells, knocking out cultists, and helping everyone she could.
In the end, the slaves managed to overcome their oppressors. With their mysterious rescuer unlocking the harder to reach cells, as well as decimating a large portion of the cultists, the prisoner's sheer numbers were able to triumph over the better equipped guards and their magical creatures.
Right now the slaves, no, former slaves were flooding out of the tower, enjoying their new found freedom. Some of them were passing out food and drink they had taken from the cultists, while others were balling their eyes out.
"We're free!" Sho shouted happily, jumping up and down. Millianna and Wally were hugging, tears streaming down their faces.
"We did it! We escaped!" The girl cried.
"Yes we did," Simon said, turning to Erza. "What do you think Erza?"
She didn't notice him though, too focused on the entrance to the Tower of the Heaven.
She was overjoyed to be free, she really was, but she couldn't help but worry about Jellal. The stranger had said he would get him, but what if he couldn't find Jellal? Or what if Jellal is…
A hand on her shoulder shook her out of her thoughts. She looked up to Rob's smiling face.
"I'm sure our new friend will find him," He assured her.
"How can you be sure?" She asked worriedly.
"I don't know," He admitted. "But he seems the type of man that will do whatever it takes to help someone, even if he just met them."
"Like Fairy Tail?" She wondered. Rob had told her and her friends many things about Fairy Tail, including how wonderful the guild members were.
"Just like Fairy Tail," He assured her. "In fact, if he doesn't belong to a guild then I might just ask him to join us on our trip to the guild."
"Us?" Erza asked in confusion.
"Of course, I'm planning on taking you children to Fairy Tail. It'll be a perfect home for all of you," He explained before hastily adding. "If you want to of course."
He stumbled slightly as she suddenly tackled him, crying happily.
"Yes! Yes!" She exclaimed. After being locked away for so long, without ever knowing who her parents were, the idea of having such a great family was overwhelming.
"Erza, look!" Simon shouted, pointing towards the entrance. She turned to see the stranger walking towards them, a familiar blue mop slung over his shoulder.
"Jellal!" She cried, running towards them. She stopped a few feet from them, looking at the man worriedly. His shirt was covered in blood, and some were dripping from his fingers, and none of it looked like it was his. "Is he alright?"
The man gave a small smile, nodding. He walked over to Rob and gently laid the boy on the ground. It wasn't until Jellal was on the ground and she saw that he was simply unconscious did she run to him. Before she could reach him though, the redhead suddenly stuck a hand out, stopping her.
"What's wrong?" She asked in confusion. He just shook his head again before standing up and motioning for Rob to follow him. The two men walked far enough away that they kids couldn't see what they were doing. They could see the redhead make some motions with his hand, and Rob nodding every once in a while, but nothing too specific.
The two men came back after only a couple minutes. Rob immediately walked over to Jellal and started checking on him.
"What's wrong with Jellal?" Asked Simon worriedly. The man continued to examine the blue haired boy as he explained.
"He's fine, he just needs some time to rest. It's nothing to worry about," He said before muttering something. Jellal shifted in his sleep for a moment before going still again.
"What was that?" Millianna asked curiously. Rob leaned back, giving her a warm smile.
"Just a small spell that will help him sleep," He explained. Millianna, Wally, and Sho were amazed at the display of magic, no matter how small it had been. Even Simon looked impressed.
Erza frowned though. She knew what kind of torture Jellal had been through, she had been going through the same thing until they had switched places, and it shouldn't have forced Rob to keep Jellal asleep.
Unfortunately, she knew the man wouldn't tell her what she wanted to know, he could be tight lipped when he wanted to be. The only other people who would know were the cultist leaders and their rescuer.
Erza turned to him, but to her surprise he had disappeared while they were celebrating Jellal's return. She looked around at the other groups and at the shore, but she couldn't find him anywhere.
"Where did he go?" She asked. Her friends looked at her in confusion, but Rob understood what she meant.
"Our new friend had to go, he said that there was somewhere he needed to be," He explained.
"Where is he going, and how's he leaving?" She asked.
"He didn't say, but apparently with how he travels, he can't take anyone with him," He said.
"I'm glad, he's scary," Sho said, shuddering.
"He saved our lives though, and helped rescue everyone," Simon pointed out.
"But he killed people!" Millianna exclaimed.
"And the cultists killed people!" Erza argued, surprising the others. "They killed people if they didn't, or couldn't, work, and sometimes just because they could! Yes he killed them, but he did it to help us! We shouldn't be afraid of someone who saved our lives."
"Erza's right," Rob suddenly spoke up. "While he was violent when he fought the cultists, it was no doubt because he was angry at what they had done. I imagine that he is actually much nicer than you think he is."
"How do you know?" Wally asked.
"Well, not only did he decide to help free us, even at the risk of his own life, but he also took the time to rescue Jellal, when he could have left it to someone else," He explained. "I understand that you're afraid of him, but you also don't know everything about him. If you meet him again, give him a chance."
Millianna, Sho, and Wally looked at their feet in shame while Simon nodded. Erza hesitated for a moment before making up her mind.
"I'm going to go find him and thank him!" She said, running off before the others could stop her. She raced between the crowds, looking for the stranger. After a couple minutes she began to grow frustrated.
There were only a few redheads that had been enslaved in the tower, and none of them had the same blood red color as Erza and the stranger had, so it shouldn't be this hard to find him.
Stopping for a moment, she thought about the few things she knew about him. He was strong, unbelievably strong, that much was obvious. He never talked, so he was probably mute. He wasn't afraid to kill, but he also helped people in need. With how he attacked the tower completely alone, and how he fought all the way to the top without anyone's help, he probably liked to work by himself.
'If he's still on the island then he's hiding somewhere so he can be alone!' She realized. With that in mind, she changed direction, heading to some of the rockier parts of the shore. It took a few minutes, carefully walking over the uneven terrain, but she eventually managed to find the stranger.
He was sitting next to the water, trying and failing to scrub the blood out of his shirt with a rag. He had gotten the blood off of his fingers, but he was having no success with his clothing. She giggled quietly as he huffed, throwing the rag on the ground and glaring at it in annoyance. He suddenly blinked in surprise before looking up at her and waving.
She ducked down behind a rock in surprise, she hadn't expected him to hear her! Peeking over the rock, she saw him still looking at her. When he saw her, he waved again before motioning for her to come down. She hesitated for a moment before berating herself, she had just told her friends that he was nice, she shouldn't be worried that he would hurt her!
Making her way down the rocks, she stood next to the stranger. He smiled at her, as if happy that she decided to come down. There was a moment of silence as Erza tried to think of something to say.
She didn't know why she was so nervous around him, she wasn't afraid of him, but she felt like he would be upset if she asked him about what was wrong with Jellal.
The stranger was patient while she was thinking of something to say, fetching the rag and trying again to get the blood off.
"I can help!" She suddenly blurted, slamming her hands over her mouth almost immediately afterwards. He didn't seem to mind though, simply looking at her hesitantly. Gathering her courage, she spoke again.
"I don't mind the blood, and it will probably go faster," She pointed out. He hesitated for a another moment before giving her a smile and nodding in thanks. She took the rag and started scrubbing at his shirt.
"How did you get your shirt stained?" She asked, making sure to not directly say that it was blood. The man wasn't going to answer though, simply shaking his head, the look in his eyes enough for her to know not to ask again. There was a moment of silence before she spoke again, this time more quietly.
"Thank you for saving Jellal," She said. The stranger gave a bright smile, rubbing her hair. She ducked in surprise, blushing slightly at the sudden display of affection. Looking up, she saw he was still smiling at her. She wanted him to keep smiling at her like that, but she also wanted her questions answered.
"What's wrong with Jellal?" She asked quietly. Like she expected, his smile disappeared in a flash as he shook his head.
"He's my friend, I should know if he's hurt!" She argued. He gave her a sad look before he began writing in the sand.
He's not injured, so you don't have to worry. He assured her.
"Then why did Rob use a sleeping spell on him?" She demanded. The man's eyes widened in surprise for a moment before he sighed, running a hand down his face. He erased the last message with a swipe of his hand and started writing.
When he was being tortured, something happened. I don't know what. It made him go… He paused for a moment, as if thinking for the right word.
"Crazy?" Erza asked worriedly. To her growing fear, he hesitated for a moment.
More like unbalanced. He thinks that someone spoke to him and told him to destroy those who would not follow him. He wrote.
"Will he be alright?" She asked, her voice shaking slightly. To have her friend hurt like that, especially since it was her fault, was devastating.
Possibly. I once had a friend who went through something similar. It took some time, but he eventually reverted to his normal self. He said. Erza looked up at him hopefully.
"How did he get better?" She asked. To her surprise, he suddenly looked nervous, scratching the back of his head as he gave a silent laugh.
Let's just say that I had to beat some sense into him before he would listen to me. He said. It took her a moment to understand what he meant.
"You tied him up and hit him over the head until he was better?!" She exclaimed. The man frantically shook his head, waving his hand in front of him.
He and I had a fight, that's all! Don't tie up Jellal and start hitting him! He wrote hurriedly. He took a breath to calm down before he started writing again. And I'm sure that Fairy Tail will be able to help. Who knows, maybe they'll be able to fix your eye as well.
"Do you really think that?" She asked hopefully. He nodded, a confident look in his eyes. To not only help Jellal, but to give her sight back? It would be amazing! Suddenly she had a thought.
"How do you know about Fairy Tail?!" Erza asked in surprise. The stranger smiled at her again, the type of smile that she wanted him to give her.
Rob told me about how he was taking you and your friends there, and he invited me to join you. He explained.
"So you're coming with us?" She asked hopefully. Her friends were still unsure about him, but he had done so much for them, and he was so nice that she wanted him to be part of her new family at Fairy Tail.
To her disappointment though, he shook his head. She looked down sadly, she felt like she had just made a new friend, and she was already losing him.
She looked up as he suddenly ruffled her hair again, giving her an amused look.
I said that I wasn't coming with you, I didn't say that I wouldn't join. He wrote. She stared at the words for a moment before suddenly hugging him.
"Thank you thank you thank you!" She cried, hugging him tightly. She had too many emotions welling inside to say anything else. Thank you for freeing me and my friends, for saving Jellal, for everything.
He seemed to understand what she meant though, because he returned her hug with his lone arm. After a couple moments she stepped back, blushing in embarrassment. The stranger didn't seem to mind though, simply giving her one of his special smiles.
"Are you going to leave now?" She asked. He nodded sadly, though he gave her a thumbs up. She smiled before she realized something.
"How are you going to get off the island, Rob said you couldn't take anyone with you?" She asked. The man smirked, as if he knew something and he wasn't telling. Erza huffed in annoyance, making the man laugh.
"I don't know your name!" She realized. The stranger blinked in surprise, as if realizing the same thing.
I'm Aki, what's yours? He asked.
"Erza Scarlet! It's nice to meet you Aki!" She said happily. Aki smiled at her joy at finding out his name.
It's nice to meet you too Erza Scarlet. I'll see you soon. He promised. She nodded, fixing him with a hard look.
"You'd better," She warned, but he just laughed. He ruffled her hair one last time, then she ran off to find her friends. She stopped at the top of the rocks, looking back at Aki. He was still sitting on the shore, simply looking out at the water as he played with a single glove.
-A Few Days Later-
It was a usual day in Fairy Tail, meaning that it was chaos. Everyone was partying, drinking, and generally having a good time.
The Strauss siblings were fitting in pretty well into their new home. The master had been nice enough to rent an apartment for them while they figured something out. They couldn't stay at the Fairy Hills apartments because it was only for girls.
Everyone at the guild was really nice, though they were slightly odd at times. Lisanna had immediately made friends with everyone with her cheerful personality. Elfman and Mira had been a bit slower, Elfman because of his natural shyness and Mira because she was still worried about her arm.
She had privately told Makarov about what happened to them and about her arm. He had confirmed what Aki had told her, that she had take-over magic. He had said that no one in the guild would mistreat them because of her powers, many of the other guild members had even stranger magic, but she was still hesitant to use it.
The siblings had made friends with some of the other children there too, Cana, Levy, and Laxus. Cana was never without a glass of juice, and Levy often had her nose in a book. Laxus was a bit older than the rest, and a bit stuck up at times, but he usually hung out with the them. They played with the Strauss siblings a lot, but they were all learning magic while Mira didn't want to show hers and her siblings didn't have any, not yet at least.
If she was honest with herself, she was waiting for Aki to arrive before she started practicing her magic. She had a good idea of how to transform, but the memory of the demon made her afraid that she might lose control. She was only comfortable showing her siblings and Aki her magic, and her brother and sister couldn't stop her if she lost control.
"I wonder what Aki's doing." Elfman said. He and the other children were sitting at a table
"That's that badass guy you were telling us about right?" Cana asked she took a drink.
"Cana, language!" Levy admonished before turning to the others. "Didn't you say that he would be here in a couple weeks?"
"Yeah,' Mira said, nodding. 'But we don't know where he's at right now. He just said that he'd be here in two weeks."
"I can't wait to see him again!" Her sister said excitedly, almost bouncing around in his seat.
"I still find it hard to believe that he took on an entire dark guild by himself and won," Laxus commented.
"He did! We saw the whole thing!" Lisanna told him seriously. The blonde raised his hands placatingly, he had learned not to go against her when she grew insistent.
"He was really awesome," Elfman agreed.
"How did you guys meet him again?" Cana asked curiously.
The younger Strauss siblings glanced at Mira. She still wasn't comfortable telling what had happened to them, and her brother and sister had agreed not to say anything until Mira did.
"We-" She began, trying to think of something to say. Fortunately, the guild doors swung open, distracting everyone.
As usual, the chaos died down as everyone turned to see the newcomers, but it was quickly followed by several gasps. Makarov's eyes widened in shock before he jumped down and rushed over.
"Rob! What happened?" He asked worriedly. His lifelong friend was hunched over with exhaustion, carrying a blue haired boy in his arms. There were several other children behind them, once of which had a bandage over her eye. All of them were clothed in rags.
"I got in a little over my head," The taller man said, laughing a little. "But I made it out alright. Someone should get Porcelina though, she needs to take a look at these kids."
Makarov nodded, signalling to Macao. The younger man nodded, running at fast as he could to Porcelina's hut in the woods.
"Wakaba, you and some of the others grab some food and water. Oh, and see if there are any spare clothes we can use," He ordered, and as the guild members jumped to his command, he turned to the newcomers. "You children, come with me to the infirmary." He said, leading the way.
The children looked uncertainty at Rob, who nodded. They followed him into the infirmary, the eyes of the guild upon them. Once the door closed, the guild broke out in whispered conversations, and the guild kids were no exception.
"Who were those guys?" Cana asked, her voice shaking.
"The old man is an old friend of Gramps'. He was travelling Fiore the last I heard," Laxus told them. The others could tell that even he was bothered by what had just happened, as he kept glancing at the infirmary door.
"They were all really thin, consistent with malnourishment," Levy said quietly, looking down at the table.
"Do you mean…" Lisanna asked in shock.
"They may have been prisoners." Mira said grimly. Everyone was silent as they processed what she said.
'What we went through probably means nothing compared to what they've been through.' She thought. She didn't know what slaves went through, but she knew that it was a terrible life, one which no one should go through.
"Is there something we can do to help them?" Elfman asked. His question suddenly gave her an idea.
"Elfman, Lisanna, follow me," She said, standing up. Her siblings were confused, but they quickly followed her.
"What are you doing?" Levy asked.
"The master told Wakaba to look for some spare clothes. We have a couple extra clothes at our house that should be able to fit some of those kids," Mira explained. The others looked at each other before standing up too.
They all went their separate ways, the Strauss siblings heading to their apartment while the other girls went to Fairy Hills and Laxus went wherever he lived. Once the siblings reached their apartment, they took a couple of minutes picking out clothes that they thought would fit the other children.
'Mine should fit the girl with the red hair.' Mira thought as she pulled out a dress. Even though Mira didn't know any of the newcomers, she still wanted to help them.
Why do I need a reason to help you? Aki's words echoed in her head, making her smile. Aki would have done whatever he could to help Rob and the children, and she would too.
Once she and her siblings had found the clothes they were looking for, they hurried back to the guild. They got back just in time to meet the others returning from their own searches.
"I'm surprised that you had any clothes that could fit them Laxus," Cana commented as they headed inside.
"I had some old pairs of clothes that were too small for me. I've been meaning to get rid of them, but I guess it's a good thing that I didn't," He said.
"Hopefully they'll all fit," Levy said.
"Even if they don't, at least they can get out of those rags," Mira said, opening the door to the infirmary.
The newcomers were still there, though Poreclina had arrived at some point and was doing an examination of the blue haired boy, who was still asleep. Someone had brought food and water, and the kids were eating at a steady pace. Every once in a while, Rob had to remind one of them to slow down so they don't get sick.
"Children, what are you doing here?" Makarov asked as he saw Mira and the others. The white haired girl showed him the clothes in her arms.
"You said that you needed some spare clothes, so we brought what we could," She explained. He looked at her and the others in surprise before he gave them a large smile.
"Thank you children, that was very kind of you!" He said. The children smiled happily at his praise before delivering their clothes to the newcomers.
Mira headed over to the red haired girl, since her clothes would only fit the other girl. The redhead was too focused on the unconscious boy to notice anything else in the room, including the untouched tray of food next to her.
"You should eat, it will help you get your strength back," Mira said as she walked up to her. The redhead jerked in surprise, staring at the other girl with her one eye. The other one was covered up by a white bandage as if she had hurt it, or lost it. Mira didn't comment on it, she wouldn't want the other girl to comment on her demon arm if she still had it.
"I brought some clothes for you to wear. They used to be mine, so I don't know how well they'll fit you but I thought that it would be better than what you're wearing right now," She continued, offering the clothes to the redhead. The other girl looked down at the clothes for a few moments before hesitantly taking them.
"Thank you," She said shyly.
"You're welcome." Mira said with a smile. "My name is Mira, what's yours?"
"E-Erza," The other girl said, obviously unused to the attention. She paused for a moment before adding. "Are you a Fairy Tail mage?"
"Sort of," Mira said. "I'm a member of Fairy Tail, but I haven't started using magic yet."
"I don't know any magic either," Erza admitted. "But Rob said that he'll be able to teach me."
"I'm waiting for a friend of mine to teach me. He said that he'd be here next week, so I'm waiting until then," The white haired girl said.
There was a short pause, in which the redhead glanced to the unconscious boy.
"I'm sure he'll be fine," Mira assured her. Erza glanced at her in surprise before smiling.
"Thank you," She said, looking back at her friend. "Rob said that Procelina is one of the best healers in Fiore, even though she doesn't have any magic."
"Do you know what's wrong with him?" Mira asked. At Erza's flinch, she added. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."
"It's fine," The redhead said, smiling at the other girl. "We're going to be family, so we shouldn't hide secrets from each other."
Mira looked at her with wide eyes, thinking about her magic and how she ended up here.
'She's right. I'll tell her once everything settles down.' She decided before smiling back.
"Family also looks out for each other," She added. The two smiled at each other for a few seconds before Erza looked back at Jellal.
"He was being held by some evil men," She said, clenching her fist angrily. "They… hurt him, a lot. While they were hurting him, something happened to him that made him… act different. Rob had to put Jellal under a sleeping spell so he didn't hurt anyone."
"I'm sorry," Mira said quietly. The way Erza described Jellal's behavior was what Mira was afraid would happen if she lost control of her magic. She could imagine that the pain the other girl was going through was what her siblings would feel if she lost control.
"It's alright, Aki said that Fairy Tail could heal him, and maybe even fix my eye too," Erza said, putting a hand over her bandage. Mira barely noticed what she said, too surprised by who the other girl was talking about.
"You know Aki?"