So, Chapter 3. I've started to read other stories and I'm just overwhelmed at how many great Natza stories there are! I'm currently reading The Fervent Crimson Flame and so far, I'm enjoying it very much. I will definitely be using it to improve my vocabulary, as although I consider myself a capable english speaker, when it comes to writing I'm shallow as a puddle. But, enough about me. I hope you enjoy this chapter and as always, let me know your thoughts in reviews and PM's. Have a good read!
Two days have passed since the incident in Blackhill Village. Fairy Tail mages have arrived back in Magnolia in the middle of the night, their travel passed in silence. Upon arriving at their destination, Makarov ordered them to not come to the guild for couple days and stay in their homes and focus on recovering. None of them had any strength or will to argue, as they just nodded with depressed faces. Not even a minute later, they all left for their homes, Elfman and Lisanna supporting Mirajane. Erza walked back to her apartment in Fairy Hills, Juvia right next to her. Upon arriving, both women wished each other good night and locked themselves in their rooms.
November 20th, Fairy Hills, Magnolia
Erza stepped out of her shower and walked up to the misty mirror, clearing its surface with her hand. She was met with a tired and pale face, her brown eyes squinted and red, burning from fatigue, with slight bags right under her lower eyelids. She had trouble sleeping for the past two days, as she couldn't calm her mind, questions circling all over her brain. Seeing as sitting in one place for any longer is meaningless, Erza decided to go to the guild, relax and talk to Master about her troubles if possible.
Leaning towards the mirror, she looked at her forehead, the wound she received during the battle neatly closed. There was no need for further treatment, but her hands were a different matter.
Hissing from pain, she undid her bandages, revealing stitched, wounded arms. She let the dirty cloth fall onto the floor, as she rotated her arms before her eyes, examining her injuries. They were healing very well, even if slower than usual, but they'd definitely leave scars, increasing her "collection" even further.
"I think they will fit to each other." she muttered to herself sarcastically, her eyes glued on old, round scars going all around both of her wrists. Spacing out for a while, she shook her head and grabbed fresh bandages, wrapping them around her arms. As she was done wrapping her second arm, with the corner of her eye she noticed something in the mirror.
"Oh. I forgot about this." she whispered, gently sliding her fingers on the left side of her naked stomach where a giant, already yellowish bruise was placed. Never in her life was she more grateful to herself for wearing armor than she was now. The morning after their return, Erza found herself unable to straighten her torso, with the entire left side of her stomach up to her breast covered in a bloody purple bruise. However some rest and ointment allowed Erza to walk properly without clutching her side every couple seconds the next day, and now the pain was almost completely gone.
After treating all of her remaining injuries, Erza dried her hair with a towel, before Requipping into her usual armor. Just as she was walked out of the bathroom, she heard someone knock on her door.
"Erza? May I come in?" asked a voice, which Erza recognized belonged to Juvia.
The redhead crossed her apartment and opened the door, the water mage standing in front of her.
"Can I help you?" Erza asked Juvia, slightly suprised. She rarely had any guests.
"I was about to go to the guild, and I thought we could...go together?" Juvia asked her shyly, unsure of the redhead's mood. The image of crying Erza was still imprinted on her mind.
"I don't see why not. I'm ready to go." Erza smiled in response.
Juvia sighed internally in relief, happily nodding to the redhead. Soon after, they left for the guild
Their walk went by relatively fast, as they engaged each other in a friendly conversation. Both women tried to avoid mentioning the incident, wiling to move on. Before Erza noticed, she was standing in front of the guild, with a curtain of black, long hair disappearing behind the door, as Gajeel entered the building few seconds before her. Taking a deep breath, she put her armored palm on the door and pushed it, entering the guildhall. The guild was quite crowded for such an early hour, with almost all of her friends present in Blackhill sitting by their tables. Well, with the exception of Gajeel, as he spotted someone sitting at the back of the hall and started to quickly walk towards them.
Sensing trouble, Erza simply waved to Gray and Mira without saying a word and followed Gajeel, as he now arrived by Laxus' table.
"We have to talk." Gajeel stated, his tone not leaving any room for negotiation.
Laxus simply looked up at Gajeel with a bored face.
"I'm tired. Whatever it is, I'm sure it can wait." he sighed.
"No. It can't." retorted Gajeel, pressing even harder..
"Laxus just came back from a difficult mission. I will not allow you to disturb him any further." said Freed, glaring at Gajeel.
"I'm not talking to you, lackey." answered Gajeel, not looking at Freed who was now standing, outraged. Ignoring him, Gajeel kept his eyes on the blondehaired man, before leaning towards him, putting his injured hands on the table.
"Why didn't you tell me you've encountered a Fire Dragon Slayer?" asked Gajeel, he himself suprised with how calm his own voice was.
Laxus, suprised by the question widened his eyes a little, his previously bored expression replaced by a slight frown.
"Why do you know about this?" he asked in an annoyed voice, clearly not fond of the fact Gajeel found out about it..
"Don't answer a question with a question. Why didn't you tell me? Or the runt?" hissed Iron Dragon Slayer, not in the mood for games.
Laxus just stared at the blackhaired mage, before shifting his head to the side and closing his eyes.
"I'm tired. Piss off."
The entire guild turned their heads around, some of them hurting their necks in the process, as a loud noise echoed across the guildhall. Losing his temper, Gajeel smashed his hands into the table, cracking it heavily. Laxus lazily opened his eyes and looked at the damage, the table in front of him barely holding itself in place. He shifted his gaze onto angry Gajeel and raised his eyebrows.
"Am I supposed to be impressed?" he asked him mockingly.
"You know damn well there's not alot of us. Didn't it occur to you that we maybe you should at least tell us he exists? Because if you had just told us, we would have been able to prevent some shit from happening." growled Gajeel, regretting his recent action, his still injured hands pulsing in pain.
"First of all, I don't even know how you found out about that, and second, last time I checked, I'm not obliged to report you what happens during my missions. Mira and Erza don't do it, so why should I? Besides, I wasn't even entirely sure he was a Dragon Slayer." answered Laxus, giving up on ignoring Gajeel. "I've met him. So what? How would you benefit from me telling you? Would something interesting happen?"
Laxus's monologue was interrupted, as Mirajane smashed her left hand into the table, breaking it completely, splinters and pieces of wood flying in all directions, making the nearby guildmembers flee in fear of the Demon's wrath. She wasn't the only one eavesdropping on this conversation, as Erza, Gray and Juvia were now standing right behind Gajeel, looking at Laxus with unpleasant gazes, to say the least.
"Would something happen?! Well, something has already happened, Laxus-chan." Mira hissed through her teeth, glaring daggers at the blondehaired man. "We've almost been killed by this guy, that's what happened."
Laxus' eyes shot open in shock, as he looked at Erza and others, as if expecting them to ensure him it's a joke.
"What?" he asked quietly, directing the question to Erza, who lightly shook her head before responding.
"We were not in grave danger, as Salamander was not planning on killing us. However, we have all received serious injuries, and the village we've been figthing in is now a complete ruin. We've lost that battle."
Laxus lowered his head, gritting his teeth. He did not expect something like this to happen.
"Now that I think about it." thrown in Gray, staring at the Lightning Dragon Slayer with unusual hostility in his eyes. "Three months ago you came back from a job covered in bandages. You refused to talk about this with anyone, even Gramps. Now, I think I know why."
Laxus stared back at Gray, as if warning him to shut his mouth.
"You didn't tell Gajeel about that guy not because you didn't deem it necessary." growled furious Mirajane. "You didn't say anything, because you were embarassed you got your ass handed to you by some random rogue mage."
The Dragon Slayer glared back at Mira, his nerve clearly touched by her statement. "If that's true, then you and Erza should have taken care of him. After all, I was alone and there was two of you. Not to mention I still don't understand why you're so angry about me keeping this guy a secret." he retorted through his teeth.
"Well then, allow me fill you in. Master had entrusted us with capturing this guy for various reasons, some personal, some helpful to the entire country. We tracked him down and almost managed to restrain him, key word being "almost", as thanks to certain someone, he got a major power boost and wiped the floor with us. That's the problem, prick." answered Mirajane, clearly reaching her limit. Laxus looked at her confused, unsure what the woman was implying.
"He's got your powers, Laxus." said grimly Gray, clutching his right side where Salamander struck him. He's never taken a blow this powerful, and that was from a weakened Salamander. If he was at his full strength...
The blonde looked at Gray in shock then quickly shifted his gaze onto Gajeel, seeking confirmation.
"He's right." answered coldly Gajeel. "He's got two elements now - fire and lightning. He used both of them to break free and blow up Titania's hands."
Lightning Dragon Slayer exhaled loudly through his nose and brought up his right hand, clutching the corners of his eyes, massaging them, as he cursed his own stupidity. Letting his pride get in his way was something he's been trying to avoid for years, and yet, when his back was up against the wall, he completely neglected his own rules and because of that, indirectly put his friends in danger.
"Is that even possible?" he asked dryly, directing the question to Gajeel.
"How the hell am I supposed to know?" retorted the man. "Up until recently I didn't even know you could turn someone into a Dragon Slayer with a lacrima, then I met you and that prick from Oracion Seiss."
The atmopshere around Laxus' table, or rather its remains, was tense, to say the least. It was difficult not to agree that Laxus' intel might have proven to be useful, or at least made them even more careful, but blaming the man for what happened was just wrong and uncalled for. Fed up with negative emotions so early in the morning, Erza decided to change the subject, hoping her friends pick up the hint.
"Where is Lucy? Is she still at home?" she asked Mira, who was the angriest amongst the company. The woman snapped out of her trance and looked at Erza, her eyes no longer glaring daggers.
"No. She and Wendy went to the hospital, they're visiting those kidnapped girls. Wendy wanted to help them recover." the Demon took the bait, her tone much calmer, as she dropped on a chair right next to Freed, tired after her outburst. Despite Wendy's treatment, she was still weak.
"What about Master? I wish to speak to him."
"Yeah, about that. I wouldn't go there if I were you." thrown in Macao from the nearby table. "About 30 minutes ago a Council Official came by, they're currently in Master's office. Things will get messy, that's for sure."
A moment after Macao's warning, the sound of opening door reached Erza's ears, as the froglike Council member stepped out of Makarov's office.
"I hope I've made myself clear, Saint Dreyar." the man threw in as goodbye, making his way downstairs. Upon reaching their end, his eyes caught Erza.
"I see Miss Scarlet is present. May I trust you to fill her in on the matter at hand?" he asked Makarov, who was now standing by the railing of the second floor.
"Of course." grumbled the Master in response.
"I appreciate it. Now, if you excuse me, I shall be on my way." the Council member bowed in farewell to Makarov and left the guild.
"Erza." called out Makarov, pointing at his office wioth his thumb.
The knight sighed: her supposedly peaceful day was now in complete ruins. She sent an apologizing look to her friends and made her way upstairs. Couple minutes later she found herself sitting in Makarov's office, with a cup of tea Lisanna brought them in her hand, Makarov sipping from his own in front of her.
"I don't think I have to say out loud that we're in trouble." the elder mage started, tapping his cup with his fingers.
"I wouldn't see it any other way." Erza smiled lightly in response, putting her cup down on the desk.
"This time, it's serious. We've been charged of insubordination, violation of Council's laws and property damage. And by "we", I mean you and me."
Erza looked at Makarov in suprise. "May I ask why me specifically? By no means do I wish to bring trouble to the others, as I'm extremely glad I'm the only one being punished, but why just me?"
Makarov snorted and sipped his tea. "You have your past to thank for this." he replied shortly, as the redhead sweatdropped. "We are to be trialed, both of us separately. The only thing I can think of they could charge you for, is property damage."
"Me aside, what will happen to you, Master?" she asked him worringly.
Makarov looked her in the eye for a moment, not answering, which scared the redhead. The elder mage took a big swing of his tea, emptying his cup and replied. "I will probably be stripped off my titles and sentenced to prison."
Erza shot up from her seat, outraged.
"They wouldn't!" she yelled, terror grasping her heart. "What you did is not vile enough to receive such punishment! What will become of Fairy Tail?"
"Disbanded, most likely." Makarov replied grimly, shocking Erza even further.
"The Chairman has changed. He has always been a very strict man, but a reasonable one. Although he was very strict when dealing with law breakers, he always discussed both sides of the coind, sometimes using the good side to be the final nail in his judgement. For the past couple months, however, he appears to be a different man. He no longer hesitates and delivers strict and sometimes even cruel "justice". This whole bounty facade is his idea as well. With the way he is now, I wouldn't be suprised if I was indeed thrown in jail."
Erza dropped onto her seat limply, staring at her gripped hands. This was her fault. If only had she captured Salamander and presented him to the Council, their punishment would certainly not turn out to be as severe.
"Before you start, no, it was not your fault." Makarov put his tiny hand on her armored palm, grabbing it reassuringly. "If anyone's guilty, it's me. But it seems like you're getting the wrong idea, my child."
Erza looked up to meet his eyes, hers filled with confusion. "What do you mean?" she asked, her voice dry.
"I never said I was going to comply to their verdict." he grinned to her, puzzling her even more. "If this truly is the end, I may as well use the remaining time we have and go wild for the last time."
"Excuse me?" she asked dumbly.
"I'll tell you everything in time. For the time being, it's a secret." Makarov grinned even wider, before taking his hands off Erza's and dropping from his chair, turning around to face his window, with Erza staring at the back of his head. What could he posibbly be talking about?
"Now then, I want you to tell me what happened there again, in details. I've known you for far too long to not see through that shell." his tone suddenly changed into a more serious one, almost commanding, as he knocked Erza out of her trance.
"It appears I am still too easy to read." she replied, her lips curving themselves into a smile without her knowledge. He truly did have talent at sniffing out lies.
"Years of experience, my child." he snorted in amusement. "Now, out with it."
Erza took a deep, relaxing breath and relayed what was on her mind to the Master. She told him about Troy, the mayor, the incident with Dragon Claw, Mira's assault and all the details of the battle she did not relay to the Council afterwards. Makarov simply listened, not interrupting her. His hunch was right, as Erza's story made much more sense than the one she told the Council. With each sentence, he could feel the girl slightly loosen up, although he could tell she still held something back.
"That's what he said? I'm sorry?" he asked her suprised, interrupting her for the first time.
"Yes."
Makarov frowned. From what Erza just said, he had enough power to hold his own against four of his strongest mages, continue fighting despite grevious wounds and still held back a vast portion of his strength. It didn't take a genius to make Makarov realise that he could have easily killed his brats if he wanted to. The very fact he tried to avoid combat and spared Erza and the others even when overtaken by fury went completely against everything he'd been told about this boy.
"Those two days of being locked in my apartment made me question who the true villain really was." the elder mage was knocked out of his thoughts, as Erza interrupted them, smiling grimly with her eyes locked on her hands. "Dragon Claw, Salamander, or us. He appeared to be a reasonable person, despite his reputation. However it was I who jumped to conslusions, let anger cloud my judgement and engaged him in an unnecessary battle, which brought more harm than good. He pleaded to let him go, yet I did not listen. Because of that, Mira can barely walk, Lucy is traumatized and Blackhill is a ruin. I guess I'll never change. I have broken my promise to you."
Makarov looked at the knight, her broken figure sulking in her chair. He walked up to the girl and put his hand on her shoulder.
"Things like this take time." he whispered to her softly. "You've already made great progress, far bigger than I even expected. You have not broken our promise, quite the opposite, you've fulfilled it. The fact you can admit to a mistake is a victory on its own. It takes strength to admit we were wrong, but it's also easy to put too much unnecessary and unjustified blame on our shoulders."
Erza lifted her head, meeting Makarov's kind, old eyes with her brown orbs.
"The way I see it, this boy is just like you, and I know you've realised it on your own as well. You were in a similiar situation not so long ago, with one leg already deep in darkness. Yours was pulled out, buy his is still there, sinking deeper with each day. His actions have become much more repetetive and their impact has increased as well. If we don't hurry, he will reach a point of no return."
Makarov stood up, leaving the knight deep in thoughts.
"I don't know what exactly is in your heart, but I feel like you should meet him once again. And that, you will."
Erza blinked, quitting her spacing out and frowned. "But what about my trial? I can't just leave like that, not to mention I don't even know where to look."
"Yes, you can." Makarov shot back. "Our trials take place on the same day, two days from now, yours an hour before mine. Even if you do not make it in time, I have a plan on how to deal with this and to be completely honest, I hope you don't. You, on the other hand, will move out today and find this boy."
"But I don't know what to do!" she suddenly screamed at the elder man, suprising him a little. All of her remaining, pent up frustration was now spilled onto the elder mage. "What I did to him was despicable. I have completely opposed everything I tried to stand for and reverted to my old ways, even if only for a moment. No words will fix that. Even if I meet him again, what then? I would not be able to look him in the eye, not that he'd even let me. The very moment I pointed my sword in his direction, I've become his enemy!" tears streamed down her face, as she recalled the rage she felt and the image of her armored foot on his head, his broken figure stomped into the surface beneath.
"Then how come you're still here?"
Erza's eyes widened upon hearing this short, simple question.
"Excuse me?" she asked quietly, her voice unpleasantly dry.
"You saw what he does to his enemies first hand. Countless of destroyed Dark Guilds and injured Dark Mages are a proof of that as well. And yet, here you are, well and healthy. Why do you think he spared you and the others? Why do you think he apologized to you, after all that happened? He has an established goal, a line he will not cross and that line would be fighting people he does not consider his enemies. He clearly distinguishes good from evil in his own, twisted way. If you truly wish to confirm your own feelings, find him and confront him about it. In the end, no one knows you better than yourself." the small wizard monologued, sitting back in his chair in the meantime.
"The more I hear about him, the more I realise how similiar you both are. From what I understood, something was driving that boy. Something that allowed him to push his body past absolute limits, to avoid being prevented from fulfilling his goal. Such resolve is always backed up by a strong sense of duty. Do you remember what happened before he broke out of his restraints?"
"Very vaguely. Truth to be told, I wasn't listening, but I know Gray and Gajeel were discussing our next move." she replied, her tone calmer. Makarov's monologue had calmed her troubled mind, even if only a little.
"I see." Makarov sighed, refilling his empty cup with fresh tea. He shot a quick gaze at the knight. Seeing her troubled figure, the elder mage decided not to drill this topic any further.
"It appears I was right. S-Class mages have lost their minds, and two guilds have already been pushed away from the request. Of course, after what happened two days ago, Fairy Tail has also been forbid to hunt Salamander down. That's three guilds out of the picture in just 48 hours. I don't need Gajeel's nose to figure out something smells fishy here."
This sudden change of subject suited Erza, as she straightened herself in her chair. "I agree. This whole situation just doesn't make sense, and I'm afraid it won't end there. I know some of these mages way too well, the true storm has yet to come."
"Indeed." replied the Master shortly. "And you are going to throw yourself right in the middle of this storm."
"But Fairy Tail has been officially stripped off all rights to this request, wouldn't my presence bring even more harm to the guild?" Erza asked worringly
"If you were to go as an employee, that is. I suppose nobody can stop you from traveling on your own, can they?"
Makarov's cheeky smile made Erza chuckle as well, as she wiped her eyes. This man truly had talent when it comes to playing on someone's nose. Sometimes she believed his influence was the reason behind all the damage Fairy Tail has caused over the years.
"Yes, it would seem so. May I take a three-day long vacation?" she asked with a smile.
"You certainly may." Makarov smirked, sipping his second cup of tea. He definitely preffered smiling Erza over her crying self. He lowered his cup and looked at Erza with a slightly more serious face.
"Now then, you must go. Eat something, pack yourself up and be on your way. It's best if you go alone, since your teammates are still injured. You managed to find him once, surely you can do it again. I suggest you listen to gossip, as news travel fast. That friend of yours may be of great help as well. With 9 guilds on his neck and his appearance exposed, finding Salamander will surely turn out to be a much easier task than before. All this skirmish plays in our favor." Makarov stated firmly, receiving a sharp nod from the redhead.
"This time, I will not fail." she stated in confidence.
"And I promise I'll do my part as well. Before you leave, could you please tell Mirajane to come here? There's something important I have to discuss with her."
"Of course, Master."
With that said, Erza bowed to the elder mage and stepped out of his office, closing the door behind her. Talking to Master filled her with renewed confidence and determination, something she's been lacking for the past couple days. Her doubts and fears were still there, however she managed to force them back into a corner, not letting them cloud her mind any longer. The more I hear about him, the more I realise how similiar you both are: Master's words were still echoing in her ears. She remembered his onyx eyes, so similiar to those she had this morning, and so similiar to those she's been carrying for years in the past.
"Probably lock him up in the guild."
Erza's eyes slowly widened in realisation, as Gray's words that were stuck at the back of her mind suddenly resurfaced with unexpected, immense strength, stunning the redhead.
"Lock him...up..." she muttered to herself, her right hand uncontrollably slowly creeping towards her left wrist, as she squeezed it lightly. No, there's no way that could be true, she would have known if it was. But what if...?
Old memories started flowing yet again, as she forcefully shook her head, cutting them off before they caused any damage. Putting all the pieces together, the knight realised it couldn't be a mere coincidence, but to be truly sure, she had to confront the man himself. Shaking her head even harder, she pushed these assumptions back - the mission was her priority. Questions can wait.
Lightly gritting her teeth and filled with burning resolve, Erza quickly made her way downstairs. Gray, Juvia and Mira were sitting together by one table, their conflict with Laxus seemingly resolved.
"Did you get chewed up?" asked her Gray jokingly, however upon seing her serious face, his smile faded away. "Did something happen?"
"I'm going away for a while. Alone." Erza stated firmly, not leaving any room for negotiation, as Gray was already opening his mouth to protest. "Mira, Master wants to see you. It's urgent." she faced the Demon, meeting her bored gaze.
"Yeah. Sure."
Erza nodded to the woman and turned around in her spot, heading towards the exit.
"Wait a second." Gray threw in, standing up from his seat. Erza turned her head around and looked at him. "What is it, Gray? I'm in a hurry."
"This has something to do with that Salamander guy, doesn't it?" the Ice Make mage asked her, his voice worried. "I can't let you go after him alone, not after what happened. Let me come with you."
The knight noticed the determination in his eyes. He most likely felt guilty and incompetent after what happened, especially after bragging about his magic countering Salamander's fire.
"Don't get the wrong idea, Gray. I just need to be alone for a while. I'll be back in couple days, I promise." she smiled at him, faking it as best as she currently could.
Gray stared at the knight for couple more seconds, before sighing and sitting back in his spot. "If you say so." he said shortly.
Erza turned back around and started making her way out of the guild, biting her lip in frustration. She heavily disliked lying to her friends, and she knew Gray saw right through her. But this was something she had to deal with on her own. She relied on her friends for far too long, and now was the time to finally take her problems into her own hands and smother them into nothingness, once and for all.
With this resolve imprinted on her mind, Erza left the guild and walked back to her apartment to get ready. It was time to act.
November 20th, Magic Council HQ, Era.
Gran Doma was walking through the dark corridor, making his way to his chambers, the only source of light being beams of moonlight peeking through the windows. Upon reaching his destination, he nodded to the guards' salute and entered the room, closing the door behind him. The Chairman put his staff back on its rack and sighed tiredly.
"Well, hello there."
Female voice echoed across the room, as Gran Doma quickly turned his head around towards its source. In his chair behind his desk, sat a young woman. She had brown, shoulder lenght hair, with long bangs covering her right, blue eye, her red lips curved into a smirk. She was wearing a black skintight suit underneath a dark blue vest and short skirt, with heavy, highheeled black boots reaching up to her knees covering her feet, which were currently resting on the wooden top.
Gran Doma sighed in relief, loosening his tense body up.
"What do you want, Jolene?" he asked tiredly.
The woman called Jolene clicked her tongue in annoyance. "I came here all this way and this is the way you greet me? And how long are you planning on talking to me through that puppet of yours? I've missed you, you know. Is that how you treat old friends, Chairman?" she pouted playfully, irritating the man.
"Fine." The Chairman sighed and walked up to the cabinet, pushing one of the books. The cabinet pushed itself to the right, revealing a hole in the wall where an extra room was placed. A moment later, someone walked out of the room, as Jolene was met with the sight of a young and quite short blackhaired man. He was most likely in his late teens, but his face made him look much younger than he truly was. His black hair were all over his bored face, brown eyes peeking from behind his messy bagns. Upon seeing him, Jolene threw her feet off the desk and ran up to the man, embracing him in a crushing hug.
"Ah, I've missed you so much, Luppi!" she squealed into his ear, smothering him with her chest, as he desperately tried to free himself.
"Yeah, sure. I get it. Can you let me go now?" he whined, not amused by her playful approach. The woman gasped in fake shock, and slowly let him go.
Taking a deep breath, Luppi jumped back, massaging his sore nose.
"What are you doing here? I was not informed of your coming." still massaging his nose, Luppi asked the woman in a funny voice, as she sat back in the chair, throwing her legs over the desk once again.
"Master's orders. I'm supposed to check whether things are going according to plan." Jolene retorted, dropping her mischevious play. This earned her an irritated and quiet growl from the man.
"They both are, and aren't." he sighed, making the woman raise an eyebrow.
"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked him sharply, displeased with his response.
"The infiltration plan was a complete success. Our little diversion had succeeded and did its part marvelously. As of today, we are free to do whatever we so desire, completely free of any suspicion." Luppi replied, making Jolene frown in confusion.
"What the hell's up with that vocabulary? Since when were you so eloquent?" she snorted in amusement.
"When you spend months amongst these geezers, whether you like it or not, you pick up certain things. Matter of speech being one of them."
"Well, whatever. How's the other thing doing?"
"That is where the problems begin." Luppi threw himself onto a sofa right next to the desk, sighing tiredly. "Although we did manage to get a good hit on Salamander, we lost Dragon Claw and all the commodity in the process. Not to mention, after sniffing the smell of money, the guilds have started to throw shit amongst themselves. Two of them have destroyed each other, others keep fighting all over Fiore and only one fulfilled its purpose, and not even the full extent of it, because even though they nailed him pretty hard, at the end of the day he wiped the floor with them. I know Master wants to avoid this, but If this goes any further, one of us will have to personally step in and deal with this problem."
Jolene brought her thumb to her lips and gently bit her nail. "That's something we cannot allow. As much as I want to deal with this brat myself, Master specifically ordered us to not interfere at any cost, as we are close to completing our plan. Exposing ourselves can not happen, not at this stage. But if things will keep going badly, we'll have no choice but to disobey an order and deal with this in secret. He's already pushed us into a corner, half of our supply routes are in ruins because of him. We're running out of time." she muttered quietly, anger growing inside of her.
"You want to disobey an order? I've always known you're brave, but stupid? That's a new one." Luppi responded mockingly, earning a light kick from the female.
"I see you're finally growing some balls, kid. No, I'm not crazy enough to disobey an order. I'll just have to talk to Master and convince him to give us a free pass. I'm sure all of us would like to get our hands on this kid. Who would have thought that little boy would end up growing up into such a giant pain in the ass? If I knew it'd turn out like this, I would've snapped his neck when I had the chance."
"I'll pass. I wouldn't last a minute against this guy." Luppi raised his hands in defeat.
"You really should have more faith in yourself. Your magic is so dangerous, I'd be shitting myself if I was your enemy. You just don't know how to use it properly." Jolene rolled her eyes, pushing Luppi with her leg.
"Don't poke me with these, it hurts." he pushed her leg aside, earning a cheeky chuckle from the female in return."I'll figure something out. We still have 9 guilds to works with, it's just a matter of time we get our hands on him." he closed their previous topic, making the woman smile.
"Atta boy!" she cheered, messing up his hair even more.
"Are you staying the night?" he asked her as he pushed her hand off, shocking the female.
"Oh my, Luppi! I take back what I said, you are confident!" she said in an impressed tone, covering her lips with her hand.
"That's not I meant! Control yourself!" Luppi yelled blushing, as Jolene just laughed. "I've been sitting in this shithole for the past couple months, I'd really appreciate if I could talk to a friend rather than some corrupt geezers!"
Jolene sighed loudly, calming her laughter down and patted him on the shoulder. "I know, I'm just messing with you. Unfortunately, I can't stay. If it makes you feel any better, we're going to be gathering up pretty soon, so you'll finally be free from this place. As for now, you can expect a visit from Heavens relatively soon."
Luppi growled at the sound of this name. "What the hell does he want?! Doesn't he realise he's the last person who should be entering this building?" he whined in protest, amusing Jolene even further.
"He's been in the field for a while now, so he'll bring you more instructions from Master, as I'm not that good with formalities. You know, you really have to drop this hatred thing, you guys did join at around the same time, you should be getting along." she scolded him, poking his chest with her finger.
"Seriously, don't treat me like a kid." Luppi replied, pushing Jolene's hand off his chest. The woman laughed in return and took her legs off the desk.
"Earlier you said Salamander had fought with a guild. Which guild was it?" she asked curiously.
"Fairy Tail." the teenager replied shortly, as Jolene's lips slowly curved into a smile.
"Oh? Now that's interesting." she muttered to herself, as her figure slightly flickered all of a sudden, which didn't go unnoticed by Luppi.
"Seriously? You claim you've missed me and you send a thought projection? Now that's low." he raised his eyebrows.
"As much as I like you, Luppi, I don't think I'd travel all this way just to give you a short message. Besides, sneaking in is much easier in this form." she winked at him, making the man grumble quietly to himself. Jolene smirked at this sight and got up from her chair, walking out to the center of the room.
"Well, I should be going, but before I do, could you do me a favor?" Jolene asked, turning around to face Luppi.
"What is it?" sighed, completely fed up with the woman's attitude.
"Is there any way you could go slightly off course and arrange so that Fairy Tail and Salamander are both destroyed? Dead, preferably." Jolene's face twisted with a wicked smile, which slightly terrified the teenager.
"You know damn well we can't kill Salamander, he's essential to our plans. As for Fairy Tail, something along these lines has already been arranged."
Jolene's eyes glimpsed in joy, as she licked her lips. "I can't wait." she whispered, sending chills down Luppi's spine.
"Well then, see you soon. Try not to kill each other with Heavens, please." she waved at him in goodbye and disappeared without a trace, the link between her real body and projection cut off.
Luppi sighed heavily and sunk in his seat, shifting his gaze onto the ceiling.
"Go to sleep." he muttered, as Gran Doma's immobile body moved for the first time in the past few minutes and obediently walked up to the bed, laying down.
"I hate my life." Luppi whined to himself, shifting his eyes onto the full moon peeking from behind the glass of the window. But soon. Soon, none of this will matter, as the world will finally become a better place. A place without violence, without discrimination, without suffering. Yes, it will be their world. His world. "Zeref's" world.
First minutes of November 21st, Lupinus.
A group of men walked out of a bar, most of them staggering and hicking, as a blackhaired man forcefully pushed them out with a broom.
"Get the hell out, you've already puked all over my local!" he screamed, earning a wave of laughter in responce.
"Don't be so stiff, Troy, it was an accident!" one of them grumbled, waving his hands in front of him.
"It will be once I shove this thing up your ass! Fuck off!" Troy retorted, making the bunch laugh even harder, before they went their separate ways, using nearby buildings as support.
"I hate this town." muttered the bartender under his nose, scrubbing the filthy door to his bar with a rag, using the moon as a source of light. Suddenly, he noticed someone walking up to him, their shadow hovering over the area he was cleaning.
"Closed. Come back another time." quickly shot Troy, not looking at the person behind him, as he tried to get the already dried piece of vomit off the wooden surface. Seeing that his words had no effect, he sighed heavily and turned around to face the figure.
"Didn't you hear? I said, we're clo-"
The man froze for a moment, his eyes widening a little, as they took the sight in front of them in. The person was almost completely covered in bandages, some of them bloodied, which shocked the bartender for a very short moment. Couple seconds later, however, he regained his composure, turning back to his previous duties.
"You look like shit, pal. Go home and lay down, or you'll die." he said in a monotone voice, scrubbing the door with all his strength.
"I heard you know certain things and share them with others for a considerable amount." the figure replied in a muffled male voice.
"And I heard someone's fucking with you. I really had a rough day, buddy. We're closed." Troy did not budge an inch, slowly losing his patience. "Piss off."
After finally getting his door clean, the former bandit folded his bar sign and picked it up, placing it under his right armpit. Just as he was about to enter his local, the man behind him spoke up once again.
"I'm looking for Seven Commandments."
Upon hearing this name, Troy froze in the doorway. Gears started to loudly turn in his head, pieces putting themselves together, as his body started to tense up, chills of terror crawling all over his skin. It must be her fault, she always brought trouble onto his head, even if indirectly. But at the same time, he cursed his curiosity and desire to put nose in other people's business, especially people of this caliber. Unsure of who to shift the blame on, Troy gulped loudly and slowly turned around to face the man, whose pink hair gently flowed in the night breeze.
"Well...shit." was all that managed to come out of the bartender's mouth.
To be continued in Chapter 4: Confrontation.
Yep. Zeref. Keep in mind I used these things - "", so please hold your pitchforks for now.
I know Original Characters are frowned upon, especially villains, but I did some research and came up with several characters whom I myself consider quite enjoyable. I tried to use the little to no screen time they had in this chapter to show a few of their traits - introductions are important, after all.
I do apologize if you find this chapter boring after what happened in the last one, I wanted to focus on the characters and plot, rather than turn this into a story written entirely by punching each other. I'm still relatively new to writing, as my previous works are either lost bets or drunk oneshots, so do go easy on me when it comes to writing plot. Also, I have much, much more action prepared for you all in future updates, so stay tuned. One, max two more chapters of dialogue and you'll be rewarded. Trust me.
Also, I know I made Erza seem out of character, but keep in mind this is a much more troubled Erza from before ToH. She will be different from her canon self, even if just a little. Also I don't know how to handle pre-Lisanna Mira and Laxus. Mira was a really annoying bitch, even in the main series and although I'm trying to make her out to be a better character, who's almost like a slightly more impulsive Erza, her snarkier side is much more difficult to handle. Some tips on how to not turn her into an insufferable bitch would be appreciated. As for Laxus, the guy is badass and...that's it. Sorry Laxus fans, I'll do some research later on!
With that said, this is where I get off. I'll probably be updating this chapter tomorrow, with corrected typos that I've missed and some fixed dialogue here and there.
Next chapter should take less to come out than this one. See ya!