"Wait this out? Absolutely not! Anyone involved in this R-System's creation, preservation, and restoration are extremely dangerous!"

"It's the Tower Of Heaven," Siegrain corrected, arms crossed. What the hell are you playing at Jellal? "To be clear."

Silence.

To little surprise, Ultear looked merely bored, and somewhat irritated. They are going to equivocate forever. At what point will that become disadvantageous? She took a look around at them. The chair of the Magic Council, Crawford, was absent. He would be for a while. What that meant was unclear. It didn't matter. Only the nine of them were present. Nine of them to make a decision. Nine of them in a position with immense power. What would it take to get them to make a move? The thought was one that lingered. The voices of the others arguing disappeared into the background. Her mind was far louder. She was, arguably, oceans away. She smirked a little to herself. She knew things none of the rest of them did. It was the most powerful feeling in the world. So far as she was concerned, even the royal family were not as powerful as she felt. And the other members of the Council were simply standing around, equivocating for hours, it seemed, to amount to nothing. They were completely lost. They had no idea what was truly at play. There were almost no outcomes in which they would look good. Almost anything they could do would give them the public image of a monster. She considered that. It was an appealing fantasy. It was also one that she found was easily at the tips of her fingers. She looked down at them, and pulled out a nail file from her bag. She was sure the rest of them were looking at her in contempt. She had not a care in the world.

"Well?" Ultear finally looked up, pursing her lips. "Do we have any idea who is responsible for it?"

"To our understanding," Org spoke darkly. "It's being operated by a man known by Jellal."

Precisely. Ultear masked her relief with a suspicious look towards Siegrain, the others all seemingly shocked or concerned. The pieces are falling into place.

"Jellal?" Yajima repeated in disbelief. He looked back at Siegrain. "That would be your twin brother, would it not?"

"Regrettably," Siegrain said shortly.

"What could possibly motivate someone to build such a monstrosity?" Leji mused. "It simply does not make sense."

Ultear's eyes narrowed. To you, it is not supposed to. The only people it would ever make sense to would be herself and the few people involved. Of that, she was certain. Her eyes scanned over her colleagues present. Org. Yajima. Leji. Siegrain. Belno. Michello. Hogg. Yuri. Several of them from different countries, all of them making up the Ishgar Magic Council. Yajima. Siegrain. Belno. Herself. The four of them were the only ones from Fiore. It was fascinating, but something she only considered at the surface level. She was most curious as to what would finally push them into action. You know what needs to be done. Convince Siegrain, first, to suggest it. Poetic justice, she told herself. It was poetic justice that Siegrain would think he was going to do the right thing. Convince him he would have to reckon with killing his brother. Force him to see that he was the one responsible for R-System being successful in its goal. He had to know what its core purpose was. He was well read, even in the things veering into the disturbing, and terrifying. That was what would push him over the edge. He would have to know what was at stake. But was he too well read? Would he know that activating the R-System could only be done by an immense force of magic energy hitting it? A lightning rod of sorts.

"What's his purpose in it?" Ultear said, her eyes boring into Siegrain. He did not flinch. "He's your brother. Don't you have the slightest clue?"

"It's an R-System," Michello cut in. "There is no use for it that could be good."

"Which means we need to destroy it," Leji said. "Where is it?"

"In the waters outside of Ka-Elm," Belno said coldly. "I do not know anything more. Our investigators mysteriously disappeared after sending the images. I suggest we send in the military."

"We can't do that," Leji said.

Belno turned to him, caught between shock and irritation.

"What do you mean?"

"We can't send in the military because we have no idea what we're dealing with," He said grimly. "There is absolutely no indication how powerful anyone involved here is, especially since the cult which once occupied the tower has been gone for at least a decade!"

Org frowned. "Then what are we supposed to do?"

"Our precise predicament," Yajima said, shaking his head. "I hate to say it, but the blame may extend further than just Jellal and whatever stragglers likely inhabit the R-System with him."

"Dark guilds?" Belno sceptically suggested.

"Yes," Yajima agreed, pausing briefly. "It's a tragedy all of these young people have been caught up in this lifestyle, and I am inclined to believe that dark guilds - or at least some of their members - would be more than eager to offer their…support."

"Then it is an immediate threat," Siegrain said heavily, his arms tightly crossed. "So, we need to completely destroy the tower. And there is only one way to do that: Etherion."

"What?" Org exclaimed, aghast.

"That's cross dimensional destruction magic!" Michello sharply reminded him.

"We can't," Belno said shortly. "Etherion is an absolute last resort. It is more dangerous than the R-System itself."

"The satellite square can pinpoint it directly, and will reduce collateral damage far more immensely than any other options we have," Siegrain countered. "I recognise it may look bad on the surface, but…"

Ultear paid little more attention to him until he finally convinced the rest of the Council to debate and call it to a vote.

You have no idea that you're a part of the machine, Siegrain. Tell me: how do you think it will feel when you have to face the truth?

You can't take everything Cana says as given. Everything is more complicated than that. Cards can only suggest so much, she even said so.

Freed tried to stay focused. He told himself he had to be careful, that he couldn't risk losing track of time. It had been what…three, four weeks since Cana's reading? Three. It had been three. He closed his eyes, just for a moment. Something about what she had said felt too true, but much of it felt off as well. What could be made of it? He tried to forget about it. The past was the past, wasn't it? There was not much that could be done. He had been hitting the wall for years in the search for his parents. What use was there to continue searching? He tried not to think about how his obsessive search for his parents - any family, really - had coincided with Laxus having to leave the guild just over three and a half years before. It didn't matter. The Thunder Legion was back together, and had been for almost nine months. Things were getting better. Things had been getting better. Still, his thoughts were meandering. He wasn't sure what the last thing said was, only that he had been listening to Evergreen, Bickslow, Laxus, Riley, and Esseca for at least an hour. It wasn't too unusual for him not to say much. They wouldn't press. He hoped they wouldn't press. It didn't matter. Of course it didn't matter. He was his own person. If he found his family, he reasoned, he might not even like them. What -

"You seriously want us to start watching one horror movie a week again?" Evergreen elbowed Freed, and he just about jumped out of his skin having been drawn from his thoughts. "Help me out," She added. "I'm terrified to know what movies Bickslow wants us to watch with him."

Freed nervously looked over at Bickslow, who was snickering with his 'babies' floating around and mimicking him.

"I assume you want us to watch something particularly depraved."

"Nah," Bickslow waved a hand dismissively. "I was actually thinking we do a rotation. Each week one of us chooses the movie we watch, preferably horror."

"Can it be a dramatised, documental series?" Riley pressed while she finished brushing some dirt off her glasses. "You know, something along the lines of -"

"No," Bickslow said, and the pink haired woman pouted. "The last time you suggested that, we all watched something that I'm pretty sure was haunting."

"Fine," She said, shrugging. "Can we watch a movie loosely based on true events?"

"Sure," Bickslow replied. "But what are you suggesting?"

"You're going to regret asking that," Laxus warned him. "The last time we did that, she had us watch In Her Skin, and we all were creeped out for weeks. And," He sent his little sister a pointed look. "You had nightmares after."

Riley poked him with one of her pom pom pens. "I'm not suggesting we watch that again," She said. "I'm suggesting we watch the paranormal movie The Exorcism Of Emily Rose, which was inspired by a supposed case of demonic possession in -"

"I have a suggestion!" Evergreen quickly cut in. "We could watch The Ring again."

Freed groaned. "That's her favourite horror movie, Ever, why would you -"

"It's also her costume for the guild's costume contest next week," Essecca said, hugging their sister. "I still can't believe you're going to be Samara for it, Riley. And that you creepily got it very right, even buying a VHS tape as a prop."

"I will haunt people when I die," Riley absentmindedly remarked. "I haven't decided who yet, just that I will haunt people."

"Could you use your ghostly powers to find people?" Freed dryly remarked. "Because you would be a very popular ghost if you did."

Bickslow pulled up his mask to eye Freed strangely.

"Who would you want a ghost to find?"

Don't, it's irrational, and -

"Well, I had drinks a few weeks ago with Mira and Cana -" He began, surprising himself.

"Boo!" Evergreen dramatically flopped forward onto the table. "You took away an opportunity for a fantastical night, Freed!"

"Yeah!" Bickslow chimed in, his babies babbling in agreement. "It could have been a perfect evening of bonding for all of us!"

"You two just want to get another ridiculous video of him," Laxus rolled his eyes. "You're ridiculous. We have such easier ways to do that, most of them involving the Salamander."

Evergreen looked up at him with wide eyes. "You're no fun," She said with a dramatic look of discontent. "I thought we all agreed that the funniest thing ever is Freed after -"

"- And," Freed cut back in, arms crossed. "We somehow got to talking about my ill fated search for my parents. She got out her cards, and I had about two drinks. All I got from it is that I don't understand cartomancy at all, and that, according to her, my parents did not intentionally leave me."

Bickslow nodded. "Fair," He said, stretching himself out. "Though I've always wondered why you keep looking. I mean, it hasn't led anywhere."

"That doesn't mean wanting to know doesn't have a reason," Freed countered. "Knowing who they are would tell me why. Or at least suggest why they might be lost to me. I'm sure Laxus understands, he and his siblings have never known their mother."

Riley flinched. Esseca sighed. Laxus frowned.

"You're not entirely wrong," He eventually said. "But, at this point, I'm not sure I even care."

"How can you not?" Freed found an unusual curiosity bubble in the back of his mind. "I'm loathe to admit it, but I've been quite uncomfortable not knowing anything after years of trying to figure something out of the mess."

"I only ever knew my dad," Laxus darkly replied. "By the time my mother left, I was only five. She's a hazy memory to me at best. Couldn't tell you what she looked like if I tried other than she wasn't particularly tall and she had darkish hair. What matters to me is that she left, me a five year old, Esseca two, and Caity a baby. She left us with Ivan, who I guess you could call a good parent until he decided I wasn't good enough because I was sick all the damn time and made the solution to put a lacrima in the chest of a nine year old."

"You okay?" Evergreen pressed, if a bit hesitant.

"I'm fine," Laxus said shortly.

"Are you sure?" Evergreen gave up, wanting to know getting the better of her. "You sound angry about it, what with her…"

"Of course I'm angry my mother abandoned me!" Laxus snapped. "She left, and -"

"She didn't abandon us!" Riley suddenly yelled, standing up. One of her feet slammed into the floor almost childishly, and she snatched up her bag. "Alright? She didn't fucking abandon us!"

She checked to ensure her pom pom pen, her book of shadows, her MP3 player, and her communications lacrima were all in her bag. In a matter of seconds, she stormed out, looking about ready to cry, and letting out another upset yelp.

"It's hard to hear her that upset," Freed shook his head. "And not just because of how it makes her usually cute high pitched voice sound like a shrill banshee screech. I don't understand why that particular subject bothers her."

"Agreed," Evergreen's fingers began to tap against the table in a steady rhythm. "Laxus is right, and that's an empirical fact."

Esseca said nothing but sent their brother a dark look.

"What?" Laxus stared at them incredulously. "It's not like our mother has ever tried to be part of our lives."

"We don't know that," Esseca said calmly. "All we know is that our dad was the only one who - briefly in her case and mine - had a part in our lives. Who knows what our mother could have or could not have tried to do."

"I guess," Laxus muttered. "She's still blowing it out of proportion."

"She's hyper sensitive," Esseca reminded him. "And she's our sister. And you should know better than to bring up the subject around her."

"I didn't," Laxus rolled his eyes. "We all sort of walked into it. She could have controlled herself."

Evergreen snorted. "Because you're the perfect example of restraint and self control."

Laxus paused, almost completely taken aback.

It was three years ago, you were only twenty three, and felt unheard. That's not who you are now.

"We shouldn't have encouraged it," Evergreen added. "But it was your idea to pit the entire guild against us in a fight to see who was the strongest. You only just were allowed to rejoin eight months ago, and Master Makarov was conflicted about it for weeks. He wouldn't listen to or see anyone, just thought about it, did whatever paperwork he had to for the Council…it was intense."

"I know that," Laxus paused again, his voice more sharpish than he had meant for. "But I'm not that person anymore. Can we not talk about this?"

"Seconded," Esseca said, hugging their brother. "We've all gotten upset enough tonight."

Bickslow snickered. "Are you saying you're upset I'm not plastered and threatening to do unspeakable things to Freed and Ever's hair?"

Esseca winked. "Maybe," They said, laughing.

"Do not," Freed said, looking pointedly between Bickslow and Evergreen. "Both of you, do not do anything to my hair, or face, or anything again. I spent an hour scrubbing off the marker spots last time."

"I remember that," Laxus laughed a bit. "You nearly stripped your skin off."

"It was necessary," Freed said rather indignantly. "My face was violated."

"Oh, like you haven't thought of doing the same to me," Bickslow said, jokingly socking him in the arm. "I say you shouldn't be mad at us for living the dream."

"And that's coming from the same person who got their guild mark on their tongue," Evergreen quipped. "Just to see if anyone would do it, no less. I'm afraid you're on your own for much of this, Bickslow. I am much more classy than that."

These four months thus far in Magnolia have been both a complete dissonance and a perfect step into the world at the same time. It feels odd to say, but I feel the most normal I ever have here. That may be, of course, because I am intentional about not looking myself when I am in town, but it is also because I have been much more free. By that I mean I have been able to do things less out of needing to and more because I simply want to.

I've learnt quite a bit since being here too. I'm sure father will be happy to hear that. It is strange, but everything I have studied since I was a child has either fallen into place in this time, or been challenged. I like that, if only because it is a chance to see the world as much more than life in the palace or in Crocus.

I have yet to figure a way to tell him, but I think you'll be able to provide insight as to when it would be right to broach the subject. I know father is protective of me, you both are, and especially after Fredrick's disappearance, but you needn't be protective of me in this.

I know when you and father were first engaged, you had only met a handful of times. That the two of you primarily communicated through letters and landline calls. I know the two of you eventually fell in love, and I am glad for that. I do not think the same will be for me.

I presume you know of Fairy Tail's guild master, Makarov Dreyar. I met his grandson, Laxus, the day I first arrived at the guild hall. Since then, he and I have spent much time together, including after I have met and spent time with those from other guilds. Though those times alone are incredibly valuable, and I do feel I am learning much about all of the major guilds in the kingdom, I have spent increasing time simply with Laxus. All of this to say, I have begun a relationship with him.

We went on a first date last month. It was late afternoon, and we spent time out of doors. Did you know Magnolia has a lot of courses for sports, and several farms? The town also has so many open roads. A couple of them get cluttered - they primarily are the ones in and out of town - but many are often quiet. There are smaller shop centres scattered throughout, too. Things are not so packed in, and it is much easier to see the moon at night. You can even see the clouds as they pass by, even when they are passing by the moon late at night.

Laxus and I have gone on a date of at least two hours every week since that first. I've never enjoyed being with someone this much. Is that how you felt when you and father were getting closer? I only ask because I want to find some way for him to understand. I don't doubt he'll be happy for me, that he'll want what is best for me, of course, but I worry he won't take well to me being in a budding romantic relationship with someone he has never met, among other things. Could you talk to him a little about it?

I hope you don't mind I decided to write this week's update for you out. I sent one by email to you and father as always, of course. You know, too, that you can message or call my communications lacrima if it is more immediate. I've been thinking about quite a bit, lately, and writing things out has always been a comfort for me. Regardless, I hope it's not too troublesome for you.

Best, your daughter,

Hisui Elisabeth Fiore

The sound of a few cars down the street floated into the room the princess had been staying in. She looked up, briefly caught off guard, and then sighed. It was late. She was tired, and likely easily startled because of it, she told herself. With a quick glance back at the letter she had just finished, Hisui stood up and walked the little she needed to the window. How could I have forgotten to shut it all the way? It had been windy the past few days. That was more likely the reason, she told herself. Once they were closed again, she took a look at the time. 23:19. When had she planned to go to sleep? The thought was too hazy. Hazy. That was a sign enough. She lingered by the now closed window for a moment, and then returned to the desk. She brushed her fingers lightly over the letter to ensure the ink had dried. Then, she folded it up, looking for an envelope. Makarov had told her that, if she wanted to write by hand, he could have them safely delivered to the palace. For a few seconds, she only stared at the closed letter. Had it been wise to mention her brother? Talking about him was one of the few things she and her parents almost always shied away from. He had been missing for almost twenty years. If he were still alive, it was almost certainly too far away to be found. That was what her mother had said for so long it was usually the first thing that came to mind when she thought of it. Her mother.

Of course. Hopefully she will be able to ensure things will be well with father when I finally tell him about my relationship with Laxus. He has nothing to worry about. We haven't done anything he or mother would disapprove of, and don't want to. We haven't even spoken of it. I hope that isn't the first thing either of them assume.

She took one last look at the letter. Slipped it into an envelope, and sealed it shut. Wrote the name of its recipient on it in her natural, somewhat messy handwriting. Natural. Not what she had been taught to do as the princess. It was more cathartic than she had ever thought it would be.

This was a life she found herself more and more comfortable in. She did not think too much about how she would eventually have to return to life at the palace. Life, fully, as the princess.

You both will understand, won't you?

She let the thought go, finally getting ready to sleep for the night. The letter was meant for and would only be seen by one person.

Her mother: Heather Annabelle Nuvelle Fiore.

When her eyes began to open, the first thing she realised was that they hurt. For a moment, she was panicked, expecting one of them to be swollen shut. That was not the case. The truth, however, was not much better. The second thing she realised was that she was on the cold, dirty ground, surrounded by stone walls, and, before her, metal bars kept her locked in. It was then she realised she was still in her evening gown from the party. What the fuck happened? If this is some sort of prank by Natsu and Gray, they are both going to have hell to pay for it. Her entire body was twitchy, and the room felt like it was spinning. Things were out of focus, mostly where she had been bruised on the right side of her face. Spinning. Pain. Twitching. The feeling was far too familiar. No. For a few seconds, she was terrified she was trapped in a dream, but that had the hope of waking up. This did not seem like a dream. Slowly, she pushed herself up on her hands, trying to take a look around. She nearly threw up. Familiar. That had been the right word. In every way, it was familiar, and from a part of her life she had done her best to forget. Forget. Had that gotten her anywhere? You were away for so long. You can get away again. Just - She stumbled to her feet, hearing someone coming closer.

"If this were meant to be funny, it's not!"

"You're right. It's not."

Everything painfully stopped.

We were friends…and you've locked me up in a place where I was tortured when we were kids? Why? Just…why?

"Sho…"

The rustling of dust and rock were the first indications that he had not simply spoken and left it at that. Her vision was still blurred on the sides. She was blinking rapidly to try and hold back against feeling almost consumed, nauseated. Dehydration? It didn't matter. It took her back in all the wrong ways. Never enough to eat, never enough water. Fainting was commonplace, either because it was too hot or too cold. Body heat and the few shitty blankets they had thrown at them. Childhood. Some days it was impossible to speak because of how badly any of them had been beaten. Some days, after being hit in the throat, it would be the egregiously painful assault there that would throb and bruise and eventually dull in pain. Pain, even when having to take a few sips of water to survive. Survive. That had been the goal, the one thing everyone had agreed they needed to do so they could eventually be free. And that had happened. The cult had disappeared, and because of them. They had gotten strong enough, smart enough to take them out from within. But that had not been the end. It would never end, that much was becoming clearer by the second. Back where she had started life. Back up against the wall. How much longer would it be until things got worse than this? They had to get worse. There was no alternative, and there never would be, not in a place like this.

It was perfect.

Perfectly gruesome.

Shuffle. Rustle, Crack.

She forced herself to look around.

He was going to have to see her.

He was going to have to meet her eyes.

Sho.

They had been best friends, safe people as children. Those times were gone, and, then, there was the question of Jellal. What was going through his mind? What had crawled into his mind just under a decade prior? He had not been the kind of person who would try and use the Tower for its intended "purpose." He had tried to save her, save everyone, take the fall. In a split second, he had changed. Why? Jellal was a good person at heart, he had been. What had climbed into his skull, and never let go? It had never made any sense. Or…had he simply snapped? After years of abuse, it wouldn't have been to much surprise. Any one of them could have snapped. It could be considered a miracle that none of them had ripped each other's throats, guts, or really anything out. They had just about done that to the cultists who had abused and imprisoned them. Jellal. He was responsible for this, now. Why? It didn't make sense. She was almost afraid it would. Would being able to understand it make them one in the same? Or would it simply be the empathy of one childhood friend to another? Her eyes hurt. She did not cry. She would not cry. She stared almost blankly at Sho when he finally came into sight. He kept one arm clinging to the other across his chest, and he was looking down. He did not want to meet her gaze. He had brought her here. They had been friends. Jellal…

The piles upon piles of papers Makarov had sent her to bring to the Ishgar Magic Council in Era, Fiore, were bound up in her bag. He had been trying to get her out for a little, do something that was not "intense." If she hadn't been able to know he meant well, it would have been insulting. Fifteen. She had just turned fifteen, and she had become an S-Class wizard. Now, she had been forced to deliver well overdue replies and apologies to the Magic Council for all the things the guild had gotten into trouble for in the past two months alone. The halls were as -

"Finally," The secretary muttered when the young wizard dropped the first stack of files onto her desk. "I almost thought we would never see them."

Erza had managed to laugh a bit. "Is that a good thing?"

"That you and your guild were able to subvert expectations?" The secretary laughed with her. "It is. At the very least, it gets something done for once, and may make them hate Fairy Tail a bit less."

Erza had started pulling out the other stacks of files. Footsteps. Doors opening. Voices. It was coming closer, too, and -

"...You have to admit, it's quite the predicament."

"...It is. Reminds me of -"

That voice.

She had turned around, only to see the last face she had ever wanted to see. He was older, now, and well dressed. He was different. Most likely wealthy. But he was there. Everything turned to a sharp ringing in her ears, and she drew her sword, lunging at him. She had missed by less than an inch.

Her had been pulled back, clinging onto her sword.

"Jellal…" She growled.

To her shock, he had flinched, taking a small step back.

"Let her go," He said shortly. "She has been through a lot, mistook me for someone else. She's no more a danger than anyone else."

She had just barely avoided falling to the floor.

She had sheathed her sword.

"You."

"Siegrain," He had said, then shaking his head. "I take it you know my brother."

Knew. She knew him once.

Whatever Jellal was now, that was someone else entirely from the boy she had known just about her entire life. The boy who saved her life. The boy who had…

"If you're going to try and leave me here to die as some sick revenge, at least let me have my armour," Erza paused, gritting her teeth at how quiet her voice fell. "If I have to die here, let me have some of my dignity."

"I would if I could," Sho said, glancing at her through his bangs. "But I have to do this, Erza, I'm so sorry."

Silence.

"Why?"

"You abandoned us," Sho said, looking down again. "Jellal never did. I don't want to hurt you, I don't agree with what he wants to do - what he's going to do - but he has never abandoned us…and you did."

A timer clicked off on Gray's communications lacrima.

He smirked.

"Fifteen minutes. That's a new record."

Lucy and Juvia both grimaced a bit when they looked away from him and towards Natsu.

"What was the last one?" Lucy dubiously pressed. "Because he -"

"Natsu only lasted thirty seconds, once!" Happy declared, landing on his best friend's back. Natsu continued to heave up whatever was left of his breakfast into the ocean. "He's gotten better," The blue, winged cat continued. "Besides, that was years ago! He was really little!"

"I'm amazed by how much patience you have for this, Gray," Juvia walked over to the ever shirtless man, and sat down beside him. "It's impressive how dedicated you are to making determinations such as this."

"I should have asked you to get it on video," Gray snickered, playfully elbowing her in the shoulder. "Just to mess with him."

Juvia turned pink. "When he displeases you?"

"Sure," Gray shrugged. "Or whenever I feel like it."

"That's lovely," Lucy said dryly. "And that reminds me: Mira might have been right about the two of you needing perpetual supervision."

"That's not true," Gray rolled his eyes. "If that were the case, we would just about be tethered in place. It's not like gramps would let us do anything too dangerous."

"He wouldn't be worried about you," Juvia said, a slightly wistful look in her eyes whenever she took a closer look at Gray. "I believe the true concern would be Natsu."

"He trimmed my hair with fire!" Lucy sat down, crossing her arms.

"Don't be a baby," Happy teased. "You look great! I told you there was absolutely nothing to worry about, and I was right!"

Lucy let out a short cry of exasperation.

"You said that about going to Galuna Island and you lied!"

"I didn't lie," Happy said innocently. "I never said anything about there being nothing to worry about, I just said that we could do it! And we did!"

"This better not be like that," Gray muttered. "I've got bruises in too many places to count from that, and I have absolutely zero desire to get more from doing just about the same damn thing."

"This isn't even close!" Lucy snapped. "We're going to save Erza! That's a lot more reasonable!"

"It may be more dangerous," Juvia cautioned, shivering a bit. "The water and air are not so beautiful here, at least, in the sense of being calm and mutable. It's rigid, and in the worst way possible."

Gray squirmed. "You know you sound creepy when you say things like that, don't you?"

Juvia pouted.

"Sorry, sorry," He muttered, stretching out his hands. "It just caught me off guard. I mean, do you really expect us to know what those things are like?"

"I often forget how differently I perceive the world around me," Juvia calmly closed her eyes, looking about ready to drift off to sleep. "My apologies. I should have known better, and spelt out the sensation in your terms rather than my own. It's easy to forget how my affinity and kinship with the water changes me."

"Still creepy," Natsu got out, almost falling out of the boat while he continued to puke. "Why did we have to travel like this? I'm going to be just about dead by the time we find her!"

"And you can kill her then!" Lucy half heartedly joked. "Which I'm sure she'll be more than happy to take the chance on."

"Unlikely," Juvia said. "To my understanding, he brutally lost a fight to her quite recently. I doubt he's gotten strong enough to take her down in a mere few months since the last attempt."

"I'm with her on this," Gray added. "Natsu gets his ass kicked all the time, and Erza won't hold back in the slightest when we find her, probably because she's going to be pissed off we didn't find her sooner."

"I don't think she'll be like that," Lucy frowned. "We're her best friends, teammates! She needs us just as much as we need her!"

"That doesn't change the fact she's going to want to claw Natsu's eyes out if he challenges her to a fight the second they see each other," Gray countered. "And don't act as if you want there to be no fighting or any of that shit, Lucy. You like watching fights too, don't try to convince yourself otherwise."

"I don't want to watch Natsu get just about torn limb from limb!" Lucy gawked at him. "Have you lost your mind, Gray?"

"Nope," He said, waving a hand towards Natsu. "He's the crazy one. You know he ate Laxus' lightning once? It made him sick for over a week."

Lucy sighed. "How exactly did that happen?"

"Natsu practically begged him for a fight, Laxus was in a bad mood, and he kept fucking with him far longer than necessary," Gray replied. "Natsu can't eat anything but fire - magic wise, that is - without getting sick, so he was acting stupid all around. That was before Laxus thought it would be a "great idea" to try and see who the strongest in the guild was by making us all fight him and the Thunder Legion. It was all bad. Thankfully, that was years ago. Though I'm not convinced Natsu has learnt much since then."

"He still will challenge just about anyone to a fight," Happy said, landing on one of Lucy's shoulders. "But he's not that stupid."

Gray rolled his eyes. "Sometimes it seems that way."

"I'm most inclined to agree with you," Juvia said, pausing when she looked back at the waters ahead of them. "Oh, dear, that must be it. The energy radiating from it is absolutely egregious."

All of them turned towards it, Natsu included though he could barely move from the nausea which made his head spin and spin and spin.

"Shit…" Gray let out a low whistle. "You're right, Juvia, that is terrible."

Lucy swallowed hard. "Erza's being kept hostage in there?"

"Yes," Juvia said morosely. "I can feel her aura. She is in there, alive, but completely and utterly miserable, in the way one only is in the worst moments of their life…or when reliving the worst moments of their life."