Wishfull-star: Your questions shall be answered in this chapter!
rosetrang628: This chapter will make you sad...
Longer chapter this time! Enjoy~
The others but for Ace and Lucy looked devastated. After all, both of them had only been there a couple weeks. Sabo looked angry more than pained, just like Natsu. "What happened here?" Ace asked in shock and confusion. Fairy Tail was supposed to be the strongest guild, right? So who managed to do this?
The amount of damage was insane. The building was totaled. They couldn't repair it, they had to rebuild. But the iron poles coming out of it had to be extremely heavy, so Ace wondered who had pulled it off and not gotten caught. "Could magic fix this?" Lucy asked, Ace having the same question. "Sabo, you're really strong, right?"
"I can't fix it. I can only fix things that have recently been broken. I don't know when this happened, but it wasn't just recently," he said. The seven of them hurried inside, making their way around the rubble and to the basement, where they knew was the only place everyone could be in with the building like this.
Ace was angry that someone did such a thing to the guild who welcomed him. Who would want to do this? Did Fairy Tail actually have a lot of enemies? When they went downstairs, everyone was down. Natsu hurried to the Master, who was drunk, his cheeks red. Sabo asked Warren what happened here. "It was Phantom Lord. They fucked up the guild while we were not here. Nobody was in the building, so nobody was hurt," he answered. Ace frowned, and before he could ask what that was, Sabo told him it was a dark guild.
"But… aren't guilds not allowed to fight?" Ace asked, remembering Erza saying such a thing.
"They're not supposed to, yet they did this," Elfman said angrily. Natsu, predictably, said his solution was to go beat them up. But Elfman just said they weren't allowed to fight. Sabo voiced this. They couldn't fight or they'd get in trouble, too.
"Shut up! This means war! I'm gonna kick their asses! They need punishment!" Natsu raged.
Master instead said the punishment was for the four who stole the S-Class job, with Gray insisting he hadn't been the mastermind of the operation. Ace was glad he wasn't roped along with them, he'd be in trouble too. He had a nice time on his mission with Sabo, so he wa glad he chose to go with him.
But the punishment was just a couple slaps. Seemed really lax, so it must not have been that big of a deal after all. "Now's not the time for that! The guild's in ruins! Do you realize our situation?!" Natsu raged at the Master.
"Calm down. If all they could do was vandalize the place while we were asleep, they're no big deal! We'll just repair the building. Stop making a big fuss. Besides, Elfman is right. We can't fight or the counsel will despise us even more than they already do," Makarov explained patiently, though being buzzed might also have helped him mellow out.
Ace was honestly surprised by his response to it. Phantom Lord destroyed their guild beyond repair. It was more than just vandalizing. Besides, whoever did this either had magic to create steel beams, or was physically strong enough to move them there. But how had nobody noticed around them? Ace might have died if he was still sleeping in the guild. That thought was kind of scary.
"That's not enough! I won't stop until they're punished!" Sabo sighed, but the Master was adamant and said they'd be doing jobs from in there. The board with all the requests was down there. Ace wondered if anyone would go on jobs after this anytime soon. They had to all be worried about leaving and then coming back to find something even worse happened. Makarov left to use the bathroom, and Natsu demanded to know why the old man was taking this so lightly.
"Natsu, he's just as frustrated and angry about this as we all are. But a conflict between guilds is strictly forbidden by the counsel." Ace asked about the fight between Aisenwald group. "They were banned from the counsel, so they don't matter anymore." Ace nodded, and wondered why dark guilds weren't all disbanded, but didn't ask. He didn't want to be annoying and risk setting anyone off who was already angry and stressed.
"But they started it!" Natsu shot back. Mira sighed. That wasn't the problem. "Then what is?!"
Erza reluctantly said, "If this is the Master's choice, there's nothing we can do about it." Ace asked if they had the money to rebuild the place. It would be expensive. "We can figure that out later. For now, we should try and calm down. Everyone is angry and bitter."
When the Master came back out, he chugged another mug of alcohol, and told them to stick together. Phantom Lord had come to this town. So they might know their addresses. Ace worried over Thatch. He didn't want him to get hurt because of Ace's career. At least he wasn't well known, and most of the guild had no idea where he lived in the first place.
"Where are you staying?" Sabo asked Ace.
"With us. We'll go to Lucy's house," Natsu said, glaring at Sabo a bit. Ace felt awkward and caught in the middle of a not so good relationship. Natsu clearly disliked Sabo, maybe out of jealousy. Ace didn't want to make it worse. But he asked how big Lucy's place was, since he'd never been there.
Erza punched Natsu's head from behind. "Stop being bitter. There's not enough room for all of us. Ace would be fine to stay with Sabo if that's what he wants." Natsu looked at Ace expectantly, with Sabo also looking a bit hostile. It was awkward and Ace wasn't sure what to choose.
"Ace will be staying with me and Elfman," Mira said brightly, coming in between the issue. "We have an empty room nobody uses. Lucy has a studio apartment, and Sabo has a one bedroom. I'm sure Ace would be more comfortable staying with us.
"Ah, she's right. I like my space." Thank you Mira! Natsu and Sabo had glares at each other, and Ace was glad to leave the fight. He had his backpack with him, and that had new clothes, so he didn't need to go to his place and get anything. He left with Mira and Elfman, as it was pretty late by then and the guild was closing.
While they walked, Ace let out a huge sigh. "Thank you for saving me."
"It's no problem. I've never seen those two get so territorial. Must be a pain for you." Ace nodded, and looked sad. "Is there something wrong?" Ace shrugged, and said he was just usure of what he wanted to do now. "About a group to join?" she asked, nudging him along in the conversation.
Ace nodded, and said he hadn't liked going on a job with the five of them, as he felt kind of undervalued and forgotten. And useless, he fell asleep and missed almost everything. "But going with Sabo was really relaxed and we got along well. I think I'd do better with him if he offered, but I don't want to hurt Natsu and the others' feelings."
Elfman said it was many to tell the truth, and he had to confront this. "It isn't like a fight, Elfman. Ace doesn't want to be in a bad relationship with anybody. Besides, it already looks as if one side will be upset if he chooses the other. It puts him in a bad spot." Ace nodded, knowing she summed it up well. "Do you want either of them? You could always just become independent and do your own jobs."
"I don't want to be alone," Ace replied. "I like Sabo and Natsu's team both. They're very different. I don't know, it almost feels like Sabo already knows me, and was so easy to talk to. Maybe I met him before, since he said he travels all over. I could have just forgotten we ever met after all," he said.
Elfman thought Sabo would have told him that.
"I think Sabo would have kept it from you if he did know you. I'm sure he'd want to be friends with you by your own choice, not feeling obligated to be friends because you've met before. You both seem to get along well, but I don't think he'd tell you if you both did meet. But I wouldn't be surprised if that were the case. He's always been closed off and a bit absent since he arrived when he was ten.
"He always went out on long jobs on his own. When he participated in the S-Class trial, he refused to have a partner and did it on his own. I think you should feel honored that he invited you on a job with him, and wants to be friends. Though you're very likable," Mira explained. It felt nice to hear those things. That he as wanted. And the confrontation proved he was wanted by both teams. Well, a team and a solo member.
Ace would need to think about it for a bit before deciding.
Staying at Mira and Elfman's place was like another world. Elfman was incredibly loud and Mira had no problem with it. They had three bedrooms, and Ace assumed he was sleeping in Lisanna's old bedroom, which felt sad and wrong. It was barren, so he had no idea. He tossed and turned, worried over Phantom Lord. He hoped things would work out with that, and that Ace could stay friends with Natsu and the group while also being close with Sabo.
Maybe they really had met before and he didn't remember.
-x-
In the morning, he headed to park to think. Maybe see if being there would help him remember or something. He was surprised with how busy it was, yet being so silent. Ace looked up, and saw blood on the tree. His eyes trailed up the trunk and he saw his friends pinned to the tree in T poses, held up by metal restraints. They were all unconscious.
Ace acted immediately, lighting his fingers and boots on fire to make holds in the tree to climb up. He held onto the metal restraint as he burnt away the tree below the pins with he scrap metal, freeing them slowly. But it was hard work, hanging on like that. "Your okay, I'll get you treatment." He remembered Levy, Jet and Droy's kindness to help him out and take him to Fairy Tail.
It hurt and angered him to see them like this. But he heard others in his guild come, and called for help. He was having trouble with it himself. He got Levy's left arm free on his own, but was having trouble with her right. His guildmates worked to get them down before the Master arrived. Ace could feel the anger wafting off of him and it gave his fire body goosebumps.
"I could look the other way when they made a ruin of our bar. But no father can see the blood of their children and stand silent." Suddenly tears pricked his eyes at hearing the words that made it seem like he was considered a father's child. But his attention was brought back to the present. "This means war!"
Nobody was against it. They all got Levy, Jet and Droy out of their bindings. They treated their wounds and cleaned off the painting of the mark of Phantom Lord on her stomach. Sabo walked up to Ace, and asked if he was okay. "Why wouldn't I be?" Ace asked.
"Ah… it's nothing. When did you come across them?" Ace said he had left Mira and Elfman's house to go on a walk to the park. Maybe he could remember something. But he found them pinned to the tree instead. And he was unable to free them. He was ashamed. "Melting and removing something from twenty three feet up a tree with no branches would be hard for everyone."
Ace changed the subject. "What will happen if we go to war? What if more of us get hurt?" he asked. Sabo narrowed his eyes and said there was no choice. Ace was surprised that he was talking in a slightly irrational and emotional way. Ace, from what he had seen so far, showed Sabo was calculated. Well, these were people he grew up with, beaten and defiled. Of course he'd be furious. Ace was angry, too.
But, he felt out of the loop. Looking at Lucy, he saw his feelings mirrored on her face. They only just joined. Surely they didn't have the right to be so angry as the others, who grew up with them. "You're allowed to feel angry. Shadow Gear helped you out."
Eyebrows pulled together slightly, Ace asked Sabo if they'd met before Ace joined Fairy Tail. Sabo looked surprised by the question, and asked what brought that on. "I don't know, you just get me. It's kinda weird."
"I didn't meet you before now," Sabo said. Ace was a bit disappointed, but nodded.
"Ace! Get ready for war!" Natsu said, glaring at Sabo. It was so uncomfortable and awkward. And Ace couldn't help but find himself less angry at Natsu and Happy for how rude and painfully blunt they could both be. The other fire wizard clearly wanted to be Ace's friend. He didn't think Ace was a useless burden. It felt nice, but it also made him feel guilty at ever thinking negatively at him.
Ace followed Natsu because he was more pushy at the moment. And very angry. Ace didn't want to set him off even more. "Are they okay, do you think?"
"They'll be fine. They're Fairy Tail wizards." Ace agreed with that. Everyone seemed tough, but Levy seemed like… a vulnerable one. Maybe that's why Phantom Lord chose her. She was soft and kind and didn't seem to have a mean bone in her body. Thinking about this only made him angrier. "You should feel anger. They're your family, too."
"Yeah…"
The strongest of the guild gathered together, and made their way to Phantom Lord's guild, which was quite far away. They got a whole caravan to carry them all there. There was nobody who could teleport mass number of people. The whole way, hours of travel and stops, not a single wizard had their anger die down.
Nobody grew reasonable, they all wanted revenge. Whoever had done it was asking for retaliation, to start a war with a guild that was so close knit and valued family ties and bonds. Lucy stayed behind to take care of Levy like much of the weaker members. But the strongest were there to blow down the guild's doors, blowing them out and destroying the surrounding wall.
Ace used his fire to create a wall around the members of the enemy guild so they had no chance of escape. Ace grinned, and raised his hands, raising the wall of flames that trapped every single member inside the main room as they were pummeled. Sabo stood beside Erza, two S-Class wizards fighting at the same time.
This beat down shouldn't take too long. Ace focused on the fire wall, steadily creeping it forward to push the enemy close to the Fairy Tail wizards. He was sweating by now, keeping it from burning the place to the ground. He had the fire controlled. It was difficult, but seemed to help speed the fight up.
The beat down was overwhelming in favor of the fairies. "Where are they?! Where are Gajeel and the Elemental 4?!" Erza shouted, her sword stained with blood. Makarov said he was going upstairs to try and find Jose. He didn't even ask Ace to move his fire, he literally ran right through it just fine.
Gajeel, the iron dragon slayer, a threatening looking guy with plenty of face piercings, did come out, and his first target was Ace, but his metal pole that was like a mini version of what happened to the guild went right through Ace's head. "Heh. You're pretty good." Before he tried something new, Natsu jumped in and punched the iron dragon slayer, as he was explained on the long trip to Phantom Lord's headquarters.
"GAJEEL! I'm Fairy Tail's dragon slayer!" Natsu roared, furious and pumped up from fighting. Sabo had decayed the building, and Ace heard it slowly, slowly creaking and the wood rotting. But he focused it in one place, and soon the roof of it crumbled and landed on all the enemies. He was insanely strong and smart to have done that.
By now, most of the dark guild was down. "Take out the fire user!" someone shouted. Ace caught him on fire with strands of his main fire creeping up on him. He couldn't hold it anymore, and when it disappeared finally, soaked in sweat, Gray surrounded the place where the flames had been with a wall of ice, spikes sticking out from it.
"Take a break, Ace!" Gray said, though it wasn't dismissive.
"NATSU!" Ace shouted, and sent a blast of fire at him, which he gladly ate to give himself a power up. Ace retreated and went outside, to sit and catch his breath. It was shameful that he was this weak and had to take a break. He took a deep breath and went back in to try and help out. But everyone was out and only Gajeel and Natsu were still fighting.
Ace grew worried when an earthquake happened, thinking it was a terrible time. But Erza smirked. "That's the Master's anger," she said. For the first time, Ace realized just how strong the guy was. He wasn't just a strong wizard, but he was insanely strong. He just made the whole building shake from his anger. Ace wondered if he'd ever become that powerful, too.
But he was grinning, looking at the fear of the enemies that were trying to crawl away along the countless splinters stabbing into their hands and feet. They were bloodied and terrified. It really was a war, but way too one sided. Phantom Lord had only five strong members, not counting the Master. One of them was here, but the place was void of the other four.
Ace wanted to do some serious fighting, but didn't know if he could with his current skill level. But then something fell from the second story, what was left of it, and they saw it was their Master, and the man who considered them all his children. There was no moment of shock, everyone ran to him instantly.
"My-my magic!" he said in shock. Ace couldn't really sense magic very well, even as he didn't know he had it himself, so he couldn't tell, but everyone else could. His magic was completely depleted, leaving him just a small old man. This moment of relapse in moral slowed them down, distracted them enough for the enemy to get back up and start attacking them back.
It was embarrassing, but Erza made the call for them to retreat. Ace hated it, he didn't want to run from a fight. He stood firm, and was planning on fighting back until Sabo touched him with a deep gray hand, and Ace passed out. Sabo put him on his back and retreated with him. He seemed to know Ace was going to refuse to run.
Natsu didn't retreat with them. He was somewhere else and there was no problem. When Ace woke up, he was in a carriage, leaning against Erza, who was worried bout the Master in front of them, clearly sick. Ace sat up, and realized he wasn't asleep because he was in a carriage, that seemed to only be with trains.
Someone knocked him out. He looked around the group, but saw only one he was suspicious of. He narrowed his eyes at Sabo, who looked away casually. He was annoyed, and felt weak again. "Thanks for the fire ring, Ace," Erza said. "It kept anyone else from interfering with the Master or fleeing."
Ace felt a rush of relief through him. He was useful! Great! He asked what happened. "We had to retreat and managed to make it away from their destroyed guild. It's in worse shape than ours is from the fires and rotted wood."
"Sabo's magic really is amazing," Cana said, and Gray looked sour. Sabo smiled and thanked her. "It wasn't praise, it was just a fact." But she didn't sound angry with that. "I need a drink." Cana was always drinking, but rarely seemed truly drunk.
Bluntly, Ace said, "You'll ruin your liver, drinking like that." The cart was quiet before everyone laughed. Cana was red in the face, but didn't respond. Sabo laughed, too. Master stayed asleep, but Ace was glad that at least some positive emotion was in the cart. Everyone was dropped off at Fairy Tail but for the cart with the Master in it.
Instead, he went to a healing wizard who lived in the middle of the nearby forest, and chased them all out immediately. Bisca and Alzack were the last to leave, and the group went back to the guild, feeling sad and discouraged. When they got back to the guild, they let out a collective sigh. They didn't have the time or funding to really rebuild everything, and not without the Master there. So they had Laki make them wooden planks that they attempted to repair. Temporarily, of course.
Ace was sitting at the wall, extra cranky. He heard everyone despairing about having to retreat, but Ace had to leave twice. Gray walked up to him, and asked if he was really that upset over running out of magic energy. "Of course I am. Everyone else kept fighting the whole time and I had to go and take a break."
"Don't be a child. Running out of magic energy is normal. It happens sometimes and not others," Gray said. Ace felt his cheeks turn red, and he got up and left the area. He tried to get a glass of water, but the pipe was broken, and sprayed water all over the place. Mira came over and surprised him by squeezing the pipe shut with her bare hand. Well, she was an S-Class wizard once after all.
She sat down next to him, clearing away splinters and bits of wood. "Ace, you only just came aware of your magic, right? You had no idea that you even had it. So, it's as if you're starting from scratch. Up until now, you've never been in a serious battle, right?" Ace nodded, shoulders slumped. He knew he was acting immature, but he was in a funk about everything and insecurities didn't help. "You just need experience and practice. You've only gone on a handful of real jobs. Don't feel so bad about it all."
"Yeah…" Ace said, looking down. Mira got up, and said she had to try and find Mystogan. They were also going to try and reach Laxus. Ace hadn't met Mystogan yet. He sat there for a bit, and then got up to see how Lucy was. Natsu told him about what happened at the Phantom Lord headquarters.
He walked in mid conversation. It was all Lucy's dad's fault. She ran away from home, and now he wanted her taken back. She really had a terrible relationship with her father. It made Ace wonder if he ran away from his family, if they were worried about him. He looked down at his wrist, at the orange emblem.
Like Lucy, he wanted to stay at the guild, too. He felt no desire to find his family. None at all. It was like everything up until he was 17 was erased and he didn't give a shit about it, because he felt happy how he was. Maybe he'd be happier finding his own family. Maybe he could take a break for a bit.
After this situation was resolved and the old man was back to normal. No way would Ace leave now. "You deserve to stay, Lucy. Even someone who hasn't been here long thinks that," Ace said suddenly. "You're you, it doesn't matter what people you don't like think of you." Natsu grinned and agreed.
"I'm so weak… I got kidnapped like nothing, and all of you were fighting together. I was a burden," she lamented. Sabo came over, and said she just had to get stronger. "But can I?"
"Absolutely," Sabo said lightly. "Anyone who tries hard enough can be strong." Natsu looked at him sourly. Ace wished they didn't hate each other. It would make being both of their friend would be so much easier. He didn't want to pick sides. And Sabo was starting to make him uneasy. How well he knew Ace. Was he lying about not knowing? Why would he lie?
They were all interrupted when Alzack screamed at them to look outside. They went to the broken windows and then filtered out when they saw the walking building - walking castle - come up behind them at the lake. There was a huge gun pointed at them. A canon. Ace couldn't hear or see anything scary about it other than its size.
"What are we supposed to do now?!" someone shouted.
But Erza knew something was up, and screamed at them all to get down. Sabo didn't, and put his hands up, showing that color that created the force field during their job together. It encompassed the group of wizards on their stomachs due to Erza's command. Ace grabbed Lucy's hand, and gave her a determined look. She grasped his hand back and nodded, her own firm look on.
They were both newcomers and had been in a group with three already very strong wizards. Ace was better at fighting but both he and Lucy felt weak. Ace wasn't there for their last trip, which he wasn't sad about, but it made him feel more unwelcome in a way. Now Lucy was the reason Fairy Tail was being targeted. He wasn't going to cover it up, it was because Lucy was here that this was happening.
While he wouldn't say that, he knew it was the truth. And it had to make her feel incredibly guilty. He wouldn't let her give herself up because she felt like a burden. Even if he had to hold her down screaming and kicking, she didn't want to leave so he wouldn't let her.
The blast came, and hit Erza even with her guarding armor. It shattered her armor, and it was also strong enough to shatter Sabo's forcefield, hitting the guild directly and blowing it to pieces. Both Sabo and Erza were thrown back and landed hard. Erza was in the worst state, but Sabo had a broken arm and bloody nose.
"Erza, Sabo!" Ace shouted in worry.
"I want Lucy Heartlifia handed over! And I want her now!" a new voice shouted, who Ace assumed was the Master of their enemy dark guild. Every voice protested this. They'd never give one of their own away. But they were in a bad place. Both S-Class wizards were injured and weakened. Even though that was true, they wouldn't hand Lucy over. No matter what happened. The guild was destroyed, so what? It could be rebuilt, but many relationships could not.
Lucy being given away would look worse than having their Master out of commission. Lucy was shaking, trembling. "Hand her over!"
She was clearly started to cave, before Erza shouted, "If it's hand over a friend or die, I'd rather die!" Ace and Lucy were both shocked. They didn't know Fairy Tail well enough or they would be unsurprised by this.
"Yeah!" the guild members all shouted in agreement.
"Do what you want! Our answer will always be the same! We're going to smash you into dirt!" Natsu roared. The enemy was very angry and impatient by now. He was going to launch that attack once again in fifteen minutes. They had that long to prepare. The guild was destroyed, so the only thing that would be damaged was their members.
The enemy Master, Jose, was now planning on killing them all, even if they did decide to give away Lucy. "We're destroying that thing!" Natsu declared. Gray and Elfman went running forward, and then the two got in the water to swim. Happy flew natsu there. Mira grabbed Ace's shirt sleeve, and told him he was to protect Lucy, as her bodyguard.
"But it's my fault, if I give myself up, then you'll be fine!" Lucy insisted in a broken and guilty voice.
"No. You're not at fault. Not a single person thinks that." Ace did, but he never thought it in a way that she meant for this to happen. "You're going to a safehouse. Everyone isn't only fighting for your sake. They destroyed our guild, hurt our members. Even if you did give yourself up, we'd still have reason to fight. This is not your burden." She blew a wisp of air at Lucy and she passed out.
Ace caught her and Reedus conjured a carriage with horses by painting them. It was such a useful power. He got in the top of the carriage as a look out after Lucy was laid inside, and Reedus got the carriage going to the safehouse, which Ace never heard of.
When they got there, Ace went in the corner with her, sitting next to her. Lucy was crying, and Ace didn't really know what to say. So he asked her to tell him about her adventure with the stolen S-Class job. She didn't understand why he asked, but it was a good distraction as she talked about their time with the demon island.
It did distract her, for as she spoke, she stoped crying, and even laughed at one point. "Sure sounds stressful," Ace replied. "My job with Sabo was boring and easy in comparison. We mostly solved a mystery, didn't do any battling. Sabo is crazy strong." Lucy asked him about his time when they were gone. So he explained about the dead bodies they'd found, and how an accidental mix saved everybody.
"Looks like both of our missions depended on a lot of luck," Lucy said softly. They were just sitting in silence with Reedus outside the safehouse door. It didn't feel very safe, it wasn't even underground, just an empty building with wooden walls. He really wouldn't see this as anything but a secret storage building.
When he heard someone outside the door, it slammed open before he could get to it. A man in black clothing with a ton of long black hair grinned at them. More like sneered. He had a lot of piercings. Ace brought out his flame on him, but he covered his body in steel. When he attacked Ace, the teen knew he couldn't really do anything against this guy.
The man was the one who hurt Levy. He tried to slice Ace in half, but his body turned into flames and it was fine. "So, you're like the opposite of Juvia, huh?" Ace's eyes widened, and he realized he was unable to protect Lucy at all against this man. He couldn't even shield her body with his without any physical attacks passing right through his fire body.
So he opted to run. He felt he'd never done it before, but it was to protect his friend. That was what Fairy Tail was all about, right? He blew out the wall and took Lucy, throwing her over his shoulder as he ran, jumping from building to building. Gajeel sent projectiles at them, and Ace managed a flip with Lucy screaming the while time.
He landed hard on the ground and shot upwards with his fire at his feet propelling him up. He left a wall of fire before he decided to not exhaust his magic at all if he could help it. He spirited down the street, his body in good shape, still. He sped along, making himself faster and faster with fire until he was as fast as a wildfire and left Gajeel far behind. But Ace kept running, and Lucy was silent by now, holding onto Ace as tight as she could.
When he reached outside of Magnolia, he stopped and put her down, sitting down and with a huff. Lucy ended up throwing up in the bushes. "Sorry, I had to get us away fast." He was still panting. He looked down and saw he'd lost his shoes and socks awhile ago. She asked why he didn't fight. "I couldn't damage his steel body, but I also couldn't physically protect you. His attacks would have gone right through me and hit you. The only option was to run." He was embarrassed about that.
"Now what?" she asked quietly. They were in the middle of nowhere.
"We'll stay here a few hours," Ace replied. "I don't think it's safe to go back to the guild right now. I hope everyone is okay." He was worried.
"Do you think it's wrong? That I ran away from him without saying anything?" Lucy asked, sitting with her knees drawn to her chest. "It caused all of this. I love Fairy Tail and everyone, but I never wanted them to go this far for me." Ace looked up at the sky. He had no watch, so they'd go back when the sun set.
He thought for a moment. "I think it depends on your situation. Not all fathers are good, and not all fathers are bad. I think. I don't know, I must have run away from home, too, but I don't feel any guilt or desire to go back. I don't think it was wrong for you to leave, but is your dad the kind of guy to be worried about your safety? You seem to hate him," Ace said.
Lucy shrugged. "He wasn't a good father. I don't think he cares about my safety, or my happiness. I was just a tool for him to make more money."
"I see. Then it's a good thing you found Fairy Tail, huh?" Ace said lightly. Lucy asked him if he really couldn't remember a thing. "Nope. I just know I'm afraid of water. I really feel like I was drowning. I remember the feeling of the water finally going into my lungs. I thought I died, but I ended up in someplace I didn't remember. I'm assuming it was by magic," Ace explained.
She said, "We're both strays that were picked up from Fairy Tail." Ace laughed, and agreed.
They both watched as a massive explosion rained down from the sky and made an echoing boom that even made their hair whip around. "Whoa," Ace said. "Well, I'd say that took care of Phantom Lord's guild machine." He stood up and reached his hand down to help his friend up. "Time to go back."
"Home."
"Yeah, I get to go home and have Thatch's cookies. He must be worried about me… I hope he's okay." They walked back to the guild, and everyone cheered and ran to them when they saw Lucy. And Ace was barefoot and his shorts were in tatters near the bottom. He looked to Sabo, and walked over to him.
Sabo smiled and said he only had a fractured arm. Ace looked up and saw Levy and the other two approach, all walking just fine, even if they had some bruises and bandages on. Gajeel was a piece of shit. Ace hoped Natsu wiped the floor with him. Ace was tired, and wanted to go home. Hungry and spent. Who knew running three miles in less than a minute would be so exhausting for someone made of fire.
Everyone was tired, it wasn't just him. There was no guild. It was gone, but they had nothing in the way to rebuild. Ace wasn't as attached to it as the others, but it was still sad to see the first place he remembered being welcome in destroyed, obliterated.
After everything calmed down a bit, Ace went home. Thatch was just fine, and had been very worried about him when he didn't come home after a few days. "I know you were on a job, but I was still worrying," he said sincerely, cooking a delicious stir fry.
"A lot happened, but I'm okay. We're all okay. We have to rebuild the guild, though. It's gone completely." His feet were being iced, as they did sting and were sore. "I can't wait to hit the sack." Thatch finished dinner and served him. They had no kitchen table, they just ate on the couches or floor.
"What are you gonna do about your friends? You have to choose between both, don't you?" Ace frowned. He had told Thatch all of his problems, getting advice from a non-biased person. Everyone else he would have talked to was biased in some way. So Thatch was a breath of fresh air in that way.
Ace took a big bite of his food and then said, "I think I'll share. Maybe I'll alternate. I'll make a ton of money that way, too. Though I'll be busy. I do know that Natsu and Happy care about me, but I just don't like the way they treat me sometimes. But I do know they don't mean to be hurtful, maybe they don't know it isn't a nice thing to say… but…"
"You should tell them that."
"They'll think I'm weak. Besides, even if I did tell them that, that group is exhausting. God, it's so hard to be with them all at the same time. There are a lot of reasons why I'd choose Sabo. But he also makes me a bit uncomfortable. He latched onto me so fast and all."
"Maybe he has a crush on you." Ace said he didn't think it was that, not acknowledging what Thatch said. "He did tell you he wasn't acquainted with you before, right?" Ace nodded. "Maybe he just likes you as a good friend. Sometimes you just know you made a friend before they know. Though usually, I'd say it's creepy."
Ace nodded. "I think I want to start looking for my family. At least on the way. Sabo was looking for his family while on jobs, as well. I could do that, too." Thatch agreed. Ace finished his third serving and then took a long bath, and then stumbled to bed to sleep. What an exhausting few days.
But everything was good. It was fine. They'd rebuild the guild, maybe even in better condition than before. Some new features. The old building was a bit boring. Though he would never voice that opinion.
-x-
"You're leaving?!" Sabo asked.
"Only for a bit. I mean, I have millions in jewels from our S-Class job. I want to try and find my family. Lucy dealt with her own family problems, I want to deal with mine. I feel bad I left them, even if I don't know how it went down. I feel bad I don't have any real drive to find them, but I will because it's the right thing to do," Ace explained brightly. They were in Sabo's apartment.
Ace wanted to tell Sabo first because he felt he'd make the least fuss. Natsu and the rest would be upset about him leaving. They'd follow him, and he didn't want that. Not just because it wouldn't benefit them, but he wouldn't survive being with them more than a couple days. He felt like an old man after being around Gray and Natsu for an extended amount of time.
Sabo looked very upset. "You went on a job for three years and didn't come back until you couldn't finish the job," Ace pointed out. "Besides, we're young, it's not like I'll disappear forever. I just want to know about my life before now and all. Then I'll come back. Besides, I'm impatient in the long run. If I get too bored or frustrated, I'll probably give up and return to the guild," he said bluntly, honestly.
Finally, Sabo said something, flopping onto his couch. "You have no family, Ace."
"I knew it! You did know me before! You lied to me!" Ace accused. "What do you mean I have no family? Why wouldn't you tell me before?" he asked angrily. Sabo's face looked so sad that it made Ace give pause to his anger and accusal. The blonde finally said the truth.
"I'm your brother. And you were who I was looking for for those three years, collecting magic so I could try to get home to you." Ace was frozen. Sabo had no proof, though. But what about their parents and family? But he was too shocked to say anything. "It gets worse." Ace sat on the floor, ready to listen. He didn't think Sabo was lying to him. But Ace didn't remember his own brother, sitting right in front of him.
He was garbage.
"I did die. To you. I was in a boat, and another ship shot at me. The boat blew up, and I drowned. This is what I got from the explosion," he said, pointing to the burn on his face. He took out his uninjured arm, and pushed the sleeve up and glove off, showing the skin was burnt there, too. "I died, and then I was here.
"Not in Magnolia, but on the outskirts. I was badly burnt, at ten years old. Someone found me and took me to a hospital to be treated. Then I met Cana who was looking for her dad. We both ended up at Fairy Tail, and then I started to live there.
"Once I was better, I set out to try and find you, but this place… it isn't where we're from. Where you're from. I thought you'd be happier not knowing. That you were lucky you didn't remember." Ace was confused. He asked what happened to him, then. "You died, too. Then you ended up in Magnolia. After drowning. You were wet because you were drowning, and your body was sent here. I have no idea how any of it happened."
So he wasn't dreaming, he did actually drown. He died? How did he come back to life then? Sabo had no answer for him, so he couldn't ask. "What about our parents?" Ace asked, voice shaking. Sabo told him they were adoptive brothers, and Ace's parents had both died before he met them.
So, there was nobody left to miss. "We had one other brother. He was younger than both of us, but he was sick and died a few months before I left. You… there's no one left to miss. You didn't betray anybody by not remembering, or wanting to go back. The only family you have now is me. If you still want to be my brother."
Ace felt blank, even though tears were down his cheeks. "What's my name?" Ace asked finally.
"Portgas D. Ace. Here, it would be Ace D. Portgas. The names are backwards. I was Outlook Sabo, but I gave up that name long before I died. But I'm not dead, and neither are you," Sabo said, his voice firm at first, but now it was small and feeble. Ace couldn't find the words to respond. But he asked if Sabo was going to lie to him forever.
The blonde hunched his shoulders. "I didn't know what to do. When I saw you, and you didn't recognize me, I thought that it would be better for you to be my friend than a brother that I can't even physically prove. I don't know when I'd have told you. I told you now because I don't want you going on a quest that you'll never complete," he explained quietly. "I was so sad when I saw you, but also happy.
"Sad, because you died and lost everything. Happy, because I found my brother I'd been trying to get back to for seven years," Sabo said. "Happy that my journey was over and I could maybe enjoy life with you, even if you didn't know." Ace was still crying when he looked up, and asked who was he. What kind of person was he. "I don't think it matters anymore, Ace. If that person is different, it doesn't matter. You're the person you are now."
Ace assumed he was very different, but Sabo also would have no idea what the previous Ace was like. He hadn't seen his brother since they were ten, Ace had grown up since then.
"Do… Will you be my brother again?" Ace stood up and walked to Sabo before he hugged him tightly. Sabo hugged him back, and started to sob. "I - missed- you! I'm - sorry - I left," he cried. It surprised Ace, but it proved that Sabo did love him, they were brothers. It wasn't some intricate lie to be in good favor with Ace.
These tears and sobs were raw emotion. He'd been looking for Ace, all alone, for seven years. A lot had happened for him, he learned a lot, became a powerful wizard. But he'd been trying to get back to wherever they'd come from. Ace wasn't happy he died, but was at least happy he ended up somewhere nice.
Once Sabo was a bit calmed down, Ace sat next to him on the couch. "Was I a thief?" Ace asked suddenly. Sabo grinned, and nodded. "That explains it. I keep wanting to grab things and take them."
"Hah, we never paid for our food and stole treasure from others. We were homeless." Ace was unsurprised by that, too. "You are happier here than you were there, the last time I saw you. I'm happy you're happy," Sabo said sincerely, with such fondness in his eyes. "And your birthday is January 1st. You're older than me."
Ace leaned against his shoulder. "I'm sorry I didn't find my way back to you," Sabo said, leaning his cheek on Ace's head. "You must have been so alone, and hurt."
"You died. I don't want to hear about regrets. You did find me again. I found you, but let's just say you found me instead. Whatever I wanted to be then, I want to work at Fairy Tail. And you gotta help me become S-Class! Got it?"
Sabo grinned, "We were always evenly matched before. It is weird being stronger than you are. I'll help you grow. But I don't want you to hang onto me all the time. Go on jobs with your friends, even if it's tiring." Ace was confused. "I don't ever want to be your only loved one again. It was just us. Mostly only us. I don't want you to feel that way anymore."
"I guess I just deserve a big family for dying and all. Does anyone else know?"
"Nobody. Not even Master. I was a good liar, even if I was freaked out and confused at first." Ace smiled.
"Well, I'm back. I'm sorry I don't remember it all." Sabo forgave him. It wasn't his fault. "I'm going to tell everyone you're my long lost brother, and you're long quest is over." Sabo had no problem with this. They hugged again, Ace feeling so sad for both of them. He was glad he didn't remember the crushing loneliness he must have felt when Sabo died. Losing both of his brothers in just a couple weeks.
Ace had to commend his young self for staying alive like that. He must have been strong willed. Well, that life was behind him. He truly left nobody behind. It was sad, really. But also relieving that he felt no guilt to return like Sabo did. Seven years of his life, trying to get enough magic to get back to Ace. He'd always been Sabo's dream, and it filled him with the feeling of love.
He had a brother! Who loved him! Ace believed everything Sabo told him, completely. He felt such relief of knowing how he got where he was. He was lucky. Life really gave him a good deal of cards this time.
Yeah, Luffy died. But he will come up later in the story for sure! Just not in a way you'd expect.