Wishfull-star: Gratzi!
We are at Edolas! Enjoy~
After a little bit of rest and privacy for Erza, they went to Cait Shelter to rest. They were all exhausted, but there was also still some adrenaline keeping them all from collapsing. Wendy healed the worst of them, but was also low on magic herself. Ace wasn't low on magic, absorbing some from the air around.
It didn't affect humans unless he touched them, it seemed. Lyon asked him if he'd removed the ethernano from Racer, and that was how he was defeated. Ace nodded. Jura's eyes widened, as did everyone else's. The freckled teen looked at his hands. "I didn't know I could do that before. But I felt no difference, so I would never really have a need to do such a thing."
"How can you do that? I was told by your brother he absorbed ethernano energy in the most magical places, as well." Ace shrugged. He really didn't know why it would work for them, regardless of where they came from. Maybe dead people collected the magic particles, since both of them had been dead before.
Sherry said his power could be frightening. "I'd rather just use my fire, to be honest. But I won't lie and say it isn't useful," he replied. The walk to Cait Shelter wasn't long at all, and when they arrived, everyone was given a shower and change of clothes. They were all crUsty with dirt and blood, stinking from sweat, so the showers were appreciated.
Ace's clothing were minimal. Just pants, new shoes since his were discarded long ago after turning his legs into fire. He was given an open shirt. The women wore even less clothing. At least Wendy wore less revealing clothes, just a dress. She was talking with Natsu a lot, both of them hitting it off with being dragon slayers.
Wendy had never met another one, so this was exciting. "You. Ace, where are you from?" Carla asked him bluntly while he waited for the others to gather to speak to the leader and members of the guild Ace had never heard of.
"Far away. A deserted little island," Ace replied, as it was a bit true. He lived in a mostly deserted area of his home island, and it was indeed far away. "Why do you ask?" he wondered.
"Hmm. Just curious," she said, though there clearly was another reason. Happy came up behind him, and asked for Ace to give Carla a fish for him.
"Why don't you do it?"
"I'm not good with girls. You are," was Happy's reasoning. Ace countered that he would ever be interested in a cat. "Which is good, that means you're not competition!"
"Hah, what are you, Juvia?" Ace asked, sending a look to Gray, he sighed, knowing he had a point. Happy pleaded, and Ace caved. He walked up to Carla and crouched in front of her. "Happy wants you to have this fish. He's nervous to talk to someone else like him."
"Hmph. Then he's pathetic."
Ace frowned at her, and said she was being very disrespectful. "How would you feel being called pathetic by someone else for being nervous?" he asked in a cold voice, and walked back to Happy. "She doesn't like the taste of fish. You'll have to try another method," Ace lied. "I'll take the fish though."
"No, it's mine if Carla doesn't want it!" Happy exclaimed, snatching the fish away and hurrying off. Ace smiled at it. Happy sure was adorable. Ace turned and saw Marco sitting by himself, looking sad. Ace walked over, and sat next to him. "Don't be sad, you'll turn evil again." Marco sighed, and said he knew that was the reason. He'd been bitter and irritated. "If you want to leave because it's not healthy, then just leave," he said quietly. "You'll be welcomed to Fairy Tail, you know?"
Marco replied, "I mentally tortured you. I don't know how you forgive me, but how would the rest of your guild do so?" Ace waved it off and stated that they accepted Gajeel, who willingly abused some of their members and pinned them to a tree to make a statement. Of course they'd accept Marco. He hadn't done it on purpose, clearly. Besides, Thatch would be overjoyed to have him there.
"I would be deserting my guild."
"Yeah. That's true. But you're not happy there. It's indirectly your situation's fault that brought that unfortunate incident upon us, you know?" Marco nodded, saying he knew that. He promised he'd think about it. Ace smiled and nodded. "You're really cool, Ace." Ace flushed, and managed to accept the complement without disputing it.
When everyone was gathered, the two stood up, standing near the back of the crowd. Marco was taller than everyone but for Jura. Ace had asked him how tall he was on the way over, and he was 6'8. So the pants he was given had to be tailored by those living in this place just to fit.
"Fairy Tail, Blue Pegasus, Lamia Scale, and Wendy and Carla. I commend you all for taking down Oracion Seis and stopping Nirvana!" the guild Master said, a small old man with a feathered decoration on his head. "Speaking for the alliance of the regional guilds, I, Rabaul, express our gratitude. Thank you! A nabura thank you!"
Ichiya then bragged about how strong he was, and Ace was pretty sure he was useless most of the time. Marco clearly thought so, too, and had a sour look on his face. It was as funny as it was sad.
They grew excited for an after mission celebration, but their enthusiasm fizzled away when they all saw the grim and resigned looks on all of the villagers and guild members. They looked like someone was on their deathbed and had just said they were giving up. It was an odd look for after such a victory.
The Master began again, his voice more serious than before. "Everyone, we hid the truth about the Nirvit clan from you, and I truly apologize." Natsu said it didn't matter, nobody cared. It was true, nobody looked even slightly bothered. Even Wendy wasn't upset she wasn't told the truth and she was from this place. "I would like you all to listen very closely to what I'm about to say.
"To start with, we are not the descendants of the Nirvit clan. We are that very Nervit clan. The man who build Nirvana 400 years ago, was me." They were shocked about this, however. But let him continue, as he clearly wasn't done. Apparently, he built the Nirvana to stop the wars going on at that time with the main goal of turning the evil into good.
Nirvana became their home nation, a place of peace. But unfortunately, absorbing all the negative energy harmed it and its purpose. It was no longer turning good into light, but just turning people into opposites, balancing it out. The good turned to evil and the evil to good. It didn't largely change the world in that way.
It had good intentions in Ace's opinion, but it just wasn't realistic. At least not after awhile. But the darkness seeped into the Nervit clan, and a war broke out, with many people murdering their own friends. Those who were good were turned to evil and took it out on one another. It sounded horrid.
The guild Master was the only one left, the only one alive. Though his body supposedly decayed long ago, and he was only a projection. He watched over Nirvana for all that time, but now his duty was over. Ace covered his mouth, and looked to Wendy, who was shellshocked and couldn't respond at first.
But then people started to vanish. The mirages. One by one they were gone. Wendy was getting upset now, justifiably. Her family was said to be fake, and were now disappearing. She begged for them to stay, this wasn't what she wanted! Tears were done her face, losing her current life as they left. Soon, only a handful remained.
"I'm sorry for lying to you Wendy, but everyone here but me was a mirage," the Master said sadly. He faked this entire life for Wendy's sake. All for her sake, he made fake people who loved her, all having their own personalities. It was stong magic, even Jura admitted so. This whole life… he loved Wendy so much that he did such a thing.
He was an amazing man. Wendy screamed for it to stop, and Ace was fighting tears of sympathy. It was different than him, but he still lost his old life. Lost the brother he never knew. It was nowhere near the same, but he felt he could sympathize with her.
"Carla, Wendy. You have no need for false friends anymore, when you have real ones right there," Rabaul said firmly, pointing to those still behind her. "Your new future has just now begun." And he was gone, leaving one echoing sentence. A thank you, and to take care of Wendy and Carla for him.
Now everyone Wendy grew up were were gone. For good. They all knew this. They would not be coming back. Ace walked forward and put his warm hand on her shoulder. "It hurts to lose the people you care about, but there's always someone who loves you."
"Yes," Erza agreed. "Come to Fairy Tail."
Everyone said goodbye to one another, Ace holding Wendy, who had cried so hard she fell asleep. He was more than strong enough to be able to hold a twelve year old girl. He put her in the carriage for them to head back in, and then left to say goodbye to Marco. "See how easy it is to get in with connections?" Ace said with a wink. "We'd be happy to have you. At least two of us, and that's enough," Ace added.
Marco smiled brightly, and said he'd really think about it. If he decided not to, he'd mail him a letter. "Tell Thatch I said I hope he's doing well." Ace promised he would. Ace said goodbye, and went to the carriage. Wendy was surprised when Ace entered and immediately fell asleep. It was very cramped now. Five had already been a lot, but now they had six plus two cats. But even crushed against the side, he fell asleep.
"You forgot about me… You'll never know what you did," a cold voice from the faceless boy said as he rotted to a skeleton that stood up and moved to strangle Ace. Ace was not made of fire, and choked. Then he was thrown into the ocean, and experienced the drawing again. But he didn't wake up, and sunk to his death, never to be seen again.
He jerked up, screaming until Erza shook his shoulders to stop him. They all looked worried, and Ace was panting, sweating hard. "What happened?" Happy asked in shock. Ace shouldn't be surprised, and was prepared for them to come. Nightmares from what Marco had made him see. It was never intentional, so Ace held no grudge. He did feel anger at Nirvana for forcing him to do such a thing, though.
"Sorry, a nightmare," Ace said. "Sorry to scare you. I… might have them often now, just as a warning," he said. Gray looked angry, but said nothing of Marco. "I guess Nirvana affected me or something, maybe," he lied. He wouldn't throw Marco under the bus when Ace wanted him to join. He was glad that Gray didn't comment on it.
He managed to stay awake hunched over, so he wasn't relaxed in the seat. Happy sat in his lap, worried over him. "Don't worry, they're only bad dreams," Ace said kindly. Ace did not fall asleep the rest of the carriage ride to the coast, where a ship was waiting to take them back to Hargeon and then back to Fairy Tail.
Erza asked if Marco would be joining them. Ace clearly took a liking to him, and he seemed pretty unhappy with Blue Pegasus. "I want him to come. But he has to think it over a bit. I don't know why he dislikes Blue Pegasus so much, though."
"Anyone would hate it with Ichiya there," Gray commented, Lucy nodding in agreement.
Erza asked about Ace being able to steal ethernano away from people now. Ace nodded, and added that he had no real reason to do so. Again, he said he felt nothing from it. No power up or anything. He hadn't even known it worked until Racer fell and was defeated. "I hope nobody thinks I'm scary now," Ace said awkwardly.
"Why would they? We know you enough to know you'd never do such a thing. Plus, it's temporary, right? Racer was just fine after being arrested, no more magic deficiency problems anymore," Gray replied. Ace guessed that was true.
On the ship ride, he did end up falling asleep inside, missing the whole journey. But he had no nightmares. Luckily, it seemed it wouldn't happen every time he fell asleep. He hoped Sabo wouldn't be mad at Marco or anything. It really wasn't his fault. He did wake up when Gray sat on the bed next to him.
"Did Marco do that to you?" he asked, getting right to the point. Ace asked what he'd do if he said yes. "It's not like I'd hate him for it. He didn't mean to do it. But it would be good to know. If it came from him or Nirvana. If you say it came from Nirvana, it could worry others that you absorbed dark ethernano."
It was a good point. So he admitted that it was Marco's magic that gave him nightmares. "You look better than you did. Before, you had bags under your eyes and were pale," Gray commented. Ace said he was prepared for nightmares after what happened. The ice user nodded, and left. Ace wiped his hands down his face, and stood up to leave the room.
They were nearly at port, and Ace was happy to be home. He had such a story to give his brother. Ace was going to be happy to see him, and hopefully see Marco soon. He liked Ace and the others in his group, so Ace felt he'd like Fairy Tail. If he didn't, he could leave again. Try somewhere else.
-x-
"Sorry, Wendy," Ace apologized. "I missed your party. I was asleep." She said it wasn't his fault, and the party was too wild. She probably would have lost him in the crowd. Ace could agree with that. "So, how are you liking it here so far?"
"It's so fun! A lot noisier than Cait Shelter ever was. It's kind of a bit overwhelming, but I like the people here. They're nice and fun. You only came a couple months ago, right? Where'd you come from before?" Wendy wondered.
Ace gave the truth. He woke up in Magnolia with no memory. But when he met his long lost brother, he filled in many of the blanks. Even Carla looked surprised at this. "Sabo isn't here yet, but he's an S-Class wizard, like Erza is. He became one when he was a kid, so he's super strong!"
"Wow," Wendy breathed. Ace told her that he got that strong so he could someday find Ace. "Aww. I wish I had a sibling…" Ace grew sad, thinking of his hallucination about his faceless little brother. Not knowing his face or even voice. He wanted to unlock that memory. That one was the one he wanted most.
Carla asked Ace how he could absorb ethernano and actually live. Everyone had been curious about it, but dropped it when Ace honestly said he didn't know how to explain it, and that it didn't feel good. Especially the lightning. That was the worst. "I don't know. I was trapped with my injured frined, Thatch over there, and just thought about getting stronger. It did hurt me, though, when I absorbed hundreds of lightning lacrimas. Almost died, and it took weeks for me to be back on my feet."
"You really are reckless," Carla said. She was a cranky cat. Ace preferred Happy over her anyday. Ace said that was true, but he'd had no other choice. Thatch came over and sat down, giving Ace his beloved drink.
"Guess who sent a letter to me~"
"Zeref."
"What? No! Marco! He told me not to tell you yet, but he's gonna try to join!" Ace snorted and told Thatch he was horrible at keeping secrets. "It's not like it's a bad secret. Come and try to convince the Master to let him in," the older man insisted. He was ten years older than Marco was. He still acted younger though. Everyone liked him, and Mira had fun with someone else to help her cook and bar tend.
Ace took his mug and excused himself from the table. They found the Master on the counter, sitting how he usually did, content to sit and watch. "Master!" Thatch said brightly. "We have a request." He did all the talking before Makarov asked Ace what he thought.
"I think he should definitely come. His magic is super strong, too! He's really nice, and just isn't happy at Blue Pegasus. I invited him to come, if that's okay." Master said Natsu had done that with Lucy and his own group for Wendy. As long as Marco was a good man, he was welcome. Ace grinned, and Thatch hugged him tightly.
"Now I'll have two people I love here!" Master smiled at this and Mira giggled. Ace blushed, and then laughed. Thatch thought of Ace as a little brother more now than ever. It was sweet. Ace went back to the table with his drink, smiling. Lucy was at the table by now, and asked if Marco was going to join.
Ace nodded with a grin. Lucy smiled. "You two got along really well, huh?" she said. Ace nodded again, saying he was easy to be around with. And easy to tease. "But now you'll be fought over by three different groups," she pointed out. Ace said maybe he could job with him and Sabo. It could be fun. "Promise you won't leave our team completely?" Ace nodded. He wouldn't abandon either group.
Sabo came back that day, from a long mission that had him gone longer than Ace's two day mission and one day's worth of traveling. He went to the counter to report how it went, and then went to Ace's table. "Spill the beans." Ace did, explained everything that happened but for the hallucination torture. Only Gray knew, not even Thatch or the Master.
His brother was in awe and interest at the whole story. "Awesome! Welcome, Wendy," he said to the blue haired girl. She smiled and nodded. "You already have a good reputation from your journey to find me for seven years." Sabo blushed a bit and looked away. Then he changed the subject, and said he was in awe that Ace could really absorb other peoples' magic and the particles around them.
Sighing, he said, "I really don't want people to think I'm overpowered. It makes me feel exhausted if I absorb too much, and doing it to others is useless for me. I'd rather just improve on my fire more." Sabo nodded and said he wouldn't bring it up again. "Thanks." He leaned his head on Sabo's shoulders. "Hey, would you ever want me to move in with you? So maybe Marco can have my room at Thatch's place? I'd still see him and get his food and all from the guild."
"I'd love for you to move in. But you could probably afford your own place based on how damn constant you are going on jobs," Sabo replied. Wendy asked if Ace really went on a lot of jobs. "He alternates between going with me and going with Erza's group, so he's usually constantly on jobs unless I go on one by myself.
"I only went on this one and left you behind because I thought you'd like a break, but instead, you go off and help beat up a who dark guild. Even if it was only six people," Sabo explained. Ace was happy that he wasn't left behind because Sabo thought he was unstable. "I guess I should have given you that reason, huh?" Ace nodded.
But he said he'd rather live with somebody else. He didn't want to live alone. "Okay. I won't leave you alone if you leave living with Thatch. We could move to a bigger place, two bedrooms. One bedroom isn't big enough for two of us," Sabo replied. Ace smiled and thanked him.
Lucy pointed to behind Ace, and saw a nervous looking Marco in the doorway. Ace beamed, and ran over to him. Thatch screamed his name and ran to him, too, successfully getting all eyes on the newcomer. Marco glared at Thatch, who just laughed about it. "Master said you're welcome to join," Ace said brightly. Marco smiled in relief.
"You gotta be used to a lot of noise here, little brother," Thatch warned.
"It will be a change, and change is what I'm looking for," Marco responded positively. "The others weren't very happy with me changing guilds just on principle, but things weren't working anymore, so it was fine to leave. I don't think anyone will miss me." He didn't say it like he was sad.
Ace took out his keychain from his pocket, and handed it to Marco. "So you can put your things away." Thatch mentioned it would be crowded. "I asked Sabo if I could move in with him so Marco can take my room," Ace replied honestly. Thatch's face fell immediately. "Don't worry, you work here, now. I'll see you all the time," the youngest added with a smile.
Marco looked guilty about it. "It's fine, really. You guys should get to live together, you're family. Just like Sabo is my family. If you want, I can go hang out with you both sometimes." Thatch nodded, and thanked Ace for the sacrifice. "Not really a sacrifice. I want Marco to be happy here."
Marco smiled a soft smile, and thanked him, too.
Then a bell rang loudly, the one over the church that Ace had never heard ring before. Everyone in the room broke into grins. Ace walked over to Mira, and asked if that meant Gildarts was coming. "Yes! How'd you know?"
"Hehe, Sabo looks up to him and told me all about the guy," Ace answered in a hush. Mira smiled, thinking that was cute. "But it he really stronger than Sabo?"
"Yes, he's the strongest member, with Mystogan right behind him." Ace still hadn't meant Mystogan, and was told he probably never would. Lucy came over and asked what it was all about, not hearing Mira and Ace's short conversation about it. "Gildarts has returned after three years. It's only natural everyone is excited."
She explained about Gildarts taking on SS-Class jobs, which only those of his caliber could take and come out alive. Then above that was the decade quest, as nobody had completed them in under ten years. "But Gildarts took on one even higher. The century quest." Ace stated the fact he wasn't able to continue it if he came back alive. "Very true. But nobody of Fairy Tail has ever completed a century quest. Not even our very strongest," she replied.
Then they all heard and felt the city rumbling around them. A speaker outside stated that the Gildarts Shift was starting. Every citizen knew what it was and acted accordingly. Sabo talked about this, too. How awesome it would be to be that powerful, but how unfortunate it would be to actually need it.
He didn't think Gildarts actually was reckless with his power or he wouldn't be a wizard. He'd be unable to live as a person if he couldn't even touch things. Ace wanted to meet him and Mystogan! The men Sabo looked up to. He'd never worked to become as strong as them just to be impressive. It was always to find Ace again.
When the man appeared, he had a cloak on and looked rugged but not dirty. Justifiably, he was confused by the new building he hadn't seen before. But he was told it was still Fairy Tail. He seemed to not recognize many in the crowd in front of him before Natsu burst at him and tried to punch, only to be swatted to the ceiling like a fly.
Sabo was beaming, eyes sparkling. It was adorable.
After Gildarts told Master he couldn't complete the quest, shocking everyone, everyone who already knew him, he said he was tired and going home. But for Natsu to come see him later. Ace walked to Sabo, and sat next to him. "You're cute when you admire your idol," Ace teased. Sabo flushed, and said Gildarts had always believed in him on the S-Clas trial. So Sabo admired him and also respected him as a person and not a wizard.
"Well, I'm gonna go and help Marco unpack," Ace said, walking to Marco, who hadn't left to set anything up. But then Ace realized he hadn't actually rought anything, if he had nothing with him here and just arrived. "You didn't bring anything?"
"I wanted to start over here," Marco said firmly as they left. Ace didn't know if he should, but he asked what he hated about Blue Pegasus. If it was only the annoying members. Marco didn't answer for a moment, and Ace thought he wasn't going to. "There was a woman there that constantly harassed and stalked me. Never once did Master Bob do anything to get her to stop. It pissed me off, and I hated her.
"But then she died, and some thought my rejection helped her die. They blamed me for it. Even though I know it wasn't my fault, it still made me angry and resentful to them all," he explained honestly. Ace looped his arm around Marco's. He smiled up at him, and promised he wouldn't allow anyone to do that kind of thing. Not that he thought anybody in Fairy Tail would ever do something like that.
Marco smied. "If Thatch loves this place, I have to love it, too. No offense."
"None taken. I'm glad you left if it was good for you!" Marco said that it was Ace's words that pushed him. He honestly couldn't imagine himself leaving. He would have considered himself not a wizard. But then he was invited to Fairy Tail. So he left. Ace was grateful he helped him.
"So… how are you doing? About… it," Marco said. Ace knew he'd bring it up, it was inevitable.
Ace truthfully told him, "I have a lot of nightmares when I sleep. Mostly when it's at night sleeping, not napping during the day. Thatch has been really considerate and makes me tea afterwards." Marco looked down in shame. "I don't blame you. Besides, I know where they come from, so when I wake up, I just tell myself it's just residue, there's nothing wrong with me. I know Sabo will be kind to me about it too. But I haven't told anyone. The only person who knows what happened id Gray, and he promised not to say anything," Ace explained.
Marco asked if he told his brother. "Nope. Nobody needs to know. Thatch doesn't know, either. I didn't tell him," Ace replied. "I want you to be happy here! I'd never just ruin it for you in the beginning, even if Fairy Tail is very forgiving. I told you before about accepting Gajeel and Juvia."
When they got inside, it had started to pour outside. The rain was intense and came so suddenly. Ace went in his room to put on some warmer clothes. When he walked out, Marco was sitting on the couch awkwardly. Ace sat on the carpet in front of him.
"Are you a sad guy?" Ace asked bluntly. "You should be excited and happy!"
"I'm just not used to being happy for awhile," he said. "I'll get there, don't worry. I have no reason to be upset. You forgave me, and even if I still feel bad about it, the nightmares don't ruin your life or anything. You're really brave." Ace blushed, and said he didn't feel that way. "Why don't you accept compliments? I noticed that when I was here last time, too."
The younger shrugged. He had hypothesis that in the life he didn't remember, he wasn't treated kindly. "So you think it's lingering insecurities?" Ace nodded. Hopefully he'd get over them, but he was doing well anyways. "Do you want to remember?"
Ace looked out the window at the thick downpour, and said, "I'm not sure. If there's one thing I want to know, it's my little brother's face and voice. I don't even know that. He died a long time ago. And I feel terrible that I don't even know what he looked like." Marco got off the couch and sat next to him, bumping shoulders. Ace smiled.
Suddenly, Ace felt like his body was being twisted and warped, and then he was sitting on a grassy ground, surrounded by plants. Beside him was Marco, looking just as dazed. Both stood up abruptly at the same time. They shared a look of utter confusion. "Is this an illusion you made?" Ace asked.
"No," Marco replied simply. "This isn't me." The two didn't know what to do. Wait there and see if anyone else comes or they get back, or to leave this space and find out where they were. Both opted to wait. They did so for half an hour before giving up on an easy solution. This place smelled weird, and the plants were massive, bigger than Ace had ever seen before.
It was cold, so Ace was glad he got warmer clothes. Ace was holding Marco's hand in worry and fear. They were clearly no longer in Magnolia. They walked out further into the forest, looking around slowly, preparing for anything bad to happen. But no animals approached them, and they heard and saw no trace of humans yet.
Peeking through bushes, they entered a clearing, and saw still no trace of people. "Where is everyone? There should be people everywhere, right? If we were taken, then why not everyone else?" Ace asked. Marco had no idea either. "Should I send a fire signal up?" Ace asked. Marco thought it could do more harm than good.
What if there were enemies around, or violent animals? Both of them then opted to stay quiet and try to find their way out of the jungle. They were holding hands, and ace was actually scared. Where was Sabo? His team mates? His whole guild? Then there were the countless people in Magnolia who he was worried about as well.
When they finally came out of the forest, they knew this was not their world anymore. And Ace felt this wasn't his old one, either. Sabo would have totally mentioned floating islands! And rivers in the sky! But did this mean there were other worlds, and they were accessible? Maybe Ace and Sabo's origins weren't so odd! Though they did die, so that was different. Then fear pierced his heart. That he'd died and been thrown into anther world.
But Marco came too this time. Oh, he wanted to find everyone else or go home! He didn't want to be alone, and remember Earthland! Sabo remembered his old life, too. But Ace didn't want to be somewhere he didn't know and remember how good his life was before. Marco squeezed his hand, bringing him back to reality and out of his panic. Standing near the edge, Ace looked down, and saw the ground was far, far below. They had no way to get off of this island or to the others unless they could fly, and neither of them could.
"Now what? We're stuck," Marco said.
"We should look for people, now," Ace said. "If there's no way off for us, then maybe there are people here who can get off this place, and tell us where we are and what happened. Maybe we can find our friends, too…" Ace said in worry and with not much confidence. They were both worried about their brothers.
They walked the perimeter of the island, and saw there really was no way off. They were stuck there, and still came across no people. So they had to figure out their own way to find some information, or wait it out for help again. But it wasn't like they had a choice to not wait there. They ended up back at the clearing in the middle of the forest, and Ace plopped down on his butt.
It might be a long wait. Marco sat down next to him. "Wanna play tic tac toe?" Ace asked in a bored voice. Marco couldn't help but snort. "What? I don't want to be completely bored here." Marco asked if he wanted to go flying. "Huh? You can fly?"
"No, I could make you think you're flying. Thatch likes it." Ace smiled, would be happy to have a nice taste of Marco's magic. Ace closed his eyes, but nothing happened. He waited for a bit before opening them and finding Marco looking shocked and worried. "My magic isn't working," he mumbled. "Not at all."
Ace tried his own, and fire licked his fingers, but not nearly as much as he could. It was useless. He got up and found a stick, and dug it into his leg. He was not solid, still. Still made of fire when attacked, even by himself. "Why do you still have power, and I don't?" Ace assumed it could be something only with him and Sabo. They were the odd ones out, even if the others had no idea about it. But for the Master.
He'd feel much better if he was with them, even as moral support. Both of them were all alone, and only one could barely use magic. Marco couldn't use his at all. Ace sighed, and sat down, closing his eyes, planning on attempting to absorb some magic from the surroundings and see if it did give him a power up. Maybe he could somehow give some to kickstart Marco's magic as well.
But when he felt himself open up to gather the ethernano around him, suddenly every bit of magic in the air and surroundings rushed into him. He was frozen before he started screaming. Marco was already there, holding him up. Ace couldn't hear him as he told Ace to calm down. But it hurt, and it was deafening. It felt like he was being squeezed from the inside, somehow.
The feeling was impossible to describe, but it hurt. A beam of light shot up above him, and he fell on his back when Marco was thrown back. The beam sucked in the magic energy in the atmosphere, and even this island. They both floated for a moment as the island plummeted to the ground, Ace seeing the others through the trees falling as well.
The beam grew wider, consuming Marco in it as well. All of it rushed into Ace's poor body. Marco held onto him and they were both thrown up off the ground when the formerly floating island impacted the ground with a deafening thud. Once the plants around them started to wilt, the beam disappeared, and Ace was left in Marco's arms, twitching.
-x-
His eyes were open but unseeing. Marco picked him up careful, and put him on his back. He tied Ace's long sleeves together to wrap them around his neck as he held under his thighs. That beam was huge and loud. Someone could have seen it. Ace sucked all the magic out of the air, they needed to get away safely before someone else found them.
Even if there were people here, and they didn't have magic, Marco didn't either. Well, he tried, and found that he did. Maybe it was because he was in the beam of concentrated solid magic. He gave Ace a nice dream of flying over clouds. He was unconscious, but at least was now seeing something nice. Marco knew he was reacting when his hands twitched, fingers curling a tiny bit.
That movement showed Ace was not parylized, which was great news. Marco heard and saw huge beats flying towards them on all sides. But then he found a cave. A hole. Hearing the screams of anger from those on the monsters, Marco untied Ace and held him to his chest instead, protecting his head as he dropped them down into the hole, sliding down deep until they were in pitch black. They had no way to see there. And they really were alone. Hopefully everyone else was okay.
"Ace? Can you make some flames? Just a little?" Marco asked softly. He was holding Ace against his chest, and Ace's face scrunched up and flames appeared on his back, lighting up the cave. With no other option, he moved forward. "Good job, very good job," he praised, not knowing how conscious Ace was.
The fire stayed on his back as Marco carried him, hurrying but being aware of where he stepped. They hurried down the tunnel, and slid down a smooth area of stone. Marco could hear people in the tunnel, but their voices spoke of how they were unable to see anything. Had no source of light, and Ace and Marco were far enough away for their light to not be seen.
Ace was limp, and still in the illusion, but he could hear Marco somehow, and lit his back on fire. Though maybe Marco's illusion wasn't working at all and he just couldn't tell. There came a fork in the tunnels, and Marco wondered how these things had formed. He went right, and found an upward tunnel that showed light at the top.
He tied Ace to his front with his belt, just barely fitting around both of them, and then managed to climb up the chute, back against the wall and using his legs to push himself up. It was tiresome, and despite Ace being made of fire, he wasn't weightless. He was 6'1 and full of muscle, so he was actually kind of heavy while doing this activity.
Once he got out, he tossed Ace onto the ground by thrusting his hips up and then crawled out himself. Ace was still seeming comatose, and the fire went out. Marco picked him back up. "I got ya," he soothed. Ace might be able to hear him, and was scared. Being somewhere unfamiliar and unable to move. Marco hoped he wasn't hurt when he was tossed onto the ground for Marco to climb out.
When a city came into view on a crashed island, the whole thing tilted since the bottom of the island wasn't completely flat, he ran there. To get some help or information. He had Ace back on his back again. He was being shifted around like a ragdoll, even though he was being as gentle as he could to his new friend. When he entered the city, people were screaming in mass panic about all of their magic being gone. Ace literally sucked it all up. How the hell did that happen? He looked for anyone recognizable, which wasn't helpful since Marco didn't know what the majority of the guild looked like.
What he did find after searching the crowds was Gajeel. "Gajeel!"
"Huh, who are you? Ace?" he asked, not recognizing Marco, but Ace, which was lucky. Marco asked where everyone else was. "No fuckin' clue. Do you know where this is?" Marco shook his head. "What happened to him?" Marco said he wouldn't say it now, and the dragon slayer suddenly looked very serious.
They wordlessly agreed to look for any of their nakama. Marco's new guild. Ace was still motionless on his back. Once they found nobody, and Gajeel said he couldn't smell anybody familiar, they left the city that was in turmoil, fires breaking out as people panicked about losing their magic.
Nobody could know Ace sucked it all up somehow. When they got out of the city limits, having to drop down from the crashed island and onto the original ground, they both saw two people walking across the ground. It was Natsu and Wendy. "Guys!" Natsu shouted, running over. Then he saw Ace on Marco's back, covered in sweat and pale. And also limp and unconscious.
The dragon slayer instantly asked what had happened to him, worried and shocked. Ace was pretty strong, hadn't failed at anything in awhile. "He somehow absorbed all of the magic here. It made him really sick. Can you use your magic?"
Natsu formed fire in his hand, and nodded. Gajeel couldn't, however. "We learned the what the point of this place is. Why we're here," Natsu said darkly. They were walking away where both of them had come from, going South instead. Hey would hide for now, try to figure out what to do with the information they had at the moment.
"What's going on, what did you learn?"
"We were brought here because this world was losing their magic. They wanted to steal ours, but it looks like they already lost it all. The islands started falling from the skies when they lost their magic. We lost Happy and Carla, and have no idea where they've gone," Wendy explained. "Now what do we do?"
"Shouldn't we try to find the lacrima?" Marco asked, feeling awkward. Gajeel said that the lacrima weapons that everyone had been using were empty. It was likely that all the magic in the giant lacrima with the townspeople and guild members were gone. Sucked up by Ace, too. The other three grew pale. Ace was resting in Marco's lap, and he made a small moaning sound.
"Ace?" Natsu asked in worry. "Are you okay?!"
"You're safe right now," Marco said nicely. Natsu told him not to lay Ace on his back or he could fall asleep again. Marco kept him propped up, resting against his chest, Marco's legs on either side. "Can you speak?"
Ace mumbled that he was in pain. "Hurts," he said, his face scrunched up and eyes shut tightly. Natsu looked determined about this. "We should let him rest. We have our magic. Me and Wendy do. You should guard him, Marcus."
"Marco."
"Marco. Protect him." Gajeel demanded what he would do. "You're not completely useless like this. You're a good fighter," Natsu said, not looking at him. "We'll come back as soon as we can and have fixed things," the teen promised Marco and Ace. The oldest of them all said he'd keep Ace safe.
He picked him up and walked deeper into the forest, and found another cave. He went to the back of it, out of view as much as he could. He rested Ace on his back, not finding anything wrong with letting him sleep. And he did, his eyes closing and breathing evening out. Marco was freaked out, and didn't want to just wait there. His own brother was in danger. But he couldn't do anything right now with his nonexistent magic, and him keeping Ace safe.
Hopefully he wouldn't feel like a burden when he woke up and they were back in his new home. Not a very good first day, was it? Marco tried to give Ace a good dream, not wanting him to have any nightmares right now. It was again of flying in clouds, only they were made of cotton candy. He didn't know if it was working since Ace made no response. Not even his eyes moving around beneath his eyelids.
After about an hour, he started to glow, and Marco moved to sit beside him, holding one arm with both hands, relaxed and not tightly. Suddenly Sabo was there, sitting against the wall. Ace did absorb them all! No wonder he was in pain and unconscious! Sabo was confused, dizzy. He saw Ace, and asked Marco what happened, and where they were.
The older young man explained the situation, and Sabo looked at his brother in sadness. He sat beside him and took his other hand. "Thank you for taking care of him." Marco asked if he could use his magic, and he could. "We should get everyone out of him somehow. Or at least people who can help."
"Won't that be painful?"
"What if he ends up really absorbing them, though?" Sabo mumbled. "It might be permanent or something. Even though it never has been before." But Ace started to seize, and Marco brought him out of the cave and onto the grassy ground outside of it. Sabo took his cheeks. "You're okay, you're safe. Everything will be okay, I promise," he said loudly, but voice kind.
Suddenly Ace's chest exploded in light, and his body disappeared into nothing.
Part of the reason I didn't get more into the Edolas plot is because I had just written another fairy tail x one piece fic that follows much of the plot, and I didn't have any new ideas for it, didn't want to rewrite the same thing. So I made this chapter more about Ace and Marco's relationship. And sorry not sorry for the cliffhanger!