"You know, I was surprised you suddenly said all of that."
Karissa looked away from Levy sheepishly. Currently, she was being treated for her wounds by Lisanna and Levy. She ended up being the first patient for Wendy since she only had that bullet wound on her side. Once it was healed up, Levy and Lisanna decided to help with her wounded face. Slowly, she was beginning to resemble a mummy's face.
They had all returned back to base camp to treat their wounds. Makarov shooed away the rest of Grimoire Heart that picked up their Master and hurriedly left the island with their ship. Would Hades still survive? They would never know. Laxus dealt him a nasty blow after all.
"I almost didn't recognize you." Levy teased with a grin.
"You know, your Edolas counterpart was much like that. She often spoke her mind which was different from her normal self." Lisanna remembered with a small smile. Edolas Karissa was quite easy to get along with. "That reminds me, you had a twin brother back in Edolas. Do you have a twin here?"
Levy blinked curiously. "A twin sister?"
Karissa just heaved a sigh and scratched the back of her neck. "Brother." She corrected. To avoid going into details, she just decided to inform them that Clavis had supposedly died when she was two. There was no telling if Clavis was alive in Earthland just because he was back in Edolas. But anyway, she was too preoccupied by what happened after the battle.
…
…
…
She didn't know what had possessed her from opening her mouth.
"How dare a man who hasn't been reinstated yet set foot on Tenrou Island?!"
That must have been the trigger.
"After all that happened, shouldn't it be time that Laxus be allowed back in Fairy Tail?" Karissa spoke up from behind Laxus, causing the two Dreyars to look at her in surprise. She was a sporting an annoyed expression. "He showed up here and protected us when we were down for the count. You kicked him out because he deliberately went against what we stood for and put us in danger. But the mere fact that he showed up here to protect those he tried to hurt proves that he still retains his heart as a Fairy Tail member."
Laxus blinked several times. "Karissa…"
Everyone else fell silent when they heard her voice.
"He also took down Hades because you got hurt. When someone hurts someone from our family, we don't take it lightly and return the pain tenfold, right?" she then pointed at her own face. "He also did it because of this."
Natsu who was just listening from afar, decided to jog over to them and join in. "Yeah, gramps! If you saw how Laxus fought for us and for you then you'd understand that Laxus is still one of us!"
"Natsu." Makarov frowned when he saw the pink haired mage stand on the side with a resolute face. He was set on trying to change his mind with Karissa.
"Pipe down, you two." Laxus sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. He looked away from the three. "Look, I'm just visiting Mavis' grave. Once that's done, I'll leave."
"You be quiet!" Karissa snapped at him, causing him to flinch and stare at her in bewilderment. What happened to that timid girl around him? Who the hell was this?!
Karissa looked back at Makarov with a scowl. "Laxus should be allowed to return to the place he grew up in: his home."
"Karissa…!" Freed, who had been listening with Bickslow and Evergreen, began to tear up. As the unofficial team leader of the Raijin Tribe shed tears, Bickslow and Evergreen were following soon after.
"You even just said 'not reinstate yet'." Karissa recalled and put a hand on her hip. "That means you had every intention on allowing him back into Fairy Tail." Makarov frowned deeply and averted his gaze away from the ice mage. "Isn't now the best time for that?!"
Gray, Erza and Lucy's eyes were wide after hearing the passion in her voice. She was really set on changing the old man's mind.
The black haired wind user then blinked and jolted in place when she realized what she had just done. Immediately, she stiffened and her hands flew up under her chin, unsure what to do with them as hers enlarged eyes darted around nervously. "I-I mean, that's just a suggestion…" she let out half a laugh and bit her lip.
Laxus deadpanned. Now this was the girl he recognized.
However, what they weren't expecting was for the guild master to sigh deeply and say, "I'll think about it."
Natsu's face beamed a wide excited grin as he gasped. "Really, gramps?!"
"REALLY?!" The Raijin Tribe echoed.
"Don't pester me about it!" Makarov warned them, his stubbornness still evident. "Or else I won't think about it!"
…
…
…
It must have been all that adrenaline that was still going strong. It was only once they started going back down the hill towards base camp did it finally wear off. Erza volunteered to help her walk since she saw her flinching every time she added weight on her side. The older mage lightly teased her about what she said and also praised her for being straight forward. Considering how Karissa wasn't the type to openly speak her mind, this could actually make Master Makarov agree since they could tell she felt strongly about it and provided a good argument.
Still…
Karissa wanted to drop her face in her hands from the embarrassment. "Was I rude when I said all of that?!" she squeaked, sneaking a glance around her to check if Makarov was nearby. Holding her tongue back as she usually did also helped her avoid speaking rudely unintentionally, just in case.
Levy giggled at her vigilant expression and just patted her shoulder. "Don't worry about it. And you know, sometimes, being rude comes with speaking your mind."
"That's true." Lisanna grinned.
Karissa dug inside her bag for a snack that she packed for the exam. The only things she brought in her bag were a change of clothes, snacks, water and her wallet. She brought her wallet that was filled with cash in it. She was probably the richest person on the island right now. She just forgot to take out some of the reward money she got on her job with Gray and ended up bringing it all.
She pulled out a container of butter cookies and a water bottle. A snack that was easy to eat and wash down. She was freaking starving. Her stomach had nothing to work with for hours and it was finally fed up and was demanding food. Butter cookies were going to have to cut it for now.
Due to lack of available seats, she chose to sit on the ground some place isolated so could eat her breakfast. The food was still being prepared so no one was eating anything big just yet.
Aside from Natsu and Pandora, everyone was awake and maybe getting patched up depending on their state. A few minutes ago, Van arrived back at base camp with a limping Juvia who was tearfully apologizing to Gray that she failed to retrieve Zeref. According to Van, they passed out and only came to when morning came. He had to drag back Juvia by force since she wanted to keep searching for Zeref to avoid disappointing Gray. The only reason why she complied with Van was the fact that he was losing patience and snapped since he was hungry and tired. Karissa had to cringe when she waved her ass at Gray and wished for a spanking.
All of a sudden, she was hugged and the sound of someone crying and thanking her followed. Obviously, she let out a yelp and startled in this person's arms. She whipped her head and almost dropped her things. Freed Justine was tearfully hugging her with a ridiculously happy smile.
"Thank you so much, Karissa!"
"HUH?!"
"You convinced the Master to let Laxus back in the guild!"
Laxus watched from the side as Freed was practically spinning her in a hug while she desperately tried to get out of his grip, her legs were swinging around. He sweat dropped when Freed kept singing praises and thanks. "Oi, Freed. Stop that, the old man didn't decide anything yet." Laxus finally spoke up for her sake.
Upon command, Freed set her down, his face still raining happy tears, while Karissa stumbled in Laxus' direction dizzily. "If it's Karissa, the Master should change his mind! Did you see how on fire she was when she spoke?!"
"I doubt I looked like that…" Karissa murmured to herself with a cringe, still trying to gather her bearings.
Evergreen and Bickslow then took their turn to crowd around her while she was still dizzy. Much like Freed, they were thanking her for changing the Master's mind while Laxus kept reminding them that Makarov didn't say anything about it yet.
"I just wanted to eat my cookies…" Karissa said pathetically, holding up the container.
"Sit over here." Laxus pointed to his right side with his chin. Gildarts was sitting on his left and he was still teasing him about getting expelled from Fairy Tail. At first, Karissa was reluctant to sit there but the longer she stared at the spot, the more she found herself actually wanting to sit there next to him. Sheepishly, she nodded her head and took her spot next to him.
It was quiet.
"Huh, what's up with you two?" Gildarts was lost. Why the hell did it feel so awkward to be around them? "Why does it feel like two strangers are sitting together?"
Laxus and Karissa both looked at him, feigning ignorance about the whole thing. They already knew it was uncomfortable. Gildarts didn't have to point out the elephant in the room.
"No idea what you're talking about." Laxus huffed.
Karissa shrugged.
Gildarts was the only one thrown for a loop at the awkward air around them. The last time he saw them interact, they were quite the pair with each other. Obviously, being the member that was constantly absent from his guild, he wasn't aware of how they drifted apart. Evergreen and Bickslow all but dragged him away from them and proceeded to fill the man in on the situation, albeit in a hushed manner.
Gildarts scratched his chin as he watched the two sit in complete silence. "Huh… so that's how it is…" he mumbled.
"Now that Laxus is back with us, this could be their chance to rekindle their old brother and sister relationship!" Freed enthusiastically whispered with a clenched fist. "I'm cheering for you Laxus!"
Karissa plucked out a cookie from her container and then proceeded to eat one while Laxus just boringly stared ahead at the other members who were chatting, paying no mind to the Raijin Tribe and Gildarts watching them like hawks. It was weird that they were watching them like some drama play.
He thought the silence would remain as it was until he felt her shyly poke his arm.
He looked over to her and saw her looking at him apathetically. Her face was wrapped in bandages, leaving only her right eye, nose and mouth free from being wrapped. If her mouth was covered, she'd have to find a way to shove that cookie into her mouth one way or another.
"Thank you for the headphones. I really like them."
Hearing this, Laxus blinked a twice as first response. Then he turned his head and placed a hand on his nape. "Yours were half destroyed anyway. It was bugging me."
Behind bandages, she gave him a skeptical look. She looked back down at her container and concealed a little grin that threatened to appear to no avail. "Huh, and here I thought seeing that I'm sorry note wasn't just my imagination. I guess it just came with the headphones." She shrugged and chewed her next bite.
Laxus hunched his head a little upon hearing that and frowned a little. He glanced over to her and saw her lips curling on the side in amusement. How odd. He wasn't expecting this from her. From what he remembered, he was used to the open and loud teasing she used to do when they were kids while he would try to catch her every time she ran off after pranking him. Now that they were both mature, everything just became more tame and subtle. Time really does wonders.
For Karissa, she came to realize that simply making the effort to talk to him somehow made things just a tad bit easier. It was much more bearable than sitting in silence. It wasn't easy by no means, she was still mentally being carefully in what to say and how to act to avoid ruining things. Already, she was impressed that she chose to sit next to him when he offered.
"Thanks for saying all that I guess." Laxus decided to talk about the way she spoke on his behalf. He saw the way she stilled for a second. "But I wouldn't get your hopes up… the old geezer can be quite stubborn."
"So you're saying you have… no hope?"
He was about to answer since his mouth opened.
Until his stomach growled.
Anyone with enhanced hearing could have heard it. Karissa didn't need that hearing to catch it though. She was sitting close enough to hear it. His mouth closed and he breathed hot air through his nose when he could feel her amused yet curious gaze on him.
"Hungry?" Karissa lifted up a cookie for him innocently, keeping her gaze on the container to avoid looking at his face. She was hoping that by doing so, her face would remain casual and apathetic even after she still thought he'd refuse.
To her surprise, he didn't.
"Obviously." Laxus diligently took the treat from her and shoved it in his mouth. "Thanks."
Karissa felt pleased from just that. How silly, she thought to herself while reaching for another for herself. Was this seriously all it took to make her feel happy? Weird.
The Raijin Tribe that had been watching them all felt a sense of nostalgia as they saw the two awkwardly interact. Watching the old relationship that been put aside slowly rekindle made all three of them coo with endearment. Gildarts had a curious hand under his chin while he watched curiously. After all, Laxus had a soft spot for Karissa, and that never changed throughout the years even after he thought it was buried six feet under.
Laxus narrowed his eyes. "By the way, I've been wondering for a while now…" Karissa looked at him and saw him looking ahead. She followed his gaze and spotted Juvia sitting at table with Lisanna, dressed her usual outfit minus the hat and boots, and she was glaring daggers at her from afar, but Karissa remained unfazed by it. "Why is she glaring at you like that?"
For a while now, Karissa could feel a pair of eyes on her and it didn't take major intelligence to figure out who it belonged to. Obviously, she paid no mind to it to avoid giving any satisfaction whatsoever. She scoffed and rolled her eyes, shrugging lightly. "I don't freaking know. She's weird. She's madly in love with Gray for a reason I cannot understand and she's been a hawk when it comes to Gray. She'll try to chase off any girl that maybe even looks at him." She explained nonchalantly before reaching for her water bottle that she set down.
Juvia was the type to get jealous when another girl so much as spoke to him. If she were Gray and a guy reacted like that in a relationship, she would immediately break it off in a heartbeat, not willing to waste her time over someone who had lack of faith in someone.
When she finally unscrewed the cap and looked ahead, she saw Gray walking nearby the table.
Karissa nudged her chin towards them with a cookie between her teeth. "Check it out." She managed to say.
"Gray-sama! Would you like to sit down?"
"Uh, yeah, sure—"
Laxus and Karissa watched the water mage scramble off her seat and drop on the ground in front of Gray to wave her butt at him, baffling the two. They watched Gray flinch and take a step back.
"You may sit on Juvia which will count as her punishment for letting Zeref get away!"
"I said I'm not into that!" Gray took a few steps back until he finally turned around the other way and walked off when Juvia kept insisting.
With dead fish eyes, Karissa took a sip from her bottle after swallowing her cookie, completely in disbelief by what she was seeing. She began to wonder again if Gray would develop feelings for Juvia because the sight was just plain weird. If the roles were reversed, she was sure a girl would be creeped out for having a guy act around her like that.
I'll be real surprised if Gray ends up liking Juvia back because... this scene right there looks weird.
Gray couldn't seriously fall in love with her, could he? This wasn't jealousy clouding her mind now. The only thing she felt while watching that was most probably repugnance.
"... Quite the competition you got there." Laxus finally said after watching the scene unfold. From his peripheral vision, he caught a glimpse of her annoyed squinted eyes that screamed 'are-you-kidding?' which followed up by a harsh munch on her cookie.
"By the way, where's Pandora?" Laxus wondered after looking at all the faces at the camp. If this was the S-Class Exam, then she'd have to be on the island as well, and so far, he saw no sign of her. She wasn't with the group that showed up to stop Hades' lackeys so she had to be back at the base camp.
"Van told me she was checking the island for any more—"
"GRAY FUCKING FULLBUSTER!"
Laxus and Karissa directed their attention to the angry voice that belonged to none other than Pandora Sinclost. She emerged from the trees and her hair was floating around her, most likely from the flare of her magic power. The cast on her arm didn't make her any less terrifying. Honestly, she looked like an angry beast coming out from the woods. Elfman, who was nearby, flinched and immediately took several steps away from the older woman. Gajeel's dragon instincts were also telling him to stay the fuck away from her so he backed up too.
"Oh god, she's lost it." Bickslow moved out of Pandora's way with Evergreen and Freed even though she was still far away from them. Gildarts had already walked off somewhere when they weren't looking.
"Oh fuck." Gray tensed. It didn't take too long for her to spot him. When their eyes met, Gray could have sworn he felt himself shrink under her predatory eyes.
Van, who had been sitting at a table with the Exceeds, choked on his water while he was drinking when he heard the intention of murder in her voice. Clumsily with a cough, he scampered off his seat and tripped when his foot got caught on another seat, scaring Happy and Carla.
"What's wrong with you?!" Carla snapped.
"Van?!" Happy watched him run after Pandora after dropping his cup of water on the table. Miraculously, it didn't tip over.
"Would you calm down before you hurt yourself." Lily watched him scamper off.
Van couldn't make out any words just yet since he was still coughing. Lisanna, Mirajane, Erza and Juvia had a good idea about what Pandora was mad about.
Gray too.
Gray let out a scream when she suddenly showed up in front of him and then caught him by the ear. She didn't give him the chance to flee. "Ow, ow, ow!" he hissed and followed after her when she dragged him along. "Pandora! You're hurting me!" he flinched when she looked him dead in the eyes with a dark unreadable expression.
"I know."
Gray blanched with fear. This was it. He was going to die. He just needed his life to flash before his eyes to affirm it.
"P-Pandora." Erza tried to reason with the woman who was walking in her direction. A known fact about Pandora was that her protectiveness towards her siblings wasn't anything to take lightly. Even Erza felt a little fearful about this because this was technically a mother's wrath surfacing. Hell, this might be both a mother and father's wrath combined.
"Hold on! I didn't do anything, I swear!" Gray quickly spilled, desperately hoping for mercy after Erza couldn't quell Pandora's anger. "Van was lying to you!"
His words went through one ear and out the other, much to his dismay.
"What's happening?" Wendy wondered worriedly next to Levy.
"Pandora-san!" Juvia shot up from her seat and then winced when she added pressure on her leg. "Gray-sama, I'll save you!" she cried while holding her leg and reaching for her crunch only for Lisanna to usher her back in her seat.
"Why is she so angry…?!" Lucy squeaked after she caught a glimpse of Pandora's expression. If looks could kill, Lucy would be long dead by now. First it was Karissa and now it was Pandora. What was going on with the Sinclost sisters?!
"Pandora?" Cana watched the fuming sister drag Gray by the ear.
"Hold on, Pandora, let's think calmly about this!" Mirajane tried to get her attention when she passed her by, a futile attempt.
"Wait, Pandora!" Van hurriedly ran after them while the others, who were still in the dark, were wondering what was going on.
"You said you'd fix this!" Gray pointed a finger at him, still trying to grasp onto hope that he could live another day. He still didn't become an S-Class mage yet!
"I'm getting there!" Van ran in front of Pandora and placed his hands on her shoulders. "Listen to me! I was kidding! All that stuff I said, it's not true!"
"Liar! I know you were telling the truth! You're just trying to cover for them!" Pandora hissed and looked around for a certain someone. "KARISSA!" she bellowed loud enough for Gajeel to get stunned thanks to his enhanced hearing. If he were any closer, he would have passed out right then and there.
Meanwhile, Laxus could only observe the current situation and wondered what it would take for Pandora to calm down. He also had to ask himself: how the hell did he manage to get away with fighting with her without her getting this angry with him. He was sure he genuinely pissed her off on multiple occasions before.
When he felt something touch his back, he jolted and looked over his shoulder to find Karissa crouching behind him and shaking her head vigorously as Pandora yelled her name again. Laxus had a big figure so it was easy to hide behind him. He wondered how she got behind him so quickly without him even noticing it, leaving her container and water in her empty spot.
"… What did you do?" he finally asked. His curiosity was piqued. What on earth could have set her off like this?
"I didn't do anything." Karissa hissed and whispered while trying to peek over his shoulder. "Van said something to Pandora that set off her protective instincts."
"What did he say?"
Karissa opened her mouth but then they heard Pandora screaming her name again. Laxus and Karissa flinched and looked ahead to find Pandora marching over to them with Gray still being dragged by the ear. His poor ear was probably going to be bruised by the time she let go. It's a miracle she hadn't ripped it off yet. Van was doing his best to stop the older sister to save two souls from indignation, but it still proved futile. It seemed like Pandora wanted to hear it from the two concerned parties even though it came out of Van's big mouth.
Cowering behind Laxus who remained unfazed by the woman towering over them, Karissa clutched his cloak. "Listen to Van! He's the one who said all that crap! I told him the truth and he just twisted my words and made you think we— you know!"
"Yeah!" Gray hissed.
"You be quiet!" Pandora barked at Gray who chose to remain silent for his own safety. He exchanged a fearful glance with Karissa who didn't want to budge from behind .
"What's the problem here? Why are you shrieking like a banshee?" Laxus sighed tiredly and looked up at Pandora who clicked her tongue and pointed at Gray with a disgusted look.
"This stripper over here couldn't keep his tool in his pants and slept with my baby sister before they were even adults! Can you believe that?! And after all the trouble I went through to talk about this subject and trying my best to keep her from straying down the wrong path! Now that I think about it, Karissa's a goody two shoes about stuff like this!" she glared down at Gray. "You probably coerced her didn't you?!"
"HAH?! What kind of guy do you take me for, Pandora?!" Gray snapped, extremely offended by her words. "I'm not a scumbag!"
"That's right, Gray-sama wouldn't sleep with Karissa-san! Karissa-san must have—"
Pandora looked over her shoulder with the angriest stare that could really murder someone. "Shut up, I'm in the middle of dealing with my family and a deviant." She growled icily, causing most of the members to freeze in place.
"If you would just listen to us, then you wouldn't be saying all of this!" Gray managed to pry Pandora's fingers off his ear and stood straight. To his relief, she didn't try to snatch it back. God, his ear was probably red from all the throbbing.
"Then you better start talking."
This time, it wasn't Pandora's voice that spoke.
Laxus was the one staring at Gray apathetically. And yet, despite that exterior demeanor, everyone could feel a chill run down their spine. This made Karissa stare at Laxus in utter disbelief while Gray looked up at the sky and wondered if the gods just decided he was going to have a bad day today. Pandora and Laxus were on his ass now. Two protective monsters were onto him now.
He found himself wondering the same question: should he be happy or terrified that Karissa is loved so dearly?
…
…
…
After a long interrogation that was heard by everyone, Pandora finally calmed down when she understood everything. From that interrogation alone, Pandora's overprotective nature was firmly cemented, if it wasn't already obvious. The whole time, Gray and Karissa were sitting next to each other on the back of their legs, Pandora stood in front of them with her arms crossed, fuming. Van hung in the back, looking at them apologetically for failing to make things better (Gray and Karissa both sent them annoyed glares whenever they could) while Laxus just took a seat back and watched it unfold.
Once they cleared themselves, Pandora laughed sheepishly and waved her hand dismissively. "You only slept next to each other to save money? That's fine." Then she placed her hands on her hips. "Geez, you guys, why didn't you just say so?"
Gray and Karissa blinked.
"HAAAAAH?!"
"Really?" Van raised an eyebrow as Pandora walked over to Gray and Karissa and ruffled their hair.
"I always you knew you were a good guy, Gray!" Pandora beamed a smile while Gray gave her stink eye.
"Man, get off me!" Gray swatted her hand away and crawled away sourly. "You looked like you were about to kill me!"
"In my defense, it was my maternal instincts acting up." Pandora hugged Karissa tightly with one arm who could only sigh tiredly, reaching up to massage her temples. "Besides, some of that was also for you just in case you were a bad boy. I think of you as a little brother, y'know?"
"Yeah," Gray scoffed and rolled his eyes. "A little brother you wanted to rip an ear off of!"
"Call it tough love~"
"Tough love, my ass!"
Laxus and Van deadpanned at Pandora's pleasant mood, watching her nuzzle her face in Karissa's hair who still looked unamused by it all.
"Think you can handle her?" Van whispered as he peered over at Laxus who just rolled his eyes.
"Shut up."
"I knew Gray-sama would never fall for Karissa-san's manipulation!"
Karissa's eye twitched at that.
"Juvia is still in the lead!" the water mage proclaimed with a clenched fist. She had been listening closely to the interrogation, she had hobbled her way closer just to hear clearly.
"Not with that creepy 'sit-on-me-or-spank-me' behaviour." Karissa finally snapped, annoyed that Juvia was still saying stuff like this. Honestly, she should have just ignored the water mage. It's a pity she didn't have the patience of a saint.
"Juvia knows Karissa-san is just jealous!"
"Of what? Being obsessed to the point of collecting a bunch of Gray merchandise?"
"That's how much Juvia loves Gray-sama!"
"HUH?" Gray gawked in disbelief, horrified.
Obviously, the S-Class Exam was cancelled. Natsu, Gray and Elfman made the most ruckus about it while Karissa and Levy decided to go with the Master's decision. However, Karissa did try to convince the Master to let her become S-Class by pointing out that she fought Hades with Laxus.
"That's not fair! I wasn't even in that fight!" Elfman threw his hands up.
"Stop trying to gain the Master's favor!" Gray snapped, pinching her cheek. She batted his hand away and narrowed her eyes at him.
"Oh, be quiet. I bet you guys couldn't even figure out where the grave was!" Karissa snapped back, clearly displeased by not being able to go through with the exam. Then she also revealed how she discovered the location of Master Mavis' grave. Judging by their faces, it was obvious they didn't know how the hell she came up with all of that.
Makarov hummed. "You did well in solving that. Good job." He praised her at least for that.
"HA!" Karissa poked Elfman and Gray in the chest.
"But I could have totally taken on Hades myself!" Natsu argued in front of her while Karissa scoffed smugly and patted his cheek.
"Yeah, sure. Then how come you didn't get up and fight?" Karissa tipped her head, tone dripping with bemusement, yet the grin on her face said otherwise.
"I have my reasons!" Natsu grumbled and then whipped around to look at the little old man. "Come on! I wanna be an S-Class, gramps!" he stomped on the ground childishly.
"Fine, then." Makarov breathed hot hair through his nose. "I'll just start a special Final Test right here and now. Natsu, if you can defeat me, I'll make you S-Class." He put an arm behind his back and beckoned him forth with his free hand.
"Really, gramps?! Alright, I'm all fired—"
He didn't even get to finish his sentence once Makarov' titan arm rammed him into the nearest tree, effectively shutting him up.
Gray was sitting on a wooden contained containing firewood inside. He decided to seat himself there when he found Karissa sitting there and eating the rest of her cookies. He sat back against her and greeted her while she only hummed.
"Hungry?" She lifted a cookie behind her.
Gray peered over his shoulder and found the butter cookie near his mouth. "Thanks." He took it with his mouth and tore a piece off while holding the rest in his hand.
"Does the cookie cheer you up?"
"Hell no. I'm still upset."
He felt her laugh against him. It sounded like pleasant melody to his ears. "You'd still be upset either way. I obviously would have been the S-Class of this year."
"Arrogant." Gray huffed and took another bite.
"It's called being confident." Karissa corrected and closed her container since she gave the last one to Gray. She brought so much that she ended up sharing with a few other people.
Gray smiled a small smile. That's when he remembered what he told himself when he sat at the bar counter with Cana prior to the S-Class Exam. He said to himself that he would tell her how he felt. Sure, he didn't become an S-Class mage this year, but he never decided he would confess if he became one. He wanted to wait until the exam was over to focus on that.
He didn't want to chicken out on his own decision.
But what should he say? How should he say it? Should he do it once they reach the port?
He probably shouldn't do it right when they get back home. He might be too tired and might accidentally fumble the bag and say the wrong thing. Fatigue can really mess with someone's head.
Maybe he should say it the next day? That could work. They'd be both fully rested and he could properly think of what to say because, frankly, he didn't feel like keeping it to himself now.
Perhaps he need a little more time to think about this.
Just thinking about it now made him feel scared and nervous.
It was easier said than done.
Just as Karissa finished putting away her container back in her bag, Juvia decided to sit on the same box as them to be close to Gray. This time, Karissa didn't bother reacting even though she could feel Juvia's glare on her. Back to ground zero once more.
All of a sudden, a loud sound echoed around them. It was so loud that it vibrated the very earth they stood on and made a few sticks for firewood to tip over.
Karissa, whose hands were near her ears after she flinched, looked around in confusion. "… The freak was that?"
"The hell was that?" Gray stood up in alert.
"It's a roar of a dragon!" Wendy identified immediately with a perturbed expression. Just then, Lucy, Cana, Happy, Gildarts and Natsu came running to them, they were the only ones that had been separated from the group.
"There it is!" Pantherlily shouted and pointed up at the sky.
Everyone set their eyes on the giant creature floating above them. A jet black body with spiraling blue markings across its body. Makarov was able to identify the dragon. It was called Acnologia. It was a black dragon from the Apocalypse Revelations. Seeing as this was the first dragon to appear in front of Natsu in years, the pink haired mage didn't waste this chance to try and get some answers about hi, Gajeel and Wendy's missing dragons.
Freed stiffened when the dragon shifted in the air. "It's coming down!" he yelled. Acnologia harshly landed on the island meters away from them and let out a terrifying roar.
Karissa backed away and tripped over her own feet. Van and Pandora helped her back on her feet without wasting a second, keeping their eyes locked on the beast that was looking down on them. That roar alone made everyone's hair sway. Then it leaped up in the air again. In response to this, Gildarts yelled at everyone to start running, a futile warning for it just rammed itself back on the earth again and the shockwave sent them all tumbling away. Everyone supported each other back on their feet while watching the dragon fearfully.
"We gotta hurry back to the ship! Now!" Gildarts bellowed once more.
"Run!" Erza commanded. "Top priority now is to get home! Back to Fairy Tail!"
"Levy, Cana, Karissa!" Pandora shouted over the destruction that the dragon was causing behind them. "Once everyone is on the ship, summon wind to push us!"
"This is fucking crazy!" Karissa gasped and focused on running. Another rumbling of the earth caused by Acnologia made her lose her footing once more, annoying her to no end. Her heart was racing, her hands were shaking, she couldn't believe what was happening. Was there even any hope of escaping even after they got on the ship?! She couldn't see them escaping when they still had to cross the water.
"Keep going!" Gajeel grabbed her arm and yanked her back on her feet.
"Y-Yeah, okay!" Karissa continued running and did her best to navigate through the trees with one eye.
Unfortunately, no matter how fast they ran, they knew the dragon could easily catch up to them. That's why, Master Makarov stayed behind and urged them to keep running, using him as a sacrifice to make sure they got away. He was able to stop the dragon from moving further in his Titan form. However, they could all see him couch out blood from how the dragon rammed itself straight into his injuries.
"He can't stand up to something like that!" Gray said with Juvia slung over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes due to her injured leg.
Karissa flinched when she saw blood seeping through the bandages. The dreadful feeling of not being able to make it through this was increasing. She couldn't even protest their escape like the others with how shaken up she was.
"Can't you follow your Master's orders just this one last time?! You damn brats!" Makarov's voice shook the leaves from how hard he was trying to keep Acnologia at bay. His feet dug into the ground as he groaned from the dragon's strength. He would certainly lose the fight against the dragon.
Pandora blinked several times when she felt her eyes sting. Van stood silently by his sister's side as the reality was beginning to sink in. Karissa couldn't do anything but watch silently like her brother. The old man who had been nothing but kind to them and given them a place to call home unconditionally was prepared to die for them.
This last desperate request from their guild leader made them all run back. Laxus, of all people, was the first to listen and he dragged Natsu away before everyone else followed his example. However, the farther they got, the more they could hear the dragon roaring and their parental figure groaning from the pain. They could hear Makarov's painful groans and the earth shaking thuds. The sounds and vibrations along with the refusal to keep him from dying for their sakes made them all stop and finally turn back to face hell. They refused to let their parent die to save their futures. If they were going to survive and move on into the future, he needed to be there with them.
Everyone prepared for battle with battle cries and attacked the dragon.
"Get the fuck out of here, you large piece of shit!" Van roared angrily and broke the earth to make it lose balance.
"We'll rip you apart!" Evergreen glowered and sent magic bullets in its direction.
The dragon whipped its tail and sent rocks flying their way which Gray protected them from with an ice shield. Karissa jumped over him with a dark expression and sent Areadbhar lunging at its head. Acnologian growled and swatted the ice away effortlessly before loudly roaring at her. The shockwave from its voice pushed her back. Pandora and Erza led the next wave of attacks with Mirajane. Laxus managed to grab the back of her cardigan and set her on the ground just before she flew past him.
Even with everyone fighting back relentlessly, their attacks didn't look like it was doing anything. With a growl, it shoved them all back, sending them falling backwards and tumbling from the force.
Erza looked looked back where Elfman, Bickslow and Mirajane landed. "Are you alright?!"
"Damn it!" Elfman wiped his face and glared at the dragon.
"Fuck! Our attacks don't have any effect!" Bickslow cursed and peered up at the dragon that continued to look down on them menacingly.
"What can we do now?!" Gajeel gritted his teeth in frustration. Dragon Slaying Magic wasn't working on this dragon either.
Suddenly, the dragon made a noise before leaping and flying up in the air. The black haired dragon slayer's eyes widened when he saw the dragon open its mouth and inhale. "It's a breath attack!" he announced loudly, causing everyone to look up in disbelief and panic.
Erza looked at everyone. "Anyone with defensive magic, bring forth everything you have!"
"Right!"
Freed clenched his fists and was beginning to sweat under the pressure, unable to keep calm. "There's no time to write a Jutsu Shiki!"
Levy put a hand on his shoulder in reassurance. "There are lost of other kinds of defensive word-based magic!" she reminded him.
"You're right!"
"Everybody, concentrate your power on Freed and Levy!" Lisanna instructed loudly.
"No, focus it on Van and Karissa!" Mirajane changed the order. "They'll amplify it and send it to Freed and Levy!"
"B-But…!" Karissa panicked when she felt eyes on her. The pressure was real intense. "What if I don't make it in time?!" she grabbed her head and looked at the ground. Seeing her state, Gray went over to her and grabbed her wrists and forced her to look at him.
"You can do it! You have to!"
Her eyes trembled with nervousness.
"You can do it." Cana put a hand on her shoulder, her eyes showcase pure trust in her ability.
"We're counting on you!" Evergreen said with encouragement in her voice as she and others began holding hands on Mirajane's orders.
I have to do this…!
I need to!
Karissa ripped her hands out of Gray's hands and harshly slapped her cheeks. "Okay!" she breathed. Her childhood friend took on hold of her hand and brought her along with him while Cana held the other. Having the two of them squeeze her hands in silent encouragement made things feel somewhat lighter.
"We're not gonna let this end here!"
"Yeah! We'll never give up!"
Karissa closed her eyes and concentrated on flaring her magic power, focusing on the others who were sending it to her through their connected hands. Like threading a needle, she gathered it all, divided it, and forced it all in Levy and Freed's directions.
I have to make this work no matter what!
The last thing she felt was pressure coming down on her.
…
…
…
On December 16th X784, Tenrou Island was annihilated by the black dragon, Acnologia. The creature disappeared in the clouds once its attack left no trace of the sacred island. The devastating news echoed throughout the Kingdom of Fiore.
Weeks were passing by as the Magic Council's ships continued to search for any trace of Tenrou Island, a body, anything that all. But they were still coming back to the land empty handed.
In the Lamia Scale guild, Jura, Sherry and Lyon looked distraught over the news in the newspaper. This was now the fifth time that the search for Tenrou Island continued, but there was still nothing.
Lyon gripped the newspaper tightly in his hand and lowered his head. He set the paper flat on the table and sighed, running his finger through his hair. Clarus, who was drinking his water in front of him, couldn't help but frown at the sight of Lyon like this. It was always uncomfortable to see someone show a different side of themselves when you haven't seen it ever before.
The black haired mage placed a hand on his nape and averted his eyes away, feeling sympathetic for his fellow guildmate.
From what Yuka and Sherry told him, Lyon used to be a student under a teacher who taught two other people alongside him. Those two happened to be part of Fairy Tail and on that island. When the news of Acnologia's attack on Fairy Tail's Tenrou Island, Clarus had seen Lyon look shaken up and he immediately wanted to find out if those two were part of those who went on the island. Clarus would never forget the look on Lyon's face when the names were published in the papers the next day. He looked so distraught
I hope, for Lyon's sake, that they find at least something…
For six months, ship combed the area, searching… but always found no survivors.
During those six months, Ultear, Meldy and Lukius managed to break Jellal Fernandes out of prison. Ultear had decided to free him because she was basically to blame for putting him in there. They established an independent guild called Crime Sorcière, a guild meant to atone and redeem themselves for crimes committed in the past. Taking down dark guilds and ultimately defeating the Dark Wizard Zeref was their goal as well.
However, before doing all of that, Ultear wanted to do address one of the earliest sins she committed.
Back when she was a child, she spent sometime in a laboratory: The Bureau of Magical Development. She still remembered where it was. It was in Iceberg located somewhere in the Land of Isvan. In this laboratory, she could vaguely remember other kids like her who were staying in the laboratory.
The same laboratory that she destroyed by herself.
Her first sin was killing other children like her in there who were probably like her: taken away from parents who wanted their children back. Even before she joined Grimoire Heart, her hands were already dipped in blood.
Lukius walked next to Meldy while Jellal followed closely behind. They were all wearing blue cloaks with their hoods on.
"It's here." Ultear stopped and gazed upon the wreckage that was once the big laboratory.
"Are you going to reverse the time?" Meldy guessed curiously.
"Yes. Everything within should be restored back to normal." Ultear set down her orb next to her feet. "Then, we should be able to find the names of those who perished in the destruction."
"You can do that?" Jellal tipped his head, finally speaking after the long walk. Lukius turned to face Jellal with a smug grin. "She can!"
Ultear encompassed the area in a large magic circle which began to glow a bright green once she began turning back to clock for it. Two years… five… nine… even further back…
Meldy, Lukius and Jellal watched as the laboratory began to fix itself back together like a puzzle until it stood large and tall, towering over them. It was shaped like a waxing crescent moon. Clearly, they had quite some climbing to do in there.
The pink haired girl looked over at Ultear and remarked how she looked a little drained from reversing time on the large building. Meldy walked over to her and placed a worried hand on her back.
"I'm fine." Ultear smiled for her, reassuring her. She reached down to pick up her orb and then led them all inside the laboratory. Almost like in a tour guide-esque way, she pointed out the places that she was familiar with. When they passed by the area where she was experimented on, Lukius and Meldy looked upset, sporting matching scowls on their faces. Jella commented that experimenting on children was a terrible thing to do. When they reached the top, they were met with two grand doors that blocked off their path. Easily, Meldy summoned her sensory swords and tore the doors down, revealing a large office inside. As Ultear predicted on the way to the laboratory, it looked like most of the documents were being held at in the office.
"This is going to take forever…" Meldy cringed when she saw the tall shelves that were five times her height.
"What are we looking for, exactly?" Lukius removed his hood and brushed his bangs out of his face to clearly look around him.
"A folder, a file, anything that contained information on the children that were being held here." Ultear answered after setting her orb on a nearby stool. She walked and glanced around the room with a thoughtful eye.
"Are you sure it's in here?" Jellal wondered and then looked back at the broken doors. "What if there are other files somewhere else?"
"Yeah." Lukius remained by Jellal's side when Meldy looked around. "Do you want us to search around?"
"No, that won't be necessary." Ultear pulled out a large file from a bookshelf and examined its contents. "The head of the bureau would most likely keep all the test subjects' information close by. What better place than his own office?"
"I guess that's true." Lukius scratched the back of his head and released a sigh. He rolled his shoulders back and approached a shelf. It was time to start searching. Jellal went off to a different shelf and began his own search.
They spent hours searching for these so-called files, assuming they even kept any. Lukius was growing tired and hungry, Ultear kept searching, Meldy was resting on a stool and Jellal took a step back to observe the room. If the Bureau of Magical Development wanted to keep their experiments a secret from the Magic Council, they needed to keep important files away from foreign eyes, somewhere they wouldn't be able to find so easily if a search was conducted.
Jellal walked over to the desk and studied its appearance. It looked like plain office desk with nothing too remarking about it. Curiously, he patted down the sides and pulled open the drawers to check for a false bottom. Nothing. He brushed his hand underneath and felt his pinky nudge something.
Meldy looked over her shoulder and found Jellal lying on his back underneath the desk after he pushed the chair away. "Jellal… what are you doing?"
Lukius and Ultear also looked over to him.
"… You tired?" Lukius guessed stupidly.
"No. I found something underneath." Jellal played with circular object attached to the bottom of the drawer. He had accidentally pressed whatever he touched and it made a half sphere protrude from underneath the desk's right bottom drawer. "It looks like a puzzle." He lifted his head and found the three others looking down on him. "What should I do?"
"Let me take a look." Ultear ushered him up with a hand gesture. Jellal crawled away from underneath the desk and allowed Ultear to take his place. He stood in between the two younger mages who watched Ultear curiously as she tinkered with whatever puzzle was down there.
Then there was a click.
The right side of the desk began to glow in yellow. The light traveled down to the bottom right drawer and then moved to the right to form another drawer. The puzzle manifested a hidden drawer that had been stored away with some type of special magic.
Lukius made the move to pull it open, completely disregarding the danger as his curiosity bested his cautiousness. Lo and behold, the files they were searching for were inside. He laid them out on the desk for everyone to see. Ultear pulled out the last set of stapled pages and saw how the number fifty-two was inscribed at the top left corner. The front page carried a photograph of a young girl who looked no older than six.
"A number of at least fifty children must have perished…" Ultear spoke remorsefully. The weight of fifty innocent lives was quite a heavy burden to carry. There was no telling if any of them survived, but if by a slim chance that they did, she wanted to know. She also wanted to give peace of mind to the parents who lost their children, to tell them where their children were. That was the least she could do.
As Lukius continued looking through the papers, he came across a specific file. The name of the child written on top made his eyes widened. Meldy, who heard him inhale sharply, leaned over to him to peer at the file he was looking at.
"There was another one?" Meldy observed the picture in surprise.
"What do you mean another?" Ultear looked up from the fifty-second file. Lukius and Meldy exchanged a glance and then slowly turned the file around and held it up for Ultear to read.
21. Clavis Sinclost
-Magic: Gravity (inherited by blood)
-From Bosco
-Son of Domilia and Zack
-Remarkable amount of power
The subject possesses a large amount of magical power like his twin sister. He has the potential to become to become a spare key for the Oración Seis. The subject demonstrates perfect control over his magical power. Further experimentation may not be required.
Now that the Fairy Tail group is on hiatus, it's time to shift the spotlight onto the mystery child of the Sinclost family. With the next chapter, more pieces that prepares the story for the endgame will have been laid down. I'm looking forward to it.
I've been using the manga for the rest of this arc. I actually liked the version in the manga when it came to Acnologia's appearance. There wasn't any combined attack like in the anime. Acnologia wasn't fazed at all by their attacks and it made the situation seem much more hopeless.