Ayooooo double updateeeeeeeeeee

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Natsu continued to stay silent the morning after their second nightmare, not mentioning it the next time it happened, or the next; by the fifth time, though, he knew he had to do something.

"Why do you have bad dreams all the time these days?" he asked bluntly at the guild one morning.

Both his siblings choked. "Sorry," they finally mumbled, shamefaced.

Natsu snorted. "What're you apologizing for?" Not waiting for an answer, he pressed, "Anyways, is there some way I can help?"

Aki grinned sheepishly. "We're saying sorry for bothering you every night."

Zeref pitched in hopefully, "We could sleep somewhere else-"

Natsu let out a growl, a dragon's guttural warning, and Zeref stopped. "So," Natsu continued doggedly, "how can I help?"

Aki and Zeref exchanged looks.

"I don't know how to stop them," Aki started, "but they've been better since I've been with you again."

Zeref nodded. "You being there really helps." He didn't mention that Aki's 'since I've been with you' didn't reference the, albeit still great, improvement that had come from their being reunited, but how Mavis had told him to not close himself off, to open up, thereby causing Aki to insist that he admit his nightmares to their brother, too.

Natsu still frowned. "But I want to do something!" After a moment of silence, he burst out, "Porlyusica! I bet she knows something!"

"She already helps us with this, actually," Aki said awkwardly.

"Really?"

Aki nodded. "She already knows about the dreams. She let's us stay over if you aren't around."

"Weird…" At their bemused expressions, he said impatiently, "She hates everyone!"

"Talking about Porlyusica?" Lucy had come up to their table.

"See?" Natsu said emphatically, motioning to the her.

Aki rolled her eyes, but Lucy interrupted the train of thought. "Makarov needs to talk to you both," she told the two ex-Black Mages. "He says it's super important, and to tell Natsu," she continued to him pointedly, hands on her hips, "that he can't join."

"But we were gonna have a spice competition!" Natsu said indignantly.

Lucy shrugged, then, registering what had been said, gaped. "You're having a spice competition with Natsu?!"

Aki nodded, already getting to her feet with Zeref. "But if Maka-chan wants-"

"Maka-chan?!" Lucy, Happy, and Natsu shouted in disbelief.

"-us, it'll have to wait," she finished, following Zeref away. She waved, tilting her head and smiling. "See you, Natsu-nii-chan!"

When Aki and Zeref reached Makarov's office, they found several Rune Knights and Makarov, looking severe and distressed.

Before anything could be said, Aki grinned. "About time, too. I was about to lose my bet with Zeref-nii."

And they were grabbed from behind.

—

"Uhm," Aki called hesitantly. She was in front of the solidly built door of the metal cell they had chucked her in, peering through its one-way-glass window, "I have a question…?"

She winced, stepping back as something hit the door. "Shut yer trap!"

"But, I think you'd like to know-" She shouted as magic attacked her, pain vibrating dully through her body. As it fizzled out, she stumbled back against the wall, sliding wearily down it. As she did, the chains around her wrists, attached to the ceiling, pulled taught, her arms lifting slightly so she could sit.

"They don't seem to be very communicative…" she muttered, staring at the flawed magic suppressing handcuffs. She shrugged. "It's their own fault."

She looked gloomily around at the tiny, square room. "Hold on…" She stood, with some difficulty and an awful grinding noise curtesy of the heavy, useless manacles attached to what felt like every part of her body, and pulled herself to a corner. She took measured steps along the edge, counting. "Six feet… by… six feet…" She looked at the walls, sizing them up. "It looks about six feet, but…" She tilted her head.

She crouched and, placing her hand flat against the very bottom of the wall and the other hand at tip of the other's fingers, she pawed up the wall. "Five, five, five," she murmured, counting the number of her hands. When she couldn't reach any further, she stared up at the wall in betrayal.

On the tips of her toes, she managed another hand further; she jumped, forgetting the shackles, and tripped, crumpling sideways. She yelped as the chain that was attached to the ceiling pulled taught, yanking painfully on her shoulders. "This is really annoying," she muttered once she had righted herself, glaring at the chains. Then, eyes sparkling momentarily, she grinned. She stood, grasping the dangling chain with both her hands and pulling hard.

"You won't be able to yank it out, idiot!"

She ignored the shout from beyond the door, instead shimmying up the chain. When she reached the ceiling, which took a while as each progressive inch increased the weight she was dragging, she reached out, placing her hand against the wall. Panting, she slid down a couple inches, marking with her eyes the spot her hand had ended. She replaced her hand, marked, then slid down again.

She was breathing hard now, trembling with the exertion of holding herself and what felt like half the chains in the prison aloft, as she placed her hand against the wall. "This should… be good enough…" She glanced around, careful not to so much as wiggle her hand, looking for a way to: mark her spot; get to the ground; not lose her bearings. Getting to the ground was the sticky bit; she didn't have the energy to slide down – the next time she loosened her grip she was sure to fall – and she wouldn't be able to keep sight of where her eyes had marked the wall if she did so.

She hummed, enjoying the trifling problem.

"Blood!" she exclaimed suddenly, perking up as she always did when finding a solution. She heard someone speak outside, but ignored the anyways unintelligible—and probably unintelligent—mutters. Instead, she trained her eyes where her hand had reached, bringing said hand to her mouth and biting the tip of a finger. It took more effort than she thought it would to penetrate the skin, but it was by no means difficult, and she was soon reaching it back to the wall. "Annnnnd…" she moaned, straining, "There we go!"

She let herself drop, not uttering a cry now that she was expecting it. She scrambled to her feet, looking up at the slightly smudged line of blood. She had placed the top of the smudgy mark at the line, so that the smudgy nonsense was all below, and she had a clear mark.

Then she reached up, placing the tips of her fingers at the tip of the mark, and resumed her counting. "Fourteen and… that's a little less than half a hand… point… four." She nodded decisively. "So, seventy-two inches, or six feet- I was right!" She broke into raucous giggles, ignoring the ranting from beyond the door.

What she couldn't ignore was another shot of magical pain, and, as it faded, she said indignantly, "I was just laughing."

"I don't care!"

"But it's really a cube!" she whined, flat on her back now with her arms held up in front of her.

"I don't- what are you talking about?"

Aki grinned roguishly. Clearly, curiosity wasn't bound by anything, even disgruntled annoyance at a Black Mage. "The cell. It's exactly six-by-six-by-six! It's a cuboidal cell— like a sugar cube!" she blurted excitedly. "Sugar crystals appear cube-shaped, and a common misconception is that the sugar molecules are also cuboidal – though they aren't – and molecules are related to cells, so it's like a sugar cube!" She broke into giggles again, stopped by another shock of pain.

"You can shut yer trap now or I'll ramp up the power!" the voice snarled. "You act like this is vacation, Black Mage, but I'll make you understand it's not!"

Aki pursed her lips, pouting silently.

Her eyes wandered around the empty room. What am I supposed to do now? Oh… She sat up, flexing her magic slightly, pulling it through the faulty cuffs as only someone with her level of knowledge could – so, just her and Zeref. She formed a slightly distorted image for the guard, just to hide her fun for a little while.

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Ya know, this chapter is pretty short, too. Good thing I double updated.
Okay I'll stop patting my back.
So I've decided a tentative update schedule. Once a week, either Saturday or Sunday. Unless I get hit by a bus.
Anyways see youuuuuuuuuuuuu ο(=•ω＜=)ρ⌒