I know I've said this before, but the story is ending, be patient. I've finished writing, I just need to review and translate so I can post the chapters.
In the meantime enjoy... I hope you're enjoying it.
It was late afternoon, the reddish light gave that city a dark air. Some buildings were destroyed and there was debris in the streets, fires spread through the city and columns of smoke reached the skies. Despite the destruction much of that city was still in order.
Five people walked around the city wearing shabby military uniforms, they looked around, analyzing the place until they reached the central square. They looked at each other, their eyes were cold and angry, as if there wasn't an ounce of soul in them. The expressions on their faces showed the hardness of their hearts and the hardships they had been through.
"What are we going to do, Sergeant?" one of them asked. The sergeant glanced at him and shifted his gaze to the city around them.
"They helped our enemies. They are just like them. We must kill them!" a small, young girl, no more than 14 years old, said with hatred in her voice.
"Don't overdo it, Britany! We don't know what drove them to help them. We can't be so flippant about judging them," a 16 years old boy tried to ponder the situation, trying to calm his companions' nerves.
"You're too nice, Fernandez. Can't you see your surroundings?", a 15 years old boy angrily confronted him, showing him the landscape. "How many of our people died because of them!?" he inquired angrily.
"You don't think I know, Dean! Do you think I don't suffer for them!?", Fernandez responded by shouting.
"Does not appear! You always try to see their side! They are just killers! Don't you see that!?", Dean shouted back. Their spirits were high.
"This isn't going to get you anywhere," another soldier tried to interfere in the discussion.
"Of course this is going to go somewhere, Kenji . Fernandez is friends with the Reds", Britany maliciously accused him.
"That must be it," Dean chuckled and sneered sarcastically.
Fernandez glared at them. "You don't know what you're saying...", he said in disgust. "I'm just tired of this war. Tired of watching my friends die, tired of suffering," he sighed heavily, feeling all the weight he was carrying.
"We all are," the sergeant said. "But Britany is right. The people of this town helped them, which made our struggle very difficult days ago. We lost a lot of soldiers and friends," he said so coldly that it startled Fernandez.
"Sergeant... Ryker, you can't...", Fernandez spoke in disbelief at what he was thinking of doing.
"Listen well, Fernandez", Ryker approached him looking him in the eyes. He had cold, lifeless eyes and a serious, frightening expression. "It's time to give back some of what they put us through. And if that means destroying this goddamn city, fuck it!" Ryker said almost in a menacing tone, he wasn't more than 14 or 15 years old.
"Ryker…if you do this, you won't be any better than they are." Fernandez tried to get him to change his mind, but only managed to get Ryker to rage and grab him by the neck.
Ryker glared at him with a deep hatred, straight from his soul, if there was any left. One of the few times those cold, lifeless eyes showed any feeling.
"Never compare me to Red scum again! Or I will kill you and you know very well that I can do that!", he threatened him looking at him with such hatred and rage that everyone else was scared.
Fernandez was suffocating in his hands, looking at his face twisted in rage. Ryker finally let go of him, causing him to fall to the ground and kneel, coughing and catching his breath.
Ryker looked him up and down. "They helped them, so they are our enemies. Do you know what we do with our enemies, Fernandez?" he questioned him darkly.
"We killed them," chanted Britany , who leaned on Ryker holding one of his shoulders and looking helplessly at Fernandez on the floor. She had a cold aura around her.
"Listen..." Ryker told Fernandez. "If you don't want to participate, don't disturb us. Wait outside the city while we work around here", he said and turned towards his subordinates.
Fernandez couldn't do anything else, their teammates were determined. Hatred took over their hearts and dominated them. He looked at his companions determined to slaughter everyone in that city, he would not participate in this, he turned his face disgusted and, at the same time, sad. War takes the best in everyone. Fernandez got up and left that place, he would wait outside the city while they finished what they were going to do.
Ryker argued with his subordinates, giving them directions. "Let's finish them all, no one must get out of here alive," he ordered.
"Yes sir!" everyone else shouted in unison.
"Dean take the North, Britany the East and Kenji the West. I take the Center and the South. Now go!" Ryker commanded them and they all set off to their locations.
Before long, explosions and gunshots began to be heard throughout the city. The sound of people being killed, begging for their lives, children crying and then silence. This spread throughout the city.
Ryker walked through his area, more and more ruins and fires taking over buildings and houses. Out of the corner of his eye he saw some people running to his right, he reached out and fired at the group, exploding them in a cloud of smoke and blood. Ahead of him a couple tried to run and hide, but Ryker was quick. He drew his knife and decapitated them both in the blink of an eye.
He was looking at the bodies coldly with a slight smile of satisfaction on his face, when he heard a noise to his left. He frowned and headed for the sound he'd heard. Slowly he walked and cleared some debris out of the way.
He saw a mother and her daughter, no more than five years old, terrified, shaking and crying, with Ryker's presence in front of them. He looked at them, they were hugging, with the mother holding her daughter, trying to comfort her in the face of the inevitable. Ryker reached for them, looking at them coldly and emotionlessly.
"Red scum," he said coldly and in pure hate, and fired...
"NO!" Ryker yelled in desperation. He opened his eyes and sat up in his bed, sweaty and shivering with heavy, panting breaths. He looked out the window and saw he was in Magnolia, looked around realizing he was in the bedroom of his apartment. Ryker looked at his hands, which were shaking, and began to breathe heavily, panicking.
He got up and got out of bed, running to the bathroom and the sink. Ryker opened it and washed his hands countless times, trying to wash away the imaginary blood he saw in them. He looked up, seeing himself in the mirror. Paralyzed for a while, he punched and smashed the glass, sitting on the bathroom floor, covering his face with his hands and screaming in agony.
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry... I am really sorry!", Ryker said desperately and deeply saddened in a choked voice. "Forgive me..." he begged.
"Ryker!", Mira said, surprised to see him at the guild door before her.
He looked at her and smiled. "Hey Mira!" he greeted her.
Mirajane came over to kiss him on the lips, but he looked away and they ended up kissing on the cheek. She found it strange, he'd never turned down a good morning kiss before. It was okay? Did he have any flu? She thought.
"Is everything okay, Ryker?", she asked looking at him worriedly.
"Of course it is," he replied smiling. "Come on, the guild won't clean itself up." She opened the door and they went in and tidied up the whole room, as they always did.
As time passed, he showed no other signs that something was wrong, so Mira relaxed. But something was bothering her slightly, usually he was loose with her and often grabbed her while the guild was empty, they kissed and caressed each other, getting things hot many times. However, to this day, Ryker was quiet in his corner. He looked tired, so she left him alone, as he assured her he was fine. He had just returned from his mission a few days ago, she decided that was it and he was smiling at her, that was all she needed at the moment.
During the day everything seemed normal, Ryker stayed close to Mira and the others at the bar, showing no signs of anything wrong. However, the Take Over mage knew him better than anyone else and knew that something was bothering him.
Two days later nothing had changed, and Mira was starting to get genuinely worried.
"What kind of guy is this Mira-san?", Lucy asked taking a juice.
She looked at it and sighed. "Something's wrong with Ryker," she wailed.
"What do you mean?", the blonde asked her.
She looked around and saw Mira's boyfriend sitting at a table talking to Gajeel, Levy and Juvia, to her he was normal. He had a frown, but he always had that, his gaze was serious, so far so normal, and sometimes, a slight smile would appear on his lips. Lucy didn't understand Mira's concerns.
"He has acted differently. I know something's bothering you, I just don't know what it is," Mira said worriedly.
Lucy knew that Mira knew him better than anyone, if she said something was wrong, it was because it was true. "Have you tried talking to him?"
"Yes, but he always says it's okay. We even fought the other day about it. I don't want to bother him anymore, but he seems to be suffering and I don't know what to do. He doesn't look like he wants to talk to me." Mira had tears forming in her eyes and a sad, despondent expression.
The blonde felt sorry for her friend, she put a hand on her shoulder. "I can try to talk to him and find out what's wrong with him," she said, smiling confidently.
Mira looked at her and smiled, wiping her tears with her hand. "Thank you, Lucy."
"That's what friends are for," she smiled fondly.
Ryker was talking animatedly, in fact he was more listening than talking.
"Juvia thinks that Gajeelkun should n't go on as many missions as he's been doing lately", the water mage commented with a worried tone.
"I need Juvia. I'm going to be a dad in a few months, I have to have everything prepared," snorted the Dragon Slayer.
"And Juvia will help him with whatever he needs while she doesn't have her 33 babies with Gray-sama!", she said dreaming at the end of her speech.
Gajeel rolled his eyes at his friend. "Earth to Juvia. Wake up!" he yelled muttering. The water mage sulked for pulling her out of her perfect dream world, with her lover and best man in the world. "You're a lost cause," the iron mage snorted.
"Don't talk like that, Gajeel. Juvia is only worried about her friend. And to be honest, it bothers me too. You don't even expect to recover from the wounds of one mission and go on to another one," Levy said worriedly.
The Dragon Slayer turned to face annoyed and annoyed. "What do you want me to do? We need the money," he said.
"You forgot that Ryker and Mira-san gave us half of their reward. It's good money, we don't have to worry about it that much", the little bluenet reminded him.
"I know ... But I wanted to earn this by my own efforts and not rely on handouts," he huffed angrily.
"Gajeelkun !", Juvia caught his attention. "Rykersan is here with us, he might be offended."
"It's okay Juvia," Ryker said with a slight crooked smile. "I understand you, I don't think you'd like it either. But I would be smart and accommodate myself anyway," he looked at Gajeel slyly.
"What do you mean, idiot!?" he yelled, veins popping out of his forehead.
Juvia and Levy laughed at the innuendo and teasing he made with the Dragon Slayer.
"Rykersan and Gajeelkun seem to have become friends", Juvia commented, whispering in Levy's ear.
"Yes, something that surprised me. I think they look alike in some ways," Levy commented and they giggled.
"What are you laughing at there!?", Gajeel shouted at his women.
"Ryker is right, Gajeel. You may not like it, but you should take the money and get some more rest. Besides, we work with them, forgot? The reward we shared was fair ," Levy reminded him, putting some sense into his head. Gajeel sighed and nodded in annoyance.
"Juvia heard something about this job, but she doesn't know what it was about," the water bluenett said doubtfully.
"It was stupid work. They had to fight a monster or whatever. Me and Camarão, here, are just going to arrest a greedy and idiot businessman", Gajeel explained impatiently.
Juvia looked at him, at Levy and at Ryker not quite understanding what he explained. Ryker shrugged and Levy sighed with a bead of sweat on his forehead.
"Hello!" Lucy greeted everyone at the table.
" Lu-chan , how are you?", Levy greeted her happily.
"Rival of love", Juvia looked suspiciously at a defeated blonde with a bead of sweat on her forehead.
"Bunny," Gajeel waved.
"Don't call me that!" Lucy yelled.
"Hey Blonde," Ryker greeted looking at her.
"Sit with us," Levy offered a seat next to her.
"I'm fine, thanks," the blonde smiled. "I wanted to talk to Ryker."
Everyone looked at her in surprise and turned their attention to the mage who was the object of interest of the celestial mage.
"What do you want to talk to me about?" he asked in surprise.
"Just talk," she smiled gently at Ryker who was eyeing her suspiciously.
"You can talk," he said.
"But I would like it to be in private", he looked at her even more suspiciously, as did everyone else.
Juvia looked between them and a snap came to her troubled mind. She blushed and put her hands to her face. "Is Lucy a rival for Mira-san's love!? As if it wasn't enough that she wants my Gray-sama, now she wants Ryker- san , too!" she said desperately.
"That's not what this is about!" Lucy yelled indignantly.
"He is well. Let's go." Ryker got up and pulled Lucy to the other side of the guild. "See you later," he said as he left the table for his companions.
"So what do you want to talk about?" he asked as they walked around the guild.
"We'd better talk somewhere else, a quieter place," Lucy said.
Ryker looked at her and narrowed his eyes. "You're not a rival for love, are you?" he asked.
"Of course not, idiot!" she yelled, slightly blushing.
"He is well. Where do you want to talk then?", he asked leaving the guild.
The two walked for a while, until they reached a park in the city, where they chose to sit in the shade of a large tree. It was late summer and the days were already starting to get colder and shorter. That particular day, it was slightly warm and shady, at that time it wouldn't be all bad.
Lucy started as soon as they were settled. "Mira is very worried about you. She thinks you're in trouble."
Ryker looked at her and sighed. "Then that's it. She asked you to come talk to me," he said gruffly.
"No. I volunteered", the celestial mage looked at him steadily and seriously.
"I have nothing wrong, I already told her that. I am fine. I don't understand the insistence," he snorted.
"It's not what she thinks. Mira knows you better than anyone, if she thinks you've got something wrong, it's because you do," she was staring at him determinedly. "And don't give me that it's okay. I believe in Mira".
"She's very insistent." Ryker frowned irritably.
"She cares about you, worth that," Lucy retorted firmly.
"Aim doesn't need to. We just ended up fighting over it," he huffed and crossed his arms in annoyance.
"She told me," Lucy said, staring at him. "Tell me, Ryker? Do you want Mira not to worry about you, not to call you anymore?", he looked at her scared.
He stopped and thought, life without Mira was terrible, he couldn't even think about losing her. But did he deserve her in the first place?
"No..." Ryker said, barely audible whisper.
"Then talk to her, Ryker. Or with someone." Lucy placed her hand on his shoulder.
He sighed heavily. "Remember the mission Mira and I went on together, the first one?" Ryker said and Lucy nodded in confirmation. "That monster messed with my head, brought back memories I wouldn't want to have. It's been bothering me, I haven't slept well since then."
"If you want I can listen, try to help you in some way," Lucy said tenderly.
"Thanks, Lucy." He looked at her. "But there are some things in my past that are best forgotten, not brought up. Things I've done that I'm not proud of, things I regret," he looked down, stooping under the weight of guilt.
"We all have things we regret. But I see you've regretted it, so it's okay," she comforted him, taking his hand in hers.
"Not everything is fine Lucy. Not everything," he looked at her pleadingly.
"Ryker..." she said sadly, she saw his pain in the look he gave her.
Ryker dropped his head and leaned into Lucy's lap, catching her off guard. "I'm tired," he said, closing his eyes.
"R... Ryker! What are you doing!?", Lucy yelled blushing with that man lying down and leaning his head on her thighs.
"I'll talk to Mira when we get back," he replied. "But I need a nap. And when I'm like that, you're my best pillow," he chuckled, turning Lucy redder than a ripe tomato. "Lucy?" he called out to her. "You always solving my sleep problems, huh!", he laughed again and with a slight teasing tone.
The blonde didn't know what to do, but looking at him, lying on her lap, so calm, she couldn't help but smile tenderly. She stroked their hair, lulling him to sleep.
When the two returned to the Guild hours later, Ryker made a beeline for the bar, walking around the bar and facing Mira. They looked at each other and he hugged her, being immediately reciprocated.
The next day, everything, apparently, was back to normal. Ryker was talking to the Strauss and teasing Lisy with something. Elfman spoke to Evergreen and Mira smiled at her brothers and boyfriend while serving the guild.
Makarov left his office and went to the guild hall, climbing onto a table and catching everyone's attention.
"What was master? Did something happen!?", the mages shouted, imagining the worst for the master to come and make a pronouncement.
"Calm down my children," he said. "Today we have good news", everyone in the guild looked at each other and smiled and shouted happily and excitedly.
"So what happened master?", Erza asked.
"A lord invited us to spend a few days in his luxurious residence, as a way of thanking us for our fight against Alvarez. In addition to sending a substantial sum of money to our guild", he had dollar signs in his eyes as he spoke excitedly.
"Good, master!" Mira clapped her hands excitedly.
"But why now?", Erza asked him.
"Don't worry my daughter. I researched him," Makarov soothed Erza of her worries. "He is a reclusive gentleman who lives in the hills, he has made a lot of money in trade and has been a good factor for many years. He wants us there to thank us. He can only call us now because his property was destroyed in the war and he was rebuilding it, and he called us to the inauguration."
"And when will we leave?", Natsu asked.
"As soon as possible," Makarov said, and everyone cheered with the good news.