With me as his wings, Gray cleared the skies in less than five minutes.
"Can you get me back up there? We need that evidence if Erza's buddy isn't gonna get carted off to jail after this!" Gray asked once we were finished. My arms were aching and my magic was running dangerously low.
"Can't...lost too much altitude...not enough magic to get it back." I had been determined to last out as long as it took for Gray to finish taking down those Grimwings and their riders, but my temporary surge of magical adrenaline was petering out.
"Don't push yourself then. We'll go back the long way. Get me down to the entrance."
Jellal is attempting to manipulate Erza's emotions and push her into the sacrificial lacrima while she was distracted.
Erza has just punched Jellal in the face.
You go, girl!
"It's all blocked by the lacrima. The room we were in was filled with your ice, so we didn't get trapped inside it. Only way left to get up to where they are is to fly...just give me a few minutes to get some power back, and I'll get you there." The guard and their Grimwings had been stationed in specially made bunkers and had come out as soon as they knew the coast was clear. They had been cheering, certain of their victory. At least up until they met a cold and wet fate in the ocean below.
That fight appeared to not be going too terribly for all that Gray wasn't in position to get us some evidence. Just a few minutes. I vowed, glaring at my abysmally small overall magic reserve. Just a few more minutes and then we're going!
I flew him back down to the boats and deposited Gray in the boat with Simon and Sho.
"Just how angry will Erza be that you just did that?" Simon asked me very dryly. I shrugged, still high on the euphoria of finally achieving flight.
"Pretty mad."
"And as soon as she gets done with that, she'll be proud." Gray groused. "Fae could get away with murder in the guild. Everyone loves her."
"Oh please, never murder Gray. No one gets away with that for long. Extortion, blackmail, maybe a little guilt tripping, but never murder."
Jellal has managed to put a binding spell on Erza and paralyze her.
"This is your purpose in life Erza. We two were fated to unite and resurrect Zeref."
"Shut up!" Natsu sent Jellal flying back, away from Erza. "Erza is one of us! She's of Fairy Tail she's not working with you, you sick bastard! Now get out of her friend!"
Jellal has used Grand Chariot and caused a large amount of damage to the lacrima.
Natsu is smashing everything he can get his hands on.
"I consider my point proved." I stuck my tongue out at him before I looked at Simon. I had felt an update as we left the tower so...
"As we were still buzzing around out there, I started feeling a whole lot ethernano get sucked towards the top of the tower. That place is primed to blow. Can you get in contact with Lucy and Juvia and tell them to get out?"
"On it." Simon replied, touching two fingers to his temple and conveying the message.
"I'm not gonna let anyone make Erza cry!"
Hoo boy...Whelp, Jellal's screwed.
Jellal has royally pissed Natsu off and he has started to-
That idiot! I whirled in midair, staring at the top of the tower.
"What is it, Fae?"
"Natsu's eating the Etherion!" I said, aghast. Looking down and recasting my scrying spell.
"What!?" Gray sat up so sharply he rocked the boat.
"No one can eat Etherion! That's crazy!" Millianna had captured Happy and was cuddling the unfortunate tomcat quite aggressively.
"You don't know Natsu then." Gray said grimly, half rising and looking closely at the image I had made on the water. "Part of a Dragon Slayer's basic magic is to be able to eat their own element to regain lost magic power."
"Etherion definitely has Fire Magic in it. Thing is, it has a lot more than just fire." I kept watching the screen in the water as I landed back on the boat and listened intently for any update from my passive magical ability.
"So you're saying the fool's gonna give himself magical food poisoning for nothing!?" Wally demanded. "This is Erza's backup?"
Suddenly we all heard an almighty roar as Lucy and Juvia surfaced, held inside a shell of water. A thundering, rolling sound that shattered the air it touched with the sheer magnitude of power that it conveyed and the fury it held.
I had never heard anything closer to matching what I imagined an angry Smaug would sound like.
"What was that?" I didn't hear who asked. I was just watching my scrying spell...
"The Dragon comes." My own voice sounded strange in my ears as the echoes of the roar reverberated through the air.
Natsu has entered Dragon Force. The implications were that that took a lot of power, so...
I cupped my hands around my eyes.
"Scan for concentrations of magic."
I looked over the entire tower and was shocked to see that it was almost completely dark. All the light, and therefor magic, was concentrated at the top of the tower and it was blinding! And all of it was packed into one person!
Natsu... I was stunned, amazed and awed at what I saw. Natsu just ate most of an Etherion Blast! He had taken in a tiny bit of the Etherion lacrima, and through that had pulled in a staggering amount of raw power as if it were fire.
The stronger the Dragon Slayer is naturally, the more it will take for them to enter Dragon Force for the first time. I was mildly terrified at the implication that it took an Etherion Blast to kick start Natsu into the Dragon Force.
Through my scrying spell, we watched as Natsu roared, bluish demi-liquid Etherion dripped down from his mouth even as scales grew around his eyes and on his hands and forearms and he simply radiated power and the instinctive terror one would feel facing an actual dragon.
Natsu snarled something at Erza, who's face tightened angrily for a split second.
"You still care about this guy, even though they've used him to hurt you. Don't fight your friend, Erza. I'll fight him for you! You just smash up this tower nice and good so they can't ever use it again!"
"I'm counting on you, Natsu!"
Natsu then went head to head with Jellal Fernandes, a Ten Wizard Saint and member of the Magic Council through his alter ego, Siegrain. And he was giving him the beat down of the century. I had thought watching Natsu fight Gajeel through my Retrocognition was staggering. But this was on a whole new level. Nothing Jellal threw at him made contact or so much as phased him. Natsu was in full on rage mode and wasn't gonna stop until his enemy was roasted to his satisfaction. I switched over to watch what Erza was doing and saw that she had pulled out her Purgatory Armor, repaired after her fight with Ikaruga, and was using that to smash through as much lacrima as she could, an expression of fierce exultation on her face.
"You kept me prisoner for years. And in all that time, I didn't dare speak of this place for fear of what might happen to my friends. BUT I WILL NOT BE SILENCED ANYMORE!"
Yeah, I couldn't imagine how therapeutic it must be for Erza to be able to tear that place down with her own two hands. She was really ripping into it too, lacrima was flying everywhere. Whoever was pulling the strings must be steamed that all their years of work, plotting and scheming was coming down around their ears. When Erza went all out, the surrounding terrain trembled and despaired.
Those who had been slaves there as well were either laughing, crying or cheering as Erza shredded the icon of their pain.
A particularly loud crash made me look back to see how Natsu was handling things.
Jellal is attempting to cast Abyss Break.
Ok...kudos to him for having enough power to even try that after everything but...
He failed due to his injuries and lack of magic power.
-that. Yeah.
It was just not smart to try and cast a massive spell like that after going toe to toe with Erza, Gray and Natsu for any length of time. Jellal might have been able to estimate his own strengths had he been the one in control, but whoever was actually in charge here wouldn't have that same instinctive awareness of his own strength.
"You'll never know what it means to be free! Not as long as you're possessed by that spirit! Why are you letting him manipulate you? You can do it, Jellal! FREE YOURSELF!"
We all watched as Natsu delivered the mother of all punches to Jellal's face, sending him crashing down into the giant lacrima with enough for to send cracking spidering throughout the entire structure.
"Holy..." Wally looked slightly ill.
"We'd've had to fight this guy?" Millianna looked petrified at the very thought. Happy managed to wriggle free from her grasp, wings popping out as he looped and soared around us, cheering madly.
"Yeah! You show him, Natsu!"
"Nice hit!" Gray's grin was all teeth and satisfaction.
"Oh wow." Lucy looked amazed all over again.
"On my..." Juvia was somewhat...relieved.
Considering it could very easily have been her on the receiving end of that not too long ago, Juvia's reaction made a lot of sense.
"'Meddle not in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and good with ketchup.'" I quoted dryly. It made the Fairy Tail Wizards laugh.
Their happiness and relief aside, I was listening to something else. A voice echoing through the past to reach my ears.
"We can't escape and they're not gonna let us go! So the only thing we can do is fight!"
A voice that I dimly recognized as belonging to a young Erza. But why was that memory coming out?
I looked around and saw that it was coming from Simon. His shoulders were slumped in obvious relief, a burden having fallen away from his shoulders as well. And tears were leaking out of both his good eye and the one he covered with an eyepatch. I hated seeing a grown man cry. (Unless it was Elfman when he was being dramatic. Then it was just kinda funny.)
Erza had been living with the guilt and fear from the Tower for eight years. Unable to do anything to save the people she knew was still there.
But Simon had been trapped here for all that time. Loving the woman everyone else believed had betrayed them, and never daring to say it aloud for fear of what might be heard. And his feelings had never once wavered or changed.
Simzaaaaaa!
Erza's battle might be over. But she had been far from the only warrior caught up in it.
I flitted over to the big man, my wings still out, cause I wasn't gonna put them away for a long time if I could help it, and hugged him. He looked like he needed it.
"What is it?" Simon appeared to favor telepathy over speech. The jaw made it difficult to talk, I guessed.
"You were crying. I know it's not because you're sad or anything, but everyone should have someone around to hug them when they're crying." I pulled back and traced the bulky prosthetic. "I bet Porlyusica could make you a new jaw, and give you a new eye too..."
"But...why?" I blinked up at him.
"Because when the fight's over is when the scars start to heal."
"Fae, your wings are starting to-" I jerked in the air as my magic power sputtered.
OK. I guess I have to stop... I dismissed both my wings and the scrying spell. Simon caught me handily before gently placing me back in the boat.
"Is it safe to go back there?" Gray asked, tense and ready. "We still need some of that Possession Magic residue."
I rubbed my eyes, weariness swamping me from every side...
"Dunno. Simon?" He checked, fingers at his temple...then his eyes flew open with alarm.
"The lingering energy in the lacrima has become unstable. Erza's going to try and redirect it, but we need to get back out of the potential blast radius." The implications of that were-
"Redirect it?!" Gray snapped, he and the other professional wizards sitting up, all the relief from Natsu's victory gone and replaced with urgency.
"With a lacrima of that size, the only way she would be able to do that is by-"
"-getting inside it!" Juvia and Lucy appeared to have bonded since they were very much on the same wavelength now as opposed to Juvia disliking Lucy because of her purely platonic friendship with-
Gray thinks Lucy is very attractive and he likes her quite a bit. But he's too much of a bro to Natsu to make a move if he doesn't first get a clear sign that it would be reciprocated on her part.
...Just shut up. Ok, that goes under things that will never be spoken of within Juvia's hearing. Better yet, just never spoken of, period.
Focus on the matter at hand!
Erza was right that if she put her magic into the loose ethernano and redirected it upward, she could keep it from exploded and taking us all with it. But in a merger of that depth-
"Wh-What does that mean?" Sho demanded, staring hard at the three wizards.
"It means she's going to kill herself!"
"It might work if she hadn't spent most of the last several hours fighting and burning through magic power. But as she is now, it's suicide!" Lucy's hands were gripping the edge of the boat so tightly I thought that she would break the wood.
"Simon, you gotta stop her! There's gotta be another way!"
"I'm trying to connect, but she's blocking me out!"
There was little more than barely curbed chaos and panic in our two boats and Juvia's water shell. But there literally wasn't anything we could do. Happy couldn't reach it in time flying, I could either even if I wasn't exhausted. Juvia might be able to, but damaging the lacrima would just set it all off and potentially take some of the nearby coast with it.
I felt something then. A dark shadow that had been lingering nearby that simply left. Whatever was possessing Jellal just got out of him. There was a few more moments of uncertainty and worry.
Then the impending tension, for me at least, just seemed to stop...
Jellal took Erza's place.
The tower exploded with light. Natsu had eaten a lot of the raw ethernano, but there was still more than enough to put on an impressive light show as pure magical power shot heavenward. I had never seen anything like it and probably (hopefully) never would again. I could feel Jellal's form strain to serve as a conduit for all that power.
"All I've done for the last 8 years is cause pain...Please, please, let me atone for it...let me make it right..."
"Erza!"
"Erza's alright." I pointed as a sphere of golden magic shot out of the top of the tower, but instead of following the beam up, it descended towards the ocean. "That was Jellal...he threw off the possession spell in time to take Erza's place, and get her and Natsu out of the tower...They're alright but he-"
The top 100 feet of the lacrima tower exploded in a wash of magical fire before I could finish. I flinched as I felt Jellal leave my story. Enemy or not, Erza's memories had been really caught up in him. And she would mourn him bitterly. But privately, where no one else could see.
No. I won't let you face that alone Erza. I resolved quietly. I lived it through you. I saw everything that you suffered. No matter what, I will not let any of my friends go through that kind of pain alone.
-vVv-
I slept for a day and a half after we returned to Akane Resort. Natsu, of course, broke my record by sleeping for three full days.
When I finally woke up, I was informed that the Rune Knights had pretty much handled the cleanup. Apparently, when boatload after boatload of refugee slaves, including nearly 50% of every missing person's case over the last decade, had started coming ashore on Akane Beach, they had come in, pushed all the tourists out and started taking care of business like they should.
The Fairy Tail wizards were questioned, of course, even I was questioned once I woke up because I was one of the victims who had been kidnapped. I wasn't optimistic about the whole thing. And unfortunately, regardless of what we said, Jellal was being blamed for the whole thing.
But since in addition to the whole tower nonsense, he had been infiltrating the Magic Council and the 10 Wizard Saints, it stood to reason there would be more than a slap on the wrist coming even if we had gotten the proof we needed.
All of the slaves were the tower were tested and treated for both their psychological issues and the various effects from their labor intensive lifestyle. Of course Erza's little group of friends were screened even more carefully due to them possessing magic. But ultimately they were excused and put on probation for about two years.
Erza spent as much time as she could with them. Her joy at finally being forgiven by them knew no bounds. In other news, Juvia was cutting back a little on the stalking of Gray and was directing her attention towards an alternate obsession.
"I suppose that one might be worth looking into." She mused coolly assessing the man, a relatively decent looking one who was not staring and drooling at the two sunbathing friends but was focusing instead on a book.
That's right, people! Juvia is trying to play matchmaker! Heaven help all the single adults when she meets Mira and yay for being too young to count!
"I...really appreciate what you're trying to do, Juvia. But I don't have time for that with as much as I'm working. I'm barely staying ahead of the rent as it is." Lucy had recovered from the fighting admirably. She had actually been helping Millianna try and tone down her obsession.
"Actually since we were involved with this, the guild's getting a hefty compensation for bringing it down. Not sure how long it will last given your track record for breaking stuff, but..." I was just being brought along because I didn't feel like infringing on Erza's reunion with her old friends. I was working through the condensed version of my notes on The Fellowship of the Ring to get an idea of what I could next work on. My Link hat had gotten lost somewhere along the way, and even then-
Red, the slight tug of a sword passing through bone, the smell-
Yeah, I wasn't really ready to so much as look at a sword without some time to get my head on straight and face that facts about what had happened back then.
I killed a man.
It was something a lot of wizards had to deal with, especially in a combat oriented Guild like Fairy Tail. But it still sucked rocks to have that bouncing around in my head along with the rest of the clutter and memories. And it also sucked to have almost perfect recall.
"Oh really? That's a relief. I was super worried about needing to cram some small jobs to get the rent money." Lucy sighed and leaned back in her beach chair with a brilliant smile.
"And you don't have to pay for the extra nights here." As apology for the trouble that had come at us while in their property, the resort and hotel we were staying at had extended our passes from three days to a whole week. After Master had stopped yelling after hearing everything that had gone down, he outright ordered us to stay on vacation.
"In other words: The real vacation may now begin!" Lucy sighed happily, content to doze in the sunlight with a cold drink close at hand.
It was approaching the end of summer and the day was pleasantly warm without being boiling. A pretty much perfect beach day, typical of the area and season. I saw plenty of people just lounging about in swimsuits, relaxing and enjoying themselves.
But Gray still stripped. Because of course he did.
"Gray, this isn't a nude beach. Keep your swim trunks on." I reminded him, making him snatch his hands away from the article of clothing.
"Wasn't doing anything!"
"Sure, sure." Juvia was covering her eyes, not very effectively, and gazing at the object of her obsession affection with a rapt look on her face.
Seriously, that's kinda creepy
"I don't think my heart could have taken the sight..."
"You sound way too thrilled for that to be true." That's Lucy for ya. Blunt and sarcastic as ever about her friends habits.
I giggled as Juvia snapped back at her.
"Are you trying to deny that you would not have relished the chance to look as well?"
Lucy snorted. "The chances aren't as rare as you think. I've only been in the guild for a couple months, Juvia. And in that time, I think everyone has seen Gray naked at least twice." I gave her a lot of credit for developing such a thick skin towards the resident Ice Wizard's compulsive habit.
"So many women who've seen my beloved uncovered...so many rivals!"
"Ok! I'm leaving, come on Fae!" Gray slung me over his shoulder and booked it away from the slightly steaming water mage and the reclining celestial spirit mage. I just sighed and kept ahold of my syllabary as I was carried off and away.
"Soooo...why?"
"First, it's weird it is to have them talking about...that, while I can hear! Second, Erza will skin me if she finds out I let you hear it!"
-vVv-
I went out flying every night that week. Flying helped me not remember. I probably should have been sleeping, but the rest didn't come. It brought nightmares and memories instead. I had to be well and truly exhausted to not have those dreams, and that meant burning a little extra energy,
I turned a few loop-de-loops in the air, using the same basic enchantment that I had spontaneously discovered while rushing to save Gray from falling to his death.
The orange rune covered wings were a little more deftly shaped than Freed's wings, closer to than Evergreen's fairy wing enchantment in appearance. I had been tweaking the enchantment a little now that I could reliably call it into existence. After some experimenting, I found that four crescent shaped dragonfly wings gave me the best combination of speed and handling. It was a matter of instinct to move, but the finer details had to be ironed out still. Turning exactly on this point, where to begin a dive and how steep to make it. When to pull out of a dive to make a perfect landing. How to hold myself motionless in the air in a hover. All little things like that that I was determined to master, ASAP. Now that I had my wings, I was going to be a champ at using them!
It also meant my test runs for the past few nights had ended with me occasionally crashing into the ocean, but better that than land.
The moon was bright enough for me to see when I flew up the picturesque coast to get away from gawkers. I dipped low to skim over the ocean's surface, keeping my body straight and aligned with my trajectory to minimize drag, letting a hand trail through the spray that flew up towards me. The sea breezes played around me, like The breath of some massive, living entity... The ocean never really slept. It was always alive, always breathing, always awake.
I eventually found a boulder outcropping to rest and catch my breath and watch the silver moonlight play over the water's surface.
"You're quite good for only having started a few days ago." Erza's soft remark made me jump and turn to look at her. She landed on the same boulder in her Blackwing armor, one of the suits that let her fly, before she shifted back into her PJ's. "I've been meaning to talk to you for awhile now." I tensed slightly, nerves singing in the back of my head.
"What about?" Somehow, my voice seemed especially young when set against hers. Erza sat down beside me, eyes steady on my face.
"The spell you were using at the tower when I first found you and Happy. What was it?" My fingers clenched briefly.
"I...I was using a story. The one about Link and stuff."
"Yes, I thought I recognized the hat." I swallowed and brought my knees up to my chest.
"It hasn't gotten to the climax yet, but in that story. Link's descendants end up being...guardians of sorts against the same kind of evil. So their skill is passed down from generation to generation. Every now and then, the first Link's spirit gets reincarnated into a new body bearing the same name. And the instincts that he developed in his previous lives follow him. So even if the current bearer is just a farmer, he can still pick up a sword and fight with it."
"So the spell you wrote was meant to tap into several lifetimes worth of swordsmanship skill, give you a fighting chance even though you don't know much about the art, while still having the limits and abilities if a child." I nodded mutely, regret and guilt mixing up inside of me.
It was so easy...
The act itself had been easy. The motion I had practiced with Erza in her efforts to train me, mixed with the recollection of the Mortal Draw from all the times Link had used similar moves in his lifetimes...
"Fae..." I barely flinched when her hand rested on my shoulder. "Fae, I know..."
And she did. I felt that she did.
She had picked up a sword for the first time when she was only a little older than I was right then. She had done it to fight for her freedom, she had lead her fellows in a riot against their masters to win back their lives. Regardless of how it had turned out, when the dust settled and Erza was free, she had needed to face the consequences that she had fought and killed people.
"It was easy..." I whispered. "I thought that it wouldn't be that easy. That the bones would stop the blade, that it would be harder to do-"
"That the world would stop and give you a second to think about what you were about to do. That you could have a moment to decide if you really wanted to go through with it."
I buried my face in my knees as I started to cry again.
"Fae, I saw what happened. That skill is definitely magically based." I hiccuped as I nodded, still hiding my face.
"It's a special skill... Link came up with it during a war period, to win duels quickly. The Mortal Draw. A downward slash from out of the sheathe to cut from between the neck and shoulder and end the fight." Erza pulled me closer to her, one arm around me, my head resting on her shoulder.
"It's alright..."
No it's not!
"I killed him, Erza...he'd have died in less than an hour. I killed him, I felt his story end, and I wrote it, I made it end-"
"I know..." She swallowed, lifting her hand to run through my wind swept hair. "I ended it before he could suffer for too long."
"How...?" I asked, hating how weak and childish I sounded. "How do you...?" How do you come to terms with the fact that you have killed someone? That you've taken someone's life? You took someone's loved son or daughter and made it into a corpse...
"Consider this." Erza's voice was soft and heavy. This was not a laughing matter. "What would have happened if you hadn't done it?" The possibility opened up quickly to both my mind and my magic.
"He'd have managed to hit me." I caught Erza's soft but firm look as she gazed down at me. No...that isn't honest. He hadn't been aiming to disable like the others had been. I couldn't glance over that with a soft lie even to make things gentler.
"He'd have killed me."
"And?"
"And Happy. He'd have spread my brains all over the floor and then done the same to Happy."
That wasn't an attractive prospect either, but it didn't change the facts of what had happened.
"I'm not going to lie to you, Fae. There will be other times as a wizard that you will face similar situations like what happened at the tower. Where it will come down to a conflict where your choices will either be to let yourself and your friends die, or to act and stop whoever is trying to hurt them in whatever way is available to you." Her mouth curved up a little bitterly. "The man who taught me the finer details of combat said to me: 'Mercy is for the victor to give'. As wizards in our field, we see a lot of fights. People count on us to be able to fight the battles they can't. And we do run the risk of killing our enemies if we are not careful. Or if the situation necessitates it. I face that far more than the others just because of my magic." No...there wouldn't be very many ways for Erza, rough, strong and powerful Ezra, to be gentle with her overwhelming strength.
She held out her hand, summoning her magic circle momentarily and a sword fell through it into her palm. A short sword similar to the Kokiri Sword, clean, bright and well cared for. I cringed away from the sight of the blade, but she held me fast. Not letting me hide, nor forcing me to face it.
"Swords are tools, Fae. They have no inherent will of their own. They serve their wielders. So it is your responsibility to face the fact that whenever you pick one up, you have to be ready and willing to hurt or kill someone." The red haired woman gazed down at me with understanding in her gaze as she drew the hilt closer to me. "Magic is no different. It's an extension of our will, we choose what to do with it, and we deal with the consequences that follow. Some people don't want to have the kinds of consequences you're facing right now. So they direct themselves to lines of wizardry that keep them away from those negative consequences. I don't know how much of your magic will be based on using weapons, or fighting. Given your talents, you could literally become anything you chose. But whether you choose to go down the warrior's path or the scholar's, I will lend you all the support I can."
I simply stayed where I was, leaning into the older woman's hold and allowing my guilt to leave my body and stop tormenting me.
She had posed a serious question though.
What did I want to be?
Did I want to be what Erza was? Or something more akin to Levy's line of work? Did I work alone or work with a team? Just looking at Freed as my example proved I could be both.
I want to be with my friends. I didn't care what I did so long as I could be with them. In that case, the better question was: Was I content letting others protect me, or did I want to do my part and protect them as well? No matter what...
The true soldier chooses to fight not because he hates what stands before him, but because he loves what he stands for.
I do love them. I love my guild. My family...If there is anything in this world worth fighting for, it's that.
I reached out and took the sword from Erza's hand.
-vVv-
Natsu was up and about after eating half his body weight in food, yelling, laughing and seeming none the worse for wear for our little jaunt into madness. (Which I was not entirely sure hadn't ended yet.) Then we actually had a few days of rather nice vacation. Erza brought our two groups together and we actually had a good time. Simon was hands down my favorite of her childhood friends though. He was an excellent height for climbing and didn't mind me doing so.
On the matter of Simon, we had gotten in touch with Makarov to start convincing Porlyusica to fix up Simon with a new face. Or...his old one, I guess. And we got him some clothes, because frankly, only Gray really had an excuse to go around like he normally does, and even there it's a flimsy one.
It was certainly a welcome relief for us all to be there and alright. While we were there, there were many in depth discussions of magic, first-hand observation of the benefits of a dopeslap and watching Millianna chase Happy along the beach. It only really hit a snag when we remembered that technically, Juvia wasn't a Fairy Tail wizard. (Yet.) Thus, while she had gotten a complimentary rest period at Akane for her involvement in the Tower of Heaven, she didn't have as long as we did so she had to leave while we had a few days left. Her farewells were said with many smiles and many tears. And also clingy hugs, and attempts to get Gray to confess. So pretty much the same as whenever he was within sight. It was kinda uncomfortable to watch and I wasn't even on the receiving end of it. Gray was, for very obvious reasons, not impressed.
Juvia was depressed accordingly and spoke to me about it.
"My current appearance doesn't seem to have touched my Gray's heart. I must work to alter myself in such a way that he will notice me!" She gave me a tight hug that only left me slightly wet. "When we meet again, Fae, I'll be a full member of Fairy Tail!"
I don't really think it's the appearance that makes the difference, Juvia. It's your attitude that's kinda weird...
I guess she was just embracing the whole idea of having friends and taking it to the next level very quickly. And that's what she was, she was my friend. I seemed to be incapable of having a normal one...
I hugged her back with a smile.
"Looking forward to it, Juvia. See you then."
-vVv-
They are planning on leaving in the night to let Erza get on with her life without being bogged down by them.
Erza suspected that her friends would try something like this. All save Simon, who still hadn't made a move, much to my exasperation. She had stayed up and we were waiting alongside her.
I held onto my prop with a broad grin on my face as I waited.
"Fae, what's the stick for?" Lucy asked me. I looked up at her, eyes glittering.
"Just an idea I had. You'll see!" We all fell silent to listen as Erza found her friends on the beach.
Sho was serious about wanting to go and find his own way in the world. All three of them were. They had lived in someone else's shadow and wanted to find themselves. Simon was standing just behind Erza. He had chosen where he belonged a long time ago. I don't think any one of them were surprised by his decision. It would take a lot for Simon to ever be willing to let Erza out of his sight.
But not these three. These three had had blinders strapped onto them and now that they were free, they wanted to make the most of it.
"For those who wish to leave Fairy Tail, there are three rules which the must abide by!" Erza re-quipped into her ceremonial armor, the kind she only ever broke out when she was conducting the farewell ceremony.
"We never even joined your guild, what are-?" Wally was briskly stampeded over by Erza's sharp authoritative bark. Just like she did for any member of Fairy Tail who was trying to argue with her.
"First: You must never reveal any sensitive information about the guild, to anyone, for as long as you live!"
She is sad and proud to see them go.
Yeah...yeah, she would be proud.
"Second: Never contact any clients you worked for while in the guild for your own personal gain!" Sho, Wally and Milianna were confused still at the way Ezra was behaving, but they were starting to sense what exactly she was trying to say to them with this little charade.
I felt Erza's choke off a sob before she bravely continued, all of us exchanged a look, eager and ready to act when she gave the word...
"And third: Although our paths must stray, promise to live the rest of your lives to the fullest. That means, you must treat every day as though it were your last in this world!" Erza was crying now, tears rolling down her face as she completed the speaking portion of the ceremony.
"Never forget-" Erza's voice hitched with emotion."Never forget your Fairy Tail friends!" Her unspoken words echoed with all the force of a shout in my mind.
Don't forget about me-
"Treasure them for as long as you live!"
Because I won't forget you!
I didn't need to see the former slaves to know that all of them were tearing up.
Then Erza raised her flag and her voice:
"Let the Fairy Tail Farewell Ceremony begin now!"
Gray, Natsu and Lucy sent their fireworks up with their magic, ice blue, blazing crimson and star burst yellow, bidding farewell to the people they had befriended in the most unlikely of circumstances.
They had said their first goodbyes, then Natsu grinned down at me.
"You're up, Fae!" I tapped the end of my stick onto the ground.
"Fly." My wings bloomed on my back, gleaming orange and amber, I had altered them to bird's wings and let them go as large and impressive as they wanted as I soared upward. I had a 12 foot wingspan that literally glowed against the dark sky. But I wasn't done yet. I grinned as I pronounced a new spell I had been working on for this occasion, hefting the stick I had attached the spell to.
"Gandalf the Grey." The stick I held lengthened and seemed to age, twisting into a weathered staff that was about as long as I was tall. I gave it a wave.
Fireworks shot from the top of my stave as it passed through the air, lighting up the sky in a brilliant multitude of colors. Bird, butterflies and fairies soared and twisted through the air, made of colorful red, blue and lavender sparks. They scattered as a red and gold dragon materialized, roaring in a fiery voice. Trees bloomed and blossomed with flowers and leaves of every hue of green silver and gold imaginable. And smack in the middle of it all was the Fairy Tail symbol. Never let it be said I didn't have guild pride. It was a big, flashy light show that was gonna make me really tired.
Worth it.
The opened mouthed looks of wordless wonder on Wally, Sho and Millianna's faces resolved somewhat into shaky, tear filled grins when I flapped my wings once and soared up to dance among the blazing constructs, still clutching my staff and waving my goodbyes, grinning so wide it hurt my face.
So. Worth. It!
"Come and see us soon!"
For all we had gotten off to a rough start, the experiences and memories made with these people here were pivotal and important ones. They'd helped me grow in ways I knew that I needed.
"May all your journeys bring you joy..." Erza whispered as we all stood together to watch the boat sail away... "I know we will meet again..."
Fairy Tail's Titania stood on the sand with the spray flecking her cloak, a smile on her face and cried as she watched her old life, the good and the bad, fade away.
Simon stood behind her, simply content to watch Erza with such a soft expression that I know Lucy definitely noticed. Her smile was soft, understanding and completely supportive.
Simza shipper gained.
For a change, I didn't tell that voice to shut up.