Chapter Eighteen:

Persephone sighed as she rolled through the footage again. She was still trying to figure out who sent the spider after Cato and where they were when it happened. Benedict was convinced it was one of his uncles, and that was probably so. But how did they get it past the barriers and did they have anyone helping them? That is what Persephone wanted to know.

She yawned as she stopped the footage on her screen. Everyone else had gone to bed.

At least she thought they had…

A stream of light fell over her face as her hotel room door opened. She looked up, surprised to see-

"Cato?"

Cato smiled as he held up two plastic cups. "I thought I'd bring you a midnight snack."

"How'd you know I'd still be up?" Persephone asked.

"Because you're Persephone Redfox, and if it weren't for the fact that you have blue hair I'd think you were a vampire," Cato answered.

"A vampire?" Persephone asked, arching an eyebrow.

"Well, you like to wear black and red," Cato said.

"True," Persephone answered.

"You're always hiding in tight spaces."

"What's that got to do with anything?"

"Vampires like to live in coffins."

"I've never hidden in a coffin before, Cato."

"Only because we don't have one. If there was a coffin at the guildhall you'd be curled up in it with a stack of books every single day."

"Point taken," Persephone smirked.

"You have a sharp tongue and a sharper mind. You can be a bit mean at times. You're scary. And, going back to my original point, you never sleep," Cato finally rested his case as he sat next to Persephone and passed one of the cups to her."

"Banana pudding?" Persephone asked.

"Last I checked it was your favorite," Cato said. "Unless you've swapped over to blood pudding."

"Only when it's made with the blood of my enemies," Persephone joked as she took the cup from him.

"Uh-huh. And do you prefer the blood of Phoenix Grave, Twilight Ogre, or just Dark Wizards in general?" Cato arched an eyebrow as he went along with the joke.

"Hm," Persephone tapped her chin as she pretended to think. "Depends on my mood."

"Well, sorry, I don't have any blood pudding on file so bananas will have to do," Cato shrugged as he held his cup out. "Cheers?"

"Cheers," Persephone smiled as she clinked her cup against his and they both took a spoonful to eat.

"Great job out there today," Cato said after he'd swallowed his bite down.

"Thanks," Persephone smiled as she began zooming in on certain bits of footage on her screen.

"And for thinking of a way to get in touch with Nashi."

"Eh," Persephone shrugged. "We were all trying to get in contact with her. I just happened to find it first."

"Because you're brilliant," Cato replied.

"I try," Persephone shrugged.

"Ha! More than just try," Cato smirked. "Seeing as you beat every other guild at riddles and puzzles today."

Persephone stopped fiddling with her screens and turned to Cato. "Alright, what do you want, Dreyar?"

Cato shrugged. "Do I have to want something to give my friend a compliment?"

"I suppose not, but it's still suspicious," Persephone replied, eyes still narrow.

"How is telling a friend they did well in the Grand Magic Games suspicious?" Cato asked.

"Well, maybe that by itself isn't suspicious," Persephone clarified. "But that on top of bringing me my favorite food, and paying me the high compliment of comparing me to a vampire?"

"You consider being called a vampire a compliment?" Cato asked. "Why am I not surprised."

"Well, as you pointed out, it does go with my aesthetic."

"Oh, fancy words! I'm pretty sure I know what 'aesthetic' is, but I'm not 100% certain, so to save myself from looking like a fool I'll move on."

"A wise decision."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

Both children laughed.

"Seriously, though, what's up?" Persephone asked.

"I just wanted to say 'congrats,' really," Cato answered.

"Uh-huh."

"And maybe to-"

"There it is!"

"Shut up, brainiac."

"Make me, copycat."

Cato made a face at Persephone, which she returned before Cato continued. "And to, I dunno, apologize for nearly screwing it up in the battle round."

"What? Come off it," Persephone said, slugging Cato in the shoulder. "You did great."

"Yeah, got my partner burned," Cato sighed, adding under my breath. "And now I have to worry about Farrah killing me."

"They're not official boyfriend-girlfriend yet, she can't get mad at you," Persephone assured him.

"Wait? You've seen it too?"

"Duh. I'm not blind," Persephone replied as she ate another bite of banana pudding.

"Yeah, I guess they don't really make their feelings a secret do they?" Cato chuckled.

"Only from each other, which is stupid," Persephone grumbled as she filed through the footage on her screen again.

"You know you'll be a teenager in two years, right?" Cato asked.

"Ew. How dare you," Persephone grimaced to which Cato laughed.

"Is everyone else asleep?" Persephone asked.

"Pretty sure they are," Cato nodded.

And they were right. For a little while.

Across the hallway Storm was asleep. It wasn't a very restful sleep, but he was still asleep. Even in his slumber, though, his fears and anxieties wouldn't leave him alone. So much had gone wrong. Even in his dreams, he was seeing thousands of scenarios of something new and terrible happening.

He whimpered as he tossed and turned in bed. Then he gasped and shot straight up.

"Nashi…" he whispered as he threw his covers off and ran down the hall towards the Redfox's hotel room.

"What's going on…?" a groggy voice asked as Roman poked his head out of his hotel room. "Storm?"

Storm didn't answer as he ran through the Redfox's door. Roman frowned and followed after him.

"Persephone!" He shouted.

"Huh?" Persephone asked as she looked up from her screen.

"Why's everyone hollerin'?" a sleepy Koree asked as she stumbled out of her room.

"Have you talked to Nashi anymore?" Storm asked Persephone.

"Not since what I told you, why?" Persephone replied.

"Something's happened to her."

"How do you know?" Cato asked.

"I just do," Storm replied to her. "We need to talk to her now!"

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Nashi panted as she landed behind a giant...tree?

When had this weird limbo place turned into a forest?

It didn't matter now!

Nashi slowly slumped onto her knees, gripping the grass beneath her with both hands as she cried. That nightmare. It felt so real. And so…

...but it was just a dream, right? It had to be? But what that Jose guy said. That he tried to take her away to protect everyone else, was that true?

Hezim had tried to take her to study her because he was worried about her. Did he have a right to be?

All those sniveling, condescending people back home in Magnolia who glared at her whenever she walked by. Did they maybe have a reason for being so rude?

So many people had hated her or been scared of her for as long as she could remember. Was it possible for so many people to be wrong? What if there was some truth to their fears.

"Nashi?" Makarov's voice called out somewhere behind her. "Nashi? Where'd you go?"

Nashi scooted closer to the tree as tears continued falling down her face. She tried to quiet her cries, though, so Makarov couldn't find her.

"Nashi?"

"Nashi?"

Nashi jumped at the voice in her mind. "Persephone?"

"Nashi! Are you okay?" another, panicked voice called out.

"Storm?"

"She doesn't sound okay."

"Roman?"

"Nashi, what's going on? What happened?"

"Cato?"

"And me too! Koree! What's happening to you?"

"Are...are you guys all there?" Nashi asked.

"Yeah, Storm said that he felt like something bad happened to you so we thought we'd check-in," Persephone answered. "From the sound of things, he was right."

Nashi's bottom lip trembled as she sniffled.

"Whoa! Are you crying?" Koree asked.

"Nashi, what happened?" Roman asked. "How do we help?"

"You can't!" Nashi cried as she wiped at her face.

"Wanna talk about it?" Cato suggested.

"Not really," Nashi replied. "I just...I-"

"There you are!"

Nashi jumped and turned to find Makarov, back to his normal size, peaking around the tree at her.

"Nashi, what happened?"

Gasps rang out from the other end of the archive link.

"Is...is that Gramps?" Cato asked.

"Uh...yeah…" Nashi answered.

"Who are you talking to?" Makarov asked.

"Oh, uh," Nashi stuttered. "Storm, Cato, Roman, Koree, and Persephone. Persephone put an archive link in our heads a few years ago so we could communicate telepathically."

"Really?" Makarov's eyebrows raised as he put a finger to Nashi's forehead. A huge smile appeared on his face. "My, my, Persephone, this is most impressive."

"Gramps!" the other five children cheered.

"I'd always known you'd become the most powerful archive wizard to ever live someday, but even I'm surprised at how quickly you've progressed."

"Gramps, I-" Persephone's voice broke off as she began sniffling.

"Gramps, we miss you!" Koree shouted.

"I miss you too, you group of whippersnappers," Makarov chuckled.

"So you're who's been helping Nashi after her grandmother went back to the afterlife?" Roman asked in a watery voice.

"I have," Makarov answered.

"Then...I don't understand…" Storm began. "Nashi, if Gramps has been protecting you then...what could have happened to you?"

"Yes, I'd like to know that as well," Makarov agreed, setting a hand on Nashi's shoulder.

Nashi stiffened as she lowered her head. "I...I…"

She began sniffing again, tears flowing down her face.

"There, there," Makarov whispered as he put his arms around her and held her close. "It's alright. Just tell Gramps all about it."

Nashi shook her head.

"Nashi, you've been dealing with so much as is. Why don't you let someone else help you carry this burden? Whatever it is."

"But...I don't want to hurt anyone…" Nashi sobbed.

"Hurt me?" Makarov rolled his head back and laughed. "Nashi, you can't hurt me. I'm dead, remember?"

Nashi did not share in the old man's humor.

"Nashi, sweetheart, please tell me what happened."

"Yeah, tell us," Storm urged. "I know we're not there with you, but we still want to help."

Nashi shuddered, sniffled, and then began. "I saw something. In a dream. There was a man, the same man you and I fought, Gramps, and-"

"Jose!?" Makarov exclaimed, grabbing Nashi by the shoulders and staring her right in the eyes. "What did he do to you!?"

"He…" Nashi shuddered. "He showed me something…"

"What?" Makarov asked.

Nashi closed her eyes as she answered. "Me."

"You're making no sense…" Koree called.

"He showed me a future version of me. And I…" Nashi's voice hitched and the tears flowed again. "...I...I killed...I killed everyone…"

She covered her face as she sobbed. "I killed everyone in the guild. I killed my family...and my friends...and I...I…"

"Nashi?" Storm called.

She just cried in reply.

"I don't know exactly what this guy showed you. But I know you. And I know you'd never hurt us."

"Yeah," Roman agreed. "You're one of the most protective people I know. Anyone who thinks you'd hurt us is crazy."

"He said he tried to take me away when I was born…" Nashi continued, finally finding her voice. "So that….that I could never hurt anyone...he wanted to take me away...to protect everyone…."

"I think I know what this is," Makarov sighed. "Nashi, look at me. I need you to listen very closely to what I'm about to say."

Nashi wrapped her face on the back of her hand and looked up at her former master.

"Jose and two other men did try to take you when you were a baby, but not to protect anyone," Makarov explained. "They wanted to turn you into a weapon, to use your power against Fairy Tail as an act of vengeance. That version of you that Jose showed you was his vision of you. What he wanted you to be. He wanted to turn you into a mindless killing machine."

Makarov cupped Nashi's face in his hand. "But that's not who you are."

"Not even close!" Persephone agreed.

"Like I said, you'd never hurt us," Storm stated.

"Where is this dude?" Koree asked. "Let me at 'em!"

"Koree, he's dead," Cato explained.

"So? Let me at him! I'll kill 'em again!"

"Why am I related to you?" Persephone asked.

"Try having the triplets," Roman huffed.

Makarov chuckled. "You kids are a hoot!"

He stood to his feet, holding his hand out. "Now, come on Nashi, let's get you to your parents."

Nashi still felt uneasy, but a bit better. She wasn't choking on her sobs at least. She let Makarov pull her to her feet and they began walking again.

"Are you okay now, Nashi?" Storm asked.

"I don't know," Nashi answered. "But I'm better, I think…"

"Alright, anything else we can do?"

"I don't think so. How are the games going?"

"So far so good, we're still in the lead."

"Wait, so the games are done for the day?"

"Yeah…"

"What time is it?"

"Late."

"Go to be, guys! I've got Gramps, I'll be fine."

"Okay…" Persephone sighed. "Let us know if you need anything."

"Okay."

Nashi sighed as she and Makarov kept walking. Though she wasn't crying, even more, she still felt uneasy. Even if that was just an alternate version of her someone made up...could she be capable of something like that? Could she just snap one day and go on a rampage.

PZZT!

Nashi jumped and turned towards the noise. Makarov's body had become translucent and fuzzy.

"Gramps, are you okay?" Nashi asked.

"Wait!" Makarov shouted as he began waving his arms around. "Wait! I'm not done yet! I can't go back yet! I've gotta get this kid to her folks!"

"Gramps?" Nashi asked. "Do you have to go back to the afterlife-"

"Not yet!" Makarov shouted as his body grew blurry again. "Not yet!"

"Don't worry," a soft voice called from behind Makarov and Nashi.

Nashi turned and was blinded by a bright light.

"I'll take care of her."

Makarov smiled. "Thank you, Master," he sighed and then disappeared.

"Gramps!" Nashi called, reaching to where he had been standing.

"He's okay," the soft voice called as a hand landed on her shoulder.

Nashi turned and found a short, thin girl with long, wavy blond hair, bright green eyes, and feathers tucked behind her ears.

"He'll be back to help you towards the end of the journey," the girl said.

"Who are you?" Nashi asked.

"I'm Fairy Tail's first master," the girl giggled. "Mavis Vermillion."

"Really?" Nashi asked, in awe. "The first master? Like, ever?"

"Mm-hmm!" Mavis nodded.

"Wow!"

Mavis giggled again. "I'm also your auntie!"

"Say WWWWHHHHHHHHAAAAATTTTTTT!?"