Disclaimer: I only own my OCs.

Anu: Okay, so who is ready for some fun!

Tolax: *shakes head* Just as long as Eden and Del don't get in the food for the Christmas party I'm fine.

Authoress: *in some corner* Good thing they haven't noticed I haven't updated in a while.

Melody: *behind Authoress* Oh Authoress, we need to talk, please.

Authoress: *gulps* I'm dead.

Chapter 8: Ghost of Winter

December 24th, 786

Anu's 1st P.O.V.

Six in the morning. Seemed too early for me to already be awake and going through the reports that I regularly get from Nero and Paralex about going ons that I might be interested in. Well, that wasn't quite the right way of saying that. It was more of the fact that I was going through and seeing what bits of information could turn into a mission that might not make it through to the Council, or might not get picked up by other guilds. That was especially now during the holiday season. While it would hurt to ask any of my guild members to leave for a mission on Christmas Eve of all days, I also knew that pain might not be nearly as bad as what someone else might suffer if I don't.

So, I dove into the papers as soon as I was awake. I even forewent my morning run that I had started doing lately. I found it helped me to wake up better in the mornings. And, as patrol did, it allowed anyone who wanted to talk with me about concerns, and who wanted to get up that early, could join me and we could talk.

Honestly, even though I thought this often, the guild had grown so much in this little time, compared to what I thought we would be at, and I was excited about how we were going to be moving forward. Once the original five members were ready to have the world, and mainly Fairy Tail, know about them then I did not doubt that we would be a guild to reckon with. Hell, with how we were progressing as a guild, I felt that given a few years we could rank high in the Grand Magic Games, if not win them outright.

Right now, we might qualify. With heavy-hitters like Narissa and Richard that would be a big advantage, and using Sorano, Edorin, and Sawyer as speed elements would give us an edge. Finally, to wrap up with the others we would have surprise all-around fighters in Tolax, Macbeth, Eric, Eden, and Del. Melody wouldn't want to participate since she was still working with her magic, and so I wouldn't make her. But, the guild wasn't ready to come out yet. I promised my first five members that they would be in control of when we went officially public. Yes, people knew of us, but we stayed out of the limelight until they were ready.

So, instead of focus on worldly needs that were outside of the guild, I decided that my focus had to be on what was going to be going on in the guild soon. Today was, of course, Christmas Eve and we were going to make sure we celebrated. It wouldn't be as big as our Halloween celebrations were, but we wanted to have fun as a guild and, with our numbers increased, I knew that this would be fun. I knew that, later today, Richard and Narissa were going to be going to look for a Christmas tree that we would all decorate tonight.

We all had gifts wrapped and placed in one of the spare rooms for now, until the tree arrived and was decorated. One for each member of the guild. Stockings for each member of the guild had been hung on the railing on the second floor above the bar. We had Melody to thank for those. During slow times, she had worked on sewing each of our names into stockings that we picked out. While I was responsible for filling the stockings of the members, last year I was pretty sure that Melody had been the one to fill my stocking. I was curious as to who was going to fill it this year.

Melody was going to be working with Sorano and Edorin later with making the eggnog and some finger foods for the guild members to enjoy. Del, Sawyer, and Eden would be working on decorating the rest of the guildhall while Tolax, Macbeth, and Eric were going to be working on finding games and other activities for us to play. Eden and Del wanted to help with the foods and drinks but, after they spiked last year's food and drinks to have a 'first Christmas that we wouldn't forget' as they so elegantly put it the evening of Christmas day when we all finally woke up, that was a no-go. So, they were no longer allowed near anything that was going to be consumed.

Now, with three more members added to the guild, I knew that this Christmas was going to be a crazy party. Just as long as I didn't have to deal with cuddly female slayers again I would be alright. They were very cuddly and clingy when they were passed out and, when I had eventually woke up the next morning, I had a very difficult time getting them off of me so I could go to the restroom.

A certain set of words flashed out at me when I was flipping through the notes on my desk and I pulled myself out of my thoughts to focus on them. Oak Town. That name rang volumes for me. Back when I had been a dark mage, many of my assignments had either come from that town or had been to take out people in that town. Out of all the places that I had gone, out of all the places, I had hurt, I could probably say that a lot of the damage I did was centered on that town...whether that was me being sent there or me being sent out from there.

With the thoughts of the past in my mind, I took out that sheet and had a closer look at it. It was a rejected request from the Council. From the numerous denied marks, it was rejected multiple times. From the original date of the request, it had been sent out two weeks ago.

They were asking for help because a dark guild had set up shop right outside of town and was keeping the town under siege in powerful ice magic. They probably risked sneaking out just to get this request out.

I had heard that Oak Town had received an unusual amount of winter weather but, given its location and the time of year it was, I hadn't thought much on it.

But now that didn't matter. The people of Oak Town needed help and I wanted to send my mages there to help. They shouldn't have to suffer like this...especially on Christmas Eve.

So, with the rejected request in hand, I went to stand at the balcony that looked down onto the main floor. To my surprise, Macbeth seemed awake, though only just so. Wonder what got him up so early? Next to him, and not so surprisingly, was Tolax. Both Tolax and his demon Sebastian were early risers. Besides them and myself, the only other person awake was Melody, and she was behind the counter working. So hopefully I could convince the two men down there to take this request.

"You look tense Anu. What is it?" Tolax asked me as he stared up at me.

I sighed and jumped down so I was standing next to the guys by the counter. Once I knew I wasn't going to lose my balance, I held the paper out for them to see. "I was going through the information from Nero and Paralex and I came across this rejected request form."

Macbeth then took the paper and looked it over. "So, we need to get to Oak Town and stop whatever idiot dark guild decided to do this during the holidays?" I nodded. That was pretty much it in a nutshell.

Tolax smirked and finished his coffee before standing up. "Sounds like fun. I'm in." I knew that he was talking about both himself and Sebastian. "Plus, no one should be attacked during the holidays...and especially not the day before Christmas."

Macbeth nodded at that. "Plus, since we're leaving early, we should be able to get to Oak Town, take out the guild attacking them, and get back to the guild before Eden and Del school everyone in the euchre tournament."

Last week's euchre tournament ended with Eden and Del taking the top prize by a landslide. I was still sore about that. I enjoyed euchre and didn't like to lose.

"Good. Because we might need some team switches to keep Eden and Del away from taking first by that much again." I responded to the two before the nodded toward me and walked out the doors. While it did hurt to send them off the day before Christmas, I knew that the people of Oak Town would appreciate their help.

James' 1st P.O.V.

It hurt to breathe. This contraption that they had me hooked up to, it was sapping my magical energy from me. And not just that. It was forcing that energy to come out as a source of magic. My magic. It was at the edge of my fingertips, and yet I could do nothing with it. Nothing, as this machine, siphoned it out of my body. It was painful, each time they used it.

I felt so pathetic!

With all the magic ability I had, I had not been able to stop these dark mages from ambushing me outside of Oak Town and trapping me here. My magic...it was being used to hurt people. I couldn't fool myself into thinking that they were just storing it away. While that would make me feel better, I just knew that wasn't the case. My magic was too wild outside of my control to be contained and so the only thing left for this guild to do was use it.

While I had lost track of the time that it was, I had a feeling that it was getting close to Christmas. My magic, magic to make winter a little more special for people around me, was probably being used to ruin that holiday for the people of Oak Town. It wasn't fair! I wanted to stop them! I wanted this dark guild to be no more and for the people of Oak Town to not have to suffer because of my magic.

But, I couldn't, and they were suffering.

I winced slightly as I felt this damn machine activating. Shit! They were using it again! My magic! A gasp escaped my throat as the machine started to force my magic out of my body. Sweat started to drip down the front of my body and I felt myself shake. But, the shaking wasn't only from pain. It was of sadness. These monsters were using my magic right now to hurt the people of Oak Town. They didn't deserve this!

My eyes tried to focus on the doors in front of me as I heard them open. Those same eyes, though, narrowed as I saw one of the dark guild mages walking up to me with a smirk on his face. That damn bastard! I hoped that karma came around and got him.

"So, how's Frosty doing today? Things in here hot enough for you?" I growled as he said that. While the increased heat of this room wasn't affecting me like they were probably hoping that it was, it did make the rest of what they were doing to me with this machine even worse. It caused my breathing to shorten when they upset me, so over the time I had been here, I had practiced controlling my breathing, and other reactions to their taunts, so the pain I was in would not be so great.

I wasn't hoping for a rescue. I knew it was humanly impossible for me to be rescued. This machine was hooked up to me in such a way that, if any tried to remove it who wasn't this damn dark guild master, it would kill me. That wasn't the only problem, however. That damn guild master had made it so she had to release me from this damned torture device willingly. No influence spells or strong-arming allowed, or the machine would kill me.

It wasn't that I was afraid to die. If it wasn't for this machine restraining me, I would have killed myself instead of continuing to be a power source to be used against the innocent people of Oak Town. There was a famous quote I heard once that said that having power came at a cost...and that would be mine. I had great power, and now the only way to stop me from hurting those people was for me to die.

"Go to hell." I hissed at the dark guild mage as he put himself at eye level in front of me.

In return, the mage laughed and said, "No thanks. There is only enough room here for you. But, I thought you might want to know what day it is. I bet that it gets hard to keep track of time here in hell all alone." A growl slipped my throat at his smug attitude. Please fate, I knew that I was going to die because of this, but at least let karma bite these pieces of shit hard in the ass. Once the mage was back by the door, he smirked before saying, "Merry Christmas Eve iceman, and I hope it's a warm one for ya." He then let out a laugh before leaving.

But, I couldn't find it in me to react to his laugh. No, it was his words that I was reacting to. I knew that Christmas had to be near, but I didn't realize that it was already Christmas Eve. I felt the pain that wasn't from the machine flash through my heart. I was hurting so many people during what was supposed to be a time of giving. Instead of giving joy to the people of Oak Town, I was creating a horror tale of ice and cold.

A scream ripped from me as that thought blazed through my head. No! I didn't want to do this! I didn't want to hurt them! They didn't deserve this! Instead of being someone who could make a person's Christmas a little better, I was becoming the monster that they feared, a wyvern coming out of the ice and snow, in the black of night, to destroy their holidays. I would be the nightmare that children from here would have about the monster that destroyed Christmas. That is all I was now...a monster.

...A monster!

Again, a scream ripped out of me as I bent my head down, my body moving slightly forward. While I was aware of the pain that my body was going through, I couldn't feel it. Something like me couldn't feel it. As blood started to mix with the sweat that was already on my body, I realized something. I was a monster...I had to be stopped…

...no matter the cost.

Tolax's 1st P.O.V.

"Something is going on," Sebastian commented to me as Macbeth and I moved toward the ice and snow toward the dark guild.

Hours on the train to get to Oak Town and, about three miles from town, we found ourselves facing the start of an ice kingdom. That was what this outside had looked like. The evergreen trees were so covered in ice that they were white, and even with my soft steps, the ground beneath me crackled with each step. When we arrived in town, we were greeted with almost sub-zero temperatures and I was grateful that this town had opened up an outlet of Ehrlich Magic stores and they had decently priced winter wear that, while I was still cold walking now, the clothes were able to keep the harshness of the cold out of the way.

When we had finally found the original sender of the request, the local seamstress who had snuck out the request with her order that she was able to get out to Crocus, she explained that the dark guild, called Peppermint Shade, had arrived about a month ago and had started to make demands of the city to allow them to have a spot in town to run their operations. But, after all the different messes that the town has been involved with in the past, the people refused the guild. That was when this winter siege had started.

The people agreed to reward us for the mission, though it was not officially sent out from the Council. When we asked if they wanted us to help cut back the ice too, they said that it wouldn't be necessary. They had a couple of fire mages who were saving up their magic energy and putting some in lacrimas when they were full, so when the constant ice was over, then they could melt enough so it wasn't a prison to them. When we asked why the fire mages hadn't attacked the ice before, we were told by the blacksmith, one of the fire mages, that they had tried but when they started to make progress and melt the ice, the dark guild would just have more ice come out. So, they were building their stores until they would make a difference against the ice.

Since we didn't want to waste time, Macbeth and I moved out right away toward their headquarters, since the guild didn't make any attempt to hide. Guess they figured that this ice magic they had tapped into was powerful enough to keep anyone from actually getting close to the guild. Well, Macbeth and I were going to be a rude awakening for them.

But, back to what Sebastian spoke of. "You're right. It's too quiet. You would think that the guild would be celebrating. But, I can't sense anything outside of the magic being used for this cold. Are they hiding their magic energies behind a barrier or is this ice magic signature just overwhelming their magic?"

"You know, I might not talk often, but you could include me in your internal talks with Sebastian." Macbeth suddenly spoke up as the guild came into view.

I flinched at that. Since it had just been Sebastian and me for the longest time, I wasn't used to having other people around who needed to be kept informed. "Sorry, Macbeth. We're just worried that we can't sense any other magic signatures than the ice magic."

"That is worrying. It might be a cost to this ice magic. It is powerful enough that it could be smothering the signatures of the other magic inside." Macbeth put in as we grew closer to the doors.

Once we were standing in front of the doors, I smirked before motioning to the door. "Since you make a bigger statement than I do, would you like the honors?"

Macbeth simply nodded before gathering his magic and throwing the doors off their hinges, causing the forty members that we could see to jump and stare at us in surprise. "So, how do you want to do this?" I asked Macbeth as we stared at the now tense members.

He looked and said, "I'm sure I can handle this lot. Take out who you can and find the source of the ice magic. Take it out."

With a nod, the two of us moved and I made my way to a door at the back of the room. There had to be a special place here where they were releasing the magic. "Sebastian, can you trace the magic output from the ice magic?" I asked him as we moved through the door. A dark guild member went to strike me and I pushed him away.

As I continued to move past the random dark guild members that would appear, Sebastian responded. "Yes. Follow this hall to the end and then take a right." I did before he continued. "Three doors down on your left. That's where the signature is strongest." He finished his instructions.

Once I arrived at the door, I didn't waste any time and drew on Sebastian's strength before knocking the door off its hinges. As it went sliding across the floor, I felt my eyes widen in surprise. There, chained into place in the center of the room, was a guy about my age with light blue hair and blue eyes. Those eyes stared at me in hope as I took a couple of steps toward him.

Cuts littered his body and there were wires and tubes dug into his body that seemed to be siphoning something out. Though what it was I wasn't sure. But, I could see that this guy was in pain and I wanted to help take that away. "I was wondering when some mages would get ahold of that request the townspeople kept sneaking out." I tensed and turned to see a woman who looked a few years older than I was with peppermint green hair and brown eyes. "Though I must admit that seeing a past member of the Oracion Seis and his lackey was surprising, to say the least."

"She just called us Macbeth's lackey. I want her head." Sebastian growled as I kept tense.

"I'm not much of a lackey. More like a guildmate." I corrected her as stared between her and the guy.

She seemed to notice my glance and smirked. "Whatever you are, it won't matter in this case. I see you are interested in James here." She then walked up to him and lightly grazed her hand against his bare arm, causing him to growl and glare at her. "It was difficult getting a footing around this area at first. The foolish people in Oak Town saying that they were done with us 'shady types'." She then let out a haughty laugh. "I almost gave up when I ran into James here. Stopping a troll from attacking a group of travelers with a wave of his hand. The power that his ice had was what I needed. While acquiring him was no easy feat, I have made sure that my power source here continues to operate." She then patted his arm, causing this James to try and finch away with a continued glare and growl.

But, she had just revealed something that surprised me and Sebastian, from how he was conveying his reaction to me. "James is the power source?" I asked.

This guild leader let out a cackle at that. "Of course! Do you think any of those fools in there are half as powerful enough to bring an entire town to its knees by themselves?" She then shook her head. "But, there is nothing you can do about it."

Okay, I had heard enough of her talk. Deciding on a surprise attack, I quickly launched at the woman and knocked her back. She was not ready for the attack and was knocked to the ground. "I wouldn't be too sure about that," I commented to her. Before she could recuperate, I pulled on Sebastian's strength and bound her in some scrap metal that was lying around. This must have been a storehouse before this dark guild turned it into their hideout.

With her bound, for now, I turned to James and walked up to examine the machine. The cables were dug into him and I wasn't sure how I would be able to free him. "This is set up to kill him if the key doesn't willingly release him. And, from how she was acting earlier, I think that woman is the key." I felt my brows furrow. This would be a complicated system.

Chuckling coming from the bound woman caused me to look at her. "It's no use. I'm the only one who can release James, and I plan on drawing from his power for as long as he is alive!" She then started to laugh maniacally.

A growl slipped my throat and I went to say something to her. "Please...kill me." I turned with wide eyes to look at the man James. He was looking up at me with pleading eyes that were brimming with tears. "My magic...it's hurting so many people. I want it to stop. The only way you can do that is to take me out! Please! Kill me!" This man was ready to die instead of letting this woman, or anyone in control of the key to this machine, use him like this.

Honestly, this mage was a man that I already found myself respecting. But, his death was not the answer to this problem. "James, there is no need for you to die this day. You will be free. Once you are, will you agree to talk with my guildmate and me after we bind all of these dark guild mages for the rune knights?"

James' eyes widened in shock and, even though he didn't speak, I could see the hope...even if slightly fleeting, in his eyes. "I think you broke him," Sebastian commented. A disbelieving snort pulled my attention back to the quim that was getting on my nerves. "I can kill her if you want. I'll make it as enjoyable as possible."

"No." I immediately refused him, though it was a tempting idea. "We are in a light guild, as on the fringes as we are, and that means no killing people we don't like."

"You're no fun." Sebastian pouted.

I didn't pay much attention to him, though, as the dark guild master spoke. "That's an empty promise and you know it, you tool. Anything you do to try and free him will kill him, and then your light guild will be marked with a large, dark, spot made of James' blood."

My gaze stayed on her, though I did not convey any emotion through it. "Once James is freed, knock her out. No killing...but maiming will be overlooked."

If I wasn't used to feeling Sebastian's reactions inside of me, I would have flinched when his evil smirk grew. "Deal."

"You are right on only one point you lackluster crone," I growled at her as I took a step away from James and faced her. "I cannot remove James from your trap without killing him, and my guildmate cannot either." I then raised my arms to my side and started to gather my magic power. "However, wherever I go, I am not alone. I can always be found, and I can never escape what resides inside of me. Of course," I then smirked as I felt the power inside of me get close to the level I needed. "that would only be if I wanted to run from it."

Her eyes were growing wide, probably from sensing my magic power. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw that James was in a similar state. "W...what are you?" The guild master asked with a quiver in her voice.

As my power reached the level it needed to be at for the spell, I tilted my head to the side slightly. "I am not some lackey." I then paused for effect before Sebastian and I spoke as one. "Daemonium anima commutation." I then felt my body start to shift to the form that Sebastian chose when he first contracted with me.

From inside Sebastian, I watched as the dark guild master's pupils grew smaller in fear at Sebastian. From the awareness I had inside of Sebastian, James was only faring slightly better. I paid attention, however, as Sebastian answered her. "We are the Demon of Jackal Fang."

Macbeth's 1st P.O.V.

It was strange when the cold air that we had been going against suddenly disappeared. The coat that I was wearing that we had bought suddenly felt like overkill. So, I took it off and, after rolling it up, placed it in my pack. Around me, the forty members of the dark guild were detained and now I had just been waiting for Tolax to return from taking out the power source before the sudden shift in the air told me that he had done it.

"I am so glad that is over." I let out as I leaned against the pillar behind me. I was starting to get sleepy and I was planning on using the train ride back to Dawn City to catch up on that sleep. That way, I could stay up after midnight tonight and enjoy the Christmas Eve celebration at the guild. Anu already promised that the dragon girls were not going to be allowed near the food before it was time to serve.

A throaty chuckle caught my attention so I turned my gaze to one of the dark mages that were restrained. "No matter how the light tries to burn, there is always a shadow lying in wait."

What was this about? "What do you mean?" I questioned the mage.

He let out a chuckle. "Spear was right. It's easy to darken a light guild if you use the right bait. Hope you enjoyed being a light guild mage while you could. Your buddy in there just made sure that your light won't ever shine as brightly." He then started to laugh.

And now I felt worried. Tolax had gone after the power source and, with the sudden change in temperature that I had just felt, that meant that he had taken it down. From how this dark guild mage was talking, Tolax would have had to do something illegal for light guilds to do. There weren't many ideas coming to mind about what he could have done, but none of those ideas were good.

"I wouldn't be too sure of that."

I glanced to the doorway that Tolax had gone through earlier, as did the dark mage that was speaking to me, and I saw that he was dragging a woman who I assumed was the guild master with his right hand. On his left, though, he was supporting a guy who looked about our age and looked pretty rough. Honestly, he looked halfway to death's door.

"Impossible!" The mage that had just caused me to worry about what Tolax had done spoke in shock. He pointed to the man next to Tolax while speaking. "I helped set up the machine! There was no way that you could have been released by anyone except the guild master without being killed! We made sure of it! It shouldn't be humanly possible!"

At his outburst, Tolax smirked. "Don't worry, I can assure you that you are quite right. It was quite inhumanly possible for me to rescue James here."

Well, that explained that mystery. This mage didn't have a very important piece of information. Well, since they were going to be taken away, I figured I could let him know just who else he was up against. "So, The Demon strikes again huh?" At my words, the mage lost all color to his skin and I could see, as I passed, that his eyes were wide. Guess Tolax did spread that moniker around when he was solo. Once Tolax deposited the guild master next to the other mages, I motioned to the door. "Should we get going then?"

Tolax nodded and, still supporting James, we made our way toward Oak Town. We had to report to the town that the mission was a success and catch the train back to Dawn City. "I already called the rune knights to pick them up," Tolax explained as the three of us moved through the ever-warming woods toward the city.

"That's good," I responded before looking at our third wheel. "And you are?"

I had heard his first name, but I was curious if he had a last name to go with it along with any other information that he might want to share. It seemed like he was as he nodded. "Of course, I didn't fully introduce myself during...that." He hesitated at that before continuing. "I am James Glasnic and I can use ice arc magic. I'm guildless for now but, one of these days, I would like to join a guild. I was going to move toward Dawn City and try looking there when I was ambushed by that guild."

Tolax and I shared a look, that I am sure James picked up on before I nodded toward Tolax. James would make a great addition to the guild, I was sure about that, and this could help the man avoid getting captured anymore.

However, before Tolax could ask the man our question, we arrived at the gates to the city and saw that the townspeople were already out working on pushing back the ice. "My thanks, Jackal Fang." Lillis, the seamstress who sent the mission, greeted us as she walked forward. In her hand was a bundle with our reward money.

Once she handed it to us, Tolax spoke to her. "Of course. Keep Jackal Fang in mind if you have any more missions."

"Of course." Was her response back to us before she returned to helping the workers chip away at the ice.

The three of us then started moving toward the train station again. As we walked, though, Tolax picked up the conversation that we had started before we arrived back to town. "I am Tolax Valkeri, as I introduced to you before, and this is my guildmate, Macbeth." I nodded toward him. "If you are interested, I know our guild would be happy to have you as a member."

We arrived at the ticket window at that point and, while Tolax and James paid for tickets, Tolax for myself and him, James spoke. "Jackal Fang? That woman thanked you by that name and I had been curious. I haven't heard of that guild before."

"We're a new guild," I answered him with a yawn. I needed a nap if I was going to be staying up late tonight.

Tolax, thankfully, took over for me. "Our guild master started the guild back in 785. We aren't big yet, but we want to grow."

James looked between the two of us as we stood to wait for the train to start boarding. After a few minutes, he finally sighed and nodded, a small smile just visible. "Well, after the display that Tolax gave when he and Sebastian saved me, how could I say no? Yes, I will join Jackal Fang."

Once the train arrived, I didn't hesitate in finding a room and, once the doors were closed, I was asleep. I, thankfully, slept the entire trip back to Dawn City and, once we arrived, the trip back to the guild felt longer than it was. Of course, it had been a pretty long day even by normal standards. Once we were in front of the doors to the guild, I looked at lacrima and realized that it was midnight. "We cut that kinda close," Tolax commented before he opened the door.

I saw the surprised look on James' face when, once the doors were opened, the guild all yelled "Merry Christmas!" It was kinda surprising to me as well but, given the time, we did arrive right on time.

Of course, it was hard to miss the third member of our party and soon, Anu was in front of us. "Tolax, Macbeth; I'm glad you both made it back alright and on time." He then turned his look to James. "And who is this?"

Tolax motioned to James before saying, "We brought you a new member dog. His name is James Glasnic and he has already agreed to join. He just needs his guild mark. James and I talked about the teams on the train ride here," Well, I had to miss something when I was asleep. "and he has decided to join Eden's team."

"Yes!" Eden yelled out before high-fiving Del and Edorin.

Anu was getting a guild stamp from behind the counter as Del nodded. "Sounds good. Welcome to Jackal Fang, and team Everfall, James!"

James smiled and nodded. "I'm glad to be a member." He then moved his hand and his magic caused ice to follow it. After a moment, the tree that was up and decorated now had added ice crystals giving it a shimmering look. "Merry Christmas Jackal Fang!"

Authoress: *Sitting in a chair facing corner* Am I done yet?

Melody: *hums* No. You've had this and the next few chapters done for a while and I don't think it was nice to keep them from your readers.

Authoress: But,

Melody: *gives THE look*

Authoress: *mumbles and goes back to staring at corner*

AN: And here is the next chapter! Sorry for not updating this sooner, but the summer caught me by the horns and I couldn't find the time to get this updated. I hope you all enjoyed this! Please remember that this is a story about how the members joined Jackal Fang and won't give you everything about their pasts. That being said though, this chapter had some serious moments to them, but I think it all ended out alright in the end.

So, eight chapters in. I think I will give you a list of the teams and who is on them (some, of course, are very small right now).

Team Dark Angel: Tolax, Macbeth, Sorano.

Team Heavenly Terra: Richard

Unnamed Team: Sawyer

Team Everfall: Eden, Del, Edorin, James

Team Poison Song: Erik, Melody, Narissa

Now, if you were trying to keep track, here is that list for you. From what I have counted, since there will be sixteen chapters (though there is no guarantee that every chapter will have a new member (though almost all will)) that means that this is the halfway point of the story! Of course, this is only the first story of a group that will come out about this guild. Now, for the next chapters!

Chapter 9: Shadow of the Vampire

Chapter 10: Honor

Chapter 11: ...Find out next time!

So, not much else to say. Please review, even to say hi, so I know that you are there reading this story. Also, cookie bribes are acceptable. I love me some cookies. XD Until next time (or as soon as I eat your cookies) TTYL! *destroying demons and other creatures as a monk*