Chapter 15 - Jellal's Tale

Alright guys, the previous arc has finally ended and the next has begun :D Here comes the next arc: Jellal's Tale! Also, after this short-ish arc, there will be a new introduction of Vignettes! Interlude chapters filled with the days and lives or the cast and what they do off screen!

Drajin's adventures shall make an appearance :D

Also, thanks for the reviews everyone :D Always nice to see people liking what I've created!

An arrogant smirk. "I win… prick." Extra emphasis of course.

Benjin focused his gaze on his still-struggling opponent. Judging by his face, he did not look happy he lost. In fact, will he even give up? Frankly, he didn't think Laxus would actually yield. He's the type to fight to the death… figuratively of course. I would actually have to knock him out or something.

Widening his eyes in surprise, Benjin reflexively took a step back when Laxus stopped struggling. His eyes seemed to be closed in thought, before his aura relaxed and died down.

"Heh." Benjin blinked. Heh? Despite his entire body, save for his head, being covered in chains, there was a smile on the elder blonde's face. This worries me more than anything… What exactly is he up to? With his now open eyes, Laxus gazed somewhat approvingly at Benjin's direction. "You know what?"

The light mage narrowed his eyes, still pointing the staff at Laxus' only revealed parts. "What?!"

"For a piss-eyed loser, you ain't half bad!" Benjin deadpanned at his opponent, still holding the spell. Thanks for the compliment, dumbass! Sighing, Benjin made the decision to drop his chains, causing the lightning mage to fall to the ground with a plop.

"So, is this fight over or what?" Please say yes.

Laxus grunted, seemingly using monumental effort just to sit up. "As much as I hate to admit it," he rubbed his head, spitting out a small glob of blood, "you got me… you got me good." Smirking, Benjin began walked towards the beaten opponent. Now? It's 2 to 1!

To be very honest, the lightning mage was actually quite cordial with losing. He really thought the guy would have just given him the silent treatment or walked off - if he could - angrily and bitterly. Well, if he's going to be a good sport about it then I might as well too.

Benjin stepped even closer, before reaching a handout towards the defeated mage. For a few seconds, Laxus simply stared as his hand.

"…" If he shocks me, I'm going to punt his face.

"Heh." Laxus reached and grabbed Benjin's hand, before sparks flew from his arm. YOU FUCKING BIT-

"ARRRRRGGGHHHH!" Getting shocked without magical defense hurts really REALLY BAD! Fulfilling his earlier promise would have been easy, if his muscles weren't spasming everywhere. You know what? I think I really had this coming. Considering that he expected Laxus - for ONCE in his life - to not be a dick.

"Don't get comfortable with that win Benjin, because at the end of the day… you're still the loser." While laying on the ground, Benjin smiled with his eyes gazing straight up. 2 to 1… not for long.

"And you're still the prick of all pricks."

Ever since the fight he had with Laxus two weeks ago, the two have been interacting more than usual. Are we… friends now? Perhaps Laxus has finally learned to give the respect he deserved! Okay, the first one seems more likely than the second. Benjin silently snickered to himself. Despite everything, he's still a freaking prick.

I suppose some things never change.

"We're back." The familiar voice of his best friend came from the guild doors. Turning, the blonde saw the return of Jellal and Erza, who were off during an A-rank mission the past week. Benjin took a closer look at the blue-haired teen. Is it just me, or does he seem… blank? Like seriously blank. I'm sure he's just tired or something, still…

"Hey man, how was the mission?"

"…" Vacant expression.

"So…" Okay, this was getting a little awkward, "mission?"

Jellal gave him another look, before sighing. "It was fine." His words said fine, but there was a hint of barely contained rage in there - or something among those lines. Benjin didn't know how to describe it… was this what being emo meant? Ugh, I'm sure it's fine, hopefully.

Benjin relaxed further into his chair, before feeling someone poke into his waist… hard. "Augh! The fuck?!" Turning around, the blonde came face to face with the glaring bitch that had been annoying him for the past eight plus months. Wait. Benjin took a closer look at her choice of clothing, before flinching back. "What the hell are you wearing?!"

Before Mirajane could reply, Ur managed to scream from the other side of the hall. "I took her shopping this morning!" She took a sip from her mug, giving Benjin a teasing wink. "You like it~?" Why the hell would I like that?!

"It's…" Benjin could feel his face heating up from embarrassment… and a slight tinge of anger. "Unbecoming of a girl!" The reaction was instant. Whatever mood the white-haired girl had was instantly replaced with righteous fury.

"WHAT?!" God! Why does she shout so much? "Are you FUCKING KIDDING ME?!" The she-demon, as she was being called by some of the other members now, knocked over her chair and got right into the older teen's face. "Who the FUCK are you to say that?!"

Okay... That's a good point but I'm STILL allowed to have an opinion!

Benjin didn't back down, instead getting right back and pointing an accusatory finger in her face. "First, you went to Ur… Ur, for fashion advice, BIG mistake!" He extended his index and middle fingers on his right hand, still in her face. "Second, why didn't you go to Enno?! She's probably a guru when it comes to clothing!" That was definitely true. The older girl seemed to find it fun to dance on the tables in a bikini - which he found rather distasteful - if anything else though, the dresses she normally wore were damned well-made.

"Don't tell me what to do!" Once again, the blonde found himself catching a foot that was meant to strike where the sun didn't shine, causing him to grit his teeth. God Damnit! I really DON'T want to hit girls but she makes me so friggin' MAD!

"Alright fine!" Benjin got into a fighting stance, finally having enough of the girl's antics. "You think I'm afraid to hit girls-

Suddenly, an aura spiked from the blue-haired boy, who had been sitting with Erza at his usual spot.

"Can you two SHUT THE FUCK UP?!" The outburst shocked the entire guild, almost everyone stopping what they're doing to see what's happening.

Whoah… that's a LOT of anger!

Taking a closer look, Benjin saw that Jellal was letting out an unnecessarily large amount of magic, far more than he would use in their regular bar fights. He even cracked all the furniture around him! The blonde shifted his gaze to Erza, seeing just how stunned she was from the sudden action.

"What crawled up his ass and died?!" In one swift movement, Jellal grabbed a plate in front of him and chucked it with all his strength, magic included, smashing it right beside the head of Joey, denting the wall behind him. "Oookay…!" The muscular man let a few beads of sweat drop from his brow, before ducking behind the counter.

Okay, something is definitely wrong with him. Normally, Jellal is a sarcastic cunt but straight-up rage beast? That is not in his territory, no sir. Despite his gut telling him to leave the boy alone for a while, Benjin still walked towards him, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey…" Until it was violently thrown off.

"Don't touch me!" The blonde recoiled from yet another outburst; a scowl now plastered on his face.

"Seriously, what's wrong with you?!" Oh shi- Benjin was forced to dodge to the side as a rather powerful fist whizzed by his face. This anger was not helping; Jellal was throwing a damned tantrum for no good reason! "Why are you so mad?!" This time, the light mage was forced to seriously defend himself as the blue-haired teen, for whatever reason, decided to answer that question with even more fists.

Seriously?!

This was not one of their normal spars/fights. There was a level of aggression really shouldn't be directed at people! Of course, Benjin wasn't about to let Jellal wail at him, for any reason.

…Could it be said what he did next was a bad decision? Perhaps. Perhaps so.

"Chains!" I really shouldn't be using magic in the guild, but this guy REALLY needs to calm the fuck down!

Unlike his other targets, Jellal easily dodged the chains with his signature spell, the familiar aura of meteor surrounding his form.

*Whack!* Holding nothing back, the heavenly body mage drove his fist straight into Benjin's face, bringing the taste of iron in his mouth. Tch, he's serious. Looking around, the blonde noticed that nearly everyone was frozen in stupors, all of them still shocked from the sudden outburst of anger.

Both teens stared back at one another, one with a scowl, and the other with a threatening glare. I KNOW something is bothering him; it's probably a bad idea but I'm going to punch it out of him! The blonde was certainly in no mood to be brawling. Jellal needed help; regardless if it were fists or inspirational speeches, he was going to damned well give it.

"You asked for this!" Benjin charged back, causing the other to do the same with gritted teeth.

"Why won't you leave me the FUCK alone?!" Just as the two were about to clash, a gargantuan pressure emitted from the side, targeting the two boys. Wha-!?

This magic… it's unreal! He could do nothing but remained sprawled on the floor. It took monumental effort just to lift his head enough to see Jellal in the same state, albeit worse. He knew; this was pure magic. It felt as if there was a literal ton on his back. Not only that, but no one but them were affected. My… god!

Whatever forced them down, left as soon as it came.

"Did you really have to do that?" Macao mentioned, sitting beside the man responsible for the pressure, a bead of sweat dropping from his brow.

Gildarts turned to his friend, shrugging. "They were getting a bit too rowdy, every time they get like that, I always lose my drink!" Gildarts… and his whiskey. Of fucking course!

Benjin struggled to his feet, rubbing his temples as the weakness in his body still resided. He had felt strong magic before; the Balrog and even Laxus. But this… this was on a completely different magnitude! Why is he still here?! The ace got back from his mission almost a week ago! Normally, he would have grabbed another mission and left but he was still here!

The blonde stumbled to his seat, before switching his gaze to Erza, who looked at Jellal with a face filled with concern. And NOW she isn't wearing her armour?! She always wore her armour! Seriously, why was everyone being so weird today?!

"I'm leaving." Benjin turned to his friend, who got up and walked through the door. Really, he didn't know why, but Jellal was desperately trying to hide the feeling of weakness the was also plaguing himself, if his wobbling knees were of any indication. This isn't normal… I HAVE to find out what's going on!

He was certainly going to. Damned idiot. Slowly but surely, Benjin went for the door himself, but not before giving a final gaze at the white-haired girl, who looked back with interest.

Maybe one day, SHE will learn how to not be so goddamned annoying.

"You're still a bitch."

And off he went.

What was going on with that guy?

That same question rung in Benjin's head for the good part of the afternoon. Truthfully, he had been noticing some cold-ish behaviour from his friend for a good couple weeks now. But really, he thought it was just one of the usual low points. Maybe a mission that went wrong or maybe Erza did… something - though he wasn't sure he wanted to know what. After today though? Something was on that guy's mind, and frankly? He wasn't going to sleep without finding out what.

Now, where is Jellal's hut?'

Wow, has he really never visited his house? Pretty sure Jellal came over to his treehouse once or twice. Benjin grimaced… even though we left in minutes because there is LITERALLY nothing to do in there… other than read of course. But, if he remembered correctly, Jellal lived in some sort of hut beside the beach. Just a few minutes to the guild, like my treehouse!

It wasn't too much bigger than his own house either; a literal hole in the place of a window, curtains instead of a door, and a roof that looked like it could be kicked off with minimum effort. And here I thought I was as close to being homeless as I could get…

Benjin was 100% sure his blue-haired friend was in there - from his vibrating aura of course. Speaking of which, he was mad. Like really mad. Really, he wasn't even sure if he should go in right now. Although, he was already here.

"…"

Well, at least I don't have to knock it.

"Hey ma-" WHOA!

Benjin barely had enough time to dodge as a random piece of wood zoomed right by his face.

"Who said you could come in, huh?!" The blonde was getting mad himself. However, he knew that another fight wouldn't do anything, so he put in absolute effort just to suppress it. Managing a smile, Benjin calmly walked towards Jellal, who glared at him from a sac of grass… his bed?

Despite the tension in the air, the light mage managed a smile. Oh, don't worry, he was still angry. But he knew this wasn't the time nor place for it.

"So, uh…" A deeper glare. "Hey."

If looks can kill, he would have been dead already. But you know what? This was the time to not be an asshole, something that neither Laxus nor Je- okay enough of that.

It would be another few seconds before the standoff finally ended, ending with Jellal giving an exasperated sigh.

"Alright, just what do you want?"

Now that he mentioned it, what did he hope to accomplish coming here? He wanted to know what was bothering his buddy, but after? Scrunching his face, Benjin awkwardly shifted closer. Alright here goes nothing.

"I just wanted to know what's bothering you… that's all."

Scoffing, the blue-haired boy turned away. "Hmf, nothing is bothering me." Jellal aggressively lifted his arm to point at the entrance, glaring all the while. "Now you know, you can leave!"

Benjin sat up with an accusing glance. "Okay, I'm all about giving space but what happened in the guild hall was not nothing!"

The blue-haired teen got up abruptly, the two now in each other's face. "What would you know?!"

"You nearly smashed Joey's face!" The blonde shoved the other away.

He was shoved back, harsher this time. "I don't care!"

Their auras were raising, and magic was beginning to cause the surrounding to rumble. Wait, I didn't come here to fight! Despite his pride, he had to calm down! Begrudgingly, Benjin lowered his aura, prompting the other teen to follow, albeit reluctantly.

"Listen. I don't know what's ailing you, and regardless if you want to tell me, I'm here because I care."

Silence.

The blonde rubbed his neck sheepishly, not expecting those words to ever come out of his mouth. "I'm no good at this emotions stuff but you know what would cheer you up?" And hopefully remove the absolute awkwardness…

Jellal simply stared back, his anger still noticeable although visibly calmed. A few seconds passed, before he closed his eyes and sighed. "Alright, I'll bite. What would cheer me up?"

Benjin smiled, finally getting through to Jellal.

"A mission!"

The blue-haired teen raised an eyebrow. "A mission?"

"Yep!" Benjin took out a poster from his storage space, before holding it out for the other to see. "This one here I've had for a few days now!" The blonde waited for a few moments for his friend to study the page, before putting it back. "How about it? I don't know about you but beating up dark mages always puts me in a good mood!"

At this point, he thinks Jellal isn't that angry anymore. Whatever that made him completely flip out is probably still there… at least it's not directed at me anymore though.

"You know what?" Benjin raised an eyebrow at that.

"What?"

Finally, the tattooed mage smiled. "I'll go."

Benjin remembered that, some time back, Jellal used the exact same tactic to cheer him up. It worked, somewhat. Beating up the… the Vulcans, were somewhat therapeutic. Except that… that which would not be mentioned, ever. Regardless, the blonde looked back at his travelling companion, who still had a resentful stink eye on his face. Really though, he hoped that guy would get out of this crestfallen state soon. It really wasn't healthy, to be very honest.

Cracking a sheepish smile, Benjin turned back to his blue-haired friend, only to crane his neck from the sight. WOW that is a massive backpack! Seriously, it's like he quite literally packed everything inside his hut. Okay! Not the main thing he wanted to address, but still.

"Excited for the mission?"

Jellal gave him a side-glance, revealing the bitterness that remained present for the last six hours of the walk. God damn… Sighing, the blue-haired boy relaxed his jaw.

"As much as I can be… I guess." Benjin raised a brow. That was probably the best answer he could get at that moment. So, for now? He'll take it.

"Uh… if you don't mind me asking." The blonde began, slowly waiting for Jellal to give him his approval. Okay, loud sigh but no anger, so I'm good? "What exactly was it that got you so worked up? Just curious of course." He was on the receiving end of a challenging glare. "Um, that is if you don't mind telling?"

Jellal turned away with a huff. "Met some dark mages, made me remember some unpleasant memories." Benjin stared at him, waiting for him to continue. "That's it."

"Is that really al-"

"I said that's it!" The blonde recoiled from being cut off so harshly, before putting his hands up in surrender.

"Alright, alright! I won't pry…" For now at least.

Now that the two were back to walking in silence, Benjin had time to think about what Jellal just said. Dark mages? Unpleasant memories? If he remembered correctly, his friend went and got himself captured by the same people that attacked his village and… something? Wait, is that really all I know? Now that he thought about it, really thought about it, he realized that he doesn't know what happened to Jellal after they parted! Not only that, but he was pretty sure that he never told him about the Temple as well!

Benjin gave a crestfallen look to his friend, who simply stared vacantly in return. What happened after you left? How much do we really know about each other?

Hopefully, whatever it was ailing Jellal, it would clear up by the time they finished this mission.

Maybe.

Holy shit, this has been the most awkward walk of his life! Benjin thought Jellal coming on this mission would have been good, fun even. However, his level of emo has been completely killing any mood they had on the mission. In fact, he was getting angry just because!

Sighing, the blonde gave a quick glance back before continuing forward. Whatever, he can mope like a bitch if he wants to… I REALLY hope this whole tenseness clears up when we actually encounter the mages.

The landscape seemingly blurred from the complete absence of any stimulant above their walking.

I swear, if we don't see some action in the next TEN FREAKING MINUTES…

Then he will probably just plop on the ground, motionless, for at minimum of two hours at least. OR possibly rearrange the landscape in a completely unnecessary scuffle with emo #1 walking behind him… wait no! Benjin shook his head to keep his mind on track. They were out here so Jellal would stop being so angry! Annoying or not, he had to play nice. At least for a while longer.

FINALLY!

The dark mages they were hunting were listed to be some weak thugs doing some… human trafficking. God, that made him sick just thinking of people doing shit like slavery. Like that mountain asshole when I was visiting the library. Benjin gritted his teeth as he stared in the distance, observing the various auras indicating them as mages.

The blonde took a short glance back. He probably doesn't know we found them. Actually, they might be just regular mages. But really? Random mage activity in the specific spot the dark mages were last spotted? Either he was just a retard or there were dark mages here, 100%.

"Hey Jelly!" An instant scowl became present on the blue-haired mage's face.

"What?" Oops, called him 'Jelly' by reflex. Eh whatever, he'll be fine.

Benjin smiled, ignoring his annoyed friend's attitude. "I see them." In that instant, Jellal suddenly stopped walking, his aura quickly raising before dropping.

Visibly, his scowl deepened. "Good." The blonde raised a brow at that. Perhaps this wasn't such a good idea?

Really though, what was the worst they could do? Kill them?

"…" Okay, that's illegal UNLESS in extraneous self-defence type circumstances and there was zero chance they would get away with that considering how weak the dark 'mages' are.

"O~kay! Let's just get a move on, cut some steam, then go home, aight?" And now Jellal was back to his emo-ness again.

"Sure…"

The two Fairy Tail mages stopped some distance away. Close enough to keep a close eye on the makeshift camp of the dark mages, yet far enough to not get caught. We'll just wait for Jellal to spend his sweet time unpacking that humongous think on his back.

Taking another look, Benjin once again deadpanned at the strapped sac that was easily three times his height and likely five times his weight. Why he carried that much stuff? He really, really didn't know.

Suddenly, an aura explosion from beside him.

What the fuck?!

Benjin anxiously turned towards his companion; the familiar aura of meteor surrounded every inch of his body. And his face. God, he looks absolutely livid! There was a lot of repressed anger and frankly, he didn't think that there was enough self-control for all of it. So maybe he could just… hope for the best?

*ZOOM!*

Within an instant, Jellal shot straight for the dark mages, clearing the gap in seconds. Oh god. A massive explosion. Oh god all-fucking-mighty. Massive flashes of light could be seen from over the treetops.

He had to get in there quick! Those mages were weak with a capital 'W!' Jellal could easily brutalize them within seconds and with how much his aura vibrated, he intended to hold nothing back!

Benjin pushed as much magic as humanly possibly in his legs, jumping through the forest, cracking each tree he landed on. Grimacing, Benjin put in monumental effort to accelerate. Fuck! If only I had my own meteor!

After they are back from the mission, without getting arrested, he'll have to find some way to mimi-

*BOOM!*

The blonde's eyelids stretched as far as it could as screams could be heard from the distance. His upper body tensed, jaws clenching at the thought of Jellal going completely nuts on people that may or may not deserved it. Damn it! He had to catch up, NOW!

Fuck running, he'll just use his light chains to grapple!

Thankfully, the branches he clasped his chains to were more than strong enough to support his weight. The speed he was travelling doubled and it would be mere moments before he-

My fucking god…

Emerging at a small clearing, the light mage frantically looked around as a yellow blur was completely decimating dozens and dozens of mages. The sheer terror that could be seen from their auras was enough to distract him from the cacophony of screams all around. He's… killing them! Wait there he was! In the corner of his vision, he managed to lock his eyes on the familiar blitzing blur.

"Why are you doing this to us?!" A single man, likely the leader, managed to scream towards the sky. Benjin tensed, he couldn't let him continue! The blonde reacted quickly, clearing the distance with a magic-enhanced leap and kicked the man straight into the ground. This is too much, even for you Jellal!

"JELLAL THAT'S ENOUGH!" In an instant, Benjin's aura exploded outwards in a shower of golden embers. The heavenly body mage quickly curved towards him, stopping right in front.

"Why?" Why?! This… is insanity!

"You're…" Benjin took a closer look around them, causing him to seethe with disdain, "You're murdering them!"

Jellal's eyes was shadowed by his bangs, his own aura raising in anticipation. "Murdering them?!" A step forward. "Do you even know who they are?" Another step. Do I want to know? "They are… Zeref cultists." Benjin unconsciously leaned backwards. The sheer loathing Jellal had in his voice when he mentioned that ancient wizard's name. He didn't think he had that sort of hatred for his own demons.

"This isn't right!" Benji stared right into Jellal's eyes; whatever he wanted to say after was silenced by the intensity of the other's glare.

"THEY DESERVE WORSE!" Jellal widened his stance, placing his hands together for his spell. Benjin snapped his head back and forth, seeing the many injured dark mages that struggled to even stand. Widening his eyes, the blonde looked up to see seven magic circles blanketing the skies above. That's… NO!

"Grand Chariot!" He should have stopped him! If he had knocked him out of his stance, he could have at least thrown off his aim! But now… Benjin stared at the approaching orbs, each larger than his own body. He'll have to block it! The light mage spread his arms out, focusing divinity into the palms of his hand. A smooth, calm aura encased his body as the spell reached its zenith.

"Light Make: Fortress!" A magic circle quickly radiated outwards to encompass the entire area. Every single dark mage was well within its area of effect. The familiar translucent barriers emerged from within, covering the entire clearing with a fortress completely made of light. Honeycomb textures ran along the spell; triangular structures extending from the ground to the ceiling materialized, strengthening his barrier.

Benjin gave one last glance to Jellal, only to be met with eyes burning with rage. Dark mages or not… I won't let you do this!

*CRASH!*

The casting of grand chariot, the emerging of his light fortress, and the explosions that rocked the landscape; all of it occurred within seconds. The blonde, despite his concentration, took a gander at the few dark mages still conscious, and he couldn't help but frown.

"Gah!" As the magical exchange ended, Benjin felt a fist dig into his cheek. Fucking hell!

"Why'd you stop me?!" Benjin blocked another set of attacks from Jellal, all while opting not to attack.

"Because it's fucking insane!" Through a sidestep, the blonde was able to catch his friend's fist. Thinking quickly, he pivoted his foot, pressed his shoulders into the other's sternum, and used his hand as leverage to throw him straight into the ground.

"Calm the fuck down!" Jellal was pinned. Benjin hoped to all the gods that he would stay that way. But of course, things didn't always work the way he wanted. "Damn it, stay down!" The blue-haired teen, through an impressive display of dexterity, was easily able to roll to the side, all while kicking the blonde in the head with his legs in a split.

The two returned to neutral, neither attacking, both waiting for the other to make the first move.

*Rustle* Both their attention was drawn to the side, only to see one of the dark mages, bleeding and crawling, trying to escape. Benjin widened his eyes as he noticed the expression on Jellal's face. Before he knew it, his legs were already rushing towards them.

"STOP!" Jellal had already stopped the dark mage's escape with a foot on his back. Magic was building up in his extended palm, and it certainly took no genius to figure out what he intended to do. The only thing he could do, was try to jump in the way of his Nova, yet…

He didn't make it.

*Thud*

Benjin simply stared there with his mouth agape, his heart beating with monumental effort as his own rage began to overtake him. Light-Make… A translucent hand, thrice as big as his body, came to being from the side and grabbed the unsuspecting Jellal. Fist.

"WHY?!" Benjin's desperate scream filled the clearing, snapping his companion out of his rage-induced stupor.

"Let me go." Cold, was how he would describe those words. The sheer hatred was something that made Benjin freeze in place. What could have possibly happened to make him like this? In that year we separated, his own eyes, filled with concern, stared into Jellal's own - what happened?

"Not until you answer my question!" The sounds of grinding teeth were audible for all that were close.

"You wouldn't understand!" No, I wouldn't.

The blonde breathed in deeply, his own tension going through the roof. "Then tell me!" Despite his seemingly solid position of power, a battle of auras was taking place. Jellal gave his all to escape, and Benjin gave his all to disallow that.

"Why should I?! You're just going to stop me anyway!" He had to stop him. Even if he didn't know it, he could not allow him to continue. Every instinct down to his very core told him that he must not let go!

"Because…" Benjin gritted his teeth, feeling his conviction falter.

"BECAUSE WHAT?!"

"Because…" Why?

Their eyes met; once again, their inner strength was tested against the other. I can't let you do this!

"Because I'm your friend!"

Silence.

Slowly, their auras calmed. The presence of rage was still on their faces, yet the worst seemed to be over.

"And this…" Benjin gestured to the field of broken bodies, "it isn't right!" Jellal glanced after him, before letting his focus fall to the floor.

"…" Please, calm down.

After the tensest seconds of his life, Jellal relaxed his body, releasing some of the tension on his face. Thank god. His next action was nothing but a gamble. Perhaps he read his friend wrong, or maybe he just wanted him to let go. But he took the leap of faith, and released his spell, allowing Jellal to land on the ground.

"…" The two stared at each other, the hostility all but vanishing.

"Hey…" Jellal looked up, his mouth no longer scowling.

"Hey." Benjin sighed in relief. I suppose that's over, for now at least. Looking around, Benjin noticed that dark mages were still trying to run away. Of course, there could have been ones that ran away. Nothing like a quick aura-scan wouldn't fix. Two of them, a fair distance away. Light chains!

Over a dozen chains exploded form Benjin's form, pushing their way towards the escaping mages and dragging each and every one of them back to the clearing. As soon as they came back, he could literally feel the disdain rolling off Jellal in waves. Thankfully, he made no move to attack.

"So uh, you want to talk about it?"

Silence.

A few seconds passed, before Jellal looked up. "No, not really." Benjin looked around - should I tell him? - he shuffled his feet anxiously, still pondering the question. He really wanted to know what happened, but he didn't want to pry. Above all else, he could understand because he had things he didn't want to talk about too.

Benjin took a deep breath. Okay, leap of faith.

"Remember when we went on that Vulcan mission, and you wanted to know about my magic?" His friend perked up in interest, still uneasy about what just happened.

"Yeah?"

"If you tell me what happened in the year, we got separated…" The blonde took another deep breath, using all his mental strength to overcome the final hurdle. "I'll… tell you everything you wanted to know." Jellal's eyes widened slightly. "History, how I got it, why I got it. Everything."

Please say yes.

Remember what he thought was the tensest seconds of his life? Well, this just took its crown.

"…"

An eternity seemed to pass, before Jellal gave a slight smile.

"Okay."

.

.

.

.

Chapter 15 Done! Next Chapter: Remembrance!

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