Fairy x Adventure

by Magnafeana

In a new era after the Alvarez War, Lucy, Natsu, and the rest of Fairy Tail not only face new challenges but watch as their kids go on new journeys, learn new powers, and battle new enemies and old! Join Luna, Nashi, and the upcoming generation of Mages on Fairy Tail and more on their never-ending adventure!

32. Adventure 032

Disclaimer: I do not own Hiro Mashima's "Fairy Tail", but all original plots and characters are mine.

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In a land far, far away lies the kingdom of Fiore, a small, peaceful nation of 17 million, and a place filled with Magic found in every home, bought and sold in every marketplace. For most, Magic is merely a tool, a mundane part of everyday life. For some, however, Magic is an art, and they've devoted their lives to its practice. These are the wizards. Banded together into magical guilds, they ply their skills in search of fame and fortune. Many such guilds dot the landscape of Fiore. But there is a certain guild in a certain town that soars high above the rest, one from which countless legends have been born. A guild that will no doubt continue to create legends well into the future. Its name...is Fairy Tail.

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Last time, on Fairy Adventure, we learned that Luna, Gale, and Mary Jane can share dreams that travel across the confines of time. With all of them gearing up with a new plan, it's time to put it in action. In the past, Luna got to meet Endymion, Meira's Pegasus Spirit, in his Pegasus and Human Form. How cool is that that a Celestial Spirit can change just like that? The group met up with Ludvig and his fiancé and childhood friend Contessa María Luisa Ortega. And, I thought my name was a mouthful. After frightening the poor countess, Meira leads Maria away for some much unneeded girl time while Alarick takes the rest to the bar. But, what's his motive? What's going on? Well, anyways, in the present, Igneel wakes up from a vivid dream to an awake Mary Jane and Peter. Though, all isn't well when Igneel sees Mary Jane's scars. Mary Jane acts a bit too harshly to Igneel only to learn his reasons for wanting to be her friend was due to a promise of one of his own late ones. Oh, Igneel… Mary Jane, please let him stay! Shenlong arrived just in time to save Erion from Nayda's destruction, but how long can the great pixiu and the Sea King face an enraged suzaku? In Lamia Scale, with Spezi locked away, Gajeel, Natsu, and Pantherlily take a team to track down the elusive Bluenote and arrest him. Dazzler forces Gary into a much needed venting session with maybe some sex-talk thrown in, but the biggest shock comes to them: Nashi is awake. Gary ends up being the one to help Nashi recover her strength with food, but the partners end up having a beautiful heart-to-heart…which leads to Dazzler, Julia, and Penelope winning the bet of what they're really doing in that bedroom. In the past, Luna is forced to hear Alarick's friends moon over her ancestor, but that's not all. Turns out these T'zolkins are a lot more mysterious than she thought. Following Gabriel to Ludvig's house, she learns T'zolkins are really Warlocks trying to increase their ranks. And, what's worse: it's raining which means Nayda is coming. In the present, Igneel dwells on the thought that Mary Jane did not flat-out reject him. He educates Peter on the kisses the fictitious Peter and Wendy shared only for Mary Jane's curiosity to turn on them. Big – mistake. Touching the charms ends Mary Jane with a powerful seizure, but not only that—Dimaria stops time to kill her for the sake of seeing Igneel lose control. And lose control Igneel does. Goodness… I've never seen Igneel so murderous… Just when he is about to officially end Dimaria Yesta, it's Mary Jane who stops him from doing so. Igneel tends to Mary Jane instead with the hopes she will get better.

'Sweet dreams…my—'

I wonder what Igneel was going to say? And, Luke? I really hope you can try for Nashi's sake.

---

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

KURRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR…

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

The episode fizzled back in.

And, it was getting good.

"Okay," the girl sighed.

"On the count of three," the boy decided. He counted, "One…"—he began to move his hands—"two…"—she squeezed her eyes shut, bracing herself—"thr—!"

KURRRRRRRRRRRRRR…

The episode went static before the rainbow barred of colors came up.

"We are sorry for the inconvenience," came an automated voice from the Lacrima-Vision. "Please, standby until—"

The screen blackened.

Mary Jane's eyes opened wide.

What the…? Where am I?

She did not understand any of where she was. Everything looked scarily foreign to her. She was in a den of some sort. Not like a family den in a house. She was in a hollowed-out den in the earth built for humans to live in. Earth was the walls with some help from powerful roots of a tree to make sure the earth did not shift. The floor had been smoothened over, but rugs of animals made for spotted carpet. Furniture had been salvaged and dragged into the underground, but there was nothing big in the room. A bed had been placed against a wall, roomy enough for a person to sleep. A hammock hung over it, like a bunk bed situation. It looked like it had been laid in many times and would still keep true to staying up and together. The old Lacrima-Vision was there in its place across the bed.

What was most interesting was the amount of memorabilia that invaded the room. Collections of possessions were given pedestals and shelves and homes of their own. Trinkets and toys and weapons and books caught Mary Jane's attention. A broken arrow found its home on a shelf. A charred MagiCross ball with paw prints and signatures was encased in glass. Fairy tale books worn for the wear had homes in a bookshelf alongside with their movie counterparts.

"This is weird," Mary Jane muttered. She got to her feet. "The Hell did I end up?" Her lips curled into a sneer of all she saw. "Ugh. Don't freaking tell me I'm near children," she lamented. She began to walk about. More memorabilia greeted her. From old race cars to more spiffy trophies, all preened for Mary Jane's attention.

She ignored them.

I don't get it. Just where the Hell am I?

She got to the edge of the den and kept walking.

Her eyes widened.

This was no ordinary den.

Her eyes drank in the expanse before her. Water flowed overhead, but it did not dare flood the cave. It acted as a liquid roof with the fish not seeing anything wrong with it. The calming blue and the consoling cold brushed against Mary Jane's skin and brought out the cerulean in her eyes. She took steps further into such an enchanting place.

Woah… This is…

Her eyes hardened.

…absolutely stupid. I want to leave.

She slowly turned around.

Now… If I was an exit, where would I be?

A contempt smirk. "All that power and you can't even find a simple exit? Pathetic."

Mary Jane tensed. "I must be having some sort of nightmare if you're here." She whirled around.

Condescending cerulean clashed with wrathful cerulean.

Mary Jane stared at a copy of herself with sheer anger and disgust. "So," she spat, "is it even worth me asking who the heck you are? Don't tell me. You're my nightmare personified."

"A 'nightmare'?" The copy laughed. "You poor, little mortal, you only wish I was a nightmare."

Mary Jane growled. "Then, enlighten me, O Wise One, of your identity." She crossed her arms. "I'm not in the mood for petty guessing games."

The copy smirked and stepped forth. "It's your fault you don't know who I am or even what I actually look like. I mean, come on." She flicked her hair behind her shoulder. "You think I really look like this? If you weren't so brain-dead, maybe you'd get my form right."

Mary Jane refused to back down. "So, you're a bitch like me too," she decided. "I'm assuming you're the part of me that's a sociopath, right? Antisocial personality disorder? Am I getting close?"

The copy stood toe-to-toe with Mary Jane, sneering at the original. "Oh, that's right. You're too stupid to even realize what's wrong with you."

"But, not too stupid to cut a bitch like you," Mary Jane snapped back. "You're in my dream, so enough with the little games you're playing and tell me who the Hell you are."

The copy's smirk broadened. Her hand reached up for her knuckles to brush Mary Jane's cheek. "Oh, MJ," she chortled. "You're so damaged. But, that's what we have in common, isn't it?"

"'We'?" Mary Jane snorted sarcastically. "Hate to break it to you, honey, but this life is a solo career. I'm damaged, yeah, but I'm not about to go in a sharing circle and talk about it."

The copy's eyes narrowed. "Oh? Just like how you can't talk about your love for your family?"

Mary Jane's jaw locked.

"Ooo! Did I hit a nerve?" the copy teased, circling around Mary Jane. "You get so touchy about all that 'love' bullshit. What, are you the shy type?"

"Nothing to be shy about," Mary Jane grunted.

The copy chuckled darkly. "Oh, that's right. You're not shy," she remembered. She hugged Mary Jane from behind with her hands traipsing up to cup Mary Jane's chest. "You just don't feel it, don't you? My little, cold-hearted blonde," she purred. "All you feel is anger, but… Why are you angry again? Don't you want to be happy?"

Mary Jane clenched her fists. "Why would I even try?" she bit. "Happiness is nothing more than a fake emotion. There's nothing left to be happy about."

"You've never felt happiness before, have you?" the copy cooed, breath puffing in Mary Jane's ear. "Just madness." The copy's hands lifted from Mary Jane's chest to cup her cheeks. "I don't get why you're still alive. You should just kill yourself. Wouldn't ending it all finally bring you happiness?"

A smirk. "Tch."

The copy frowned.

"Please, lady, there isn't anything that could make me happy," Mary Jane reminded, "so why would suicide be the only thing? I might not be happy, and I might not care about dying, but I'm not planning on taking my life." She turned her head so the copy could see her cold smirk. "But, feel free to try and kill me."

The copy blinked. Then, she burst into wild laughter. "You're so interesting!" she howled. "Oh, you remind me so much of me, but so different. There's no love in your heart. There's no happiness or despair. The guilt you feel isn't anything special. The way you don't care about yourself or others…" She let her chin drop onto Mary Jane's shoulder. "It's so beautiful," she moaned. "You're the perfect body for me, the perfect soul. You could be so much more than some stupid Mage in a guild. You could be great with my help."

Mary Jane barked a sharp laugh. "Oh, yeah, okay. Be 'great', huh?" She stepped out of her copy's hold and whirled around. Her hand cupped the chin of her copy and tilted it down, fierce cerulean connecting with intrigued cerulean. "I don't need help from anyone. I'll never need help from you. Maybe I am some stupid Mage in a guild, but that was my choice. I live by my choices." She let go of her copy's chin to lift up her own. "Now, stay away from me and out of my head."

The copy smirked. "Wow," she whistled. "What a different answer from the last time we spoke."

Mary Jane remained impassive. "There wasn't any 'last time', psycho."

"Oh, no, there was," the copy assured. "You just don't remember. I mean, how can you?" Her eyes narrowed a bit in demonic delight. "After all, you're nothing more than a hollow shell."

Mary Jane tilted her head, bored. "Yeah? And?"

The copy cracked up at that. "I expect nothing less from something as twisted as me," she supposed. "Just ask your parents sometime, Mary Jane… Just who taught you Magic? Who trained you? Who was the one to help you reach your potential?"

"My mother." Mary Jane knew that answer right off the bat. "My daddy taught me Lightning Magic. Simple as that."

The copy, now, cocked her head as a sly grin filled her lips. "Did they really? Hmm. That's awfully different from how I remember it."

Mary Jane's eyes narrowed. "All right, bitch, I think it's time for you to say 'buh-bye' because I'm not buying what you're selling," she snapped.

The copy tittered. "What, don't want me to go on?" she prodded. Her eyes gleamed. "Oh, I keep forgetting. You don't have very much curiosity, do you? But…" She took a deep breath, her eyes practically rolling to the back of her head. "Oh, there it is… Yes, I smell it…" Her eyes rolled forward and glinted in Mary Jane's direction. "Don't you find it odd you're so different from your family?" she wanted to know. "Didn't you ever find it interesting about the pain you have to endure? Your migraines, for example. Aren't you even a bit curious to know more about them?"

"Curiosity killed the cat," Mary Jane recited. "And, yeah, that satisfaction it got from knowing too much? Didn't bring it back. Resurrection is a farce."

The copy covered her mouth as she chuckled. "Ask yourself, Mary Jane… Who are you really?" She strode forth. "Are you really that damaged girl no one understands? I'm sure your parents would tell you more about yourself. Don't you find it a little strange that you're forced to go to therapy with that Telepath every week? Why?"

"Probably because I have demons," Mary Jane flatly stated. "Psychotic ones like you. I have an inner voice trying to spew how messed up I am." She crossed her arms and her nose wrinkled, eyes looking at the copy head to toe. "I can see years of therapy aren't working."

"And, yet, why would they work?" the copy questioned like she knew the answer. "All you have to do is ask the right questions to the right people, Mary Jane. Get a little curious, a little creative with them too. You'll never know anything unless you start to ask. Ask your mother. Ask your father. Ask—"

A frown. "Enough."

The copy froze before disappearing into thin air.

Mary Jane blinked, surprised. "Huh." She turned around. "I should be thanking y…" Her eyes widened. "What the heck?"

A wholesome smile. "Hello. I've been waiting a long time to meet you."

Mary Jane squinted. "Ah, right… Yeah… Just, like…" She blinked to stop squinting. "Sorry, kid, but who are you?"

Who she was squinting at was none other than a little girl who looked no older than eight. She seemed oddly comfortable being barefoot in such a cave. Unlike the copy of Mary Jane, her body did not scream she would kill at first chance. There was no reason to be on guard. Her clothing was nothing less expected of a child. She wore a comfortable blue dress that went to her knees with a white long-sleeved shirt underneath it. The top of her hair was pulled back with a ribbon tying it back, but the rest of her locks flowed freely. It was obvious she wore a necklace around, but she had hidden the charm underneath her dress.

What was strange about the child was the blurriness that concealed her eyes.

The child ignored the question. "You seemed really lost, so I came to help you."

Mary Jane hardened. "Child or not, I don't need your help. I don't trust strangers."

The child walked towards Mary Jane. "I know," she said matter-of-factly. "You don't have to trust me. I just wanted to show you something." She held out her hand in front of Mary Jane, stopping before the elder Mage.

Mary Jane looked at the hand warily before glancing back over her shoulder. She saw the warmth and light of the den behind her. "Where am I?" she wanted to know. "How did I get here? This is some dream, but nothing like I've ever dreamt."

"Of course not," the child agreed with her. "You wouldn't have been dreaming about this place because you didn't know about it. Well… Not until now."

Mary Jane turned back to the child, still suspicious. "Should I be concerned I'm dreaming of a little girl I've never met, then?"

The child giggled in her cutesy way. "No, it's okay. This is all normal, I promise," she soothed.

Mary Jane lifted her chin. "You talk mature for a five-year-old," she noted.

"I'm eight. I mean…" The child looked down at herself. "My body is, anyways. But, my mind isn't."

Mary Jane gave a short nod like she understood when she did not. "Sure. Whatever. Can I wake up now?"

The child shook her head, but she stubbornly kept up her hand. "I just want to show you something. Please?" she tacked on when refusal was on the tip of Mary Jane's tongue.

Mary Jane frowned as she thought over the offer. "That copy of me," she began slowly, "is she…going to come back?"

The child scowled at that. "No. I promise you she won't. As long as you're with me, you'll be okay."

Mary Jane played her options and took the hand of the child. "Okay, I'm in," she decided. "But," she added on, "act anything like the psycho and I won't hesitate to put you down."

The child giggled and began to tug Mary Jane away. "I won't, I won't!" she promised wholeheartedly. "I've been waiting so long for this, Mary Jane! I promise you you'll like it!"

Mary Jane grumbled, "I don't 'like' much of anything, kid." She realized something. "Hey, kid. Is there something I should call you other than 'kid'?"

The child thought on it. "Hmm… Well… I never really thought of having a name."

Mary Jane looked perplexed at that. "You don't even have a name?" She was thoroughly startled at such a revelation. "Everything has a name. I'm sure even trees name themselves."

The child shook her head as she chortled. "No, it's not that I don't," she relented. She stopped the two of them when they go to a ladder leading up and to the outside world. "It's just, well, my name isn't something you can know. Not right now."

Mary Jane huffed as the child let go and began to climb. "Okay. That's just fine and dandy. Make up a name then," she snapped.

The child grew contemplative as she climbed the latter. She reached the closed hatched and unlocked it while she pokes aloud, "Well… I guess you can call me… 'Emerald'," she decided. She opened the hatch and light flooded into the dark cave, nearly blinding Mary Jane.

"'Emerald'?" Mary Jane echoed.

"Yup! 'Emerald'!" "Emerald" beamed down at Mary Jane in her eagerness to go forth. "So, Mary Jane… Are you up for an awfully big adventure?"

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

As I close my eyes

Nokosu ato naku kobosu oto naku iku ate mo naku

I know that this is what I want, this is what I need

Ima mo kurikaeshite zanzou

•

Kizutsuita kako no bokura wa

Ienai mama de

Sonna karamawari kawaranai hibi wa

Mou tozashite ikun da

•

So now

Kore wa boku ga nozonda

My Nevereverland

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

Igneel did not seem to care that time was still stopped. He lost interest in anything that was not in his arms. Much to his luck, his flames had not charred the ruins or Peter or the two orbs in endless dance. But, none of that mattered now.

Dimaria sat against the wall in her half-charred state with her eyes haunted and thrown back into time. "Monster," she continued to chant in a low whimpering whisper. "Monster… Monster…"

Igneel ignored the mumbles of a maddened Mage and focused on the Mage he cradled in his arms. Remnants of blood and sweat remained on her face, but he did not seem to mind. All of his senses besides touch were irrelevant for the moment.

LUB-DUB… LUB-DUB…

Igneel sighed through his nose as he drew back his head to gaze down at the sleeping Mary Jane with emerald eyes. She harbored no anger in her sleep. She looked almost peaceful when she slept.

"You know, you were weird with sleeping," he began to say. "The second your head would hit a pillow, you'd be knocked out." He laughed a bit to himself. "I was so jealous. I'm such a light sleeper and it can take me an hour to go to bed, and you'd fall asleep in seconds and not wake up even if the world was ending."

Mary Jane sighed like she was in agreement to those words.

"You're still like that to this day, aren't you?" Igneel did not have to ask a question he knew the answer too. "You'd have the craziest dreams too. You'd tell me all about them and the people you met and what you learned and…"

Mary Jane shivered.

It was instinct for Igneel to warm himself. He rubbed his hand up and down Mary Jane's arm as his heat radiated off his person. His lips twitched when Mary Jane curled into his warmth, seeking comfort from it. "I hope your future husband is as warm as me," he teased. "You were such a leech when it came to my heat, so your husband's gonna have to deal with you clinging to him in the winter."

He watched as she held the necklace close to her heart.

His eyes softened.

What'cha dreamin' of now, MJ?

°•°•°•°

Mary Jane had never been in a stranger forest than this. "Somehow, I don't think I'm dreaming right now," she called to Emerald.

Emerald frolicked happily through the forest. "You're dreaming with your eyes open!" she called back.

Mary Jane rolled her eyes, arms firmly crossed. "'You're dreaming with your eyes open'," she mocked. "More like I'm tripping on poorly-made acid Cane's dealer sold for half-price."

The forest around was unusual in a sense of the trees were not just trees. Screens latched onto the trunks of these trees while Lacrima-Visions from various ages sprouted off branches.

And, they said technology didn't grow on trees…

Mary Jane passed through the Lacrima-Vision trees without any interest to what their screens beheld. Most of them were fairly recent memories, all shown in the first person. She heard booming laughter and cheerful conversation from the Sunday Strauss-Dreyar early dinners that would commence after the release of sermon (Mary Jane was forever grateful she was not forced to go to church, but she was still forced to attend the family dinner for her "Sabbath Day"). She heard the insulting banter between herself and Gale. She heard Amber's bitching and moaning over her latest fling. She heard Aine's irritating giggles and the sound of Lance's coos.

All these voices were bringing on another migraine.

Mary Jane stopped dead in her tracks. She had enough of this. "All right. Not that wandering around in a dark forest alone with a little girl isn't my dream come true," she started sarcastically, "but is there a point to all"—she gestured around her—"this?"

Emerald twirled around and smiled cutely. "Of course! Haven't you been paying attention to the screens?"

Mary Jane perked an eyebrow. "Was I supposed to be?"

Emerald pouted and stamped a foot. "Mary Jane!" she whined. "You have to pay attention!"

"Well, screw me gently with a chainsaw. Do I look like I give a damn?" Mary Jane snorted and rolled her eyes. "I don't 'have' to do anything. This whole thing was a waste of my time." She turned away from Emerald. "From here on out, I'm on my own. Run along to your parents, kid, and go play dolls or something." She walked away without looking back.

"Wait!"

Mary Jane glared down at Emerald who latched onto her hand. "I'd like to storm off in peace, thanks," she hissed, jerking her hand away. "And, I'd like to wake up from this nightmare since I'm pissed and my psychopathic tendencies need some r-and-r."

"You can't," Emerald insisted. "You can't leave! You haven't done it yet!"

Mary Jane growled. "'Done' what?" Something struck her, and a weird look overtook her eyes. She looked around like something might jump out at her. "This may sound weird, but there's some manga about a dude who lost his memory due to an accident and he and his spirit got separated." She eyed the little girl. "Is this like that? Are you, like, my spirit or ghost or whatever?"

The girl giggled and shook her head. "No. I'm not a spirit or a ghost, I promise."

Mary Jane sighed her relief. "Oh, thank Satan."

"But, you do need to come with me somewhere," Emerald told her. She retook Mary Jane's hand and began to tug her away.

Mary Jane allowed this to happen, but the skeptical look on her face had yet to fade away. "Will this get me to wake up faster?" she wanted to know. "I have things to do, people to…avoid…" She shook out her ponytail. "You know. Teen-angst bullshit and all that jazz."

"It'll get you to wake up faster," Emerald assured, "but, I don't know if you'll like it…"

"No, nope, I'll like it," Mary Jane instantly verified. "I will most definitely like whatever will get me out of here quicker. Lead the way to…" She wrinkled her nose and furrowed her brow. "Um… Where to are we going?"

Emerald turned around to beam at Mary Jane. "We're off to see a play!"

Mary Jane blinked twice. "Um… A what now?"

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

Fairy Adventure 032

Interlude of Dreams and Memories

間奏！昔のことを覚えていたかもしれない事を夢見て！

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

Waking up in his bed was something Gale never planned on doing.

He opened his eyes and groaned as he sat up. His hand ran through his wild hair, ruffling it, and smacking his lips. He yawned and swung his legs off the bed. "Damn," he muttered to himself. He grunted when he cracked his back, then sighed his relief. "Some fricken dream."

He left the room in a plain pair of shorts to hear the sounds of his parents downstairs. He jumped to skip the last few steps and landed on the ground. "Yo, Mom!" he yelled, throwing back his head. "You need me for anything or are you good?" He swung around into the kitchen and cringed when he saw his father in his frilly apron lovingly spoon-feeding his mate lunch. "Ugh, you guys, keep it I-Y-P, please, meaning 'in your pants'," he gagged as he bypassed them from the refrigerator.

Levy chuckled. "You think it's gross now, but, someday, you'll be completely smitten with your own wife," she teased.

Gale rolled his eyes as he plucked an energy drink. "Mother, I love you so very much, but I'm not getting married," he reminded as he unscrewed the cap to his drink.

Levy dismissed his words. "Oh, you'll change your mind," she decided. "The Lord didn't put you on this earth to walk your path alone."

Gale chugged a few gulps of his energy drink before answering. "Mom, you have other kids to give you grandkids, if you're worried about that," he assured her. "Hell, my money is Leo will be a baby daddy before he marries the girl. Problem solved."

"I want all my kids to be happy," Levy told her son.

Gajeel grinned. "Don't worry, Shorty. He'll find his mate someday," he promised his own little mate. "Pipsqueak, I'm gonna remember all your sass when you find the poor girl and tease the shit out of you by saying, 'I told you so'."

Gale smirked, cocking his head. "Mom, are you sure this man is old enough to be your husband? I could always find you someone better."

Gajeel growled, and Levy laughed, "Gale, don't provoke your father. I'll never find a man I want more than him."

Gajeel purred at that and kissed her forehead.

Gale gagged and shut the refrigerator. "Okay, well, let's try to keep my haven sanitary, please and thank you? Y'know, people eat in here, cook in here, read in here… Pretty much everything besides making more children."

Levy blushed to the roots of her hair while Gajeel threw his head back, cackling. "Don't look at me with that warning! Your mom is the kinky one!"

"Gajeel!" Levy gasped, horrified.

"My little, sexy librarian," Gajeel growled, winking at her.

Gale looked so revolted at that and made his way out of the kitchen. "I didn't need to hear that. That was an over-share."

"You off to see your girl?" Gajeel called.

Gale blushed and swung around to glare at his father. "I don't have a girl," he reminded, annoyed and embarrassed all at the same time.

Now, Levy frowned. "Gale… You do remember you have a girlfriend, right?"

Gale's eyes widened. "Wait, are you shitting me?" he squeaked. "She's my girlfriend?!"

'Holy crap, this is a dream come true. She's my girlfriend? When did this happen? How come I don't remember it?'

"Maybe you slept in a little too long," Levy teased, though uncertainty lingered in the back of her eyes. "Why don't you go get dressed? You said you two had some sort of date planned for Lillian's."

Gale could not hold back his grin. "Thanks, Mom!" He sprinted off to the stairs. "And, Old Man, stop being creepy and stashing condoms in the mail drawer! We all know they're in there!"

And, he broke into laughter at both Gajeel and Levy's spluttering.

°•°•°•°

Gale had to admit he had a spring in his step when he walked through Magnolia.

He looked fairly good (dare he say, "hot") since he brought out his favorite converse high-tops and ripped jeans. He stuck with his favorite jacket and had his hands in the pockets. Something felt wrong about having the jacket.

Thought I gave Blondie this jacket before Halloween. Guess it doesn't matter now. I can just give it to her on our date.

The thought made Gale's grin broadened.

He made it to Lillian's Homemade Ice Cream and tried to play it as casual as he possibly could. He looked around when the green-haired worker caught his eyes and he nodded at her. "Yo, Rika! What's up?"

Rika offered him one of those polite smiles and greeting nods. "I'll be right with you, sir!" she chirped. She, then, turned to the people back in line and got them started on their order.

Gale's eyebrows slammed together.

Did she just…?

He shook his head.

Nah. She's just busy. That's it.

He walked further into the parlor and began his search for his favorite blonde. It was always interesting to see what types of people came into the parlor. People come all walks of life stepped through that door for some homemade ice cream that melted in your mouth. He saw a few bikers alongside a couple of upperclassmen from one of the high schools. A mother and her daughter ate from the same cup with no shame. Two businessmen licked their ice cream in cones as they traded stories of work. He frowned when he did not see the one person he very much wanted to see.

C'mon, Blondie, give me a sign or something…

"Gale…!"

Gale flinched at the whine he heard. "The Hell?" He lost his breath when a person latched onto him roughly. He jerked away from them and glared to see the person was a girl with obviously-dyed blonde hair and gray eyes. "Who the Hell are you?" he snapped.

The girl pouted. "Baby, it's me," she whined. "It's your girlfriend."

Gale curled his lips in a disgusted sneer. "Like I would ever get with a fake ass chick like you," he snapped.

The girl scowled and reached for him. "Stop being a dick!"

"Stop touching me," Gale retorted. "Blondie is the only one who gets to do that."

"But, I'm 'Blondie'!" the girl cried. Frustrated tears sprung into her eyes. "Don't you remember?"

"You're 'Blonde-dyed'," Gale corrected. He took a large step away from her and towards the exit. "Look, chicana, it's obvious you got the wrong guy—"

The girl followed after him. "Gale, wait!"

Gale saluted her with three fingers. "So, I'm just going to go… Peace out, girl scout!" Just as the girl tried to latch onto him again, he hurried out of Lillian's. He wasted no time running down the street. He heard the girl crying for him, screaming for him to come back to her, but he ignored her and turned down another street.

Gale finally stopped when he put a good distance between the ice cream parlor and himself, ending up on one of the bridges. He stood against the railing, panting a bit.

"Crazy chick," he cursed. "I can smell hair dye a mile away."

He pulled out his Compact.

"All right. Let's get my Blondie over…"

His eyes widened.

What…?

The background on his lock screen was not Luna in his jacket with her fingers making a peace sign. It was a design he did not recognize instead.

Gale blanked.

Wh-Wha—? I-I… But, where's…?

He shook his head and pressed his thumb to the Home Button.

Maybe it's just a glitch. Yeah. Just a glitch.

His Compact unlocked and he looked at the wallpaper. It held the symbol of an anti-hero he liked, but nothing of his Blondie. He went to his messages and his eyes searched for Luna's name.

There was nothing.

"No way," Gale breathed shakily. "I know for a fact I texted her…" He left his messages to go to his contacts. He scrolled to the P section.

His blood went cold.

No, no… She has to…

The contact name PRINCIPESSA was not in existence.

Gale let out a shaky sigh. "Okay, okay, don't freak. Maybe… Maybe she's under a different name. Maybe 'Blondie'?" He scrolled to the B section and found no such name. "Maybe 'Luna'?" No such name existed. He ran a nervous hand through his hair. "This has to be a fluke. Did I accidentally delete her?" He went CALL app and dialed Luna's number. As he let it ring in his ear, he tried to quell his worries.

Calm down, dude. She'll answer, and everything will be fine.

The call was answered.

Gale smiled. "Oh, Blondie, thank—!"

"Hello?"

Gale's smile dropped.

The voice was undoubtedly male.

"Hello?" came a warring grunt. "Who the Hell is this? Don't play games with—!"

Gale hung up.

His hand dropped.

His eyes were wide.

No… No, this isn't… This can't be possible…

A warm frown. "Don't you see it yet, fledgling?"

Gale slowly lifted his head.

There stood Bluenote on the other side of the bridge.

"She doesn't exist," Bluenote told Gale. "You left her to rot in a timeline that wasn't hers."

Gale staggered at that. "No…" he whispered. "She can't be…"

"You left her there." Gajeel stood on Gale's left, looking down at her son with a smirk. "You left her to die in the past."

"Now, she's gone forever." Vito said this from Gale's right. "Because you didn't get to her."

Gale began to shake his head. "No… No, you're lying!" He began to sprint away. He could feel Magnolia glitch and blur on either side of him. He could see the forest closer than before.

Karun appeared with his glinting eyes on Gale. "You failed," he gnashed. "She's gone forever."

Ravana, the ten-headed man of black, appeared as well. "You will never see her again."

Gale could see Luna. She was so far away. She was waiting there for him.

"Blondie!" Gale shouted. He reached out to her. "Blondie, just wait for me!"

Luna smiled softly at him. "You can't save me this time," she murmured.

Gale crashed into an invisible wall. He splayed his hands against it. "Wait!" he cried. He banged on the glass. "Blondie! Blondie, I'm coming for you!"

Luna gave a gentle shake of her head. "I'm sorry, Gale. Good-bye." She turned and bounded into the forest.

Gale screamed. "Blondie! Blondie, don't go! I'll save you! I promise!"

"Don't you think it's a little too late?" came a fierce snap.

Gale whirled around. He was back in his house, back peering into the foyer with the front door wide open. He was back to see her with her back towards him and her belongings back and ready to go.

"I'm leaving," she decided scathingly. "Y-You don't need me here."

"No…" Gale's voice sounded young and scraggy. He was back to being just a little boy in his pajamas. "Wait…"

She took the handles of her suitcases and walked into the light.

Young Gale found himself running after her. "No! Please, don't go!" Hands scooped him up. He found himself in his mother's arms.

"It's okay," his mother shushed, though she barely kept back her tears. "It's okay."

"No!" Young Gale began to tear up as he watched her leave. "No, don't go! Please!" His eyes shut. "Don't go!" His eyes flew open when he found himself dropping. He was back to his regular size, back to being sixteen, but he was away from his house. He dropped into an ocean of stormy water with gray skies comforting them. He coughed and spluttered as he broke back to the surface and, much to his luck, drift wood was there for him to float upon.

Gale lay part of his body on the drift wood, wheezing. He coughed and slicked back his wet hair. His eyes glanced around. There was no land around him for miles.

I'm all alone, he thought to himself. And, it's all my fault.

°•°•°•°

In the darkness of Master Ooba's room, Syra's head perked from her place on Gale's chest. Her nose twitched, and she looked over at Gale's face.

DRIP.

A tear leaked out of his right eye.

DROP.

Syra's ears flattened. "Brrrr…" She leapt off Gale's chest to nose her way to his cheek. She licked off the tear and nuzzled his cheek. "Brrrr… Brrr-Brrr…" And, she would stay with him until his tears stopped.

---

Luke had moved himself to the kitchen and sat at the island atop a barstool. Actaeon lay at his feet and dozed off into his own dreams where he chased squirrels (or, at least, so Luke thought with Actaeon's back legs scraping against the tiles and the small growls he gave). Luke occupied himself in this frozen realm with a water bottle, the only thing he could drink that would not freeze in time.

Low chuckling and hisses.

Luke's resentful gaze when to the bedroom door that was cracked open a hair, ignoring his frozen friends. His left ear twitched when he heard Nashi's hissing pleas for Gary to be quiet and Gary's chuckling teases on how prudish Nashi was being. His glare went back to his water.

How the Hell can she be so friendly with him? He's only going to hurt her, and my family will have to pick up the broken pieces.

Hatred burned through his honeyed amber eyes.

His hand clenched the water bottle even tighter.

I'll never forget seeing her so lifeless, so…broken. Never.

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

It was one of those days where everything felt right. There was nothing out of place, nothing that made you sense any danger. It was one of the rare days you got where you felt at ease with the universe and karma and were balanced and centered.

"Oh, please! My Undimon would destroy your Glacimon!

"Oh, yeah? Well your Dragomon is the weakest thing I've ever seen!"

"I know you are, but what am I?"

Twelve years old and the immature insults never stopped between brothers.

Igneel and Luke had taken to playing Magimon World Re:Evolution on their Portable MagiK Consoles (their MagiK MS) in the sanctity of Igneel's orderly room. Igneel was in his bed, lying back on knee propped and the other leg crossing over the knee. Luke had brought in his gamer's chair for the occasion and would rock back and forth just as a subconscious pastime.

"Stop being such a butthead," Igneel grumbled as he angrily pressed buttons of his MS.

Luke smirked. "I'm telling Mom!" he called loudly.

That got Igneel's eyes off his MS and looking at his brother in distress and betrayal. "Wait, what? You can't—!"

"Winner!" came a happy whistle.

Igneel's stare ricocheted back to his MS to see he had lost his Magimon battle with his brother with his Fulgimon knocked out and Luke's Vampiramon happily fluttering around at the win. "Wait, what?!" he shouted. "That's totally not fair!" He pointed accusingly at his twin. "You played me, dude! I call, 'rematch'!"

Luke shut his MS and flashed his smug smirk at Igneel. "Too late. I won!"

Igneel growled as he shut his MS and threw it onto the foot of the bed. "I hate playing with you," he muttered. "You always cheat, and I never win."

"I don't cheat!" Luke said in fierce defense of himself.

Igneel glared at him. "Well, you play dirty," he snapped back.

The sound of the unlocking of doors drew the argument to a close. Then came the creaks of the front door opening and the light sounds of footsteps, exhausted ones. Looks of excitement crossed Luke and Igneel's face and their lips twitched into full-blown grins.

"Nashi's home!" they cried.

The set of twins sprung up and were practically shoving each other out of the way to get out of the bedroom. They raced each other down the hall and to the stairs.

"I bet she gets grounded for a whole month," Igneel challenged.

Luke disagreed as they bounded down the steps. "No way! Dad always goes easy on her. She'll get, like, three days," he decided.

Igneel was the first to leap onto the first floor and his eager eyes went to find his older sister's. "Hey, Nash! How was the—?" His words stopped.

Both boys stopped when they saw their sister.

Lucy shielded her eldest from her sons, but she could not wipe the hollow look in her eyes. They were a murky brown that day, showing nothing more than a pained grief. "Boys, your sister has had a rough day and night. Would you mind giving her some space?" she requested, keeping her voice light.

Luke swallowed and took a timid step forward. "Where's Dad and Lu?"

Lucy's eyes sparkled in something for just a moment before she closed her eyes. "Your father… He had to leave on an important job," she told them. Her voice constricted just saying those words. "Luna is at your auntie Erza's house for tonight, but she'll be home tomorrow."

"Oh." Igneel looked visibly disappointed. "Well, that's okay! I'm sure Pops will be home soon!" he said optimistically, always trying to find the bright side.

Lucy's eyes shut tight and her shoulders shook.

Nashi stayed partially hidden through the help of her mother.

Igneel noticed this and his cheerful grin fall short. "Right…Ma?"

Luke noticed an odd scent hanging about both Lucy and Nashi. The smell was stronger around Nashi than it was Lucy, but there were a few other smells Luke could detect and made his nose wrinkle.

"How come you guys spell like a hospital?" It was Igneel who asked the question rather bluntly. He sniffed his sister closer. "And, Nash, you smell like—"

"Boys."

The twins flinched at the sternness in their mother's voice.

Lucy sighed and gave a tired smile to her sons. "How about you two go to the kitchen and I'll fix you guys some snacks before dinner?" she suggested. "I'll be right back down. I'm going to go and settle Nashi in her room."

The boys nodded, but they did not vocalize their agreement. They slunk around their mother and sister to go down the hallway. As Luke passed them, he could not help but sneak a look at his big sister.

Her eyes…

They spoke nothing of life.

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

I didn't really understand back then of what happened. But, I knew another to know my big sis was broken. She didn't want to live…

It took a few days until Dad came home. He came home in the dead of the night. Igneel woke up me to overhear them talking in the kitchen. He was always the lighter sleeper when he wanted to be.

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

Luke grunted when grubby hands poked, prodded, and shook him. "Nnngh… Wha…?" he muttered, voice laden with sleep.

"Dude, Pops is back home," came a hiss. Igneel's hiss. "He and Mom are talking downstairs."

Luke refused to open his eyes and buried himself deeper into his pillows. "So?" he mumbled. "Go back to bed. M'tired…"

Igneel gave an exasperated huff. "It's about Nashi."

That got Luke to open his eyes.

°•°•°•°

Igneel and Luke sat together on the platform of the backstairs that led directly into the kitchen. They kept themselves in the shadows to avoid suspicion and made sure their scents and breathings did not reach their father as they overhead their mother's tired sigh. There was the sound of water and rinsing. It would seem Lucy was cleaning Natsu's wounds.

"Natsu," Lucy lamented, "why?"

Natsu grunted. "You know why," he growled back at her.

"Don't growl at me," Lucy berated, though there was no true chiding in her tone. "Natsu, you… You shouldn't have done that. Do you know how she'll feel?"

"I know how she feels now, Lucy," Natsu hissed at her, timbre sharp and untamed. "My own daughter doesn't even care about her own life! You were right there with me when she was crying and told you she didn't want to live!"

"She feels like she's disappointed us," Lucy insisted. "She feels like she's disappointed you, Natsu." There was the sound of healing tape being ripped. "Goodness, Natsu, you left her with me! Do you know how she felt after that? She was crying to me how she was sorry, and she didn't want her papa to hate her. She thinks you hate her."

"I could never hate my princess!" Natsu swore viciously. He grunted (must have been from the tape being wrapped around him) before sighing. "You know I love her. She knows I love her."

"She doesn't right now," Lucy countered gently. "She's fragile right now, Natsu. The fight you two had before she left… She was devastated about that. She—… She thinks it's all her fault because she didn't listen to you."

BAM.

Igneel and Luke flinched when they heard a reverberating snarl. It was instinct for them to crouch low, bowing their heads, and whines to be crawling from their throats in acts of submission, but they caught their whines, slapping a hand over each other's mouths.

"This," Natsu breathed roughly, "will never be her fault."

Lucy sighed and there was the sound of the tape being down. "I know that," she soothed. "And, I know you know that too. But, Natsu, it's hard for people to understand that." A hesitant pause. "When I was fifteen, my father tried to set me up with a nice count's son."

A sharp inhale." Lucy… Did he—?"

"No." Lucy put a stop to that right there. "At least, not to the full extent." Two beats. "For a while, I… I thought it was all my fault. Maybe I had worn something wrong or gave the wrong impression. Back then, Papa wasn't there to make me feel better and Mama was gone. All that mattered was that I had ruined his deal. Gosh, I blamed myself for years and neither of my parents had been there for me when I needed them."

"Lucy." The boys visible flinched when they heard the crack in their father's voice. "Why didn't you tell me?"

A harsh swallow. "Because I was afraid, Natsu," came Lucy's whispered admittance. "I was so scared to be judged and pitied and to be a disappointment. I didn't want anyone to know. Mira was the only one who ever knew. Not even Levy or Gray knows, and I'd like to keep it that way."

"Of course," Natsu agreed instantly.

Lucy's exhaled through her nose. "But, it's hard, Natsu." Her voice wobbled at that. "It was so hard for me when my parents weren't there for me. It's going to be hard for Nashi too. Even with us here, she'll feel alone. But, she's so scared about what you think of her. She's scared of even going outside n-n-now an-and-and—"

DRIP.

Igneel's eyes widened when he heard his mother's hiccup.

DROP.

Luke's eyes shimmered.

"Lucy…" Natsu's voice came out breathless and mournful. "I'm sorry I couldn't protect her." A sniffle came from him. "I'm so sorry I failed our princess."

"Oh, Natsu, you didn't fail her," Lucy soothed through her own sobs. "She couldn't have asked for a better father than you. You can't predict the future."

Natsu's sniffles grew more frequent and more prominent. "I should've been there," he grieved. "I could've helped her. I could've… I could've…". The sniffles burst into cries of anguish. "Lucy, I'm so sorry I couldn't protect our daughter."

Luke found himself wrapped in his own grief at hearing the low cries of his mother and father. He could hear rustling and his father's cries muffled. He must have been snuggled into Lucy's embrace.

Dad, Mom…

Luke pulled his stare onto Igneel when his twin tugged at his arm. Igneel jerked his head up the steps. The pair of boys climbed the stairs as quietly as they could to go back to the second level. They were quiet in their endeavors until they reached their bedroom doors. They lingered. Uncertainty and sadness paired themselves in the eyes of the twins.

"I've never heard Pops cry before," Igneel murmured in realization.

Luke nodded. His eyes flickered to Nashi's closed door.

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

That was the first time I heard my father cry.

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

It was a nice day. Too nice of a day for a bad memory. The sun was shining. The cicadas were out and playing their awful drones. Dragonflies played tag over Dragon Pond. Everything spelled of the oncoming summer and no one could wait for it to come.

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

It was about a week later. We were just starting June and I was coming back to the house with Sensei from my mediation lessons…

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

Luke opened the sliding doors and let Mystogan in first as Mystogan was saying, "Luke, your summer exam won't be until the first full week of August, just like I promised. You know that."

Luke smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, Sensei. I'm just a little…" He heard it.

He heard quiet sobs and motherly soothes.

He smelt chaotic grief and pain.

He heard the sounds of vomiting and whimpering.

Mystogan noticed Luke's pricked ears and frowned, concerned. "What do you hear?"

"It's my mom and Nashi in my parents' room," Luke identified. "I think I'll go check up on them."

Mystogan nodded his agreement. "I'll head out, then," he decided. He ruffled Luke's head. "Excellent work today. Just remember: momentai. Okay?"

Luke nodded, half-listening, and bowed his respect. "Yes, Sensei. Thank you for everything." Without any preamble, he bounded up the kitchen steps to get to the second floor. His footsteps quieted when he heard Nashi's ragged cries and the sounds of her nausea. He tiptoed to the master bedroom and caught the conversation in progress.

"—s-s-sorry!" came Nashi's stuttering whimper. "I'm so sorr—!" Vomiting replaced her words and coughing.

"Oh, my little star, shhh," came Lucy's soft hushes. "You have absolutely nothing to be sorry for."

Luke pushed open one of the doors to the master bedroom and stepped inside.

Nashi hacked and spat as she finished vomiting. "H-H-He's going to ha-ha-hate me!" she bewailed. "I'm sorry, Mama! I'm so sorry!"

Luke slunk down against the wall as his own eyes burned hearing his sister's high-pitched sobs and gurgled apologies.

There was the flush of the toilet and the running of water that came next.

"I love you so much, Nashi," came Lucy's unbreakable promise. "I love and care about you, my little star, just like your father does. Your whole family is here for you."

Luke could hear Nashi's sniffles be muffled by fabric.

"I don't know what to do," Nashi croaked, sniffling loudly. "Everyone's going to hate me. P-P-Papa won't want me as his pr-princess anymo-mo-more and…!"

"Your papa will always want you as his princess," Lucy assured. "You're so loved, my little star. We'll follow with whatever you want to do, okay?"

Nashi sniveled. "O-O-Okay," she agreed, then hiccupped. A sneaking sob came out of her mouth as she confessed, "I'm sorry, Mama. I love you."

As Lucy cooed her own love and consolation, Luke shot up from his place and hurried out of the room. He rushed into his own bedroom and ignored the mess of it to throw himself onto his bed. His entire body was trembling. He turned onto his back and took off his glasses, rubbing away his own tears.

"I'm sorry, big sis," Luke whispered, sniffling. "I promise I'll make your tears stop."

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

At the time, I didn't really know why she was crying, but I felt like a terrible brother for not being able to make her stop. I never told Igneel about what I heard, even now. I just felt like I shouldn't.

Two weeks went by and our house wasn't as spirited as it was before. It was rare for us to see Dad at breakfast or dinner. Whenever he was home, he made sure to spend time with us. He was careful with Nashi, though. She rarely left her room except for dinner. It was like they were at some stalemate where no one was making the first move. Dad was always so sad whenever Nashi flinched away from him.

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

Luke sat at the stair platform, hidden in the shadows and wrapped in his blanket. His ears were pricked as he listened to the shuffling in the kitchen.

Natsu's tired voice reached him. "Did she leave her room today?"

"No." One word was all it took for Luke to hear the grief in his mother's voice. "She didn't."

Silence.

"I see," came Natsu's worn-out mumble. "C'mere, Lucy." There were footsteps and shuffling and the sound of lips meeting skin, kissing skin. "She'll leave when she's ready. You know that."

"I know," Lucy sniffed. "I just wish I could take away her pain, so I could see our daughter smile again."

"I know," was the only thing Natsu could say.

"You should've heard what Luna said today today," Lucy told her husband. "She told me Nashi…that Nashi felt like she doesn't deserve this family. She doesn't deserve to live."

"That's crazy!" Natsu's voice rose a bit with his incredulity. "She deserves to be a part of this family!" He huffed his own frustration as the sound of a stool scraping against tile drifted. "I should've done more," he snarled.

"Natsu, please, you can't!" Lucy begged. "Please don't go!"

"I can't just sit here and hear my own princess doesn't want to live!" Natsu snapped.

There was a sniffle. "I-I-I know, but, right now, you have to," Lucy wept. "We have to stay strong for her."

Luke buried his chin into his pulled-up knees, honey-amber eyes glimmering as he heard his father sigh and pull his mother into an embrace.

"Now you're crying, Lucy," Natsu murmured. "Go on and cry. I won't let go of you even if you stop."

Luke buried his face into his knees, shaking, as he heard the muffled sounds of his mother's cries tearing at his heart.

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

Mom would always wait up for Dad at night. Sometimes, Igneel and I both would. Sometimes, it was just me. They'd eat late dinners together in silence. Sometimes, they'd talk. Sometimes, they'd argue. And, other times, I'd hear Mom cry and Dad comfort her. My heart broke hearing Mom cry—so much that I'd start.

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

Luke was on his way back from the pond in a solo journey with his backpack. There was nothing more comforting than having nature surrounding you, fresh and untainted.

A soft giggle.

"Bye-bye, Mister Butterfly!"

Luke's eyebrows slammed together. "Luna?" His pace hastened towards laughter of his little sister. He jumped over bushes and weaved around trees as worry overtook him.

Is she out here alone? Please don't let her be by herself…

Luke's near-sprint was stopped when he heard Luna's next words.

"Look, Nashi, isn't this one beautiful?"

Luke's eyes widened.

Nashi's out here?

Luke was more careful as he moved about the forest until he came to the outskirts of the clearing of the treehouse. His eyes drank in the sight before him in clear disbelief and wonder. Luna had drawn life in the form of beautiful butterflies around her, giggling as they landed on her person, curious about the girl of flaxen hair. Nashi sat by her sister with butterflies on her shoulder and hair. Her eyes and mouth were vacant as usual, like she had gone catatonic. But, she watched her sister like a hawk and refused to look anywhere else.

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

It was around three weeks when I saw Nashi outside with Luna. Nashi still did not look like herself, but she was outside and not in her room.

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

Luna gasped in her own splendor when a big butterfly landed on her wrist with wings the color of the glittering ocean. "Hello there!" Luna chirped at the butterfly. She showed the wonderful insect to Nashi. "What's this one, Nashi? What's this one?"

Luke was even more surprised when Nashi opened her mouth. "A Swallowtail." Her voice was hoarse and soft as it was only being used for mumbles, cries, and vomiting.

The Swallowtail fluttered off Luna's wrist with such grace. Nashi's arm went up and the Swallowtail gratefully perched onto her wrist.

Luke softened.

Big sis…

"Luke?"

Luke snapped his head towards the voice and saw it was his mother who lounged on a picnic blanket with the hunting dog spirits lounging in the shade, Plue feasting on his own sandwich, and Virgo standing guard. He scampered over to set-up.

"Mom?" Luke glanced at his sisters. "What's going on?"

Lucy patted the blanket. "Come sit, my sweet prince." As Luke obliged, Lucy answered his question. "I've been trying to get Nashi out in the fresh air. Nothing with people. Just outside." She chuckled as she watched Luna spin around, the butterflies flying off her, yet staying close to her. "Luna had enough with her sister and all but begged for Nashi to come outside and play with her. Nashi said, 'yes'."

Luke's lips quirked into a smile. "It's hard to say, 'no' to Lu. She always has that way of cheering up people."

"Yeah," Lucy agreed fondly, "she does. We came to the treehouse today for a bit of a picnic. Virgo and Taurus are on either side." Her smile dimmed, making Luke's own go away. "When Nashi feels like she would like to go into town, Virgo and Taurus will be with her at all times."

Luke dipped his head in acceptance to this rule. "Does she know?"

"I think she's assumed," Lucy said, "but we'll tell her when she feels up to heading back to Magnolia." She took a sip of her tea. "Her friends came by the other day."

A low whine and a wet nose.

Luke looked down to see Lelantos was prodding his leg for attention. He took the bait and stroke the hunting dog's flank. "Who?"

Lucy set her teacup back in its saucer. "Ellie, Olivia, Galileo, and Orochi," she named. "They've all been so worried about her. I told Nashi they were there, but she didn't want to see anyone."

Luke watched as the butterflies gathered enough sense to take their leave with Luna waving at them and giving them a proper farewell. "At least she's outside today," he reminded in attempts to lighten the mood.

Lucy's smile was feeble. "I know. I just hope this isn't the first and last time."

And mother and son dwelled in their comfortable silence as Luna's laughter blossomed through the clearing.

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

It wasn't the last time Nashi was outside.

For a week and a half, Luna was the only one who could convince her to go outside. Sometimes, Lu and Nashi would have their lunch on the deck with Mom. Virgo and Taurus were always there. Other times, Luna took her to Dragon Pond. She tried getting Nashi to draw dragonflies, but Nashi just couldn't do it. She told Lu, "I'm sorry" and started to cry. Lu hadn't minded one bit. She just hugged Nashi and told her, "We have tomorrow and the next day. So, don't cry, Sissy. The dragonflies aren't going anywhere".

Maybe it was their sister bond that made them understand each other, but it made Nashi stop crying. For once, the vacant look in her eyes sparkled with something when she hugged Luna back. She was making progress.

But, like always, peace never lasted.

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

A horrid, gut-wrenching scream alerted everyone in the family.

Natsu had reached Nashi's closed off room first and opened the door. He froze for half a second before rushing into the room. Lucy followed shortly, leaving the three siblings to look cautiously through the entryway.

There was their big sister with blood streaming down her legs and endless tears in her eyes.

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

Back then, I had never seen something more terrifying. And I had never been more helpless.

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

Nashi sucked in air and panted it out as quickly. Her body spasmed as she shrieked and cried out, clutching her stomach.

Natsu was holding her as best he could. "We're right here, princess," he soothed. "We're right here."

"It hurts…!" Nashi confessed in a crying moan. "Papa, it h-h-hu-hurts!"

Lucy was already on the Compact with the hospital. "Hello? It's my daughter, ma'am, she's begun heavy cramping and bleeding, and, no, this isn't from her period," she spoke into the receiver. As calm questions were being thrown back at her, she looked back to see her children staring in horror at the anguish their eldest sister was going through. "Igneel, Luke, stay with Luna," she instructed her boys. "Take her back to her room." She turned back to the call. "Yes. Yes. Five and a half weeks."

Luke was the first to pull out of his terrified stupor and tugged at his little sister's hand. "Come on, Lu," he whispered. "Let's go."

Luna did not want to leave. "But, Sissy's crying. We should help stop her crying."

Igneel swallowed roughly and nudged his little sister away. "Luke's right. Let's go."

The twins successfully moved their little sister away from the door and herded her away, but the cries and pleas of their big sister were not lost on their ears.

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

I remember sitting in Luna's room with Igneel and holding her while we listened to Nashi crying. I remember when we were heard footsteps. Mom told us they were taking Nashi to the hospital while Aunt Aries and Uncle Loke were to watch out for us. Aunt Aries tried her hardest to keep our spirits up, but no one was in the mood.

That night, I remember Lu, Igneel, and I all slept in Luna's room while we waited for Mom, Dad, and Nashi to come home…

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

Luna lay in-between her brothers with sadness in her eyes, clutching dragon plushie. "I want Nashi to come home," she wished. "I hope she feels better."

"We do too, Lu," Igneel murmured. "Let's just think of all the things we can all do when she gets back, right? We could start planning for Pops' birthday. It's in a few weeks!"

Luna sniffled. "Yeah…"

"And, then, there's the Culture Festival coming up, right?" Igneel reminded his little sister. "Can't forget about all the food we're going to—!"

It was Luke who snapped. "How can you think about food when our own damn is in the sister is in the hospital?!"

Luna was taken back at that, her eyes watering, while Igneel growled, "I'm trying to calm Lu down, jerk, not make her cry! What's eatin' you?"

"Our own sister looks like she's dead!" Luke spat back. "How can you even smile when she's not even herself? She wants to die, Igneel! And, you're talking about food?!" His glare intensified as black sparkled in his honeyed-amber gaze. "But, I bet your smile would be gone if it was Mary Jane," he mocked.

Igneel growled louder at that. The emerald in his eyes was turning more prominent. "You're acting like a huge butt, Luke! You need to calm down!"

Luke snarled loudly. Neither he nor his brother noticed the cherry blossom color in his hair was darkening, but Luna certainly did. "Don't tell me what to do!" he snapped. "You don't love Nashi! If you loved her, you wouldn't try to be happy when she's upset! All you care about is your precious Mary Jane who won't ever feel for you!"

Igneel had enough and rushed to tackle his brother in a flurry of punches. The onyx in his eyes was replaced by maddening emerald and he did not give a damn. Luke's hair was drenched in black and those honeyed-amber eyes had submitted to black and ruby. Their growls and the sounds of skin hitting skin was outshone by Luna's terrified scream. Neither brother cared. Their sole attention was to listen to Nature. They were angry, wronged, and they felt the need to listen to the feral that lurked beneath them.

Igneel did not hesitate to rake his nails across Luke's chin, making his brother bleed.

Luke retaliated with a firm punch to Igneel's nose and biting at his shoulder.

STEP-STEP-STEP!

Before both boys knew it, their fighting came to a halt when a loud roar shook the entire room. They shoved each other away, panting their unbridled fury and itching to finish what they started. Igneel flashed his canines at his brother in threat.

Luke growled and took the bait.

It was a firm hand that shoved Luke back.

Both boys looked up and into the furious eyes of their father. "What do you to think you're doing?" he asked calmer than expected. "Do you not see how you're scaring your little sister?"

The twins' snapped their gaze onto their shaking sister, drinking in her tearful, frightened gaze. Apology, remorse, guilt—it flooded through their bones and made them lose their growls in exchange for silence. Their eyes, their hair—it was all restored. Onyx flecked with emerald and honeyed-amber swept over Luna in their shame.

"I'm sorry, Lu," Igneel apologized.

"Me too." Luke meant it.

Luna sniffled, wiping aware her tears. "It-It's okay," she soothed. "Just do-don't fight n-no m-more."

Natsu strode to his littlest—both boys lowered their eyes and bowed their head, feeling his waves of disappointment and anger over their scuffling—and hauled her into a loving embrace. He kissed her forehead. "No more crying, baby girl," he told her. "They won't fight anymore. They're just really upset about your sister."

Luna looked up at her father with the purest gaze. "Is Sissy home yet?"

Natsu tried not to let his face fall. "Not yet, baby girl, but she will be soon. She's asleep right now and your mom is staying with her tonight, but we're going to go see her tomorrow morning, okay?"

Luna yawned. "Okay, Papa."

Natsu kissed her forehead again and nuzzled it with his own. "I'll stay with you tonight. Why don't you get in bed? I need to talk with your brothers. But, then, I'll be right back."

Luna nodded, and Natsu let go of her. He left the room without looking at his sons or saying a word to them. They followed after him warily as if they expected him to whip around and punish them. Natsu shut Luna's door when both boys were out and led them into the master bedroom. He shut the door and had his back towards his son, tense.

"Do I want to know why you two are bleeding?" he first asked, tone light yet dangerous. "Or am I going to be disappointed in both of you?"

"We're sorry, Pops," Igneel fessed up. He looked at his feet. "We took it too far."

"Yes, you did," Natsu agreed. He turned around and cool onyx judged them. "You never fight like that. You're family—brothers. You have each other's back and fight for each other. You think your mom or Nashi would be happy to see either of you like this?"

Both boys flinched and shook their heads, not daring to look their father in the eye.

Natsu sighed. "I'm not mad," he promised. "I'm just disappointed in you two. You scared Luna. She doesn't need this right now, and neither do I. We need to be thinking positive for Nashi."

"How is she?" Luke decided to ask, glancing up at his father.

"Asleep, but she's surviving," Natsu informed. "She had to have surgery, but she'll be home tomorrow." At this, his body relaxed with pure exhaustion. "I need you boys to promise me you'll control yourselves. We don't need this type of fighting in the house when Nashi gets home. We need to show her we love and support her."

Igneel was baffled. "But, we already love and support her."

Natsu smiled a gentle smile and knelt down to put a hand on either boy's shoulder. "I know we do, brat, but, right now, she needs to know it now more than ever," he explained. "She might not want to talk to us right now, and that's okay. We'll let her be her. So, that means, you two better be extra patient." He poked Igneel's nose. "And no teasing."

"She's not going to be the same, is she?" Luke whispered. "I wish I could've done something so she wasn't hurting."

Understand glinted in Natsu's eyes as he brought the twins in for a hug. "I know exactly how you feel," he murmured. "One day, her pain's going to be less, and she'll start to smile again. We just have to wait for that day to come."

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

"Luke?"

Luke snapped out of his remembrances to see his sister standing before him. Worry was on her face as she catalogued his own emotions.

"You were thinking hard," Nashi explained. "You looked so lost and so sad."

Luke chuckled bitterly. "Bad memories will do that to you," he supposed.

Nashi settled beside him. "Please don't think about what I know you're thinking about," she begged.

"I can't help it," Luke murmured. "All of this"—he gestured everywhere—"just brings it back to me."

Nashi sighed. She put a hand over Luke's and gave a gentle squeeze. "He's not like the others," she said, though her voice was a bit hesitant.

"How do you know that?" Luke so desperately wanted to know. "He brought back your panic attacks. Nashi, he hurt you."

"I know that," Nashi promised, "but it wasn't his intention. We listened to Mama tell us when Papa transformed. He hurt her, but she knew in her heart he would never mean to betray her." She let out an exhale. "Just like Gary would never betray me."

Luke shook his head, wrapped up in his own disgust and ire. "You're trusting him too much."

"You're trusting him too little," Nashi countered. "Luke, I can't—…" Her voice cracked, and she had to recompose herself. "I can't move on if I think every man out there is the same. That's something Mara taught me. And, I'm really starting to get where she was coming from."

Luke wallowed in his angered silence.

Nashi slipped an arm around him and pulled him in for a side-hug. Luke gave into temptation and snuggled into her embrace. Nashi smiled a little and rested her head against his. "I love you so much," she told him. "I love that you care enough about me to be this worried, but, Luke, we have to start trusting more. And, Gary is a great start."

"He's a monster, Nashi," Luke forewarned. "How could you have feelings for something like him?"

Nashi blushed. "Hold on now. I-I never said I had feelings for the dog," she backpedaled. Her eyes softened a bit. "It's honestly hard to try. I'm so afraid. I don't want him to know. I don't want to get this close. I don't want to have another repeat." She closed her eyes when she felt her eyes sting. "But, I am trying, Luke. I just need you to try too." She pulled away and turned to her brother, opening her eyes. Beseeching hickory clashed with grief-stricken honeyed amber.

"He made you cry," Luke pointed out desperately. "How am I supposed to try with him? I can't stand to see you cry, sis."

Nashi took a deep breath and looked away. "Remember my friend Mitchie?"

Luke furrowed his brow, unsure of this diversion, but he nodded anyways. "Yeah. Isn't she about to graduate from Cheshire Academy? She's the one who wants to be a nurse."

Nashi nodded. "Sometimes, I wish I could be like Mitchie," she admitted. "Sometimes, I wish I could just be seventeen without Magic. I could live a life without going on jobs or dealing with people seeing me as our parents' child and not me, and to having to deal with fake people who want to use me to get to our mama or papa." Something passed in ber gaze, something wistful. "It makes me think how different life would be. We wouldn't be right here. We would be at the Shenzhen Convention Center, scared and helpless but safe. We'd be away from so much pain and tears." She collected herself in a mere breath. "But, when I think of that life, I think how much I would miss in this one. I wouldn't have met Ellie. I wouldn't get to see Luna get so excited over her first job. I wouldn't be able to have such an amazing celestial family." She snorted. "The Celestial Spirit King is in our family. How many people can say that?"

"What are you trying to say?" Luke wanted to know.

Nashi sighed. "I'm trying to say no matter what happened to us in the past, I'm grateful I have the life I have now," she explained. "I'm happy I have such caring family and caring friends." She turned to Luke. "I have a caring partner," she added, "who is living like I am and hating himself every day for his mistakes." She bumped her forehead against Luke's. "I chose this life and I get to choose what I do with it. I'm choosing to try and not be scared. But, I can't do this without you, Luke. You're my brother."

"What if he hurts you again?" Luke asked, voice shaking. "What if I can't control myself? Nashi, I… I tried to kill him."

"I know," was all Nashi offered.

Luke's eyes widened. The weight of the mortal sin he tried to commit was crushing him. "Oh, my God, I tried to kill him," he whispered. "What have I done? I tried to kill another human being."

"You thought you were protecting me," Nashi told him soothingly. "You know what Papa says. Sometimes, even when we're trying to do the right thing, we can still get it wrong. You were worried about me. I won't ask you to stop that. But, I'm asking for a chance for him—for us—to prove everything we thought was wrong." She looked in Luke's eyes imploringly. "Can you please just try for me?"

Luke searched his sister's eyes. He found no hesitancy or fear. He found nothing but sincerity. "It's going to be hard," he admitted. "I still…don't like him."

"And that's okay," Nashi quickly soothed. "I don't expect you to like him right away or trust him right away. Just give him a chance."

Luke closed his eyes and exhaled loudly. "Last one," he decided. He opened his eyes, determined, albeit heavily unwilling. "I mean it, Nashi. Last one."

Nashi broke into a huge smile. "You don't know how much that means to me."

Luke's lips tugged into a grin. "You know, you were getting awfully pushy about 'some dog' you don't have feelings for," he jested, amused at seeing the flustered look on his sister's face. "Are you sure there's nothing else going on?"

"N-N-No way!" Nashi spluttered. "He's just a stupid dog!" She got up, clearing her throat. "Anyways, I think Actaeon has had enough with me stealing you. He has something to say."

Luke looked to the other side of him to see Actaeon was sitting like a good boy, waiting patiently for his turn. Luke smiled. "Did Lelantos find them?"

Actaeon got to his paws and howled. It was that howl, the howl that spoke the hunt was off and the prey was ready for the taking.

"He's found them," Luke admitted in relief.

Actaeon then barked, growled, and barked twice.

Luke's eyebrows shot up.

Nashi blinked her confusion. "What'd he say?"

Luke turned to his sister. "Well, uh, you're not going to believe this, but it seems Dad's there too."

Nashi's eyes widened. "Wow," dropped from her mouth. "I…did not expect that at all."

STEP. STEP.

Gary joined everyone in the kitchen, changed and revving to go. He held up a note written on a printer paper. "I wrote the note. I'll leave it right in front of Misty." He shyly glanced at Luke. "Are we, uh…? Are we good to go?"

Luke avoided Gary's gaze as he got off the stool. "Yeah," he muttered gruffly. "Let's head out. Nashi, you can ride with me. I can summon a ride for us." He met Gary's gaze with hard eyes. "You'll fly," he decided.

Gary nodded. "Of course."

Luke wasted no time leaving the kitchen with his belongings and marching up the steps, Actaeon following him without a hitch.

Gary sighed as Nashi moved over to him. "There he goes," he supposed.

Nashi frowned, pushing Gary's locks away from his eyes. "He's trying," she promised. "He'll try."

"I know, Angel," Gary assured in a mumble. "I just hate this." He looked down at her and tucked in a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "You two talked, though. How are you feeling?"

"Better." Nashi was honest in that. "I'll feel a whole lot better when I see Igneel and Luna."

"I know." Gary dipped his head to capture her lips in a chaste kiss.

Nashi's face was red. "Wh-Wh-What do you think you're doing?"

"No one can see us," Gary pointed out. He offered a playful grin. "Is Juliet afraid of people seeing her forbidden love for her Romeo?" he teased.

Nashi was too flustered to even reply until she snapped, "Stop flirting, you perverted dog, and focus!" And, she stormed off and away, ducking her head when she heard Gary's laughter.

---

Mary Jane grumpily dug into her popcorn.

Emerald heartily ate her N&M's.

And, they sat side-by-side in the crowded theatre.

To simply put it, the opera house was divine. The royal reds and celestial golds were full of prestige and honor. The mural on the dome ceiling was something to deeply admire. Little cherubs played hide-and-seek in the clouds with the older angels chuckling at their siblings' silliness. The seats were to die for, so velvety and plush, if a bit uncomfortable when you sat in them wrong. The house lights were on and the conversation was at its high. People with X-ed out faces had made their appearances. The rich were in their boxes, sipping on wine and talking about politics like it was the weather. The middle-class did just fine with overzealous kids practically shouting their eagerness to see this play. The curtain was closed, but everyone knew the actors and the crew were getting ready behind the scenes for their performance.

The pit orchestra instruments were warming up. A horn player made unnecessary rips. The trombone section was tuning each note in their chord. A flute and piccolo player were running through the runs in their music. A violin worked on her pizzicato. Four trumpets worked on the march. The harpist worked on a hard sixteenth-note triplet run. A timpani player was tuning his drums. The pianist was playing soothing chords of one of the ballads.

"This is a dream, right?" Mary Jane grunted. "So, why the heck isn't the play starting as we get here?"

"Well, the play had to be rewritten." Emerald slurped on her Spirit. "They had to take out some content and replace it. Don't worry. The play will be fine."

Mary Jane looked around to see the upper middle-class had claimed this section of the theatre. They had luckily landed seats in the grand tier level where they could see the entire stage from its center and the music was acoustically sound at their vantage point.

"You still didn't tell me the play we're seeing," Mary Jane huffed.

Emerald produced the playbill and handed it to Mary Jane. "It's called 'Peter and Wendy', a play adaptation of 'Peter Pan'."

Mary Jane looked disgusted. "Oh, good lord, why are we seeing this?" she complained. "The whole story is so unbelievable! I'm sorry, but I'm supposed to believe some girl thought it would be a good idea to run away with a boy she only dreamed about to some place you only see when you're higher than a kite?" She chomped on more popcorn. "She should have done the smart thing and called the guard, not follow him." She shook her head. "Geez, it pisses me off. Every fairy tale, the girl hopelessly follows the lead because they just feel so compelled to."

"Not all of them do," Emerald pointed out as the pit orchestra tuned its brass.

"Yeah. Not at the start," Mary Jane countered. "Then, what happens? Spoiler alert! The girl still falls hopelessly in-love for the male protagonist, happily ever after's are still a thing, and now we're given unrealistic concepts of romance and relationships." She pointed at Emerald. "Kid, if there is one thing I've learned, you can't trust anybody. Ignore these princess-whatevers. Don't get married. Don't fall in-love." She picked up her drink and took a sip as the pit orchestra tuned its woodwinds.

As the house lights flashed twice and the pit orchestra tuned its strings, Emerald frowned. "You don't want to get married?"

"Hell no," Mary Jane snorted, setting her drink back into the cup holster. "If I can help it, I'll remain a spinster for the rest of my days."

"Right," Emerald muttered as the lights began to dim. She grew excited again. "It's starting! It's starting!"

Once the houselights were effectively dimmed, a spot light came onto center stage. The entire house began to applaud and whistle and cheer pleasantly when two actors—a boy with tousled hair, confidence in his strut, and a devil-may-care smile that no woman could resist and a girl with an upturned nose, a dreamer's eyes, and a childlike bounce in her step—came from stage right and stage left respectively. They looked to be the same age, or at least, the characters did, even if the boy looked taller. They were in costume, the boy with his green tights and leafy shirt, and the girl in the blue nightdress with a big bow in her hair.

Ah. So, they must be the "Peter" and the "Wendy" for tonight.

Peter took a rather dramatic bow. "Thank you, thank you, for coming to my show!"

Wendy huffed at him, lifting an eyebrow. "You mean 'our' show, Peter?" She had a Minstrish accent to her, poised, perfect, and whimsical.

Peter waved her off with his silly grin. "Details, details, Wen," he dismissed, making the audience chuckle. "Welcome, lost boys and girls, to the story of me—!"

"And, me!" Wendy added, indignant at Peter. She turned to give the audience her pleasant beam. "And, our tale of Neverland!" she completed. "Our tale is all about thinking happy thoughts, of dreaming, and of never growing up!"

"Don't forget fairies," Peter tacked on hastily. He looked expectantly at the crowd. "You…do believe in fairies…don't you?"

The kids scream louder than the adults that, yes, they do believe in fairies. Even Emerald was shouting her belief.

Mary Jane just sat back, bored. She stared up at the ceiling as Peter urged the adults in the crowd to be as loud as the lost children.

This is so lame…

"MJ?"

Mary Jane jolted out of her thoughts to look at the stage. Her eyes widened when the actor who played the immature and charming Peter Pan stared at her with mischievous eyes. She looked at Emerald and mouthed Is he talking to me? while the little girl giggled in her chair. Mary Jane blinked and turned back to "Peter".

Peter took a step forward. "You believe in fairies…right, MJ?"

Mary Jane blinked rapidly. "Excuse me?" She covered her mouth when her entire voice reverberated through the theatre like she was given a microphone.

Peter laughed with the entire audience at her answer. "C'mon, MJ," Peter playfully whined. "We can't start until you say you believe in fairies."

At that, Mary Jane's face grew unimpressed. "Listen here, buddy, you can take your little belief and shove it—!" A nudge stopped Mary Jane's words and she looked down at Emerald.

Emerald was looking at her with puppy-dog eyes.

Mary Jane closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Her eyes snapped open and a fake, forced smile took over her lips. "Fine, Petey," she grounded out. "I do believe in fairies."

As the entire theatre thundered with applause—including Wendy clapping—Peter Pan nodded his triumph. "There we go, lost boys and girls! Everyone believes, so we can get on started!" he crowed. "Now, just remember. Have some faith, trust, and…"—he fisted his hands together before opening them, letting everyone see the glittery substance piled in his hands—"pixie dust!" He blew off the glitter on his hand. Everyone was positively entranced when the glitter swirled around Peter and Wendy, going faster and faster and faster, before flashing once with a glockenspiel riff cueing it.

They were gone.

And, everything went dark.

The entire hall burst into applause.

Mary Jane rolled her eyes. "Someone just killme," she bewailed.

The curtains were pulled back for the stage lights to fade in, showing a scene that made Mary Jane promptly sit up straight and her eyes narrow.

"Wait a minute," she snarled. "Is that…my bedroom?!"

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

Fairy Adventure

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

The scene had been set to mimic Mary Jane's room, even if it was from a different time.

But, to Mary Jane, it was still her bedroom, her haven, her private sanctuary.

And, now, everyone in this damn theater saw it.

"What the Hell is going on here?" Mary Jane growled.

Emerald tried to shush her. "Mary Jane, please, just watch the play," she implored. "I promise you, it'll explain so much."

Mary Jane did not know what compelled her, but she silenced her growls and sat back in her chair. She munched on more popcorn with angry movements of her jaw.

A Wendy appeared, looking no more than fifteen. She did not seem to happy about anything at the moment as she came into her bedroom.

A voice called from off-stage, soothingly female, "Wendy? Remember: we're going shopping tomorrow!"

"I got it, Mom," Wendy grunted.

"Good night, sweetheart!"

"Night." Wendy shut her door, groaning. She looked up to the ceiling. "Satan, please, if you're out there, let me be sick so I don't have to go shopping?" She waited for something, anything, a sign of some sort. She scowled and marched to her bed. "And here I thought you'd actually want something bad to happen to me."

The audience chuckled at that.

Wendy stopped and glared into the audience. "What are you guys laughing at?" she snapped. "You know how horrible shopping with my mom is?" She began to take off her shoes. "She forces me to try on dresses and will drag over some poor dude to 'compliment what he likes the most about it'." She wrinkled her nose. "And if you think that isn't bad, let me walk you through an example." She began to pace around the room. "So, we're at a huge mall a few towns over and she has me try on some backless dress. She brings over some random guy and asks him what he likes about my dress. He says he likes it, but…"—she raised a hand—"it would look hotter on a sexy lady like her. He was flirting with my own mom!"

The audience laughed.

Wendy fell into her bed. "I don't want to go shopping. I just want to fall asleep and forget," she bemoaned.

"I just want to wake up and forget," Mary Jane muttered, eating more popcorn.

KNOCK. KNOCK. KNOCK.

Wendy sighed loudly. "Come in."

The door opened for Wendy Darling's mother to come in with a book in her hands. She was a rare type of beauty with kind eyes and a sweet smile that could cure any heartache. "Wendy? You'll never believe what your father and I found."

"My adoption papers?" Wendy muttered, making the audience rumble in laughter.

Misses Darling shook her head and went over to Wendy's bed. "No, my sweet, we found your favorite fairytale 'The Boy Who Never Grew Up'!" She showed the book to her daughter excitedly. "Remember it, Wendy?"

Wendy rolled onto her side. "No," she muttered, "but you're going to tell me, aren't you?"

Misses Darling grew a bit eager as she got onto the bed, effectively shoving Wendy on the other side. "Oh, we used to read 'Peter and the Starcatchers' all the time before bed!" she chirped. "And, then, when we finished, we'd read about 'The Lost Boys: Adventures of Peter Pan'!" She nudged her daughter. "Wasn't it fun, Wendy?"

"It was a million laughs, Mom," Wendy said dryly, making the audience simper.

Misses Darling sighed as she flipped through the pages. "You used to go on so many adventures together," she murmured. "You'd talk about anything and everything."

Wendy raised an eyebrow to her mother. "Mom… You do know Peter Pan isn't real, right?" she reminded factually. "He's just a storybook character that's a great imaginary friend to have, but stories are just stories."

Misses Darling gave a blithe smile. "Oh, Wendy… Don't you remember?"

"'Remember' what?" Wendy asked cautiously.

As the first musical number broke out between mother and daughter, Mary Jane sighed. "Okay. This is boring. Can we go now? I'm pretty sure this part of the episode doesn't fall into the Chekov's Gun Trope."

"Mary Jane, this is important," Emerald stressed. "You really need to watch this musical."

"Why should I?" Mary Jane droned. "It's a musical. This is an acid dream. None of this is relevant and my subconscious is just screwing with me." She put the popcorn in Emerald's lap and got up. As she wiped her hands on her shorts, she told the child, "Look, kid, it's been real, but I need to get back to reality where everything sucks and I'm stuck in a cave."

Emerald grabbed her wrist. "Mary Jane, please!" she beseeched. "You can't leave! All of this is important! You'll see! You just have to at least stay for the second act!"

Mary Jane jerked her wrist away and rubbed it. "No thanks," she rejected. "This is a waste of time. I won't die from not watching this stupid play. I don't like fairytales and I certainly don't—!"

"—believe in fairies, Mom!"

Mary Jane and Emerald's attention went back to the stage. Misses Darling and Wendy had stopped singing for Wendy to sear her mother with a firm glare.

"Mom, fairies don't exist," Wendy existed. "Fairytales are just that—tales. They don't matter. 'Happily ever after's are nonexistent, true love is a farce, and reality sucks." She gestured to the book in her mother's hands. "That story about Neverland… Mom, an author literally made up the entire story. Pirates are ruthless, not afraid of crocodiles and like to sword fight with little kids. Mermaids and pixies don't exist. And orphaned boys are in an orphanage or, hopefully, with a nice family who loves them." She huffed and turned away to her window. "I think I'll stick to reality, thanks."

Mary Jane slowly sat down.

Misses Darling sighed, despondent, and got up. "Where's my little girl who begged me to read her stories of castles and Magic?" she whispered.

"She grew up," Wendy sniffed. "And she's loving every second of it."

Misses Darling shook her head and put the book on the bedside table. She shuffled over to the door and hesitated. "You might've grown up, Wendy, and forgotten him, but, he'll never forget about you." She left, closing the door.

Wendy groaned and flopped onto her bed. "Fairies? Pirates?" She snorted. "Bunch of poppycock." She turned onto her side. Her eyes caught onto the book and she grabbed it. "Huh. So, you're supposed to be real Peter Pan?" She laughed sharply and sat up. "Like I'd believe that!" She opened the book. "Now, let's see what we have here…" She cleared her throat. "Chapter One: Peter Breaks Through. All children, except one, grow up. They soon know they…'." She rolled her eyes. "Why is he so special he doesn't get to grow up, huh? It's plain stupid!" She got up. "Honestly, if I ever met someone like Peter Pan…"

Mary Jane was impressed with the next song. Wendy sung spitefully about all the things she would rant and rave to fable characters like Peter Pan, listing how they gave life unrealistic expectations to children. Unbeknownst to her and known to the audience, someone else was listening to her ranting serenade. The children gasped when they saw their beloved Peter Pan sneaking up to the window with his hat and boyish grin. He looked Wendy's age. So, he had grown, had he? He put a finger to his lips for everyone to keep quiet of his arrival and snuck up to the window. He opened it soundlessly and leaned on the windowsill, listening in amusement to Wendy's loathing towards him and fairytale characters.

When Wendy reached the high point of her range, stating she would tell Peter Pan how much she despised him, she whirled around and screamed when she saw Peter at her window.

The entire audience cracked up and even Mary Jane snorted.

Wendy put a hand over her heart, breathing heavily. "Good Heavens! You gave me a fright!" she scolded.

As she dug around into her pocket, Peter lifted an eyebrow in his mirth. "I didn't think anything could surprise Wendy," he teased. "Especially someone she hates."

Wendy scoffed at him as she took out her Compact. "I don't know how you broke into my house, but I'm calling the guard," she decided, dialing the number and pacing.

"Good girl," Mary Jane muttered under her breath.

Peter hauled himself into the room without any worry. "I wouldn't do that."

Wendy ignored him as she waited for someone to answer. She grew frustrated when the ringing kept going and no one answered. She ended the call and glared at the boy casually lying in her bed. "What did you do?" she snarled.

Peter seemed ready to answer. "Well, I—"

"Mom!" Wendy began shouting. "Daddy! Intruder alert! There's a strange man in my bedroom!"

Peter's eyes caught onto the book and his eyes lit up when he saw it. "Woah! It's a book all about me!"

Wendy stopped her screaming and slowly turned around with an unimpressed look about her. "Hold on. Are you saying you're 'Peter Pan'?"

Peter grinned proudly. "The one and only!"

Wendy gave a longwinded sigh, rubbing her temples. "Great. I have a lunatic in my room," she muttered, making the crowd snicker. She straightened up and lifted her chin, pivoting to face Peter. "Look. It's obvious you're pretty sloshed right now, so how about we get you back to the slums of which you came?" she suggested, tone dripping in venom.

Peter laughed merrily at that. "I'm not 'drunk', Wen, and I live in Neverland, not the slums!"

Wendy lifted an eyebrow. Then, she crossed her arms, nodding slowly. "You know what? You're absolutely right," she decided, smiling.

Peter's eyes widened. "I am?!" He cleared his voice when it cracked, the audience chortling. "I-I mean…" He coughed and tried to look manlier. "I am?" he repeated, deeper.

Wendy nodded enthusiastically. "Why, yes, Peter! You're most certainly not drunk!" Her expression flattened. "You're higher than a kite." As the audience crowed, Wendy turned away to her door. "Mom! There's a stranger in my room!"

Peter panicked and got off the bed to fly over to Wendy. "Wait! Don't go!"

Wendy ignored him as she went to her door. "Mom! Daddy!" She reached the handle. "Dad—Ah!" Much to her horror, she was flying off the ground with arms circling under her armpits. She began to thrash. "Put me down! Help! Someone help me!"

Peter rolled his eyes as he lowered Wendy back on the ground. When she dropped to all-fours, breathless, he sat crisscrossed in mid-air, a frown on his face. "Geez, Wendy, how can you be so afraid of flying?"

Wendy got to her knees with a glower in her eyes just for Peter. "People weren't meant to fly like that," she spat. "I don't know who you are or how you're doing this, but—!"

Peter seemed considerably saddened. "You forgot how to fly?"

Wendy did a double-take. "How can I 'forget' what I can't do?"

Peter began to lower onto the ground as a broken look over came him. "You really…forgot me, huh?" he murmured. "You grew up."

"Mother Nature says we have to," Wendy pointed out bitingly as she walked over to her bed.

Peter got to his feet. "But… What about all our adventures?" he questioned. "Our pirate fighting and swimming with mermaids at the lagoon? Captain Hook and all the lost boys?"

Wendy scoffed. "Good sir, you are quite out of sorts, so I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to leave." She gestured to the open window.

Peter blinked as if thinking over Wendy's words. Then, a grin slowly overtook his face. "You might not remember it in your head… But, you'll remember it in your heart!" He crowed in laughter. "I'm so clever! Oh, the cleverness of me!" He fished in his pockets for something. "Where is it? Where is it?"

Wendy sighed, crossing her arms. "What now?"

Peter pulled out two things from his pocket and grew excited. "Here there are!" He showed them to Wendy.

Wendy stared down at the used thimble and the old acorn button. "Okay… What are these?"

"Our kisses!"

Wendy took a large step back. "Okay, listen, Mister, I think you've gotten the wrong girl…"

Peter stepped forth eagerly. "No, no, these are the kisses we gave to each other, remember?" He held up the thimble. "You gave this to me on my birthday… Don't you remember?"

Mary Jane's eyes widened when everything around her changed. She was no longer part of the audience. She was on stage. She was Wendy. She was looking at Peter Pan who showed her the thimble with a desperate look in his eyes.

Green eyes.

"Remember, MJ?" Peter asked softly. He took another step. "It was our little secret."

Mary Jane growled, taking a step back. "I don't know who the Hell you are, but get away from me," she snapped. "I haven't had my first kiss and I don't even own a whatever-the-frick-that-is."

"MJ," Peter pleaded. "You have to remember!"

"No!" Mary Jane turned and began to run away. "Get away from me!"

The entire scene shifted around her. It was like world was stretching and she was running with it. She found herself running into the world that turned into a screen and forced herself to run against it, stretching it out. With a final grunt, she broke through the screen and into somewhere new. She found herself in a place she had never set foot in. It looked like it had been ruthlessly decimated. Buildings blown up. Streets filled with holes and debris. Bones littered amongst every surface. There was a thick scent in the air of quiet death. It had a pungent scent you could not get out of your nose.

Mary Jane stumbled back. "What the Hell?" she whispered. "Where am I?"

A smirk. "Home."

Mary Jane whipped around to see the copy of herself. There was something wrong with her, however. Her eyes were not cerulean. They glowed scarlet.

"This isn't home," Mary Jane sneered. "My home is in Magnolia."

The copy cackled. "Maybe now. But before…" She gestured around. "We lived here. This was our home and we lived under Father's reign." She giggled. "Father was so good to us."

"I don't know what you're smoking, but you stay away from me!" Mary Jane snapped. She turned on her heel and sprinted away.

The copy's smirk broadened. "Oh, Mary Jane… You can't run from me."

Mary Jane's feet hit the ground even harder. Her pants ragged as she turned down a street. She had never seen such madness, such destruction. It was like it tried to swallow her, consume her very being. She turned down another street only to scream when she found herself falling. She had landed herself in a black void that consumed her entire being.

When Mary Jane landed, she was back in Magnolia, back down the street of her home. There were no neighbors to greet her, no dogs barking. Nothing but empty silence.

"Hello?" Mary Jane called tentatively. "Anyone out there?"

A smirk. "I told you you can't run."

Mary Jane whipped around to see her copy only a few meters away from her.

The copy started for her. "You can't run. Now that I can speak, you'll never be able to escape me." Her hands reached for Mary Jane. "I will control you…" In a bout of suddenness, she broke into a wild dash for Mary Jane. "I'll be in control!" she howled.

Mary Jane's eyes widened. Her feet were carrying her away. Just away. There was no rhyme or reason as to where—she just needed to get away. She looked over her shoulder to see the copy gaining on her. She pushed herself even harder, but the copy was faster than her. The copy raised a hand and a whip fashioned from scarlet created itself.

"Come back here!" the copy screeched before lashing her whip.

WUH-PSH!

Mary Jane flinched.

No pain came.

Her eyes opened.

She turned around.

Her eyes widened.

She was back in the tunnel, back in the abyss of runes and survival.

Back to seeing Igneel lying on his side, bleeding out for her.

Mary Jane's legs gave out and she landed on her knees. She crawled over to Igneel's barely breathing body with bewilderment in her eyes. "You moron," she insulted. "Why did you do that?"

"Because…"

Mary Jane whipped around to see she was somewhere different. She was in a clearing she had never known with a tree she had never seen before and a boy she despised. Igneel and her may have stood on either side of the clearing, but, to her, it felt like they were worlds apart.

"…I'll always protect you," Igneel vowed.

Mary Jane bared her teeth at him. "Why do you keep showing up in my life?" she cried. "I don't need you or even remotely want you near me! Don't you get that?"

Igneel shook his head. "In our friendship, you'll never feel loneliness again," he swore. He took a careful step towards her. "I'll always be here for you, MJ, like a friend should be."

Mary Jane gave a sarcastic laugh that borderlined a cry. "Enough with the whole 'friendship' crap!" she snapped. "We will never be friends, you hear me? So just"—she shut her eyes—"leave me alone!"

Silence.

Nothing moved.

Mary Jane opened her eyes.

She was back in the darkness of the forest.

The Lacrima-Visions were staticky and muted. Nothing worked anymore and that was okay.

Mary Jane exhaled, closing her eyes.

KURRRRRRRRRRRRR…

A Lacrima-Vision was alive and trying to project its show.

Mary Jane opened her eyes, squinting them at how bright the Lacrima-Vision was. Voices began to fade in.

"—on't be sad," came soothe, though the words were glitched and doubled over. "Because no matter what happens, we'll be best friends."

Mary Jane stumbled through the forest.

A Lacrima-Vision came alive and tried projecting the episode.

A sniffle came across, youthful and female. "How can you know that?" came whimper. "No one is friends forever."

She kept stumbling, kept walking, with a Lacrima-Vision flicking to life as she passed it and dying when she was out of range.

There was no hesitation. "We're not 'no one'," came reminder. "We're 'us'. So, no more tears, okay? I don't like it when you're crying."

"Stop," Mary Jane mumbled as she kept bumbling through the LV Forest. "Go away…"

"C-Can you make my tears stop?" came ask in snivel. "I don't know how to."

"Stop," Mary Jane kept mumbling. "Go away…"

There was a rustle coming from the next Lacrima-Vision. "Of course I can," came solemn promise. "I'll stay with you until they do."

Mary Jane stopped.

She lifted her head.

A giant Lacrima-Vision had stopped her path. It looked as big as her bedroom wall and burned brightly in the forest. The footage it tried to project was graying in and out with static rolling over the playback. She watched the footage to see a child was the protagonist, maybe just one inch higher than four feet. He knelt on a comfy bed, but his face was obscured and put into black and white.

"Let's get out of here," he decided. "Let's go back there for our last night. I'll sneak us out."

"A-Are you sure?" came murmur. "I don't want you to get in trouble…"

The boy shrugged and waved a hand in his dismissal. "Nah, don't worry about me. You're way more important. If I get in trouble, you're worth it." His hand lifted up to touch the screen, or at least the face of the protagonist of which the episode was in the point of view. "So, let's get out of here and go on an awfully big adventure."

Mary Jane landed on her knees in front of the Lacrima-Vision just as the episode blanked into quiet static. She let her forehead rest against the screen. Her eyes shut themselves automatically. She let her fingers splay onto the Lacrima-Vision.

"I hate this," she whimpered. "I hate you."

ZZZZT.

A spark of lightning flicked her forehead.

A warm hand reached through the Lacrima-Vision to caress her cheek.

Mary Jane smudged her forehead more into the Lacrima-Vision. "I hate you," she kept saying. "I hate you. I hate you…"

CRACK.

A crack appeared on her cheek. She looked no longer human, but looked to be a porcelain doll, carefully-crafted and polished. The detail on her was simply remarkable. She could speak so long as her crank continued at its slow pace.

"I hate you," the doll said, angry and upset at the same time. "I hate you. I hate you."

CRACK… CRACK…

More cracks appeared on the porcelain doll, but none of them dented her beauty. She did not mind the chips on her hair or the cracks on her chest. She did not mind when parts of her began to fall. The crank found it harder and harder to continue going and came to a stop as its doll lost too much of herself to go on.

What was a surprise was what was inside the porcelain doll.

A child.

She seemed to be asleep with her bleach blonde hair in need of a good brushing down to her feet. She wore a hospital gown that looked like it had been slept in for far too many nights. For such a young lass, it was stupefying to see her have hollow cheeks and dark circle underneath her eyes. She did not even wake up to realize she hatched from the porcelain doll with fragment littered around her. She continued to sleep and to dream.

Another hand came out of the Lacrima-Vision and both scooped up the girl. The girl was unaware she was lifted into the Lacrima-Vision. She melded with the screen, sinking into it.

Something glinted on her.

A necklace chain was around her neck.

As she disappeared, the charm jingled and fell for all to see. It was—

She was gone.

And the Lacrima-Vision Forest was silent.

---

Ruby cracked open.

It was hard to see when the light was directly shining in your eyes. A hand reached up to block the sun out of red eyes. A grunt fell from Gale's lips. "Nnngh… The Hell?"

A warm giggle. "Wake up, Sleeping Beauty," came gentle tease.

Gale turned his head to see Luna lounging beside him, curled onto her side with her golden hair splayed into the grass. She smiled at him at his drowsiness. "Sleep well?"

Gale groaned and yawned. "M'sorry. Did I sleep through our time together?" he mumbled.

Luna shrugged and flicked a piece of grass off his cheek. "It's fine," she soothed breezily. "You were really tired from the mission. I had a feeling you might sleep." Her eyes flicked over to a nearby tree. Reading materials, pencils, a picnic blanket, sandwich wrappers, and a large water bottle lay near the tree in a neat fashion. "I caught up on some of my studies before I decided to join you in a nap."

Gale pouted a little. "You could've woke me up," he pointed out, disappointed at the time he costed them. He brought himself onto his elbows to prop himself up. "I would've stayed up with you. Could've helped you with your homework." He grinned. "I know your shit at grammar for your essays."

Luna stuck her tongue out. "Jerk." She sat up to join him. "And, I'll have you know Uncle Capricorn proofread my essay, so I'm just doing my final product." She leaned forward, a grin touching her lips. "Hi."

Gale's grin broadened as he cupped her face, bringing her closer to him. "Hi." He made the first move, letting his lips peck hers. They both smiled before sinking into a lingering kiss. Gale took the lead, keeping the pace as slow as he wanted. Though, when he felt Luna's laughter into the kiss, he was forced to pull away as a chuckle escaped him. "What?"

Luna shrugged, the action careless, as her smiled widened. "Mmm. Nothing," she supposed. "I'm just happy, I guess."

Gale raised an eyebrow. "So, you laugh at me while I kiss you to tell me you're happy?" he teased. "Well, now my ego is shot. Am I just that bad of a kisser?"

Luna could not hold back her laughter, playfully shoving him. "No, that's not it!" she promised. "Really. I'm just happy. I don't know why I'm laughing."

Gale snorted, though planted a smooch on her forehead. "I'm happy too," he mumbled against her skin. "Next time, just hit me if I start to fall asleep, okay? I don't want to lose any more time with you than I already have."

When Gale pulled back, Luna frowned, chocolate searching ruby. "Hey, it's fine," she soothed. "We talked about this. Getting busy with work and studies and training is normal."

"I know," Gale accepted, "but I feel like a lousy douchebag of a boyfriend for falling asleep when this was supposed to be downtime with just us. None of our moms trying really hard to embarrass us or my shitty friends being dicks or the fairy grilling me with my 'intentions' with you tonight."

"Don't mind E," Luna dismissed. "She's just really protective. She's my best friend after all."

Gale's face fell flat. "Blondie, she followed us on three of our dates in disguises. When she saw you weren't eating, you got a text from her asking why you weren't eating your food."

Luna chortled and delicately took his hand from her chin to spread his fingers out, matching each digit with her own. "Okay, so, she's a bit overprotective, but she's like another sister to me," she reminded. She pouted at him, batting her eyelashes. "So, be nice. For me?"

Gale let out a loud groan. "Ugh. Stop being so irresistible and shit and guilt-trip me with your cuteness!" he whined. "You can't do the whole eyes and pouty lips thing to me, principessa, because I can't say, 'no'!"

Luna kissed his cheek. "Exactly why I do it," she whispered in his ear before kissing his cheek again. Her lips lowered to his jaw.

Gale closed his eyes, basking in the feel of her lips. "If I found out you're just trying to play cute and seduce me because you found out you got another request with either Dash or Cane, I'm gonna be super pissed," he warned. His eyes opened when Luna pulled back, a guilty look on her face. He growled. "Blondie—!"

"It's not my fault!" Luna interjected quickly.

Gale glared. "Blondie, you know how I feel about—!"

CRACK.

Gale's ears twitched.

He went deathly still.

Luna froze when she saw his expression. "What's wrong?" she whispered.

Gale listened to rustling in the forest. It was not the typical paw steps of a coyote or a bear nor the hooves of a stag. It was the sound of footsteps. "We have company," he told her lowly. "Get up slowly and grab your Compact. They're downwind, so I can't sniff 'em out, but I bet you they aren't anyone friendly."

Luna nodded. She let go of Gale to get up and creep to her blanket.

Gale was silent in his movements to get to his feet. He knew better than others his age how to make himself blend in with nature's voice. His guard was up, and his senses were tingling as he tried to feel out the enemy. He could hear the footsteps all around him.

So, they're circling me. Must be more than one.

"Blondie," Gale murmured lowly, "take my hand. I'm getting us out of here."

Silence.

Gale turned around. "Blondie?"

His eyes widened.

The wind whipped around him as the peaceful forest he was in had been abandoned. Flames and destruction had a passionate love affair, killing all forms of live. The trees remaining were charred and unworthy of growing leaves. Ashes and embers and smoke created a thin veil of fog. It hurt Gale's nose, but he was unconcerned about the smell. He cared more for what was missing, or who was missing.

Luna.

Gale took a step forward. "Blondie?" he called, wary. "Blondie, what's goin' on? You there? Blondie?"

Childish laughter.

Gale tensed and broke into a sprint in that direction. He could hear the laughter gain volume and pushed himself even harder. He waved away the smoke and debris when he saw someone in the distance. "Blondie?" he shouted. "Blondie, is that you?" He slowed down when the figure became more prominent. He recognized her quicker than he thought and skidded to a stop. All his fear melded into surprise. "No… It's you," he whispered.

She was the same as the last time he saw her, with her back to him and her eyes never on him.

Gale took a hesitant step towards her. "Why won't you look at me?" he wanted to know. "I just want you to see me."

She was silent.

Gale found frustration coursing through him, but it was more than that. Desperation was tougher than expected. "Why did you leave?" he cried, voice loud. "Why did you go? Why didn't you come back?" Ruby watered. "Why did you leave when I need you?" His voice cracked at the tail-end of his question, but he needed to know. "I miss you so goddamn much! Why…?" He shut his eyes. "Why didn't you come home?!"

A flash of sharp teeth.

"Oh, Gale, you really are gullible."

Gale's eyes shot open.

He slowly turned his head.

He was back in Kardia Cathedral. He was back to living in his own personal Hell with the destroyed church around him. He was back to looking up at the altar, looking up at a condescending Lance who smirked causally at him.

But, what was more disturbing was that he sat on a massive throne of stone bodies.

Bodies of Fairy Tail members.

Lance tipped his head ever-so-slightly. "You treat Luna like she'll break away from you and never come back, and it's a wonder why," he purred. "The only reason your fear is so strong is because you let it be. You let your own fears control you." He inclined his chin. "And, who could really blame you? I'm sure with all the tragic life you've had, it must be so hard to keep it together."

Gale bared his teeth. "Shut up," he seethed.

"She will never come back to you," Lance went ahead to say. "She's gone, and there's nothing you can do." He waved his hand, and Gale's wallet appeared in it instantly. "You do have that cute picture of her, don't you? Well, you won't be needing that."

"Give it back to me!" Gale shouted. "That's mine!"

°•°•°•°

Syra let out a noise of alarm when Gale's chest rose and fell at a faster rate than it should have. Her distress went unnoticed from the sleeping Gale as she nosed his cheek, trying hard to wake him.

°•°•°•°

Lance's smirk broadened. "You only want this so you feel some sense of control," he mocked like he was speaking to a baby. "Let's face it, little one: you have no control in this world or another." He waved the wallet around willy-nilly. "You are so gullible to think she'll return. Did you really think you were special enough that she would come back? Did you think she'd really stayed if you cried and begged her to?"

Gale felt a tear shed and wiped it away quickly. "She will," he vowed, trying to sound strong. "She'll come back."

Lance sighed and willed away the wallet. "Fine. Let's let you believe she's coming back." He threw the wallet at Gale. "Here."

Gale reached out to catch it.

The wallet changed mid-air.

Gale's eyes widened when it fell a few feet before him.

It was Luna's motionless body.

Gale dropped to his knees. His hands threaded into his hair.

DRIP.

Another tear shed.

DROP.

"No…"

°•°•°•°

Lag took notice of his charge when he saw Gale's hands tremble. A sheen of sweat layered his body with his cheeks and neck flush obtrusively. His pants fogged the clear mask he wore over his mouth.

Syra rubbed her fur along Gale's cheek. When she realized he would not wake up to that, she tried hitting his cheek with her ears

°•°•°•°

Gale dropped to his knees and crawled to her. He turned her onto her back. He saw all the signs. Her eyes were open, but rather than be stained with life, they were glazed in death. The peachy skin always so soft and warm under his touch was cold and graying with each passing second. He saw the reds and blues of her veins in an unappealing way. Her hair lost its sheen. He feared if he tugged too hard, the hair would fall out just like that. Her joints were frozen in time. Sure, they would move and bend if he wanted to them to, but they were well past the point of moving on their own.

"Oh, my…" Gale choked back a sob as he leaned forward. His ear went to her chest to listen to anything. Anything at all.

There was nothing.

"Blondie," Gale whispered. He picked his head back up. "Blondie, no… You can't be dead."

Lance chuckled. "Oh, but she is," he assured unhelpfully. "Poor, little thing. No one comes back to you, Gale. You just had to learn the hard way."

Gale ignored him for the sake of Luna's corpse. "Blondie… Blondie… Blondie…" He chanted her name like it was a prayer, like it was a sacred word and she would wake up to the sound of it. But, she did not, and he could not deal with that. He pulled her body into his arms in a last-ditch effort to feel her, to warm her, and hope to God she would blink, and life would be back in her eyes. "Blondie, please," he pleaded. "Blondie… Blondie, please, come back…"

°•°•°•°

Tears flooded Gale's eyes as the trembling increased. His eyes fluttered, but not because he was awakening. It was just a reaction. His eyelashes fluttered with his eyes rolling upwards.

Syra leapt back when she saw that. Her eyes narrowed. She had enough of this behavior. She closed her eyes as her halo glowed and Magic warmed her fur, making her bristle. The tips of her ears glowed exponentially. She hopped to Gale's forehead and allowed her ears to press onto either temple.

°•°•°•°

Gale was rocking back and forth, immersed in his despair, his grief, and combating his own will to continue. "We were gonna have a shit ton of fun together," he whispered to her in a soft cry. "How am I gonna tease you now? Dumb blonde. You we-we-weren't supposed to…" He broke off as a low-pitched wail escaped his lips and a new round of hot tears. "My Blondie… My princess, I…" He shook his head. "You can't leave behind so many people," he told her. "Wake up…"

She did not answer.

"Wake up!" Gale roared.

She still did not answer.

Gale sucked in a breath before he wept and sniffled. He hugged her close to him as a startlingly loud cry left him, shaking him to his very core. He could not help it. "Why?!" he screamed. "Dammit, why? She has a family, dammit, and she's so young!"

°•°•°•°

"Brrrrr…" Syra concentrated more Magic into the intricate spell. She could feel the Magic feeding into Gale's skin. She could feel the spell working. Just a little more… "Brrrrr….!"

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

What's going on in the past?

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

In Ludvig's home, as the rain pittered and pattered, Luna kept to herself in the kitchen. Icarus lounging at her side, wary she would escape again. Luna looked out the kitchen window, watching how the raindrops would race other down the glass like their lives depended on it. Some recruited others, merging into a larger drop, and others would race solo. They needed no others to win.

Luna blinked, eyes dull and thoughtful at the same time.

This is just so much… I can barely wrap my head around it.

Gabriel poked his head into the kitchen, hair wet and coat damp. His gaze softened when he saw the youngest Heartfilia. "Luna?" he called. "I just checked in with my father. It looks like the festival has been moved into various halls around town. I'm here to take all of us to the hall your aunt and my father are holed in."

Luna blinked. "Yeah. Okay." Her voice was soft, scratchy, like she had not talked in a while. She began to stand up. "Let's go."

Gabriel watched her with care as she swayed over to him with Icarus dutifully at her side. He blocked her way to the living room at the last moment. Impulse forced his hand. His fingers grazed Luna's cheek. "I know this is a lot for you to handle," he murmured, "but, I beg of you to bare with all this for the moment. We must not lose focus."

Luna nodded quietly.

Gabriel sighed, tucking hair behind her ear. "I hope you will understand soon enough." He let her go to turn around and unblock her path.

Luna stepped for—

A ragged cry left Luna's lips when a burst of Magic violated her body and threaded around her mind. She could feel the pressure squeeze every inch of her, prying into her very being, her very existence, as though garner her attention.

Gabriel grabbed her before she fell. "Luna!" he cried.

Icarus whined as he nosed his way to Luna's face, sniffing her. Pup, he called. Pup, what is wrong? He reeled back, lips curling into a snarl. I smell Magic invading you. What is wrong? Are you being attacked?

Luna grunted, shaking. I-I don't know, she thought to him. It feels…so overwhelming. Her mouth opened in another cry. She shut her eyes. I can't…bare it… She felt herself go numb like it was a command and she obeyed without question. Icarus…

She could hear Gabriel shouting muffled words to Ludvig, but it was Icarus she truly heard before all fell still.

Fate destined this moment for you, pup. Have faith she knows this is best.

And, the world dropped her.

°•°•°•°

Luna opened her eyes to a place she had never seen before. The entire place looked like a grayscale filter had been placed on it. To put it simply, she had landed on a beach. The water was a black-gray, but it did not look or smell harmful or acidic. It caressed the graying sand like it was their fate, their balance. She looked back to see a lighthouse had been built maybe a kilometer back and out into the ocean, sitting atop rocks. She looked up to see there was a train station close-by. There was no train, no sign of passengers waiting for a train, but that station sat there nonetheless. She looked down at herself. She had changed into a flowing white sundress complete with her own big sunhat. In her hands were her own pair of sandals.

Huh… Where am I?

Luna began to walk. She took in the scenery with each step.

I've never seen this place before. How can I dream of a place I've never been to? Is this another one of those weird dreams with that woman?

A low sniffle caught Luna's attention.

She looked up to see Gale in the distance. He stood a bit into the water with cargo pants rolled up a bit and his button down rolled to his elbows. He stood stock-still, looking into the endless horizon like it was fate. He looked like he was in the midst of tormenting himself with memories he had no business seeing, making him seem hollower than he should have been. He did not notice Luna had stepped into the water to stay by his side. Her eyes went to the horizon to catch a glimpse of what his own saw, but she found nothing.

"She's never coming home, is she?"

Luna looked up at Gale.

Gale kept staring mindlessly into the horizon.

"She's never coming back," Gale went out. His voice was possessed. His emotions had been made so anguished, his voice was void of any feeling. Brutal reality had forced emotion out of his mind. "She's never coming back for me. She left me."

Curiosity was bitten back. All those questions needed to be shoved aside for now. Luna, instead, let her hand bump against Gale's, letting him know of her presence. "Is anyone really gone?" she wondered. "My mama would tell me no one really leaves when they die."

"But, ya see… That's the thing."

DRIP.

Gale sniffled.

DROP.

"She's not dead," Gale revealed. "But, sometimes, I wish she was. It would make everything a lot easier." He sniveled, wiping away at his cheeks. "She just packed her shit and left like it was so fucking easy to leave everyone. If she were dead, I'd know for a fact she wasn't coming back. But, she's out there, and she just… She just left." He hiccupped. "How could she just leave?" His voice was curling itself into a steely edge. This was a sign of grief, this rage, this anger. It was easier to get angry, easier and cleaner, than to merely cry and feel helpless. "How the fuck could she just leave? Just like that? Just like we were nothing?"

His fists clenched.

"She waltzes out of my damn life without so much of a 'kiss-kiss, buh-bye, bitch', and I'm just expected to be okay with it," Gale ranted. "It just doesn't make any sense. Was it me? Did I do something wrong?" He ran a hand up and down his face, yanking on his hair. "Shit, if it was m-me, I…" He sniffed. "Dammit, what did I do wrong?" His voice cracked as his lips let loose a cry. "What did I do wrong that she could just leave me like I was nothing?"

Luna lowered her eyes to Gale's fist. Her small hand deprived of callouses and hard work smoothed over his rough one, battle-worn and trained to fight. "My papa told me," she started, timbre dulcet and soothing like the waves, "that when he first lost Grandpa Igneel, he was sad at first. He wanted his papa. He thought it was because he didn't do his last training session right. He thought Grandpa Igneel abandoned him. And, then, he got really angry. He was mad at everyone and everything. He was angry the only thing he had left of Grandpa Igneel was just a scarf and his Magic. He was angry at his papa, but he was upset with himself. He blamed himself for his papa disappearing on him.

"One day, he met the old master, Master Makarov. And, you know what he told Papa?"

Gale was silent for a while. "No," he exhaled. His fists loosened, rough accepting smooth. "What did he say?"

"He said that people always come and go from our lives," Luna recited, "but, sometimes, it's not for the reasons we think. We shouldn't look at this like we've been abandoned. We should look at this like it's a challenge, and we have to overcome it."

Gale laughed sarcastically, bitterly. "Oh, yeah? And, what challenge is that?"

"Being alone," Luna answered. "It's really hard to be alone, especially when someone else makes you feel that way. But… Maybe being alone is something everyone has to face to grow stronger. We have to accept that it's okay to be alone and it's okay people come and go. Life isn't going to stop when our tears keep going, y'know?"

Slender fingers intertwined with bigger ones, forming a firm handhold.

"It's okay to not be okay with the way things are," Luna murmured. "I guess we just have to learn that."

Those words were caressed by the ocean breeze that carried itself kilometers just to reach the two of them. The zephyrs kissed the skin of a boy and a girl before fluttering over the waves.

WOOOOOOOOOOT… WOOOOOOOOOOT…

In the distance, a train howled that it was coming.

"She might be gone"—Gale's voice was reasonably gentle—"and I'll never know why. I'll never see her again. She left."

His fingers tightened around her own.

The train was chugging closer.

"People come and go," Luna said. "Even family and guildmates come and go."

"You'll go." Gale stated it rather than questioned it. "I'll go."

Luna nodded. "But, it's just like my papa told my mama."

HSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS….

The train slowed down as it closed in on the terminal.

A strong gust of wind twirled around the duo, nearly blowing away Luna's hat.

Ruby tuned to chocolate.

Luna offered a sweet smile. "'There will be times I'll have to go. I know I left you once, and I know you didn't know when I'd be back'," she began to recite by heart. "'But, Lucy, I promise you…'"

The train stopped at the train station, sighing in relief that it got a chance to rest. The doors slid open for all those wanting to board to get a move on. There was no one to take tickets, no line to get into the train. There was no rush. The train was simply there to wait for you to get on.

"'…that I will always come back to you, no matter how long it takes'," Luna finished. She gave Gale's hand a squeeze. "So, you won't have to worry about me, at least. Maybe we'll have to be alone, but we'll come back to each other."

Gale smiled slightly. "That's cheesy AF," he teased. "You make it sound like a marriage proposal or something. Is there something you're trying to tell me?"

Luna blushed a bit. "W-Well, I was just trying to make you feel better!" she argued.

Gale softened. "I know, I know," he murmured. "Thanks, Blondie. I needed that pep talk." He wiped his cheeks with his free hand. "Sorry for the waterworks. Leo would be laughing his ass off if he saw me like this. Don't even get me started on my shitty friends."

Luna bumped his shoulder, the action playful. "I'll keep this a secret between us," she promised, sealing it with a wink.

WOOT-WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT.

Luna and Gale both looked over their shoulders at the train. Luna made the comment, "Looks like your train is here." They simultaneously turned back to look at each other, and Luna felt her expression sadden. "Will you be okay?"

Gale grinned. "I've bullshitted a smile or two before, Blondie. I think I can do it again," he assured. "I'm more worried about you. Here we are, back at it again with the whole dream-sharing schtick. Something wrong on your end?"

Luna sighed, shoulders sagging. "It's nothing," she wrote off. At Gale's flat look, she pouted. "Okay, it's nothing I can't handle," she amended. "I'll be okay. I just need to process some things."

"If you say so," Gale supposed. He thumbed her knuckles. "Keep yourself safe, all right? We just became partners, like, a month ago. I'm tellin' ya. If you really want me and the Devil Woman to be the next 'it' partnership and you go and die on me, I think she'll be more pissed about it than me."

Luna chuckled and gestured to the train with her head. "Go," she told him. "Get on."

Gale did not want to let go of her hand, but he did. "No 'good-bye's, okay?" he suddenly requested. "Never a 'good-bye' with us. Let's stick with the classic 'see ya later'."

Luna smiled. "See you later, then," she farewelled. She waved at him.

Gale nodded as his feet carried him away. "See ya."

Luna watched him as he made it out of the water and crossed the sand. When he was a good distance away, she turned back to the ocean. Her eyes closed as she took a deep breath of the salty water and the refreshing air. She hummed at the feeling of it all.

Maybe I should take up my camera after all…

°•°•°•°

Gale trekked up the stone steps to get to the terminal. He bypassed the wild flora growing amongst the grass and did not spare them a second glance.

°•°•°•°

Luna let out a breath.

'See you later's… I've always like those better than 'good-bye's, but…

Her eyes opened, clouded in her own grief.

In case I don't get that chance…

°•°•°•°

Gale was just about to step onto the train, hands dug into his pockets.

°•°•°•°

The words left her before she could come to regret them and cry them. "Good bye, Gale."

°•°•°•°

Gale stopped.

He looked back at the scene he just left, but it was too late. The blonde maiden had vanished. There was no trace she had been to the beach whatsoever, no remnants of footsteps or anything. He smiled, a tad bitter, and closed his eyes.

You idiot… What did I just say?

So, you're getting on?

Gale did not need to open his eyes to see the black dragon had settled onto the terminal dock, eyeing the little human through a haze of ruby.

"To move on, I have to get on," Gale said. "Not like I have the choice in this place. Seems like everything is done before I can even think it." He turned back to the train, but he did not get on. "There is one thing I've noticed here."

The black dragon cocked its head, interested.

"This train," Gale said, "it's the connection to every place here. But, it's more than that. It's not meant to take me anywhere. It's just here for me to get on."

The black dragon dipped its head. Very good. Where you get on to will always be up to you. That's all I can say.

Gale smirked and snorted a laugh. "Figured." He raised a hand in farewell as he got onto the train. "See ya."

The train doors closed.

WOOOOOOOOOOOT…. WOOOOOOOOOOOT….

In a matter of moments, the train found itself up and running again. It created a breeze the ruffled the flowers and the grass.

And, among all those wild flowers was a single moonflower.

°•°•°•°

Pup… Pup, can you hear me?

Luna groaned groggily as she opened her eyes. "Wha…?" She hummed as she turned onto her side. It would seem she had been placed onto a clean bed to rest. Icarus sat at her bedside with an impatient tail and fretting eyes. "What happened?"

You fainted, Icarus informed. Ludvig offered his spare bedroom to let you sleep.

Where's Gabriel and Mister Ludvig now? Luna wanted to know. She rubbed an eye with the butt of her wrist. And, how long have I been out?

Both are downstairs. Meira sent Velvet, her fastest spirit, as a messenger to discuss a few things. You have only been out for twenty-five minutes. He sniffed her before licking her face relentlessly. Are you all right? The Magic I smelt on you is gone. What happened?

Luna closed her eyes, humming. Nothing, she dismissed. Really, Icarus, I felt really tired, and that was it.

Icarus let doubt thread through their link. Then, why did you faint?

Luna rolled her head to the other side. It was nothing, Icarus, she dismissed. Nothing but a dream…

°•°•°•°

Syra plopped down, her Magic snapping back into her chest. Her ears flopped. She was too tired to make them perk and laid down near Gale's head in her own exhaustion. She let her eyes rest. Her work was done.

For Gale was back to breathing regularly and his body was back to being steady in a town where time stood still.

---

While time stood still in Margaret Town, three golden hares pulled a grand chariot of white and a man of black wings flew overhead.

Luke guided the chariot with a steady hand. Actaeon stood atop the middle bunny, barking into its ear what direction to go into and when. Horologium settled on the chariot, looking half-asleep. Nashi had one hand on the railing of the chariot and the other on Luke's shoulder. Rain splattered against her cheek. Not that the rain was falling. But, the rain had been frozen in mid-air and none could avoid it. A bag was packed on both brother and sister with medical supplies, clothes, and food stowed away.

Nashi looked up and turned her head a bit behind her to see Gary trailing after them. His eyes scanned for anyone else that was not frozen in time, but none were there.

Nashi turned her head back forward. "It's so weird," she murmured. "Seeing time frozen like this…"

"I know," Luke murmured. "It has me on edge. There's a high chance whatever summoned the familiars is still moving."

Nashi's eyes narrowed. "Which means we're still not out of danger." Her grip on the railing tightened. "Whatever's out there, we can handle it. Our Magic—"

"May or may not work," Luke cut in. "The only reason my hares can move is because they're still connected to me magically. The second we step off this chariot, it'll be frozen in time."

Nashi understood. "Meaning I'll be restricted to my weapons."

Actaeon barked, and the three hares turned to cross a bridge.

Luke glanced at his sister. "You shouldn't use any Magic if you can help it," he instructed. "You might be cured, but you're still recovering. We shouldn't tempt fate."

Nashi smiled a little at her brother. "You sound just like Mama," she teased.

Luke blushed a bit. "Well, one of us has to be responsible," he jested back. "But, I'm serious, Nashi. Don't strain yourself. I've got your back, all right?"

Nashi leaned forward to kiss Luke's temple and wrap him in a loose side-hug. "I know you do," she murmured. "I've got yours too." She glanced back and up at Gary. "And, Gary has both of our backs."

Luke tensed.

Nashi inclined her chin in challenge. "Luke…?"

"Right." Luke gritted the word out like it was acid. "I'm sure he does."

Nashi sighed. "Thank you," she told him, rubbing his shoulder.

Luke relaxed a bit and hummed at her.

Nashi looked at the passing scenery with forlorn eyes.

I wish I didn't make him worry so much… But, I wish I noticed so much about him sooner.

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

"Ugh! This is so not the drama!"

Fourteen-year-old Nashi sat on the couch with ten-year-old Luna, two sisters enjoying their time together. Luna's lunch had been devoured while Nashi left most of her meal untouched. Luna was heavily invested into Nashi's favorite show What's the Sitch? To the point where they were now on season five's two-part finale and would be caught up with the teenage spy's drama in real time.

Luna laughed as she watched Jean lecture her best friend Wade about his unhealthy obsession with Sinnish food. "You're right, Sissy, this show is really good!"

Nashi hinted at a smile, her eyes less daunting that before. "I know, right? See, I told you you'd love it! Wade is so cute even if he's awkward."

Luna giggled. "Yeah, he is!"

A yell came as footsteps thundered downstairs. "Is anyone in the living room?"

Nashi shouted back, "Yeah! Just Lu and me!"

The footsteps thundered through the hallway, and Luke appeared, barely thirteen and thriving. He jogged over to couch to flop onto it. "What are you guys watching?"

"What's the Sitch?," Nashi answered. "I thought Lu might like it and she really does. Aunt Virgo cooked lunch, by the way. She's in the kitchen talking to Uncle Loke."

Luna looked up at her brother curiously. "I thought you were studying?"

Luke smiled and reached over to mess with Luna's hair. "I was, but I wanted to spend time with my sisters," he confessed. "Besides, I get to relax since Dad took Igneel to some Fire Temple and Sensei is gone on a mission for the next couple of days." He looked around. "Where's Mom?"

"She went to do some shopping," responded Nashi, "for the family vacation."

Luke groaned. "I don't want to go to MagiWorld," he whined. "I hate rollercoasters."

"Neither does Papa, so I think you two will find something fun," Nashi assured. "There's a lot to do there besides riding rollercoasters. There's a lot of dark rides, flat rides, flying theater rides…" She grimaced. "Let's just hope Aunt Wendy gives Papa her Troia Spell or else Papa might just have to sit everything out besides meals and Meet and Greets."

Luna and Luke laughed. "Agreed."

Loke entered the room, smiling warmly at the kids with the Home Communications Lacrima in his hands. "Your mom's on the Lacrima," he told them. He turned to Luna. "She wants to talk to you. She might've found one of the princess shirts you really wanted, but she wanted to make sure that was it."

Luna bounced off the couch. "Okay!" She ran to get the Lacrima from Loke's hands and immediately pestered her mother for details while Loke lead her back to the kitchen.

Nashi sighed, leaning back on the couch, and closed her eyes. Luke took notice in her behavior and frowned. "You okay?"

"Mmm-hmm. I'm fine," Nashi dismissed. "I'm just tired." She stretched, a yawn breaking free from her. "Aunt Mira isn't going easy on training. I like that she won't hang back." Her lips quirked into a mirthless smile. "Even though I'm pathetic, she doesn't hold back from training."

Luke's frown deepened. "You're not pathetic," he scolded.

"It's the beginning of July, and I can't even go to the guild," Nashi pointed out. Her voice cracked. Her body curled in on itself with her knees going to her chest. "I don't even know if I want to."

Luke did not know what he could say to rectify the situation. "Nashi—"

VRR-VRRRRRRRRR…

Nashi leaned forward to grab her Compact from the table. She looked at her screen to see an unknown number had message her.

Her eyes widened when she saw the message.

Then, they watered.

She abruptly got up from the couch, dropping her Compact. "I-I'm going upstairs, okay?" She tried to keep her voice light. "You can finish my lunch." She darted out of the living room and down the hallway, ignoring Luke's calls for her. She swung around and hurried up the steps.

Mama changed my number, so how…? Why…?

Nashi rushed into her room and slammed the door. Tears already streamed down her cheeks as her back slid against her door, and she felt herself drop to the floor. Her shoulders shook as she sniffled, trying to muffle her cries with her hands.

I'm so stupid. So, so stupid…

KNOCK. KNOCK. KNOCK.

"Nashi, it's me," came Luke's murmur. "I really didn't mean to look at your Compact or anything, but…I saw who texted you."

"Go away," Nashi weakly commanded. "Please, Luke, just go away."

"Not when you're crying," Luke refused. "I promise I won't tell anyone. Please let me in."

Nashi took a moment to wipe her cheeks of her tears and her nose. She stood back up, taking a deep breath, and turned to her door. She opened it to see her brother standing before her with her Compact clutched in a hand and his eyes elsewhere. She moved aside to let him come into her room. The second he was five footsteps in, she closed the door.

"Why"—her voice was low and sharp—"did you look through my Compact?"

Luke winced. "I didn't," he promised quickly. "I wouldn't do that. When you dropped your Compact, I picked it up. I saw the text, and…" He looked up at Nashi pleadingly. "Why didn't you tell anyone you were getting texts like that? That isn't right."

Nashi whirled around to snatch the Compact out of her brother's hand. "It's none of your business," she snapped. "I can handle it."

Luke took a step forward. "But, you started crying," he pointed out.

"I had it handled," Nashi insisted stubbornly. "This is nothing. I'm fine."

"But, it isn't," Luke countered. "Nashi… Maybe you should tell Mom and Dad—"

"No." Nashi forced out the word in one powerful syllable. "No one's telling them anything, okay?" She glared away from her brother. "I don't want to bother them anymore and make them think I can't handle my own problems."

Luke blinked in confusion. "What? They'd never think that," he promised. "But, I'm sure they could help you."

"No, okay? I just… I don't want them to know." Nashi hugged herself. It was like she was trying to make herself look small. "I don't want anyone to know. This is my problem, and I'll deal with it."

That got Luke thinking. "How long…has this been going on?"

Nashi took a shaky inhale. "Ever since Mama changed my number," she admitted.

Luke's eyes widened. Then, they softened into something honeyed. "I won't tell anyone," he reaffirmed in his promise. "If you really don't want me to, I won't." He took a few steps towards his older sister. "But, I hate seeing you cry, Nashi. You don't deserve this."

Nashi let out a sharp laugh. "Maybe this is what I get for not listening to Papa."

"No. This isn't karma," Luke put down harshly. "This is cruel. No one deserves this. No one deserves crying over this." He was close enough to wipe away a few tears from Nashi's face. "And, what type of brother am I? Igneel and I promised Dad we'd protect you and Lu and look at you. You're crying and upset."

"And, here I am, supposed to be the big sister and hug you when you're crying." Nashi laughed wetly as another tear dribbled down her chin. "Some big sister I am."

Luke circled his arms around Nashi and pressed his head into her shoulder. "You're the best big sister," he mumbled to her. "I'll be a better little brother, okay? I won't let anyone make you cry. If they do, they'll have to answer to me."

Nashi snorted, but she felt pleasantly touched at those words. She hugged Luke back. "You're amazing, you know that?" she whispered. "Thanks for sticking by me."

Luke nodded into her shoulder. "I'll always stick by you."

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

CLUNK!

The chariot's wheels stumbled over a loose rock.

The memories faded from Nashi as they made it to the outskirts of town. The houses were gone in place of fields of frozen grass and soaked-to-the-trunk trees. What was truly alarming was the way the Mûre River was stealthily gaining more ground to spread her water. She was overflowing, but she did not seem too concerned that she was.

Actaeon began to howl, his snout going in the air. He stopped and perked his ears.

A howl, distant and low-pitched, reached them.

Nashi smiled her relief, and Luke said, "We're almost there. We're getting close." He urged the hares to go faster with a whip of his reins, and the hares did not disappoint them. They bounded faster and faster as Actaeon howled back to his partner.

Horologium blinked out of his half-asleep state. "I sense Taurus and Gemini are with Lelantos, Master Luke, Lady Nashi," he told them.

Luke nodded, his eyes narrowing onto the scene before him. "I sense him too," he agreed. "Mom must've sent him out with Lelantos to find Igneel and Mary Jane. He has a good nose too."

"But, where's Uncle Loke and Uncle Capricorn?" Nashi wanted to know. "Wouldn't they be part of the search too?" She looked up at Horologium. "Do you know anything? Can you sense them?"

Horologium frowned. "I know they are outside of the Celestial Spirit Realm," he assured, "but as for their location, I'm unsure."

Luke perked when he saw figures in the distance. "I see them!" His eyes squinted. "And, I think that's Dad too!" He pulled the three hares to an efficient stop. Actaeon leapt off the leader and barked madly as he dashed away to his brother. Horologium unloaded his wooden body, while Gary circled before landing before them all.

"Uncle Natsu, Taurus, Gemini, and Lelantos are up ahead," Gary informed as he helped Nashi off the chariot. "Looks like they found some sort of hole."

Nashi lifted an eyebrow. "A 'hole'?" she questioned. She turned to her little brother, still on the chariot. "Luke? Any ideas?"

Luke shook his head. He touched the rim of the chariot for the entire thing to disappear in a mass of gold particles. "Not a clue. We'll figure out more when we get there." He landed on the ground and, instantly, the hares surrounded their master, sniffing him to ensure his safety. He smiled at their concern. "You three will take guard, okay? We'll need you to keep an eye out."

The hares understood their master's words and took a protective stance.

Luke lead everyone in the same path Actaeon had sprinted. It was not long for them to see the clearer figures of Taurus, Gemini, and Natsu. The hunting dog spirits were jumping around each other, nipping playfully at each other's necks, and using paws to prod flanks and swat muzzles.

Natsu brightened when he saw his two children and jogged over to them. "Luke! Nashi! You two are okay!" He met with Luke first and engulfed his second son into a tight hug. "Luke-meister… You're all right."

Luke hugged his father back. "Good to see you too, Dad," he murmured.

The pair let go, and Luke stepped aside for Natsu to get to his daughter. Gary relinquished her, and Nashi ran straight into her father's arms, smothered in his warmth. He kissed her hair and nuzzled her closer to him.

"Princess," Natsu breathed.

"Hi, Papa," Nashi croaked. She drew back a little to smile up at her father. "I'm glad you're okay."

"I'm glad you are too," Natsu said back. "Geez. You brats are always gettin' into trouble. You get that from Lucy."

Luke snorted. "Please. Mom would tell us all the time you would go into thing headfirst," he reminded. "Like when you first started a fight when you brought Mom to Fairy Tail."

Natsu felt an arrow hit him at the memory. "W-Well, I—"

"Nearly burning Daybreak when you got your hands on it," Nashi recounted.

Natsu felt another arrow hit him. "Ye-Yeah, but—!"

"Or, when you burned Mom's clothes off."

"Oh! How about when Mama told us the story of you rushing off to face the Avatars?"

"There was that one story when the guild had to be rebuilt, but you dragged everyone into a fight."

"My favorite one is the story when you left Mama—"

"Hey! You can't use that one against me!" Natsu cried in complaint, pointing at his smug daughter.

"Mama uses it," Nashi pointed out.

Natsu crossed his arms in a fit of irritation with a childish pout to boot. "I know she does," he grumbled. "She only does it when she really wants something and tries to make me feel guilty when I say, 'no'." He could remember the devious look on his wife's face and remembered various situations she would guilt-trip him. "Luke, never let your mate have something over you. It's a living nightmare."

Luke's eyes glittered his mirth. "Noted," he promised. He nudged his father. "So, what's been going on?"

Natsu's expression darkened as he turned and led the group over to it. "I was running around town when I saw Lelantos, Gemini, and Taurus," he started to explain. "Followed 'em all the way to here. Lelantos was digging until Taurus used his axe to rip up the ground. We found this hole."

At this point, everyone stood around the hole. The spiraling steps into it were old and dusty, a bit chipped and a little worse for the wear. But, they led into the abyss of never-ending darkness.

Nashi shivered and, unconsciously, curled closer to Gary. "I sense something evil down there," she murmured.

"It's like a giant mass of something is down there," Gary commented. "Are we sure they're down there?"

Lelantos stopped playfighting with his brother to snarl at Gary, bunching his muscles. Actaeon whined and lowered into a crouch, trying to distract his brother from his agitation.

"Lucy's dogs aren't ever wrong," Natsu assured. He patted Lelantos' side. The hunting dog spirit did not snap, but rather licked Natsu's hand and gave a soft bark before panting. "We trained them to know the scent of our spirit no matter the situation." He looked at the Golden Bull Spirit. "Taurus. What can you sense?"

Taurus closed his eyes. "It gooooooooes a long way down," he made note of. "I feel a tunnel."

Luke frowned, troubled. "I didn't know a tunnel system was just outside of Margaret Town." He crouched down and took a deep waft of the hole. Then, he thought about it thoroughly. "It smells old and barely used. Nothing like the stench of a flood system or underground sewer. I'd have to look at the official schematics of the town to know for sure, but we can count that it. If it's nothing that well-known, we're looking at something that was built centuries ago." He put a hand inside the hole and closed his eyes. "The spiritual residue is just enough for me to date it back…about x-one-hundred? Or, maybe a little earlier than that."

"So, these are ruins," Horologium said, finishing the thought.

Luke opened his eyes and stood up. "They have to be," he decided, nodding along.

Natsu frowned deeply. "Look, kids, there's something you should know," he began. "Bluenote Stinger, the 'Mage Killer', is in Margaret Town. And, he was the one to summon the familiars."

"'Bluenote Stinger'?" Nashi echoed, eyes wide and abysmal. "He summoned familiars? But… But, how could he—?"

"He's a 'Warlock'," Natsu described. "It's like being a Celestial Spirit Mage like your mom except you make contracts with demons. You get the power, the glory, for a small price to pay for it."

Luke did not understand the point of this. "Why are you telling us this?"

Natsu chose his words with care. "The bastard told me his 'associate' was the one to mess with Igneel and Mary Jane," he revealed. "It was their plan to use Mary Jane to get to Igneel."

"That's straight-up stupid!" Nashi growled. "Why would they do that?"

"Because he'll do what he has to to protect her," Luke whispered. His honeyed-amber eyes were wide as he thought of the endless possibilities. "Nashi, you know Igneel just like I do. He's our brother. He's my twin. You saw me when I—" He bit back the sick words.

Nashi looked over at her brother in concern. "Luke…"

Natsu continued: "From what I assumed, Mary Jane gave the guy a pretty good fight. But, things change. We don't know what happened from yesterday and today. And, with time frozen like this, Igneel's down there, still moving. We don't know what we'll find, but…" He tugged at his scarf.

Luke looked over at his father warily. "'But' what?" he prompted.

"Master told my team something we oughta know and you guys should know it too," Natsu decided. "Around a week ago, Dimaria Yesta went missing from the Alvarez Empire."

Luke and Gary's eyes widened while Nashi had to think on the name. "'Dimaria'…" She tested the name. "Why is that name familiar?"

"She's a commander and military advisor for the Alvarez Empire, Angel," Gary provided in biography. "But, she's not just those. She's a highly-skilled Time Mage. Which means…"

"She could've frozen time around Margaret Town," Luke completed. "But, why would she do that?"

Natsu swallowed. "The last time I fought her, she froze time in the cell she kept Lucy and me," he narrated. "She tormented her. She didn't count on me being able to move through time." His hands clenched into fists. "I could've killed her," he admitted. There was no shame in his voice. Maybe some remorse, but he was not ashamed of his behavior. "I saw your mom and her blood and I just… I lost control. That was the first time I got in-touch with my demon side."

Sympathy made Nashi frown. "How come…we never heard about this before?" she wondered.

"It's not something I'm proud of," Natsu confided. "Things happened when my demon side came out. I know Dimaria wasn't expecting it, but I always felt like Zeref was. He was counting on it."

Everything made sense to Luke with that one sentence. "Just like you think Bluenote's associate was counting on Igneel to lose control…"

Natsu's silence spoke volumes.

"Wait," Nashi whispered, her skin rapidly paling. "This was some sick plot to get Igneel angry? But, for what? Igneel loses his shit, yeah, but…" She noticed the look her brother and father exchanged and it unsettled her greatly. "What?" she demanded to know. "What's the look for?"

Natsu pressed his lips together, collecting himself. "Igneel—"

"You know what?" Luke cut in. "Let's just get down there. We need to make sure everyone is okay down there. They'll need medical attention." He patted his pack. "We have some supplies and food for them, but we won't know the situation until we get down there." He waved his hand and a ball of light floated a bit above his palm. He moved towards the steps and slowly climbed down them. The twin hunting dogs were quick to follow, brushing their fur against his legs.

Nashi narrowed her eyes at her father. "Papa—"

"Luke's right." Natsu seared his daughter with a firm look. "We need to get down there and fast. I know Dimaria changed, but if she froze time, something bad must've happened." He looked at the Clock Spirit. "If anything bad happens while we're down there, keep Nashi safe at all costs."

Nashi gaped while Horologium nodded and said, "Of course, Master Natsu."

"Papa, that's not fair!" Nashi protested. "You should be saying that about Luke! Not about me!"

Natsu shook his head. "I can smell Alkahestry on you. It's different from Magic's scent," he told her, making Nashi hug herself uncomfortably. "I know you were injected with that Anti-Ethernano Serum, princess. You might think you're fine now, but we don't want to take any risks." He turned a bit away from her as he lit his right hand. "You'll understand someday." And, he followed after his son and the hunting dog spirits with Gemini trailing after him.

Nashi growled to herself and followed her family with Gary at her side. "I don't like this," she hissed lowly to him. "I'm being treated like I'm just a kid and they're keeping a secret from me? What the Hell?"

"Secrets are normally kept for good reason," Gary murmured into her ear. "Don't stress about your dad wanting you to be safe. Trust in them, Angel. We can't afford to be upset with each other for the sake of Igneel, Mary Jane, and Luna."

Nashi softened at the mention of her little sister. "I hope she's okay…"

"I do too." Gary nosed her temple as they descended the steps with Taurus and Horologium close behind and the three hares keeping watch. "We have to have faith we'll all survive this just like you had faith in me to pull through." He kissed her hair. "Okay, Angel?"

Nashi sighed through her nose. She did not notice she leaned more into Gary's side. "Yeah," she whispered back. "Okay."

[]

Love you Love you Love you

himitsu no I love you

naisho no kisu wa imitation?

toke nai mahō mitai ni torawarete so crazy for you

•

kimi wa marude illusion

shibireru love session

aimai na sono motion

sō sa konya wa fiction

kimi wa marude illusion

tame rau love session

gōin na sono motion

Unbreakable magic

---

TO BE CONTINUED…

Let's hope Jacob doesn't stop everyone from finding Mary Jane, Igneel, and Peter. To see what happens next, find out on the next Fairy Adventure!

---

Chibi-Luna waves at her class. "Good day, everyone! Are you ready for our Fairy Lesson?"

"Yes, Miss Dragneel!" the class choruses. "What are we learning today?"

Chibi-Luna smiles. "Today, we're going to learn about Dragon Slayers!"

"All right!"

Chibi-Luna clicks on her remote and a projection of the seven current Dragon Slayers, each grown, and the picture taken leisurely. "Dragon Slayers are unique people who use Dragon Slayer Magic, a Lost Magic. A Dragon Slayer has their own form of this Magic. For example"—she slides to an image of Natsu greedily suckling fire from a fireplace—"my papa uses Fire Dragon Slayer Magic where he controls the fire of a dragon." She slides to another picture. It's an older picture of Natsu, Sting, and Gajeel all trying to eat the most of their element written out for them by Levy. "Dragon Slayers gain more power when they eat their own element as long as they don't make it themselves. For some Dragon Slayers, being immersed in their element is all they need. For Wendy, being in the forest and around fresher air gives her strength. For Laxus, being in urban cities helps him feed off static. For Rogue, dark places give him more power. See what I mean?"

"Yes, teacher!" the class choruses.

Chibi-Luna nods her approval and moves onto another slide of the Dragon Slayers. "Dragon Slayers have better senses than a regular human with fangs and slitted pupils only noticed in males," she educates. She goes to the next projection featuring the hierarchy of Dragon Slayers from first to fourth generation and example pictures under each heading. "Now, there are four types of Dragon Slayers under generations. You have the first generation who were actually trained by dragons. Second generation Slayers had an extremely rare Dragon Lacrima implanted in them to let them use the Lost Magic."

A student raises his hand. "Miss Dragneel? Do you think I could find a Dragon Lacrima and become a Dragon Slayer?"

"There haven't been any more discoveries on Dragon Lacrima right now with specific Elemental Magic," Chibi-Luna reveals. "But, I'm sure they're out there somewhere!" She pointed to the word THIRD GENERATION. "Now, third generation Slayers are a combination of both dragon-taught and artificial Dragon Slayers. That doesn't necessarily mean they're more powerful. It just means they're a fierce combination. Lastly, the fourth generation are only made of Dragon Lacrima and are completely artificial. Lucky for us, all the fourth generation Slayers remain inactive until further notice."

Chibi-Luna slides to a projection of her father and uncle Gajeel falling sick on a train ride.

The classroom echoes with laughter.

Even Chibi-Luna giggles. "Dragon Slayers are notorious for their motion sickness, but it's not something they get right away," she explains. "You have to reach a certain 'level' to experience it. Even when some Slayers do, the motion sickness only works if they consider what they are on to be a mode of transportation. If they don't find what they're riding to be transportation, they don't have motion sickness."

"But," a girl in the front row protests, face scrunched up, "that doesn't make in sense."

"It's Magic, dummy, it's not supposed to make sense," a boy snaps back sarcastically, making a few people chuckle.

Chibi-Luna holds up a hand for silence. "I know it doesn't make sense, but he is right. Magic breaks many rules, including anything logical," she confirms. "But, enough about that! That's all we have time for today! Next time, on Fairy Adventure: IT WAS THEN THE DESTRUCTION BEGAN!"

DING… DONG… DING…. DONG…

"That's class," Chibi-Luna calls. "Have a good day, everyone, and I'll see you—!"

BANG!

A girlish scream.

Chibi-Luna sighs heavily. "That'll be Mary Jane," she supposes. "She must've found out what happens in the next episode and is taking it out on Igneel." She glides out of the room. "Mary Jane, don't kill him!" she calls as she enters the hallway. "He's innocent in all this!"

The class sweatdrops when they hear the sound of Mary Jane's cursing and yelling and Igneel's cries of pain.

Poor Mister Dragneel…

---

Voices of New Characters in Order of Appearance

Erika Lindbeck as Emerald

Lucien Dodge as Peter Pan

Laura Post as Wendy Darling

Monica Rial as Misses Darling