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!

56. Adventure 056

Disclaimer: I do not own Hiro Mashima's Fairy Tail, any work professionally associated with it, nor any references. All original plots and characters are mine.

---

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.

---

PREVIOUSLY, on Fairy Adventure: Luna and Gale had a little bit of a catfight, but that had to be put aside when Mammon comes knockin' down Heaven's door and Nashi has to figure out an escape plan. Dazzler and Laxus bring the whole team together to the Enchanted Estate for a final battle strategy to save the day. Meanwhile, Kyler's battle against Bael is just heating up while Mirella's battle with her brothers leave her a little more than just injured. Peter might have gotten some more info on his parents, but now its Mary Jane kept in the dark with all the secrets. Dash and Julia enlisted Genius, Chrome, and Opera's help in keeping Gary out of the spotlight, but Gary and Skade and even Býleistr have their own ideas on how to handle that situation. With Mirella joining the fight, Kyler asks for help, but he certainly didn't expect Luna to the rescue! Even so, Luna shows she isn't messing around and gives Kyler a major power-up!

'Nay, my nephew, you are much more than a wielder to souls. You are an Enoch. You will become an Agent of this realm to grant miracles in great times of need. Embrace me and save these people from a great evil. Thus saith the Lord.'

'Yes. Thus saith the Lord.'

Anyone else's hearing some boss music? And, um, Coeus, I think you might be digging a little too deep into conspiracy theories…

---

Atomic yanked Masahiko who had turned into an energy cannon to shoot another thing of debris. "Keep it up!" she shouted. She looked over her shoulder as John, Hybrid, Cascade, Psyphon, and Dazzler worked together with a sweating concentration on the falling city. "If we can get this thing descending at least three-hundred feet per minute, we have a chance!"

Dazzler brushed back the need to wipe her sweaty hair from her face with her eyes alit with Magic as she kept casting on the side of the falling city a forceful wind. "John!" she shouted. "You need to let up a little with the rocket boosters!"

"If I do that, I'm risking you all breaking concentration for weight compensation!" John yelled. "It's too risky!"

Psyphon cast his advice. "What about hydrogen rockets? No offense, man, but your flames are making Cascade nearly overheat!" He gave the telepath a worried look with her hair matted in sweat and her chest heaving. "We need something a little more environmentally friendly!"

John gritted his teeth. "Well, mate, not exactly as easy as passin' the sugar to change resources—!"

"John!"

John looked over at Dazzler with a raised eyebrow.

"I'll help you!" Dazzler promised him. "Psyphon's right. Hydrogen's a lot more effective and we could use a cool down. You, especially! Screwing around with Magic Fire for this long isn't something we should be doing!"

John had to give at that. "All right, D," he grunted. "You remember the spell?"

"Who do you think perfected it at school?" Dazzler joshed back.

John grinned before he set his sights on his flames. He and Dazzler allowed their Magic to swirl in their eyes as they brought their hands up into a triangle. Magician Circles blossomed before them as they began to move their across from each other into a tantalizing wave of movement. "Flammas et cinis. Fumus in aqua," they chanted.

The flames one by one began to fizzle and fritz until water spurted, knocking back the flames to smoke and ash.

"Flammas et cinis. Fumus in aqua," John and Dazzler chanted. "Flammas et cinis. Fumus in aqua…!"

Without warning, the water churned out into hydrogen pumps. A cool list washed over the team as Cascade sighed with relief at the cooler temperatures and surged her power alongside Hybrid for a firmer grip onto the falling city. Atomic watched as a gentle rain wafted over the land below from and the way the city did not bump and crumble as much as it did with the pressure of flames beneath it. "Keep it up!" she called. "This is much better! We'll be done in no time!"

Dazzler dissipated her Magician Circle with a pant. "Man… I really need to practice more," she decided. Whipping her hands around her, she poured more Magic to slow down the city. "How are we doing so far with pacing wise?"

Atomic held out Masahiko and he turned into a speed gun without fail. "Looks like we're teetering between ninety-eight and one-hundred-and-one miles per hour," she clocked. "We're doing good! Keep it up! Don't lose focus!"

But still… As Dazzler held up her veil of Magic, she could not help but tersely think, Did they find Gary? Have they saved him yet?

Then all of a sudden Djedi pierced through her mind. Every human has abandoned the cities and they are shifting to neighboring cities to make sure no one will be hurt from the blowback.

Thanks, Djedi, Dazzler appreciated. We'll see you soon. Cutting off their connection, she glanced down at the destroyed land. Gary… Please don't do anything stupid.

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

Ah utsukushii sekai

Utsukushii mirai

Utsukushii kehai no suru sono saki wa

Subarashii sedai

Subarashii kitai

Subarashii sekai

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

The streets were crumbled with debris. The deceased had been left behind with blood under their heads and eyes looking at a cloudy sky, glazed. A frantic tabby cat rushed around as she looked for a place to hide from this chaos. Two dogs were desperate in trying to dig out their owner who had been crushed when debris had landed on a house and collapsed it. Lacrima Cars were going off in a frenzy while an electric fire had started in a store that had just barely been abandoned.

Býleistr rushed after Nashi in his Lion Form as she sailed over the skies. But his growled when he saw her wince and sink low to the ground at an alarming rate. Pushing himself fasted, he growled, "Dammit, Princess."

Nashi used the remainder of her power to yank herself so her fall was delicate. But she faltered as she placed a hand over her fast-paced heart and panted. Much to her own agitation, she witnessed her Magic slowly eating away at her armor as though to warn her she could not last long in this form. She looked around. Skade, Gary… Where are you?

"Princess!" Býleistr transcended to walk on two paws as he held her steady. "Why the Hell are you rushing off like that? People can see you. You're going to get yourself killed or noticed and then what? Prison?"

Nashi shoved him away to put her hands on her knees. "Shut up," she panted. "No one will recognize me like this."

"Not for long." Býleistr nodded at the magenta glow slowly taking away her look. "You keep this up and your Magic will make the choice for you of where you stand."

Nashi cursed as she stood back up and took gulps of air. "This doesn't make any sense. My powers are brand-spanking new. I should have tons of energy left—!"

"But not if you have no control and not if you haven't let it acclimate," Býleistr hissed. "I might not have been on this planet for moons know how long, but Magic hasn't changed. New powers need time to adjust to your body. Try and use too much of your power too quickly and your body goes into a shock you don't want to see." He touched her lightly. "We need to get you somewhere safe where you can power down and rest—"

"No!" Nashi jerked away from Býleistr's touch. "I can't do that! Gary and Skade are out there, Býleistr, about to ruin their lives to give us a chance to win the day. That's not right. Fairy Tail doesn't leave their own behind!"

At this point, Býleistr wanted to yank at his mane. "Oh my suns—this nobility heroic protagonist stint is getting old!" he groaned. "Wolverine knows what he's doing. He knows what's at stake. He knows the risks. You don't."

"No. You don't," Nashi fired back. "Do you know what they'll do to them when they capture them? They'll torment them. They'll treat them like experiments, Býleistr. And that's on me. That's my fault."

"It's not your fault—!"

"It is my fault!" Nashi cried. "You weren't there during the Harvest Festival! You weren't there in Margaret! They lost control because of me! I was their weakness! They were nearly exposed because of me! And I'm supposed to leave them when they could be exposed and thrown into a lab and experimented on when I could have done something?" She shook her head and moved away from him as tears appeared down her helmet and tarnishing her cheeks. "No. I'm not leaving them. I will protect them."

Býleistr rubbed his neck and heaved a sigh. Just closing his eyes, he could remember those frightfully determined chocolate eyes and those tears. "Býleistr, please…" came rushed plea. "Help me help them. We can't let this happen to them. I won't leave them behind like this!"

Býleistr growled. "Ugh… Fine…!"

Nashi watched as Býleistr transformed back into a lion. He walked over to her and nudged her front. "Get on," he muttered.

That got Nashi suspicious. "You're just saying that so you can take me away," she accused.

Býleistr nearly bowled Nashi over with his next nudge as he said, irked, "No, I'm not. What the Hell do they teach Star Maidens these days? If you were holding my key, you'd know if I was lying to you. Get on my back. You don't need to waste anymore Magic floatin' around and I definitely don't need to see you being talked about. But the second you're in danger, I pull you out."

"Yeah, yeah…" Nashi mounted Býleistr quickly, though she grunted and winced a lot. When she settled in, she said, "Keep going straight. I'll give you directions where to go."

Býleistr took off, but he had to ask, "And how do you know where Wolverine is, huh? Pussy sense?"

"No, you perv." Nashi looked up at the sky. "It's just a feeling."

Býleistr shook his head. "Heh. More like a feeling between your legs."

TICK!

A tick mark burned against Nashi's temple as a blush covered even her helmet. Her fist shook. "You…idiot!"

SMACK!

"Ow! The Hell'd you hit me for?"

"That's for being a pervert, you pervert! Just mush!"

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

Fairy Adventure 56

Homecoming

ある物語の終わりは別の物語の始まりです！ この災害を誰が切り抜けるのでしょうか。

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

Skade scrambled up the crumbling side of a building to make it to a rooftop. Wounds gutted him and his right eyes was doused in blood, but he could not stop now. He sprinted across the roof before jumping onto the next roof. What was too far a distance, he made a snowflake of ice mid-air as his bridge and leapt safely to the other side before it crumbled beneath him. Looking out the corner of his eyes, his Curse swarmed in his eyes to see the signature of men trailing after him.

No Magic, he panted. They are mere humans. They do not have the same stench as a Mage.

So a Mage must be nearby, Gary reasoned. Cloaking Magic only works with concentration, especially when it's cast on someone else. You have to be at least fifteen yards away to keep the spell working. He looked through Skade's good eye. But I don't sense any Mages nearby. Which means they're cloaking themselves and they're skilled. So be careful.

Skade saw a skyscraper partially wrecked was coming up and he cast snowflake shaped ice to help him get to the building. Careful is not a word my kind know, human. Jumping off the roof, he went on one ice pad to the next. But we must come home to Angel. So we cannot afford to die. Skade leapt on the last pad to break into a window and land into what appeared to be an open layout for an office. Papers had been scattered, chairs thrown, but it was enough for now.

Skade took the moment to get on two feet and looked out the broken window. Chaos and smoke and screams pierced the air. He could hear the sobs of those trying to find their lost ones in the distance. Dogs barked and howled for their missing owners, too loyal to want to flee and abandon them. Loose birds free-flew with no remorse. But he saw no humans alive and remaining in the streets. So the wench did it.

Sparkles is amazing, Gary noted.

Skade snorted and dropped to attend to his more severe wounds. He pressed a hand on his side as power glowed on his palm. Ice shot out to suture the wound shut. Your wench has power, but I do not like her nor trust her.

I understand. Gary would not push on the issue. Not at this time, at least. Can you tap into my Magic?

Skade gave up trying to close the wound as his chest rumbled. Both of them knew liquid had infiltrated his lungs. Not like this, he rumbled. I have no time to concentrate on using your Magic. He got to all-fours and shook out his icy fur. He paced against the windows and let his Curse take over his eyesight and crystalize it into silver to see the signatures of men combing through the roofs. They surround me. No double they will have that serum they used on our Malã'ika.

They won't kill us, Gary commented. They'll keep us alive.

For now, Skade added ominously when Gary did not want to. They will use us as their toy. More experimenting. More tests. His nails latched out and scrapped the floor. I want to kill them all.

That would just prove their point, Gary thought. They're gunning for a reason to lock us up and murder is a pretty big reason. We need to play fair even if they won't.

Skade growled. Such backwards logic. To fight a monster, you must be one.

No, Skade. To fight a monster, you have to outsmart it, Gary corrected. We can't work hard, fine. But we can work smart.

Skade huffed frost. Human, you do not understand—

SLAM!

Skade jolted.

SLAM!

ERRRRRRRRRRR…

What was that? Gary called.

Skade peeked outside only for his eyes to widen. He witnessed a few Phantoms and Ghouls firing their Curses and Black Magic onto the skyscrapers. He peeked his head through the broken glass to look down and snarled. They are firing at the weakest points of the building, he responded. He turned and began to sprint towards the other end of the floor as the chairs rattles and particles of dust shook. They are attempting to flush us out, human.

Those were Dark Creatures, Gary noted as he thought of something. So the Mage around here must be a Shade. Or a Warlock, maybe, but I don't know if they can make contracts with Dark Creatures or command them like that.

Skade dug his claws into the carpet as the building began to tilt forward. It stopped and Skade picked up his pace. Either way, we must find a safe way to evacuate. He looked down and let ice spread on the floor, exhaling frost. I sense more humans are invading the building alongside those ugly Hellhounds. They carry with them more Dark Creatures.

And if we jump out of the building, we'll be attacked. Gary planned, Start doing anything you can to get to the tallest point of the building.

Skade leaped into action as he found the emergency exit stairwell and burst through the doors. He wasted no time bounding up the steps and jumping from railing to railing when he could. His wings could not possibly carry him now. And then what, human?

Just get to however high you can and fast. If we get there at the right moment this place collapses, we'll have a good chance of surviving.

The building creaked again and Skade battened down with ice trapping him against the stairwell. When the creaking stopped, he let himself go to keep up his running. For your sake and mine, human, he thought, I hope you are right.

---

Lucy gave Virgo a grateful look for the cocktail she made for her as Lucy had settled with the humanized Muta in the dining room alongside Loke while Capricorn had to attend to something else. Virgo stood stoic guard as Lucy took a few sips of her cocktail. "Sorry for drinking in front of you," she apologized to Muta.

Muta waved his own beer. "Nah. You're fine, Your Majesty." He guzzled down some more swallows. "We could all use a drink right about now."

"Tell me about," Loke said darkly with his own beer a good part of the way gone. "What I don't get is why we aren't having more international coverage on Demons popping up like daisies."

Muta sat back. "The USM's president, from what I gather, isn't the best to tell his people the actual truth," he deadpanned. "Other countries are probably trying to prevent the same mass hysteria."

"Or they're preparing for mass propaganda against Magic and they're in league with those types of Demons," Lucy theorized. "Anti-magic apologists exist. They're real. We don't deal with it a lot in Fiore, but they're more outspoken in other countries. This wouldn't be the first time a world leader sided with evil."

"Or if the world leader was that evil," Loke put in. "Considering Zeref was the Emperor of Alvarez, we can't rule out that some or these so-called 'leaders' might actually be Demons in disguise."

"Disheartening but very possible," Muta understood, "given the nature of the humans here. But not exactly something we can prove."

Lucy sat up. "But we can prove it," she whispered. She turned to Muta and asked him, "Have you heard about Warlocks?" At Muta's furrowed brow, Lucy went on: "Our guildmate found out co-conspirators with Demons have hidden tattoos, but the most notable sign is having a pocket watch. Bluenote, a Warlock my husband and my nephew faced, had a pocket watch apparently when he tried to destroy Margaret Town and bring chaos."

"But I'm sure there's an enchantment on it to keep that symbol on the pocket watch invisible," Loke reminded.

"But not invisible to Demons," Lucy insisted. "It's just like how I can sense future Celestial Spirit Mages or sense a key is a Celestial Spirit key. Demons know the Curses and can see the symbols like how Natsu can speak that other language those Demons on the island and read their books?"

Muta understood the concept. "If that's the case, His Majesty could snuff out which world leaders are in on the evil."

"But knowing politicians, they're probably extremely cautious to not show they even have a pocket watch," Loke warned.

Lucy shook her head at first, but then she relented. "You're right. And I doubt they'd let Natsu get close enough to a politician to feel if they have a Curse or not." She sighed. "So we're back at square one."

"My Queen?"

Lucy looked up to see Virgo holding the HCL (Home Communications Lacrima). "Yes, Virgo? Who's on the line?"

"Lord Natsu."

"Speak of the Devil…" Loke muttered as Lucy excused herself to take the com. With it just being Muta, Loke tried to keep it from being silent as he asked, "So… I take it you haven't been to Neo-Extalia since you and Kyler came to Earth Land?"

Muta shrugged. "I've kept my eye on it," he admitted as he took another sip. "But if you want to ask how your brother is doing, spit it out."

Loke sharpened his glare as his hackles rose. "I don't care about that mass murderer," he snarled. "He is not my brother. Just a fading star."

Muta snorted which pissed Loke off even more. "Yeah, sure," he drawled. He took another swallow of beer. "He's pretty damn heroic for a mass murderer. Didn't even want to part ways for the kit for a second—"

Knuckles whitened. "I said, 'I don't care'!"

Muta regarded Loke and the way his jaw clenched before the Exceed relented. "Fine. You don't care." He took his last swallow of beer. "But for someone who doesn't care, yer gettin' pretty upset hearing about him."

Loke had nothing to say to that.

Muta raised his beer bottle. "Well, cheers to not caring about siblings."

Loke clinked his beer bottle to Muta's. "You have a sibling?"

Muta shrugged and looked away. "I do." And that was all he would say on the matter.

There was not a lot of room for silence when the back door slid open. Loke was on his feet in seconds as he heard shouting and went into the kitchen to see Luke fighting against his shoes to take them off with Happy and Charla behind him as they each carried an egg. Loke cared little Muta was behind him as he demanded of Luke, "Anything?"

Luke shook his head as he placed his broom aside. "No others outside of the minotaur." He winced and cracked his neck. "He's one heck of a monster. Keeping him locked up took a lot." He looked behind Loke. "Where's Mom?"

"Lucy's on the com with Natsu," Loke explained.

Luke let out a breath. "Well, that's good then." He looked to the stairs. "Is that woman still here?"

"Mirella left," Muta grunted. "She's gone to help out the best she can in Bellum."

"But she didn't look that good," Luke countered. "Will she be okay?"

"She's half-Demon and a demigod," Muta said dryly. "I think she's going to be fine…at first. But they won't be able to keep going without reinforcements and I have a plan to carry out." Without caring to hear anyone's opinion about it, he opened the deck doors and went outside.

The group piled after him as Happy pouted. "Aw. You're leaving so soon?"

"'Fraid so," Muta muttered. "Still have some more to do. The job here was to explain everything to Their Majesties before the next part." He looked at Happy and Charla up and down then at their eggs. "Nice to meet some of the Exceeds of Earth Land. May your kits be blessed by the paws of the Three."

Happy cocked his head. "Huh?"

Charla frowned. "'Paws of the Three'?"

But Muta only offered a vague explanation as he shook his head. "You both wouldn't know it. It's an old blessing of Extalia." He chuckled mirthlessly. "Pretty sure more of those Exceeds haven't even heard of that blessing, even the elders."

"No, wait."

Muta turned back to see Charla hand Happy the egg as she approached Muta. She told him, "My mother told me about the Paws of the Three. It's an olden religion from the actual Extalia. Which means…"

"I'm no spring kit," Muta added. "Neither is yer mother by the looks of it. I didn't think too many Exceeds would know about our old ways."

"Well, it sure helps that Charla's mom was the queen of Extalia," Happy put in.

Muta's entire face opened up as gray widened. He looked like he was looking at Charla in a new light. "Yer mom's the queen?"

"Former queen, yes," Charla affirmed. "She lost the title when she abolished the monarchy into a republic. She hated the way the elders were putting her and her people, so she wanted to give power back to the Exceeds who live in Neo-Extalia—"

"You're Shaggy's kit?"

Charla blinked, taken back. "'Shaggy'?"

Muta pulled himself out of his stupor to shake his head. "Nothin'," he muttered, though his eyes flicked to the eggs and to Happy. "Sorry. Just an old tom warbling up nonsense." His Magic covered him. Everyone outside Loke could not hold back their surprise when Muta transformed into a white lion with powerful pointed wings.

Happy's eyes were swirling and he was dreamily murmuring his awestruck while Charla gasped, "That's not a Battle Mode Shift."

Muta cocked his head. "It ain't," he agreed. Flicking his tail, he murmured to Charla, "Go ask your mom about the Nine Lives. Our people have gotten fatter and lazier if you can only get into your Human Life."

Happy popped out of his daze to say, "Well, Panther Lily can turn a lot bigger…"

"The traitor of Extalia lives here?" Muta questioned.

Charla defended the Panther Exceed. "He's no traitor," she insisted. "He's a warrior and a good friend."

Then Muta did something no one expected. He laughed. "Damn right he is," he agreed. "Three Almighty, he was one of the best kits I've ever trained. Well, right outside of the tigress—"

"You know Panther Lily?" Charla asked. "You've trained him?"

Muta's ear flicked away a bug. "How do you think he knows how to do his Morph Life?" He turned to look down upon Charla. "I can tell you have questions, but I ain't got the time to answer 'em. Ask yer mom. Ask Panther Lily." He turned his back on her to leap down the deck steps. "Hey, Lion King. Keep a close eye on the minotaur. Trust me when I say he won't have that long to live."

Charla ran to the edge of the deck. "Wait!" she called. "Muta!" She never got to finish when Muta snarled and began to sprint into the tree line. Only moments later did everyone see wings carry the white lion up into the air and speeding away. Breezes whizzed by and fluttered around Charla's hair as she watched Muta grow farther and farther away.

Just who are you? Charla wanted to know. You don't sound like you were just a regular subject… Just how do you know my mother?

Luke turned to Loke. "Do you think Granny Porlyusica has something strong enough to sedate the minotaur?"

"Maybe not sedate, but at least slow him down," said Loke. "The power energy he's giving off is too much, but it's on level with Gildarts. Run to her house and ask her for the same stuff she gives Cana to knock out Gildarts to you. Tell her we have an overzealous magical creature on our hands."

Luke nodded sharply. "Got it." And he mounted his broom and—

"And Luke?"

Luke stopped and looked back at his uncle.

Loke nodded at him. "Be careful," he murmured. "We've lost two. We don't need to lose another."

"I understand." And Luke took off with his broom jetting into the sky and towards the eastern forest.

Loke took off his sunglasses to rub his face. "Happy, Charla—you both might want to go home," he mentioned. "I can cover it here with the other Spirits."

"Nonsense," Charla sniffed. "You aren't the only ones worried, you know. Wendy might be my Slayer and my best friend and family, but Luna and Nashi have always felt like my own nieces and Happy's too."

"Aye, sir!" Happy interjected. "We're not going anywhere until they're home. So what can we do now?"

Loke grinned. "Stubborn," he teased. "Right now, we just need to hold the perimeter until Luke gets back with the potion. I hate that Lucy is keeping that minotaur here, but if what Muta said is true and we don't have much longer to worry about it, then we just need to keep it contained." He pushed his shades back on. "Natsu's going to have my ass for this when he comes home. So let's make sure His Majesty goes easy on my queen's loyal lion knight."

°•°•°•°

With how huge Bleu's room was and all it was filled with, he easily could be playing piano, watching LV, playing Lacrima-games… But instead, he had stationed himself at his desk with his three monitors and his DAL with his Compact right next to him, his head laying cheek-side on the desk. He shuffled his Compact between his fingers when he heard a knock on his dual doors. "Who is it?" he grumpily asked.

"Luther, Young Master."

Bleu sat up and brought his Compact with him. "Come in, I guess."

Luther came in with a silver tray and a few different options onboard. "I come bearing gifts made myself." He set down the tray to present a cheese, grape, and biscuit spread, a hot bowl of handmade ramen, gim-gui (seasoned seaweed sheets), and the option of water, tea, or hot chocolate. "I wasn't sure what you would have wanted, so I brought your favorites."

Bleu kept looking at his Compact. "Thanks, Luther." He closed out of his WhatsUp app and opened it again. Going to his thread with Luna, he found no messages. The messages from her had ended on Friday with nothing coming in today. He had sent only two messages earlier in the day just to make sure she was out of trouble with a worried Poko sticker and then another was a reminder for her to eat followed with a photo of his lunch with Carlisle consisting of savory pies, some biltong (hand-dried cured jerky), and doughnuts for dessert. All the messages had gone through and were delivered, but nothing had been read.

"Something the matter, Young Master?"

Bleu sighed as he closed out of WhatsUp. "I just have a gut feeling something is wrong, but pretty sure the babysitter brigade wouldn't let me figure out what," he muttered.

"Miss Aleda is currently overseeing the winter garden re-potting," Luther divulged as he decided on the ramen and delicately placed it before Bleu. "Your father has asked for extra eyes to be placed on you while she is busy. I let him know that I was sufficient enough for your protection, but he said otherwise." He took out custom chopsticks and offered them to Bleu.

"Per usual." Bleu took the chopsticks. "Thanks, Luther." Poking around with his ramen, he asked, "How long is Father away for his business trip again?"

"Your father should be gone for only a few more days," Luther reported. "From what I take, his meeting went rather successfully. Now, it's the fun of boring paperwork and handshakes until he comes home late into the night. From what his personal assistant has told us all, My Lord will be far too busy ensuring the details are in place, so he won't be communicating directly."

Bleu caught onto that. So. A few more days until I have to see him face-to-face. He started tucking in some of his ramen. All this no-contact is just a test. He just wants to see what my move is. I already screwed up once with interfering and now twice with this. I can't slip up again. Swallowing his mouthful, he asked Luther, "Hey… Since Petey's probably leaving in January for his new school, think we could use part of the house for a little get-together?"

Luther brought out his work Compact to go to the estate's schedule. "When were you thinking, Young Master? The ballroom has already been booked throughout January until June."

"I was thinking the guest house?" Bleu thought. "That way, it's not really on the main property? You know how Father gets when I bring friends over. I figured this would be a healthy compromise and he wouldn't have to deal with a bunch of drunk teenagers and make-out sessions and all those fun things kids don't want adults seeing." You know what I mean.

Luther blinked. "I understand, Young Master," he said with care. He tapped through the guest house's schedule. "The last two weeks of January would suffice. It would seem the guest house is notably available during that time and you will not have your studies to focus on." He looked back at Bleu. "Shall I reserve the guest house for the third week of January and you may choose the date when Master Peter understands his leave date?"

"Yeah. Thanks, Luther." Bleu had gone through half his bowl of ramen. Going back to his Compact, he sighed when he saw no notifications from the person he wanted.

Luther seemed to notice something off and offered, "You know, Young Master… If you manage to impress your father with your report, I'm certain he may allow you a few days off to enjoy yourself." He showed Bleu his work Compact to show a different schedule for a different house. "Might I suggest visiting New Azalea City? I'm sure there can be accommodations at the Five Seasons for you and a…guest of your choosing?" He leafed through the cross-referenced agenda on his Compact. "Your academy's spring break should suffice. Your father has always been lenient on you using that time for yourself given the nature of your stay and your company."

Bleu had not considered that. But he deflated a little. "Yeah, it'd be nice. But I'd be using my name and it'll red-flag everything for him to keep all those fun tabs on my guests and on me."

"Not with me." Luther seemed to be typing something. "While My Lord might have given me this job, I am at your leadership, Young Master. Should you invite guests at your discretion, I am most certain I can guarantee their identities will be safe—if the Young Master would like."

Bleu's eyes widened for a moment. "Luther… You could be risking your job"—and so much more, he did not add—"just for me. Why?"

Luther stopped typing to look at Bleu, really look at him. "I understand it is difficult knowing which side with your father and which are with you. But I have always believed in your message and I will continue to do so." He rested a hand on Bleu's shoulder. "You have not been happy in a long time. Your life has been the work your father has set out for you. You have taken a burden no one should bear. But even you deserve happiness."

Bleu looked down at that as sobriety hardened his eyes. "Yeah, but at what cost?" he murmured. "He's starting to notice. I can't risk that."

"Then, we'll make sure we take the focus off you for that time."

Bleu looked up as Luther withdrew.

"Forgive me for being so bold, Young Master," Luther apologized with such stoic formality, "but I will ensure your spring break will go without a hitch and without your father's eye on you." He pointed to the tray of food. "Please eat. I must continue preparations downstairs." And he moved away.

Bleu watched the butler take his leave and close the door. Blowing out a breath, he could not help the weirded-out smile on his face as he combed back his bangs. He's already taken big risks not telling my father what I'm up to. Especially, well… He sat back and clicked his mouse to bring up the report he was working on, filling in the charts and field research, and another screen holding up the faxed in contract signed, initialized, notarized, and dated. But he's right. Father always had an eye on me. Now I've given him a reason.

He glanced down at his Compact. But I can't let go. He took the Compact into his hands and unlocked it to go to his WhatsUp app. He began to type out a message:

⌜MESSAGES

MY TREASURE

Hi, Treasure. Just wanted to make sure you at least laughed once today⌟

Before he could finish, his Compact brightened with a call and he answered it on accident. Blinking at his own disbelief, he finally realized Ekho was on the line and put her on speaker only to flinch when he heard—

"—you, but I need to go somewhere and I can't feel safe with Bane being close to me," Ekho vented like she was on the verge of a breakdown. "Please, can you come get me? Peter isn't answering his Compact and you're the only one I can trust right now."

Bleu glanced at his report. "Ekho, now isn't a good time…"

"Bleu, please?" Ekho pleaded. "I'm not even at Bane's house."

That got Bleu to sit up. "Where are you?" he demanded to know.

Ekho sniffed. "I sorta got a WindBnB?"

Bleu had to hold back his growl as he glared at his screens. "Please tell me you didn't go alone. You know how I feel about that. The world isn't exactly fair to young women being alone at night, Ekho."

"I didn't have a choice!" Ekho cried. "I just…! I just couldn't stay there with him and his freaking degrading and humiliating me and acting like a horrible human being!"

Bleu had thoughts warring in his head as he looked at his report. "And getting your own WindBnB isn't enough space away from him doing that to you?"

"I mean… It is, but… I just don't want to be alone right now. And I can't call home with everyone so excited I'm going through with my mua'geh."

Bleu sighed. "What if I came to you? I need to get some work done, but I can come to you and we can order some wings or something."

A pause. "No. I want to go out. Bane never lets me go out and actually have fun. I want to have fun." Though with how dead-serious Ekho's voice sounded, it did not sound like she wanted to have fun.

And Bleu thought so too. "No, what you want to do is make a point and probably post a video of you doing something stupid to get a reaction out of him," he deadpanned.

"Bleu…" Ekho whined. "Come on… I thought friends did stuff for friends for the sake of friendship?"

Bleu opened his mouth to try to dissuade her—

"We can even go to Magnolia to see that cute girlfriend of yours?" Ekho recommended to sweeten the pot.

Bleu glanced down at his barren Compact, then to his report, then back to his Compact. He looked at it hard as Luther's words rang in his ear.

"But even you deserve happiness."

"Fine." Bleu locked his DAL and swiped his Compact. "We can go to Magnolia, but we're not going to see her," he added when he heard Ekho cheer in the background. "She's asked me to wait before I meet her parents and I won't do anything without her permission."

"Maybe we'll see her around," Ekho suggested as though she knew Bleu was disheartened a little. "I'm sure she's out and about with it being shopping season."

I hope that's all that's happening, Bleu thought darkly as he got his keys from a hook and grabbed a jacket. I can't stop worrying I'm missing something. "Yeah, maybe," was all he offered. He opened his door to see Luther right outside and it took him back. "Oh, Luther. I was just—"

"No need to explain, Young Master," Luther assured. "I find it exemplary you are taking your work seriously and heading out for your own field research. Your father would be proud of you. While your team exhibits competence, it is always best to fact-check things yourself." Then, he walked away. "I shall carry on with preparations until you retire back, whenever that may be. Just like your father, always working yourself late into the night and on till morning."

Bleu grinned. "Send me your address. I'll be there as soon as possible." He ended the call without further notice to head towards the stairs. I just need to check. If she's home or about, I'm worrying over nothing. And if she isn't… He checked his Compact again. Well…

°•°•°•°

The restaurant was packed for Sunday, but that was normal during this time of year when schools were letting out and people were taking breaks from work. Floating lanterns filled the place with Cipanguese symbols painted on them. The place was intimate with most of the stools surrounding the bar as four chefs worked to serve the late-night dinner round while a few tables were up against the wall.

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

« The Orage Sushi Sake Grill is a local and popular sushi bar owned by former Fairy Tail Mage Mikuni Shin. Today's happy hour includes the Zhonghuá Doll, Coconut Breezy, Samurai Saketini, Sake Sangria, and the Blue Mule. »

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

Ellie was sitting at the bar with her tablet out as she flipped through mock-up winter garden designs, her cheaters on, and a long sleeve that had on it UNAPOLOGETIC, UNPROBLEMATIC & UNBELIEVABLY CUTE. A water and a white peach daiquiri were her drinks in front of her when Olivia came to sit beside her. Ellie looked up and beamed. "Hey, lady!"

Olivia smiled back at her. "Hey, El." Much to her surprise, ale was dropped off to her. "And she already orders for me."

Ellie simpered. "I know my women by now," she teased. She went back to her tablet and sighed before going to the next mock-up.

Olivia took a sip of her ale, appreciated the taste, before she commented. "Still going over stuff for the Yule thing?"

"Yeah." Ellie zoomed in on an arrangement. "It's not like I'm in charge or anything, but my boss is letting me choose the final design for the center garden because he thinks the one we have is all wrong like he went through some fever dream. I'm already stressed enough with the arrangements and now this?" She shook her head as she set down her tablet. "Sorry. I didn't mean to talk about work."

"Hey, don't worry about it," Olivia soothed. "This is important stuff. I'm sorry I know shit about flowers, but I can definitely help telling you which flowers I hate to look at."

Ellie laughed as the waitress came by to take their orders. After putting them in, Ellie nudged Olivia and said, "Any help is better than nothing. How was your Sunday brunch?"

"So exciting," Olivia muttered sarcastically and grinned when Ellie laughed again. "Loved all the shouting and made some good money from the bets." She frowned. "But something's weird with Leo these days."

"I think we've all noticed something's weird with him," Ellie reminded dryly.

Olivia shook her head. "No. I mean, yeah, he's definitely out there, but I don't know, he just seems…quieter lately. Which is weird. I'm the quiet twin."

"Now that you mention it, he does seem off," Ellie acknowledged. "Hmmm… Maybe he's having post-job depression? I mean you guys spent months doing some pretty amazing S-class training stuff and now you're home, y'know?"

"Maybe…" Though, Olivia was not all convinced on that theory. "But speaking of S-class stuff away from home, I have some news and you may not like it."

"Uh-oh…" Ellie mock-pouted. "Is this where you tell me you've fallen desperately in-love with Chi-chi and my love for you is now unrequited?"

Olivia snorted. "I'd pick you over Oreo any day."

"Well thank god for that!" As both Olivia and Ellie giggled, Ellie poked her friend's shoulder. "No, but really, what's up? You know I'll support you in whatever. It's what true women do."

Olivia let out a breath and stared into her ale. "I'm thinking about going back to the City of Metal."

"Oh." Ellie looked at her daiquiri. "I see. For how long?"

Olivia shrugged. "I don't know." The words came put quiet and a little ashamed. "I just—I don't know. Something tells me I need to go there. I don't know when I'll be back."

A few moments of silence.

"Well, all right then."

Olivia looked to see Ellie staring at her with a beam. "If that's what you feel, then I think you should go ahead with it," Ellie suggested.

"Really?"

"Yeah, really." Ellie took a sip of her drink. "Listen, I am the last person to tell you otherwise. Half my siblings aren't in Fairy Tail and a lot of my fam aren't even in Fiore. But that's what makes them happy and helped them find purpose. And it's not like they've died; we still text and call and they come home for the holidays or I go out to see them. Just because our parents are here doesn't mean we need to stay here."

Olivia peered closer at Ellie. "You know, this sounds like someone's speaking their own personal thoughts…"

Ellie chuckled at that. "Maybe a little," she admitted. "I love being a part of Fairy Tail—I do—but I keep thinking that there's more I can do. And my work at the landscape architecture firm keeps me busy, but… I want to do more. Mom's great helping me with gardens and my boss is giving me great opportunities helping with Fiore Botanical Gardens and working under some of the architects for the nobles' gardens and stuff, but…" She shook her head. "Sorry, I'm ranting. We're supposed to be talking about you here."

"No, no!" Olivia fell over herself to soothe Ellie before she would recoil. "Please, keep going!"

Ellie shot her a cursory look. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, of course," Olivia assured. "It's nice hearing you say all this because it helps me understand where I'm coming from too." An apologetic frown. "I'm sorry I wasn't here for you when you started thinking about this."

Ellie rolled her eyes. "Livy, you were literally on another continent training away all badass and stuff. Do not blame yourself. I didn't bring any of this up yet since I'm a little guilty thinking about this anyways. Only Nashi and JJ really know anyways." Her eyes went downcast. "I've never really left home. Esme, Evie, and Ezra were all so brave for leaving and they do what they love and I… I don't know."

"What would you do if you left?"

Ellie fiddled with her tablet. "I don't know."

"You do know," Olivia said softly. "Eliana, you don't have to lie to me. I'm not here to judge. I'm here to listen. Support like a 'true women' should, remember?"

Ellie gave a small nod and took a breath. "Well… I was actually hoping I could help with creating wildlife sanctuaries and natural zoos for both regular wildlife and magical wildlife." She peeked up at Olivia—

—and Olivia was positively grinning. "Ellie, that's awesome! I didn't even know that was a thing!"

Ellie smiled a little and went to her tablet to pull up a website. Showing it to Olivia, the website for the WORLDWIDE WILDLIFE organization had articles about the funding and conversation projects. "Yeah, it's really neat. When I had to make a giant terrarium for some photographer, I met this architect who works with the WWW. And Miss Galan helps a lot too."

"This is incredible." Olivia squinted at the locations. "Looks like they're based all around the world."

"They are," Ellie agreed. "But I'd want to go to South Meidiland and work there or maybe even Andüsa where wildlife needs the most protection and help design sanctuaries."

"They'd have no choice but to accept you with your Green Magic," Olivia noted. "Ellie, it'd be perfect for you."

"Yeah…" Ellie took back the tablet and locked it. "But I just need to gather up the courage to do it. I keep worrying if I leave, what happens if I make a mistake or I'm not cut out for it? What, I come home?"

"Yeah, you come home."

Ellie looked glumly at Olivia. "And then what? I get to live in fun shame for failing?"

Olivia tried to say something when their sushi and sashimi came to them. Both thanked the chef as Ellie got to her chopsticks while Olivia went for the silverware. Finally, Olivia murmured, "I'm not saying it doesn't feel horrible when you fail. But you only fail and feel that much ashamed when you go into something thinking you'll fail. If you fail after you gave it your all, yeah, it'll sting. But at least somewhere, you know you did everything you could."

Ellie dipped her shrimp tempura maki into the eel sauce and took a bite. "I guess so," she supposed, uncertain. Swallowing, she redirected the attention to Olivia. "So when do you think you'll leave?"

"Soon." Olivia swallowed piece of aburi sake toro. "I feel I'll be leaving soon. I told Gale and Leo, but I have to tell the parents. I'll try to come home for Christmas, but I don't know what'll be happening with me by then."

"This will not do." Ellie was shaking her head. "At least come home for Honey's Christmas party if you don't come home for Christmas. It's next weekend, remember? Babe, JJ and I are ditching the fam for this party and you know how crazy the entire Strauss family gets this time of year!"

"How about I leave after next weekend?" Olivia bartered. "Gives me time to pack and get a flight to the City of Metal and time to say my good-byes. I have an appointment with Master Erza to discuss a temporary leave of absence and I'll have to give my formal statement and everything too and then I have to make sure my Settlers are reorganized and distributed and go over everything with the Guild Contractor…"

Ellie pointed her chopsticks at Olivia. "Good plan. I like that plan. A week should be good and I'll help you with whatever you need. Me, you, Nashi, and JJ need to have one last true woman sleepover at JJ's apartment too for some sister gossip."

"Mmm!" Olivia took some gulps of ale before responding. "Sounds good. But be prepared to hear Justin and Nashi rant about their boyfriends."

"JJ? Yes. But you know our shared wifey is keeping all that stuff about Gary to herself." Ellie added conspiratorially, "Even if his dick is huge."

Olivia had a belly-laugh at that. "So you kept saying," she remembered. "Honestly, I'm shocked they didn't hook-up before I came home."

Ellie waved her hand. "Gary's too much of a gentleman. Besides, he wanted to wait until Nashi was an adult like a true woman or so he told JJ and I. Definitely sure he wasn't planning on it, though, but I really hope Nashi doesn't try to run again.

"Yeah," Olivia sighed, "I couldn't stand him moping around during the S-Class meetings. Guy looked like a lovesick puppy." She could picture a melting husky with big teary eyes moaning then she quickly shook the image away. "Ugh. How the Hell is he a powerhouse, but Nashi turns him into some sad dog you have to drag everywhere?" Her eyebrow twitched as the memories of a mopey Gary comically curled up rather than ready for a sparring match to him ordering multiple entrées at a after-meeting dinner Mystogan had made for the S-Class Mages in their conference.

"He really does love her." Ellie had it pictured differently. She saw a gallivant Gary dressed to the nines in his suit as he stole the show, bending on a knee and presenting a cutely flustered Nashi a bouquet of ice flowers. Ellie let her hands cup her cheeks as she sighed dreamily, "Nashi's so lucky. He's so hot and a gentleman!" Taking down her hands, she went back to sifting through her food. "And he's a commitment sort of guy. I don't even think he's noticed another girl. So womanly!"

Olivia cringed when she remembered women fawning over Gary only for him to eagerly bother Nashi, but she saw him with his dog ears and tails as he chased after an embarrassed Nashi. "Yeah… That's one way to put it."

Ellie shrugged. "Still didn't care he put Nashi and Dazzler in the same room. So not womanly."

"Mm-hmm," Olivia agreed. "From what I saw on the website, looks like Nashi and her husky took a job with Aine and Lancelot. I guess it means she's not as mad about it anymore? Maybe they talked it out."

Ellie tucked in some more of her food before saying darkly, "Well, whatever happened, Gary knows not to upset our wifey. He screws up and he's waking up with carnivorous plants."

"I'll make some metal cuff so he can't escape," Olivia joked. "JJ will make a shield to keep the carnage minimal."

Ellie burst out laughing. "We sound like psychopaths!"

"If being psychos helps defend our friends, then we're psychos," Olivia jested. Nudging Ellie, she added in inquiry, "Anyway, back to the real purpose for dinner."

"Sister whispers!" both girls trilled before laughing.

"You will never believe what I saw with Thirteen and Vinyl and you can thank Chi-chi for this later," Ellie gossiped. "I actually saw them at a bar together and get this, honey. Vinyl actually got Thirteen to dance with her!"

Olivia gaped. "I don't believe it."

"You think I don't have receipts?" Ellie brought over her tablet and said, "I took a video because I was so shocked Vinyl womaned up and did it and Thirteen agreed because you know how that silver fox is." She got to her Photos and went to the videos section. "Here it is!" She played the video. "See? Look!"

Olivia could not fathom. "Well, well… I did not expect that."

"Right? Oh! And then, listen, so guess who I saw when I was out shopping the other day…"

And they stayed like that as they shared food over Ellie's latest news in guild life while Olivia listened attentively and both laughed over the predicaments witnessed. But neither noticed the flat screen above them showed replayed footage of the disaster in Bellum as the news anchors stressed the loss of connection with their local reporters. And neither noticed the images civilians had submitted just before the blackout contained a blurred image of what appeared to be an angelic woman floating in the wind and final question reading:

HAVE ANGELS BEEN SENT TO ANSWER THE PEOPLE'S PRAYERS?

---

Even with all their forces combined, the falling city was just crossing city limits that would put it out of reach from touching any more homes. Still, even with them reaching city limits, it did not matter. They still had to descend the falling city so it would not kick up a small dustbowl and crumble any houses standing on its last leg. Using hydrogen might have cooled everyone off in the moment, but the water mixed in with their sweat and everyone was getting more and more exhausted straining their powers like this.

John felt blood drip from his nose and cursed. Damn. Not gonna last much longer if we keep this up. He noticed Hybrid looked behind her and into the distance while Cascade had gone a little rigid. Now what's all right with them? He took down a hand to stifle about in his pocket and pulled out a small little telescope all folded up. Using his teeth, he extended it and he held it up to his left eye. In the distance, it seemed airships and broomsticks were on their way with a vengeance alongside a few comfortable riders on armored Wyvern and a Nachtkrapp—a large raven practically made of metal. "Shit." He reported aloud, "Looks like we've got some birds in the sky, ladies and gents! And they don't like the friendly pigeon type!"

Laxus cursed as he hung onto Duchess. "Must've been reinforcements sent out of range when I did my EMP blast," he figured. "How many?"

"Let's go with a lot," John said. "Looks like they sent out Her Majesty's air force on us."

Atomic assessed the situation. "If we engage, we risk potentially being seen," she told, "but if we don't engage, they'll catch up to us as this speed and do much more harm than good." She looked at Psyphon. "Psyphon, can we afford to lose anyone?"

Psyphon crunched the numbers in his head. "Mister Dreyar, Hybrid, you, and Cascade are our best offense," he offered. "Ghost and Highlight are our best defense. Hybrid and Cascade can drop out, but that means the pressure's on John, Dazzler, and I to keep things floating. Ghost and Highlight need to be on watch for anything that comes our way that we miss. If any weapon hits this—"

"Then, we're screwed and this thing goes down quicker than the Titan," Dazzler gritted out as she tried to ignore the way her chest constricted. "We know, we know."

Atomic nodded. "Right." She looked over at Laxus. "I'll stay behind as the last line of defense," she strategized. "Take Hybrid and Cascade. Kill none. Just ground them. I want them out of my skies."

Laxus smirked. "Don't have to tell me twice." He patted the thunderbird. "C'mon. Let's go." He shouted, "Hybrid! Cascade!"

Cascade and Hybrid waited for Psyphon to approve as he looked over at John and Dazzler. When both Magicians gave their consent, Psyphon shouted, "Go!"

The second Cascade and Hybrid retracted their powers, the entire falling city fell a few hundred meters with Dazzler about to buckle and give out at the pressure. At the same time, John and Laxus shouted, "Dazzler!"

Dazzler cringed when she felt a metallic tang in the back of her throat. "I'm fine!" she called hoarsely. "Give them Hell!"

Laxus looked over at John with one of those protect-her looks before he steered Duchess towards the up-and-coming assailants. "Come on!" he called to Hybrid and Cascade. Both followed him closely and as they rapidly swam through the skies, all of them could see what they were up against. The airships were obnoxiously big and carried the crest of His Majesty stained on the side and already missiles and beams shot out of the airships. The Mages taking to the skies with their brooms and their magical creatures dished out with their spells of fire and lightning and dark energy as the Wyverns spewed their flames.

Cascade took pointe as she raised her hands. The blasts sailing at them slowed to a halt and with a whip of her hands, they were forced to turn around and come back with which they came. Hybrid powered forward to clash with the Mages head-on and had no problem taking on their attacks. Each attack did not damage as she absorbed them into her skin so her veins lit up like there was a fire inside her. Sucking in a huge breath, she let out a bombardment of energy she had collected and startled and scattered the magical creatures.

Laxus tapped Duchess. "You ready?"

Duchess cawed.

Laxus shifted. "Then, let's get to work." Thunder rumbled overhead as a streak of lightning cracked down and zapped both Mage and magical creature into nonexistence. It came as a shock when Laxus and Duchess appeared right at the heart of the airships, charged and ready for action. Laxus raised a fist in the air and his lightning wound around his arm like a serpent coiled and ready to strike. "Resounding through the air, the roar of thunder…!" Blue and gold lightning intertwined tightly as they formed a sphere in the air that forced everything around it to vibrate and hair to stand on end.

The Duchess cawed as lightning warred within her eyes. She reared her head and added on her own lightning and the entire sphere expanded tenfold.

"Plunge from the heavens and reap destruction!" Laxus chanted and in that moment, both man and creature were made of lightning. "Raging Bolt…!"

The lightning sphere shot itself down to in the middle of the airships and expanded and expanded until it could not go any large and lightning bounded off to wrap around the airships. One after one, smoke and fire blasted through the airships and dozens of soldiers and engineers ejected themselves right before their airship exploded mid-air. But the day was not done yet. Laxus growled when he could not bask in the aftermath of his victory when he saw another wave coming at them just as strong and just as ready, weapons already firing.

Cascade and Hybrid worked together to take on the brunt of Mages firing at them when a missile nearly got Cascade in the back if Hybrid had not intercepted and caught the missile in mid-air. Looking down, she narrowed her eyes to see ground forces climbing through the grasslands in their tanks and armored cars and trucks as they fired round after round of beams and canons and missiles. Hybrid tried to shout to Laxus, "Dey come from da groun'."

Laxus had to think fast. So the air force was nothing more than a little distraction for their ground forces to catch up. We need more help, but we can't risk taking away anyone else. To Hybrid and Cascade, he commanded, "Split up! Cascade, on the ground. Keep them back. Hybrid, you're with me—!"

ZOOM!

Laxus' glare narrowed when he saw two fighter ships zipped past him. "No!"

Ghost, Highlight, and Atomic did their best to keep the remaining attacks at a minimum. Ghost looked exhausted as he clung to the falling city for any attacks to pass right through what would have been the affected area. Highlight had conjured up portals so the attacks would pass through the portal and reappear far away and explode at a safe distance. Atomic transitioned Masahiko into a rocket launcher and fired what she could at any attack to have them explode before the blowback could possibly reach them. But it was not enough. Atomic knew that. Dammit. We can't keep going like this. Masahiko will start to run out of energy for ammunition. And Highlight can't keep making portals without recharging. She looked back to see Dazzler looking physically ill as she tried her best to keep her part of the city up. And we're about to lose one.

"Highlight!"

Highlight looked over at Atomic.

Atomic pointed at Dazzler. "Fall back! Give a slight recharge round to Dazzler!"

Highlight hesitated. "But—!"

"Just go!" Atomic launched enough rocket at an incoming missile. "I'll be fine!"

Highlight nodded and shut down her portals to fly over to Dazzler. Her aura shifted as she put her hands on Dazzler's back. "I will heal you now,"she told, though tiredly.

"Don't worry about me," Dazzler panted. "I'm fine."

"You are not fine, Miss Dazzler," Highlight negated. "You have used too much of your power."

Dazzler coughed and squinted her eyes as she looked at the war in the distance. We've all used too much power. How much more of this can we take until we collapse? A rock bounced onto her head and she looked up to see the falling city crumble bit by bit. We're running out of time on that question. We need Cascade and Hybrid back, but if they come back, we're left wide open to attacks. She closed her eyes as Highlight's powers slid over her being. But even those powers were not much to help Dazzler. Come on. Think, Dazzler, think. What can we do? What spell can we use?

A silhouette blurred through the sky while another sped through the ground.

Dazzler could feel control over the falling city's weight slip and her arms shook. No… Please just…a little longer…

Laxus unleashed a roar as the airships reigned fire down upon him and Duchess. Cascade spiraled backwards when she missed a combination attack that exploded by her side. Hybrid had missed the flash grenade and it expired right before she could put up her hands and shield herself from the brightness.

The silhouette ate up the ground until it bypassed Hybrid.

Time slowed as Hybrid barely opened her eyes to catch flowing dark hair and a little form.

Soldiers within the tank were muttering out their adjustments, their coordinators, and how they centered their scope onto Hybrid. But when a shadow crossed the scope, the soldier took a moment to hesitate, perplexed. But he did not have to wait that long when the shadow took over the scope…

…and the entire top of the tank was ripped off.

The soldiers gawked when none of than a little girl with soulless turquoise eyes stood above them. "I don't like the way you hurt her." Her hand held out in front of her as a black energy spiraled and centered in her palm. "So I will neutralize her threats." She fired into the tank.

Laxus slashed out more lightning, but with every airship he took down, it seemed another took its place. He was so in the moment of festering another powerful attack, he was too late in sensing the emerging missile that had broken off its shell into a black torpedo. He whirled around with lightning battened around him to explode the torpedo where it flew when a black blur surpassed him. It stopped the torpedo cold without touching it and that action alone had Laxus' eyebrow raise. The being had skin of gray with red accents streaked across its body. Horns donned its head in a spider leg fashion and it appeared to have forgone any sort of clothing.

Without so much as flinching, it forced the torpedo to change its trajectory back and sent the torpedo sailing through five airships, each one exploding upon impact.

Laxus pulled back his lightning, but he was still on guard. "And who the Hell are you?" he sneered.

"Stronger than you." The creature did not even look at Laxus like it was not worth his time. "My mistress and I will handle the mortals. Return to your post. Don't worry. I will not kill any of you."

Laxus growled until he realized something. "'Mistress'?" He looked around until he saw what was meant. A blurred force easily destroyed every tank and armored vehicle without stopping. I don't know who the Hell these people are, but I don't sense anything bad about them. He kicked Duchess and she flew into action. "Cascade! Get Hybrid!"

Cascade nodded and directed her stare towards Hybrid. Hybrid looked up and took to the skies. Within moments, both women were at Laxus' side as they raced back to the falling city. Atomic stopped firing as she saw Hybrid and Cascade quickly rejoin the efforts to slow down the city and aim their descent and she demanded to Laxus, "What happened? Are there too many?"

"Not exactly." Laxus pointed to the explosions on both ground and sky. "We just got a little help."

Atomic shook Masahiko and he turned back into a machine gun. "I won't turn down help," she supposed. "But will they turn against us?"

Laxus watched as a particularly large explosion mushroomed. "I don't know." That was the truth. "And if they do… Hell, I don't even know if we can stop them in our sorry-ass state." Ricocheting his stare back to Atomic, he told her, "But that's the risk we have to take for now."

Atomic observed him for a moment before she nodded her agreement. "All right." She shouted to everyone, "Let's pick up the pace a little! This help might have been greatly planned, but I don't trust them as far as I can throw them!" As more explosions boomed, Atomic thought, But Laxus is right. If they turn against us, we can't take them down. Not like this. If they come after my team, I'll have no choice but to force us to focus on our mission. She swung her gaze to Ghost, then to John, then to Dazzler, and finally to Laxus. And these Mages will have to face them on their own.

"I wouldn't do that."

Atomic rarely got startled, but when she did, it was almost funny to see her caught off-guard. The grey-skinned creature had appeared beside her with a contemplative look on his face as he watched the powered mortals struggle and combat their own exhaustion for the sake of controlling the city's descent. "I could kill them all right now and you," he added unhelpfully to Atomic.

Atomic forced her heart to settle and her breath to be steady. "So why don't you?"

"Taking your lives would do nothing for me," the creature answered matter-of-factly.

Atomic took that into consideration. "So what will you do then?"

The creature looked down and Atomic looked down as well. The battle looked over as quickly as it had begun and a little girl stood below, her dead stare straight on the creature. Atomic wondered, Is she controlling it? Are they using a telepathic connection? I can't sense anything. I should be able to sense something, but it's like they've blocked everything about themselves from me. She tried not to move her stare as she asked, Cascade, what do you sense from them?

Nothing bad, Cascade responded in truth. But nothing good either. I don't sense any intent to kill us. But I can't get into whatever link they have with each other. All I can tell you is that they are extremely powerful, but they're holding back the true weight of their power from us. They're more than omega-level, Atomic. I bet they could kill us just by blinking.

Great. So we have another Chalkydri. A bead of sweat curved down Atomic's brow. We stand no chance against them and we have nothing to offer them in turn for assistance. So what will it be? What will they decide to do to us?

The creature turned to Atomic. "Ground your mortals," he requested blandly.

Atomic raised an eyebrow. "And if I don't?"

"Then, I'll leave." He did not mess around. "Rebel and I will leave. I have no instructions or commands to aid you. But your mortals are weak and will have no power left to effectively land this city. You have no plan to abolish these ruins once they touch the ground. I can easily rectify that."

"You're just doing this out of the kindness of your heart?" Atomic could not grasp the creature's intentions. "Why?"

The creature cocked his head. "'Kindness'," he echoed like the word was new to him. "I would not say this is a kindness. If you fail, it doesn't affect me. But I like Mistress Talia and she likes Nashi Dragneel and knows Nashi Dragneel would be greatly upset if anything happened to what you call 'friends'."

"'Talia'?" Atomic questioned. Looking down at the girl still setting her eyes on the creature, Atomic said, "So she's your mistress. I see. Well, creature, I'll get everyone to the ground. Thank you for your help."

"Mammon." The creature floated forward. "My name is Mammon. Don't thank me." Mammon glanced back at Atomic. "Because if Mistress Talia wasn't here, I would have killed you all."

°•°•°•°

Skade found himself thrown against the wall when the building creaked even more. He panted as his vision went in and out and drops of blood splattered onto the metal. Vibration thrummed underneath him. Human, we are running out of time. He got back to running when the vibration picked up.

Almost there, Gary urged.

Skade looked over the railing and he could see the bricks beginning to break. Human, we are out of time!

He busted down the next door he saw and scrambled into what would have been the financial department. As the world tilted and papers flew and sparks went from broken DALs and PALs left behind, Skade desperately found a window going topside and crashed out of it. The building's upper half was toppling and it looked like he had made it to the fifth most top floor. He needed no more instruction as he bolted down the building, ignoring all the glass shattering under the pressure, and ice began to breach beneath his paws. As he got to the ledge, he forced out the momentum he built to leap. He could feel the added wind from the falling building, but it did not matter. His wings snapped open and with a grunt, he allowed the strong gust to glide him around. Angling a hard right, he tried his best to steer himself away from the wreckage the falling building would carry, but it was hard to steer when your wings were partially destroyed and with one eye shut with dried blood.

BAM!

Skade had no time to react when a shot of Black Magic hit his back and knocked him off-kilter. It did not matter how much he tried; his wings were blown off-course and he was tumbling to the ground. The hit he took had him bounce and roll and he could not spring up like he wanted. After a few moments of rest, he shakily got to his paws, but he could barely tell right from left with the world crusted in blood.

Dammit, Gary growled, though his voice was sounding a bit distance. We're losing too much blood.

Skade shook his head when he felt a familiar weight creep up. He took off in a pathetic trot as blood and flurries followed in his wake. But we must run, he urged tiredly. Dark Creatures are on our trail and I cannot kill them like this.

BAM! BAM! BAM!

Skade could not even react as explosions swarmed him. Brick and mortar and glass splattered all around him and he knew one of his ears had gone deaf from the noise, but he had to keep trekking. Keep…going, he gritted. Must…lead them…away…

But it was so hard. It was so hard for him. He stumbled out of the cloud of debris with glass in his paws and the pain did not even register. But he could not walk any further. Because a few yards in front of him stood a figure he had never seen before. They were cloaked in black, but it did not matter about that. Part of their face was visible, but with it only being the lower part, it could not be detected if they were male or female.

Skade found it hard to keep his good eye open, but he witnessed the person ruffle something and took something out from under their cloak. All he saw was a glint of silver. What is…that…?

PEW-PEW-PEW!

Skade belatedly realized Ghouls and Phantoms had surrounded them with their sulking presence and listless eyes. Maybe he looked pathetic when his claws unsheathed and he snarled, but he was a caged animal and he could not back down just yet. "I will kill you all," he threatened. "Leave now to your master or you will know death personally."

But the Ghouls and Phantoms did not really care about his words. In fact, they disregarded him altogether as they turned their bodies back down where Skade came. The Ghouls lobbied forward, hungry, while the Phantoms fired shadowy balls of Curse Power from their mouths.

Confusion hit both Gary and Skade. What are they firing at? Gary wondered.

BANG-BANG-BANG!

Skade turned—

Icy-blue widened.

What is this?

The Ghouls and Phantoms were not there to attack Skade. No, they were firing their attacks and mobbing against the hidden soldiers trying to take down Skade. Those soldiers were brought to light with their all-black gear and their automatic guns as the Ghouls eagerly sought to tear them apart and the Phantoms' blast blew away stray bullets and tranquilizers to blowback any other soldiers trying to come near.

Skade watched all this in agitated confusion, tail flicking. What are they doing? He staggered when he felt his right knee about to give.

They're defending us… Gary sounded troubled until horror filled him. No… They're writing a narrative. Skade, get out of…! We ne—…! Skade, d—…hea—?

But Gary's words could not reach Skade. Internally, Gary could feel himself slip away from his grip on his shared bond with Skade as darkness threatened to take him. But it was a different darkness. Not something furious trying to consume him. Panic surged around Gary as he fought to swim back to Skade through their bond. Skade, stay awake! he shouted. Get out of there! They're trying to use us!

But Skade could not hear. He could barely hear anything. He did not care that Dark Creatures were mauling the soldiers of this outfit. He turned tail and limped away. The cloaked person was gone, but he did not care. He just had to keep moving. Must…find…a place…to heal, he panted. Keep human safe. Keep safe.

And a few meters away, hiding diligently on a rooftop underneath a Cloaking Blanket lay a sniper with no happiness on her face. She looked through her scope as she caught visual on Skade bleeding out as he attempted to get away. To her earpiece, she murmured, "Sir, I have visual on the Devil. The plan followed through. Should I take the shot?"

Paws steps thundered on the ground.

"No tranq," came reminder.

Pants and grunts exchanged as gloves tightened onto fur.

"Affirmative, sir," the sniper confirmed. "Only anti-Ether."

Lips twitched as a jaw locked.

"Good. Fire when ready."

Claws unsheathed.

"Yes, sir." The sniper focused in on her scope and her hand went onto the trigger. Skade reflected in her eye and as her finger pulled down on the trigger—

BANG!

—a lion's roar stormed around her.

The blanket was shredded from her being and she pulled away from her propped sniper rifle to take out her handgun. But poised atop her was a heaving lion Beastman with a frazzled mane and eyes that told he was the king of the savannah. She fired her rounds and Býleistr did not even flinch as parts of his body were pierced and stardust blew from him. A large hand came down to take the gun and crushed it with his fist. The sniper could only see the rage on Býleistr's face and could not even move when he came down on her.

Skade did not hear the ring of the bullet. He did not even hear Býleistr's roar. But he felt the presence he could not forget. He turned around and with his fastly-fading good eye, he saw the one person he did not want to see with her mouth puffing, her chest heaving, and her dual swords at the ready. "Malã'ika…" he coughed. "No… What are you doing…?" He spat blood and his legs shook as he moved to collapse.

Nashi scurried to him as magenta covered her being. "Skade!" She caught onto his front with her civilian clothes on her body and her hair in disarray. She hugged him close as he accidentally leaned on her for support. "I'm not too late," she whispered into his fur. "Thank god I'm not too late."

Skade rumbled and tried to keep his good eye open. "What are you doing here?" he rasped. "You must go… Not safe here for you…" He tried to pull away, but he toppled over and fell onto his stomach with a grunt.

"I'm not leaving you, you stupid dog." Nashi helped coax him to his feet. "Not like this. I'm here for you and I won't let anything happen to you." When they both got Skade up onto his feet, she let him know, "Býleistr's going to take care of the snipers. We'll find you somewhere safe to rest and heal, I promise." Nudging him into a light walk, she murmured in addition, "I'll protect you. I promise."

Skade tried to shake his head. "Malã'ika—"

BANG-BANG-BANG!

Nashi looked back down the street to see a few soldiers who had been bloodied and bruised had escaped the Ghouls and were doing their best to fire at Skade while dodging the Phantoms' blasts. Nashi gritted her teeth as she let Skade go and shot out her hands. "Holy Shield!" Her shield went up, but she was pushed back as the round of shots came clean for her. Alarm hit her when the first bullet shattered through her shield. Then another. And another. Until Nashi could not keep up her Holy Shield and the bullets made their way through—

"Illyrian Shield!"

Býleistr had landed before them crouched with his hands spread out before him. A shield of orange-gold had popped up with a lion head at its core and the symbol of Leo Minor on the lion's forehead. He looked back at Nashi who had sagged to all fours and shouted urgently, "Princess, are you okay?"

Nashi winced, but when Skade had dragged himself to nudge her into depending on him, she grunted, "I mean I think this is the wake-up call I needed to start doing more aerobics." She looked down at Skade and how exhausted he looked. "We need to get Skade out of here."

"We need to get all of us out of here," Býleistr seethed. "Took out two damn snipers, but you humans pop up like weeds." He slowly got up before shoving his wall away from him and towards his assailants. He had no time to watch the results as he whipped around. Hating what he had to do, he scooped up Skade and looked down at Nashi. "Can you run? Can you transform back?"

Nashi took a breath and gathered her power to shove on her Divine Soul Armor, though it looked thoroughly worn down and shredded. "Yeah. I can run. Lead the way."

"Stick close to me," Býleistr ordered. He took them into a dash. "We don't know whose watching and taking pictures right now or what other soldiers are out here."

Nashi jerkily nodded. "Right." And Býleistr would never notice how Nashi's armored hand had covered a portion of her lower stomach…

…and a trickle of blood seeped out.

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

And then…

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

Býleistr looked out the sliver of curtain. The streets were laden with rock and stone and debris and a few dead bodies, but no one living was clambering down them. "I think we're okay here." He turned around to inspect their little hideout. Without much protest, Býleistr had broken into a relatively intact duplex. Sure, paint ships and dust and dirt had fallen over and the place looked like it had been ransacked just because the owners were desperate to get away. In fact, they had left behind their senior Orthrus—a two-headed dog—that did not seem at all alarmed at the intruders. Rather, he had been drawn to Skade and hung close.

Nashi had torn away all the blankets she could find in the living room to lay down for Skade with her armor gone and had wrapped a blanket around herself. Skade was lying on his side as Nashi did what she could do stop the bleeding with towels she scrounged up, blood getting on her hands. "Býleistr, could you get Skade some water and something dry if you can? He needs it."

Býleistr hummed and moved to find the kitchen.

Nashi pressed harder on Skade's wounds to stop the bleeding and he hissed. "I'm sorry," she choked out, "but we have to stop the bleeding."

The Orthrus warbled something.

Skade took a wet exhale and croaked, "It says the humans here keep a first aid kit in their upstairs master bedroom."

Nashi paused, surprised. "You can understand it?" She looked at the elderly two-headed dog who blinked at her and looked away.

Skade coughed. "Barely. Unsure…why…"

Nashi pushed off the ground and did not care her hands were stained. "Just rest here. I'll be right back." She moved to the staircase and climbed them twice at a time. But as she climbed the stairs, an ache in her body began to creep up on her. She ignored it to keep moving without hesitation until she found the master's bedroom and went into the master bath. The first aid kit was easy to find and was a bigger kit, something she was grateful for. But she needed a breather. She muttered her faint apologies to the owners of the house when she used their bathroom and went to wash her hands. She focused on scrubbing her hands clean of blood.

A radio frequency swooned into her ears. "He's a lost cause." A crackle. The frequency lost touch then regained it again. "He's weak. Let him die."

Nashi watched as the black blood drained down the sink. Hands mainly clean, she reached over to the hand towel and dried her hands.

The radio turned for a classic orchestra to hit until there came static. "You are the princess of Demons. He is nothing but a humping dog. If he annoys you that, much just kill. Kill him." A hungered growl joined the announcer. "Kill him. Kill him. Kill him."

Nashi slowly set down the hand towel. Her eyes looked up.

The entire bathroom had changed in her reflection.

Blood-made she had never seen coated the mirror, the walls, even the floors. A sigil had appeared underneath her and smelled of something rotting and sulfur and smoke. But she did not care about that. She cared about her reflection. The frazzled-hair reflection with her red eyes and wide grin filled with sharp teeth. The bathroom on the other side was spilling over with a thick black substance as the light flickered in a pale red.

Nashi touched a hand to her temple as the frequency dipped back and forth between stations. A haunting orchestra to Luna screaming for her to Gary moaning her moniker to the vile death chant. Her eyes shut as the ache consumed her body to make it vibrate. The noise pounded against her eyes. Blearily, her eyes opened and she looked down at her hands to see bloody symbols had doused them. Her left palm showed a unicursal hexagram with an eye in the middle while her right palm showed a normal hexagram with an eye the middle. But when her hands flexed, both eyes started to cry blood.

Nashi looked down at her body to see spores had appeared on her body with spews of black blood hosing from her body to pool at her feet. The black fused together underneath her shadow until it breached into the real world to show a silhouette of her with its glowing red eyes and demonic grin. "Let's make a deal." The frequency crackled and churned even louder. The silhouette held out a hand that forged onto it a clear skin, the same as hers. "I'll help you heal the Devil if you play a game with me."

Nashi wobbled as she looked at the hand. "Help me…heal him…" She could feel her hand moving closer to the offer. "They need me…" Her hand hovered over the offer one as the frequency buzzed louder and louder in her ears—

"Nashi!"

Býleistr slipped into the bathroom to see Nashi was staring dazedly at the water gushing from the sink. "Princess?" He moved closer until he shut off the water.

That snapped Nashi out of it as she blinked and sucked in a breath. "Oh. Sorry?" She looked up at her spirit. "Did you need something?"

Býleistr lifted a brow and reached over to pluck the first aid kit from the counter. "Yeah… Just wanted to see where you were with the first aid kit."

Nashi rubbed her eyes. "Yeah, sorry. I guess I'm feeling a little tired. Long weekend." She turned and made her way towards the door. "C'mon. Bring the kit downstairs so I can start working on Skade."

Býleistr followed Nashi down to the first floor and passed off the kit to her. He sat close the front window to keep an eye out for trouble, but he could not help studying Nashi as she worked. She had taken out the pain medication and was doing her best to get Skade to swallow a few pills before she set out to work. Býleistr took the time to look at the sweat marring Nashi and the little pants she gave on occasion. She pushed herself too hard. I don't know much about this planet's sicknesses without her and I forging a contract…but I do remember wizards can get a tumor or some sort of cancerous disease from overuse of Magic. He looked at the bullet wounds and the stardust trickling out of him. It had noticeably slowed, but that did not make him feel any better. I'm losing too much power. I said I could jump one more time, but even that might be too big of a stretch. I don't even know how far I could jump at this point. And she's in no condition to take the Vow and resummon me.

Býleistr stretched and sniffed around. "Princess," he gruffly told, "I'm going on the roof to get a better look." He opened his window and descended into a Mallow Coon. Hopping up on the windowsill, he muttered, "Don't do anything stupid and don't make too much noise." And then he was off.

Nashi rolled her eyes as she start to suction out the infected areas. "Well, geez. Fill me up with more positivity, why don't you?" She moved to push out the pus and blood and fur when a bout of pain hit her and she let out an unceremonious noise.

Skade shifted so his good eye could see her. "Malã'ika…"

Nashi hurried to put on a smile and ignore her pain. "Don't worry. I'm fine. Just a little tired." She went back to tending to his infections. "Just lay still. The pain meds should take effect soon." She ignored any more concern he threw at her as she focused on her goal. Just tired. It's okay. We'll get through this. We have to.

But why did that feel like such a life when she felt something soul-sucking pressuring down within her?

°•°•°•°

With everyone on the ground, they got to watch in awe and wonder as Mammon worked his powers. With just his hands, Mammon had ripped open a barrier between time and space himself. It looked so unsettling to see swirling darkness, but Mammon did not mind as he slowly pushed the fallen city through the rift and back to from which it came.

"He's a powerhouse," Psyphon said in admiration. "So this is what power that comes from this planet."

Talia shook her head. "No. Mammon is just a Daemon. He isn't of Earth Land just like I am not. Our powers come from a place beyond this world." She looked over at Hybrid. "Just like her powers do not come from your homeworld."

Hybrid offered a shark-like smirk as Highlight over to Ghost. Resting a hand on his form, she murmured, "Are you okay, bhūta?" She tried to catch his melancholic eye. "You feel sadness for something you do not know. Your identity? Oh!" She pulled away as a fierce pink outlined her. "My apologies! I did not mean to read you—!"

Ghost chuckled. "No, no, you're fine, Highlight." He looked up at Mammon and his incredible powers in play. "I guess I am a little upset. I haven't gotten any closer to finding my body and figuring out how I died or why I came back to, well, this. It's like a whole chunk of who I was is gone."

Highlight nodded her understanding. "I, too, did not know who I was."

"What?" Ghost looked at her up and down. "Did you have amnesia or something?"

Highlight smiled a little. "Or something," she answered. Looking at her hands, she admitted, "Unlike my teammates, I was not born with the powers I have. They were forced upon me in a way no one should suffer for. I was told I had family in the Middle East who were in a war-driven territory and some had immigrated away, but I had no recollection of this 'family' I related to. I was just…Highlight." She decided to sit on the grass and Ghost followed her movements. "I do not understand what it is like to be deceased. But I do understand the want to know who you were. But it does not shape who you are in this moment."

Ghost shrugged. "Maybe," he supposed, "but it does help." He looked at his translucent form. "From what my friends of the guild told me, ghost normally come back when they have unfinished business. At first, I thought maybe that's why I was here. I had unfinished business and once I completed it, I could cross over. But the more I lived here, the more it didn't feel right. And now? Being told I'm a Reaper like Mister Djedi? Something about it makes sense." He lied back on the grass, but in reality, he was merely floating atop it. "I just need to know if I'm really the good guy. I need to know if there's a chance I was meant for something more." He looked away. "You probably think it's stupid—"

"I do not, Mister Ghost!" Highlight blurted, blushing a bit at her outburst. "It is just… Well…" She shot him such a kind look with her moon-touched eyes. "When you find who you were, do not allow that to consume you." A haunting look froze within her. "When you allow your past to consume you, your present and future are no more than shadows. Respect dead Mister Ghost but continue on to live this version of yourself." She offered him a shy laugh. "I like who you are now. You are most kind."

Ghost grinned. "Even if you can see right through me? Literally?"

"I cannot see like you see," Highlight revealed soberly, clueless to the joke made. "I see the energies within a person or being. And you, Mister Ghost, have an energy filled with potential, gentleness, and love. Please, do not lose sight of that."

Ghost blinked in surprise as he looked down at his form. She can see that? To Highlight, he promised quietly, "I won't. Thank you, Highlight."

Highlight hummed. "Of course, bhūta."

John walked over to Dazzler as he played with his lighter in a delicate dance. "So. Looks like we're pretty jammy to have him on our side." He whipped out a cigarette and lit it to take a huff and puff. "Luck be a lady tonight indeed."

"If Luck's a lady, you've probably slept with her," Dazzler remarked in dry humor.

John paused before he broke into laughter. "I'm not as much of a narky little prat as ya think, Bunny," he assured. "Queen's honor on that one. I can keep it in my pants…sometimes." When Dazzler snorted, he came closer to her and surveyed the land. They had gotten farther out with Talia's aid and hand gotten to the more rural-suburban side of this country with rolling hills and nice house built for large families. "Feels like the ole days, yeah? Me, you, Mace, and Mantra takin' on the world."

Dazzler rolled her eyes. "Well, actually, I'm pretty sure you bullied Mason into doing your bidding…"

"Nah." John dismissed the notion. "He just needed the incentive and Mantra gave it to him."

Dazzler swallowed. "And now she's gone." The words hollow on her lips. "Is he really trying to bring them back again?"

John let out a stream of smoke which took the form of skull and crossbones. "Yeah. Wasn't feckin' around with that. Mate is either trying to get them back or he'll do anything to die with them. Sorry sod. Immortality seems more like Her Majesty's pleasure than a good thing."

Dazzler folded her arms so her hands cupped her elbows. "I don't get why you keep trying to save him," she confessed. "He hates you, John."

"Nothin' new," John sighed. "He found me a chav before; he'll find me a chav now. You don't know how many times good ole Mace has told me to get stuffed." His eyes dulled at the pain. "But I can't just let my best mate go on and kill himself, D. I mucked it up with him. But I need to make it right."

Dazzler arched an eyebrow. "And keeping him alive is your way of 'making it right'?"

John shrugged. "It's a start."

After letting out a longwinded exhale, Dazzler rested a hand on a cocked hip. "Well, if you're that desperate to make amends, you could start by joining Fairy Tail," she proposed with a petite grin.

John threw back his head and really let it out with his laughter. "Oh, D, that's a good one. You always knew the best how to take the piss of something." But when he calmed himself into a humored smirk, he saw Dazzler only cocked her head at him. "C'mon, D. Are you havin' a laugh?"

"I'm serious, John." Dazzler twirled off her top hat to reach in. She pulled out a business card and extended it to him. "Talent like yours… We could use it at the guild."

John narrowed his eyes at the business card, then her. "You're barking," he rumbled. "If your guild knows what's good for them, they wouldn't be recruitin' an Occultist with a finger up the arse of Dark Magic, love. I think you're a wee bit mistaken offerin' up my goods and services like that."

"Actually, it wasn't my idea."

John pitched up an eyebrow. "Then whose was it?"

Dazzler looked behind her and John did as well. His eyes widened when he saw Laxus watching them from a distance. His head cocked as though questioning their turnabout. John puttered out a chuckle. "So the bloke's bloody mental," he decided. "He's as mad as a bag of ferrets, D, if he thinks I'd be all snug as a bug domesticated like that."

Dazzler hissed in a breath. "Yeah, well, he recognizes talent when he sees it," she supposed. "He sees something in you, John. Something good. And so do I," she added for good measure when John looked like he wanted to negate it. "And not just your little John."

He scoffed. "He's not little, you cheeky bunny," he muttered. "He's big. That's an insult on my honor as your ex." A lecherous grin betrayed him. "But I could always show you better than tell you, if you'd like."

"You have no honor, you asshole," Dazzler tittered. "And I'll have to pass on your little screwdriver there." She shoved the business card into his trench coat pocket and patted it. "Just think about it, okay? It would be nice to have another Magician on our side." She walked away from him.

John took a moment before jogging after her. "You know, we could just work together, you and me. What'd'ya say? Open our own practice, pass it down to the kids like we always talked about…"

Dazzler cackled and cut it off in seconds. "No. Not happening."

The pair of them had rejoined Laxus as the group had slowly gravitated towards him. They watched as Mammon shoved the last of the city into the rip in time and space. He folded the rip back so it was like it had never happened before he came back down to land. He strolled up to them in his beastly form, but he made it a point to stand a little bit behind Talia. "You won't have to worry about the destruction anymore," he clarified.

"Great. If only he had done that a long time ago," Laxus muttered.

Talia rebuked monotonously, "Breaking Mammon's seal with Bael and attaching him to me isn't easy. Caution with your words, Thunder Dragon."

Laxus tched. "Whatever. We can't just stand here looking like a bunch of idiots. The military will send more forces after us even with there being no danger. We're still an unknown threat they'll try to prosecute for pretty sound reasoning when you think about it."

Masahiko who had long-since changed back into his man form stood at Atomic's side as she announced, "Then, it's time for us to leave." She looked at her teammates who each gave her nods. "We did what we had to do."

"Wait," Dazzler stopped. "But Nashi—"

"Will be in a secure location soon enough," Atomic responded.

"How do you know that?" Dazzler demanded.

Atomic appraised her with one of those bored looks. "We have our ways." An evasive answer. "We've been on this planet long enough. Time for us to get back to Earth. We did our jobs. We know the outcome." She gestured to Hybrid. "Hybrid, do you still have the device?"

Hybrid nodded and as she opened her hand for what appeared to be something that took the shape of a compact mirror. Ghost blinked as he replayed Atomic's words. "Wait. 'Earth'?"

"You guys are from Earth?" Dazzler questioned. "Are you serious? Like Earth-Earth? Where America is and that country called 'Korea'?"

Atomic talked over her. "No offense, but I hope we don't see any of you again," she put it bluntly. "If we do, it means something's gotten too big to handle, even for you and all your strengths. Take care. And try not to let a Demon kidnap you again." She nodded to Hybrid. "Now."

Hybrid opened the compact and a glowing red button appeared inside. She pressed it as Dazzler shouted, "Wait! Don't go! We have a guildmate who is from Earth and—!"

But it did not matter. Energy surged around the group in the form of a dome. It sucked the team upwards as the energy charged itself to consume everything within itself. With a great flash and gust of wind, the energy dome absorbed itself and disappeared from this world. Ghost's eyes were wide from the display while Dazzler squinted and repetitively blinked her eyes. "Well, damn. They could have at least waited for me to finish," she grumbled. "We could've gotten rid of Cade."

"I don't think the knight-boy would've went," Laxus decided.

Dazzler scowled. "And why is that? He's annoying as shit here and homesick." She dusted herself as she snidely added, "He should be jumping at every chance he gets to go back home to his precious homeworld."

"I wouldn't be so sure." But that was all Laxus had to say on the matter.

Dazzler rolled her eyes. "Whatever." She marched a little bit away from the group. "C'mon. We better split too. Wouldn't want the fuzz coming down on us for loitering." Silver swirling into her eyes, she cast, "Enakuxe maka tin pórtāea…!" The twin doors of the Enchanted Estate appear in the grass and she waved a hand for one of the doors to open to the inside of the mansion. She went over to the door and gestured to the rest of the men. "Well? You guys coming or do you want to get arrested?"

Laxus nodded and headed in while Ghost hung back as John murmured something to him. After Laxus crossed the threshold, Dazzler looked over at Ghost and John. "Hello…?" she called. "Ghost, move your undead butt or get arrested."

John said a final thing to Ghost that had him jerkily nod. "Yeah. I'm coming." And Ghost floated back into the mansion with a puzzled look on his face.

Dazzler followed at Ghost, perplexed, when she turned to John. "Exchanging your secret on how to get away with murder?" Half a joke, all suspicion.

"Nah." John smirked. "Not even I could get away with murder, D."

Dazzler did not find it funny. "Are you coming or staying?"

John helped himself to moving past Dazzler and into the mansion as his answer. She followed him inside before she turned around and closed the door. Djedi approached her with a nasty glare thrown at John—Gladstone hissed at John in his black cat form. "Welcome back, Dazzler," Djedi greeted diplomatically. "Did everything go to your satisfaction?"

"Pretty much," Dazzler guessed. She crouched down when Gladstone rubbed against her to trail a hand down his arched spin and cup around his fluffy tail. "Tell the Reapers they can come home. We're done here."

Djedi nodded. "Of course, Dazzler. And one more thing."

Dazzler giggled when Gladstone flopped onto his back and she smoothened her hands over the tomcat's dowry belly. "Oh, yeah? What's that?"

"Your friend in the Blue Room. I have a status update."

Dazzler's eyes widened and she looked up at Djedi alarmed (Gladstone batted at her, displeased such wonderful petting was stripped from him). "What? What about him? Is there something wrong?"

Djedi put his hands behind his back. "Nothing is wrong with him, Dazzler," he assured. "Misses Dietrich just informed me. Your friend is about to wake."

°•°•°•°

Nashi crawled onto the couch and laid on her back then to her side. Skade had not fallen asleep as Nashi had kept him up through mutterings and little teases, but he had been bandaged up as best as she could. Granted, he had a considerable number of wounds left, the worst of the wounds had tissue adhesive on them or gauze. She would need to change the wounds more often than she liked, but at least the wounds were covered for now. To Skade, she asked, "How are you feeling?"

Skade huffed. "Better if Malã'ika curled next to me," he muttered poutily. The Orthrus shifted to curl closer to Skade and both heads let out a low woof.

Nashi let out a weak laugh. "Yeah, no thanks. You need to rest alone and I'm good on the blood and matted fur, thanks." She was close enough where she could touch his wings. She reached out, but the aggravated pain held her back and she held in a curse word as she cringed on herself. Dammit. Not now. I need more time.

"Malã'ika?"

Nashi silently let out a forced breath and said in an overly-perky tone, "Sorry. Just zoning out. Let's keep you awake, okay? So, um… Did you have anything in mind for the week we'll have together?"

Skade contemplated that. "I do not."

"Oh?" Nashi closed her eyes as she summoned her Magic for a bleak outline of pink to cover her. "Gary hasn't suggested anything to you."

A beat of silence.

"I cannot speak to the human right now," Skade revealed as though guilty.

Nashi snapped out of her spell in shock. "What?" She sat up—and she winced hard when she did so—to fret, "What happened? Is he okay? Is his soul okay?"

"The human has not been consumed," Skade assured. "I am…weak at the moment."

Nashi came to a conclusion she had not seen before. "Which means you and Gary have a weak bond when you feel weak like my souls do." She sighed. "I should've seen this coming. Well, as long as Gary is still there, that's okay then." She wiped the back of her forehead and was a little surprised when she saw sweat. I'm sweating? But I feel so cold…

LUB-DUB…

Nashi keeled over with wide eyes as she clutched the material over her chest. What…? What is this? What's wrong with me?

Býleistr had kept his post on the roof in his Cat Form. He looked around to see clear skies, if a little dreary. His jaw opened and when he got a good taste, he licked his muzzle. "A storm's coming," he muttered to himself. "Just what we need." He continued his wide scan of the area with his ears wide open and his nose on al—

Kitty-Kitty.

Býleistr stiffened, tail up and spooked. Half-pint? A tick mark pounded against him. What did I say on calling me a 'kitty', half-pint?

Talia ignored him. I can't reach the princess or the Devil, but I can reach you. Mammon and I made sure we got rid of the city and all the Reapers are accounted for. Shall we join you?

The help would be nice, Býleistr admitted. Wolverine's too injured for us to move him. But the soldiers—Wait. Are you talking about that thing that tried to kill us!

Yes. Why?

Býleistr growled through their connection. We'll be havin' some words later, he thought darkly. Just be vigilant about the soldiers, ya hear me? Don't enga—

Don't worry. Mammon and I will neutralize all threats. We will see you soon.

Dammit, half-pint, I said don't—! Býleistr visibly shivered when the connection dropped. Moon, I'm getting rusty if a damn kid can tap into my mind. He got to the edge of the roof and proceed to make his way down until he was climbing back into the house. Shifting into his regular form, he dusted himself off and had to give an extra umph to turn his tail back into that of a lion. "So listen up. Half-pint is coming in hot and bringing in a reinforcement for us. So I suggest that we—" He looked up.

Wild orange hardened. "Princess!"

Býleistr moved so he could be in front of Nashi with her hunched over and sweat dripping off her. "Princess, what's wrong?" He moved to touch her when something stung him. "You're freezing," he whispered, "and you're sweating." He put his hand to her forehead. "A fever. You have a fever."

Nashi lamely pushed his hand off her. "I'm fine," she rasped. "I just need some water and rest."

"No, this isn't something just water and rest can cure," Býleistr snapped. "Nashi, something's severely wrong with you." He got up to get on the couch and half scoop her into his lap. Grabbing a blanket, he tucked it around her. "Grr, this is why I didn't want you overusing your powers but did you listen to me? No. I should've hauled your ass away from this mess."

"Shut up," Nashi croaked. "I wasn't about to leave Skade behind." She looked over at Skade who had noticeably stopped moving. "Skade?" she called, worried. "Skade, are you awake?"

A beat or two or silence went until Skade gave a wet cough. "I am…awake," he wheezed.

Býleistr growled as he looked around. "We need to get you both out of here, but I can't move you both at the same time." I don't have enough power to protect them both. He looked as more stardust drip from his form. I can't allow myself to fade away when these two need me here.

"Býleistr."

He looked down to see Nashi reached up a shaking hand to lay against his muzzle. "Don't worry so much, you stupid cat," she told him hoarsely. "We'll be fine, y-y-y-you'll see."

Býleistr huffed, but he could not stay mad. "Princess, what did I say about you goin' off and gettin' yourself killed?" he remarked, half-teasing and half-somber. "You just rest now. We'll find you a way out of…" He trailed off when his ears perked, the senior Orthrus lifted both its head, and Skade even shifted.

Nashi noticed and urged, "What? What's going on?"

Býleistr tiled his head for quiet.

Nashi felt her heart pound within her chest.

Skade relayed in a low voice as he moved to stand. "Sabertooth, get close to me. Now." He looked at the Orthrus. "You as well, dog."

But Nashi did not understand. "What? What's going on? What do you guys hear?" As Býleistr placed her between her and Skade and both crowded over her, breathing became harder for Nashi as everything caught up to her. "Guys, please, what's going—?"

Skade began to chant: "Ice Devil—!"

BOOM!

Nashi only knew silent dissonance. Her eyes were wide, her mouth was open, her headache was splitting, and she knew she had been jostled. The shock of it all froze her. She felt like she was moving slowly while everyone else moved fast. Býleistr shifted with a roar while Skade ignored his injuries to spring into action. But the silent dissonance banned her from hearing anything else outside of how loud it grew in her ears. She sat up with shock numbing her body to look around. The townhouse front had been blasted open with no remorse with the street demolished, glass and wood and brick scattered amongst it. Nothing registered to her, but she could see. It was like someone else was moving her. She was a marionette in her own body and someone pulled at her strings. She saw Skade was before her with a wall of ice in front of him with Býleistr aiding in conjuring a wall with his powers.

What…happened…? Nashi whispered. What's going on?

Skade could not hold his wall forever and it broke down just as Býleistr expanded his wall. He shouted something to Skade who nodded and strode over to Nashi on two feet, not even wincing at his wounds. She looked up at Skade as he crouched down before her. His words tried to reach her ears, but Nashi could not hear a thing he told her.

Wait… What are you saying? What's going on? Why can't I speak?

Skade coveted her in an embrace, but Nashi's puppeteer would not allow her body to hug him back. She felt the weight of his hold, the strength behind it—like he was trying to tell her something that she was missing. It felt like eons had passed before Skade reluctantly pulled away.

Shimmering icy-blue connected with dull hickory.

Skade mouthed something to her before he pulled away.

That was when Nashi started to feel her puppeteer pull her strings. They were gracious to let Nashi raise her arm, but she was moving too slow. She could not catch Skade in time as he rushed away from her. He rushed through the wall of Magic with a howl leaving him and maybe if Nashi squinted, she could see Skade was breathing frost and snow and ice onto the surprise assailants. But she could not feel or do anything. All she could do was watch as Býleistr let down his wall to run to her. His words muffled and pushed against the wall of dissonant silence Nashi's own world had cursed her with, but he was not enough to penetrate it. Like she was a doll, Býleistr scooped her up and hauled her onto his back as he transformed into a lion.

With a roar, Býleistr broke into a sprint.

Nashi could feel the puppeteer turn her head or perhaps she was the one turning her head. Something compelled her to see what she was leaving behind.

DRIP.

There Skade stood, his wounds reopening as his Curse wound around him. Ice and snow blizzarded him as he took on soldiers that appeared out of the woodwork to get their bound of flesh. They shot round after round on him and had no intention of stopping. Skade threw his Curse at some to freeze them other while others were washed over in snow.

DROP.

But for one moment, Skade allowed his face to turn.

DRIP.

Nashi's mouth opened and it moved, trying to push out a word. She could not hear it. She could feel it. Skade.

DROP.

Skade turned his back on her and flew into the belly of the beast.

Nashi felt her hand reach out as though trying to reach Skade. Her mouth moved again and the word pushed out. It felt muffled to her ears, but that was all it would be. She could not feel the sensation of tears running down her cheeks, but she knew something was off with her eyesight when it turned blurry. She could not hear as Býleistr roared and summoned a Star Gate. All her eyes could focus on was the way Skade turned his back on her as he fought off soldier after soldier.

Nashi's mouth moved again. Skade.

She saw a flaming gold.

…and then she heard that same radio tune itself within her mind. A cruel grin tickled against her ear as she heard a sly giggle sharp and clear, "Want to play a game?"

Everything stopped.

Nashi could not feel she was on a carpeted floor. She could not register what she saw was familiar. Her eyes stared at the ceiling listless. She could see those icy-blues. Skade.

(Bullets pierced Skade's wing, but he unleashed a powerful roar as he blasted more soldiers with his ice. Spinning around, he blew out a hard-enough blizzard to force the rocket missile away from him, but it exploded at first touch. He did not give a damn as he kept mucking through the bullets and the rockets as blood oozed from his body and his throat grew raw from rage.)

Nashi could not register a frantic Lucy was above her as she mouthed words around her, firing off orders at the drop of a hat. Maybe Luke was there and Loke, but they blurred in and out as more and more shifted around Nashi. But she did not care. She could see those cerulean eyes looking at her with love and acceptance. Gary…

(Two soldiers launched what appeared to be a regular net. It caught onto Skade and he was instantly weighed to the ground as his body singed and he screamed at the pain. This net was not just a net—it was a net fueled with White Magic. Skade clawed at the net and tried to flap away, but a bullet hit his thigh and he howled bloody murder at the pain splattering across this body.)

Something within Nashi sparked to life. Her strings were not being played with. She could move. She could do it. Cheeks flushed, eyes full of tears, teeth gritted, Nashi's hands shot up and her nails dug into her neck. Her mouth opened as she pushed out words that felt loud and atrocious and spurned, but she could not help it. The silent dissonance withheld the right for her to hear her own wails and words, but she blurted them none the less as her body lashed out and started to tear at itself.

(Skade huffed frost and spat blood as he felt the exhaustion creep onto his body. The adrenaline was gone. The net had killed it off. Like a hurt wolf, Skade tucked down, tail low and teeth bared as he tried to keep all the soldiers within his sight. But he could not help but watch when he saw one particular soldier approach with a syringe. A syringe filled with a black liquid.)

Býleistr fought Nashi down as she cried and screamed. Stardust was eating at his body and his bottom half had become translucent, but it did not matter. His princess needed him. So with a pain stabbing at his heart, he listened to the ugly shrieks she birthed into the world, but he kept her hands from attacking at her own flesh and could not find it in him to look at the damage she had already done to herself. He briefly looked up to see Lucy at Nashi's side with tears streaming down her face as she tried to console her daughter. Luke had backed away against the wall with panic in his eyes and his Compact to his ear as he called for an ambulance. And then his eyes shifted again.

Orange and hazel clashed.

(Skade scrambled to get away and fruitlessly fought with his claws until someone had kicked him. Another kick came, then another and another, until Skade was beaten onto the ground. Out of desperation, he curled in on himself, but it did not matter. These soldiers had no mercy. They beat him with the butts of their weapons and their combat boots and batons. Holding back in a whine, he closed his eyes and kept his wings close as he waited for it to be over.)

When the call was finished, Luke sagged to the ground with his hands in his hair, glasses falling off, and his face turning red as grief took over his entire body. Not any past experience, not any past training—nothing could have prepared him for this. Loke had taken to holding down Nashi's legs as she flailed and screeched and sobbed. As much as he wanted to keep his gaze firmly on Nashi, he could not help looking up to watch Býleistr look down at Nashi like she was the center of his broken world.

And he forced himself to look away.

(When the kicks ended, Skade allowed himself to look up, but so much hit him at once. So much pain. So much exhaustion. So much. So much. He vaguely made out a soldier approach with the syringe, but he felt the pinprick dig past his fur and into his skin. The poison hit him like lead in his body and he could feel his breathing being labored and his winter was dwindling past the point of return. Like something out of a nightmare, the soldier transitioned into Lee with his malignant smile and his eyes always searching for a game to play.

"Sleep now, my little Devil," Lee cooed to Skade as reality and nightmares blurred together into one. "You'll wake up my perfect pet Hellhound."

Skade hated how his body gave out on him. He hated how he had no choice but for his eyes to close. He hated how he had no choice. But his thoughts were still his choice and he forced out the last he could think of. Brother… Malã'ika… Forgive…me…

His world vanished and his choices were gone.)

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

None of it made sense.

The place looked like something out a fantasy with golden columns and tapestries spun from gleaming silk and satin. All that glittered seemed of palladium or gold or silver or platinum. A terrace had been laid out with a fountain spewing out something more than water. It felt purer and more powerful than simple water. Vines and their leaves wrapped around the railing of the terrace, but the sights to see beyond the railing were something out of a dream.

An ocean of clouds was down below and gave no inkling if they were covering up land. It looked like the terrace had been built into a lengthy mountainside as little waterfalls ran off and pierced through the cloudy veil, but they revealed nothing of the below world.

'Woah…' Lance whispered. 'I've never seen this place before. What am I doing here?'

CR-CRACK! CRACK-CRACK!

The focus tipped above to see lighting from scattered directions coming together. He had never seen such lightning in such vibrant colors. Red and orange and yellow and pink to different greens and blues to gray and white and a dark black. They all congregated at a focal point that forced the clouds of above to darken and rumbled at the disturbance.

'What's going on up there?' Lance wondered. 'I've never seen such lightning.'

But the clouds shifted from a tentative gray to a sick black. The gold and riches amongst Lance blanked as a set or snake eyes glared down at Lance with lightning striking behind it. "I have found you," came pretty hiss. "My vesssssssssssel…!"

Panic warred in Lance. 'No! Get away from me! I won't let you hurt me or my friends ever again!'

Forneus cackled as his demonic form uncoiled itself and speared for Lance. "Too late!"

And that panic turned into rage. Deep-seated hatred boiled to the survive as lightning crackled and clapped all around Lance. 'NO!'

CRACK!

Lighting struck as Lance raised his hand.

A glint nearly blinded him. 'What…? What is…?' And curled onto his finger was a ring he had never seen made of a silver that electrified his entire being. Marking had been crafted into the ring with letters he had never seen before and yet…they made sense. But one symbol stood out to him.

It looked like… It looked like…

Lightning flashed around him. "Wake."

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

The way Lance crawled back into the world of the living spooked Aine and Laxus caused static without trying to. Lance woke up with a gasped breath as his head shook while his body stiffened. Veleda took the coin atop his forehead and said, "Pace yourselves, friends. He is still very fragile."

Aine did not care as tears sprung to her eyes. "Lance! You're awake!"

"Kid, you gave us a damn near heart attack," Laxus gruffly put but he could not help the relief in his eyes. "Glad to see you're okay."

Lance glanced around as panic subjected him to its command. "Where am I? What's going on? What happened to me?"

Aine took Lance's clenched fist into her own hands and rubbed them in an attempt to soothe him. "Breathe, Lance," she encouraged. "Take some deep breaths." To anyone else in the room, she ordered, "Can someone get him water?"

Misses D bustled away as Laxus kneeled beside his son and patted his head. "Everything's gonna be okay," he murmured. "You're safe now. You're safe."

Lance barely seemed to register the words as his eyes landed on Aine. "Is Igneel okay?"

Aine smiled and nodded, not bothering to wipe away her tears. "He is, Lance," she whispered because she understood what he was talking about. "He's safe and well. He's okay. He only has a scar, but he's better and back on his feet."

"And you?" Lance shook as he reached over his free hand for his fingers to caress Aine's cheek by the tips. "Are you okay?"

"Yes." Aine laughed wetly. "More than okay now that you're awake. But you scared me so much."

"I did?" That ugly panic and dread backed down from Lance as he forced his body to relax a little. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you." He panted and laid his head back. "Really. I didn't mean to. I just wanted to protect you."

"You already do that," Aine promised him as kobicha and jade met intimately. "I don't need you to play 'hero'. I just need you to be my stubborn as Hell boyfriend."

Lance strained to laugh. "I can do that."

Laxus stood up and cleared his throat. "I'll tell everyone else you're awake," he decided.

Lance looked over at his dad and offered a hand to him. "It's good to see you, Dad," he rasped. "You'll have to tell me what brought you out here."

Laxus gripped Lance's forearm as his son did to him. "When you're on your feet and not looking like you just survived babysitting all the family kids, I will." A hoarse joke. A needed joke to not dwell on what would have happened if Lance had not woken up. "Let Aine catch you up. We'll take later." He threw Aine a knowing look before turning around to see Misses D behind him. "Think we need to leave these two alone?"

Misses D smiled. "Of course." She gave the water to Aine and warned Lance good-naturedly, "Now young man, you best not overstrain yourself and worry the little miss right here. You had her worried sick."

Lance chuckled. "And I plan to make it up to her." He smiled weakly at Misses D. "Thank you."

Misses D winked and strode back over to Laxus. Waving her hands around each other, she then threw Magic into mid-air and a door was made. She opened it and Laxus stepped through before she did. It looked like Laxus had made his way back to the Great Room where Dazzler had settled in grandfather chair and John was scouring the books on the shelves under Djedi's watchful eye. A thoughtful Ghost sat flowing crisscrossed by the fire.

Dazzler noticed Laxus' return and raised her brow. "How is he?"

"Awake," was all Laxus could say.

Dazzler stretched and cracked her back. "That's good. Easier for me to get all of us home when we're all conscious."

"Dazzler…" Misses D looked at the master of the Enchanted Estate in high concern. "You've used too much Magic to do any warping, even if it's to your own home."

Djedi appeared with an embroidered towel hanging neatly on his arm. "Misses Dietrich is right." He gestured to the towel. "I have the Pit filled and ready for you, Dazzler. Take the time to rejuvenate. I assure you, your time in the Pit won't be long. And in the meantime…"—his gaze swamped over Laxus and Ghost, but he sneered at John who knocked over an exotic potion bottle and was quick to catch it before it fell and crashed—"I will…accommodate our guests with sufficient meals." His eyes narrowed when John reached out to touch another artifact. "Particularly in the dining room where they are all in one confined place and I may keep my eye on them."

Dazzler got up and cracked her neck then her knuckles. "Sounds like a plan. Misses D, can you tell the Pendragons to make a light meal for Lance too? He's weak, but we need him to eat and drink something."

"Of course, Dazzler." Misses D vanished without a trace.

Dazzler padded over to Djedi and stole the towel. "All right, boys. I'm off for a quick rejuvenation soak. Be good." She raised a hand as she traipsed out of the great room and into the hall. "Djedi, make sure they're comfortable."

CRASH!

Djedi stiffened and looked over his shoulder with death in his eyes as John whistled an innocent tune and tried to ease away from the broken urn that tried to resurrect itself into a poltergeist. "Consider it done," he groused as he ground his teeth.

John glanced at the broken urn and gave a sheepish grin. "Whoops?"

Djedi only growled.

°•°•°•°

The Enchanted Estate was certainly useful when it wanted to be. The temple was long gone to be replaced by an actual bedroom colored blue. Veleda remained with two white hares and Aine thanked Misses D kindly for the broth and water for her and Lance to share. Veleda said to Aine when Misses D was gone, "I will return to my temple shortly. But I did want to give a few words before my leave." She looked over at Lance who laid propped up on the blue bed. "Take heed into your dreams, mortal child. Dreams work in mysterious ways and almost always are they telling you something about yourself you did not see before."

Lance nodded. "Thank you. And thank you for healing me."

Veleda shook her head. "I did nothing of the sort," she confessed. "While I am capable of healing, all I did was suppress the evil lurking inside you enough for you to wake. It is you who must make the voice how to use such a power." She pulled something from her robe and offered it. "Take this."

Aine took it on behalf of Lance and it was a coin that held the side view of a hare and the other side held the moon. But each time the coin was flipped, a different phase of the moon was carved into the coin. "What's this?"

"Use the coin only when you need guidance into your dreams," Veleda explained. "This coin will only work once to allow me to help you take control of your dreams." She cocked her head. "Perhaps even help you find out who is sending you such dreams."

Lance understood and dipped his head. "Thank you, Veleda. Really. You've done so much."

"One day, you will see what I have done is minute in compared to what you can do." Veleda gathered the two hares and left the bedroom.

Aine placed the coin onto the nightstand before she pulled herself up to sit on the side of the bed. "That was kind of her." She took the bowl of broth and spooned some. Blowing on it, she offered it to Lance who accepted the mouthful. "I really am happy to see you awake. I was so worried you'd never wake up."

"None of that talk," Lance soothed. He brought up a hand to thumb her side. "I'd always come back to you. You know that."

Aine spooned him more broth as she sighed. "And I know the dangers you go through," she reminded. "But it's worse when I don't know how it affects you like this." Guiltily, Lance looked away from her as Aine gently said, "It's okay. I know there are things we keep to ourselves sometimes and I won't ask for you to share what you went through with me. You don't ever have to share that with me. I just wish you had at least told me you were feeling a certain way and needed space to process." She nudged him. "Like you tell me?"

Lance chuckled. "Guess I should take my own advice, huh?"

"Maybe," Aine teased. "We're in this relationship together, remember?"

"I know, little fox, I know." Lance's hand drifted upwards so he could tuck hair behind her hair. "I'm sorry I wasn't supportive in you doing a mission. I didn't mean to come off like that."

Aine cut him off. "I know you were just looking out for me, especially after my episode, so it's okay," she soothed. "And honestly, if I knew missions were this risky, I think I would've taken Misty's advice and stayed inside my room."

Lance saw the look that crossed Aine's face at the mention of Mystogan and the mocking couching her words. "He's looking out for you," he reasoned. "But he's doing it the wrong way," he hurried to add when Aine's eyebrows rose. "And one day, he'll finally see that."

"No, one day, I hope he sees he has two sisters instead of one." Aine spoon-fed him more broth. "I think we should both agree not to tell Misty about this weekend."

Lance laughed. "Hell no. Let's just tell him it was dull weekend and we were subjected to Nashi and Gary having loud sex in the tent next to us. Hey." A thought occurred to him. "Where are Gary and Nashi? Are they here in the estate? Aine?" he pressed when she looked away from him. "Where's Nashi?"

Aine took a breath. "I don't know," she confessed as shame rattled her words. "I don't know where either of them are. Ever since I got kidnapped, I don't remember seeing them." She set down the spoon. "I'm so sorry. I should've paid more attention. I-I was so focused on you—"

"Aine, breathe," Lance calmed. "It's okay. I'm sure we'll get answers from someone. It's okay. I trust Kyler and Mirella looked after her for me."

Aine furrowed her brow. "Who?"

Lance smiled. "It looks like I have some things to catch you up on," he decided. Scooting over, he patted the spot beside him. "C'mon. Scooch in. No ulterior motives, I swear," he promised at Aine's flat look with a rueful smile. "Phoenix Scout's honor."

Aine snorted, but she did scoot closer to Lance. "I can't believe they let someone with your tendencies become a Phoenix Scout," she muttered. "All right. Tell me what I need to know."

"Let's start from when Nashi woke me up from whatever spell was put on me," Lance said. "The hangover I had was something I never wanted to repeat…" And he retold his story with Aine close by him and for a moment, the two of them could allow a certain peace wash over them. Even if that peace was not to last long.

°•°•°•°

The dining room of the Enchanted Estate had a ridiculously long dining room table made of old oak stained espresso. Large paintings draped amongst the walls as they moved about and murmured to themselves about the newcomers and what they thought happened. The ceiling had decided to play nice tonight and created a dawning sky for its guests. The mosaic floor was something you did not want to look at or else you would begin to question if the floor was just a floor or was the mosaic ever so slowly changing itself into a new pattern. A light meal had been prepared, but Ghost could not ear and Laxus did not want to eat. Instead, John took the time to fill up, much to Djedi's own disgust.

Laxus observed John and noted, "Y'know, Lafayette never talked about you when it came to her past."

John swallowed his mouthful. "I don't blame her," he said honestly. "I was a soulless prat in her eyes who abandoned her and didn't even set foot on her own da's funeral. You tell me if you'd want to bring up someone like that when you're cutting the onions."

Laxus agreed with that. "Even so, you seemed like you were a big part of her life."

"You could say that," John supposed. "We were just schoolmates." A weird little smile shadowed his face. "Still not sure why a dainty daughter of the known man and myth himself slummed down to a tosser like me."

"You mean an Occultist?"

John waved away the term. "Nah, mate. Just faffin'. Let's just say I didn't have my own dorm room like yours truly and wasn't exactly rolling in the quid for tuition and school trips." He nodded over at Laxus. "She doin' all right over with you Mage-folk? I might see her on the lacky, but I'd much rather get the gen from someone who actually knows her."

"She's doing fine." Laxus had a note of pride in his voice. "We're one of the first Mage-based guilds to have a Magician and she hasn't let anyone down. She can get on my last damn nerve, but she's good people."

"Always was." Wistfulness held in John's throat. "She has that way of bending the room to her favor even when she was just a new Magician. You'd think she'd be off the trolley with her games, but she didn't care. She'd just give a little smile and go about her way." He tipped his head as he studied Laxus. "Funny. This almost feels like another dad interrogating his daughter's date conversation."

"It's not." Laxus put an arm on the table. "I'm not her dad. I knew her dad. But just because I'm not her father doesn't make her family. She's an adult. She has a mind of her own, even if it's full of bullshit weird stuff have the time. Still, I just want to clear something up right now." He leaned forward. "You've been a great help and I thank you for that. But you better straighten up when it comes to Dazzler. She doesn't deserve another heartbreak."

John looked away with one of those jaded smiles. "Trust me, mate, you don't have to tell me that again."

"Good." Laxus stood up. "If you thought popping up like this after the Hell she's been put under was nothing more than an itch to scratch, I will personally make you swallow lightning. But you stuck around after the fighting was done for a reason. So use that time wisely." He looked at Djedi. "I'd like to see my son and fill him in on what he missed."

Djedi bowed deeply as a newfound respect grew for Laxus. "Of course. Right this way."

Before Laxus could leave, John called out, "You really want the bloke who broke your girl's heart in the same guild with ya? You're a bit mental there."

Laxus did not turn around, but he did stop. "Don't worry. You being under the same guild as me means I get plenty of time to rough you up for your actions and my Master won't have any issue with that either. But you've got skill. We could use that."

John tilted his head. "You think a Mage Guild would accept a Magician on the dark side?"

"Well, they accepted me when I tried to do a hostile takeover. They accepted a Demon King. They pretty much accept any with a bad backstory." Laxus showed John a little of his smirk. "So you wouldn't be the worst thing to step into our hall." And he walked away.

Djedi moved to follow, but he cut a glare to John. "Stay put," he hissed.

As Laxus and Djedi left, John hollered, "Not to worry, Jed! These paintings don't look too valuable for me to poach anyways!" He snickered when the paintings themselves grew indignant and muttered choice words for John. His eyes drifted over to Ghost who took to looking at the table. To cheer him up a little, John pointed at his plate. "Wanna share?"

Ghost shook his head. "It'll just pass through me," he stated glumly. "Thanks but no thanks."

John took in another bite of his sandwich. "Y'know… Reapers can still eat." When Ghost looked up, John clarified, "Well, once they can manifest their physical form. It's not necessary for them to go for the fish 'n chips, but they need at least two meals a weak to keep their physical form up and runnin'. Being dead means they don't get to consume the joys of Mickey G's."

Ghost pursed his lips. "Did you really mean you'd help me find out what happened to me?"

John shrugged and cast Ghost a cursory look. "I don't make offers I don't mean, mate. Might sound like a jack-off when I make 'em, but I meant what I said."

"And I just have to help you find your friend?"

John sighed. "Listen. I brought up Mason more for D's sake than yours. Even if she doesn't want to admit it, I know she's been quietly following the sod on his venture to off himself." He took a napkin to wipe his mouth.

Ghost looked confused. "So then…what do you need me for?"

"Well, most of my clients pay me in cold hard dosh or some little rarities I collected." John rested his cheek against a propped fist. "You'll be paying this dishy man for his PI work with a simple little thing I need. No need to ask your next question," he told when Ghost opened his mouth. "Reapers are harder to come by than you think in this world, especially Reapers who didn't already bend the knee and flog themselves to a Shade or someone with the powers of darkness on their side. But the power a Reaper has opens doors not even an Occultist like me can open without some explosives

Ghost tried to make sense of it. "So essentially, once I realized my full capabilities, I'd help you with things you can't normally do?"

"I knew you weren't a gormless ghost," John jested. "We'll start with something simple with the rarity I need you to find and we'll go from there."

Ghost nodded. "And…what do you need to find?"

John picked up his drink. "Well; now, little Casper… Ever heard of the Liber Legis?"

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

Fairy Adventure

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

Later that night…

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

Magnolia looked a little different at night to a buzzed Ekho as she live-streamed her fun, but Bleu seemed unamused during the walk up a ladder street and had to smile apologetically as others passed them. He checked his Compact once again, but, much to his disappointment, he saw no messages from Luna and he checked the time, then checked the dark sky. "Hey, Ekho?" he called. "Why don't I take you back to your WindBnB? It's getting late, lady."

Ekho got to the top of the steps and ended her stream with a sigh. "It is getting a little late, isn't it?" She yawned as Bleu joined her. "Ugh, and I'm already tired. Does that make me old? A few drinks and I'm already winded?"

"Nah." Bleu playfully shoved her shoulder to keep them moving. "It makes you lightweight, Icky."

Ekho laughed as the pair of them went up the sloped living street. It was littered with bars with shops closed down for the night. A few smokers made their way out and a couple walked their pet down the street, but most of the murmured noise came from inside the establishments. "Pete totally called me that on purpose."

"He was just trying to make you laugh," Bleu reasoned as he held out his arm for Ekho to wrap hers around it. "Dude, you seemed so depressed when we met you."

Ekho made a little moue. "Yeah, well, I was depressed," she groused. "Ugh, and remembering it is killing my buzz, Blues Clues. What the Hell?"

"Good. I'm accomplishing my end goal," Bleu teased her. "But I get it. You were pretty much uprooted and dropped into Fiore. And Bane isn't exactly the softest guy…"

"He's an asshole," Ekho said flatly. "Don't defend him on that."

Bleu did have to cave at that. "Yeah, he is an asshole," he agreed. "Dude's a ticking time bomb, chauvinistic, sexist, and he isn't exactly subtle with it either."

"Then, why be friends with him?" Ekho had to know. "I'm forced to tolerate him because I'm his mua'geh, or at least until I'm old enough to break it off. But you and Petey—you guys actually have a choice about whether you want to stay friends with someone like that? Silence is just enabling—"

"I know, I know. You and NJ and Nolan have said it repeatedly," Bleu grumbled to her. When Ekho simply raised an eyebrow, he took a breath. "Look, don't get me wrong. Petey and I have had a lot of conversations with Bane about how he acts towards people and especially towards you. We've fought about it. And I'm going to tell you something no one else knows, okay?"

Ekho nodded. "Okay?"

"Well, technically speaking, I've known Bane longer than Peter."

"What?" Both of Ekho's eyebrows rose. "Seriously?"

Bleu sighed and nodded, rubbing his neck. "Yeah. His dad works for mine. So Bane and I have known each other for a long…long time. I never really associated with Bane, though. I didn't think there was a need to. To be honest, I didn't know his name until Peter quote-unquote 'introduced' us. And, as you can see, I don't really speak to Bane all that often."

Ekho thought about it and blinked at the realization. "You don't…do you? I never knew that about Bane."

"And you cannot tell him I told you that either."

"I won't, but why?"

Bleu tried to word it properly. "Bane's dad isn't, uh… Well, he isn't exactly a guy Bane likes and his dad doesn't care about that at all. He doesn't care about Bane." He rolled his eyes to the sky. "Honestly, I'm pretty sure that's one of the demons Bane is wrestling with, especially with his, um, character flaws."

"You got that right," Ekho snorted. "His mom is the sweetest thing in the world and so is his step-dad. He's just such an intolerable person to be around. He acts insane at times."

Bleu grimaced and looked to the side. "Uh-huh…"

"Maybe he belongs in a damn mood disorder unit for all his mood shifts," Ekho said darkly. "I feel like there's times I see him maybe act gentle just a little bit and then all of a sudden, it's back to asshole Bane." Groaning, she leaned on Bleu. "Can I just marry you instead?"

Now that had Bleu genuinely laugh. "Sorry, sweetheart, but I'm off the market."

"That's right…!" Ekho smacked Bleu's shoulder. "Gosh, you have such a cutie too! Mary Jane really knows how to pick 'em!"

Bleu smiled ruefully. "Yeah, well, Luna is really cute," he admitted. "And sweet and funny and…"

"Pretty?" Ekho helped.

"Beautiful," Bleu corrected. "She's amazing, honestly, but I knew she was already amazing. She has this…incredible energy I haven't felt in eons. But obviously, girls like her have that energy, but she just has…more of it. You know? Am I making any sense? I—…" He paused when he saw Ekho with tears in her eyes. "Uh, did somewhere in that I offend you or her or women in general?"

Ekho sniffed and wiped her eyes with her free hand. "No, no, it's not that. It's mainly the alcohol doing this." She rubbed Bleu's arm and stopped him. "I've just… I've never really heard you this happy."

"Why does everyone keep saying that?" Bleu laughed. "I do have a range of emotions, guys."

But Ekho saw right through that. "You're stressed most of the time you're with us," she said softly. "Bane gets…broody when he's not being a chauvinistic moody menopausal son of—"

"Ekho."

She took a breath. "And everyone has the moments where they're not in a mood to be social," she carried on. "But we all sort of know how much pressure you're constantly under with your dad and what you do. You hang with us, yeah, and you come to the parties, but…you're not one-hundred percent with us."

Bleu started to guffaw. "Ekho, I can assure you I'm one-hundred percent there when we're playing suck and blow."

"But you're not," Ekho huffed. "You're physically there and sure, maybe you smile and laugh, but nothing's sincere. And with everything you have going on, we get it's not easy to relax. Petey kinda explained how overprotective your dad is of you."

Bleu glanced at the ground as he gave a mirthless smirk. "Yeah. 'Overprotective'," he echoed in mocking. "Look, I understand everyone's apparently concerned, but really, it's fine. This is just how my father is. And, okay, maybe I'm not exactly 'living the dream'. But I can't complain." He brought them back into walking as he stared forward even if his stare was looking behind his line of sight. "My father made sure I saw a lot of wrong in this world. I know better than to take for granted all the opportunities he's given me."

Ekho peered closer. "And I respect that. Believe me I do." She fingered her choker necklace. "My family never went as hard as your dad did, but I couldn't let them suffer when I could change their lives for the better. I saw the darkness and now I'm reaping in the benefits of my engagement. As much as I hate Bane, he's kept his word paying for medical bills and upgrading my family to better housing and finding my aunt work. But it came at the price of me being engaged to Bane." Peeking back up to Bleu, she asked him, "So maybe your dad's been great at giving you all this, but there's always a price, Bleu. What if he asks for something too much for you to handle?"

Bleu threw back his head and cackled. "You think he hasn't already?"

Ekho broke off from Bleu to stand her ground. "What does that mean?"

Bleu shoved his hands deep in his pockets and sighed, dropping his head. When he rose his head, his smile looked tired and somehow his face looked older. "Since everyone has all these gallivant theories about my life and my feelings, let me clear up the misconception. I owe my father a lot more than anyone can even understand. He tells me to bark and I bark. He tells me to roll over and I will. What the business is? It's important to him and a lot of people. And I'm to take over. The business above all else is important to me too. End of story." He partially gave Ekho his back. "Can we go now?" He took a few steps—

"And if your dad told you to give up Luna, you'd give her up?"

Bleu stopped at that.

Ekho caught up with him. "Bleu," she started in a murmur, "I get what it's like to sacrifice everything to do the right thing everyone expects of you, but it's not healthy to do what everyone else wants you to do. Especially what if what they want you to do is…"

But the sound around Bleu began to close into a dissonance of bells. Jaw locked, his eyes shut as that dissonance wrecked him over and over and over again until— "Ekho," he said sharply. "That's enough."

Ekho stopped.

Bleu forced himself to relax. "Sorry. Just a little tense. I shouldn't have snapped."

"No, it's okay." Ekho felt hot with shame. "I was pushing. I'm sorry. I'm being hypocritical anyways."

Bleu sighed. "You pushed because you were worried, so it's okay." A half-smile. "Just try not to push too much, Mama Bear, okay? I'm really okay." He offered his hand and when Ekho took it, he swung their hands around all silly like and guided them back into their walk. "I'm thinkin' about inviting her to our New Year's Eve shindig."

That got Ekho surprised. "Your dad's actually letting you hang with us for New Year's Eve?"

"Eh… Not entirely," Bleu admitted sheepishly. "We don't really celebrate holidays anyways at home, so it's another day at the office. But I really want you guys to meet Luna and not just a quick meet-and-greet. I know she's younger, but it'd be cool if you guys got to see her for yourself. Petey likes her."

Ekho eye-rolled at that. "Petey likes everyone." They both laughed at that. "But sure, bring her. I'll try to keep Bane on a leash, but you know how he is. I followed her on Instagraph. She seems really sweet and funny. Her friend is a wicked cool fashion designer. She calls her stuff the House of E. I'd love to meet her in person. She never does the same outfit twice, so all her stuff are originals and I love that!"

Bleu blanked for a moment until he remembered a chibi rendition of Ena and Silver fighting with fire and ice before the angelic Luna kindly asked them to stop and both were cowering at her beauty and grace. Oh… So the fire breathing blue-haired girl must be that fashion designer…

"Oh, look."

Bleu looked around when Ekho got them to stop. "What's wrong?" He followed Ekho's gaze to see a pretty girl staggering down the street infested with giggles. But what made Bleu tense was the way two men and a woman had eyed her and stopped, deliberating amongst themselves as they kept looking at her with something less than friendly in their eyes.

Bleu let go of Ekho and headed up the hill of a street as the trio slowly pursued the giggling girl and her rambling. Right before the woman could stop the girl, Bleu put on a big smile and shouted, "Hey, babe! There you are!" The woman hesitated and pulled back as Bleu approached the girl, but he kept his distance. "I've been looking for you," he told her. "I leave you alone at the counter for two seconds and you're already running around here."

The girl hiccupped then giggled again. "Sorry," she sang, though her r came out as a w. Her eyes narrowed until a melodramatic gasp left her and she slapped her cheeks. "Oh my god, you're the guy Gale hates! I saw you on Luna's Insta! You're him! He's you!"

Internally, lightning struck Bleu. Shit. This won't go well.

The girl stumbled over to Bleu and smooshed his cheeks. "Oh, wow, so you're the guy!" she giggled. "Wow, you're such a cutie! I mean not as cute as my Jang-ta, but pretty damn cute!" She grinned. "Like I'd-have-a-threesome-with-you cute."

"Ah-ha-ha… Yeah…" Bleu glanced back at Ekho. "Um… Ekho? A little help?" His eyes bulged when he saw Ekho was covering her mouth as she tried to keep in her laughter. "Ekho! Stop freaking laughing and help me here!"

"Sorry, sorry, it's just…!" Ekho blurted out her mirth.

Bleu grunted and gently removed the hands of the girl from his face. "I'm Bleu. It's nice to meet a, uh, friend of Gale's." Dusting himself, he murmured, "Sorry to come over like this, but some very weird people watching you and I just wanted to make sure you're safe." He looked around. "Are you with anyone? Can one of us help you get home?" He gestured to Ekho. "If you're not comfortable with me…"

"I'd be happy to help you get home," Ekho filled in. "Hi, my name's Ekho. It's nice to meet you, miss. Sorry for all the trouble."

The girl shook her head as she struggled to say in one place. "No trouble at all." Then, she snorted to herself, "Trouble, trouble, boil, and bubble… That sounds like one of those hoax spells you see in forums, you know? Or like, you know that Magimon series where the villains are like"—and she depended her voice as she struck a vogue pose—" 'Prepare for trouble! And make it double'!" She broke into misfit laughter. "We stan Mitch and Maggie, you guys. But I am one hundred percent on board Mitch is either a femboy or he's trans—don't at me, though."

"We seriously need to help her," Bleu murmured to Ekho. "I don't want her to feel uncomfortable, though."

"I'll handle it," Ekho whispered. She went over to the girl and held out a hand. "If you'd let me, I can help you find a bench to sit on and we can help you figure out what to do from here. It's really late and dark outside and we both want to make sure you're safe."

The girl slipped her hand into Ekho's and giggled. "'Safe'? Ha! Like I'm safe anymore!" Her glee intensified. "I'm not safe anymore! He's coming to get me!" she sang off-key.

Bleu hardened while Ekho found them a bench right alongside a street lamp. She helped the girl settle on the bench as she asked delicately, "What do you mean you aren't safe? Is someone after you?"

The girl threw back her head and laughed even more. "He's always been after me!" Then, she barreled forward as she held her head in her hands as her grin broadened and looked so pained. "He's getting out of prison. He's going to come for me. I'm not safe anymore," she said between spurts of giggles. "No one can protect me anymore! Not even my Jang-ta."

Ekho felt a vibration and looked to see Bleu had sent her a text message:

« Ask her about her name and where she lives and if there's anyone we can call for her. Don't bring up the Guard yet. You know how they get with assault cases. »

She texted back:

« Okay. Will do. »

Softly, to the girl, Ekho inquired, "May I ask your name? And whoever 'Jang-ta' is? Are they someone you're close to and trust?"

"I have such bad manners." Trying to muffle her humor, the girl stuck out a hand. "My name's Tesla Greer. It's nice to meet you! And Jang-ta is my boyfriend Jaxton. Jaxton's his Minstrish name. He only lets me call him his real name. He has a Minstrish name because his parents wanted to him to fit in better in Fiore."

Ekho covered Tesla's hand with her own. "Well, it's nice to meet you, Tesla," she greeted. "Jaxton sounds like a wonderful person. Is he around here?"

"Oh, I was with him." Tesla heaved a big gulp of air before her head lolled to one side. "Today's Sunday and the squad always kicks it on Sundays. But I kept getting all the fruity drinks because, you know, you can down like five of those and not feel them until thirty minutes later, you know? But Jang-ta wasn't happy with me. He tried to stop me, so I made Kitty take me somewhere else."

"Why wasn't he happy with you?" Ekho asked.

Tesla groaned and all her happy energy had drained into that of pure misery as tears sparked in her dark eyes. "I don't know," she whimpered. "I don't know why he's mad at me. I'm not safe anymore. I'll never be safe anymore. I just wanted to have fun one last time, right? Like you know that song that goes, 'I'll have a good time before my time is up'? Like that because my time's about to be up and I'll have to go back to moving and changing my last name, but then Jang-ta was getting so ma-ma-mad at me for"—sniff!—"trying to have one last fu-fun-fun time an-an-an—!"

Ekho instantly pulled Tesla into her and held her there. Her heart broke a little when Tesla clung to her with shaky fingers. "I'm sorry for pushing," Ekho murmured in honest apology. "I'm not sure what the situation is and I won't ask. But I just need to know if there's a place we can take you that will make you feel safe. My friend and I don't want you alone and if you can't rely on your boyfriend, at least let us help you. Or get you to someone you trust who can help you."

Tesla pulled away with a large sniffle and rubbed her eyes free of tears. "I can rely on Jang-ta," she put in, "but it's just so hard. I don't want to rely on him. This isn't his problem. This is my problem. He doesn't deserve to see me be like this again."

"Be like what?" Ekho questioned quietly.

"A mess." Tesla laughed at herself. "A psychotic mess." She threw herself back as she looked at the stars. "It's all my fault. I shouldn't have dated him. I was being selfish dragging him into my problems. He'll be found and he'll be used against me so I turn back into a good little girl." A sniffle. A giggle. A glazed smile with tears streaking down her cheeks. "I'll be a good girl for him like I was supposed to. I wasn't a good girl before. But he wouldn't stop. He kept trying to make me into his good girl, but I just couldn't—!" A pathetic half-snicker half-sob.

Bleu and Ekho exchanged a worried look as Ekho asked sensibly, "Are you talking about your boyfriend telling you to be his 'good girl'?"

"Ha!" Tesla blurted like that was the funniest joke on the planet. "Hell no. Jang-ta likes it when I turn into a bad bitch. Turns him on, the kinky freak. Nonononono, I'm talking about my dad." She wiped away her tears. "My dad wanted me to be his good little girl for him. But I just couldn't. Isn't that wonderful? I was a disobedient bitch." A cackle. "I shouldn't have dated Jang-ta. Dad told me he was a distraction. I was just supposed to love Dad. But I couldn't help it. I tried so hard, but I couldn't help it. I love Jang-ta and I couldn't be g-g-g-g-good anymo-mo-more." Tesla altered between laughing and wheezing her despair. "Oh, god, Dad's going to kill Jang-ta because I wasn't good…!" Her chest surged as she hiccupped and gave a laughing sob.

Bleu looked at his Compact as rage stormed his person. Quickly, he shot off a text message to a contact labeled Q:

« Tesla Greer. Age 17-18. Black. BF Jaxton. Close to Magnolia. »

Within moments, dots appeared and a message came back:

« Gimme 20 »

Tesla dug the butt of her palms into her hands to compose herself. "I need to leave Jang-ta," she decided wretchedly. "He doesn't deserve this. I don't want him to hurt anymore because of me. I'm hurting him like this and that's why he's mad at me. But I'm not safe anymore. I need to move." Dragging away her arms, she let herself chuckle at all the bad in her life. "I really thought this would be my last move. I like it here. I like NAC. It's full of people and it was so easy for me to change my last name and fit in. No one would notice just a lil psycho black girl in a city that never sleeps. But it doesn't matter anymore if he gets out of jail. I have to move again. I can't hurt anyone else if I move. They'll be safe. I just need to be good"—she tried to smile to mask the pain—"but it's okay, though, really, it's chill." A snort left her and her body was thrown off balance.

Bleu moved before Ekho realized to catch Tesla before she fell on the bench.

Tesla merely giggled. "Not like my family cares. My birth giver is probably begging for her man to be sprung from the Black Vox. And then he'll find me again. He'll find his good little girl again." The tears came back with a vengeance. "Isn't that wonderful?" All of a sudden, a yawn escaped her. "I'm so tired…"

"Ekho," Bleu murmured urgently, "if she doesn't feel safe at home, do you think she could stay at the WindBnB with you? You could get her sobered up and showered? I'll keep watch if she's okay with it."

"Oh, yeah, of course!" Ekho instantly agreed. To Tesla, she regarded, "Tesla, if it's okay with you and if you truly don't feel safe in your apartment anymore, do you want to stay the night with me? I know we're strangers—"

Tesla threw herself out of Bleu's hold to get to her feet. She wiped her mouth and said, "Thank you pero no gracia. I'll be fine on my own. You guys shouldn't be involved with me. You won't be safe." She blearily looked up and down the street. "I just gotta find my friends is all." She took a step and wobbled and Bleu (again) sprung forward to catch her. Without fail, he adjusted her into a bridal carry that had her giggling. "Oh my, so is the threesome still on the table?" she purred.

"No, but you can't walk like this and certainly not alone," Bleu grunted. "I'm sorry for this, but I just really don't like the thought of you stumbling throughout the city. Are the friends you were with from here?"

"Uh-uh." Tesla pointed to the sky. "They live all over the place. But Dash, Gale, and Juju live here." She squinted as she looked down the street. "But I don't know where here…"

"You probably wouldn't know where you came from, would you?" Ekho worried. "Are you sure we can't call anyone for you or take you back to my rental? Please, we're both very worried for you."

Tesla let out a groan as she buried her head into Bleu's neck. "Ugh, fine. We can call Jang-ta." She raised her hands. "Gimme Compact, pretty please." As Ekho handed over her unlocked Compact, Tesla wiped the screen and squinted as she tried to figure out how to dial. "But I'm not going home with him. It's not safe for him."

Ekho saw Tesla was having trouble and gently took back her Compact. "How about you tell me the numbers and I'll call?" she compromised. "We just want to make sure someone knows where you are, okay? No one's going home with anyone unless you say it's okay."

Tesla thought about it. "Promise?"

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

15 minutes later…

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

Tesla sat grumpily on the bench with a jacket over her shoulders as she pointedly did not look at a quietly irked Jaxton. "You guys promised," she hissed at Bleu and Ekho traitorously.

"We didn't promise," Ekho reminded. "And we did say we wanted someone to know where you were. You still don't have to go home with him. You can come back with me to my rental or we can rent you your own hotel room—"

"She's coming home with me," Jaxton interjected firmly. He eyed his girlfriend as she hmphed and turned even more away from him. "I'll make sure she sobers up and goes to bed." He offered a small smile to Bleu and Ekho and bowed his head deeply to them. "Thanks for finding her and calling me. I know it wasn't a good situation to be in."

Bleu crossed his arms. "It wasn't," he agreed flatly. "She could have had much worse than us finding her."

"And what she told us was very disturbing," Ekho added. "She doesn't feel safe at home or with anyone. I won't go into the details of it, but we're both really worried about her safety."

Jaxton sat back and crossed his arms. "We all are," he confessed. "I apologize you got involved this way—"

"It wasn't a problem at all." Ekho wanted to set him at ease. "Really. It wasn't. We were both just worried about her. What exactly happened? She said that you were mad at her…?"

Jaxton shot Tesla an exasperated look, but she still refused to look at him. Sighing, Jaxton provided an explanation: "My stubborn nǚ péng yǒu wanted to drink herself silly. I was trying my best to dissuade the bartenders to only give her water, but when my back was turned, she'd disappear with a mutual friend of ours to find another bar. I was getting mad only because I don't want to see her drink herself to death like this."

Tesla snorted. "Yeah, well, not like you're my dad or anything."

That flared something dark in Jaxton's eyes. "And I'm so grateful I'm not," he rumbled. "That man doesn't deserve to breathe the same air as you. I'm here to love you, tián xīn, and protect you."

"But you shouldn't." Tesla's voice cracked. "You aren't safe around me, Jax." She turned around and let out a deep sigh. "Which is why I think we should break—"

"No."

"Jaxton, stop it, let me—"

"No." Jaxton slid his hands onto Tesla's cheeks and forced their eyes to connect. "I'm not letting you leave me because what you think is going to happen. I'm going to protect you. I'm going to make sure this world is safe for you just like I promised. You aren't leaving me. Not like this. Leave me if you don't love me anymore and I'll respect that. But I know you love me and I know you're scared."

Tesla looked down as her bottom lip trembled. "I just don't know what to do," she croaked in such a broken tone. "He'll make me choose again. I want you safe, Jang-ta. You know that."

"I want you safe too." How Jaxton could sound so collected and cool was beyond anyone. "All of us do. And we will make sure you're safe. We're going to protect you."

Tesla's shoulders shook. "But I had to choose him before," she cried. "I don't want you to get hurt. You're not safe with me when he's released, so please, Jax, don't make this harder for me—"

Jaxton did not let her finish when he hugged her tight against him as her sobs broke out and she clung to his shirt. "I'm not giving you up," he whispered to her in such a lilting voice. "You aren't going to need to choose. I don't care what happens to me as long as you're safe. If you won't come to live with me, then I'm staying the night with you at your place tonight. You're tired and I get it. We can talk more about this in the morning when you're sober. But I don't want to hear you ever give up everything you worked so hard for for that hún dàn."

"I don't want to go home," Tesla sniveled into Jaxton's shoulder.

Ekho bit her lip until she made the ultimate choice. She fished out her key and said, "Here. I have a WindBnB I rented, but I don't think I'll be using it tonight. It's around a thirty-minute drive from Magnolia, but it's a ranch townhouse. I, um, made sure it had security in place so it comes with surveillance cameras and everything."

Tesla pulled away for Jaxton to look up at Ekho in heavy gratitude. "Thank you," he appreciated. "But will you have a place to go still?"

"Yeah." Ekho looked at Bleu who nodded. "I'll be fine. But I'd much rather you feel safe." She aimed her last sentence at Tesla.

Tesla gave a breathy chuckle with no humor behind it. "You don't even know me," she murmured. "You'd do that for someone you don't know?"

"We don't have to know a person that well to know when they're in trouble," Bleu put softly. "We both get what it's like to not feel safe in your own home. No one should have to go through that."

Tesla nodded and bowed her head to them. "Thank you. I won't forget this and I'll make it up to you both." She shot Bleu a weak grin. "I can see why Luna likes you. I've only met her a handful of times, but she's a sweetie. Ignore Gale. If she likes you, she likes you and that's that. Gale's just a jealous asshole."

Bleu smiled a little. "Thanks. I'll keep that in mind." He approached Jaxton as he fished for something in his internal jacket pocket. "If you need help, don't hesitate." He took out a business card and passed it to Jaxton. "I know I'm just some random guy you met tonight but trust me when I say I have some connections with my family name and I like to swing it around when bastards deserve to get taken down."

Jaxton studied the card. It was simple, black on one side and white on the other. "You seem like a good guy," he acknowledged. "I'll take any help I can at this point."

Bleu nodded at Tesla who had closed her eyes. Her emotions and the alcohol had drained her dry and she was starting to doze off against Jaxton. "Take her home first," Bleu said softly. "Feed her something and have her drink water then make sure she gets in a shower. Email me when you're ready to chat. She can be involved or not, but it would help if she's on board." He stood up and slid his hands in his pockets.

"Why are you helping us?" Jaxton questioned, curious rather than accusatory. "Giving us the rental was enough."

Bleu glanced at Tesla and memories swam back of Luna huddled against him, cried out and exhausted. "I know what's like on both sides," he divulged in a low tone. "I get what it's like to want to protect someone so badly, you'd forsake your own life for them. Keeping it all in, pushing everyone away—I get it." He set his eyes firmly on Jaxton. "But I get what it's like to be on the other side. You want to protect her from the world she's being sucked into so badly and it hurts seeing her hurt. You would build a whole world for her and move mountains if that meant she felt safe."

There was no surprise in Jaxton's stare. Only acceptance and understanding. "Luna's lucky to have you," he regarded. "Take care of her, Bleu. And thank you." He shifted to whisper at Tesla in a mixture of Minstrish and Zhōnguánese. She moaned something in a different language, but she understood Jaxton's intentions as he lifted her into a bridal carry.

Bleu watched on as a sense of guilt coiled within him. No. You're wrong. She isn't lucky to have me. I'm just selfish.

"Bleu?" Ekho put a hand on her friend's shoulder. "You okay?"

Bleu bobbed his head. "Yeah, yeah, I'm good." He nudged her in the other direction. "C'mon. I'll take you back to Bane's."

Ekho huffed. "I swear to the gods if he tries to pull any of his sexist bullshit, I'm gonna beat his ass all the way back to his conception," she threatened. "Oh, man, Bleu, I don't care what sort of black belts he has. If my aunt can make my cousins afraid of her with a wooden spoon, then so can I."

Bleu snorted as his Compact lit up. "You tell him, Ekho. Go, honey. Girl power. You are a lioness and he will hear you roar." His brow furrowed when he saw the text message which had led to a link. He opened the link—

Green-blue narrowed in fury.

Ekho noticed Bleu had stopped walking with her and turned around. "Oh, Bleu…?" she called, lifting an eyebrow. "Are you coming or what's going on? I have a bunch more death threats I need to list."

Bleu began to walk again. "Yeah, sorry. Just got a weird text message." But his eyes could not go away from the title of the article he was sent:

IN LYNK V SIN, MAGIC HUNTER SENTENCED TO FIVE YEARS FOR TAX EVASION – TORT CASE OF LYNK V GREER DROPPED AFTER SETTLEMENT

Bleu could not help but look at the photograph of the mountain of a man and his relaxed smile as he was cuffed in the courthouse. Another text popped up with another article and Bleu leafed through it, but the title stuck out to him:

RENOWNED MAGIC HUNTER MAY BE RECEIVING EARLY JAIL RELEASE PROBATION AFTER TEAR-JERKING TESTIMONY FROM WIFE AND EVIDENCE OF MISTRIAL

Bleu was about to skim through when his eyes stopped at one of the images. Something ugly doused those blue-greens and it took every effort not to break his Compact. You son of a bitch. And he swore not because of the way the man looked vilely proud of what happened at his pre-trial. But because he recognized two people in the crowd at the courthouse.

One of which was his own father.

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

And at the hospital…

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

Hours passed between them without fail as they kicked off their all-nighter with YouView videos that had Mary Jane's eyes wide in fascination as she watched the gory retelling of the brutal murder of a lingering ghost while Igneel cocked his head at the ordeal. From YouView videos, they switched Igneel pulling out his portable gaming system to show Mary Jane how to play Animal Forest: Pocket Island. Later, Mira had circled back in to check on Mary Jane as well as the attending CNA, but Igneel made it clear he was taking good care of Mary Jane and he would not allow her to be eating the crummy menu offered to her and only he would be feeding her.

(In which Mira and the CNA giggled to each other while Mary Jane blushed at Igneel's very bold declaration.)

As the dark came early, Igneel shifted their attention to some games he had downloaded on both of their Compacts for them to play each other. They went back to snuggling up and watching anime as Mary Jane held a carton of vegan ice cream and spoon-fed the both of them (after Igneel cursed Nashi's name for putting a glamour spell on the ice cream in their freezer and bemoaning how the ice cream they were eating was not true ice cream).

It was getting pretty late with their food and desserts gone, Mira staying outside as she helped ward off relatives and taking their concerned calls. Mary Jane yawned with her eyes droopy and she curled into Igneel for added warmth.

Igneel watched her with affectionate eyes. "Tired, MJ?"

"Mmmm…" Mary Jane hummed. "Nope."

"You're such a kid," Igneel teased lightly. "Come on. I need you to turn so I can braid your hair."

Mary Jane only clung to him tighter. "No…" she whined.

"MJ." His tone was gentle but firm. "Turn. You'll thank me later when your hair isn't in a bird's nest tomorrow."

Mary Jane groaned, unhappy, and she jerkily turned her back to him. Igneel snickered under his breath as he sectioned her hair and began to braid it with practiced fingers. It was then Mary Jane sleepily murmured, "Thank you."

"Anytime" Igneel concentrated on the braid. "When my friend was in the hospital, she'd braid her hair every night because she'd tell me she overheats in her hospital bed."

"She's smart," Mary Jane sighed. "You're smart. Thanks, Iggy."

Igneel made a face. "No, no, only Lu can call you that."

"Oh." She yawned again. "Okay. Can I give you a nickname?"

"Like what?"

Mary Jane grew silent for a while and just when Igneel wondered if she fell asleep, she spoke up: "Peter Pan."

Igneel was at the tail-end of the braid and asked, "Oh, yeah? Why that name?"

"Because you're like Peter Pan."

Igneel finished the braid and smoothed it down with his hands. "Turn back to me." Mary Jane obeyed and greedily accepted his open arms with her eyes cracked open. "If I'm Peter Pan, what does that make you?"

"Tinkerbell," Mary Jane said with no hesitation.

"Not Wendy?"

"Mmm-mmm." Mary Jane closed her eyes. "That girl from your past is your Wendy. I'll help you make her fly so she can come with us to Neverland."

Igneel tried to ignore the pain aching in his chest. "Thanks, MJ, but I'm okay. Don't you remember anything about the story? Wendy grew up and forgot all about Peter." He closed his eyes to keep his breathing even.

"That's silly," Mary Jane muttered. "I would"—yawn—"never forget about you, Peter Pan."

Igneel blinked rapidly and tried to withhold every emotion dying to lash out. To keep his grip on reality, he dug for his Compact to see a notification was on the screen of his countdown. He checked the time. "MJ, I'd better go," he tried to say.

Mary Jane surprised him as she dug her fingers into him to keep him rooted. "Will you tell me the story of Peter Pan and Neverland and Wendy?"

Igneel sighed. "MJ…"

"Please?" Mary Jane peeked at him. "For me?"

Igneel let out a ragged exhale. "You're such a little manipulator when you do the eyes and the 'for me', you know that.? Fine. One story. But then I have to go, okay?"

Mary Jane nodded against him.

Igneel let his hand move up and down her back as he tried to recount the story. "Once upon a time, in a little town, there was a very special girl named 'Wendy'. She was a dreamer and a brave one at that. She knew of stories far and wide, but she had no one to tell them to. So, instead, she stayed in her room where she dreamed and learned more and more stories.

"Until one day, a little lost boy on the run from evil pirates stumbled on this dreamer. She fixed him up and told him all these stories he'd never heard of. It was so awesome that he wanted more stories. She agreed and, in turn, he would take her to Neverland, the place she heard where stories were born."

Igneel paused to check on Mary Jane. He would have bought she was asleep until she sighed through her nose. "Keep going," she murmured.

Igneel went on: "So Peter Pan kept his word. During the day, he would pop in for a story and her kindness and at night, he would take her to Neverland."

"What 'bout Tinkerbell?" Mary Jane slurred.

"Tink wasn't really as involved as everyone claims," Igneel explained. "This is sort of before Tink came into the picture."

Mary Jane frowned a little. "Are you sure you're telling this story right?"

"Quiet, you, or no story at all," Igneel teased. When Mary Jane huffed but said nothing else, he continued: "Wendy and Peter Pan had the time of their lives together. They were inseparable at even the worst times. Like even when Peter ate too much ice cream and got a bellyache, Wendy would still sit beside him and Peter would still be there for Wendy even when she had the sniffles and looked all gross and everything. So one day, Peter wanted to make sure they would never be without each other. H-He wanted to—"

Igneel powered through. "He wanted them to have a connection not even the pirates could steal. And Wendy wanted it too. So Peter Pan scoured all of Neverland until he found a witch who was capable of doing a spell so Peter and Wendy could become best friends forever.

"But the evil pirates of Neverland were hot on their trail. Just as Peter and Wendy were in the middle of the spell, the pirates attacked. Captain Hook grabbed Wendy and told Peter he was taking her back to the place where grown-ups are for her own good. But it didn't matter. Before Wendy was kidnapped, Peter made a promise he would find her and take her back to Neverland even if she grew up.

"And so, Wendy was taken and hidden on Earth and Peter was left alone. It was hard for Peter in the beginning. His lost family was with him, but without Wendy, Neverland never felt so empty." A darkness burned in Igneel's eyes. "Days dragged on and slowly, Peter almost found himself unable to fly. So, as his last chance, he went back to Earth to find Wendy. But she was growing up without him. She had forgotten all about her time in Neverland and about Peter Pan and all her fun stories. Peter had heard about heartbreak in stories, but he didn't know he'd ever feel heartbreak like this before. But he knew deep inside his best friend was still there."

SIGH…

Igneel looked down and knew Mary Jane was asleep in his arms. "So he didn't care Wendy had forgotten about him," he murmured to her. "He made a promise to return her to Neverland. So he tried hard to make sure he stayed in her life, even if that meant annoying grown-up Wendy with the same stories she told him and even if it meant going to the grown-up world and living there. Because he would never give up on his best friend. Because…" He faltered now. His forehead came down to touch hers.

ZZZZZZZT…

Cyan and violet static hummed as they met in the middle.

"Because he loved her," Igneel whispered, "and he would always love her, lost girl or grown-up."

DRIP…

A tear slid down Igneel's cheek.

DROP…

And the moment it hit Mary Jane's skin, it disappeared into Magic.

"But when you love something, you have to set it free, MJ," Igneel croaked. "Peter Pan knew that when Wendy was getting more like a grown-up, she'd find a grown-up to love. It made Peter jealous since he could never stop loving Wendy. But he couldn't stay. He didn't want to share Wendy, but he knew he couldn't be selfish with her like he used to be. He had to return to Ne-Neverland and—" No matter how tightly Igneel closed his eyes, his tears slipped. "But Peter wanted to make sure Wendy wouldn't truly forget him." Sucking everything in him, he cradled Mary Jane to him as she sighed and adjusted herself against him. "Because no matter where Wendy went or how old she got, Peter would love her. Because loving someone is an awfully big adventure." He glanced at his backpack. "So Peter Pan left Wendy one last gift from Neverland because he wasn't going to go back to her world or Neverland. No, Peter Pan had to go somewhere else so he could let Wendy grow up in peace."

Igneel rested his chin atop Mary Jane's head and sniffled. "Peter Pan was going to explore a new world and its wonders," he told. "He'd learn all that he could and maybe even grow up on his own. Because even lost boys needed to be found." A thumb went to stroke Mary Jane's cheek. "And Peter Pan would go on this awfully big adventure and maybe come back one day to Wendy," Igneel murmured to an asleep Mary Jane. "And he hopes whenever that day comes, his Wendy will be waiting for him."

Igneel gave a gasping inhale. "MJ," he whispered, "just know I'm so sorry. But I have to do this. You're so close to me and it hurts. You don't deserve this. You deserve the freedom to choose. And I always wanted you to have that choice." He laughed humorlessly to himself. "You asked me about mates and soul mates on the worst day ever. So much I wanted to say about that. You asked me if I wanted one? No, I don't." And his eyes swirled with those wild emeralds within onyx. "Because I already have one I'm in love with. And she means everything to me. And loving her is the biggest adventure I will ever go on."

Igneel closed his eyes as he whispered his next words. "Loving you is the only adventure I never want to end. MJ… I love you."

SHRRRRRR…

"Igneel?"

Igneel pressed himself closer to Mary Jane. "Please. Just a few more minutes—"

"Igneel, it's Nashi."

Igneel raised his head and did not bother to wipe his cheeks. His grief became overshadowed with protective caution when he saw the distress on Mira's face. "What about Nashi?"

"Nashi's been hospitalized," Mira broke to him and she could see the look of horror mutilate his face. "Only family can see her right now… Nashi's been shot, Igneel, and she just got out of the operating room—"

"I need to see her." Fear splashed his eyes as he delicately removed Mary Jane from his person. "Where is she?"

Mira told him, "She should be moved into the PICU, but Lucy, Luke, and Loke are in the ED waiting room. You'll have to use the sky-bridge—"

"I'll run." Igneel withdrew himself from the hospital bed to gather his things back into his backpack. "Thanks, Auntie M." He dug into his backpack and removed something from it before slinging on the back and he turned to offer his gratitude. "I mean it. Thank you."

Mira shook her head and offered him a sad smile. "Don't thank me until you're home again."

Igneel nodded and rooted around for something more to say when a weak cry for his name had him looking at Mary Jane. She was still curled up, but her eyes were half-mast and bleary. Feigning a smile, he went to the bed and crouched next to it. "Hey, MJ."

"You leavin'?" Mary Jane slurred.

Igneel nodded. "Yeah. Something came up, so I gotta bounce. Get some sleep, okay?" He brushed back her hair and reached forward to kiss her forehead. "Dream good dreams tonight."

"Mmmm…" Mary Jane hummed. "See me 'morrow?"

Igneel hesitated. But he could not lie. "Go to sleep, MJ," he said softly. When Mary Jane said no more and seemed to sigh as she fell back asleep, he stood up with his head down and bangs shading his eyes.

Mira reached for him. "Igneel…"

"I know I have to go. But I need to see Nashi first." Igneel turned over the recliner and bent down to recover the one thing he had yet to put into his bag. A present with a sealed envelope on top. Turning to Mira, he presented this to her. "Can you give this to her for me?"

Mira took the gift and held it close to her. "Of course."

"Thanks, Auntie M. Please take care." Igneel bowed to her. "Thank you for letting me stay close to her. Please take care of her."

Cerulean shone with tears. Mira could not hold back and forced Igneel into a hug. "Take care of yourself," she whispered to him. "You're family now and forever. We love you, Igneel." She hugged him even tighter. "I know Mary Jane loves you too."

Onyx widened and welled up with tears.

Igneel broke free from the hug and covered his eyes with an arm. "I'm sorry," he rushed out hoarsely. "I need to go." Without waiting any longer, he sprinted out of the room and down the hall. He bypassed a confused CNA on their way to do a trade-off with another sitter. Maybe it was because he was running. Maybe it was because of his tears. But he did not care. He had to get away. And yet, it did not matter how far he ran. He could see visions of the past haunt him in his present. He could see the pissed-off-Mary Jane giving him that dead glare. He could see the look of annoyance as Ellie and Justin crowded her with encouragement for a makeover.

Stop it, he pleaded to himself.

He could see Mary Jane's soul-shocking seizure before him as she screamed and cried and vibrated. He could remember how cold she felt in his arms.

Stop. No. Stop it!

He could see the smile she gave him and the innocent look curved into her blue-red eyes. He could see her shoulders shake as she laughed at a lame joke he threw at her. He could see that soft look she gave him. "Igneel…"

Igneel burst onto the sky bridge and tried so hard to keep sprinting, but he tripped on his own two feet and fell on all fours. Images of Mary Jane flooded him without him ever desiring for it. He panted as his face stung and tears pooled on his hands. Her words overlapped each other. From the hatred she spewed at him to the kindness he had showed him, they filled his head like a disconnecting melody and harmony. That pressure—that need to itch—it gnawed him from the inside out.

No, he growled to himself. I have to…go…

His hand grabbed the side railing and he yanked himself up, even if he was hunched over. His lips shut tight as he grunted hauling himself forward. The sky bridge became a delayed blur as the pressure weighed him down.

"Igneel…" he heard echo through the bridge. "Igneel…"

"Go…away…!" Igneel forced out. "Leave me alone…!" He staggered and lost his balance, but he did not care. He crawled across the floor in his manic fit of desperation.

Mate…came fiery snarl. Need her… Claim her…

"She isn't mine anymore!" Igneel growled back in agony. It did not matter. That tangled bond was pushing forth and trying to punish him for his actions. He could feel his flames claw him from the inside, but not because the flames wanted to hurt him. They wanted to ignite him. Red flames tipped his hair as emerald glowed into his eyes. But he fought back the urge and wrestled to keep his eyes onyx as he hauled himself over the last meters of the sky bridge.

That only aggravated everything more and it was like a force was trying to drag Igneel back. No leave! came howl. Stay!

"Shut up!" Igneel thundered. He hauled himself up to the wall past the sky bridge that held the elevator and pressed the down button. He sank against the wall with his head in his hands as he panted. The images kept pushing forward. Images he never wanted to see. Images of Mary Jane and Peter entangled in each other. Images of Mary Jane eagerly leaning into Peter's touch. Images of Mary Jane kissing Peter. Flames danced on Igneel's hair as his fingers jammed in his scalp and pulled.

Stay here, came alluring hiss. The human doesn't deserve her. I deserve her. She is my everything—!

No! came fierce shout. She's her own person. I have to leave. I have to keep her safe!

"Shut up," Igneel gritted. He tugged on his scalp until his hands came down to cover his face. "Shut up, shut up, shut up!" His eyes snapped open in a wild emerald. "Mine!" The emerald blackened into onyx. "No! Stop it!" He shut his eyes as his body shook and the flames grew brighter and brighter. Someone, please, he begged. Help me! Make them go away!

DING!

The elevator opened.

STEP-STEP… STEP… STEP…

The steps stopped before him.

"Igneel?"

He paused.

"Igneel… Look at me."

Ashamed as he was, Igneel removed his hands from his face to look up at his mother. He could see the gentility and exhaustion written on her features. She could see a lost boy with an eye of onyx and an eye of emerald, tears staining his cheeks. She hunched over and offered her hand and that soft smile she always gave him. "Come on. Let's go see Nashi."

It took a moment…

…then Igneel's hand clasped with hers.

The flames in his hair disappeared and his eyes darkened in blank onyx. "Okay."

They entered the elevator and Lucy pushed the button for them to go to the waiting room. After the doors shut and the elevator began to move, she did not look at her son. She did not need to. He would not look at her anyways as he stared at the ground, dazed and sad. But she held his hand. And that was enough.

When they made it to the waiting room, not too many were lingering around. One of the receptionists was offering a parent of twins some refreshment and blankets while they waited for their relative. An older man had taken to playing sudoku while he waited. A young couple were not seated together as she carried red-rimmed eyes and curled in on herself while their partner was hunched over, jittery. An older woman had a nausea bag with her and tissues stuffed up her nose. The boarding nurse came out of the room to call back a pediatric patient and their guardian to take in their symptoms and see where they fell in line.

Luke got to his feet when Lucy and Igneel approached while Loke stayed behind. He hugged his twin fiercely. "You're okay," Luke murmured. "You're okay."

Igneel hugged him back. "Yeah," he said back. "I'm okay."

Releasing him, Luke took a step back and explained to Igneel, "Nashi just finished up her trauma surgery and they put her in the PICU. She's in a coma, but they're allowing her to have visitors one at a time." His eyes went to Loke then to Igneel. "And, um… She sort of has a bodyguard at the moment too. Just don't be too surprised."

Loke silently huffed, but he said nothing when Lucy gave him a look. She looked down at Igneel and brushed his hair with her hand. "Do you want to see her?"

Igneel nodded and held her hand again.

Lucy gave his hand a squeeze. "Okay. I'll take you to her."

After receiving clearance and going over the necessary cleaning procedures, Lucy and Igneel were administered into the emergency department. A nurse guided them back to the PICU (Pediatric Intensive Care Unit) with charts in his hand as traffic had slowed a little more tonight. What was amazing about the nursing station of the PICU was how animated it was. Reedus and other Mages dabbling in creative Magic alongside street artists had been commissioned to make such a frightful place look more friendly. An animated aquarium had been painted for the nurse's station and the entryway to the PICU with drawings of fish of all sizes and aquatic mammals and plants moving just as they would in real life.

The nurse told Lucy, "Your daughter is very brave. Once she's more stabilized in the morning, we'll try to see what we can do about the coma. Will Dad be making a visit?"

"Not today," Lucy said kindly. "But he's on his way home to be here. He just has some business to take care of."

"Now both of you can't come back here," the nurse warned. "Is that going to be okay?"

Lucy glanced at the silent Igneel. "Yes. I'll be staying the night with Nashi, but I know Igneel wanted to see her and say some things." She looked on at the nurse. "And she can hear us, right?"

The nurse stopped at the sliding door that had closed curtains that stated ANGEL in marker art of with the Fairy Tail insignia and Nashi's personal angelic sigil. "We always encourage any family or friends to speak to the patient," he answered diplomatically. "Now whether the patient is listening and responding depends on the brain waves she gives us. But hearing familiar voices will help ease her level of trauma." To Igneel, he said, "You're going to see a lot of medical equipment and hear a lot of beeps. Your sister might look pale and feels a little cold. This is all normal. She constantly will have a sitter with her and I'm one of the three nurses who will be regulating her vitals and medications. But if it does get too overwhelming, that's okay too. Take your time." Shooting Lucy a look, he knocked on the door before sliding it open for them.

"I'll just get him settled," Lucy told the nurse.

But he was already on board after seeing the look on Igneel's face. "No pressure. Get him settled, Mama, and then we can talk more about your fighting angel."

Lucy guided Igneel inside. PICU rooms always had a flair of color and this was no different. The room had automatically colored itself pink with silhouetted ballerinas with fairy wings doing a silent dance on the walls, courtesy of the Magic embedded. The ICU CNA was comfortable in a little glass-protected office with a few monitors that streamlined the patient's vitals and the nurse stepped in just for a quick conversation. The room was expansive to say the least with a comfortable yet clinical recliner, couch, and table and a long dresser and even a closet. Býleistr had taken hold of the recliner in his hybrid form and his jaws parted to take in Igneel's scent and memorize it as friend and not foe.

But Igneel did not really care about Býleistr right now. He drifted closer to Nashi in her loose hospital gown and her hair coiled into a bun. She smelled different. Starchy. Clinical. Dried blood. Her natural musk was hidden in all of that, but Igneel would recognize his sister anywhere. Under the help of an ECMO, her chest heaved rhythmically with heart monitor rising and falling with it. She had been given central lines with medicine pumps. A catheter had been put in place. Nail marks had shredded into her neck.

Lucy murmured to Igneel, "They found several bullets laced with anti-Magic serum in her body. That's a big reason why her treatment is so severe. She'll recover, but it will take some time. She'll need a good amount of rehab and therapy even after Wendy steps in." She tried not to let her eyes water as she watched her eldest daughter. "When she wakes up, she'll have to give a statement since the Guard was called. I'll do what I can to prevent her from going into a psychiatric unit—" She swallowed. "She wasn't in the best frame of mind when Býleistr and her appeared at home. She was very panicked and frantic. They had to sedate her immediately because she was acting out." She looked over at Býleistr who could not take his eyes off Nashi. "That's Býleistr. He's a Leo Minor. He's Nashi's first Celestial Spirit," she introduced. "And I could never be more grateful than to have him watching over Nashi."

"I didn't do enough," Býleistr said softly as he kept his eyes on Nashi. "I should've known she got shot. I should've smelled something or—"

"None of that," Lucy chided to the Leo Minor. "None of us blame you, Býleistr, and we aren't blaming Nashi either. There were too many factors. But the point is she's here and she's safe. And I trust you to look after her."

Býleistr's eyes went to hers and held her gaze for a long, vulnerable moment. He blinked and looked back at Nashi, but he did give Lucy a small nod.

Lucy patted Igneel's shoulder. "Say whatever is on your mind," she whispered. "When you're ready to go, let me know." She kissed Igneel's cheek before going to join the nurse and the CNA.

Igneel glided over to the bed. He got down on his knees and glanced at Nashi's hand. Reaching forward, he took her brittle and cold hand into his and thumbed the back of her hand with comforting heat. "Hi, sis." Scratchy words. Hoarse. Blank. "You feel cold to me which is weird. Everyone feels a little cold to me, but you're normally a little warm." He gazed at her face and wires and tubes crowding around it. "I wish I didn't have a leave," he admitted quietly. "Just a little. I don't want to leave you like this. I wanted to say, 'good-bye' to you. I wanted you to hit me and tell me I'm stupid and you won't even miss me even though you're crying. But…we don't get what we want." A deep breath. "And I am leaving. I have to leave. I know you won't understand why I'm doing this, but…"

Igneel swallowed. "I did a lot of damage to a lot of people. You weren't home, but I did something terrible and so many people could've lost their lives because of me, even if they don't know it. They're still rebuilding parts of the city. Freed's ruins helped a lot, but I still ruined a bunch of people's livelihoods. I put everyone in danger just because I was being selfish. And I can't do that anymore." His shoulders slumped. "So I have to go and I'm sorry. I'm sorry I couldn't tell you face-to-face. I'm sorry that you'll be upset with me. I'm sorry that I didn't tell you 'I love you' like I should have, but I love you, Nashi." He gave her hand a squeeze. "You're my sister and I love you and I'm so fucking angry someone did this to you. And we'll make them pay for what they did to you." His eyes hardened. "I promise that."

Then, he forced himself to relax. "I promise I'll be back," he told her in softer tones. "And when I do come back, we're gonna have a rematch to see who's stronger. And you're going to kick my ass for being gone and I get it. But just seeing you up and smiling and yelling at me would make my day." He paused before he said something he did not think he would say. "You know…love really sucks." A little laugh all pitiful. "I get why you don't screw with it. And I get why you don't think Gary loves you. But let me tell you something. Loving someone and being loved by them"—he cracked a pained grin—"it's one of the most powerful and awesomest adventures I've ever been on. And it's so painful." His eyes stung as he laughed again. "It's so much worse if you took me back in time, I'd do everything again. I have no regrets. She's the best thing that's ever happened to me. And yeah, maybe it's weird I'm saying that at fifteen. Maybe you think I'm delusional. But she's it for me, Nashi, and that's why…"

He sniffed and wiped away a tear. "That's why I have to let her go, right?" he croaked. "Because I'm such a horrible person and a bitch and I tried to kill people just because I couldn't handle it. We might be half-Demons, but I felt like such a monster even before I knew that. How can she trust me so much when I'd—…? I'm just the worst. And I wrote her a fucking letter!" He threw back his head to cackle. "I couldn't even tell her face-to-face because I'm such a coward and a bitch-boy, Nashi. Oh, I know you'd have my ass for this. And I know you'd be disappointed in me after kicking my butt. But love…really, really hurts. But, like…it's the best thing that happened to me." He blinked away any more tears. "Isn't it weird? Love is the worst and best feeling you'll ever have." He took her cold hand into both of his hands and massaged her knuckles.

"If you can hear me, I really think you shouldn't take Gary's words so lightly," Igneel told her. "He does love you. He's trying, Nashi. He's fighting for you. He's the guy who will stay when things get tough, believe me. I'm not saying 'oh, fall in love with him and kiss and have kids' and shit, but I'm saying hear him out and take what he says seriously. And from what I can tell and smell, you like him too, bitch, and a lot more than what Pops would want, anyway. Maybe… Maybe you should go for it. If you have a chance at love, go for it. Be the lucky one-percent with the happily-ever-after." His shoulders shook as he guffawed quietly. "Look at me, talking about love like I'm a love guru. You see this? MJ did this. She made me sappy as shit. But she made me into a better person too."

He kissed the back of her hand. "Well, I've got to get going. Sorry for being dramatic and lovey and shit. I know that's not how we roll. But just this once, I wanted to be real with you." He moved up to kiss Nashi's forehead. "I love you," he murmured. "You might be a crazy bitch and drive me up the walls with your stupid vegan ice cream crap and your weird 'no mammals, they're friends, not food' diet and, sure, you definitely cheat with chicken nuggets"—he kissed her forehead again—"but I still love you. And I want you to know that even though you can't reach me, I'm still here for you, even if you're crying and your mascara starts running and you look ugly as Hell. I got you, sis. Always. Bet on it." He pulled away to look up at Býleistr.

"I'll paraphrase." Býleistr looked up at Igneel. "You take care, kid, wherever you're going. Don't worry about her. I've got her."

A kinship developed in those moments their eyes clashed and Igneel said, "I know." He bowed to Býleistr. "Thank you." He turned away and headed for the door. He did not wait for his mother as he closed the door behind him and sped away from the room. He followed the arrows back to the lobby and burst out with his eyes watering and his bottom lip trembling. But he was not alone for long. Luke had come up to him and Igneel threw himself at his twin for a hug.

Luke tightened his hold on Igneel. "She's gonna be okay, Igneel," he promised, even if his own eyes stung beneath his glasses. "She's going to be all right. We just have to believe that."

"I know," Igneel croaked. "But she looked so bad."

"I know." Luke hissed in a breath. "I know."

The boys released each other as Lucy approached them. She gave Igneel a knowing look before telling Luke, "Do you mind staying here? I'm going to take Igneel to get a drink and help him calm down."

"Of course, Mom," Luke readily agreed.

Lucy guided Igneel away and when Luke's head was turned, both of them went down the hallway that would lead to the main entrance. Igneel sniffed and composed himself as they walked together and Lucy could not help but notice. "You feel guilty." No point not stating the obvious.

"How can I not?" Igneel whispered. "I'm leaving my sister while she's dying—"

Lucy corrected, "She's not dying. She's in critical condition, yes, but she won't die, Igneel. She's going to heal just like you're going to heal."

"What if I get worse?" Igneel questioned as the outcomes flailed upon him. "What if this is a mistake? What if something goes wrong?"

"Then something goes wrong," Lucy replied. "Igneel, this isn't a straight shot process. It takes time. You just might get worse. You might hit rock-bottom. But you also might bounce back again. And you might find a sense of peace you didn't know existed. All of those are risks to doing this." She grabbed his shoulder before they went past the first set of doors to lead them outside. "But you know why this process will be healing? Why you'll be motivated?"

Igneel snorted. "Let me guess. Love?"

"Yes, love, but not for Mary Jane or for me or for anyone else." When Igneel scrunched his face, Lucy poked his chest. "It's the love you'll gain for yourself," she told. "You're full of hate and anger and shame, but that isn't toward anyone else, Igneel. It's towards yourself."

Now Igneel was floored. "I mean—… Well, yeah, but… Well—… Ma, this is to help keep me away from MJ so she has a choice—"

"And I commend you doing that," Lucy promised him. "I do, Igneel, I do. But we both know this isn't just for Mary Jane's sake. This is for your sake too." She went on when Igneel did not offer a defense: "You've always been this boy with so much passion and life, but you've had such a hard journey even without Mary Jane. You're unique. You've been hiding your depression and your symptoms, but I'm your mother, Igneel. You didn't think I'd notice?"

Igneel winced when he saw how watery his mother's eyes had gotten. "Ma, I didn't mean to make you—"

"No, I know you didn't," Lucy believed, "but I want you to listen to me." She straightened and fluttered her eyes to keep everything in. "Igneel, I know you need this too. Natsu needed it just like you. You've been through a lot. You alone have. You need time to adapt and adjust and we didn't give that to you. Instead, we kept you here surrounded in everything you've been trying to escape from. And I'm so sorry we did that too."

"Mom." Stern. "This isn't your fault. It was my choice to stay here."

"As your parents, we should've done what's best for you," Lucy reasoned, "and we didn't."

"I wasn't going to run away from my problems," Igneel told her firmly. "It's my fault, Ma. Not yours."

Lucy shook her head. "We won't play the blame game. The point is, I don't want you leaving and thinking this is only for you to let Mary Jane grow and have a choice in her life. As noble as it is, I want you to be a little more selfish. I want you to take care of yourself. Do this for you. Get better and process for you. When you come home, you'll feel like a much better person, and facing Mary Jane will be ten times easier."

Igneel scratched the back of his neck. "I will take care of myself, Ma," he promised, timbre low. "But you have to too. So please, take care of yourself."

Gold-chocolate widened when a battle-worn and bruised Natsu was grinning in front of her from her younger days. "And take care of everyone else too, okay?" This Natsu gave a thumbs-up. "See ya on the flip side, Lucy!"

Tears filled her eyes.

Igneel did not expect such an embrace, but he hugged back his mother just as much. "Make sure Pops doesn't eat you out of money," he murmured into her jacket. "If he tries anything perverted, I'll come home and kick his ass for you."

A watery giggled escaped Lucy. "Then you'll never leave home with his one-track mind always on one thing," she jested. "Take care of yourself, Igneel. And love yourself as much as we love you. Be kind to yourself. And when you come home, you better hope you're caught up on all your schoolwork, mister. I want to see you graduate and make lots of money and then you can support your very poor mother after her husband destroys her home."

"Yeah, yeah, Ma," Igneel laughed back.

Lucy kissed his cheek and pulled away. Both looked outside the set of doors to see a black Lacrima car was waiting for them with the chauffeur outside in a nice suit, unbothered at the cold. Igneel looked back at his mother. "Can you give Lu the Poko stuffed animal I left in my room? And tell her I'm sorry and that I love her and if she dates Gale, she's dead to me?"

"Of course," Lucy promised, brushed back Igneel's hair. "And just by you saying that, she'll know you love her even more."

Igneel looked back out the doors again. The bottom of his stomach tightened and he could feel his heart pound. But he forced himself to stay calm. "Okay. Then, I'd better go."

"I guess so," Lucy supposed sadly.

Igneel stepped away from her and gave a pathetic wave. "See ya later, Ma."

"I'll have all your favorite meals ready for you when you come home," Lucy promised in farewell.

Igneel nodded and walked towards the first set of automatic doors before going past the second. The chauffeur was already opening his side and Igneel was all set to get in. But as he made the little climb up and slung his bag into the backseat, he stopped. And that was when it surprised Lucy when Igneel came rushing back inside and gave her another hug. "I love you," he told her, voice muffled by her jacket.

"I love you too, Igneel," Lucy told him as she sniffled. "To the moon and back."

This time when they let go and Igneel pulled away, it felt right. He climbed into the car and let the door shut, but he did not dare look at the hospital again. Eyes all cried out, he rested his head against the backseat and strapped himself in. The chauffeur pulled them off the curb and into the driveway and Igneel still did not look. He shut his eyes instead and could envision the Fairy Tail Guild in its craziness. Mira and Orochi and Kinana welcoming him into the guild. Pim, Pulan, and Poisedon all in awe of Liberty as she played one of their games. Elfman spouting off a drunken manly tangent while an embarrassed Evergreen yelled at him and Lisanna tried to take the drink out of her brother's hands. Bixslow laughing at a drunk Freed. Gajeel and Gray getting into another deadly arm-wrestling match with Juvia and Levy in their husbands' corners. Cana hogging a barrel from Macao and Wakaba. Justin twirling around in a new crop top while Ellie and Aine applauded. Dazzler trying hard to flirt with an oblivious Mustang only to try and hit a loud-mouth Cade and T'oree elated at their antics. Paige trying to run away from Silver while Penelope read and Ena worked on her sketches with Elvin commenting one and a while. Mystogan and Lance sharing a drink as they went over a new training regimen. Laxus nodding in respect to Master Erza as she came down to oversee her guild. Julia getting irked as she sat around with Cane, Jax, and Dash.

He could see Nashi blushing as Gary tried to feed her only for her to give in. Gary… Please show Nashi what love is supposed to mean. She deserves only the best. Nashi, don't let your past define you.

He could see Luna giggling at something Gale said and the smirk he gave her. Gale, make sure Luna stays out of trouble. Keep her safe for me. Lu, I hope you become the person you want to be.

He could see Luke typing up another essay for class with his notes scattered around him. Luke… Don't focus too much on school. Enjoy life for me.

He could see his mother dozing off in his father's lap and the loving way he looked at her. Ma, Pops… I hope I become someone you can be proud of when I come home.

Scarlet-cerulean.

Igneel turned his head to the side and pulled up his hoodie. And MJ… You don't really know who I am…but just know you're the best thing that ever happened to me. Please take care. Exhaustion crept upon him as he whispered his final thought. I love you. And he was out.

°•°•°•°

Lucy walked back to the waiting room with her eyes on the Compact in her hand. The Compact Igneel had slipped to her when he had hugged her last. The last way to communicate with him. She quickly pocketed it as she came into the waiting room and Luke popped up when he saw her, though he looked a little confused. "Where's Igneel?" he asked.

"He had to go somewhere," Lucy responded in vague. "He was a little distraught and needed to clear his head."

Luke nodded, though slowly. "I get it. I'll text him later."

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

Only I would text him…and he would never receive it. Or any of my calls. Or any of my voice messages.

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

Lucy turned to a brooding Loke and sat beside him. She did not look at him at first as she said, "He hasn't kept her out of his sight." Glancing at Loke, she added, "But she's asleep. Maybe it's time for—"

"I have nothing to say to him."

Lucy sighed. "He's your brother—"

"He's a traitorous murderer who committed the ultimate sin a Celestial Spirit could commit." Loke's knuckles turned white. "I will never forgive him for that. He's not part of my pride."

"Well, he's part of this pride now," Lucy reasoned. "You'll be seeing him a lot more and I'd appreciate it if you would make the effort to turn things civil." At Loke's snort, Lucy sternly put in, "Listen, when Nashi comes home, I am not letting her live in a stressful environment where my top Celestial Spirit and her own Celestial Spirit are hitting below the belt twenty-four-seven. She doesn't deserve that and neither do I." A forced breath left her. "At the end of the day, Loke, blood or not, Býleistr is part of this family. He saved Nashi's life."

"Which he easily could've taken knowing his murderous character flaws—"

"But you still brought him out of the Void," Lucy pointed out. "You could've kept silent. We could've found another way. But you brought him out of the Void and gave him to your niece. You even let me resummon him when he was fading away. Which means you don't think he's that bad. You would have never put Nashi's life in more risk if that's the case." An eyebrow lifted. "Or am I wrong?"

Loke locked his jaw. "Princess, I will keep things civil for you and for Nashi's sake. But I can't promise you anything else than that."

"That's all I ask." Lucy tapped his shoulder. "Hey. Look at me." Loke did so begrudgingly and Lucy tacked on, "I'm family too. I'm here if you need to talk about what happened. Whatever happens, I'm on your side as your friend and family, Loke. I want you to know that."

Loke melted the iciness he was giving. "I know," he soothed. "I know, Lucy. And I thank you for that. You're family to me too." He got up to stretch. "I'm going to relay all this to the others and we'll set up shifts. But you and Luke should go home. You know as well as I do the best thing you can do right now is take care of yourself," he added when Lucy wanted to object. "As Celestial Spirits, we can stay here without needing to do all the fun human things in life. But you need to go home and shower and eat and sleep."

"Uncle Loke's right," Luke intervened. "As much as I want to sleep here, we both need food and showers at least." He nudged his mother. "C'mon, Mom. I'll make you tea and a sleeping potion."

Lucy sighed. "All right. We'll go home. But Luna—"

"I'll have to assign to Spirits to watch for her arrival with Horologium, Grus, and Sitka," Loke assured. He grabbed Lucy's shoulders. "Lucy. Sleep. You're stressed and exhausted. It's not a stunning look for you, Princess. I'm not even sure if Natsu would find you sexy right now."

Lucy scrunched her nose at him. "Thanks for the compliment," she regarded dryly. "We'll go home." She searched her jacket.

"You came in the ambulance," Luke reminded her. "I brought my broom, Mom, don't worry." He guided his mother away. "Let's go home. Maybe Lu's already home."

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

But she wasn't…and she wouldn't be home for a little while longer.

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

Luke had taken to the sky with ease on his broom. Magnolia had darkened with only the street lamps as light. Few people meandered at this time of night. In the distance, a red-eye Sky Boat was making its last leg in its journey. He studied the clouds. We got a flurry before, but I wonder when we'll get our first real snow.

Deep sigh.

Luke glanced over his shoulder to see his mother had slumped against him, eyes closed, and her mouth murmuring what he deciphered as "Natsu…don't eat my cake…". He turned back to the skyline. "Don't worry, Mom," he told her. "We'll be home soon. Nashi's going to wake up and Lu will be home before you know it."

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

But I was wrong. That's what happens when you rely on faith alone. When Luna would return home and Nashi would wake up, a new reality would set in.

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

A motorcycle crept onto a corner with two riders. After parking curbside, the motorcycle shut down and the passenger took off her helmet. Julia swung off the bike while Dash deigned to take off his helmet as well. "Thanks for the drinks," Julia appreciated as she offered her helmet back to him. "I definitely needed that after today."

Dash took the helmet. "Sure. I get it." He tossed her a grin. "Though I was hoping I'd see Drunk Peaches."

Julia laughed at him. "No, you were just hoping you'd get some," she jested as she moved closer. "Not happening, Eiji."

"Damn. What a waste of chemistry." Dash's grin broadened when Julia gave him a snort and he put his hands on her waist. "Barring the fact that Gale was an asshole, Genius is a freaky IT wizard, and that Gary could have been in mortal peril, this has probably been the best date I've ever been on."

Julia poked his chest. "Not a date," she chastised. "And it's sad that this bullshit is a top date to you. Not having luck in the romance department there, Speedy?"

"Nah." Dash shrugged. "Dates aren't exactly something I can afford to go on. Between Iris, guild, school, and my business, not too much time for romance."

Julia rolled her lips as she rolled eyes and nodded along. "Right. And that's where you picked up a little FWB situation." When Dash's groan, Julia framed his chest with her hands. "Hey, no judgment. Everyone has an itch to scratch."

"Yeah, and sometimes you really shouldn't scratch that itch with certain people," Dash muttered. He eyed her up and down and had to know, "Though, any outsider would have thought you and Gale have scratched each other's backs on occasion considering how close you two are."

Julia snorted and her eyes went to the sky. "Yeah. Not happening." Looking back at Dash, she messed with his hair and said, "Love the dude like he's my cousin and we're not southern in the slightest, so hard pass." She gave him a cheeky grin as she pulled at his cheeks. "Why do you ask? Jealous, Eiji?"

Dash knocked her hands away with no force behind it, but he grabbed her wrists and yanked her close so their lips met. Julia sunk into the kiss easily with her hands tangling in his hair and his arms circling her waist. One kiss, then another, then a harder one…until they pulled away with puffs of breath between them. "Not at all," Dash murmured to her. He glanced at her lips. "You taste like peaches."

"Peach margaritas do that to you." Julia could not stop herself as she nipped at Dash's lower lip.

Dash's hum turned into a growl. "And you taste like peaches when I'm eating you too. Fucking turn on." He dipped his head to give her an aggressive kiss as his tongue licking the seam of her lips.

Now Julia groaned and she turned her head away from him to catch her breath. "I shouldn't have done that," she blurted. "Maybe I had too many margaritas." A hitched breath startled her when Dash forced her chin towards him so their eyes clashed.

"You can drink as much as Cane can and that's not a compliment," Dash murmured as he searched her eyes. "I'm not going to do anything further without permission, Peaches. I respect you more than that."

"I'm not using you as a rebound." Julia felt that twinge of you'll regret saying that, but somehow she felt the need to say it now. "I wasn't thinking about him either."

Dash tempered a half-smile. "I know, Peaches." He loosened his grip on her so he could take all of her in. "I'm not letting Gale's drunk rants get to me. I get where he's coming from. He's protective of you. We might be friends, but we know each other's reputations. It's why Igneel basically breathes fire when Gale thinks about his little sister. But"—he thumbed Julia's lips—"what we do is your choice, not his." Pulling back his hand, he rested it on Julia's waist again and nodded to the street. "But you better get inside. It's already late and we both know your dad's going to be up and waiting for you."

"You're not going to ask me to come back with you?" Julia would probably berate herself how put-out she sounded tonight in the morning.

Dash chuckled. "Nah. You might be only buzzed, but your headspace needs some alone time." He shrugged like none of this bothered him. "I get it. So drink water, pop a few pills before bed, and I'll text you in the morning." And his arms fell from her waist.

Julia nodded. "Right. Thanks." But the appreciation fell flat on her tongue. "I better get going then."

Dash lifted an eyebrow. "Yeah. I'll wait here until I see you're inside. Then, I'll leave."

"Okay. Sure." Julia turned and took a few steps. Then, she turned back to Dash and smiled a little. "Night, Eiji."

Dash nodded as he crossed his arms. "Good night, Peaches."

Julia dipped her head and walked down the street to her house. "Of all the times to sound like a whiney sorority girl, I choose tonight to sound like one," she cursed at herself. "Dumb bitch. Ugh. Gale's going to murder me if I don't murder him first." She took out her Compact and breezed past unnecessary notifications to see if Gale had texted her back. As she sifted around for her house keys as she got to the sidewalk to the house, she came across one notification buried in the crowd.

A voicemail from Z.

Julia froze in her thoughts, in her steps, in her breaths. What?

With a shaky finger, she tapped on the voicemail and played it to bring it up to her ear. She listened to the ten seconds the voicemail had provided.

And then her hand dropped.

Her knuckles went white.

Dash squinted when he saw Julia appear once more. "Forget something?" He looked closer and saw her shoulders were shaking. He dismounted from his motorcycle and hooked his helmet onto the handlebars so he could cross the distance between them. "Hey." He stopped before her and tried to catch the look in her eyes, but she would not look at him. "You okay? Are you locked out?" He quickly scanned the perimeter. "And I probably bust you in—"

"Can I come back to your place?"

Now that caught Dash off-guard. Then, he smirked in disbelief. "Peaches, I really don't think that's a good idea—"

"Eiji, please." Deep-sea clashed with pearly mint. "Can I stay with you?"

Dash could not find it in him to say no when he saw the look on Julia's face. "Sure thing, Peaches." He headed back to his motorcycle to get her helmet. "I'll set you up in the guest bedroom—"

"With you, Eiji."

Dash turned around to offer her the helmet and when she took it, he conditioned, "If you want me to hold you, I can. But that's it, Peaches."

"That's okay with me," Julia assured him in a feeble tone. She strapped on the helmet and mounted onto the passenger seat without a further word.

Dash mounted his bike and put on his helmet. He turned on the engine and revved up the bike. He did not know why he was surprised, but he was when he felt Julia's arms circle around his mid-section. It was different than the casual hold she had on him out of necessity when they road. This hold felt tighter like she was trying to seek comfort. "I won't ask questions," he told her over the snarl of the engine. "Just let me know what you need when you can."

Julia nodded into his back.

Dash flipped down his visor and kicked them off the curb. The motorcycle gunned down the street to head back to Dash's apartment. Dash kept his eyes on the road, but Julia found herself too dazed to focus on the journey or the eerie scenery of Magnolia at night. Instead, she replayed the voicemail over and over in her head, but still… I'll decide tomorrow, she promised herself. But why did this have to happen now?

No answers came to her. Only the content growl of a motorcycle and the guileless stars' silence.

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

That voicemail Julia received that night changed her life and others around her. It's not my story to tell. But it's a story that needs to be told. It's a story like all others that intertwines with the story I'm telling now.

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

T'oree had taken to pacing around her shared apartment with Dazzler and by pacing, she was levitating back and forth in the living room in her pajamas. Cade was on the couch with rumpled clothing and lack of sleep did a number to his eyes and hair. T'oree checked the peephole once again and noticeably slumped when she saw nothing. "She is still not home," she fretted. "Where can Lady Dazzler be?" She took to her pacing again. "Lord Cadorius, can you try communicating with her on the miniature communications device again?"

Cade rubbed his face. "Tor, I told you I did and it was sent straight to voicemail since I'm pretty sure she blocked me after I basically insulted her again." He threw his head back and covered his eyes with his arm. "If she didn't hate me before, she probably hates me now. Dammit."

T'oree flicked her eyes around the room. "Perhaps we should allow the proper authorities to know she is missing?" She pulled at her hair. "I feel ashamed. I should have never left on the assignment Master Erza gave to me. Lady Dazzler could be hurt or have gotten sick or she could have been kidnapped—!"

CRACK!

T'oree zipped to the door as it unlocked and opened up and launched herself at the person who crossed the threshold. "Oh, Lady Dazzler! You are all right!" she cheered. "You must never leave again! I have been worried sicker than a sleipinir with a toothache!"

"I quite like this sort of welcome."

T'oree pulled back and much to her surprise, a smirking man with messy hair and rolled-up sleeves was who crossed the threshold. Rage burned her and her hair turned to flames as her eyes glowed. Solar energy encompassed her hands as she bellowed, "What have you done to my bestest friend Dazzler, mortal?"

"T!" Dazzler shoved the man out of the way and blew out a lock hair that fell in her face. Her hat had been reduced into a headband and she was sporting raggedy sweats, but she gave a haphazard smile. "Please don't kill this asshole quite yet—"

"Lady Dazzler!"

Dazzler choked as T'oree pulled her in for an embrace so tight, she cracked Dazzler's back. "Oh, Lady Dazzler, how I have missed thee!" T'oree cried. "When Lord Cadorius told me you had vanished from our humble dwellings, I searched for you, but you were nowhere to be found! You did not answer the miniature communications device when I sent you the text messages and called you!"

"So…rry…" Dazzler spat out. "T… I'm…choking…!"

T'oree released Dazzler who would have fallen over if the man had not steadied her. As Cade came to approach, T'oree clasped her hands together and was radiant. "How wonderful it is to have you back in our home! You must tell me all about your adventures in detail!" Her eyes lit up. "I will start making the Iðunn pie and prepare your the pajamas for the girl talk!" She zoomed away without hearing any opinions.

Cade eyed Dazzler warily. "You okay there, Double D?"

"What a charming nickname," the man remarked.

"You call me 'Bunny', John," Dazzler snapped back.

John simpered as he slid his hands into his pockets. "At least mine's the lesser of two evils."

Dazzler huffed and stepped aside. That was when Cade noticed that the apartment building hallway was not behind the doorway. Instead, the hallway to a mansion was behind the doorway. Laxus and Aine were shuffling an exhausted Lance toward the door with Ghost close behind and…was that a moving silhouette with glowing eyes? "Uh…" Cade blinked to make sure he was not dreaming. "What the Hell is going on?"

"A long story." Dazzler glared at Cade up and down. "You look like shit."

Cade nearly fell over. "Thanks. I heard looking like shit is in style nowadays."

Dazzler crossed her arms. "What are you doing in my apartment anyways?" she hissed. "I thought I made it clear the last time we unfortunately conversed that you weren't my favorite person. And this is me being nice calling you a 'person' when I really want to call you a—"

"It's not just your apartment." Cade jerked a thumb towards the kitchen. "Tor invited me in after worrying about you not answering your Compact." He lifted a brow as he looked at Dazzler's state and then at John. "But something tells me everything got all figured out in the end? You could've at least answered your com, you know."

Laxus and Aine hauled Lance into the apartment as Laxus grunted, "We humbly apologize we don't have fucking international coverage or had the time after nearly being killed twenty times to shoot a text message." He helped Lance get to the couch and settled him down before taking a deep sniff. Looking at Cade in disgust, he remarked, "You reek. Take a shower."

Lightning struck Cade as he gaped. "You've all been back for all of two-seconds and everyone wants to give me crap?"

"To be fair, mate, it's fairly easy to take the mickey out'ya," John remarked as he strolled further into the apartment and decided to have a look at some of the framed pictures.

Cade muttered, "And you're getting too comfortable here, mate." He turned his attention on Lance who had leaned back on the couch to close his eyes. "Yo, Lance," he called. "Are you okay?" To Aine, he said, "I thought you guys were out on a job in Erika?"

"Plans changed just a little bit." Aine sat beside Lance and stroked his cheek. "How are you feeling, Lance?"

Lance coughed and brought up his hand to cover hers. Eyes half-mast, jade met kobicha. "Better," he assured her. "Much better." His stare slid over to Laxus. "Sorry for dragging you into this, Dad."

"That's enough, kid," Laxus shushed. He hunkered into a squat next to his son. "We're gonna get you home so you can rest. I'll text Wendy to see if she can make a house call. You're still pretty weak which means no jobs until you get an all-clear."

Lance gave a breathy laugh. "You know you're starting to sound as bad as Mom."

"The woman rubs off on me," Laxus supposed with a half-smirk. He looked at Aine. "Let me make sure everything sorted out. I'll be the one to let your mom know about what happened." He shook his head as he got out his Compact from his inner coat pocket. "This'll be one Hell of a report," he grumbled. "Mira's gonna have my ass for worrying her." While he got up and sent a small shock to his Compact to fully charge it again, Dazzler swept back in with her hair in a messy ponytail and in a pair of joggers and a long sleeve shirt.

"I'm going to need a long as Hell shower," Dazzler grumbled as she went over to the recliner. She eyed John. "You know, you can go now. Our work is done."

John offered her a lopsided grin. "Come now, Bunny. Not even a kiss on the cheek or lettin' me sit with ya over a pint?" Dazzler offered a flat look and John straightened up and snickered. "Don't worry, love. I'll be out ya hair in a pinch." His head swiveled and he looked over at a rather silent Ghost. "But the question is, Reaper: you comin' or stayin'?"

Dazzler's brow furrowed. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Ghost had no chance to answer when Laxus let out a slew of curses. "Dammit, what the Hell happened while we were gone?" he snarled.

"What happened?" Aine asked.

Laxus was angrily texting. "Mary Jane's in the hospital, there was a huge fire on the westside with all hands-on deck, Nashi's in the damn PICU—!" Restless fingers rustled his hair. "I gotta go to the hospital."

"I'll go too," Lance decided as he made a move to get up.

Aine pressed him back down. "Lance, you're still hurt," she reminded him firmly.

"And Mary Jane needs me," Lance countered.

But Laxus was the one to put his foot down. "Lance, shut the Hell up. You're going straight to your place to rest up. I'm not about to let another kid of mine end of hospitalized." He nodded at Aine. "Aine, take him home and make sure he eats something and rests." His stare went to Dazzler. "You get some sleep too. We'll talk it over in the morning. But can you make the front door actually lead to outside?"

Silver glowed at the tip of Dazzler's pointer finger as she shut the door and reopened it to show the building hallway.

Laxus strode over to it, but he stopped at John before he left. "You might be a shady guy, but you can do some damage—for an Occultist," he put it bluntly. "The offer still stands for you to join Fairy Tail."

John snorted and crossed his arms. "Thanks, but no thanks. I'm not exactly a 'team-player' type. More of a solo act."

Laxus only inclined his head before he stepped out the door and shut it behind him.

Dazzler looked over at Cade. "Hey, skunk face. Why not be useful and help Aine haul Lance back to his place so you're not in mine?"

"I could use the help," Aine inputted when Cade looked like he wanted to say something crude. She patted Lance's chest. "No offense, but he's heavier than he looks."

Lance chuckled quietly. "Well, I guess this means I'm not baking any more of your favorite eclairs and meringues anymore," he jested. He looked over at Cade. "As much as I hate to say it, I might need a little bit of help."

Cade shot Dazzler a glare when she smugly simpered. "Don't think what you did running off with no warning was okay," he cautioned her.

Dazzler rolled her eyes. "I was with the second-in-command of Fairy Tail. Pretty sure I was fine. But have your tantrum anyways, chile, won't bother me."

Cade went over to Lance and with Aine, they brought him off the couch and to stand. Cade adjusted most of Lance's weight to rely on him. "I've got him," Cade told Aine. "You direct and talk my skateboard."

Aine gathered the skateboard and shot Dazzler a kind smile. "Thank you for everything, Dazzler."

"No need for thanks." Dazzler got up to give Aine a hug. "Just promise me the next time we have a wild weekend, it's in Las Rosas or something where the strippers are nice and we get drinks for free because of our gender."

Lance cleared his throat. "Female strippers, right?"

Aine laughed and looked back at her boyfriend with a wink. "How about male and female?"

"Let's just say strippers or any gender or no gender. We're all for inclusivity," Dazzler cackled and Aine joined her. "God, it feels good to laugh. And also a bit psychotic to laugh after a national crisis." She gently shoved Aine toward Lance and Cade. "Now go play sexy nurse with your sugar daddy."

Lance grinned. "Oh, she will—Ow!"

Aine had pinched his bicep. "You are way too weak for that right now and to even think about that." Rolling her eyes, she muttered as she walked to the door, "Honestly. And they think you're such a 'golden child' in those interviews." She stopped at John to over him a quick hug. "It was nice to meet you, John. Stop by Fairy Tail any time for a free meal and drink on us."

"I might take you up on that, love," John regarded. "You and your boyfriend take care of each other. Let's try not to do any more stunts like this again, yeah?"

"For sure," Lance agreed. "I'm going to need a deep tissue massage after this." He directed that statement to Aine.

"Then we'll take you Hosenka," Aine said dryly as she opened the door for Lance and Cade to shuffle out. "Ghost, are you coming?"

"Um." Ghost looked at John before offering Aine a shake of the head. "Not yet. Get home safe though. I'll see you at the guildhall."

Aine nodded and closed the door as she left.

Dazzler looked between John and Ghost. "Okay. What's going on?" she demanded to know, cocking her hip. "Ghost, you are as silent as Number Five and that's not a compliment I like giving out."

Ghost fiddled with his thumbs. "Well…" Glancing at John again, he divulged, "I might be leaving Fairy Tail."

Dazzler gaped. "Ghost, we talked about this," she said slowly. "You're not going. He's just using you for his own personal game. And you." She rounded on John. "We both know your offer wasn't serious. So what changed now, huh? What did you brainwash him with?"

John lifted his chin. "Told him what I thought you would have told him."

"And what would that be?" Dazzler was losing her patience. "Not all of us like to give false promises, remember?"

"Well, I'm not exactly calling a spade a club, love." John leaned down so they were eye level. "You should have sensed your mate was a Reaper. Why didn't you?"

Dazzler locked her jaw. "I'm not like you, John, I told you this. I might've screwed around with the Dark Arts once, but not enough to become friends with benefits with it with all the blood rituals and crap."

"Every person deserves the right to know who they are," John reasoned as empathy touched his voice.

"You don't even know if you can find his identity," Dazzler hissed quietly. "You're giving him empty promises, but for what, John? What are you using him for? We both know you can find Mason using your literal shady connections—"

"He told me"—Dazzler looked over at Ghost who spoke up—"he'd help me find my dead name if I helped him with a small, um, treasure hunt."

Dazzler cursed as she combed through her flyaways. "A treasure hunt, John? Really? You're tricking him with a treasure hunt? I liked it better when you lied and said you needed him for Mason."

Ghost glided closer to Dazzler. "He's not tricking me," he negated. "This is what I want. I want to know my dead name. I want to know who I was. And I want to understand why I'm like..."—he gestured to his translucent form—"this." He gave Dazzler pleading eyes. "Don't I deserve that?"

"Of course you do," Dazzler was quick to assure. "Every Uncrossed deserves that right to know their dead name. It's just…" She shot an untrusting glare at John who watched her in amusement. "There are other ways," she insisted in a murmur. "Ghost, I know John. His word isn't always good. Look, we can do this some other way. I'm sure if we asked Master, we could—"

"We could do what?" Ghost demanded to know, riled up. "No offense to Master, but I haven't found anything else about myself since she found me. You don't understand what it's like to have no memory of who you are—who you were. What if I was a serial killer? Or maybe I still have descendants out there. Why did I come back as a ghost—a Reaper? I need to figure this out."

"But with him?" Dazzler reached for Ghost. "Ghost, c'mon, let's talk about this. You agreed to him the first time and I let it happen because it wasn't serious. But now isn't the time to play games. We can find another way that doesn't involve him. We don't need him. I'll help you instead, just…" Her hand passed right through his arm. Hurt touched her face. "Ghost…"

Ghost floated over to John. "I'm going to ask Master for a leave of absence," he decided with a note of finality. "I'm sorry with how you feel about this, but I'm doing this. I just hope, eventually, you can support me."

"Ghost…" Dazzler begged. "Ghost, wait—!"

Ghost turned away from her. "Good night, Dazzler." And he crossed through the wall to leave.

Dazzler staggered back into her recliner with the butt of her palms digging into her eyes. After heaving a sigh and dragging her hands from her face, she stared at her lap. John observed her, but he did not make any attempts to get closer. "He'll be safe with me, D. My word might not be in the best place with you, but on the grave of my parents, I'll protect the lad."

"You better," warned Dazzler. "He might not be very physical right now with the public, but he's a friend with feelings. Knowing his dead name is everything to him, John. Don't get his hopes up." She crossed her arms underneath her chest and looked away. "Trust me when I say it's not the easiest thing in the world to recover from when someone you trust shatters your hope."

Now John came closer to her until he crouched at her side. "D, you are hope," he told her softly. "Don't let me be the reason you stop believin'."

"I said it wasn't the easiest thing in the world, not impossible." Dazzler looked down at him and clicked her tongue. "Don't flatter yourself thinking I've been hung up on your personality flaws this whole time."

John guffawed and stood back up. He took out his lighter and with a wave of his hand, a cigarette was crafted. Lighting it up, he took a puff and exhaled the remains. "It was great workin' with my best girl again." He grinned. "Next time, how 'bout we share a pint on me?"

"Please." Dazzler propped her chin on a fist. "Sharing a pint in your eyes means cleaning off the top shelf and ready for a crawl. Have to pass."

"Lady Dazzler!" T'oree poked her head out into the living room. "Shall I also make you a beverage? Your world does not carry the Auðumbla milk, but I can replicate the recipe. It brings the most comfort to everyone who drinks it."

Dazzler sighed. "Sure, T."

T'oree squealed her delight. "Splendid!" And she disappeared back into the kitchen.

John's wandering eye stuck to the kitchen doorway. "You really got it good here."

"Please don't hit on my best friend," Dazzler warned him. "You wouldn't survive her. She's a princess on another planet. Oh, wait, aliens are your type."

John took another puff. "I envy you, Dazzler." The admittance was of low timbre and one of weariness.

"Why?" Dazzler sat back in the recliner. "Not like my life was guns and roses."

"It wasn't," John agreed. "But you've surrounded yourself with good people. I wish I'd done the same when shit turned naff."

Dazzler softened a little at that. "Fairy Tail took me in as family. They can take you in too if you let them."

"Solo act, love," John reminded her with a chuckle. "Your Thunder Dragon made it clear the offer's on the table, but I think relyin' on me is fine and dandy enough." He checked his watch. "Matter o' fact, it's about time I leg it. My client's been waitin'. Best not keep 'em."

Dazzler was not fooled, but as John put out his cigarette and used Magic to bring forth his trench coat, she got up and wished him, "Take care, John."

"You too, Bunny. Ring me a bell some time. I'm always waitin' on your call." John went to the front door as his eyes glowed. He used his lighter to draw flame into a circle. Using another hand, he twisted it. The Magician Sigil appeared and unlocked to reveal within the circle large gates and with an iron bat keeping the gates locked.

Dazzler had come closer as John crossed to the other side. A hand on her hip, she told him, "Don't be a stranger."

"That's the only thing I'm good at," John reminded in light amusement. He looked down before saying, "Y'know… It'd be nice havin' some aid on Ghost's case."

Dazzler blinked her surprise. "What?"

John rubbed his neck and cracked a sloppy smirk. "Never mind. Just a silly thought." He looked over at the gate. "Told the lad to get his house in order before meeting me right outside city limits. Ride I have for us doesn't exactly like crowds."

Conflict arose in Dazzler. "I can't just leave without knowing if Gary's safe."

John shrugged and put his hands in his coat pockets. "I get it. Just a silly thought. More than welcome to come to join the bandwagon if you've got nothin' better to do." He shot her one last mysterious look. "Be seein' ya, Bunny." And as he stepped away, the flaming circle closed with no smoke to its name.

T'oree burst into the living room with a tray of a large and very full looking pie and a pitcher of what looked like a creamy orange drink. "Lady Dazzler!" she trilled. "I have made the comfort food and require your presence in the sharing of it!" She looked about until she saw Dazzler standing at the door. She flitted over to her side. "Lady Dazzler! Come! Let us rejoice in your safe return with the comfort food! We can also do the watching of Webflix!" When Dazzler did not respond, T'oree rounded on her friend. "Lady Daz—" She stopped.

A few tears streamed down Dazzler's cheek.

T'oree let her feet touch the ground. "Dazzler," she murmured, "are you…the 'okay'?"

Dazzler blinked out of her trance and rubbed away those pesky tears. "Yeah, T, never better." Shoving on a bright grin, she said, "Come on! HCO should have some good horror movies. We should totally watch Dark Web!" She tried to brush past T'oree. "Well, what are we waiting for?"

T'oree grabbed Dazzler's hand and balanced her tray easily with her other hand. "Lady Dazzler," she murmured. "Should you wish to divulge the details of your absence, I will surely listen without judgment."

A sniff. "I didn't think princesses had time to keep up with the grievances of their subjects?" Dazzler said in forced jest.

T'oree let Dazzler go. "On Valhalla, my duty to my people was not something I took lightly," she regaled. "My sister believed we were above the daily struggles of our people. However, I disagreed. My people's troubles were my own, no matter how small. I listened and offered aid whenever I could, but even so…it felt like it was not enough. On this world, I have learned in any relationship, each participant has a voice to be listened to and action should be taken upon their words. Although most humans seem to withhold such grievances should they arrive, I should hope one day, you will share your burdens with me so I may take action in aiding your recovery."

Dazzler wiped her eyes and gave a sniffling laugh. "Thank you, T'oree," she appreciated. "I'm just caught up in my feelings, but it'll pass. But I promise"—she turned so watery silver clashed gold hidden within emerald—"I'll tell you all about it someday, okay?" Now she grabbed T'oree's wrist and tugged her forward. "Now, c'mon. If we start Dark Web now, we can watch The Summoning by the witching hour. I heard that's the best time to watch it."

So Dazzler and T'oree settled in with pie and T'oree's specially made drink between them. The movie had started with the lights shut off and they shared a blanket, but T'oree somehow knew the movie would not be the priority. Instead, she leaned back and pulled Dazzler down so she rested her head in her lap. Dazzler was surprised for a moment, but that was when the dam broke. Flipping over, she curled into T'oree's abdomen and let out all her weeping, her tears, her emotions, and T'oree only stroked her hair and said nothing.

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

Dazzler had the right to cry and she would cry many more tears later. Her story is hers to tell too, but everything connects to my own tale. Dazzler will have so much more to process and unpack. And maybe that's a good thing. The death of her father, going back to the estate, seeing her old friend—it was a lot for her to take. And I truly wish for Dazzler to make her own peace…

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

At the Fullbuster household, Silver slipped downstairs. Light was coming from the living room and he followed it. The LV seemed to be playing the news while his parents had taken to the couch. Gray was wide awake, but he was not focused on the news. He wore glasses as he worked on his PAL with Juvia snoozed on the couch tucked into a blanket. He noticed Silver before glancing at Juvia and then the clock. "Shouldn't you be in bed by now, kid?"

Silver shrugged. "Couldn't sleep," he revealed. He looked over at the LV to see interviews were going on due to the destruction in Bellum. "It's really bad out there, isn't it?"

Gray took off his glasses as he sighed. "Yeah. Workin' with Erza to get a relief fund going with our league. Couple of Magic Guilds were wrecked in the process and with all the magism in Bellum, I doubt they'll see any aid from their government." He closed his laptop and studied Silver a little closer and the bags under his eyes. "Somethin' eatin' at you?"

"Maybe?" Silver scratched his nose. "I don't know."

Gray set his PAL on the coffee table and carefully got up without disturbing Juvia. "C'mon. Let's talk about it in the kitchen. Your mom made her eggnog and then she made me my eggnog."

It was later Silver was seated at the kitchen table across from Gray both with eggnog, but Gray had his spiked. Gray brought the mug to his lips and asked, "So what's on your mind? You've been pretty quiet lately and that's saying something. Lady J's normally the one to be all silent and mysterious." He took a sip of eggnog. "And she better not be tight-lipped because of some asshole."

Silver snorted. "Not many can handle her." He cupped his mug. "Nah, just a lot's been changing is all, Dad. It's sort of crazy how the year's almost up, but it feels like it's been five years instead of just one."

"You're telling me." Gray set down his mug. "Back in the old days when I was a young, crap was happening left and right. I'm talking almost every week we had some new big bad with a stupid name trying to pummel us and Fairy Tail's good name to the ground." Shaking his head at the memories, he added, "We certainly earned our reputation."

"Yeah."

Gray looked Silver up and down from his hunched shoulders to the dull look in his son's eyes. "Really, Silver, what's going on?" he asked. "I know I'm not as friendly as your mom, but I'm still here for you. I still want to listen and help if I can."

Silver took a deep breath then strung out an exhale. "Did you ever feel like life was changing too fast and everyone around you was just…pulling away? And you were too late to realize?"

Gray rolled his lips as he thought over the question. "A few times, I did," he admitted. "When my parents died and Ur passed, I had to grow up fast. Even being in Fairy Tail when I was younger, you had to learn quick. Gramps supported us as best as he could and so did the older members, but they weren't running an orphanage. You had to carry your own weight. Everything after that was a blur of pain, anger, and booze-made laughter." He took another swig of spiked eggnog. "The thing about it is, with us, it was different. We didn't have parents to look up to and talk to. We had to raise ourselves. Gramps guided us, but he couldn't be there for us all the time. We had to learn shit the hard way—ways I never want you or Gary or Julia to ever have to use."

"But didn't Gary?" When Gray cocked his head, Silver further elaborated: "I mean look at him. Gary's gone through so much and did so much and he's already S-Class, going on dangerous missions, dealing with powers that could tear him apart—and he's doing fine."

Gray hummed. "He is doing fine," he agreed, "but it isn't like he did it alone. He had us to help him. There's a lot he had to figure out for himself, yeah, but he came to me and your mom a lot for help."

"Really?" Silver did not know that. "But he seems so…together."

Gray snorted. "I don't think you really remember when Gary lived here when you were littler. I love him, but damn, there were days when I wanted to throttle the guy. One cocky kid back then with a whole lot of attitude. I couldn't even get through one dinner with him begging for us to fight so he could practice some new moves he wanted to try on poor little Nashi." He barked a laugh. "And he claimed back then he didn't like her. Yeah, kid, when you're punching the focus pads and you're huffing and puffing how your little rival had no business talking to some other guy when she should be focused on her rivalry with you? You like her. End of story."

Silver laughed. "It's hard to believe Gary acted like that. He seems so, uh…" He looked up and could see a flowery aura Gary as he frolicked after an agitated Nashi. "Well, he's just a lot…calmer."

"If only Juvia's beloved Gray acted like that." Juvia moved into the kitchen and leaned over Gray to kiss his cheek. "Juvia might die of shock if her Gray acted like Gary."

Gray snorted. "Woman, please." He captured her chin and amusement passed between dark and ocean. "You like the way I am." He gave a slow kiss on the mouth to her.

Silver scrunched up his nose. "Hey, child in the kitchen, no PDA."

Gray scooted his chair back and guided Juvia to sit on his lap. "Take notes on how it's done," he jested with a wink. "You'll be doing this one day with your spouse."

"Juvia says, 'no'." Juvia pouted. "Silver can't leave Juvia. Gary already left Juvia and Julia will leave Juvia soon. Silver must stay here forever or else Juvia's home will feel as empty as an ocean without water."

"Mom…!" Silver whined good-humoredly. "I promise I'll come and visit you as often as I can, okay?"

Juvia huffed with no ire as she stole sips from Gray's mug. Gray dismissed her. "Don't mind her. She's starting to get a little bit of crazy empty nest syndrome." He regarded his wife with a smirk. "Y'know, you gotta watch that. They say the mind's the first thing to go when you age."

Juvia looked like she swallowed a lemon. "But… Juvia is not old…"

Silver smiled at the silliness of his parents. "You guys are so weird," he mentioned. "But I'm really happy I have you guys as parents."

"We're happy we got three smart as Hell kids out of the deal," Gray said back. Knowingly, he added, "But you aren't sly enough we can't tell when something's wrong."

Juvia nodded as she leaned into Gray. "Juvia has noticed it too," she murmured softly. "Silver hasn't been the same since Margaret Town. Juvia has been worried about her little prince, but Juvia did not want to push Silver into talking about it."

"Thanks, Mom." Silver meant it. "Ever since everything that happened in Margaret Town happened, I've been feeling a little weird."

"Is Silver sick?" Juvia felt a million thoughts go through her mind as she searched for her Compact. "Juvia will call Porlyusica right away—!"

"Mom, no, wait, it's not like that," Silver was quick to assure. "It' s just—… Well, I don't know. Physically, I'm fine, but… I've been having these really weird feelings. Maybe it's my Magic or something? I don't know. Everything just feels off to me."

Gray looked away. Should I bring this up to Erza? Is it time yet?

Silver grunted and took a healthy swig of his eggnog. "Maybe I'm just tired. I haven't really been sleeping lately." A cross look came about him. "Lulu scares me half to death going on a date and then Fernandes drags me out into the middle of the night on Friday—!"

"So that's where you and Luna went?" Silver froze and broke into a comical sweat as Gray quirked an eyebrow. "Lady J told us Gale and Luna were hanging out and you went over to bug Paige some more."

Silver could see Chibi-Luna holding a finger to her lips as she whispered, "Shh… Remember, Silver, my date's a secret!" And he could see a Chibi-Julia winking at him with a thumbs up. "Don't worry, little bro. I've got you covered." Humorous dread filled Silver as he thought, Lulu, please don't kill me. Julia, I owe you so much. "Uh… Right! Ri-ha-ha-ight…! Lulu went on a date with, uh…with Gale! Yeah, that's it! And Fernandes—!"

Both Gray and Silver cringed when Juvia perked up and started squealing. "Juvia can't believe this! Levy, Lucy, Mira, Erza, and Juvia have been waiting for ages for Gale to ask Luna out on a date and it finally happened!" She bounced off of Gray's lap. "Where is Juvia's Compact? Juvia must call Juvia's girls immediately!" She bustled away as she chattered to herself about the splendors of young love.

Silver tried not to picture an enraged Luna attempting to murder him. Oh, Lulu… I'm going to give you so much food to show how sorry I am.

"So if Lu was out on a date with Gale," Gray started, breaking Silver's thoughts, "what were you doing with Ena considering you're mortal enemies and whatever?"

Silver thought about how to answer this. I could tell him what we talked about, but I don't think she'd want me talking about her stuff to anyone else. He sweated internally when he could imagine a wrathful Ena with her blade at the ready. Especially after that text.

"So that's in then." Gray's lips curled into a grin. "You guys finally stopped the whole mortal combat and finally got to the love story part?"

Silver blinked. Second by second, red crawled up his neck until his entire face was beat red and the kitchen sink turned on with scalding hot water shooting out. "HUH?"

Gray chuckled. "C'mon. You know how the love story of your mom and I came to be, right? She was the enemy, I was…well, still a good guy, maybe not the hero. And she fell in love with me and, over time, I fell in love with her right back." Putting down his mug, he drawled, "Should've known this would happen. Runs in the family. First Gary and Nashi get together, now you and Ena are together—"

Silver spat and broke out of his shock. "No! Nu-nu-nu-nu-nu-nu-nu-no! It's not like that!" He wiped his mouth with his shirt. "Ugh, god, Dad, that's gross! It's Fernandes! She's such a witch about everything! She's cranky and bossy and she's always clinging onto Lulu and criticizing my fashion sense and she hates love—!"

"Right. She's the opposite of you." Humor danced in Gray's dark stare. "They do say opposites attract, y'know. Your mom was Cupid's favorite worshipper while I was an asshole who didn't think love was real. Gary's a lovesick fool for Nashi who pretty much, to my understanding, isn't exactly a fan of love…"

"Yeah, well, I would never even think of Fernandes in that way, okay?" Silver scoffed. "I like Paige, remember?"

"'Like'?"

Silver's brow furrowed as he corrected himself, "Love. I love Paige."

Gray nodded, not necessarily in agreement, as he sat forward. "And, uh… How's that goin' for you right now?" Silver played with his mug and Gray tried to meet his eyes. "That bad, huh?"

Silver shrugged. "I don't know." He could not help it as he spilled, "Everything's been different since Margaret. She hasn't been herself. She yelled at me and told me to leave her alone and everything."

"Okay." Gray raised an eyebrow. "And?"

Silver blinked at how blasé his father sounded. "And it sounded like she meant it."

"Is that what you're really upset about?"

That rubbed Silver the wrong way as he demanded to know, "What's that supposed to mean?"

Gray raised a hand to signal his innocence. "To me, all that sounds like it isn't new. Paige has always been the one to reject you or send you away. So, to me, it doesn't sound like this is what's really bothering you. It sounds like something else is bothering you." He tipped his head. "Is this why you said 'like' instead of 'love'? Feeling a little unsure how to feel right now?"

Silver felt so raw that his father had stripped down his thoughts and found the root of his problems so easily. "How did you know?"

This time, Gray was the one who shrugged as he lifted his mug. "Not exactly Alchemy." After taking a few gulps of eggnog, he requested, "So tell me what's going on with your feelings. What's got you so confused?"

"Everything," said Silver in exhaustion. "Everything feels so off and fast now. I don't know what to think. There's Paige but then there's these weird feelings and…" He huffed, but he said no more.

Gray rolled his lips and bobbed his head. "I won't push you to talk about things you don't have the words for," he said quietly. "Not my style. But I want you to know you can come to your mom or I for anything. Even if it's just to get something off your chest and you just need to talk and not make sense. We're here for that too." He stood up to ruffle Silver's hair. "Don't forget that, kid. We're in your corner even if you think we're not. We love you and we want you to be comfortable in your own life."

"Thanks, Dad," Silver appreciated, ducking his head. "I think I'm going to try and sleep." He got up and downed the rest of his eggnog. Putting the mug in the sink, he moved to exit the kitchen when his father called him. Silver looked back, curious. "Yeah?"

"Luna and Gale didn't really go on a date, did they?" Gray chuckled when Silver starting stammering excuses and explanations. "No need for the lies, kid. Not like I'm doing an interrogation. I'm not going to ask what happened, but I won't bring it up to Natsu."

Silver still looked troubled. "Thanks, but Mom…" He trailed off when he saw Gray pull out a Compact from his pocket.

"She was reading something on her Com when it fell out of her hands when she fell asleep," Gray explained, "so I put it in my pocket. Good thing I did, huh?" He nodded to Silver. "Get some sleep. We'll talk when you're ready to talk."

Silver offered a little smile. "Yeah. Night, Dad." And he headed for the steps as Gray looked out the kitchen window with his mind going deep into thought.

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

As much as the conversation was little, it would begin to snow ball things for Silver. He'd begin the next leg in his life without even realizing it.

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

Silver got into bed with his Compact and his lights off. His bedroom was nothing special. He had a bunk bed due to the days he and Gary shared a room before Gary got his own room. Silver kept the top bunk while he turned the bottom bunk into his miniature office with a desk and his PAL and a lava lamp and other knickknacks and school items. He tucked himself in as he unlocked his Compact. He went to his messaging app and went to Paige's contact found under MY BELOVED. Texts had been delivered to her, but none of them appeared to have been read. With ease, he typed out a message.

« Hello, Beloved. Just wanted to check in. If you can't sleep, you should drink a banana smoothie. Have good dreams and sleep well »

And he sent it.

He went through to read other texts when he hesitated when he saw his contact WICKED WITCH.

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

But, then again, that's how all our stories go, isn't it? We all begin to do things we don't even realize is the origin to our next arc in our own fairy tale.

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

Silver went into Ena's contact. Slowly, he hammered out a text message:

« Hey. You're probably asleep or whatever. Just thought if you wanted to stop being so down and everything, you should watch The Island of Heirs. There's a girl in there just like you: bossy and only talks about fashion and thinks love is a scam. You'd like her. Night. »

He attached a gif of Maleficent and sent the text. It took him a moment before he shut off his Compact and decide to get under the covers for sleep.

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

It amazes me how many times our stories will overlap without us meaning to. Sometimes, our paths cross because of a simple message…

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

Ena lay propped in her bed with her LV as it streamed another run episode from her favorite J-pop group. She was busy on her tablet. She had scanned in some of her fashion designs and now she was doing some of her own touches to finally complete the look she wanted to make. It looked like she was trying to finish designing a clutch that was filed in her Yuletide folder. When a text message popped up on her tablet, she clicked on it and read it. It surprised her, but she did not dismiss it right away. She dipped down for her remote to put on Magia+ and found the movie in question. Setting aside her tablet, she snuggled into her blanket as the movie began.

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

…sometimes, it's just from a simple dream…

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

Aine came back into the master bedroom in just one of Lance's t-shirts with a glass of water she set onto his nightstand. His master bedroom was big enough for him to have his king size bed and a couch and a flat screen. Lance laid atop the covers with labored breaths evening out as Aine climbed into bed. She felt his forehead and frowned. "You're still a little warm," she noted. "Are you sure you don't want the cold compress?"

"I'm sure," Lance grumbled as he reached over and tugged at Aine. "I just want my beautiful girlfriend-turned-nurse to cuddle with me. Only medicine I need right now that will make me feel better."

Aine sighed heavily, but she complied and rolled herself so she was against Lance, back to him, barely touching him. "Better?"

"No." Lance jerked Aine to her other side so she fell onto his chest. He could only grin when she glared at him. "Now? Better."

Aine huffed and tried to pull away, but Lance had anchored her down. "Lance, you're still weak," she reminded not unkindly. "You're still healing. And until you're back to your normal temperature and we can get Wendy or Granny Porlyusica to see you, we're not taking any chances."

"No, it means we're not having sex," Lance corrected her. "I'm not letting some stupid blackout stop me from snuggling with my girlfriend." He frowned. "But you really should call Misty back."

Aine snorted. "I'll worry about him after I'm done worrying about you." She framed his face with her fingers before placing a kiss on his jaw. "You need rest. Sleep. I'll be here if you need anything."

"Well…"

"Anything that's not vigorous exercise," Aine amended.

Lance simpered. "I mean… It doesn't have to be 'vigorous'—"

"Lance." Aine pinched his cheeks. "Sleep."

Lance's laugh vibrated in his chest. "Yes, ma'am. Assistant, lights off." The lights abandoned them in an instant and darkness crowded about them. While Aine fell still against him and could not help it when sleep took her down deeply, Lance could only stare up at the ceiling. He lifted up his hand and the vision of the ring appeared before him. But he did not want to figure it out. His hand plopped down and his other hand thumbed Aine's hip.

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

…sometimes, it's from a past we didn't even know we shared…

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

While Mustang was in his bedroom, Cade had decided to kick it out in their shared living room. He had turned on the LV to let some late-night adult animation muddle their air, but he did not care about that. Instead, he was busy going through his photos and had gone into his hidden folder. Of course, raunchier pictures were hidden, but he was not looking for that. Instead, he went to a video in the middle of all of it that looked from a party scene. Nothing dirty. It looked like a house party being thrown on Fiore's Independence Day. Everyone was jumping for joy as the fireworks went off. He filmed how Mustang was hooting and hollering as he threw his hat into the air. He filmed how Lance lifted Aine off the ground as they kissed. But the video turned down abruptly to end on a smiling face as she stuck out her tongue and leaned back to giggle. Then the video ended…on Dazzler's smiling face.

Rika yawned as she made sure her coworkers made it out of the ice cream parlor. She turned the OPEN sign to CLOSED and proceeded to lock up the doors. After exchanging good nights, she shouldered her purse and took in a slow walk down the street and back to her home. And she did not realize in the distance, someone had pushed off a nearby wall to follow her. And that someone was Galileo.

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

…sometimes, it's from a history we both remember…

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

John phased back into his oddity of a home. Magical artifacts and little items were stored everywhere, some of them alive and in jars or in cages, but most were not as organic. He swiped by his cauldron and took out his flash to scoop up the potion he had been brewing before taking a few chugs of his flask. He did not even have to mutter a spell as his shoes yanked off him and clopped back over to sit by the door and his jacket hung itself on a rack. A fireplace roared to life and it looked more alive than a natural fire. But John did not care about any of that. He took a few sips of his flask as he went to a nearby shelf. Photos were littered on the shelf. Some were from his days at the academy in his wizarding robes with the camaraderie he shared with a peaky freckled boy of red hair, a rebellious Dazzler, and a gothic girl with dark eyes and ebony skin. But the photo he was drawn to was one from long ago. A photo of him in his assistant vest as he stood with Dazzler and a tall man with his merry top hat, his winning smile, and that dashing wink…

…the same photo Dazzler stared at as she moved through the entertainment center. When T'oree called for her, she snapped out of her funk and proceed to bypass the photo for a DVD case of an old school horror movie she had been dying to show T'oree.

In Dash's apartment, Julia clung onto Dash under the covers with Wally dutifully sleeping on his dog bed. Feelings heavy on her chest, she turned over and reached for her Compact. On instinct, she sought Linus' contact and tapped it to send a message. But she just could not. Instead, she locked her Compact, put it back on the nightstand and curled into herself. Much to her surprise, Dash had turned over and wrapped himself around her and she leaned into his embrace.

Linus' house was nothing too big. It was just a townhouse he had obtained only years ago and he housed a Glaciumiho that had gotten its fourth and fifth tail and its fur had changed. While it was white, ice crystals danced around its body. It curled up alongside a blind regular cat that had taken to grooming the Glaciumiho's tails. Linus laid in bed while the woman he had seen gathered her clothes and went to use his master bath. Sitting back up, he swiped his Compact and unlocked it. But he did nothing else. Because on the background of his Compact, it was a close up shot of Julia as she and Rose splashed around on the beach. He ran a hand through his hair as he tossed his Com and laid back down on the bed.

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

…sometimes, it might start with an interest we have and a feeling we get from it…

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

Ellie pushed herself back from her desk, tuckered out from all the work she had done on her designs. Her room was an accidental greenhouse with plants galore around her room alongside fairy paraphernalia she had collected from auctions and antique stories she frequented. Pulling herself back to her desk, she typed in the website for Worldwide Wildlife and leafed through their websites and their projects. She went to « Careers » and she found a link to summer internships. She clicked the link and read through the description when she saw the button for « Apply Now ».

Peter rolled over in his bed—Sinatra did not care for that as the tuxedo tom was forced to adjust himself when the blanket was pulled—and let out a deep snore. He ignored the clean of the light from his PAL that had been stuck on the website for Alexandria College and the screen had a green check mark as his submission for more information was confirmed and accepted.

Olivia lay in her bedroom with one of her lights on with her PAL on her lap. Headphones in, she listened to an orchestral piece featuring the erhu and the shakuhachi. But she was drifting through Sky Boat flights that would take her back to the City of Metal. None of the flights she searched for came with a return flight.

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

…and, sometimes, it's being at the right place at the right time…

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

SLAM!

Igneel bowed as the chauffeur drove off the curb. He turned to see the Sky Port before him. Sky Ports looked nothing like train stations with how massive they were. Docked Sky Boats levitated close to the ground with their anchor keeping them that way. The drop-off zone was light for this time of night, but it did not matter. Igneel nodded at the nightly security guard and headed through the revolving and into the center. It looked a little haunting with only a few of the lights on. A few receptionists from the different boat lines had lingered as they helped check in guests. A disabled woman was being helped by one of the staffers into their boat-line's wheelchairs. A family of five checked in their bigger luggage for their long flight to go and visit grandparents.

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

« This is the Jaborosa-Crocus International Sky Port. This Sky Port allowed international travel five years ago and is one of the biggest Sky Ports in Fiore. »

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

Igneel did not move to security just yet. Because he knew once he moved through security, there was no going back. So he hung back and dug around for his passport and MagID when he could have easily summoned them. He went over to a kiosk to bring out his boarding passes, but he still did not take one step closer to security. He wiped his eyes. No more tears were coming, but that did not mean he did not sniffle and feel shaky. When he found his passport and MagID, he zipped back up his backpack and took a deep breath. He slung on his backpack and looked toward the security gate. He took a step—

"Igneel!"

Igneel turned his head— "Pops?"

It really was Natsu with his scaly scarf and his tussled pink hair. He was sprinting down the main center with a bag in his hand only to slow and pull to a stop a few meters from his son. Natsu explained, "I'm sorry I'm so late. Christina just touched down. Thought I'd miss you until Lucy told me you got a later flight."

Igneel swallowed and bobbed his head. "Yeah. Genius helped me out."

"Yeah, I heard"

Neither son nor father said anything.

Natsu decided to break the ice and said, "I might have picked up a little something you might need." He offered the bag to Igneel.

"Really?" Igneel took the bag, but he did not open the present. "Pops, you didn't have to."

Natsu crossed his arms. "I know I didn't have to," he assured. "But, y'know, thought you might need it. No big deal."

Igneel looked down at the present, but he still did not dare try and figure out what it was. "Thanks."

"Like I said, no big deal." Natsu jerked a thumb towards the security gate. "You better get going, though, ya brat. Wouldn't want to have to reschedule your flight again."

"Yeah," was all Igneel could offer, but he did not move.

Natsu studied his son. "You know… Leaving home—leaving Lucy—was one of the hardest choices I ever made." He stepped closer. "Maybe it looked like the easy way out to everyone because I left with a smile on my face and a letter." And closer. "But did I ever tell you what happened when Happy and I were out digging through the forest?"

"No," murmured Igneel. "What happened?"

Natsu exhaled as he recounted it, "Gildarts ran into us. Well, we ran into him when we realized the forest was being destroyed. And we fought onsite and ate some good food… But when I was out with him looking at those stars that reminded me of Lucy, I told him I just left home and I might have just left the only girl I ever loved behind. And she was probably saying all these bad things about me and would hate me forever." He put a hand on Igneel's head. "But you know what else I said?"

Igneel sniffed. "What?"

Natsu softened. "That Lucy would have hated me one hundred times more if I had stayed behind. She would have killed me if she found out how much I was hating myself. And…"—he brought Igneel in for a hug—"she would have wanted me to find a way to know the Magic I have doesn't cause sadness. At the end of the day, she would have wanted me to smile. It didn't matter how far apart we were. Because even if we both cried and we were sad…we were both in this together."

Onyx threatened with tears.

Igneel hugged Natsu tightly and accepted the warmth his father gave him. The hug felt like it last an hour, but Igneel pulled away from Natsu after a few moments with a grin on his face and his person collected. "Thanks, Pops, for the advice. Take care of Ma. I told her if you do anything with your pervy ass, I'll come home and make you pay."

Natsu guffawed. "Yeah, yeah. I'll take you down if you get in the way of my Lucy-Time." He and Igneel looked over at security. "You ready?"

"No." Igneel had to be honest. "But I'm going anyways."

Natsu nodded. "Best adventures aren't the ones you're ready for."

"You always told us that," Igneel realized.

"And I meant that." Natsu bobbed Igneel lightly on the head. "When you come home, better bring back a bunch of souvenirs and stories to tell, got it?"

Igneel waved away Natsu's hands. "Got it."

"Good." Natsu took Igneel by the shoulders and turned him in the direction of security. "Well, get going, Igneel."

Igneel stumbled when Natsu nudged him forward, but he did not stop the momentum. He took that deep inhale and long exhale and tightened his posture as he headed to security. The agent boredly took his boarding pass and ID and passport and directed him to the PreCheck lane. Igneel thanked him and began to move—

"Hey Igneel!"

Igneel paused and looked back to see his father and that goofy grin of him. Natsu shouted: "I love you! So come back home when you get your shit together or I'm hunting you down and kicking your ass!"

Igneel felt a sting in his face and a heat behind his eyes, but he grinned and shouted back: "Love you too, Old Man! And don't worry!" He winked. "I'll take you on any day of the week!" And he moved into the lane with a smile on his face.

He moved through security with that same smile.

He moved down the corridors and through the automatic walkways with that smile.

He sat down at his red-eye gate with that smile.

But he drew up his hoodie over his face and curled in on himself as he let the last of his tears fall. I'll come home soon, I promise. Shoving back his emotions, he summoned out his Music Pod and Air Buds and popped them in to listen to a song he knew well. Looking out the large window and into the night, he whispered under his breath, "See you later, Fairy Tail."

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

Some would say this is a stroke of luck or the way the chips may fall. But I know better. There's a reason that even if none of us were walking the same path, we'd all end up at the same destination on that day. But still I have to ask…

Why?

Why did that day still have to come?

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

---

The webs were back.

The universe looked as star-filled and psychedelic as usual, but the webs of glowing white with strands of blue and red and thinning black clumped together and thinned out with barely-there thread connecting them only to clump again. A band snapped and a black line disintegrated. The strings attached to it once-upon-a-time would either gray a bit or they would glow and seemed to absorb whatever the string had left behind.

"You've got guts."

The focus turned to see Li there with her unhappy look. "Instead of doing all the work like a martyr, you took heed and realized there's a greater reward in knowing your own weakness than becoming your own weakness." Li strolled ahead and examined a blue thread. She touched it and five white threads shot out to connect to three different clumps of webbing.

'What…now?' Luna tried to ask. 'Who…you?'

Li sighed. "I know this is all confusing, but Syra wouldn't have given you this gift without a reason," she murmured. "She's a Time Child, just like me. This gift she gave you… Maybe she saw you were the version that would need it the most." She looked directly into the focus. "But we don't have time to work on your gift. You must go. You still aren't strong enough to be here for too long. Time and Space are too mesmerizing for the common mortal." She walked away.

Luna struggled to call out. 'Wait… How…?'

Li raised a hand and waved. "One day, I'll teach you how to enter and exit here by will. But for now"—her thumb and forefinger met—"I'll help you cheat."

SNAP!

The focus burned with brightness and Luna groaned when not only did she feel the sting of brightness, but fluff and feathers bulldozed her over eagerly with licks and playful nips. Her groans turned to giggles when two large muzzles nudged her for attention. "Okay, okay, don't cuddle me to death!" she laughed.

"Erion, Nayda," came call. "Come, little ones."

The presences vanished and Luna forced herself to sit up. Looking all around, she was back in that meadow field from before where all she felt were peace and contentment and not a shred of darkness or exhaustion. She smiled when she saw Faven and the two adult Guardians who stood at her side and lovingly nuzzled into her hands. With Faven, Meira had come in a springy peasant dress and hair in an over-the-shoulder braid, a crown of flowers and twine on her head.

Luna dusted herself off as she approached them. "Mama Faven, Auntie Meira—it's so good to see you!" She could not resist as she sprung on Meira for an embrace.

SNORT.

Luna giggled and pressed her hand against Erion's nose. "It's good to see you guys too," she promised. "How are things in Margaret Town?"

'We have missed you,' Erion told her. 'And the humans treat us well.' He licked his lips. 'They offer sacrifices of mortal food. Humans have certainly bettered their cooking in the last centuries.'

'Especially their fish,' Nayda added as she evolved into her younger form so Faven could hold her. 'This "sushi" they call it… I like it very much.'

Faven prodded the Guardian Spirit's stomach. "Yes, and you'll get fat with all that human food, young one. Mark my words." She hummed when Nayda nuzzled under her chin.

Luna looked up at Meira. "Is everything okay here? Why am I here, actually?" She paled. "Did I die for real this time?"

Both Faven and Meira chuckled as Meira stroked Luna's hair. "No, little Luna, you aren't dead or even close to dying," Meira assured. She pursed her lips. "But I swear to the Heavens, if you keep doing anything more reckless, we'll have to start coming up with more imaginative ways to scare you out of heading into danger."

Luna laughed sheepishly. "Sorry?"

Meira sighed. "Well, you are a Heartfilia." She sneered. "Or should I say 'Dragneel'? I despise the man Lucy has chosen to wed. How dare he stop the Heartfilia name from carrying on?"

"Oh, come now," Faven shushed her. "We all saw it. She did it on her own accord. Even if your daughter should've stopped her—"

"She tried!" Meira argued. "That idiotic king probably brainwashed our descendant! Look at their society! Women taking the man's name? Hmph! What fodder."

"Well, our names are still hyphenated," Luna added helpfully. "So I'm still a Heartfilia, technically."

Meira rolled her lips. "Yes, but everyone calls you by that 'Dragneel' last name. The audacity—!"

"Meira." Faven gave Nayda a boost to glide off and Erion devolved into his younger form to give chase. "We do not wish to keep our little Luna here for much longer."

Meira sighed heavily. "Oh, right, right."

"What?" Luna questioned. "Why? What's going on?"

Meira looked at Luna and cupped her face. "Luna, you and your siblings have been given gifts only you know how to use. And that makes all of you in danger—especially you."

Luna furrowed her brow and pulled away from Meira. "Why does everyone keep saying that? I'm not special. I just have Teleportation Magic and Healing Magic. That's nothing to keep me locked up for."

"Nay, Luna." Faven came over, shaking her head. "You misunderstand us. While we understand the precautions set to protect you, we do not mean those precautions should still be necessary. We mean for you to harness your gifts and prepare for the danger ahead."

Meira added in an almost scold, "Which your parents want you to do, if we aren't mistaken."

Luna swallowed. "Y-You saw that?"

"Aye," Faven said softly. She put a hand on Luna's shoulder. "You are young, Young Luna. Tis difficult to find balance at this time. But you must. You cannot allow yourself to become imbalanced. Ah-ah," she shushed when Luna opened her mouth. "Put trust in your parents' teachings. They will guide you well and as will we."

Meira nodded. "So will Icarus. He might be a dog, but he is mighty old. If you ask, he will be your Spirit Guide as Capricorn is to your mother. He will help you expand your power to aid your friends in battle. And he will help you learn how to be the proper bridge a Heartfilia is destined to be."

Luna looked at her ancestors. "May I ask something?" After the go-ahead nod from both women, she wondered, "Do Nashi, Igneel, and Luke see you too?"

"Not yet," Faven answered. "Luke and Nashi's spiritual connection are currently blocked. But Igneel…" She frowned. "I fear Igneel will never have a bridge to crossover. His heart is filled with a rage that once consumed the most nefarious of people. Before he can build a bridge to see us here, he must lift the anger and hatred in his heart."

"But who is he angry at?" Luna wanted to know. "Who could he possibly hate?"

"Simple," Faven responded. "Himself."

Luna wanted to comment, puzzled, when the Spirit World began to blur around her. Panicked, she latched onto Faven. "What's happening?"

"You're just waking up," Faven explained. "The energy you used to bring a Seraph to Earth Land caused such a strain on your body. As much as your sister was wrong for aiding you with powers she did not understand, I am thankful her powers helped you unlock a side of your potential sooner than later."

Meira stepped in. "But all of us fear this potential may be too much for you to handle if you aren't careful."

"Huh?" Luna did not know whether to offended or perplexed. "But… I thought everyone wanted me to have these powers?"

"We do," Faven quickly assured with a swift glance at Meira. "But we worry, Young Luna. Your powers… With you being so young, everything about you is tied to your emotions. Should your emotions spiral, as will your powers."

"Which means you must learn to exercise control over your temper," Meira told Luna. "If you don't, without realizing it, you will hurt the people you love. Your powers are too unpredictable and powerful to be trifled with. Especially with that executor who curried your favor."

Now Luna was understanding. "Wait a sec…" She stepped back. "This is about Bleu?"

Faven tried to soothe her. "No, Young Luna—"

"Yes, it is," Meira decided unflinchingly. "Your imbalance is fluctuating with the gifts given to you. You are becoming far too lax with that executor and substituting balance with a distraction." Her eyes narrowed. "Is this the new Heartfilia way? To abandon our teachings for the comfort of men?"

"Meira," Faven tried to hush, "that's not true!" Turning to Luna, she insisted, "Young Luna, Meira means no ill-will. She is simply worried."

Luna kept her eyes on Meira. "I can have both," she told her ancestor. "Why can't anyone get that? I can have my powers and be in control and still have fun!"

"'Control'? 'Fun'?"

Faven put a hand on Meira's shoulder and hissed, "Meira, calm thyself—"

Meira did not listen as she glowered down at Luna. "You call nearly dying control and fun? What a mockery of the words," she growled. "You have no concept of control because you refuse to train. You have powers. Act like you have powers. Learn your powers' rules and ways. But instead you disrespect our culture with an executor. The Slayer who stands at your side is right to be short with you, as is your king for a father. All we see is a little girl who cannot fathom the danger she's in and thinks tales like love and friendship are enough to save her. We see a naïve girl who wanted powers and now she changes her mind and wants normality due to the convenience of it all."

"Meira," Faven fretted when she saw Luna's face screw up into hurt.

"You are a Heartfilia," Meira told her coldly. "You do not understand how valuable our blood is. Instead, you trifle off with the executor and brush off your studies and shoot poisonous words to your family and rush off in danger with no regard for the state you're in? If you have a death wish, I assure you, we can find Death and ask them to make it a peaceful crossover for you. But you are living so start acting like you want to live."

Silence.

Luna said nothing. Her gaze had dropped. Her mouth was closed.

Nothing.

Faven attempted to reach her. "Young Luna—"

"You aren't being fair."

Both spirits watched Luna.

Luna's hands shook. "You aren't even giving me a chance. I am trying to live. But it's not easy, you know? No one tells me what's going on unless it's someone about to die. I'm doing my best. I'm trying so hard here, but everything is different. I'm getting these visions and meeting these people and I'm worrying everyday what my powers even are and no one tells me. I just got my powers." Her hands clenched into fists. "I am trying." Steel cut her words. "But that's not enough to anyone. Everyone thinks they know best for me and I'm still a disappointment even with powers, right?"

Faven glanced around worriedly when the calm skies of the Spirit World tinged gray and rumbled. An off-putting yip made Faven look over to see Erion and Nayda were forcefully evolved into their juvenile selves and both were shaking their heads, disturbed. "Erion?" she called. "Nayda?"

Luna went on: "But none of you understand what it's like to have all this happen to you and you just have to…accept it." Her eyes shut as memories drudged ip before her. "I watched Igneel get struck with lightning and I could feel him going cold."

Dazed onyx. Shuttering breaths.

"I watched Nashi die over and over again."

Snow stained in crimson. Lifeless hickory

"I saw Icarus fade away from me."

Panicked gray. Particles of Magic breaking into the darkness.

"I saw Gale risk everything for me." Her entire face contorted into pain as she saw the images. Him within the cathedral. Him within caves in the Arboreas Mountain. Him fighting Bluenote. Him on the ground before her covered in wounds.

Faven's eyes widened when the wind swirled around. The peace and tranquility the Spirit World held had uglied itself into a warring despair and anger. She backed a little when she saw that red energy that has poisoned Nayda return and bring itself onto Erion as they snarled at each other. "Oh, no," she whispered.

"I'm trying so hard," Luna murmured in near whisper. "But it is so hard and I just—" Her hands shook. "I just want it all to stop." A tear rushed down her cheek. "I don't want to see anyone else die!"

CR-CRACK!

Nayda and Erion launched themselves at the other as they evolved into adult selves.

"NO!" Faven rushed toward them while Luna was broken from her anguish and she and Meira looked on in shock. "Stop! Please!"

Luna blinked rapidly as she could not believe the two affectionate siblings would snarl and hiss and try to maim the other. "What is this?" She looked around and tried to touch a flower, but it shriveled in her proximity. "What's going on? Why does everything look like this?"

"Because of you."

Luna looked at Meira in disbelief. "Me?"

"Luna, you are so much stronger than I feared," Meira told her. "I told you your emotions are tied to your powers and your powers are as wonderful as they are dangerous. But should you lose control—"

Erion pinned down Nayda with claws on her throat and a mighty roar thrown into the sky.

CR-CRACK!

"—it becomes deadly."

Luna worked her mouth as another tear left her. "No, I… I-I didn't mean to…" She shook her head. "This isn't… This isn't my fault." She dropped to her knees and her eyes widened in horror when the flowers in a close radius withered and blackened. "No… No, I didn't…"

"This is what your powers will do to the ones you love," Meira murmured. "It can save them…or it can kill them."

Luna shook her head and covered her ears. "No, no, no, no…" She shut her eyes. "It's just a dream, it's just a dream, it's just a…"

But Meira's voice carried. "If you do not learn to control your powers, you will play the Presence's left hand…and the Other's right hand."

Luna shook her head as unwanted images pierced her. Images foreign yet familiar. Static curved around the image of a mortifying corpse of Nashi. The next image showed Igneel in the wake of his flames tinged in red and black. The next showed a vision of Luke with red eyes and his hair crusted in black with his nearly naked body chained to a wall.

Nayda squirmed and shrieked as Faven cried out in sobs for Erion to let his sister go.

"No…!" Luna pleaded. "Stop it!"

The static cleared a little to show Icarus breaking away into Magic. Then, it showed Gale before her as a crumpled corpse with no signs of life. An image of a dull-eyed Lucy on a large bed took over, sweat clinging to her as the wail of a baby was close by.

Faven screamed as Erion gathered red energy before him and compounded it into a large orb.

"No!" Luna begged. "This is just a dream! This isn't real!"

A vision consumed her with the sensation of falling. The girl she had seen in her dreams was falling. Falling into an icy and unforgiving sea. And the black Dragon roared as it tried its best to keep up with her and keep her close, keep her safe.

But it was too late.

Erion tipped his head down towards Nayda.

The girl crashed.

The Dragon roared.

Erion fired.

A whisper haunted her. "This is your fault."

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

Waking up in a sharp gasp would have startled anybody and Icarus was no different. He was in his Dog Form at the foot of the bed while Luna coughed as she woke up, heart pounding and drenched in sweat.

Pup, Icarus called as he came to her and lapped at her forehead before nuzzling her. Oh, Pup, you're okay!

Luna latched onto him as she sniffled. "Icarus," she gasped. "What happened? Where am I? Where's Nashi? And Gale?"

Icarus pulled away to give her a good sniff. Ease, my cub. You are safe as is the Drake. We have taken safe haven in an abandoned den. He looked around. The bedroom seemed to be the master. The owners who had abandoned their domicile had been in a rush to pack their belongings and get the Hell out of dodge. Pictures of the family and some very childish artwork hung around the bedroom. I believe this is called a 'farmhouse'.

Luna sniffled. "We-We're on a farm?" She coughed again.

"Water and medicine, Moonflower? Sniff-sniff…"

Luna looked up to see a hulking eagle hybrid walking on large talons had offered a glass of water and two pills from his clutches. His wings were folded in with goggles on his head and nothing about him was humorous. She took the water and medicine. "O-O-Oh! Un, thank you, Mister Sitka? What are you doing here?"

Sitka put himself at attention. "Her Majesty, My Gladiolus, has requested for myself and the Petunia to bring Ageratum to you so we may take you home, sniff-sniff."

⌜CELESTIAL SPIRIT

Name: Sitka

Occupation: Celestial Spirit (The Eagle)

Magic: Wings

Likes: botany and gardening Dislike: skyscrapers

Special Note: Sitka has a name for everyone that pertains to a flower, even his own fellow spirits! Whenever he sees a garden, he just has to critique it and fix it!⌟

Grus came back in with his suit and a disgruntled look as Horologium followed him in, looking particularly happy to see Luna awake and about. "Miss Luna!" Horologium cheered. "You have awakened!"

Grus muttered, "Yes. I was beginning to think we'd be here all night." He shot her a look and while the grumpy crane did look, well, grumpy, he dipped his head to her. "But it's a good thing you're all right."

Luna took the pills and gulped down half the glass to chase them down. When she was finished, she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. "Did Mama send you guys after me? But…" She looked at Icarus for answers.

And he supplied them. Mirella figured out you had teleported here, but the Star Spirits are here for your littermate, Nashi.

"Nashi…" Luna looked wildly at the Celestial Spirits. "What happened to Nashi? Is she here? Did you guys find her?"

KNOCK-KNOCK-KNOCK.

Everyone looked to see Kyler had poked his head in. "I believe I can be in assistance of what transpired," he said kindly. "That is, if you are up to it?"

"Kyler! You're okay!" Luna whooshed out. "And, um, yeah, please, tell me what happened!"

Sitka bowed his head towards Luna. "We will stand outside the door and ensure the Gladiolus is made aware of your recovery, sniff-sniff." He made his way out the door. "Come, Petunia. Let us contact our mistress."

Grus grumbled, "I'm not a damn 'Petunia', you overgrown woodcock." But he and Horologium followed Sitka out of the room and shut the door behind them.

"So what happened? Where's Bael? And Gale? Where's Gale?" Luna instantly pressed.

Icarus pressed his nose against her shoulder. Patience, Pup. Your questions will be answered soon enough.

Kyler kept standing, but he had moved to the side of the bed. It looked like he had changed into a rather large t-shirt and sweatpants which looked hilarious on him considering his angelic appearance. Carefully, he asked of Luna, "What is the last thing you remember?"

Luna wracked her brain. "Um… I remember, um…" The memories cut her down. A crumpled Gale. Six sets of murderous eyes. Living fire. She reached a hand to grab onto Icarus' fur. "I remember everything until I fell unconscious," she murmured. "I helped you." She looked at Kyler. "So all of that was true. It wasn't a dream."

"It wasn't," Kyler agreed with her. "You have done something very little could do. You reached across the cosmos and brought to us the very Seraph that had been an enemy of Bael's since conception. That's not a feat to take lightly."

"I won't, I…" She shook her head. "Sorry. I'm just trying to process all this." She patted the bed. "You can sit if you want."

Kyler obliged, but he sat on the edge of the bed to keep a comfortable distance. "I'll try to explain as best I can what happened and I'll try not to overwhelm you," he assured. "Vehuiah and I soul-bonded. Using my body as a vessel, we were able to defeat Bael. As Angels cannot kill, we weren't able to kill him. But we were able to re-open the gate to his realm and lock him back inside it. It will take him centuries to reach Earth Land again. He is no longer a threat." He shifted. "After that, Vehuiah departed for his duties, but he did leave me a gift." At Luna's cocked head, Kyler spread his hands and fire clung to his palms, a subtle magenta coloring. The flames attracted to each other like magenta and bridged the gap between them in heated dance. Yet, the flames did not feel hot at all.

"Wow…" Luna breathed, mesmerized at the beauty of fire. "So pretty… So Vehuiah or whoever… He gave you Fire Magic?"

"He gave me the Fire of Life," Kyler explained as he brought his hands together to extinguish the flames. "Primordial fire. This fire can do no damage. It can only heal and rejuvenate."

Luna smiled. "That's amazing, Kyler! Oh! But what about your staff?"

"I still have the gift my mother gave me," Kyler confirmed. "From what I suspect, the staff will work as it did in scripture. It will perform ten miracles prior to going back to its natural home. Insofar, Vehuiah has been my first true miracle."

"I see…" Luna murmured. "So what happened next? Y'know, after Bael was locked away and everything?"

Kyler shifted. "Vehuiah aided me in restoring the land before leaving me. I was drained and everyone was in critical condition. I was able to find this recently vacated farmhouse for us to hide in. I healed what I could of Mirella before she took over to heal herself. Your Dragon Slayer friend required delicate attention, but…" His brow furrowed. "He admitted he had a very strange craving for…gemstones, of all things. He said he would settle for tree bark if there weren't any gemstones."

"Oh, right…" How could Luna forget? "Dragon Slayers eat their element just like Papa eats fire and Uncle Gajeel eats iron." She sweatdropped as she thought about it. Well, thank goodness Gale wants jewels and bark. I don't know if I could look at him the same he tried eating dirt to get back his strength. Popping out of those thoughts, Luna asked, "So what about Nashi?"

She is in the hospital, Icarus relayed sadly. From what Grus relayed to us from Mother Star, Nashi was shot in the line of battle.

"What?" Luna whispered. "She was shot?"

Icarus nodded. Yes. She underwent removal surgery for the bullets; however, the bullets were laced with anti-Magic serum. My belief is that the bullets were meant for the Devil. As of now, Nashi has been placed in a drug-induced coma. She was…rather panicked. She will recover, but it will be a long process.

Oh my gosh, Luna whispered. Nashi… I need to go see her!

"Not so fast." Kyler laughed a little at the stunned look on Luna's face. "Apologies. While your telepathy is between you and your Spirit, an omega Telepath can easily tap into your link. Once you further grasp Telepathy, you will learn how to shield your conversation from minds like mine. The reason I say, 'not so fast' is because a plan is in motion and you need to rest a little more before you are capable of travel."

"My sister is in the hospital," Luna snarled. "I don't need to rest. I need to be there for her." She tried to move off the bed, but she grunted when dizziness hit her.

Icarus stopped her with soft teeth on her shirt. Pup, calm down. Stress will put you right back in this bed.

But Nashi—!

Kyler is right, Icarus thought over her. You must rest. It is far too early for travel.

Luna frowned. 'Early'? She glanced around until she found an analog clock. Her eyebrows shot up at the time. "It's past two in the morning? H-How long have I been out?"

"A while," Kyler informed. "And you still need your rest."

GRRRRRRR…

Luna blushed a little as she held her stomach. "Maybe some food instead?"

"Of course," Kyler agreed in a chuckle. "The mortals have a reasonably stocked kitchen. If you'll allow me, I'll bring it up a broth—"

"No." Luna quickly amended, "Well, yes, please, thank you, I appreciate that, but… Is Gale downstairs?" When Kyler nodded, Luna said, "Then, I want to go downstairs. I promise I'll take it easy, but… Well, I… I just… I…" She shut her mouth when the right words would not come out.

But Kyler seemed to understand her pain. "If it helps, he did not want to leave your side when he woke," he told her. "Your Spirit near bullied him out of the room for Talia to bathe you and re-dress you and I was able to convince him he was no good to you here weak."

"Thank you." Chocolate warmed. "I really mean that."

Kyler got off the bed. "It's nothing. Here." With a wave of his hand, the Staff of Miracles appeared for him. He held it out for Luna. "I have a feeling you need this more than I do."

°•°•°•°

The kitchen was an open plan that lead into the living room. It was crammed with an old sectional, a bunch of movies and records, and pictures and crafts. A broth was already being made alongside a simple sandwich. Talia had taken to the left behind pets of a full-grown Asena, a border collie, and a pup Terumiho that had been recently neutered. Mirella had kicked back on the sectional as she watched LV and caught up on the reruns of the formal press release from the Bellish ministers. Gale sat on a stool on the island with new clothes—it looked like a boy who had lived at the farmhouse was close in size to Gale—and licked his lips as he saw the Terumiho gnaw at a diamond bone.

Sycaña, please tell me this is a normal that I want to fight that puppy for a damn diamond, Gale groaned.

Sycaña laughed. It is, she promised. Now that your Magic has come into full effect, you will be experiencing the same hormonal and physiological changes as any of my children would. Even with losing teeth, molting, perhaps even increased lus—

Losing teeth? Gale shrieked. The Hell? I have all my adult teeth!

Not your adult Dragon teeth, Sycaña corrected in mirth. Do not worry, Little Gem. Dragon teeth come and go with ease. A Drake's first set of teeth arrive at the same time. It might be painful, but I will guide you through it.

Gale grunted. "God, I need a fucking drink."

"I believe these mortals have a weak whiskey."

Gale looked over to see Mammon. The Daemon was manning the kitchen and had taken on the form of a building of a man and could barely cover himself with a button-down. His hair was wrapped in a man-bun and his beard was pristine and thick. Gale watched the Daemon as Mammon brought out a mug. "Y'know, it's weird to think the very thing trying to kill us is now acting like a Lolita maid."

Mammon poured the whiskey into the mug. "I had no intentions to kill your meaningless life," he said rather dully. "I act by my former master's wishes." He put the mug in front of Gale. "Had he wanted you dead, I would have killed you with no remorse or hesitation."

Gale raised the mug to his lips. "Gee. Isn't that sickeningly assuring?"

"He won't harm us," Talia promised as she whirled her hand and made glitter to amuse the Terumiho. "Yet, at least. He's tied to me, but my will is for him to have freedom. So, if he kills you, it's because he wants to."

Gale froze and his eyes shot to Mammon.

Mammon simply said, "She is correct. If I do kill you next time, know I truly wish you dead."

I feel even worse now! Gale took a few heavy gulps of his whiskey when his ears twitched and he heard footsteps. His eyes ricocheted to the entryway to the kitchen and living room to see Luna appear moments later as she used the Staff of Miracles as her walking stick. Kyler and Icarus were there for her in case she fell, both eyeing her in fatherly worry. Luna panted a little and had to stop, but she gave a feeble smile when Icarus doted on her.

Gale put down his mug as he watched her. How can she still smile after all this? She's incredible. She takes on Demons like it's no problem. He fingered the rim of his mug. I shouldn't've given her shit. She's had to deal with so much in such a short time. I don't blame her for freaking out and getting geeked up.

His hand thumbed against the monstrous scar on his abdomen. At least she isn't a cocky asshole like me.

You might be arrogant, but you are not this 'asshole', Sycaña firmly inserted.

Gale snorted. Sycaña, you are practically my mom, just my Dragon mom. You have to say that. Just like my human mom has to say I'm not an asshole and that I'm… His cheeks heated. That I'm…

"You're in-love with her!" Chibi-Levy winked with her tongue sticking out. "So now you just have to tell her!"

"Testosterone levels are rising," came low murmur.

"I know," came murmur back. "Heart rate has elevated. A visual and psychological cause."

Gale's grip on his mug tightened.

"His pheromones are becoming more potent," came astute observation. "A hint of sweat is there too."

Gale locked his jaw as more red crept up his neck.

"Dilated pupils on the second princess," came informant. "His legs spread a little at the sight of the second princess indicating open and inviting body language."

A tick mark beat against Gale's temple. "Hey…"

"In conclusion"—and there Mammon and Talia were, crouched on either side of Gale as they observed him—"he is feeling high levels of attraction for—"

TICK!

Gale seethed as he barked at the Daemon and the hybrid, "Would you both shut the fuck up?!"

"Gale?"

Gale whipped his head up to see Luna approaching him. He instantly got up and abandoned his drink when he saw her steps falter and her breathing turn to heaves. "Hey, hey, take it easy," he soothed. He passed off the Staff of Miracles to Kyler to dip down and sling Luna's arm around his neck. "Here, I got her. Thanks."

Luna huffed as Gale led her to a stool. "I'm not disabled. I can still walk."

Gale hoisted her up and deposited her on the high-rise stool. "Just because you can doesn't mean you should," he reminded her. "Sit. The Daemon made some broth."

As Gale went to fix her a bowl, Luna eyed Mammon who looked at her back. "So you're good now?" she guessed, hesitant.

Mammon looked at Talia for guidance and she stared back at him and nodded. Mammon then answered, "I am neither good nor evil. But I exercise free will to choose my actions. So I am neutral for the time being."

"Well… That's better than evil," Luna supposed, "I, um, think?"

Gale came back with warm beef brother and a spoon. "Here." He got into his stool and got a spoonful of broth. After blowing on it, he offered it to her. When Luna raised an eyebrow, he simply motioned to the spoon. After rolling her eyes, Luna accepted the offer and let Gale give her a spoonful of broth. "Good girl," he teased.

Luna swallowed and gave him a look. "I'm surprised you're not eating a tree bark right about now," she sassed.

Gale glared at Kyler who sweated and looked away. "Not hungry for it right now," he groused, "considering I've been worried about your ass this entire night."

"Whatever." Luna sipped more of the broth Gale offered her. "I'm glad to see you're okay, at least. How are you feeling? Tired? Dizzy?"

"I feel like I need a stronger drink," Gale muttered as he spoon-fed her more. "Why is it every month we have to deal with a majorly stressful weekend? Harvest Festival, Hallow's Eve, Margaret Town, and now this. I need the Universe to dish out some good karma and give me a break."

Luna giggled. "Well, we could all use some good karma." Her giggles faded into a frown. "Speaking of towns though… What happened to all those people?"

"They're safe." Kyler stepped into the conversation. "Mammon put the ruined city back to where it belonged in the end, but many people died before that happened. Over the course of the next two weeks, I'll be visiting the homes of the deceased to help alleviate the more traumatized grievers."

Mirella launched herself upon Kyler and he easily held her in a piggyback. She smooched his cheek. "My baby daddy, the Guardian Angel," she teased. Nodding to Luna, she said, "Good to see you're awake." Sliding off Kyler, she molded herself into his side. "Your emo 'no one understands me' boyfriend over here was about to totally freak the freak out if you didn't wake up soon."

Luna giggled while Gale mouthed death threats to a heavily amused Mirella. "I believe it." When Gale gawked, Luna carried on, "I'm happy you're healed. But I'm sorry about your dad."

"He was just a sperm donor," Mirella dismissed. "I hope Hel helps him get his rocks off. Or Hela. Whichever one of them is available." Her eyes slid to Kyler's for turquoise and gold to have a conversation. "Okay," Mirella said softly. "Go ahead." She left the kitchen. "Talia, Mammon—let's do something normal and watch LV."

Talia and Mammon sped over to the living room that had Gale rubbing his face. "I will not get used to the freaky speed thing," he muttered. "And I thought Dash was freaky."

Kyler took his place on the other stool next to Luna. "I'm sorry to bring up painful memories, but now, I have a few questions of my own that I wanted to ask the pair of you. If you're comfortable, that is," he added more to Luna.

But Luna did not mind. "Of course! Please! Ask away!" And she took the next spoonful of broth.

Kyler nodded and gathered himself. "Very well." He looked at Gale first. "While I am aware of Earth Land Dragon Slayers, I was unaware you and your deceased Dragon parent were still in contact." His turquoise eyes glowed as he glanced down at Gale's neck and chest. "The spell placed on it works for most mortals, but I can see the amulet just fine." He touched a finger to his temple and asked, "May I?"

Gale nodded. "Sure."

Kyler focused on Gale's chest while the power in his eyes glowed. He was silent for a minute or two until the glow faded away. "Your Mother Dragon is as beautiful as she is wise," Kyler remarked.

"You could talk to her?" Luna gaped.

Kyler nodded. "As I said, Princess, for a mind like mine, I can easily communicate with any mortal or creature." He nodded at Gale. "She will guide you well. Earth Land is evolving. Demons are given freedom to love. The gods are rescinding their powers and not reclaiming their children or answering prayers. I should have known the Dragons would have adapted. You will make a very fine Dragon, Gale. I wish for your training to be swift and strengthening."

"Thanks," Gale appreciated.

Kyler looked between Gale and Luna and heaved a breath. "Now, this next question is for both of you. When I took to healing the pair of you, while your natural powers were what I sensed, there was a secondary origin. Gale, yours was more a rebound origin. It will stay with you, but you will have to constantly work harder and smarter to strengthen it. Luna, your second origin appeared too strong and too much for you at the moment and intimately bound to you."

"A Second Origin?" Luna questioned. "You mean like our Magic reserves?"

Gale shook his head as he spooned more broth for her. "No, Blondie. I think what he's talking about is 'Second Spirit'." To Kyler, he explained, "For many Mages, while we can practice different types of Magic, we mainly have a main Magic or a 'First Spirit' we practice and train and it's our lifeblood. Some Mages like our guild mate Misty practice other Magic, but it's not their lifeblood. It puts a strain on them until the Magic acclimates to their body and becomes a part of their First Spirit. A Second Spirit is entirely on its own. It's another part of your life source and it's incredibly rare to have a Second Spirit." He frowned. "But you said you sensed we have one."

"Yes," Kyler confirmed. "I do understand what you're saying. I have sensed enough Magic-users to understand the difference. But what both of you have is a 'Second Origin' or a 'Second Spirit'. I'm sure of it."

Luna looked up at Gale then to Kyler. "Well… What is our Second Spirit then?"

"Time." It was Gale who said it and he looked directly at Kyler. "Right?"

"Time Magic?" Luna tried to grasp. "Wait… We have Time Magic?"

"Gale does," Kyler answered as he looked at Gale. "But you already knew that, didn't you?"

When Gale did not speak up, Luna looked at him with wide eyes. "You have Time Magic? And you didn't tell me?"

"Yeah, well, we weren't exactly on the best terms when I figured it out," Gale muttered. Rolling his eyes when Luna gave him a flat look, he fed her another spoonful of broth. "I figured it out a little over the weekend after I came home from the party, no big deal. At first, it was just a theory. But I read a little more about magibiochemistry and anatomy and physiology and things started making sense."

Luna blinked down at the counter. "So then… That was true…" Looking at Gale, she said, "Syra. It was Syra who did this to you—to us."

"So I gathered," Gale recollected. "She gave us a gift when we left." He extended his gloved hand. "From what I learned, I can see any past memory of any person I've touched from their point of view. I can even feel their emotions and get the gist of their thoughts at the time."

"Wow…" Luna breathed. "That's incredible."

Gale put back his hand. "I haven't tried my power out on all organic matter, but I want to do that when we get home."

"Your Second Origin is weak," Kyler reminded. "Make sure you take the time to focus before experimenting on the limitations of your powers."

"I will," Gale promised. "I know how to take the precautions." He looked at Luna. "But that's why when we touched, you saw the past."

"But…not my past," Luna remembered as things were all adding up with no conclusion. "And when we touched, I got visions too, but they weren't always about myself. I've been having visions of the…"—chocolate slammed into turquoise upon realization—"future."

"It's a lot to take in," Kyler started gently.

"I can see into the future? But—!" Luna shook her head. "No. No, that doesn't make sense."

"It sorta does, actually," Gale interjected. "My theory is when we did all that time traveling back and forth between the past and the present, Syra's Magic clung to us. That's pretty common to begin with. Messing around with the time-space continuum always has some sort of punishment. But since Syra brought us whenever out of necessity, we got rewarded. It was a stronger reaction with you because of how close you and Syra were."

Kyler gauged Luna's reaction as he added on, "What he says has merit. Normally, for time-traveling mortals, the punishment could be a shortened lifespan or a disease of some kind. Not only did this power linger on you; it manifested itself into a Second Origin. This is a power you will have and a power that will grow with you until you no longer live."

"I'm just…" Luna blinked rapidly. "I'm just…processing…I think. Maybe I kinda knew I was seeing things about the future. It's just so…weird that that's true, but…" She looked at Kyler. "What about the weird strings I've been seeing and those two women?"

"'Strings'?" Gale echoed.

"You already know," Luna decided as she looked at Kyler. "Why does it feel like you already know?"

Kyler extended out his hands as they glowed turquoise. "It's better if I show you." His hands moved around each other before his power flared. The energy had crafted a gnarled web full of white string, but some of the strings were red and blue or a fraying gray. "Does this look familiar?"

"Yes," Luna whispered. "But…how…?"

Kyler clapped his hand and the vision disappeared. "The two women you spoke of—what were their names?"

"Mei," Luna answered. "And, um… Li. Mei and Li."

"Xiaomei and Xiaoli," Kyler corrected. "Those women you saw before you weren't normal women. Those women were Time Oracles. Or, how I remember them to be, Watchers."

"Time…Oracles?" Gale and Luna repeated.

Kyler explained, "Yes. Time Oracles. In each cosmos, an Oracle is assigned to safeguard the timestream. They sacrifice knowing their origin to become an Oracle and rarely interact with the beings of their assigned cosmos. They have been granted access to what mortals call 'possibilities'. Time Oracles can see endless outcomes of an individual, a nation, a planet, a solar system—whatever they fancy. They work with others to send visions to mortals to steer them for a certain outcome." To Luna, he said, "Xiaomei is a Time Oracle I respect, same to Muta. She presides over the Sakura Cosmos as their Time Oracle. Xiaoli is the Time Oracle of your cosmos, though she likes to keep her distance and make herself elusive to those in need of finding her."

"She did seem a little distant," Luna remarked. "So all those strings that she showed me—that you showed me—are possibilities?"

"Yes. But what the color of those strings mean is not in my knowledge," Kyler said apologetically. "That knowledge belongs to Time Oracles."

"Then how do you know so much?" Gale wanted to know.

Kyler smiled. "When you become my age, you learn many things and meet many people," was all he had to offer on that question.

"So…"—Luna pointed at Gale—"you can see the past"—then pointed at herself—"and I can see the future…in a way. My visions aren't always really clear," she explained at Gale's questioning look. "Sometimes, there's these glitches that happen. So that's what I'm seeing—possibilities."

"The past is set in stone, but the future isn't," Kyler shared. "Unlike Them, mortals were not made to have the power of seeing into Fate's eye, not always at least. There's a reason Magic-users who have divination or precognition often have visions that don't add up or may mean something entirely else. Fate alone can see where the pillars in time and space are. Mortals are not fated with that power."

Luna asked, "Pillars?"

"Set-in-stone," Kyler clarified. "Pillars are points in time that absolutely will happen within the timestream you're in no matter what choices you make. The choices you make to get to that pillar is called Destiny. Destiny has many more Children than Fate which is why many are born with the ability to see outcomes. Fate's Children are mainly born with divination and precognition, but there are rare instances they will have a Child that can see the pillars."

"Now you've got me confused," Gale cut in. "'Children'? What do you mean by 'Children'?"

Kyler said, "Children are—"

But Mirella's shout cut him off. "Guys! Get over here now!"

It was not long when Kyler entered the living room and settled behind the sectional while Gale had carried Luna in his arms and deposited her next to Mirella. But everyone's eyes were on the Lacrima-Vision. Bellish words came out of the LV from a news reporter on breaking news. For Mammon, Talia, Kyler, and Mirella, that did not bother them. Luna read the Minstrish subtitles at the bottom, but when her eyes caught what the helicopter was showing, her eyes widened and reflected a large creature wrapped in chains with a collar and a muzzle in place as it was being dragged into the back of a truck.

No…

And all of them saw the headlines the story had made that read:

TERRORIST ATTACK? BELLISH MILITARY FINDS DEMONIC CREATURE RESPONSIBLE FOR GENOCIDE

No… Gary… Luna leaned on Gale for support as he rubbed her side, horrified of what they were witnessing.

Mirella stood up. "Kyler, tell Muta to get back to Fiore," she ordered. "Have him watch the First Princess. His job is over. Once she wakes up, you know what to do." She looked at her daughter. "Talia, we have seven hours."

Talia nodded. "Understood." She sped away with Mammon close behind her.

"No," Luna whispered. "Gary… Skade…" She looked up at Gale. "What are we going to do?"

"Don't worry, Second Princess." Mirella stood before both Fairy Tail Mages with her chin lifted and gold stormy. "We will make sure everything is taken care of."

---

Kotoba ja umaku ienai omoi wo

Kimi ni uchiakeru to shitara nante

Tsutaeyou?

Saisho de saigo

•

Itsuka issho ni kaetta michi wa

Watashi ni totte tokubetsu na omoide

Wasurenai yo

Sayonara memoriizu

•

Haru ga kitara sorezore no michi wo

---

TO BE CONTINUED…

Holy moly… That was intense! Just when I thought everything was wrapping up, this happens! Man, oh, man! I hope Mirella knows what she's doing. To find out what happens to Gary, Skade, Nashi and the rest of the Fairt Tail crew, tune into the next episode of Fairy Adventure!

---

Mary strolled down a bleak hallway in her lab coat and badge. No one questioned her authority for being at the hospital so late at night, not with her status around here. She did not need to have her ringer on when she answered the call threading through her Compact and lifted the device to her ear. "Ah. I take it you've seen the press conference."

"I did," came smooth reply. "I'm impressed. If there wasn't a war against the rights against sentient magical creatures, there is one now. I'm reading all the press popping up from all around the world. It's funny."

Mary wound up at the hospital workers only elevators and swiped her badge before pressing the down button. "Isn't it? I'm betting the USM's president is going to make a statement for the national Magic registry again." She smiled. "Zeref would have loved this. I know he would have."

DING!

The elevator opened and she hopped on.

"I know my contractor likes what he sees."

Mary swiped her badge against and pressed the button to the lowest level of the basement of the hospital. "I'm surprised the Hellhound Hunter himself would have a contractor," Mary mused.

"Well, this is a special case," Lennox told her in assurance. "He isn't just anybody and the offer he made me was too good to pass up."

Mary simpered. "Well, if he was able to sway you of all people, then he just be one heck of a person," she supposed.

"He is."

DING!

The elevator opened and Mary stepped off. She had made it essentially to the janitorial wing that housed a few old offices and what used to be the physical therapy, health education rooms, and medical records. She did not mind the boxes and desks mucking up the hallway and scooted passed them with ease.

"He's done more for me than I could ever hope for in a contract," Lennox went onto say. "In fact, Mother Mary, I'm sure he would even broker a deal with you…when you're done playing medical director for that pussy Prime Minister. I'll never understand what you see in him anyways. I could've given you a much comfier position."

Mary snickered. "Oh, Lenny. Don't insult my boss that way. Besides, Zeref is the only man I belong to. I'll continue to help you out as much as I can, but my work here is important for the greater good. I'm sure you understand that." She arrived at what used to be the records room and used her badge to gain access to the inside. Filing cabinets awarded with dust and grime lurked in the room, but Mary journeyed forward.

"But of course," Lennox purred. "Your work has always been important to you and I'd never take you away from Zeref or your work. But, while we're on the subject of helping people, I couldn't help but notice one of Lee's pets might have ran away again and gotten into your lawn. You know how Lee gets about his pets."

Mary smirked. "Oh, yes, Lee. How's he doing these days? Last time I saw him, I think I was giving him syphilis. Did I cure him or let it fester?"

"He's doing fine. He's on another job right now, but he will personally thank you. Your disease worked like a charm. His pet caught it and has nerve damage. You didn't cure him, but you left him the antibiotics for him to take right after he gave it to his pet. So he's disease-free."

"Pity." Mary stopped at the records for the patients with D as their last name. "Diseases really bring out the desperation in my patients. But I do like Lee." She unlocked the lowest drawer and pulled it back. But it did not reveal dusty file after file. Instead, the drawer pulled out further than normal to reveal a trap door. She undid the latch and slid open the trap door to reveal a ladder into the darkness. "Sorry. You were saying something about Lee and one of his pets? Shall I make cute little posters?"

Lennox chuckled in that baritone of his as Mary climbed down the ladder. The second she was below ground, the trap door slid shut. But she did not need light to keep climbing downwards. "Yes. I was simply wondering if you've come into any contact with his pet. It was the Devil caught in the press conference. As you can see, the thing is pretty brash and unstable. I was hoping to find it and return it back to Lee before he starts another tantrum."

Mary got to the bottom and that was when a light was provided for her. Not directly, but there was a light at the end of a hallway, luminescent and addicting. "Sorry, Lenny, but I haven't seen Lee's lost pet except in the news."

"Come now, Mother Mary, we both know that's a lie." Light words with a dark edge. "I'm sure your puppet gave you the Devil as a little lab experiment."

"Lenny, my hands are full with the king, remember?" Mary reminded as she strut down the hall. "I don't have the time to mess around with the Devil when I have more important matters."

"Mary." The friendliness in Lennox's voice dropped. "Cut the bullshit. You know where he is."

Mary got to the end of the hallway and her skin lit up with the eerie glow centered in the room. She stepped to the railing and sighed as she surveyed her sights. "I'm not lying, Lennox. I don't know where the Prime Minister keeps his terrorists. Try the prisons, if you're really desperate. I've got to go. I need to check on one of my patients."

A beat of silence. "Whether you like it or not, Mary, I have a contract to fulfill."

"And whether you like it or not, Lennox… I don't care." Mary ended the call and sighed dreamily. "And I wasn't lying. I hadn't seen the Devil…"—a sweet smile slipped onto her face—"until now, that is."

The room below Mary fell a few meters below her perch, but it did not matter. Machines and flasks and test tubs and DALs were organized everywhere as scientists in their lab coats went back and forth on readings. Tubes pulled into the center of the room to connect to a larger water tube filled with a greenish blue substance. And floating in that water tube with an oxygen mask and wires pierced into the skin was the Ice Devil with his eyes closed, his wings folded, and his wounds slowly healing.

A lab assistant climbed up the steps to join Mary on her perch. "Ma'am," they said, adjusting their glasses, "we've finished taking the blood samples and will have the results in a day or two. However, after looking at some of the cells we procured from the experiment, Eklesia found traces of mutated human DNA intertwined with the experiment's own cells." They scroll through their tablet before showing it to Mary. "This is just a theory, but we don't believe the experiment is simply one entity. We have reason to believe this entity either is a genetically modified human or—"

"Is both human and magical creature at the same time." Mary cocked her head as she looked at the Ice Devil up and down. "You know, when Zeref was alive, creatures like werewolves existed, part-man and part-wolf. Two souls, two bodies, two minds, but they could never survive without the other. It was a curse. But Zeref would tell us it was just as much of a blessing too. The two learned how to be compatible and give each other strength when they were weak. They borrowed and learned from each other. A symbiotic codependent relationship." She cocked her head the other direction.

"Ma'am?" Levitt prompted. "We'll have more knowledge on these theories once the blood samples arrive back, but—"

"No need." Mary languidly straightened up. "I'm certain this 'Ice Devil' isn't alone in its body." She took the tablet and sifted through until she got the encrypted email she was sent the day before. Photos had been attached to it and she opened on to full-size to reveal a blurred shot of the Ice Devil riding a lion.

Levitt then asked, "Should we still continue with the forced urine and semen samples?"

"Yes. I want all tests run still," Mary ordered. "Make sure you draw double and freeze the extra just in case."

"Of course, ma'am."

"And Levitt?" Mary swiped to what appeared to be a video streamed through a body camera. A blizzard had swarmed around and it showed the backside of a pink-haired woman as she fell in the arms of the Ice Devil. But the Ice Devil was not the one who had captured her. A man had captured the woman with black hair and grieving blue eyes. The video went to static after that, but she backed up and paused on the image of the man. "Have someone get into contact with surviving members of the task force sent out to Margaret Town, Fiore. I'd like to hear more about what they saw that did."

"Yes, ma'am."

And as Levitt scurried away, Mary tapped on the video and attached it to a new encrypted email to gibberish email and typed up a quick message:

« You have seven hours. »

Without any deliberation, she hit ⟪ SEND ⟫. Going back to admiring the Ice Devil, she sighed. "Now, we just have to wait, isn't that right"—dark amusement forced her eyes to gleam—"Gary Fullbuster."

°•°•°•°

The Compact lit up and brightened what would have been a dark room. A hand reached over to grab it. A message had popped up urgently and the hand unlocked their Compact to open it up. But once they saw the message and what was attached to it, a hardness over took their eyes and they immediately sent back a reply.

« I'm in. »

"Mmmm… Baby? You awake?" came the lazy drawl of a woman. "Thought you'd be tired out."

The message was sent and the Compact was put back onto the night stand. Hands wandered back over to the woman sharing their bed with them and an icy kiss was pressed onto her pulse. "I was just giving you the break you needed," came smooth assurance. "But if you're awake already…"

She giggled and turned herself over to meet them in a scorching kiss. "Insatiable," she accused. "But that's why I like you…"—she pulled away to look into his lust-drunk forest green eyes—"Jack Frost."

He smirked and rolled her on top of him. Sliding a chilled hand up her arm and shoulder until his fingers wrapped lightly around her neck in a choke, he teased. "Yeah. But not the only reason." And he rushed her down for another heated kiss until they were rolling over in his bed sheets.

And on his night stand, his Compact automatically locked just as a panicked message rolled in and would go forgotten until the later hours in the morning.

⌜MESSAGES

ULTEAR

Linus, pick up your fucking com! Gary's been arrested for genocide and I'm freaking out…⌟

---

Chibi-Luna scrambles into the room with her a stack nearly slipping out of her hands. She slams them down on her desk and announces to the class, "Hi, class! Since we're pretty far into the year, I thought it was time for a fairy pop quiz!" As the class groans, Chibi-Luna laughs tiredly as she gets her stack of papers orderly and neat. "Don't worry, class! This is just for extra credit so if you don't get something right, it doesn't count against you! So take out a blanket sheet of notebook paper, fold it in half, and write numbers one through eleven on the side."

As the students move to do so, Chibi-Luna hops up to bring down the screen and turns on the projector. Going back to her desk, she brings up her little slide show for her pop quiz. A look around the room tells her the students are prepared but still: "Everyone ready?"

"Yes, teacher!"

Chibi-Luna nods and clicks on her first slide that shows Cade at a stake park as he laughs with a few long-boarders and holds his precious skateboard. "First question: what's the name of Cade le Fay's skateboard? Here's a hint: the name of the skateboard is the same name as a famous mare in Minstrish Arthurian mythology."

The students take a moment to scribble down the answer.

Chibi-Luna goes to the next slide that shows Galileo grinning ear to ear alongside arrows pointed at his arm. "Question two: what's the metal used for Galileo's bionic?"

It takes a few students a couple more moments and one or two students give up trying to find the answer.

Chibi-Luna pushes onto the next slide. This shows two gifs side by side. One shows Gary with his palm in an open fist as he creates an icy bow while the other shows Linus with a palm in an open fist as he creates an icy polar bear. "Question three: name three differences between Gary and Linus' Ice-Magic Magic."

A student raises her hand. "Teacher! Isn't it just a different type?"

"Not just a different type," Chibi-Luna notes. "But you also need to name what they concentrate on and the side effects of it. I'm accepting a lot of answers, so it's hard to get this wrong, but you can't say Magic Circles since all Mages have different Magic Circles."

The students take this into account and jot down their best guesses.

Chibi-Luna moves on with her next slide that shows Elvin dressed in his dapper civilian clothes. "Question four: while Elvin Strauss practices Stone Eyes, that's not his main Magic. Try to name Elvin's actual Magic."

A few students squint and grow a little confused, but many of the students instantly write down the answer.

The next slide Chibi-Luna moves onto showcases a gif of a cute cartoon tanuki playfully chasing around his friends. "Question four: what's the name this character? Hint: he's a popular children's character."

The students snicker as one speaks up, "Don't you like him too, teach?"

Chibi-Luna blushes, but she clears her throat to maintain her dignity and goes to the next slide. "Moving on." This slide contains a pinkish-furred fox with a gray gemstone and a tail. An arrow points to a large fox with five tails and its fur had darkened into black. An arrow points to a grown-up fox with violet streaks on its black fur, nine tails, and a violet gemstone. "Question five: this creature. Another bonus point is awarded if you can name the exact breed of this creature."

The students nod along and put down their answers.

"Question six." Chibi-Luna shows a slide showing Uncle Ben's restaurant. "What country is Uncle Ben from?"

This is an easy one and the students are all quick to answer it before pencils are down.

Chibi-Luna moves on. The slide shows a mountain range. "Question seven. What are the mountains called Gale, Lance, Misty, and I visited for my first mission?" When the students finish jotting down their guesses, Chibi-Luna shows a new slide featuring four different magical circles. One circle contains the head of a Dragon with the entire circle lit up in blue. The next circle showed two arrow heads overtop each other with a triangle on top and earth, fire, and water shown respectively on a point of the triangle. The next circle lit up in gold with a five-pointed star within a pentagon. And the last circle showed a triangle trapped within hexagon with the symbols of life, death, and creation on each respective point of the triangle. "For questions eight, nine, ten, and eleven, list which circle is for a Mage, for a Magician, for an Alchemist, and for an Alkahest."

It takes everyone a few minutes, but once Chibi-Luna sees most of the students are done, she stands up. "All right. Please pass your quizzes up to the front person in your row and I'll collect them." As she stood up, she announced to the class, "We'll go over the answers at another time. But I wanted to use this time to take a vote." She begins collecting as she says, "The board of education has recreated the pilot episode for Fairy Adventure and wanted to know if they should allow the students to read that version of the pilot and vote for which pilot stays. So I hope you can leave your comments and let the board know what you think! Also, the board has a playlist of the potential character songs they think matches our current characters. Let us know if in the next episode, the board should start giving the character songs!"

With all the quizzes in her hands, she announces, "All right! The rest of the class is going to be a study hall, so take out any assignments or homework you want to work on." As the students do this, she says, "And just remember, next time, on Fairy Adventure: I MISS YOU!"

---

Voices of the Characters in Order of Appearance

Atomic – Tamara Ryan

Dazzler Lafayette – Kristi Rothcock

Jonathon "John" Winters – Matt Ryan

Psyphon – Stevem Yuen

Býleistr – Scott Freeman

Nashi Dragneel – Laura Landa

Skade/Gary Fullbuster – Griffin Burns

Lucy Heartfilia-Dragneel – Cherami Lei

Muta the Exceed – Jason Douglas

Loke/Leo – Eric Vale

Virgo – Terri Doty

Luke Dragneel – Alan Lee

Happy – Tia Ballard

Charla – Jād Saxton

Lucifer "Bleu" Demiurge – Xander Mobus

Luther – David McCallum

Ekho – Kristen McGuire

Ellie Strauss – Reba Buhr

Olivia Redfox – Laura Bailey

Laxus Dreyar – Patrick Seitz

Hybrid – Shay Moore

Highlight – Zehra Fazel

Talia – Serna Varghesa

Mammon – Paul St. Peters

Cascade – Kari Wahlgren

Ghost – Stephen Saunders

Djedi – Randy E. Aguebor

Lance Dreyar – Johnny Young Bosch

Veleda – Laura Stahl

Aine Fernandes – Carrie Keranen

Misses Dietrich – Viola Davis

Tesla Greer – Galena White

Jang-ta "Jaxton" Yang – Eddy Lee

Igneel Dragneel – Bryce Papenbrook

Mary-Jane Dreyar – Erica Lindbeck

Mirajane Dreyar – Monica Rial

Julia Fullbuster – Michelle Ruff

Eiji "Dash" Ackermann – Leraldo Andzaldua

T'oree Denv'rz – Kimberly Brooks

Cadorius "Cade" le Fay – Ricco Farjado

Gray Fullbuster – Newton Pittman

Silver Fullbuster – Yuri Lowenthal

Juvia Fullbuster – Brina Palencia

Natsu Dragneel – Todd Haberkorn

Xioali – G. K. Bowes

Luna Dragneel – Bryn Apprill

Faven Heartfilia – Veronica Taylor

Erion – Dan Green

Nayda – Elizabeth Maxwell

Meira Heartfilia – Lydia Mackay

Icarus – Christopher Sabat

Sikta – Michael Dobson

Horologium – Ben Bryant

Grus – Greg Dulcie

Kyler – Ray Chase

Gale Redfox – Greg Cipes

Sycaña – Christen Austen

Mirella – Edie Mirman

Mary – Dani Chambers

Lennox Lynk – Phill LaMarr

Levitt – Tyler Ford

Linus Vastia – Crispin Freeman