Author's note

Chapter 21 man I've been going for a while now haven't I. Anyway, this is the end of Part 2 and the conclusion of the Galuna island/ Deliora arc. In addition, you may be happy to know that it is also the longest chapter to date. Hope you enjoy it.


The Greyhound: Part 2, Old Demons

Chapter 21

"Damn him!" came the cry of a raven-haired boy as he smashed his foot against a nearby rock. Gray was venting at the moment. The last few days had been some of the most stressful he'd gone through since he was a kid.

Everything from the Lullaby incident to now. His own sense of guilt for causing Ur to leave them all those years ago, and now guilt for not saving her fast enough. The trouble with Lyon, namely how he felt responsible for the boy going down the path he did. And of course, there was Kinzo, the man responsible for most of his irritation.

What the hell was wrong with him. He seemed to be lashing out more and more as the days went by. The ice mage wanted to like the guy, wanted to trust him to exercise some self-control, but it didn't look like that was gonna happen. The assassin was dangerous, that's the bottom line. He was selfish, and didn't care who got hurt just as long as he was satisfied in the end. That was the only conclusion Gray could come to.

The man had tried to kill Lyon twice now, and while he made the right call this time, it took him several minutes to come to that decision. He was really contemplating blowing their brother's brains out. And if he was willing to do that to someone he had history with… what would stop him from doing it to someone at Fairy Tail who he really didn't care about?

"How did he do it?" a quiet question pulled him from the concerning thoughts. Looking over he took in Lyon's sitting form.

"What?" he asked the dazed boy.

"He killed it… He killed Deliora, how? Even Ur couldn't… how?" The question was justified. How did a boy with so little magic manage to kill a demon of that level with just a couple spells and a big spear?

"I… don't know," he responded. That was another can of worms his mind didn't even want to touch. The demon that plagued his dreams, and brought him nightmares for years. The monstrosity that he was prepared to give his life to seal away not 10 minutes ago, was handled so easily.

It made him feel pathetic. Make no mistake he was ecstatic that the demon was finally dead, it was just that he wasn't expecting to see it die with so little effort. The fight he had just witnessed was so different from the one he saw as a child when Ur fought.

And of course, thinking about Ur hurt as well. He hadn't actually taken the time to really process that she was gone for good now. Part of him had always viewed her as dead already, I mean can you really consider someone trapped as ice to be alive? He had watched her real body crack and shatter into the snow 5 years ago.

He was sorry to say it but seeing a glacier melt just didn't affect him the same way. Though no doubt if he actually gave himself time to think about what had happened he would find himself grieving.

"It was practically dead already."

Both Ice mages turned to face the third boy with them, Natsu Dragneel.

"What did you say flame brain?" unsure what he was talking about.

"You guys wanted to know why Kinzo had such an easy time right? It's because that Deliora thing was already really close to death."

The two just looked at him, processing the information.

"How do you know that Natsu?" Gray asked, wanting more details.

The fire mage stopped for a moment, doing his best to put his thoughts into tangible words.

"Hmm? Well, I mean, I did grow up in forests hunting for my own food. And when you hunt long enough you can just kinda tell which animals are at the end of their rope. Their movements are more sluggish, and they give off this nasty rotting scent almost like their bodies are already breaking down. That monster downstairs smelled a lot like that, I'm actually surprised it could move at all."

Huh? Deliora was already 'dead' or at least close to dying, how did that work? I mean ya it was trapped in ice, but generally Zeref's demons didn't need stuff like air, they weren't normal living creatures after all.

"Why would Deliora be in that bad a shape-!" He already knew the answer. "Ur."

Lyon looked at him and they both seemed to understand what had happened. It was Ur.

The woman who'd protected them all those years ago hadn't stopped fighting for their sakes to this very day. All the time she spent trapped with the demon, she used it to keep fighting. To keep chipping away at the beast bit by bit. And after 5 years she had this thing on the ropes. Kinzo was just the clean-up crew.

"She really was amazing."

"Ya, she was." for once her disciples agreed.

For some time a soft silence fell over the three, all dancing with their own thoughts about the situation. Whether it be their regret, anger, or hope for the future.

"Hey! Hey guys!"

The three turned as they noticed Lucy, Happy, and Erza racing towards them. When the other trio finally reached them, Happy and Lucy were understandably startled.

"Ahh! It's that weird guy from last night!" they shouted at max volume.

Wincing, Gray told them "Relax, everything's been taken care of."

As the others started greeting and checking the boys for injuries Erza was scanning her surroundings. When the scan didn't turn up what she was searching for she was forced to, with an unhappy expression, ask "Where is Kinzo?"

Gray's lips formed a similar expression to her as he answered "Probably still at the bottom of the temple."

Erza did note his less than pleased expression. "Did something happen?" she asked him.

"... He tried to kill Lyon." the boy replied while gesturing down to his friend.

"What!?" She seethed, ready to finally deal with the man once and for all.

"Erza, cool it, for now I think everyone just wants to head back." The woman reacted to his words and seemed to restrain herself a bit.

"Very well," she said, looking to go retrieve the last member of the group she was ordered to bring back. But as she took the first step into the temple she turned to him for one last question.

"And what of the Demon?"

The frown on Gray's face was replaced with a softer look. He almost smiled while saying "Dead… it, died a long time ago."


Silence.

The only sound he could hear was the gentle flow of water passing by him. Ur was leaving him, the river running away, just like everyone else.

He'd really screwed up this time.

In his mind, thinking about killing Lyon was justified. And in plenty of ways, he was right. But he should have known Ur would never ask for something like that. She loved that boy more than anything. She loved all of them more than life itself, the last thing she would have wanted was for them to be tearing at each other's throats.

Ya, he'd screwed up, and he had no idea how to fix it. Saying 'I'm sorry' doesn't really cut it when you just tried to shoot someone. How the hell do you make it up to them after doing that?

How do you fix things, should he even try? Maybe he shouldn't, after all, it's not like he was the only one with things to apologize for. Lyon had actually Orchestrated Ur's death, and Gray seemed to totally turn against him. Why in the hell should he have to apologize to them?

He tried desperately to justify his own actions, his own resentment against the two boys, but he knew. While yes Gray had said some harsh things that struck a little too close to home, in the end, he could... tolerate that.

He'd heard worse over the years anyway. He'd stopped caring what the average person thought of him a long time ago, doing the same with Gray shouldn't be too hard.

And even Lyon attacking Ur could be overlooked because he knew the woman would have forgiven him in a heartbeat if she was still here.

"Urrrah! What the hell do I do!?" His thoughts wandered to how she would have handled all this, the strife that had swallowed up their 'family.' And for the second time that day, he wished she was here. She could solve this, she could mend them, she could glue the pieces back together. But she wasn't here. She was just water now.

When he looked at the stream, if he focused, he could still see traces of her magic in it. A remnant of what she was before.

The sight nearly brought him to tears. It was beautiful, the color of her magic, a deep icy blue. It was so vibrant, powerful, and in a way comforting. Just like her.

But this was the last time he would see it.

As he watched on at the magic mingled with water, a dark thought crossed his mind. And he rose to his feet before he could talk himself out of it.

He knew this was selfish, knew he might hate himself for it later, but he didn't care. This was something he could do, a way to keep a piece of her with him.

He used his magic, forging in his hand a small necklace.

Looking at the item he recalled making something similar for Gray when they were kids. A simple metal cross, connected to a small chain. The boy actually still wore it to this day, he'd already seen it on his person, and it actually brought a smile to Kinzo's face knowing he held onto it for all those years.

Those were better days.

Holding the small cross out by its chain he lowered the jewelry into the river and watched as Ur's magic was pulled in. The metal took on as much ethernano as the water had left to give. After a few moments, with Talionis he could see, there was no magic left in the stream.

Pulling the pendant out, as it broke the surface, he watched the necklace coat over. His steel being overlaid by ice. Until what he held was stunning. His cross was humming with power, and the ice covered it in a shining coat.

It looked so much like the ice he'd seen not half an hour ago, and did bring a small bit of comfort. Comfort he was grateful to have.

This was her, the only thing of Ur's he would still have besides memories. And I guess if he could only have one thing, some of her magic was a pretty good option. In the end though, it wouldn't matter, she was gone regardless. The only thing he really hoped to gain from the pendant was reassurance, something to help ground him. It would remind him of everything Hades and his Kin had taken. And on the hardest days when he wanted to give up, this would stop him.

He held the piece in his hand for some time, just feeling the bite of the ice, but the sound of footsteps approaching made him move.

Placing the ice-covered cross around his neck he hid the frigid metal under his shirt and felt the cold sting against his skin.

Looking over, he was met with Erza entering the cavern and taking in the sight of a brutalized Deliora.


When Erza walked through the cavern's entrance she was expecting any number of things. Kinzo, maybe some of Lyon's henchmen,... more rocks.

However, the corpse of a demon that looked like it had just walked out of a SAW movie was not on her list.

The sight was horrid.

One leg severed at the knee.

Right hand, disfigured and nailed to the earth.

Left arm, wrapped in chains.

Not to mention the massive spear impaling the back of its skull. Continuing through its jaw, and stapling the whole body down.

Black ooze was coming out of every wound and a permanent expression of pain was sealed on the titan's face… well what was left of its face after the spear passed through it.

All the metal meant it was obviously Kinzo's work.

She almost felt bad for the beast.

Taking her eyes off the cooling remains, she scanned the cave, and came face to face with the man in question… "Oh good it looks like he's just as happy to see me as I am to see him."


"What do you want, Scarlet?" He had no patience for any of this right now.

Wasting no time she hit him with what they WOULD be doing next.

"I have orders to bring back Natsu, Lucy, and Happy who stole an S-class quest without permission, along with you and Gray. You will report back to the guildhall immediately. You will not be traveling separately, I have acquired transport and you will return with us. This is a direct order from the Master."

As she spoke he could feel his chest tightening, meaning that it was in fact an order from Makarov under the Contract. Great.

"We will return to the villagers and see that they are properly situated before leaving on the vessel I have acquired. We will be heading back immediately, follow me."

The woman had no patience in her words, only wanting to be back at the guild so she didn't have to spend any more time around him. In many ways the feeling was mutual.


As they left the temple Kinzo spotted the group and noticed distinctly that one person was missing. Lyon was gone.

He scanned the area, but there were no signs of him. His scent was heading west though, towards the coastline.

"He's not here anymore," Gray said while keeping an eye on him. "He's going to start his life over. I think it would be best for everyone if you stayed away from him."

So that's how it is. Though I guess he couldn't blame Lyon for booking it out of there, or Gray for talking like he expected him to start hunting the boy down.

In response, the Rogue just kept a neutral expression and stared straight ahead.

When the others began to move he kept his distance, not wanting to really 'be around' them, and not wanting to deal with Gray and Erza's pointed glances.

As they walked towards the villagers, they came across... well a village. But it wasn't the collection of tents he'd seen earlier; this was an actual village with real buildings and a town square.

It seemed strange to him that the locals weren't using it earlier but listening in on the Fairy Tail mages as they spoke told him that this village had actually been destroyed the night before. Yet when some of the villagers came looking through the area trying to find anything that survived the attack they found the entire village back and in perfect condition.

...really now. An entire village gets destroyed, and then the next day it's magically back to the way it was previously… And there was a time mage on the island.

*Cough 'It was Ultear-' cough cough*

Figuring out it was her handy work wasn't hard, but why she did it was the question.

Either way, he would have plenty of time to ponder since the villagers went ahead and threw a banquet for them. Erza decided that they could set sail tomorrow morning and it wouldn't set them back too much.

So there he sat at a table, not bothering to indulge in the food or festivities. Instead just thinking, while the others had their little party.


He'd been alone at the table for a good hour before he had some company… company he didn't want. Erza was sitting across from him. Fingers laced under her chin, and staring at him with sharp eyes.

She'd been like that for two minutes.

Realizing that she probably wasn't going to initiate the conversation, he decided to get the ball rolling so she would leave him alone again. "What is it?"

Hearing his question she tensed her hands and started to speak "Gray told me what happened with that Lyon boy."

The statement just hung in the air for a moment. And he had to put some work into keeping his face neutral.

"And?" he prompted her.

"I just wanted to see how you reacted when faced with it... and it would appear that you show no signs of remorse for what you've done."

... He has no remorse?

Screw this broad, what the hell did she know. "She's known me for less than a week and is already claiming to know whether or not I regret something?"

"Are you trying to make a point, or just here to prod me?" he said back with much less irritation in his voice than he was actually feeling.

"I simply wanted to confirm his story, and perhaps hear your side of it." She offered.

She wanted to hear his side? "Heh, she's really trying to play as a non-partisan even when we both know she dislikes me?"

"There's no point, I trust Gray not to lie about what happened."

She just stared him down, but seeing he wasn't going to budge "Very well, then you should also know that Master will be informed of all events which occurred on this island… Including your more violent tendencies."

He was about to tell her to shove it when the wind picked up, coming from the southeast. It brought a chilling effect that nearly made him shiver, but more importantly, it held traces of a certain scent. One he intended to track.

He rose to his feet, Erza and her threats already forgotten.

"Where do you think you're going? I thought I made myself very clear that you were to be with us." was her dangerous reply.

Glancing back he had retorts of his own "No you said we had to leave together, but clearly we aren't leaving tonight." He said while gesturing towards the feasting and drinking the other Fairy Tail mages were engaging in.

"You might feel the need to stick around and babysit them, but I don't." In the next moment he started walking away, but still offered one last comment to the now very irritated redhead.

"Though if you want to make yourself useful, spend some time getting rid of that thing." He said while pointing up to the purple moon. "It's an eyesore."

A few seconds later he was past the treeline, nothing more than a silhouette moving away, and she was fuming.


The forest was dark and quiet, which was why he could hear the sound of voices in the distance with no difficulty at all.

As he approached a break in the jungle he made sure to hide himself, sticking to the shadows. Taking a moment to quiet his breathing and sharpen his senses.

Two people stood facing each other in the clearing, both of whom he recognized.

First was Ultear, no longer dressed up as Zalty, but now wearing her standard dress.

The second individual was a male, with blue hair and a red tattoo under his eye. They'd only met once but he recognized the man as Siegrain of the magic council. Once again present as only a Thought Projection.

He heard the man speak first.

"-uly a shame that Deliora perished so quickly after being freed." started the man

"Indeed it seems my little problem child couldn't contain himself after watching his old master melt away." The woman agreed.

"Speaking of, you still haven't told me how you know that Kinzo boy. At first I was willing to respect your privacy, but now he has cost me my demon. Isn't it about time you told me about him?"

"Hmm? Oh, he's just a little toy I keep around for my own entertainment. No one to really concern yourself with." she said while looking up at the still purple moon.

"Yes that's exactly what you said last time too, yet here we are. He killed Deliora, I'd say that makes him someone for me to worry about."

"Oh please the beast was already at death's door, my little pet just pushed him the rest of the way through."

Locking eyes with the woman he could tell she wasn't going to back down. So with a sigh…

"Heeeh, fine you win." He finally told her.

But after relenting, a more serious expression settled on his face.

"Tread carefully though Ultear. I trust you because you have already proven yourself to be loyal to my cause, don't make me question that loyalty."

For a moment all was silent and the two continued to stare with stern expressions, but as quickly as the atmosphere had tensed it relaxed.

"Anyway, I suppose you are right about Deliora already being near death. I suppose we can also thank your dear mother for that can't we?" The man commented.

The compliment seemed to irritate her. "Oh please my mother was nothing special, she gave her life to stop one demon and couldn't even do that properly."

"Now that's not fair. Deliora is hardly a normal demon, and for her feat of sealing it I would venture to say she could have been on the level of a wizard saint."

"You're giving her far too much credit." the time mage insisted.

"I don't think I am. I would have struggled to slay that monster in its prime, truly I think she was almost as strong as me."

Listening in on the conversation hadn't told him much, but at least now he had confirmation that these two were in cahoots. On top of that, he knew Ultear was withholding intel about him, meaning Siegrain was only privy to certain information.

He would have been content to just continue listening but he could tell that any kind of real conversation between the two was already over. Plus this prick just claimed to be as strong as Ur… and that's not ok.

So, stepping from the shadows, a new voice rang out within the clearing. "I don't know if someone dropped you on your head as a child, but you're delusional if you think you can compare to Ur."

Quickly turning the two showed concern at being eavesdropped on. As their eyes found the source both registered Kinzo walking out of the dark.

After taking another step the boy made himself at home by leaning back against a tree and crossing his arms. Simply waiting for one of them to speak.

Siegrain recovered first. "Ah, Kinzo. My servant and I were just talking about you."

He just raised an eyebrow at the statement, looking towards Ultear with a questioning expression. "Servant?" he challenged mentally, and of course, she had a smirk on her face.

He nearly laughed at the idea.

"Look buddy, I don't know what lie she has you sold on, but in this relationship, if anyone's the servant it's you."

The tattooed man seemed to look at him like he'd grown a second head. "And… why might you say that?"

A chuckle left his lips. "Take my word for it, you just don't have anywhere near the amount of control over her you think you do."

This boy's comments were starting to aggravate him "You doubt my ability, my power?"

"I don't know what kind of 'power' you have Mr. Councilman. What I do know is that in this game you're nothing more than a puppet on her string." He finished with a nod toward Ultear and the woman just kept smirking at him.

Meanwhile, the blue-haired council member was losing his temper.

"You arrogant fool, what right do you have to call me a puppet!? I am a wizard saint, nearly unmatched on this continent! And you think I, of all people, am being used?"

"How ridiculous! I was chosen for a purpose far greater than you could ever imagi-!"

As the man started what would surely be a long monologue/rant Kinzo decided he was gonna opt-out.

Forming a small fragment of metal between his fingers, with a simple flick he sent the razor blade out and struck the man's Thought Projection. The magic sustaining its presence was absorbed and suddenly the sound of silence rang out once more.

"Heh," he heard Ultear snicker.

"Now now Kinzo you're making things difficult for me. I'm going to have to be the one who deals with him now that he's angry, and no doubt he'll have questions about me being a 'puppet master'. Try to be a little more considerate of me in the future alright." She teased.

"That's none of my concern, and besides we still have plenty to talk about." He countered.

Indeed they did.

Smiling like the trickster she was, the dark mage slowly approached him. Each step deliberate and thoughtful, enjoying the way he slightly tensed as she got closer and closer.

When the woman finally reached him she was once again invading his personal space.

Looking up she just stared at him with that devious smile. Her eyes feigned innocence but the rest of her was far too obvious with her intentions.

"Now, where were we before that little fireball of yours interrupted us?" The thought of what was happening before Natsu fell through the cavern ceiling reaching both their minds.

"Ah that's right," She said, leaning forward even more, practically nestling herself against his chest.

"I was 'too close."

She enjoyed putting on the act, and loved the air of uncertainty that came over him. He wasn't quite blushing but he was certainly uncomfortable with the body contact, though she would admit he was good at keeping his facial expressions reserved even in a situation like this.

It always amused her to think that someone so well known in the criminal underworld for their brutal efficiency and less than moral track record didn't quite understand how flirting worked. Honestly, the boy was nearly twenty and still seemed lost when it came to women. Well, maybe he was just hesitant because it was her and he thought she was messing with him… which she was.

Her amusement turned to interest as she noticed him raising a hand toward her face. "Oh, is he gonna play along?"

She felt his fingers brush against her skin as his palm cupped her cheek, softly caressing back and forth with his thumb. "...Well well, maybe lover boy here knows more than I thought."

She smirked, somewhat intrigued by the new development, but then she felt him take his index finger off of her face. The act threw her for a loop, but less than a second later she felt him pushing that same finger, somewhat forcefully, into her cheekbone.

"What the hell? … Ow ow ow!"

She pushed away from him like her life depended on it, and immediately hunched over holding the side of her face.

"Man, Dragneel clocked you pretty good didn't he?"

As the woman looked back up to glare at him the sight of a large swollen bruise on her left cheek was all too evident.

The man continued, "Now, if you're done trying to make sport of me, we can finish our conversation."

The woman just tsked at him, which he took as permission to ask, not that he cared about her giving permission.

"... Earlier you said Ur abandoned you, and tried giving me the idea that she replaced you with Gray and Lyon. As far as I'm concerned that's total bullshit, but I'll at least hear your side of the story."

She wasted no time jumping right back into it.

"Heh of course you would think I'm lying, no doubt she has you all convinced she can do no wro-."

"Are you gonna tell me why you're so convinced she left you or not?" He was not here to listen to her rant; he was here to get answers.

Glaring at his interruption she decided to speak anyway "The reason I'm so convinced she abandoned me is because she did! I was six when she dropped me off at the Bureau of Magic and never came back to get me!"

Ok this part of the story he knew, Ur had talked about it.

"She mentioned that to me. Said you were born with too much magic for such a small body to contain, that the ethernano was killing you. She even told me about taking you to a research institute, but that's where your stories differ. Ur told me that you died. Apparently, the researchers said it was so bad they wouldn't even let her see your body."

Ultear just looked at him in disbelief before "Ha, haha, Hehe Hahaha!"

"Is that what she said, that I died? Haha! It would have been better if I had died!" The strange blend of humor and anger that was lacing her words put him on edge. She sounded unstable.

"Do you have any idea what those people did to me? How they treated me like some kind of animal they could experiment on? They carved into me almost daily, poking and prodding, trying to figure out why I had so much magic and how they could replicate my condition in other people. They had to use healing items on me so often that I developed an immunity to them!"

The revelation was alarming, but not entirely unexpected. The more information Ultear revealed the better picture he got of the situation as he tried to reconstruct it all in his head.

"You know when she told you I was dead I wouldn't be surprised if she actually thought that was true. I seriously doubt she expected me to survive what they did to me."

She was used like a guinea pig? That changed things, and gave him an idea as to why Ur thought she had passed when she was clearly still here. The scientists would have had a motive to keep her there instead of giving her back.

It didn't seem like she was lying… Then again this was Ultear, and you can never be too careful with her.

"Look, I don't claim to know or understand what you went through as a child. All I'm claiming to know is what Ur's character was like during the time that I knew her, and the way I saw her grieve over yo-"

"Hah! you think she grieved over me? She's the one who killed me. I could care less if she-"

"Ultear! Stop and think for a second! What makes more sense, the idea that your own mother, the woman who had cared for you for the previous six years, suddenly decided she didn't want you anymore. Or that the Bureau's scientists lied to her and she really thought you were dead?"

"You know I had that same thought myself when I was there.-

'She didn't leave me, Mommy loves me. She loves me she wouldn't just leave me here. These bad people are just keeping her from me'...

- I clung to that thought as though my life depended on it, but that's the thing about being a child. We always just assume our parents want us, but those kinds of thoughts are far too optimistic."

...

"I got out. I was maybe 8 or 9, the guards had gotten lazy and I managed to sneak away. It took maybe two days to find a way back to the village my mother and I used to frequent for food and other supplies. I got lucky there, some of the locals would give me food since they thought I was some homeless orphan. No one seemed to recognize me, which I understand, It had been two or three years after all."

"The next morning I started for the summit where our little cabin was. I was used to playing on the mountain before she threw me away so I knew where all the easiest paths to the top were. And thankfully there weren't any snowstorms so reaching my old home took less than a day."

"I was so ready to be there, so ready to sleep in my old bed, to eat some of her awful cooking. God, I just wanted to hug her. But lo and behold, what do I find when I finally come home. I don't find a woman racked with grief, or a mother longing for her child. No, I see her smiling, laughing, happy. And all that joy was pointed at two boys I had never seen before."

"Gray and Lyon my replacements. The sons she always wanted but never got. I think that was the moment it clicked for me, even my young mind was able to piece that much together. I was wrong, it wasn't that the monsters back at the Bureau were keeping me from my loving mother. No, I just didn't have a loving mother at all."

...

With her story finally before him, he couldn't help but notice the seemingly genuine hurt she was voicing. For the first time since he'd met her this was the only time he was almost certain, she was telling the truth. She really did believe Ur abandoned her. But there was just one problem with her view.

"That doesn't line up at all with the way she spoke about you."

She seemed to glance at him, questioning his statement.

"When you were four, you managed to open up three bags of flour and pour them out on the kitchen floor because you thought it was snow."

Her eyes widened.

"When you were six and still learning how to control your magic, you froze an entire bathtub full of water while you were still in it."

She nearly gaped as he brought up the embarrassing memory.

"She thought if we had ever met as kids you would have been able to straighten me out. I had a bit of a rebellious personality, and she thought you would have just beat it out of me."

The thought nearly made him chuckle, and the next thought almost made him laugh.

"She also said something about you having me wrapped around your finger, which I disagree with, but you're certainly trying."

He didn't even need to ask to know his words were having an impact.

She looked conflicted, like she wanted to smile at the stories but couldn't quite bring herself to do it. That was fine, he had one last thing to say anyway.

"When we talked about you, she often spoke of how beautiful she thought you would have been... She wept over this old worn picture of the two of you, and there was never any doubt in my mind that she missed you. I can say with complete confidence that she would have given anything to have you back Ultear."

"She took in the boys and me for a time because we needed help, but we could never have been your replacement. As much as she cared for us like sons, you were her real daughter."

Her expression finally cracked. She looked like she was ready to cry right then and there. It seemed like she finally understood, that she could finally see her mother did care for her. At least that's what he was hoping for, but that hope was crushed as he watched her face go from a near crying state, to barely concealed anger.

"She said all that to you? Heh, you really had me going for a second."

No, a decades' worth of resentment wouldn't be brushed to the side so easily.

"Ultear! How can you doubt her? I was there, I watched her shed tears for you. I heard her wails, the way she begged to have you back!"

The woman just hand waved the objection away. "Perhaps she felt guilty about what she'd done to me. I wouldn't be surprised if her conscience revolted against her for the act."

… Did she actually believe that, or was she just trying to find any excuse to keep believing what she thought was true?

"There's no convincing you is there?"

"If what you say is true, then I'll find out when I go back to see her." she told him, making little sense.

"What the hell does that mean, how are you gonna 'go back' to her? She's gone Ultear." He bit

"You don't need to worry your pretty little head about it." She deflected.

... With a sigh he simply accepted that she wasn't going to listen, and righted himself ready to move away.

"Oh leaving already, I thought we had more to talk about?"

"What more is there to say? And even if I did ask what's on my mind, why would I think you'd answer me truthfully?"

"Hmm? I suppose that's true, though I must say I'm surprised you aren't angry with me. I saw the way you handled Deliora, and how close you were to pulling the trigger on pitiful little Lyon. Yet you've barely raised your voice at me, the mastermind behind it all, why is that?"

His eyes immediately sharpened as his stare cut into her.

"You're a fool if you think I'm not angry. But I respect Ur too much to truly hurt her daughter."

"... What an interesting response," she said and then a thought occurred.

"You know it's intriguing to me that one of my mother's disciples cares for me more than she did."

He just looked at her, done with bothering to react to her words.

"I pity you."

That got her attention real quick, and she looked like she was about to snap at him.

"I pity you because I think a day will come when you finally see just how much she loved you. And on that day you're going to hate yourself for what you've done. Today you erased the last of your mother from this world, there is nothing left of her. But when you finally see everything clearly, you'll wish you had some piece of her to remember."

"I pity you because of the regret I know you'll have."

...

With that he turned and started walking for the treeline.

"You have no idea what you're talking about!" she roared at him.

He didn't stop, didn't even acknowledge that she'd called him.

"Do you hear me? You don't know anything!" Still no reaction.

"Don't ignore me!" she screeched.

He passed the treeline.

"You-you came here to find out about the leader of Grimoire's 7 kin right?" He was getting farther and farther away.

"It's me, I'm Hades right hand!" The darkness was starting to take away his form, leaving only a silhouette.

She was running out of ideas "I-I, I know where Zancrow will be!" She still wasn't sure why the boy hated the fire mage in particular but that should be enough to lure him back right?

It wasn't, and any sign of the boy was gone.


As he walked through the forest the night passed him by slowly, and it gave him time to reflect. Reflect on his own actions, most of which were failures, that had occurred in the last 6 days. He'd messed up a lot was the short-hand explanation.

That kept him busy for a few hours, and put him in a self-loathing mood, as he walked circles around the village. But at least it stopped him from thinking about her.

"Man, you Milkovich women seem to have a knack for getting under my skin huh?" he said while holding the frozen necklace filled with Ur's magic in his hand. He knew she wasn't actually there but it made him feel better.

Deciding he'd walked enough, he made his way to the front gate and found it open. More interestingly he found someone sleeping against the side of the entrance.

In a seated position with her back resting against the side of the wall's opening was Erza, seemingly asleep. Glancing at the girl he had the thought to look up and realized the moon was back to normal.

I guess she did decide to take care of that magic build-up over the island.

He was prepared to just keep walking, when he saw her shiver. She was dressed in her standard armor and blue skirt, and while that kind of clothing was fine during the day, the temperature of the island at night could drop quite a bit.

He kept watching as her body tried to warm itself through constant movement, but eventually, he stopped walking.

With a sigh he Re-Quipped a blanket and quickly covered her in it, feeling a bit of satisfaction when she seemed to relax into the new source of warmth. That was good at least, the blanket was cheap so he wouldn't need to ask for it back and that meant she didn't need to know he was the one to give it to her.

With his 'good deed' for the day done he walked back into the village itself and found an open space to rest, not that he would be able to sleep tonight. Ultear was still out there and someone needed to keep watch just in case she tried something.

He was so distracted by the thoughts running through his mind he didn't notice the redhead opening her eyes as he walked past her.


When daybreak came Erza wasted no time corralling all of them onto her ship, which just so happened to be a pirate ship… with a full crew of pirates.

Natsu was dealing with his motion sickness, which Kinzo was cataloging as a major weakness for future use, and Lucy was trying to help console him. Happy was resting on Erza's shoulder while she directed the crew. The old captain was apparently out of commission (something about not getting her there on time). And of course, there was Gray who refused to speak with him.

That hurt, it did, and with everything that had happened and all the awful thoughts that had popped up in the last couple days, it only added fuel to the fire.

"I'm so awful my own family is rejecting me"

That about summed up how he viewed himself right now.

He needed sleep, maybe that would help ease his mind… What a joke. He should know by now that he doesn't get to 'just sleep'. His body might rest, but his mind would be tormented like always. And maybe that was what he deserved.

As he found a private room with a bunk he settled in. Resting his head against the cheap pillow, he prepared his mind for what was to come. The feeling of ice against his skin from Ur's necklace was the last thing he felt before his soul was trapped in this recurring nightmare once again.

But in the end, he knew he deserved it. He wouldn't have these nightmares if he had just been there when his mother needed him. Their voices wouldn't haunt him if he hadn't hurt them to begin with. He wouldn't hate himself if he didn't act like a monster.

So as the curse of sleep overcame him he didn't resist, only accepting what was to come. He figured Hell would be a lot worse when he finally got there, so might as well start getting used to the pain right? And all went black.

As the boy slumbered, the ice around his neck started to hum, and a soft glow of power surrounded it.

"Oh Kinzo, what have you done to yourself?"


Author's note

Well, that concludes Part 2. Part 3, and the Phantom Lord arc will be coming up next. As always feel free to comment and let me know what you thought. Until next time.


Magic

1) Metal-Make Magic like ice make... but with metal

2) Speed Magic (Potential energy magic- p.s. I made this up so you won't find it on a wiki... I think.) so any time you see Conversion Leap (speed boost) or Kinetic Decay (stealing something else's speed and trapping it in place)

3) Telekinesis lifting things with one's mind etc.

4) Re-Quip no armor just items/weapons

Tools

1) His Revolver- Iron Maiden (two types of ammo revealed. Puncture rounds and Flashbang rounds)

2) The rings his mother gave him - can be molded into other objects and when spun together replay a recorded message.

3) The magic absorbing metal - He can choose to make his weapons out of this or other kinds of normal metal (iron, steel, etc.)

4) The Eye of Talionis - replacing his right eye, it allows the user to see magic (Ethernano)

5) Isacc Colt's journals - three journals belonging to his father

6) metal woven into his hair - this will not play a major role for most of the story but I may as well mention it so people don't forget.