The Dragon Slayers Babysit Syllest
Dreamer paced back and forth, half of the time forgetting to put things in her suitcase that she was holding—the other half the time, taking things out that she needed, then remembering she needed them.
"Quit pacing," Macbeth hissed from where he was leaning against the wall, one leg propped up.
"I can't help it!" she snapped back. "We were just told that we have to board a train in one hour, to complete a job that could take anywhere from one night to two weeks! How are you so calm?!"
He rolled his eyes. "We all knew the Excalibur family would collect on its debt," he shrugged. "At least they're not making us go back to Pergrande."
She stopped pacing and chewed on her lip in frustration. "I guess that's true…"
As expected, the Excalibur Family's help at their estate had not come free. Even though it was partially Arturus's fault for not having detailed enough security to keep Resmond's henchmen from the estate, and even though the battle had happened a mere two miles from the castle, and even though Syllest had almost died and Dreamer had actually died, the Family still demanded recompense. Macbeth was right, though. They could have ordered something much more extreme than traveling to a nearby city to conduct interrogations.
"Thugs…" She grumbled under her breath.
"Shut up and pack your bag," he said with a yawn.
"Fine, but I have no idea how much stuff to bring because I don't know how long this is going to take!" She had half the mind to throw the suitcase and its contents out the window.
"I can help you pack, if you'd like."
Something about the drawl in his tone told Dreamer that this was not an innocent request. She glanced up to see him eyeing her open underwear drawer.
"GET OUT!" She chucked a heeled shoe at him.
The dual-haired mage smirked, but obeyed.
A few minutes later, Dreamer was finished packing, and was walking into the living room, looking thoroughly stressed and disheveled.
"Mira?" She called through the apartment. "Mirajane?!"
"Do you need to shout?" Macbeth made a face from where he'd been sleeping on the sofa, waiting for her. "She's not even here."
"What? Where is she? She doesn't go in to work until—"
"Family vacation with Eflman and Lisanna, remember?"
She blinked several times as she struggled to comprehend this piece of information. Suddenly, she gasped dramatically, panic flashing across pink eyes. "If Mira is gone, and Jezran has to come with us, then who's going to watch Syllestra?!"
"Relax, Dream." Macbeth stood up and went to the door. "Someone at the guild will do it, I'm sure."
Fifteen minutes later, they were in the guild hall, and Dreamer was desperately seeking anyone who would babysit Syllest in their absence.
"Kinana!" She ran to the bar where the purple-haired woman was setting up for the day. "I really need your help!"
"Huh?" Kina blinked at her. "What is it, Dreamer?"
"Mira is gone, and Derelict Heart has to go on a job, and I can't bring Syllest because there's probably torture involved—don't ask—so I need someone to babysit her while I'm gone!"
Kina looked harassed by the obvious desperation in Dreamer's tone. She smiled nervously and played with the frills on her dress. "Um… I'd really like to help, Dreamer, but… Well, with Mira gone, I have to pull all of her work too. I won't have any time to watch Syllest."
Dreamer dropped her forehead on the bar with a sigh. "Okay, thanks anyway." She straightened up and tapped her chin in thought. "Aha!" She raised a finger triumphantly into the air. "Juvia! She was responsible for Syllestra before, right? She can totally—"
"No." Macbeth cut her off. "She stalked Gray on a solo job."
"Then, Erza!"
"You really want Titania watching her?"
Dreamer's temple began to pulse. She started to pace again. "Levy!"
"Translating runes in Crocus. Lucy is with her, so she's out, too."
"Laki?"
"Fixing a dam near Clover Town."
"WHY IS EVERYONE GONE?!" She dropped to her knees and put her face in her hands and began to sob.
Macbeth tensed instantly at the sight of Dreamer crying. He nervously tugged on his white braid, and carefully looked away from her. Suddenly, his expression darkened.
"Get up," he commanded. "I know what to do."
Dreamer stood with a sniffle. "W-Where are you going?" She watched him shove his hands in his pockets and walk briskly to the door.
A few moments later…
"Forget it." Erik shook his head, teeth bared in an almost-snarl. "I'm not babysitting your pipsqueak while you run off with your girlfriend."
Macbeth's gaze was unwavering, swirling pools of blood shaded with rage.
"Y-You can think that all you want, I'm not doing it." Erik said, paling slightly as he listened to Macbeth's thoughts.
"Fine." Macbeth suddenly looked away.
"That's it, really? You're not going to threaten me?" He slouched in relief.
"GAJEEL!" Macbeth yelled.
In two seconds flat, the iron slayer was at his side, panting as if he'd run all the way there. Macbeth smirked.
"What's up, Beth? You need something?"
"Watch Syllest while Dreamer and I are gone." Macbeth ordered, as way of an answer.
"Wha—WHY THE HELL DO I HAVE TO DO IT?!"
Macbeth never dropped his smirk as he met the other man's equally red eyes. "Who else could possibly be as competent as my best friend?"
Erik's eyebrow twitched.
Gajeel beamed brightly at the praise. "Well, you're right about one thing, Beth. No way in hell I'd ever let you down."
"Oh, Gajee~," Macbeth's smirk widened. "What would I do without a companion as loyal and self-sacrificing as you?"
Gajeel chuckled, puffing his chest out in pride. "Thought you'd never see it! Looks like I win, snake-breath!" He jutted a finger in Erik's direction.
"Tch." Erik rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest. "You think you can taunt me into babysitting the kid, do you Midnight?"
"I don't know what you mean." Macbeth shrugged innocently. "Come on, friend," he put a hand on Gajeel's shoulder. "Let's go get Syllest."
Erik watched them walk away for a moment, arms around one another's shoulders as if Gajeel had been the one to spend his entire childhood at the dual-haired wizard's side. He scoffed and looked away. Then, glanced back over his shoulder when Macbeth laughed loudly at something Gajeel had said.
I don't care, I don't care…
Dammit.
"Alright! Fine! I'll watch the kid!"
Macbeth stopped in his tracks. He looked back at Erik with a positively evil gleam in his eyes. Erik scowled and looked away, fighting a slight coloring to his ears.
"Oh?" Macbeth cocked his head, causing earrings to sway. "You'll both take care of her?"
"I didn't say that!" Erik snapped.
"Yeah, what the hell do I need pointy-ears help for?"
"Four eyes are better than two," Macbeth pointed out. "Or do you want Syllest to get hurt or lost or kidnapped?" The hell that shone in Macbeth's eyes at that moment was enough to make both of them gulp in terror.
"Hey, hey, nothing's happening to the pipsqueak on my watch, alright?" Gajeel said. "I'll take shifts with the snake-lover if you really want."
Macbeth stared at Erik in silence, waiting for his agreement.
Erik grunted in obvious frustration. "You still play dirty, Midnight."
"Come here." Macbeth gestured for him with his finger. Be it from some previously programmed obedience, or current fear, Erik strode over to him.
Macbeth suddenly gripped a fistful of each of the men's hair in his hands.
"HEY, THE HELL, BETH?!"
"Dammit!"
"Listen to me," Macbeth said, in his darkest, most terror-invoking voice. "If anything happens to Syllestra while we're gone, I will make the rest of your life a living hell. I will haunt you every time you close your eyes. You will wish for the sweet lullaby of death to free you from endless terror. There will be no place on this continent where you will be safe from my wrath, do you understand?"
"We understand," the dragon slayers whimpered in unison.
"Good." He released them, put his hands back in his coat pockets, and walked lazily back toward the main hall.
"He really cares about that little monster," Erik said with a residual shudder.
"Course he does," Gajeel grinned affectionately at Macbeth's retreating form. "He's her old man, now."
Erik scoffed, but remained silent. A hint of a smile lingered on his lips. "Come on, we better catch up."
"Erik and Gajeel?!" Dreamer stared at Macbeth in utter disbelief. "That's your great idea?!"
"Hey, we're standing right here, you know?!" Gajeel clenched a fist.
"Sorry," she looked apologetically at them. "I mean, no I'm not sorry! Macbeth, you want me to leave my child with dragon slayers?!"
"I'm insulted." Erik sat on a bench with a sigh.
"Sorry. No, not sorry!" She shook her head. "There's no way!"
Macbeth put both of his hands on Dreamer's shoulders. "Dream. Trust me. There's no one more reliable than Erik—"
"I'M STANDIN' RIGHT HERE!"
"—he can listen for her constantly. She'll be safe."
"Macbeth… I know you trust him, but—" uncertainty flickered in her cherry-blossom eyes.
"Sh." He pressed a finger against her lips. "Trust me, sweet Dream."
"B-But I—"
He cut her off this time with a kiss, dipping her head back with his fingertips hooked under her chin.
Erik winced, as if seeing and hearing this was physically painful. Gajeel shuffled uncomfortably, settling for putting his chin on his fist and staring at the door.
"I…" When Macbeth broke the kiss, Dreamer was trembling. "Okay."
His plum lips drew up in a victorious smirk. "Good little Dream."
"He always gets his way," Erik grumbled.
"Listen," Dreamer turned on the two dragon slayers, suddenly. "If anything happens to Syllest while we're gone, I'll charm Master into kicking you both out of the guild, do you understand?!"
They fidgeted uncomfortably.
"Yes, ma'am."
"HEY," Piper's voice yelled in from the guild hall doors. "We ain't got alls day! Grab your shit and let's go!"
Dreamer still looked nervous. She scanned Gajeel and Erik over a few more times, while chewing on her lip in frustration—until Macbeth gave her a rough shove in the lower back. He dropped his arm around her waist and whispered something in her ear that made her face flash cherry red. Whatever it was, it had the effect of keeping her distracted as she was ushered out the door.
"What'd he say?" Gajeel asked, curiously. "Something about 'if you're a good girl—'"
"Forget it," Erik cut him off. "Let's find this kid before things get out of hand."
The guild hall was eerily empty, but for a black-haired girl and two dragon slayers.
Syllestra sat on the edge of a table, kicking her legs and humming. Gajeel and Erik sat on opposite benches from one another, staring at her as if she were an alien species.
A clock ticked incessantly in the background. Kinana washed dishes in almost complete silence.
"So…" Gajeel tapped his fingertips on the table. "What do you usually do around now?"
Syllest stopped kicking her legs. She cocked her head to the side and tapped her chin, in deep thought. "Hmm… What time is it?"
"Eight in the morning," Erik answered instantly.
"Oh…" She put her palms on the table and rocked back and forth. "Right!" She grinned cheerily at the two men. "This is when Mom gives me an ice cream cone and jelly beans!"
"Seriously?!" Gajeel's eyes went wide with awe. "Every day?!"
"Well…" She frowned for a moment. "Not every day. Sometimes she gives me cookies instead!"
Erik rolled his eyes. "You know she's lying rig—aaaand he's gone." He sighed heavily and shot Syllest a look. She shrugged innocently, and went back to humming.
Gajeel returned moments later with an ice cream cone and a bag of candy.
"Wow! Thanks Uncle Gajee~" Syllest happily received the offerings. "I'll make sure to tell Dad that you were a super good babysitter!"
"Heh heh, that's what I like to hear, kid." Gajeel crossed his arms over his chest and grinned widely. "Keep talkin' me up to Beth and he'll finally admit he likes me more than beady-eyes over here."
"It's not a competition, idiot," Erik snapped, a little too harshly.
"Be nice, Erik!" Kinana called from the bar.
Erik's eyebrow twitched in annoyance.
Syllest kicked her legs and ate her cone in silence. The two men sat awkwardly, listening to time pass by, achingly slowly.
"What are we going to do next?" Syllest asked, as she licked melted ice cream off her fingers.
Gajeel and Erik exchanged a look that said they had absolutely no idea.
"I don't know, kid, what do you usually do?" the poison slayer asked.
"I don't know!" She shrugged, helpfully. "It's Saturday, so it's always different! Sometimes Mom takes me to the park, or I play with Romeo, except he's not here right now because his dad took him to do something I can't remember what, though. Sometimes I just go with my mom while she does Aaron's—"
"Errands," Erik corrected.
"Or now that I have a dad, we sometimes go take naps by the river. Or he takes a nap and I build sandcastles, I guess—since you guys are watching me, does that kind of make you like my dads, too? Heehee, it's like you're two dads taking care of your daughter, isn't it? It's okay for a family to have two dads, you know? This is the year X784, people are allowed to like whoever they want to like! I used to think Macbeth liked boys, because he looks kind of like a girl, but he really likes Mom, so I guess that can't be true—unless he likes boys and girls, I guess. Erik, did you ever date my dad? You guys lived together before he came here, right? It's okay if you did, but you're not allowed to anymore because he's with my mommy now, and that wouldn't be right, so back off, okay? And Gajeel, I think Levy likes you, so if you don't like girls you should probably tell her before her heart gets broken and—"
Gajeel clamped his hand over Syllestra's mouth. "We gotta do something with this pipsqueak, right now!"
"I agree." Erik tugged on one of his ears.
Syllest pulled Gajeel's hand down. "What do you guys usually do right now?" she asked.
"I'm usually at the gym liftin' weights," Gajeel said, as he scratched the back of his head.
"Oooh, can I come?!"
"I don't know, kid… The men's gym ain't really a place for—"
"Please, please, please, please, please, please, please—"
"SHIT, OKAY! JUST STOP TALKING!"
Syllestra beamed brightly, knowing she'd won.
"Hm. Midnight would be so proud." Erik rolled his eyes and stood. "Let's just do it. Maybe she'll wear herself out on a treadmill and take a nap."
"I will, I will!" She jumped up and down with her bag of jelly beans.
"Alright, kid! Just calm down!" Gajeel reached a hand out to help her get off the table, but she climbed on his shoulders instead.
"ONWARD, MARCH!"
"Goddammit, Beth… I ain't gonna forget this."
Kinana giggled from behind the counter as she watched the three of them leave. "Those poor boys. They're going to need all the help they can get."
"Y'know, maybe this wasn't such a good idea…" Gajeel and Erik both sweat-dropped as Syllest swung on a punching bag.
"Just ignore her," Erik turned his back, and put earphone on to block out the noise.
"Hey, asshole!" Gajeel snatched them right off his spiky hair. "You can't just ignore her! She's our responsibility!"
"It seems to me like she's keeping herself occupied well enough."
Syllestra was now running backwards on a treadmill, and spilling jelly beans into the tread.
Gajeel wasn't so sure. He continued to watch Syllestra while Erik hopped on a separate treadmill to run.
"Gajeel, show me how you get your arms so big! Show me, please! I want to be big and strong, too!"
"Uh… Alright, kid. Come here, I'll show you some weightlifting techniques, I guess."
"YAY~!"
Gajeel was laughing as Syllest struggled to hoist a bar over her chest, the moment the doors opened. In walked Freed, Bixlow, and Laxus, all in exercise shorts with towels around their shoulders. Laxus stopped walking when he saw Syllest. The other two ran into his broad back.
"Hi, Laxus!" Syllest waved vigorously at the blond.
"What are you idiots doing?" He raised an eyebrow. "Why the hell do you have Dragon's kid in here?"
"Dreamer," Erik corrected, as he stepped off the treadmill.
"We're babysitting her," Gajeel said. "You got a problem with it, sparky?"
Laxus scowled. "Babysitting? Isn't that a woman's job?"
"That's why Gajeel is doing it," Erik gibed.
"Watch it, snake-breath! Beth made both of us responsible!"
"They're like two dads!" Syllest squealed, jumping up and down on the bench.
"WE ARE NOT."
"You mean to tell me…" Laxus crossed his arms. "That Daenarys and Mac left you idiots in charge of their kid?"
"That is how it appears, indeed," Freed commented.
"And your idea of watching a kid, is taking her to play on gym equipment?"
"You think you could do it better, asshole?!" Gajeel snapped.
"Whoa, watch the language around short-stuff," Bixlow laughed out loud.
Laxus thought seriously about this. He stroked his chin, eyes flickering from Erik, to Gajeel, to Syllest, and back.
This poor fucking kid… She was raised without an old man, then the first guy to take her under his wing was Midnight, which is basically the same as having another mom. She's got to have the most screwed up idea of what a man really is, and leaving her with these two numbskulls? Do they want her to be a totally screwed up adult?
"Hey, kid." Laxus said suddenly. "Why don't you come with me? I'll take you to the park."
"REALLY?!" Syllest jumped off the bench and ran into Laxus's outstretched arms. "WHOA! This is like a dream come true…"
"HEY!" Gajeel made a fist. "That's our kiddo!"
"Let him have her," Erik said.
"No way! Beth'd kill us! Then Dreamer would doubly kill us! Then Levy would kill me again!"
Erik groaned in frustration.
"Come on, kid." Laxus hoisted Syllest onto his shoulders and stepped back out the door.
"Hey, since when did you become daddy-bird, Laxus?" Bixlow shouted after him.
"Let him be, Bixlow." Freed smiled warmly after the other man. "His heart is simply softening."
"Dammit, Laxus! Wait up!" Gajeel shot out the door after him.
Erik looked at the doorway for a long moment, debating about whether he could get away with ditching this whole charade or not. Finally, he let out a long sigh and followed. He knew Syllest well enough to know for sure that she'd let Macbeth know if he decided to ditch her.
"Have fun with Daria's kid!" Bixlow yelled after him.
You seriously owe me, Midnight.
"Hey, Laxus, your lightning is really cool, I really like it. Have you ever accidentally started a fire with it? Is it hard to control? Are you like a giant battery? If all the power went out in Magnolia, could you start it back up again? Does your magic come from your lacrima or does the lacrima just make it easier for you to learn lightning spells? I don't really understand how that works because there's different kinds of dragon slayers, and you and Uncle Erik are the ones that weren't raised by dragons, you just have a lacrima inside of you that makes you able to use dragon slayer magic right? Does that mean it's a lacrima the dragons made? Or does it have like a dragon soul trapped inside of it?! Do you think my mom can learn blood dragon magic now that she has that one guy's heart? Is my mom a dragon slayer?! You know, I really wanted you to be my dad for a long time, and I thought you and Mom would date, but then I think you didn't date her because she was dating Mystogan—I know she says she wasn't, but I read his secret letters to her. She still has them stashed in her closet, you know. So, I think—"
"Kid," Laxus cut her off. "You want to be a Fairy Tail wizard one day, right?" He picked her up and sat her on her feet.
"Yeah, of course I do!"
"Then the first thing you gotta learn is when to be quiet." He crouched in front of her. "Sometimes, the best thing we can do is listen."
"Okay, Mr. Laxus!"
He nodded in approval, and kept walking. Syllest chased after him, skipping the whole time.
Gajeel and Erik caught up, but before Gajeel could open his mouth, Syllest hushed him.
"It's time to be quiet, Gajeel!" she hissed.
"Finally," Erik said dryly from behind him.
Laxus led them past the Sola tree, to the river, then sat down next to it. Syllest wordlessly sat beside him. Gajeel crouched nearby, and Erik leaned against a building several feet away.
"Do you know how to fish?" Laxus asked, after a long moment.
Syllest nodded vigorously. "I went with Happy before!"
"Have you ever used magic to fish?" he clarified.
Syllest stared at him, her eyes lingering on the lightning bolt scar on his face. She shook her head slowly. "I've never used my magic to fish."
"Watch this."
He stared at the water for a long time. So long, that Syllest started to get bored. She tapped her fingers on the pavement and sighed. Finally, he plunged his hand into the water. There was a spark from below the surface, and the dragon slayer plucked a fish out of the river and sat it next to her.
"WHOA?! Did you shock it with your magic?!" She poked the fish, mouth gaping in awe.
"Show off," Gajeel grumbled.
"Yeah, it's easy when you use electricity," Erik pointed out. "What do you expect her to do? Throw rocks?"
"Shut up, meanies!" Syllest snapped at them. "I can do it! And I'm gonna tell my dad that you guys didn't believe in me!"
Their jaws clamped shut.
Syllest laid on her stomach and stared at the water, little black eyebrows furrowed in deep concentration. She watched the ripples on the surface, and tried her best to see the movement of fins below, or the shimmer of scales. She put her hands together and willed her magic circles. Then, she suddenly plunged her hands in, as Laxus had done.
"I-I got one!" She squeaked. "But it's too big! I can't get it—AAAH!"
There was a splash, as the child was yanked unceremoniously into the current.
"SYLLEST!" Gajeel and Erik jumped to their feet.
"We're dead!"
Gajeel dove into the water while Erik ran alongside the river to catch up with the flailing child in the water.
"LET GO OF THE FISH, KID!"
"NO WAY!" She spat water out and then was dragged back down by the creature.
...
Further down the river, Natus and Happy were fishing on the bank.
"Nothin' biting today, Happy?"
"No," Happy sighed. "Just small fries."
"Don't give up yet, little buddy!"
"But I'm sooo hungry!"
Natsu opened his mouth to respond, but was interrupted by the sound of splashing.
"WHOA, Natsu, there's something HUGE on my line!" Happy's wings sprouted and he tried to reel something in, but it dragged him downstream with it. "Natsu HELP!"
"I've got ya, bud!" Natsu grabbed Happy's feet and pulled. The pole bent as the line went taut.
"There's another one coming!" Happy screeching in fear at the side of something else tearing through the water toward them.
"Don't let go of that fishing pole!" A voice shouted, as Erik raced toward them.
"What the—?" Natsu looked in all directions. "If you want the fish that bad, I can just… FIRE DRAGON'S—"
A bolt of lightning ricocheted through his body, cutting him off.
"Don't use magic, idiot! You'll kill her!" Laxus was running alongside the other side of the river.
"Oh no, Natsu… We have a problem."
Due to being charred by electricity, Happy had dropped the fishing pole. The large, struggling shapes were being pulled further downstream.
"Someone do something!" Gajeel yelled.
"That's Syllest in the water, Natsu!" Erik said, panting for breath.
"Syllest…" Natsu cocked his head to the side, then his eyes went wide. "Can she fly?"
"What?"
"Cuz there's a waterfall right around that corner, and if she can't fly—"
"GET HER!"
Happy was already zipping in the air above the river, trying to catch up. "Don't worry, guys! I'll catch her!"
The perilous drop approached. A twenty-foot plummet onto jagged rocks. Happy flew over the edge and braced himself. "I'm ready!"
A flailing shape dropped over the edge. Happy dove into the water. The dragon slayers finally caught up, and all stared from the cliffside, waiting for the blue cat to emerge. For a moment, there was no sound… nothing. Then…
"NATSU!" Happy's voice called up from the mist. "It's a miracle! I did it!"
"He got her," Erik sighed in relief.
"Looks like the cat is useful after all," Laxus commented, but with real relief on his face.
"Bring her up, Happy!" Natsu cupped his hands over his mouth and shouted.
There was the sound of Happy's wings flapping. He rose into the air, a beaming grin on his face…
…and a giant fish in his paws.
Four sets of jaws dropped.
"It's the biggest fish I've ever caught, Natsu!" Happy drooled. "I told you! It's a miracle!"
"Happy! You were supposed to catch Syllest!"
Happy flopped the fish on the shore. "I was going to, but she never fell!"
"You're sure?" Natsu asked.
"Aye, sir!"
"Alright, everyone split up," Laxus commanded, as he rolled up his sleeves. "She can't be far." His expression was grave. "You know what'll happen if we don't find this kid…"
They gulped.
A bird cawed overhead. Two preteens stared down at a wet pile of clothes and hair between them.
"Do you think we should tell someone?" one of the boys asked. He had spiky blond hair and wore an orange vest. A scar stretched from his right eyebrow.
"I-I don't know…" The other had long black hair and red eyes, and was trembling slightly.
"Hey." The blond jabbed the unconscious girl with the toe of his shoe. "Hey! Wake up! Are you okay?"
"I don't think yelling at her is going to help, Sting…" the other boy whispered.
"Well, what are you gonna do, Rogue?" The blond snapped, defensively. "Give her CPR?"
"Ew, no!"
Suddenly, the young girl coughed. She flailed for a few moments, then sat bolt upright, her pink eyes as wide as saucers.
"Am I dead?" she whispered, eyes flickering back and forth between the preteens. "Are you… angels?"
Sting grinned widely, Rogue looked away with a blush.
"Nah! We're dragon slayers!" Sting held his hand out and helped her stand up. "What happened to you? We thought you were gonna drown!"
"Oh! Hi, my name's Syllest! I was trying to fish with one of my uncles or daddies or whatever he is, and I hooked a fish but then I fell in and… wait, did you say dragon slayers?"
"Nice one, Sting…" Rogue grumbled. "We weren't supposed to tell anyone in Magnolia who we are."
"HEY KID!" A voice echoed from somewhere nearby. "YOU ALIVE?"
Syllest tensed, then suddenly grabbed the boys' hands. "We have to run!"
"Wha—why?" Sting blinked, uncomprehending.
"Those guys are trying to find me!" Her expression was grave. "They're horrible people. Big and scary and, and, and…" She furrowed her brows. "They tortured me with the gym…"
"Jim?" Rogue whispered in horror.
"We gotta keep her safe from Jim!" Sting tugged her behind a building. "Don't worry! We're dragon slayers! We'll protect you!"
"Hee hee, okay!" She grinned from ear to ear, and skipped along with the older boys.
The men were fanned out, searching the forest and streets.
"Can you smell her, Natsu?" Happy asked, while toting around his catch.
"I'm tryin' but…" He groaned, and shook his head. "Her scent is all washed away!"
"Hey, what about you, pointy-ears?" Gajeel yelled over to Erik, who was looking in a dumpster. "Hear her anywhere?"
"It's kind of hard with all your shouting," Erik winced.
"Everyone shut up and let Cobra listen!" Laxus shouted. The others fell instantly into silence.
Erik straightened up and closed his eyes. His brows furrowed in concentration. "…yeah. I think I got her. I could hear those rants from ten miles away."
"Lead the way, then!"
Erik started down an alleyway. "She's running. And she's not alone."
"No way…" Natsu and Happy shared a look. "Kidnappers?"
"You'll just have to show them who's boss, Natsu!"
"Aye!"
"Hey, listen, Erik," Gajeel said as they ran. "When Beth asks how this babysitting thing went, we're gonna tell him that we took the pipsqueak to the park, made her a PB&J, and put her down for a nap, okay?"
"Fine with me."
"How long do you think we need to run, Sting?" Rogue asked, as they turned yet another corner.
"Maybe we shouldn't run…" Sting's eyes gleamed. "Maybe we should stop and fight! We can take a couple of kidnappers!"
"But what about this Jim? He sounds scary…"
"Aw, come on! We beat dragons, remember?"
The black-haired boy didn't look so confident. He was about to retort when he realized that Syllest was gone—an outline of her shape lingering in space.
"Where did she…"
In the adjacent street, vendors packed the sidewalks, selling goods. The crowd was huge, and they could just make out a head of black hair whipping in between people.
"Hey, little girl!" Sting pushed people aside to catch up with her. "What are you doing?"
"Do you have money?" she asked suddenly.
"Uh…"
"Cuz look at this cute bear!" She hoisted a toy up from a stand. "It's so soft and cute and cuddly and its got a special recording lacrima so it can record your voice and you can give it to someone special! I should get one for Romeo!"
"Um… no offense, little girl, but we don't have money to be spending on kid toys. And shouldn't we get out of here before those guys—"
"And Jim—"
"—catch up with us?"
"Oh…" she blinked a few times. "Right! I know where we can go! This way!"
The men turned a corner and skidded to a halt.
"What's up, Erik?"
"Shut up, I can't focus." He closed his eyes and scowled. "There are so many people here…"
They had emerged on a crowded market-street.
"I can definitely hear her voice though… Come on."
"LOOK OUT, DETECTIVES NATSU AND HAPPY ON THE CASE!" Natsu barreled through the crowd. "Excuse me, Sir, have you seen anyone that looks like a kidnapper around here?"
"There!" Erik pointed at a vendor selling toys across the street. His cart was lined with stuffed animals, figurines, and other children's toys. "There she is!"
Gajeel shouldered his way through, to the stand, and looked back and forth, but to no avail. "Kid? KID?!" He huffed. "She's not here, snake-breath."
"Yes, she is." He stopped walking to listen. "I know I heard…"
"Hee hee."
They both froze, trying to identify the source of the sound.
"Hee hee."
Erik crouched down to look under the stand.
"Hee hee."
He stood up, slowly. His face was deadpan and pale, and he was holding a stuffed bear in one hand. He held it up to Gajeel, and pressed a button on its paw.
"Hee hee, hide and seek! Hee hee, hide and seek!"
"You mean to tell me you were hearing a doll this whole time?!" Gajeel fumed.
"How was I supposed to know she'd pull an evil trick like this?!"
"She's BETH'S kid! Of course, she's gonna pull tricks on us!"
"Now we're out of leads."
"Not exactly," Laxus said from a few feet away. His eyes were narrowed, gaze on the edge of the crowd where a cart of pink roses had been knocked over.
Syllest climbed over a chain-link fence, then looked expectantly at Sting and Rogue.
"I think it's private property…" Rogue said.
"Little girl, isn't that a school?"
"Yep!" She put her hands on her hips and beamed at them. "It's my school! No one will find us here! They're too stupid to look in a school!"
"Makes sense." Sting hopped over the fence.
"What? No, it doesn't!" Rogue sighed, but followed.
"I'll show you around! No one's here because we don't have school today, but that's okay! Over there is the playground! I really like the tall slide but some bullies always try to stop the other kids from going down, so one day I tied the bully's shoelaces to the grate and he fell and hit his head and I had to stay after school and my mom was soooo mad. Do you go to school? How old are you anyways? Do dragon slayers ever go to school? I don't think Natsu went to school, and that other girl Wendy doesn't go to school. Maybe you could come to my school and we could be friends! I don't have any friends… except Romeo and all my family!"
"Do you really think she's running away from someone?" Rogue whispered as they walked behind her. "It would make more sense if someone was running away from her."
"Hee hee, my shoes are so squeaky!"
Her sneakers, which were still wet from falling into the river, squeaked and squelched with every step. She left a trail of mud in her wake. "Ooops, someone's gonna have to clean this up! I think they were supposed to hire a new cleaning lady cuz the old one left. She said Magnolia is too crazy and she wants to live on an island far away from wizards. That's so silly, right? Wizards are great! I'm a wizard! Wanna see what I can do?"
Before either of the them had the chance to answer, footsteps echoed in the hall. The three children stopped in their tracks and listened.
"Do you think it's Jim?" Rogue whispered.
The footsteps stopped. Then…
"How vile! What ingrate would walk on my freshly polished floor with filthy shoes?!"
"RUN!" Syllest giggled and fled, her little shoes squeaking loudly. She ran into a classroom, out into the hall, then into the cafeteria.
"Stay out!" The voice yelled. "Do not get your bacteria infested body anywhere near the place where food is prepared, trespasser!"
"Sting! Rogue! Battle stations!" Syllest stood on a table and pointed the other tables next to her. She braced herself, facing the door. "I'll fight you, cleaning lady!"
A harassed and angry figure walked through the cafeteria doors. His white hair was tied up in a hair net, and he wore elbow-length cleaning gloves and galoshes. He stopped in his tracks. Syllest stared at him. He stared back.
"…Princess?"
"Heart guy?"
Sânge blinked, uncomprehending.
"You know this guy, little girl?"
"Yeah, he saved my mommy! After he kidnapped me and dragged me up to meet my mean daddy who held me over a giant pit with diamonds in it, though. What are you doing here, heart guy?"
"I…" Sânge's cheeks took slight color. "I have been out of employment since I… er… left the employment of… Yes, well, what are you doing here, young lady?!"
"I'm having fun!" Syllest said brightly.
A door slammed open in the distance.
"She's in here!"
"Uh oh…" Syllest looked at the door, barred by Sânge. Suddenly, she took off her shoe and one, brown, dripping sock, and chucked it at the blood dragon-slayer. There was a splat, as the slimy sock slid down his face.
Instant knock out.
"Sorry, heart guy!" Syllest hopped off the table, used Sange's back as a spring board, and continued her escape.
"H-Hey, wait for us!"
Syllest was already long gone. The men in pursuit ran past the cafeteria. Only Laxus stopped, noticing the boys standing dumbfounded in the doorway. "What the hell are you doing here? Go on, get out of here. This is Fairy Tail business."
"Fairy Tail…?!" Sting and Rogue looked back and forth at one another.
"I said get out!"
The sun was dipping in the sky, casting Magnolia in golden hues. A group of dragon slayers met under the Sola tree, defeat in their eyes.
Natsu was wet, with twigs in his hair. Gajeel was dusty, with shoe prints on his clothes. Laxus's coat was missing a sleeve. Erik had a sharpie heart drawn on his cheek. Happy was happily munching a cooked fish.
"It's been hours…" Erik said, his voice shaky.
"We lost her for real this time," Gajeel agreed.
"Man, I'm so hungry…" Natsu's stomach growled.
"This would have never happened if you two weren't so incompetent", Laxus snapped at Erik and Gajeel, though there was no real passion in his voice. "I'm getting out of here."
"What? You're giving up? Real manly, spark-plug!" Gajeel snapped.
"Look, the kid was your responsibility. Me and Natsu are off the hook. You two might as well skip town tonight and live on an island."
Gajeel and Erik shared a look of horror.
"Ah, come on, guys!" Natsu straightened up. "I bet she went back to the guild hall to get some grub!"
"That's just what you wanna do, Natsu."
"Yeah, so? Kids get hungry too!"
"It's worth a shot…" Erik sighed.
Their feet dragged as they walked back to the guild hall, heads hung low.
"We're dead…"
"Doubly dead."
"Triply dead…"
Natsu kicked the door open. "Hey, Kina! I'm starvin' over here! Can I get some chicken?"
"No problem, Natsu!" Kinana waved at them as she organized glasses on the bar.
They stepped inside.
"Well, it looks like you guys had fun," Kina giggled. Her eyes lingered on the heart on Erik's cheek.
"Has the kid come by here?" Gajeel asked.
"Huh? Oh, yeah! A few hours ago!"
Erik and Gajeel shared a startled look.
"Where is she, Kinana?"
"Right there! You didn't see her?" She pointed behind them. They swiveled around and looked.
Syllest was sitting cross-legged on the floor. She had a clean nightgown on, slippers, and was having her hair brushed by Wendy who sat on the couch behind her. She opened her pink eyes and gazed innocently at the men.
"Hi, Uncle Gajeel and Uncle Erik."
Gajeel clenched a fist. "I'm gonna—"
"What?" Erik cut him off. "You can't lay a finger on her and she knows it."
Gajeel pouted.
"Oh, hello!" Wendy smiled at them. "Syllest said you guys were playing tag in the city! Carla and I gave her a bath when she got home. It's so nice to see you taking care of her."
"Tag…" Erik pinched his temples. "Yeah, right." His voice was drained of all emotion.
"Come sit with me, uncles!" Syllest patted the rug on both sides of her. "Gajee, I wanna brush your hair! And Erik can put pretty bows in mine!"
"No way, kid!" Gajeel bared his canines, studded eyebrow twitching in fury. "You know how much trouble you're in? We were worried as hell about you!"
Syllest's pink eyes wavered. Her bottom lip trembled. "I… I'm sorry…" Tears gathered on her eyelashes. "I just wanted," *sniff*, "to have fun with you guys…"
Erik and Gajeel shared a panicked look.
"Hey, you don't need to cry, alright?" Erik took a careful step forward, hand raised as if approaching a wild animal.
"Yeah, just… No more runnin' off, got it?"
"I promise…" She sniffled. "Do… do you hate me?"
Wendy stopped brushing her hair, when Syllest put her face in her knees and started to sob. "Oh! Syllest, I'm sure they don't hate you!"
"They do hate me!" She sobbed louder. "Cuz I was bad and I was a nuance—"
"Nuisance," Erik corrected.
"And they're gonna tell my mom that I was bad, and my life will be over!" Tears splattered in all directions.
"Look," Erik walked closer. "We won't tell on you."
"We'd be screwed if we did," Gajeel sweat-dropped.
"I'm so sad!" Syllest wailed.
"Look at what you've done!" Carla put her hands on her hips and huffed at them, tail twitching. "How manly! You've made a little girl cry. I hope you're proud of yourselves."
"It's okay, Syllestra." Wendy patted her head. She looked up at Erik and Gajeel, petitioning them with chocolate eyes. "Please, be nice."
"Yeah!" Syllest sobbed. "If you want me to stop crying, then… then…" She wiped her eyes. "You'll let me play with your hair." This was said in monotone, a dark shadow passing over her face. There was a sinister spark in her eyes.
Gajeel was sitting cross-legged in front of her in the next half-second.
Syllest's tears were instantly dried. She grinned brightly, took the brush from Wendy, and started tearing through his thick hair.
Erik shoved his hands in his pockets, then carefully took two steps backward, hoping to slink away unnoticed.
Syllest loudly cleared her throat and patted the floor beside her.
Erik sighed in defeat. He took his spot next to the evil child, and accepted a proffered basket of bows from Wendy.
The pink-eyed devil could not have been more pleased.
Dreamer's suitcase bounced loudly on the cracks in the pavement as she half-jogged toward the apartment. She silently thanked the gods over and over that the job had only taken one night. Still, she had been haunted by thoughts about what kind of tragedies could be occurring back home, with the two unwitting babysitters.
"Dream," Macbeth sighed as he tried to keep pace with her. "She's fine."
Dreamer wasn't so sure. She'd napped on the train ride home and dreamt of Syllestra climbing chain-linked fences, running from someone. In another dream, the girl had drowned. In yet another she had followed strangers through alleyways.
Her pace quickened.
She gasped when the apartment came into view, then completely abandoned her suitcase to run for the door. Macbeth cursed under his breath, and picked up her luggage with his own. Dreamer was already at the door, fiddling nervously with the key in the lock. She shoved the door open, and stepped onto the carpet, eyes darting around the room.
Macbeth caught up a few moments later. He peeked in the door. His boisterous laughter suddenly resounded through the living room.
The living room had been turned into a pink blanket-fort. Popcorn and candy littered the floor. A giant pile of pillows made a makeshift mattress, on which were a little girl, and two full-grown men.
Gajeel and Erik were wearing fuzzy, pink bunny onesies. Gajeel's hair had been braided haphazardly, and littered with bows and glitter. Erik's fingernails were painted with rainbows, and he had donut stickers on his cheeks. Clip-on earrings hung from his pointed ears. The two of them were completely unconscious, slumped against each other on the bed of pillows. Between them, snuggled in the middle, was a peacefully sleeping child with a wide smile on her face.
"I told you they were fine," Macbeth commented.
"Look at this mess! And candy, at this hour?! When they wake up I'm going to—"
"Sh." Macbeth put a finger to his lips. "Let it go, Dream." His eyes twinkled. "And let me take you to your room."
Her cheeks colored, as she was officially distracted from the mess. "My room? Why?"
"So I can tuck you in, of course," he drawled.
She swallowed nervously, then shut the front door behind them with a sigh. "Well…" she glanced at the snoring, snuggling group on the floor. "She's safe and happy."
"They probably stayed in the apartment all day."
"Yeah…" She nodded, slowly. "I don't know why I was worried."
"Neither do I." He interlaced his fingers with hers. "Now, let's go to your room before I get sleepy."
"You… might as well sleep here tonight," Dreamer said, as they carefully stepped over pillows and stuffed animals. "Since… you know, it's already a slumber party."
"Should I wear a bunny-suit, too?" He smirked, as they escaped the living room into the hall.
"No," she said, too quickly. "I-I mean… I don't want you to put on more clothes."
Macbeth tripped on the carpet at these words. "Oh?" His cheeks colored. "Bold tonight, aren't we?"
She squeezed his hand, as they retreated to her bedroom.
In the living room, Erik's head slumped forward, bunny hood drooping to cover his eyes. Syllest's eyelashes fluttered peacefully, the serene smile never leaving her lips.
The angelic, little devil.