DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the characters in Fairy Tail, all rights to those characters belong to Hiro Mashima. The only parts of this story I own are my character, Rose Jay, and the plot. I do not make any profit from this fanfiction; it is solely intended for your reading pleasure.
As the sun slowly descended in the sky, the guild members departing to their respective residences, Diana and I sat at the bar while I told her about what Grant and I had been doing for the majority of the day. Just as I suspected, she averts my gaze the whole time, but I know she's still listening. Like myself, she still worries about the people we saved on that horrible day, secretly wishing that no harm would ever befall them again. Both of us know that wish can never be entirely realized, but we never expected that our own history would come back to bite us even harder, either. Nonetheless, nothing could have prepared us for the horrors that would one day cut a rift through the Rogue Zodiacs so deep it could turn us against one another.
I'm about to try cheering up my little sister by telling her a funny joke, but I'm cut short when the guild doors slam open. I feel my heart stop for an amount of time that seems almost inhuman, a wave of panic sweeping in with the new arrivals. They run up to us, and I have trouble recalling them as their faces come into a clear view.
"Gemini?" Diana asks, tilting her head to one side. "What are you two doing here?"
"Joshua reported that Celestial Blood has a lead on the outing you two made in the Northern Sea," Zoey pants, her hands braced on her knees as her breath comes in rapid gasps.
"The guild master's sent his demon to fetch the both of you," Kaylein finishes, sounding as equally out of breath as her twin. "And we need to get to it before it gets here."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa," I interject, putting a hand on Kaylein's shoulder. "Back the truck up here for a second. You mean to say that Diana and I need to fight that-." I stop and cringe as I feel a shudder run up my spine. "Creature together?"
"Not just fight it," Kaylein corrects, looking to her twin as a spark of comprehension passes between myself and my sister. "Kill it."
She's barely said the last half of her sentence before my fiery wings are spread and I'm flying out the guild's front doors. Diana is hard on my heels, her wings of ice matching the speed of my own.
"Well, then what the hell are we waiting for?" I shout back at Zoey and Kaylein, squatting down to give one of them a lift and motioning for Diana to do the same. "Let's go kick some dragon-harpy ass!"
Zoey hops onto my back, and Kaylein reluctantly rides with Diana, and within moments, we're flying out into the darkening sky, totally unaware just how ill prepared we are to face the enemy that hunts us. By the time we've reached the same location where Diana and I took our first job since joining Fairy Tail, the sky is littered with stars, and the moon is nowhere to be seen.
"I don't like the feeling I'm getting from the guild, Rose," Diana whimpers, her fear evident in her voice and her eyes as she looks to me for reassurance. "It's quiet-."
"If you finish that sentence, I'm disowning you when they capture all four of us and torture us to death."
That earns me a slap upside the head from Zoey and a haughty hiss in the ear.
"That's three of us," she corrects, reminding me that she and Kaylein together are Rogue Zodiac Gemini. "Get your math straight."
My mouth opens to snap back a retort, but something flashes in my peripheral vision and I silence the group. I try to prepare my Wolf Claws, but whatever it is that I saw just now is much faster than I'd anticipated. It bodyslams me full force, and my Wings of Freedom spell breaks, sending me falling towards the rippling black surface of the ocean water. Zoey's weight is lifted from my body and I know that she's merged with Kaylein once again, releasing the burden of her life from my shoulders. Literally.
I make no sound as I plunge into the freezing cold salt water, the muscles in my body already seizing up. The creature that I had thought to be dead three years ago plunges in after me, forcing me down, down, down. Its inhuman black eyes glare at me with rage, making its natural composition seem very conflicting. Had this thing truly been human at one point before it became such a horrible abomination of life? I find that very hard to believe.
My chest suddenly throbs with the fierce desire to take in a fresh breath of air, and the water's steadily increasing pressure. I can't find the strength to force the dragon-harpy off me, let alone did it even occur to me that my life is about to be crushed out of me in a matter of seconds.
Without warning, the beast's grasp on me is forcibly lifted, and the crushing weight on my chest subsides when a firm hand grabs mine.
Diana.
Once I surface from the water with my sister and the creature, my fists immediately connect with its ugly mug. If there's one thing I'll never turn down, it's a classic fist-fight. I can hear shouting from somewhere nearby, and I recognize Zoey and Kaylein's voices calling urgently for us to get out of the water, but I can't stop myself. The satisfaction of hearing my knuckles collide repeatedly with my opponent's face is much too great. However, I find my senses when more urgent voices reach my ears. These ones I can't recognize at all, and my heart begins to race. Pausing to look around, I notice that the home turf of our very enemy looms before me, and there are dozens upon dozens of its members flooding out of its front doors. At the center of this crowd stands their temporary guild master. He's smiling at me with the purest contempt I've ever witnessed from someone without a metaphorical heart. Within the ranks of the guild members, I can recognize some minor Celestial Spirits, and I see their faces brighten up when their eyes set on me.
Without even realizing it, my Wings of Freedom spell seems to almost cast itself into existence, its fire blazing white with the surge of my fury. I raise myself out of the water and clench my fists until my knuckles turn white. I can hear Diana shouting at me, but I refuse to listen. I'm lost in my rage.
"So, I take it you're in charge of Celestial Blood while your current guild master is out on a job," I shout at him, my downturned mood easily reaching his ears. "Or am I just going crazy like the rest of your guild, Eric Dagenais?"
I spit out his name as though it were a deadly poison, earning cries of repent from the gathered members of the guild and hushed snickers of amusement from fellow Celestial Spirits. Eric simply smiles at me, his dirty-blonde hair falling neatly over one side of his face and his one visible brown eye glinting with satisfaction.
"Well, Miss Jay," he calls to me across the water, ignoring my question. "I must admit that I'm impressed by the fine young woman you're becoming."
"You shut your mouth, you fucking pervert!" Diana shrieks, making to charge for him, but a wall of white flame blocks her path and she stops. "You take that back, or I'll rip you to shreds, you piece of trash."
"No sister of mine will ever be caught in the act of something so entertaining," I growl warningly, unable to restrain the smile on my lips. "At least not without me."
"My my, this is quite a show, but I'm afraid we're going to have to cut the scene," Eric laughs, flashing us with a smile that radiates evil in its purest form. "I believe the director has called for a change in the cast!"
The entire thing happens within such a short period of time that I'm literally left with my jaw gaping in sheer horror. I catch a split second glimpse of Diana before Eric's lackey comes flying at her from behind, a small dagger driving easily into her left shoulder. The creature's momentum is far greater than any resistance my sister is able to summon forward, and the two crash through the front wall of Celestial Blood. I remain where I am, my Wings holding me suspended right above the ocean water. I wait with growing fear and impatience for Diana to emerge in triumph and screech out a battle cry of rage. Nothing happens. Two sets of hands grab my arms and I feel frozen in time for a moment while my arch nemesis raises a fist in victory and files into the guild with the rest of those putrid Dark Celestial Wizards. Then it all disappears, and I'm taken away from that place of nightmares, having been forced to leave my only remaining family member behind. The next view that appears before my eyes is the inside of a guild I now know almost too well. The pair of hands that had once been firmly grasping my arms release me, and I look around the guild for the one other face I know.
"Gemini, you're back-."
I turn just as the familiar voice speaks and I'm filled with joy and a flare of hope.
"Grant, I need you," I beg, almost toppling him over, unaware that tears are streaming down my face. "They've got her. I don't know how much longer she has until they start torturing her for information, but we've got to go back there now-!"
"Rose, slow down," he manages to say, cutting off my mile-a-minute explanation. "Take a deep breath and calm down, then tell me that again, but a whole lot slower this time."
"Celestial Blood has Diana, and I doubt it'll be long before they start coming after the rest of us," I whisper, knowing most of the other guild members are too distracted with their own troubles to bother listening in. "I need you to help me rescue her."
I grab his hand and start walking out of the guild.
"Now."
From the outside, the guild seems fairly quiet, at least at first glance. The only real activity that we can see from our viewpoint a couple of miles off is the steady repair being done on the massive gap in the guild's wall. I check the watch on my left wrist and groan impatiently as it displays 206 a.m. Grant puts a reassuring arm around my shoulder, making his best attempt to calm me down.
"Just be patient, Babe," he whispers soothingly in my ear, holding my chin as he turns my to face him, kissing me softly on the lips for a good long moment. "We can go in and get her as soon as Gajeel comes back."
"If that iron-headed jackass isn't back by 2:15," I growl quietly, my hands clenching into fists. "I'm going in there and getting her myself. If you want to join me, it's your choice, not mine."
A silence falls between us that gets even more tense with each passing minute, without even the slightest trace of Gajeel Redfox. He's a very strong member of Phantom Lord, and with good reason, too. Like Natsu, he's a Dragon Slayer. Although instead of fire, he uses Iron Dragon Slayer magic. His life story also follows the same basic storyline, wherein the dragon that raised him, sharing the same fate as Natsu's parental dragon, upped and left without a word. Not that I care about either of those two idiots, anyway. One is just as equally stupid, simple-minded, and thick-headed as the other.
Looking at my watch once more after what feels like eons, I get up the moment I see the numbers two, one, and five. I don't even get the chance to stretch before Grant pulls me back down to ground level. There's a curtain of alertness clouding his eyes as he points to a shadow moving rapidly towards us along the shoreline, and I groan with clear resentment, knowing all too well who it is. The unnecessarily long, black hair, the red eyes that can radiate the most fearsome hatred, the unmistakable air about him that says, 'I have power, and I'm not going to spare it for the likes of assholes that get in my way.' Everything about that Dragon Slayer just makes me want to turn tail and run until the soles of my feet are worn down to raw bone… Everything.
"Aside from the wall reconstruction, the only unusual thing is the guards posted outside an important-looking door on the ground level," Gajeel reports, his deep voice grating my eardrums like the sound of metal on metal. "If anything I'll bet that's where we want to start searching."
"Why do I have the sudden feeling that we'll be walking right into a trap?" I purposely hiss out loud, having fully intended to piss of the metal-headed freak.
"I get that you trust me just about as much as the space between your teeth," he shouts angrily at me, grabbing me by the collar of my shirt. "But so far as I know, you two need to be in and out of there quick as lightning, right? So that's why I'm here."
The air almost literally ripples with electricity as Grant stands up and puts a hand on Gajeel's arm that's holding me. The look in his eyes would put everyone in the Underworld, including the Devil himself, in their place.
"I know that iron doesn't usually conduct electricity," my boyfriend mutters threateningly as Gajeel sets me down and releases his grip on my shirt. "But I can make it happen. So, keep away from my girl unless you want to get the shock of your life."
Gajeel turns back to Celestial Blood, his expression now blank. I follow his gaze, suddenly getting the impression that our time to wait has just come to an abrupt stop. The members of the guild that had been steadily reconstructing the gaping breach in the wall were now filing in through the front doors. My body is screaming at me to fly in there, find Diana, and get her out of the before they can lay a hand on her.I try to move my feet, try to bring myself out of this trance, but nothing is working. I know this feeling well, though I've only experienced it once before now. It's the most powerful emotion to have control over your entire bod in both the physical and mental state of mind… Fear. It's not only the root of all nightmares, but also the cause of the majority of decisions made by any living creature in tight situations. Yet, it has one more irksome trick to play. If you can't come to a decision even with fear coursing through the highways of your brain, it will create a traffic jam, so to speak, and you'll find yourself temporarily paralyzed. Mind you, that's just my opinion of how it works. Giving up on trying to move my body, I opt to try my luck at verbal communication. My only success is a pathetic and helpless whimper, which luckily catches Grant's attention.
"You okay, Rosebud?" he asks worriedly, standing in front of me, his pupils shrinking considerably before he starts shouting inaudible words at me.
Why can't I hear what's going on around me anymore? I think to myself, my body still refusing to move. My question is more or less answered when I hear a faint female voice come into my ears. I don't even need to recognize it. I know exactly who it is. The only thing I can't make out is what she's saying. There's a minute of silence that's making me feel all the more anxious. Then, in the time span of two seconds, my heart takes off at an unbelievable pace, my knees buckle, and the bone-chilling sound in my ears matches the searing pain in the back of my left shoulder. Not a moment later, my hearing returns, yet I can't rid my head of the echo of my sister's scream to save my life. Both Grant and Gajeel are looking at me with obvious concern. They remain silent for a moment, and when they finally decide to break the silence, Gajeel is the first.
"Hey, Fairy," he snaps, waving a hand in front of my face. "You there?"
My eyes are looking straight through them, fixed on the location of my mortal enemy, and ultimately, the location of my little sister.
"Rose, are you okay?" Grant demands, his hands on my shoulders as he gives me a gentle shake.
"Diana…"
The name comes out as a strangled whimper, and neither Grant nor Gajeel need any further explanation to understand. However, they do take a few seconds longer to register the true urgency of the current situation. Without even realizing it, I bolt right past the two of them, making a direct beeline for the blackness of the open ocean water. I'm about to cast Wings of Freedom, but for whatever reason… I don't. What ends up happening is that I dive into the water and cast my Wings underwater. I know you're thinking I'm stupid for even trying, but trust me when I say that it actually works. The flames can't be seen, but their power is still there nonetheless. I focus on the location of the guild, picturing the distance through closed eyes in relation to the strength of Diana's aura. As soon as I have this information, I summon every shred of Fire-Make magic that I can, and a heartbeat later, I'm speeding towards Celestial Blood like a torpedo. I'm thankful that there's nothing that blocks my way, considering how much power this underwater flying forces me to spend, and the huge risk it implies for not only myself, but my sister as well. Once I reach the front doors of the malevolent guild, having all but completely exhausted my Fire-Make magic and my accomplices hot on my heels, I hesitate.
"I could be walking us all to our deaths," I whisper, a twinge of guilt passing through me as images of all the other Rogue Zodiacs start flashing before my eyes. "The fate of thirteen lives… All because I had to save my little sister."
"Rose, there are only twelve of us," Grant corrects me, a hint of curiosity in his voice, almost as though he was going to question what he believes to be an error on my part.
"Right, stupid mistake," I laugh nervously, shaking my head to clear my mind as I reach for the door handle. "I keep forgetting Gemini is one person, not two."
The three of us jump with a start when a high-pitched voice screams from somewhere within the guild, and I feel my heart shatter, spilling its contents of fear and rage. Such a massive amount of it, too. I only hear my little sister's second cry of anguish before my vision shrinks down to the size of a pinhole.
"Rose, help me!"
The world as I know it seems to change around me, when in reality… I did. Literally. Echoing the heartbreaking cry from Diana, I call out to her, waiting for her to reply as I sprint into the guild, taking out the guards posted at the door leading downstairs. It never comes. Taking a deep breath, I'm just about to call her name again when my eye catches on a dark figure reflected in a mirror. I whip my head in the mirror's direction, and I realize two things in doing this. The first is the answer to why Diana's not responding to me calling out for her, and the second… Well, let's just say that my chances of getting out of here without a scratch just multiplied exponentially. It's also ramped up how much I will ultimately enjoy mowing down hundreds of these pitiful dark wizards.