a/n: Sorry this is so late, to say simply, School has been kicking my ass. Also this for once is not beta'ed because I wanted to get it out as soon as possible! So I apologize for any mistakes, although I do think this chapter is all right with that….

"She's there."

Ultear stood next to her brothers, her hand resting on the strap of her duffel bag as she waited for the train to arrive. Her violet eyes stared dully at the tracks, the tinny sound of Gray's music blasting though his headphones leaking out into the air around them. Of course he'd rather be listening to music then talking to them, his 'family'.

"She's in the academy that everyone from Fairy Tail goes to."

Like a year ago, the train came whistling into the station, the train car slightly less impressive now that this was the second time she'd seen it—except she was boarding it as a student this time.

"I need you to go there and take her down."

It hadn't been hard, convincing her fake Father to let her to go to this school. He may have been a known member of her supporters, but at least he was gullible as all get go. At least he let her attend the academy, looking rather amused when he did so. He thought he was pulling the wool over her eyes. Joke was on him then. It wasn't like she had anything to lose if things went wrong anyways.

Ultear was supposed to be dead. She knew that, could feel it in the way her body seized and faltered every time she tried to do magic, could feel it in the way her eyelids were always so heavy, trying to shut again permanently. She was so tired, so very tired. Still, she was here, having woken up in some strange teenage girl room three years ago, her life a distant memory and that thought—I'm supposed to be dead. Unable to sleep. Unable to be at peace at last.

"Let's get on the train," Gray said lightly, stepping forward to haul his bag into the compartment. She nodded, although not really listening.

She had a mission to complete.

"She's the one that's the reason for the state of the world. I need you to find her…and kill her."

Ultear nodded to herself. She would get this done. It would be simple, considering her past, killing one person who'd done nothing but harm people wouldn't be to bad would it?

Lisanna told her that only several people retained their magic and memories—because of some mutation in their brain, something that was harmless, except in this situation—it had helped them.

Ultear somehow knew that she wasn't apart of the majority of people working for Lisanna. She had no mutation like the rest; she was a dead woman walking.

So it wouldn't hurt her if she tried to kill this person. What was the point of trying to live when you're already dead? She knew most people would answer this question with "try to atone for the sins you committed in the past" but somehow she knew that was fruitless. She had committed to many crimes to ever be forgiven, or excused in any afterlife. If there was a hell after death, she was certainly going to it.

Lyon helped her into the car, his hand closing around hers and yanking her in, and his encouraging smile bright. He had insisted on coming with them. If both of his siblings were there, he was going too.

Funny thing, that Lyon. She had never met him before the incident, had never really spoken to him like she had Gray, and then to wake up with him as her brother… it was almost nice. God knows that her only family had ever been Jellal and Meredy, and even with them their bond felt almost…forced—because of her. There had been an unspoken comment between the three, that this was her fault. They had all been there, drenched in sin, because of her.

"So which one is she?" she asked, suddenly remembering she was supposed to be playing the part of the older sister. Her question was directed towards Gray, and his head flicked back.

"She?" he asked her, but she could see in his eyes that he knew who she was talking about.

"The girl you love," she deadpanned, and he went white.

"Don't say that so loud!" he hissed, his cheeks going red. She let out a laugh; it was fun teasing him as if he were actually her brother.

It was then, while she was happy for one moment, that she remembered her mission.

The smile dropped from her face, and she immediately began to scan the train car, seemingly looking for a seat, but really inspecting anyone and everyone. Who didn't fit here? It was rather hard, she hadn't exactly studied Fairy Tail before, except for the rare scoffing at some newspaper article she had found. She certainly wouldn't recognize all the members by face, and that was after the incident at Tenrou.

That was when she spotted the person it had to be, because she was looking right at her. Her eyes were green, a bright green like grass, a color that you couldn't get naturally. Her hair was jet black with blue dyed tips, falling in uneven waves to her shoulders. She was smiling at Ultear, the corner of her mouth lifted up as if to say, come and get me.

That was her.

That was the one that ruined everything.

That was the reason she couldn't sleep.

…

She certainly didn't expect the woman to be her roommate of all things. Her heart stopped in her chest when she read the name on the list—when the sinking realization set in that this name was not, in fact, familiar, that it could only mean one thing. She may not be able to match all the Fairy Tail members by face, but she could certainly recognize their names if passed on a list in front of her.

Lyon is stooped over the list as well, a smirk covering his face. "I don't have a roommate," he boasted, turning his silver eyes on her. "What's wrong?" he asked her, his face crumpling together when he noticed the agitation on her face. She quickly transformed her face into a happy one, flashing a smile upwards at him.

"I'm fine," she said quickly, "Just a little nervous to meet my roommate, that's all." He shook his head, and surprisingly pulled her into a hug. Lyon was always more cold then Gray, less willing to engage in the brotherly/sisterly physical contact that shows a bond between people. Still, his arms and body are warm, very warm, and his smell resembled that of her Mother. She closed her eyes tightly for only a moment, pretending she was a small girl, like the one she had been before she ruined her own life.

She is the one to pull away, saying something about 'getting a move on' and they go their separate ways. She paused for a moment before turning to look back at him as he goes up the boy's dormitory stares, looking at his back, his silver hair. He was a brother to her in all the ways that counted, and she was sorry to turn away now. She would come back from whatever awaited her in this room dead or with the blood of another on her hands. Either way, he wouldn't want to see her.

"Goodbye," she whispered, and then continued on her way before he could pause and ask her what she had murmured so softly.

She finds the room she's supposed to be staying in quickly and easily, it is not that far from where she split from Lyon. The door is made out of a plain, cheap wood, and she's bitterly reminded for a moment of the door to her Mother's old house, the one she made sure to burn to the ground.

Her hand reaches down and clasps around the metal knob, twisting it carefully so the door slides open gently, scraping slightly against the floor. She warily steps inside, her eyes wide and suspicious, scanning over every crack and crevice of the room. It's empty, filled with two plain beds and desks, no sign that anyone had ever lived here marking it. She let out a sigh of relief, she could maybe contact Lisanna, ask her what she should do—

"You took long enough," the voice is cold, sneering, strangely deep for a girl, but still undeniably feminine. Ultear whirled around, looking for the source of the voice but finding none. "Look up," the voice instructed, oddly bored. Ultear slowly raised her head to look at the ceiling, the one place she hadn't thought to look at when she walked in.

The woman was lying back on the ceiling like it was a floor, defying all logics of gravity. Even her hair wasn't hanging down. She was the woman Ultear was looking for, if there had been any suspicion before.

"Hello," Ultear said calmly, her years with Hades had taught her how to talk to people like this, people who might want to kill her, "how are you?" she calmly walked to her bed and set down her bag, "We should go down to dinner soon, don't you think?" The woman literally floated down, coming to a stop before Ultear.

"Don't play games with me," the woman said, "I'm the player, and you're merely a pawn at my disposal."

"I'm no ones pawn," Ultear protested, her voice just as level.

"That's where you're wrong," she sang, taking several steps back from the Time Mage. "You're so wrong, so very, very wrong."

"Am I?" Ultear responded, not letting any emotion seep into her voice. Instead she bent down and pretended to adjust her boot. "I don't remember ever saying I would work for you."

"You didn't, but I know you will," the woman said confidently, "You may call me the Duchess, even though my name in this blasted school is Annika."

"I'm not going to work for you," Ultear said firmly, wondering why she wasn't fighting it out with this woman right now.

"I was hoping I wouldn't have to use this little card but—" the woman held up three fingers, closing her eyes as if concentrating. Ultear was about to spring her, the knife clutched in her hand—when the image of a girl came before her, stopping her efforts in midair.

The girl's pink hair was tangled, overgrown, stretching to her waist. Her eyes were frightened and full of pain, her mouth screwed shut, her hands bound by thick iron chains around her wrists, and as she shifted slightly, Ultear could see the skin that had been rubbed raw underneath.

"Meredy!" Ultear screamed, her eyes going wide as she extended a hand, trying to reach for her.

"Ultear?" the young girl whimpered, her eyes growing wide, "Ultear?"

"See this is why you're going to help me," the Duchess said smoothly.

"Meredy," Ultear begged her, "Meredy why are you—" then something happened to her, something Ultear couldn't see, and the young girl that was something like her daughter cried out.

"Please no more," she begged, "it hurts."

"Will you?" The Duchess asked, "Will you work for me?"

"Don't!" Meredy begged Ultear, "Don't work for her! They did the same with Juvia and—" her voice was cut off as she let out another heart wrenching scream. Ultear felt tears gathering the corners of her eyes, her hand stretched out uselessly to the projection.

"Stop, stop whatever you're doing to her and I will—" Ultear said, but the Duchess shook her head.

"Oh no, your service will be what's keeping her alive."

Ultear's head bowed. "Fine," she murmured, and Meredy's discouraged cry rang out before the image dissolved into thin air.

"Oh very good," The Duchess replied, her eyebrows lifting lazily. "I'm so appreciative to your cooperation."

"Aren't you going to tell me what I'm supposed to do?" Ultear asked, her eyes raising up to her face.

"Oh, you and a friend will plan that out," she said, smiling, "but in the long run—I want you to kill Erza Scarlet. Kill her, and I'll let Meredy go. Kill her, and you can go to sleep at last. Kill her, and this will all be over for you."

…

Ultear was supposed to meet with her accomplice tonight at midnight. The Duchess had never returned to her bed, but Ultear didn't expect her anytime soon. Mirajane Strauss, a kind woman Ultear had never spoken to before in her life, had come up to her and told her that her roommate had abruptly been checked out of the school, and that Ultear would now have the room to herself.

It didn't surprise her. The Duchess would certainly not room with someone who wanted to kill her, because yes, Ultear wanted very much to kill her, to squeeze the life out of that pretty form with her bare hands, and would have already, if it wasn't for Meredy.

She glanced once more at the clock, in ten minutes time she would go down to the riverbank to meet him or her. She squeezed her eyes shut, the overwhelming urge to cry suddenly rising up in her. Why did they have to take Meredy? Anyone else that was close to her, even Gray—she could've watched die. It wouldn't be a happy thing for her, she would probably feel guilty about it all her life, and she would be filled with sorrow for many days, but she could do it.

With Meredy she could not. Meredy was like her daughter after all, and was more precious to Ultear then the whole world, as proven right now. If she closed her eyes tight enough she could still here the girl's screams, and wondered what exactly they were doing to her. How were they hurting her, to get her to work for them, to get Juvia Loxar to work for them—even though she was a member of Fairy Tail and not easily swayed to the dark.

Her time was now. She threw back her covers and stepped out of bed, fully dressed with boots on. She swept her dark braid over her shoulder and quickly and quietly exited the room, looking carefully up and down the hallway before progressing towards the left—edging towards the shadows so the cameras wouldn't catch her.

It saddened her slightly, realizing just how much she had not changed in the ten years since she was in Grimoire Heart. She could still sneak around just as easily as before, knew all the tricks to being a thief and a liar.

She followed the shadows out of the door and into the slightly warm night air. The wind whipped against her face, and she followed the path Gray had shown her previously to get to the river, the moonlight illuminating her way.

The person was a silhouette at first, wrapped in a dark cloak, all but his eyes obstructed from view, a hood pulled low over his or her face. At the sight of her approaching, they threw back their hood, revealing a shock of blue hair and a red curling tattoo over one eye. Jellal.

Her heart sank in her chest. Of course it had to be him, of course this twisted up game had to bring everyone she loved into it. She walked towards him as quietly as possible, and saw the setline of his mouth, the tightness around his eyes.

"Please tell me they used Meredy against you too," the words were out of his mouth and into the air before she fully stopped in front of him, and she got the jest behind them at once. He was worried that she was doing this of her own accord that she had forsaken all the hard work she had put into being kind again.

"Of course they did," she said, a cold edge creeping into her voice, "What about you?"

"Yes," he said curtly, "they used her against me, considering I was there when she was captured."

"You were?" she asked, surprised.

"Yes. We were on a mission for—"

"Lisanna," she finished, "You've been working for her too?"

"What do you mean? Have you—That bitch."

"Language. She kept us from each other," Ultear said coldly, "Lisanna has changed from the nice girl she used to be."

"We've all changed," Jellal answered back.

"What are we going to do Jellal?" she asked softly, refocusing her eyes on the ground.

"We're going to save Meredy," he said firmly, and she looked up at him in surprise.

"But Erza—"

"Don't say her name," he whispered harshly, and when she looked up, his eyes were full of a burning pain.

"Jellal—"

"I'm glad you're not dead, at least for now Milkovich," he said suddenly, his eyes meeting hers. He reached out and pulled her into a hug, something they had never once done in their years of working together. She buried her face in his shoulder, and found that it smelled like home.

She wanted to go home. She wanted to sleep.

Could they really kill Erza Scarlet?