Disclaimer: I don't own FT

Erza groaned as she awoke. 'Am I dead?'

All around her was white. Silent. No, not silent. The sound of birds chirping faded into her consciousness.

"They'll be okay. I'm surprised most even survived." A voice said faintly.

'I'm awake? Why can't I move? Most survived? What about the rest?'

"If you hadn't found them when you did, none of them would have survived." Another voice added – female this time.

Erza desperately wanted answers, but could not bring herself out of the white trance she was in. As she tried to claw her way to consciousness, she was dragged back into the darkness, falling back into total slumber.

Meanwhile, Ren Akatsuki held Sherry's lifeless hand, tears in his eyes. Lyon placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, looking at Ren's fiancée on the bed, no more than an empty vessel.

"She isn't gone," Lyon stated, "no one ever is. They stay to watch over us, to make sure we're okay."

"I'm sorry, Sherry. You... you didn't deserve this." Ren uttered, struggling with his words. He gave her a final kiss on the forehead before Lyon drew the white sheet over her body completely, he himself struggling with the loss.

Eve Tearm had been the other fatal casualty.

"Men!" Ichiya cried, Hibiki also with a deep sadness in his heart, "He was so young."

Many of the group were severely injured, and some, like Erza, still unconscious. The one person that could heal them all, Wendy Marvell, was also unconscious and therefore not able to help the situation.

"Where are we?" Elfman asked his sister upon awakening. Mirajane quickly pulled him into a hug, ignoring his startled cry of pain before she answered.

"A man named Jude Heartfilia rushed to Meadowdell once he heard the news, apparently he had business prospects there-"

"Not anymore, he doesn't." Gajeel interjected, arm in a sling, resulting in a few cold glares.

"-and he came across us. He brought us back to his estate to nurse us back to health."

"Did any of the town survive?" Gray asked. Mirajane looked back at him sadly. He immediately knew the answer.

"Even with all our might... the town was destroyed," Laxus commented, still in shock and sporting fresh scars over his body, "when it was the demons destroying the town there was at least something left... but that guy left nothing."

"There are so many questions," Pantherlily began, "we need to regroup to figure out the answers."

"How can we save towns when we couldn't even land a hit on him?" Gajeel asked, furious with the outcome.

"We leave it to the council for now until we recover." Laxus replied, knowing that was not a good long-term plan. Even the Rune Knights were depleted in numbers, especially after the Meadowdell incident. Many had not been able to protect themselves with enough energy.

Gildarts sat in a lone corner, lost in his thoughts. 'Master entrusted me with this task, and now two are dead... this is my fault.'

"Quite a situation you got yourselves into," Jude Heartfilia spoke, standing in front of him, "but your actions were noble."

"Where's your wife and daughter?" Gildarts asked, noticing a picture on the wall and choosing to change the subject. Jude flinched.

"My wife is dead and my daughter ran away." He replied, looking away. Gildarts instantly wished he had never asked the question.

"I'm sorry. You don't have any idea where she's gone?" He continued sheepishly.

"She left with no more than a bag and the clothes on her back," Jude whispered, "if you have a daughter, don't let her go. Nothing compares to her love."

The words stung Gildarts as he thought of Cana.

"Wake up, Natsu!" Happy demanded, pulling on the dragon slayer's cheeks.

"That's not going to help things." Carla stated, looking worriedly at Wendy. The pink-haired boy began to stir. Happy poked his tongue out at the female Exceed, who simply scowled in response.

"I'll kick your ass, come down here and play fair!" Natsu shouted, springing to an upright position in the bed, "Eh? Where are we?"

As Mirajane explained the story to him, the Raijinshuu also awoke.

"I suppose it's a long shot, but do you know anything of the man that attacked Meadowdell? Or about any of the attacks?" Jura quizzed, shuffling through the sad atmosphere towards Jude, inhibited with an injured leg. Jude turned to him.

"I do not. But perhaps you can- no, never mind, that will never work."

"Tell us," Gildarts implored, "any information we can get would be helpful."

Jude sighed, "there is a woman who has feelings about things, feelings so accurate that she was ostracised from her village. Perhaps she can shed some light. She lives in a hut on the eastern far side of the estate. I don't have the heart to kick her out... Lucy would go and stay with her from time to time. I, being a man of logic, do not believe a word she says, and she is slightly crazy. Don't go with high hopes.'

"Thank you." Gildarts said, rising and clasping the man's hand in both of his, "I'll see what she says."

"I'm coming too," Laxus spoke for the first time, rising from his place next to Wendy (who was again wrapped in his coat, her small fingers refusing to let go even in the realm of unconsciousness), feeling somewhat responsible for her pain.

The two men left the makeshift hospital ward, stepping into the foyer.

"Who knew, you do have a caring side." Gildarts jibed, elbowing Laxus in the ribs.

"Erza already gave me that one," He responded, "think of some new ones, old man. Wendy's like a sister, I want her to be okay. "

Gildarts pushed open the large doors, relishing in the fresh morning air that drifted through, tinged with the faint smell of fresh grass. Together, they made their way along the long stretch of grassland that surrounded the Heartfilia mansion, noting how it became progressively wilder as they advanced. Plants grew freely as the border turned into forest.

"Is this it?" Laxus asked once they arrived at a decrepit old pile of wood. Upon closer inspection, he realised that it was indeed a house, complete with a door made of rotting bark, "How can anyone live here?"

Gildarts stepped up to the door, knocking on it with a knuckle. This resulted in the door being blown to pieces. A shriek soon followed.

"My door!" An old woman cried, hunched over and scuttling towards them with the aid of a stick. She lifted it over her head and swung it at Gildarts.

"I'm sorry," He said, dodging the blow, "we just have some questions and were told that you may be able to answer them."

"Questions, mm? Well well, that changes everything. I love questions. Come in, let me pour tea." She mumbled, turning back into her house. The men had to duck to get through the door, and were far too tall for the tiny hut. The woman lifted a small china pot and began to pour into three matching mugs.

"Uh, how did you know we were coming?" Gildarts asked, noticing the amount of cups she had been prepared before their entrance.

"I had a feeling," the woman replied, "oh yes, a feeling that there was going to be visitors. Usually it's one, but now she's gone away..."

"You mean Lucy? Mr Heartfilia's daughter?" Gildarts questioned, "Has she been here recently?"

"No no, she doesn't have time for little old me now. Nobody does. I have a feeling you're here for something other than me, after all."

"What is your name?" Laxus inquired. The old woman set the tray with the teas on the table, seating herself in a large, out-of-place plush chair whilst the men settled on rotten tree stumps.

"You can call me Mary, everybody else does. I have a feeling that isn't my name, but now it is. Who knows?"

Laxus sighed, deciding to get straight to the point, "Can you tell us about the recent attacks? About Moros and a man called Rune?"

"Who has been attacked? I wasn't aware of this." Mary asked, causing the men's faces to drop, "I had a feeling, but I never knew for certain."

"We can't get anything from here," Laxus stated, standing up and banging his head on the low ceiling, further increasing his bad mood, "Let's go, Gildarts."

"This will be bigger than either of you can imagine," Mary started suddenly, after taking a sip of tea, "I have a feeling, yes... this will be a war for not just the land, but for light and goodness itself. Darkness has awoken."

The lightning dragon slayer sat back down, his interest piqued.

"Much you must learn alone, for I do not remember well what I have read in that library. My memory was the price. I have a feeling you will get by. Perhaps you can defeat the darkness, perhaps you can not. We will not know until the world is either engulfed in darkness or light. Every day my sanity leaves me... everything is fading... words on pages slip away like dust. Even with this tea to clear my mind, I'm fading. Tell me, do you feel that?" She asked, tears forming in her eyes.

"I can't say I do," Gildarts replied, patiently watching her, "who are you?"

"I cannot say. I do not know. Only glimpses. Pages. Shelves. Perhaps a librarian? I have a feeling someone remembers. Perhaps they don't." She answered.

"Who is Moros? Where is he hiding?"

"Moros... Moros is Moros. Nothing more, nothing less. You cannot find Moros; he will find you when the time is right."

"When the time is right? What does that mean?"

"I do not know. I do not know. Leave me now, I have a headache. Leave me, seek your answers elsewhere! Seek your answers in the cave near the rotted trees, where the rivers meet! Leave!'

Both men scrambled to their feet and out of the open door, spines tingling at the urgency in Mary's voice.

"What does she mean?" Laxus asked, walking back to the main building, "Where the rivers meet?"

"We need to look at a map," Gildarts said, 'I hope this gets us somewhere.'