xXxDarkShadowWolfxXx – I honestly don't mind when you review, as long as you're enjoying the story :D and thank you! I actually tried to get published a while ago (I don't exactly know what happened), but am very keen to try again! X3
Aikoyu Saotome – I hope Gajeel isn't turning out too OOC lol XD I love his irrational violent tendencies ;D Hope everything's alright! I'm sure things will improve, they always do :3
Alecia – Fear not! The next update is here! XD I'm so glad you like this so much! :D:D
8. Nobody's Home (Avril Lavigne)
I couldn't tell you why she felt that way,
She felt it everyday.
And I couldn't help her,
I just watched her make the same mistakes again.
What's wrong, what's wrong now?
Too many, too many problems.
Don't know where she belongs, where she belongs.
She wants to go home, but nobody's home.
It's where she lies, broken inside.
With no place to go, no place to go to dry her eyes.
Broken inside.
Open your eyes and look outside, find the reasons why.
You've been rejected, and now you can't find what you left behind.
Be strong, be strong now.
Her feelings she hides.
Her dreams she can't find.
She's losing her mind.
She's fallen behind.
She can't find her place.
She's losing her faith.
She's fallen from grace.
She's all over the place.
She wants to go home, but nobody's home.
It's where she lies, broken inside.
With no place to go, no place to go to dry her eyes.
Broken inside.
She's lost inside, lost inside
Gajeel was slightly relieved when he saw some of Shock's normal fire start to seep back into her eyes. It was better than the depression and anxiety that had been plaguing her for the past few days. After learning the story behind her hometown's destruction, Shock was unstoppable – neither old man Chiavelli nor that little girl, Sammy, had been able to stop her storming out of town and after the Dark Guild.
They were now travelling along one of the quiet country lanes that led from Lilia to the surrounding towns and villages – the one that led through the small mountain range overlooking the decimated village. Gajeel smiled to himself as he followed his irate partner. The situation was turning out rather well – they would be able to legally kick some ass, and they would be finishing their job at the same time. Where they were going to get payment for the job was a different story, with the village in ruins and all, but as long as Gajeel got to bust some heads he was happy.
But he had to admit – he was still extremely curious as to what Shock and her sister had been arguing over, and what Chiavelli had mentioned. Shock in the military? It just didn't add up, someone as small as her being in such a harsh environment. And then everyone kept mentioning her being 'taken'. Why? Who would have taken her and for what purpose?
Gajeel's gaze fell on Shock's tense form as she marched along in front of him, her fists balled angrily at her sides and her shoulders tense. He could almost imagine the look of pure rage that must be flashing across her face at the moment.
"Hey, slow down a little, Squirt," he called, his own pace casual. "Got something I want to ask you."
Up ahead, Shock slowed a little, his voice registering in her tumultuous mind. As much as she hated the nickname, it had sort of stuck since become Gajeel's partner. She had been in her own little world since storming off in pursuit of the Dark Guild, she hadn't even realised Gajeel was following her. She was so angry she could have taken on the entire guild by herself. She paused and waited for her partner to catch up, casting him an enquiring gaze.
"Yeah?" she prompted as they continued side-by-side. She tried to ease some of the tension in her shoulders, but she was still so worked up that she found it almost impossible.
"That girl from the town, the older one… she's your sister?"
Shock nodded, her tone slightly sheepish at the thought of what he must think of the two of them, quarrelling like that. "Yup, that was Fizz."
Gajeel nodded thoughtfully before continuing. "What the hell was she going on about? All that shit about being 'taken'… I don't get it."
She grimaced at that. As much as Shock was loathe to talk about her stint in the conscription camp, she felt Gajeel at least deserved an explanation. He was her partner, after all, and as she thought about it, she realised she had actually started to trust the callous dragonslayer. After hearing so much about it and not understanding a thing, Shock was a little surprised that he hadn't exploded sooner and demanded to know what the hell they were talking about.
"It's a long story," she started slowly, folding her arms and staring down at the ground as she walked. "I wouldn't know where to start."
"How about you start by explaining who they all say you were taken by?" Gajeel answered nonchalantly, like they were talking about something as trivial as the weather.
Gritting her teeth, Shock decided to press on before her instinct got the better of her and she shut her mouth.
"When I was twelve, I was forcefully conscripted into a military camp. I was held there for six years before I managed to escape and found my way to Magnolia," she fought against rushing through it all – what was the use of telling him if he didn't understand?
"Conscripted when you were twelve?" Gajeel had to admit, he was surprised. But it made sense – now he could see where his partner had picked all her odd habits up. She never slept more than three or four hours at a time; her near obsession with training and her impressive strength and self-control. Those kinds of things didn't usually come naturally.
Shock nodded, pursing her lips in a grim line. "It was after my mother died – my father had been killed in action when I was only three, so there was no one left to look after me and Fizz. We took to the streets and went our separate ways – the military came through the town and picked me up a year later, sedated me and dragged me along like a dog." She spat the last line distastefully.
Gajeel was quiet for a little while, letting all the things Shock told him sink in. It still didn't add up. He was all for power and all that stuff, but what Shock was saying was a little bit over the top. "What I don't understand is why they would forcefully recruit children into the army. What's the use of it?"
Shock sighed nasally. She shook her head and answered in a quiet voice, "I don't even know myself."
Before her partner could ask anything else, she picked up the loud hum of voices ahead of them, around a bend in the trail. Switching to stealth-mode, Shock's expression turned stony and her eyes gleamed with barely concealed bloodlust. She held out a hand for Gajeel to stop walking, and she herself came to a halt. Her eyes narrowed as she tried to distinguish how many people were ahead of them, and who they were.
When Gajeel tried to ask what was going on, she held a finger to her lips to shush him, not breaking her gaze away from the leafy-strewn bend in the mountain path.
If there was one thing, and one thing only, that she was thankful for about the conscription camp, it was that they had taught her valuable survival and tracking skills.
Tuning out all other sounds around her – the chirps of the birds, the rustle of the wind in the trees, her partner's breathing – she focused solely on the voices floating back to her. She could hear about five different accents, in seven different tones. By her guess, there were about eight or nine men ahead. Creeping along the path to hear them more clearly, Shock started picking up strands of their conversation. They couldn't be too much further along.
"That was by far the easiest raid we've ever done!" one of the men laughed callously.
Shock gritted her teeth, fists clenched. She hid in the shadows at the side of the path, waiting to confirm her suspicions.
"Don't be so sure, there are still a few more towns ahead," another, deeper voice answered. "Lilia was only the second stop."
Suppressing a throaty growl, Shock had to force herself to stay in one place, and not go charging blindly at the Dark Guild that had just so recently decimated their hometown. There was no use in jumping in head-first – she was outnumbered and most definitely not a match for nine fully-grown men. The only advantage she had on her side was speed, and that wouldn't do any good if a fight came down to brute strength.
She shifted slightly to go back to her confused partner, and felt the familiar weight of her charm belt sway on her hips. She allowed a slight, feral grin to curve her mouth. Maybe she did have a chance. And she had Gajeel and his iron fists for back-up, too.
Now the only decision to make was which offensive to take.
Gajeel saw the animalistic look on Shock's face and let one of his own predatory grins break free. It looked like it was time to bust some heads. He rolled his shoulders and cracked his knuckles. "I take it we're attacking?"
Shock, who was looking down the shadowy path, looked at her partner over her shoulder and flashed a wicked grin. "They won't even know what hit them."
…
"I can't wait till we hit the next town!" a young man, maybe in his early twenties, sighed happily and clasped his hand behind his head as he walked. His guild's last raid had been a raging success – those suckers hadn't even known what had hit them.
He scoffed as he thought of their naïve stupidity – they thought if they had paid the irrationally high taxes, they would leave the town well enough alone. They didn't even realise they were just raising the taxes to make them sweat a little! And when his guild offered to let them work their debts off… the stupid suckers were clambering for the chance!
He snickered and turned to another one of his fellow guild members. "That was the easiest free labour we'd ever managed to find, eh Brulio?"
The older man, with heavy scarring on his weathered face, chuckled as he replied, "Probably won't get that lucky again. They were so scared, they thought if they worked for us we'd leave them in one piece! Never mind we were going to burn the town anyway – we can't chance leaving any evidence behind. Legal guilds would be breathing down our necks in no time!"
"Oh, but they already are."
The group of eight stopped suddenly. Brulio started at the sudden voice. It seemed to melt out of the shadows of the trees.
"Who was that? Show yourself!" he yelled, searching for any sign of the speaker.
"It wouldn't make a difference if you saw me or not… you're dead either way."
The voice sent shivers down the Dark Guild members' spines. It was soft, feminine and calm, but held a deadly undertone to it – like a blade sheathed in velvet. It seemed to be coming from nowhere and everywhere all at once.
"You think you're a match for us, girl?" Brulio called out, turning in circles to try and pinpoint the voice. "Come out and face us, then!"
The voice chuckled sensually. "Oh, I'd love to."
Before he could even draw another breath to fire one last taunt, he was enveloped in constricting shadows so tight, he was immediately knocked breathless. Suffocating and blind, the shadows continued to tighten around him. The rest of his guild couldn't even hear his screams.
The other eight members of the Dark Guild could only watch in horror as the shadows that had suddenly wrapped around their leader slowly dissipated. His lifeless, crushed form slumped to the ground. A girl seemed to melt out of the darkness of the trees ahead – the murderous aura radiating from her slight form was almost tangible.
Her blood-red eyes seemed to bore into each and every dark mage before her as she took slow, deliberate steps towards them. A pair of gigantic black wings sprouted from her back, made of a writhing mass of shadows. More inky blackness swirled around her body like a poisonous mist, spreading its deadly tendrils towards the petrified men.
The young man who had first spoken, like the rest of his guild-mates, was rooted to the ground in fear. Sure, they were a Dark Guild who practiced alchemy and forbidden magic, but never before had they come across something like this. He had never seen a magic that exuded such hate, such power, such strength all at once. Just the feeling of being too close to it made him feel physically ill. The mysterious girl looked like a demon from hell. And she had even managed to take Brulio, their guild master, down in one fell swoop. It was unnatural.
She stopped next to the lifeless corpse of their leader and nudged him with the toe of her boot. She cocked her head to the side, assessing whether he was really dead or not. Frowning, she muttered, "That was almost too easy." Turning her attention back to the rest of the guild men, she grinned. "Who's next?"
It was as if that simple phrase, uttered with the same tone one would expect of a child asking to play, was the trigger to snap the men out of their trance. On instinct, they scattered, heading back down the trail that would lead them to the town they had just decimated. But before they could get too far, a wall of shadow sprang up before them, blocking off the path and sealing off the forest on both sides.
Two men tried to push through it in their desperation, but quickly found themselves trapped in its jelly-like texture. The shadows swelled and bubbled, melting over the two of them and quickly sucking them in like quicksand. They muffled cries of panic were abruptly silenced.
The remaining six men spun around to face their attacker. She stood in the exact same place as she had before, arms folded and a sadistic smirk on her lips. "You're making this too easy."
"W-who are you?" one of the dark mages stammered, eyes so wide in fear it seemed like they were about to burst from their sockets.
"Who am I?" Shock repeated questioningly. "Who I am doesn't matter. This has everything to do with who you are." She directed her statement at what was left of the group.
"What do you mean, who we are?" a mage with sandy brown hair and freckles squeaked. The rest of his guild cast him a lewd eye – he was ruining their reputation. They were meant to be a Dark Guild! Feared by many, and most definitely not scared of some freaky little girl with shadow wings.
"You are the Dark Guild who passed through Lilia Valley not so long ago, are you not?" Shock raised an eyebrow impatiently.
"So what if we are?" another older man with black hair shorn close to his scalp answered aggressively. "What's it to a pipsqueak like you?"
A muscle in Shock's jaw twitched. From his hiding place to her left, Gajeel slapped a hand over his eyes in exasperation at the mage's stupidity. He was facing an extremely pissed-off Shock, and called her short? If she wasn't going to kill any more people before, she sure was now.
Anger bubbling in Shock's veins, she directed the shadow magic swirling around her towards her hands, forming identical black daggers in each of her palms. She clutched their hilts tightly, the blades glinting menacingly in the scattered beams of light falling through the forest canopy.
"First, you destroy my hometown," she ground out through clenched teeth, regarding the man who had spoken with her venomous eyes, "and then you have the gall to insult me? It doesn't work like that."
Quickly trying to gather their scattered courage, the dark mages squared their shoulders and faced Shock, trying their best to ignore the look in her glowing red eyes. They had burned and massacred villages before, they shouldn't be scared of a lone girl with freaky magic. Their combined strength was surely more than enough to handle her… right?
Eyorn, the mage who had jabbed at Shock's height complex, sniggered and formed a ball of lead in the palm of his hand. Using his metal-moulding magic, he pulled a long chain from its base, creating a rounded smashing star of sorts. "Sorry to break it to you, shorty, but that's how it'll be. That village of yours was too easy, anyway. We like more… challenging conquests."
Expression turning stony, Shock narrowed her eyes at the cocky bastard. So that's how he wanted to play it…
Her opponent started swirling his weapon above his head in wide arcs with meaty arms. With each wide swing, it gathered more momentum and eventually reached such a speed that it looked like a solid line of iron rotating over his head. The rest of his fellow guild members exchanged looks, grinning cruelly – no one went up against one of Eyorn's Shooting Stars and won.
While the dark mages were absorbed in there little pre-victory grin-fest, Shock acquired a bored expression and looked over her shoulder at Gajeel. He just shook his head at their enemy's stupidity and over-confidence. She sighed and smirked, nodding her head at the rapidly spinning weapon.
"Hungry?"
Gajeel grinned, the metal studs adorning his face flashing. "Consider this my breakfast."
…
Eyorn, seeing that the girl wasn't paying attention to the immediate threat before her, grinned maliciously and sent his lead projectile flying with deadly accuracy. It whistled through the air like a bullet, flying straight and true towards its unsuspecting target. He could almost see the ball crashing into her skull, knocking her head clean off her shoulders. He revelled at the sight of blood.
Glancing at the incoming projectile, Shock merely sighed an annoyance. Did they really think that little cannonball would be enough to stop her? Really, she expected more from a Dark Guild. All she did was simply lean to the side to avoid it as it whistled harmlessly past her ear.
Eyorn and the rest of the Dark Guild could only gape in a mixture of amazement and shock at the girl's blatant lack of concern over the deadly weapon hurtling towards her. She regarded it with what looked like boredom in her eyes. At the last moment, the girl leaned a little to the left, letting the Shooting Star sail harmlessly past her head. Behind her, another monster of a mage caught it deftly in one hand.
He grinned at their dumbstruck expressions and crushed the lead ball in his impossibly strong grip. They continued to watch in horrified fascination as he proceeded to take a large bite out of the solid metal weapon.
The metal studs embedded in his face seemed to shift and slide as the creature thoughtfully chewed Eyorn's deadliest attack. Finally, he swallowed and cast the shell-shocked mages a disinterested look.
"Not bad," he chuckled darkly.
His shadow-drenched partner laughed smugly at their blank, wide-eyed expressions. "You might want to pick your jaws up off the floor – it's ruining your reputation."
Shock, seeing that they were a little too dumbfounded by Gajeel's normal behaviour, flung one of her shadow knives at the men. It stuck in the ground at the nearest one's feet, quivering slightly. That seemed to break them out of their trance.
Gripping their weapons tightly, the six remaining men all charged forward with a half-hearted warcry, the fright in their eyes making Shock's blood sing with the anticipation of battle. The shadow magic she controlled harboured all of her negative, war-loving emotions that she normally hid away. But in cases like these, it was such fun setting them free. It was like the shadows had a mind and personality of their own, amplifying her anger and bloodlust tenfold.
"Let's get this party started!" she cried jovially, launching herself into the fray with a feral grin, more shadow knives appearing in her hands.
Gajeel smirked and jumped in after her. He couldn't let her have all the fun, now could he?
…
In a matter of minutes, it was over. The remnants of the Dark Guild lay sprawled across the forest path and surrounding areas, some dead and others dying. When Shock fought, she was ruthless. Even Gajeel had been a little surprised at her violence.
But when things she held dear were desecrated, she held no sympathy for the perpetrators.
The Charm mage picked her way over the bodies, nudging them with her boot to make sure they were dead. Most of them hadn't stood a chance against her and Gajeel's combined attacks – she would either suffocate them in her shadow cloaks or slit their throats with her black daggers, or she would pin them in one spot and let Gajeel do the rest.
One of the men groaned – she remembered he had put up quite a good fight with his wind magic, but hadn't been able to blow the shadows away. She stopped, looking down at him. She was overcome by a sudden wave of melancholy.
Hadn't she promised herself that she would start again? That she wouldn't go back to her old ways? She had escaped from the camp for a reason – she had hated everything they stood for. The constant fighting and death… she had hated it. And yet here she was, doing it all over again.
Images of her decimated hometown and her parents' charred, blackened gravestones flashed in her mind's eye. They may have been brief, but they were enough to remind her of what she was fighting for. She slammed a booted foot down heavily on the lone survivor's neck.
Hearing the sickening crunch, Gajeel looked up from where he crouched, pausing in his search of one of the dark mage's pockets. Finding nothing of interest, he let the tattered coat fall to the ground and slowly ambled over to where his partner stood.
He glanced down from where her foot rested on the dead man's broken neck and back up to her blank expression. "I never had you pinned for the ruthless type," he commented.
Shock just shrugged. "I have no sympathy for those who mess with anyone close to me."
The way she said it – so matter-of-factly, like it was the most obvious answer in the world – made him laugh. She turned to face him, cocking her head to the side and raising an eyebrow curiously. "What's so funny?"
Gajeel just shook his head, smirking. "Nothing."
Pulling a tongue at him, Shock stepped over the corpse and began heading back down the trail to Lilia. She had things to do, people to talk to.
Looking over his shoulder one last time at the destruction they had created, Gajeel grinned and followed his partner. That sure had been fun.
Pretty soon, he noticed Shock slipping into her own little world again. Wondering what she was thinking about, he nudged her shoulder with his elbow.
"Hmm?" she looked up at him, hands clasped behind her back.
"What're you thinking about?" he asked conversationally. He suddenly felt sociable – that, for him, was new territory. And how better to explore it than with his partner? She was always encouraging him to be more approachable, anyway.
Shock shrugged, looking down at the dirt beneath her feet as they walked. "Nothing much. Just what to do when we get back to village."
"We still need to get paid for this, you know."
Shock smacked his arm in mock annoyance. "Is money all you ever think about?"
Gajeel smiled, and Shock almost fell over – for once, there was nothing sarcastic or taunting about it. Hell, it wasn't even a smirk. Just a plain old, normal smile. "No… food is pretty important, too."
"Typical male," Shock laughed, rolling her eyes. "Only concerned with your stomach."
"Not all the time!" he protested.
"Oh really?" Shock folded her arms and arched an eyebrow, smirking. "Then what are you concerned with the rest of the time?"
Gajeel returned the smirk, mimicking her posture. "Not like I'd ever tell you, Squirt."
"Again with the annoying nicknames!" Shock shoved her partner playfully, walking away from him and laughing.
"They're not going anywhere anytime soon, so you might as well get used to it," Gajeel quickly caught up with her, slinging an arm around her shoulders. He knew it annoyed her to no end when people emphasised her lack of height.
Shock swiftly spun out from under his arm, beginning to jog down the forest path. "I'll meet you back at the village, I have some things I need to do!" she called over her shoulder as she ran.
She sped up and disappeared around a bend in the path. Gajeel shoved his hands in his pockets, shaking his head as a small smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. That girl was so strange sometimes.
…
Shock's smile faded as she ran. She knew she shouldn't be running away again, but she couldn't help it. She couldn't let people get close to her again – it only brought pain and suffering. She thought of her sister and it only strengthened her resolve.
She may condemn herself to a life devoid of deeper connections, but as long as it kept the people around her safe, she didn't care.
She turned her thoughts back to Lilia – she had a plan to help the town, but no one was going to like it. She gritted her teeth and sped up. She was going to carry it through whether they liked it or not.
It took Shock about ten minutes to jog back to Lilia. As the ruined town came into sight, she felt her heart constrict painfully. She may not be able to change what happened between her and Fizz, but she could try her best to make it up to the rest of the villagers at least.
She stopped near the outskirts of the village, looking around sadly. Ash still drifted down from the skies, making everything dull and grey. She realised she had come to a stand-still next to the burnt-out military compound. Her melancholy gaze drifted to where her parents' graves lay under a pile of charred wood and still-glowing ambers. She took a deep breath and focused on the task at hand. She knew what she had to do, even if it did cost her.
Her shaking hand drifted down to her belt, grasping one of her charms. Stilling the tremors, she pulled the Time charm from its loop and brought it up towards her face. The opal and tiger's eye stones glittered in the watery sunlight filtering through the clouds. She had always wondered how such a powerful charm could seem so unassuming.
She knew she had to use this charm to make up for her past wrongs. She had to help the village, it was only right. Shock knew the consequences of using the Time charm, but it was something she had to bear with.
"Shock, what are you doing?"
The young Charm mage looked up from her charm, eyes locking onto Fizz's confused face. She stood a little ways away, to her older sister's left, in front of the military compound. The smouldering flag fluttered weakly in the breeze.
Shock looked back at the charm in her palm, her expression unreadable. "I think you have a pretty good idea."
"You can't," Fizz's tone was incredulous. "You know what Mom said about never using that."
She just titled her head, studying Time intently. She mused how deceiving it really was, acting all innocent as it lay there in her palm. "I have to, Fizz. It's the least I can do to help the village."
"The village will rebuild itself!" Fizz protested. "You can't regrow a part of your life, Shock!"
Shock smiled sadly, her heart heavy but her mind set. "It's something I can live with."
There were more footsteps behind her.
"What's she talking about?" Gajeel asked as he arrived.
Shock frowned. He'd heard too much already. This was going to get trickier… once he knew what the Time charm could do, he wouldn't let her use it.
Before she could try and make an excuse, Fizz butted in and answered for her.
"The Time charm can turn back small amounts of time and restore certain things to previous conditions," the younger girl bit out angrily, her eyes never straying from her sister's blank face. "But only at the cost of part of the user's life force. In other words, the more you use it, the more time is takes off your lifespan as compensation."
Gajeel shot Shock a sharp look. "You're not thinking what I think you're thinking, right?"
She looked over her shoulder at her incredulous partner. His heart sank when he saw the amount of conflicting emotions in her eyes – there was a lot of fear there. She was dead scared, and he could see it. But there was determination there, too – she wasn't going to be swayed from her decision. But most of all, there was sadness and regret. They flitted in equal measures across her features, almost rolling off her in waves.
He wasn't used to seeing her so confused and conflicted. It unsettled him, made him concerned – neither emotions which he usually felt. As if she could communicate with him using her eyes alone, he suddenly understood how she felt. She felt responsible for what had happened to her village, though she wasn't even directly involved. She still felt it was her duty to help make things right.
Expression softening, Gajeel sighed. There was nothing anyone could say that would change her mind now. Even at a time like this, she was so stubborn.
"Are you sure you're okay with this?" he asked his partner, his tone uncharacteristically gentle.
Shock offered him a watery smile and nodded, blinking back tears. She could live with whatever consequences as long as she could try make something right again.
Seeing the exchange between the two mages, Fizz just gaped in shock. "You're not seriously letting her go through this, are you?" she nearly screeched at the dragonslayer.
"Careful, Fizz," Shock muttered quietly, turning her attention back to the Time charm clutched in her hand. She closed her eyes. "You might make me start to think that you actually care."
Fizz could only look on helplessly as her sister slowly brought the deadly charm to her lips. Before it connected, though, she used her last resort.
"You know that's the charm that killed Mom, right?"
Shock stopped suddenly, her eyes snapping open. "Yes, I do. That's irrelevant and you know it, Fizz."
"It's not 'irrelevant'!" the younger girl hissed, fists clenched angrily. "It was because Mom tried to bring Dad back with that charm that she got sick and died! It took too much of her life force! And you want to do the same thing to yourself? Don't you care?"
"The reason I'm doing this is because I care!" Shock snapped, shooting a glare in her sister's direction. "That's my bloody problem! I care too much!"
Fizz couldn't think of a sharp retort to that. Gajeel watched their heated exchange in silence. He knew this was something Shock had to handle herself.
"You may think I abandoned everything here; you act like I had a choice!" Shock continued, her tone rising with every word. "I never wanted to leave! But you think the military cares about that shit? Not a chance in hell! When I finally got out, the only reason I didn't come back here was because I was scared of what people would think of me, disappearing so soon after Mom's death and leaving you behind like that!"
"Shock…" Fizz's expression turned from stony to pained. "I didn't…"
The Charm mage was literally screaming now. "I came back here to make things right again, to show people that I didn't abandon anyone! I'm helping this village because I care! Don't you get it, Fizz? The only reason I'm willing to sacrifice part of my life for these people – for you – is because I care!"
Fizz held a hand over her mouth, tears flowing freely down her ash-covered cheeks. She had gone through so much of her life hating her sister, calling her selfish, accusing her of abandoning her… and yet she was willing to give up something so precious to save a village she no longer had anything to do with, even after everything that had happened; after all the horrible things Fizz had said to her.
Seeing her sister's tears, Shock's expression softened. Her eyes turned pleading. "Please Fizz. Let me do this," she added softly, holding the Time charm to her chest. "If not for you, then for the rest of the villagers. For Sammy, and Mr. Chiavelli."
Fizz just started crying harder, giant silent sobs she struggled to keep in. She kept her hand clamped firmly over her mouth to stop from screaming how sorry she was. It was far too late for something as trivial as that. Shock saw her sister's struggle and smiled understandingly. She nodded her head and Fizz looked away, her heart dropping.
Shock was going to use Time, no matter what anyone said.
The Charm mage took a deep, steadying breath and fixed her gaze on the burned, dishevelled town before her. It was now or never. Steeling her resolve before she could lose it, Shock brought the Time charm to her lips and called on its power.
The power washed over her, swirling around her like a vortex of wind. It ripped her baggy cargo pants and tank top away, instantly replacing it was a scholar-like brown robe that trailed down to the ground, brushing her ankles. She closed her eyes and let the magic seep into her veins; she let it become one with her, take her over.
A large clock face appeared above her head, rusted antique arms ticking solidly as more time passed with each second. The wind soon dissipated, leaving Shock in control of the new magic that sang through her veins. She suddenly felt… older. Like she had seen far too much for her years. Like the annals of time had suddenly been opened to her, for her to use at her leisure. She knew it was just the magic making itself known, but it still felt… strange.
Shock collected her scattered thoughts and focused on the task at hand. Using the magic coursing through her veins, she collected it in her fingertips and pulled at the strings of time connected to every object in the town – she gave them slight tugs, pulling everything back through time and slowly restoring them to their former glory. Before her eyes, buildings regenerated support beams and porches; shattered glass seemed to float back up from the ash-strewn ground and re-formed themselves into the panes of windows; fallen lamp posts righted themselves and flickered to life.
To her eyes, the strings were visible and physical; she could feel them, pull them, twist them how she wished. Every string was attached to a building, a window, a table or a chair – everything that had a past, she could manipulate.
Slowly, the town started to reshape and regrow. The ash that littered the cobbled streets fluttered away as a gale blew through the village. Glowing embers that had once been parts of furniture and buildings built themselves up again, morphing back into their original states.
Gajeel and Fizz could only watch in mute fascination as the village literally rose back from the ashes it had been reduced to. Buildings regrew missing planks and shattered windows, shop-fronts knitted themselves together again, trees sprang up from piles of ash and embers on the sidewalks.
Amazing as the sight was, Gajeel couldn't help but take a glance at his partner. Her arms were extended, fingers playing some foreign melody on an invisible harp able to bend back time. The concentration on her face was immense – sweat beaded her brow and her eyes were tightly screwed shut. She mouthed silent words the entire time. He could see the strain it was taking on her – Shock's skin was beginning to pale, her shoulders and knees shaking.
One leg buckled, sending the young mage crashing to her knees. Gajeel took a step forward, concerned, but she still kept going. She grimaced slightly in pain, never missing a beat as she plucked the invisible strings at her fingertips. When Gajeel next glanced at the village, it was almost complete.
With a deep sigh, Shock finally released the magic, her arms dropping down the ground to support her shaking body. Her breathing was laboured, sweat dripping from her nose and chin. Cracking an eye open, she scrutinised her handiwork – all of the wooden buildings were back in one piece, the tree-lined avenues shaded and ash-free. All the bright shop-fronts she remembered dashing under as a child were back, just as colourful as ever.
Managing to move her head so she could see over her shoulder, Shock was relieved to see that the military compound was whole again – the village flag fluttered proudly atop its pole. The two graves – her parent's graves – were good as new, their marble grave markers glittering in the sunlight.
Fizz, wide-eyed and gasping, ran back into the renewed village, no doubt making straight for her and Shock's old house to see if it was still standing. A triumphant grin gracing her features, Shock let her head drop back down. She had done it. The town was back to normal. The villagers could carry on with their lives, and she could continue rebuilding hers.
Gajeel began to walk towards his exhausted partner, sighing in relief that she was still conscious.
Shock tried pushing herself to her feet, but as soon as she moved, a blinding pain struck her full-on in the chest. She cried out, her vision going white with the intensity of the pain. In the back of her anguished mind, she knew this was the Time charm taking its dues.
She collapsed, arms wrapped around her chest as if to try keep and herself together. It felt like her heart was being ripped out piece by piece, along with her lungs. The pain was so intense she couldn't breathe. She writhed on the ground, teeth clenched to the point of cracking. She screwed her eyes shut to try and block out the pain, but a fresh wave of it swept over her body, making her cry out again.
She dimly registered Gajeel at her side, a hand grabbing roughly at her shoulder, a concerned voice. But she was trapped, trapped within the pain and anguish the Time charm was inflicting upon her for using it. She wished the pain would just stop; she would do anything for the pain to stop.
Then, suddenly, everything went black.
Oh noes! *le gasp*
More reviews (even if it's just you telling me what you like about the story) and we'll find out what has become of our dearest Shock!
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