The wait between chapters wasn't as long as last time thankfully XD mucho thanks for the patience and support, guys :) and another shout out to my brilliant beta :D
Okay so just a fair warning that updates will be a lot fewer and far apart because it's the last year of school for me and never before have I been snowed under with so much work -_-"
Synk - I'm glad you liked it! Here's the next one for you! :D
imjaypaw - Here it is, sorry it took a little longer than anticipated ^^;
15. Come Away to the Water (Maroon 5 ft. Rozzi Crane)
Come away little loss
Come away to the water
To the ones that are waiting only for you
Come away little loss
Come away to the water
Away from the life that you always knew
We are calling to you
Come away little light
Come away to the darkness
In the shade of the night we'll come looking for you
Come away little light
Come away to the darkness
To the ones appointed to see it through
We are calling for you
We are coming for you
Come away little lamb
Come away to the water
Give yourself so we might live anew
Come away little lamb
Come away to the slaughter
To the ones appointed to see this through
We are calling for you
We are coming for you
Come away little lamb
Come away to the water
To the arms that are waiting only for you
Come away little lamb come away to the slaughter
To the one appointed to see this through
We are calling for you
We are coming for you
We are coming for you
We are coming for you
"Didn't I say not to touch anything?" Gajeel's irritated voice drifted from the corridor behind Shock, and she started guiltily, almost dropping the small figuring cradled in her palm.
She clutched it to her chest to keep it from tumbling out of her hand, turning slightly and offering her partner a sheepish smile. He remained unimpressed with her disregard for his rules, snorting and rolling his eyes as he pulled his arm through the other sleeve of his coat.
"I swear, can't leave you on your own for a fucking second," he grumbled, heading towards the door of his rather small apartment. "Come on, I got what I needed. Time to head out again."
Shock and Gajeel had been in the middle of a training session when the weather had suddenly decided to take a turn for the worst. Since Shock had brought her bomber jacket with, as she always did, Gajeel had taken it upon himself to nab a coat of his own. Probably so as not to be shown up by his partner's apparently superior forward thinking. As well as they had been getting along recently, the two of them still had a bit of a rivalry going. And so Shock had finally gotten a glimpse of Gajeel's living space – it was surprisingly close to their training grounds, albeit in the seedier part of town. When asked why he lived in such a place, Gajeel's standard response was, "I choose to stay here – it keeps me on my toes; makes sure I don't go soft or anything like that."
It was a small two-room apartment – one room was a combination of a living room and kitchen, and the other was Gajeel's bedroom. Shock had been ordered to stay in the front area of the living room, and that's when her eye had been drawn to the small jade figurine perched on the end of a small, weathered shelf near the door. It was a finely carved dragon, small enough to fit comfortably in the palm of her hand. The detail on it was mesmerising – Shock could see every individually carved scale and ridge perfectly. What had intrigued her so much about the figurine was that it was so out of place in Gajeel's apartment – there were tin cans and other assorted metal products lying all over the place, cluttered up on the wonky coffee table and piled against the back wall. Some of them had chunks bitten out of them. Something so delicate and ornamental definitely looked out of place in the metallic chaos.
Placing the figurine back on the shelf, Shock followed her partner out into the corridor. As Gajeel locked the door behind them, she ran her eyes over the cracked and peeling wallpaper; the spots of damp in the wavy ceiling; the naked light bulbs flickering dimly every five or six paces down the hall.
"Enough gawking, let's go." Shock frowned one last time at the dilapidated hallway and followed Gajeel down the creaky stairs.
Back out on the street, it was still drizzling. A thick blanket of ashen grey clouds hung low over the town, making everything seem even more dim and dreary. Gajeel cast one look at the sky, frowned and huffed. "No use trying to get any more training done today with weather like this. Might as well go get a drink."
Shock smirked, pulling the collar of her coat up to shield her neck from the icy drizzle as they walked. "I'd never have thought you would abandon training over a little rain."
Gajeel just rolled his eyes and shoved his hands deep into his pockets, hunching down into his coat. "I'm not keen to catch a cold while watching you run around in the rain for a couple hours."
"So you'd rather go get drunk instead?" the charm mage chuckled, dodging the low-hanging umbrella of a passer-by.
"With a partner like you, it's a miracle I don't go out and get drunk more often," Gajeel muttered teasingly, nudging Shock into a puddle with his elbow.
She made a noise of protest as she stumbled into the rather large puddle, water sloshing up over the tops of her boots and soaking her pants up to the knees. Gajeel just chuckled at the look of outrage on her face and kept walking, a smug smirk on his face. Eyes narrowed, Shock just glared at her partner's back. Two could play at this little game.
Considering that her boots were already soaked, Shock thought nothing of kicking up a large wave of water and sending it splattering all over Gajeel's back. He stiffened as the frigid water seeped through his coat, and Shock laughed at his peeved expression as she sauntered past him.
"Touché, pipsqueak. Touché," he growled under his breath, stalking after her as they headed towards the guild hall.
…
The guild hall was nice and warm after the chill of the wet weather outside, and Shock sank down into one of the open barstools with a contented sigh. She spotted Levy down at the other end of the bar counter and waved at her, signalling her over with a smile as Gajeel slid into the seat next to her. The blue-haired solid script mage made her way over with a grin plastered on her face. She paused to reach for something underneath the bar and then stopped in front of Shock and Gajeel.
"It's been a while since you two have been in here," she grinned, leaning her elbow on the table as she directed the question at Shock.
The charm mage chuckled and rolled her eyes. "Can't say we've had much time to do anything else besides training." Shock shot a narrow-eyed look at her partner. "Gajeel's a hard task master, I think he enjoys seeing me suffer."
Gajeel just smirked. "I wasn't the one who stole the mission sheet, squirt. You gotta deal with the consequences now."
Shock just snorted, opening her mouth for a sharp reply, but Levy spoke first. "You might want to consider taking a little break from training," she laughed, bringing out a letter from behind the bar counter. She slid it over to Shock, shrugging at her questioning look. "It's from Lilia, arrived this morning."
Shock's eyes snapped down to the plain white envelope, instantly curious as to why someone from Lilia would suddenly be writing to her. It had been months since she had last been to her small hometown, and that was when she had saved it from a band of rogue mages. She hadn't seen or heard from any of the villagers since, and was expecting things to return to the way they had been before – with her completely cut off from any ties to her old life. But apparently, someone in Lilia had different ideas.
Shock carefully tore open the top of the envelope. It wasn't as if she didn't want anything to do with her old home town, in face she was rather pleasantly surprised that they were making the first move after so long. A small smile curved her mouth as she drew out a folded sheet of paper. It was yellow and water-stained, but the ink on it was still crisp and clear. The letter had probably been written no longer than a week prior. The handwriting was neat and flowing, not one she recognised.
Shock,
I know you'll probably think it's strange to be getting a letter from us out of the blue like this, but Chiavelli insisted. If it had been up to me, I personally wouldn't have even bothered.
Shock snorted with a lop-sided grin. It definitely had to be Fizz. Only her sister would be so blunt and offhand without actually meaning anything. Shock smoothed out the page and continued reading.
The town is doing better than it has in years, thanks to that magic stuff of yours you did the last time you rolled around. Those mages haven't come back, either. I won't ask what you did, because I probably don't even want to know. That hulking partner of yours probably had something to do with it too, which is another reason it would be better to keep the gory details to yourself.
But besides all that, we have some unexpected visitors in town, which is why the old man made me write to you. It's a group of mercenaries from up north, somewhere near that blasted conscription camp you got dragged off to. Emil's with them.
They'll be leaving in about a week to who knows where. Chiavelli thought you might want to come down and see him before he leaves, considering the two of you were bosom buddies the last time I checked.
Personally, I'm not holding my breath – but it's your choice. Sammy says hi.
The letter ended there. Shock frowned, scanning through it again to make sure she had read it correctly. Emil? Back in Lilia? A sudden wave of mixed emotion washed over the charm mage - relief that Emil had managed to get away from the military; confusion as to why he had returned to Lilia only after so many years away; curiosity as to what he had been up to in all those years since they had been separated.
Suspicion as to why he was travelling with a group of mercenaries.
"Something the matter?" Levy asked worriedly, seeing the deepening frown lines on Shock's forehead.
She looked up, startled at the sudden question, and shook her head. "No, nothing's the matter, it's just…"
When Shock trailed off, looking back down at the note thoughtfully, Levy frowned. "They want you to come back, don't they?" she asked gently, leaning against the counter.
Shock sighed. "Sort of. Fizz says an old friend of mine is back in town, and I should pay a visit before he leaves."
"Wait, you have friends?" Gajeel snickered, looking down at his partner. But his jab was pointedly ignored by both his partner and the barmaid.
"The decision is completely up to you, but I think it would be nice for you to reconnect with some old friends," Levy offered with a smile.
"Hmm," Shock mused thoughtfully, eyes still trained on the letter on the bar counter. She was hesitant, to say the least. Not to be misunderstood, the charm mage was ecstatic that Emil was alright, and he was in Lilia to boot. She would jump at the chance to see him again. But there was a nagging suspicion at the back of her mind – something wasn't quite right. It was that whole mercenary business. Shock knew Emil – and she was sure he would never have willingly gotten involved with those kinds of people after his narrow escape from the military. It just didn't add up.
"So are you going back or not?" Gajeel's gruff tone interrupted her thoughts.
Looking from the note to her partner and back, Shock sighed and shrugged. "I don't know. Something just doesn't feel right about it."
"What could possibly feel off about seeing an old friend for a few hours?" Levy laughed, trying to lighten her friend's mood. "And it'll give you an excuse to visit your hometown again."
"You have a point," Shock agreed with a small laugh of her own. She'd been meaning to pay a visit to her parents' headstones for a while anyway, it would certainly provide the excuse she needed to go. But she just couldn't shake the feeling of unease creeping into the pit of her stomach. "But I'll see."
Shock stood from her barstool, adjusting her coat.
"Where are you going?" Gajeel asked, motioning for Levy to get him something from behind the bar, preferably alcoholic.
"Back to the boarding house. I need to think this over a little bit," she answered distractedly, tucking the letter into her jacket.
Gajeel just nodded. "Well when you finally make up your mind, tell me. I don't like being left in the dark."
"Since when where you so concerned about my private life?" Shock snickered with a smirk.
Levy returned with Gajeel's mug of what smelled like ale, and he chugged a good half of the glass before answering her. "You always seem to get yourself into trouble when I'm not around, I might as well come with you to make sure you get back in one piece."
The charm mage scoffed at his smug expression and flicked the back of his ear. Ignoring the dragonslayer's growl of protest, Shock turned to Levy and offered a parting smile before heading towards the door.
"I still think it would be a good idea to get out of town for a while," Levy added as she waved.
Shock shrugged with a small smile. "I'll see."
…
It was the dead of night when the small party arrived before the gates of the conscription camp. The tall, barbed-wire topped fence encircling the compound was nothing more than an intimidating shadow against the pale moonlight, all sharp angles and steel spikes.
Shock dragged her feet as she walked, surrounded on all sides by silent, violent military men. Her hands were bound behind her back, and the muzzle of a rifle levelled steadily at her back to make sure she wouldn't make another escape attempt. But with Emil gone, Shock wasn't even giving it a second thought. The fact that he had made it away safely was enough for her. Even if she did manage to get away somehow, there would be nowhere for her to go – there was nothing left in Lilia for her. Even Fizz probably thought of her as a deserter by now.
So she just kept walking, mouth set in a grim line and eyes focused on a point somewhere in the distance. The familiar weight of her concealed charms bumped rhythmically against her lower back, underneath her dirty, ripped shirt.
The small recon party paused just outside of the camp gates, waiting for them to open. Shock skimmed her gaze over what lay behind the gates. A long wood cabin stood perpendicular to the fence, running at least a hundred metres down into the camp grounds. Soldiers lined the covered veranda ringing the outside of the cabin, just watching.
Watching and waiting. Completely silent, with their guns gripped loosely in their hands.
The gates opened painfully slowly, almost antagonizingly – as if to drive home the message to the captives that they had, indeed, arrived in hell, and they should take a nice long look at it to get acquainted before the torture started.
Shock turned her gaze away from the gates and tried to tune out the rattling of chains and grinding of metal on dirt. She looked beyond the soldiers' cabin, towards the never-ending rows of concrete barracks taking up all her remaining field of vision. They were low to the ground, and looked cold and foreboding in the pale moonlight. Not a single one of them had lights - not even a candle burning in a window. Squinting her eyes to scrutinize the buildings better, she discovered that none of them even had windows to speak of. Shock's stomach plummeted, and she wasn't sure whether the icy feeling creeping up her spine was dread or caused by the increasingly frigid wind howling all around her.
Suddenly, the group was moving again. The soldiers kept a tight ring around their captives – all scared, vulnerable, abandoned children from neighbouring towns and villages, quivering and huddling together in the dark of the night – and herded them inside the compound.
Shock kept her back straight and eyes dead-ahead, even when the cold metal of the rifle aimed at her back was thrust into the base of her neck to get her moving faster. She pursed her lips in a tight line, scanning the rows of soldiers on either side of the group, forming a sort of human gauntlet as the captives were led inside like lambs to the slaughter.
Shock's eyes snapped open, but she didn't move a muscle. The dreams were getting more frequent, the flashbacks all too vivid. Her stomach felt as though she had swallowed a lump of ice. Her breathing was quiet and shallow, and try as she might she couldn't get any more air into her lungs if she tried. It was as if a cinderblock was sitting on her chest. She closed her eyes again, pinching the bridge of her nose and concentrating on the chirp of the crickets outside. After a while, she felt the heavy weight dissipate, and she took in a long, deep breath. Her hand flopped down beside her on the mattress, and she listened intently to every creaking spring compressing and jumping back into position. Anything to distract her from the dream. The dream that had been the start of a nightmare.
Shock opened her eyes again, rolling onto her back. She stared at the ceiling, watching the flickering shadows of the trees jump between the ceiling boards as they flailed and twisted in the wind outside. She sighed, long and deeply. Rubbing the bridge of her nose to calm the pounding of the blood in her head, she sat up and swung herself out of bed. She immediately headed over to her closet, pulling out her usual set of clothes and grabbing her charm belt and jacket.
Her options were clear now. She had to get to Lilia.
She had to see Emil.
Maybe then, some of the skeletons in her closet could be laid to rest.
…
The walk to Gajeel's apartment in the fresh early-morning air did wonders to clear Shock's mind. She fell into a sort of numb autopilot, her feet finding the way by memory alone, even though she had only been there for the first time the day before.
It was early enough that the sun had yet to rise for another three hours at least, and the streets were still empty. Even the pickpockets and much less-reputable citizens of Magnolia had the common sense to still be in bed. Shock didn't know why she'd decided to inform Gajeel of her plans as soon as the choice had been made, but she felt that a walk would do well to distract her from her dreams. And she could deal with an irritated dragonslayer if it meant that she could delay her flashbacks for another few hours.
Soon enough, she was standing in the dim hallway outside her partner's apartment, hand raised and knocking once, twice, three times on the splintering door. The lights in the hallway flickered and swayed in the draft slipping in between the warped windowpanes lining the passage, throwing shadows in every which direction.
Shock was just about to knock again when she heard the rattle and click of the multitude of locks being undone on the inside of Gajeel's door. He opened it a crack to see what kind of fool would be knocking at such an absurd hour, narrowed his eyes at his partner, and shut the door again. More clicking and rattling was heard, and the door was pulled open to reveal a not-too-amused mage in a baggy shirt and sweatpants. Shock took in his appearance curiously. She hadn't figured Gajeel even owned a pair of sweatpants.
"You're lucky I'm an early riser," the black-haired mage grumbled, leaning against the doorframe with his arms folded. "Now what the hell is so important that you had to come knocking at my door at three in the morning?"
Shock just shrugged, hands buried deep in the pockets of her bomber jacket. "Thought I'd just give you a heads up that I'm leaving for Lilia today, if you're still set on tagging along."
Gajeel rolled his eyes. "You thought it was that important that you had to rush over and tell me straight away?"
Shock snorted and scowled. "Don't flatter yourself. I needed some fresh air and thought I may as well use the walk productively."
Her partner was silent for a moment, looking at her with an unreadable expression. Shock shifted uncomfortably under the intense scrutiny. "The nightmares again?"
Shrugging self-consciously, Shock became very interested in a spot of mildew on the hardwood floor between her boots. "They're becoming a nightly occurrence. I'm hoping if I get this visit out of my system, they'll tone down a little."
Another extended period of silence ensued, causing Shock to become even more fascinated by the mouldy floorboards. She heard Gajeel shift away from the doorframe and glanced up. He'd turned back to his apartment, but had left the door wide open.
"Stay there, I'll be right back," he commanded gruffly over his shoulder. "Might as well get some training done if we're both up this ridiculously early."
Shock stared at his retreating form for a little while, surprised. She had been expecting a rant from hell – an early-morning training session was a much more pleasant alternative. She snorted quietly and let a small smile slip out. Trust her partner to figure out a good distraction on the spot.
as always, reviews are love ;3;