Hey guys! Sorry for another late update! I realized on Wednesday that I only had three sentences written of this chapter. Hehe =T...
Well, school sucks because that's what's been keeping me busy and keeping me from writing this chapter and posting it a day late XC
Anyway, enjoy chapter 10 of 20!

Akane stood in the guild with her back straight, her shoulders rolled back, and her chest out. Sh stood tall and proud. After 'the birthday fiasco' as she dubbed it, she vowed to not let the small surprises life threw at her to get in her head. She walked over to the request board, ready for the day. It was like Akane's whole mood had turned around since she came back from her extended job. She felt confident in herself and saw herself in a new light, a more flattering light. Everyone else in Fairy Tail saw her as a younger Erza. Except the only difference this time was that everyone saw what they thought was her transformation, instead of it happening before she arrived at Fairy Tail. For everyone though, the most amusing part wasn't that Akane had transformed, but that she took on the job of disciplining everyone just like Erza had. She would go on a solo job and be gone for a few weeks to s few months and come back covered in cuts and bruises from her fights and burns from her magic, and come back and try to whip the rest of the guild into shape. What would seem to be her favorite thing to do seemed to be yell at Zander and Ian for fighting. She wanted to yell at Gray and Natsu as well, however she was only 13 and wanted to wait until she had a bit more credibility in the guild before she started yelling at older guild members.

As Akane walked over to the request board, Zander approached her. "Akane."

"No."

Zander stopped in his tracks. "I didn't even say anything except your name," he told her.

"I don't care, you're going to ask me something and I don't have the time. I'm taking another job," Akane explained.

"That's what I wanna talk to you about. My mom has been down my throat to go on a job with Ian because she thinks it will help me get along better with him, and my dad just wants me to go on a job without him. So I was thinking, if you me and Ian form a team, then that kills two birds with one stone," Zander explained.

Akane looked at him silently, trying to think of what she was going to say next without sounding heartless. Once she found the words she was looking for, she opened her mouth. However, Zander practically took the words out of her mouth. "As much as I'd hate to say it, Ian is pretty strong. Not as strong as me, but-"

"If he's not as strong as you, then that's not 'pretty strong'," Akane responded.

Zander paused for a moment. Then he smirked. "We haven't had a rematch recently and we also haven't been on any jobs together. You don't know how much stronger I've gotten."

"We're not having rematches. I'm done fighting you and you know that...But I guess I do need to take a bit of a break," Akane stopped to think for a moment. "Fine, I'll take a job with you and Ian, but we're not forming a team," Akane said firmly.

"You're forming a team with Zander, Kane-chan?"

Akane turned around. She had been so busy recently, she had barely seen Pix, Tameron, and Render, so when she saw three people standing before her, it took her a few seconds to realize who they were. Akane was speechless for a moment trying to register what was going on when Pix continued. "You know, my mom said your mom, Zander's dad, and both of Ian's parents formed the strongest team in Fairy Tail during their time working together. You guys could probably beat them though if you joined up with Ian and Lyla."

The more Pix talked, the more Akane felt off her game. She started to realize because of all of her recent jobs, she had no clue what was going on within the guild. She started to feel disconnected as she looked around the guild and saw faces she hadn't recognized. Some of them she needed to take a second to realize who they were, and others were just completely new. When did this happen? Akane thought. Her mood had flipped back to the worried little girl she was when she got off the train nine months ago. Almost a year had gone by, and Akane found that she hadn't grown at all, causing herself to be more worried about the situation she found herself in. Then she stopped herself. I'll be damned if I let a town win. I can do a six month job by myself and come back with a few scratches and cuts. I can teach myself a magic completely foreign to my body and master it. I'm Akane Scarlet. This rose will not die, she thought to reinstall her confidence in herself. Once again, Akane rolled her shoulders back and tilted her chin up. Then she looked at Pix who had finished talking and was smiling at her. "Are you back from your little inner-mind world yet?" she asked the redhead before.

Akane smiled. "Yeah, sorry about that. I guess occasionally, having a fall back isn't so bad though. Maybe a temporary team would be a good idea," Akane responded.

Pix smiled. "So you retained some of what I said while you were conducting your mini self journey? Well, speaking of teams, I have a job to do with mine. Enjoy your new team Kane-chan!" Pix called as she turned away to leave the guild.

Akane turned around to find Ian and Zander glaring at each other, however, once both boys noticed Akane looking at them, they immediately changed their demeanor and pretended to be friends. Akane knew it was just a facade, but she enjoyed the fact that they tried to be 'friends' because she threatened them last time she caught them fighting. The older members of the guild laughed at the scene that unfolded before them, flashing back to when Erza, Gray, and Natsu stood where their children were at that moment. Akane walked passed the boys and stood in front of the request board searching for the perfect job for the newly formed team.

"Oh, Akane, I'm glad I caught you before you took another job," Mira called to the young Scarlet child as she walked over happily.

"Oh, good morning Mira. What do you need?" she asked the white haired woman.

"There have been rumors going around that a Dark Guild is planning an attack. I was wondering if you could go and check it out for me," Mira explained.

Akane shrugged. "Sure. We'll get right on that."

Mira looked at Akane quizzically. "We?" she asked.

"Yeah. Zander, Ian, and I," Akane explained.

"And me!" a small unfamiliar voice called from behind Akane, causing her to turn around. Lyla Heart was standing next to Ian with her hands on her hips smiling widely. Ian was amazed to see his younger sister standing next to him. "Not you!" he shrieked back and attempted to grab his sister up to bring her back to their mother. Lyla Heart dodged him and looked at him sternly. "You're going to need me and you know it. There's only so much Leo can do on one job!"

Zander stifled a laugh. "Yeah, we're probably going to need her dragon slayer magic more than we'd need you and your keys on a job against a Dark Guild," he scoffed.

Ian whipped around to face Zander, but caught a glimpse of Akane first and stopped himself. Zander noticed the death glares and dark aura emanating from the young girl as well and dropped the subject of the Dragneel childrens' magic. Then Akane turned back to Mira. "So where do the four of us have to be and when?" she asked the white haired guild master.

Despite her skepticism, Mira gave Akane the information.

As she watched the group of kids walk out of the door, Mira felt as if she had just sent three of them on a suicide mission.

/

After they were seated on the train, Ian was the first to speak up. "So what is this job that Mira gave us?"

"Well, technically, she gave it to Akane. Akane was just kind enough to share it with the rest of us," Zander said with a clear intention of striking a nerve. Ian glared at the black haired boy, and Zander glared back at the blond.

Akane cleared her thought gaining, the attention of the two boys again. "She said we have to stop a few of the lower members of a Dark Guild before they can steal an artifact from a museum. It was some sort of tool used by Zeref or something," Akane explained.

"Whats the name of the guild?" Lyla Heart asked innocently.

"Um..." Akane trailed off thinking back to her conversation with Mira. "I think she said Tartaros."

The three other children sat staring at Akane, amazed at what she had just told them.

"You accepted a job to stop members of Tartaros? You were going to accept a job to stop Tartaros members alone?" Zander asked.

"Yeah. So?" Akane asked. She had never heard of Tartaros so she assumed that it was just another new Dark Guild that was trying to gain some credibility within the world by stealing an artifact that was previously used by Zeref.

"Ian..." Lyla Heart said worriedly.

The train started moving and Ian covered his mouth. "I think I'm going to be sick," he mumbled from behind his hand. Lyla Heart didn't move to help her brother.

"What am I missing?" Akane asked.

The other three were silent.

"Guys, what is it?" Akane asked again.

"We're going up against Tartaros, and we're from Fairy Tail," Zander explained.

"Yeah, and?" Akane wasn't getting what the big deal was.

"Tartaros is one-third of the Balam Alliance along with Grimoire Heart and Oración Seis. All of our parents were part of the downfall of both Grimoire Heart and Oración Seis," Lyla Heart explained in a hushed tone.

Akane looked at the younger girl sitting across from her, Zander to Lyla Heart's right. She then looked to Ian, who was doubled over clutching his stomach with one arm, and his mouth with the other hand.

What have I done? Akane thought nervously.