Chapter Twenty-Five

For the first time in it's history, the Fairy Tail guild was completely silent. We could hear the people walking outside the guild, which has never happened in the entire time I've been here. The silence was irritating, I couldn't stand it. No one was even whispering amongst themselves. They were all waiting for me to react to the news I was just given. I didn't know how to act. All I wanted to do was cry.

My mother, the mother who was so wonderful and kind, might not even be who she said she was. What if the mother I knew was nothing but a lie. Levy did say she hid in assassination guilds, meaning she would have had to ki- NO! I won't believe that. Not at all. I refuse to believe that she could be a bad person of any kind, even if it meant saving herself.

I knew Laxus could feel the turmoil happening inside me, he kept getting all fidgety and looked too awkward, like he just wanted to run and hide under a rock, let me deal with this all on my own.

"Levy, tell us more about these Burnhearts." I heard Master say.

"Unfortunately, there really isn't anything more to tell. They were in hiding for most of their existence. There was really only what I already told you. I even used my gale-force reading glasses and read it several more times to make sure there was nothing I missed and there were no hidden messages either."

"You're certain?"

"Completely, Master."

Master hummed and closed his eyes, seeming to be in deep thought. The still silent guild watching him, awaiting whatever he is going to say. I, too, was watching him, grateful that he had taken the attention away from me.

"Team Shadowgear," Master's voice echoed throughout the guild, calling the attention he already had. "I am going to contact the council. I am going to request that you be allowed into their library. I will explain all that has happened, and this information. If they allow it, I want you to go and find any information you can on the Burnhearts, and on the people who were after Layla. Find out if it's at all possible that they are still around. Gajeel, I want you to go with them. If those people are still around, they could be in danger for looking for information."

After he had finished speaking, he hopped off the counter and started walking back to his office.

"If they could be in danger, that would mean Lucy is, too. Somebody needs to protect her, how come you aren't telling anyone to be with her." Master stopped walking to address Natsu's yelling.

"Be quiet, Natsu. She's already in good hands, she doesn't need anymore protection than she already has." I looked from the master to Natsu to see steam coming from him.

"How can you say that? We were barely able to protect her at the games. And when she first joined the guild, she was hurt so much and all of us weren't able to do anything to protect her, and there was more of us then!" I'm targeted alot.

"Laxus and the Raijinshuu weren't here during the Phantom Lord incident and everyone here has gotten stronger since then. And Lucy was targeted during the games but came out with no more injuries than anyone else. And once again Laxus and the Raijinshuu weren't there with her. I sent specific people that time. They're helping this time. Lucy has been staying at Laxus' house and nothing has happened so far other than you and your team weakening the barrier surrounding the place. Speaking of which," Master found Freid in the crowd. "did you repair the barrier?"

"Not yet, Master. I will do that as soon as I leave. Is there anything else?"

"Strengthen it, and make it so that anyone going through has to have physical contact with people that can go through at anytime. This way no one will be able to sneak behind you or anyone else. Also place another barrier around the house. If either is broken have it send an alarm here. Can you do all of that?"

"All except the alarm here. I apologize." Freid bowed his head in disappointment.

"In that case," Master faced Laxus and I, "I will want you two here during the days you're not training. And I want the Raijinshuu at the house when you aren't at the guild." I felt a prickle of annoyance climb my spine, and it probably came from Laxus. I know he wouldn't want to be with all four of us all the time at the house, nor would he want to be at the guild all the time either. Still, we nodded our compliance.

"What about the rest of us? Are we supposed to just sit around while our guildmates could potentially be in danger?" Erza's voice sounded both calm and outraged all at the same time. The guild mumbled their agreements.

"The rest of you will be taking jobs like usual, keeping an eye out for suspicious characters, listening for any strange rumors that could be related to Lucy, the Burnhearts, or their trackers."

Master then turned and began walking to his office once again. Once he was through the door the silent guild broke out into hushed whispers, all pertaining to me, my mother, the ability or whatever, and if these trackers might still be after that ability.

I walked a little closer to Levy, "Do you know what it's actually called? The ability, I mean."

"In a few of the readings it was referred to as 'Duplice' meaning dual, but what the Burnhearts called it, I don't know." Levy looked annoyed at the fact, I can understand why. I'd want to know what the people with the ability called it, not what people who didn't even know if it actually existed referred to it as.

I sighed, "Well, that's better than calling it 'the ability' all the time."

I began walking away before Levy called out to me, "Hey, Lu. I'm sorry that I was the one to tell you all this. I'm sure your parents would have eventually." I nodded and went to sit at a table.

I was sitting barely twenty seconds before I let my face and body fall into the hard wood, resulting in a loud bang throughout the still-not-as-loud-as-it-should-be guild. I could feel their stares on me. I groaned loudly and wiggled a little, not caring about their thoughts. All of this was too much in my brain. Too much has happened this past month.

Honestly, I couldn't almost die and be moody for a while. I just had to go and nearly die, have my keys destroyed, be 'Linked' to someone I barely know, be moody, have my emotions confused, being able to share our emotions, gain Laxus' magic, be forced to leave my house, cause an explosion at the guild, the constant and tiring training, and now finding out my mother might not be who I thought, possibly having people after me, again, and again putting the guild in danger because of it. Why won't it just stop?

In one of the reviews last chapter, it was mentioned that Layla's death date isn't actually known. Now, I could be very wrong, but I'm really sure that I read somewhere that she died July 7 X777, because I remember thinking that it was really weird that Layla died the same day that the dragons all disappeared and it was never mentioned. Again, I could be wrong and misread something.

And for those of you worried about this, I'm not going to overpower Lucy and give her dozens of magic types. In this story it's just going to be her own Celestial magic and Laxus' Lightning magic. If after I finish this and decide I want to do a sequel, then maybe, maybe, I'd give her a third one, but I doubt I would. Besides, I still have no idea how I want this to end so that won't be for a long time.

The Expo was awesome, by the way, spent way more than I should have in Artist Alley. I think being surrounded by all of it was just what I needed to get my creative mind buzzing again.

Send me lots and lots of reviews about anything and everything, and I'll be back soon with the result of your inspiration, my Muses.