And welcome back! You guys are going to love the end of this chapter here! It's going to get serious and I'm pretty sure you will all enjoy it. So with that said I'll keep this short and let you guys read on! Enjoy!
Zwack15: Yea a lot of people are waiting for when they meet up! But it will be good!
Rez: Yea, she has been suffering a little bit, worried about Kera but it will get better ;)
Chaos: Heh yep! The suspense is always the murderer!
Brainy girl: So close! So damn close! But Juvia won't give up! Or else she might find me and try to kill me...
Lingering will: Well welcome back! Glad to hear you're still enjoying the story!
The group of wizards had been travelling for a while now. Natsu has been leading the group because he was able to track Kera's scent. He was walking ahead his nose up as he tried to keep up with the brunette's scent. It was a little difficult since it was faint but he was still able to track her.
"How much longer until we reach a town? I'm pooped." Lucy said as she was hunched over walking behind the group. Wendy was also lagging behind obviously tired as well.
Gray sighed slightly shaking his head. "We can't slow down guys. If we want to catch up on Kera we have to keep on going."
"Yea but…" Lucy started but Juvia suddenly appeared behind her with a glare. "Gray has said to keep up and you shall keep up!" The Water Mage sneered which caused the blonde to screech and run forward. That definitely got her going.
Erza wasn't complaining at all, but when she saw Wendy lagging behind and saw her almost toppling over her own two feet she knew they had to stop. Gray was right, they can't slow down if they want to reach Kera, but… there was no point into exhausting themselves. She sighed and shook her head. "Guys, we should rest. Find the next town and sleep in an inn."
Everyone stopped as they heard Erza's words. They all thought that she would be the last to suggest taking a break. She was almost desperate to find Kera and now that they had a lead… well… they thought they would be walking till their feet were bleeding.
Erza walked over to the tired little girl and felt a little responsible. So without any other thought she picked her up and settled her on her back. Wendy looked a little shocked. "Erza what are you doing?"
"Carrying you." She said simply walking ahead. "You're tired out and can't walk anymore and it's partly my fault. So… I'm going to carry you to the next town." She told her.
Wendy smiled softly. "You don't have to Erza. I'm fine walking on my own."
Erza chuckled. "It's fine Wendy. You just rest up. We'll head to the next town we come across. Now come on guys!" She called to the others before walking ahead.
Lucy sighed as she stood there. "I wished someone would carry me…" She muttered slightly. She squealed when she felt herself being picked up. Turning her head she saw Natsu with a grin on his face. "Geez you're getting lazy." He said with a small chuckle.
The blonde blushed slightly as Natsu started carrying her bridal style. The pink haired Dragon Slayer followed the red head who was carrying Wendy. Juvia glanced over at Gray and smiled lovingly. "Oh Gray my beloved. My feet are hurting so much."
Gray groaned but nodded his head. "Alright, I left you so…" He slumped down. "Get on my back and I'll carry you."
Juvia squealed as she gladly jumped on his back and let him carry her. Gray simply rolled his eyes while a smirk was plastered on his face. He then tried to catch up to the others.
"Oh finally we're here!" Lucy said as they entered a town. The town was a little bigger than Veilfield but still a comfortable size. Definitely not as big as Magnolia. Natsu arched his back a few cracking sounds being heard. "Man Luce… did you put on some weight?" He asked rubbing his sore back.
Lucy tried to ignore that comment as she and Juvia started walking around. Gray was still standing at the back with Erza who was still carrying a sleeping Wendy. "Well guys, let's look for an inn so we can rest up."
They all nodded and decided that was the best way to move on. So the group moved on through the town, walking past people while searching for a place to stay. Lucy and Juvia were going around, looking at shops not really looking for an inn and more enjoying their time.
They had been walking a while when they came up a group of people huddled in the streets. They all raised their eyebrows definitely curious as to what was going on.
Slowly they headed to the group of people trying to figure out what was going on. They could hear shouting and talking form the people as they were surrounding something. Natsu pushed the people aside as the group moved forward.
"We have to do something now!" A man shouted from the side causing another burst of cheers.
"This has gone far too long!" A woman this time shouted.
In the middle they could see a man standing there holding his head. He was obviously overwhelmed by the people surrounding him. "Calm down! We can't really do anything! She's long gone by now! All we can do is forget this and…"
"Bullshit!" A man shouted walking up. He was the same man from the bar, this time wearing a cast on his entire arm. He was stumbling forward, a few burn marks here and there and a black eye was clearly seen on his face.
The man in the middle knew who this was and already sighed. "Frank I know what happened but I can't do anything."
He raised his other arm. "She broke my arm! Send some guards after her or the council! She should be behind bars!"
"Excuse me!" Erza called stepping forward, setting down Wendy. "What's going on here?"
The man in the middle smiled softly. "I truly apologize for this nonsense. We just… had an accident last night and the people here are truly upset."
Natsu raised an eyebrow. "Accident? What accident?" He asked.
The man with the broken arm stepped forward, fury on his face. "Stupid bitch beat the crap out of me and my boys!"
They froze as they heard this. Someone had beaten them up? And it was a woman? Immediately Erza got to questioning. "Was she this tall, brown long hair, green eyes?"
The man snorted. "All yes except for the eyes. Hers were freaking gold! Who has golden eyes!?"
That's when they knew that this was who they were looking for. "Kera…" Erza whispered slightly. What was she doing?
Lucy though got to another question. "Wait did you say this happened last night?"
Everyone nodded and that's when the blonde pushed Natsu. "Can't you smell her scent? It has to be strong here!"
Now that she said it, he was able to catch her scent here… though it was slightly different, but he didn't think that she was here in this town. Wendy this time, fully awake now, was able to smell her scent as well. The little girl rubbed her nose. "Yea, I can smell her too."
Erza smiled. "We're getting closer. Just a little bit more."
"Wait, are you saying you're actually looking for that crazy psycho?" The man asked her raising an eyebrow. "What are you? Fucking crazy?"
The red head's eye twitched and she was about to pounce on him but Natsu and Gray quickly caught her before she could beat the crap out of this guy. The man flinched back as he saw this. These people were definitely crazy.
"Does anyone know where this woman was headed? Did anyone see her?" Lucy asked the crowd of people. Maybe someone had seen her head off.
The people went silent, no one was speaking at all. Lucy sighed knowing that this couldn't get any worse. They were so close and now nobody knew where she was.
"She left town."
Erza looked over and saw that a little girl had spoken up. Quickly the mother tried to pull her back but the little girl got out of her grasp taking another few steps forward. She seemed to be about ten years old, maybe a little older but she was definitely brave enough to stand up.
The girl looked up at the wizards. "I saw her head out of town. She exited east of here."
"Katy, be quiet! You don't know these people!" Her mother told her but the little girl turned around glaring at her own mother. "No you should be quiet! Mommy, she helped me yesterday! She was really there and she was not bad! Frank is bad!" She said pointing to the man with the cast.
Frank flinched slightly but then glared at the little girl. "You're just a little girl, what do you know?"
The 'little girl' was glaring back at Frank. "You don't know anything! She helped me! She isn't bad at all!"
"She beat me up!"
"She beat you up because you're a big meanie!" Katy yelled at him. "She probably also beat you up because you're dealing with those men!"
Frank flinched back as he heard the little girl say that. "Y-You don't know anything you little brat!" He sneered at her.
This time the mother looked down at Katy. "What are you saying dear?"
The girl pointed at Frank. "He was dealing with some men in the bar when I tried to get daddy! He was talking about something with dark and said something about Zeref!"
The entire people started murmuring under themselves and everyone could see clearly now that Frank was sweating. The wizards though glared at the man now. Erza walked up to Frank, this time the boys not stopping her and grabbed him by the color. "Zeref hm? Tell me, what were you talking about the dark wizard himself?"
Frank was deathly pale right about now. "I-I d-don't know w-what you're saying. S-She's t-talking nonsense!"
This time Natsu got in his face. "What is your deal man? What were you doing with Zeref's goons? Huh? If you want I can let my fist ask again." He threatened.
"W-Wait!" He shouted. "I-I can explain!"
"So you have been working for the dark wizard!?" Another man shouted from the crowd.
Frank was seriously freaking out now. "I wasn't! He didn't say anything about some Zeref! All he told me was to keep an eye out for any cloaked people and get close to one when it was a girl with golden eyes."
Natsu gritted his teeth and was about to punch him but Erza stopped him before he could. "Wait, who was this man?"
"I-I don't know! I never saw his face! He wore all black and simply told me to keep an eye out for her." Frank told them.
Lucy crossed her arms. "And what if you found her?"
Frank looked at the wizards knowing that this couldn't get any worse. He closed his eyes. "He told me to get into contact with him as soon as possible."
Erza narrowed her eyes. "Did you?"
He nodded. "L-Last night! A-After she left, w-when I regained consciousness."
"Did he say anything?" Natsu asked his grip on him not loosening at all, instead he gripped even tighter.
Frank shook his head. "No… he gave me the money and vanished, p-probably going after her."
"And he didn't say why he's after her?" Erza asked and Frank shook his head. "No he didn't. Now please let me go! I told you everything!"
Natsu glanced at the red head to see what she thought. Erza was really contemplating on what to do with him but knew that he was just a man who wanted money. She nodded her head to let him go and Natsu dropped him to the ground.
They got some answers but it didn't help much. Erza pinched the bridge of her nose, trying to see what they could do next. That's when her eyes wandered over to the little girl and her mother.
The red head walked over to them and bowed slightly in front of the mother. "If I may, I would like to speak to your daughter for a few minutes."
The mother was a little hesitant but it seemed the little girl jumped up and down. "Please mommy? She helped me!"
The older woman sighed but nodded. "Very well, but I am staying by her side."
Erza smiled and nodded. "That is alright. Though could we go somewhere else where it's… a little more discreet?"
The mother nodded. "My house is not far from here. We can go there."
Inside the home of the mother and daughter Erza and the others sat on a couch in front of the little girl. The mother was right with them, making sure they wouldn't do any harm to her daughter.
Erza smiled at the little girl. "So what's your name?"
"Katy!" She said with a smile. "What's yours?"
The red head chuckled. "My name is Erza. You have a beautiful name Katy."
"Mommy gave it to me!" The little girl smiled and the mother couldn't help but chuckle slightly. Lucy was already talking to Natsu on how cute the little girl was.
Erza looked into Katy's eyes. "Now Katy, I know this might sound a little curious, but you need to tell me everything that happened that night this woman helped you. For example, how did you find her?"
Katy rubbed her hands as she sat on the couch, a little uncomfortable about the question. "Me and mommy were walking home from grandma's place. It was very late because it was already dark outside."
The mother sighed slightly. "It was around midnight when we were heading home."
Erza simply nodded simply, motioning Katy to keep on going. The little girl continued. "We were almost home when these three scary men jumped on us. We tried to run but they caught us quickly. They said some weird stuff but I can't remember really."
The red head looked at the mother hoping she could help. The woman sat down next to her child and tried to fill in the blanks. "They were threatening me. They said I could either give Katy over to them or we'd both die."
"So you did the only thing you thought you could." Lucy stated and the woman nodded. "I told Katy to run. I had hoped those men would deal with me, giving her more time to run, but they simply shoved me away running after her."
The little girl nodded. "I kept on running, but then I accidentally bumped into this woman. I hid behind her and told her that they were after me. I asked if she could help and she did! She beat up those men! One of the scary men tried to attack with his sword but it got destroyed and she didn't even move! Eventually she scared them off and brought me back to mommy!"
"Did you notice anything about her? Did she tell you anything about where she was heading?" Erza asked hoping that she might know something but unfortunately the little girl shook her head.
Erza sighed as she leaned back against the couch. She had hoped that the little girl knew something, but it seemed that was futile as well.
"Oh wait!" Katy shouted. "She had these pretty golden eyes and long brown hair! And she said her name was Kera!"
All six wizards looked at the little girl shocked, Erza the most. The red head looked at the little girl as if she done something unbelievable. "She told you her name?"
Katy nodded. "Yup! She asked for mine first and I think she told hers so I wouldn't be scared anymore."
"Sweetie, I told you there isn't anyone with golden eyes." The mother tried to tell her but the little girl pouted. "But she was real! I saw her!"
The mother sighed as she turned to the wizards. "I know this might sound believable to you but when I found Katy again, there was no one with her. This mysterious woman was not by her side. I think she might be imagining things. That's what kids do."
"But I didn't imagine her! She was there! She was really there!" Katy shouted.
Erza smiled slightly at the mother. "I know this might sound crazy to you, but the person your daughter is describing, even the name… that's our friend. We've been searching for her for a long time now."
The mother looked shocked as she heard this. She really believed that her daughter had imagined everything. "Are you sure? Well then… I… I don't know what to say." She looked down at her daughter and saw her smiling. "I am so sorry Katy that I didn't believe you."
"It's alright mommy! I forgive you!" She said while giving her mother a hug.
The mother looked at the wizards. "Well… I can't say where she is now, or where she was heading, but please… when you do find her, tell her how grateful I am for what she has done. Because of her I still have my daughter."
Natsu grinned. "No worries! We'll definitely tell her."
"But I think she was headed east. That's where she was walking when I bumped into her." Katy suddenly spoke. "I hope you find her soon!"
Erza smiled as she knelt down in front of the little girl. She ruffled her hair slightly. "Because of you we might actually find her." Katy simply grinned from ear to ear, happy that she could help. After all, Kera did save her life and brought her back to her mother.
In the forest east of the town, Kera was walking with her head bowed down, the hood covering her head. She walked calmly through the dense forest, not disturbing the peace it gave to the animals.
A family of deer was at the side grazing when one of them raised their head to look at the person walking by. They didn't feel threatened at all by her and the deer went back to eating, knowing that nothing would happen.
Kera kept on walking, being in her own little world, as she thought about what had happened last night. Seeing that girl brought back painful memories of her past. She didn't want that child to suffer through what she had to go through. No one should.
And those men… they disgusted her. Trying to kidnap a child, take her away from her loving family, it disgusted her so much that it took every fiber in her will to not kill them right then and there. She wanted to… oh how she wanted to… but she couldn't, not in front of the little girl.
They were lucky they got out with their lives intact.
That mark though, a black raven… they were part of that group. Why they were even trying to kidnap a child, she had no idea, but she knew that they had to be stopped.
Her feet came to a stop and she stood there closing her eyes. The animals around her all raised their heads and quickly ran off. But it wasn't because of her. No…
Kera closed her eyes while taking a deep breath. "It seems you have found me."
From one of the trees a man jumped down right behind her, wearing nothing but black. Black boots, black coat, black shirt, black hair… if it were night he would be completely shrouded in darkness.
The man smirked slightly standing up straight. "You are very tricky to catch up to, being sneaky and all that. It took me a god damn while but I was able to finally track you down!"
Kera snorted, still not turning around. "And now what? What is your plan to come out of this still breathing and alive? What kind of sliver of hope do you still have to even think that you're going to walk away?"
The man laughed. "You talk all high and mighty, but they are just words, trying to scare people away with your words so you wouldn't have to fight. You know what you are? You're a coward! That's what! That's why you sneak away, that's why you're hard to track, it's because you keep on running awa…" He stopped when he felt a force slam into him before being slammed into a tree.
It was so strong that it knocked the air out of him and it was so fast that he couldn't even see it coming. Instead he just saw the cloak where she was standing before, hitting the ground. He felt a pressure against his neck and tried to look down.
There he could see Kera completely. Her long brown hair was going down her back. A black sleeveless vest with golden embroidery that went down almost to her knees, was covering her dark red and golden shirt that clung to her body perfectly, yet she still wore blue jeans matching to her black boots that even held a few marks of gold. Her arms were bare and the man could see a familiar mark on her right upper arm. Her Fairy Tail mark.
Kera sneered as she got closer. "I do not run away and I am not a coward." The man saw her golden eyes and freaked out even more. "You and your damn group do not dictate anyone in this country. If you want to see what I can do besides my high and mighty words then I'll gladly show it. Tell your pathetic leaders that I will crush them one by one, that I will break their bones and watch the life drain out of their eyes. I will make sure your entire organization crumbles down to the ground, beneath my feet." She removed her hand from his neck and let the man fall to the ground.
He started coughing holding his neck as he was able to start breathing again. He looked up and saw her grab her cloak again, draping it over herself. "You know… that guild you're in. They're pathetic. Simply disbanding it, your Master knew you were all weak."
Suddenly the ground started vibrating and before the man knew it, hands grabbed him from the ground pulling him up. He screamed slightly as he saw an earth elemental rise from the ground grabbing him tightly.
Kera turned around again, glaring at the man in front of her. He tried to get out of the grasp but the earth golem held him tightly, maybe a little too tight. Her eyes turned hard as she glared at the man in front of her. "Maybe I should send them a physical message as well." With a nod the golem tightened his grip on the man and he screamed out in pain.
"Fairy Tail is neither pathetic nor weak! They're my family and I will do anything to keep them safe and I mean anything. They done everything to keep me safe, to make sure I was happy. They fought with their lives, they went through so much, almost dying so I could live happily and safe." Her gaze turned dark, some of her hair falling down on her face. "Well… now it's my turn." Kera said pulling her hood back over her head. With that said she turned around and left the man with the frightening golem that was squeezing him to death, breaking a few ribs in the process.
The earth elemental grabbed him and smashed him against the tree while delivering a few punches to him. The man couldn't defend himself at all. After a few minutes of beating the elemental broke down and crumbled back to the ground from where it came from.
The man held himself as he started breathing heavily while leaning against the tree. He had thought he could deal with her alone. Oh how wrong he was…
Grabbing himself he tried to get back to his feet. Pain ran through his body but he still pulled himself to his feet. He coughed again but started walking.
He had to get back to his bosses…
And cut! Well that's that! So what do you guys think? We saw Kera again and this time you all know her new look! Also a glimpse of her powers as well! She's definitely changed throughout the year! Things are getting serious here!
Until next time!