Chapter 29: Ghosts of Days Past

The important thing was that Gray and Lyon would heal. Though Ultear was probably going to have nightmares for the next decade about Lyon's lung collapsing without any warning whatsoever and his lips turning blue again. Thank heavens for Wendy.

Their home had not been too badly damaged. It was mostly cosmetic. They had been lucky. A good section of Fairy Hills had been completely demolished. Many wizards were currently living out of tents set up behind the guildhall. Those who could were bunking with friends whose homes were still livable. Levy was currently sleeping on Ultear's couch when she wasn't at the guild keeping an eye on Gajeel, the newest shanghaied member of Shadow Gear. Jet and Droy were apparently staying with Nab, and Lucy was crashing with Natsu and Happy since her apartment now had a panoramic hole instead of windows. Levy had salvaged what she could from the rubble of her apartment. The trunk she kept her pictures and keepsakes in had only been a little battered and singed, but almost everything else had been ruined. She'd told Ultear that none of the books she had lost had been irreplaceable, but Levy mourned books like people and for her she had lost a library of old friends. She had seemed relieved, though, when she had dug through her trunk and found an old but undamaged book of Boscan fairy tales.

Ultear adjusted her sling. Gray had been cleared by Porlyusica and the doctors to go home today on crutches. Lyon needed another day or two more of healing before he could be moved. Ultear had brought him another book on magical theory to keep him entertained. Even after knowing him for so many years, Ultear still couldn't fathom how Lyon found theory so interesting. Along with the book, she had brought a further bribe to encourage good behavior (though Gray was usually the more problematic of her brothers when he was injured) – a fresh cup of earl grey tea with just a touch of cream and honey. Earl grey was one of Lyon's great weaknesses, and Ultear exploited it shamelessly. Gray preferred spiced cider or chai tea. Ultear was the only real coffee drinker of their group. Actually, hot spiced cider was exactly what Ultear planned to bribe Gray with to make sure that he actually used his crutches. Getting the boys to cooperate was all about knowing their weaknesses.

Climbing the stairs took a little more concentration when her only free hand was occupied with tea. It was amazing how little things could affect your balance. Thankfully, the tea was in a deep, sturdy mug instead of one of those fastidious little tea cups Lyon liked to use at home and that Gray teased him mercilessly about. She didn't spill a drop even when she almost ran into a doctor going the other way. Finally – the top of the stairs.

"I can see just fine!"

"Fine! Fine!"

"Oh yeah? Then how many fingers am I holding up?"

"Uhhh…."

"Exactly. Your cunning escape will have to wait."

"But I'm bored. At least give me my helmet back. I need it. Today's a good day, but I'm really sick o' staring at curtains."

"Why would you need your helmet?"

"…Let's just say my eyes aren't as reliable as Freed's and Ever's."

Ultear looked up, and suddenly she wasn't an adult, S-class wizard standing on the second floor of Fairy Tail any more. She was a small frightened child being dragged by the arm towards that horrible room with the deformed sun.

Ultear didn't know how long she had been trapped there. Weeks? Months? And in all that time she hadn't seen a single face – not one human face. Just that horrid sun grinning down from above her. All her captors wore masks.

So when she was dragged around a corner and saw another child being lead down the hall, it suck in her mind. He looked… resigned. Broken. His arms were littered with ugly scars, and his eyes were haunted. And Ultear had known, with a startling clarity, that that would be her. If her mother didn't come for her soon, if she didn't escape, that boy would be her.

Ultear was jerked back the way she had come mere seconds later, but his face stayed burned into her memory, because it had been a distinctive face – blue hair, red eyes. Even so, it might still have faded… if it hadn't been for the navy blue stick man branded into the center of his face.

Ultear wasn't even aware of the mug of tea slipping from her fingers until it shattered on the floor. The sound broke her trance. Part of her mind noticed the distinctive location of the guild mark on the man's tongue – had she really never seen Bickslow without his visor before even after all these years? – but most of her attention was focused on the magical mark spanning Bickslow's bridge of nose, cheekbones, and forehead. She didn't even notice as her feet carried her across the room in the opposite direction from Gray and Lyon.

"Is something wrong?" asked Lisanna, concern in her eyes, but Ultear was too focused to notice.

She stopped less than a foot in front of Bickslow who was sitting on the edge of his cot. Red eyes, blue hair, navy stick man. It had to be him, but there was one other thing….

"Hey, new blobby person who I think is Ultear," Bickslow waved his arms in front of himself, leaning back, "I don't have much of a person space bubble, but this is- Hey! No!"

Ultear grabbed one of his flailing arms by the wrist and shoved the long sleeve down. Bickslow wrenched his arm back and practically folded in on himself, quickly pulling his sleeve back into place. It had been enough, though. She had seen and recognized the vicious patterns of scars.

"You where there. I remember you," Ultear murmured, barely aware that she was speaking. "You were at the Bureau of Magical Development…."

"How could you- How could you possibly-" His voice sounded very small and lost.

"Most of my scars are on my back. I saw you in the hall once. I remembered your mark." Her voice sounded almost dreamy to her ears, and Ultear felt like she was floating a foot or so above her own body. She kept most of her memories of that time in her life locked tightly away, but now they were starting to leak out.

Bickslow was gaping at her, dark red eyes wide.

"The little girl with the ice magic. That was you. I thought you had died."

Ultear shook her head.

"I escaped. When my- When my mother found out what was happening, she reported them, and they were shut down."

Ultear found herself being unexpectedly dragged down and crushed against a solid chest in a one armed hug.

"Thank you." It was quiet and half mumbled into her hair. "I don't think… I wouldn't have made it much longer. Thank you."

There was a series of thuds and then an all too familiar voice was grumbling,

"What the hell, 'Tear? Why are you hugging Bickslow?" Ultear could hear the question Gray wasn't asking: 'Are you okay?' Bickslow let go of her, and she straightened up. Gray was leaning heavily on a pair of crutches and switching between shooting her concerned glances and glaring at Bickslow.

"He was at the Bureau, too. Until now… I hadn't realized…." Her voice was still dazed. Ultear didn't have to specify. In their little family, there was only ever one 'Bureau.'

Gray sucked in a sharp breath and suddenly any irritation at Bickslow melted away in the face of his concern for Ultear.

"Ah, hell." Balancing carefully on his crutches, Gray reached out and squeezed her upper arm. Ultear let out a long sigh and focused on the comforting grip, using it to help ground herself again. The dizzy, floating feeling began to fade.

Ultear looked down to find Bickslow still watching her with serious, if unfocused, eyes.

"Your soul's healed well." She blinked at him, and he suddenly seemed to realize what he had said. "Aw, that was awkward. I probably shouldn't have said that. And I'm not even drunk – all my normal excuses are gone."

"It's okay." And it was, because Ultear had always assumed that her time in that place had damaged her beyond all repair. The idea that she had healed on at least some level was… comforting.

"Well, that's a relief. It's kind of nice not to be regularly beaten with a fan." Bickslow gave her one of his more normal, wide grins, but he didn't stick his tongue out. Ultear supposed that he was still pretty shaken by this whole situation as well. He opened his mouth to say something else. His eyes flared green. He snapped them shut. "Shit. Hey, Lisanna, could ya grab me a visor or sunglasses or a blindfold or somethin'?"

"Sure. I think Mira has some sunglasses that someone forgot behind the bar." Lisanna hurried off down the stairs.

"What's wrong with your eyes?" asked Ultear. Part of her was insisting she should be leaving, but the rest of her refused to move. Gray was still gripping her arm.

"They did plenty of breaking – never got around to the fixing. Don't always work quite right." He didn't explain further, but she thought she understood what he meant.

Lisanna returned a few minutes later, a pair of sunglasses in one hand and a replacement for the dropped mug of earl grey in the other. She handed Ultear the mug and then carefully placed the sunglasses in the hand Bickslow didn't have clamped over his eyes. They looked like the ones Gajeel usually wore when he was torturing the guild via guitar.

"Better?" Lisanna asked, as Bickslow slid the glasses on.

"Snazzy." The dimmed green glow of his eyes looked eerie behind the smoky lenses. "I feel like I should be striking a pose."

Ultear was distracted by the feeling of something light landing on her shoulder. She turned her head to find a small sparrow crafted from ice staring up at her. It had large, soulful eyes. It gave a little hop and cheeped at her. Ultear glowered at it. While it was very sweet of Lyon to be trying to cheer her up, he wasn't supposed to be using any magic. She turned her glare to the guilty party on the far side of the room. Lyon gave her a little wave from the mound of pillows he was propped up on. Ultear let out an aggravated sigh.

"Your brother is being a moron again," she informed Gray.

He shrugged,

"Well, he is adopted."

"You're both adopted."

"Nobody's perfect. Give him his tea – that should distract him for a while."

Ultear hesitated, glancing back at Bickslow. He was now striking several poses that he had deemed appropriate for the sunglasses.

She had always wondered what had happened to the boy she had seen at the Bureau. She had… she had hoped that he had been alright. But she hadn't honestly believed it. Mostly, she had come to terms with the fact that she would never know. And now, years later, the answer had been right under her nose this entire time. And maybe he hadn't been entirely alright, but somewhere along the line, he had ended up at Fairy Tail and found a team. He'd found a family.

And Ultear was glad.

She smiled and headed over to scold Lyon and give him his tea. It felt good to no longer be the only survivor. Later, perhaps they could talk more somewhere a little less public. For now, Ultear had idiotic younger brothers to deal with.

A/N: Thanks for reading!