I have an important Authors note at the very end, so make sure to read it.
Back in the grass fields Mavis was still overwhelmed by what had happened; but she couldn't afford to be held back anymore, she needed to honor Zeria's memory and overcome this obstacle. Another ring had formed welcoming Mavis to enter.
"You did good overcoming your past" Natsu said. "It is now time for you to confront your present"
"My present... what do I have to do?" she questioned. It was Satori who answered.
"Basically you must confront your inner fears" Mavis raised a brow.
"Okay... I can kind of understand" she wasn't too what she would encounter but she was sure she would understand once she actually walks through the ring. She turned to Satori.
"So how does my future play into this?"
"In time you must be in the position to accept what you will become" she explained. "Will you become a servant of evil? Or a hero of justice, it is probably the simplest of the three encounters" Mavis was now a little afraid of what she would expect. She looked to the portal and stepped inside, Satori and Koishi following close behind. It was total darkness, just like last time.
"I wonder where we will end up this time" Natsu voiced. There was a blinding light before everybody found themselves in Magnolia.
"Interesting, this is the place where your guild is situated is it not?" Natsu questioned. Mavis didn't say anything but she nodded. There was sudden scream, everyone turned to the source and saw a woman run towards them. Mavis' eyes widened; it was Yuri's wife, Rita. Chasing her were two shadow like creatures. Mavis was first to jump into action, using the power she learnt; she created two stone spikes behind Rita which pierced the creatures.
"Are you alright Rita?" she asked running to her; the woman looked up at her stunned.
"Mavis? What are you doing here?" she asked; her questions immediately set off alarms for Mavis.
"Rita was it?" Natsu said. Rita looked around unsure where the voice was coming from. "What was the last thing you remember before coming here?" Rita was hesitant to answer, she looked to Mavis, who gave her a reassuring smile.
"Don't worry, the one speaking is with me" Rita nodded but was still a little hesitant.
"I-I had just given birth... to a baby boy... and then the next thing I knew I was here" Mavis' eyes widened, she turned to Satori, who had a knowing expression.
"How long have you been here?" Natsu continued to ask. Rita shook her head.
"I don't know, Days? Maybe weeks" she answered, she was on the brink of tears, she really had no idea what was going on.
"I think I may know what is going on" he said. "It is as you suspected Mavis, she is not one of your memories" he started noticing Mavis' expression. "Rather Rita here is a soul trapped in your mind"
"It's the curse isn't it".
"Correct" was all Natsu needed to say. Mavis grit her teeth and clenched her fists. "When your curse took Rita's life, you took her soul and stored it in your body"
"I don't understand... how is Mavis related to this? And what do you mean it killed me?" Rita asked.
"Has Yuri ever mentioned a curse that was placed on me?" Mavis asked her; Rita stood pondering for a moment before nodding.
"Yes, it's what stopped you from aging, but what does it have to do with this?"
"I'm afraid everything. The curse... you see..." Mavis was having trouble picking her words. "My curse killed you after you gave birth to Makarov, and for some reason it took your soul and stored it within me. You are in my mind right now" Rita's eyes widened trying to digest the information. "I'm sorry Rita... I know I am in no position to ask for your forgiveness..." Rita shook her head and gave Mavis a small smile.
"There is nothing to be sorry for, it wasn't your fault"
"But I took everything from you, your chance to watch your son grow up, to see Yuri again, to spend time with your family. I took it all away from you, how can you be okay with this?"
"Like I said, it wasn't your fault, it was the curses fault"
"She is right you know" Natsu said, "Before all this, you had no control of the curse, which is why you are going through this training"
"Training?" Rita asked.
"I'm learning how to control the curse, so that I don't take anymore lives" Rita smiled at Mavis' response.
"See, you're already trying to fix it" she took Mavis' hand. "So stop it with the gloomy face, there is nothing to apologize for" Mavis sighed caving in and gave Rita a small smile who nodded satisfied. "By the way how long ago was this?"
"A year..." Mavis answered. Rita was genuinely shocked
"But it felt so much shorter" she said.
"I'm afraid that time progresses differently here" Satori voiced out. Rita finally noticed the other two approached them to introduce herself.
"Sorry I didn't notice you here, my name is Rita Dreyar"
"A pleasure, my name is Komeiji Satori and this is my little sister Koishi" Satori greeted with Koishi giving her an energetic wave.
"What did you mean time progresses differently?" Satori smiled at the question.
"Think of it like when you are dreaming. In a dream time passes by quickly but when you wake up, it turns out hours have already gone by. It is the same concept here"
"I see, and this is Mavis' mind?" Satori nodded.
"Correct" her eyes narrowed however. "But onto more important matters, those shadow creatures chasing you; do you know what they were?"
"No, this was the first time I've seen them. In fact they appeared only moments ago" Satori had a suspicion and Mavis noticed this.
"You don't suppose it's Ankherseram interfering do you?"
"It is a possibility" Satori looked behind her and saw another group of shadow creatures approach at a fast pace. "But I think we should get to somewhere safe first" Mavis nodded she grabbed Rita and carried her bridal style.
"Before you ask Rita, I honestly have no idea how I'm doing this" before Rita could ask, Mavis leaped on top of the buildings and started running at insane speeds, Satori and Koishi flying behind her.
"Where are we going" Koishi asked.
"To my guild, it should be safe there" Mavis halted into a stop when a massive shadowy hand rose up in front of her. The hand smashed the building they were on before lifting its body up revealing a massive bull creature. Jumping out of the way Mavis and Rita found themselves caught trapped between two large boulders with the beast looming over them. Not backing down Mavis commanded the rocks, turning them into golems; they attacked the bull with hard punches. With the beast distracted Mavis carried Rita away from the fight.
"Are you sure that the guild will be a safe place?" Rita asked watching the large beast slowly dismember the golems.
"No, but it's at least safer than out here" she answered while jumping up onto the roofs again. She heard a flock of birds approach, peeking behind, her eyes widened when the birds were in fact also shadow beasts bee lining straight for them. Not being able to react fast enough Mavis turned to try and shield Rita from the attack, but they hit some sort of force field.
"I got them!" Koishi called from afar, she had set up a barrier around the duo. Mavis shouted her thanks before making her way to the guild.
Inside the guild hall was as they expected, empty. Mavis shut the doors behind her letting out a sigh of relief, they were safe for now.
"I think I might have come to a conclusion" Satori said. Mavis looked to her waiting for her to continue. "Those creatures were created by you Mavis"
"Impossible, I would never create things like them" she argued. Satori raised a hand calming her.
"Let me finish" Mavis stayed quiet. "With you being cursed, these creatures were created by your mind as a form of self defense against intruders"
"So how do we defeat them?"
"Well... I'm not too sure" was her answer, which actually surprised Mavis, since Satori seemed like the person who always had an answer to everything it was odd to see her unsure about something.
"We've got trouble!" Rita screamed out while peaking out the window. Just outside, the shadow bull was slowly approaching with an army of unrecognizable creatures at its feet. Koishi peeked outside, her expression unreadable, which once again was strange for Mavis, since meeting the younger sister, she's always been so happy go lucky.
"Wow, there are a lot of them this time" she said, her voiced was amused, added with her lifeless eyes; it made the younger Komeiji sister incredibly scary.
"Mavis please set up a barrier around the building; hold it up until I can figure something out." nodding she conjured up what looked like a reinforced glass dome around the guild. Moments later they could hear a rumble as the guild shook.
"You're holding them off..." Rita told Mavis while watching the shadow bull pound against the surface of the shield.
"It won't hold long though" Mavis whispered while feeling the durability of the dome chip away bit by bit. "What exactly are you trying to figure out?" Satori had her eyes closed, concentrating; her third eye widening as it floated in front of her left eye. Seconds past and she was suddenly thrown across the guild into the bar.
"Big Sister!" Koishi was immediately by Satori's side. Mavis and Rita close behind.
"I'm alright..." she gasped out.
"What happened?" Mavis asked. Satori was sweating.
"I was going through the minds of the creatures; however something attacked me the moment I delved deeper" there was another rumble. "They are all connected by a single mind" she stood up. "But it is as I predicted, there is another you around here" Mavis narrowed her eyes; if there was another her running around she was no doubt corrupted by the curse.
"What would happen if we were to destroy this other me? Would it cause me any harm?" she asked.
"No" it was Natsu who answered. "The truth is, there shouldn't be another you here. It is unusual, but I think that your present and future have merged together creating this world"
"Master; could it be because Mavis' future is that uncertain?" Satori asked.
"Possibly, but I cannot be certain. Mavis will need to face this other her head on by herself if she has any hopes of stopping those creatures" Mavis nodded, she looked outside a plan formulating in her head. She turned to the others.
"Rita, Satori I need you two to go hide in the basement; Koishi please do your best to make sure no other creature get's to them" Koishi nodded with a playful salute. Rita looked worried.
"What are you planning?" she asked.
"I will take down the barrier and lure as many of them away from here. I have a plan to lessen their numbers but I will need to do it alone"
"That's too dangerous!" Rita protested, however Natsu interjected.
"It may be dangerous, but it is something that she must accomplish alone" not convinced Rita wanted to say more.
"It is as Natsu says, I must do this alone; otherwise I will never be able to take control of this curse" Rita sighed, she was still against this but she remained quiet. "Now move to the basement, it won't be long before they break through" nodding Rita guided Satori behind the bar and to the guilds underground storage space.
"Koishi, are you ready? When I release the barrier, I will lead them away but I have no doubts that a few might still linger behind"
"You got it!" she replied with a smile. Mavis took in a deep breath, she waited for the barrier to take another hit before releasing it and immediately dashing through the doors to confront the shadow creatures.
I've decided to put Rita into the story, however I would like your guys opinion. Would you guys like me to keep her in the story or just have her for this arc. I have plans on what to do with her for both. I will make my decision on majority vote.