MBS41: Oh, thanks-glad to hear it. Personally, I feel much better about this story than the old version. I'm enjoying it so it's nice to see that others feel the same. Hope's almost fourteen, so closer in age to Wendy, and I guess Sting and Rogue if what I heard about them being the same age before the time skip was true.
1971kr: Thank you. I planned to include Spada some more eventually anyway; the whole thing wouldn't be as satisfying if I don't follow through with it. Spada does know about Igneel though, they explained things to him. While he does sympathize, he doesn't think it excuses Natsu's behavior. Have a nice day.
''You were able to summon Aquarius back then?!''
Lucy and Lisanna were having breakfast at the blonde's home, eventually coming to share old stories.
The blonde appeared sheepish at her friend's obvious astonishment ''I-is it that amazing?''
Lisanna's expression made it clear that she couldn't believe Lucy was asking. ''You were like what, 10? And you summoned practically the strongest zodiac like it was nothing-yup; you were an awesome mage that long ago. Just like the king said.''
''Oh, come on-it's nothing really…'' She rubbed the back of her head, especially flattered. At one point, the praise would definitely have gone through her head but having watched her friends, Lucy felt that she had a long way to go. ''…I'm not the one with the crazy versatile magic here. Mira-san told me how impressed she was that you went so far with Take Over and transformation magic, you're practically combining them like it was nothing. She flat out said she never even thought of using it the way you did when she was your age. Elfman said you practically run circles around him when you spar, that's pretty impressive on its own.''
The girl laughed ''Well, I tried my best-they're both amazing. After the Beast incident…I didn't want to be that helpless again. I promised myself I'd become strong enough to stand by them and all our friends. Even that was easier said than done.'' She leaned back in her seat. ''Honestly, after that day, I think we were all a bit shaken to say the least…''
''Yeah, I heard-when something gets to Natsu like that, you know it's bad.''
''Exactly...'' They had to count on Mira to bail them out a whole bunch and even she admitted to having a few close calls. If things had gone any worse, the Beast could've killed them. ''…it's easy saying I want to get stronger but the how is always an even bigger problem, you know?''
Did she ever. Lucy had had the exact same problem to deal even before she left the mansion. She'd kept trying to find a way to defend herself and whatever she did came up short, learning magic took too long and she hadn't been sure what would've been good enough in the first place. Cancer had been unsure of having her handle a blade. Truth be told, Lucy didn't blame him, she'd handled the few lessons he'd tried to give her terribly. And she didn't think she was one for martial arts. Relying on ranged weapons still left the same issue of her being defenseless without her keys. She'd honestly chosen the whip on a whim, but it had proven handy, even helping her avoid battles if need be.
''So what'd you do?''
Lisanna's smile grew ''I was just looking for answers but what I found was inspiration…''
It had been the ruckus that drew her to the clearing.
The first thing she saw was the spiraling light blast before Endymion flew into her field of vision. He was going faster than Lisanna had ever seen-she had no idea he could even fly like that…
He created an array of beams which he influenced with Memoria magic to go faster until they fizzled out in the sky. Then he created another sphere of light that surrounded the phoenix in an aura which faded in seconds. They continued in such a vein, practicing more techniques until Endymion spoke.
''Hm? Ah, Hope-time out.''
The consequent flash made Lisanna look away until she heard Hope calling her name ''Hi, guys. I just heard some noise so I wondered what was going on-you're working hard.''
'Oh, this isn't anything unusual. Hope is a diligent student.' Endymion stated simply.
Her clear surprise prompted Hope to elaborate ''We're used to training a lot and working on magic together. It was really for the best-seeing how my magic changed from before.''
''What do you…? Oh, right-after what they did!'' Of course Demon Fang's actions had adverse effects on his magic. There was no way it ended with that incomplete bind. ''What happened…?''
''It's okay, really, it doesn't matter.'' Hope waved his hands quickly.
The girl was unconvinced. She would drop this-for now. ''So you really learned from books and stuff all this time before you joined?''
''Mm, I met a couple of nice mages who gave me advice too and Endymion knew plenty to point me in the right direction. Having Master teach me now is a huge help, although…'' He scratched at his cheek as he looked back. ''…implementing his lessons is a work in progress.''
''It looked like you were doing good. You're a heck of a lot faster than we ever saw, Endymion.''
'Well, people tend not to handle that sort of speed well.'
''Point, but man, you're really something else, Hope. I kept telling myself I'm going to get stronger but I didn't know how to even try to make it happen and look at you.''
''It's nothing special, we just work hard. But thanks, how about you join us? Getting stronger would take training and now is a good time as any.''
She returned his smile with one of her own ''Yeah!''
''And it just wound up becoming a regular thing after that.'' Lisanna finished ''I was stuck in a rut and that day really helped me get moving-they gave me plenty of ideas and everyone eventually started pitching in too. We learned loads together.''
''That sounds great…'' Once again, Lucy found herself wishing she'd gathered the courage to join Fairy Tail sooner. It just felt like she missed so much. Shaking the thought off, the girl reminded herself that she was here now and she was more than happy with that.
''Hey, hey, so what did Natsu do to make Mira-nee that mad the other day?'' A grin was already forming on Lisanna's face at the memory.
Lucy found herself snickering; it was scary at the moment. But she couldn't help finding it funny ''Okay, so it started when we were close to wrapping the job up. The client kept piling up stuff and Natsu winds up burning one of the things we had to pick up…''
Fairy Tail's new HQ was nearing completion. It was nearly twice as big as the old one, with more vibrant colors and guild mark on the entrance. The sight brought a smile to the new arrival.
''…Impressive progress…''
The speaker was in fact ''Loke!''
His smile grew as a number of those near the entrance hurried over to greet him, relieved to see him in good health and marveling at his new appearance. The spirit's heart warmed at the gesture, he really had lucked out to find this guild.
As much he was glad to see him, Hope felt he had to ask ''Are you okay to even come now? I mean, with what happened…''
''It's fine, the Celestial World's time goes faster. I had to see the new building with my own eyes.'' Loke ruffled his hair with a chuckle. ''Thanks kiddo, I know the rebuilding was going well-especially after that deal you sealed-this is great.''
''Isn't it?'' Bickslow grinned ''And think, we're almost done. For being run by some annoying blowhards, the Council sure delivers what it promises.''
A chuckle escaped the new arrival ''I certainly won't argue there.''
''Say, Loke?'' Happy piped up ''If you're the lion spirit, do you turn into a big lion or something?''
''Why am I not surprised you'd ask that?'' Shaking his head in fond exasperation, Loke carried on ''Wrong spirit, I'm afraid. Transformation is more Pisces and Gemini's thing.''
''Aww…''
''So yours is actually light magic, right? Hope said he learned quite a bit from you.'' Erza recalled.
''Bingo. So, you've obviously been keeping busy-did I miss anything in particular?''
''I thought you guys could keep a look on this world through connections to your contracted partner or something. That's what Lucy said when some of her spirits helped out before.'' Macao recalled.
''We can but I had a lot of catching up to do, you know? Never mind that it's been that long since I went home. Between catching up and making sure everyone was all right too…''
''Oh, yeah-gotcha, your hands were full.''
True but Loke wasn't about to complain ''I'm the leader of the zodiacs, you know? Keeping an eye out for everyone's just part of the job, I won't let them down again.''
''I thought we had enough of that kind of talk; you're already rising up to the occasion.'' Makarov countered.
Levy nodded ''It's great that you're going through all the trouble. The other spirits must've been glad to see you.''
They had indeed, that welcome had been no less warm. Even if a few (like Aquarius) showed it in their own way, they were happy Loke had returned. ''Yeah…all the more reason I want to do this right.''
''Good on you, Loke, that's a real Manly attitude!'' Elfman gave a thumbs up, eliciting a chuckle.
Easily falling into a chat with Cana and Gray, Loke felt nothing but contentment. He'd thought he couldn't be happier when the king gave him that second chance but he was wrong. To think he had so many friends on both sides…he felt like he was the luckiest spirit in all the celestial world.
Natsu turned slightly as he caught the familiar scents in time to see Lucy and Lisanna entering the guild ''Hey, you two! You just missed Loke, he was catching up.''
''Yeah, he said he would…'' He had actually come to her apartment first to say hello. ''…surprised you guys aren't brawling already.''
Lisanna giggled ''Come on, Lucy, they've got some self-preservation. Master's going to kick their butts if they mess up anything here now.'' Natsu's annoyed grumbling only made them share grins.
It didn't take them long to see a number of their friends gathered around Hope. But his attention seemed to be focused on something else. Lisanna immediately realized what was going on once they came closer. ''It happened again?''
Curious, Lucy followed her line of sight to find a strange glow coming from Hope. It seemed to be coming from his hand, which had a shimmering mark of a criss-crossing sun and moon surrounded a crystal-like shape. ''What's that?''
''We don't actually know.'' Gray confessed. ''It showed up a long while back, after the bind on Hope's core was broken. We're pretty sure it's connected to his magic but the how is what we can't figure out.''
Lucy wondered how she hadn't seen it before if this was the case, only to realize she verbalized the thought with Happy's explanation of it coming and going but Hope was getting a bit of a better handle on it. The boy closed his eyes and the mark vanished, much to her surprise but it proved the cat's point.
It had appeared again in the midst of training and Hope could feel his magic reacting to it. It wasn't anything new but lately it was beginning to look like his light magic seemed to change colors when it was active-he'd checked with others, a few having noticed the same thing. It was a very sporadic occurrence however and the rare instances where it happened, his magic felt rather different. Not in a bad way, in fact something about it and the strange mark was oddly familiar. He just wished he knew why...
The boy hadn't realized how much he'd spaced out until a voice called his name, looking up to see it was Cana. ''Hey, you good? Like we said, nothing to worry about, right?''
''Mm, it feels like I might have seen this before. My light magic always felt soothing-so I don't think it's bad. I just wonder what it all means...''
''Guys?'' Happy spoke up suddenly ''Why are the rune knights in town?''
Startled, the two followed his line of sight out the window to find three men in the knights' uniform approaching the guild.
Many in the guild had immediately expected trouble with this new development. But nothing could've prepared them for what happened…
Members of the dark guild Death's Head had escaped prison around the same time as the bandits, relating to the rumors of the strange activity near the coast which Makarov had been looking into. He'd suspected that there was much more to it than it seemed and apparently the Council had discovered the truth. One of the surviving guards from the onslaught managed to warn them that it was due to a scheme seeking the revival of the black wizard Zeref.
It was Freed who raised the question most had in mind ''That's certainly urgent as you said. I don't see why you think we can give you any relevant information though. This is new to us as well.''
''You misunderstood.'' The squad's captain shook his head ''It just so happens that among you is one person who would be likely be more informed than us all put together.'' He cleared his throat before glancing at Erza, whose blood ran cold.
Her recent suspicions came back with a vengeance. No…it couldn't be…surely he didn't mean…
''The mastermind behind it all is a man named Jellal Fernandez.'' He carried on ''It seems he was working intently behind the scenes all this time in order to reconstruct a structure known as the Tower of Heaven. We still have no knowledge of how it's meant to work but it seems something about it was meant to bring Zeref back to life.''
''Wait, looking back-wasn't there some rumor about one of the Councilmen being related to a criminal? I think his surname was Fernandez too.'' Alzack mused.
Another of the knights nodded, his blue gray eyes narrowing ''It's true but Lord Siegrain is definitely on our side, he and Jellal cut ties many years. He was quick to share any information he had with us.''
Erza's fists clenched, unaware of Makarov's expression darkening behind her, their reasons varied but at the end neither had any faith in the man.
Makarov could never put his finger on it but something had really rubbed him wrong about Siegrain. He'd confided once in Yajima only to discover that the man shared the sentiment. Highly regarded as he may have been in many circles, neither could ever trust him. The thing was, he didn't know why the feeling was so strong but Makarov had long since learned not to dismiss his instincts.
''That still doesn't answer Freed's question though, where do we come in?'' Elfman wondered.
But Laxus had a feeling he knew ''…This has to do with the slaves, doesn't it?'' Eyes traveled to him ''A bunch of nut jobs teamed up and kidnapped people from a bunch of places to force them to work on that thing. The slaves eventually revolted and the tower was ruined.''
''How do you know all that?'' Happy clarified.
''Gramps looked into it before.''
Hope and Endymion were among the few well aware of the reason, the phoenix choosing to carry on ''From what I understand, the slaves were freed and that was the end of it. But apparently it wasn't anywhere near that simple.''
''Right, Jellal gathered a bunch of the other former slaves and he slowly worked behind the scenes to remake it.'' The knight volunteered.
It was taking every bit of Erza's restraint for her to keep any semblance of calm. Of all things, all this time she'd wanted to think it couldn't happen, that something could've changed…but a part of her had always known she was fooling herself. She had run away from the past and never wanted to look back.
As it were, she was completely unaware of a few onlookers watching her, having picked up on something strange.
Levy couldn't help questioning the knight's words though ''Wait, wait, other former slaves? As in he was one too?''
''Exactly, I'll never understand that.'' He shook his head in disgust. ''He spent years working on the same plan that ruined his and so many other lives. I can't even imagine what the others are thinking…''
''It hardly matters at this point, Mest.'' The captain cut in.
''Okay, fair-but Sir, you never told us, who is this source of information supposed to be?''
''Ah, yes-I was getting there.'' But it was clear that the captain didn't like what he was doing either. ''It's none other than Erza Scarlet."
''Wait, wait, what??''
''Erza?!''
''Are you for real?!''
The captain seemed to expect the guild's shock ''It was a harsh time for everyone involved and…''
''Then what the hell are you doing bringing this up now?!'' Makarov cut in.
Mira stepped in front of the knight mage ''Exactly! You know how hard it was for the prisoners and you just ambush her like this?
''Yeah, how could you?'' Her sister added heatedly. ''I don't care if you have your orders, this is going too far!''
''Seriously, on what planet is this supposed to be okay?'' Gray demanded.
Mest remained silent but his disappointment was visible. It couldn't be clearer that even he thought this was out of order.
The captain sighed ''We…really don't have much choice. Most of those involved are either dead or just too far away…''
''Save the excuses for someone who cares.'' Evergreen put in.
Erza thought it was understandable but was still very touched that her friends were all so protective of her. Even those who hadn't said a word simply elected to stay close, glaring at the knights.
What did she do to deserve them?
''…Erza, what do you want to do?'' Lucy more than approved of their friends' stance but there was one poignant issue ''At the end of the day, you should get to make the call.''
''Sounds about right.'' Natsu agreed. ''You wanna go along with this? Sure. But we'll gladly kick them out in a second. Either way, you just say the word.''
She spared the pair a grateful look ''…I'll explain everything…you all should hear this as well.''
In minutes they were all settled down around the tables, giving Erza their full attention.
''I was raised in a place called Rosemary village. Those monsters destroyed everything…'' Erza closed her eyes, remembering her grief at the discovery that her former home was no more. ''…I was among many in a similar situation. As they said, the cultists forced us to work on constructing the tower. It had something called the R-system. I have no idea what they actually did to gather all that power but something about it felt absolutely vile. There were many traps that stopped anyone attempting to rebel or escape, everything that would keep us under their thumb. They forced us to construct the tower and made their own preparations, we never found out how it worked but Grandpa Rob had some theories.''
Makarov choked ''Wait, did you just say….?''
Confused, Erza was about to question this when Laxus spoke up ''One of his best friends' name was Rob. They were in a team together before he became guild master. He just vanished and Gramps started trying to find him, that's how we found out about the tower.''
Erza was speechless. Fondness and guilt rose up in equal measures at the thought of a man who had quickly become as good as family; teaching her and the others about the world…even throwing his life away to save her. And now it turned out he was one of Master's best friends? ''He…told me about Fairy Tail. He was sure we could find a family and home here, I had no idea he…''
Makarov held up a hand ''We can talk about that later. Go on, do you have any idea how things came to this?''
Rob believed that the R-system was either some spell their captors created or a device necessary for their goal. All they knew for sure was that the tower was needed for it. She distinctly remembered them doing some experiments in another section, where a number of the slaves were made to work with charged lacrima. For some reason there was the belief that Zeref would come once they caused enough chaos in his name. There was even talk of finding keys to awaken him and how it was a sham. They would do it this way to have Zeref take over the world.
With sorrow, she went on to explain how they managed to stage the revolt, managing to overcome their oppressors after so long. It had been the day she first awakened her magic, Rob dying because he protected her. Just when she thought everyone was fine and headed off to find Jellal, who had been taken to a different floor earlier…
''He…changed.''
Erza discovered the cultist who been busy tormenting him dead and Jellal standing over the corpse, his hand drenched in blood. The expression he wore was one she'd never thought she'd see on the boy who'd been one of her closest friends. ''He started going on about how everything was finally changed and they could take over, make those who hurt them pay and make the world ours. Then he used some sort of spell to send us both away back to the first floor, he wouldn't listen to a thing I said…'' Erza's fists clenched tightly. ''…he managed to convince some of the others that I turned traitor, they started attacking me too. I couldn't…he knew I couldn't fight them. He threatened to kill everyone if…if I wasn't on his side, I was against them all so he let me leave, taunting me to enjoy my freedom, fake as it was.''
''That's…whoa…''
''Bastard…'' Bickslow grimaced ''…he sure went off the deep end, huh?''
Erza thought this was a massive understatement ''…So that's it, that's all I can tell you. I'd truly gone and believed it was gone for good, I mistook Siegrain for Jellal until I heard his story and everything he said told me Jellal had essentially disappeared. I'd almost come to believe he was dead until today. But…if he's behind all this…''
''He really pulled the wool over all our eyes…'' Mest acknowledged. ''…thanks for cooperating and…sorry we had you go through that.'' The captain nodded, looking equally ashamed.
''You should be.'' Elfman muttered darkly.
''Would you consider helping us?'' The third knight piped up ''It'd be great to have the Titania on our side…''
He never got any further as an annoyed Mest elbowed his gut with the captain giving him a sharp look that left him cowed. It was only this that stopped the more hotheaded members telling him off.
The captain was about to reassure Erza that she didn't have to listen to him but ''…Miss Scarlet?''
Erza had already left.
What was she even doing?
She'd gone and left before she could think it through. For the first time in years, the guild felt utterly suffocating.
The fact that her friends didn't think any less of her meant more than she could ever put in words. Everything just went down so fast, she was completely overwhelmed.
She'd firmly put the past out of her mind. Hiding behind her armor, it took the members of Fairy Tail to finally begin shaking her of the habit. But even then…Jellal had been right, this wasn't freedom. Not really, the shackles of the past still had a firm hold on her.
''About time.''
She didn't even look back at Gray ''Everyone's either busy letting that idiot knight have it or trying to work out what to do next. I told Endymion to give me a few minutes.'' He crossed his arms. ''That was one hell of a bomb you all dropped today, gotta say you actually handled that pretty well. I don't think anybody would've blamed you for kicking them out. Lucy put it best, what do you want to do now?''
''I think it goes without saying, I'd be expected to…''
''Screw that.'' The statement was sharp and sudden ''It doesn't matter what people expect, what they'd want from you. Bottom line is, you're the one involved the most, the one who's been hurt the most. The Council doesn't get to demand shit. Look, I get that stuff like this really messes with your head. You heard how Lyon talked about me before. As much as I hate to say it, he was right. I was an idiot and I probably would've continued being one if it wasn't for Ur. But it's also why I know that how important this is. What do you, Erza Scarlet, want to do about this?''
Natsu spotted the pair coming back in the guild ''There they are!''
Happy's first instinct was to ask about Erza's well being but clearly, there was no way she'd be all right ''The knights had to leave but Mest wanted to let you know they were sorry and that you shouldn't listen to that other knight if you don't want to.''
''So we told him we'd decide where to go from here.'' Lisanna added.
''Yeah, she wanted to talk to everyone so here we are.'' Gray stepped aside, gesturing for Erza to come forward.
''…I'm done running away.'' The declaration was met with a few smiles and general relief. ''I let Jellal win once, never again. I'll stop him, no matter what. It's my responsibility to put that nightmare to rest.''
''That's more like it!'' Elfman's cheer was the precursor to numerous others, all declaring their faith in the knight mage.
But something was odd.
Mira couldn't put her finger on it; something about Erza's expression rubbed her the wrong way. Their fierce rivalry led to a close-knit friendship and the eldest Strauss sibling would say Erza was her best female friend. And that was why she knew, for all her attempts to hide her feelings, Erza had certain tells even she never realized at times. Yet another reason that Mira highly doubted the matter was anywhere as simple as the redhead made it out to be.
Erza's next words only worsened her suspicions ''I'll settle this for good.''
''…Hold on.''
Cana turned to Hope ''What's wrong?''
''I can't go along with this. '' His eyes narrowed at a startled Erza. ''It's easy to say you're going to deal with this once and for all but do you even know what you're doing? If you keep going like this, you're going to crash and burn.''
''What...?''
'''I'll settle this', 'This is my responsibility', 'I will stop Jellal no matter what'. Those were your words, remember? It's like you've shut everything out.'' Hope stood. ''I refuse to let you leave like this. I will fight you for it if I have to.''
Now the listeners knew this was very serious. The shrewder members realized that he must have picked up something with his newly learned Empathy magic, something that was enough to push him to do something he'd never consider before.
Others chose to intervene, being of the opinion that a fight was the last thing they need now.
''Whoa, whoa, you can't fight her-!''
''You don't even have to...!''
''No, as it stands I think we have a good chance of winning.'' Endymion being on board with this was another red flag. ''After all, the Erza we know is among the best warriors here but as it is now, all she has is bravado-empty bravado that's used to hide her fear of the past.''
The girl looked like she'd been slapped while most were wide-eyed. Gray didn't miss Makarov watching on, his expression stern as he stared at Erza. The lack of surprise proving that he knew exactly what they were getting, so did Mira, who kicked herself for not seeing it before. It all made sense now…
''Fear? But...'' Natsu frowned.
''Notice how she's not denying anything.'' Laxus' valid statement made them falter. ''Well? Nothing to say?''
Finding her voice wasn't easy ''...what do you want from me?! It's the truth, this is my fault! I did nothing because I was too scared to face my past. Even now, I loathe the very idea of ever going back. It's like nothing's changed. Even when I left my friends behind! I just ran and ran...for years, I hid away. I couldn't even face everyone without this suit of armor. All I've had this whole time may as well have been nothing but a facade, I'm still such a coward...''
''No, you're only human.'' Hope countered. ''It's only natural to be afraid. Don't you think many of us here know what it's like to fear the past? You say nothing's changed, I say so much did. Courage isn't what you do without fear; it's what you do even with that fear. Your first decision when they told us everything was to go do something about it, remember? You were the one who told me Fairy Tail would be a place I can go back to, a home where family would wait for me. That goes for you too.''
''It certainly does.'' Makarov walked over. ''You don't know Fairy Tail nearly as well you think if you ever thought you were going to face this alone, child. If anyone is responsible for all this, it most certainly isn't you. Don't ever deride yourself like that again; no one gets to make you feel inferior without your consent and most definitely not him. Your hand was forced and you did the only thing you could-we understand that. The past is what it is, where you go from here is what matters. And you want to save your friends, don't you? You want to ensure that the tower is destroyed for good? Then why don't you let us help you?''
''Now you're talking!''
''Yeah, that's what we're here for!''
''We can't just sit back and do nothing!''
''That scumbag of a traitor will get what's coming to him!''
Erza was frozen, only staring as her guild mates rallied around her. Knowing they were galvanized and outraged on her behalf touched her to the core. The truth did nothing but reaffirm their intentions to help, to stand by her...
Lucy's face lit up as she saw the smile spread on her face ''That's more like it.'' She hugged the girl ''Don't take so long to ask for help next time, okay?''
They soon got to preparing for the oncoming battle, with a plan already in the making…
Cana noticed Levy debating a few details with Master and Freed, one particular issue niggling at her mind ''Hey, Erza, what's the deal with that Siegrain guy anyway? I heard how you flipped out on him before-which really makes sense now-and I'm pretty sure Master and Old Man Yajima never trusted him. The old timer told us to watch ourselves around him too. Considering your description of Jellal, I'm wondering if twins could possibly look that alike.''
''Good point. Actually, I've never seen Endymion react to anyone nearly that badly since he told us about Hope's old guardians.'' Lisanna's statement was even more alarming. ''He tried to get a reading on the guy before but that doesn't work well since Era's practically vibrating with magic and he's rarely seen out of it in person.''
''Well, there's not much I can tell you there. I've had similar misgivings about him, mostly because of his resemblance to Jellal but frankly…he puts up quite a mask sometimes.'' The redhead recalled the occasional derogatory comment hidden under a veil of politeness he had tossed her way in the past. ''Jellal never mentioned any other family and while I question everything he ever told me, I keep wondering if he's anywhere as sincere as he seems.''
''So bottom line is, watch for him too until we're sure whose side he's on?'' They shared nods at Cana's conclusion.
''Good to know...'' Laxus walked over with a few of their friends, having overheard the discussion. ''…but there's something I've been meaning to ask. Erza?''
''Yes?''
''Are you sure you're ready for this? The tower aside, from the looks of it, we'll be going against some of your oldest friends.'' The lightning dragon slayer crossed his arms ''I can't even begin to understand what the hell they're thinking but they're obviously on Jellal's side. Can you face them as enemies?''
Erza froze, Mira bit her lip. She did understand Laxus' concerns but…''That's a bit much, don't you think? She just found out about all this.''
''I'm not expecting an answer right away but we don't have the luxury of waiting. She has to at least brace herself for what's coming.''
Sighing, Makarov looked at Erza ''Unfortunately, Laxus is right. We're still in the dark about all this. Who's to say what your friends are thinking but if Jellal's anywhere as vindictive as you made him out to be, chances are he'd target you too. Can you treat him as an enemy?''
''Come on, you guys are worrying too much. There's no way she'd count him as a friend after all this crap!'' Elfman argued.
About to vocalize his agreement, Natsu was distracted when Makarov shook his head ''Some bonds aren't severed that easily.''
''Yeah…'' A grunt escaped Laxus ''…my dad's a lowlife scumbag but for a long time, I never thought we'd come to blows. I would've done plenty to help him before I was lucky enough to have some sense knocked into me.''
''I'd almost given up all together before the same happened on my end…'' Makarov's confession came as a surprise. Hope watched the two with growing concern. ''As much as it hurt, I'd come to convince myself that it was for the best to accept what I had…'' Hope looked up with a start as he felt the hand patting his head, accepting the silent reassurance ''…good thing I couldn't have been more wrong.''
No one could respond to that. Ivan Dreyar remained an understandably sore subject for them, at one point nearly ruining any chance of Laxus and Makarov remaining a family. A few of the older present members had met him and thus they'd witnessed how things just kept going worse and worse. It was thanks to Hope that the two got along as well as they did now and while they may not admit it out loud, the two were much happier since.
But the fact was, Ivan may have betrayed them now but at one point, they were close, and they were family. That wasn't easy to forget.
Erza's expression was hard to read but they knew her enough to tell that the words had struck home.
The conflict and sadness in her eyes prompted Elfman to speak up ''You don't have to force yourself, you know. Facing your old friends is going to be bad enough, someone else can handle Jellal...''
''Absolutely not! I have to-!''
''You're still not getting it!'' Gray cut in ''Quit the lone ranger crap, Erza. Look, it's pretty damn obvious that if this guy's out to revive the darkest wizard to have ever lived then he's going all out. That's why Hope stepped in. Half-assed feelings like that are just going to get you killed in battle!''
Erza was admittedly furious at herself. Elfman's opinion did make sense, how could she still care for Jellal after all he'd done?
And yet a part of her had always wanted to free all her friends. She knew Master and Laxus were right, because a part of her still remembered that kind boy who'd helped her break out of her shell, who had been the one to give Erza her last name.
Could she really fight like this?
''It's not a bad thing, you know.''
The gentle voice snapped her out of her thoughts, brown eyes meeting purple and silver ''Caring for a bad person doesn't make you bad yourself. It just means…'' Hope found himself thinking of his days in Crocus. As much as it still hurt to think of what he'd lost, with time he found that he could look back on the good times too. While a part of him was angry at his former guardians, he found that he didn't hate them. At the end of the day, they were all victims of Demon Fang. And Hope knew that despite his past, he wouldn't give up what he had now for anything. ''…it means you're looking at the full picture, that you're not just letting the pain of the past rule you. It's proof that things changed, that you're moving on. If anything, I think it's great.''
Gratitude welling up once again, Erza only had one thing to say ''…Thank you.''
Thus it was decided, two big teams would divide themselves between Era and the Tower of Heaven itself. The Era group was to discern whatever new information they could find and if Jellal struck at the Council like the knights seemed to be expecting, to help stop it. They were then to rendezvous with the other team after gathering more allies if possible and defeat the enemies.
''I really don't know how you do it.''
Hope blinked as Erza joined him ''You keep pushing forward, even after life knocked you down, you get up and continue to fight. You inspired so many others to do the same; you even confided one of your biggest secrets to us...''
''I'm just going by what I feel is best, really. You're giving me too much credit…telling you all the truth was one of the scariest things I've ever done.'' A small gasp of surprise left her. ''It helped a lot that Grandpa and the others found out before but at the same time, I kept second guessing myself all along, there was a point I was convinced I'd just bring you all trouble and I was selfish enough to take the chance anyway. That's why it felt so wrong to hide everything.''
She had no idea he felt that way, she'd just assumed...
Of course, it was foolish of her. Hope was truly wise beyond his years but he'd been through experiences those older than him may not have weathered. But it also meant he'd faced so many struggles, ones he had yet to fully overcome.
Her heart went out to him, to think he felt so guilty just for wanting a home and family. The past still haunted him too, no wonder he understood so well. Erza wanted to ask how he could think they would've kicked him out but certain figures had plenty of time to drill it into his head that he would be unwanted, which couldn't be further from the truth.
She still remembered how worn-out he'd been after telling them, utterly drained by what she now realized was the sheer range of emotions he must have gone through. Her anger at his previous caretakers returned with full force, they may not have been responsible for most of what happened, she barely conceded. But they had been the ones to force a young child out of what should've been a home for him. They abandoned him when he needed them the most, utter fools who condemned him for being fortunate enough to survive when others hadn't.
''Hope, if the event arises where we come to face them…what would you do? Do you stand by your words back then?'' Because the only reason they hadn't done anything about the traitors was Hope asking them not to. While he had his own struggles to deal with, the one thing he made clear was that he did not desire vengeance.
The boy unconsciously fiddled with the pendant ''…I actually asked myself that question before, only…I just don't know. It hurts a lot and…part of me is still angry with them but in the end, no, I haven't changed my mind.'' Hope hesitated ''Is that…I mean…''
''It's just like I told you back then. We were furious, still are in fact but at the end of the day, you're the only one who gets to make this call.'' Count on Endymion to pick up on where this was going.
''Exactly, even if some of us disagree, we'll still respect your decision.'' Erza chimed in, Hope nodded and thanked them.
That was when Elfman found them ''Hey, there you are! Come on, everyone's ready-let's go bust us up a tower!''
The determination in Erza's gaze was both a familiar and welcome sight to her friends ''Yes, let's be on our way.''
Well, that's that.
The first part came to me to by chance but seriously, I said it once and I'll say it again, Lucy doesn't get nearly enough credit. She summoned Aquarius on a regular basis when she was a kid and it didn't wear her out, that's amazing. Oh, I almost forgot, Mest isn't a former member of Fairy Tail here or anything. He's a knight who chose to follow the footsteps of his parents. Honestly, I never liked that idea and I really don't see any justifiable reason behind it, I can work with things much better this way.
There's more to what happened on the day Erza fled and it has to do with why Endymion, Makarov and Yajima are so wary of Siegrain. Endymion probably could've figured something about that out since the sight spell is so effective but a lot of magic in the targeted interferes with it and they barely see him out of Era. But I'll get to that when the fight against Jellal really gets underway.
What I mentioned about Ivan is the impression I sometimes get from Makarov. I know he gets shoved to the wayside pretty quickly (which honestly feels like a wasted opportunity-as much as I enjoyed watching Laxus kick Raven Tail to the curb) but I don't think he just stopped caring all together. Sort of like how Erza hesitated with Jellal, they still shared a bond and good times. Both are still going to stand for what they believe in even if they go against them; I'm just trying to say that it can be hard to forget that sort of thing.
Hope revealed what happened to him and Endymion over a year ago, for the reasons explained above. As mentioned, they didn't actually do anything against his old guardians is him asking them not to. It was mostly because he didn't think it was worth it, he didn't want them getting in trouble for him. They weren't happy but they know he already saw himself as a burden (and he still does) so they chose to focus on helping him instead. This was a short while after he faked his death and considering his magic restored his original appearance, he was actually worried the people behind that would try to come after him again.
Hope came to understand that the people in Crocus are victims of Demon Fang too and he would much rather not stir the past up again. This is one plot point for the next arc (it's an original arc, since you know, the canon wouldn't work with what I already changed) because it focuses on Hope and the Dreyar family and I plan to get into more of their past then.
Anywho, that's all I had to say but thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed it. Till next time!