Not much really happens today, this is more of a setup chapter. Enjoy!
Nashi wasn't at all comfortable with what she had to do, but she knew it was for the best. It had only been a day since Hermes had given them their message, and her and her friends were making sure their parents and loved ones were informed they were leaving. The truth could not be said obviously, but Nashi preferred they knew she left than wondering where she'd gone off too.
Sighing, she knocked on her parents door and waited for a moment before opening it.
"Hello?" She called inside. "Anyone home?"
"Come on in, sweetheart!" She heard her mother call to her. Walking in and shutting the door behind her, Nashi took a moment to think about what she was going to say. She had no script, no plan, no nothing. All she knew was that she was supposed to be saying her peace in case she never came back from her meeting with The Olympians.
Walking into the living, room Nashi saw her mother holding Luke in her arms, and smiling in her direction.
"Hi Mom," Nashi said, trying her best to smile. "What's going on?"
"Oh not much," Nashi replied, walking closer and sitting down next to her. "Just wanted to see how you were."
"Me?" She asked, raising an eyebrow. "I think I should ask that about you. I feel like you haven't been the same since, well, you know." Nashi knew she was right. She really hadn't been herself since she found out she was an Etherious. And now she had even more shit to deal with.
"Of course I haven't been the same," Nashi mumbled, hugging herself. "I'm not the same, and I never will be." Her mother made a face.
"No, I suppose not." She said. "But then again, I wouldn't expect you too." She sighed and shifted Luke around a little bit. "So, what did you want to ask?" Nashi had no idea. She just wanted to do her best to memorize their faces.
"Ah, it'a nothing." Nashi replied. "It's just my friends and I are taking a job, and we'll be gone for a while." Nashi's mother seemed to understand this.
"Oh yeah, I heard about that." She said. "Some merchant or something got robbed, right?"
"My words will not leave this table, is that understood?"
"...Right," Nashi said, nodding. That was actually the farthest thing from it, but as Hermes said, the truth did not leave the six of them. Or else. "I don't know how long we'll be gone, but it might be a while. Just felt I should warn you since we're leaving tonight." Her mother nodded.
"I appreciate that," she said. "It's good to know where you're going, even if you're in danger." Nashi nodded weakly.
"Yeah, I know. Don't worry, we'll try to be quick." Her mother smiled at this.
"Get the job done as best you can, Nashi." She said. "I'll survive without knowing if you're okay for a week or so. I've done it before." Well, that much was true. Nashi had a habit of not letting her parents know where she was going and then nearly dying.
"We'll do our best," Nashi replied. "Hey, can I hold Luke for a sec?" Nodding and gesturing the small boy forward, Nashi took her brother in her arms and smiled down at him as he laughed in her direction.
"He must have missed his big sister," Her mother said, laughing as well. Nashi smiled weakly down at Luke. She hoped that this wouldn't be the last time she saw his face, but she knew it was risky.
"Maybe," she said, smiling down at the boy. He laughed and reached for her face. :I just felt like telling you both how much I love you, right Luke?" HIs response was a happy giggle. Nashi spared a moment to think about the first time she'd met Luke, when he was twenty years old. Would he grow up to be the same boy? Would her presence completely alter who her brother was going to be?
Would she even get the chance to find out?
Yeah, I will. Don't think like that.
"Here," Nashi said, gesturing the boy back to her mother, who took him. "Have you seen Dad anywhere?" Her mother shrugged.
"He's probably at the guild," she replied. "Want to head over there?" Nashi nodded.
"Yeah,I want to say goodbye to him too."
"Don't want him to worry?" Her mother asked coyly. Nashi smiled weakly.
"Yeah," She said. "Don't want him to worry."
Drake watched his mother clean off empty tables in the guild hall, contemplating what his approach was going to be. He couldn't be too serious or she'd know something was off. Drake had been easy going with his mother all his life, so if he approached her the way he felt currently she'd call his bluff right away.
Sighing, he stood and walked over to her, preparing the best smile he could.
"Hey mom," he greeted. "Do you have a sec?" He watched her turn and smile at him.
"Of course Drake," she said. "Just let me put these dishes in the kitchen." Drake nodded and watched his mother walk off to put the dirty dishes down, his smile fading as he considered his approach some more. He'd have to wing it, his mind was way too muddled to come up with a coherent plan.
"What is it?" He heard his mother ask as she came back to him. Drake flashed another fake smile.
"I just wanted to let you know the others and I are heading out tonight," he said. "Got a job to take up north."
"Oh, okay," She said. "Is that it?"
"Well, yeah." Drake said, scratching the back of his head. "I just don't want you to worry about me is all."
"Ah, aren't you cute." Drake rolled his eyes as his mother pinched his cheek at this and laughed. "You telling me you're going isn't going to stop my worrying, Drake."
"No?" Drake asked, rubbing his cheek. She shook her head, smiling somewhat sadly.
"You're always out getting yourself into trouble, just like your dad. I'll never stop worrying, but I do have faith you'll come home. And so far neither of you have let me down."
So far
Shaking his head at this thought, Drake managed a laugh.
"Well I'll do my best to not disappoint you," he said. "Like always." She just kept smiling at him, and it was making Drake feel bad about not being truthful with her. But if he did, he'd be signing her death warrant. So he was going her a favour.
"I'm sure you will," she replied. "Is that all?"
"Well, yeah." He replied. She nodded and moved past him.
"I should get back to work, then." she said. "See you later, honey."
"Yeah, see ya..." Drake muttered, watching her walk off. He remained silent for a moment before turning to look at her. "Mom?" He called out, making her turn around.
"Yeah?" She asked. Drake watched her for a moment before he smiled again.
"Love you," he said with what he hoped was a snarky smirk on his face. His mother rolled her eyes.
"I love you too, Drake" She said. Watching her walk off, Drake's eyes drifted away as Nashi and Lucy entered the guild, walking towards Natsu, who was seated with Gray and Gajeel arguing about something. Elise was also over with them, seated quietly. Nashi made eye contact with him across the bar, and they stared at each other quietly. Drake nodded, and Nashi curtly returned the gesture before switching her gaze to her Dad.
Sighing, Drake went towards an empty table in the corner of the guild and took a seat, staring at his feet.
Only a few hours remained until they left.
Elise still hadn't mentioned anything about the mission to either of her parents, mostly because she hadn't found a good way to do it. Her mother was no where to be found, and her Dad was being his usual self and arguing with Natsu about something ridiculous no doubt. Elise didn't know, she'd stopped paying attention.
She looked up as Nashi entered the guild with her mom and Luke, making their way over to the table. Nashi's gaze was elsewhere before it looked over it Elise's direction, and the two made eye contact. They exchanged only curt nods before they made it too the table.
"Hey Luce," Natsu greeted, looking up at them. "Hey Nashi."
"Morning Natsu," Lucy greeted. "Morning Gray, Gajeel." The other two greeted her, and Nashi coughed.
"Elise, have you mentioned anything yet?" She asked. Elise shook her head.
"No, I haven't found the right time." She replied.
"For what?" Gajeel asked. Nashi took a deep breath.
"We're leaving for a mission tonight," she said. "For that merchant guy that came through here yesterday."
"Yeah," Elise agreed. "Sorry Dad, it slipped my mind." Her Father shrugged.
"Don't worry about it, kid." he said. "I'll let your mother know."
"Where is she, anyway?" Gray asked. Gajeel shrugged.
"Someone in a nearby town needed something translated. She was the best one for the job."
"Truer words have rarely been spoken," Natsu said, turning back to Nashi. "Don't worry Nashi, I'm sure you'll do fine." Nashi nodded.
"We will," she replied, eyes flickering briefly at Elise. "And we'll be back before you know it."
"...Yeah," Elise replied. "It'll be a breeze."
"I'm sure," Gray agreed. "Have you two seen Ul? Or is she not up yet?" Elise looked to Nashi, who shrugged.
"She must not be, no." she said. Gray made a face.
"It's not like her to oversleep." he said. "Is she alright?"
"I'm sure she's just resting up for our walk tonight." Elise said. "It's actually not a bad idea."
Ultear had spent all night writhing in silent pain.
After she'd cast that spell on herself, she lost total track of time. She wasn't sure how long she'd sat on her bed biting into her pillows to stifle her groans of pain, but what she did know was that once she woke up, her whole body felt sore.
And yet, she was full of energy.
Optimistic of her success, Ultear had taken off from the dorms and into the forests around Magnolia. She wasn't sure how far she'd gone, but she went for quite a while. Stopping, Ultear looked around at her surroundings. She wasn't very familiar with these woods, but she'd only gone in a straight line so she didn't feel very lost.
"Alright Ul, Let'see if you drew the marks correctly..." She muttered to herself, stretching her arms and legs. Once she felt significantly warmed up, she took a deep breath and raised her hands and applied her magic.
Within seconds, ice coated everything within a one hundred foot radius from Ultear, and the frost continued to spread quickly. She watched with a smile as the ice around her thickened, making her breath appear in front of her face.
And, once she saw enough ice, Ultear lowered her hands.
In one swift movement Ultear whirled and fluidly raised a hand up. She watched as the ice melted just as quickly as it appeared and turned into water, appearing into her hand as an orb of water.
And again, within seconds, the forest looked the exact same as it had when Ultear had arrived.
The best part was that Ultear had barely even tried.
She assessed herself and found that she still felt incredible, and very much still full of energy. Before today, doing so would have taken her much longer and used much more energy, but now she barely felt affected.
"This is awesome!" She said excitedly, jumping up and down a little. Despite what lay ahead, she felt a little more hopeful now that she had powered herself up in such a way. "Now all she had to do was rewrite the symbols on her friends, causing them to suffer the same pain she had.
But at the same time, it was something they needed to do. She knew her friends would see that. Ultear dispersed the water and watched in splash down into a puddle on the ground, and made a face as it hit her foot. Turning and walking back the way she came, Ultear felt hopeful. Now that she'd successfully opened her Second Origin, repeating the process with her friends should be easier. At least, she hoped so. She must have spent at least half an hour double checking the markings so that none were wrong.
Making it out of the forest, Ultear remembered that she should have been telling her parents about a 'mission' they were going on. She didn't like that they couldn't tell anyone, it made her feel alone. Unlike any way before in a fight, they were on their own. And she didn't like it at all.
Making her way towards the guild hall, Ultear knew she had a job to do. To ready her friends for what came next.
Simon had a feeling that his mother would see through his attempts at staying calm about his situation, because she normally did that regardless. He watched her sitting by herself reading a book, and then turned to watch Nashi and Elise talking with their parents and Gray. No doubt they'd already talked about it, and he didn't know where Damien and Steph were, plus Ultear was also missing. Regardless, he really should bring it up.
You know, in case he didn't come back.
Standing, Simon turned and walked towards his mother, who was sitting by herself reading a book, hand holding a finger which was wavering over a slice of strawberry pie. so at least her mood was good.
"Hey Mom," He greeted as he reached her, making her look up and smile.
"Morning sunshine," she said. "What's going on?"
"Not much," he replied as he sat down across from her. "Just wanted to see how you were."
"I'm alright," she said. "What're you up too? Taking any jobs?" Simon pressed his lips together tightly. Their collective excuse for departure was a job Hermes had apparently asked them to do. So he'd have to answer her as truthfully as he could.
"Yeah, we're actually heading out tonight," he replied, putting his hands together. "Some job up north for a merchant. Might be gone for a while seeing as far we're going." She nodded slowly in understanding, eyeing him carefully.
"I see," she replied. Simon felt like he hadn't been casual enough in his wording. "Well, good luck. Sounds like it'll be quite the adventure."
You honestly don't know the half of it.
"Yeah, probably." He said. "But we'll do our best to get home safely. Although that's never really stopped us before." She let out a laugh at this.
"Just like your mother," she replied. "Trouble follows you like lost dog." Simon knew she was right. Although in this instance the dog was beckoning them into a dark alley were it's buff angry owners waited.
Or something to that effect.
"Regardless, be careful." She said. "Wouldn't want anything to happen to you." Simon nodded.
"I'll be okay." He said. "I'll make sure everyone gets home safe." His mother nodded.
"I'm sure you all will." She said. Simon nodded, and slowly looked down at the table.
I will. I swear everyone will get home.
"So, how exactly are we approaching this?" Steph asked as they walked down the streets of Magnolia.
Damien didn't have a clue. He didn't worry about telling their father, as he probably already knew they were headed out. Their mother, however, was different. Damien didn't know how to phrase it without her seeing through him, as she usually did. Not only that, but Damien didn't want to put his mother through any more than he had too. Or his father, for that matter. They'd been through so much with Steph 'dying' alone that any more stress he caused them made him feel bad.
"I have no idea," he replied. "Just tell her we're going out on a job."
"Should we, like, try and say our goodbyes?" She asked weakly. Damien raised an eyebrow at her.
"Have you already conceded defeat or something?" He demanded. "We're not saying our goodbyes because we're coming back, for God sake. Don't act like that."
"But what if we don't?"
"We will."
"But what if-"
"Steph!" Damien shouted, causing her to stop walking down the street. "Stop. It. We're coming home, so we won't say goodbye." She looked at the ground before she nodded slowly.
"Right," she said. "Of course." Damien nodded and turned back ahead of them, and made eye contact with Xisplate. They stared at each other for a good long while before Damien pushed past him and led Steph towards the guild hall.
"Are you worried?" Xisplate's voice rang out. Damien ignored him. "A proper response to such a threat." As they made it too the guild hall, Damien saw his mother working the bar as usual. He walked towards her and Steph followed close behind. She seemed to notice them coming, and smiled as they did so.
"Hey you two!" She greeted. "Need a drink?"
"Yeah," Damien said, resting his cane against the counter. "Probably a few more before we head out tonight." This caused her to make a face.
"Are you guys going on that job Laxus mentioned to me?" She asked. Steph nodded and also sat down.
"Yeah, we have to leave tonight to get there on time." She said. Their mother nodded and smiled at this.
"Well, I hope you guys have good luck! And, you know, not get into another life or death situation."
If only she knew.
"We'll do our best," Damien replied. "We just figured we'd come and see you before we head out." Damien figured from the look on her face that she found this slightly funny.
"Aw, isn't that sweet of you two?" She asked. "Well I thank you for telling me about it. Now, how about we talk about why you're heading out when you're still so injured?" Damien rolled his eyes.
"Oh for God sake, Mom."
"I'm just saying, you're not in the best shape! Steph look out for him, okay?"
"Okay!"
"Jeez, you two..."
Nashi played with her free hand awkwardly as she waited for the other end of the phone line to be answered.
"Nashi?" Drake asked. Nashi turned to find Drake standing there in the dark, watching her. The others save Ultear stood slightly behind him, waiting for her to finish what she was doing.
"Give me a second," she said. "Ultear's not even hear. We'll leave as soon as he-"
"Hello?" Nashi was cut off as a male voice on the other end of the line asked this question.
"Ah, Michael," she said, playing with her hands nervously. "I was worried you wouldn't answer."
"I'd never miss a call from you on purpose," he said, making her smile. "What's up?"
"Well uh, I just wanted to tell you that I really care about you," she stumbled. Nashi knew this sounded corny as fuck, but she needed to tell him something in case he never saw her again. She'd feel awful if she didn't. "And uh, our time together has been awesome."
"Nashi are you on something?" Michael asked. This caused Nashi to smile weakly. "Cause you're giving me second hand cringe over here."
"Sorry, I'm sorry." Nashi said, wiping her hair out of her face. "I just wanted to tell you, I feel like I haven't seen you in forever."
Probably because you really haven't," he replied. "Wanna meet up soon? I've missed you." Nashi pressed her lips together. She wanted nothing more than to say yes, but she couldn't. She was leaving, and who knew for how long.
"No, we'll have to see." She said. "I'm about to go on a job, Lord knows how long I'll be."
"Aw, damn. Some other time then?"
"Yeah, definitely." She could hear Michael laugh at this.
"Alright, I'll see you then boo."
"Boo?"
"What?" Nashi rolled her eyes and decided not to pursue it.
"Nothing. Listen I've got to go but, we'll definitely meet up later, okay?"
"Alright. Have fun."
"Thanks. Bye." With this, Nashi forced herself to hang up the phone and shove it into her pocket. Sighing, she turned to the others. "I'm ready."
"Now we wait for-" Simon started.
"Sorry I'm late guys!" Nashi turned to find Ultear running up to them. "But trust me, I have good news."
"Like what?" Damien asked. Ultear smiled.
"What could be the difference between life and death."
"I see they're finally moving," Athena said, watching the lacrima vision with Zeus. He nodded slowly.
"Yes," he agreed. "Is everything ready for their arrival?"
"Yes sir," Athena replied with a nod. "We're all ready." Zeus nodded once more.
"Good. Tell Triton he is too meet them there. If they do not show he is to inform us." Athena nodded and left the room. Leaving Zeus by himself. Watching the children leave Magnolia, Zeus couldn't help but feel hopeful they would succeed.
But, as was often the case, plans could go wrong.
Nice little prep chapter for you guys. I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try to get five!
Chapter 271: Second Origin