Gonna get myself a youtuber intro for these authors notes at the start of chapters. Make this a real cringe fest.
Enjoy!
The tension in the guild hall was so palpable any knife you tried to cut it with would've been stuck. The entirety of Fairy Tail had spells pointed directly at Poseidon, but the man barely even moved. He just stood in the doorway, trident still gripped tightly in his hand.
"You're some kind of dumb if you think we'd be willing to help you." It was Drake who'd spoken. His face was still covered in scales, magic rolling off of him. "Get out of here, before we kill you."
"If you ever want to see Nashi Dragneel again, you will give me a moment to speak." Takara's eyes widened at this, a murmur passing through the guild. What did he mean by that?
"Is that a threat?" Laxus demanded, moving in front of everyone else. His posture and voice commanded respect and attention, everyone else looking to him.
"It's a promise, actually," Poseidon replied. "You will allow me to speak, lest you spend the rest of your days wishing you had." No one said anything for what felt like forever, but Laxus eventually sighed.
"Stand down, all of you," he said. "Let's see what he has to say."
"Dad, are you sure about this?" It was Damien who spoke. "I don't know if this is a good idea."
"It won't be hard to kill him if he tries anything," Laxus replied. "So come, Olympian, tell us what you want to say."
"I appreciate the chance," Poseidon said. He moved into the guild somewhat, everyone tensing as he did so. He made no moves to attack or anything, but that obviously did little to soothe anyone's worries.
"Allow me start off with a small courtesy," he said. "I'll extend my apologies for everything that's happened between our two families." He snorted. "And no, I don't expect any of you to actually accept my apology. But that's not the point."
"Then what is the point?" Simon asked, his arms crossed.
"The point, dear Simon, that all of you are trying to access our prison Tartarus," he said, sitting down at a table amidst everyone. "And I'll tell you right now; you will not be able to enter it."
"And why not?" Laxus asked. Poseidon looked to him.
"Why, because it's not possible to enter lest you are Hades or a Child of Nyx." He said, making a face. "Can someone get me a drink, by the way? I'm rather parched." No one moved for a bit, obviously not wanting to give customer service to one of their enemies. Eventually a drink did appear in front of him, courtesy of Damien's mother Mirajane.
"Thank you," he said as he took a sip.
"I don't want your thanks," Mirajane replied. Takara sensed the look of anger on her face was not one that appeared often.
"Allow me to be blunt," Poseidon said, ignoring her sass. "Tartarus is not a place one can simply enter and exit on a whim. It's completely sealed off from the outside world. It may as well by in a realm of it's own."
"So what?" Drake demanded. Poseidon only laughed.
"Ah the folly of youth," he said as he looked to Drake. "Allow me to explain it slowly, Drake. It is not possible to enter Tartarus unless you have the proper clearance."
"And you don't have that clearance?" Laxus asked.
"I did," Poseidon replied, "once upon a time. Of course, after Hades betrayed us a few months ago it seems he revoked my access. The spells he created to enter the prison were changed, and I can no longer access the prison."
"Then what good are you, exactly?" Elise asked.
"I was getting to that, dear," he said. "As I said, I've had my access revoked. But there is a way. A way that, had I not shown myself, you all would have missed."
"And what is what?" Laxus demanded. Poseidon simply lifted a finger and pointed to Takara and Jason, who paled.
"They're right there," he said. Everyone turned to look at them, some looking confused.
"What do Takara and Jason have to do with anything?" Drake demanded.
"Well that's easy," Poseidon replied, "they're escaped prisoners, and if there's one thing that Hades doesn't have the patience for is an escaped prisoner. Unless I've been lied to more thoroughly than I ever thought possible, than a Child of Nyx will appear in this city within the week. They'll be looking to take those two back to Tartarus. It is then that you all must strike. You must capture this agent alive, and you must have him open the portal to Tartarus. Then you will be able to storm the prison from right here."
Silence fell upon the guild hall as everyone exchanged looks. For his part, Poseidon seemed unaffected by the silence. He sat there and drank quietly, seemingly waiting for something to happen.
"Let's assume everything you just said is true," Laxus said to break the silence. "Why come here? Why would you tell us this?"
"Well that's easy," Poseidon replied, "I want in."
"What?" Laxus demanded.
"In return for this information, you will allow me to accompany you into Tartarus. From there, I will take my revenge upon Hades for his betrayal several months ago."
"And why would we let you do that?" Laxus asked. "How do we know you aren't luring us into a trap?"
"Would you like to clarify for your family, Drake?" He asked the man. Drake made as face at this, before he sighed.
"Fine," he said, "Gimme a second." Silence came over the guild hall, and Drake's ears twitched. His expression turned foul at this, but he didn't say anything.
"Well?" Ultear asked him, looking impatient.
"He's telling the truth," Drake reported, "no ulterior motive."
"And there you have it," Poseidon said as he took another sip. "I must ask, you people usually drink this? It's not very tasteful."
"Don't change the subject," Laxus said, "explain the plan, now. Leave nothing out." Poseidon sighed at this, but he did as he was asked.
"Essentially, the plan is this; We bait in a Child of Nyx using both of them. Prisoners from Tartarus carry a certain magical signature if they escape, one that the Children can use to track them down. Too be honest, I'm surprised they haven't been caught yet."
This put Takara off. They were being tracked? If that was the case, Poseidon had a point. Why had they not been caught yet?
"Hold on," she said, deciding to voice these concerns. "If that's true, we should have been caught by now. The fact that we were allowed to get here puts me off."
"Think Hades wanted you to get here?" Simon asked her. She shrugged at him, not really knowing.
"If he's as crafty as I think he is, it makes sense." She said quietly.
"She makes an excellent point, honestly." Poseidon said. "It's very likely Hades allowed them to get this far."
"Why would he do that?" Laxus asked.
"I don't have a clue, honestly. I never even suspected he would betray us. I won't pretend to understand his motives."
"It's pretty obvious what his motives are," Damien said under his breath. He clearly meant for no one to hear him, but that went wrong. Now everyone was looking at him.
"And what would that be, Damien Dreyar?" Poseidon asked. Damien looked a little flustered that he'd been heard, but he stood his ground.
"He's trying to wake the King, isn't he?"
The King?
Takara had no idea what that meant, but Damien's words cast a long shadow over the hall. Nobody spoke for a while, even Poseidon staring down at his drink. What could that have possibly meant? Who or what was the King? Clearly the words meant a lot to those in Fairy Tail.
"If that's the case, than it is even more pertinent I accompany you all to Tartarus," he said. "If Hades wakes The King from the prophecy...We are all in the same boat then." Takara was lost as all hell in this conversation, but she knew one thing; she was bait.
"Well how are we doing this, then?" She asked, breaking the silence that came over them after the talk of Kings or whatever. "Do I just walk around and wait to be attacked or what?"
"In essence, I suppose." Poseidon replied, "they should come for you, lest I've overestimated Hades. Which, hell, I may have."
"And if they don't come?" Laxus demanded, Takara noted the sparks flying around him as he spoke. "If they don't come for Jason and Takara, what then? How do we get into Tartarus?"
"You don't," Poseidon replied. "Nashi will spend the rest of her days there, and you all will he helpless to stop it." For a while nobody spoke at this, clearly waiting for the verdict Laxus would dole out. Some looked eager to attack Poseidon where he stood, hoping Laxus would give the order. After a few tense seconds though, the Master sighed.
"Fine," he said. "For now, we will work with you. But if you so much as consider betraying us..."
"Then I will meet the same fate as Zeus, yes?" Poseidon asked.
No one outwardly answered him, but Takara felt no one had too. The answer was obvious.
It had already been a while since Poseidon had left the guild hall, leaving them all with much to think about. Takara had already accepted that she needed to be bait for a Child of Nyx to show up, but every body else was busy debating what exactly had to happen. She'd dismissed herself to a far corner or the guild with Jason by her side, who had also been quiet since Poseidon showed up.
"Ready to be bait?" She asked him.
"Hm," he replied. Looking over at him, Takara saw he seemed to be deep in thought. It was only then she remembered who exactly he had been before. A Child of Nyx, just like those who were supposed to come after them.
"Any idea who might come after us?" She asked as he winced.
"No," he said hoarsely.
"Surely you must have some idea," she replied. "Any lead you might have could be massive, you know. After all, you were a former Child of Nyx yourself. Come on, you've got to know something."
"I'd really rather not talk about that, Taka." He said quietly.
"Well tough shit cowboy, cause guess what? You're going to have too. Thanatos called you out when no one else was around, lucky for you. But you shouldn't keep this secret for long. It'll only make it worse once you actually let them know."
"What am I supposed to do?" he hissed angrily. "Just let them know everything I know, which by the way, it nothing that they don't already know?"
"Give us ideas!" She hissed back irritably. "Let us know about the other Children of Nyx! About who might come after us! Is that too much to ask for?!"
"I don't know," he replied, sagging his shoulders. "It's been years since I spoke to any of them except for Thanatos. I have no clue who might come after us."
"So you're just going to give us nothing then, you selfish piece of shit?" She demanded, feeling her temper rise. "Making it real easy to suspect you of being a traitor." He winced again, but before Takara could say more the door to the guild hall burst open.
"Hello everybody!" A voice called, one she recognised. Her heart skipped a beat. It was one of the voices from the phone! "We're back! It's great to- Wait, we missed something didn't we? Ah God damn it, we missed a big meeting!"
"Did we seriously?" The woman asked. "Oh man, this always happens!"
Watching the door warily, Takara watched as three people entered her view.
One of them was a woman with purple hair that tumbled down her head and onto her shoulders, eyes of the same colour. She was wearing a black cloak with a fuzzy hood, covered in snow from outside.
The man to her left had blonde hair that he'd tied up in a short ponytail, and he was suspiciously lacking in warm clothing. All he had on was a long sleeve white shirt and jeans.
And the third, well, could only be her brother.
Tetsu was taller than her now, his figure thick and and muscular. His black hair was slick from the melting snow on his head, making it look wet. Despite this, his sharp blue eyes shone with disappointment as he surveyed the guild. He was wearing a thick black coat, one he was shaking snow off of.
He looked so...Happy.
"Hey!" Tetsu shouted, his voice deep and irritated. "Drake! What the hell happened man, we clearly missed something!" Takara saw Drake appear before them from the crowd of people, all three of them watching him curiously. She watched as he explained the situation to them, and all three of them grew visibly horrified and confused.
"That him?" Jason asked from beside her, "he looks so much like you."
"..." Takara couldn't think of anything to say. She just found herself staring at Tetsu, doing her best to memorise every single part of his body. It was him. It was really him.
She was knocked out of her stupor when she saw Drake look directly at her. Their eyes met, and he beckoned for her to come over. All of a sudden, dread filled her stomach. What was she supposed to say to him? Should she say anything? Maybe Drake could cover for her.
"He's waiting for you," Jason said pointedly. Feeling like she was watching her own body walk forward, Takara got up and moved through the crowd towards the group, the trio of newcomers watching her curiously. Her own brother caught her gaze, but if he recognised her at all he didn't show it.
"Y-Yeah?" Takara managed to ask Drake weakly.
"You feeling okay?" He asked her, giving her a knowing look. She felt, as she stared into Drake's piercing stare, that she didn't need to answer.
"Drake," the blonde man said, "Who is she?" Drake watched her for a few more seconds without saying anything, before he sighed.
"Her name is Takara," he said as he looked back over at them. "She's one of the prisoners that escaped."
"That so?" Her brother asked, shifting to take his jacket off. When he did it revealed his muscular arms and the black sleeveless shirt underneath. Takara noticed something else too.
A black Fairy Tail mark on his right shoulder.
He's a member of their guild?!
"Tetsu," Drake said, "this had got to do with what I wanted to talk to you about?" Tetsu just made a face at this.
"Why?" He asked. "What'd I do?"
"Nothing," Drake said, "but she has something to say."
Great, he wasn't going to do it for her.
Takara met her brothers gaze, who was watching her with a lost expression on his face. He looked so much like their mother. He had the same kind gaze.
"H-Hi," she managed weakly. "You...You have mom's eyes."
In the brief silence that followed, both of Tetsu's friends seemed to immediately pick up on what she'd said. The woman's eyes widened as she looked between her and Tetsu rapidly, as if she could barely believe what she was seeing. The blonde made a face as if he were confused, but soon his eyes widened as well.
Tetsu had no such moment.
"Who's Mom?" He asked as if that was the key takeaway. If either of his friends had wanted to slap him, then would have been the perfect time. Even Drake looked taken aback.
"Our Mom," Takara managed to say, trying not to laugh at the ridiculousness of this situation. "The one we share. Do you really not see any similarities?"
"I'm lost," he replied simply.
"Tetsu," his female friend, Takara thought her name might have been Azzie, said slowly, "I think you're missing the big point here."
"How so?" Tetsu asked, sounding confused.
"She just said the Mom you guys share!" His male friend shouted. "She's related to you, you dipshit!" It was as if the weight of everything he had just missed came crashing down on top of him all at once, and his eyes widened. He whipped his head to stare at Takara in surprise, who couldn't help the tears that began to creep to her eyes.
"Uh..." Tetsu tried weakly, "Who...Who exactly are you?"
"I'm not surprised you don't know," she said, her voice cracking. "You were so young when they took you. Not to mention that you were lied to..."
"I-I don't follow..." He managed weakly. Takara could resist no longer. She flung herself forward and wrapped him into a hug, one she put all her strength into. At first he resisted, but soon she felt his arms come up around her. God, she wanted to collapse where she was and forget the world. She'd found him. She's really found him.
"I'm so confused," she heard him whisper weakly in her ear. Takara let out a teary laugh at this.
"I would be too," she said happily, the tears finally falling from her eyes. "I'm not going the best job at making sense. Forgive me."
"Someone feel like explaining it to me then?" He asked no one in particular. But Takara could do it. She felt her courage return.
"I'm your older sister. And I've been looking for you for over ten years."
Another Monday, another chapter! What did you guys think this week? I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get five!
Chapter 358: My Brother