Weird how I get chapters out faster after I got rid of my schedule. Anyways, I hope you enjoy!
Nashi stayed dead quiet throughout Drake's entire explanation. She listened intently as he told her about what Hades had done to her using Demon Lord powers she had never heard of to split her in half. How he'd used this other half before him to trick and betray The Olympians into thinking that Luna was her. She thought as he told her how they had learned of this after defeating The Olympians and then went on a trek to find the prison and make sure they could save her.
All this time...
Nashi stared right at Luna, who seemed to want to look anywhere but at her.
...They never missed me. I was here.
Nashi felt even emptier on the inside as this thought occurred to her. That was why her friends and family hadn't been over the moon to see her. They had already seen her, she'd been back for who know how long. If they had Luna, why did they even come to Tartarus to get her back? Why did they risk their lives in order to come and get her? It didn't make any sense. She was here.
"The only thing left to do now is to put you two back together," Drake said finally, "Which we should be able to do once we got info on where Zoka and Ruli are hiding out. Damien, have you heard from Xisplate yet?"
"No," Damien replied. "He hasn't said anything to me yet, but I'll let you know if he does." Drake nodded at this, turning back to Nashi.
"Once we do that, things will finally be right." He said with an encouraging smile. "We can finally be whole again."
I'll never be whole again.
Nashi did not voice her thoughts to the others. The last thing she wanted was for them to know how much pain she was in.
"...Sounds like a plan," she said finally, looking up at everyone with a faint smile. "You guys have sure been busy since I got locked up, huh?"
They don't need me.
"It was all for you," Ultear said. "You should have seen Drake in action, Nashi. He got us all back together with his insane notion that you were still alive."
"Insane," Drake mused," yet I was right."
"Didn't make it any less crazy to hear at the time."Simon told him, making Drake laugh.
"Yeah yeah," he said, "keep complaining. It just makes me feel even more vindicated."
Why even bother?
"Can I..." Nashi said, "...have a moment alone with Luna? To speak with her...Me...whatever."
"Sure ting sweetheart," her mother said, kissing her forehead. "I'm sure this is impossible to comprehend right away." Everyone soon filed out of the room save for Nashi's doppelganger, who stood awkwardly at the other side of the room and avoided her eyes.
"So," Nashi said, "you're me, huh?"
"I-I guess," Luna replied as she buried her face into her scarf. Nashi felt a twinge of annoyance at that. Wasn't that hers? Well, theirs...
"Thank you for keeping them company while I was gone," Nashi said quietly as she played with the sheets underneath her. "It's good to know I...I didn't leave them alone." Luna watched Nashi quietly, scanning her. She moved closer to her now, sitting next to her.
"It's strange," she said, "I feel such an intense connection to you. like we're..."
"The same?" Nashi asked, "I know, I can feel it too. Like a tugging on my soul."
"Our soul?" Luna asked. "Do we share one?"
"I don't know," Nashi groaned, "this is so confusing..."
Why am I even still here?
"Well, thanks all the same," she said. "Knowing my friends weren't totally destroyed after what happened is good."
"Hm," Luna said, "they're good friends to you. They love you so much." Nashi nodded.
"I know," she said. There was silence between the 'sisters' for a moment, neither sure what to say. Nashi stayed well within her own thoughts, dwelling far to long on dark and unhealthy things.
"Oh," Luna said, "I suppose I should give this back to you now." Nashi looked up to see the girl taking the scarf off, offering it to her. She stared at it for a few seconds before reaching out and taking it, wrapping it around her neck. The fabric's feeling against her caused her entire body to relax. This felt normal, better. She hadn't realised until now how much she missed her scarf.
"Thanks," she mumbled.
"No problem," Luna said with a weak smile.
"Can..." Nashi started, "Can you tell me about the battle with The Olympians? At least what you know?" Luna's expression looked pained as she said this, playing with her hands.
"It was horrific," she said, "They attacked the city with their satellite, killed people...Killed Rocky..."
...
"...What?" Nashi asked weakly. Luna looked up at her.
"Did you know him?" She asked, "he seemed to know us. A boy named Rocky saved me from The Olympians. He gave his life in the process. Without him, I...I don't know where we'd be."
Nashi stared at her copy for a good long while, her stomach churning violently. Rocky was dead? As in Rocky her old bully?
Nashi had dreamt about this moment as a child. Rocky dying and disappearing. She'd wanted it for so long, and now she had it. But it was after they'd attempted to make up, after they'd put it behind them.
Why?
Why would he do that?
Nashi would never get to ask. She would never get to ask him why he would do that for her after everything. He was gone and, even worse, she hadn't even been here. She'd been locked away.
Why am I still alive?
"...How did he die?" She asked, voice cracking. Luna frowned.
"I don't know why it had to happen..."
It had been a long day and it had barely started. Having Nashi wake up made everyone really happy, but it wasn't without it's downsides.
Damien, though, was looking out for something else entirely. Aka, his demonic friend.
If everything was going according to plan, then Xisplate should have been cleared on involvement with Nashi's resurrection. Then, if he had any decency, he would come and speak with him. And that's what he was waiting for.
Which left him just laying on his couch, staring up at the roof and waiting. He didn't have any sort of time frame for this, so who knew when he would show up. Hell, would he even show up at all? This probably wouldn't even work, Xisplate was a bit of an assho-
"Yo."
"Gah!" Damien fell off of his couch at the voice that spoke, falling right onto his face. Looking up quick, he saw the demon of the hour standing before him. Xisplate looked the same as ever, along with the same shit-eating grin.
"Any reason you're lying on the floor?" Xisplate asked.
"Don't scare me like that!" Damien shouted as he jumped to his feet. "Why did you do that?!"
"I didn't do anything out of the ordinary," Xisplate pointed out. "I always show up for no reason." Damien frowned.
"I suppose I just got used to you not being around," he said, crossing his arms. "So, I suppose things are going our way seeing as you're here?"
"Indeed," Xisplate said. "After you guys freed Nashi from Tartarus, I was exonerated from the crime. Zoka and Ruli were in the hot seat, but it seems they've fled."
"Fled?" Damien demanded, "How does a Demon Lord flee, exactly? Can't you guys track each other or something?"
"No Demon Lord is inherently stronger than the rest," Xisplate said. "If Zoka and Ruli do not wish to be found, they won't be. Not for a while, anyway."
"I thought you were the strongest?" Damien demanded, "and for that matter, if you guys can run from each other, why did you not come to me earlier?!"
"You really are dumb, huh?" Xisplate asked. "I didn't come here because that would implicate me and you in the crime. What a great way to prove innocence. Besides, Zoka and Ruli are off the grid now that they betrayed The Olympians. If they had no allegiance other than to each other, than hiding becomes easier."
"So what the hell do we do now?" Damien asked. "If you can't help us find them, then what do we do?"
"I told you I could find them, it would just take me some time," Xisplate said in annoyance. "Do you even listen to me?"
"Sometimes." Xisplate sighed at this.
"I can find them, but it will take some time. First I need to find a willing participant inside their Circles of Judgement, for I need to trace their residual energy. Once I find one, I need to use their soul to paint the Primaglyphic language and use the searching circle-"
"Wait-"
"Then once I've locked onto their energy, I need to use the blood of a virgin to enhance the spell's strength and make it easier. Damien, are you a virgin?"
"Wait."
"No, your blood would dilute my findings because you're linked to me. Find a virgin in your guild and get me some of their blood, I'll need it. Once we do that, I should be able to get a general location. Then, it would come down to your friends to make a team and go after them. Any questions so far?"
"S-So far?" Damien asked, "there's more?"
"Of course," Xisplate replied. "If we assume Zoka and Ruli are found, the team that goes after them would need to be your strongest fighters, but also those that can harm Demons more. Like Gray, he should come. But you see, that poses a problem. Zoka and Ruli will most likely create a Shade of the strongest fighter, so we'd need to take that into account and not allow someone like that Erza to come."
"Just hold on!" Damien shouted, "how long is this going to take?!"
"Probably a week or more," Xisplate said, "why?" Damien made a face.
"And what are we supposed to do while we wait?" He asked, "just lounge around?"
"Yes," Xisplate said. "Let me tell you this now, Damien; Zoka and Ruli will not be the end. Once they've been dealt with by both you and your friends, the other Demon Lords will want to take Nashi Dragneel away. They will argue she is living on borrowed time, time given to her by Zoka and Ruli. She died once, she should die again."
"..." Damien stared at Xisplate for a good long while, taking this information into account. Finally, he spoke.
"Will you oppose them?" He asked. Xisplate matched his intense gaze for an equally long time, not making a sound.
"...Damien," he said slowly, "It's against my nature too, I can't...I'm fond of you all, but-"
"But you can't oppose the rest on this," Damien replied slowly as he looked at his feet. "You, too, will need to come and take Nashi away from us."
"...Will you oppose me?" Xisplate asked. His tone was different then before. Usually Xisplate's voice had an air of arrogance to it, but now he sounded concerned. Damien nodded.
"If I have too," he said, "Then I will." The two stared at each other again, no words were needed. It was a code against a family. Human desire against godly edict.
"I see," Xisplate said, pocketing his hands. "I see. Yes, I should have known that would be your answer. After all, I've been around here long enough. Well, okay then."
"Xisplate..." Damien started weakly.
What happened next twisted his stomach.
Xisplate smiled at him. An honest, genuine smile.
"For all the hatred and fear between us over the years," he said, "I'm glad I chose you in this age, Damien. Being with you, with Fairy Tail...I've never felt more alive. Why is why, I hope and pray to my father Anhkseram you will heed this warning."
Xisplate hugged him. Tightly, without letting go quickly. Damien was frozen in shock, unsure of what to do.
"Please," Xisplate hissed in his ear. "Do not oppose us in taking her back to the Circles. Please...please don't make this harder than it already is on me. On Vantros, on Meridia. When we come to take Nashi away again, please...Do not resist us."
Nashi watched Damien speak from her infirmary bed as he relayed what Xisplate had told him.
"So we need to wait on him to find them," Simon surmised, Damien nodding.
"That's what he said to me," he said. "He said we should rest until then. He said...He said that this isn't the end." The room filled with adults and kids alike, went quiet at this. No one knew what to make of the warning, except how serious it was.
"Well of course it isn't," Nashi's father said as he crossed his arms. "We still haven't kicked the shit out of Hades or whoever the King is. Until then, this isn't over."
"Natsu is right," Erza said, "Damien, was there anything else?"
"Yeah, he said we should put together a team of people to take them on once he finds them. But no one too strong, lest they copy and make a Shade of them to fight us."
"That would be bad," Gray said. "Last thing we need is a copy of Natsu with half his strength fighting us."
"Yeah," Natsu agreed, "That would be bad. Should we just trust the kids with this one?"
"I hate the sound of that," Nashi's mother said from his side, "but it makes sense. If any of us go..."
"We risk fucking this up," Gajeel said. "Because our strength could be our downfall." The room was silent for a while, no one saying anything. Laxus finally sighed.
"We'll cross that bridge in a week," he said. "For now, rest up. Behave like teenagers for once. You don't have much time."
"One more thing," Damien said, "Xisplate said he needed some blood from a virgin to enhance the circle's power. Anyone want to volunteer?"
The room began to fill with tense silence, Nashi feeling the gaze of the parents in the room on their kids. The kids seemed very interested in their shoes now.
"Dude, you do it," Drake told Damien.
"Can't," Damien replied. This made Simon, Drake, and Damien's own mother gape at him.
"Why?!" Drake asked. Damien smirked at him.
"Get your head out of the gutter, Cyanide Breath." He said. "Xisplate can't use my blood because my connection to him would dilute the circle. He needs someone unrelated from me, so Steph is probably out. But if you're so curious, the other reason applies too."
"To who?!" Simon asked.
"Yeah, to who Damien?" Mirajane asked, looked as demonic as her son generally did. Damien avoided her gaze. Nashi was reminded at that moment how much Mira loved her kids. It managed to bring a smile to her tired face.
"Doesn't matter," Damien said, "someone volunteer already."
"Take mine," Nashi finally said, "I'm a virgin, it should be fine."
Nashi ignored the relieved sighs from beside her.
"Thank you," Damien murmured under his breath, walking towards her. He picked up a syringe from nearby, and Nashi stuck out her arm. Sticking the needle in, Nashi watched as her blood filled the syringe.
The same blood that had painted the walls of Tartarus.
The blood that had been fried and cooked at Mt. Olympus.
The blood of a dead woman.
Nashi felt the shakes encompass her entire body. She kicked in reflex, pushing Damien away and making him drop the syringe.
"Stop!" She shouted, "...stop. Don't. Maybe I..just don't. I'm sorry..."
"Nashi..." Damien started weakly. He didn't say anything more, just picking up the syringe quietly. "It should be more than enough..." Damien took this chance to hurriedly excuse himself from the infirmary, everyone else just watching her. Nashi's breath was so ragged she felt like she was suffocating, and she was unbearably cold.
The cold reminded her of the prison. Of the cell she was stuck inside of for so long...
"Nashi..." Her father said quietly as he pulled her into a hug, his body heat intense yet doing nothing for her. "Don't push yourself, if you can't then don't..."
"I...I..." 545 couldn't breathe. She was back in the prison, on top of that mountain. Blood everywhere. It smelled like iron. The smell was stuck in her lungs. Why? Why was she here? Why had she been allowed to live in that hell? Why not just kill her?
After all, 545 already felt dead.
"What do you think that was all about?" Tetsu asked. Katsuchi and Azzie were sat opposite of him after the meeting in the infirmary a bit ago, where they learned of the next plan.
"She's clearly suffering still," Azzie said quietly, playing with her fingers. "She's stuck in that place mentally, unable to escape. She must feel horrible."
"I wish there was something we could do," Katsuchi muttered as he cracked his neck. "Seriously, those guys are always placing all the burden on themselves."
"There is something we can do," Tetsu said. "We fight, find Zoka and Ruli, and make those two whole again. It's the least we can do for them."
"Agreed," Azzie said. "And whoever picks a fight with us after that too! No matter who they are!" Tetsu nodded with a smirk.
"First Zoka and Ruli," he said, "Then Hades and the King!"
"Tetsu?" Jumping, he looked behind himself to see Takara standing there. She had a small smile on her face, her cheeks red.
"What's up sis?" He asked her curiously. She played with hands a little, not looking at him. When she finally got the courage to do so, Tetsu heard a question he thought he would never hear.
"Do you want to go see Mom and Dad?"
And thus begins our next, and maybe last, little group of one-off chapters! I'm excited to get into some of this stuff, mostly because it's backstory for some, relationship stuff for others, and building towards the end for others. What could happen next? Find out whenever I get around to it! I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get five!
Chapter 369: Tetsu Yamanaka