Hello and thank you all for your reviews!
Thank you Isanien for letting me know what you liked most!
And thanks to Somnolent Sushi Roll for answering my question - I think I do prefer her with green eyes, as well.
As always, thank you Nina-Chan202 for your review; I can always count on them!
Also, if anyone has a request for a scene, scenario, character or conversation, don't hesitate to let me know and I'll see what I can do ^^
Without further ado!
The trains were all retired for the day. One last one was still to arrive, but nothing would leave the station until dawn. He contemplated whether to wait for the last train and confiscate it in order to get to Oshibana Town.
In the end, he had no patience, rushing all the way across the countryside using Meteor. The landscape flew by, seeming so much faster than when sitting in a train. Wind mercilessly whipped his face, his skin already burning with the icy cold that lashed even through his clothes.
Jellal was drained by the time he arrived, but determination boiled in him, keeping him on his feet and running. He had been here before, but did not remember much of it. There were several mansions, all at the edges of town and mostly in cardinal directions as their estates were huge and, of course, not overlapping.
He chose the first one that came into view – right up ahead, only a black speck on the horizon against the setting sun. The closer he got, the more magic energy he felt. Not hers, he noticed, but whatever it was, it was the reason for her troubles. What if she was out of magic already? What if all that was left to defend them was the tiny puddle inside his own exhausted vessel?
His brows furrowed. He would use it all to save her – that had been the plan anyway. He would lay down his life to protect hers.
His lungs burnt by the time he climbed the hill. His now almost bare feet were grateful for the grass beneath, his socks ripped from sprinting across pavement and gravel, not given the chance to crust over bleeding cuts as he pounded them into the ground.
The double doors were enormous, intimidating. Wasting no time, Jellal kicked them open.
The breeze howled from behind, sucking his hair in. It smelled of musty old furniture. The entrance was huge, two sets of stairs leading up into a giant parlour. Everything was clad in darkness, though weak moonlight streaked in through the high windows. A sense of magic hung in the air.
Tense, Jellal took the stairs two at a time after not seeing any doors in the entrance. He was now facing a seating area with dust-covered couches and armchairs and an unused fireplace – everything giving him the urge to sneeze, which he suppressed. He grew even more restless. Nothing gave away that she could be there – nothing but the faint stench of magical energy. He did not have the time to search the entire villa – there were more and it was not even guaranteed that she was still in any of them. Or that he had interpreted correctly.
What if it was not a mansion in Oshibana in the first place?
He hurried along anyway. Going for the first door he reached, Jellal tried to follow the magic he felt. His skin tingled uneasily. He could not decide whether to loudly call her name or stay unnoticed. He did not dare to use telepathy, seeing as they were probably not alone and it could be interrupted.
That, and he hardly had any magic left.
Jellal halted abruptly upon finding the master bedroom. It, too, was covered in cobwebs, but the energy was stronger. The doors fell close behind him. He spun around, immediately bursting through the wood, splintering it in order to escape whatever trap awaited him back inside.
Weight crashed onto his back. His shoulder blade shattered. He gasped, but the air was pushed out of him. He hit the ground hard when another thrust of the same stature broke his ribs and the floor collapsed beneath him.
Groaning, he caught himself on all fours. With a last bolt of magic, he used Meteor to escape his pursuers as they landed right where he had been less than a second ago. The tiles beneath their feet ruptured. He had to squint against the rising dust of the debris. His lungs heaved, screaming for oxygen but he refused to cough and betray his position.
Shockwaves electrocuted him suddenly. Jellal screamed, feeling razor sharp metal tips puncture his back. His vision went white, then black, his body cramping, gradually losing its strength. Every muscle seemed on fire, then withering.
Erza appeared in front of his inner eye.
With a roar, Jellal hauled himself backwards. The weapon pierced his flesh but he rammed into it, regardless of the pain, disarming his attacker. Erza! He crawled to his feet, already feeling the deeper shadows creep over him as the previous assaulters loomed over his exhausted form.
Striking down with his right arm, he lifted two fingers.
"Pleiades!" Six star-like bolts soared into his opponents. The walls rumbled, the entire ancient building with it. He stared ahead when the smoke cleared. There was no one there. Clenching his jaw, Jellal turned, ignoring the spinning of his head, readying his stance for another attack, seeing that whoever had numbed most of his muscles had vanished, too.
"Erza!" Jellal shouted at the top of his lungs. He tried again, his body slackening but he refused to give in. But if she was not here anymore…
The walls crashed with the boom of a shot, loud enough to be a canon. Jellal cried out in pain when something flung into his torso from behind, shattering his ribcage. He coughed blood, unable to breathe. The pressure suffocated him. He slumped forward, hitting the remains of the opposite wall. His hands scraped along the rubble, smearing them with blood he had not even noticed to have shed.
His body convulsed again, electricity searing his nerves until every last of his senses died to unconsciousness.
Erza…
"Erza…" his voice rang in her head. Immediately, she shot up into a sitting position. Her head buzzed with previous sleep, clouds of bizarre dreams clearing only little by little. She frowned. Had that been a part of her dream? What had she dreamed? Just a second ago, she had remembered it. And then there was…
What was it again?
"Erza," that was it. Jellal. Her eyes widened. Looking around, she asserted her assumption of him using telepathy. Of course, he did. But then why-
"Help me," he croaked. She blinked in confusion. Asking… for help? Jellal? Something was off, she immediately concluded. "Please… help me…" his voice was fading already. Something was really off. He was not someone to have difficulties with telepathy. He was either really far away or running low on magic.
She got up, brushing down the dirt from her clothes as she started walking. She could sense him, she would find him, she knew. She just hoped for him to be in town or any civilisation – fighting in the wilderness required so much more focus and even though they had mostly fought like that, her lack of sleep did not help her concentration in the least.
While trying to come up with a plan, she activated her magic. Her wrist glowed, a bracelet of pink light forming as it reached out, linking to him. Meredy shrieked, toppling down onto the earth. She removed the Sensory Link immediately. Panting, even from just that split of a second, she hunched over, her arms shaking, threatening to give in.
Catching her breath for another minute, she finally sat back on her heels. She had nearly passed out, meaning that he had either already lost consciousness or was close. Her torso still slightly blazed with pain. And then there was that telepathic message she had not been meant to receive.
Meredy heaved herself to her feet. She started running. With silent prayers to her distressed comrade, she followed his trail into Kunugi. She got out her communication lacrima. No one picked up.
"Come on, Erza…" she growled under her quick breath, trying time and again. She crossed the entire town, then beyond, her feet sore until finally reaching the outskirts of Oshibana. He was there somewhere. She could feel it.
Erza sighed as she unlocked the front door. She was tired from her mission, already bargaining with herself to leave the shower for the morning. He would not mind, would he?
She pondered for a moment longer, then decided in favour of the shower, unequipping her clothes as she went into the bathroom. The door was wide open and she frowned at the clothes that soaked in the tub.
"Jellal?" She called down the hall. She tried again, then exhaled strongly through her nose. She fished for the plug, pulling it out. Frowning to herself, Erza wrapped herself in a towel and stalked down the corridor. He was not in the kitchen, nor were there any sounds to betray his presence. She scanned the counters for notes, not finding any.
Erza harked when there was a faint noise. She crept towards the bedroom door, then opened it, finding neither a noise nor her beloved. Maybe in the cellar? She was about to turn on the heel when something buzzed. Her lacrima. She rummaged through the drawer of her nightstand, finding it to be silent then.
29 missed calls.
She opened them, seeing that every single one had been from Meredy. She tapped the icon, holding the magical device to her ear. It rang several times. Nothing.
Erza plopped down on the bed, crossing her legs. She tried again, already with her thoughts in the shower when the ringing stopped and the speaker crackled.
"Erza?" Meredy was panting, attempting to whisper.
"Yes, you-"
"You need to help me. Jellal is- ah!" Her voice ended in a high-pitched yelp. There was a bang. Thunder-like crashing was heard. Erza's eyes widened. She tensed, calling Meredy's name repeatedly. The speaker boomed then cracked again. Silence fell, only the soft rustle of the lacrima audible.
"Meredy?!"
"Erza…" Meredy rasped, "you need to…" her voice died out, when steps echoed closer. There was a different buzz now, like the zipping of electricity. A gasp followed. Then a clink, a snap and the connection was cut.
Erza stared at the wall. Her heart had picked up speed, drumming fiercely. Slowly, she let the lacrima sink. A shaking breath escaped her lips. She stood, requipping. Then she ran.
Warren. She thought as the night's air coldly cut at her cheeks. He could track the signal.
She threw the doors open, bursting into the guild hall, startling everyone. They were just closing for the night, only a few of the usual suspects and Mira's family remaining. Erza was wheezing by now.
"Is Warren here?" She directly asked. Mira shook her head.
"He went home about an hour ago,"
"Fetch him for me, please," Erza ordered and Lisanna nodded in her sister's stead, hurrying into the night. "Gray," Erza turned to him where he sat, half naked, looking mildly spooked by her attitude, "get Natsu and Lucy," she said and he obeyed, not without questions. "I will explain as soon as everyone's here,"
"Did something happen?" Wendy asked, having jumped the most at Titania's entrance, having been on her way to leave.
"Wendy," Erza had almost caught her breath, "I'm sorry, but I'm going to need your help, too," she requested and the young Dragon Slayer nodded determinately.
"Are we going on a mission?" She asked, concerned.
"A rescue mission," Erza narrowed her eyes, her eyes darkening grimly, "and first, we're going to have to hijack a train,"
The last location of Meredy's lacrima turned out to be a giant villa in Oshibana Town. An old, neglected one, its façade brittle and colours fading. The moon was now right behind the highest tower-like roof, throwing the mansion's shadow over them.
The trip had taken entirely too long for her liking but that was not important anymore. She could feel weak magic energy leak from the building.
Erza summoned a sword.
"Natsu, Gray, you go around the sides," she pointed in opposite directions and the two nodded, then lurked along the walls. "Wendy, you check from above," she instructed further, her gaze not leaving the enormous gates in front of her as Charle carried her partner up to the top. "Lucy, you stand guard, have a Celestial Spirit watch your back," Erza said, receiving a serious nod. "I'll go in through the main entrance."
She stalked up the few steps to the giant doors. The first thing she noted were the hinges, bent from the force of someone breaking in. It had to be where he was. And where Meredy was.
She could hardly believe Jellal to be overpowered by anyone – anyone who was not her, now that the Alvarez Empire had been subdued. But Meredy's voice had been full of fear and she never called unless it was urgent. And no one had access to her lacrima, except if she really had been assailed. It could all be a trap but that was why she had brought the team. Nothing and no one could stand in their way for long.
"Loke!" Lucy's exclaim travelled and Erza almost hissed at her to keep it down, focusing on the entrance instead. They did not need the element of surprise; they were Fairy Tail.
Erza scanned the room, then went up the stairs, picking out a random door, ending up in room after room, corridor after corridor.
She nearly staggered when she entered what had probably been a library or office. The gallery alongside the shelves, books and even the wall had come down. The enormous pile of rubble opened the way to the second floor, its wall having come down as well, but something else caught her eye.
"Meredy!" Erza rushed over to her friend. The girl was crushed beneath the debris, only her head, arms and half of her torso untouched. Or visible. She was unconscious, her skin roughed up with the scratches and bruises of falling rocks, her clothes giving the hint of a stench of fire. Her lacrima lied next to her arm, in two pieces.
"Meredy!" Erza tried again, kneeling down, carefully pulling on her. The rubble did not move, only bits and pieces came raining down. She held the pink-haired mage's face in her hands, pushing two fingers against her jugular.
"Erza…" Meredy groaned weakly. Her pulse was slow. She opened her eyes to slots. "Jellal," she breathed, tying to lift a hand. It shook and, in the end, she only managed to move one finger, stretching it upwards. Erza followed with her eyes, staring up into the hole in the wall. She gasped when Meredy slackened again.
Her mind was racing, but Erza stood nonetheless. She sliced through the wreckage, freeing her friend's torso for air, not daring to do anything further and bury them both in the following avalanche.
Requipping into her black wing armour, Erza soared up into what appeared to be a storage room. The shelves were empty, cobwebs covering them and the corners. She passed the first row, freezing upon spotting him.
He was lying on the ground, on his front. His arm seemed to be broken as it distorted most unhealthily to the side. His clothes were ripped and he reeked of scorched skin and blood. His back did not rise and fall. A small pool of dark blood had gathered around his head.
"Jellal!" Erza cried, crossing the room when a hooded figure appeared next to her love's body. She halted, lifting her sword, widening her stance. The person was small, a cape hiding away its plump appearance apart from ridiculously large shoes.
"Titania," it spoke with the squawking voice of a man, "what an unforeseen turn of events," he said coolly, mockingly, "now if you would, these are waiting for you," he extended a gloved hand with a pair of clinking shackles. Seal stone shackles. She narrowed her eyes. "Should you refuse…" he grinned through the tone of his voice.
Erza gasped when a spiked boulder shattered through the ceiling. Right above Jellal. Within less than a second, she caught it. The stone pierced through her armoured hands, forcing her onto her knees with its weight. Grunting from the effort, she felt her arms tremble, praying for them to prevail.
"Oh, I would have stopped it, but if this is how you choose," the man gave a dirty snicker, nearing with the shackles. Erza cursed under her breath. She willed her swords to summon above him when the weight of the boulder pierced through the metal covering her hands. She cried out in pain.
"…gon's Iron Fist!" Natsu suddenly crashed through the ceiling. His knuckles punched into the hooded figure, then right through the floor, and he yelped as he burst through, tumbling down the wreckage of the library.
"Natsu!" Erza gasped. She stared at the empty spot of their offender. An illusion!
"Erza," Lucy caught her attention. She and Wendy had arrived, dragging Jellal out of the danger.
"Hyaaa!" Natsu came right back, kicking the spiked torture device across the room, through the next wall and the one after that. Erza grunted with pain and relief when the rock stopped impaling her flesh. She stumbled backwards, eyes flashing from one to the other.
"Gray," she spotted him entering the room, "help Wendy get Meredy," she pointed a bloody hand down the rubble. Happy accompanied them, returning only a minute later with Meredy limply hanging from his tiny paws.
The young Dragon Slayer performed her healing spells immediately while Natsu sniffed around the villa. They found a cloth of unknown material, almost as if embedded with sealing stone mineral to be tied around Jellal's neck, depriving him of flowing breathing and hardly removable, even with Cancer's powers.
There was not a trace left of the mysterious man, nor a hint of his identity or aim. Fear lingered with them until they all caught their breaths, more or less recovered and more than disturbed by the horrors of that night.