AN: As always, before we begin, Reviewer Replies!
jingerr: Well I considered it, but I was quite out of space in the summary block, and also, he's not a true self insert. As for how much he saw, just the very first episode.
AnimeMyWorld: I know, but I made a funny because I really don't understand the dislike? This does still wind up being a harem fic, so it can't be that you're just feeling like the main ship is being threatened right? Could you elaborate please? Oh, and please enjoy the chapter.
GodsReader15: Ah good, people are actually catching my hints this time! Last time I got a lot of flack that it seemed to come out of nowhere even though I'd been quietly building it up for most of the Act. It does scream that doesn't it? Or does it? (^_^)
And now, on with the show!
Chapter 26 – Legends and Lost Things
…
…
"Why don't we take turns telling stories?" Miguel suggested in response to Gajeel's suggestion of a movie to pass the time until we fell asleep. We'd gotten our camp all set up but none of us were particularly tired yet, and with the constant glow of the Dawn Stone around us, we'd need to be tired in order to sleep.
"Ooh! I know a good one!" Levy exclaimed happily.
We all turned to her and she began her tale…
…
The Sorcerer and The Princess
…
Once upon a time, long, long ago, a knight rode down the road. The knight was not tall, but was powerfully built, their armor concealing their form entirely and making them an imposing figure astride their horse. Fresh home from a quest, jubilant with victory as they returned to the king's court, the knight spotted a man lying on the side of the road.
Worried they might have just stumbled onto the scene of a crime or worse a corpse, the knight dismounted, and went to check on the man.
The man was not dead, nor even hurt. When roused, the man called the knight by name though the knight was sure they'd never met. This did not alone worry the knight, they were one of the king's most trusted and famous knights, why wouldn't a resident of the capitol be able to recognize them?
No, the knight was uneased by the intense familiarity the stranger had for them. The man treated the knight as an old and dear friend, not as a peasant speaking to one of the most revered knights in the land. The stranger was lost, and asked the knight where they were.
Upon hearing the knight's answer, the stranger whipped around to stare at the knight, the alarm in his gaze sending dread through the knight. Then the stranger asked of events which had yet to happen, events unthinkable to the knight. The stranger spoke of terrible betrayals to the king, of war and deaths which would rip the realm asunder.
The knight demanded answers, but the stranger merely clasped the knight in a hug before turning and racing down the road in a burst of light with such speed that his feet seemed to not even touch the ground. It was then that the knight became aware of something happening, the stranger had cast a strange spell on them and now the knight's armor seemed to grow heavier. The knight quickly remounted and chased off down the road after the stranger, for they knew well the stranger had fled towards the capitol.
Not long after, the stranger burst into the king's court in a whirl of dust and wind and eerie lights. Appearing at ease, the stranger raised his hands in peace and requested an audience with the king. The king, being in the middle of holding court and hearing the pleas of the common folk, and seeing the common folk had all taken such a hearty step back in the face of blatant sorcery, agreed.
"What brings thee to these halls Sorcerer? Hast thou come with ill tidings?"
"Nay Your Highness," the stranger replied glibly, "Rather, I have come to seek thine aid in the ending of a terrible curse. Will thou hear my tale?"
The king agreed and the Sorcerer explained, "In a land far from my home, beyond the great ocean, is a king. The king is just and well loved by the people, but despite the queen being fair and fertile, the king has no heir. For nigh ten years the king has tried, but even with the blessings of the greatest sorcerer in the realm, the king has not sired an heir."
The assembled knights and ladies and peasants alike all held their breath, their eyes flicking from the Sorcerer to the King, none unaware of the parallel the Sorcerer had drawn to the King with his story. The King too, suspected himself the subject of the Sorcerer's tale. Considering carefully the king asked, "And how doth thou propose to aid thine king's dilemma?"
"The King has no heir, this is known throughout his realm and beyond," the Sorcerer answered before adding, "The truth though, is that the heir already lives."
Raising a hand and silencing the storm of whispers with a wave, the Sorcerer explained, "Stolen from the queen's womb on the very eve of her conception, the Princess was birthed by a cruel witch who desires to see the King's realm laid to ruin. Stay your doubts fair people, the Princess's heart beats true, as golden as her hair and as fierce as her father's greatest knights."
"The princess knows not the truth of her heritage," the Sorcerer explained, "And by means of the witch's curse, the truth would never be believed. Nursed on foul potions and raised in the land of spirits, the Princess has grown in body three years in the span of each. Now in body and temperament a young woman with the pure heart of a child and reckless abandon of a child of eight, the Princess shows true the strength of her father's blood. She has been dressed in armor, and at the behest of the witch she thinks her mother, donned and never removes a cursed helm that stifles her voice and conceals her identity. Returned to her father's court and hailed as one of his finest knights, the witch intended her to be a dagger at the king's back, but no. While the Princess may not know the truth, the natural love for her true parents has taken firm hold in her heart. None hold the King in higher regard nor bear him greater loyalty."
"What would you have us do with this knowledge?" the King asked cautiously, "My Court Mage has vanished, and my knights know little of curses. How shall we aid your Princess in learning of her birthright? Do you seek simply the acknowledgment of a ruler that she might make her claim?"
The Sorcerer laughed, "Nay. In truth little remains to be done! You see, I have already broken the curse upon thine daughter and returned her youth to her. I came only to bear thee the good news and explanation!"
The King stood, face pale, "Then thou hast spoken of me this whole time? Very well then, out with it Sorcerer! Where is my child?!"
The Sorcerer simply laughed and dissolved in golden light, and just as he did, the door to the Great Hall burst open.
In stormed the knight he'd met on the road, stumbling and cursing, stripping increasingly ill-fitting armor away as quickly as possible to reveal the tiny form of a child beneath. Finally reaching the center of the court before the King, the Knight tossed aside lastly her cursed helm and declared angrily, "My King! I have come to warn you, there is a strange sorcerer about and he's done…THIS to me and he was headed this way and… my King? My Queen?"
The King and Queen had strode down from the throne as though in a dream, eyes wide and faces pale in shock. The Knight, for indeed she was the Princess, looked so much like the King that all agreed the helm must indeed have been cursed for them to have not noticed. The Princess knew not how to respond as she was gathered into her parents' embrace, nor why the King and Queen wept as the crowd cheered. In that instant, the sorcerer's terrible prophecies were averted by his own hand, and the kingdom's future assured as the witch's plan was smashed asunder.
Never again have magic users been hunted in Ishgar, for all remember the sorcerer on the day Princess Mordred came home.
…
…
I did a doubletake, "Come again?"
Levy blinked at me in surprise, "What?"
"Princess Mordred?" I asked in shock as alarm bells went off like crazy in my mind.
"Yeah," Levy confirmed, confusion all over her face, "That's one of the best known moments in the history of magic. It was the moment the Pendragon line's rule was cemented, and Camelot was one of the most important eras in history. Even House Fiore traces their lineage back to the Pendragons, although, I think they're descended from a secondary line instead of directly from Queen Mordred. I'm pretty sure I remember hearing that the direct line actually ended with the last Queen of Dragnof."
I couldn't help but wonder if anyone else noticed the way Erza's head snapped around at that, but Levy definitely didn't as she continued, "I can't believe you've never heard of them, but now that I think about it, I guess since your old world didn't have magic it must've gone down differently there…"
I took a breath and then snorted, "Yeah, a lot different. We're not even sure if Camelot existed in my old world, and if it did then Mordred was fingered as the one who started the rebellion that brought down Camelot and killed King Arthur at the Battle of Camlann. So I guess if it did, and the only point of divergence was the sorcerer breaking the curse, then it's a world where the witch's plan succeeded."
"Old world?" Serena asked curiously.
I quickly explained about the whole 'parallel world with no magic' thing and she took it surprisingly in stride, smiling, "Well then why don't you tell the next story? If you're from an entirely different world where magic didn't exist except as stories, then I bet any legends from your world will be ones we haven't heard."
I nodded, "Right. Lemme think, ah…Oh! I've got one!"
…
The King and The Hero
…
"Long ago, in a time near forgotten, when man had only just recently become more than beast and had only just begun to band together into what is now called civilization, back before the concept of separate nations existed, there was a king. Because all of mankind was united within that single nation called Babylon, centered in the great city of Uruk, the King of Uruk was king of all mankind and thus had the attention of the gods. Wanting to maintain their influence, the Gods decreed that the king was to marry a goddess, and from their union was born a son. This son was the first demigod, and he was blessed with seemingly limitless talent, strength and cleverness. Should he apply himself in the slightest, no matter the domain of his interest, he would surely excel to the greatest limits. When his father the king passed away while he was still young, and with his mother having returned to Heaven, the son became king.
The people rejoiced at his kingship, for they knew that he was capable of ruling well. The young king was brilliant in all regards, but all too soon he became obsessed with worldly pleasures. His eyes became clouded with greed and his heart blackened with arrogance. All that existed in the world was his, for he was king of all mankind, and so all that mankind made was by rights his. He set out to collect everything, and he took all the worlds treasures for himself. If it had a shred of value that he could see, it was immediately thrown into his treasury. Whether or not he had any use for it mattered not, it was treasure and all treasures were to be his.
If he saw a treasured lover, his thought was that she must be his. He would snatch women away from their lovers and take them for himself until he grew bored of them and sent them back to their lives. If he saw a treasured tool, or anything which he did not already have a sample of, he took it without hesitation. If it were precious metal or gems, it became his. He was king of all, there was no questioning his commands even though the people suffered and starved under his rule.
The gods saw this and were displeased, for the king neglected not only the people but the gods as well. The temples were stripped of anything which could be considered valuable to better line the king's palace, and the offerings were reduced to naught but scraps from the king's table. This angered the gods terribly, so they sent an emissary to punish the king.
"This emissary was granted the power of the Chains of Heaven called Enkidu, and this gave him life, so he was called Enkidu as well. Enkidu knew nothing of man, he had only just been born, so he was sent a tutor in the sacred priestess Shamhat, a woman of great beauty. For seven nights and six days, Shamhat taught Enkidu, and when he had been taught, Shamhat led him into Uruk. Upon seeing the young King's cruelty and tyrannical nature, Enkidu challenged the king.
For days on end they fought tirelessly, the king using magic to call forth the treasured contents of his vault and flinging them like arrows as Enkidu turned the very earth around them into the mighty Chains of Heaven. When finally the vault was empty and Enkidu was down to the final links of his chains, the king and Enkidu fell onto their backs and laughed. From this almighty clash the two forged a mighty friendship.
From Enkidu's influence the king grew kinder, for Enkidu was kind and to see unkindness was saddening to him. As Enkidu was the king's only friend, the king went out of his way to be kinder so as to not sadden his friend. As the years went by, they grew ever closer, and with their unfathomable strength they staved off many catastrophes. The king continued to collect his treasures, but he was no longer cruel, and his people were once again happy.
Impressed by his feats and enamored with his wealth and strength, the goddess of love and war, Ishtar, the Princess of the Gods, came to the king with a proposal of marriage. However, the king was aware of the goddess's cruel and whimsical nature, and so he rejected her advances.
Outraged by his rejection, Ishtar demanded permission from her father, the King of the Gods, to send punishment upon the king and by extension all of Uruk. The King agreed and Ishtar unleashed Gugalanna, the mighty Bull of Heaven who was considered a catastrophic entity even amongst the gods who only Ishtar could tame. Gugalanna was as tall as a mountain, his fur was as a storm front and lightning roared from his eyes as his horns plowed up rivers. With his mighty thrashing and fury, he would bring a flood to drown all of Uruk.
And he would have…had the king and Enkidu not intercepted him. For seven years Gugalanna raged, but together the king and Enkidu bound and slew him. The clouds that had covered the earth receded and the great flood that had threatened the world dried up and fell back into the sea. It was the greatest of victories and the king and Enkidu were praised as the great guardians of mankind.
Their joy was not to last though, for Ishtar's reputation had been sullied further by their rebuffing of her punisher. In rejecting her the king had earned her scorn, in slaying her mighty champion Gugalanna, he earned her unyielding wrath. Ishtar demanded that the king and Enkidu be punished for so insulting her, and the gods agreed, for in scorning her and defeating the gods' greatest destroyer, the king and Enkidu had broken the yoke of the gods upon humanity altogether. They had no force greater than Gugalanna, so as long as mankind had the king and Enkidu, they had nothing to fear from the gods. For the gods this was a catastrophe no less than what they had sought to unleash upon Uruk, and so they agreed to punish the king and Enkidu.
The king could not be so easily killed, for to do so would send humanity spiraling back into chaos which was no more pleasing to the gods than to have man be free of their control. Even beyond that, the king had proven his strength when he defeated Gugalanna, so his premature death could not be arranged even by the gods. Enkidu on the other hand, was not so lucky. Being that he had been created by the gods, he could also be unmade by them, and so he was turned back into the clay from whence he'd come. He died in the king's arms.
In those last few moments, as his life was fading, Enkidu thanked the king for being his friend, but told him not to weep as he assured the king that he would find many more such treasured friends if he tried. The king in his grief disagreed and told Enkidu that he would forever be his only friend, that way his value would never decrease in the slightest. Enkidu died before he could change the king's mind and thus the vow to never have another who he called friend was etched forevermore upon the king's heart.
After Enkidu's death, the king was struck with a profound fear of his mortality. He had long desired to see humanity through to the end, but now with Enkidu's death weighing heavily upon his mind, he realized that as a mortal he could not. So he abandoned his post and wandered the world for many years, until he finally learned of one who had attained immortality. He ventured into the underworld to seek out this hermit, and learned to his horror that the hermit had only escaped death by casting aside his humanity. This was an unacceptable route to the king and so he was about to give up on immortality.
However, as he was about to leave, the hermit told him of another way to achieve immortality. Even deeper within the underworld he said, there was an herb, the root of which would allow him to live as long as he wanted should he consume it.
Taking heart in the ancient hermit's words, the king ventured to the deepest depths of the underworld. After much searching, he found the herb and headed home, overjoyed that he might live long enough to see humanity through to the very end. However, as he was making his way home, he realized that in his fervor to find a way to cheat death, he had neglected his body and was now terribly weary. He stopped at a spring and took a bath, groaning in pleasure as the weariness left him. But in his moment of respite, a hungry serpent found the herb that granted life and ate it.
The king cried out in horror as his prize was swallowed, snatched away right before his eyes. Then, to the king's surprise, the snake shed its skin and was born anew, the first of its kind to ever do so. The king laughed as he understood that the herb granted youth rather than eternal life and that his quest had been completely in vain. Yet at the same time, it wasn't.
For in that moment, upon seeing the snake shed its skin, the king realized that he didn't have to live forever to ensure humanity's future. He would never fully get over the death of his friend, but never again would he let it crush him so. He went home to Uruk and resumed his duties as king, working tirelessly to ensure the future of humanity, putting his wisdom and gifts to use for the betterment of all his people, for he had come to realize that they were his greatest treasure. Forever after he was remembered as the first hero whose story was remembered. He was known forever after as the King of Heroes, the one and only, King Gilgamesh."
…
…
Everyone blinked as they realized they had only just then heard the king's name for the first time. Then Erza asked, "So, did the king ever make another friend?"
I opened my mouth to reply and drew a blank. The answer had been there just a second before, I was sure of it! But now… "Ya know, I feel like there was more to it, but I can't for the life of me remember it." The back of my right hand suddenly itched, so I scratched it through the bandages.
Erza pouted, "Come ooon, surely you can remember!"
I frowned at her, "No, I really can't." I racked my brain in silence for a few moments anyways and came up with a frustrating blank. I could almost feel the hole in my memory, but that was supposed to be impossible with Archive…right?
"So what did King Gilgamesh look like?" Lucy asked, "He must've been really handsome if the Goddess of Love fell for him."
"Golden hair, red eyes, wore a vest and a turban and big floofy pants," I declared without a moment's hesitation, "You could tell he was from a different era, and even more you could tell that he was important just by looking at him. Pride oozed off every inch of him but there was just as much surety that he had earned every scrap of it."
Everyone looked at me in surprise and I blinked as it hit me just how sure I sounded. I put hand to my head and started scratching as though that might help me get a better look in my minds eye at that hole in my memory. The same hole that wasn't supposed to exist and kept slipping through my fingers every time I felt like I almost had it, but for all that I couldn't pin a single thing about it down, I was growing increasingly sure it was there.
"You almost sound like you met him," Levy pointed out cautiously.
"I know, but I can't remember, and he was not the sort of person you'd ever forget meeting and HOW DO I KNOW THAT?!" Both hands were on my head my head now so that I could scratch furiously with both hands because now my whole scalp was itching like mad, but at the same time, the back of my right hand was going equally mad and I wanted to bite it to make it quit itching, "GAAAH WHY AM I SO ITCHY?! AND WHY CAN'T I REMEMBER?!"
I yanked out my cards with my magic and started using their hardened corners to viciously scratch with enough force to somewhat mitigate my horrid itch. As the itch began to subside, "Ok, who's turn is it to tell a story? Maybe taking my mind off of it will make the rest of this itch go away."
…
The Thunder God and The She-Devil
…
Laxus turned as he saw movement out the corner of his eye. Up here on the second floor of the Guild Hall where only S-Class wizards like himself were allowed to be, it could only be one of a very small handful of people. A leer twisted his face as he saw it was Mirajane. He raised an eyebrow as she closed and locked the door behind her before turning to him, "Laxus. We need to talk."
Laxus was instantly suspicious, "About what?"
"Our relationship," Mirajane clarified as she came to sit across the small table from him with an unusually serious expression, "We haven't since you stormed off two years ago."
"It's been longer than that," Laxus said sourly, "Two years, three months, and sixteen days."
"I didn't realize you'd been keeping count," Mirajane said quietly, "Why?"
"Because I'm pissed," Laxus said harshly, "You know, you're a real piece of work. Your little boyfriend's been gone less than a month and you're already up here trying to get back with me? Do you even care about him or is it just his money?"
Mirajane looked genuinely hurt by his words, "That's not true!"
"Oh, yeah?" Laxus sneered, "You're really gonna try to tell me he's not loaded? I heard all about him buying an entire apartment building, cash, the week he moved here."
"That's not why we're together," Mirajane protested, "He's a good guy! You'd know that if you ever bothered to get to know him! If you bothered to get to know anybody anymore!"
"I don't want to get to know him," Laxus scoffed, "I've seen the way he looks at you and I know what he wants. I'm surprised he's lasted a week."
Mirajane glared at him, "You're being a dick."
"I'm being honest," Laxus retorted, "He's only in it for the sex, and you're only in it for the money."
"That's not true and you know it," Mirajane snapped, "I love him!" Then Mira snapped her mouth shut as she realized what she'd just said, her face going pale as she realized how true it actually was.
"But you didn't love me," Laxus spat, "If you did, you'd never have asked for a threesome. A FUCKING THREESOME! If you'd actually cared you'd never have suggested something so slutty and humiliating! That's not the kind of thing someone in love does."
"I was drunk," Mirajane said defensively as the color rushed back into her face, "And I did love you! That's why I wanted to make that request! If you'd let me finish I'd…"
"Bullshit," Laxus snapped, "Admit it. You've always been a slut, ever since the day we met."
"You want to run that by me again?" Mirajane hissed.
"You heard me," Laxus growled, "You've been nothing but a bitch since the day I met you. If not for that giant attention whore ego of yours getting Lisanna killed, I'm pretty sure you would have turned into an outright whore! You're a slut now, flaunting your body for every guy in the country to drool over, but how bad would you have been if you hadn't realized how weak and pathetic you really are, huh?! You'd be the town bicycle!"
"…What did you just say?" Mira asked in a deathly quiet voice, her face pale and her eyes wide.
"You heard me!" Laxus snapped, heedless of the incredible amount of magical power roaring through the room, "You're a weak pathetic little slu-" BOOM!
Laxus really should've kept his mouth shut. He'd clearly forgotten just how dangerous Mira can bewhen she's pissed off. If Master Makarov hadn't been listening in from his seat on the bar and managed to get a shield spell up, Mira's attack when she snapped would've done a lot more than just blow apart the back two thirds of the Guild Hall and leave the front third on the verge of collapse.
…
…
A few more rounds of story telling and I think most of us were still not tired. Serena sighed, "I guess now's as good a time as any. If I don't ask now, I'll never have the nerve," She took a deep breath, "I'll never be able to use Celestial Wizardry again. Can… can any of you help me learn some new magic? I… I was completely helpless when Ajeel and Wall showed up, and I couldn't help when the kraken showed up, or the Manticore and… I can't stand feeling helpless like this. If we encounter another monster, I want to be able to help."
We all swapped a glance and then Erza asked, "Is there any particular type of magic you'd like to learn?"
"If you're used to Celestial Wizardry then you're probably not too used to fighting yourself, especially not alone," Lucy mused, "Does anyone know any type of summoning magic?"
"My Solid Script Magic is kind of close to summoning," Levy mused, "It manifests effects based on my intention as embodied by words. That could at least be a good jumping off point."
"And my Illusion Magic is only a physical manifestation and mental capacities away from being a summoning," I mused, "It wouldn't have any particular intelligence though…" then I paused, "Unless you used Archive to devote a fraction of your own mental faculties to operating the construct. Then it would be able to function as a part of a hive mind with you as the central focal point."
Levy snorted, "This is actually getting kind of close to a form of Lost Magic I read about in the Archives now that I think about it."
That earned some looks. For any who don't know, Lost Magics are ancient spells which were near one and all horrendously powerful, and often came with some sort of equally horrific drawback. A price to pay to use it, a terrible backlash if overexerted… I didn't know much about them, but even having been in this world only a few months, I knew that Lost Magics were the sort of stuff that would typically fall into the category of 'Shit People Aren't Meant To Know About'. For example, the most frequent and thus far only example of a 'Lost' Magic I've seen is Dragon Slayer magic. Yeah, the same thing that makes Natsu and Gajeel into virtually unstoppable powerhouses. No idea what the drawback for Dragon Slayer magic is, but I also sincerely hope I'll never find out.
That said, Levy nodded, "Yeah, it was called the Art of Embodiment, the actual root of all Maker Magic, as well as my Solid Script and a bunch of others as well. Actually," she mused, "I suppose it might be better called the pinnacle of those magics rather than the root since it was supposedly limitless in what it could make. I don't know which came first, which would be the real distinction, but I don't know the drawback or limits to it either."
"I'm willing to try it, if you're willing to give me the pieces," Serena declared quietly, "I… I want to feel whole again. Without any way to access my magic, it's like there's a chunk missing out of my heart. Please, I don't care about the risks…" She looked up and met my gaze, "I need this."
Levy and I swapped a glance and a nod, and a moment later, two bars of Archive's Download appeared on either side of Serena's head, steadily changing from gold to blue. Serena shuddered and her breathing started coming ragged before fading to steady and deep as the magical knowledge bloomed in her mind.
A moment later as the download bars faded, Serena took a deep breath and exhaled a plume of golden light that curled and writhed in the air like smoke. The little puff of light hovered in front of her and she raised her hands to cup it, shaping it and molding it with gentle strokes of her fingers. A moment later it was an adorable little ball of white, fluffy down feathers that looked like they'd been misplaced from a swan. Serena closed her eyes and a moment later, the fluff ball popped open a pair of eyes the same shade of blue as hers and wiggled excitedly.
Serena opened her eyes and squeezed it tight to her chest with a watery smile. She shook and a moment later choked out a gentle sob, "Thank you… thank you so much…"
…
…
I woke up before dawn the next morning. By Archive's clock, I had managed to get almost a full five hours of sleep, but the star trail Sagittarius had made to guide us was still high in the sky. I got up and looked around, Better start waking the others…Or, I guess I could move them onto the Card Car with my telekines… wait a minute… Erza, Natsu, Gajeel, Levy, Lucy, Miguel… I felt my heart skip a beat and my eyes went wide, Where are Serena and Elric?!
I spotted something lying on the stone where Serena and Elric had been laying and knelt to pick it up. I snapped my fingers and a little light turned on next to my head for me to read the letter. It was clear it had been written in a hurry, a very quick messy to the point of nearly illegible scrawl. What really concerned me though were the splash marks on it, water drops? Not likely despite the location. No, those were tears.
…
Jerry,
I haven't been honest with you. I was heading to Mattachu to try to reclaim my keys or learn some other kind of magic, and I did dye my hair to avoid being recognized. I did lose my keys, and I do have daily nightmares that I probably honestly deserve.
What I lied about was why, and who I am. I'll fess up now, I had honestly considered killing you and Lucy in your sleep for your keys, and if you hadn't used your Sense of Security to cure my nightmares, I probably would have before we got off that boat.
I regret that now, and I'm ashamed to have ever even considered it because you and the others have been nothing but kind and wonderful to me. I'll never forget the kindness you've all shown me, but you need to forget having ever met me. Please for the sake of you and your guild, never let anyone know we were affiliated. Burn this note when you're finished reading it and scrub your memories of my existence, it'll be easier for both of us that way.
Nothing but trouble will come of trying to find me, so please I beg of you, never let our paths cross again. I think I got to know you well enough to be right in guessing that you'd try to find me, thinking I need help or that I need rescuing or something like that. I don't. I'm not. I'm a lying, murderous bitch and one of the most wanted and dangerous dark wizards in Ishgar.
If I don't leave now, I'll never be able to. This time I've spent with you has been the happiest I've been in ten years. I have to go though, me sticking around would only draw down both sides of the law on you and everyone you care about.
I'm so sorry to leave like this, but I wish you all the very best of luck with Mattachu and everything that comes after.
Love,
Sorano Aguria, Angel of the Oracion Seis
…
I took a deep breath, and then another. On the third one I asked quietly, "What do you think Levy?"
Levy, who had been reading it from the other side with her Wind Reader glasses since I popped my little reading light on, sat up from her sleeping bag. She sighed, "It reads like she meant it, and I never detected any malicious intent from her with Archive, but a wizard of the caliber she's claiming to be would be able to hide their intentions from a telepath. Are you thinking of going after her?"
"Of course," I replied simply before grimly musing, "But even if I catch them, what then? It's not like we can lug them all the way to Mattachu and back as prisoners, not to mention the possibility of them turning on us if we tried. I can't haul them all the way back to Fiore without abandoning the mission, and killing them…" I shook my head, "I'd have to be a lot more upset to consider it."
"So what do we do?" Levy asked, "We just rearmed one of the most dangerous Dark Wizards in Ishgar, with our magic. We can't just do nothing."
"For now, that's exactly what we do," I declared firmly, "We continue the mission. When we get back, Serena, or…Sorano, I guess, will be smart enough to stay the hell out of Fiore. She's not foolish enough to think she can step back onto our turf without us tracking her down, and I may damn well track her down even if she doesn't. I. Want. Answers. And I'm gonna get 'em."
"You won't be alone," Levy promised before glancing over to the others, "Right guys?"
"RIGHT." Natsu, Gajeel and Erza snarled in unison.
I grimaced as I got to my feet, folded the letter and stuffed it in my pocket, "Right then. If there's nothing else, I think we've got about an hour until that star trail fades, I'd like to be across that jungle to the pass before then. Any objections?"
There were none, and as the others got up and started helping me break camp, I thought to myself. Whatever happens Serena, I hope you were sincere, because there's going to be hell to pay if you just used us like that. Nobody makes monkeys out of us and gets away with it except us.
…
…
Unknown to us, atop a giant fluffy white bird manifested by her magic soaring across the savannah, Sorano was at that very moment bawling her eyes out and covering Eric's coat with snot and tears. He wasn't pleased about it, but he didn't complain as he silently tried to console his adopted sister. He knew damn well what a broken heart sounded like.
Sorano had meant every word.
…
…
The hop across the jungle was relatively short, we touched down at the entrance to the pass right as the first tendrils of dawn dispersed the star trail overhead. The Duat River Miguel had told us about thundered down out of a tunnel high up the side of one of the mountains. It was inky black and made me uneasy to even look at. Even the foam as it crashed over the rocks was so dark it was almost indistinguishable from the darkness around it. I suppressed a shudder and glanced at the pass we were about to have to go through.
The stone was all dark. It was the same dawn stone as what we'd seen at the Kukulkan falls, but now? In the daylight? It was as inky pitch black as the fading night sky. The only light came from the faintly luminous fog that hung in the valley hundreds of feet high like a giant fluffy white curtain of foreboding. The light bounced and played along the tendrils of the fog and it gave me horrid jitters of unease to look at. Seriously, I cannot in words tell you how wrong that fog looked.
Even worse is that I knew from what the Count's Diary said which Miguel had confirmed, the pass was riddled with stone walls and pit falls that formed a deadly labyrinth, and inhabited by some kind of mist spirits that preyed on anyone they could trick into falling to their doom.
"Yep," Miguel agreed uneasily as he noticed my shudders, "This was my least favorite part of the journey by far. You said the alternative was flying fire proof snakes? I'd almost rather take the snakes. If Zoltan hadn't been with us, I don't think we'd have made it."
I looked at him in surprise at the new name, "Zoltan?"
Miguel nodded, "Zoltan the Magnificent, our expedition's only wizard. Well, he claims he's a wizard. I never saw him do any actual magic, mostly just parlor tricks, but he's a really great guy and saved the whole team several times. I can't wait for you all to meet him, he's actually the one who figured out how to get through the Spires last time. If it weren't for him, I think we all would've died in there."
"What's so dangerous about it?" Gajeel asked as he finished tying a rope around his waist, "All we gotta do is go slow, keep our blindfolds on, don't untie the ropes, and poke the ground in front of us with a stick before we step. Jerry can probably find the route with his telekinesis and foresee any pitfalls even if he can't see them, and between me and Natsu we'll be able to smell or hear any problems before they show...up…"
Miguel and I blinked and followed his gaze as he trailed off in awe and saw a massive white and crimson shape circling above the pass. I feel certain I wasn't the only one whose jaw dropped and heart stopped in shock at the sight of the dragon circling overhead.
Then we all jumped in surprise as Erza suddenly Requipped into a flying armor and took off like a bullet, screaming at the top of her lungs in desperation, "MOTHEEEEEEEER!"
I swapped a glance with the others, "Mother?!"