"Miss Celeste, these books are...perfection. Are you sure we cannot make more copies?"

I didn't try to conceal my amusement as Colin, my book binder looked over my pirated-with-permission books from the Celestial Library. He was a passionate lover of his craft, part of why I had brought my business to him. And the copies I was presenting to him for him to reprint and bind were works of art. The one he was holding in reverent hands had a brilliantly colored mandala spread across the front and back covers with subtly shifting colors over the cover. Without a lick of magic involved. So this, in theory, was entirely possible to replicate with mortal means.

"The owner was very generous to allow me to make copies for my personal use. They did not give approval for wide scale reproduction."

He was almost in tears as he looked at me, eyes watering like a little boy trying not to cry as opposed to the middle aged father of three that he actually was.

"Besides, trying to reproduce these en masse would compromise the craftsmanship. Look, this one has original 16 page signatures, held together with the 3rd Century link stitch."

I held up one book that was one of the newer pieces in the library. Others were so much older that I had converted the contents into plain bindings for transport until I could bring them here to Colin's shop. I did not feel like explaining why I had papyrus copies of books that could have been authenticated by a museum as being over 2000 years old. Better that my library remain modest on the surface and deceive all but those closest to me as to the depth of the knowledge it holds.

The artisan carefully cracked the book open I had given him to inspect and peered down the back, eyes gleaming with excitement.

"Well I can't say you don't know your books. Though I am very, very keen to know who had this in their collection. The sheer number of wildfires in that century destroyed a number of forests, and made book making a nearly forgotten art!"

'Wildfires' in that section of history often means 'dragon'.

I know.

People wanted to push the reality of dragons back to the previous millennia though they had been around for much longer than anyone was comfortable remembering. I honestly wondered who, if anyone, outside of those who had known a dragon personally believed that Dragon Slayers were something that had once been necessary. They were the stuff of legends for most. The unbelievably powerful kinds that you were glad were no longer around for the most part. Sharing the neighborhood with dragons was not great for most people's life expectancy. I gave Colin a smile and an answer that was both my favorite and most despised reply.

"You know my answer to those kinds of questions."

"Of course, or course. Client confidentiality." Colin placed the book down and drew himself up to his full height, still several fingers below mine, and put on his professional face. "I take it that this order is deemed urgent due to the, ah, perishable quality of these books?"

"Correct. I would have preferred to get them to you two days ago, but I was delayed."

He gave a short bark of laughter.

"You have a gift for understatement, Miss Celeste. Most would deem thwarting a mass kidnapping as something much more significant than a mere delay."

Sure let's go with that and not the attempted murder and possession I was actually thinking of.

I left the man to his work. Colin was an expert and trained his apprentices well. He would have the type set for my copies of the books in record time. I had given him an order of priority so if he did not manage to copy all of the books in time, then I would at least get the more important information. Now I just had to occupy myself for the next few days until he finished the transcription.

-vVv-

I eyed the necklace, carved reindeer antler from the glacier territory in Northern Iceberg and a band of cured leather from the legal seal hide trade. Making this totem was a deeply nostalgic thing from a personal perspective. Versatile and credible.

Now to find Juvia.

I turned the pendant over, popping open the back panel of the locket to reveal the concealed lacrima which contained the all important story. Obviously, lacrima was not an original part of the design, but bone didn't hold memory nearly well enough for Story Magic purposes. Or, no bone I could legally or ethically access, rather. So the minor design adjustment had been needed to turn this Katara's iconic necklace into a viable totem. I'd played around with the Waterbender skillset before, but with the resident Water Woman back in town, I could get back to making progress on it.

Juvia is in the harbor.

And I didn't question Morgana's wording in the slightest. In fact, it made more sense for Juvia to be in the harbor rather than at the harbor.I secured the necklace in place and rolled my shoulders, limbering up my arms. I had consulted with Morgana about the best activation line for this item and our conclusion had been mutual.

"I will never, ever turn my back on people who need me."

The pull of the tides became something I was as aware of as my own breath. I could feel the pulse of the world as the ocean breathed, literally, giving life to the air above it. Sheltering the life within it. I settled into a loose stance and reached my will for the water.

A small sphere of ocean water lifted up and followed my movements as I guided it through the air around me. It wasn't so much that I was moving the water itself, but that I was using magic to suggest it follow a different course. As if my own font of energy was the moon and the water the tide that followed it.

My energy flows out and pulls the water with it. Chi-blocking literally blocks the energy from leaving your form and interacting with the world.

I ran through a few more movements, practicing making water whips, spheres and waves. When I felt I had grasp on things, I cast a quick warming charm on myself as the water was still very chilly given the spring season, and dove into the ocean, propelling myself forward with my arms.

Ok, definitely going to ask Kagura about some arm limbering and strengthening exercises if I'm going to use this.

Part of the appeal of the Grand Magic Games group challenges included drastically altering the contestants' environment, which served to showcase versatility and creativity. And most people who did have the skills to fight underwater were somewhat trapped in the specialty, Juvia being a major exception.

Flying over the water with a surfboard like structure under my feet made of water felt incredibly satisfying, and Morgana pinged when we reached the area where Juvia was at. There was a bit of movement under the water, so she seemed to be working on something.

I drew out a Rune to give my voice the means to carry even under water, and called out.

"Hey Juvia!"

A few moments, the Water Woman melted out of the water, still partially merged with the ocean. She gave me a bright smile.

"Fae, what a lovely surprise!"

Out here, literally surrounded by her element, Juvia was almost literally aglow with happiness. The vague sense of the ocean that the totem granted me was altered where she had influence. I imagined it would be similar to trying bloodbending. The water was still pure, but it was under a control that I would not be able to influence easily.

"Hi Juvia. I wanted to show you the water manipulation totem I've been working on."

I tapped the necklace bound around my neck. She lifted herself up further out of the water to get a closer look.

"Fascinating. This doesn't make you a full water woman, does it?"

"Nope. Self transformation isn't an area I've had any luck with. Haven't been able to get a single totem to work that alters my shape or body composition. But I wanted to test this baby out and see if she's up to snuff for the Games!"

Ocean blue eyes sparkled and she nodded, a gleam of determination in her eyes.

"I would be happy to assist!"

-vVv-

As far as field testing went, I had gotten a lot more confident over the years as my experience increased. My relative lack of caution meant that some unexpected hiccups were inevitable.

"I am so sorry, Fae. I did not mean to get so carried away!"

Juvia fretted as she stripped the cold water off of me in sheets with swift gestures. Our spar had gotten rather wild. I had focused on the utility of the totem and had even used steam and ice against her. That had been what sent her over the edge. The unification of her and Gray's skill set in the same magical item had made a rather impressive steam explosion even as the Gruvia ship cooed about babies in the back of my mind. I had reflexively formed an ice shell around me that had deflected the hot water successfully but left me soaked to the skin in very cool weather and without the focus I needed to stay keep an air bubble around myself. It was better than being burned as well as wet and cold though, so I would take it.

"No permanent harm done." I assured her with a grin. "But you might want to work on your control. If even thinking about him gets you that distracted, it could cost you in the games."

She hung her head with a sigh.

"I know. But I cannot help myself! My beloved Gray is simply too wonderful for words, and I cannot do anything except stare..." She gazed dreamily into the distance, momentarily forgetting that I was there. Then she snapped back to the present and her cheeks colored slightly. "I did it again, just now, didn't I?"

I nodded at the girl, walking in step with her. She was another of the people with whom my dynamic had changed. Juvia was now shorter than I was. But I did wonder...

"Juvia, how much control do you have over your appearance as a Water Woman. I notice you change your hair and clothes easily, but what else can you change?"

The blue haired mage tapped her cheek as we walked, seemingly unbothered by the chill. (I suppose water was fine in any range of temperature between freezing and boiling, so that made sense.)

"I have not changed much about myself since I became an adult. Whenever I made myself taller or shorter, I would keep tripping and it never felt quite right. This always felt like the best way for me to be...me." She did give me a shy glance. "But it is nice to always be able to fit into pretty clothes."

I laughed, chafing my arms to help some warmth come back into them.

"I have noticed that you have a very good eye for your clothes. If you don't mind, I would like to examine your favorite outfit. That way if I ever need your skills and you don't happen to be around, I won't be left high and dry."

Juvia hesitated for a step.

"Me?"

"Story Mage." I wound my arm through hers. "I'd be hard pressed to name a story that impacted me more than those of everyone in Fairy Tail. I've been working on the series for years, but I couldn't finish any of them as long as you weren't here."

She squeezed my arm and leaned into our walking snuggle, smelling like a freshly broken rain storm.

"I'd be honored, Fae. Whenever you have time."

Both of us didn't comment on the raindrops that followed us. Or I didn't until I saw a puddle to splash in. I towed Juvia along with me to jump in with both feet, sending chilly water half way up our legs. Then she vanished into the puddle and I hastily jumped back out before she could leap out and soak me. Then this was apparently our game as we made our way back to Fairy Hills for something warm to drink and some dinner. I looked like a wet rat when we arrived, and the rain was coming down harder than ever. But the Water Woman had rarely ever looked so comfortable and happy so I counted it as a day well spent.

-vVv-

"I am not spoiling anything. We're participating this year, and we want it to be a surprise." Wendy told Frosch firmly even as he gave her massive kitten eyes.

"But you said we could see it..."

I paused in the common space shared between Kagura, Wendy and myself, seeing Rogue sprawled on a couch, looking on with fond eyes. And Frosch was very evidently trying his best to talk Wendy into something.

Into showing your Unison Raid.

I couldn't help but grin at that. It was a pretty awesome outcome, in my opinion. Destructive as all get out, but awesome.

"Fae." Rogue sat up when I came in, looking me over deliberately. Checking for injuries or signs of disarray like he always did.

I really have put this guy through the wringer over the last few years.

Rogue was a long time friend, and tended to join Wendy in mother-henning me. I let my book float by my side and stripped off my white coat with flame-like red slashes in the hems. I was breaking it in as normal wear so people didn't actually understand it was a totem. I stowed it carefully in my book and started to take off my shoes.

"Safe and sound, all in one piece. Promise."

This made him relax slightly.

"Good. You've gotten in over your head too often for my liking."

I stripped off my coat and shook it out, drying it off with the utility runes I had installed by the door to dry off coats, shoes, umbrellas and occasionally Exceed.

"I will advise you when I go looking for trouble...After I have already left and you can't stop me."

Wendy groaned but laughed, with Frosch giggling. Rogue gave me a sour look. I looked at the Sky Sorceress and cast a glance in the direction of her bathroom in silent query. She frowned.

"Still?"

"In my head, pretty much always."

She waved me on with a sigh and I vanished into her apartment to change clothes for the evening. Morgana tracked Rogue sitting up and the ensuing conversation between him and Wendy.

"What's wrong with Fae's bathroom?"

"Someone managed to scry her three times now. Even through her wards."

Three, once in the train bathroom with Eric, and once in Freed's apartment, and once in my own apartment. Morgana had not flagged the third time because I had been in the process of having my nervous breakdown and she didn't want to make it worse. Three times qualified as enemy action. I was hesitant to bring it up to Wendy given the debacle with Bov Oris. She had taken it remarkably well however and opened up her portion of living space to my use as long as it took for me to find and close the hole in my system.

The shadows deepened and writhed around my feet briefly, Rogue's protective instincts manifesting to wrap around me.

"Rogue, You're 'demoning' again!"

I remarked, coming back into the common kitchen area and pulling up a knitting project, a heavy white cable scarf that I had so many plans for.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner? When has this been happening?"

Rogue's relaxed posture was a thing of the past, he was ramrod straight, eyes noticeably red. And I'm not talking red with emotion. The usual burgundy color of the Shadow Dragon Slayer's eyes was much brighter and more potent. He was even letting off tiny wisps of shadow. Wendy, still carrying Frosch moved slowly behind the couch as her boyfriend/my pseudo brother took a breath to continue his interrogation.

Wendy reached out and carefully carded her fingers through his hair.

And just like that I watched as a massive portion of whatever stress he had been carrying was stripped away as Rogue practically melted under the gentle touch. The Frosch jumped onto Rogue's head, purring up a storm before sliding down and snuggling into the crook of his neck. The look that passed between the Shadow and the Sky Dragon Slayers was one that transcended the need for words.

I kept my gaze focused elsewhere as it felt like I was intruding on a family moment just by being there. So I went down onto my favorite section of carpet, leaning up against one of the sofa and went to my knitting. I let Wendy break the silence first.

"I reacted the same way when she told me."

That was putting it lightly. Wendy still had a core of goodness in her even after her own encounter with a stalker from several years ago. But I didn't doubt that if she got wind of this Watcher being nearby, she would bare her fangs and he would not come back any time soon. I followed up on her statement, bringing Rogue's attention back over to me.

"There has been no other contact or any way of tracking this observer. There is nothing that could be done to build a case against them. And I'm the only one who can tell when they are even present. Whatever spell they are using, it's one I need more data on before I can effectively backtrace it."

I caught a stitch on my needles before I dropped it with a small huff, carefully guiding it back into place so I could keep going. The yarn was thick and the stitches were very distinct, it would not be forgiving if I made any mistakes. And the final product had to be good and sturdy to hold the enchantments I intended for it.

My friend absorbed this quietly as Wendy grabbed some books and her lap desk, a small platform that I had enchanted with four telekinetic 'bookholders' to let her cross reference between multiple volumes more efficiently. Frosch's head whipped around when I tugged some more yarn off of my skein to work with it, and his eyes got huge and very, very focused.

"If you don't see a reason to worry about it now, then I won't either."

The concession was probably tough for him to say.

"That's sweet. If it does turn out to be another creep, we might even save some fun for you."

"It wouldn't be fun, Fae it would be righting a wrong."

"Being laser guided Karma can be a lot of fun."

Kagura was due back sometime tonight. I would get up in about half an hour to collect the takeout that I had ordered. Sting would arrive at more or less the same time as Kagura with Lector ever at his side.

And then I would have to interact with Sting in front of my friends for the first time since everyone was in the know about his crush and my being aware of it-

Oh no.

On behalf of everyone else who needed to endure your obliviousness for years: Oh Yes.

-vVv-

"Here I was thinking you were going to be swamped leading up to the games." Gray remarked, eyes twinkling with humor. "Where are we going?"

I managed to smile back at Gray.

"The mountains. A blizzardvern is sticking around longer in the lower peaks than they should. Some merchants want it sent on its way."

"A no-kill job, got it."

Out of my friends, Gray was very practiced at making his spells non-lethal. He shared an element with the icy wyvern creature, so he would be the most comfortable in the snowy environment. The draconian creature was actually herbivorous, but they were highly territorial and big. A secondary danger they posed was in killing deer and goats to preserve their food sources and causing an uptick in carnivorous scavengers who came by for the easy meals. But blizzardverns were a rare species and protected due to their scarcity as their resemblance to dragons had led to overhunting some decades prior.

"Should we bring a third person along on the job? Blizzardverns are tough."

I was not too worried about the blizzardvern. I was internally hyper stressed about telling Gray about his dad.

"If you're not up for it, I can ask Natsu."

It was a cheap shot but damn if it didn't work. Gray's back straightened and he was already rising from his seat.

"I was thinking that we have to push ourselves. You know, train for the Games."

I didn't comment on it further and smiled over my nervously churning stomach.

Truth be told, persuading the blizzardvern to move was not that difficult. Between the ninja headband, upgraded to allow me to use some elemental attacks alongside Naruto's skillset, and Gray's natural confidence and ability in the snowy environment, the large snow dwelling lizard was soon stomping off to the higher reaches of the mountains. The Ice Make wizard dismissed his shoulder cannon with a laugh, stretching in the frigid air with nonchalant ease.

Unbidden, my mind flashed back to Silver and how comfortable he had been even in literal subzero temperatures.

It's gotta be ironic that father and son both use ice magic, but learned it independent of each other.

"That thing wasn't nearly as tough as the one I fought with Erza and the Flamebrain." The Ice Make wizard rolled his shoulders, easily freezing a path over the snow rather than wading through it. I don't think he even consciously noticed he did it either.

"Yeah, we relocated Moosecrusher about four years back. He was getting more ornery every year."

Walking on top of snow was a cinch when I was used to walking on the surface tension of water with this totem.

"Moosecrusher?"

"He fought a bull moose and considering what was left when he finished, the name felt fitting."

Gray and I shared a grimace, him at imagining that scene and me at recalling it.

"Sounds like that was interesting. Where did you end up moving him to?"

"A sanctuary in Iceberg where he could just claim a territory without needing to adapt to snowmelt every spring. And the move was pretty uneventful once we got him sedated. Easily one of the most low key trips I had."

And I had my segway here. It was literally right there for me to bring up Silver. And my brain wouldn't let me stop conjuring up what-if's.

Gray's brief encounter on Galuna Island with Lyon and his history had been enough to make him willing to risk his life to complete his teacher's work. How much further would he go for his father? I had looked for some insight on END as a sort of repayment for Silver sparing my life and actively helping me avoid freezing to death, but there was very little to go off of about that particular creation of Zeref's. And looking up anything on the Black Wizard through official channels got a lot of people pretty nervous so it was best to limit that sort of thing. I was pondering what harmless topic I could propose as a research subject that would let me look into it some more, but for the time being I was stumped.

"Hey, what's wrong?" I jumped slightly as Gray laid a cool hand on my forehead. "You look dazed, did the blizzardvern get you?"

"No. I just...I was just thinking."

"About what? Your shadow was doing something weird."

I looked down and concluded that Story magic must have been responding to both my ease with Gray's presence, hence it projecting my feelings very clearly, and my current anxiety about how he would react to the news I had to break to him. The clean white snow around me was murky and dark, a strange optical illusion coming into effect that made me seem much further away from Gray than I actually was.

I had to do it. I couldn't live with myself if I let someone else hurt him with this as Tartarus surely would if they got the opportunity.

Come on. We've made plans with Simon, we are actively gathering intel to take Tartarus out! It's not like there is nothing for him to turn his anger towards other than me!

But fear didn't listen to that rational thought.

"I...I have something to tell you. Or...show you. It's important and it shouldn't wait."

Gray was still within arms reach of me and there was no mistaking the aura of worry that came over him as his brow furrowed.

"You can tell me anything, Fae. I'm here for you, for anything."

Please let that be true after you know everything.

I shook my head, gripping my spellbook for comfort and security.

"I'm only barely involved. It's really-" My throat closed around the words again.

I have to do this.

"One of my trips to Iceberg hit a snag. Three years ago."

I shivered at the memory of the falling ice and rock around me. Silver had almost done me in, but without Morgana warning me and directing my hasty retreat to safer ground, I would have died in that tunnel, smothered, frozen and likely never found. I meant next to nothing to him. Attacking me was so impersonal that I couldn't even register a name and he had literally attempted to kill me.

"Ice Make: Igloo."

The low structure rose up around us at Grays command, his skill even allowing a transparent area to act as a window and allow light into what would otherwise have been a pitch black interior. The ventilation hole was just over the highest tier of ground, which would have been a sleeping area as it was the warmest. The second level was for living space, and the low entrance had a round hole, presently plugged with an ice block that I knew would give way easily.

"Come on." He flopped down on the ground which was now packed snow, also due to his spell and shifted with a frown. The cold didn't bother him but the wet almost certainly did.

"Furnish." I commanded, picturing the winter animal skin rugs and mats that would have been found in this scene. Then I conjured a jar of bluebell fire to help warm the interior, filtering the glass so that it would emit a warm glow rather than the usual ghostly color.

"What's bothering you Fae?"

My book hovered before me and flipped open to a detailed drawing of a stone basin. The image looked down on it from above.

"It's easier if I show you." I stowed the ninja headband and brought out my wand, placing it at my temple and playing through the whole memory. From just before Morgana told me that someone was trying to hurt us, until after I found the name of the one ultimately responsible.

The silvery strand of memory fell into my picture-Pensieve, the memories within it swirling, with bright streaks of the new addition still showing clearly.

"This will play out...everything you need to know." With the book hovering open between us, I reached out my hand. Since this was an image rather than an actual bowl to shove your face into, I had altered how the memories were accessed.

Gray didn't hesitate to play his hand in mine, or resist as I guided it to press against the picture.

Unlike in the story of Harry Potter when things fell and you could move around, my spell put your physical body in a strange sort of sleep paralysis and the whole thing played out like a first person dream or movie. (With a failsafe to wake us included should the environment become dangerous all of a sudden.) And there was the soft chatter in the background of my own running commentary on events as well as Morgana's warnings.

Gray hissed when she uttered the name of the last member of the Balaam Alliance that had told me how much trouble we were actually in.

And he watched everything. My mad scramble to try and get away, try to get distance, buy time, do something to survive. He muttered something under his breath that I couldn't catch when Silver weaponized cold shock response against me.

And when I fell?

The illusion shattered as Gray managed to pull his hand away, reflexively trying to break the fall.

"Gray. it's a memory. My memory." I caught his hands, which felt, quite literally, like ice. "I am right here. And no matter what you felt like was going on, I survived what happened that day."

"Tartarus went after you, when you were alone. How does anyone survive that?" He demanded, chest heaving, breath misting in the air.

"Dumb luck and saying the right thing at the right time." I still felt cold even with the magical fire providing us warmth and the igloo walls giving us insulation. "That's not the important part. Or what I needed you to see."

My friend was staring at me incredulously.

"It gets worse?"

I didn't have the strength to answer. Gray put his hand back onto the book, bringing mine with it.

He couldn't really see, my eyelids were rapidly freezing shut and I had been losing consciousness. But he did register the dark hair and the general face shape. And he definitely heard my response to it. I felt his hand tighten over mine, pressing down a little more firmly into the book. Morgana was staying very quiet as to his current thoughts on the matter, so I assumed he was still processing. But when he started to pull his hand back to leave the memory, I kept him there.

It's not over yet.

He didn't recognize Silver right away. Because this was my memory and I had not made the connection yet. But the similarities were there and it was enough to make the conclusion snap into place when I registered that my would-be killer turned rescuer was in fact undead.

Dad.

Morgana sighed as the word came to us both. There was no question in his mind. He knew just as soon after that. Gray watched the rest of the conversation with a stoney expression, eyes fixed on his father's face. It was older than Gray's. The shape wasn't as angular as my friends, it was lined with age, scars, and stubble. But the eyes, the way his hair fell, the barely there sardonic smirk. That was all the same.

They were still very, very obviously related. In fact, some could, as I had, mistake them as the same person.

It almost felt relieving to have it be known.

Now I just had to see what his reaction would be to the news.

The memory included my realization of the truth, how I had not seen it at first and the name of the Tartarus Necromancer responsible.

I released Gray's hand and pulled my book back down, gripping it like a lifeline.

Now...we'll see what happens.

We sat in silence for several minutes as Gray processed this information. He had a thousand yard stare going on, and I could see his conscious mind was now reconciling the image of his father's face, from his early childhood memories, with the image of Silver as I had seen him only three years ago. I deliberately turned to an unfinished section in my spellbook and did some proofreading of the story it contained. Something to do while I waited for his reaction.

"You're sure."

"Yeah. Morgana made the connection before I did. But she kept me back from voicing it."

"Why?"

"Too dangerous." I pulled up a section of my research on necromancy. "The necromancer would have noticed if I triggered that strong of an emotional response from him. Which...wouldn't have ended well for either of us."

And had Keyes noticed that his undead minion was showing mercy, something which he did not possess, he would have concluded that his control over him was not as absolute as he thought. Silver would probably have been waiting for years before Keyes forgot about the incident enough to exercise any agency again.

The igloo remained a good temperature, but mist was still trailing from Gray's hands as he clenched them.

"That thing tried to kill you."

I got better. I bit back the joke, sensing it would not land as I wished it to. And it was concerning that Gray had seen his father for the first time in over a decade and he called him a 'thing'.

"Yeah he did."

Gray finally looked up at me and the roiling feelings inside of him dissipated.

"You couldn't have gotten out of that without some frostbite or ice burn." I shook my head.

"Wendy checked me out, gave me the all clear."

After she had me on a regimen of potions to help repair the damage to my frozen nerve endings in my extremities, especially my feet. I had been a little more sensitive to the cold for a while after the incident, but that had thankfully not lasted long. I had been red head to toe and achy from ice burn, which was when the water in the outer layer of skin got so cold that it froze and expanded, sometimes bursting. It had been abrupt and very widespread, but thankfully the cold had not been prolonged enough to cause anything more than what looked like a sunburn. I hadn't even noticed the pain until I was home and fully decompressing from the trip.

"Where is it now?"

"He's not an it."

"Not to me." Gray's reply was frigid, gaze full of wrathful promise. "You weren't doing anything wrong, You were just traveling. You were teaching, studying, not fighting. Not trying to hurt anyone and you could have been killed. He- It, doesn't get to be called anything but a zombie I will happily put back in the ground."

Ok, I...didn't expect that to be what he fixated on.

It was a relief and also a moment of panic. Because I had been mentally preparing myself to defend my actions, to defuse him from being angry at me. Not him disavowing any relation to the man and vowing to commit patricide.

Is it still patricide if his dad is already dead?

Well, he is by definition twitching so by the Gimli law, it probably counts.

"Where is it now?" Gray looked like he was ready to go marching off to war, he was even standing up.

"We're in the process of tracking Tartarus as a whole. Gray, why are you taking it like this? I just told you your dad has been an enslaved zombie for years."

"And I'm pissed about that. The Necromancer is going to pay for that. But he chose to go after you and that makes him dead to me again."

An unsettling twisting was happening in my stomach at this declaration. Gray didn't go for the door but did prowl restlessly around the igloo's second level, building up a thick layer of ice on the floor in the process.

Gray has more memories of Ur, Lyon and Fairy Tail being his family than of his father. It hurts him to say this about Silver, but anger feels better.

"He thought I was a demon possessing a human body."

"I don't give a damn what he thought, Fae. Why are you defending someone who tried to kill you?!"

The Ice Make Wizard cut off his rapidly rising tone abruptly, taking several deep breaths. His breath wasn't misting in the air as it would be if he were in a normal mindset, his temperature was dropping quickly. But then the air warmed again as he got himself under control. He sat back down, deliberately containing himself.

"Why Fae?"

"Because I am friends now with former Dark Guild members who, when given the chance, changed for the better."

Eric and Kinana. Ultear and Meredy. Jellal in a strange way. All their faces flickered through my mind.

"And I know that I can't give Silver the same chance."

Keyes could not be allowed to escape or continue what he was doing. If Silver's trigger happy companion, who brought the tunnel down on my head to try and bury me alive, was the standard example of Tartarus's membership, then they were dangerous and reckless. Their prescribed goal was to resurrect Zeref, but not the real one. The one that the stories made him out to be. The father of demons, and black magic.

But ending Keyes meant ending Silver's life again. There was no undoing the fact that he was dead and should no longer be walking among the living.

Gray's anger was bleeding out of him as he watched me, and I felt like a little girl again under his gaze. The things I had done with my friends to explore my likes and dislikes when my history was still an utter blank slate. Like he was seeing new parts of me. He hadn't made that face in quite a long time.

"But I want to." The admission came out quietly. Compounded by the excuse of the lost loved ones of so many of my friends. Lucy's mother. Cait Shelter, Wendy's first family. Rob, for Erza and Makarov. Gray's father, and my family. Each grieved loved one pushing on the reason that it wouldn't be so bad. Just for a little bit...

"You will absolutely not."

The breath rushed out of me in a short sigh at Gray's sudden interjection.

"I know. My good sense is still in full control. But it doesn't change the fact that I wish I could give your dad back, Gray. And I'm sorry that I had to give you news like this."

"How have the memory treatments been going?"

Archer gave me a nod, face still mostly still and unexpressive.

"I still don't recall anything. But the man said it would take a few weeks of treatment before anything was uncovered."

The Wind Mage didn't look restless but being patient was a crucial skill for a sniper to have. So he might have been climbing the walls mentally and was just not showing it to me.

"He is right. I am asking more about how you are feeling while undergoing them."

Memory Magic was a very delicate business. Forcing it ran the risk of traumatizing someone and forcing memories and recollections even further into the depths of the mind. It was entirely possible to scar someone so deeply with memory magic that the things that were being sought out could just up and vanish forever. It was why memory mages could only be employed to verify information rather than steal it out of someone's head.

"It's new. Different."

And Archer's perception of mental invasion, because no matter how nice or well intentioned, that's what this was, was violently skewed. He had no self defense habits to prevent people from getting inside his head. No ability to be defensive or questioning what he was told.

I tried not to let this conclusion show on my face.

"If you were to describe the feeling with a color, what would it be?"

Archer would have an incredibly long road to recovery from what Rilt had put him through over the years. His medical records were stored as people tried to match some identifying factor against doctor's offices, the official and unofficial ones alike. But it was going to be really, really slow going.

-vVv-

"Miss Celeste!"

I was pretty used to having people call my name on the street. Even people I didn't know. But it was not normal for Morgana to ping the speaker as unknown but tangentially connected through Sabertooth. And not with hostility.

The train station was pretty quiet at this time of day. So the female voice carried well. The dainty young woman wore a thick winter coat and had pale, blue-white hair cut to her chin in a short bob and big brown eyes. And she looked familiar. Morgana connected her features with another face I had recently seen...

A face set in a sneer, defensive and angry. Protecting herself with hurtful words and bitterness. The same blue-white hair And a more recent image, this one looking a little bored, but overall much happier.

"Miss Agria."

The Sabertooth Celestial Spirit Mage, as of about 4 months ago according to my last discussion with Rogue, was moving at a swift walk, but was headed straight for me. And there was a bright eyed friendliness to her that I was not used to seeing from mages of her guild. Other than the boys of course.

She caught her breath when she came to my side, looking up at me.

"The warden said you were in town today."

She has been visiting Sorano and asked the warden when the best time would be to speak to you.

"Ah, Samel or Gremory?"

Samel, the head warden at Crocus prison and I still had a frosty relationship thanks to my advocating for the Oracion Seis members. He had been trying very, very hard to get on my good side after Rilt was brought into the facility and not placed under his supervision. It did not look good when someone was able to walk a maximum security prisoner out of your jail as had been done with Brain. Gremory was far more friendly to my occasional intrusion.

"Gremory. I've been hoping I'd run into you, actually."

I was not quite put on my guard, I was more curious than anything.

"Why is that?"

Yukino smiled, an expression of bright hope and subtle gratitude.

"My sister mentioned you."

Ah, that explains a lot.

I had not connected my name directly with the attempt to find the Oracion Seis's family members. Eric was the only one who I had regular direct contact with because I was keeping him updated on Kinana's situation and progress in our curse breaking efforts. But it wouldn't surprise me that they would have realized it sooner or later. Especially since I had visited them a few days earlier to shake off the Silence curse from them, to avoid it hindering their healing process. And to get Archer settled in his place and start the long slow slog of tracking down his actual name.

Apparently someone had been gossiping about my latest visit where Sorano could overhear and she had told her sister.

"And you wanted to speak with me?"

"Yes." She stepped back and bowed deeply. "Thank you for helping my sister, Miss Celeste. It means more than I can say to have found her again."

The depth of her sincerity rang through me as though I was a tuning fork. A pure, sweet note of gratitude. As Yukino straightened I knew I couldn't hold back my own smile.

"I'm glad Sorano has you to support her."

I was technically, through some butterfly effect shenanigans, the reason Sorano had been stripped of all her Celestial Spirit Contracts. There were other means to use the Spatial Holder type magic that had to be present to summon creatures, powers or beings. But they were some of the best means to do so. They were certainly among the more safe and stable connections one could make as a summoner.

"I mean to help her get a job as a wizard again." Yukino told me seriously. "My spirits have all said they will not make any new contracts with her, but I will not give up on her."

Yukino would have her work cut out for her to keep Sorano healthy once she was no longer incarcerated if some progress wasn't made. From what I had researched, there was an ill named branch of Summoning Magic Sorano would be drawn to via the name alone. Specifically Angel Magic. It had been her identity for years, the shield she clung to in her darkest times. The name, and the resulting habits, were not easy to break away from. And there was also the fact that you took your life in your hands to summon angels. Not a great thing when the summoner in question didn't wholly value the life in question.

I felt myself smile, trying to give off the same sincerity that Yukino was gracing me with.

"I admire your dedication. When it comes around when she can be let out, I would speak with the Mermaid Heel guild."

They were an exclusive guild who only accepted women as members. They also ran a number of support groups and systems for female survivors of trauma and could likely help Sorano find work as a wizard once more, if that was what she wanted.

"I am hoping to get her a spot on Sabertooth, but I will remember the name."

The shorter woman said with a firm nod, standing tall and confident. She had earned her place where she was now and was unafraid to use what it gave her.

"I hope to see her join your roster in the coming years. But I'll only have one Agria sister standing across from me in the Grand Magic Games this year, so I'll count myself lucky there."

"Or you'll be lucky enough to not face me at all."

She shot back with a smile that was all swagger. Just a hint of playful teasing rather than any real ill intent. It was a nice change. I responded in kind.

"Oh fortune has already favored me this year. I can't be selfish and wish for that when you'll need all the luck you can get. You've never gone up against any Fairy Tail wizards."

This banter kept up as I walked to the train station with Yukino walking beside me. She didn't reveal anything about her magic, her skill set or her guild's plans. And she didn't ask about my guild's plans either. The interaction felt more friendly than antagonistic.

I just hoped that Yukino would be able to stand up to any push back she got from her guildmates. As long as Sting and Rogue had her back though, it shouldn't be too big of an issue for her.

I waved goodbye to my new acquaintance, feeling strongly as if I could have made a new friend today.

That is Ophiuchus' new summoner.

Nice to know there can be more people who are good and strong. I hope she has a good, long and happy career.

My quick, magically enhanced glance through the books that were available in the Celestial Library had nothing on what I could find when I took the time to actually look through everything. Absolutely nothing.

Celestial Spirits were as Loke had told me years ago: they were stories brought to life. Once living mortal beings who carved their names into legend by, through some means, impressing the Celestial Spirit King.

Asclepius, as I had surmised, was half of the Serpent Bearer constellation. Only at one point, it had only been the Great Serpent, Ophiuchus herself.

The story was one of tragedy, truth be told. Ophiuchus was the greatest healer the world had ever seen. She wrote the book on the subject where everyone else was still using clay tablets. People had come from the world over to try and win enough of her favor to become her student. She had studied and learned and mastered healing magic to such an extent that she could defy Death with the treatments she could administer. This led to her earning a place among the stars, the Celestial Spirit King honoring her achievement in the only way he knew how. I looked at the image of the woman, short cropped violet hair, twinkling golden eyes and a dazzling smile turned towards the viewer, drawn lovingly.

Lovingly?

I rested my hand on the pages, feeling the depth of emotion that had resided within the hand drawn copy of the book I had reprinted and bound.

Aster drew this.

I swallowed, thinking I may well know how it would end and continuing my reading.

Ophiuchus had been looped in on the Law of Death by the King. She had discovered this fairly and had guarded the knowledge fiercely once she knew what she held. Not allowing anyone else to discover this secret that could lead to so much destruction. What exactly she figured out was recorded in the original, but was censored in my copy to prevent me from getting in trouble. She walked up to every responsibility she was given for thousands of years. There were tales of her interactions and friendships among the other Zodiac and the clans. When her key was contracted, she could come as a healer, a mentor and a source of support and knowledge. Or the most deadly enforcer against undead and those who enslaved the departed to their will. (I took lots of notes on this section especially.) But she would never teach anyone that one secret. The secret of how to cure Death.

And then the beginning of her end came about.

Ophiuchus fell in love with her contract holder. Asclepius had been her student for some time and learned faithfully. He had never asked for the knowledge of how to cure Death, and simply focused on what was within his grasp. The book contained the full details of their relationship, which had never exceeded the bounds of teacher and student in practice. But the journal entries, written in Aster's own hand, confessed that he returned his master's feelings in full. It was heart-rending sweet and between the two of them, they made some incredible discoveries and led a life together that a romantic could only dream of.

But then the tragedy came along.

While administering relief from a plague, Aster became sick. Ophiuchus did everything in her power to save him.

Absolutely everything.

And she failed. Aster's magic holding her gate open faded as he lost his strength and still she persisted under her own power, desperate to try and save him. And that desperation made her cross a boundary in full knowledge of her actions.

As a result, she was hit by the Curse of Contradictions. She lost her human aspect and was forced into the animal/automon form that she held to this day. One that had none of her former hard earned skill or capacity, but was, by everything I could see, a thoughtful intelligent woman trapped in the monstrous form of a huge, mute beast. And did not regret it a bit otherwise Aster would have died as a human should.

But did she actually resurrect Aster or make him something else? How she broke the Law would have impacted her penalty.

The Curse of Contradictions was meant to set things at odds with one another in the most painful way possible. In a way, Death was saying: OK, you got me and you get to keep this person. But you also lose this other very important thing in your life.

Her ability to be a doctor.

Breakthrough, revolutionary medical knowledge, and it was all trapped inside a body that could not demonstrate it, or use it. She would have to watch others take the field she had ascended in forward and not be able to avert errors, revive old ideas, or participate in the work at all. In fact, in her current state she was a threat to the safety of others. So she had to seclude herself from her old friends. Isolated in her own house, unable to help her fellows or the mortals she had been so fond of.

The vacancy in the household of a doctor was filled by Aster, her newly resurrected and apparently immortal student. The Great Serpent Golden Key was recast as the Serpent Bearer. With the contracted wizard standing in place of Asclepius, the one person who could calm and control Ophiuchus when she was raging. And none of her manifested powers currently involved healing. Just straight brute force. The Curse of Contradictions forced her to give up on everything she had built her immortal identity around.

The powers that be are jerks.

I sat back and rubbed my eyes, trying to gather my thoughts.

The commonalities were there. Ophiuchus had broken the law in a major way. But likely the penalty had been levied differently since she was an immortal spirit who had the backing of other immortals. The discrepancy between the god/deity who enforced the Law of Death and her was still immense, but not as huge as what had happened to Zeref according to my research and theories.

I really wish people hadn't burned all of his writings 150 years ago. It would be so much easier to get insight into him safely with those.

Granted, the people who had been holding them had been a manic group of cult like followers who were bound and determined to make another Zeref. So it was likely for the best that they no longer had anything to base their actions off of. But academically speaking, it was still annoying to not be able to access any first hand accounts. Sure, Zeref might still be alive but I doubted I would get much good will if I asked him about this. If I could even survive poking his numbed emotions like that. It wasn't like I could walk up to him, introduce myself as a researcher of magic and ask about Death for purely academic reasons. Who in their right mind would willingly teach someone about that?

Morgana hummed, picking up a faint tidbit of information. Barely articulated. It connected the ideas of Zeref and Teacher. And there was a faint resonance of fact.

That made me sit up sharply in my chair.

"Zeref had students?!"

Plenty of hotshot wizards over the years claimed that Zeref taught them. Mostly the dark ones making a power grab using the Black Wizards reputation to bolster their own. Every one of them had been disproven. But this was very different.

The distance and secrecy make it difficult to discern who. But I am confident that he did.

In my mind's eye, Morgana was standing before a pair of cork board with bits of facts connected to one another by red string. One was what we had just been working on with the information about Ophiuchus. The other was our more long standing, scattered research on Zeref.

The latter collection still didn't have a central conclusion. And far on the fringes of that board, I saw the fact that Zeref had been found on Tenrou, which hardly anyone was supposed to know existed, let alone be able to reach. There wasn't a traceable connection yet, but just the fact that Morgana had pulled it in meant there had to be one, even if it was many steps removed.

As I watched, Morgana ran a new string between the two repositories of information. It was a slender one, not boldly marked or anything. But it was faint, but pronounced. Both these people had students. And I had met at least one of them.

Aster was Ophiuchus' pupil...but who do I know who was taught by Zeref?