"So," Bickslow elbowed Riley while she, Freed, and Evergreen walked back into the guild hall with him. The bony, pink haired girl squeaked. Bickslow laughed. "What? I just want to know what you've gotten in trouble with the Magic Council before!"

Riley scowled. "No fair!"

"You got lectured by a Council elder for being with us when we surrendered that damn book," Evergreen put in, laughing with Bickslow. "I sincerely doubt you would have gotten lectured that much if you hadn't gotten into some trouble before."

Riley hunched her shoulders up towards her ears, her arms wrapping tighter around her bag and pulling it up against her chest.

"Awe," Evergreen said, hugging the tiniest member of the Thunder Legion. "You're adorable."

"Hey! Where were you all?"

Freed sighed when the doors to the guild hall slammed shut behind him, Evergreen, Bickslow, and Riley. Laxus eyed the four of them strangely. Bickslow grinned and pointed at Riley with both hands, one above his head and one below, his babies chattering alongside him. Evergreen merely rolled her eyes and patted Riley's shoulders. Laxus' eyes narrowed. He looked at Freed, who simply mouthed two simple words: Magic Council. Laxus raised an eyebrow, looking between him and his younger sister, who glanced around the guild hall, eyes lidded behind her glasses. Evergreen suddenly let her go and walked around to Laxus, looping an arm around him and catching him off guard. Bickslow started laughing (read: cackling), and Freed nudged Riley in the shoulder. Eventually, she grudgingly followed them towards a table by the bar and sat down with them. Rather pathetically, she laid her head down on top of her purse on the table, sighing. Evergreen and Laxus both took another look at her, unsure if she were being dramatic or not, and Freed awkwardly sat down next to her, patting her back. Bickslow was the only one who seemed not to give a damn about any of it or, possibly, had not noticed. After a minute, Laxus finally spoke:

"What happened? I thought the four of you were going on some quick job early this morning to get something out of an old mansion."

"That was the plan," Freed said darkly. "Things got much worse, much too fast."

"The book we were supposed to pick up is cursed," Bickslow explained. "We had to surrender it to the Magic Council."

"And Riley got chewed out for it," Freed continued. "Though seemingly for being there and reckless more than anything else."

"We were all lectured," Evergreen corrected.

"Yeah?" Bickslow shrugged. "It was also by a Council elder."

Laxus frowned. "Alright…"

"Riley got specifically called out for being involved," Freed said quickly. "Which she seems to be unwilling to explain the context for."

"I'm Makarov Dreyar's granddaughter," Riley mumbled. "That's it."

Evergreen rolled her eyes. "It took us hours," She drew out the word. "Until now, Laxus, we could not get anything out of her."

He considered that. "Alright," He reached across the table to pat his sister's head. "You're a weirdo about the Magic Council, Riley, and I have a feeling you did or said something the rest of us are used to that they found suspicious."

Riley said nothing but looked up to briefly scowl at her brother.

"Where's your girlfriend?" She asked, her high pitched voice a bit perkier. "Is she around?"

"Hisui is working," Laxus reminded her. "She's at a dinner with other guild masters, gramps as something of a mentor. She won't be back around here until at least late tonight."

"Oh, good," Freed said, startling all of them. "What? She and I happen to have a shared interest in maps as they've developed over the years. Shifting borders, new countries, all of that are things I find quite fascinating, and she enjoys it too."

Bickslow gave an exaggerated yawn. "Who's the weirdo now?" He snickered.

"That's rich, coming from the man with possessed poppets he calls his babies," Evergreen teased. "Although I agree I don't find that subject matter particularly stimulating."

"You two are the worst," Freed said, though he smiled. "I'm glad to have you in my life."

It was a blur around them.

The man they were fighting was moving too fast.

Gray mentally cursed himself for not accounting for the possibility of a fight with powerful people other than Jellal, or, as they had first thought of him, the person who kidnapped Erza. Either way, it was off putting that the damn Oración Seis had been sent to receive them. These are the kind of people you don't really think are real, and now they're trying to kill us. Great. Their group had been separated; him, the Salamander, and Happy alone with this man. Neither he nor Natsu would admit to each other the fear they felt at what the man running circles around them could do. All they seemed capable of was defending themselves, and trying to evade his onslaught of attacks. Natsu was spiting fire every few seconds, it seemed, and his back was up against Gray's, while they tried to give each other some semblance of cover. With no idea of what he could do, they were unwilling to let onto it lest he take them down or worse. There was no comfort to be had for them. Dizzier by the second, Natsu's fire was growing weaker and punctuated by retching. Even Happy seemed to be out of it. It was wrong. It felt completely wrong. They were not close friends by any measure, or so they liked to believe, but they had never had a fight together where they had been completely at a loss.

Even fighting with Erza and Lucy to stop those creeps and their stupid death flute was leagues easier than this.

All senses of stability out of the picture, Gray summoned a wall of ice that lasted just long enough to break through the illusion. Finally seeing their opponent somewhat clearly, Natsu pulled out a knife and threw it, hitting Racer in his shoulder. He howled in pain, screeching when Natsu and Gray both turned on him, getting simultaneously burnt and frozen. Fearing for his life (possibly rightfully so), he created a new illusion that lasted just long enough for him to escape. In the process, he knocked both the Salamander and Gray to the ground. Them both winded, and Happy seemingly so too, the three laid on the ground for a moment. Their opponent's magic had left the room spinning for them, but most painfully for Natsu. He held his head, and started swearing. Much to Gray's relief, the Salamander did not throw up again. Much to Gray's annoyance, Happy kept making it seem like it was Natsu intentionally doing him a favour. Nothing happening was happening on purpose, except for getting that asshole out of their way. That was the only thing that happened on purpose, so far as he was concerned. Gray let himself fully lay down, and stared up at the ceiling. It was quickly coming into focus. With that, much to his discomfort, his thoughts came into focus, too.

Are you okay, Juvia?

"Where…the hell!" Natsu forced out, nearly causing Gray to jump out of his skin. "Where are they?" The Salamander pressed, everything still spinning, if a little slower. "The rest of…the –"

"How am I supposed to know?" Gray snapped. "Right now let's just be glad we are alive."

"They just got separated," Happy said, almost as if he were trying to be a peacemaker. "We'll find them, they can't have gotten too far!"

Gray sent the blue cat a look that could only be described as harrowing. Still, Happy laughed, and flew over to Natsu.

"Poor guy," He said, tugging at his best friend's ears. "Come on, Natsu! You can do it! Get up! Get uppppppp!"

Gray rolled his eyes. Natsu started retching this time, something about the way Happy tugged on his ears appearing to finally do him in.

"You're useless," Gray muttered, pushing himself up off the ground. "Both of you. Let's just try and find Erza and the others before someone else finds us."

Natsu groaned but vaguely started to nod.

"What the hell even is the point of this place?" Natsu paused when he got to his feet, swaying. "Nothing about this seems to be worth sacrificing someone for."

"Erza tried to explain it," Gray shot back. "You just didn't pay attention."

"Yeah, yeah," Natsu held his head, stumbling towards Gray. Happy flew behind him. "I probably wouldn't get it anyways. Human sacrifice is gross."

"That's one way of putting it," Gray said through the corner of his mouth. "What I want to know is why Erza has to be the human sacrifice."

"Jellal's kinky?" Natsu dryly suggested.

Gray snorted. "I wish Cana hadn't given you 'the talk' right about now."

"Me too," Natsu admitted, grabbing onto Gray's shoulder when he reached him. "So…what way do you think we should go?"

Gray raised an eyebrow. "You're letting me make a decision for once?"

"I'm pretty sure he's just worried he's going to start retching again," Happy said with a grimace. "Just take the compliment, Gray."

"Yeah, sure," He stared up at the stairway before them. "I'd rather go up than get lost down wherever we are here. Let's get this over with."

Natsu did not, for once, argue with Gray. The two of them and Happy started up the stairs. Where it led, they were unsure, and were also uneager to find out. It was a seemingly endless spiral. There was, however, a top. The top of the Tower Of Heaven itself. For a while, it seemed, the fight was over for the Salamander, the Exceed, and Gray. Things were terribly different above them. Things were much, much worse. Titania and the Wizard Saint, far from friends and far from eager allies, were alone, just about, with Jellal. The childhood friend to her, and the twin brother to him. Tensions, distaste, betrayal, and hatred ran high, amongst all of them. Jellal seemed almost amused by the attempts of his brother and Erza, for a time. But something in him whispered it was getting tiresome. He stood up from his throne, and started towards them. In his mind, Zeref continued to whisper. A war of whispers, and a fight of mind that left his body and magic almost uncontrollable. He tried to kill the noise in his mind to focus. Erza. Why did you abandon us? Why did you not try harder? She sparked something in the tortured man, but was it a memory or something more?

I can't keep living in this hell forever. It needs to end: here, and now.

Clenching his jaw, Jellal reached down within, just about pulling his heart up into his throat as if to take it out. Let them know what was happening to him, and put an end to everything and everyone, including them. Anything to make the voices that had resided in his head for over a decade disappear. Barely aware of it, he tapped into the darkness in him for magic, causing it to arise around him. Erza shifted her sword in her hand, clenching it tighter. Her chest, rising and falling heavily, beat into her armour in a painful rhythm. Is this who we are? Is the person I think I am a lie? Am I…the antagonist this time, not who I seem to be? She knew she was bleeding a bit from her right cheek. She could barely feel the pain throbbing there with every inch of her body alert and screaming in agony. It was more than the physical. It was being back in this place. Was some of it phantom pain? She did not know and did not care. It was all happening too fast. She and Jellal locked swords again. He faltered. She managed to graze him considerably down the side.

Jellal ran at Siegrain.

The Wizard Saint skid out of the way of his brother by mere centimetres.

Jellal's sword flew into the wall across the room, not having met its goal of stabbing Siegrain in the side.

He turned around.

For a few seconds, the twins stopped and simply stared at each other.

Jellal ran at Siegrain again, summoning a powerful gale to cut Siegrain's face.

Yet again, he just barely missed.

Siegrain rolled out of the way when Jellal lunged at him again, this time arms extended to grasp him by the throat and strangle him.

"Take me seriously!" Jellal shouted when his brother continued to show almost no reaction. "Fight back!"

Siegrain summoned a cutting gale of his own, and it tore down from the bridge of his brother's nose to the corner of his mouth. Jellal laughed.

"Impressive!"

Jellal stayed in about the same confident state when Siegrain stood up, fists clenched and shoulders back. He was lost in thought. Jellal took the few seconds he had on his twin to dive between his legs and flip him over, causing Siegrain to hit his head and skid across the slippery floor of the Tower.

"Perhaps you're right," Siegrain coughed out, scowling at Erza when she ran over to him, re-quipping with more swords. Siegrain's eyes narrowed when they met his brother's again. "I should take you seriously. Nevertheless, if this is your attempt to escape the p –"

"I'm not escaping past," Jellal smirked as his brother got back on his feet. "I'm destroying it to reforge the world."

He slowly began to strut towards them, struggling to control his magic with the war continuing in his head. Erza took a look between the two brothers. She then ran towards Jellal, ready to fight. Siegrain, however, hesitated. Then, closing his eyes, he began to draw a five layered magic circle but, in the realm, was struck down by Jellal. He fell backwards, struggling to stay on his feet, and then –

"This is no longer a game," Jellal said, somehow back on his throne, and knocking the pieces off of his chessboard. "This is a fight. A fight to the death."

"This isn't you, Jellal," Erza hissed. "I know you can't be gone. Tell me – who the hell is really hiding in that head of yours?"

"You said you found an abandoned girl in a field?" Irene walked through the small garden in the centre of her home with her sole friend and confidant. "Elina, you found an abandoned girl in a field, and brought her here?"

"Not permanently," Elina replied, the wind rippling a bit through her hair. "But for the time being. What am I, a monster? Who leaves a child in a field? She doesn't even look older than ten!"

"From what you said, I assumed as much," Irene said shortly. "Do you have any idea what she was doing there, though? I'm no healer, and certainly not what one could call particularly parental."

"She's a child but she's not that young," Elina rolled her eyes. "She seemed physically fine, but she certainly wouldn't have been if she had been left out there. As for what she was doing there, I haven't the faintest clue, but based on her accent – from the little bit she spoke with me on the way here – she is from Fiore."

Irene bristled. Elina reached over to lightly touch her arm.

"How long has it been since you were last there?"

"I was still early in pregnancy, in stasis. As you know, my daughter was not born until…in our current times, that is, several years after I left Fiore. I believe she did end up back there, though I haven't the faintest clue where."

Elina nodded. "How old would she be now?"

Irene paused, a pain she had not expected to feel registering across her face for a few seconds.

"About twenty one," She finally said, quickly regaining herself. "Time is such an odd concept to me, Elina. But she would be twenty one now, just about."

Elina considered that. "What were you doing in Fiore?"

"Getting away from a life I did not feel secure in," Irene said shortly. "I made a few friends, all of whom I have very much sworn off. It does not help that I was in stasis for so long and they must be physically much older than me now, by twenty years or so at least."

"That doesn't sound like the real reason you swore them off."

"You're correct on that, Elina, as you often are."

"Well?" She pressed, an eyebrow raised. "What is the real reason?"

Irene's lips pressed into a thin line. She took Elina by the shoulders, and the two of them, still standing out in the garden, were silent for what felt to be quite a while longer than it actually was.

"Betrayal," Irene lowered her voice. "One in particular led me to believe that we were significantly more than mere friends. I had thought he would get me away. He did not. He married someone I can only describe as mundane, and so, among other reasons, I had to set myself free."

Elina nodded a bit nervously.

"Sounds to me like this friend was rather powerful."

"They are."

Elina took a small step back. "Are?" She repeated. "They're still –"

"I have a nasty habit of walking into royalty," Irene said, taking a moment to watch a couple of birds fly through the trees. "My time in Fiore was no exception, though he, of course, was not king at the time. That came just over a year after we had met."

Elina blinked, incredulous.

"I do not think I will ever be content with what happened," Irene went on, finally walking again and motioning for Elina to follow. "But I can tell you this: the royal family, when I knew them, dabbled in magic that I sincerely doubt the Ishgar Magic Council would condone."

Elina frowned, gently tugging Irene's hand to take her to the room she had left the young girl in.

"Why would they do that?"

"I have no idea," Irene replied. "I confess I have used and will continue to use magic considered 'dark' or 'forbidden' but I am not a member of the royal family of one of the most preeminent countries on a continent."

Elina hummed in thought, her mind wandering.

"That reminds me," Irene cut into her thoughts. "What about this girl? Does she, by chance, have magic?"

Elina nodded. "You know, she's got a special touch of it."

Irene lingered by the door while Elina quietly pried it open.

"I won't believe it until I see it."

They stepped into the room.

"What's her name, again?" Irene said, turning back to Elina for a moment. "Or did she not…"

"Wendy," Elina replied. "Her name is Wendy."

Irene turned back to the girl. Wendy. When she opened her eyes, she saw the woman with thickly braided, fading red hair in front of her.

"Mom?"

Irene frowned and quickly shook her head, but she did not say anything.

You're related to Erza…but how?