I could have happily partied with everyone for a week without needing a break. But the revelry, combined with the emotional outburst of half our guild finally coming home, on top of finally receiving my guild mark? It was too much. I crashed hard in the wee hours of the morning after celebrating for hours. And I wasn't alone, there was someone else sleeping very close by. And a curious texture under my cheek...
Who and what?
Freed. He reversed his coat and used it as a pillow for you.
That explained the scent of his lavender laundry soap, which was still somehow fresh and discernible even after his unintended years long nap. And the lovely silk lining of his absurdly fine daywear. I ran through a mental checklist before opening my eyes.
Erza?
Here.
Gray, Natsu and Lucy?
Here.
Jellal, the Thunder Legion?
Here.
And so on until I had accounted for every person who had been missing. Only then did I open my eyes.
Sleeping mats had been produced from the storeroom basement, blankets had been thrown over the various knocked out wizards. The Strauss siblings were wrapped up in each other, much like they had been after they got Lisanna back. The fire was blazing, casting a warm glow over the pearl grey light just starting to enter the windows.
And there was something humming gently in my bag, which was what had woken me.
It's important.
Urgent?
Not as yet.
I sat up and gently began to pick my way to my table, stepping over a happily dozing Juvia who was clinging to Gray's arm. Remarkably enough, the Ice Make wizard still had his pants on.
But over in a shadow corner was a rather sweet sight.
Levy, looking tiny against his bulk, was curled up next to Gajeel with Pantherlily nestled in the crook of her knee. The black Exceed's eyes snapped open to regard me. His cat nap dispersed quickly to leave him lucid. I waved at him with a smile, sliding my bag over my shoulder. His ears turned towards me, alert and curious. I waved off his concern and pointed to the upper story.
Not going anywhere. Just need a bit of privacy.
He got up anyway and joined me in the short flight to the second floor. The stairs were wonderfully built, but flight was pretty much always quieter. The door of my usual office or in house workspace opened automatically and silently and I twisted just so to fit my wings through the door. He made it through with much less issue. Once we had landed and the door had closed.
"Alright the anti hangover runes have engaged, so nobody can hear a thing right now." I bent to hug the Exceed feeling a strong sadness and nostalgia. "It's good to see you again Lily." He leaned into the embrace, giving a brief but loud purr.
"You've grown a great deal." He observed in an undertone, looking way up at me. A mirroring sadness in his gaze
He thinks that Mystogan would be proud of how you've grown.
And that was exactly why I was sad.
"It took me most of the time you all were gone, but I can finally reach the top shelf without a stool."
The scarred, battle hardened exceed chuckled.
"That was what bothered you about being small?"
"You have the choice of being small or big. I was just small. So yes, reaching high shelves, not getting manhandled or scruffed like a kitten, these are all very important to me."
I would admit, though with some shame, that Simon had needed to bodily carry me to my apartment when I was on a roll and didn't want to stop working.
The lacrima in my bag vibrated all the more persistently.
"I've gotta take this."
"A visual transmission lacrima?"
"At heart, yes. But there's a bit more to it than that."
I set the lacrima in a round vacant space in a device that was connected via ethernano cord to a modestly sized screen.
"Link start."
My book opened and flopped to the appropriate index page for long distance communication. The runes took over, allowing the magic to form a clear image on the screen as if via a video call. A much more stable picture than normal transmission lacrima allowed.
"Room password: Ghostbuster."
The room it showed me was a cozy room. I saw a desk much like the one I sat at. It was finely decorated with fur, carved ivory and tapestries that depicted a dark snow leopard.
"Victor?"
The view it was showing me was the personal office of the Crown Prince of Iceberg, one of my unofficial pupils in the magical arts. He was among the more enthusiastic students in the country that was formerly extremely hostile to magic and magic users. I had set this up for him to allow Victor to contact me or Simon for lessons and save the travel time of hopping the border to another country. He used it for magic lessons, his sister Cassandra used her own smaller set up when she moved and wasn't able to share it with him. She was studying in Desier at the moment, but she liked taunting her brother by hijacking his set up when she visited her home.
It's not either of them.
Then I heard a tiny little giggle. And I knew.
I sighed.
"Ricky, you know you're not supposed to call without your dad there."
The boy whose face popped into view was nothing short of adorable. Violet eyes and thick unruly blond hair and an extremely satisfied expression on his face.
"Did I surprise you, Fae? Did I?"
Richard, heir apparent to the throne of Iceberg after his grandfather and father cheered, jumping up and down eagerly.
He was also my god-son.
Yes.
It had happened. To my chagrined pride, and to the joy of the pun lover I would always be:
I was officially the Fairy Godmother to some royal children. To Ricky, now four years old, and his infant sister Celes, who had only been born a few months prior. After she had been presented to the royal court, I was the first non-relative she had been handed to, to signify both the closeness with their family. The fact that I had held her before some royal cousins was also rather significant. I tapped my chin in faux seriousness.
"Hmm...What do you think?"
Ricky paused, considering this seriously. His face fell a little in a pout.
"Dad says no one can surprise you."
Victor needs to tone down the praise. I thought, smiling at the young prince.
"Well, it is very hard to do, I'll give him that. Why did you call me Ricky? It must be the middle of the night for you."
The boy was dressed in his pajamas. Super thick fluffy nightwear meant to hold back the night's chill. Iceberg made PJ's didn't mess around. He was still rosy cheeked, the way most kids looked when they had just woken up.
"Jill didn't tell the story right again."
I tried not to sigh. This was something of tantamount importance to him, and I could not ever discourage someone being particular about how a story was told.
"Which one?"
Ricky sensed victory, perking up right away. He reached down, out of frame and hauled up a blanket. He bundled it around himself with practiced ease, letting it rest over his head like a small hood. The feather filled comforter from his bed, not just a little throw blanket. He had come to this encounter planning on getting a story out of me.
And I hadn't even known Ricky knew how to use the vision lacrima to make a call.
I am so proud of this feral little gremlin, I can't even be mad.
"Genie!" He cheered, eyes shining as he tucked himself into his nest. I gave him the victory with a nod, moving my hands carefully.
Detail and precision was what I used my pen for. But for emotion and the touchy feeling stuff, the saying 'talking with your hands' was my preferred method. The magic carried out by my breath, given shape by word, but highlighted by gestures.
"Alright, Genie it is. So let's start back at the beginning of it all. A nice bedtime story."
The simple cantrip, not even anything major enough to be considered a spell, wasn't something to make him fall asleep outright. But they were something to ease the process and make him drift off faster. There was no way it was good for him to be up at this hour.
I began to tell a story about a clever Genie and how he, while being held captive by evil bandits, managed to outwit them. They wanted infamy. They wanted everyone to know their name. But had been a bit ambiguous about the wording of their wish. So the genie complied. By subtly sabotaging them to becoming the most infamously bad bandits ever heard of. While I spoke, I wove a careful encouragement for his body to slow down, to increase his comfort and sleepiness...
When the four year old got fussy and missed his favorite aunt, Princess Cassandra, I had told him various escapades, sanitized of course, from a thousand and one nights. And everything with a djinn in it was his absolute favorite. He would pretend that his aunt was having all these adventures down in Desier.
We didn't have the heart to tell him that djinn were typically thought of as extinct these days. (With Morgana and all information that I could locate confirming this.) And those that were found were a far cry from the friendly Genie that I told about in my stories.
Mostly I used it as a teaching tool to be careful of what you said and the importance of communicating clearly. Cassie was starry eyed over the romance portrayed between the primary male and female leads, but Ricky was still at the age where girls had cooties so that aspect of this cast of characters was generally lost on him. So while I might use the same characters for both of them, I put focus on different parts depending on my target audience.
It did not take long for Ricky's eyes to drift shut several times and he continuously jerked himself away to try and listen to more.
Victor has noticed his son is out of bed.
I added a little more power to my words, weaving the subtle suggestion of sleep around the little boy that would help him rest until the night had passed. I kept my tone soft and even, trying to soothe the little boy into slumber. I could feel Pantherlily's gaze on me as I worked, having taken up residence in a chair I used to meet with clients when I was in house.
Victor has guessed where his son is.
Not even 10 minutes had passed since I began this story. Victor's clairvoyance was getting more acute.
Ricky was snoozing quietly, tucked safely in his chair when my friend entered the room and found his son, in his night clothes and a robe. He packed Ricky into a bundle, giving me a smile.
"He should sleep until daylight." I assured him, not bothering to whisper. There was minimal chance of the lad waking right now..
"You are a godsend, Faerun. No one can make him wind down quite like you."
I rolled my eyes a little.
"I'm new and interesting practically every time he sees me. So he hasn't built up that resistance of familiarity that makes him sass you. I'll put more security on your Farview so he can't mess with it again."
Victor hummed, cradling his son gently.
"I have been meaning to give you a call anyway."
Pantherlily stirred now, hoping down and approaching to get a better look at who I was speaking with.
"It will have to wait until our usual check in, Victor. I've got a lot of handle over here right now.
Victor's eyes dropped down to Pantherlily.
"Are you with a client? At this hour?"
While it was in the wee hours of the morning for him, it wasn't exactly daylight in Fiore either.
"No, not a client. A guildmate. It'll probably hit the news soon, if it hasn't already."
Fairy Tail's return made the headlines this morning. There are journalists fighting for the chance to talk to the returnees, you and Simon.
I tried to not sparkle with happiness, and I think I managed to limit it to a soft glow.
"Fairy Tail's missing members have been found. So we'll have our hands full for a while integrating everyone again."
Victor's smile flashed, brief, sincere but also...disappointed?
"I see. Many happy returns, and warm welcome to you, Sir Exceed. Some of your people have settled in Iceberg. They are a unique and wonderful addition to our country."
Pantherlily had years of ingrained reflexes and the tone triggered them. He stepped into a polite, but not reverent bow The kind you would five a foreign dignitary but not your own sovereign.
"Thank you for sheltering them." He might not have confirmation that this was a royal, but he could read between the lines.
"Lily, this is Crown Prince Victor of Iceberg. I've been teaching him and his sister how to control and utilize their magic. Victor, this is Pantherlily, formerly the First Division Commander of the Edolas Army, now a member of Fairy Tail."
Because we were not concealing the fact that we had been yanked into another world, nor that this other world had armies based off of our magic power. Especially since Morgana had muttered something about Anima, being something that could be replicated. We hadn't had other signs of travelers from these other worlds in some time, but we could spot places where they had been.
Porlyusica had actually been a tremendous help in that regard in the few minutes that I had been able to be in her presence without her snapping at me to leave her alone.
"Your Highness."
It's time...
For...?
There came a loud crash from outside the door that sent cracks spidering through the walls and made my door rattle in its frame.
Natsu to be woken up.
The first thing I had done was to catalog that everyone who had been there when I went to sleep that night had been there this morning. And Natsu had probably done the same and-
"Fae!?"
-and I wasn't there. Which in and of itself wouldn't alarm him. Not unless someone was trying to make a scene...
The sound of my name being called was muffled, but still unmistakeable.
"I've gotta let you go, Victor. I'll talk to you next week. Have a good night."
"A pleasant morning to you as well, Faerun."
I hurried to the door after shutting off the Farview. Natsu was still half asleep. Had he not woken up properly before throwing a fit?
"I'm up here, Natsu."
"Oh, ok good..." The Fire Dragon Slayer then slumped back to the ground, fast asleep once again. But others were now awake and grumbling at the unwelcome alarm.
Happy bounded up to me, clinging to my arm.
"I saw you weren't there anymore, so I told Natsu!"
You little troll.
"You didn't look for where she might have gone?" Pantherlily sounded skeptical, but Happy just started at the older Exceed.
"I'm hungry."
He said it as though it were obvious why he had needed to wake the entire guild hall by making Natsu yell for me.
He wanted someone to be awake to feed him. He would get what he wanted even if Natsu would fall asleep again. And people would get annoyed at Natsu for yelling this early instead of Happy for instigating said yell. Typical cat.
There were times when I thought that Happy was too smart for his own good. This definitely qualified as one of them.
"You get a pass today, furball. Next time, I'm throwing you to the wolves."
I informed him as I descended the stairs with Lily in tow. Happy blinked up at me innocently, tail perked, the tip barely moving, but already starting to purr in satisfaction.
"Don't know what you're talking about Fae!"
-vVv-
Simon had excused himself the night before to set up things for damage control. Kagura had bowed out as well to help him. When I slipped into his office after cleaning myself up for the day, Morgana instantly downloaded everything that he had written on his desk while people had been up celebrating.
Statement for the media, the Magic Council- Oh frik, the Magic Council.
We...still hadn't given Mest back to the Rune Knights. As far as I knew, his cover was still entirely intact, though I thought Makarov would release the spell sooner rather than later. Since he was ours in the first place, I didn't feel as bad about it, but they were very annoyed that their spy had gone so native. Since Fairy Tail's behavior had been practically model in the last six years, he had had nothing of major interest to report about leverage or the like. But he also hadn't left. I believe he had spun it as a debt that the Rune Knights owed to Fairy Tail after investigation of our claims that another member of the Balaam Alliance was attacking our guild. And unlike the Orcaion Seis, this was not a coalition, this was a personal targeted attack.
The damning conclusion was that Grimoirie Heart was no more, and that their guild master had been an ex-member of Fairy Tail who would have known exactly where Tenrou was. Simon had been tugging on that debt for years to pressure Twilight Ogre against buying up property and debt in Magnolia, as well as securing employment contracts against those guilds who were actively trying to drive Fairy Tail out of existence. We had managed to stay ahead of payments on the loan Makarov had taken out to rebuild the guild hall after Phantom Lord. We had even been able to chew through most of that outstanding debt between my income with writing and entertainment and Wendy's medical prowess.
But not to say there had not been efforts made to grab that debt and pick additional fees out of the nitty gritty fine print of the contract.
One report that I brushed my hand over made me frown.
Raven Tail.
They were relatively secluded. A smaller guild that had no shady dealings, but weren't entirely upright either. They were almost nobodies, running small information chains that had flipped several illegal operations over to the Rune Knights. But their guildmaster was an excommunicated Fairy Tail member as well. And that, coupled with Precht/Hades actions, made me paranoid.
It's not paranoia if they actually are out to get you.
There were two ways of leaving Fairy Tail. The friendly send off of those who for whatever reason had to withdraw from our ranks. And there was what had happened to Laxus, and his father Ivan. Banishment. Functional excommunication.
Only unlike Laxus, Ivan had never come back and remained far away. Whatever had happened still pained Makarov up until the Tenrou incident. But with him being gone, I couldn't find the records that indicated what exactly had transpired to necessitate the banishment.
The only thing I could see that was a redeeming virtue for the man was he had found and implanted the Lightning Dragon Slayer Lacrima into Laxus to try and supplement his weak health. But he was banished shortly thereafter. Given my own experience with lacrima implantation, I would not be surprised if Makarov threw Ivan out for performing a risky, unsafe procedure on a child, his own son.
Huh...we're kinda twins like that.
Laxus had gotten the lacrima implanted in his head. The brain was the primary source of all electricity in the body. My lacrima was there because the brain was where all memory was stored.
Did Ivan have any contact with Brain? There are similarities in what was done to us, now that I think about it.
Insufficient information to confirm one way or the other.
I grimaced.
Maybe I should pay Brain a visit and see what he has for me.
I had basically put Brain in charge permanently in my crippling Zero with my psychic revenge blow. I didn't need to speak to Brain in order to get a read on his information, just be near him. Or step into his cell while he was outside. Conversation with him took me to a place I would rather not revisit.
Especially since if Morgana and I had a more antagonistic relationship, I would have a lot more similarities to the man who had stolen Morgana's chance at having a normal life. One half the original owner of the body, the other the mental construct given life and drive by magic.
Ok, so what was on our to-do list yesterday that got...nixed?
Morgana started to recall what we had intended to do. Starting with completing that job request to take down the gelatinous cube in that research facility.
I pulled out the bottle that contained the pink semi-sentient fluid of the scrubber. My souvenir.
What was the name of that critter that Silver had in the Treasure Planet story? Pink, it could float, transform into just about anything within the same relative mass, generally act like the best multi-tool ever and was surprisingly endearing?
Morph.
What would it take for us to turn Squish here into something like that? He'd probably have a lot more quality of life, and there's the potential for sentience there already thanks to how his last caretaker saw him.
I heard Morgana give a very put upon sigh and indicate the list of other things we had to do. Stories could, if told properly, bring things to life naturally even without there being magic involved. I wanted to see if I could take that concept and actually make a sentient life form.
I know it won't make that go away, but it's still what I would rather be doing!
Don't try it without talking to Wendy first,
Of course, alchemy's one of her best skills.
Not- not for that reason.
I put Squish down on my desk, watching the tiny pink thing ooze around the walls of the clear bottle. Then I sighed, and pulled out the pile of edits for my last scholarly essay on the Nirvit Tribe. The deadline for review was in less than a month. I had an experimental Polyjuice Potion brewing that would need checking and testing later this evening. And two orders from the weaponsmith to pick up that I had sent in for repairs. Four copies of inactive curses that people wanted me to consult on. They were long lasting generational things that were not currently affecting anyone. But in one case, that was only because the current generation wasn't trying to have kids yet. These jobs were the ones that needed the most discretion. And the follow up on the embezzling investigation that Wendy had pointed me towards yesterday.
Morgana shifted to break my train of thought.
And the deep-scan to see what Gray was talking about. The mental block.
There was something that withdrew sharply from my attention. It had been trying to edge that memory out of the spotlight. That little detail. And my priorities shifted again.
Oh no you don't.
That would have to take the first slot on my to do list. If I let myself get distracted from resolving this, it would slip back into the recesses of my mind and get away from me again. And I was not in the habit of letting something else get one over on me.
-vVv-
Lucy had been expecting things to get intense on their return. But she had been hoping they could make it for at least a day before fists started flying.
But Max had been eager to see how seven years of additional experience measured up to those who had been on Tenrou and Natsu was never one to back down from a challenge. Simon had informed them, very firmly, that they would take that encounter outside. And Lucy was impressed when Natsu obliged the man.
Max had gotten better at wielding his Sand magic, but Natsu had somehow gotten even better as well. And the addition of Lightning to his usual Fire magic...
"Is that normal? To gain a completely new Elemental Magic after years of only using one?" She posed this question to Jellal, who was trying to get back on top of the situation in Fiore and fairy Tail's standing in it.
"As far as flame and lightning go, they have the same based root of light and heat. In most runic scripts, they're fairly similar. And it's not as though Natsu developed it spontaneously, he had outside help, plus a precedent for utilizing magic that wasn't his own element."
Lucy settled beside Jellal and watched the fight.
"Right. The Tower." Jellal no longer flinched at the reminder of his possession. That had been purged in a fierce encounter against Hades, formerly known as Precht, Fairy Tail's second master.
"Fire is the manifestation of energy. And anything that burns needs fuel. Natsu forced his body to adapt to use the fuel he had available to enter Dragon Force, which likely laid down the potential for him to gain another element permanently when he needed additional fire power."
Jellal turned the page of a newspaper, eyes flying down it quickly.
"You can consider it like Bisca or Alzack finding ammunition that doesn't fit their standard weapon. So they modify their gun, or secure an additional weapon that can utilize what they found."
Natsu ended the fight with a Lightning-Flame Roar that laid him out flat with exhaustion after the fact.
"Well it's not perfect."
"It is only the second time he's used it." Jellal pointed out. "He'll get more efficient at it as he practices."
Which was something she should be focusing on as well. Lucy wanted to relax and decompress. Maybe spend some more time with her father. But there was an unspoken energy in the air. People around here were preparing for something but no one had talked about what yet, riding high on the celebration of being reunited.
"It probably won't take long until he's just as good at it as anything else."
The Fire Dragon Slayer's talent for combat was unparalleled in anything she had ever seen. Lucy's gaze wandered across the practice yard. Apparently the property had come with the large stretch of land around it, the castlelike structure standing tall and proud and ever so slightly separated from their closest neighbors. The splash zone was a real thing when wizards like theirs were involved. Makarov had considered that when he bought the property.
Jellal hummed, frowning slightly.
"Huh, that's interesting." Lucy leaned over to see what he was reading.
The article was about the Tenrou groups return, and seemed to have several quotes from Simon as the guildmaster.
"When did he have time to do this?"
"While nobody was looking." Jellal mused. "Simon survived the R-System as long as he did by being underestimated and trading on people not paying attention to him. He seems to have only gotten more skilled."
Considering he managed to hide not just from Jellal, but also under Hades's Demon Eye, that makes it all the more impressive.
The article was well written and ultimately confirmed only that all their missing members had been found safe and whole. The location of Tenrou Island was not revealed. Grimoirie Heart's designs on their guild's private property were not commented on. The question on whether Simon would remain the Guildmaster with Makarov's return had been artfully dodged. Simon had given an exciting, stirring interview, without revealing a word more than he wished.
The author also wrote some speculation about-
"'Will Fairy Tail be #1 again.' Who's got that spot right now?"
"Looks like it's this guild here, Sabertooth." The Heavenly Bodies user tapped the name thoughtfully. "I remember them. Their first submission for their guild charter was something to behold."
"In what way?" Plue, who had been running around chasing Happy, returned to Lucy and clung to her leg, quivering slightly. She absently patted the small Silver Celestial Spirit's head with a fond smile.
"To put it mildly, they were strict. Standards of admission were well above the required minimum to be considered a practicing wizard by law. They were gunning for guildbuster status and it looked like they were going to be able to get it."
Meaning a guild who specialized in fighting over all else. Usually Dark Guilds and similar magic using troublemakers.
Which she had been surprised to find that Fairy Tail was not.
Their guild was top tier in a number of fields thanks to individuals honing specific talents and them all coming together under the same banner. Their guild culture was well suited to combat, however it came, but it was not the only type of contract they focused on. Their madhouse reputation aside.
"Well I never heard of them before we left."
"It's not an easy field to break into. Fairy Tail had a century of well earned reputation that made us the first choice for job requests. And the image that Makarov conveyed during his time was of a band of loveable, loyal rogues that loved a good challenge and would go through fire for each other."
Lucy recalled how she had been welcomed, and most every new member after her. A raucous party and a free-for-all brawl. A live assessment of skills, composure and adaptability by every member present.
"So it's the public image of skill that got us those monster hunting jobs?"
Jellal folded the paper. "That image, guild solidarity and loyalty, and the reputation of individuals who are experts in their field. Without Erza, Natsu or Freed pulling people in for their specialities, or Mira working public relations, a lot of work moved elsewhere and the title went with it."
And more than half of our members.
Fairy Tail had over a hundred members when she joined. Now there were less than half of that number, counting the returning members.
Natsu and Eric were sizing each other up now. A rematch that was drawing in the other practicing wizards who wanted to see how the duo fared sparring as friends and guildmates. The presence of the Poison Dragon Slayer had proved a bit of a shock to some, and Lucy still had to force her heart rate to calm down whenever she caught his eye. Eric was dangerous and made no secret of that in how he moved, spoke or behaved.
Lucy wasn't that into the competition that existed between guilds. Phantom Lord had left a bit of a sour taste in her mouth in that regard. That a man could be so petty to want a title to take a job that he knew would make Fairy Tail wage war? But she had taken pride in the fact that her guild, her friends, were the best in their field and were acknowledged as such. To have that stolen from them by a Dark Guild and a dragon was upsetting.
They must have been so frustrated. So angry. The world was moving on but they weren't letting us go. It must have held them back.
Pride in who they were and in their family was something that had always drawn Lucy to Fairy Tail even as a child. The loud, proud shamelessness that they were who they were and nothing would make them sit quietly or behave if they thought it was right to shout and be loud. Watching everything be taken away, all the memories and reminders of their friends...
Eric's head snapped to the side towards the guildhall, head cocked...then he started to laugh. Not maniacal or hysterical, but a deep, delighted belly laugh. Clutching his middle, practically doubled over with mirth.
"Oh come on, man, share the joke!" Natsu's intense combat readiness dropped, eager to be entertained.
There came a screech from inside the guild hall that made Lucy and Jellal turn towards the sound. It had been a female voice. Young. Familiar-
Lucy's eyes widened.
"Was that Fae?"
Jellal didn't answer. He was busy hurrying inside, Lucy and Levy following close behind.
"You can slow down ya know." Macao said, dabbing sweat from his own sparring match with his son off his forehead. "We'd know if there was danger. The alarms woulda sounded if she was in any real trouble. Probably just got surprised."
This didn't slow Jellal down.
"Which room is hers?"
"Upstairs, second on the left. Got a plaque on it and everything."
Up on the second floor, Carla and Wendy were already there, standing outside the door marked with Fae's full name, and underneath it-
Runemaster
Cursebreaker
Enchantress
"Is she ok?" Levy asked, glancing at the door. It wasn't budging but...
"I think so." Wendy leaned in and scented the air, one palm pressed to the door. "I can't smell blood, or any sign that she's hurt. If she was incapable of opening the door herself, it would have unsealed automatically."
Carla was pacing the floor, tail lashing nervously.
"But what could make her cry out like that?"
"Nothing she's ever encountered before, otherwise the sound dampening runes would have blocked it. Which is mostly why I'm concerned."
The Wind Dragon Slayer knocked at the door.
"Fae? Everything ok in there?"
There came a scuffle and a scramble from inside. Fae opened the door, eyes wild and breathing heavily. Still in the same clothes she had been wearing the night before. Her eyes flashed across all of them.
"Jellal! Perfect, I need help, I- I made a mistake."
"Is there anything we can do? A curse project?" Levy asked, hands fidgeting slightly. Fae's blue gained a bit of lucidity and calm as she took a deep breath to compose herself. She seemed a bit steadier and more uncertain at the same time.
"No. but...it's complicated. I'll need to talk...Later. Gotta fix this now before it gets worse."
"Whatever you need, Fae." Jellal said firmly, stepping inside her office. The door closed and the murmur of voice from within abruptly cut off as Fae reestablished her soundproofing wards.
"That's...odd." Wendy said, eyes narrowing slightly at the door.
"That she would ask for help?"
Lucy would be concerned if that was the case. Just how much had the Story Mage taken on in their absence?
"From Jellal. Yeah, he's technically her teacher on paper and they work together well. But if it were a curse-"
Lucy realized it then.
"-then why would she ask for Jellal when Levy's right here." The Solid Script mage considered this, fingers tapping her arm...
"Or Freed. I'm worried..."
"Me too."
Wendy sighed, running her hand through her hair, damp from a shower and wearing a fresh change of clothes.
"Welcome to the club."
-vVv-
"I think I accidentally wrote something sentient inside my own head and I'm not sure how to get it out."
Usually Jellal could follow what Fae was saying. But he would need some clarification first. And he would need her calm.
"I'll help however I can. First I want you to have a seat."
Fae's office was spacious and well decorated. The wall opposite the door had been enchanted to appear as if it were a window, admitting an abundance of natural midmorning light into the room. The wall that held the door was lined with shelves filled with books and small trinkets. Shells from the sea of Seven, trinkets from Stella and Minstrel, several carved Nirvit era treasures, replicas no doubt made by the owner's own hand. A wall hanging depicting the black great cat of the Iceberg royal family, another woven in the bright colors of the Nirvit's. A small sitting area was near the door. The opposite side of the room held a desk with paper, lamp and combined with a workbench for detail work, likely for etching runes into leather or lacrima.
There was a pitcher and some glasses on a table near her sitting area. A homemade throw blanket over one chair facing the window told him which one was her favorite seat. He sat her in it and got her a drink as she calmed herself.
Once Jellal got her drink in her hand and watched her take a few cleansing sips of water, he loosely clasped his hands.
"Start at the beginning."
She nodded, eyes steely with determination.
"A couple of months after the Grimoire Heart thing, Bisca and Alzack got together. As a Story Mage, I'm very sensitive to how the stories of those around me change. And a slow burn romance finally igniting is a very big change."
Jellal nodded, following her recounting.
"Thing is, I was getting some...insight I didn't necessarily want about the progression of their relationship."
That was especially to follow. Freed had been concerned about the development of Fae's psychometric abilities. The things that she would be able to see that she had no control over. And how easily such a power could be abused.
"So you found a way to control that."
"Yeah. I went on a working bender of about 24 hours after working a job where I did nothing but find a way to stop from seeing every time Bisca and Alzack enjoyed their honeymoon phase. And it worked. I wrote myself a filter that would stop that from registering in my head."
He could see where this was going, but waited and let her lay it all out.
"And I did it. It worked. Perfectly. Far too perfectly." Her temper was starting to rise again, angry at herself. "I functionally rendered myself incapable of recognizing or comprehending any romantic thought, feeling or inclination. And now I find that if I had gotten a few words wrong in that set up, I would have emotionally lobotomized myself completely. Total sociopathy, held back by a few poorly chosen, exhausted, frustrated words that I was too tired to think through properly!"
Her voice was rising, but stopped at a certain level. Controlled, but undeniably furious with herself.
"What did you use?"
"That's just it. In some spots, it isn't even actual words. It's feelings, and nothing so defined hard and fast. Without those intent based spots keeping me in line..." Her breath huffed out, her aqua hair mussed and shoulders hunched, making herself look small. Vulnerable. "I just wanted to be able to sleep without seeing two of my friends get it on. They were dancing around each other for years. And they finally got together. That's special. That's private!"
"And while I don't doubt that they would be incredibly embarrassed, they would not be angry or blame you for what you couldn't control."
"But I do..."
"Fae..."
She shook her head, the glass floating back to the small side table.
"Love is one of the primary driving, deciding factors in our society, Jellal. I was so embarrassed, so ashamed that I couldn't give my friends the privacy to love each other that I messed up and almost turned myself into a complete sociopath. Which would have hurt other people. Which could have..."
Her eyes dropped to the carpet and she swallowed but didn't finish her thought. This was an old guilt that she couldn't shake. Guilt and fear of what she had almost done to herself just to get some sleep at night. But as soon as he saw it, it was gone again and there was determination in her eyes. She lifted her hand and some papers from her desk flew towards them without any other gesture. They hovered before him and Jellal took hold of them and looked down the lines of script.
"I still want to be able to respect my friends' privacy in their relationships. But the old filter has to go."
As she had mentioned, some of them were indistinct. The runes were mangled in a way. But those imprecise portions were what was bearing the brunt of the spell's weight. Jellal could see where the intricate magic circle bowed out under the pressure, warping into something it's creator did not intend. But this subtle change was more than the linguistic drift to be expected from a piece of Rune work written by a child barely into adolescence. He couldn't quite tell but something about it was very odd.
"Like I said, I will help however I can, but this would be more in Levy and Freed's line of work."
She shook her head firmly.
"No. The spell has become partially sentient. It's determined to keep me in pre-adolescence for the rest of my life. The state that I was in when I first wrote it. Including messing with my growth, which is why I didn't hit a spurt until last year."
He let out a short breath. That was an extreme case of a spell gaining a life of its own. Typically that was indicative of a curse being born. But because it was not inherently harmful, it would not qualify as a curse.
He also understood why she had asked for him.
"So it's basically a self induced instance of possession."
She nodded, hands clasping loosely before her, the barest of tremors in them.
"I wrote every word in that filter. My intent was what kept it from emotionally lobotomizing myself. The intent would get taken down first, but without them, I'll have the full weight of the spell without the emotional protection. I either have to take it off all at once, or in a very specific order so it doesn't cripple me with a collapse."
"So what do you need from me?"
A rueful smile curved her mouth.
"Someone who'll listen, who knows what I'm talking about, who can help without freaking out. And who can keep me on task in case the spell tries to interfere with my unraveling it like it has for the last few years."
That would be a requirement, wouldn't it? Both Levy and Freed were undoubtedly qualified to help in terms of content, but were too close. Too emotionally involved in something this serious. This risky. They would react to that. They would know all the ways that sort of thing could go wrong.
Intellect like Fae's and no emotions or empathy, had a bad outcome. A terrible one. It was called Zero.
Fae wanted someone who wouldn't focus on what had almost happened, but on someone who would just address the problem at hand. Someone to help her be objective.
Jellal wouldn't deny that he was also a little rattled at the implications of what could have been. But he could manage this.
"Alright. Let's get that thing out of your head."
A/N
I know what you all want. And we will get there. Eventually.
