Raubol was mopey and drunk.
"Ugh..."
So, of course, Pepe had to pay the price for it.
"I miss Wendy..."
Pepe scowled as she watched her guild master sit on his chair in the middle of the guild hall, down another mug of alcohol, and whine like a spoiled kid. Her guild master, the 400-year-old ghost who once led the Nirvit tribe in creating a weapon so powerful it could have completely reshaped the world. That guild master was throwing a tantrum because Wendy was gone, and Pepe was three seconds from seeing if she could kill him... again.
I swear if he doesn't-
"Poor Wendy is in the woods... all alone and-"
"SHUT UP YOU STUPID DRUNK!"
Pepe yelled as she tossed a heavy book at her guildmaster, who let the deadly weapon fly through him. Raubol sniffed as he heard the relic of paper and knowledge crash into the ground behind him like an anvil that kicked up a wad of dust around the guild hall. Raubol sneezed before wiping his nose and sniffling, peeking through his leaky eyes as he spotted Pepe walking away with a dangerous hitch in her step.
"Wait, Pepe, where are you-"
"Out! Magna can deal with your drunk ass!"
Raubol groaned as he watched Pepe leave the guild, most likely to get Magna to cover for her 'shift' at keeping him company.
How cruel...
Raubol sighed as he sipped his mug and slumped in his chair. Glancing out the cat-shaped windows, he lamented his pitiful and lonely afterlife.
Even my illusions-
Raubol froze as he felt an electric shock run through his spine, his head whipping towards the windows as he looked into the horizon far away. He looked past the forests directly near Cait Shelter and, more so, towards the town of Devi, where he felt a surge of magic power gathering.
It can't be...
No, it was more like a surge of magic power was being siphoned at an immense rate.
"Hey, guild master, what you up to?"
Magna called out as he walked into the guild hall, stalling. He saw his guild master ignore his introduction and vanish from his seat in the center of Cait Shelter's guild hall. Magna thought the guild master was playing one of his stupid games of hide and seek around the village before he looked out the window and saw the storm clouds gathering. The unnatural clouds gathered on the horizon, a phenomenon that Magna could only attribute to magic.
"What's going on..."
The last spell he'd seen that immensely affected the weather was Nirvana, but Nirvana was sealed. Cait Shelter wouldn't be around if Nirvana were unsealed, yet something was affecting the weather, and it was enough to put Magna on edge. The strange weather in the distance and the empty room he was standing in, which he had just realized might be genuinely empty.
"Guild master?"
Magna felt dread settle on his dead shoulders as his voice echoed back, a curse leaving his lips as he rushed to tell Qecha and Pepe so they could warn the village.
"Shit!"
In 400 years, he had never seen the guild master leave Cait Shelter without warning.
In the forests outside Devi, a storm was brewing. A storm so intense that it could be seen and heard for miles on end. The winds were blowing wildly, and rain fell harshly, yet through it all, a cloaked figure stood beneath it without a hint of hesitation or sorrow. He was only gazing up at the swirling thunderstorms with a sense of nostalgia.
This is the biggest one yet...
Mystogan was clad in dark bandages, bitten by the wind, and whipped by the rain as he stood in the center of a small dirt field tucked away in the woods. A staff on his back while two staves were at either side of him, standing tall and waiting for him to use them to seal the portal that was twisting itself open in the vastness above.
He must be getting greedier.
Mystogan swam through memories as he stood under the eye of his world's greed: memories of his life at the palace, of his greedy father and corrupted brother, of his dead friend and mother. He toiled in those memories harsher than any winds the storm could offer, and yet through them all, one voice spoke the loudest and the clearest.
'Why...'
Wendy's voice was the one he heard the most, clearly echoing even with the storm roaring around him. He listened to her voice the day he told her he would leave her, the day he dropped her off with Raubol in the middle of these dark and lonely forests.
'What did I do wrong?'
Mystogan wondered if he remembered that instance because he was this close to Cait Shelter, less than a day away. Yet he couldn't go; he had to seal the anima and leave. Vanish as he did a year ago to assure Wendy never got close to these portals that would love nothing more than to take her to Edolas. To drop her off in the greedy arms of his family.
'Why do you have to go?'
Mystogan had to deal with his world's problems alone, so he stifled the memories and the sound of Wendy's heartbroken voice. Buried them under layers and layers of glass and looked to the sky, watching as the moon peaked through the darkened clouds. He saw the barest hint of the anima descending to earth, where green light flashed in place of lighting as the sky tried to touch the ground in a swirling mess of clouds.
"Let's get this over with."
Mystogan took a deep breath and settled himself before clapping his hands, planting his feet as he watched the swirling vortex of pitch-black clouds littered with green lightning inch toward the ground. Mystogan focused his entire body and mind on the task as he held his arms out towards the two magic tools on either side of him. His gaze dully turned to the ground as two magic circles shone beneath his feet; one dark purple, the other a lighter shade of blue.
"Two Layered Magic Circle"
A bright violet light shone beneath his feet and cut through the world's darkness, purple magic flooding from the ground as the magic circles rotated counterclockwise to the vortex above. The dirt and gravel at his feet rose with a tornado of bright purple energy that rushed to meet the dense thunderclouds barreling towards the Earth.
"Gate to Edolas"
Mystogan grit his teeth as the earth beneath his feet trembled. His muscles burned, and his breath turned ragged as he forced the magic he summoned to meet the animal head-on. The clouds and dirt encircled each other; green and purple explosions flashed through the sky like fireworks. The constant rumbling of the two forces of nature echoed for miles as Mystogan forced his shaking hands together, clasping his gloved palms as he spoke with the authority he once held as a prince.
"CLOSE"
The banished prince of the starving world of Edolas.
Wendy saw the scene before she heard it.
What is that...
It was a scene even Grandneeny would have been impressed by, a rising column of earth and purple light engulfing a descending column of thunderclouds and green light. The two battled like exploding fireworks in the sky until they meshed into a single ball, mixed colors, and imploded. They blew apart the rainstorms, tearing a hole in the sky as the blast echoed through the forests with a volume that put the previous thunderstorms to shame.
Wendy nearly bit her tongue as the sonic boom hit her, flinging her back and tearing through the trees. The roar of the wind released tremors in the air that shook her to her bones, but even then, she didn't stop. She rolled to her feet and ignored the blood that trickled down her ears as she used her spell to glide towards the crash site. Her blood raced as she rushed towards where the sky and the earth seemed to have battled.
He has to be there...
Wendy gritted her teeth as she glided as fast as she could, her eyes never leaving the remnants of dissipating thunderclouds and fading rainfall as she crested the last hill and saw the aftermath. A field of destroyed trees and scrounged-up dirt with a lone figure clad in dark robes and bandages standing tiredly in the center. A wooden staff with a large eye dug into the ground at the figure's right, and one with a fan dug into the ground to their left; the trio completed with a stave on the figure's back with a cloud at its end.
He has to be...
It was a stave she recognized.
"JELLAL!"
Wendy watched as her desperate cry caught the figure unawares, her brown eyes catching a matching pair between the cloaked figure's soaked bandages as they turned to her with wide eyes. The shocked whisper that escaped the figure's lips confirmed what Wendy had been hoping for since a year ago.
"Wendy?"
She found him.
Mystogan should have put Wendy to sleep the second she found him; he should've put her to sleep and ran as far as he could. He shouldn't have stayed still in a stupor of his surprise.
What's she doing here...
Yet he was stuck, rooted in place by his shock and erratic mind.
She should be at Cait Shelter.
Mystogan was slow on the uptake. He was tired and needed to rest after the spell he'd just cast, so he just stood there with an agape jaw. Like a deer in headlights, he stood stupidly and stared at Wendy. He watched her land at the edge of the field and dash towards him, probably to punch him, until she stopped. Frozen in place like a rope she had been connected to was pulled, taught to kill her momentum.
What's going on...
It was a confusing scene, as much to him as to Wendy, going off the look on her face. Still, Mystogan was able to piece together a bit of what happened, his eyes narrowed and his hands reaching for his staves as he saw a thin, pitch black line yank Wendy backward and away from him.
A thread?
It was a thread, colored black against the night sky to make it harder to see, and if Mystogan was going off of Wendy's yelp of surprise, she didn't realize it had been attached to her. It was the only explanation for her cry of surprise as she was pulled back towards the ring of the forests, and another person took her place. Their footsteps hurried as they blurred out of the woods with a vengeance and arced towards Mystogan, the moonlight allowing Mystogan to glimpse the attacker's face as they fell towards him with a pair of threaded daggers in hand.
"Of course it's you..."
Mystogan murmured as he pulled out his cloud staff, his brown eyes meeting a matching pair as he vanished into a cloud of mist. Reforming a few yards away, he saw the mage clad in a white frock cloak standing with his daggers pointed and ready. The two stood tensely; if Mystogan weren't wearing his hood, it would be like looking in a moonlit mirror.
"What are you doing here..."
Logically, Mystogan understood this could be his Earthland counterpart, but a selfish part hoped it wasn't. Even if this weren't his brother, it would be nice to see a familiar face.
"Rain?"
An achingly familiar face.
Siegrain wasn't sure what was happening when he entered the muddy field; he had just seen Wendy charging toward a cloaked stranger in black and white bandages and pulling her away. Not only to ensure she was safe but also so he could test the person hiding in the aftermath of the weird storm they had seen in the distance.
He called me Rain... is that a nickname?
Siegeain had to test them because if he was going off Wendy's earlier declaration, this could be Jellal, and he could be dangerous.
Either way...
Siegrain was sure of it now.
This has to be Jellal.
It should've been a joyous moment; part of Siegrain was relieved that he finally found his brother, but the cautious part of him was keeping him from dismissing his daggers. The careful part of him that was heeding Vera's warning allowed him to keep his voice from dipping into suspicion or suspension of disbelief.
"Hey Jellal..."
The part of him that had promised to protect Wendy refused to let his guard down.
"How's Ultear doing these days?"
Siegrain watched with focused eyes as Jellal, from behind the hooded mask he wore, seemed to furrow his brows in confusion. Jellal answered his probing question with one of his own, a very blunt question that Siegrain hadn't expected.
"Ultear..."
The fact that it didn't seem to be a lie was even more concerning.
"Who's that?"
Siegrain could only blink in surprise as Jellal did the same. The two stared awkwardly at each other for a few tense and silent moments until Siegrain mumbled in confusion, "Huh?"
He doesn't know Ultear?
That didn't make sense; Vera had warned him that Jellal was under Ultear's thumb. Even if Jellal didn't realize he was being manipulated, he should at least know who Ultear was. Unless...
Was Vera wrong?
That didn't sound right; Vera wouldn't have made such a big deal if he hadn't been sure. Plus, Siegrain had already written off the idea of Vera lying. So what was going on? Was Jellal so brainwashed that he didn't even remember who Ultear was? If that was the case...
Should I hit him a couple of times until-
"Siegrain! Stop fighting Jellal!"
Siegrain's caution and suspicion died as a little girl with a mountain of pent-up anger stomped on his toes and nearly broke them. It was only thanks to Siegrain's high pain tolerance that he didn't scream. Instead, he belatedly looked down at his stinging toes. A slight 'huh' escaped him as he glanced at Wendy, who already had her hands on her hips to scold him.
"Stop fighting him! You'll scare him off, and I just got him back!"
"But I-"
"No buts!"
Siegrian frowned as he sidestepped another vicious stomp to his toes. Siegrain quickly decided he valued his other toes too much to risk them, so he complied with Wendy's request. He was dismantling his daggers and surrendering his hands.
"Alright, I'll stop fighting Jellal."
Even though I didn't hit him yet...
Siegrain kept that thought to himself as Wendy nodded approvingly before turning back to Jellal, who was watching in a baited silence. Jellal stiffened as her brown eyes landed on him, and she walked up to him with a set of determined and heavy steps. Her steely determination to stay composed fell as she got closer, standing right in front of him, and saw the blue tufts of hair sticking out from his mask.
"Jellal..."
This had to be Jellal.
"You're Jellal, right?"
She had to make sure this was Jellal, so she asked. She asked with a trembling voice and a shaking hand as she reached out and tugged Jellal's pants leg. She hoped he wouldn't disappear like he had done a year ago.
"Please..."
Wendy didn't feel it when the tears started flowing or when she rested her head on Jellal's leg like it would keep her from falling. She could only feel the trepidation, fear, and hope that beat in her chest as she asked with a broken whisper.
"Please answer me..."
She didn't care about anything else.
"I missed you..."
She knew this was her Jellal; it had to be. She didn't know what she would do if it weren't.
"Please."
Wendy prayed that it would be, and through her choked-up tears and trembling cries, she felt a gentle, gloved hand that smelled of apples pat her head. He softly ruffled her hair, and the familiar feeling lifted a weight off Wendy's shoulders as she heard his voice.
"I missed you too, Wendy..."
Wendy's eyes went wide with leaky tears as she looked up and saw Jellal take off his mask.
"Although..."
The moonlight highlighted the blue hair, brown eyes, and red tattoo she had missed dearly. He offered a small, almost apologetic smile, again bringing her to tears that she couldn't stop.
"I go by Mystogan now."
Wendy had finally found-
"HAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Wendy froze as an arrogant and hateful laughter echoed through the field, her eyes wide as she was shoved to the ground by Jellal's hand. She heard him grunt as she tumbled to the soaked ground, mud from the earlier storm shooting around her. She coughed, squinted through mud-covered eyes, and saw Jellal protectively standing in front of her with a new trail of blood trickling down his arm.
"Jellal!"
A panicked cry escaped Wendy's lips as she saw the purple snake latched into Jellal's, no Mystogan's forearm. The snake's purple scales glinted in the moonlight as it tried to inject as much venom into Mystogan's arm as possible. Wendy's panic only mounted as a mage with fangs, tan skin, thin maroon eyes and spiked maroon hair walked out of the woods.
"That's fucking hilarious."
He wore brown pants, a red shirt, a white jacket, and a cruel grin with a mocking voice that sent shivers down Wendy's spine.
"I didn't think you'd be a family guy, Jellal, but don't worry..."
Wendy nearly gagged as the suffocating smell of poison hit her nose, her eyes wide as she saw the snake detach from Mystogan's arm and slither back to the mage. Her heart dropped in her chest as she glanced around and realized she couldn't see Siegrain anymore.
"We'll treat your family just as graciously as you treated us."
It was like he had vanished into thin air.
Siegrain had blinked.
What happened...
Siegrain had been watching the tearful reunion and blinked, and suddenly, he wasn't in the field anymore. He was in the thick of the woods, unaware of how close or far he was from Wendy and Jellal's reunion. It was like he had been teleported, but that didn't feel right either.
Was it magic...
Siegrain was sure he felt someone hold grab him; the ghost of their grip was still on his shoulders. It was enough to make his muscles tense, and his magic writhe with anticipation, always an inch from exploding at whatever might be hiding in the dark section of the woods he'd ended up in.
Where's the mage that-
"You look a little dazed."
Siegrain's eyes narrowed like a hawk as he whipped around and lashed a razor-sharp thread at the source of the voice. Siegrain's eyes widened as his line sliced the air and gouged the ground but didn't hit any flesh; no one was there. Yet the second Siegrain turned, he heard it repeat, a voice laughing at him from behind his back.
"Well, I can't blame you."
Siegrain felt his neck prickle as an arm was slung over his shoulder, and he felt a breath trickle next to his ear, his eyes flicking back and finally seeing the sunglasses and blond and black hair that belonged to the mage who was toying with him. A blatant smirk on the mage's face as he flickered out of sight with a cackling laughter.
"Keeping up with me is bound to give you whiplash!"
Siegrain clenched his jaw as a fist slammed into his turned head, launching him onto the freshly watered grass. He flipped to his feet and let his threads whip around in all directions, cutting into the surroundings and giving him some breathing room as he saw the mage flicker into existence across from him. It was a guy only a year or two older than Siegrain with a long nose, black and yellow spiked hair, a reddish-white race suit, and shades covering his eyes.
"Who are you?"
Siegrain growled as he leaned downward, his muscles tense and his threads twisting as he formed a dagger in each hand and watched the mage smirk.
"Why don't you make me tell you?"
Siegrain waited until the second the man disappeared from his vision to swing around and slam his blades into the waiting steel stiletto knives of the overconfident speedster, who only whistled mockingly in response.
"Not bad, as expected of that fucker's twin."
Siegrain forced himself to ignore what the mage was saying, the fact that the mage knew and apparently despised Jellal and instead honed his instincts. His senses attuned themselves to every stray twitch and every tiny detail of his surroundings, pushing his reaction speed to the uppermost limits. Siegrain let his mind drift to a time when combat wasn't surprising or fair.
Just like before...
It was expected.
Just like it's always been...
And he was expected to win.
It's just another practical.
Siegrain felt his body numb into a dull sensation as he watched the mage vanish, his muscles moving on memory as he dashed forward, calling the speedster's bluff as the two crossed blades once again in a shower of sparks. This time, the smirk on the mage's face was more strained as he gave a dry and begrudgingly wordy chuckle.
"Name's Racer."
Siegrain watched with cold eyes as Racer narrowed his from behind his shades, the two locking blades like two athletes waiting for the starting pistol.
"Try to stay alive long enough to memorize it."
Then Racer vanished, and sparks flew across the dark and damp forests.
Meanwhile, in the woods surrounding Devi, a half-asleep teen nearing adulthood with black hair and dark red eyes was walking with a lazy stride under the moonlight. A sleepy yawn escaped his lips as he followed the mud trail his 'guildmates' had left him.
"Course they got a head start..."
He traced it back towards the bastard that had secretly blocked them from escaping that fateful day, forcing them to stack brick upon brick day after day after fucking day.
"Can't believe he's finally left the safety of that shitty island..."
It was a living hell, a nightmare, but it was over now. Father had taken them in and told them the truth of what Jellal had done to them, then given them powerful magic—enough to search for Nirvana. Except now, a new opportunity has arisen for it. Their past oppressor was unguarded and outnumbered; it wouldn't be as one-sided as in the tower.
"What a shame..."
The weary mage yawned and lazily continued walking, lamenting for missing such a good opportunity. If only he weren't such a deep sleeper, he could have gotten a piece of revenge for himself as well; now, he might not get the chance.
"It's almost midnight, too."
He would just have to hope those two battle junkies didn't kill Jellal too quickly.