The world was dark.
Ah...
When Vera opened his eyes, the world was dark and cold.
I guess I didn't die.
Vera hummed at the thought as he sunk through gallons of still, cold, and dark water. His eyes were tilted down into the inky abyss that wasn't clung to his skin but didn't sting his eyes. The dream that left him stranded in an ocean of shadows that he could wade in for as long as he needed to without drowning was the world of Sho's design.
Where is he...
Vera waded through the inky water as he swam toward the bottom of the dark ocean. Every breath taken was of cold water that his lungs could inhale as seamlessly as frigid air. He could breathe in this dream for as long as it lasted.
I know I can find him this time.
Vera wanted it to last a little longer.
Let me see you this time, Sho...
Vera had to know what happened and what that thing was, and he didn't have any answers. The last thing he remembered was his vision being dyed red and looking at a bloody creature. Nothing else could be glimpsed past that, but he knew just off that quick greeting that the bloody nightmare he'd seen was bad news.
Let me talk to you.
All Vera could feel when he looked into that blank red face was anger—an endless supply of it.
I need to know what happened.
That's why Vera swam faster than before: He had to know what happened after he passed out. He assumed he passed out? Whatever, he had to know what happened after his memory got fuzzy. After that thing came out, what was next?
There...
After that thing came out, what did it do?
I think I'm getting closer.
Vera had to know, and the further he swam, the closer he got to the answer. The light the pitch black water became, having been tinted by a red light, barely creeped out from the ocean's depths until Vera had swam all the way to the bottom.
Huh...
He saw a floor of red liquid. It was like another layer of crimson water lord beneath this one, but it was denser, so it sunk deeper.
Strange.
Vera swam towards the red floor, his eyes wide as he reached out to touch it—to feel the crimson carpet that lined the ocean floor for miles and lit up the darkness with a cherry red light. His finger touched the surface, and it rippled like an endless puddle hit by a raindrop. His finger touched it, but it didn't go through like Vera expected.
It's solid?
It was strange.
Weird.
Vera's eyes widened as he touched down, and his feet landed on the solid surface, as if he were on a plane of glass that could melt away at any moment. His every shift of weight creating a new ripple that went on for miles but didn't do anything, with Vera so immersed in the experience he didn't notice it.
"I wouldn't do that."
He didn't notice that someone else was behind him until they spoke with a hauntingly childlike voice. It couldn't have been more than 10, but when he looked back, all he saw was a shadow, standing at the exact same height as him, with a blank face. Its mouth ripped open from its inky skin as it spoke with a sharp tongue that he hadn't expected.
"Although knowing you, I doubt you'll listen."
The shadow spoke with an anger Vera never expected.
"Sho? Is that-"
Vera froze as his vision flipped instantly, his eyes wide, and his head was removed from his body in a single swipe of shadowed claws.
"You?"
Vera froze as he heard his body—his dream body, he guessed—collapse from behind him. His head flew through the air until it was caught in a shadowed hand and held up in front of a blank face. Vera's eyes widened as he watched the dream shift and stutter but never quite break, even as the shadow's childlike voice echoed through the fathoms of inky water.
"I warned you to stop. 'He' hates it when I get too close, spiteful bastard. That's why I didn't want to use that spell, but you didn't listen."
Vera knew it; this had to be Sho, and Sho was angry.
"I warned you, and you didn't listen, and look at what happened. You're lucky to be alive, and the only reason 'he' didn't kill everything in that forest is because Laxus stopped him. You know how close you were to getting the Strausses killed because you couldn't take a fucking hint! Of course not!"
Incredibly angry.
"You almost got yourself and everyone you were trying to protect killed because you're an idiot..."
Sho's teeth were sharp, but his words were sharper. His voice was tinged with frustration that echoed through his claws, which tightened around Vera's decapitated head with each passing word. With none more so than the three words that left his lips with a deep and painful breath. A stabbing comment that stole the breath from Vera's lungs and replaced it with lead. The song they sang hurt to listen to.
"And a liar."
It hurt because it was true.
"You broke your promise."
Sho was so justifiably angry that it hurt worse than any wound Erigor had given him. Every shaky word he spoke was a reminder of Vera's choice.
"After everything I've done for you, the one time I ask you for something, you lie! You act like a fucking idiot and woke that thing up! Well, guess what!"
Vera had chosen to take a step too far. He had taken Sho's kindness and stabbed him in the back with it. Vera was the one who fucked up.
"I can be a liar too."
Vera was the one who betrayed Sho's trust.
"Wait, Sho! I-"
"Shut up."
Vera watched in a frantic stupor as the dream began to shake and Sho's claws squeezed tighter and tighter around his scalp.
"I don't want to talk to you anymore."
Then, his head was crushed like an old grape, and the dream shattered like stained glass.
The second time Vera opened his eyes wasn't nearly as dreary as the first. He blinked his eyes open and saw the dull wooden ceiling of his apartment, along with the afternoon light that trickled in through the window next to the bed. His body jolted up in a gasp, and he immediately fell back down once he realized how sore he felt. His body felt like shit.
Huh...
His lips were dry, too.
I feel thirsty.
Vera gulped as he looked around and noticed an empty IV bag sticking out of his arm. He took maybe a second, possibly two, to trace the IV to the crook of his elbow before he pulled it out, needle and all. The process was quick and painful as he put the needle to the side and looked over his body in the complete isolation of the empty room.
I'm skinnier...
His body wasn't malnourished per se; it wasn't to the degree it was when he first left the lab, but it was still skinnier. His muscles were weaker because he had been lying around, not using them for however long he was out. It would probably take a month or two to work himself back up to the level he used to be.
How long...
Which brought on a whole new question.
How long was I asleep?
Vera gulped as he locked the dryness off his lips and looked around the apartment. It looked tidy, which meant Siegrain was still there, but a few crayons and drawings were lying around the couch that didn't belong there. Children drew them.
Has someone else been here...
They kind of looked familiar.
What happened when I fell asleep?
Vera frowned as he stared at the drawings and looked around the place. His face scrutinized in all directions as he prepared to call Sho and hopefully ask him what had happened and talk about the dream before the door clicked, and he flinched. His eyes widened as he saw a white-haired girl in a punk gothic outfit walk in with two smaller white-haired children on her heels—one tan, one pale.
Huh?
Vera was in his apartment, right?
What are the Strausses doing here?
So why were Mira, Lisanna, and Elfman standing at the door? The three were just there, standing and staring at him back with a confused expression. A bag of groceries fell from Mira's hand as she spoke surprisedly, "You're awake..."
Wait, when did Mira's hand become human again?
"You're awake!"
Vera blinked in surprise as the three Strausses barreled through the room, and Vera saw his life flash before his eyes. He tried to move, only to stumble in his covers and fall to the ground, after which he was immediately dogpiled. His breath left him in a deep gasp as he looked up at the ceiling and immediately started seeing stars in his vision.
Well, it was fun while it lasted.
Then, he passed out under the weight of three overzealous Strausses and fell into a dreamless sleep.
Thirty minutes later*
Siegrain wasn't mad. He wasn't.
"You're telling me he finally woke up, and you all knocked him out again."
He was just disappointed.
"Idiots," Siegrain muttered as he watched the Strausses shrink in on themselves in shame. A sigh escaped his lips as he watched Vera sleep soundly on the apartment bed. Siegrain was sitting on the couch as he scolded the three newcomers for knocking out a comatose patient right after he'd woken up.
"What did you think was going to happen? Vera's been asleep for three weeks. He isn't be able to handle that level of physical strain for a while."
Thankfully, the doctor had already checked in and said it was just a little side effect from being out of commission for so long. Vera's body was weak now, so the hug from hell knocked him out, but he would wake up within the hour. Hopefully soon.
"Don't hug him till tomorrow."
Before Siegrian lost control of the 'Demon of Phantom Lord' and her little siblings, preferably.
"Is that clear," Siegrain ordered as he watched three heads of white hair nod sheepishly. The little trial ended as Siegrain sighed and asked with a slight glance, "How did he look?"
It had nearly been a month.
"Was he okay?"
Siegrain was glad Vera had finally woken up.
"You know, before you crushed him," Siegrain elaborated as the three Strausses flinched, then sheepish silence filled the air before Mira groaned and shook off her nerves. She gave a playful grin as she grabbed her siblings and jumped onto the couch next to him, "Oh come on, don't be so petty."
"I'm not petty; just answer the question."
"What if I don't want to?" Mira huffed, placing her hands over her siblings' mouths before they could blurt out the answer. Her eyes tilted in delight as she saw Siegrain frown before he gave a resigned sigh and offered, in a dry tone, "I'll spar you later if you tell me, but after you lose, I want to be exempt from fighting you whenever you get bored."
"Who says I'll lose!" Mira roared indignantly as the damn obtuse idiot she had befriended on her first day in Oak Town tilted his head like the answer was obvious. His pure confusion at her question made her even more annoyed as she yelled with a vengeance, "I'll kick your ass this time!"
"Sure, now what was he like," Siegrain replied flippantly as Mira's eyes twitched in irritation before she clicked her tongue and released her hostages, "He was fine. He looked surprised, but that's probably because he didn't expect to see us."
"Huh, that makes two of us," Siegrain murmured as he watched the younger Strausses get bored of their conversation and begin picking up some of the color drawings they'd left behind the last time they visited yesterday, not to be confused with the drawings they left behind when they visited two days ago, "Didn't the guild master give you all an apartment?"
Siegrain was pretty sure they stayed in his house more than they did their own, which was saying something since they lived in the same complex.
"Why do you hang out here all the time?" Siegrain asked as Mira shrugged and picked her ear with a smirk, "Your place is cleaner than ours."
"Because I clean it."
"Exactly, so we'd rather stay here," Mira finished as she flicked an ear bugger at Siegrain, only for him to smack it away casually as he frowned. After which, Mira decided to be a little playful and teased with a slight smile, "Besides, knowing you, if I don't cook, your entire diet will be takeout or cereal."
"I can cook."
"Yeah, not well," Mira countered with a gag as she remembered the burnt fish she'd had the moment Siegrain had tried to cook something for one of their hangouts, "That's why I'm doing community service by making sure you don't burn the apartment complex down. You're welcome."
"I thought you already finished your-"
"Figure of speech, I'll explain it later," Mira waved Siegrain's confusion away. She chose not to dwell on the actual community service she had been forced to do as a result of her legal fiasco a week ago. This dark topic was thankfully forgotten as she turned to the bed and saw Vera start to stir slowly.
"He's awake."
Mira didn't want to repeat it twice after all.
The third time Vera opened his eyes, it wasn't as dramatic as the first or as sudden as the second; it was just a few slow blinks, and he could see.
Okay...
He saw two kids with white hair and blue eyes looking at him anxiously.
So, this makes no sense.
Vera blinked in confusion as he watched Lisanna and Elfman Strauss bounce on their toes from the nerves or excitement. He couldn't figure out which one. He couldn't figure out anything to be honest, they should have been in Fairy Tail by now.
"Hey, look, Elfman, he's awake. Say sorry."
Vera was so unbelievably confused.
"Why, Lisa, I didn't say anything bad?"
Thankfully, it didn't look like he would be confused for long. If the kids didn't fill him in on it, he could see Mira in the background, looking like she got lost on her way to a rock concert. She would tell him what happened and why her family was there.
"Yeah, you did, Elfman. You said he and his shadow were scary, but he saved us, and now-"
She probably would have if someone else hadn't stepped into the picture with a dry tone.
"He's awake," a familiar voice cut through the air, prompting a new tension as the Strausses stopped and looked back to a blue-haired individual with his arms crossed. The seconds passed as Vera's eyes went wide, and he looked at the brown eyes that belonged to his friend. The time they parted ways felt so long ago that Vera didn't know what to say, but thankfully, he didn't have to.
"You look like shit."
Siegrain was able to pick up the slack.
"Shut up, asshole."
Then it was like they'd never even left.
"That shit was not a C-rank mission," Vera huffed with a slight grin as he glanced away from his damn smirking roommate and at the Strausses. His gaze began softening as he murmured with relief, "I'm glad I took it, though..."
They all looked healthier than when he found them in that village. They looked more alive.
"You all look happier."
It was like a weight had lifted off their shoulders.
"Well..."
All except one.
"Almost all of you," Vera said inquisitively as he watched Mira stiffen from behind her siblings. Her eyes shakily met his as she gulped and suddenly found a profound interest in her boots. The seconds ticked as no one spoke until Mira broke the silence, saying, "Thank you..."
Her voice was thick with emotion, and her hair covered her face, but her eyes were probably teary.
"And I'm so sorry..."
She sounded like she had been through a lot.
"Those assassins were after me and you..."
She shouldn't have to go through anymore.
"Because of me-"
"Mira, what am I?" Vera asked with a strait-laced voice that cut through the emotional turmoil and startled Mira out of her head. Her shoulders flinched as she gulped and looked up with a small, trembling smile. "A bad influence?"
"Yeah, and I'm a mage," Vera replied with a sigh, his eyes meeting Mira's as he spoke clearly enough that she wouldn't misconstrue his words. "I told you I would get you to Magnolia. I took a mission and wasn't strong enough to complete it correctly."
Vera should have left if he had thought he couldn't handle it. He had misjudged the situation, and in doing so, he had put the Strausses in danger.
"Do not blame yourself for what happened to me."
There was nothing else to be discussed on the matter.
"I can take care of myself," Vera finished with a sigh as he watched Mira's eyes teeter on reluctant and uncertain before falling resigned. Maybe she believed his words; perhaps she didn't; Vera wasn't sure, just like he wasn't sure about many things.
"Also..."
Vera didn't know what was happening, but the three he saw battling against a village's cruelty looked better off than they used to be.
"Why are you not in Magnolia again?"
He could find some solace in that.
An hour passed, and it turned out that Vera missed a fucking lot. Like a shit ton. He probably could have slept through a zombie apocalypse and been more up-to-date than he was now. It was obscene.
"So let me get this straight..."
Where did he even begin?
"You joined Phantom Lord; congrats, by the way," Vera said as he pointed at Mira. A small chuckle escaped his lips as he watched Mira smirk proudly in response before she showed off the white guild mark on her leg, "Thanks. You should've seen it, as soon as the guild master saw me he invited me into the guild. I was-"
"In debt." Siegrain interrupted flatly as Mira's eyes widened and her face turned red. Her arm swung out like lightning as she tried and failed to slug him in the shoulder before she hissed, "Shut up!"
"You know, I didn't mean our guild doors when I said destroy something. Those are antiques," Siegrian murmured idly as he ducked a kick that would have decapitated an Ox and added with a flat tone, "Jose was so pissed. Those have been around forever. You should see it, Vera-"
Another punch, another miss.
"She's almost in as much debt as us now."
The scene was almost comical, with Mira trying to knock Siegrain out to keep his mouth shut while he dodged her attacks seamlessly. The few parries and slight grazes resulted in a mess that occupied the living room as Vera and the two kids watched with almost amused expressions on their faces.
"Do they do this often?" Vera asked the two, and Lisanna nodded swiftly. "They do. Mira says it's fun, and Siegrain says it's good practice. Sometimes, they even fight like you used to do with her outside in the forests. Mira never wins, though."
"Mira's going to win one day," Elfman added with a vengeful mutter, as that promised day got extended by a few years once Mira flew over them and towards the window. Lisanna, acting on quick instincts, opened the window as Mira tumbled outside and into the street below with a yell, "BASTARD!"
"Damn brute," Siegrain muttered as he walked over and shut the window, leaving an angry white-haired teenager outside for Oak Town to deal with as he turned back to Vera, "Yeah, so that's her situation. She got into Phantom Lord, and these two are waiting until they're old enough to join."
Siegrain pointed at the two younger Strausses, who beamed excitedly until they stiffened as they heard a commotion from outside. This meant someone had probably ticked Mira off, and now they had to make sure she didn't fight them, "We have to go," They said.
Lisanna and Elfman jumped off the bed, waving bye to Siegrain and Vera as they exited through the door to calm their sister down.
"Bye, Vera! Glad you're awake!" Lisanna called with Elfman doing a similar goodbye, "Sorry for saying you were scary. Thanks for helping us."
Vera watched with a slight smile as the two closed the door, and the room was quiet. His gaze shifted to his partner, who took a reasonably recent newspaper from his requip space and handed it to Vera, "Here. There's a newspaper article on it that should fill in all the gaps. Came out last week."
Vera took it graciously and glanced at the title. The 'Demon of Phantom Lord' on the front cover made him want to read it, but he ended up setting it down on the counter next to him so he could read it later, preferably after he addressed the elephant in the room, "Thanks."
The elephant and his twin, to be more specific.
"So, how was Cait Shelter?" Vera asked with a slight grimace. It was obvious that he was dodging the main question, but in his defense, it was pretty obvious how Siegrain's mission turned out, considering he was alive.
"Was it fun?"
He never would have expected Siegrain's response, though.
"I guess so; Wendy showed me around the place, and their guild master was tricky but nice."
Siegrain said it so plainly as if it were unimportant to the story he was telling. Vera would have missed it if he wasn't so used to it.
"Oh, and I fought some people who hated my brother and almost killed me."
His upbringing skewed Siegrain's perception of 'painful' or 'big deal.' He could break his leg and say it wasn't a big deal, because it wasn't to him, he'd been raised to endure far worse. That meant, however, that Vera usually had to pry out the important bits of his stories to get them.
"Also, this guy that I thought was Jellal but wasn't Jellal showed up and joined Cait Shelter. He's nice. You should meet him; I think you'd get along."
Like this one, this big-ass adventure Vera had missed out on during his 'C-rank' quest.
"His name's Mystogan."
Vera knew he would have to spend some time prying out all the details he could about this train wreck.
One hour later, and a barely coherent story that Vera ended up prying out of clenched teeth, he got the gist of Siegrain's time at Cait Shelter. It could be summarized in a single sentence.
"What the actual fuck..."
That was it. There is nothing else to be said on the subject.
"Maybe we're both unlucky," Vera murmured as he scratched his head and sighed resignedly. It even sounded worse than his run-in with Eisenwhalde. The Seis were no joke. In a few years, they would practically rule one-third of the underground.
I probably would have died if I had fought them...
Siegrain beating one of them by himself and fighting off another was beyond impressive.
Maybe I could have beat Racer, but Midnight would have killed me.
Vera sighed resignedly at the thought, not too upset about it because he knew Siegrain was stronger than him. That hadn't changed once since they met, and it wouldn't change anytime soon, either.
"Hey, Siegrain, you said you used your other magic..."
Not with Siegrain finally using all his magic in battle.
"You doing okay?" Vera asked as he watched Siegrain flinch in response. Vera's question may have seemed out of the blue because most people would have assumed it was a good thing and moved on, but he knew Siegrain better than anyone.
"You've always avoided using it in our spars."
Thread magic meant something to Siegrain.
"I figured you hated using other magic."
Not using it in battle meant something, too.
"So, how are you feeling?" Vera asked softly as Siegrain's gaze turned to the floor with a downcast expression. His mask of emotionless expressions was put on so seamlessly that most people wouldn't notice it, and to anyone else, his voice would have sounded dull, "I don't like it, but... it's necessary."
Vera picked up on a thickness to his voice, though.
"Thread magic isn't strong enough."
It was a despair that lingered under his calm facade.
"I can't keep latching onto it," Siegrain mumbled as his eyes turned from the wood at his feet to meet Vera's. Siegrain sighed as he turned towards the window and the town that lay past it, "If I do, then one day I might not be able to return here."
Siegeain had lost something in Cait Shelter.
"I can be a little miserable if it means I can see this place again. If I can see you again, it's fine."
He didn't see a way to get it back.
"It's not like it's anything new," Siegrain shrugged as Vera looked on with a pensive expression before he eventually sighed. Vera gave a slight nod, resigned to Siegrain's decision, as he turned to his black guild mark and held out his right fist.
"I missed you too, Siegrain."
Siegrain's mood seemed to lighten, and he took his left fist, the white guild mark in the back, and tapped Vera's knuckles with his own. The same thing they did when they first got to this town years ago and what they did whenever they needed a reminder.
"Hey, Vera..."
They had a long journey—each of them.
"Yeah, Siegrain."
It wasn't easy, but they survived it.
"I'm glad we joined Phantom Lord."
They could survive whatever came next.
"Me too," Vera said with a smile as he watched a similar one grow on Siegrain's face. The two tapped their fists again before Vera's shoulders relaxed. He reached over, took the newspaper in his hand, and spoke lightheartedly: "Now get out of here; you're buying dinner."
Vera wanted to catch up on a lot of new information he needed to process.
"I didn't make any money on the last mission."
He wanted the room to himself while he did it.
"Of course you didn't."
Thankfully Siegrain seemed to understand that since he bought his shitty excuse with little more resistance than a shrug as he walked to the door and called back with a quick glance, "Mira's planning on making dinner tonight, so I'll bring her back. She'll probably want to fight me, though."
Definitely want to fight was more accurate.
"So I'll just bring her back after I win. We'll be back in an hour or two." Siegrain mentioned casually as Vera laughed in response. Siegrain opened the door and stalled before he spoke without so much as a glance backward, "Hey Vera..."
Siegrain had a lot of things he was missing.
"I'm gonna search for Jellal when I'm in S class."
He was glad his first friend wasn't one of them.
"So don't worry about it. I won't ask you about him until then," Siegrain murmured as he shut the door behind him and left a stunned Vera alone. Vera's eyes were wide as he looked at the door before a relieved smile grew, "Thanks."
Vera felt his entire body relax as the weight on his shoulder became lighter. Then, turning to the newspaper and rereading the title, he took a breath.
THE DEMON OF PHANTOM LORD! READ ALL ABOUT MIRAJANE STRAUSS AND HER HARROWING JOURNEY!
Something told him he was either going to really like this article or fucking hate it.
It turns out Vera had mixed feelings about the article. On the one hand, it painted Mira as a tragic heroine who was forced to take the life of the 'big bad' assassin who tried to kill her and her family. Which was fine, Vera would rather her be seen as fragile, which was fucking stupid by the way, she ripped a tree in half every time she got pissed, than have her be seen as a cold blooded murderer that killed another person. At least with the heroine angle, all she had to do was a few hours of community service and write a report. Because of it, she wouldn't have to deal with the court of public opinion breathing down her neck.
Sorcerers Weekly fucking blows...
This brought him to his major gripe with the magazine article, or more specifically, the portion that basically reprinted some of the earlier articles featuring his and Laxus's involvement. The fact that he was pretty much accused of the same shit, and they had started questioning his sanity.
'Do I deserve to be taught by a wizard saint?' Fuck off, you bloodsucking parasites.
It was official: Vera hated the press. While he could understand people's concern about him losing control of his magic, frankly, it was none of their business. They didn't have a say in whether Jose taught him; it was between him and Jose—no one else.
What am I supposed to do, not train my magic? Yeah, that'll help the problem.
Maybe it was just reporters being harsh on him because he was a Wizard Saint's apprentice, and they were jealous, or perhaps it was just because he was an experienced mage and Mira wasn't, but it still rubbed him the wrong way. Even worse, some articles about Jose started ramping up in disapproval after the Clover incident. They questioned his validity as a Wizard Saint. Some journalists even suggested that Jose 'followed his student's example' and lost control of his magic. Vera couldn't believe it.
Jose fought Makarov in Clover...
Those ticked him off more than the ones bashing him for some reason.
I thought they were on okay terms.
Maybe Vera missed some animosity hidden somewhere, or maybe something happened, but regardless, he'd check on Jose later. Not just because he was curious about what happened in Clover but also because the article said Jose was injured—badly, too.
I guess Makarov didn't hold back...
Vera would be lying if he said he didn't hold an ounce of concern for his asshat of a teacher.
It must run in the family.
Vera scowled at the thought, not at Makarov because that old man was an angel, but because of the article he was on. His lips turned downward, and his brows furrowed lower with every sentence he read about Laxus's comments on how he 'mercifully' took him out.
I should've known he'd be an asshole...
Vera didn't know how to feel about Laxus yet. Vera was angry, but he couldn't say it was just that. On the one hand, Vera was objective enough to realize that he hundred percent would have died without Laxus's involvement. In a sense, he did owe Laxus his life, but he also knew that the prick definitely put him in a coma on purpose. Then again, he also knew why Laxus was a prick, which made it even more complicated. The entire thing was a mess.
I never thought he'd be this big an asshole, though.
Vera didn't know whether to be mildly annoyed or slightly angry or fucking pissed; he could choose any option at his point, so he shelved it. He shoved the burning and bitter feeling in his chest aside for later and ignored the fact that the skin beneath his bandages itched with the reminder of searing lightning or the fact that his Rising Stars ranking had dropped to seventh, and Laxus's had been cemented at first—even after the whole debacle of him losing his S class title.
Laxus isn't S class anymore...
No, what Vera chose to focus on was that. That last sentence was all he decided to concentrate on.
How the fuck is this going to play out?
Vera focused on the fact that the story changed significantly, and Laxus losing his S class title might have been the least damaging change. Laxus wasn't S class, but his power still was, that wouldn't change. The Magnolia Parade arc could still happen, or maybe it wouldn't.
Mystogan is in Cait Shelter.
Since Mystogan wouldn't have a reason to be at the church since he wasn't in Fairy Tail anymore.
Mira and her siblings are in Phantom Lord.
Plus, Mira wouldn't have a reason to be in Magnolia for the parade and, therefore, wouldn't have a reason to defeat Freed with her magic. Vera hadn't meant to, definitely hadn't planned it, but because of his direct and indirect involvement, the story had shifted. It had changed dramatically.
In the span of a week, Fairy Tail lost two S-class mages.
Fairy Tail was now weaker than it was in the story.
In return, Phantom Lord and Cait Shelter got a pair of top-notch S-class mages.
While other guilds gained strength in return.
Is that a bad thing?
Vera tilted his head at the thought as he tossed the newspaper to the side and looked at the ceiling. His eyes quirked in thought as he rubbed his forearm habitually and tried to come up with a solid answer before ending up with a soft chuckle.
Who knows...
Vera just didn't know.
Maybe.
In the end, it was all a big maybe. Sure, Fairy Tail was weaker, but they also had been insanely, incredibly, and unbelievably overpowered in the first place.
They might have enough candidates to make up for it...
Not all S-class mages were equal. Totamaru and Sol were good but could fight Aria simultaneously and never leave a scratch on him. If Vera were harsh, he'd consider Totamaru and Sol the realistic S-class benchmark. If someone wanted to be S-class one day, they had to be at least their level.
Natsu and Grey are better than Sol and Totamaru... Lucy, too, probably.
That was three unrecognized S-class mages on Team Natsu. Then there was the Thunder God Tribe, who were probably S-class. Hell, Vera was pretty sure he remembered something about Cana actually being Gildarts's daughter. She would most likely be S-class in the future.
Yeah...
Fairy Tail had a slew of potential S-class mages to take Mira and Mystogan's place.
Fairy Tail will be fine.
Vera figured that Fairy Tail getting weaker wasn't the end of the world. The members they lost weren't that important to the overall story anyway, and the arcs they were in could still function without them being members; it would just mean that he or someone else would have to step in. He figured he could defeat Freed in six years, and Laxus...
Dammit...
Laxus would have to be an issue for another time. Just thinking of his name was making Vera angry.
Stop thinking about him already.
Vera gritted his teeth as he let go of the covers he unconsciously clenched. He took a deep breath before letting it out and lay on the bed, his hand still rubbing his forearm as he sighed and tried to stop thinking about it. That asshole, the story, the coma he went through, everything. He stopped thinking about everything and just rested.
Phantom Lord is stronger than in the story...
Yet, in the back of his mind, an aching thought prickled his consciousness. One that was as scary as it was frightening.
Would we lose if we went to war?
Vera really didn't know anymore, and that was scary. His knowledge of the story and the future was becoming unreliable, which was terrifying. Vera just needed someone to talk to about everything he was unsure of, everything he didn't know for certain anymore.
Hey Sho...
Like whatever Blood Magic he supposedly had, that only ever woke up when it felt Sho getting too close. Vera didn't have the first clue about it, much less how to utilize or activate it. He was in the dark.
Can we talk?
Sho was his only clue.
I'm sorry about before.
Vera activated his magic. His magic container was filled to the brim with three weeks of magic. He turned to his shadow as he uttered the words he had done a hundred times before and prepared himself to apologize to his friend. To say he was sorry.
"Shadow Magic"
Vera was ready for Sho to be furious.
"Friend"
He didn't expect him to be silent.
"Hey Sho, I said I'm sorry," Vera said as he tapped his shadow, looking at it for a sign of recognition. The moment passed silently as Vera realized why Sho wasn't moving, why his shadow was still. He hadn't dealt with it in so long that he just forgot.
"Shadow Magic"
His shadow was still because Sho wasn't out. His magic hadn't worked, but that was fine.
"Friend"
It would work...
"Sho?"
It had to work.
"Hey, quit messing around," Vera said as he tapped his shadow again. The stillness of it itched his newly conscious nerves as he jabbed his finger in the bed and felt it touch soft cloth. There was no liquid, no shadow world, just a bed with his shadow on it.
"Shadow Magic"
Vera jabbed it again.
"Friend"
Cloth. Nothing happened.
"Sho. Knock it off. This isn't funny," Vera frowned as he got up off the bed and kneeled on the floor, the window to his back so he had a full view of his stretched shadow on the hardwood floor.
"Shadow Magic"
Vera felt the magic in his body brim, build, and cascade like it always did. He felt it churn and move to his skin, stopping at the barrier.
"Friend"
Then nothing happened. No magic was activated. It was like his magic had refused to be cast.
"Hey, Sho! Knock it off! This isn't funny!"
Just like back at the lab.
"Shadow Magic"
Vera gnashed his teeth as he tried again, his face contorted in a scared and confused manner as he watched his shadow for anything. Any inch of movement would have been enough. Sho didn't even have to talk to or acknowledge him. He just had to be there. He had always been there.
"Friend"
Until suddenly, he wasn't.
"Sho! Come out! I'm sorry!" Vera shouted in a panicked rush as his breath picked up. He tried again, begging as he slammed his hands on his shadow, hoping to wake it up. The sound echoed through the room and jarred his shoulder, which stung in a deep and sudden burst. Yet there was no movement of his shadow. No anything.
Shit!
Just a stabbing pain in his right shoulder that inched down to the right side of his chest.
What the...
Vera flinched as he moved his right shoulder, eyes wide as he felt something different. His hand shakily moved to his shirt, pulling it off with a pained hiss. Then, he looked at the bandages that covered his right pec and pulled them off, layer by layer, until one was left, and he was in front of a mirror, where he had a clear view.
Why does it feel...
Vera rubbed his finger over the bandage, his breath stalling as he felt a strange sensation. He knew there was a scar under it, but it was different.
Like a stamp.
Vera's eyes lingered on his chest, his fingers shaking as he pulled the last bandage off and got a good look at his new scar. A long, jagged burn like a hot iron pipe was put across his chest, from his right peck to his right shoulder. It wasn't good, but nothing major.
Huh...
The problem was the specific insignia that had been branded on near the edge of the line, right in the center of his right pectoral, as if a constant reminder of what had happened that day. Vera could only stare at it before he looked at the mirror and saw the new addition to his skin, branded into his chest.
"Ah..."
It was the guild mark of Fairy Tail.
'"ARGHHHHHHHH!"
Vera didn't remember much after that moment, but he knew something was broken. Something inside him shattered as soon as he saw the mirror. When he saw the guild mark he had once desperately wanted, only to be seared into his skin like a cattle tag, a part of him broke, and he didn't think he'd get it back.
'I don't want to talk to you anymore.'
He remembered hearing a loud and strangled scream, and at one point, he remembered realizing it was his. He remembered scratching the scar until it bled on his fingers as if reprimanding him for trying to wipe it off. He remembered smashing everything, the mirror, the furniture, all of it, with his bare hands as he broke everything in a hazy rage.
'You broke your promise.'
He remembered trying to summon his magic repeatedly while he broke his hands on nearby items. He remembered screaming for Sho. All the while, his pleas echoed through the room, and the memory of Sho's scathing voice echoed in his head. It rang like a gong over and over again.
'The one time I ask you for something and you lie.'
He remembered his magic not working a single time.
'Well, guess what.'
No matter what he did, nothing came out.
'I can be a liar too.'
No matter how much he begged or cried or screamed, not a single movement came from his shadow until his adrenaline plummeted and he collapsed. Unable to do anything but look at his still shadow with bloody fingers from all the shit he'd broken and a broken whisper as he prayed for his shadow to move. Even a little bit. That's all he wanted.
"Sho?"
There was still nothing.
"I'm sorry... Please."
Nothing at all.
"Don't leave me alone," Vera cried as he curled up in a ball. Unable to track time, he wept in the center of the broken room. Eventually, after a few minutes that felt like a few hours, he heard the door open, and Mira and Siegrain rushed in. The two obviously worried for him, but he couldn't listen.
"He branded me..."
It was like nothing else mattered at all. All he could do was sit and listen to the buzzing in his ears. Every twitch of his muscles brought his attention to the patch of burned skin on his chest that felt different. That was a constant reminder of his failure.
"Bastard..."
Vera wouldn't realize it then, but Mira froze, her eyes wide as she felt Vera's magic brimming beneath his skin but with nowhere to go. His red eyes trembled with a deep-seated rage she hadn't seen before, but Siegrian had. Only once had he seen Vera this angry, and his every word seemed dipped in a deep vendetta.
"I hate you..."
On August 8th, x778, Siegrain saw his friend wake up from a nearly month-long coma and lose his magic.
"I'll never forgive you..."
In return, his friend gained a new sense of sheathing hatred, a bitterness that Siegrain had only seen from him when they talked about one person from their past: the red robe. The one who tormented Vera for fun and treated him like a personal pet, who picked him apart repeatedly for amusement.
"Laxus Dreyar."
It was easy to remember what happened to him.
Somewhere in the vast lands of Ishgar*
There was a burning town, a cacophony of smoke and ash billowing around the village, which messed with her senses. She was crouched down, hiding in a small corner as her entire life was razed around her. She was a little girl with pink hair that trembled.
"Please..."
She trembled and cried; her eyes closed, and her voice cracked as she curled into a ball. She hoped the fire wouldn't burn too much when it got to her and wouldn't raze her to a crisp as it did her mother and father. She wanted it to be quick.
"Help me..."
It was still scary, though.
"Mom..."
She was alone now.
"Dad..."
It was scary being alone.
"Someone... anyone... help me... please."
The little girl covered in soot and rubble was terrified, knowing that she might be the only one left. She quivered at the mere thought as she waited for the end, yet her life changed with a simple whisper, a prayer. It would never be the same. The echo of a graceful voice changed her trajectory of life.
"I can help you."
The little girl looked up, her eyes wide with tears and red from itchy smoke as she saw the house that had crumbled around her start to rebuild itself. The wreckage flew back into place as the roaring fire extinguished itself like it was never even there. It was like it had been before the fire, and even though her parents were still charred corpses waiting to be buried, even though the entire village was destroyed, the stranger in the doorway was alive.
"My name is Ultear."
She wore a short yellow and white kimono and red lipstick. Her eyes were red, and her hair was deep purple. Her skin was white, and she held an orb by her side. She looked regal; every word matched that sense of grace and beauty.
"Come here."
She was incredibly kind, with a voice that soothed the little girl like honey and arms that accepted her rushing embrace. The little pink-haired girl's wails echoed through her village, wiped off the earth in a day because she wasn't dead. Someone else had been there. This person, Ultear, had saved her.
"Stop crying, little one..."
The little girl decided she would do anything for this person right then and there, no matter what.
"What's your name?"
Because for a little while, when the girl had been sitting in the crumbled remains of her old house, she had been the only soul left in this dry and lonely place. Everyone and everything she knew had been gone, and she had been truly and utterly alone.
"Merudy..."
Ultear had saved her from the terrifying sensation of having the world be your enemy. Ultear was her savior, so Merudy would repay her—no matter what. She would die if Ultear asked her to because dying wasn't scary.
"My name is Merudy."
Being alone was so much worse.
A/N: well, that's the end of the First major arc of the story. Took a super long time but I did it, and now I'm taking a break. No time frame but don't expect weekly chapters for a while. Check out AN of Oak Trail chapter if you want to know the possible schedule from now on, but regardless, I won't be posting the next major arc for a while. Maybe when school picks up again, who knows. I'll probably get the trails up and going in a month or so though, so that's when you can expect the next chapter. Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed this major arc in the story. Let me know if you liked it, and what you thought about it. I'll have a ton of time before the next one so I'd love to get your thoughts on it.
P.S. to answer a few questions in the comments from the chapters, this won't be a harem (Cuz that's trash and I hate it), I'll go back to weekly positing when I get the next arc started (only reason I posted every two days was because I wanted to get to this point before summer started), and yes, there will be some romance (slow burn though, like slowest burn).