Fairy Tail: The Transformer and the Fairies

Chapter Thirty-Four: The Aftermath

Relief. That was the feeling everyone was experiencing right now. Just when it had seemed their mission to rescue Braedey from the Dark Entrapment Spell was a failure, he had miraculously broken free from the spell's clutches at the last possible minute. The group didn't know how he did it, nor did they care at the moment. They were all just extremely grateful that their friend had managed to dodge death a second time; once as the Tower of Heaven fell, and now again.

Erza continued to cry into Braedey's chest for a few minutes that felt like an eternity, at least for the superhero and re-quipping mage anyways. When she finally settled down, she wiped her tears away and looked into Braedey's eyes with a bright smile – one that Braedey happily returned.

Moments later, Braedey was sitting up on the edge of the bed. The heart-rate monitor was disconnected and Porlyusica was checking over Braedey to evaluate his condition and determine if they were any residual traces of the Dark Entrapment Spell left. Once she finished with him, she proceeded to check the rest of Team Prime for any abnormalities.

As the healer checked the team, Erza sat next to Braedey and calmly explained to him everything that had happened, with the others occasionally chipping in. She started with Jellal casting the Dark Entrapment on him during the final battle in the Tower of Heaven, his collapse in the guild hall, and then Makarov sending Team Prime into his mind to rescue him. Erza then explained how the group met his own subconscious manifestation, witnessed several of his memories, and fought the Dark Entrapment's manifestations.

Natsu would occasionally butt in and boisterously talk about his battles against Braedey's past foes, mainly describing how awesome he was. While Erza would scold Natsu for interrupting her, Braedey simply smiled. He was amazed and grateful that his friends had fought through so many of his past foes and prevailed, all for his sake.

Erza continued on with her explanation of everything that happened after encountering the Shockwave manifestation. She chose to leave out the memory of Jane's death and the part where she kissed Braedey though. The former because Erza knew Braedey would tell the others when he was ready; the latter because... well...the others didn't need to know about that...

Braedey inwardly admitted that after all his friends had done for him, he should tell them about what happened with Jane. It was the darkest point in his life. He already knew about Erza's past in the Tower of Heaven, Lucy's rough childhood, Natsu's abandonment, not to mention the deaths of Gray's parents and master. It was only fair he tell his friends. However, he decided to do so at a later date. He'd just recovered from a near-death experience, and now wasn't the time.

When the scarlet-haired knight finished her long story, Braedey stared at the floor with a contemplative look. Needless to say, it was a lot to process all at once, but the teen hero took it surprisingly well. He had faced many strange things throughout his hero career; although, this one definitely took the cake. But, at the end of the day, this Dark Entrapment Spell incident would just be another item to add to his growing list of bizarre experiences; even though it would certainly have its aftereffects.

"Are you okay, Braedey?" Lucy asked, concerned. "You've been pretty quiet."

"Can you blame him?" Gray pointed out. "I'm pretty sure anyone would be speechless after hearin' that explanation."

Braedey was silent for a moment before responding, "Yeah... I'm fine, Lucy. It's just... I'm... I'm really sorry I put you all through this." He lowered his head regretfully.

"There's no need to apologize, Braedey." Erza said while placing her hand on Braedey's back in a comforting manner, bringing a light tint of pink to his cheeks. "It wasn't your fault."