Time: May 13th, X820, 8am
Location: Fairy Tail
Objective: Feel the flow
Reiki furrowed his brows as he sifted through a stack of short papers. Each one was full of hand-written scribbles.
"Where did you get all of these notes, Cal?" he muttered.
He looked to his left.
A tall figure in a black, hooded cloak sat just out of the sun ray's reach. Her back faced the curtain.
"Truthfully I haven't needed this book since October X817. The only reason I picked it up again two weeks ago was it was my last resort," she responded monotonously.
"Right, but where did you find all of this information?" he pressed.
Cal let out a soft exhale.
"I don't know. I've asked Eli, Mom, Dad, the Stone Gang, Carmine and The Founders. None of them had a solid answer."
"The Stone Gang meaning Amethyst Lore, Emerald Neerg, and Diamond Agria. And Carmine meaning Carmine Nanagear. All four were participants in the X817 Games. Carmine substituted for Emerald on Day 2," Reiki stated.
"Correct."
"And The Founders are who?"
"Sting Eucliffe, Rogue Cheney, Minerva Orland, Orga Nanagear, Rufus Lore, Yukino Eucliffe, Sorano Agria, and Dobengal. The people who helped re-establish Sabertooth in X791 after Jiemma Orland's tyranny was overthrown."
"I thought Sorano didn't join Sabertooth until X793?"
"She didn't. But she quickly developed a major leadership role."
"I see. So, how exactly did you come across–" Reiki closed the book on his fingers "– A Beginner's Guide to Enchantments: Categories, Castings, and More!?"
"My mother introduced me to the book at her house when I was thirteen. I loved it so much that I searched for it in the library and began to read it on my own. Eli quickly figured this out and actually bought a copy for my fifteenth birthday. Which was really sweet because I was in pain the entire day."
Reiki stared at the title.
"I see," he muttered, re-opening the book. His eyes mindlessly scanned the pages. "So why are you here?"
"I had promised to share any information I could find. But I decided not to bother you after Eli and I received a text saying to continue independently until further notice. Then this morning you sent this text: 'Hey I have some questions'. I figured it was about the Sun Vest and Moon Dress as well as other items."
"Yes. But I didn't expect you to teleport here via Territory. I didn't say I was in the guild hall infirmary."
"I asked Nashi and Cris what happened and they explained the situation."
"I see."
"Where did they go, anyways? I expected them to be guarding your bed like dogs."
"Nashi wanted lunch. Cris wanted to go shopping. And both of them wanted naps. They haven't been getting much sleep since May 5th around 9pm."
"Was that when you collapsed?"
"Yes."
"When did you wake up?"
"May 11th. I was told mid-morning. The time was probably about 10:30am."
"Nearly six days? That's a long time."
"Wendy induced a short coma so I could actually recover."
'She still hasn't questioned me about Needleworks. Maybe she's waiting until after I'm discharged?'
A soft chuckle escaped Cal's lips.
"That doesn't surprise me. In any case, I'm glad you're feeling better," she stated.
Reiki bit his lip. He closed the book and looked directly at her face.
"Calypso. Why did you come here at all? If Eli finds out, he's gonna kill me!"
"Eli knows I'm here. In fact, I brought him. However, he went into town, presumably looking for Cris and Nashi."
The redhead took a shaky breath.
"And why did you forgive me?" he whispered.
"I thought I told you this?" Cal wondered.
"No, you didn't. On April 26th at 5:30am I screamed as I asked how you could forgive me and you responded 'because I've forgiven myself' in a very nonchalant tone. So why? Why did you forgive both of us??"
"Because I'm moving forward. And out of the shadows."
Reiki blinked.
"But forgiveness and moving forward aren't the same thing," he stated.
"They're not. But they can overlap," she gently reminded him.
Reiki sighed and looked right. Trees waved at him through the window near the foot of his bed.
He slowly shook his head.
"I still don't understand how you could do that. Or why," he muttered.
Cal half-chuckled.
"It's definitely not easy. You have to be open-minded and understand where you want to be in five years, ten years, and so on."
He looked at her again.
"So why did you want to move out of the shadows? You live in them."
Cal let out a soft, hollow laugh.
"Reiki. Living in darkness is a constant and exhausting fight. Since I was a child, I've had endless cycles of depression. Armies of whispers have fueled my anxiety. After July X817, everyone in Sabertooth was tense at the mere thought of Fairy Tail, myself included. In fact, I didn't leave my house for a solid two months after I woke up. My sixteenth birthday was celebrated, if you could call it that, with nothing more than brief spotlights in an abyss. In fact, all of my previous birthdays had been similar. As I pondered death after life, I realized I wasn't really 'living'. So I decided to fight the shadows."
"How??"
"How what?"
"H-how did you...you know, fight it?"
"I reached for the spotlights. It turns out they were closer than I remembered. Mom. Dad. Selene. Frosch. Eli. Eli's family. The Founders. The Stone Gang. Carmine."
Reiki blinked away dust in his eyes.
His gaze drifted to the end of the bed. Both feet shuffled under the sheets.
"You make it sound easy," he muttered.
"If you think it's easy, you're naive! Just because I'm here now doesn't mean I won't move backwards! It's a constant work in progress!"
The redhead crossed his arms tightly.
"Tch. You've said that before. And that sounds like a lot of work," he huffed.
"It is. Trust me, the hardest part is starting the fight. The second hardest part is continuing it. But it's possible."
Reiki swallowed a lump in his throat.
Directly across the room, a figure in the bed stirred.
Both wizards flinched and whipped their attention towards it.
"Who is that?" Cal whispered.
He furrowed his brows.
"I don't know," he muttered.
Both wizards watched a girl with messy cornflower blue hair, pale skin, and a dark shawl slowly sit up. She yawned and blinked.
Her pale gray eyes met Reiki's dark green orbs.
Immediately, she started looking around.
"A-Addy? Lexi?" she called.
"Uhh, they went to lunch with Nashi," Reiki answered.
The girl's entire body tensed up as she looked at the duo.
"Wh-who?" she squeaked.
"Nashi's my teammate. And best friend."
Tears brimmed the girl's eyes.
"Wh-where's Addy? Is Lexi here?" she whimpered.
Reiki reached back at the nightstand.
"I said they're at lunch. Let me text them."
The girl visibly started hyperventilating.
"Where...did...they go?" she gasped.
"Reiki is getting them now," Cal soothed.
"Addy just replied he'll be here in about five minutes," Reiki said.
Nearly immediately, the girl started to calm down.
Cal carefully lowered her hood. Her short, wavy black locks bounced to life around the nape of her neck.
"I'm Calypso. You can call me Cal," she soothed. "What's your name?"
"V-Vee. I'm Vee," she squeaked.
"Are you a member of Fairy Tail?" Reiki inquired.
Vee shook her head.
"No...Um...Addy and Lexi found me...and stopped my Magic."
"Why did they bring you here?" Cal wondered.
Vee half-shrugged her shoulders.
"I don't know," she whispered, "I just know that I was caught in a flood. And uh, well Addy and Lexi cornered me...I passed out before I could escape. So, now, uh, I'm here. I guess. I swear all I wanted was some bread."
"A flood? In Magnolia?" Cal questioned, looking at the redhead.
A stone dropped in Reiki's stomach.
"Y-yes," he stammered, "On April 26th sometime before 12:24pm, a Mage caused a huge flood in the alleyways. Team Danger managed to stop the mage. She passed out apparently, so Addy and Lexi took her to the infirmary. At least that's what Jace said to Cris before he ran off with Blake the Snake. But then they, meaning Addy and Lexi, decided to take care of this Mage. Jace said he could hear it. She was terrified of Fairy Tail before she passed out. So he ran off to figure out why. Then Cris was called to help with the remaining water."
'And after that I left to find Rosemary because I was such an a** in not checking in on her sooner,' his head voice growled.
Cal shifted her attention to the squirming young woman.
Tears bubbled in Vee's eye corners.
"P-please have mercy," she squeaked.
"We're not mad," Cal soothed.
Reiki cocked an eyebrow at the Moon Mage.
'Cal. She nearly destroyed our hometown,' he thought to her.
'And I nearly killed you. Yet you aren't hostile towards me,' she replied in her head.
'You didn't storm into Magnolia unexpectedly. We were on third-party grounds.'
'Reiki. You don't have to be a genius to recognize she's been through a rough patch. Give her some grace until she proves herself harmful. Besides, Addy and Lexi are caring for her. They're part of Team Danger, the strongest team of the next generation, right?'
'Tch.'
He rolled his eyes and looked back at Vee.
"What's the name of your Magic?" he asked out loud.
Vee bobbed her head.
"Uh...I don't have a name f-for it. I guess just, uh, Flood Magic?"
'Oh s***,' the two teenagers thought in unison.
Reiki started sweating profusely.
"Wh-what's the, uh, the difference? Between regular Water Magic and, uh, F-Flood Magic?" he stammered.
Vee shrugged her shoulders.
"I just make uncontrollable floods. I-I can control where it starts and, uh, where it ends. But the water movement is...unpredictable. Stopping them is hard, too. I usually rely on–" she gulped "–on, uh, um, others to, uh, stop me."
'Cal.'
'Yes, Reiki. I think it's Varsha.'
'I hope she's not going to rat us out like Tina did.'
Cal bit her lip.
"Vee?" he called.
"Y-yes?"
"How did you find Magnolia?"
The girl folded her hands and shrugged her shoulders.
"I-I'm not really sure myself. I guess, I just followed the roads going North."
"Why did you come to Magnolia?" Reiki pressed.
'Reiki!!'
'What?! Maybe she's leading Ozzy here!!'
'I highly doubt that. Her attitude is far different from Tina's.'
Vee sucked in her lips.
Her eyes started brimming with water.
A few droplets fell, completely soaking the sheets.
Splash!
Splash!
Reiki flinched back.
"Uhhh–" he started to say.
BAM!
"VEE!" two voices screamed.
Vee curled into a ball and started to sob.
Cal and Reiki watched as Addy and Lexi came to her sides. They reached out their hands yet didn't touch her.
"Vee. Hey, Vee, it's okay," the bodybuilder soothed.
"Sorry, we didn't mean to scare you. It's Addy and Lexi," the diva added.
The girl held her breath and looked up.
Upon seeing the Dreyars, she sat up and took a few deep breaths.
"How are you feeling?" Addy inquired.
He squatted to her level.
She sniffled and half-smiled at him.
"I'm fine. I was just talking with them–" she pointed at Reiki and Cal "–and–"
Lexi stomped in front of Vee and threw her hands on her hips. She bared her teeth and emitted a black aura.
"Calypso Cheney. What. Are. You. Doing here?!" she snarled.
"Lexi! Wait, please!" Reiki cried.
"I didn't ask you, Reiki."
"I know you didn't, but let me explain!"
"I invited myself. I wanted to share some knowledge with Reiki," Calypso stated.
She shifted her hands on her lap.
"Oh sure! I bet that knowledge was suicide-based!" Lexi jeered.
"Lexi!!" Reiki shouted.
"Not even close. It was information on illusions and positive life outlooks," Calypso said.
Addy let out a hearty chuckle. He came to his sister's side and crossed his arms. White lightning sizzles around his hair. His glare drilled right at Calypso's bangs.
"I bet she's using an illusion of friendship on him right now!" he sneered.
"Addy! No!" Reiki cried.
"Not true. This has been simply an exchange of information," Calypso said.
"She's probably lying," Addy growled.
"For. Real. She hangs out in the shadows after all," Lexi added.
"Seriously you two?! Enough!" Reiki interjected.
Calypso stood to her full height, meeting Addy at eye level.
The twins flinched back.
"I'm sorry you distrust my Magic," the Moon Mage stated, "However, it is important to separate the Magic from the Mage. While it is true my spells appear to embody my personality, this logic is flawed. It means I can use it to conclude the two of you are heartless demons who only see in black or white. However, your interactions with Vee and Reiki's respect for you indicate otherwise."
"Tch. I don't trust your Magic or you!" Addy snarled.
Calypso nodded solemnly.
"Your feelings are valid. As are your reasons," she whispered.
She pulled out her phone and typed.
Addy and Lexi exchanged blank glances as their auras diminished.
Cal put her phone away and pulled up her hood.
'I'll take my book back and see if I can find anything else,' she thought to Reiki.
'That's fine. I memorized all of your notes.'
'I predicted that would happen regardless of what I said.'
"I must be going now," she stated, "I apologize for any inconveniences. As I said, I was trying to share valuable and non harmful knowledge with Reiki."
Cal turned around as Reiki held out her book.
She secured it under her cloak and bowed.
"Have a good day, Adad and Alexis. Rest well, Reiki."
A moment later, she disappeared in a rainbow flash!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Location: The Dimension
"I'm impressed you didn't interfere," Cal remarked.
"You're plenty able to defend yourself. You know that I know that," Eli stated.
He locked his hands behind his head.
"I am aware that you are aware of my capabilities. That hasn't stopped you in the past."
She looked to her right.
He shrugged while staring ahead.
"Well. I've been thinking that maybe I shouldn't jump in right away," he muttered.
A smile poked her cheeks.
"I see."
She looked ahead.
"Those spriggans were quite angry," Eli remarked.
"I don't blame Adad and Alexis for their reactions," she stated.
"Huh?? They were attacking you for no reason! I was ready to break that window!"
"Eli, you should know first-hand that anger is a byproduct of other emotions. Including grief and helplessness."
"Those two are not helpless! Otherwise they wouldn't be part of the strongest next generation team of Fairy Tail!"
"And you've never felt helpless years after a loss or a near loss?" Cal challenged.
She slowed down and looked at him.
Eli swallowed.
His arms relaxed and crossed over his chest.