Chapter 10
Reality?
Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or its characters, only my own OC's, Energy Magic, and Ideas
.:+:.
Chase's greeting went entirely unheard, the both of them didn't even glance his way as they came to a halt in the doorway. The Energy Mage didn't seem to mind though, nor was he all that surprised either, his eyes simply fixed to her, narrowing slightly when he caught sight of the bandages through her shirt, and for the first time noting the prickle of pain on the air.
The Guild didn't even notice for a few, brief seconds as the doors opened fully. Before their eyes moved to the entrance and words died on their lips, the eyes of the Tenrou Team riveted and some of them with their jaws dropped,
Everyone left behind had grown older, and they had changed.... But Frea, her appearance caught them off guard, and some of them had to stifle what well of shock and worry rose inside them in the next instant.
She was covered in scars, so many of them, deep and long, and shallow too for a few, running along the exposed skin of her arms like tally's. There was a particularly deep one that stretched across over her shoulder, coupled with two more that stretched up under her jaw and across her cheek on the left side of her face. There were surely more they couldn't see littering her skin under the deep blue sleeveless shirt she wore, and her long black pants, and her thigh high boots.
Her silver gaze locked ahead, trailing over every head slowly as her face fell neutral, not moving an inch as she looked into the room. The bottom of her hair reached just under her jaw, where the Tenrou Members recalled her usual long hair and ponytail, they were now faced with a Frea whose hair was cut short, and choppy at the silver ends.
She looked like an entirely different person.
Her hands fell at her sides, her head tilting ever so slightly as her face remained entirely neutral. The boy beside her looked out across the Guild, though his usually stoic expression was turned to one of confusion.
"Who in the hell....?" He mumbled under his breath,
"Frea!!"
Natsu jumped forward, pink hair wild and expression twisted in question and something like excitement. He appeared right in front of her,
"The hell happened to you?" He asked, rather tactlessly, gesturing toward her colorful array of scars. "And what the hell did you do with your hair?" she blinked at him, no flicker of emotion flashing across her face for even an instant.
Corbynn jumped slightly, Frea's hand falling on top of his head, her fingers curling into the russet strands, though she wasn't looking at him when he glanced upward toward her.
"... Laerre dei heinn?" She mumbled lowly, her voice altering to fit what language the words were, a language lost and yet in her she still let it live.
Chase and Corbynn both stiffened, sweatdropping slightly at the cryptic string of words, that to Natsu- made absolutely no sense. But to them it meant a great deal, and they swallowed slightly.
".... no, there are definitely a bunch of people in the Guild." Corbynn mumbled, he swore he felt her hand stiffen on his head.
Her hand left his head in the next instant though, so he wasn't sure.
Frea stepped forward toward the pinkette, her eyes falling closed as she cleared the distance between them quickly. Natsu stiffened slightly at her movement, his eyes widening a little and unsure of what it was she was about to do.
Chase stepped sideways, pulling himself closer to Corbynn as he glanced down toward the younger.
"Bad Day?" Chase asked quietly, Corbynn sweatdropped slightly.
".... Apparently worse than I thought." He replied, Chase sweatdropped himself.
Frea's hand reached forward, lightly pressing her index finger to his forehead as his eyes landed on the rings in that finger and her thumb, seeing them duplicated on the other hand. He felt a shiver run down his spine at the contact though, he could feel her Magic pulsing on the air in invisible waves, regardless of the fact that she wasn't using it.
"... Uh...." He mumbled, her head tilted slightly, her eyes still closed, before her hand fell away and the other one raised, both of them weaving through his hair as she leaned forward, her forehead touching his lightly.
"..... I have never been so happy to feel that wild Energy of yours in all my life... Natsu." She mumbled softly, her lips twitching in a small, weary smile. She pulled away, her eyes glinting and expression unreadable, she smiled still though, just slightly.
There was a wash of relief that rammed into her, happiness and shock too... But it was pleasant. Like a breath of air after having been under the water for years on end. She felt her heart speed up, a small tingle running through her heart as her fingers touched him- real, alive.
For the first time in seven years they were there and they weren't just ghosts..... for the first time in seven years she felt like the world suddenly started moving again.
It was a lot.... But she didn't really dwell on it, she had long since stopped dwelling on her emotions for too long.... It was just tiring.
"Now," she murmured, her arm hooking around his shoulders as she pulled him to her side, starting to walk toward the center of the Guild. Natsu stumbled slightly, feeling her grip around his neck tighten, leaving him unable to pull away even if he tried.
"Would anyone care to explain where in the hell you've all been for seven damned years?"
There was a bit of an edge in her voice, to anyone paying attention enough. She never stopped smiling, but Natsu could feel her grip around him tighten more.
Her eyes cast up toward Master Makarov, halting in front of him as she waited patiently for an answer, Natsu struggling now to get away but her grip was like iron.
"Well, Old Man?" She murmured, Master blinked.
".... The First Guild Master put in place a Spell that hid the island, and kept it safe from Acnologia." Master replied, "It stopped time inside for seven years, as the Spell was being unraveled." Frea blinked, for a minute she simply stared. Master's eyes narrowed slightly to seem some faint ghost of a.... Of some angry look make its way into her eyes before it was gone.
"Funny, Mavis and Jynx never mentioned that." She grumbled, her eyes casting sideways and oblivious to the shock that passed over his face at the statement.
"Apologies, Energy Dragon." There was a haze of purple and gold that appeared beside Frea in the next instant. Makarov nearly jumped out of his skin at the sight of Jynx, and those who hadn't gone to find the island jumped at the appearance of Mavis for the first time in the hall- Frea did not look surprised at the sudden arrivals in the slightest.
"... did you know about... Mavis...?" Corbynn asked quietly, having stayed near Chase, backed up a few paces from where Frea was now. He had never seen the little blonde girl before, nor had Frea ever mentioned the apparent 'First Fairy Tail Guild Master'. Chase sweatdropped, his blue eyes glinting.
"... no." Chase mumbled back,
"Fairy Sphere was a powerful Spell, and unwinding it was a long, and arduous task. There was no telling how long it would take, and in way of allowing you cause to undo the Spell yourself, we instead chipped away at it with periods of Magic Power every few weeks." Mavis explained easily, "If we had told you, we were sure you wouldn't have rested until Fairy Sphere unraveled, and the detriment to your health was something we didn't want to risk."
"That's what you wanted all those Lacrima for." Frea grumbled, her tone low as her eyes flashed for a moment. "Every few weeks, four or five Lacrima with roughly 40% of my Surface Magic Energy. You were using them to unravel Fairy Sphere." She looked angry for a split second, Mavis and Jynx sweatdropped a little. They weren't surprised she had pieced it together so quickly, no, but they hoped she'd refrain from getting too angry with them.
"Yes." Both Mavis and Jynx said in unison.
"That wasn't your choice, I had the right to know." Frea growled, her eyes flashing with some dangerous light that the Tenrou members had never seen in her, they felt shivers run down their spine as a spark of what insane Magical Pressure coming from Frea suddenly flared a bit brighter.
Frea paused though, her eyes moving from the two spirits when her ears caught some small, faint noise of something cracking a little. Her eyes moved down toward the arm that still held Natsu in place, sweatdropping slightly.
Jynx glanced in the same direction, her eyes seeing the metal of the ring on Frea's index finger glow pale white along the cracks that had spread just a bit farther in that instant. She blinked, before Frea's hand closed into a fist and kept the ring from further view.
Moon's ear twitched, the bell on her earring tingling softly as her blue eyes narrowed at Frea for a minute. She glanced sideways toward where she had left Uno and Iki, her eyes meeting Iki's teal one, he looked to her in silence as he nodded at her slightly, she sweatdropped a little.
Corbynn's eyes narrowed to slits, seeing Frea halt in her rise in anger, most assuredly because even she noticed her Magic Power rising, and that was never a good thing to let get out of hand. He let out a low breath, his hand falling into his jacket pocket as his fingers found that smooth, round ball of metal had had in there for safe keeping.
She let out a low growl under her breath, forcing herself to take in another, calming her sudden anger and annoyance regardless of how little she wanted to let Jynx and Mavis' withholding of information go.
"...... fine. I get why you didn't tell me." Frea grumbled lowly, Jynx and Mavis alike seemed relieved she had given in. "Don't think I'm gonna let it slide so easily though."
"We understand." The ghosts replied,
"Oi! Let me go!" Natsu grumbled, finally fed up with her continued hold on him.
"Hmm?" Frea murmured, her eyes turning toward him, looking almost surprised he had said anything, before she smirked. "Ah, sorry Flame-Brain, forgot you were there." She easily unhooked her arm from around his neck, he stepped away the minute she let go, looking cross.
"How the hell do you forget I'm there?!" He snapped, she shrugged slightly.
"Just do." She replied, she took in a deep breath, her nose twitching slightly as her eyes fell closed a minute.
.... That certainty smells like everyone's back.... hmm? His scent too.... so was I right? He was on Tenrou with everyone else, even when he wasn't supposed to be?
"You act like you ain't even happy to see us." Frea's eyes opened as Gray smirked at her, her thoughts snapped back to the present.
"Hmm? Oh don't be stupid, of course I'm happy, just don't expect me to jump around." She chuckled, earning small smiles from most everyone else. "The Guild hasn't been this full in a long time... It's nice."
"Well it's definitely good to be back." Lucy sighed,
"Though honestly it only feels like we've been gone a day." Levy mumbled, "Everything's changed so much." There were murmurs of agreement that rose up around the building, Frea blinked, before sighing slightly.
".. Don't sweat it too much, you'll catch up." She assured easily,
"Then let's fight!" Natsu smirked, looking pumped suddenly as he grinned at Frea. The Energy Dragon Slayer blinked at him,
"Not a good idea, Natsu." She murmured, her lips twitching in a smirk.
"Ah come on! I've been itching for a brawl since we got back, I wanna see how strong you've gotten!" He smirked, "Not afraid, are you?"
"Hmmph... You won't stand a chance, Flame-Brain." Frea answered easily, looking slightly amused but no more compliant on the challenge. "You've been trapped in a Spell for seven years, so you are at the same level as when you left. I am nowhere near where I was when you last saw me, so I think it better we skip the fighting." Her eyes left him as she turned toward the pair of Uno and Moon who floated up and landed on either of her shoulders.
"You wanna fight Salamander?" Uno smiled,
"We'll take you on. That way it'll last longer." Moon smirked, her eyes glinting. "Though, not too long. We are Guild Masters after all, gotta set a standard."
"Wha? You two are Guild Masters?!" Natsu exclaimed, several other people who had yet to hear the news blinked in shock.
"Hehe, I'd like to see the look on your face when we beat you." Uno snickered, "I bet it's gonna be priceless!"
"Fine! You wanna fight, let's go!" Natsu smiled, his own competitive nature clashing strongly with Uno's in the next instant.
"Take it easy on the damage, will you?" Frea smiled softly, Moon chuckled.
"Oh don't worry, it'll be over before things get too far out of hand." Moon assured, "Anyone else care to join in? I dare say Salamander's gonna need all the help he can get."
"Oi!"
"Hehe, let's go." Gray smirked, his elbow resting on Natsu's shoulder as he smirked at the two she-cats. "We can take on two cats easy, now can't we, Natsu?" Natsu slammed a flame encased fist into his palm, by now too fired up to worry over Frea's refusal to fight with him.
"You bet!"
"Let's have at it then." Moon smiled, "Better do it outside, the Guild's hardly standing as it is." The two boys smirked,
"Sure thing." Gray chuckled,
"... how can they have any energy left for this?" Lucy mumbled,
"Foolish." Carla grumbled,
".... I hope they don't hurt each other." Wendy mumbled,
"Ah man, I'd have cheered Natsu on if I didn't already know how it's gonna turn out." Solana laughed lightly,
"You think they'll lose?" Lily questioned of the redhead.
"Oooh yeah, Moon, Iki and Uno aren't Guild Leaders for nothing." Solana smiled, "It'll still be interesting to watch though."
"I'll come to." Aisha smiled slightly, "And I'll be sure to activate a few wards on the Building just in case."
"Good plan!" Solana smirked,
Corbynn had been silent since coming inside the hall, remaining rooted to the spot with Chase beside him as the energy and mirth seemed to pick up again. It took little for him to piece together who this strange collection of people was, he had heard stories of them from the longtime Members. His eyes slowly moved around the room, chancing to look away from Frea as he searched for that familiar pink hair belonging to the Old Lady. When he couldn't pick her out among the crowd, he moved instead toward the figure of Iki standing near the edge of the room, watching the exchange with his siblings with a small, weary smile.
Corbynn twisted the bit of metal between his fingers, catching Iki's attention as he came near.
"Hey Corr." the tom-cat greeted him softly, sweatdropping a little as his eyes flashed. "Bad Day, huh?" The younger boy sighed,
"Unfortunately." He replied, "Do we have any of that tea left?" Iki nodded,
"Yeah, I've already got it going in the kitchen." He replied, his tail flicking in the direction of said area.
"Good," he sighed, rubbing the back if his neck with a hand. ".... I'm gonna need you to get in touch with Saige." Iki's ears twitched at the name,
"Sure thing." the Exceed replied, apparently needing little explanation as to why. "How many this time around? Just one?"
"... Probably oughtta go with two." Corbynn murmured, his eyes trailing back toward Frea. "... I have the material to replace the one that's already chipping. But I think it's probably a good time to bump up to five, and then I'd like to have some, just in case." Iki nodded in understanding, his teal eyes seeing where the young man was looking toward.
"I'll send a note after I finish with the tea." Iki assured,
"... Is Granny around?"
"No, she left not long ago. She said the noise was too annoying." Corbynn frowned slightly, before his eyes moved to try and find Jynx instead.
"Time again?" Jynx appeared before the two of them in a haze of purple, Corbynn blinked, not for the first time wondering how she knew he meant to talk to her. He nodded, his hands moving as he folded them over the ball of metal in his palms. There was a small wave of pressure that appeared on the air for a split second, before he pulled his hands away, the metal now molded neatly into a smooth, polished ring.
He handed the item over to Jynx, who smiled wearily.
"I'll be sure to have it done as soon as I can manage, along with the other two Saige will send." The ghost girl told him,
"Thanks."
"Let's go, Pinky, Popsicle." Uno laughed, hopping off Frea's shoulder as she sprouted wings, moving toward the entrance.
"Ah, you missed Lamia and Pegasus earlier, Frea." Moon commented, Frea's head tilted at that though she didn't glance Moon's way. "Jura wanted a word, when you get the chance." Frea smiled slightly,
"Ahh, alright. Thanks for telling me." She replied, Moon nodded as she followed Uno out the doors, followed closely by several members wanting to watch the fight.
"Silver," Frea's attention turned toward the gruff voice, her eyes moving behind her as Gajeel walked up behind her, red eyes narrowed. He did not move to watch the fight like many of the others did, instead his hand reached forward as he lightly tapped a finger against her back.
"You hurt?" He grumbled, seeing the bandages and what faint stain of red that was visible in a few places. He had smelled it before, though he hadn't said anything until then. He too had found himself shocked at her appearance when she arrived, his eyes tracing that collection of scars that she bore- which was many more than even he had littering his own skin.
"Well prodding at her won't do any damned good if she is." Gajeel blinked, eyebrow quirking at the cold, neutral tone that appeared on his left.
Corbynn had walked toward them unnoticed, his icy blue gaze looking up toward Gajeel and expression steely and neutral, his hands in his pockets.
"... Heh? Who the hell are you?"
"Corbynn." He replied shortly,
"He's a Guild Member." Frea added in, slowly turning to face the pair.
"You're kidding." Gajeel deadpanned. "He's a kid."
"And a kid who could kick your ass." Frea smiled as she replied all too easily. Gajeel blinked, his eyes flashing to Corbynn who simply gave him a flat stare. "But yes, to your question. Though it's nothing bad." She was unaware of or ignored the small frown that Corbynn set on her in that next instant.
"Were there that many, Teach?" Chase asked, approaching the small group.
"No, the only one who landed a hit was Tomaru. The rest weren't a problem." She replied easily, he sweatdropped though, knowing it was not that simple... If it had been, she wouldn't have been in the mess she was now, and certainly what flash of pain that raced from her every few moments wouldn't be there at all, though as always she hid it.
"Who?" Gajeel grumbled,
"Dark Guild Leader." Chase murmured,
"Ex-Dark Guild Leader now." Corbynn mumbled.
Gajeel peered at her quietly, his red eyes narrowed to slits as he found himself biting the inside of his cheek.
"..... What's with all the scars, Silver?" He grumbled lowly, Frea blinked.
"Turns out that with Wendy and her Healing Magic gone, you end up with more scars." She replied simply, he grumbled- that hadn't been what he meant and he was sure she knew it too.
He swallowed slightly though, he wasn't sure what it was, but the neutral look on her face, and the easy way she seemed to cast out an answer.... It was a little unnerving. And more so it was nothing like that same woman who had accompanied him and Lily to Jogenen.
The explanation of more scars appearing without Wendy's Healing Magic to make the fade away wasn't even that much of an answer- or at least not a full one. While it was very true that for major injuries, without Wendy's Healing Magic- the scars left by serious wounds weren't able to be gotten rid of, and so they stayed. But the smaller ones, the scratches and the thin little nicks across her body, hatching across her skin in every direction and too many times to count- many of these should have faded away just healing by regular means, and yet they hadn't.
Those marks remaining on her skin were partly owed to her own decisions, or lack there of- and a few things that were much too complicated and would take much to much time to explain in full.. and she didn't care to anyway, so she let it be.
"Frea."
Their attention turned toward the voice, Erza having said her name from where she was still at the bar with Gildarts, Master and Mira, the Guild mostly emptied now to watch the fight outside.
Frea's attention turned in her direction, the sound of her footsteps followed by Mira's echoed over the floor, coming closer.
"Hmm?"
"Are you alright?" Erza asked evenly, Frea smiled slightly, though even to Mira, Erza and Gajeel that smile was a little... Unnerving in its own right.
"Yeah, it takes a bit more than a few scratches to really be a fuss." Frea replied easily, Mira and Erza alike sweatdropped at that, their eyes tracing the scars again though they tried not to. They tried not to think what wounds had left them, or how many she must have suffered through over the years to earn them.
".... I guess you probably have questions." Frea murmured after a moment of silence.
"Yes... But not many. Chase already explained quite a lot." Mira murmured softly,
"Ah." She sighed, her eyes falling closed again. "Good, then I won't have to recant it all."
It has been a long... long.... Seven years.... but it is possible? It feels...
.... like Time is moving again, all around me.... I'm no longer rooted to the spot.... I'm being pulled away by it.