Slain Among Ice And Fire {Fairy Tail}

Chapter 27- Highest of Stakes

Chapter 27

Highest of Stakes

Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or its characters, only my own OC's and Ideas

.:+:.

"... Who the fuck cares about all of that?! Let me go right now! I'm gonna tear that bastard apart and then I'm gonna rescue Luce! How could you dumbasses just let her run off like that?!"

"Calm down, Natsu."

"It's not like your 'friend' gave us any choice after she knocked you out. She just left."

"Dude you need to chill."

"The hell I do! She ran off to face the asshole who was killing her! She's in trouble!"

"..b...but Natsu, Hora didn't seem like she was worried about it..."

"Of course she wouldn't Happy! She was willing to let that bastard get away with all of that bullshit, and insisted she had to handle it all by herself! She's fucking stubborn as hell!"

"You're fucking stubborn, Flame-Brain."

"Natsu-san, you just woke up, you should really try not to get too wound up..."

"Perhaps instead of screaming like a child you should explain just what is going on. You clearly understand more about what happened to 'Horatia' than anyone else- who is she to be facing and why are you so angry about it?"

"None of you have managed to tell us much."

"We don't even really understand what happened. As it is, we only just met the chick, and she ran off right off the bat after the kid did her thing."

"She tore up a shit-ton of stuff too. We had to rush out of there before the Council Knights or the Kings Army came in to arrest us."

"With the amount of power that woman had, what adversary could she be facing that would worry you so much, Natsu? Surely she could handle herself- even after the ordeal she seemed quite fine."

"I'm not worried she can't kick his ass, I'm worried she's gonna go too far!"

Hora grimaced slightly, her eye twitching at the loudness of his voice on her ears, even from the distance she was at, he was fucking loud.

"PLUS I WANNA KNOW WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED! AND WHAT SHE'S BEEN KEEPING TO HERSELF THE WHOLE TIME! I'VE KEPT FROM ASKING, AND I'M DONE DOING THAT!"

.... You and everyone else, Salamander...

She sighed, her steps leading her down the last stretch of street in front of the entrance to the Sun Bar and alone in the midnight light of Crocus around her. It was so quiet outside of Natsu's voice, it was almost peaceful... But the day had been anything but.

And she wasn't sure if it was nerves or weariness or what, but that sense of dread that had been hanging over her? It hadn't gone away, which meant that what Jiemma had done and that thing that had swept her away were not the worst things to come... Which would spell for something even more terrible approaching, and that was a chilling thought.

She'd sidetracked a bit back at the Inn to wash off the blood from her hands, and arms and everywhere else, and just altogether clean up a bit, since she was a mess and she saw it in the mirror. She straightened her clothes and brushed through her hair a bit after doing away with the bulk of the grime, and then stuffed a multitude of items in her Requip in case of need. She had the Calling Card in her back pocket and knew the other one connected to it was back with Sting, Rogue, Frosch, Rufus and Orga... Though seeing as how Rogue was conked out and Sting wasn't really talking to her right now...

Her eyes narrowed at the ground, her core aching at the thought. But she pushed it away as quick as she could.

... away from that... She looked less a mess now and she'd hurried down the hill and back into the heart of Crocus growing steadily closer to where Fairy Tail was. She'd passed by a number of soldiers and Rune Knights milling about and avoided them, they were out and about with the destruction she'd caused, as she heard one of the Fairy Tailers mention. And she didn't expect anyone in the Guild to try and call her using the Card right now.

Probably better they don't interrupt... I'm gonna have a lot to handle with the Fairy Tailers... Natsu especially... And...

... damn it Hora... Just don't stare at him like an idiot.

Her fingers tapped lightly against the door into the tavern and the tension and knotting of her core got just a bit worse. She could hear Natsu yelling a few incoherent things, and figured he was tied up and unable to move, lest he'd have already stormed from the building. She hesitated on opening it for a few seconds, before growling under her breath and stepping inside slowly.

"... You can quit yelling Salamander... And there's no need for you to go rushing off either." Hora muttered lowly, her eyes closed and still able to tell that the eyes of everyone in the Building snapped around toward her sudden arrival. She pushed the door closed and glanced up to see him strapped to a support beam, eyes wide and looking still so very wonderful as she met his gaze, and she frowned slightly, "... Need I remind you how well that turned out last time? Especially when I asked you not to get involved?"

A quick survey of the room found the group that she had run into before- Gajeel, Juvia, Wendy, Carla, Natsu, Happy, the black Exceed, and... Gray too.

And to add to it was Erza, Laxus, Mirajane, and the Guild Master.

And all eyes snapped over toward her, a mix of surprise and suspicious looks as Hora swallowed a bit under the stares.

"So this is that girl from another Guild, huh?" Laxus grumbled under his breath, Mirajane's head tilted slightly at Hora in intrigue.

"I clearly needed to get involved!" Nates snapped back hotly from his place on the floor, Hora grimaced. "How could you not tell me that asshole had that Possession Link thing on you?! And what he could do with it?!"

Erza blinked in surprise at the words, her eyes narrowing at Natsu and then at the new arrival. "Possession Link?" she hummed, "... Natsu asked what they were, and that you'd mentioned them to him, but I am confused on how it could harm someone as drastically as Wendy and the rest described." The redhead said to Hora, and Hora wilted a little.

"... I'll try my best to explain things." Hora mumbled, her eyes dropping as she started forward into the room and toward Natsu. "... Sorry to drop in sort of unannounced and uninvited, by the way... I understand the bulk of you don't really know me enough to trust me." She added softly, her eyes flicking sideways toward Gajeel, Juvia and Gray as she passed them by near the door, and hating the way her attention lingered on the latter a bit too long.

"Hora!" Happy trilled, nothing but a blue blur as he darted through air and toward her. He crashed into her chest and she caught him- by now prepared for him, unlike the last time. She bit back the wince she almost let loose at the sudden contact, biting the inside of her cheek as she patted the Exceed's head a few times.

"... Hey, Happy." She mumbled, pulling him off and holding him up in front of her. "... Try not to crash into me too hard if you can, alright...? Still a bit sore..." He blinked, nodding.

"Sorry, I didn't think about it.." He mumbled, wings flaring as he pulled himself out of her hands.

"It's fine." Hora murmured softly, her walking continuing forward until she halted, again.

She sighed silently, this time stopped by Wendy as she got closer to Natsu. The smaller girl stepped forward, her eyes shinning, and in the meantime Hora completely missed the suddenly stiff and defensive posture that Gajeel, Gray and Juvia had adopted after she moved passed them.

"Hora, are you alright?" Wendy asked quickly, "I've been worried... Are you feeling okay after everything...?"

"You certainly look a little better, at any rate." Carla commented, Hora nodded.

The wonders of washing off blood and dirt and all else...

"Yeah, I'm good." Hora hummed, her hand falling gently on the bluenette's head and offering up a weary smile. "Don't worry about me for now sweetheart." Wendy blinked at the name, blushing slightly even as Hora took her hand back and moved to crouch down in front of the bound Natsu. Her deep blue gaze matched with his onyx one and he frowned at her, looking no small amount of agitated. Her elbows settled on her knees as she tilted her head at him, "You still look like crap, Salamander." She commented dryly and he scowled,

"So do you!" He snapped back hotly and she grumbled, her hand lift as she knocked the side of it against the top of his head lightly- cutting his words off with ease.

"Yeah, well you can't really blame me for that." She muttered, "I get that you got your Magic drained and all, but eating any amount of my Fire when I was like that was just stupid. Even for a Fire Dragon Slayer... One would have hoped you had the better sense to think about what you were putting in your mouth before you did it."

"It's fire, I can eat whatever the hell kinda fire I want to!" He argued hotly, and she sighed.

"Fine tough-guy, pretend all you want that you're stomach's not killing you right now." Hora grumbled and he faltered a bit at the words, and that was answer enough to tell her he didn't feel so hot right now... And that was her fault. "... I think at this point we've established my Fire isn't normal... Less so when I was like that. It is my fault for not warning you before though, so that's my bad. But until it's out of your system you really should just cool it." She settled her chin in her hand and let out a low breath, "... Sorry for putting you to sleep too, by the way. But it really was better that way... Busting in and starting a fight would just make things harder."

"Hora, that asshole has to pay for what he did, he can't just get away with all of this-!" Natsu snapped,

"He's not a problem anymore." Hora muttered lowly, and Natsu faltered at the way her tone changed. But neither of them had time to go further down that train of thought, because Hora stiffened the instant she felt the tension in the room change and the stares she was getting turned downright nasty. She could feel something like someone looming behind her and her heart skipped a beat, glancing over her shoulder to see that many of the people in the room were looking at her with dark, angry glares. And especially the bulky form of Laxus and the tall ones of Erza and Mirajane were imposing, and she swallowed.

"...uh...?" Hora mumbled,

"You're SaberTooth?" Laxus growled lowly, his eyes flicking from hers and toward the icy blue Guild Mark painted on her shoulderblade, visible now with the tank top she had on. She froze for a second, lost on what to do or even what to reply as her eyes darted among the people and the anger in their eyes.

And why not? SaberTooth hadn't been kind on the Games and after what Minerva did this morning...

"...u..uhm... yeah, but I sort of thought you already knew that...?" Hora stammered quickly, ".. ah... I mean, didn't you already see my Guild Mark back when you guys found me...?" Hora asked, her eyes falling on Wendy (who of which looked the least suspicious among the many, by the way) paused.

"... No, actually." Wendy smiled nervously,

"Those weird-ass black markings that were all over you covered it up." Gray snapped lowly and Hora flinched without meaning to.

"O-oh, really...? They don't usually... Do that..." Hora stammered, nervousness getting worse by the second.

I totally just walked in here like I owned the place and they didn't even realize-

"It is appreciated, what you did for Wendy and Carla. And though Natsu, Lucy and Happy seem to trust you, what your Guild and your comrades have done cannot be so easily overlooked." Erza told her curtly, "What concern is Lucy and Yukino to anyone in SaberTooth? You threw out your own Guild-mate for a single defeat, I find it odd to think you'd be concerned with her welfare now."

"SaberTooth is our number one enemy right now." Gajeel grumbled lowly,

"And the Guild with our anger directed at it, after this morning's events in the Navel Battle." The Fairy Tail Guild Master said lowly, his eyes piercing as Hora caught them. She paused, before growling under her breath and Hora pushed herself up on to her feet again, her eyes flashing as she glanced among them.

"SaberTooth isn't what you, and everyone else think it is. Most of us are not bad people-" she started,

"And why the hell would we trust your word on that?" Gray cut her off and she stiffened, "Your Guild's been nothing but ruthless in the Games so far, and the way all of you guys have been acting? 'Bad people' seems like the right way to describe it."

"How can you say that about your Guild when you all allowed one of your members be thrown out for one loss?" Juvia grumbled,

"I'd hate to make a snap judgment about every member of a Guild, but SaberTooth hasn't shown much to be optimistic about." Mirajane muttered, Hora's jaw clenched.

"... tch... Look." She growled, "I showed up here with Wendy and Carla and I refused to tell you what Guild I was in even when I knew it would make you suspicious of me-"

"Because you must have known you would not be treated kindly if we knew you were a part of SaberTooth." The black Exceed (who's name she hadn't a clue still) said lowly, cutting her off, and she growled, her agitation rising.

"Hell no." Gray muttered hotly, and there were a number of nods from everyone else at the words. Even Wendy nodded tentatively, though she seemed reluctant to jump into anger and distrust. Happy was watching tensely and Natsu was- for once- silent, with his eyes fixed on Hora and the annoyance and firmness growing stronger in her expression.

"That had nothing to do with it." Hora shot back lowly, "I couldn't give a damn if you didn't trust me, I had no hope you would if you knew I was in SaberTooth. I've long since accepted the fact that people automatically hate us, and I do not blame you."

"The reason given for your silence, was that it would land you in trouble." The Guild Master broke in calmly, Hora looked to him again. "That contact and assistance to other Guilds would come with repercussions, and at the hands of your Guild Master, yes?" Hora nodded stiffly,

"Yes, he forbade it. Jiemma was always more interested in keeping power and prestige than he ever was with anything else. For years we've been doing what we had to in order to keep the public image of the strong, powerful and ruthless SaberTooth standing. We couldn't do anything that would make us look weak or kind or soft- we had to out up a face and act like we were the best of the best and the true 'Number One Strongest Guild'- even if that meant alienating other people and coming off to the world as cruel. We had to make it look believable and keep the act up no matter what. We've had to go to extremes to keep up with his idea of strength and convince him and everyone else we meant it. Even the smallest hint of hesitation, guilt, compassion, gentleness or regret and we paid for it." Hora told them steadily, her eyes flashing.

"And what could your own Guild Master do to any of you that would make you act like such assholes?" Gray muttered behind her, and Hora grimaced.

"... I wouldn't expect you guys to understand it. You're part of a Guild that you feel safe in and have called a home for a long time, right? And with a Guild Master who cares about you all?" Hora grumbled, her head tilting toward the Old Man who's eyes narrowed at her. "Simple fact of the matter is that Jiemma was a complete bastard. He hurt us, and abused us- every chance he could get. And his daughter latched on to the cruelty, and started dishing it out as fervently as Jiemma did." Her hands fell on her hips as her eyes flashed. "Talk out of turn and risk having him send a blast of Magic at you. Lose a match- be forced to erase your own Guild Mark and be thrown from the Guild- maybe even earn a beating for good measure. Do any little thing that he didn't like- you get hit, thrown around, beaten, threatened, blackmailes, humiliated- you name it. And to add atop it, you have to just sit there and take it- if you complain or you try and fight back, he went after you ten times harsher... Sometimes harsh enough to do serious damage." Happy and Natsu flinched at the words, their eyes dropping to the floor as everyone else in the room just stared, fixed. "We don't want to be like we are, but we've had to act like that for fear we'd get hurt or worse." Hora grumbled,

"None of you ever tried to fight back?" Erza asked lowly, Hora grimaced.

"No, for the bulk of the Guild they've never tried to fight back because they were either too afraid of Jiemma, or they didn't think themselves strong enough to win against him." Hora muttered,

"If you're saying he's really been treating all of you like that, fear or strength shouldn't matter. Any of you should have tried to do something about it before now." Mirajane murmured,

"That'd be asking them to go against the one person that scares them the most. And the one person who would do literally anything to get his way- who is also backed by Minerva. Jiemma's powerful in his own right, but Minerva is more so. She's not an easy person to take on and hope to win against." Hora muttered, "Even I'd have a hard time trying to beat her, and I'd probably risk losing my sanity in the meantime..." She added softly, almost all to herself.

"So why not just leave?" Gajeel grumbled,

"Despite Jiemma and Minerva, SaberTooth is still a Guild. People work for money to keep themselves afloat, and get jobs... but it is more than that. We've made friendships, and we care about each other- those relationships are not something we can just walk away from lightly." Hora mumbled, glancing over her shoulder toward the Iron Dragon Slayer. "Could any of you walk away from your Guild and leave the people you care for behind so easily?" The Iron Dragon Slayer's eyes narrowed as he seemed to grumble internally at the question,

"Even if staying means getting hurt?" Gray asked lowly and Hora's eyes flashed, her posture wilting a little as she spared a glance over toward him.

"... In my experience, leaving behind and losing the people you care for, is far worse than any injury or hurt." Hora said softly, her eyes glittering as his eyes narrowed at her, almost confused. She cursed herself in her head and forced herself to look away, her eyes dropping closed as she sighed.

Stop it Hora you fucking idiot-

"Look, I don't expect you to understand it, it all sounds fucking crazy... and it really is. It's not the sort of thing you really get unless you lived it... the fear and the doubt and everything else... Rationally it totally makes sense, and is even easy to say we should have 'done something', or 'stood up for ourselves and stopped all of it'. And in all respect that is what should have happened. But it wasn't that simple and there were too many things that could wrong and some of them that did go wrong... and there was a lot of things none of us were willing to risk, and me especially... it's all just such a big mess." Hora grumbled, "But I do mean it, when I say that they are not bad people. They're actually pretty good people, they just haven't had a chance to show it... and I know they hate how they've acted and what they did. They didn't want to do those things, and they hated what Minerva did this morning as much as you did." That earned disbelieving looks from everyone but Natsu, Happy and Wendy.

"You kept saying 'they' and 'them'. Like you were excluding yourself." Erza pointed out lowly,

"You're talking as if you aren't afraid of Jiemma, like they are. Or Minerva for that matter." The black Exceed murmured, Hora let out a hot breath.

"That bit is complicated too, but the short answer is I'm not afraid of them. I never have been... they don't scare me as much as the idea of what they might do to everyone else does." Hora muttered lowly, her dark blue eyes flashing in agitation and barely muffled anger. "To be honest, I couldn't give a damn if they went after or hurt me- I can take that, and I have taken that."

People all around blinked in surprise at that, while Natsu just let out a grumble under his breath- but Hora didn't pause.

"But I have absolutely hated watching any of the rest of my Guild get hurt or worse at their hands. Seeing any of my friends get hurt by Jiemma or Minerva- I've hated all of it, but I couldn't do a damn thing about it- and I hate that even more." She hissed, one hand lift to point at Natsu though she didn't open her eyes to look at him. "And before you say a damn thing, Salamander- I know, okay? I remember everything you and Lucy all said about friends trusting each other and telling them things when something's wrong or other people are gonna get hurt. I've had you and Sting and Rogue and literally everybody else in my life snapping my head off about not telling the truth- so it's been fairly well established I suck at being a friend and I definitely suck at the whole honesty thing. And I tried to be more honest, but I didn't get very far and that's on me- but to make things worse, today has been a terrible day and I'm so god-damn worked up that I went up to the Inn and found what insanity had transpired there- and I went into full blown brutally honest mode!"

Hora's hand fell and she placed it back on her hip again, her voice raising and all the more agitated by the second.

"I dumped a shit-ton of information on their heads in the course of a few minutes and I unloaded on them all at once- and yeah, I wanted to do better, and I wanted to open up and be honest and tell them everything- but I felt like I got rushed into it, and I didn't know what to do so I just fessed up! And I probably made everything about ten times worse! They were freaking out and Rogue was a goddamn mess, and I was pretty much backed into a corner and had no choice!" she said lowly, "And they were persistent, and they were doubting everything already since you ran in and started spouting all that shit about Jiemma having something on me!" She snapped hotly, "And I understand why you did that- I know after what Yukino said to you, you were pissed and worried and I get it. I'm sorry I didn't say anything to you, but I didn't say anything for a reason! You are a notorious hot-head and I didn't want you to get hurt by barging in, and I didn't want you to give anyone in my Guild a reason to get involved and into a place where they would be in danger too! But even if I get it, and you might have had a point and all that- I will not apologize for throwing you across the Inn!"

She was pacing now, back and forth in the small little space between the bar counter where the Fairy Tail Guild Master sat and the door, the rest of the Fairy Tailers spread out on either side and watching her as she continued.

"... so she's the one who clocked Salamander on the jaw the other night?" Gajeel grumbled under his breath, Lily beside him nodded slightly.

"Must be." Lily mumbled,

"And to make it all worse- you were right, Salamander! Annoyingly, you were right about Jiemma having something on me- and because you came in and started ranting about everything, Rogue figured out something was wrong even when I tried to pass it off! He knew I lied and he literally backed me into a corner! And at that point I just broke, and I told him about the Possession Link and what Jiemma could do, and had been doing and it sucked! And then this morning when Minerva did all of that to Lucy I was barely keeping myself back! I wanted to tear her to shreds and I was three seconds away from saying fuck it and jumping down into the Arena to give her a piece of my mind! But since Rogue knew about the Possession Link and what Jiemma might do- he stopped me from going down there, and I was so worked up I almost went after him when he did! Rogue! The same person I have known and been friends with for eight freaking years! And I got two inches away from punching him because he stopped me from going after Minerva- and he did it because he didn't want me to get killed!"

She stopped with her back to the room, right in front of the door and growling. Black stretched up slowly along her right arm and around the scar, and the eyes of the Fairy Tailers latched on to it, though Hora didn't seem to notice.

"Graaaahhh... that fucking Possession Link! It'd been eating at me for so long, and I always hesitated telling any of them about it- and I hated telling them now! Because you open the can of worms about a Possession Link placed by Jiemma, on a Lacrima in my chest, you get in to the fact that he could use that Link to destroy the Lacrima and keep tabs on me and keep me on a metaphorical chain and I couldn't leave! I couldn't fight back, I couldn't resist- and not because I was afraid he was gonna kill me- no! But because I wouldn't dare die and leave everyone in my Guild alone with that bastard and his bitch daughter!" She snapped, her eyes shut tight and seething as she stood rigid in her spot. "But then you get passed that and open another can of worms about the fact that it's a Lacrima I need to actually stay alive. Because it's that Lacrima that keeps the one half of my Magic from killing me, and making it harder to lose my sanity. Without it, I get burned alive from the inside out and maybe take a few people out with me on the way! But of course that just brings up all sorts of other questions I've been trying to avoid for most of my life- 'what is your Magic anyway?' 'Why does it suck so much?' 'What's a Devil Slayer and why does your Magic feel so evil, huh?' Does it drive you insane- yes, yes it does! It's corruptive and it's wild and it has a mind of it's own and makes you want to just... just burn everything and everyone and that's hard enough on it's own, and it's damn near impossible without the Lacrima and Lixue trying to keep you sane! And it just gets so much worse when you get hurt, or you get worked up- about anything! And today has been a plethora of things to get worked up about!"

The Fairy Tailers tensed slightly, eyes glittering as they felt the air start to slowly warm up in the building. They glanced between eachother, looking a bit unsure of what to do as the Saber woman continued to... well, rant. And about things that were so bad. Terrible really.

"First with what happened with Yukino and Natsu barging in- and then I fess up with Rogue, and then Minerva hurt Lucy, followed by Sting and Rogue getting their asses handed to them and losing- which landed them and all of SaberTooth in hot water! And then I get snatched away by some crazy, creepy, weird thing and dropped on the other side of Crocus that's talking about an 'Eclipse Gate' and the fact that I was supposed to die- and then I almost did! Because while I was on the opposite end of the city, every semblance of sanity and order in my Guild got obliterated- and then in all of that insanity, that bastard Jiemma tried to use the Possession Link to break the Lacrima and kill me! If you lot hadn't been out and about because of whatever the hell happened with Yukino and Lucy, and Wendy hadn't managed a way to break the Link- I would be dead!" Hora hissed, her hands falling on top of her head and pacing back and forth- again. But she still wasn't looking at the Fairy Tailers and she didn't see the surprise and the shock that appeared in their faces.

Both at the idea that a Guild Master could ever try and kill a member of their Guild, and the sudden appearance of that- 'Eclipse Gate'.

"I've ended up in more near-death situations in the last three months than I ever have in ten years! It's like I'm in some ridiculous pattern with this Guild!" Hora muttered hotly, her hand gesturing backward toward the lot of them- Fairy Tail.

"First I help you with something and then I end up getting screwed over, and then you help me with something somewhere down the line- and it starts all over again!" She snapped hotly, her hands waving at them and still pacing. "I help find Wendy and Carla- Natsu barges in to face Jiemma and I get hit and then I have to fess up to Rogue, Jiemma tries to kill me- and then Wendy shows up and breaks the Possession Link and saves me dying." Hora hissed, her hand held up and index finger extending with each part of the 'pattern', and ending with three. "I agree to help Lucy, Happy and Natsu finish their job to find that necklace- in the middle of which we get captured and I nearly get my neck cut open- but then quickly followed by you saving me and even doing more so by keeping me sane when I was losing my mind when I was out there all alone!" She was counting on her fingers still with that iteration of the pattern, before she waved her hand over her head in agitated animation, and the Markings on her skin started to spin.

"And all manner of that leading back to the first instance of that damned pattern! I help locate Tenrou Island and ship the information off to Hibiki in Blue Pegasus- Jiemma and Minerva somehow find out about it and he nearly beats me to death- but all of that just circles back to the fact that if you hadn't come back from Tenrou, Wendy wouldn't have been here and I would have died tonight!" Hora snapped, "And none of that is your fault, of course, even though it probably sounds like I'm yelling at you! But I'm just ranting now and I'm worked up to all hell and I-" She broke off, her eyes snapping open and finding her reflection on the window. She could feel the burn of the Markings but she hadn't realized how far they had stretched, or how fast they were moving.

Shit

"-I'm getting too worked up. And I've probably raised the temperature in here, and I just ranted and said... all of that. A lot. All at once... aaaand most of it not really something you should be worried about so... so... ah, Sorry, I'll try to... quit." Hora muttered, stammering slightly, and her arms crossing over her chest as she forced a sigh. The Markings receded slowly and she chewed on the inside of her cheek, "... sorry I wasn't planning to just... say it all at once like that... again..."

I'm a fucking mess...

'Quite. Though it seems keeping all of that to yourself for so long has made the information something of an overflowing dam- and now the walls have mostly crumbled.' Lixue commented,

"... That doesn't help, Lixue..." Hora muttered under her breath. Hora wrung her hands together in front of her nervously, slowly turning to the interior of the building that had fallen deadly silent for a few moments after she shut up, her eyes glittering and swallowing. "... Ah... I'm not actually crazy by the way..." She mumbled, "... My life is just a mess and I didn't mean to dump all of that on you..."

Hora paused, her eyes darting across the faces and seeing the bulk of them (save the Guild Master and Laxus) all staring at her and quite lost for words. Some of their jaws had even dropped and Wendy and Happy looked on the verge of tears,

"... That certainly was... A lot." Erza said slowly, Mirajane nodded slightly.

"And there were a few things I have questions about..." Mirajane mumbled,

"... Indeed." Makarov murmured,

"... Wait a minute, you helped find Tenrou Island...?!" Gray, Natsu and Gajeel all snapped at once and Hora jumped a little.

"What the hell?! Why didn't you say anything about that when we met?!" Natsu asked quickly, struggling against his bonds again. "W-wait a minute, what Yukino said happened- Jiemma hurt you that badly because you helped us?!"

"W-well yeah..." Hora stammered nervously,

"Why would you even care?! Why were you looking for Tenrou in the first place?!" Gray pressed and Hora swallowed,

"That is a good question." The Fairy Tail Master said calmly, "I was aware that Blue Pegasus had received information from an outside source, but they hadn't a clue who sent it. You have no previous affiliation with our Guild, so if it was you who helped locate the island again- why did you?"

Hora tapped her fingers together in front of her, fidgeting almost as she bit the inside of both cheeks. "... U-uh well... uhm... the reason is a bit... Complicated, and a little weird... Sort of... Philosophical, I guess..?" She started uncertainly, "Ah... So like there's this thing I sort of believe in, about Slayer Magic.. Like they're super old Magics and they play a part in the balance of the world and between good and evil and stuff like that... There's this old legend I read once, about different sorts of Slayer Magics with all the same Element coming together in a sort of ritual or something that decides the fate of the world and Dark Magic over Light... But the thing is, you kinda need Slayers for all that, and Balance keeping and such so..." She trailed off, grimacing when she saw the stares she was getting. "... So there were four Dragon Slayers on Tenrou that were down for the count, and a God Slayer, and that was a really big blow to the Balance theory and everything, and I wanted to right it... If I could anyway." She paused, her eyes falling on her fingers as she tapped them together a few more times.

Slayers were the main thing... But if I'd known about Gray I would have...

Her eyes darted toward her Brother for a few seconds before she looked away again.

"... That was one reason I guess... The other was more just... I knew how hard it hit the rest of Fairy Tail when all of you disappeared. I couldn't really get close to other Guilds or anything, and most everyone just disliked me on principal since I'm SaberTooth, but I could... I could still see how much they all missed you, and once I figured out the island was still there and you might be alive, I wanted to help if I could... Make them feel better..." She grimaced a bit to herself, her cheeks flushing a bit in further embarrassment out of nowhere. "... Plus Rogue and Sting had always wanted to meet Gajeel and Natsu, and if you were alive they could... finding out that the island was there meant I could help the people in Fairy Tail and maybe even help Sting and Rogue too... That all probably sounds really cheesy though..." She shut her eyes against the way she felt her face heat up even more.

Why am I so embarrassed right now...?!

The Fairy Tailers blinked though, a little surprised with the way her voice dropped and her cheeks grew red, and the sincerity in her voice when she explained herself.

There she was, a Mage of SaberTooth and a complete stranger to the bulk of them, and she had just thrown out no small amount of information in the course of a few minutes. All of it news to all of them, and most of it unfathomable, and worrying, and shocking.

SaberTooth as a whole was just a Guild filled with people being no less than abused? By their own Guild Master and his daughter? And all of them frightened and intimidated into being the terrible, ruthless, unlikable Guild they had all gotten used to?

And in the abuse, it sounded as if Hora had received the worst of it. Not just being hit or threatened, but reduced to being trapped and kept a prisoner, and with her Guild Master having direct hold over something that kept her alive? And had used that hold tonight to try and murder her?

And then there was all that about her time spent with Happy, Lucy and Natsu- of which the rest of them knew little of. And then on top of that the bit about her Magic, and how it worked- and she said Devil Slayer?

And more, she mentioned something grabbing her and she mentioned those words that rang so heavy on their ears now; Eclipse Gate.

Then drop on top of all things hard to wrap their heads around and making their minds whirl- this SaberTooth Wizard and this stranger had been the one that ferried information about Tenrou Island over to Blue Pegasus and helped return the Tenrou Team after seven long years? And for some weird philosophy/legend/balance keeping with Slayers sort of thing? But not just that, also because... She didn't like seeing how torn up those in Fairy Tail who got left behind were? Because of her own compassion and sympathy? For them?

All of that- all the crazy and the information and the river of things about her life and what had been happening to and around her- it was all real. The Fairy Tailers weren't sure how they could tell, but they could tell she wasn't exaggerating... And that was crazy in itself.

How does anybody's life turn out so fucking insane? And how do they even live with it? And how does anybody sound so genuine and truly pained by the idea and the fact that they had to let their friends get hurt and treated badly, and really not have any way out of it? Not just about her own friends in her own Guild- but she meant it when she said she hated what happened with Lucy that morning, and the anger in Horatia when she thought of Minerva was the same anger they had all had burning inside themselves.

This chick...

... Her life has been hard, hasn't it?

... I think maybe I can see why Natsu, Lucy and Happy all seemed to latch on to her. She seems a surprisingly kind person, I suppose I couldn't expect that from a member of SaberTooth.

I still can't imagine a Guild Master would be so cruel... He tried to kill her.

... She risked her own hide to help find Tenrou too, and paid for it... She's not even fazed by the fact she got beat to hell either.

... Tch... Maybe SaberTooth really isn't what it looks like... Just maybe.

She seems embarrassed about her reasons for helping... almost modest, hmm?

She did find Wendy and Carla simply for the sake of helping... even when it could get her in trouble.

She said she didn't care if she got hurt or even got killed- her first priority is everyone else, everyone she cares about...

... This woman is almost ridiculously nice. And loyal...

... Hmm... What did the First say? She has the same heart as this Guild...?

"U-uhm..." Hora fidgeted in the sudden silence, glancing between them and their stares in quick succession.

... Did I... Overload them...?

"Your kindness, and the passion of your loyalty to your Guild and friends is admirable, as well as incredible, given it seems your life and circumstances have been quite trying."

Everyone in the room stiffened in surprise at the sudden soft voice, and their eyes snapped around toward the source. The Fairy Tail Guild Master jumped as there suddenly came to be a young blonde girl sitting beside him on the bar counter, and Hora jumped too, her eyes widening as the dark blue suddenly flashed a brilliant gold for a few seconds before fading again.

Her again...

The blonde smiled sadly for a few seconds toward the Saber woman, Hora's eyes attention fixed on her just as Mavis was in turn. The other Fairy Tailers glanced between Hora and Mavis, all of them taken back by the fact that Hora could see the First Guild Master- even if they had been told she was able before... Seeing is believing.

The solemnness of Mavis' expression faded as her head tilted and a more bright and amused smile pulled at her lips. "Though I suppose I shouldn't be so surprised, I had already seen this kindness when you helped locate Tenrou Island, and more so when you assisted Wendy and Carla. And it certainly should come as no shock, after you described yourself to me as 'a big softie'." She chuckled brightly, Hora blinked.

Her eyes darted from the blonde and toward the floor as her cheeks flushed further, fidgeting almost. "Oh... R...right... I forgot I said that..." Hora mumbled under her breath, her hand running along the back of neck in her embarrassment.

'... It's an apt description.' Lixue intoned quietly, Hora grimaced slightly as she let her eyes drop closed for a moment at the comment.

Shut up...

Mirajane, Wendy and Erza smiled slightly at the Saber Wizard's embarrassment, while everyone else remained either expressionless, exasperated, or just altogether uncertain of what to make of the situation. Needless to say, none of this is what any of them could ever have expected nor imagined.

"So you really can see the First, huh?" Laxus was the first to break the silence, and the question was probably one of the lowest ones the list of things they wanted to ask- but it needed be asked anyway. Hora jumped a little at being addressed by the large blonde so suddenly, her attention snapping over toward him and her fingers tapping together nervously again. He just held her gaze, expression flat as can be and almost... Daunting.

Let's be honest, Hora had seen that man defeat all of RavenTail like it was freaking nothing! She was not at all comfortable with being stared down...!

"... Ah.. Yeah..." She mumbled,

"Why?" Was the next utterly flat question, she paused this time.

"... It's... It's a thing, with my Magic and how it works... I can pick up on and see through Illusions and stuff, usually automatically..." She started, her eyes averting to her fingers and she bit the inside of her cheek. "... I'm like hyper-aware to changes and Spells in Magic that run along those lines... So it's typically hard to fool me with Illusion Magic at all, and I can just see through it right away when it happens..."

She did not see it, but this bit of information earned narrowed and wary eyes from Laxus, Makarov and Mavis all. Because the minute she explained that, all their thoughts turned to the suddenly very real possibility that Horatia had been aware of, and able to listen in on what RavenTail's Guild Master had been looking for when confronting Laxus the other day.

Does she know about-?

"... Though in regards to seeing your First Guild Master, it's sort of the opposite... Wherein I'm actually picking up on the Illusion Magic straight away instead of just seeing through it like what's supposed to happen..." Hora added softly, and much too low for anyone to hear... Because that really isn't important right now...!

"You said you're a Devil Slayer." Erza murmured, shifting the conversation herself and Hora looked up again. "I have heard of Dragon and God Slayers, but never Devil Slayers. Being a type of Slayer Magic, I assume it's similar to the others?"

"But you also said it does things to you... Like warp your thoughts and actions, as well as your emotions?" Mirajane asked softly, Hora swallowed. Her fingers tapped together nervously a few more times as her eyes dropped and she bit the inside of her cheek, oh so very aware of all of their eyes on her, and fidgeting under them.

Of course they wanted to ask about that, her Magic... And everything else she'd just ranted about. Understandable, inevitable... But she hated herself for spilling so much at once, because she knew she was overdue on the 'explaining things', but again... Right now, most of that isn't important. At least, not more important than whatever it was that happened with Lucy and Yukino.

Hell if she would have any easy time avoiding the questions and asking about that, though.

I hate myself... Why did I rant like that...?

'It was unwise, and a bit of a distraction, in the grand scheme of things.' Lixue commented, she huffed.

You could have tried to shut me up, asshole.

"... Ah... It does." Hora mumbled softly in reply to Mirajane, deciding for a moment it was probably best to explain at least this part. "... It's hard to explain, but... Devil Slayer Magic is a more... Volatile sort of Magic than most. It's powerful all on it's own, but it also feeds off of your emotions and your thoughts, and it has a way of... well, more of a want to steer the person it's inside of toward doing... bad things." Her fingers tapped against another just one more time, before stalling and her eyes fell shut. "... the longer you have it... the harder it is to keep resisting it, and keep from going insane... that's just... how it is, with this Magic..." She mumbled under her breath, grimacing slightly as she let out a low sigh. "... Having Fire as the Element makes it worse, since fire itself is wild and consuming just naturally... so mixing that with Devil Slaying Magic just makes something... way too powerful."

'Which is why you need me.' Lixue hummed, she ignored him, before she stiffened. Her eyes moved upward and she winced internally, nervousness ramming into her again, and very, very quickly.

"A-ah, uhm... a-all that being said, I promise I'm not some sort of threat or anything...!" She stammered quickly, her blue eyes glittering. "I'm fine, I've never actually done anything terr... well, like super evil or anything...! I've stayed pretty well put together, and you needn't worry about me going nuts or anything either..! I managed to stay sane even when I didn't have the half of my Magic meant to keep me that way...! And now that bit is back now, so I'm gonna be good as long as I keep a hold on my anger and... uh..." She cut herself off when she realized she was rambling again, and she was only getting flat or otherwise wary stares from everyone in the room. Her hands moved up to cover her mouth, noticeably wilting as she shook her head at herself and muttered 'idiot' and a few other names for herself under her breath.

"...I'm not really building myself the best case... or any case at all... I'm... I'm just gonna shut up now..." She mumbled quietly from behind her hands.

"... You are very odd." Erza told her after a few moments of silence, and Hora flinched a little at the comment, wilting further.

"... Sorry..." Hora apologized quickly, Erza simply blinked at the reply. "... I know this is all... Its a lot, and I know its confusing, and most of you just don't know me at all... And I know you have questions. It wasn't really my plan to walk in here and unload all of this on you, and I'm sorry I did... We probably have better things to be doing then trying to explain away my issues..." Hora mumbled, her hands shifting from covering her mouth and instead holding the back of her neck as her head bowed a bit, her bangs hiding her eyes from view. "... I'm sorry... Pretty much all of this isn't your guys' problem... I wasn't trying to make things more complicated... And I wasn't trying to distract you from Lucy and Yukino either..." Hora apologized softly, biting the inside of her cheek now. "... Sorry... For all of it..." She sighed, Wendy and Happy's eyes flashed at the apology and Natsu grimaced from his place on the floor. Everyone else though just watched, fixed and quiet as they saw that strange woman from SaberTooth suddenly lower herself, bowing to them and so sullen... So genuine, and so regretful.

Erza exchanged quick glances between Mirajane, and then Master Makarov and Mavis beside him, silent words seeming to pass between the lot of them, before the redhead stepped forward and suddenly moved to clear the distance between herself and the bowing Saber. Hora heard the footfalls of the armored women, and she tensed on instinct, her eyes snapping shut as she readied herself for whatever it was that was headed her way.

Erza's hand came down lightly on Hora's still bowed head, and so very gently at that. Hora felt her heart skip a beat, her eyes snapping back open and staring at the floor and Erza's boots, quite lost for what she was doing, and stuck in her spot for it.

W..what is she...?

"You needn't apologize, Horatia." Erza murmured softly, and Hora felt her heart skip another beat at how calm the redhead's voice was. "You've nothing to apologize for, especially not after what you've done to help us, with both Tenrou, and Wendy and Carla, and then Natsu, Lucy and Happy." Hora swallowed, shivers running down her spine as Erza's hand lift up and patted her head lightly a few times. "It seems things are more complicated than anticipated, and much of which has caused more harm than good, especially to you... And more than you deserved." Hora stiffened at that, her mind reeling at the words and... And such kindness and tenderness in Titania than she could have ever imagined- especially toward her!

I'm SaberTooth, and she hardly knows me... Why... why is she being so nice all of a sudden...?!

"You have it wrong, though." Erza said next, and Hora's thoughts shattered in sheer surprise and confusion. The redhead's hand moved away from patting her head and Hora couldn't help but glance up, still bent over and her dark blue eyes glittering in question.

"...huh...?" She breathed, and Erza blinked, her hands falling on her hips.

"Natsu, Happy." Erza said the names suddenly, and both boys jumped in surprise at suddenly be addressed. Erza's eyes trailed toward the two, neutral and firm and utterly steely, it was impossible to guess what it was she was feeling, or what she was getting at.

"... Yeah?" Happy and Natsu mumbled in unison,

"Do you consider this woman a true friend, and trust in her?" Erza asked simply, her head tilting toward Hora in gesture and the Saber woman's eyes went wide at the question. Natsu and Happy seemed just as surprised with the question too, but they faltered no more than a single second before a smirk drew across Natsu's lips and Happy grinned, his paws clenching into fists.

"Hell yeah." Natsu replied without skipping a beat, and Happy's tail lashed.

"Aye sir!" The Exceed trilled, his voice as steady as Natsu's was and Hora stared at them both. In front of her, Erza nodded once and smiled coolly, her attention turning back toward Hora.

"Very well, that's settled." Erza announced and Hora glanced back toward her very slowly, "Any comrade of our Guild-mates is a comrade of ours. And with that, whatever ails you, or whatever problems you may face, become a concern to the rest of us." Erza said rather matter-of-factly, and Hora felt her heart stop altogether this time around. "So you are wrong to say that the things that are troubling you, are of no concern of ours. You are our ally, and we shall not sit idly by while a friend is in need."

Forget her heart, she felt her breath get snatched away- she couldn't breathe!

F-friend...?!

She couldn't fathom it- none of it! How had things turned so quickly?! A minute ago she'd been stammering and trying to defend herself in this room full of people who distrusted, and quite frankly, disliked her! A minute ago she'd been the stranger and the perceived enemy of near every single one of these people, and a minute later she was being called comrade, and ally... And FRIEND?!

Titania the Fairy Queen just called me friend?!

W-WHAT?!

She could feel herself trembling from sheer shock, eyes wide and jaw dropped yet utterly lost for words as Erza smiled still so calmly, and her eyes quickly snapped from her and toward Natsu and Happy, and they were smiling too... And then she found Wendy, and Carla and they had small smiles of their own, just as Mirajane did, and the First Fairy Tail Guild Master... W...what..?!

W-why... Why are they...?! How can they...?!

Her eyes snapped across the rest of the Fairy Trailers, and she saw little of that wariness and suspicion that had been so very potent to start. In fact she earned small nods from a few of them, and she shivered.

"Even if you're from SaberTooth, if Happy and Natsu trust you, we should too." Juvia murmured softly,

"And here in Fairy Tail, we do what we can to help all of our allies, regardless of where they may come from." The black Exceed murmured,

"You helped us, Hora. Of course we consider you a friend!" Wendy chirped softly, Carla beside her smiling coolly as she nodded in affirmation.

"You seem like a nice girl, despite the less than ideal first meeting, and everything else we've assumed about SaberTooth.." Mirajane smiled gently, Hora's hands wrung together at that, her face flushing slightly in embarrassment. She bit the inside of her cheek, her heart pounding now and desperately trying not to hyperventilate- especially as she earned a small nod from Makarov and the First Master both.

This doesn't... how are they...?!

How could they have suddenly gotten so... so nice out of nowhere...?! T-They were ready to fight me a few minutes ago...!

How did one simple response of 'yes' from Happy and Natsu suddenly turn into the rest of the Fairy Tailers suddenly... suddenly accepting her?! At least sort of?!

ME?! The SaberTooth Wizard and absolute stranger who just walked in and dumped so much crazy in their laps?!

They have no reason to trust me or like me, let alone call me friend or comrade or anything, and they have no reason to kind or nice or polite or anything...! A-and all of a sudden...?!

People just don't... they don't do that! N-not this fast...!

She stiffened though, her eyes catching Natsu's briefly as he gave her a small smirk. She swallowed, her heart fluttering and her intertwined hands wringing together more tightly for a moment.

... t...this... this is almost exactly like... when I met Natsu, Happy and Lucy... they called me friend... In so little... Time...

.:+:.

Natsu stood with his hands on his hips, his expression neutral as he glanced down toward Hora steadily. "Friends gotta stick together and trust eachother."

... they keep saying that word... like it's natural... like It should be... obvious...

"...heh...?" She huffed, words seemed apt to just fail.

He smirked slightly, "Ah, come on don't give me that face. We're all friends, yeah?" Her breathing caught in her throat this time around, her eyes gleaming as she saw Lucy smiled slightly her way.

... friends...

"... even if I'm Saber...?" Hora mumbled, it being the only response she managed. Honestly, hearing them say it so easily... they'd only known eachother a few days, and certainly not long enough... well...

"Of course!" Lucy said quickly,

"We got plenty of friends in other Guilds ya know, don't matter to us if your SaberTooth or not." Natsu smirked, "A Guild don't define what kind of person you are."

"That's right. We like you as a friend for who you are, not what Guild you're a part of." Lucy assured easily.

Hora glanced slowly between the both of them, her hands pressed lightly against the ground between her legs and her shoulders sagging slightly.

They just kept smiling, so content and so serious about it all.

... But she'd never dared call them friends out loud, not until weeks had passed, not until she was sure they had to have felt the same way. Because who would consider a total stranger 'friend' after no more than three days?

.:+:.

T...they were so quick to do it... But I'd worked with them at least... The rest of these people, they just met me tonight... H...how...?

...how can they look like they're willing to try and accept me... And even start to consider me as a friend... Only after ten minutes...? And after everything that's gone on...?

Hora's eyes glittered, her heartbeat loud on her ears and still holding her breath without meaning to as her mind and her thoughts and her feelings struggled to come to terms with... With this utter turn.

... What the hell even... Is this Guild...?

"... Hmph, I could care less what Flame-Brain thinks."

She went absolutely rigid, the rapid beating of her heart stalling for the second time in the last few minutes, and she felt and icy cold rush through her so deep and so biting it was more potent than she was used to from even Lixue's Magic.

She thought she would freeze, and she wished she had, because she hated how quickly her head snapped around and landed on the one person in the room she was having the hardest time just... not looking at. And the utterly neutral expression on his face as her dark blue eyes matched his made her heart ache, terribly.

She swallowed, her hands holding together more tightly and so tight her knuckles turned white, her eyes glittered as Gray let out a small huff, oblivious or ignorant of what sheer pain, guilt and even fear ran through Hora's expression for the most fleeting of seconds. Juvia beside him blinked, her eyes narrowing at the Saber woman and looking confused- more so when she saw the way that Horatia began... she's trembling?

Natsu saw it too, the way Hora started to shake, almost imperceptibly so, but she definitely was. And he'd seen how incredibly tense she seemed to get when Gray said anything- she had been tense before, yeah- but as soon as the Popsicle spoke up, she looked ready to have a heart attack. Natsu's onyx eyes narrowed, his fangs biting down on the inside of his cheek and grumbling internally as he watched Hora closely, trailing over the rigidness of her shoulders to the grip of her hands around one another... to the way she was shaking, so, so faintly, and to the sound of her breathing picking up, just a little- and not enough anyone without his ears would be able to tell.

Erza still standing in front of the SaberTooth Wizard watched quietly, her eyes looking over the girl with just as much attention and detail as Natsu was- of course Erza could see it, she and Hora were standing too close together not to be able to notice... but like Natsu, Erza hadn't a clue what spurred that reaction.

... is that... fear...?

Gray let out a slightly forced sigh and shook his head at himself, his eyes breaking from Hora's fixed attention and grumbling under his breath a bit in exasperation.

"... Natsu's not known for being smart about the people he hangs around with. And Happy usually isn't much better." The Ice Mage grumbled, and Natsu scowled at the words, his attention on Hora forgotten as he glared at Gray from across the room. Hora herself seemed to stiffen at the words, her eyes flashing as she watched him and her heart sank further and further with each second. Gray trailed off for a minute, his hand rubbing the back of his neck and frowning as he seemed to muse for himself for some time, and musing seemed to leave something of a bad taste in his mouth- Hora felt her heart not only falling in the pause, but cracking piece by piece too.

His arms crossed over his chest as he seemed to deflate a little, and shot Hora another look she seemed to swallow at, but there wasn't much else other than wariness in his expression... and resignation...?

Gray...

"... but I guess if Lucy and the First seem to think you're ok, and you did help us out with Tenrou, and Wendy and Carla... you can't be that bad." Gray said at length, and almost grudgingly, but Hora hardly noticed. Her eyes went wider, glittering like mad and her heart suddenly deciding to beat again, and on such an ultra-high of a tempo it was almost painful against her ribcage.

Why... why did hearing him say that... feel so good, but hurt so much...?

'... because you know he still distrusts you, and knowing that from your own kin... it is a terrible feeling.' Lixue told her softly, gently almost, and the painful, churning sensation in her stomach and her soul got a little bit worse. But she ignored Lixue, all her attention was on Gray and her thoughts were quickly beginning to spin faster and faster, and eventually- out of control.

She wanted to tell him, so, so badly- just right then. She wanted to forget what was going on and what had happened, and she wanted to come right out and say it.

Gray, it's me... your little sister. I didn't know... all these years I thought you were dead...! All these years, I thought that Deliora...

She wanted to say it. She wanted it so bad she almost needed it, and it hurt. She wanted him to know it- to realize who she was, as she had realized who he was in an instant. She wanted to tell him what happened after Deliora, how she survived, how long she'd been alone, and she wanted to tell him- and apologize to him- that for all these years she'd given up on him and never thought to see him again. She wanted to apologize for never looking for him, she wanted to apologize that she never realized he was in Fairy Tail even when she was looking for the Slayers and the Island. She wanted to apologize for not knowing he was here, in this same city and in the same Guild as Natsu and Happy and Lucy, and she didn't realize it.

She wanted to apologize for leaving him alone... for letting him be alone for however long he was after it all happened, and before he found somewhere else to call home. She wanted to tell him how sorry she was that she had ever lost him at all, and she wanted to tell him how much she hated herself for what pain and ache he must have felt when he thought back on it all.

He... he had to feel it too, right? That same ache and pain and hurt that she did whenever she remembered everything? When she thought about him, their parents, and their village?

He... he must have missed it, right? Missed them? Missed her...? He must... He must have felt that ache so heavy and so cold and so biting in his heart when that terrible night came to the forefront of his thoughts, right...?

She faltered though, and she felt her heart break again as one thought found her in all the storm of them, and she felt the sting of tears in the back of her eyes.

What... what if he's forgotten about all it? What if he's pushed it all away, and vowed never to touch it again...?

What if he's... moved on...? What if I try to tell him... and he doesn't want to remember?

What if... he's forgotten... and... and let go of me... forever...?

What if he doesn't... want to remember me...? O-or...

'... grim thoughts, Horatia.' Lixue hummed softly, she shuddered. 'You shouldn't be so quick to think he's erased you from his mind... you've held to the idea of him all this time, yes? Why would he not do the same?'

She wanted to believe in what Lixue said, she really, really did... and maybe she did. But what if telling him did more good than bad? What if revealing who she was, just brought back everything that had haunted him? What if she brought back everything that had ever hurt him?

What if I hurt him?

She felt like she'd been lost in her own mind for years, but time dragged by slow as ever and Gray never paused, he just sighed and shrugged- and still he was unaware of the struggle and the storm raging in her heart and her mind.

"Even with all the crap SaberTooth has pulled, I guess it wouldn't be right to lump you in with the rest of them when you haven't really done anything..... and if you guys have really been in a bad way......" Gray mumbled, trailing off as he shook his head a bit at himself. "... So I guess for now it wouldn't be a bad idea to try and get along with you..."

"Besides, it's sounding like some of the crap that's going wrong with you is related to our own trouble." Gajeel grumbled lowly, Gray nodded toward the Iron Dragon Slayer in affirmation of the words, and still Hora couldn't take her eyes off the latter. "We might be able to solve both our problems at the same time, and maybe clear a few things up too."

"Indeed." Master Makarov murmured lowly, nodding toward the Iron Dragon and his eyes trailing toward Horatia slowly. "Perhaps it would be best to start from the beginning of what transpired tonight? You mentioned that you had an encounter with some entity that spoke of the 'Eclipse Gate'?"

Hora's eyes failed to move toward the old man though, she was still rigid and transfixed on that raven-haired Ice Mage, and this time Gray seemed to notice the rather off behavior when she failed to react to Master Makarov's question. He blinked, his brow quirking at her and looking off-put. "... there a problem?" He asked lowly, and she jumped, time catching back up with her and reality too as she realized she did it again. All her thoughts and emotions running rampant through her shattered, leaving her with little but panic, and a feeling of such emptiness and a rush of lightheadedness that hit like a train. Her legs were shaking now, and had been for a long time without realizing it, and once his voice snapped her from her head and her worry she staggered slightly, swallowing hard against the lump in her throat and she saw his question turn to apprehension- a look shared among Juvia and even Gajeel, and then concern started to trickle into the faces of Wendy, Happy, Natsu and Erza alike.

"Eh, you ok...?" Gray mumbled uncertainly, Hora felt the lightheadedness quickly shift into something more akin to vertigo, and she felt whatever warmth of strength in her body slipping away as her overload on worry, fear, guilt, shock and heartache sapped it all but entirely.

S..shit...

She couldn't find the will to stay upright anymore, and her legs felt the same no matter how much she needed to be 'ok'. It was all she could do not to tilt, her eyes finally leaving him and the suddenly very blurry form he had adopted in her eyes. Her knees gave out and she started to sink quickly toward the floor, her shaking hands catching traction on the hardwood in front of her as she sank into sitting on her heels, hunched slightly and panting a bit now as she fought to catch her breath again after having forgotten to breathe for a long while there. Her fingers dug into the wood floor as she pressed her hands against the ground between her knees, shaking a bit more now and shaking her head against the out of nowhere bout of dizziness.

"H-Hora...?!" Happy, Wendy and Natsu all snapped.

... d... damn it... I can't... I can't think about all of that and... and freak out like this... I'm in no shape to handle it...

The sudden loss in posture from Hora made many of the Fairy Tailers jump, concern and shock flashing over their expressions. Erza moved a bit closer from where she had been standing in front of the girl, her eyes glittering and hand extending toward the Saber Wizard, but falling short as if she wasn't sure the contact would be welcomed. Wendy on the other hand didn't hesitate to rush forward, the bluenette hovering as she took a quick knee beside the SaberTooth Wizard, eyes glittering like mad and worry etched into her features. Happy was close behind, ears pressed back against his head and shaking as he stopped in front of Hora, his paw landing on her knee.

"Hora, are you alright...?!" Wendy asked quickly, her hands falling gently on Hora's shoulder and back, and her eyes searching for the older girl's but not finding them, not with the way Hora's head was bent and her eyes closed.

"...w-what's wrong...?" Happy mewed shakily, Erza moved herself a bit, before taking a knee as Wendy did beside the SaberTooth Wizard, silent and calm despite how quickly Hora's health seemed to fade just then.

Hora forced herself a long, slow breath. She could hear Wendy and Happy ask the questions, and she was aware that she had the wary attention of the room, and the worried ones too. And she hated how quickly her strength failed her in the midst of her own internal turmoil.

"Are you still feeling weak from earlier..?" Wendy asked quietly, and Hora grimaced.

The answer was yes, but that wasn't what had hit her just now... and she couldn't explain why she'd... freaked out.

I can't

She forced the breath she took in out slowly and straightened up from being bent over so she was more settled on her heels. One of her hands moved from the floor and pushed her bangs back from her face a bit, the other landing in her lap as she shook her head slightly, and her eyes opened to catch Wendy's gaze. Hora smiled, her hand finding a faintly flustered place on the back of her neck as she tried to give the bluenette a reassuring look.

"Ah, no... sorry..." Hora murmured quietly, Wendy's head tilted. "I wasn't trying to freak out or anything... ah... I'm just not really used to other Guild's being so... accepting..." She hummed, chuckling a bit nervously as Happy and Wendy both blinked in surprise. "Sorry, I didn't mean to worry you... I'm just kind of reeling. Most of my first encounters with other Guilds go really bad, so, ah... having you guys being all nice out of nowhere... I'm not really used to it, and I kinda... don't know what to do with it, either... heh..." She trailed off, biting the inside of her cheek a little. "... I'm okay, I'm just surprised is all... I wasn't expecting that... you guys are... kinda weird..." She added softly, before cutting off again in embarrassment. She waved her hands in front of her a bit, "I-I mean that in the nicest way...! Please d-don't think I'm insulting you, or anything...!" She stammered, Wendy and Happy smiled softly at the embarrassment, as did a few others.

"We take no offense to it." Erza told her lightly, earning Hora's attention now, and for the first time realizing the redhead had taken a knee in front of her. Hora blinked, before smiling a bit more and nodding just once. "Are you sure you're alright though?" Erza asked next, and Hora felt her stomach churn.

"Yeah, are you okay...?!" Natsu butted in too, pulling at the ropes that still has him bound and earning Hora's eyes for a brief moment.

No

"Yeah." She replied softly, to both Erza and Natsu alike. "... I am actually still pretty worn out from earlier, but I am okay... you guys just caught me off guard." She mumbled, Erza nodded, though Natsu looked none-too-convinced from the corner of her eye... She ignored it.

"I can imagine." Erza replied softly, "I would suppose finding out you're a member of SaberTooth doesn't sit well with other Guilds."

"Not usually.." Hora murmured, though... well, actually- Lamia wasn't that bad, huh? I mean they were pretty prickly to start, but that wore off after awhile of spending time with Sherria, and Lyon and...

Her attention on Lamia broke off when what dim sense of a question that had been asked by the Fairy Tail Master suddenly managed a way to register in her mind. She stiffened, nervous still as she quickly glanced away from Erza and shifted on the ground a bit to more face him directly, her hands folding together in front of her.

"... Ah... You asked me about that thing that I mentioned, and the 'Eclipse Gate' thing, right...?" She asked slowly, addressing the old man now as he nodded. "... Sorry, I guess we kind of got off track..." Hora mumbled, her hands hooking behind her neck as she let out a sigh, and her eyes dropped closed for a moment. She bit the inside of her cheek, frowning faintly as her thoughts slowly worked to move back to the matter at hand and away from all things... Gray...

... Damn it, stop Hora... Focus...

"... I can tell you what little I know about that bit... But is it okay if I ask what happened to Yukino and Lucy first...? Natsu said they got captured by the King's Army, for treason? And for a Project with that name, 'Eclipse Gate'?" Hora murmured slowly, almost uncertainly as the old man blinked at her. "... I realize I just ranted about a lot, and you all have.. A lot of questions, and that's fair... But Lucy and Yukino are the main reason why I'm here." she explained, her nervousness fading only slightly in lieu of firmness. "I have to ask, since that is why I came. And I really don't have any clue what 'Eclipse Gate' even is, whatever it was that snatched me from my Inn just said it, but that's it. And I don't know what that thing was or what it was planning... and I'm not sure that part is gonna help with anything right now." The Guild Master held her in a steady gaze as she said her piece, calm as can be, before his eyes dropped closed and he seemed to let out a small breath.

"... Hmm... After the events of the battle between Natsu and Gajeel, and Sting and Rogue, a discovery was made about a cavern underneath the Arena." He started slowly, and Hora blinked. "When Gajeel was whisked away in the middle of the battle, he ended up there- and upon seeing what the cavern held, he returned here and brought, Natsu, Lucy, Happy, Gray, Carla, Pantherlily, Wendy and himself back to it."

"... Cavern...?" Hora echoed, her eyes narrowing as she glanced between those mentioned and saw tenseness appear in them, the Dragon Slayers especially. "... What... Was in it...?"

"A Dragon Graveyard." Gajeel was the one to answer, his tone low and Hora's eyes widened in shock.

G-graveyard...?!

"... There were dozens, even hundreds of Dragon Skeletons..." Wendy intoned quietly to Hora's left, Hora swallowed.

'... How unpleasant...' Lixue commented quietly, though the lack of surprise in his voice caught her immediate attention.

"Wendy was able to connect with the spirit of one of the Dragons in the graveyard." Carla spoke up next, and Hora blinked several times at that.

She said... Spirit...? Like... Like a ghost...?

'Do not sound so surprised. That child's Magic is powerful.' Lixue murmured, Hora grimaced internally.

Ghosts and spirits, Lixue! Since when was talking with ghosts a thing?!

'Since always.' Was the dry answer, she wanted to strangle him.

"In doing so we were able to inquire as to what happened, and the Dragon we spoke with told us the tale of the first Dragon Slayers... And how they came to be." Carla went on, her tone dropping slightly and Hora bit the inside of her cheek. "There was a great war 400 years ago, between dragons. On one side were the dragons who wished to rule all, and the other side-"

'-who wished to coexist with the humans, as equals.' Lixue intoned, breaking into Carla's words and breaking Hora's attention. Hora stiffened in surprise, her eyes narrowing in confusion and intrigue. 'Rather than continuing on in a system where humans were little more than food.' Lixue hummed, and rather nonchalantly. Hora's eyes narrowed to slits at the comment,

... Why do you know that...? ... Are you really that old, Lixue...? That you were around when...?

'Indeed.' Was the easy answer, 'Have I not mentioned my age before? Or this bit of history?'

No, not once.

'Well, you never did inquire.'

Why should I have? And if you were there, what the hell were you doing in the middle of a 'great dragon war'...? You aren't a-

'-My life at that time is of little consequence, since shortly into that war, my lifeforce was channeled into this Lacrima, and I ceased to be 'alive'.' Lixue answered simply, and Hora swallowed. 'But away from that, perhaps you should just listen to what the Fairies have to say?' He suggested, and her jaw clenched in agitation,

Well maybe if you would stop interrupting-

"... The war went on for a long time, and much of the world suffered underneath it. Eventually the Dragons on the side of supporting the humans came up with a plan to win, and in doing so they decided to teach humans Magic that was meant to slay Dragons." Carla kept on talking, completely unaware of the interruption in Hora's mind, and Hora grudgingly took up Lixue's suggestion, and tuned him out all the way. She kept on chewing the inside of her cheek though, swallowing back her agitation and only faintly aware of Wendy and Happy still sitting on the floor beside her, while Erza had gotten to her feet and moved back to the place she had been to start with.

Though she did notice Wendy shudder from the corner of her eye, and she blinked at the bluenette in question.

"... They became the first Dragon Slayers, and with their help, the war was won." Carla murmured, "However, some of the Dragon Slayers got out of hand, and they began to slay the Dragons that were meant to be their allies. They became drunk off the power they earned, and the more they killed, the less human they became. Until eventually..." Carla's words faded away a bit as she sighed, and Hora saw Wendy's expression cloud in fear. "... There was one human among the many, who killed the most. What Dragons that are in that graveyard under the Arena were all slain by him. And he gained so much strength and power from the Dragons he slayed, that eventually he became a king among all Dragons... And then eventually transformed into a Dragon himself." Carla murmured lowly, and Hora's heart skipped a beat at the news.

He... Became a... Dragon...?! A human...?!

"... W...what...?!" Hora stammered, Carla paused. "W-wait a minute, how does that even happen...?! How does a human go from being a Dragon Slayer to being an actual Dragon...?!"

"We were shocked by it too." Wendy murmured softly, Hora's eyes found the bluenette instead of Carla. "... It's... Crazy... But apparently there's a catch that comes with being a Dragon Slayer. The more you use the Magic, and the longer you have it... Eventually it turns you into an actual Dragon." Hora's jaw dropped,

"You're serious...?!" She stammered, Wendy, Natsu and Gajeel all nodded as she glanced between them and she hissed a few curses under her breath. "B-but... That's gotta be all sorts of not true! You guys have been Dragon Slayers for years and using your Magic all the time, and you're not Dragons! And neither are Sting and Rogue!" She argued quickly, "A-are you sure it wasn't a mistranslation or something...?! Cause that can't be a real thing-!"

'-it was an unfortunate side effect of the Dragon Slaying Magic, but it is real.' Lixue came back with his comments, and Hora's jaw audibly snapped shut. 'A development that the Dragons did not anticipate, as I recall... But it happened.'

"What?!" She snapped hotly, her attention on Wendy failing entirely- though the bluenette jumped at the sudden raise in Hora's voice, and the agitation that appeared in it.

'You are speaking to me out loud.' Lixue reminded and Hora huffed, her fingernails digging into her palms.

Don't you think Dragon Slayers turning into actual fucking DRAGONS would have been something important to know?!

'Not at all.'

WHAT DO YOU MEAN 'NOT AT-'?!

"A-ah, it doesn't seem to be like that...!" Wendy intoned quickly, Hora paused. "F-from what Arcadios said, Acnologia got turned into a Dragon by Zeref, and not just because of the Dragon Slayer Magic...!"

"... Ac... nologia...?" Hora mumbled, her thoughts shuddering to a halt on that one thing and Wendy blinked.

"Yes, that man who became a Dragon." Carla took over again, "It was Acnologia, though according to Arcadios, his transformation was a byproduct of Zeref's handiwork." Hora glanced over toward the white Exceed slowly,

... That... Is that...?

'Yes. It was Acnologia.' Lixue confirmed, 'And Zeref getting involved is true.'

A...ah... O..okay... But what about... The... The turning into Dragons...?

'... That is true, as I said. But it is not an issue you should be worried over. None of the Dragon Slayers in this age will transform, that side-effect was dealt with long ago.' Lixue explained, Hora let out a shaky breath she hadn't known she'd been holding. '... As is why I never mentioned it. It is an unimportant detail, and there was little use working you up about it- as you clearly became very worked up just now, and for no reason.'

R...right...

Hora shook her head a bit, trying to regain some of he'd composure again. "... Uh... Okay... I guess I... Get that... But who is Arcadios...?"

"He is a Colonel in service of the Royal Army." Carla answered, "And he was also in charge of the Project Eclipse Gate. We met him in the graveyard, along with Yukino, and they took us to the Palace to explain what the Project was." Hora perked at that, her eyes flashing.

"Yukino...?" She mumbled,

"She said she was a sergeant or something." Natsu grumbled, Hora bit the inside of her cheek.

"... Yukino told me she joined the King's Army, and she mentioned a Project she was asked to help with." Hora murmured, earning blinks and intrigued expressions from the Fairy Tailers. "Though even then, she didn't tell me anything specific. She made it sound like it was super secret or something, and important..." Hora trailed off, grimacing at the thought. "... So, this Eclipse Gate thing is what she was asked to help with...?"

"Yes. Arcadios told us that they needed a Celestial Wizard in order to make the Eclipse Project work." Carla murmured, "Though apparently he originally planned to only use Yukino, he realized that it would be a much bigger success if he had all 12 of the Zodiac Keys."

"... Which is why he took both Yukino and Lucy?" Hora grumbled, "Because between them, they have all 12?"

"... It was a bit more complicated than that." Carla murmured, Hora's head tilted slightly.

"From what everyone has explained, this 'Arcadios' man intended to ask Lucy and Yukino for their help, not force them into it." Mirajane explained, "He wanted them to be willing to help make sure the Project worked, and to make sure the Eclipse Gate did as it was made to do."

"... What the hell is it supposed to do?" Hora mumbled, her eyes narrowing. "And why would he need the twelve Zodiac Keys to begin with?" There was a quick exchange of glances between the Fairy Tailers that made Hora grimace, her eyes narrowing at them all (while pointedly not looking at a certain Ice Mage...) as there came a small section of silence she didn't like, at all.

"... it seems impossible, but the goal behind the Eclipse Project is to defeat the likes of Acnologia, and Zeref both." Erza murmured, her eyes landing steadily on Horatia, who's own eyes narrowed at the words. "To do so, they plan to use the Eclipse Gate during the Eclipse happening on July 7, pairing that Celestial Event with the power of the 12 Zodiac Keys, in order to open a portal through time. In doing so they would travel back to the point before either Zeref or Acnologia had gained any power, and alter history so they no longer existed in it."

Hora blinked, once, twice, and then several times over as her ears rung with Erza's words, and what they were meant to mean... I'm sorry, are we talking about time travel now?

At a lack of a joking tone or look among the Fairies, and a considerable surplus of seriousness- yeah, we are talking about time travel now... ooooookay...

'... not an impossible notion, but the alteration of time and the persons who can do so are incredibly rare.' Lixue intoned calmly, Hora's fingers twined together in her lap. 'And Time does flow differently between different Planes of existence, so bridging this Eclipse Gate through the 12 Zodiac Keys, and the Spirit World through them, would likely make for some sort of road through time, if you could manage a way of controlling where that road and current in time dumped you out at. I think that's likely a functionality built into this Eclipse Gate itself..... or intended functionality.'

Good to see you're a voice of 'reason' in all this insanity... but seriously, Lixue? First ghosts are a thing, and now Time... Magic, or whatever?

'There are several Powers in this world you know nothing of, but that does not mean they do not exist.' Was the low reply, and she bit the inside of both her cheeks.

"... mmm... I guess that makes sense..." She mumbled lowly under her breath, her eyes dropping closed. "... and I guess if you think about the whole time stopping thing that happened on Tenrou... I can't really disregard there being ways to mess with Time on different scales... but wouldn't messing with the timeline that involves both Zeref and Acnologia, like... really mess things up?"

'It would change events in history drastically.' Lixue replied, 'There would be no rise of Zeref's Power, and for it, he would not help Acnologia change into a beast- so what destruction he wrought in all these centuries would never come to pass.' Hora nodded slightly, 'The same could be said for what Zeref has done, who he has killed, what civilizations he destroyed... the Demons he created.' Hora's heart skipped a beat and her eyes snapped open, '... should Zeref never have existed, the Demons he created would likely never have existed either... and what destruction they caused, could be undone.' She swallowed, her eyes flashing as she stared at the floor.

But... that would mean that... all that happened with... with Deliora, and my family...? None of that would...?

'Perhaps.' Lixue murmured, Hora felt a shiver run up her spine. 'But changing something as integral to this world's history as Zeref... well, doing so would have ramifications. And there's no one to say if what comes of altering time is worth the consequences that arise.'

He was right. Of course he was, she realized that in an instant. Because even if, somehow, what happened with her Village and Deliora just didn't happen- she would never have left, she would never have become what she was... and maybe she would have liked that. But if all of that happened?

I would never have joined SaberTooth... and yeah, that means that Jiemma wouldn't have done what he did... but I wouldn't have ever met Sting and Rogue either, or Yukino, Rufus, Orga, Lector, Frosch... none of them.

I wouldn't know them.

That made a heavy lump fall into the pits of her stomach, and she felt nauseous for it.

"... they can't do that." Hora murmured, shaking her head and glancing up again after a few moments of silence. "Whatever the intentions are, changing Zeref and Acnologia, and erasing them from history would just screw everything up. Nothing would be the same, everything we know and we lived through might never happen- and even if it got rid of some of the bad things- some of the good things could get wiped out too!" She hissed, "That's not to mention how much could actually change in the process! They might set of a series of events that lead to... to the world ending or something! And there'd be no way of knowing that beforehand!"

"You are correct, and those are the same fears that ended with Lucy and Yukino's arrest." Makarov murmured, "While it seemed to be Arcadios' plan to enact the Eclipse Gate, there was another man opposed to the plan- Darton, the Minister of Defense for the Kingdom." Hora's grimaced, her attention fixed on the old man as he sighed. "He betrayed Arcadios, and had him arrested for treason against the Kingdom along with Yukino and Lucy, since they are essential to making the Gate work at all." Hora's eyes narrowed to slits, her jaw clenching as a flash of anger ran through her.

"That's bullshit." She snapped lowly, "Yukino and Lucy haven't done anything wrong, you can't arrest someone because you think they might do something!"

"But... Hora, Yukino sounded like she really wanted the Eclipse Gate to work." Happy intoned softly, and Hora stiffened. "... I mean, if you think of it that way... Yukino was willing to go along with the Project, so it isn't weird to think they would expect her to do something..." He mumbled, his ears drooping slightly. "... I mean... I kinda get it... but why would Yukino be willing to go along with changing the past...?" Hora's eyes flashed, her attention dropping to the floor as she wilted slightly.

"... she probably thinks changing Zeref's fate would change what happened to..." Hora mumbled softly, almost to herself and Happy perked slightly at the words. But Hora shook her head rather hotly, "... she has her reasons, I can understand why... but if she really knew what might go wrong, she wouldn't go through with it." Hora muttered lowly, and Happy blinked.

"Regardless, they were still taken unjustly." Erza murmured, "It seems that Yukino and Lucy both have ended up in the middle of an internal strife inside the King's Army, and their capture is likely just a way to keep them hostage until the Eclipse Project is done away with completely." Hora growled under her breath, forcing herself a breath. "We were told that we could save Lucy from such a fate, if Fairy Tail were to win the Grand Magic Games tomorrow." Hora's heart skipped a beat in shock, her eyes flashing.

"And it is our intention to win." Makarov murmured lowly,

"... even despite the fact we aren't sure if we can trust that Darton guys word on letting Lucy go." Gray muttered lowly, and Hora swallowed, her eyes nearly darting toward him again, but she stopped herself and looked at the floor.

"But if it means we have a chance to save Lucy, we'll aim to win at all costs." Erza murmured firmly, Hora flinched at the words as panic started to bubble up in her core. Her eyes found her hands in her lap, her nails digging into her knuckles as she held her hands together tightly, and she swallowed back what lump was forming anew in her throat.

They want to win... they plan to win, for Lucy's sake... and after seeing what these people can do the last few days...

She sucked in a breath of air and held it, fear ramming through her hard enough to make her wince.

... we might lose... b...but we can't... Minerva...

"... that... that's going to be a problem..." Hora murmured quietly, breathlessly almost as her voice quavered, and the Fairy Tailers blinked at the words, confused.

Hora frowned, her eyes dropping closed as she pushed herself up a bit and adjusted to sit cross-legged on the floor instead of on her heels as she had been. Her elbows met her knees as she bent her head a bit, her hands moving up as her fingertips on each hand lightly pressing together and palms remaining apart as she drew her hands in. Her touching index fingers lightly rest against her nose, while her thumbs rest against her chin, silent in the odd, and yet somewhat unique gesture as a silence seemed to fall over the Saber Wizard as she fell into her own head. The Fairy Tailers all around her blinked at the action, confused as to what it was and why she seemed to be thinking so intently out of nowhere- not that any of them interrupted, mind you.

Gray stiffened though, his dark blue eyes flashing and narrowing to slits as she watched Horatia move her hands into the odd form, her posture silent and rigid and thoughtful... and yet he swore he'd seen that before. That hand thing... but what...?

He grimaced, silent as his eyes trailed over her form and he grumbled internally, but said nothing at all.

Hora bit the inside of both cheeks, frowning to herself as she remained where she was sitting and her hands stilled where she had put them, her thoughts whirling as she fell further and further into her own mind.

They were told to win, in order to save Lucy... and Fairy Tail had been nothing less than an upset in the Games so far. They were a formidable opponent, and add on top a threat against one of their friends, and Guild-mate? Of course they were aiming to win, at all costs. She couldn't blame them for it, she didn't. She would have been happy to see Fairy Tail win, if it had not cropped up a bunch of issues already, but... but at the same time... she couldn't have them do that!

Shit... shit..!

Her shoulders stiffened even further than they already had, her lips curling as she pressed her fingers against her nose and chin harder.

They have someone they care about on the line if they don't win... but at the same time, we do too... shit, I can't ask them not to win, I don't want to ask them to forfeit the Games on our part, especially not if Lucy's in trouble... but what the hell else am I gonna do...?!

Natsu beat Rogue and Sting on his own. Erza defeated 100 monsters on her own. Laxus defeated an entire Guild on his own. Gajeel was unscathed during the fight today even before he got sent off in a cart, and the rest of them? Of Fairy Tail? How could she have seen any of what she had the last few days, and not believe that the others in this Guild were just as strong? Or that they didn't actually have a chance of winning the Grand Magic Games?

She knew they did, she felt in her heart that same feeling and knowing that had hit her today when Natsu went against Sting and Rogue. She knew they were going to lose... and she felt it in her soul that they... they might just lose tomorrow too, and that terrified her.

If SaberTooth were to lose, then Minerva would make good on her threat to Lector. She knew that too, because she knew Minerva, and how deeply her threats went. That little witch had her fingers wrapped around Lector's neck and she would not hesitate to hurt him the minute she thought that things were not going as she wanted them to.

And it was even worse now, she wasn't trapped anymore, Jiemma didn't have that god-forsaken Possession Link on her anymore. She could try, she could stand up to Minerva and her cruelty and she wouldn't hesitate to do it- but again, she couldn't damn it!

Lector was that same leverage and hostage to her as he was to Sting and the rest of the Guild, and Minerva knew that. The minute Hora tried to do anything to get Lector back, or anything to disobey her, she would hurt him, so so badly and there was nothing Hora could do about it. She wasn't fast enough against Minerva's Magic, and Hora trying to fight back about it was what Minerva expected. Minerva would be ready for it, and that put Hora at the biggest disadvantage of all... and left her useless. Just as useless as she had been all this time.

If SaberTooth loses, Lector gets hurt... and I can't have that.

But I can't ask Fairy Tail to lose, not after all of this... not with Lucy in trouble. And I can't tell them why, not without making it clear that Jiemma is gone and... oh shit.

She cringed inwardly, her eyes scrunching closed harder.

... crap... we don't have a Guild Master anymore, that's a violation of the rules of the GMG already, and even more so since Minerva's elected Sting... both of those are grounds for disqualification. And if SaberTooth gets disqualified, that'll make winning easier... and automatically condemn Lector. Minerva will know immediately I or someone else in the Guild would have to have told them about it... damn it, what do I do...?

"Oi, Hora! Why would that be a problem...?!" Natsu's (very loud) voice snapped her from her thoughts, and her hands snapped away from her face, swallowing as she glanced sideways and caught his eye. "And while you're at it, it's about time you tell us what the hell happened?! What the hell happened with that bastard Jiemma and that Possession Link thing?! I've been waitin' long enough, it's time you explain it!" He pulled against the ropes binding him, eyes blazing and jaw clenched as Hora wilted under the glare. "You told me that you would tell me what the hell is going on, Hora! You can't back out, not again!" Her heart twisted when she saw the worry in his eyes again, fear and concern hidden under frustration and panic.

She knew what she'd said, she knew she promised to tell him... it was passed time to tell him, she knew that. And still she hesitated, and she hated it... she didn't want to hesitate, but at the same time she didn't want to mess things up more than they already were.

Damn it... what am I supposed to do...?

"Hora!" He snapped again, clearly seeing her hesitate and getting all the more frustrated for it. She looked away from him entirely, letting out a long, low sigh and biting the inside of her cheek so hard she tasted blood.

"... is winning the GMG your only plan?" Hora asked softly, her attention shifting back to the Guild Master, who narrowed his eyes in question. "If Fairy Tail wins the games, you might get Lucy back, and I understand that's something you're willing to fight for... but you can't trust the Army's word on that, right? And even more so, there's no guarantee that Yukino is gonna be let go either... I can't leave her there, so regardless of what you decide to do... I am going to try and get her back." Hora murmured lowly,

"Don't ignore me, damn it!" Natsu snapped, cutting in again and Hora's jaw clenched.

"I am not ignoring you, Natsu." Hora replied shortly, her tone dropping suddenly as she shot the pinkette a steely look he flinched at. "But you need to understand, what happened is complicated and telling you might muck things up, badly. I want to tell you, and I know I said I would... But all that has happened tonight has made it so that if I choose to do or say something to any of you, some of the people I care about are gonna end up hurt, or worse. I have to be careful, and I have to make sure that what I decide to do, is the best thing... Alright?" He faltered slightly, his eyes glittering and very confused, but he knew she was serious, and that was enough. Hora looked away from him and back to the old man, "I need to know what you are all planning to do." She murmured, "If you have some plan to go and rescue Lucy regardless of the outcome of the GMG, I need to know, and I have to go with you so I can rescue Yukino. And if you really do intend to win the GMG, and I think you have a chance of it... we need to be on the same page about what doing that means." Hora's voice dropped slightly, tenseness working it's way into her posture again. Makarov simply held her in a silent stare, silence falling between the two of them for a few moments, before he nodded.

"We intend to send a small team into the Palace during the Games tomorrow in order to rescue Lucy." He murmured, "As a failsafe, in case we do not manage to win the GMG, or the Army does not keep it's word." He added, "Though seeing as how our opponent is the King, we must tread lightly. If you are intent on rescuing your friend, we will not stop you. Your help would even be appreciated, given the delicate situation... if you are up for it." He told her, and Hora nodded.

"I'm up for it." She answered without skipping a beat, he nodded just once.

"In the event we do win, what does that mean for you?" Erza asked slowly, steering the conversation back toward what Hora had said first. "And why would it be cause for the people you care for, to get hurt?"

"... and what does that have to do with what happened to you tonight...?" Wendy murmured softly, Hora grimaced. She paused, sighing as she grumbled under her breath a few choice curses that were too low for anyone to hear them.

Please... please don't let me make a mistake...

"... listen, if I tell you any of this, you have to keep it to yourselves." Hora murmured lowly, her eyes on the floor. "... you can't tell anyone outside of this room, and I have to ask you to please... please don't do anything that would get SaberTooth disqualified... and above everything, you cannot let Minerva find out that I talked to you, at all. Not that I was here, or that I'm going to help you, or that I told you what is going on in my Guild... SaberTooth has to play in the Games tomorrow, and everyone else in the world has to believe that nothing is wrong." Hora muttered lowly, her eyes moving upward and settling on the Fairy Tailers one by one, firm and steely yet almost pleading.

And under all of that?

Scared

"If I tell you, you need to go into the Games tomorrow and act like you don't know about any of it. Minerva cannot suspect that you know what is really going on, and she cannot suspect me or anyone else in the Guild of helping you, or telling you the truth. Minerva cannot find out about any of this. No matter what you feel, if you're angry or disgusted or whatever the hell else- you cannot confront her about it directly, and you cannot talk about it with her. She can't know, not on anything." Hora hissed, her eyes glittering. "I have to be able to trust that you won't let her find out about any of this, alright?"

The Fairy Tailers glanced between one another, rather lost and unsure of where the call for silence was coming from, or why she was stressing it so much. What on earth could happen that would have Hora asking for such secrecy?

There was a small pause, before the Fairy Tailers all around the room nodded, solemness falling over their faces.

"You have our word, she will never know." Erza promised firmly, and Hora's posture wilted a bit as her eyes fell. She bit the inside of her cheek, her head shaking a few times before she shifted, pushing herself up and standing suddenly as Wendy and Happy beside her jumped at how quickly she got up out of nowhere. They stood up too, hovering slightly and watching Hora closely as she stood there, her hands falling on her hips and eyes still closed.

"... if you want to win, you'll need to pick the people on your team that will have the best chance of defeating the toughest opponents from the other Guilds." Hora murmured, the subject suddenly changing and the Fairy Tailers blinked in surprise. "I'm sure you've realized that everyone on SaberTooth's Team won't be easy to take out... But tomorrow everyone in Saber are going to fight with everything they have. They have to win at all costs. Both we and Fairy Tail have too much to lose... " She let out an agitated sigh, "... I'll help you figure out a plan if you want, but I'm not going to tell you my Guild-mates weaknesses. I'm not going to help make it easy for you to beat the SaberTooth team tomorrow, I can't... I won't do that to Sting, Rogue, Rufus or Orga." She mumbled, her fingers on her waist digging in a bit as she growled. "Minerva on the other hand, I could give a damn about." She hissed, her tone nothing but hate and spite so powerful the Fairy Tailers stiffened in shock. Hora's dark blue eyes opened, glittering like mad and full of such fire out of nowhere, the Fairies were reeling slightly.

"I will tell you everything I know about Minerva's Magic, and what weak points I know she has. I don't know much, but to be honest, anything you can get on her and how she fights, you are going to need it." Hora muttered lowly, "And not just so you have a better chance of winning the GMG, but because I need another promise, and I need it from you." Hora murmured steadily, her eyes locking with Erza suddenly. The redhead stiffened slightly at being addressed, her eyes narrowing in question. "You were famous even before the whole Tenrou thing, and I knew you were strong as hell, but I didn't realize just how strong you were until the Pandemonium Event." Hora told her, "The entire time that Minerva has been a member of SaberTooth, I've never felt like anybody could take her on and win, even I doubt I could take her on and win without losing myself in the process. All of this time, I have never once seen anyone in action and automatically had the thought that 'hey, they might actually be stronger than Minerva'." Hora's eyes flashed as one of her hands came up from off her hip, and she pointed straight at Erza. "When I watched you take on all 100 of those monsters, and cut them down one by one even when everyone in the world was against you, and Fairy Tail, and didn't think you had that in you- and you proved the world wrong, it was amazing." Hora murmured, "I've honestly never been more exhilarated by a fight in all my life, and it was deserved! And in the middle of it, when I was watching you fight and rooting for you, that thought crossed my mind before I even realized what it meant."

Erza blinked, her expression softening slightly as she saw the way Horatia's eyes were glittering, and saw that fire that had started to burn so suddenly, continue to grow brighter.

"She's amazing, maybe even better than Minerva!" Hora announced firmly, "You are the first person in ten years that I have ever seen and believed could best her, and it's because of that I need you to swear to me that tomorrow in the Grand Magic Games, you will defeat her. You have to face Minerva and you have to beat her!" The Fairy Tailers all around the room blinked, their eyes widening in surprise as they watched the sudden exchange between Hora and Erza.

Where did this come from..?

"I need you to do it, because I can't. As much as I hate it, I can't face her without losing someone I care about. You have to beat her, and I have to hope that when you do, everything will work out." Hora murmured, her expression twisting painfully for a moment. "I have to hope that you can do what I can't... I have a chance to help save Yukino and Lucy, but I can't do this, so I need you to do it. Please."

There came a small, heavy moment of sheer silence between them, Hora's eyes locked with that of Titania Erza- the Fairy Queen- and the woman she was now placing the utmost trust in, and hope... and she sorely hoped that Erza could see how much she needed this promise, and how much it meant to her to be asking it at all.

She could feel the eyes of the other Fairy Tailers on the two of them, she could practically hear the gears grinding in their heads as they tried to understand where this was coming from, and why she was asking. She knew they didn't understand, and she knew Erza didn't either, not all the way... but she couldn't say it. She couldn't tell any of them anything before she was absolutely sure that... that she wasn't making a mistake. And for it, she wasn't risking Lector's life.

She saw something light up in Erza's eyes, something like recognition or understanding of a caliber she hadn't expected with such a vague request. But that light faded and the utterly neutral expression that the redhead had adopted turned into something calm and stony and so utterly determined, and Hora's heart picked up.

"You have my word." Erza promised steadily, her arms crossed over her chest and straight backed as she nodded just the once. "With everything I have, I will defeat Minerva. I promise you that." Hora's eyes glittered, a rush of cool and utter relief running through her and what genuine an answer it was... and maybe some small section of that dread hanging over her chipped away.

"You have my word, now can I ask for yours?" Erza said suddenly, and Hora blinked in surprise.

"... Mine...?" She mumbled, her hand falling again in uncertainty and Erza nodded.

"Make sure that both Yukino and Lucy return safely." Erza said steadily, Hora blinked, stunned for but a moment, before her expression hardened and she smiled just faintly.

"You have my word." Hora replied steadily, and Erza's expression softened as she nodded.

"Hmm... I think I rather like you." Erza said simply, and Hora's heart skipped a beat at it, her eyes widening as her face flushed. Erza didn't pause on that for very long though before seriousness came back into her expression, "But away from that, Horatia. Now that you have our promises, are you ready to explain what is truly going on?"

"Yeah, it's damn well passed time." Gajeel grumbled, and Natsu huffed.

"And what did you mean, get SaberTooth disqualified?" Juvia asked lowly,

"Forget that, I wanna know why that asshole tried to kill you!" Natsu butted in hotly, and Hora felt her stomach knot again. What little relief that has come when Erza made her promise was shattered under the very real situation of having to finally explain... All of it.

Where was she even supposed to start...? Oi...

"And why in the hell did you never say anything?!" Natsu kept on, what little will he had had to stay mostly quiet the whole time gone now. And now all the questions and outcry that has been burning inside of him since the slew of info she'd blurted out in her (unintended) rant were boiling over and out. "I can't believe you let that bastard get away with any of that! And for how long?! How long were you willing to just take all his bullshit and let yourself get bossed around and hurt?! WHY THE HELL DID ANY OF YOU EVEN LET HIM COME IN AND BE YOUR GUILD MASTER AT ALL?! I WOULD HAVE BEAT HIM TO A PULP THE FIRST TIME HE EVEN TRIED TO LAY A HAND ON ME OR ANYONE ELSE! SCREW BEING AFRAID OF HIM, YOUR GUILD-MATES SHOULD HAVE KICKED HIS ASS TO THE CURB THE FIRST TIME HE EVER HURT YOU, LET ALONE TRIED TO KILL YOU!"

Hora's jaw clenched, her eyes dropping closed as Natsu's volume continued to increase and his anger, frustration and worry all wrapped into one became all the more potent too. And now he was the one ranting, and asking things she had more or less covered in her own rant... Well, sort of.

"... Natsu, we already established this whole situation hasn't been handled all that well... You don't need to keep snapping at me." Hora mumbled, "... try and understand, this all started a really long time ago... I was young, and I grew up being little but a pawn, so my confidence and willingness to try and really fight just wasn't really there, not until I got older. And I realize that's nothing but an excuse... But I was eight." She mumbled, and Natsu's jaw snapped shut audibly, panic and shock rushing over his face. The other Fairy Tailers stiffened, and Hora sighed a little as she kept her eyes on the floor and not on them. "I had only been in SaberTooth for little but a year before Jiemma came into the picture and took over. I was eight years old and still a messed up little kid, and I did try to fight back from the very start... A mistake on my part, because doing so just made Jiemma all the more interested in my Magic and what I could do. He wanted the world's strongest Guild, and I was the perfect start... So he found out a way to make me do whatever the hell he wanted, and make sure I could never get away. He put that Possession Link on the Lacrima, and that was it. I was stuck."

"..y...you've been living with your life in his hands... For that long...?!" Natsu stammered, Hora nodded stiffly. "Y-you gotta be kidding me, how old are you now...?! Like 17...?!"

"... I'm 19." Hora mumbled, and Natsu looked all the more horrified, as did several others- Wendy and Happy especially.

"H-hora that's terrible...!" Wendy squeaked,

"T-that's over ten years!" Happy shrilled,

"Its despicable." Erza muttered lowly, Makarov and Mavis' expressions alike had both darkened considerably, their anger bubbling in silence.

"So you were trapped, and Jiemma could kill you anytime he wanted by destroying that Lacrima in you?" Gajeel asked lowly, "You've been living like a doll, and you've just taken all his abuse for ten freakin' years?"

"Yeah." Hora mumbled softly, the Iron Dragon Slayer grimaced at the utterly calm answer, looking disconcerted by it along with many of the others.

"Who the hell does something like that to a kid...?!" Gray's furious voice made her stiffen, and this time her eyes found him before she could tell herself not to look, and she swallowed.

"... The same sort of person who abuses his Guild, and tries to murder someone in it, in one of the most cruel ways possible." Pantherlily muttered lowly before Hora could try to come up with some answer. The black Exceed's tail twitched behind him, frowning as he bit back what anger had risen in him as it had in all the other Fairy Tailers, and for good reason. Lily had a point though, and they knew it. Those among the group who had been there when they found Hora in the middle of Crocus knew it. She had been writhing around and screaming in agony, a part of herself had been being ripped to pieces and she felt it through every inch of her... And her Magic had gotten so out of hand it seemed to have been tearing her apart from the inside out.

That sort of power over someone and their life was unthinkable, but even more so was the idea anyone would subject another person to that sort of torture. But a Guild Master? A man who was more tyrant than Master and had been so cruel to the people he was supposed to lead and to protect?

Despicable didn't seem an apt enough word

"... And don't blame anyone else in my Guild for not doing anything." Hora murmured, rounding back to Natsu's line of questions from before. "Outside of being scared, I was the first one there of any of them. They got used to my own compliance and lack of retaliation, and they fed off of it. I was the 'normal'... So their unwillingness to fight is my own fault, not theirs." Hora mumbled, Natsu grimaced.

"You still should have said something long before now!" Natsu snapped hotly, "And why did Jiemma try and kill you today, huh?! You were acting weird after the fight with Sting and Rogue, but there's no way Jiemma was so pissed about them losing that be tried to kill you, right?! And what happened after you knocked me out?! Did you seriously rush back to face him by yourself?!" he was pulling against the ropes harder, and she could hear the tendrils starting to split. "WHAT HAPPENED WHEN YOU WENT BACK THERE?! AND WHERE IN THE HELL IS JIEMMA NOW-?!" Hora's eyes flashed, her lips curling slightly and her expression hardening into something so cold and so steely it was almost terrifying- more terrifying when the words she said next, she said them with no emotion at all.

"Jiemma is dead."

Natsu's jaw snapped shut again and he flinched, an action mirrored in the rest of the Fairy Tailers in the room as Hora's utterly stone cold words ran straight through them. She didn't flinch, she didn't even seem to care, and maybe a lack of empathy was warranted... but she was so icy it was incredibly disconcerting. But more so the statement- because what...?!

Dead...?!

"W-what do you...?!" Wendy stammered quickly with Carla in unison,

"Seriously...?" Gajeel and Gray both muttered, both of them looking stricken- they all looked stricken. Because they could tell in an instant that she was serious, it wasn't some sort of ruse or terrible joke, it was real.

Hora wasn't looking at them though, her eyes had not left Natsu, and she saw the fear work it's way into his expression almost instantly. Fear, and wariness and even caution, and her jaw clenched at the look.

"... dead..." Natsu breathed, his onyx eyes flashing as he swallowed. "... Hora... did...?" He seemed to struggle to get the words out, and she huffed at him and the fact he was going to ask... but not surprised.

"No, I didn't kill him." She grumbled lowly, her eye dropping closed as her arms crossed over her chest.

Though I would have really, really liked to... it's probably better in the long run that it wasn't me... I'm still some semblance of sane...

"... but... when... h...how..?" Natsu stammered, Hora sighed.

"... when you beat Sting and Rogue in the Games today, we were in serious trouble." Hora murmured, "The whole Guild... Jiemma was on the warpath and Minerva wasn't much better. Sting and Rogue were gonna get punished and we all knew that... and we knew they were so angry that they wouldn't hesitate to dish it out to the rest of the Guild if we got involved. I knew what was going to happen, and I was ready for it... today would have been my last straw." She mumbled, "... that's probably why you thought I was acting 'weird' after the battle. I had made up my mind. I was going to be willing to fight back against both Minerva and Jiemma tonight if they tried to hurt anyone, and I would have done it without caring if Jiemma tried to use the Possession Link against me. I figured if I got angry enough and I let my Magic get out of control, I could take out both of them at once, even if in the end I'd end up dead or damn well close to it." She admitted softly, and she earned wary and slightly agitated looks from the Fairies all around, though she never saw it. "So when the whole Guild started to gather to meet Jiemma's wrath, I followed everyone out toward the main hall, and I did it with the impression that tonight was the last night."

"Hora..." Happy mewed quietly, his eyes glittering and nearly tear-filled.

"Sacrificing yourself is never the answer, even if it is for your friends." Erza murmured lowly, almost scolding and Hora grimaced. "You don't die for your friends, you live for them."

"I never said it was the best plan." She replied quietly, one eye cracking open to glance toward the redhead. "I'm well aware that willingly going into a situation where I'd end up dead is stupid, and I'd never want to leave any of them behind, or make them live with guilt over the idea that I died trying to help them. But I was out of options." Hora grumbled, Erza frowned a little. "I have lived over a decade with that Possession Link on me, and with the reality that it wouldn't go away. I looked for years to find some way to get rid of it, through every book and Magical document, tome, library, whatever. Years spent looking and never once finding any way or anyone or even any little hint of being able to break it. I was stuck with it, and I was stuck with the reality that if and when I tried to stop Jiemma, I was going to end up dead. It didn't matter if Sting or Rogue or anyone else tried to help me do it, and it didn't matter if I wasn't the one who started it or not. Every situation that had to do with going against Jiemma ended with either me being killed for beginning the fight, or being used as blackmail if someone else started it. And all ways I end up dead." Hora grumbled lowly, and Erza's conviction seemed to wane ever so slightly. "I had no other options, like it or not... it was a bad decision, but it was the only one available."

When Erza's eyes dropped away from her, Hora knew that the redhead saw the sense she was making... grudgingly, though.

Hora's eye closed again as she forced herself a calming breath, shaking her head slightly. "... but it hardly matters now, because it never got a chance to come to any of that in the first place." She muttered, "Halfway down the hallway, I got snatched away and dropped on the other side of the city by some weird person-thing that seemed well aware that I was going to end up dead tonight, and that it was necessary in the grand scheme of things... and no, I never got a look at it. I don't know who or what it was, everything was pitch black, and it's scent wasn't right-"

Hora cut off, her shoulders stiffening as her thoughts trailed back to what had happened, and what she'd smelled.

... one scent... but it smelled like Sting and Rogue, at least some of the way... but it wasn't right. It smelled sour, and twisted... it smelled wrong.

She swallowed, shivers running up her spine at the lingering sensation of those cold hands grabbing hold of her, a voice hissing and emotionless and dead... wicked fingers curling around her body as she was forced closer and paralyzed as she felt strange lips press against hers, and she couldn't pull back.

"Forgive me, Horatia. But even I won't wait to see you die a second time."

She shivered again, her hand moving upward to brush against her mouth ever so lightly, and she felt her stomach knot in a million different ways.

... if I was supposed to end up dead... and whoever that was... they saw me die a first time? Like... seeing the future, or...?

... shit... this is really starting to freak me out... the Eclipse Gate is supposed to mess with time, right...? Could that mean... whoever that was... they... they did see some version of me end up dead tonight? And... and they know me...? Enough to know that Rogue would realize what happened, and that it all started because of what Sting did, going after Jiemma...?

... but... who the hell...?

She sucked in a breath of air and held it, biting back at the suddenly rising panic and fear in her core that had her shivering, again. The dread that was still hanging over her was suffocating, and even more so as her thoughts wandered back to that... to that Stranger, and what they said... and what it meant.

... s...shit... I don't like this... this isn't right... this... this is wrong... all of it... and I... I don't understand...

... what happens... if the future that that Stranger knew... didn't happen? She wasn't dead, she'd survived... was that part of the plan? It couldn't have been, right? It said that Rogue needed to realize why she'd ended up dead...

... but... why Rogue...?

She shuddered again and her stomach knotted so tightly it was utterly painful.

... It... can't have been... right...?

"Hora?"

Mirajane's gentle voice snapped Hora from her pestering, endless pit of thoughts and she jumped without meaning too, her eyes openeing to find the white-haired woman.

"... are you alright?" She asked slowly, and Hora cursed herself for getting so off-track.. again!

"Y-yeah, sorry..." Hora replied quickly, shaking herself off and her fears with it, as much as she could anyway. "... I didn't mean to fade off like that, it... the whole getting snatched thing was just so disorienting, and confusing, and thinking about it... it's still got me reeling..." She explained, "... ah... sorry, back to what I was saying... so while that was happening, back at the Inn Jiemma started to really lay into both Sting and Rogue for losing the match." She murmured, mentally blocking off all thoughts and things having to do with the Stranger and what all of it meant. She still had things to explain, and the bit about Jiemma being dead and the story behind that was a little too pressing to keep dragging in out like she was.

.... but damn it... today just really, really sucks......

"... From what everyone told me when I got back, Jiemma was throwing them around pretty hard, and they were already hurt from having fought with Salamander... he was just adding on more damage, and a lot more of it." Hora mumbled, her tone dropping slightly as the Fairy Tailers frowned at the idea. "Jiemma was always cruel, but he'd mostly refrained from being too hard on Sting and Rogue before... they've never really done anything to piss him off as much as he was today, and he was furious... so he was ten times worse than usual."

Bastard

"... Things got really out of hand, really, really fast." Hora muttered, "All of it, between me getting snatched away without no one realizing it happened, to Jiemma starting to beat Sting and Rogue to a pulp, things were already bad... but then Lector stepped in and tried to talk Jiemma down, and Jiemma did not like that." Hora mumbled, her stomach knotting just that little bit more. "Before any of them even realized what happened, or could even think about reacting, Jiemma turned his anger on Lector and he tried to obliterate him, and he nearly did. But all any of them saw was Lector getting turned into dust." Hora growled, her fingers digging into her arms. "He was dead. Everyone saw that and they beleived it, and it terrified them... Jiemma killed Lector without so much as a care, and Sting snapped."

For good reason

"It happened in an instant. All of that pain and rage and anger and fear all wrapped into one at seeing Lector getting murdered like that... all it took was a single second of losing control, and Sting lashed out at Jiemma, and with only one blow- but one was enough." Hora said lowly, "Jiemma probably didn't even see it coming, no one would have... it all just spiraled out of control and no one in the Guild knew what to do or even what had happened. One minute Sting and Rogue were being thrown around, and then Lector was dead, and then the next... Jiemma was lying on the floor bleeding to death... they were all reeling and Minerva didn't make it any better. She stepped in and took control of the whole situation and left Jiemma on the floor to bleed out..." She went on lowly, before pausing as she grumbled a bit. "... Which spurred the whole Jiemma trying to kill me thing." Hora muttered, "He was pissed about being beat, so he figured if he was gonna die, he was gonna get back at Sting and everyone else by taking me with him."

Everyone in the room grimaced at that, a mixture of anger and hate and worry passing among them all as they continued to listen in stony silence, and Hora certainly didn't pause for very long.

"So he started to break the Possession Link, and that started to kill me... And then all of that happened out in the city, with Wendy and everyone else, and you already got told the gist about that, so I'm not gonna re-explain it." the Saber Wizard muttered lowly, "But all of that was going on while Minerva stepped in, and nobody realized what Jiemma was doing until way after he started... And Rogue realized what was going on. But by the time I got back there, all of this stuff had already happened- and Minerva had already done what she had and I couldn't do anything to change it." Hora grumbled, the Fairy Tailers blinked in question.

"So anyway... Retracting a bit... Minerva had taken Lector away right before Jiemma managed to hurt him, so he didn't actually get killed. But now she has him captive inside of her Magic." The Fairy Tailer's stiffened at the news, their expressions slowly darkening with every second the story kept on. "She's using Lector as leverage over everyone in the Guild, and she's planning to hurt him if we try to oppose her, and... and if we don't win the Grand Magic Games tomorrow, she's never going to let him go. And while she has him, his life is in danger, every single second. She's not afraid of hurting him to get what she wants, and she knows the only way that the Guild will listen to her now with Jiemma gone is by making sure she can manipulate us. And she's doing it with his life."

"... that is why you asked me to defeat her." Erza murmured lowly, her eyes steely as she bit back at the anger that flared to life in her core at Minerva's actions, and wickedness. Hora nodded,

"I can't try and fight her, because the minute that I do, she will hurt Lector in order to get me to obey, and I am not fast enough to prevent her from doing it. Not with how her Magic works." Hora muttered, "But she can't use Lector against you like she can with my Guild, and she knows that. When you fight her, it'll just be about winning and she won't be focused on him- and if you can beat her, even enough just to waste all her Magic Energy or disrupt her hold on her Magic somehow- Lector will be set free if her Magic fails, and he won't be in danger anymore."

"And you can't risk SaberTooth being disqualified from the Games now that you no longer have a Guild Master, because Minerva is set on winning the Games, hmm?" Makarov intoned lowly, and Hora glanced to him. "Which is why having Fairy Tail win the Games would cause trouble for you."

"Yeah." Hora mumbled lowly, "She wants us to win so we can still be the strongest Guild, but we don't give a damn about that. The goal isn't to win the GMG, it's to get Lector back and safe... it's just that winning the Games is the only option we have to do that. So tomorrow, the SaberTooth Team is gonna give everything they have to win, they have to, for Lector." Hora's eyes moved back to Erza. "But if you can beat Minerva and set Lector free, we don't have a reason to want to win the Games anymore. And if we get Lector back, Minerva loses all her power over us and we don't have to do a damn thing she says, not ever again."

"So it seems the best outcome in all of this, relies on our ability to stage a succesful rescue of Lucy and Yukino from the King, as well as coming up with a plan to completely defeat all of the other Wizards in the GMG- Minerva especially, in order to set Lector free. Which would of course leave SaberTooth with no need to win, and Fairy Tail could earn a sound victory of the Grand Magic Games."

Everyone's attention shifted in surprise toward the sudden input from a certain blonde girl, who had for a long while, been sitting on the bar listening and watching in absolute silence. Hora glanced over quickly, blinking a few times in surprise and earning the girl's serene green eyes, calm as can be and steady as she returned Hora's gaze.

"Should Erza be sucessful in defeating Minerva, and Lector is returned safely, our chances of winning the Grand Magic Games improve. And in doing that, our need to claim victory can be satsfied with no real consequences befalling your Guild once Lector is free, and Minerva loses her leverage over all of you, yes?" Mavis murmured lightly, Hora paused, before nodding slowly. "While it is true we cannot trust the Minister of Defense and his word that winning the Games would earn Lucy leniancy, it is still an avenue we need to take. But Yukino is not given that chance, so me must launch our own rescue regardless... and if the rescue plan works, and we succeed tomorrow in the games, we could manage to get through all of this with both sides happy." She said simply, and Hora swallowed.

"... I mean I guess... but everything has to work out like we want." Hora mumbled, "And that's not taking into account things going screwy along the way or anything, and being able to handle that when it comes up... I know you guys are strong and everything, and I know this means a lot to you, but it's not gonna be a walk in the park or anything."

"Of course it won't be." Mavis replied with ease, "But with your insight to Minerva's Magic, and with a carefully structured strategy based upon what I've observed in the Games, we could contend with any issues that arise, and give ourselves the best chance of making all of this work." Hora bit the inside of her cheek,

"... you don't know hardly anything about the opponents." She mumbled, "Kagura's been a mystery the whole time she'd been around, and Jura's just a powerhouse, and there are plenty of other strong Wizards in Lamia and Pegasus and everywhere else... and I'm not going to tell you about Sting, or Rogue, or Rufus and Orga..." Mavis smiled, the action making Hora trail off as she shook her head at the Saber woman.

"I don't need you to." She replied simply,

"And we wouldn't want it anyway." Gajeel huffed, Hora blinked in surprise.

"Yeah, we wanna beat those guys on our own, not with some trade-secret stuff." Gray muttered, "We got our own beef with your Guild, and we'll settle it on our terms, and with our own power." Hora swallowed, her eyes darting his way and feeling her heart clench.

... beef...? I know we've not been kind, but what sort of beef does Gray have....?

... it.... it doesn't matter, Hora.... if you keep thinking about him, you're gonna freak out again... stop.

She forced herself to look away and to ignore the question. She did her best to cast Gray and her swirling emotions to the back of her mind, and she focused on Mavis, glancing back toward the still so very tranquil and placid figure of the First Fairy Tail Guild Master. ... How could she seem so calm, with all of this? So calm facing the very real fact that they were going to be facing nothing but a massive challenge tomorrow? And one where so, so many things could go wrong? Where so much had already gone wrong and the world seemed to have gone insane?

And how can she say she... has a plan? And that it will work...? How is she so confident, under such massive stakes?

"... you're gonna need a hell of a plan..." Hora mumbled softly, Mavis smiled.

"Yes." She hummed brightly, a sudden gleam and a certain sort of fire that Hora didn't recognize started to bubble underneath that unwavering composure. "But that is my role to play. Over the last few days I have watched all the other opponents in the games and I have compiled a comprehensive review of thieir capabilites, and their weak points, as well as how our members will match up against them." Hora blinked, her eyes widening slightly as her heart skipped a beat. Mavis' smile faded just slightly, turning into something almost fearless, and so utterly calculating.

'... this girl...' Lixue hummed lowly, Hora just stared, her mind reeling again.

Mavis nodded just once, her green eyes blazing as Hora held that gaze in rigid suspense, her heart picking up and some strange sort of... of power suddenly pricking in the back of her mind, and it was coming from the First.

"It will take work, and I must be sure of the strategy we follow. But I intend to create a sure-proof plan that will lead us all to victory, Fairy Tail and SaberTooth both." Mavis hummed and Hora swallowed,

Both

"If we work together, we can do this. I give you my word, Horatia. It is time we work together and help one another with everything we have."

.:+:.

LOTS of info in this Chapter, but hopefully it wasn't too boring! And I hope you all enjoyed it~!

Thank you for reading, and your continued support! I appreciate every single one of you!

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