"You can do this."
A young Emi looked at the man with tears in her eyes, crying out, "I can't do it, Cain."
"Come on, kid. You'll never get strong if you don't train."
"I can't move anymore. We did too much running."
"You want to defeat the demon, right?"
Emi nodded before pulling herself up and putting her fists in the air.
Emi woke up with a jolt, confused by her dream. Cain? Demon?
She made her way down to the kitchen just as Laxus was coming through the front door.
"Why do you look so confused?"
"Do you know anyone named Cain?"
Laxus shook his head and prompted her to keep talking.
"I had a dream during my nap and I was with someone named Cain. He was talking about 'defeating the demon,' whatever that means."
"I've never met or heard of anyone named Cain."
"Do you think the thing I saw the other day was a demon?"
"I think I know who you can talk to. Let's go," Laxus insisted.
---------------------
After a rather quick train ride, Emi dragged Laxus through the town, making sure both of them put on their cloaks.
"Do you really think Gray will know about this stuff?"
"Pretty sure."
Once Emi caught a glimpse at the Fairy Tail sign, the woman started running as fast as she could.
"Em, be careful! Slow down."
Emi quickly reached the doors to the guild and swung them open.
"Gray!"
Everyone looked over towards the cloaked figure.
"Uh, yeah? Who are you?"
Emi whipped off her hood, revealing her white hair and smiling face.
"EMI!" Natsu screamed, immediately going over to her and hugged her. "I was just coming over to you to visit. I have this cool recipe that I want you to try and I think it'll taste great with hot sa--"
"Gray! I have to talk to you right away!"
Natsu looked at Gray and started to pick a fight with him, saying that he was distracting Emi from her mission. Gray started yelling back at him, saying he had no idea what either of them were talking about.
"Em, don't run ahead like that," Laxus blurted through his heavy breathing.
Emi had an idea that would separate the fire and ice wizards long enough to grab Gray.
"Hey, Natsu. Laxus said that he wants to fight you. He said he can kick your ass."
"Oh yeah, I'd like to see you try. Fight me!"
Laxus looked over at Emi with an annoyed look before realizing what she was doing. The lightning mage sighed and played along. Emi quickly made her way over to Gray and asked if he knew about a demon that had matched her description from her memory. Gray's eyes became big as she spoke.
"It sounds like...Deliora."
"Deliora? Who's that?"
"A demon from the Book of Zeref. He attacked my village and killed everyone including my parents."
"It has to be him then. That's exactly what I saw in my memory. Do you know what happened to Deliora?"
"My teacher, Ur, locked him away with something similar to a sealing magic. He's taken care of."
Emi listened to every word that Gray said, careful to make mental notes of anything that she could use later.
"Master Grampa, where is the library in this town?"
"LIbrary? Why do you need to go there?" Natsu whined. "I should be showing you this cool recipe I found!"
"Natsu," Gray warned, "she just learned something very important about her past, so will you shut up?"
Gray sounded very annoyed with the fire mage, more so than usual. Everyone noticed his increased irritation and knew that it was because he had to speak of the demon that had caused so much pain for him. Gray told her where the library was and sat back down and engaged in idle conversation with Wendy and Lucy.
As Emi darted out the door, Levy followed closely behind her, shouting, "Emi! I can help you look if you want. I practically live in that library, so I know where a lot of books are."
"That would be a great help. Thank you."
Once the pair had left, Laxus sat down at the bar and ordered a drink. Makarov looked over to the lightning mage before hopping onto the bar.
"Have you discussed with her my offer?"
"I was going to this morning, but another memory came back."
"I think that it was best that you brought her here to speak with Gray. That girl deserves answers for her past."
----------------
Emi and Levy had located several books on Deliora.
"Levy, do you know anything about the Book of Zeref?"
"Let's see," Levy started thinking out loud, "There was the incident with the Lullaby, but Lucy and the others were able to stop anything too serious. The demon you are interested in, Deliora, he was also from the Book of Zeref. Just like Gray said, he would attack villages and...eliminate anyone who lived there."
Emi looked down for a moment before nodding. Levy and Emi started to read a few books. Emi looked over at Levy to see that she was flying through the pile of books that she found.
"Woah, how are you reading so fast? I thought I read fast and I haven't even finished a chapter."
"I use these," Levy pointed to her glasses, "They help me read super fast. They're called gale-force reading glasses. I have an extra pair if you want to try them. It makes reading so much simpler."
Levy handed over her extra pair of the magic glasses and they both turned back to the books.
"Holy crap!" Emi exclaimed in wonder. "These things are amazing."
Emi and Levy looked at each other and laughed before Levy called the woman over saying that she thought she saw something interesting.
"According to this journal, Deliora wasn't the only demon from the Book of Zeref, but that was kind of obvious from the other accounts we read. Apparently there are higher ranked demons that stand above Deliora."
"So there are things stronger than a demon that can annihilate towns in one shot?"
"Looks like it."
--------------------
"Laxus, why isn't she back yet? It's getting late and I'm hungry."
"How the hell should I know? She'll probably be a while longer. That brat loves to read."
Natsu let out a frustrated groan before going back over to annoy Lucy. Gray and Natsu somehow ended up getting into an argument before the entire guild broke out into an all out brawl. Laxus sat over at the bar where Mira and Kinana were.
"So Laxus, do you miss this?"
"Absolutely not. These guys need to shut up every once in a while. I can't even think."
Mira giggled before her gaze shifted to the front door. Levy and Emi quietly walked into the guildhall to see a huge fight.
"There they go again."
"Is this normal?"
"It wouldn't be a day in Fairy Tail if there wasn't a fight."
Emi and Levy went different directions. Emi spotted Laxus over at the bar and went to join him.
"Miss Mira, can I have some apple juice please?"
Mira quickly filled up a glass and put it in front of Emi.
"I think you're the only person to ask for a drink like that," Mira teased.
"Hey Laxus, I found so many books in the library. I learned so much about Deliora and the Book of Zeref. Did you know that there are several other demons that exist that are even stronger than Deliora? Did you know that--"
A huge stream of flames came at the bar. Just as Laxus was about to block the attack, Gajeel jumped in front. He taunted the fire dragon slayer and started fighting again. Wendy crawled her way over to the bar, which seemed to be the only place that wasn't chaotic and full of fighting wizards. After saying her greetings to Laxus and Emi, Wendy looked at Mira and asked if she could hide behind the counter until the fighting stopped. As the sky dragon slayer hid, Gajeel came back over.
"Where's the kid? I know she's over here."
Forgetting that he was a dragon slayer, Emi asked Gajeel how he could tell.
"I can smell her, duh."
Emi smiled at the iron dragon slayer and turned back to her apple juice. Her head started to pulse with immense pain and she fell off her chair. Now on the floor, the woman rocked in pain, holding her head. Laxus was immediately at her side, and all fighting seemed to stop at the sight of the woman doubled over in pain. She suddenly started screaming.
Emi looked at the sky as she sat on top of a hill covered in purple asters. She felt the calming breeze in her hair as she looked at the different shapes of the clouds. She seemed sad, but she didn't know why.
"Hey, there you are."
Emi turned to see someone that she did not recognize, but it seemed that she knew him.
"I just needed to get away from everyone. Kira and Ayame were at it again. I swear, they can be so pushy sometimes."
The figure laughed. Emi tried to look at his face, but it was clouded over. All she could tell was that he looked like a teenager and that he was muscular.
"How did you find me? I thought I snuck away pretty well."
"I could smell ya, duh."
Emi laughed before laying down again and staring at the clouds.
"Mind if I join ya?"
"I would be offended if you didn't, idiot."
Emi sat up and took the man's hands before pulling him down to the grass. They both laughed before the man sat down and pulled Emi into his lap, hugging her from behind.
"What do you think that one looks like?" Emi asked as she pointed to a large cloud.
"It's obviously a hippo riding a dragon."
"I was thinking more of an ostrich walking an elephant."
They looked at each other and started laughing again.
"Em!"
Emi stopped shaking and looked up to Laxus who was leaning next to her with a concerned look in his eyes. Emi sniffled before holding onto one of his arms and pulling herself up. She looked at Laxus before realizing that everyone in the guild was watching her. She straightened her cloak and put up her hood before walking out of the guild.
"I'm fine."