Chapter Text
Mei dodged the last spell the enemy had hurled at her, using the earth to direct those enemy bolts away, flying straight under his nose, where she quickly spun around and hit him with a kick covered in fire right under the jaw. The man flew backwards, hitting his back on the wall and Mei took the opportunity to imprison him from the neck down with the earth.
-I'm sorry for you, but I know exactly how a lightning wizard fights.- Mei placed a hand on her hip, thinking about how the guy's magic was far from being as powerful as Laxus's.
The necklace that the man was wearing around his neck fell to the ground and the gem on the pendant shattered. At the same time, a strange dark aura came out of the man's body and he fainted. Mei furrowed her eyebrows, not understanding what had just happened, but seeing as nothing else was happening, she decided to go and see if Wendy had managed to help the king. When she found them, the dragon slayer had already destroyed the object that manipulated the mind of Topaz's father, who apologized to his son and ordered to withdraw the arrest order of the Fairy Tail mages.
-We're telling you we know nothing!-.
-There's no point in trying to defend yourself! Everyone knows what you were trying to do!-.
Mei exchanged a look with Wendy and Charle, after seeing how all the members of the king's personal guard were arrested. There was something not right and the two of them had noticed it too. When they told their doubts to Natsu, Erza, Lucy and Gray, they too admitted a strange dark aura had come out of the body of the guards they had defeated, after destroying their necklaces. Mei explained about the gems that Nerthus protected, how that had been their ultimate purpose.
-Topaz discovered that they're part of a dark guild and were actually thinking of stealing them and using them as they wanted, but they also say that they don't remember approaching the king and these last few weeks in general.-
Gray commented how that sort of "amnesia" didn't help them at all. -And then we still haven't understood why they used your name, Mei-.
Lucy agreed with him, reflecting on that absurd situation. -Maybe because it reminds me of Red Butterfly's methods, but it almost seems like there's someone else pulling the strings.-
The silence became more prominent after that statement from Lucy. Nervous, Mei didn't really know what to think. What was the best course of action?
In the midst of that general disturbance, Charle got startled. Snippets of the future appeared in her mind: Mei being attacked from behind. Natsu, Wendy, Erza and the rest of them on the ground and wounded. A masked, white-covered figure grabbing Mei by the throat and lifting her off the ground.
The white cat looked around extremely upset, realizing that the place they were in was exactly the same as in her vision. If she didn't act now, that future would come true.
-Charle? Everything okay?-. Wendy asked after noticing her being upset by something, but the exceed turned to the nature binder instead.
-Mei, be careful! They'll attack you in the back!-.
That warning put them all on their guard, Mei first and foremost. She stiffened, confused and surely would have liked to ask for more information, but she also knew how reliable her visions could be. That's why she turned around. For a moment, there was no one there and Mei was about to ask the cat if, by any chance, she hadn't been wrong... when she noticed some kind of ripple in the air. The ethernano was moving strangely around a certain point and frowned, moving her hands and throwing a ball of fire right at that same point.
Like magic, a white hooded figure with a mask covering their entire face appeared crouched in front of her, avoiding the fireball. At the same time, they moved two fingers of their left hand and roots appeared from the ground, aimed at hitting and enveloping Mei. The nature binder avoided the vines, jumping and flying over the figure.
-Here they are , the main culprit.- Mei stated, strangely calm. -A nature binder... just like me?-.
The figure looked up to observe the woman's every movement.
-You wizards ruined my plan, but even if I can no longer have the gems... Mei Vrubel. You will come with me.-
The figure raised their palm towards her, but didn't expect Natsu's fire dragon punch to arrive, sending him backwards a few meters.
-If you want Mei, you have to deal with Fairy Tail first!-. He shouted, in a threatening tone. And he wasn't the only one. Gray, Erza, Lucy and Wendy followed him, attacking without giving him any respite, agreeing with the words of their friend.
The sky dragon slayer used enchantments to enhance them. Clad in Fairy Armor, Erza charged her swords in a powerful lunge that the figure narrowly avoided, stumbling backwards… right where Gray stood to attack him with his ice magic. Lucy had called Loki, wearing his respective stardress, and together the three attacked him, but the figure erased their magic, just as they had done to Mirajane.
-How is it possible?-. The two wondered, but Mei and Erza yelled to continue anyway.
The figure, just then, charged a wave of pure energy towards them with a fluid hand move. Before Mei could raise the earth to protect herself and her friends, she saw crystals materialize and cushion the wave.
"But that... is Lume! So she succeeded, thank goodness!".
Elfman took the opportunity to charge using one of the beasts from his Beast Soul repertoire, to push him a few safe feet away from them.
-We arrived in time, it seems!-. Lisanna exclaimed, moving to their side along with Mirajane and Lume. The others were happy to see Lume in her new Take Over, understanding what this meant: everything had gone well. They would know the details later, but first they had to teach that masked guy a lesson.
Mirajane quickly explained how she ended up fighting him and to be careful not to underestimate him. As she had theorized, they had indeed gone straight to find Mei.
-It doesn't matter, he won't have Mei!-. Natsu exclaimed, before continuing that fight. All the mags synchronized their attacks and, for that very reason, Mei realized that if they didn't come up with something quickly, they would be at a clear disadvantage... despite their numerical superiority.
That's how she got an idea. Normally she would never have used that spell, especially because it reminded her of Master Hades, or rather the Second Master Purehito, but if she hesitated any longer, then she would end up kidnapped again, or worse. And Mei Vrubel didn't care at all.
For this reason, noticing how they had surrounded the enemy, she nodded in understanding to Lume, who somehow understood her plan. While the others distracted them, the enemy shrugged off their attacks, charging and launching another magic wave of the major elements. Lume this time appeared from above and, aided by Mirajane, together they covered their sight from all directions. Before the figure knew what would happen, Mei fired the same Amaterasu formula that Master Hades had tried to use against Laxus to erase all of his magical power.
The figure was unable to defend in time and found themselves on their knees. With their head lowered, their mask fell and broke in two... and something strange happened. That figure seemed to panic, protecting their face by lowering the hood over their face and hiding themselves with the wide sleeves of their cloak, before Mei and the others got to see his face.
-This isn't the end...-. The figure struggled out of breath, before backing away and running away.
-It's over?-. Wendy asked, confused as to how they had run away so suddenly. -We won?-.
Gray sat down on the floor, tired. -I don't know about you all, but I don't feel victorious at all.-
As it seems, the others felt the same: after all, they had failed to understand why they wanted Mei and what her plan was in general. To add, they were all tired and worn out from that all-on-one fight. Mei walked over to the mask and picked it up, examining it. It looked like a normal wooden mask, with simple doodles as decorations, but she understood something after touching it. The same wood had been used as the amulet-necklace that her grandmother, Fine Vrubel, had given to Makarov and which Mei now always wore around her neck.
She couldn't be wrong.
It greatly confused her, more and more, but in the end she decided to think positively.
-The victory is ours, because we're all here together and alive. This is enough for me.-
Happy however asked her, worried, if she really didn't care about not knowing the reason why they wanted to get to her. Charles also agreed with him.
-And if he returns with companions?-.
Lume watched as Mei didn't lose her smile, even in that situation. This only increased the admiration she felt towards her.
-Well, being in someone's sights is old news. Ingrid has been through worse than me.- Mei admitted quietly. -But I don't want to live in anxiety and fear. If something happens, then we'll think about it at that time... after all, I'm not alone. Fairy Tail will be by my side and help me, right?-.
Mei put a hand on her hip and showed a big smile, which grew even bigger when she heard them all yell an "of course!", Lume and Exceeds included.
More than anything, Mei Vrubel didn't want to miss those carefree moments due to anxiety and fear that something might happen. She had already spent several years of her second life enslaved by those horrendous and highly depressive thoughts, and Mei didn't want to fall into this horrible circle again at all. She had worked hard on it and now she believed she was a different person, better than who she was before being kidnapped by Red Butterfly.
She would no longer be the cause of the tragedies of her loved ones, but she would also protect everyone on the front lines... letting her friends protect her back in turn: she had promised it to herself and nothing would make her change her mind.
**
They spent a good morning sleeping to recover their strength from the battle. Topaz had given them a room in the castle, seeing as how their hotel room was completely messed up.
After imprisoning the members of the dark guild, Wendy had gone to check on Topaz's sister and saw how she too had been a victim of this whole plan. So the little girl had healed her and now she was no longer bedridden. Topaz and the royal family really didn't know how to thank them, giving them eternal gratitude and, of course, a lot of money as compensation for what they had done. Reward that Erza and Mei didn't accept because it didn't seem right to them, given the situation. Some of them wanted to change the two women's minds, but couldn't and so they reluctantly gave up.
As they had promised, Fairy Tail decided to stay that evening and leave the following day. Relieved to watch Lume having fun while eating some of the typical local sweets, everyone had fun in their own way, enjoying that festive atmosphere.
-The festival is dedicated to the goddess we worship and to all kinds of love. It's tradition to buy these lanterns and give them to every person we love.- An old lady explained the origin of the lanterns she sold to Lucy, Mei and Lisanna, when they stopped to admire the glass lanterns that the lady herself had created.
Seeing how the girls were all interested, the old woman began to explain the reason for the different colors.
-Each colored lantern has its own recipient and meaning-.
After having everything explained to her, Mei didn't hesitate to buy three: the red one for romantic love for Laxus, the purple one for brotherly love for Ray, the pink one for the love of a child for a parent for Makarov.
Her friends followed her closely, trying to choose which one to buy and even exchanging them among themselves. Wendy and Charle, for example, exchanged two white lanterns, Elfman secretly bought a red one for Evergreen (but Lisanna had definitely caught him in the act and was now teasing him), Erza instead bought a pink one for Master Makarov. Even Lucy was definitely embarrassed when Natsu gave her a lantern; obviously not having understood anything about that explanation on the meanings of the colors, he gave her a red one simply because, his words, red reminded him of Lucy.
When Mei saw the look with which Gray was eyeing the stall, she approached him with an amused smile.
-Juvia will be happy if you give her the red one, you know?-.
Gray felt caught in the act and looked away, embarrassed. -Why should I?-.
Mei couldn't hold back the small laugh that welled up in her heart at seeing him so embarrassed, thinking that he really should be more open with his own feelings.
**
Looking at the lanterns, Lume brought a hand to hesitate on one in particular. Everyone had bought at least one and she also had someone she wanted to give it to, considering the meaning. However, she still hesitated: that person wouldn't be disgusted, right?
-Do you want to give one to Mei?-. Mirajane noticed her hesitation, standing next to her.
Lume stiffened, blushing slightly. It was the second time she could read her like an open book. -I would like to, but... I don't want her to be disgusted by it.-
Mirajane watched as her hands were tracing decorative lines on the glass of a red lantern and her heart sank a little. Part of her didn't want Lume to give Mei the red one, she didn't feel comfortable at all and it wasn't the detail that Mei was already committed in a relationship with Laxus. However, Mirajane couldn't do this to her.
Precisely because she cared about Lume.
-She would never, Mei isn't that kind of person. If you open up to her, she will treat you with extreme kindness.-
Lume's eyes widened at those words, then she smiled. -You're completely right. I'll buy it then, thanks Mira-.
Mirajane forced a smile which she quickly extinguished in favor of surprise as soon as she noticed the color of the lantern she had picked up. Before Mirajane could even ask her about it, Lume called out to Mei and approached her, gaining the attentions of the rest of their guildmates.
-This is for you, Mei-.
Lume handed the pink glass lantern into her hands, which Mei accepted with a confused look.
-Mm? Why pink?-. Happy wondered aloud, observing the scene and the others also seemed a little confused by the choice: had Lume got the wrong colour?
Lumière, however, smiled and looked confident, also encouraged by Mirajane's warm words.
-From the first moment I met you, your warmth always reminded me of that of a mother. I've never had a real one... but you give me that feeling every time I look at you.-
Lumière could not confuse those emotions. It might seem strange considering their ages, yet Mei Vrubel was truly like a mother to her. There was no lantern that suited her more than the pink one in her eyes. Mei accepted that gift with tears in her eyes, this time without hesitation or confusion in her tone or gestures. When she moved to hug Lume, promising to treat that lantern with care, Lumière returned the hug thinking that Mirajane had been right.
Observing the scene, Mirajane Strauss felt she could smile heartily, like the rest of her companions. She felt a little embarrassed in realizing that she had misunderstood the feelings that Lume had for Mei, but on the other hand she also felt relieved and decidedly more relaxed.
They had only known each other for a short time, but that fear of "losing" her was truly concrete and real. Mirajane Strauss had never felt that kind of fear with anyone; it was different from the pain of losing Lisanna. And perhaps she was beginning to understand why Lumière was more "special" than the other members of her dear guild.
Who would have ever thought that the one who loved being a matchmaker would rediscover herself in love with one of her guildmates? Mirajane had always believed that it was more interesting to watch love stories develop, rather than experience them firsthand. Yet she had met someone who could make her feel those feelings.
And now that she fully understood it, Mirajane just couldn't take her eyes off the figure of Lume hugging Mei, selfishly thinking that she wanted her all for herself.
**
Mirajane had moved away from the others to watch the fireworks on a balcony, trying to calm down a bit from all the frenzy she was feeling internally. The subject of her feelings and such frenzy quickly found her, flanking her with a happy expression and slightly blushing cheeks. Mirajane blinked several times as she saw what Lumière was holding out to her.
Two glass lanterns. One red and the other white.
-For me?-. Mirajane hadn't expected that gift from him.
Lume nodded, looking her straight in the eyes.
-Both?-. Mirajane asked then, but when Lume nodded again she couldn't help but look at her with a questioning look. She took them in her hand, but was trying to understand what Lume wanted her to understand. Red was the color for romantic love, sure, but white was exchanged between friends. What did she mean? How was she supposed to take it?
Lume's tone showed no hesitation, just a little embarrassment. -I wanted to give you a lantern to thank you for staying close to me. For convincing me to go with Mei on that mission. What happened to me isn't your fault... it's no one's. I wanted to tell you all this with this lantern... but when Lisanna explained to me what the white one means, I had already bought it.-
Mirajane didn't know what to say, blushing in turn when Lume admitted that she had initially bought it in that color because the white reminded her of Mirajane and that she would have bought it anyway, without looking at its meaning.
-But what I feel cannot be transmitted only by the white lantern.- Lume continued, not knowing the turmoil she was making Mirajane's heart feel. -That's why I also bought the red one-.
Mirajane looked from her to the two lanterns, her expression softening. She thought she knew what Lume meant, but that was exactly why Mirajane wanted to hear it. She wanted Lume to demonstrate this openly. -And what do you feel?-.
Lume started playing with her fingers to release the tension somehow, but her gaze was firm and determined: she wanted to be honest until the end and she didn't like keeping everything inside. She had been doing that for too long and didn't like the feeling it gave her.
-We're friends, comrades of the same guild. We're family. If it were someone else, like Lucy or Erza, the white one would have been enough... but you're different. I understood it right away and I remembered it when you stayed close to me and helped me at Lake Hertha.-
Lume felt nervous. She hadn't felt all that anxiety even in the past, when she was a Spriggan 14. -You're special to me... I don't know if the red lantern can really express everything I feel, but I think it's the only one perfect for the occasion-.
She felt her hands shaking a little, when Mirajane showed a small laugh. She tilted her head, confused, but Mira was smiling and so she thought it was a good start.
-You sure are frank and honest, huh-.
Lume felt encouraged by her smile. -When I joined Fairy Tail, I promised myself to speak openly about what I like, without holding back.-
Placing the two lanterns to the side, Mirajane moved closer to her, placing one hand on her cheek and the other gently grasping her hand. -I know and I love this side of you.-
Without waiting any longer, under that starry night illuminated with so many different lights and colors, Mirajane closed the distance with the person she loved, transmitting everything she herself felt with a long and sweet kiss. Intertwining their hands even more, they both closed their eyes, savoring every second of that sweetness and that unexpected, yet extremely fascinating love.
-Then I was right to buy a red one for you, Lume. Thank you, I will take care of these .-
-No, I should say thank you, Mira! I'm glad to be here, together with you.-
Sitting next to each other, with their hands still clasped, a small light illuminated the three lanterns that fluttered in front of them by magic.
If the scars that won’t disappear may be called love someday
This magnificent longing, for whom is it blooming right now?
That figure is stronger and more beautiful than anything else
Always like that bouquet of flowers
[Omoi Saku Toki — Aoiema]